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(upbeat music) - Welcome to our look through John chapter three in daily drive
time devotions. We're in our last day at our look at that chapter. We're going to
be looking at verses 22 to 35 today.

Much of these verses is the continuing story of John the Baptist. In fact, to
begin today, I'd like to read through that entire passage and then go back and
take a look at it. So let me read for you verses 22 to 35.

After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside where
he spent some time with them and baptized. Now John was also baptizing at Anon
near Salem because there was plenty of water and people were constantly coming
to be baptized. This was before John was put into prison.

An argument developed between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew over a
matter of ceremonial washing. And they came to John and they said, "Rabbi, that
man who was with you "on the other side of the Jordan, "the one you testified
about, "well, he is baptizing and everyone's going to him. " To this, John
replied, "A man can only receive what is given to him from heaven.

"You yourselves can testify that I said, "I am not the Christ, but I am sent
ahead of him. "The bride belongs to the bridegroom. "The friend who attends the
bridegroom "waits and listens for him and he's full of joy "when he hears the
bridegroom's voice.

"That joy is mine and it is now complete. "He must become greater. "I must
become less.

"He must increase, I must decrease. "The one who comes from above is above all.
"The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth "and speaks from the earth.

"The one who comes from heaven is above all. "He testifies to what he has seen
and heard, "but no one accepts his testimony. "The man who has accepted it has
certified "that God is truthful.

"For the one whom God has sent speaks the word of God. "For God gives the spirit
without limit. "The father loves the son "and has placed everything in his
hands.

" You might remember as we began the study together of the Gospel of John, we
looked in the first chapter at John the Baptist, not the writer of the Gospel,
but the baptizer, not the apostle, but the baptizer. We reminded ourselves that
Jesus told us in Luke that John was the greatest man who ever lived. That's
greatly due to his humility.

If you want to have humility, and you should, I should, it's the example of
Jesus Christ that we must strive for humility in our daily lives. If I want to
have humility, I have to realize that my humility is going to be tested.
Wouldn't it be great if you could just develop humility, get that settled, and
you're done with that, you go on to some other quality?

It doesn't work that way. Your humility will be tested. Even after John had
passed all of the tests in John chapter one, everybody trying to make him the
Christ, lift him up as more important than he really was, his greatest test was
to come here in John chapter three.

There's an argument going on, and some of those involved in the argument come to
John, and they try to make him jealous by saying, hey, look, everyone's going to
Jesus. You're losing your influence. You're the baptizer, but guess what?

He's baptizing more people than you are. That had to sting. And this is all
about jealousy.

Humility is a great idea until it takes the focus off of you. Have you noticed
that? We don't like to be humble as long as everybody notices how humble we
really are.

But here is true humility. People are looking away from John and they're seeing
Jesus. The focus is coming to Jesus.

And John in these verses shows us why Jesus called him the greatest man that
ever lived. And in the way that he answered this test of humility. There are
four obvious things that he says here that make all the difference.

When I get caught up, when you get caught up in this temptation of pride, when I
get caught up in the I deserve this temptation, when I get caught up in the why
are they paying attention to him or her and not to me temptation, when I get
caught up in the pride temptation, four things that John talks about. Number
one, he says a man can only receive what's given him from heaven. John's saying,
you want me to be jealous about what somebody else has?

A man can only receive what's given him from heaven. God's in control. Jesus
wouldn't have that if God didn't allow it.

I wouldn't have what I have if God didn't allow it and Jesus wouldn't have what
he has and no one that's in your life would have what they have if God didn't
allow it. This is the security of God's sovereignty. God is in control.

And John is in essence saying, do you think God doesn't know about this? He's
not in control of this. Now, most of us understand this on the positive side,
God allowing things, God allowing Jesus success in ministry, that makes perfect
sense.

But how about the negative side in your own life, where some evil person, some
person that is using political means gets ahead at the office while you're just
being a humble person and doing the right thing. Why would God allow that?
Because he does sometimes.

He allows someone who's doing things the wrong way to seem to get ahead for a
time. Why would he allow that? I don't know all the reasons, but I have seen,
I've certainly seen this.

He allows it for his purpose of working in their life. Sometimes God gives
somebody something they're seeking after by selfish means to show them that what
they're seeking after isn't worth anything anyway. And he's also going to use it in
your life.

God allows people around us to succeed who don't get there by the purest means.
And it's a reminder to us that this world is not all there is. This world runs
by different rules.

And we're not citizens of this world anyway. It's not what's the most important.
God never promised you physical, material, career success in this world.

You might have it and that's great. Use it to influence people for Christ. But
if you don't and other people around you are getting it who are not Christians,
pray for them and pray that God would use it in your life.

We can only receive what's given us from heaven, John said. And then number two,
he said, it's also obvious. I'm not the Christ.

He accepted his humanity. Now you might think, well, John had to do that because
people were saying he might be the Christ, the promised one. But I never have to
struggle with that thing of accepting my humanity.

Well, sure you do. We all do. When's the last time you tried to play God?

When's the last time you tried to make things work when you really knew that it
wasn't what God wanted but you decided it's what you wanted so you tried to play
God? When's the last time you tried to make a relationship work that you knew
God was saying, don't do that but you went ahead anyway or to make a job work or
a purchase of a house or anything else. Accepting our humanity is accepting our
limits.

And I don't know about you. I don't like to accept my limits. There's something
in me that strives against that.

But John, he was one of the greatest men that ever lived because he easily
accepted not only his responsibilities and the glorious things he could do for
God. He also accepted his limits. He knew who he was and he knew who he wasn't.

There's a third simple thing that John talks about here. He just gives a simple
picture. The picture of a bridegroom and his friend and the bride who's coming.

And John says, look, I'm like the friend of the bridegroom. And when the bride
comes and the bridegroom comes, I rejoice that they're there and they're
together. I'm not trying to get married to the bride.

I rejoice because I know my role in this situation. And so I have complete joy
because I realize that Jesus has come. That's the center.

That's what we're waiting for. John is encouraging you and I here to recognize
the joy that we have. Not to look for something we don't have.

Recognize the joy that you have. It's the joy of ministry. I can promise you
this.

Satan would love to get your eyes off of what you have and to get you angry or
to get you bitter or to get you disappointed about what you don't have. I know
it from personal experience. You've probably experienced it.

You can have the most wonderful things in life, but Satan wants to get your eyes
off of those things and get your eyes off of what you don't have. So you can't
enjoy what he's given you. Fulfillment is doing God's will for your life.

Not about the next rung on the ladder. John recognized that. So he says, I have
joy because this is what God wants and I know it.

And then the fourth thing he talks about, just simple things that help us to
realize humility is the right daily choice. He says, he must increase, but I
must decrease. He must increase.

The word he reminds us that the focus has to be on Jesus. He must increase. The
word must reminds us of the urgency of humility.

It's not just something that I hope happens. He must increase. I must decrease
in my daily life.

And the words increase and decrease, that's the process of life throughout the
rest of my life. Jesus' influence increasing in my life and my thoughts, my
opinions, my values, many of them built on my selfishness, that decreasing in my
life. He must increase.

This isn't just a good idea, it is urgent. The point is, the focus has to be on
Jesus. I can't save anyone, but Jesus can save everyone who calls.

And he says, as he's talking here about Jesus and the urgency of humility here
towards the end of these verses, that God, the Father, gives the spirit without
limit. It is not as if the spirit is partly given or his words are partially
true. When you see what God has given in Jesus Christ, and when you see what God
wants to give into your life, he gives you all of his spirit, and he gives you
all the Bible, all of his word, that's totally true, so that I can build my life
on the confidence of who he is.

He must increase. I must decrease. If I am honest, there are days in my life
when I want to increase.

But if I'm brutally honest, I recognize that those days where I try to increase,
my joy decreases, my significance decreases, my heart decreases, it shrinks. And
then comes the joy of recognizing that when I decrease, when I give my
selfishness to him, my selfishness to him, my joy increases, my significance
increases, my hope increases, all that is important about me increases when I
give it all to him. So let's do that right now.

These are John's daily responses to the daily test of humility. In prayer, let's
talk about our response. Right now in prayer, say, "God, I recognize it.

"You are in control. "I may not like what I see happening around me right now,
"but you're in control. "You could stop this if you wanted.

"I realize that. "You are allowing this. "Maybe even that people are doing evil
"and you're allowing them to do that.

"I know you don't like the evil or love the evil "or want the evil, but you're
allowing it. "So instead of fighting it and trying to be God in it, "I recognize
that you're in control. "And I want to serve you even through this.

"I do not want to be caught up "in disappointment and bitterness "that keeps me
from loving you. "Not over this. "Even as painful as it might be, not over this.

"I recognize my humanity. "I accept my limits before you. "Help me not to try to
play God.

"I recognize the joy that I do have. "Help me not to get caught up in what I
don't have, "in the temptation of jealousy. " And Jesus, I pray this statement
of John back to you.

Jesus, you must increase. I must decrease. In your name I pray, amen.

Well, join us next week. We're going to be looking at John chapter four. Many
people like to call this the well, well chapter of the Bible.

At the beginning of the chapter, Jesus meets the woman at the well. And at the
end of the chapter, he makes a person well in healing. So join us next week for
John chapter four.