He Must Increase [podcast]

Dear LORD Jesus, please capture my heart for Thee!

THOSE WHO WILL BE IN HEAVEN will be those who dared to daily seek God, to pray sincere prayers on earth as they loosed (let go of) of their lives from their own control over into the hands of the Holy God they chose to trust and fully rely upon.

“And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend (submit) my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.” Luke 23:46

You are going to one day give “up the ghost” and go to be with God as you cry with Jesus “Father, into thy hands I commend (submit) my spirit.”

What does this really mean? Well, you are giving GOD the preference, the reigns/reign in and of your life on this earth. You are preferring Him above your sinful broken self. You are declaring with John the Baptist – “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)

Enduring to the end means truly abandoning our lives in this fleeting sinful world to a loving merciful enabling victorious LORD and God (1 Corinthians 15:10, 57-58).

No matter what you may face in this brief life, God is going to be with you, to power you through it all with His divine influence in and on your heart and His divine empowerment in your life. His grace truly is more than “sufficient” in all things! (2 Corinthians 12:7-12)

“And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: 23 Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. 24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.” Acts 20:22-24

God’s Love for Us

“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. …19  We love him, because he first loved us.”1 John 4:9-10, 19

“1 John 4:9
In this was manifested the love of God – The mission of Jesus Christ was the fullest proof that God could give, or that man could receive, of his infinite love to the world.
That we might live through him – The whole world was sentenced to death because of sin; and every individual was dead in trespasses and sins; and Jesus came to die in the stead of the world, and to quicken every believer, that all might live to him who died for them and rose again. This is another strong allusion to Jhn_3:16: God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life; where the reader is requested to see the note on Jhn_3:16.” Believer’s Bible Commentary

“1 John 4:10
Not that we loved God – And that he was thereby induced to give his Son to be a propitiation for our sins. No: we were enemies to God, and yet Christ died for our ungodly souls. (See Rom_5:6-11, and the notes there.) So it was God’s love, not our merit, that induced him to devise means that his banished might not be expelled from him.” Believer’s Bible Commentary

“1 John 4:19
We love him because he first loved us – This is the foundation of our love to God.
1. We love him because we find he has loved us.
2. We love him from a sense of obligation and gratitude.
3. We love him from the influence of his own love; from his love shed abroad in our hearts, our love to him proceeds. It is the seed whence our love springs.” Believer’s Bible Commentary

The “Everlasting Love” of God

“The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”  Jeremiah 31:3

In John 3:30 notice that by divine design first it says “HE must increase” and then, secondly, only thereafter it says “I must decrease.” So we must yield to His initiating call for us to let Him increase and we correspondingly decrease as we are giving preference to the LORD. We are saying “Jesus, You reign in this life you created and died to save unto Yourself!”

“He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30

The LORD is the Creator and then the initiator and enabler. Paul says that it was the grace of God that labored in him.

“But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” 1 Corinthians 15:10

…. He is the first and the last right?

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8

ALL, every life came from Christ, including ours – yours and mine. We are His creation.

“1:8 There is a change of speaker. The Lord Jesus introduces Himself as the Alpha and the Omega (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet), the Beginning and the End. He spans time and eternity, and exhausts the vocabulary of excellence. He is the source and goal of creation, and it is He who began and will end the divine program in the world. He is and was and is to come, eternal in His being and the Almighty in power.” Believer’s Bible Commentary

Dying to self is not to be approached as a work of the flesh but rather a surrender – as a falling into the LORD. Without Christ we can do nothing, right? Right (John 15:5).

“3:30 The entire object of John’s ministry is summarized in this verse. He labored ceaselessly to point men and women to the Lord, and to make them realize His true worth. In doing this, John realized that he must keep himself in the background. For a servant of Christ to seek to attract attention to himself is really a form of disloyalty.

Note the three “musts” in this chapter: for the Sinner (Jhn_3:7); for the Savior (Jhn_3:14); and for the Saint (3:30).” Believer’s Bible Commentary

“He must increase, but I must decrease: John the Baptist understood it was good for him to become less visible and known, for Jesus to become more visible and known. In even larger aspects, this should be the motto of every Christian, especially leaders among God’s people. Jesus should become greater and more visible, and the servant should become less and less visible.” David Guzik

“John 3:30
He must increase – His present success is but the beginning of a most glorious and universal spread of righteousness, peace, truth, and good will among men.
I must decrease – My baptism and teaching, as pointing out the coming Messiah, must cease; because the Messiah is now come, and has entered publicly on the work of his glorious ministry.” Adam Clarke

Jesus, I am crucified with You. Thank You for anointing my life to be dead and buried and raised up in Your grace and power! In Jesus’ name. amen!

Of John 3:30, Crystal Dixon writes:

“This is one of my favorite scriptures in the Bible. It is a few, powerful words, spoken by a humble friend and servant of Jesus.

John the Baptist was different than most in appearance and habits. But he was also somewhat different from many other Christ followers, then and now. John knew Jesus was the Messiah. John the Baptist also realized he had been anointed by God to tell others about Jesus. He was to tell others to follow Jesus, not him. In order to do that, John had to decrease; he had to humble himself as a servant, telling others to follow someone else rather than his own ministry. That was the only way to accomplish the work he had been called to do. The presence and identity (The Light) of Jesus had to increase. John had to decrease. This is why John said He must increase, I must decrease.

It’s Not About Us: Like John the Baptist, we must remember it is about Jesus. We must trust Him. And, we must be bold in love toward others, and in our service for Him; asking the Holy Spirit to guide us each moment of the day so that all we do, honors and glorifies God. The presence and identity (The Light) of Jesus must increase. He must increase, I must decrease.”

Beloved of God, going downward today, surrendering afresh is the key to your Savior raising you upward …. into His bless-ed victory – and HE sure will, as you go down, He will raise you up (James 4:10). This is the divine economy which is a cross economy as we read about and are assured of throughout His bless-ed Word. Romans 6 has your fuel, your fix, and your flourishing. Today is your day to “taste and see that the LORD is good”! (Psalms 34)

Cry out, declare now with the beloved John the Baptist:

“He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30

Here’s a treasury of cross truth for you – Camping on the Cross !

There are so very many hurting people saints.

YOUR PRAYER: Father, please forgive, change, prepare me…. and use me, Your vessel, to reach those who are without You. Right now, You must increase but I must decrease. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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