John the Baptist says one of the most interesting statements in scripture as he referred to Jesus. He sincerely said in John 3:30, "He (Jesus) must increase and I must decrease." That is one of the most declarative sentences from a follower of Christ!! That kind of thinking is not said a lot from our culture of American consumer christianity.
J.I. Packer said over 3 decades ago, "...Christian minds have been conformed to the modern spirit: the spirit, that is, that spawns great thoughts of man and leaves room for only small thoughts of God." As one guy put it, "Christians have neglected their first great calling: to know their God." Evidently they had the same problem back in Jesus' day as He ministered on earth...that is we tend to think too highly of ourselves and pursue our agenda and not God's will for us. It is too easy to compartmentalize our faith by thinking that Jesus is followed and praised on Sunday morning from 10:30- Noon and then I do whatever I want to do the other 6 1/2 days.
Even our Christian philosophy and worship can be all about us if we don't be careful. Instead of praising God for His glory, majesty, and power we end up singing junk about how God does my bidding, and jumps through hoops for me because He needs and loves me. We still find ourself thinking big thoughts about us and small thoughts about God!.
What this produces ultimately is shallow Christians who follow God until He does not answer prayer the way they think He should...or God disappoints their expectation of having their own private little God who, like a genie, grants our wishes. Great thoughts of man and only small thoughts of God!
This thinking stems from biblical illiteracy. Our great purpose on this earth is to please God and live for His bidding in our life. If we do not read God's Word and spend time learning about our God then we will naturally fill the void with great thoughts of us and small thoughts of God...God Almighty...Jehovah...our Creator, Savior and LORD.
Yet, the more we read about His nature, and character, miracles, and teachings the less we think of us and our selfish priorities and the more we praise God and let Him out of our box to be our Lord God who amazes us in His power and glory. We naturally shrink and allow Him to grow in majesty, importance, priorities, and Lord of our life. He must increase and we must decrease.
Decreasing will show up in how time is spent. Shrinking will show up in our freeing up our schedule so we can do Kingdom work in the local church, or build relationships with neighbors or co-workers so we can earn the right to witness and tell our story to them of how Jesus has changed our life.
So, how do we decrease so Jesus may increase? Think about it. How do we decrease so Jesus may increase?
1. Make the Bible part of your life. Determine to be a student of the Bible. www.crosswalk.com has an amazing Bible program with many translations, commentaries, and more...FREE!! I usually have my devotions there. This morning I read Titus and had access to some great study tools.
2. Make it a priority to say something to others everyday about God in some manner. Perhaps give testimony of what God has recently done and post it on Face Book or say it over lunch with a co-worker. Tell your kids how much you love God and that they can love and know Him too. Look for ways to brag on God in tribute to Him.
3. Re-prioritize your schedule to reflect that God's Kingdom is more importance than the small temporary plans that can eat up our time and resources. Put a hit-list together of folks you will ask God to allow you influence for Christ. Invite them to WHC. 87% of folks saved in a ministry were saved because somebody invited them to church and they heard the Gospel.
He must increase and we must decrease...for Jesus!
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