He Must Increase,

I Must Decrease
John 3:22-36

He must increase,
I must decrease.
John 3:30

Who was John

the Baptist?

1 In those days John the Baptist came

preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
2 Repent, for the kingdom of heaven
is at hand. 3 For this is he who was
spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when
he said, The voice of one crying in the
wilderness: Prepare the way of the
Lord; make his paths straight.
Matthew 3:1-3

4 Now John wore a garment of camels

hair and a leather belt around his
waist, and his food was locusts and
wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all
Judea and all the region about the
Jordan were going out to him, 6 and
they were baptized by him in the river
Jordan, confessing their sins.
Matthew 3:4-6

7 But when he saw many of the

Pharisees and Sadducees coming to
his baptism, he said to them, You
brood of vipers! Who warned you to
flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear
fruit in keeping with repentance.
Matthew 3:7-8

9 And do not presume to say to

yourselves, We have Abraham as our
father, for I tell you, God is able from
these stones to raise up children for
Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid
to the root of the trees. Every tree
therefore that does not bear good fruit
is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Matthew 3:9-10

11 I baptize you with water for

repentance, but he who is coming
after me is mightier than I, whose
sandals I am not worthy to carry. He
will baptize you with the Holy Spirit
and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in
his hand, and he will clear his
threshing floor and gather his
wheat into the barn, but the
chaff he will burn with
unquenchable fire.
Matthew 3:11-12

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming

toward him, and said, Behold, the
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin
of the world! 30 This is he of whom I
said, After me comes a man who
ranks before me, because he was
before me. 31 I myself did not know
him, but for this purpose I came
baptizing with water, that he
might be revealed to Israel.
John 1:29-31

32 And John bore witness: I saw the

Spirit descend from heaven like a dove,
and it remained on him. 33 I myself did
not know him, but he who sent me to
baptize with water said to me, He on
whom you see the Spirit descend and
remain, this is he who baptizes with
the Holy Spirit. 34 And I have
seen and have borne witness
that this is the Son of God.
John 1:32-34

What is the
common
thread in the
life of John the
Baptist?

John the Baptist served

as a pointer to the One
greater than him.

John the Baptist served

as a pointer to Jesus
Christ, the Messiah,
the Lamb of God,
the Son of God.

Would you like

to serve as a
pointer to
Jesus?

22 After this Jesus and his disciples

went into the Judean countryside, and
he remained there with them and was
baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing
at Aenon near Salim, because water
was plentiful there, and people were
coming and being baptized
24 (for John had not yet been
put in prison).
John 3:22-24

25 Now a discussion arose between

some of Johns disciples and a Jew
over purification. 26 And they came to
John and said to him, Rabbi, he who
was with you across the Jordan, to
whom you bore witnesslook, he is
baptizing, and all are going to him.
John 3:25-26

27 John answered, A person cannot

receive even one thing unless it is
given him from heaven. 28 You
yourselves bear me witness, that I
said, I am not the Christ, but I have
been sent before him.
John 3:27-28

29 The one who has the bride is the

bridegroom. The friend of the
bridegroom, who stands and hears
him, rejoices greatly at the
bridegrooms voice. Therefore this joy
of mine is now complete. 30 He must
increase, but I must decrease.
John 3:29-30

He must increase,
I must decrease.
John 3:30

Why is this
important?

Because this is what we

were created for...

Everyone who is called

by my name, whom I
created for my glory ,
whom I formed and
made.
- Isaiah 43:7

Jesus, Lover of My Soul

(It's All About You)

He must increase,
I must decrease.
John 3:30

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. 33 Whoever
receives his testimony sets his
seal to this, that God is true.
John 3:31-33

34 For he whom God has sent utters

the words of God, for he gives the
Spirit without measure. 35 The Father
loves the Son and has given all things
into his hand. 36 Whoever believes in
the Son has eternal life; whoever does
not obey the Son shall not see life,
but the wrath of God remains
on him.
John 3:31-33

What are the

practical
implications?

Excellence
Holiness

Aim to be the best of the

best in the field God has
placed you in and then
point people to Jesus!

We need excellent
Christian engineers.

We need excellent
Christian teachers.

We need excellent
Christian accountants.

We need excellent
Christian sales people.

We need excellent
Christian office staff.

We need excellent
Christian ministry
workers.

We need excellent
Christian ___________.

Think of the different

roles you have in your life
(e.g., at work, in school, in
your family, organization,
in your relationships).

Tell Jesus:
I want to be the best
________ that I can be so
that You would increase
and I would decrease.

He must increase,
I must decrease.
John 3:30

What are the

practical
implications?

Excellence
Holiness

Being the best at what

you do should not nullify
doing the right thing.

Be excellent, stay humble.

Be excellent, be sensitive to
people.
Be excellent, help people.
Be excellent, share your passion.
Be excellent, do the right thing.

He must increase,
I must decrease.
John 3:30

What does it
look like in my
life?

What is one step you can

take this week to
demonstrate that you
want Jesus to increase
and that you decrease?

(Write it down. Put it in your ToDo list,

in your memo pad, etc. Text it to
yourself. :)

He must increase,
I must decrease.
John 3:30

He Must Increase,
I Must Decrease
John 3:22-36