John the Baptist found himself offstage once Jesus came on the scene. The greater had appeared and the lesser would need to give way. Jesus then and now was the most consequential person to ever walk this earth. And today, we'll find out why. Stay with us.
From Chicago, this is The Moody Church Hour, a weekly broadcast of worship and teaching with Pastor Philip Miller. Today, join us for another in a long series of messages from the Gospel of John we're calling Loved by Jesus. Our focus, the preeminent. Here now is Pastor Philip, along with worship leader Tim Stafford and Executive Pastor Bill Birchie.
Well good morning everybody and welcome to The Moody Church. We're so glad you're here. You know, we've been tracking through the Gospel of John, and today we come to the moment where John the Baptist. has that famous saying, he must increase, I must. decrease.
This is the moment where John the Baptist moves off center stage and Jesus comes into the focal point of everything. And that's something each one of us needs to learn in life: that it's not us, it's Jesus who deserves to be at the center. And so let's pray and ask the Lord to decenter us today, to put Jesus where he rightfully deserves to be. Would you pray with me? Heavenly Father, we want more than anything to thrive in life.
And that requires that we step aside and let Jesus take center stage in our lives. Whenever he's at the center, we thrive, we flourish. And yet so often we crowd our way in and try to take all the attention and all the control. And so, Father, would you de-center us today? And put Jesus where he deserves so that we might thrive and flourish in him.
We pray this in Jesus' matchless name. Amen. When I think about the Lord, how He saved me, how He raised me, how He filled me with the Holy Ghost, how He healed me to the uttermost. When I think about the Lord, how He picked me up and turned me around, How He placed my feet on solid ground and makes me one shine. Hallelujah!
Thank you, Jesus, Lord. You're worthy of all the glory, and all the honor, and all the praise. Saved me He raised me He filled me He healed me He'll save you He'll raise you He'll fill you He'll heal you He'll keep you Never leave you It makes me one shout Hallelujah Thank you Jesus Lord you're worthy of all the glory and all the honor and all the praise It makes me one shout Hallelujah Thank you Jesus Lord you're worthy of all the glory and all the honor and all the praise It makes me wonder shout. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus.
Love you worthy of all the glory and all the honor and all the praise. It makes me wonder shout that is such a wonderful song. It's a reminder that when God does his work in our lives, when he transfers us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his beloved son. When he forgives us and cleanses us and shakes us. showers us with his grace and love.
We can't keep that to ourselves. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, indeed, when we think about you and all that you have done for us through your Son Jesus. It does indeed make us want to shout. our thanks and our praise to you.
And I pray that it's exactly what we would do during this service, whether it's actually out loud or we're shouting with joy in our hearts. And thanks and praise to you. We ask that you would receive our praise during this service in Christ's name. Amen. Are you commanded to follow the Lord today?
Follow him every day. Blessed assured Jesus is my taste of glory divine heir of salvation precious of God Lord of His Spirit washed in his blood This is my story This is my song Praising my Savior all the day long This is my story This is my Song praising my Savior all the day long perfect submission perfect delight Visions of Russia now burst on my side Angels dissenting from above Echoes of mercy Whispers of love This is my story This is my song Praising my Savior all the day long This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior, all the delight, perfect submission, all these at rest. I am my Savior, am happy at rest, watching and waiting, looking above, filled with his goodness, lost in his love. This is my story, this is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story. This is my song.
Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. Lord, we do pray this prayer, not by our strength, but yours be magnified in us today.
What gift of grace? Is Jesus my Redeemer? There is no more for heaven now to give He is my Joy, my righteousness and freedom. My steadfast love My demon boundaries To this idea. Oh, my hope is only Jesus for my life, His wholly bound to His Oh, how strange and divine I can sing.
All is mine, yet not I, but through Christ in me. The night is dark, but I am not forsaken. Future, the Savior here must stay. I labor on in weakness and rejoicing. For in my need, His power is this way.
To this, I hold my shepherd will defend through the delus valley. For the night has been one, and thy shall overcome and night through Christ in me. No faint I dread, I know I am forgiven. The future shows the pricing has been made for Jesus led and suffered for but one and he was raised. To overthrow to this I hold my sin has been defeated.
Jesus now and ever is my Lee. Oh, the shades are released. I can see I am free, and I won through Christ to me with every breath. I want to follow Jesus, for He has said that He will bring me on, and day by day I know He will renew me. Until I stand with joy before to this I hold my hope is only Jesus for the glory evermore to rain When the raises come and meet to my lips shall reveal But through Christ in him To this I hold my hope is only Jesus All the glory ever was to rain When the raises come and leave to my lips shall reveal at night until God send in me And God, I want you Christ in me.
Amen. Thank you, Lord, for the gospel. Thank you for your word. In Jesus' name, amen. Jesus be the center, be my source, be my light, Jesus, Jesus be the center.
Be my love, be my song, Jesus be the father in my heart, be the wind in these souls, be the reason that I live, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, be the Semitor, be my source, be my life, Jesus. Be my angel be my fire in my heart, Jesus be the fire in my heart be the living in these silence be the reason that I live Jesus Jesus be the fire in my heart Be the wind in these silence be the reason that I live Jesus Jesus, Jesus Jesus be the center be my source, be my life, Jesus be my source, be my life, Jesus, be my source, be my life, Jesus Jesus, Jesus. Thank you. Growing up, I loved to play baseball. I hit my growth spurt a little bit early.
And so I was one of the few players that could actually crank it out over the fence. And so I enjoyed being picked very early in the round.
Sometimes I was picked first for the team. And I was riding pretty high. That is until my friend Chris, who was a little younger than me, until he hit his... growth spurt. Chris was a born athlete.
As soon as he hit his growth spurt, he could out-hit, out-catch, out-run, out-perform every single person on the field. And all of a sudden, Chris was the one getting picked first in the lineup. And there I was standing there, and I had been replaced. And that was hard for me. It stung my ego, it messed me up, it raised all kinds of insecurities.
in my heart. Do you know how that feels? You know how it feels to have someone chosen over you, to be shown up by someone else, to be outclassed in an area where you had a little bit of pride and skill. To be passed over, cut down to size, upstaged. Do you know how this feels?
John the Baptizer knows how this feels. For a time and season, John was the big shot. He was the guy everyone was talking about. He was the prophetic voice crying out in the wilderness, calling for repentance and baptism, and everyone paid attention to him. There were even rumors floating around: maybe this is the Messiah.
But then one day John baptized Jesus. And he declared to the world, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin. of the world. And from that moment on, people began flocking not to John, but to Jesus. And John became yesterday's news.
And for John, that was just fine. In fact, it was the way it should be, because as far as John was concerned, Jesus deserved center stage. And what we're going to see in the passage we're going to look at today is four reasons that Jesus deserves center stage. We're going to be in John chapter 3, verses 22 to 36. If you'll open your Bibles to John chapter 3, we'll join there in just a moment.
Would you bow your heads and pray with me as we open God's Word? Father, we pray now as we open your Word that you would open our hearts. Open our eyes to see you. Open all of ourselves up so that we might be changed. We pray that your Holy Spirit would come and be our teacher.
In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. So, in John chapter 3, we see kind of the clash and then John's response, and then these four reasons Jesus deserves center stage. And so, let's look at that together.
First, the clash. In verse 22, this is how it starts. After this, this refers to the events of the preceding context. Jesus had come down to Judea for Passover in Jerusalem. He cleared the temple.
He had this conversation with Nicodemus.
So, after this, Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside and he remained there with them and was baptizing. John also was baptizing at Anon near Selim because the water was plentiful there. And people were coming and being baptized, for John had not. yet been put in prison.
So, Jesus, of course, is from up north in Galilee. That's where he hails from. It's his home country. He has come down south to Jerusalem for the Passover, and now he goes just outside of Jerusalem into the Judean countryside, settles down there for a season, and begins here a ministry of baptism.
Now, John chapter 4, verse 2 will clarify for us that Jesus Himself is not the one performing the baptisms, it's his disciples that are doing it. But this baptism takes place under the ministry of Jesus.
Now, here's why this is a big deal. Because this is John the Baptizer's home turf. He's been baptizing in the Judean wilderness for quite some time now. And he's the one who was really innovating this whole baptism thing, if you remember. It's kind of his signature move, his signature ministry model.
It's even in his name, John the Baptizer. He has proprietary domain over this. And we can see where this is going. Verse 25.
Now, a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over purification. And they came to John and said to him, Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness, and said, look, He is baptizing. And all are going to him.
So there's this discussion now between John's disciples and this Jewish fellow over purification. Purification is the generic umbrella term for all sorts of ceremonial washings. Baptism would be a subset of that. We don't know exactly what their conversation discussion is about. Apparently, it's not all that important.
What it does, though, is it surfaces the reality that Jesus is nearby, just a few miles away, and he is doing the exact same ministry model that John the Baptizer is using. This would be like someone planting a church just down the street and naming it Moody Memorial Chapel. And we'd say, wait a minute, wait a minute. That's our thing, right? Yeah.
They come and say, Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, Jesus, to whom you bore witness. Look, he's baptizing and all are going to him.
So not only is Jesus encroaching on John's domain here and copying his ministry model, he's gobbling up market share. Look, John, we got a real problem here. Attendance is down. Giving is eroding. Your personal brand is growing tired.
You're becoming old news here, John. And here's the point, Jesus' ministry is upstaging John's. Jesus' ministry is upstaging John's. And Jesus shows up. And now it's all about him.
John's been displaced. He's been outclassed. He's been cut down to size. He's been upstaged. And friends, one of the reasons, listen, one of the reasons we're reluctant.
To really let Jesus into our lives deeply is because intuitively we know that when Jesus shows up, He starts taking over. We know that, don't we? Before long, our lives will be all about Him, because Jesus can't help but take center stage. Jesus always takes center stage. No matter how powerful or commanding or charismatic or gifted or popular you are.
The moment Jesus walks into the center of your life, it's not about you anymore. And here's the problem. We secretly enjoy being in the center stage of our lives, don't we? We think of ourselves primarily, instinctively, as the main character in the plot line of our story. Everybody else is just supporting cast, you know.
No, we would never say that. That sounds too egotistical. But that's how we're wired. Let me prove it to you. If somebody takes a group photo, you know, you're in a photo with a whole bunch of people, maybe in your office or whatever, and you're all getting in close, okay, you're all close to take a picture, and they say, hey, is it a good picture?
Who do you look at first? Who do you look at for? You look at yourself, right? What makes it a good picture if you look good, right? And what makes it a bad picture if you look bad?
That's your instinct, isn't it? When you're doing Zoom calls, which little box do you instinctively gravitate over and look at? Your own box. How am I looking? Is my hair okay?
Am I looking like the chin? Am I the good ankle? Why do we do that? Because we instinctively put ourselves at the center stage of our lives. Why?
Because we get to call the shots. We get to reap the rewards. We get to bask in the limelight. We get to be the hero. And then Jesus comes into our lives, friends, and he threatens all of that.
And it's not because Jesus is some egotist. It's because he's the Son of God. And when the Son of God shows up, no mere mortal can hold Can even compete. And so, most of us, friends, when Jesus comes and says, Let me be the center of your life, we bristle. We're hesitant.
We're resistant. Oh, maybe we want Jesus for salvation because that'll help us out. But to let him be in the center, let him take center stage, let him take over, let him become the focal point of our lives. That's for religious nuts, man. That's not for me.
Who would do that?
Well, John did that. Look at his response here. Verse 27. John answered, a person cannot receive even one thing. unless it's given him from heaven.
This is an amazing response. He says, look, everything's from God. My ministry is from God. Jesus ministries from God. My followers are from God.
Jesus' followers are from God. My influence is from God. Jesus' influence is from God. And if God chooses... For Jesus' influence to wax and mine to wane.
So be it. The Lord gives and the Lord Takes away, blessed be the name. of the Lord. See, John realized that his life, his ministry, was a temporary gift, one that God had freely given to him, and one that God could freely take. Away.
Verse 28. You yourselves bear witness that I said I am not the Christ. but had been sent before him. He says, listen, guys, you know my role. I'm not the Messiah.
I'm a warm-up act. Jesus is the main event. I'm the lampstand. Jesus is the light. I'm a nobody.
Jesus is the somebody. I'm just pointing the way to Him. And then he has an illustration here, verse 29. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice.
Therefore, this joy of mine is now complete. He says, look, I'm like the best man at Jesus' wedding. I'm here to serve, I'm here to orchestrate, I'm here to support. I'm here to ensure the bridegroom and the bride have the best day of their life. I'm here to make sure they are the focal point, that every eye is on them, that they have everything they need.
And I am full of joy when the center of attention is upon. Him. Verse thirty, he must increase. But I Must. Decrease.
Aren't you struck by his humility here? John's entire ministry He says it's to prepare the way for another person's... Success. And it's not like John's a nobody. Jesus said in Matthew 11, 11, Truly I say to you, among those born of women, there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.
Listen, John the Baptist was a big deal. But Jesus is an even bigger deal. And his John's greatness here is demonstrated. As John humbly gives Jesus Center stage. John steps aside.
John steps down. John steps away.
so that Jesus can take The spotlight. And don't you see, John does what so many of us simply will not do. He lets his ego die. He lets his control Go. He lets himself be displaced.
And this, friends, is a remarkable act of courage and humility. It took great courage. to step aside. and be a nobody. But John knows that Jesus deserves sinner state.
And now, in verses 31 to 36, John, our author, is going to give us four reasons Jesus deserves. Center stage. Here they are. By the way, It's not just that Jesus deserves center stage, it's that we are actually better off when he's. in the center stage as well.
We'll get to that. But the first thing, okay, the first reason. It's because of Jesus' position. Jesus' position. In verse 31, this is what John the Evangelist, the gospel writer, writes.
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. Ah.
So, this is very, I think, very clear here. Jesus is above all because he's from. Above, right? He's from heaven. John the Baptizer is from below, he's from the earth.
And so Jesus outranks him, has a greater position than John because he's from above. In other words, Jesus deserves center stage here because of his position. He's from above. And from that position, Jesus has a better perspective. If the higher up you are, the greater your perspective, right?
Just like those traffic helicopters that go and hover over Chicago, right? You know the ones I'm talking of at rush hour? They're up there just, you know, hovering around. What are they doing? They're above.
They have perspective. They can see the big picture. And so if you're stuck in traffic and you're like, I don't know if I should get off and go a different route or whether I should just stick it out where I am, you can tune into your radio. This is old school. I know we have GPS now and all that kind of stuff.
But the old way was you turned on the radio and the traffic helicopter guy would tell you where to go, right? He could give you guidance and you'd find your way home. See, and you could roll down the window and talk to the person next to you, hey, what do you think we should do? Should we get off this road or not, or whatever? But you have limited perspective, and so do they, right?
But if you tune into the perspective from above, all of a sudden you can find your way, right? And this is the point. Jesus sees more, friends, than you and I do. Jesus sees more. Do you realize Jesus from his position of being above sees way more than you and I ever could?
He's from above. He sees the big picture. He can see around all the blind corners. We're from below. We get lost in the maze of life.
We don't have the mental maps that we need to navigate through everything that we might face. It's why we get so jammed up in life at times. And we can ask other humans for advice, and that helps a little bit. But if only we had someone from above who saw the whole picture, who could give us truth and guidance and the way home. Listen.
Friends, we have such a person, and the longer we insist on going our own way. the longer we get stuck in the traffic. But the sooner we yield to the guy from above, the sooner we find our way. Friends, that's what it means to put Jesus at the center. Of your life.
It means to allow his perspective to outrank your instincts.
So allow his perspective to outrank your instincts. Listen, Lord, I will follow your direction. I will follow your lead. I will follow your path. to life.
And friends, John is telling us that Jesus deserves center stage by virtue of his position, he's from above. And don't you see, we're better off. when he's at the center because we actually know the way of life.
So that's the first reason. The second reason is Jesus' expertise. His expertise. Look at verse 32. He bears witness to what he has seen, yet no one receives his testimony.
Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the spirit without measure. Friends, here the picture is that Jesus is coming into the world as an expert witness, like in a court of law. He's an expert witness. He's bearing testimony to something that he knows deeply, personally, an eyewitness account.
Jesus knows, listen, ultimate cosmic reality. Because he's from above, he's from heaven. He knows this universe in and out, he knows the way to heaven. He's been there. And he has come, he has come to bear witness to ultimate reality that we might learn to live in line with that.
reality. But the tragedy, of course, is that people won't listen. They won't receive his testimony here. It's maddening. And John says, Look, if you would just receive it, whoever does receive his testimony sets his seal to this.
That God is true. This language is kind of interesting. He says, it's like you're sealing, you're stamping something. What is that all about?
Well, when you seal a document, you're giving it your endorsement. You're saying, this is real, this is factual, this is true. University graduates get their diplomas with a seal, right? We endorse this person and their academic achievements. Whoever receives Jesus' testimony is putting a seal on the fact that God is truthful.
Because Jesus is from God. Jesus speaks the words of God. Because Jesus is full of the Spirit. of God. See, God's Spirit came in the Old Testament on the prophets of old according to the measure of their ministry.
But here with Jesus, God has given His Spirit without limits, unlimited. Whenever Jesus speaks, He speaks with the full knowledge, wisdom, and authority of God Himself. Because friends, Jesus knows more. Jesus knows more. He has come as an expert witness, a master of the ultimate cosmic realities.
His knowledge is comprehensive. His wisdom is supreme. His statements are trustworthy and true. Friends, Jesus knows all the search results on Google. He knows every Wikipedia entry and an infinite amount of more information.
And when you and I get in analysis, paralysis, because there's too much data, there's too much to wrap our minds around, we don't know what choice to make, we don't know which way to go. Friends, Jesus knows it all. He has mastered it all. He knows every single variable, and he offers to guide us through as the expert. But the longer we go our own way, and do our own thing.
and trust our own instincts, friends. The longer we have to learn things the hard way. This is that old line from Dr. Phil. You know, he says, and how's that working for you?
Right? Friends. This is what it means to put Jesus at the center of your life. to receive him as an expert. To allow his wisdom and counsel to outweigh your own opinions.
To trust his guidance, to receive his truth, to follow his way. Friends, Jesus deserves center stage. By virtue of his expertise, but don't you see how much better off we are when we trust him? when we put him at the center and his wisdom is guiding our lives according to the grain of the universe. The third reason here is because of Jesus Resources.
Jesus deserves center stage because of his resources. Verse 35. The Father loves the Son. and has given all things into his hands. Hand.
Friends, this is the language of inheritance. This universe belongs to God the Father, the Almighty Maker of heaven and earth. And Jesus is the Father's only Son, who is beloved in every way. In other words, He's still in the will.
Okay, God hasn't written Him out. He's pleasing and good in every way, and He inherits. The universe, God has put everything into his hands.
So not only does Jesus see more and know more, Jesus has more. Jesus has more. There are infinite, listen, infinite resources at Jesus' disposal. He is infinitely well connected in this universe. He is highly resourced.
He is infinitely able to execute on whatever he wants. Whatever Jesus wants, it's already his, friends. which is so unlike us. We are constantly coming to the end of our resources, aren't we? We can amass everything that we could possibly amass and it's never enough.
We can give our best effort, but we always come up short. We mean well, but we fail to execute time and again. And we are always bumping up against the lid. of our limitations. And John says, look.
If you live as if you're at the center of your life, you are always going to be coming to the very end of yourself. You'll never have enough. You'll never be enough. You'll always fall short. But what if there was another way?
What if you put Jesus at the center? What if you allowed Jesus' belovedness, his resourcefulness into the very center of your identity and your life? What if you knew before you got up in the morning that you were beloved. What if you knew that God was your father and he cared for you every moment of your day? What if you knew you were perfectly safe?
In the love and infinite resources of your... Heavenly Father What if you knew you could rest? knowing that Jesus was enough for you. in every way. Friends, that's exactly what Jesus offers.
But Jesus deserves center stage. By virtue of his resources, he's the beloved inheritor, and he shares that inheritance. With us. He gives us the right to become children of God. Co-inheritors along with Christ.
Don't you see? We are better off when Jesus is at the very center. Because whatever Jesus asks... The Father gives him.
Now the fourth reason, the last reason, It's Jesus' consequence. Jesus deserves to be at the center because of his consequence. Look at verse 36. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, whoever does not obey the Son has eternal life. shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains.
on him. Friends, Jesus is the most consequential person. in the history of the universe. To believe in the Son. is to have eternal Life.
to obey him is to have life. Conversely, to not believe, to not obey. is to miss out. on that life. As Jesus said in John, 17 verse 3 and this is eternal life.
That they know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
So the key to life, to abundant eternal life. is to believe. to obey. in order that we might No. The Son of God.
and his father. Our father. who sent him. That's eternal life. That's abundant life.
That's real life. life. And unless we believe, obey and know him The text says the wrath of God remains. on us.
Now I know the phrase the wrath of God makes some of us uncomfortable. This isn't some sort of emotional tirade as if God's throwing a big fit at the head of the universe. No, this is much more like the wrath of the state against a tax evader. You know, the IRS comes. It's not that they're particularly mad.
It's not a personal offense. But there is a settled opposition against lawbreaking, against injustice. The point is here that the wrath of God means that God stands against us. He stands against the venom of sin that is coursing through our veins. He stands against the self-centered living that typifies our lives.
He stands against our selfishness and the harm and the hurtfulness of the way we live. Because Friends, this really is the core of our problem. When we put ourselves at the center of our lives, We invariably become deeply selfish human beings. We start to cave in upon ourselves. We begin to self-destruct and implode, and we become incredibly small people.
It's kind of ironic, but the bigger our ego, the smaller we become. and the more havoc we start to wreak on other people. And God stands against us when we live like that. But friends, when we put Jesus at the center. When we believe that he has come from above, that he is the Son of God, that he brings truth from beyond the world, that he has the key to life, when we realize that Jesus has come to be lifted up on the cross, to die in our place and for our sake, to bear all of our sin and shame, to cover us with his righteousness, to be raised to life so that we may be right with God, forgiven and cleansed and adopted and beloved in him.
When we obey his invitation to look to him and him alone, we can know him personally. And Jesus will come into our lives. He will take center stage in our being. And then, friends, life, real life, eternal, abundant life can begin. Because, friends, Jesus deserves center stage.
by virtue of his position. Of his expertise, his resources, his consequence in the universe. And don't you see that we are better off when he's at the center? Because friends, Jesus matters more. Jesus matters more.
Do you realize there's a gravitas? There's a substance, there's a weightiness. to Jesus that we simply don't have. Just as the planets find stability in their orbit by rotating around in the system around the object with the greatest mass, the sun. Friends, our lives were meant to orbit around Jesus.
And by ourselves, listen. By ourselves, we simply do not have enough mass to stabilize our own orbit. That's that's why. The more we insist on autonomy, Self-rule, doing whatever we want. the more isolated we become.
Because relationships require that we submit to one another, don't they? And if I'm insisting on having my own way and having my own rule, I'm autonomous, you can't tell me what to do, the more lonely and isolated I become. It's a natural byproduct. We also feel more anxious. when we're autonomous.
The more autonomous we are, the more anxious we feel because we have to carry all the weight of all of our decisions. It's all on our shoulders, for good or ill. And so we feel anxious and panicky. The more autonomous we are, the more unstable we become because we simply do not have enough mass to hold our own world in orbit. And the more coping we end up having to do, to keep this charade going.
But friends, what? What if there was a better way? What if there was another way? The way that John is showing us here. He must increase.
I must decrease. Friends, what if allowing Jesus to take center stage in our lives? is in fact a secret. to really, truly living. Work for What if we let our egos die?
And in its place, found Christ's life. What if we let control go? and in its place allowed Christ to rule. Instead. Look.
What if we allowed ourselves to be displaced? and ended up finding ourselves in the process. Do you realize Jesus said this in Matthew 16, verse 25? He said, for whoever would save his life. We'll lose it.
But whoever loses his life for my sake We'll find it. This is a great paradox. at the very heart of what it means to follow Jesus. that the most alive place we can ever be. is when we're no longer at the center.
When Jesus comes in, not I. but Christ who lives in May. Won't you dare to be like John? Won't you dare? to let Jesus displace you.
Come in and be the center. Take center stage in your life. Won't you dare to turn this little statement into a prayer? He must increase. But I must decrease.
Let's pray together. Father, we ask that you would have your way in us. That you would set up your. rule and reign in our hearts. That you would take control.
Father, we allow you to pry our Stubborn fingers off the wheel. of our lives. We say drive. Takeover. You be at the center.
Father, help us to realize how much life, how much grace. How much beauty. How much freedom? There would be In letting go. and being decentered.
in allowing you to have your rightful place. Not only in this universe. but in our lives as well. We yield to you. In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen. On today's Moody Church hour, we heard Pastor Philip Miller with another message in a series he's calling Loved by Jesus, the book of John. We heard about the preeminent. Jesus as history's greatest person.
Next time, don't miss the Satisfier. Why, no matter what we've done or what's been done to us, Jesus loves us. The Modi Church Hour is a listener-supported ministry. Your gift to The Moody Church Hour is appreciated and can be doubled during this month. Join us in the Matching Gift Campaign by calling 1-800-215-5001.
That's 1-800-215-5001. Online, you'll find us at MoodyChurchHour.com. That's moodychurchhour.com. or write to us at Moody Church Media, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. This broadcast is a ministry of The Moody Church.
