Talk

He Must Increase and I Must Decrease

Grant Partrick
August 20, 2023

This week we’re joined by Grant Partrick who brings an encouraging message about making our lives matter by letting our passions serve a greater purpose: making much of Jesus.

Key Takeaway

We were created for one purpose: to make much of Jesus and bring Glory to God. When we are clear on our identity and who we are in Christ, we can use the gifts he has given us to impact those around us.

It is a waste of your life to be impressive to people, but not pleasing to God. Many people throughout the Bible show amazing faith, but only one is commended by Jesus in the highest regard. In Matthew 11:11, Jesus said, "There has not been anyone greater than John the Baptist."

If our aim is to be pleasing to God, what can we learn from John the Baptist? What does he teach us about being great in the eyes of God?

He had a pretty unique story. Both of his parents were very old when they had him. John the Baptist was a strange guy; he ate bugs and wore camel hair, and he didn't have a home. But he was also the link between the Old Testament and the New Testament. He wasn't just proclaiming that the Kingdom of God was coming, he was saying that it was here and used his entire life to point to Jesus.

John 1:19-27: The context of this passage is that it took place in the 1st century. The Jewish people were living in anticipation of a coming Messiah. They thought it would be a strong political figure who would overthrow Rome and the oppression they were living in under Roman occupation. Instead, this weird guy named John the Baptist is baptizing both Jews and Gentiles as a purification ritual. The religious elite did not like that he was telling everyone to repent for the Kingdom of God was at hand and that he was telling the Jews that even they needed to be baptized. John lived an incredibly effective and significant life. What can we learn from him?

Four Ways To Live A Significant Life

  1. John the Baptist was confident in his identity.

    • He has clarity on this identity. He knew who he was and who he was not. He denied being the Christ, Elijah, or the prophet that Moses had promised. He was asked multiple times in his life if he was the Christ. No one has ever asked us that.

    • To be great in the world means to make a name for yourself. To be great in God's Kingdom means you lay yourself down. Humility is the pathway to significance. John the Baptist tethered his name to the One far greater than him, Jesus Christ. We already have a hero, we don't need another one. We just need to know who the hero is and make sure others know Him as well.

    • Paul used the same outlook. 1 Corinthians 3:5 and 2 Corinthians 4:5 both speak of humility and being confident in who he was and who he was not. If you are not confident in who you are not, you'll be who people need you to be and that is ever-changing. Your worth and status don't rise and fall with your accomplishments in the Kingdom of God, it stays steady because you're tethered to Jesus who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. See Hebrews 13:8

  2.  He had conviction in his words.

    • Read Luke 3:2-3. The words came to John the Baptist and then he spoke the Word of God, not his opinions. Opinions aren't helpful to a world that's lost. We need to speak the Words of God. That's what people need to hear.

    • The Bible is the Word coming to us. It's not dead or antiquated. It's alive, real, and active. See Hebrews 4:12. To the degree that you get this in you is the degree it will come out of you. There's a huge difference in having to say something and having something to say.

  3. He counted the cost.

    • His obedience to Jesus lands John the Baptist in jail and cost him his life. To him, his obedience to God was more valuable than the approval of man.

    • Read Galatians 1:10. Who are you trying to please? The Scripture is clear. The gift of salvation is free to us, but following Christ will cost you something. A costless Christianity is not a Biblical Christianity. It cost John the Baptist himself, not just his life. We love to worship ourselves and we aren't meant to carry that weight. We, like John the Baptist, deny ourselves. Only God is worthy of our worship.

  4. He had clarity on his mission.

    • When he was asked who he was he didn't answer with his name, he responded with his mission. He identified himself as a voice. You can't see a voice, you hear a voice. He never wanted the spotlight, he was always shining a light towards Jesus. He determined that he would lead people to the name above all names.

    • Read Isaiah 26:8. Our deepest desire is for His name to be known. Colossians 11:16 supports this by teaching us that we were made by Him and for Him. We all have the same purpose: to live a life for God that brings Him glory. Our passion is not our purpose. Our passion is our vehicle for our purpose which is to make much of Jesus.

    • To be saved by God is to be sent by God. You were wired by God for the passion God gave you. So, figure out how you are wired, but don't use it as an excuse to not live in your purpose.

John 1:35-37 - John the Baptist's goal was, as Paul said it, "follow me as I follow Christ" See 1 Corinthians 11:1.

John 3:22-31 - John's disciples come to him and ask what to do since people are leaving them to join Jesus. John answers "He (Jesus) must increase and I must decrease." What did he mean?

    • We don't have anything that is not given from Heaven. (John 2:27). It's all grace. Another's success doesn't threaten your own. Comparison makes you feel inferior or superior and neither honor God.

    • John the Baptist uses wedding imagery. The people of God are often referred to as the Bride and Jesus is the Bridegroom. John the Baptist knows that he is the Best Man. The Bride belongs to the groom. It would be weird if the Best Man tried to keep the Bride for himself. The goal is to get the Bride to the Groom. In doing that, his joy is complete. He is saying to look to Jesus, not to him.

John 5:25 - listen for the voice of God. Receive what Jesus has done for you.

Acts 4:12 - Salvation is found in no one else and there is no other name that can save you.

“
"Only one life, ’twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last."
”
C.T. Studd

Discussion Questions

  1. Who would you consider the GOAT in terms of sports, acting, influence, ministry?
  2. What does Jesus say about John the Baptist in Matthew 11:11? Why is this significant?
  3. Read John 1:29-27. What is the context of this passage? What is the setting? Time and place in history?
  4. John the Baptist was confident of who he was and who he was not. Do you feel you have that same confidence? How is that playing out in your life?
  5. Who are you tethering your name to? Are you trying to build a name for yourself? Are you associated with Jesus? How does Hebrews 13:8 apply?
  6. We are charged to speak the Word of God. If you're not, are you worried that people won't like the message or that they won't like you?
  7. Read Galatians 1:10. Who are you trying to please? Have you counted the cost of following Christ? What has it cost you?
  8. Read Isaiah 26:8 and Colossians 1:16. How do these two verses support each other? What is our purpose?
  9. How did Grant differentiate between passion and purpose?
  10. Read John 3:22-31. What two major points was John the Baptist making about comparison and his goal in life? How was he a domestique to Jesus?

Scripture References

11
Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
2during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
3He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
46Jesus called out with a loud voice,
“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”
When he had said this, he breathed his last.
19Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was.
20He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

22Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ ”
24Now the Pharisees who had been sent
25questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know.
27He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
28This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
30This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’
31I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.
33And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
34I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
35The next day John was there again with two of his disciples.
36When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
37When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.
22After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized.
23Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized.
24(This was before John was put in prison.)
25An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing.
26They 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.”
27To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven.
28You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’
29The 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.
30He must become greater; I must become less.”
31The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all.
28
“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice
3
The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice,
“Lazarus, come out!”
12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
8Yes,
Lord
, walking in the way of your laws,

we wait for you;

your name and renown

are the desire of our hearts.

16For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
10Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
5In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

7rather, he made himself nothing

by taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

8And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

by becoming obedient to death—

even death on a cross!

9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

Grant Partrick
Grant Partrick
Grant Partrick is a part of the team at Passion City Church and serves as the Cumberland Location Pastor. He is passionate about inspiring people to live their lives for what matters most. Grant and his wife, Maggie, live in Marietta, Georgia with their daughters, Mercy, Ember, and Charleigh. He is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary where he earned a masters of theology degree.