Turn to Psalm 115 and then to John chapter 3. Let's stand to read the Word of God. Psalm 115, the famous declaration in the Psalter of the worthiness of God to receive all of our worship, not idols, not ourselves, but the covenant God of Israel alone is worthy of praise. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to your name give glory. Because of your mercy, because of your truth, why should the Gentiles say, so where is their God? But our God is in heaven. He does whatever he pleases. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak. They have eyes, but they do not see. They have ears, but they do not hear. Noses they have, but they do not smell. They have hands, but they do not handle. Feet they have, but they do not walk, nor do they mutter through their throat. Those who make them are like them, so is everyone who trusts in them. O Israel, trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. The Lord has been mindful of us. He will bless us. He will bless the house of Israel. He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless those who fear the Lord, both small and great. May the Lord give you increase more and more, you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord who made heaven and earth. Even the heavens are the Lord's, but the earth he has given to the children of men. The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any who go down into silence, but we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord. Turn in the New Testament now to John chapter 3. John chapter 3 beginning at verse 22. We continue reading the Word of God. After these things, Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea, and there he remained with them and baptized. Now John also was baptizing in Aeon, near Salem, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized, for John had not yet been thrown into prison. And there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification. 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 answered and said, A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him. He who has the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore, this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. And what he has seen and heard, that he testifies, and no one receives his testimony. He who has received his testimony has certified that God is true. For whom God has sent speaks the words of God, but God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life, and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." This is the word of the living God. John chapter 3 we continue studying the gospel of John beginning at verse 22 and onward 22 and onward perhaps at the end of the chapter this morning thinking On the great theme of this section, which is really captured in verse 30, the testimony of John the Baptist, Jesus Christ must increase and I must decrease. It is so easy, so, so easy, and I'm sure many of you can testify to this. To move into thinking, even as a believer, that my experiences, hopes, dreams, and desires really should be the center of the universe, not only for me, but also for other people. we can become so quickly fixated on our own needs, wants, and desires. I have trouble. I am lonely. I am in need. No one speaks to me. I want help. The beautiful thing about the Scriptures is that we are helpless and we are needy. And that our God is so gracious and generous and gentle and kind that He hears the needy when they cry. And He answers. He's gentle. He's not capricious. He's generous. He doesn't hold back. He's not stingy. He is a God of love and mercy. He gives grace to the needy. But still, sometimes, We can confuse that truth or even twist that truth and that reality and think of ourselves to be more important than we really are. More significant and not only ourselves as individuals but our trials, our sufferings, our griefs. And when we feel that we're losing a little bit of our place, or our importance, or honor, or recognition, or people don't really understand who we are and what I'm going through, at that point the devil can tempt us to bitterness, self-centeredness, and again to think that our agenda, hopes, and dreams are really what's important. And I'm not overstating this in the universe. This sermon is a study of a man who had a very different orientation in his life and ministry, a man named John the Baptist. It's not just going to be a study of him because that orientation that he had towards life and ministry in his very existence, its secret really is in one far greater, that's the Lord Jesus Christ. But as we study John the Baptist, the life and ministry of John the Baptist, what really here we're studying in the life and ministry of John the Baptist is the beginning of the end. The beginning of the end, the extinguishing of a ministry, the end of a ministry. In a sense, perhaps, the end of a purpose. And really, in a sense, the end of his existence. We're gonna get to that as we look at this passage. And we're gonna see that as John comes face to face with these realities, His focus, his response to this reality in his own life is to lift his eyes to Jesus and rejoice in the glory of Christ. We're going to look at a few things. The situation that John finds himself in, I just gave you a quick overview, and in that situation, providential situation, comes a temptation And out of that temptation comes this glorious response, really captured in verse 30, and then the reasons for that response in verses 31 to 35. So a situation, a temptation, a response, and then the reasons for that kind of response, and those reasons are all found in the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. What's the situation? We orient ourselves very quickly in verse 22 with the words, after these things, and these things are that notable, remarkable conversation with Nicodemus. The narrative is moving on. And what the gospel of John tells us here is actually a part of the ministry of the Lord Jesus that is not fleshed out in any of the other gospels. A very short period here, right after his baptism, connected to the very beginning of his ministry, when he is ministering in the land of Judea, remaining with his earliest disciples, and then the text says that he was baptizing. It was after these things, after the water turned into wine, the cleansing of the temple, the talking with Nicodemus, that Jesus' ministry begins in Judea in earnest, closer to Jerusalem. But we also remember that at the same time there was another notable ministry happening in Israel, in this same region, not too far from where Jesus is, and that's the ministry of John the Baptist. It is not an insignificant ministry. The scriptures tell us a lot of things about the ministry of John the Baptist. The facts on the ground were that thousands of people were coming to him, all Jerusalem and Judea. They're going out into the wilderness to hear this man dressed in camel's hair, eating locusts and wild honey, saying, prepare the way of the Lord. He's preaching a powerful message of repentance and preparation for the Messiah. The Spirit of God is on him, has been on him since the womb. He's been prepared to be the new Elijah, the messenger that will go before the face of Jesus Christ and his ministry is filled with divine power and it is turning Israel upside down. He has attention from the whole nation. The Jewish authorities, you remember, sent people out to see, what is this ministry about? What is he preaching? What is he talking about? Who is John? He's being examined by the highest levels of Jewish leadership in the nation. Later on, the word would get to kings and rulers like Herod, who didn't appreciate John's ministry, who with boldness had reminded him that he was living in adultery with the woman who he called his wife. And Herod didn't appreciate that, would have him arrested later. It was a ministry of boldness. It was a risky ministry. It was a ministry that gained a certain notoriety in the power players of John's day. And it was a ministry that was successful. Thousands were coming. And to top it all off, if you want to get the verdict of the scriptures on the ministry of John the Baptist, Jesus said, no one greater has been born of women than John the Baptist. This is the greatest of the prophets of the scriptures. John the Baptist and his ministry was powerful by the verdict of Jesus Christ. Powerful and unique. Though Jesus says that his ministry in his kingdom, the one who was least in his kingdom, would be even greater than John the Baptist signifying the glory of Jesus Christ in his ministry. But if you were to take all these things together, Who in ministry has credentials like this? Success like this? Now it's against this backdrop that the situation in verse 22 to 26 comes together. Jesus, here the gospel of John uniquely describing this short period, verse 24, before John was in prison, The ministry of Jesus now is also beginning to grow, and he is ministering at the same time. Now, after these things, Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea. He remained with them and baptized. Now, chapter 4 tells us a little bit more about that baptism. It was not Jesus himself who was doing the baptizing, but his disciples. So under the oversight of Jesus, there's a ministry happening that's already the beginning, the prototype of the apostolic ministry, a little foreshadowing, a foretaste, and there is a ministry happening that's growing, and it's growing rapidly, and its influence is being seen all through Judea. As a matter of fact, it's public, it's powerful, it's influential. Look at verse 26 again of chapter 3. They came to John and said, Behold, he is baptizing, and all are coming to him. He is drawing the crowds. He's having an influential public ministry very quickly after his own baptism by John the Baptist. And what's critical here is it appears that John's disciples there an argument starts to rise up a little bit of opposition a little bit of trouble in John's ministry And it's very clear that some are worried, both about John's teaching, the content of that teaching, and then about the competition that Jesus appears to be bringing. Look at verse 23, John was baptizing in Anon near Salem. There's a parallel ministry, the two going side by side in the same general region. Baptisms happening in one, in the other, people coming to one and to the other. And then there's this dispute in verse 25 between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification laws, which reminds us of the nature of these baptisms. They are baptisms arising out of the old covenant ceremonial washings. They're baptisms of repentance. And connected to this, some sort of dispute that isn't fleshed out springs up between John's disciples and the Jews, the Jewish leaders, and John's ministry is being attacked. And then it's attacked a second time, verse 26, They say, not only do you seem to have bad theology, John, but look what's happening. Rabbi, who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you testified, behold, he's baptizing, and all are coming to him. John's ministry is under attack here. He is being challenged, both his ministry, his doctrine, his teaching, and his relevance here. Verse 26, his relevance. All are coming to Jesus. Providence now, the good providence of God, has brought John's ministry to a critical point. A certain point of eclipse. And certainly here, the tempter is circling. And his ministry is already starting to fade. A lot of people, particularly in our present day, that value numbers, an influence, a cultural influence, would think that John had a good thing going. He was, everybody knew about him, right to the very top of the circles of power. Lots of people were coming, lots of baptisms happening, his numbers were good, things were looking good for the ministry of John. That's what many people would think today. But against that ministry comes the shining, the glory, of the ministry of Jesus, not against in a sense, but the people are comparing the two. John, you'll see in a moment, sees there's nothing, there's no competition at all, but people are comparing. They're comparing one against the other. And they're saying, look, Jesus is shining brighter, his reach is greater, his ministry is growing. You're in trouble, John. You're in trouble. What are you going to do? And here we get to that point. There's a temptation here. Surely a temptation from the evil one came here as well. And it comes to us, and it has to do with the question of glory. We read Psalm 115. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us be glory given, but to your name be glory given. And what is glory? An Old Testament word for glory, kibbutz, is white. majesty thing of glory has significance in and of itself it has lasting value has splendor it rightly demands and attracts attention if it has real glory it should be an object of praise and we are born with an insatiable hunger To bring glory to ourselves. My name, my success, my plans, my fame, my way. And you can do this all sorts of ways. You recognize the impulse in yourself if you have a tender conscience. It doesn't matter if you're out there playing sports and you have a little success in the field and people begin to notice and they begin to say, I know a lot of your children are playing sports. They begin to say, wow, that is really something. and you start to feel good about it. It's not bad to do well in things that you put your hand to do, but there's a temptation right away to give me some glory. Notice me. I am something. If you're in business, and you're starting to make the money, people are noticing or headhunters call because you're up in management and people are interested to pick you off and there's success on your labors and you've got a company maybe or something and someone wants to buy it out or merge or cooperate with you. You're attracting attention, you're getting awards, Chamber of Commerce, this sort of thing. Your name starts to be getting known. And with that, what can come so quickly? Powerful feelings and the conclusion that I, myself, and something. And relationship, a little different here. But we can desire glory, dominance, the preeminent place. I deserve better, I deserve honor, I deserve notice. I should be first, I should be apologized to, I should be right, I should be first. How about our appearance, what we look like? Compare ourselves to others in order that we might make ourselves more noticeable than others. Fascination with presentation because we hunger for attention and someone to say, so often I have noticed you above others. Or ministry, the work of the gospel ministry. This is John in ministry. I want to be something. The refrain of Psalm 115 comes back to us, not unto us, O Lord, be glory, not unto us, but to your name be glory given. Glory versus humility, the way of the crown, we often want before the way of the cross, ourselves before others, and our impulses before God. And ultimately, if this is our disposition, and these are the temptations we still face, we are really arguing about who should receive glory, not just me or others, but me or God. Is it going to be my plans, my honor, my way before God's? And John the Baptist is in that crucible here when the Jews come to him and people say to him, everyone's going that way. Your ministry is fading. We think you have problems. How does he respond? With a remarkable confession. A heart unreservedly committed to the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Hear the response of John the Baptist. Again, he's unreservedly committed to the glory of God and it comes with three elements and then a summary statement in verse 30. And without missing a beat, John answered and said, the first thing he says, three things, three basic things he says, all that I have had in my ministry has come first from God. Verse 27, a man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. John's first words are that my ministry, the power of my ministry, the influence of my ministry, the crowds that have come, the baptisms that I have performed, even the baptism of Jesus, all of this, every blessing comes from God because everything that you have seen has its origin in the provision and power of God. Nothing comes from me. This is his bedrock conviction. All that I have and every blessing I've experienced and every apparent outward success that you think I'm afraid to lose, first of all, I know where it came from. It didn't come from me. It came from God. Number two. Element number two, verse 28. He says, you're pointing me to Jesus and everyone's going to Him. Do you not remember that that is what I preached to you? You are telling me that what is happening... is the message that I preached would happen. Look what he says in verse 28. You yourselves bear me witness. You all know. I said this, I am not the Christ. You remember he said, I am not the light, but I have come to bear witness to the light. He says, my very ministry, I understood, first of all, every blessing in it has come from God. And secondly, its function was to bear witness to one who is greater. light. I am not the Christ, I told you. I am not the Messiah, but I told you I have been sent before Him. The things that are happening, if everybody's going to Jesus, This is exactly in keeping with the message that I preached to you. Number one, all that has happened in my ministry has come from God. Nothing has come from me. Number two, the things that are now happening in Jesus' ministry are the very things that I preached. I said, I am preparing the way. There is another who is the light. I have come to bear witness of that light. But then a third, principle is this, and this goes to John's heart. He not only understands intellectually that everything that's happened to come from God, he not only knows the message that he's been preaching that this should happen, but he says one more thing, he says, and this what is happening is the thing that I have been longing for. In other words, you think you can tell me? Everybody's going to Him? And somehow... This would bother me? Look what he says. He uses an illustration here. The illustration, one so pregnant with biblical significance. You yourself bear witness, verse 28, that I said I am not the Christ, I have been sent before him. And then verse 29, he who has the bride is the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, who rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore, this joy of mine is fulfilled. He's saying this. He says, I want you to think of what is happening now as a wedding. Jesus is the bridegroom. He has come for his people, the bride. This is a grand Old Testament illustration, which will be picked up by Paul, for example, in Ephesians chapter 5, which runs through the whole book of Revelation. This is the great marriage supper of the Lamb, the great feast where Christ and his bride, the people of God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I mean, the whole of the scriptures is filled with redemption described in the language of marriage. And John the Baptist is picking up and he's saying, this is what's actually happening. This is what's happening in my ministry. I am bearing witness. I am seeing with my own eyes. The redemption promised by God long ago in raising up a mediator, redeemer, and a bridegroom who would rescue his sinful bride and gather him to himself. And I am just a friend of the bridegroom, and I am just a witness in the crowd at the wedding feast of the ages. And I am rejoicing because I am seeing the rise of the redemption of Israel and for sinners from every nation, tribe, and tongue because the bridegroom is here. You read what he says again, therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. Here's his heart. He says, I'm the friend who rejoices greatly because I am hearing both the words and teaching and effects of the ministry of the Savior of the world, the Christ. That's my ministry, he says. I'm not the groom. I'm just the friend of the groom. I'm not the main man. I mean, imagine how horribly awkward you go to a wedding and John's saying, this is how backwards your thinking is. If the best man and the maid of honor tried to take center stage, John's saying, you would be, if you were at a wedding like that, you would be embarrassed. How, let alone a guest in the crowd, he's saying, This is the thing that I have been preaching for. This is what I was sent for. This is what I have been hoping for. And you are telling me things that make me rejoice. The greater things are here. This isn't about me, John is saying. This is about redemption through Jesus Christ and his rescue of his bride. And it's after all of this that he says that great summary statement, verse 30, he must increase and I must decrease. And when he says this, he captures the essential principle. of the Christian life, of what it means to be a bondservant of Jesus Christ, to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, to be a follower of Jesus Christ. That the glory of another has now become my singular passion. The glory of another. And everything attached to that glory has become my singular passion. And I will be content, John says, that that glory continues to shine ever brighter. And he surely is a prophet of God until that great final day, the consummation of all things. And while that glory shines ever brighter, John says, I will be very happy that my name, my ministry, my needs, my glory would fade away. He must increase, but I must decrease. He's also recognizing that in the plan of redemption that his place is about finished. His ministry is tapering off. His role has been eclipsed. Now these convictions of John are driven by his conviction of who Jesus is. Not only his mission in being the groom, to receive the bride, to rescue the bride, to take the bride to himself, the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only his work, but his person. And as we look through the last verses of the chapter quickly, first of all there's an interpretive difficulty here. Some of your Bibles have verses 27 to verse 36 to be one paragraph all in single quotations for the whole thing. In some of your Bibles you will notice, other translations, The quotation from John the Baptist at the end of verse 30, there's a close quote there, and then verse 31 to verse 36 will be the evangelist John's reflection on the confession of John the Baptist. Does that make sense? So it's either John the Baptist continues to speak, or it's the evangelist, John the evangelist, giving the theological underpinnings of the confession of John the Baptist. It's a very difficult question. People have argued over it for years. There is not a clear answer where to put the quotation mark in my mind. But this is the inspired Word of God and this next section does give the fundamental theological reasons, the underpinnings of that little statement in verse 30, he must increase, but I must decrease. This is why, because these following things are true about Jesus, not only what he came to do, but who he is in his essential person, where he came from and what he came to do, who he is and what he has come to do, his person and his work. And in the following verses, he gives grounds. Grounds are then given for the confession, he must increase, but I must decrease. And three of them are, the first one is the origin of Jesus Christ. He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. The first bedrock conviction about Jesus Christ that lies behind the conviction that He must increase and I must decrease is that John the Baptist was a mere man. But the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory." The eternal Word, the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, that the origin of Jesus and this ministry to which all were coming was in heaven at the right hand of the Father. And one has come from heaven to earth. And John's ministry is rightly eclipsed because there never has been a ministry like the ministry of the man from heaven. There is one who is from heaven. Therefore, he must increase and I must decrease. I know where he is from. The second ground is the mission of the one from heaven. Verse 32 and verse 33. And what he has seen and heard, that he testifies. And then the indictment of sinful humanity, and no one receives his testimony, but he who has received his testimony is certified that God is true. But verse 32, the first half, tells us what Jesus came to do. You recognize this. The one from heaven has come to testify of what lies behind the veil that separates sinful humanity from a holy God. And that testimony has included these things. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. The one who is from heaven, whose ministry eclipses all, has come to declare on earth, John says, the things that only he could receive because he is the one who is from the right hand of God the Father. Now there are many, he says, who don't receive his testimony. But whoever receives his testimony, he certifies that God the Father is true. John says, why must I decrease and he increase? Because in the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, the God-man, there is revelation from the right hand of the Father to earth, to humanity, unlike any other ministry. He is the one from heaven who brings messages from heaven of what He Himself has seen and heard in glory to humanity. To speak of heaven, the way to it, the realities of it, the glory of the Father, the power of the Spirit, the Triune God. Ground number three for this testimony, for whom For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the spirit by measure. And then verse 35, the father loves the son and has given all things into his hand. Go back to the question, John, everybody's going to Jesus. John says, I rejoice. He has to increase, I have to decrease. There is no one else. of which whom this can be said, the father loves the son and has given all things into his hand. He not only has come from heaven, he not only has come to reveal the love of the father and the power of the spirit as he takes heavenly things to earth, but he himself is the privileged son of the father. And all things have been given by the Father to the Son. He is the King of the universe. Now John says, he must increase and I must decrease. That conviction drives his confession that Jesus Christ is worthy of all. He's the one, verse 36, He who believes in Him. And this is the third time in this chapter that faith in Jesus Christ is pressed on the hearts of the hearers. He who believes in the Son is everlasting life. He who believes in the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. And now this becomes even more evident. He's the one from heaven. He has the message from heaven. He's the beloved of the Father. His ministry is unique. He is the light of the world. John says, He must increase, I must decrease. The main principle here is John's wholehearted passion for Christ. John the Baptist has it, the Apostles had it, just think of Paul. I save to know nothing among you except Christ and Him crucified. For me to live is Christ, to die is gain. The life that I live in the flesh, I live, he says to the Galatians, He lives through the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. The apostles can't speak enough about Christ and his glory. They have a treasure, Paul says, in earthen vessels that the glory may be of God. And what is that glory? The glory of God shining in the face of Jesus Christ. So, Paul says, we are glad to be perishing, shattered, crushed, destroyed. And my life, Paul says, and in insignificance. And did it? Yes. Remember he's in jail. Everyone's left him. He's writing a letter to Timothy for his cloak and his books. He's dying in ignominy in a Roman prison, but he knows that he must increase and I must decrease because he's the one from heaven. He has the words of the Father and he's the beloved son of the Father. He's the redeemer of the bride. He's the Savior of the world. Set your mind on things above where Christ is. Let him who glories, glory in the Lord. He speaks of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. To the Philippians, Peter can only say, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. And later, the evangelist John would write in the book of Revelation these words, these glorious words about Jesus Christ. The faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth, to Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Behold, He is coming with clouds. Every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him. Even so, amen. I am the Alpha, the Omega, the beginning and the end, says the Lord, the one who is and was and is to come, the Almighty. John says, give glory to him. This is the apostolic witness to Jesus Christ. And once you see this, then you join with John the Baptist and you say, he must increase and I must decrease. The value and glory of Jesus Christ will become your singular passion, and the importance of your own name, ambitions, plans, and glory will fade away. Not unto me, but to Him be glory both now and forever. Amen. Some applications. Where did this response lead John the Baptist? Well, he decreased in every way. It led him to understand ultimate realities about Jesus. If you believe in this man, the Son of Man, the Son of God, the God-Man, you have everlasting life. If you don't believe, you die. And that word goes out again this morning with urgency. There is no one like Jesus Christ. Everything hinges on Him, life and death. John understood it and he counted the glory of Christ, the reproach of Christ to be greater than the comforts of this world. It led him down the Via Dolorosa, the way of grief, the way of the cross, the way of tears. It's a street even today in Jerusalem which tradition says Jesus walked on his way to the cross. We don't know that for sure. Many superstitious pilgrims go there. But the principle of a way of the cross and a way of grief and suffering is true. There are no blind coincidences in God's world. When He confessed, He must increase and I must decrease, John went to the way of the cross and that way of the cross, rejected by the Sanhedrin, hung out to dry. As he was placed before Herod, hung to dry by his own people, and then finally executed, his head severed from his shoulders by a man who rather loved the pleasures his ungodly so-called wife would give him, and he feared his ungodly friends. He killed John the Baptist. John went the way of the cross. I must decrease for John meant everything. What does it mean for you? Your fundamental convictions about Jesus Christ will shape the course and manner of your life. John's convictions? From heaven, messenger with a mission, with eternal privileges, the beloved of the Father. True life is defined by relation to him, therefore he must increase, I must decrease. What about you? Priorities. This shapes every priority. The priority of worship. There's so many ways this could be applied. Gathering on the Lord's Day morning and evening to praise God should be, unless providential circumstances, weakness prohibited, should be driven by this principle. He must increase. I must decrease. If you're seeking ministry, public service in Christ Church, a narrow application to you here, this is the motto of the minister of the gospel. A plan, in essence, to be invisible and even forgotten. Because there is one who is to be the center of our preaching, attention, worship, and honor, and his name is Jesus Christ. Your relationships. Is it you first and what you feel you need today to get your own honor, your own place, your own privilege, your own way? Or is it he must increase, I must decrease? So Lord, give me the grace to yield with quietness and grace. Not always to win, but always to serve as my Savior served me. The allure of success in this present passing world. The promise of glory without the cross, without the decrease, without the way of tears. Satan's always held it out. We say, no, he must increase, I must decrease. The overarching theme here in the Gospel of John is the glory of Jesus Christ. The understanding that the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory. The glory is the only begotten of the Father and beholding that glory, our confession is, he must increase and I must decrease. The words of our Savior Jesus are a fitting close for meditation. Whoever loses his life for my sake and for the gospel, Only he will save it. Let's pray. Lord our God, we come to you praising your holy name that you have revealed again the glory of Christ to us. We pray that we would have the right and fitting response to the one who is from heaven, the one who reveals the mysteries of heaven beyond the veil in the proclamation of the gospel. the one who himself is your beloved son in whom you are well pleased. You are heavenly father. We pray that indeed we would recognize that life and glory is found only in him and that we would be willing to decrease that he might increase, that his kingdom would grow, that his worship would be spread, that his name would be known, that our lives would be in conformity to his will, that we would set aside our own ambitions and glory and live instead for him. Grant us this grace, we pray. Bless us now as we turn to the table of the Lord that we might there again learn to confess that he must increase even as we decrease. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.