Is it personal yet?
Notes
Transcript
Is it personal yet?
John 3:30-33
May 21, 2023
Read the text: John 30-33
INTRODUCTION:
On my property, we have three steers. These guys are so much fun to watch and to be honest for cows, they are pets. Their watering trough is a large D&B rubber container about 4 feet by 2 feet wide and two-foot-deep that I always try to keep fresh water in. It amazes me how fast this water gets dirty. It doesn’t help that the dogs get dirty and hot and use it for their personal swimming pool. They jump in and just float for a bit to cool off and then jump out and go roll around in the dirt, mud, and muck. Then repeat. It should not surprise me that keeping it clean is an absolutely impossible venture.
This last week it got bad. Usually, I am lazy and just put the hose in and allow it to overflow to flush the water out. It gets about 60% of the algae and dog hair, and for the most part, that’ll work. The issue is that hat the rest of that junk adds up. Pretty soon, I have to do the nasty job of draining the container, getting the scrub brushes out, and get it about 90% cleaned out. But even that only goes so far The only real way to get that thing 100% is to go and buy a new one. And those are getting expensive.
As I was washing out this container, I got to thinking about this text. How many times do I just put the hose in and try to take the lazy way versus getting a new container spiritually speaking? How many times do we as believers rest on the idea that doing a half-hearted job on our spiritual walk is okay? The issue may not be that we are vindictively lazy so much as vindictively guarding our own self-preservation over seeking Christ’s work in our lives.
Need: Is Christ personally increasing in your life or are you satisfied with allowing for a partial newness?
Text: John 3:30-33
Review: As John the Baptist closes his ministry, we see him attempting to put a period at the end of his earthly mission. As we talked about from John 1-3, John the Baptist was the one sent ahead of Christ. He himself repetitively said that he was not the Christ. He said that He was the friend of the Groom. We talked last week about the power of Envy and how it blinds, separates, and keeps us from understanding who Christ is. John sees that His life goal had been met. He sees that he is closing the chapter and a better and more important one is starting. He takes this time to drop the most impactful truths of His earthly ministry.
Today we will follow his outline and use his last sermon to be our sermon.
1. Christ must increase (John 3:30)
Last week we looked at the fact that the answer to envy, sin, and death was found in the fact that Christ must increase in our lives. But, verse 30 is actually more important just the cure for envy. That is why we must use it to bridge into today’s message.
When John says “MUST” increase he is saying, Christ has to increase. It’s part of a master plan designed from the begging and spoken about throughout human history. Let’s look at two words:
MUST: δεῖ (necesse est), it is necessary, inevitable; (cportet), it is a duty,[1]
INCREASE: αὐξάνω (αὔξω), (a) tr. (augeo) I cause to increase; (b) intr. (cresco) I increase, grow; with cogn. acc[2]
The words are important. It is inevitable and 100% necessary that Christ is to increase both for John the Baptist and us. Meaning, Christ takes over for, replaces, and eclipses our ministry and message just like He did for John the Baptist. After all, it was Christ that the message of John was all about. John was completing the finishing touches of thousands of years of prophets before him. His ministry was the summation of all of it before him.
He was the last one to point to the “one” to come. He was the last one in a long line of major and minor prophets from God. Think this for a second, there was never going to be another prophet pointing to Christ’s first coming. John was it.
Why was it so important for John to “bear witness” (John 3:26)? Why was he so fired up about what Jesus was about? It all comes from where Jesus comes from.
John 3:31
“He who comes from above is above all”
I know, we have covered this several times, but have we? Have we covered this enough for us to walk from this room and have this truth wash over us? Is the authority of Christ in your life enough for you and me to stop approaching our spiritual lives like I do the cow's water? We MUST recognize the fact that:
He came from above ALL, Eternal, Godhead affiliation, and has a unified mission with God
John 8:23:
23 He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”[3]
In the high priestly prayer, the most powerful written word in all scripture says:
John 17:14
14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one[4]
He is above and separate yet in and active in this world. But his kingdom is not of this world. He is not OF but rather above it all. He is eternally above and over. We covered the fact that Christ was not limited to the time and space of His life. In John 1:1, “in the beginning, was the Word”, meaning Christ. He was there at creation while everything was being created by, through, and for Him. He and the Godhead had and has affiliation together that is not understood or even comprehendible.
John 10:28
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” [5]
Notice that the mission, drive and focus is united in this verse. “My Father” is giving the believers, called to the Son, no one is able to remove them, and the two are one. Meaning, they are of one mind, mission and direction. They are unified in goal, to save the lost for GOD’s great glory, not the glory of the believers. God saved us IN SPITE of us, not because of us. It is the work of the Father and the Son in unison proving the level of authority of the son.
Eph 1:19
“and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. [6]”
Let’s go back to John 3:31-33
John says something in John 3:31-33 that we have to talk about. Look closely at two different languages highlighted. We alluded to it a second ago but we have to take a look at this.
John 3:31-33
31 He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony.[7]
There are two languages referred to there: Earthese (Earthin) and “abovese”. We, people no matter the dialect speak one language because this is all we know. We are incapable of learning a language different from what we have been exposed to.
Take a guess, how many known languages are spoken on Earth? According to the Linguistic Society of America, there are 6,909 different distinct languages. So, that does not include slang like other English verses regular English. Now, is there a way that a person could be exposed to all 6,909 languages? I guess if money was not an issue and you had all the time in the world. But, would that make you understand a heavenly language one that no human has ever had the ability to hear before?
No, learning a language implies that you have to be exposed to it or have access to it. Christ spoke and is speaking a unique language that comes from first-hand experience and knowledge.
Allow me to do something risky. Raise your hand if you are bi lingual. Bianca, if I wanted to learn Spanish, and learn it well, what is the very best way to do this? Let me guess, go online and read a book on how best to do this? Or better yet, go to someone who has never been to a Spanish-speaking culture?
NO! The only real way to learn a language is to come from it we have to live in it, speak it. Speak as if you have a first-hand understanding of it. It must be in your DNA for you to master it.
Christ is the ONLY one from Genesis to Revelation who can speak from first-hand knowledge and experience of what HE has seen and heard. Think about the weight of this. Every prophet in the Bible, only spoke of what was TOLD them. But, Christ spoke of what HE SAW and was.
John 7:45
45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!”[8]
Or
Matthew 7:29
28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. [9]
John 3:32
He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony.”
ANALOGY: Someone who had 1st hand knowledge:
Is it impossible for us to understand this language? Is it impossible for us to understand Christ? The reason we can’t learn the language of Christ is because of our corruption, our death in sin. A dead person can’t learn much. We were dead in our sin BUT, He is the one who can make us alive with a new heart and the ability to learn a new language from above.
Go back to John 3:3
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”.
Remember, born again is BORN FROM ABOVE. Who does that? God. Unless He makes you a new creation from above, you will not receive His testimony. Meaning, the words He says is crazy talk to you. It would be like me speaking a completely different language that you have never heard.
I am sad to say, statistically speaking, I am speaking a completely foreign language to some of you. You are not receiving my testimony like those who did not listen to Christ. I am not angry; I am just sad. The reason why His message was not received when he was physically here is the same reason why His message is ignored now. It’s because people belong to the earth.
2. We belong to the Earth (John 3:31)
John 3:31
“He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way”
We only speak/think Earth before the work of Christ in us. It is all we know and all we are cable of understanding.
1 John 4:5,6)
5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. [10]
I want to highlight an important point. As a child of God, your language changes. You will sound and ACT totally different than the world. You should and must sound and speak a different language than that of the world. If the language of your mouth, heart, and mind aligns with the world and culture of today, you need to be very concerned that you are still speaking the language of the lost.
If we become a new creation 2 cor 5:17 “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away…”, and to use my original analogy of the watering trough, if we are new, the old algae and sin nature needs to be gone. That sin and nasty old nature needs to be fought daily and when a non-believer walks by, they need to see that our actions show that we have received a new birth.
Look back at John 3:33
“Whoever receives his testimony…”
The word Recieves: λαμβάνω, (a) I receive, get), lit. to receive the face of, to accept the person of, i.e. to favour specially; (b) I take: συμβούλιον λαβεῖν, to deliberate[11]
Testimony: 1. Evidence-based on observation or knowledge 2. An outward sign 3. A solemn declaration made by a witness under oath”
In today’s culture, nobody wants a “testimony”. We would rather make up what truth is. We would rather say that there are multiple genders, multiple stances on truth, and multiple variations to what is reality. But a testimony is “EVIDENCE-BASED ON OBSERVATION OR KNOWLEDGE” Notice that there is no guessing as to what reality is.
Reality means: 1. Of or relating to fixed or immovable things 2. Not artificial: not imaginary”
If I have a testimony, it means it is “REAL” and reality. Romans 1 gives a VERY clear reason why our culture and those around us reject this reality:
Rom 1:18
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
If we face what is “real” or as what we just read “revealed” then we have to face His testimony that one must be born again (born from above). HIS testimony is Christ. Meaning, if I face reality, that means I have to acknowledge there is a God and I am not Him.
There are some areas of our lives that hinder the “receiving” of this testimony of Christ and some of these may frustrate us:
1. We are so Earthly that heavenly speech is too extreme.
2. We have no pallet for it (desire, time or energy)
3. We are distracted with the things of the world.
4. We are too educated and it’s just too simple.
5. We are not educated enough, it’s too complicated to read that the Bible.
6. I’m already a good person, I don’t’ need it.
The list can go on for years. The basic take away, we don’t receive it because we are of this world. It comes down to this, if we are not created new, or born from above, we will never understand or find value in Christ’s message. Without being regenerated, we will never receive His testimony and our walk in life will look nothing more than a rancid cow water trough with sin, guilt and shame floating throughout our hearts and minds.
If this is making you nervous, shaken or wondering if you are saved. Recognize that John does not want the believer shaken nor do I. Christ in you is an obvious thing. Look back at verse 30.
“He must increase, but I must decrease” This is a personal dealing between YOU and GOD. It must be personal. You must own this.
3. PERSONALLY, CHRIST MUST INCREASE (HP)
The more He increases, the more I decrease. (less earthly) Let’s go back to my watering trough. I can keep adding water to an old tank. It will flush out some of the algea, dog hair but the heavy dirt and dog filth of the day still rests on the bottom. No amount of flushing will get some of that out. Please allow me to use that to describe a problem I see. When we are willing to do the bare minimum on our own to clean ourselves out of the guilt and shame, we are just like just trying to put the hose in and letting the water flow. It is a shortcut attempt that fails.
BUT, when we hear different, see different, think different, act different etc it is a testimony that Christ has taken our old watering trough and exchanged it for a new one. It is a sign of a new birth, one from above that changes our old Earthly desires in for heavenly desires.
TURN TO
1 John 5
5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.[12]
This is not a works-based religion but rather a love-based religion. I can only Love Him when He first loves me and turns me around (regeneration), then faith, justification, and sanctification start. That last step of sanctification is when IN LOVE for Him I have a new desire for His Word and His commands. They are lovely to me and my heart:
Psalm 84:
1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God. [13]
The more He increases, the more I love His voice. In desperation, I love the new language. Obedience flows out of Love for Him, His Word.
Psalm 31:5
1 In you, O Lord, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me!
2 Incline your ear to me;
rescue me speedily!
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a strong fortress to save me!
3 For you are my rock and my fortress;
and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me;
4 you take me out of the net they have hidden for me,
for you are my refuge.
5 Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God. [14]
Notice there is NO “we” there. I have said before, the narrow gate of salvation is IN FACT narrow! Meaning, wide enough for one person only.
This is as personal as I can possibly make it. Kids, this is not on your parents to do for you. Adults, this is not on your pastor to do for you. You must see that the “testimony” of Christ is a deeply personal relationship between God and you. It implies that there is a real and obvious relationship. Do we grow cold at times in our walks, yes. Look quickly at the church of Ephesus. Christ is saying repent and return to your first love. Repentance is a major part of the spiritual walk.
If we are saved, we have a testimony. This testimony has been the calling card for the believer. This testimony is the SEAL that God is true:
John 3:33
“Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.”
“AW Pink says: “To “set to his seal” means to certify and ratify. By faith in the Lord Jesus the believer has come to know God as a reality. Hitherto he heard of and talked about an unknown God, but now he knows God for himself and declares his faith in His fidelity. God says, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life,” and the believer finds that God is true, for he lives now in newness of life. The Lord says, “He that believeth on him is not condemned,” and the believer knows it is so, for the burden of guilt is gone from his conscience. Those who receive Christ’s testimony as true, take it unto themselves.”
Allow me to be so bold to say, is God this true for you? So true, you would be willing to walk the walk of the men and women who have paid with their lives that this is so true? If you have never read Foxx’s book of martyrs, I would challenge you to get through the first 3 chapters. It will challenge you to one thing, can you set your seal to the fact that God is THAT true to you?
When we can stand for this truth, we have removed ourselves from the testimony and put HIM as the subject. We have decreased, He has increased personally in our lives. When we empty ourselves of the old rancid water and He has filled us with new, fresh clear water, then and only then have we decreased and He has increased in us.
The UNBELIEVER ASIDE:
When you look at your heart, mind, and soul is it as clear of guilt and shame as if it is new? Or are you just putting in the hose and hoping that the water clears up? The REALITY, TRUTH, and testimony is this, “Whoever receives his testimony” and believes that Jesus is Lord will be saved, or as John 3: 3 says born again. This is a NEW birth, new creation, free from guilt and shame. It is a new birth in Christ, who lovingly made it possible for you to hear these words today. It was not an accident that you came today. It was a gift, another action by a loving savior to unite you to Christ Jesus. Believe on the Lord and you will be a new creation.
CONCLUSION:
Church, when people walk by your watering trough, do they see new water? Do they see a new clear and clean representation of who Christ is? Do they see you or do they see Christ in you? This is the point of today’s message. We must decrease and HE must increase. We must hear his testimony and thus others need to hear that testimony in us.
[1]Souter, Alexander. 1917. In A Pocket Lexicon to the Greek New Testament, 59. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
[2]Souter, Alexander. 1917. In A Pocket Lexicon to the Greek New Testament, 42. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2016. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2016. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2016. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[6] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2016. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[7] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2016. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[8] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2016. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[9] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2016. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[10] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2016. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[11]Souter, Alexander. 1917. In A Pocket Lexicon to the Greek New Testament, 143. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
[12] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2016. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[13] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2016. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[14] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2016. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.