Let's take our Bibles and turn to the Gospel of John, Chapter 3. Gospel of John, Chapter 3. And I do want to thank Dr. Beal for the opportunity to preach this morning. It's always a privilege to be able to open the Word of God and preach it. I'm very thankful for the ministry of Ambassador and the impact that it has had on my life and my family's life. The older I get, the more and more thankful I become of the ministry here, as well as the men and women who invested in our lives for so many years. And I am indeed grateful for that. John chapter three this morning, and we will begin reading in verse 22. John chapter three in verse 22. The Bible says, after these things came Jesus and His disciples into the land of Judea, and there He tarried with them and baptized. And John also was baptized in Anon near to Salem, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized, for John was not yet cast into prison. Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying. And they came unto John and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness, behold, the same baptizeth and all men come to him. And John answered and said, a man can receive nothing except to be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am not the Christ. but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. This my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. One of the things that the Lord has been continually teaching me over the course of my years in the ministry is the importance of constantly evaluating my life and ministry to make sure that I'm staying on course and not deviating from what God has called me to do. in every area of life, whether it's as a church planning missionary, whether it's as a father to my children, whether it's a husband to my wife, whatever area of ministry and responsibility God has given me, I need to constantly be checking and rechecking my course to make sure that I have not deviated from what God has called me to do and the instructions he has given me in his word. This is very important for all of us because we live in a world that is rapidly changing around us in every way. Even the theological landscape that we minister in today is changing drastically. And if we're not careful, we can get caught up with that same thing. Some of those changes right now may not seem like what we would consider a big deal. But over time, they could lead to a much greater deviation further down the road. At the age of 14, I began taking flying lessons with the intent of possibly serving in mission aviation if that's what the Lord would allow. And to this date, the Lord has not allowed me to do so, but I do not believe that was wasted time. That was a tool that the Lord can use should he see fit in the future. But I'll never forget one of the things that I was taught as a young pilot in training was a system of navigation called dead reckoning. Now, this was before GPS. Now, we had GPS. I'm not that old. We did have GPS at that time, but I never forget my instructor telling me constantly, he's like, you never know if that's going to decide to act up on you, the batteries are going to die. you're on your own. And so we learned the old school navigation method of dead reckoning, which simply means you take a paper map out, you plot your course, you get your compass heading, you calculate your airspeed, winds, all these different things in order to find out where you're going to be at any given time in your flight. And one of the most important things to take into consideration with dead reckoning navigation is what's called winds aloft. That is the winds that you're going to experience in the air while you're flying a plane. Because those winds could have a very drastic effect on whether or not you reach your destination that you started out for. Again, for instance, if you have a headwind that you're flying into, your airspeed is going to be slower. even though your instruments are reading the same thing. If you have a tailwind, something pushing you from behind, you're going faster, even though your instruments read the same thing. But if you have a crosswind of any kind, that's gonna deviate your course, maybe a little, maybe a lot. And so you have to constantly be checking and rechecking your course. Your compass may say you're going the same way, but if you have winds that are pushing you, you're gonna be drifting further and further off course. And as little as one degree of deviation off course can have a drastic effect and determine whether or not you actually reach that destination that you started out for. One degree doesn't seem like much, and in short distances, it really isn't. For instance, if you were to go 100 yards and be one degree off course, you're only gonna miss your destination by about five feet. Not that big a deal, but it's still a miss. If you were to go a mile and be one degree off course, you'd miss your destination by 92 feet. Again, a bigger difference, not horribly, but still significant. If you were to go 60 miles, well, by that point, you would be one mile completely off course. And if you were to fly from Los Angeles to Rome, Italy, and be one degree off course to the south, you would miss Europe entirely and wind up somewhere in the middle of Africa. One degree. And in our lives spiritually, we need to be constantly checking and rechecking our own course to make sure that we are not off track from what God has called us to do and what he wants us to do. We need to recheck, how am I living? How am I serving? Why am I doing what I am doing? Are you living according to God's word or have you gotten off course somewhere in your life? And one of the areas that is so easy to drift off course in our Christian life is when we subtly start making things about myself, what I want, instead of what Christ wants. Instead of magnifying Christ in my life and ministry. It's very easy to suddenly change my mindset and be focused on what I want, what I think is right, what I think would give the best results, what I think would do the best, and we get off track. Maybe it's just a degree at the start. But over time, that mindset will lead you so far away from the Lord that you won't even recognize where you began from. This subtle shift in thinking is the exact opposite of what Paul states in Galatians 2.20, where he says, is not I who lives, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And by God's grace this morning, I wanna preach a message entitled, Not I, But Christ. As we look from this passage here, and we see the attitude and the mindset of John the Baptist. And as we look at this passage today, we're gonna see this truth, that in order to live out not I, but Christ in your life and ministry, you must find contentment and joy in the roles and responsibilities that God has given you. In order to live out not I but Christ in your life and in your ministry, you must find contentment and joy in the roles and responsibilities that God has given you. So let's look at our text here this morning in John chapter three and begin in verse 22. We're gonna notice first of all the setting here. Notice the setting because that gives the background and the context for what takes place here. In verse 22, the Bible tells us that John the Baptist was preaching and he was baptizing and really by all human standards, he was experiencing what we would say some degree of success in the ministry. People were coming to him, they were being baptized, they were following him. And the Bible tells us also that Jesus was baptizing nearby. The distance here is probably no more than about 15 miles between where John was and Jesus was. Very close location, very close by. And both of them were experiencing what we would call success. People were being baptized following John, identifying with him as his disciples, same with Jesus. But notice in verse 25 it tells us that there was a dispute that arose. Verse 25 says, Now, we aren't told exactly what this question was that arose between them. But the idea here is that there was something that was in dispute between them. Possibly it was about baptism, something with purification ritual. We don't know exactly and the Bible doesn't tell us because it's not important. It's simply the catalyst for moving into the truths that we find from John's reply. But this dispute arose and John's disciples, because of this, they came to him in verse 26 and they said, Rabbi, he that was with thee, the speaking of Jesus, beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. John's disciples brought it to his attention. They said, hey, John, Jesus is baptizing over there. More people are starting to follow him than are following us now. And it's implied here from the text that not only were people choosing to go to Jesus and follow him instead of going to John, but it's also implied here that even those who had started to follow John were now leaving him to follow Jesus. And so you have not only fewer people coming to John and his ministry, but even those who were a part of it are now leaving to follow Jesus. And John's disciples bring this up to him as if this is a bad thing. And we don't know their motivation why they brought this to John's attention. It's possible that they were simply trying to protect John and his ministry. It's possible. It's also possible that they were jealous about the fact that their ministry was decreasing in popularity and Christ was growing in popularity. But it's also just as possible that they had an honest, genuine question and were confused and didn't know what to make of it. And may I say right here, let's pause just for a moment. If someone comes to you in your ministry and asks you a genuine question, and they have a genuine desire to know the truth, do not dismiss them and just cast them off. Well, that's a dumb question. Why are you even thinking that? Genuine questions. and a genuine desire to know the truth should always be answered and shown why we believe what we believe, why we do what we do. One of the criticisms of independent Baptists has been that we don't do that. Matter of fact, there's someone in our church that I've been talking with and dealing with over a number of things, and they come from a very diverse theological background. It's Pentecostal influence. They've been influenced by YouTube preachers and all these different things and that affects them. And they've got these ideas. Well, what about this? What about this? And we've sat down. We've had those discussions. And he told me that he said, Pastor, you're the first pastor I've been to that has actually been willing to talk through these things with me and answer my questions. And that's not to lift me up, but that's simply to say we need to be willing to give an answer to every man why we believe what we believe, why the Bible says this. And a genuine desire for truth should never be suppressed. But back to our text here, we don't know why his disciples brought this to John's attention, but they did. And John used this as an opportunity to not magnify himself, but to point them to Christ. And it's from John's reply here in verses 27 through 30 that we find the principles that we're gonna focus on today. John the Baptist's response to the growing popularity of Jesus and the decreasing popularity of his ministry gives us a wonderful example of what it means to live out, not I, but Christ. And so notice first of all from verse 27, in order to live out not I but Christ, number one, you must recognize that any ministry opportunity is a gift from God. Any ministry opportunity that you may be given is all a gift from God. Notice John's reply here in verse 27. He says, John answered and said, a man can receive nothing. except it be given him from heaven. John recognized right off the bat, it is God who is the one who determines the size and scope of his ministry. And it was God who determined the size and the scope of Jesus' ministry. And John, in essence, is saying, God gives different ministries to different people for different reasons. And each one serves a purpose in God's plan. It's not up to me, John said, to try to imitate Jesus' ministry. My job is to simply be faithful to the one that God has given me. This mentality here that John displayed is the complete opposite of what our world's culture says today. We live in a society that is growing more and more prevalent, even here in the United States, where there is an entitlement mentality that says, I deserve this, you owe me something, and I deserve what I think I deserve. John is saying here, God doesn't owe me anything. God does not owe me anything. I do not deserve to be in the ministry, but the ministry that God has given me is a gift from him. Why would I be jealous of Jesus's ministry? Young people today, may I tell you, this is one of the most important truths that you must come to understand if you wish to live out, not I but Christ, in your own life. It's easy to get into the mentality as you get out into the ministry, as you get out serving the Lord, and as the years go by, it's easy to start thinking, well, I should have a bigger Sunday school class, or I should be pastoring a bigger church, or I should, and you fill in the blank. There's a difference between having goals and ambitions for the Lord and having an entitlement mentality that says, I deserve this because of who I am. May I remind each of us here today, the only thing that you and I deserve is eternal damnation for our sins. Anything apart from that is a gift and a product of God's grace and mercy. Just because you go to Ambassador or just because you graduate from here does not mean that you deserve a certain ministry or position. And when you live in light of the truth that God does not owe you anything, you begin to be thankful for everything that God does allow you to be a part of, regardless of what it is. Maybe it's mowing the church grass Maybe it's running a bus route. Whatever it is, maybe it's being a faithful layman in your church. Whatever it is, understand that it is a gift from God that he is allowing you to be in the ministry in any form, shape, or fashion. Let's take it a step further outside the ministry setting. Anything that you consider to be yours is a gift from God. How many times do we take our health for granted? Thinking as a young person, I deserve good health. Our jobs, our families, our look at whatever it is, anything that you consider yours, James 1 17 tells us that every good gift and every perfect gift cometh down from above and from the Father of lights. It is all a gift from God. And when you and I begin to focus on what we think we deserve. Our focus has shifted, and we've begun to get off track, and we are no longer making it, not I, but Christ, but we have subtly began to make it, not Christ, but me. And as John shows us here with this response, the first step comes by being grateful and thankful for everything that God allows us to be a part of. Instead of focusing on what you think you deserve or what you think you are owed, God wants you to emulate John the Baptist and recognize that everything, every ministry opportunity, every opportunity for service in any way is a gift from him. So in order to live out number Christ, number one, you must recognize that any ministry opportunity is a gift from God. But notice secondly here, in order to live out not I but Christ, verse 28 tells us, John continues, he says, ye yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. Number two, in order to live out not I but Christ, you must submit to your God-given role. You must submit to your God-given role. John reminds his disciples again, he says, you already know this. I've already told you this before. You bear witness that I have said, I am not the Christ. I'm the one who's going before, preparing the way. And the emphasis here is very emphatic. John is saying, I'm not the Messiah and I never will be. That's not who God has called me to be. John recognized, ultimately, that it is God who determines the role that a person has, and he was content with the ministry that God gave him, and he felt no need to promote himself or try to compete with Jesus. You know, one of the ways that we often fail to submit to our God-given role in life, in ministry, in any area, is by trying to be somebody who we're not. Trying to be somebody who God never intended for you to be. In 1 Corinthians 7, verse 17 through 24, we won't turn there this morning. But Paul is writing to the Corinthian church, and again, the church at Corinth was a mess when Paul wrote to it. There was contention, there was fighting, and in chapter three, there was divisions there where Paul says, you're taking sides, saying, I'm of Paul, I'm of Apollos, I'm of Peter, I'm of all these, and there's dissension there, and then by chapter seven here, Paul is writing, and he's in essence saying, be content where God has placed you. In the context there, In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul is dealing with servants and masters. He's dealing with being single or married. He's dealing with being in prominence, all these different things. And he's saying in verse 20, he says, let every man abide in the same calling wherein he is called. In other words, be content with where God has placed you. Don't be jealous of others and wish that you were somebody else or that you had somebody else's ministry. God has uniquely equipped you for a specific role with specific responsibilities that only you can fulfill. Don't try to be someone who you're not. Let God use you the way that you are. Too many times we get focused on what we don't like about where God has placed us or our specific role that he has given us. And when we do that, we miss the blessings and the joys that God has for us right now in our current state of life and ministry. Some of you students here today may have come with the hopes of finding a husband or wife during your time here. Perhaps you find yourself graduating and that hasn't come to fruition. Are you gonna submit to the fact that God has you single right now for a reason, for a purpose? That he has a ministry and a calling unique for you that he has equipped you for? Or are you gonna be jealous and wish away for something that God has said is not for you right now? Others of you may be graduating here. And by graduation, you wanted to know exactly where I'm serving, what I'm doing, how long I'm gonna be there, what the plans are, and that hasn't come to fruition. You're kind of in limbo. Okay, what's next? God, I'm graduating, but I don't have a clue what I'm supposed to do now. God has you where you are right now for a reason. Keep serving, keep being faithful to where God has you right now. Submit to that God-given role. and then wait for the Lord to lead in his timing. As I get older and more years in the ministry behind me, I'm understanding more and more that there are different phases of life that God takes us through, different stages of life in ministry. What God expected from me five years ago is not the same thing that he expects of me now. There's different responsibilities, different roles that he has given. When we moved to Newfoundland four years ago, yes, four years ago, we went with the intent of being an assistant, helping the O'Brien family and coming alongside, just being an assistant, serving however was needed. But over the course of the years there, the Lord clearly showed that he directed us to take over a specific ministry in the town of Cornerbrook where we're serving. Complete change from what we thought we were going there for. But God made it clear and it was very clear that this is what God has for us right now at this point in our life. And the point is, what God expects from you right now may not be the same thing that he expects from you five, 10 years from now. And that's okay. Submit to the God-given role that you have right now and let God use you where you are right now. Let me say before we move on here, submitting to your God-given role is not the same thing as throwing up your hands saying, okay, fine, whatever. It's not just passively resigning to it and say, okay, well, I just gotta wait, this isn't what I want, but I'm gonna wait, that's what the Lord wants. That's not submission to God's role that he has. Submitting to your God-given role means that you realize that God's plan is best for you right now, and you throw yourself wholeheartedly into that to serve him to the best of your ability with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your strength, You say, this is what God has for me right now. I'm going to glorify him in every way possible. In order to live out not I but Christ, you must submit to your God-given role. But then John continues in verse 29 here with an interesting illustration. In verse 29, he says, he that hath the bride is the bridegroom. but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. This my joy therefore is fulfilled. John uses an illustration taken from the local, the Jewish culture at that time, the wedding practices. And we don't have an exact corresponding role in our American culture here to the friend of the bridegroom. The closest we would have would be the best man, but that even falls short. That's not exactly the same role here. But the friend of the bridegroom here was a man who was a good friend of the groom, but during the betrothal time, again, if you remember Jewish culture at this time, there was a betrothal period where the prospective husband and wife lived apart for a year. And during that time, he got his affairs in order, showed that he could support a family. They were considered married, but they just had not come together yet as a husband and wife. And so during this time, the friend of the bridegroom played an important role. He was the go-between between the espoused husband and wife. He would carry communications back and forth. He would be the go-between and he would help in arranging the ceremony and the wedding festivities and played an important role at this time. But the friend of the bridegroom's role was temporary. It was very important at the time But when the wedding was done and the wedding ceremony's finished, he would no longer have a significant role. Matter of fact, he would fade into obscurity and many people would just not know him, not even know that he had that role. He had a significant role, but he was significantly less important than the bridegroom. And John uses this illustration to point out this fact, that he found satisfaction with the background role that God had given him. And so number three, in order to live out not I but Christ, not only must you submit to your God-given role, but you must find satisfaction and contentment in that role that God has given you. You must find satisfaction and contentment in the role that God has given you. John uses two phrases here in verse 29, that indicates this. He says, the friend of the bridegroom which standeth and heareth him rejoiceth greatly. Why? Because of what he did. No, because of the bridegroom's voice. Because of the success, if we can use that term, that the bridegroom had, in that the marriage was finalized, that they came together as husband and wife, and now the marriage ceremony was complete. He found joy in seeing the bridegroom succeed. And John said, as a result, he rejoiced greatly. But then he says in the last part of verse 29, he says, this my joy, therefore is fulfilled. In other words, John is saying here, I am so completely satisfied with the role and responsibilities that God has given me that there is nothing more that I want. Do you find joy and satisfaction in the role and responsibilities that God has given you? You say, well, Brother Matt, I'm just a student here at college. That's your God-given role. That's the responsibilities that God has given you. Do you find joy and contentment in that role? Or do you get jealous and envious of others? when they seem to succeed or get more attention than what you do? Do you rejoice when others are blessed? Or is your first thought, well, I wish that would happen to me? You know, the greatest test to reveal if you're truly content and satisfied in the role that God has given you is how you respond when somebody else does something that takes the spotlight off of you. And if you can't rejoice at someone else's blessings or successes, then you're not content with what God has given you. You're focused on yourself, and you are not living out not I, but Christ. In order to live out not I, but Christ, you must find satisfaction and contentment in your God-given role. But notice lastly, number four here, as we move into verse 30, John concludes this section here by saying, he must increase, but I must decrease. Number four, in order to live out not I but Christ, you must magnify God and minimize self in both your private life and in your public life. You must magnify God and minimize self in both your private life and in your public life. You say, Brother Matt, why the distinction there? Why do you point out both? You cannot magnify Christ and minimize self in your public life if it does not first begin in your heart. John here shows this is his mindset. This was his heart attitude. It's not about me, it's all about Christ. And as a result, John pointed others to Christ publicly because he was already magnifying Christ privately in his own heart and life. Flip over just a page to John chapter 1 and we see in verse 35 here, This comes out into play here, as John says, in John 1, verse 35, it says, the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples, two of John's disciples were with him. Verse 36, and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, don't follow him, follow me. No, what did he say? Behold the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. John pointed his own disciples to Christ and was not so consumed with his ministry, what he wanted, or creating a following around himself. He said, it's not about me, it's all about Christ. Follow Him. If you as a child of God are trying to attract attention to yourself or create a personal following, You are being disloyal to Christ and you are not magnifying Christ. You are magnifying self and minimizing Christ. You must point others to Christ. The Apostle John here wrote of John the Baptist and gives us the great example of what it means to live out not I but Christ, but John also wrote about another man who had a different mindset In 3 John, as he wrote to the church, in verse nine he says, I wrote unto the church, but deatrophies who loveth to have the preeminence among them receiveth us not. John goes on to say, I'm gonna remember what happened. as He prayed it against us with malicious words, as He didn't receive the brethren, as He tried to keep others out. He says, listen, this man, Deotrephes, exalted himself. He loved the preeminence. He was not living out, not I, but Christ. And so the question is, what characterizes you today? The spirit of John the Baptist? or the spirit of diatrophies. Who do you magnify? Yourself or Christ? So the truth is, if you are magnifying yourself, you are automatically minimizing Christ. There is no other way. In order to live out not I but Christ, you must magnify Christ and minimize yourself. Starts in your heart. Paul could say in Philippians chapter one, in verse 20, that for me to live is Christ, but to die is gain. It's a hard attitude, it starts there. What is in your heart will come out. Who are you magnifying today? As we've considered this text, we've seen a beautiful illustration of what it means to live out not I but Christ through the life of John the Baptist. And the phrase not I but Christ needs to become more than just a catchy slogan. It needs to be a way of life for every one of us here in this auditorium today. The goal of ambassador has always been to train God's servants for God's service. But if you leave this college here with a head full of knowledge and a heart full of self, you are not equipped to serve the Lord in any capacity. And may I tell you both from experience and also based on the authority of the word of God, God will do whatever it takes to break you so that you do magnify Him and minimize yourself. In order to live out not I but Christ, you must find contentment and joy in the role and responsibilities that God has given you right here today.