based on the LGG Advent Study, Rejoice / w1d4
Scripture: Luke 1:76-77 / John 3:22-30 (27) / John 1:19-37
John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven.
John 3:27
Observation and Application from the Journey
John the Baptist played a large part in the Advent of Christ. We read of him when he was still in the womb, how he leaped in Elizabeth when Mary, pregnant with Jesus, entered the room.1 Today, we are reminded again of Zechariah’s song of praise and prophesy concerning John, “who would be called the prophet of the Most High. For you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins.” I can picture the tender but excited moment when Zechariah spoke these words over his infant son. Excitement and hope surely stemmed from knowing the calling of this child, but perhaps even more so at the reality of the One who would come behind him. For John was preparing the way for the Most High, the Lord, the Messiah, who would bring salvation to a lost and dying world.
“And you, my little son,
John 1:76-77
will be called the prophet of the Most High,
because you will prepare the way for the Lord.
77 You will tell his people how to find salvation
through forgiveness of their sins.
Fast forward to John as a man, a “Rabbi,” teaching the people about the coming Messiah. He had gained an audience, a following of those who believed the gospel message and were coming to John to be baptized. That is until Christ appeared on the scene with His disciples in the same vicinity as John and his followers, and jealousy provoked concern. Whether Jesus was gaining more followers than John or John’s disciples were leaving him to follow Christ isn’t clear, but when John’s disciples came to him with the news that “everyone was flocking to Jesus,” he wasn’t concerned.
While John’s response wasn’t what the people expected it was what they needed to hear. John wasn’t alarmed or rushing to reclaim his followers. Instead, he basically reminds those who were concerned about the shift in allegiance that this was the way it was meant to be. He credited God with the shift and reminded them that he was not the Christ but the one sent to proclaim Him and prepare the way. He was sent so that people would flock to Jesus and be saved. Thus, John isn’t worried but claims that his joy has been made complete by the shift in followers, saying: “The Christ must become more important while I become less important.”
What a beautiful and convicting statement and vital for all teachers of the Word to remember. “Christ must become more important while I become less important.” My story pales in comparison to John’s, but I have encountered a similar scenario over the course of my years of leading small groups, and it was a challenge for me in the beginning. Yet, God was gracious to remind me that He had called me to equip, encourage, and empower women with His Word, not to elevate myself but to promote Him and help others grow in their relationships with Him.
So, while I struggled to watch members switch to some of the newer groups, God helped me to see that whether the group was forty-plus women or only a handful, it was about Him, not me. Whether they were in my group or another, they were still being equipped, encouraged, and empowered by God’s Word. Actually, in time, I was able to see God’s fingerprints in the shift of the group’s size, and I watched with awe and joy how He worked to gather just the right group of women in that room on Wednesdays and Sundays. When COVID hit, things changed again, and as illnesses and deaths seemed to plague my family for the next five years (and counting), it gradually became clear that God was leading me to step away from in-person groups to minister to my family. At the same time, He showed me the need for and benefit of a Bible-study Facebook group. While I miss the in-person interaction, my family needed me, and God showed me that there were also others who were struggling to get to an in-person group or just wanted something extra, and He allowed me to meet that need.
Admittedly, there are drawbacks to the online format, and there are times when I have felt alone in it and wondered if it is worth it – but God always reminds me -to press on in what He’s called and equipped me to do and leave the outcome to Him. There are women in my group that I talk to or see regularly, and there are also those that I may never meet in person, but how blessed I am to Journey through God’s Word with them all. I have learned much from them, and I have been blessed by their love for the Scriptures. I have been blessed to pray with/for them over hurts, fears, and/or physical needs and to have them pray for me. Together, we have celebrated God’s answers and rejoiced in His fingerprints. God has used them to encourage me greatly, and every time something happens to make me wonder if what I’m doing really matters – I am once again reminded that while I am blessed by what I do, I do it not for me but that Christ might increase.
Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 28:19
The bottom line from John’s story and from mine is this – as believers, we have all been called to tell others about Jesus.2 We are to lift Jesus up for His glory and the salvation of others. As John said, “Christ must become more important while I become less important.” We have been sent as messengers of the Gospel to share Jesus with the world around us so that they might believe and be saved. – Because this is so important, I leave you with this statement by Bibleref.com:
“This is an important guideline for Christians in general. As John the Baptist says, all that we have is given by the providence of God. No matter what success we have, we owe it to our Creator. We shouldn’t be angry or frustrated when others seem more successful. (Genesis 4:4-7): God is ultimately he one in control,
bibleref.com
(1 Corinthians 3:1-9).”
Me From the Inside Out 