HE MUST INCREASE

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

 

John the Baptist was undoubtedly a great man of God. The Lord Jesus testified to his greatness, saying, “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist…” (Matt. 11:11 NKJV).

John had significant influence, authority, popularity, and honor among the people. When he began preaching in the wilderness of Judea, many people responded positively to him and began to follow him (Matt. 3:5-6).

However, John the Baptist knew he was not in the ministry to draw people’s attention and affection to himself but to Christ. Therefore, when John the Baptist saw Jesus, he pointed Jesus out as the Lamb of God, the Messiah, the Son of God, to the multitudes who had gathered to him (John 1:29-34).

Like John the Baptist, your ultimate purpose as a believer or a minister of God is to draw people’s attention and affection to Christ, not yourself.

After John the Baptist publicly witnessed and testified that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, the people began to leave him to follow Jesus, the Messiah they had been waiting for.

When the disciples of John the Baptist saw that his ministry had begun to decline in popularity and influence due to his testimony about Jesus that He was the Messiah, they became furious and upset.

“And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified–behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!” (John 3:26 NKJV).

However, John shocked them with his humble response. He said, “You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’  “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:27-30 NKJV).

Like John the Baptist, your passionate goal or pursuit as a witness for Christ should be to see Christ increase in your life, home, family, career, business, or ministry while you decrease.

Sadly, Christ is decreasing in some believers’ lives, homes, and ministries today while Mr. Self is increasing, waxing stronger, and becoming more prominent.

Mr. Self is behind every rivalry, jealousy, envy, strife, competition, and unhealthy comparison in our homes and churches today. People hardly see Christ today because we have refused to let the “Self” decrease in our lives.

Unfortunately, even in the lifestyle, conduct, or teaching of many ministers of God today, Christ can hardly be seen, for “Self” has taken over completely.

Sadly, our pulpits today have become platforms for carnal men to parade, exhibit, or showcase Mr. Self and his vain glories.

Most times, all that we hear and see in many of our church services and meetings today are nothing but Self painting himself good, projecting his image, boasting of his possessions, achievements, or attainments in life, and entertaining and amusing undiscerning men and making them feel good about themselves.

What a waste of time!

Beloved, this perishing generation needs men like John the Baptist, who would gladly let Christ increase while they decrease.

How would the people groping in spiritual darkness see the true light unless Christ, the Light of the world, shines and beams His light upon them through us?

God desires to shine out of the Church (the body of Christ) to give light to those in darkness.

Psalms 50:1-2 – NKJV

1 The Mighty One, God the LORD, Has spoken and called the earth from the rising of the sun to its going down.

2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth.

God loves and desires to radiate, shine, or manifest His pure love, wisdom, power, and glory in and through your life. But you must be willing to let Christ increase, fill, and dominate every sphere of your life until only Christ can be clearly seen and thus glorified.

How can Christ increase in every sphere of your life?

By focusing on Christ alone!

By denying yourself!

Whatever you focus on naturally grows bigger. The more you focus on Christ, constantly meditating on His love for you and His teaching and examples in the Bible, the more Christ will increase, fill, and dominate your mind, will, thoughts, words, and emotions, and the more Christ will become visible in your life (2 Cor. 3:18, 1 John 3:2).

Similarly, the more you deny yourself by reckoning yourself to be dead to sin, self, and the world through the body of Jesus Christ but alive to God in Christ, the more you will see Christ increasing, filling, and dominating your mind, will, thoughts, words, and emotions, and the more people will see Christ in your life.

Therefore, like the early disciples of Christ, let us resolve today to “always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” (2 Cor. 4:11 NKJV).

Friend, like John the Baptist, set it today as your greatest goal, desire, and pursuit in life: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30 NKJV).

This is the true path to greatness in life and ministry!

 

Prayer:

My Dear Holy Spirit, teach and help me to constantly focus on Christ and deny myself so that Christ may increase continually in every sphere of my life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Our mandate is to preserve the faith of the Apostolic Generation.

AWH, Blogs.

Eniyekpemi Fidelis Oyinpreyebi 

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