Marty Martin

LESS OF SELF – Part 4
Lessons from John 3:30

““He must become greater; I must become less.”

As you know, I like to run. As I run, I like to listen to music and talk to and worship the Father. While I don’t always use those exact words, I am continually asking that His will be done and that “He must become greater; I must become less.” I ask God that He increase and I decrease.

You see, the Christian life is not about me, it’s about Christ. It’s not about my talents he has given me or the success of Northstar. It’s not about my advancement. It is about the place He wants me to be. It is about the purpose He has for me. It’s not about my marriage, it’s about the Godly family He wants me to lead. It’s not about how much money I make, it’s about being grateful for whatever He has given me and using it for His purposes and glory.

It’s not about my trials and hurts and struggles, people cutting me off on the highway, or inconsiderate salespeople, or not being able to find the remote control, or even a Florida State loss. It’s about being like Him. It’s not about my dreams of 25 satellite churches, 2,500 small groups and 25,000 people attending Sunday services, it’s about His plans. It’s not about my aspirations and goals, it’s about His will.

Many people believe the Christian life is about God and about me. Actually, it is all about Him. It’s not about me living independently and incorporating Him in my life. It’s about living completely dependent on Him and clinging to Him.

The Christian life is not about Him loving me and me also loving me. Our focus has to be on Christ, and by that I mean on Christ’s spiritual and eternal purposes and not on our earthly and temporary needs and desires.

This requires us to pause and take stock of our willingness to put ourselves in the background. We walk in faith, which to some of us, is our hope that God will give us what we need if we trust Him. And, we believe we are owed these things because we go to church, and tithe. We equate God blessing us with a good paying job, a nice house, and a relatively new car. But that is not becoming less. That is seeing God as the means for us to be greater. We turn Him into a financial planner and thereby lessening Him.

This passage teaches us that Jesus is the one who came from Heaven. Jesus is God, and He gives eternal life to man. To the degree that Jesus becomes greater in our hearts and in our lives, we are truly happy and contented.

John exhibited the type of humility that says I am here only to be used by the living God. Matthew 23”11-12 says, “ The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

My prayer for each of us who call Northstar home is that, in everything, may we only be an arrow pointing to Christ – In every word, every action, every song, small group meeting, and communication.

He must become greater; I must become less.

LESS OF SELF – Part 3
Lessons from John 3:30

““He must become greater; I must become less.”

This is an amazing statement.This was not a one-time comment made at a moment of epiphany. John continually pointed to God and took the focus off of himself. This is obvious in his words in Matthew 3:11, “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” When Jesus came to John to be baptized, John was stunned and insisted that he needed to be baptized by Jesus, not the other way around.

This verse is not a record of John’s decline, but an important teaching for all us who are followers of Jesus. “He must become greater, I must become less.” John gave us a life principle, a basic tenet of Christianity.

What does it mean to us living in Panama City in the later stages of 2011 when we say, “He must become greater, I must become less”? I believe it means that our basic purpose is to glorify Jesus, rather than pursuing our own self-promotion and self-satisfaction.

I heard someone say once that “Knowing God makes us humble; knowing ourselves keeps us humble.” Imagine how the world would be different if we took to the task of lessening ourselves in order for Christ to become greater.

Most Christians have a common passion to be a source of blessing to those far from the heart of God. But, we are human and we tend to think inward as well as outward. We seek greatness in ourselves which we believe will translate into greatness for God. Who amongst us does not desire to be great? But, as believers we need to be different. We need to glorify Jesus more and more and our self less and less.

Part 4 – The Bottom Line

LESS OF SELF – Part 2
Lessons from John 3:30

The blog posts for this and next week center around 8 words from John the Baptist found in the book of John.

“He must become greater; I must become less.” -John 3:30.

In this powerful passage of scripture, John the Baptist gives us the greatest principle of humility for our relationship with God.

Let’s look at this passage in a little more detail. John the Baptist did not retire when Jesus began his ministry. John 3:23, says “Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized.” It was a little late in the game to be baptized by John, because the attention and thus the crowds had switched to Jesus, yet he still was serving God.

John’s disciples, however, were engaged in an argument with a Jew over the issue of ceremonial washing. If they were like John, this would have been a non-issue, but as it was, it had become contentious. They took the issue and the argument to John the Baptist.

Look at verse 26. “They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.” This is somewhat predictable when you consider that John’s ministry was once an exciting movement. These disciples of John had been filled with awe at the work God was doing, bringing so many people out to repent of their sins and be baptized. People’s lives were changed. God’s hand of blessing was upon their work.

But perhaps they had not really heard what John was saying. From the beginning, John made clear that he was not the Messiah, and that there was one to come after him. He taught repeatedly that the kingdom of God was near, and that they should be ready.

Jesus’ ministry began to eclipse John’s. So, in a real way. John’s work was successful because people’s hearts had been prepared for the coming of the Lord. But to some people, probably like today, many people were merely following the crowd. Like fickle fans, one day they followed the crowds to John, and then the next they followed the crowds to Jesus.

Either way, John’s ministry was in decline. They had given their lives to follow John. They were loyal. But, nobody wants to work for a losing cause. They wanted things the way they were.

John’s response is in verse 27. “To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven.” John simply points to what God was doing, and what God had given.

Look at verses 28-29. “You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him. The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.”

John uses an effective analogy. The responsibility of the groomsman is to prepare the way for the bridegroom so that he can receive his bride and be united with her. He had accomplished that purpose and his joy was complete.

Part 3 – What Does This Mean For Us Today?

LESS OF SELF – Part 1
Lessons from John 3:30

My blog posts for the next few weeks will be built around 8 words from John the Baptist found in the book of John.

“He must become greater; I must become less.” – John 3:30

I absolutely love these 8 words because it reminds me that my life must decrease and become smaller so that the glory of Christ will shine through. These eight words are always a timely reminder of God’s sovereignty, but I think especially so amidst the success of Northstar over the last few years. Let me explain.

As you know, Northstar is entering 2012 with a new vision of what we can accomplish for God in our area and beyond. We have big plans to further God’s kingdom in a big way. And, why not? We have come a long way in a short time. Northstar is a good old fashioned success story. We are one of the fastest growing churches in Florida. Lives are being changed weekly. People are asking for our “methodology” and our “tightly-held secrets.” Yes, some may see us as “all that.” But, John’s 8 words remind me that I have to be ever vigilant so that we don’t bask too much in our press clippings and lose sight of what is important, and more importantly, who is important. It also serves as a reminder of who is ultimately responsible for any success Northstar has achieved.

I must be wary that I focus so much on exegesis, that I forget the example of Jesus and self-aggrandizement. If our vision is to be successful, we must become less, as Jesus becomes more.

Let’s look at this quandary through the example of John the Baptist. Here was a humble man. When you think about it, John the Baptist was a BMOC and rockstar at that time, and had a lot to brag about. For example, John’s birth was miraculous. He was born to an elderly barren woman, and an angel announced his future birth to his father, similar to the announcement given to Mary on Jesus’ birth. The angel said that John “for he will be great in the sight of the Lord,” that he would be “filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born,” and that he would “bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God” (Luke 1:15-16). I’d say that qualified him to appear in People magazine or have books written about him, wouldn’t you?

In addition to this, John the Baptist was the one who would fulfill the prophecy in Isaiah 40:3, which says, “A voice of one calling: In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” John was the one chosen by God to prepare the way for the Savior of the world’s coming. And don’t forget, he was chosen by the Father to baptize Jesus Christ. Whoa. Somehow that seems to trump garnering some attention at a pastor’s convention, or any individual honors we have won.

However, despite all of these credentials, all the honors that John acquired, he never became arrogant. He lived in the desert, wore clothes made of camel’s hair, and ate locusts and wild honey.

That simple phrase, “He must become greater, and I must become less,” characterized the life and ministry of John the Baptist. Though he certainly could have become puffed up with a sense of superiority, he remained humble and always gave the glory to God.

Part 2 – The Rest of the Story