In Jason Dohm's sermon 'A Joyful Man Who Has Lost His Influence,' the focus is on John 3:22-36, where John the Baptist's decreasing influence is contrasted with the rising influence of Jesus Christ. The sermon explores the parallel baptism ministries of Jesus and John the Baptist, emphasizing the supremacy and preeminence of Christ. John the Baptist acknowledges that a man can receive nothing unless given from heaven, and he joyfully accepts his role as the forerunner to Christ, recognizing that Jesus must increase while he decreases. The sermon highlights five reasons for Jesus' increasing influence: His unique origin from above, His firsthand participation in the eternal councils of heaven, His words being the words of God, His possession of the Spirit without measure, and His role as the beloved Son given all things by the Father. Additionally, the sermon addresses the significance of purification laws and traditions, warning against missing the Messiah due to sectarian debates. The consequences of belief and unbelief are outlined, emphasizing that belief in the Son grants everlasting life, while rejection results in God's wrath abiding on the unbeliever. Ultimately, the sermon calls for a heart that rejoices in Christ's exaltation and warns against a sectarian spirit that may obscure the glory of Christ.

Our sermon text for this morning will be John chapter 3. We'll be starting in verse 22 and working our way down to verse 36. After these things Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea and there he remained with them and baptized. Now John also was baptizing in Annon near Silim because there was much water there and they came and were baptized for John had not yet been thrown into prison. Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification And they came to John and said to him, Rabbi, he who is with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, he is baptizing, and all are coming to him.

John answered and said, a man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness that I said I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him. He who has the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increased, but I must decrease.

He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. And what he has seen and heard that he testifies, and no one receives his testimony. He who has received his testimony has certified that God is true.

For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life, and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. Let's pray. Oh gracious Heavenly Father, we do thank you for this time in our service where we get to read your word and hear it proclaimed.

And Lord God, I do pray for Mr. Dome as he comes up to preach your word. I pray Lord God you would give him clarity of mind. Oh Lord God that you would speak to us this day. That those who are your people that are in this room Father, that our hearts would be convicted, our lives would be changed, and that after this sermon Father we would be more molded into the image of your Son the Lord Jesus Christ and for those Father who are sitting in these pews that are not safe Father Lord God I pray that this would be the day of salvation that you would do a mighty work in their hearts.

We praise you and thank you Father. Your sons and we pray. Amen. Title of the sermon this morning might seem a little strange. It's a joyful man who is lost as influence.

It might be a bit of an overstatement to say that John the Baptist has lost his influence. But in the timing of the coming of Jesus Christ and his ministry, John the Baptist is almost going to be completely devoid of any influence at all. We know how that story ends. It's strange that a man who would see his influence decreasing and decreasing and ultimately eliminate it altogether would be so happy. But this is really helpful to us.

It teaches us about the supremacy of Christ and how far that should be from a source of concern. It should actually be a source of joy to us that Jesus is King and Lord, and deserves all honor and praise. Last week our text was a text about how just God is to condemn sinners who reject His one remedy. And this was grounded in what He had said in the text the week before that as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. When the people had been rebellious against God, had grumbled against God, and as judgment God had sent fiery serpents among them, People were being bitten by these venomous serpents and they were dying.

He gave them one remedy. If you took God's remedy, you were saved. If you looked at the bronze serpent and believed God, you would be saved. If you tried anything else, you were going to die from the venom. This is just a picture of what sin is coursing through our spiritual veins.

It will kill you. Our sin is killing us. God gives one remedy, and if you don't take the one remedy, if you reject the one remedy given by God, you will be lost for all of eternity. After all, God is under no obligation to provide even a single remedy. That was in last week's sermon, and it is an implication of what we were studying last week.

God doesn't owe us a remedy, but what a remedy He has given us. He has given us, not an angel, not a person, but He has given us the God-man, His own Son, to lay down His life, to bleed and die, that we can be completely clean, completely right. Not even brought into His house as a slave, but brought in as a son and daughter because of the blood of his son Jesus Christ. So since God has provided such a remedy, why would you ever reject it? Why don't people entrust themselves to the one remedy appointed by God, to the anointed one, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Well, many people answer that many different ways, but what Jesus says about the reasons that they give is that they are not reasons, they are excuses. That underlying it all, underlying all the bluster about why people don't embrace the Lord Jesus Christ and don't entrust themselves to Him is this great truth that they really just love darkness. They want to be in the dark because they love sin. And all the other things about how they can't believe this or that, can't accept this or that, is just a cover for loving darkness. This is what the Bible teaches.

As we come to this week's text, let's come to it in prayer asking the Lord to help us. God I thank you for this final testimony of John the Baptist, your prophet. I pray that you would give us a heart that is more like His heart. One that sees the ultimate worthiness of the Lord Jesus Christ to receive the place of honor and would so cheerfully give way. Give us hearts that cheerfully give way to Christ that He would be honored.

Let all self-exaltation be cast away from us. That Christ would receive what he deserves. What he ought to have. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

I'm going to be breaking the text into four different parts this week. The first part will be verses 22 through 26. In these verses we have the parallel baptism ministries of Jesus and John the Baptist. So if you're taking notes on the handout and filling in blanks, the first blank is parallel. Side by side, Jesus and John the Baptist have baptism ministries.

This is what we see in verses 22-26. Follow along as I reread those verses. John 3, 22. After these things, Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea, and there he remained with them and baptized. John also was baptizing in Anon near Salim because there was much water there.

And they came and were baptized. For John had not yet been thrown into prison. Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification. And they came to John and said to him, Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan to whom you have testified, behold he is baptizing and all are coming to him." After Jesus had spoken to Nicodemus and given the testimony we've been studying for a number of weeks now, John and his disciples came into Judea and baptized. Now just look ahead to next week's text.

Let me read chapter 4 verses 1 and 2 because it has an important clarification here. John chapter 4 verses 1 and 2, Therefore when the LORD knew that the Pharisees had heard Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, and this is in parentheses, though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples. So this is a normal use of language when those who are under authority are Carrying out instructions from the one who is in authority, it's rightly said that the one in authority is actually doing it. Jesus wasn't actually doing the baptizing himself, but he was instructing his disciples to baptize. So in this week's text, it says that Jesus was baptizing.

In next week's text, the clarification is that Jesus wasn't actually baptizing, he was directing his disciples to do it. John is baptizing too. At the same time, you have Jesus instructing his disciples to baptize multitudes that are now coming to him. And John is in another place. He's in Anon, which is a Hebrew word that literally means springs.

So Anon is a place of much water. And the text actually says, because there was much water there. Why was John the Baptist baptizing in Anon? Because there was much water there. This is consistent with what we saw at Jesus' baptism, although John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan, not at Anon.

But in Matthew 3.16 it says that Jesus came up from the water. So John the Baptist baptism was a baptism of immersion. You would go down into the water. He needed a lot of water for baptizing, which is why he was baptizing at Salim, which literally means springs. There was a lot of water there.

We're not sure exactly where Anon is, or a number of theories about it. It doesn't matter, a lick, if it mattered we'd have more detail. But it doesn't matter. The text says that Jesus remained with them. The King James Version renders that tarried.

Jesus tarried with them where they were baptizing. The indication is that there was a significant amount of time. It wasn't Jesus baptizing for a day. He was tarrying with his disciples there. Multitudes were coming to him over a period of time and were being baptized by Jesus' disciples.

Verse 24 is significant because it alerts us to the fact the account that we have is actually filling in a gap in the synoptic gospels. So that's a term I'm going to keep on using, and I'll keep on defining it. Hopefully by the time we get to the end of John, any time I say synoptic gospels, you know exactly what that means. The synoptic gospels are the other three. And the reason there's a special name for them is because they're so like.

When you compare Matthew and Mark and Luke, the first three gospels, there's so much continuity and overlap. It's amazing. They almost always have a parallel text for any of their accounts. You can find the same account maybe set a little different way in one of the other gospels. John is very different.

So you have these two categories of Gospels. You have the Synoptics, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which agree at so many different points. And then you have John, which gives very different accounts. And here's another example of that, where John, Almost certainly this was the last gospel written. John is filling in gaps.

So again, my theory, and it's just speculation, but my theory is John had access to the other gospels and he wants to make sure that we have information that hasn't already been given to us in the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. We have a gap here. How do we know that? Well, when you read the synoptic gospels, either Matthew, Mark, or Luke, you find this progression. Jesus is baptized, Jesus goes into the wilderness and is tempted, and then Jesus begins a preaching ministry in Galilee.

So an example of this is Matthew 4 verse 12. In Matthew 4 verse 12 it says, Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he departed for Galilee. And then the rest of John chapter 4 is him preaching and conducting his ministry in Galilee. But John 4 starts by saying that John is in prison. In verse 22, our text explicitly says that John had not yet been thrown in prison.

So we know This is a period of time that we are given no visibility to in any of the other gospels. So our text here that we are studying today is an interim period that is not covered by any of the other gospels. A dispute arises. That's what our text says. A dispute arises.

Dispute in looking at the word dispute might be a little strong. Discussion or debate, they're definitely wrestling over concepts here. This is a discussion or a debate between John the Baptist, disciples, and the Jews about purification. So there are purification laws which you encounter frequently in the Old Testament. When a leper believes that he or she is physically better, no longer having leprosy, you would go to the priest and there would be a ceremonial washing.

If you touched a dead person, there should be a ceremonial washing. There was actually a ceremonial washing of certain utensils in the temple. This is part of the law. So you're coming across ceremonial cleaning, ceremonial washings, purification in the Old Testament. But in addition to that, there's a host of traditions of the elders you won't find anywhere in the Old Testament.

Purification traditions of the elders. And we encounter these in the gospels where people come to Jesus' disciples and say, why don't you do the purification traditions? Why don't you wash your hands like the elders' tradition says we should wash our hands. So you have purification laws, you have purification traditions, and baptism would have fit somewhere into that. In other words, Nobody, not the Jews, not John's disciples, or John, not Jesus' disciples, or Jesus, was arguing that this physical act of going down into water was making you spiritually clean.

It's a ceremonial cleansing. So there's probably some level of discussion about how these baptisms fit into the purification laws of the Old Testament or the traditions that we find referenced in the New Testament. We don't know the nature of the controversy, but understand the insanity. It's so easy to read this and miss the insanity. The insanity is this.

They're debating purification. They're missing the Messiah. They are missing the Messiah. The Son of God is walking the earth. The promised Savior is in their midst, and it's clear from what even John the Baptist disciples say that they are missing it.

They are debating where these baptisms fit in with the laws of purification and the traditions of purification and they are missing the fulfillment of God's promises to send a Messiah. Friends, Beware. The heart of man will do this every time. The heart of man will argue to the death over these things and miss the Lord Jesus Christ. You will meet people.

You probably know people who will go to the mat over this or that, but you never hear them speaking of the glory of Jesus Christ. That should worry you. When you find yourself talking a lot about this or that, and making yourself aware and articulate on the fine points, but you find yourself not hardly speaking of what Jesus Christ has done for your soul, at all beware. Beware. This happened to John the Baptist's disciples, who had the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hey friends, this is in our hearts. This isn't the other guy, this is you. This is in your heart to obsess about something that is beside the main point. Does it mean that baptism doesn't matter? No!

It does mean that Jesus Christ matters the most. His name should be on our lips the most. What He has done for our souls should be on our lips the most. There is insanity in this text. They are arguing about purification and they are missing Jesus Christ who is walking among them.

The result of this discussion or debate or controversy is that they come respectfully to John. They're saying, Rabbi, they're addressing him as one that you would go to and rely on to speak to spiritual matters. So Jesus has already been called Rabbi by Nathaniel in chapter 2. Now John the Baptist is called Rabbi probably by his disciples. But they are disturbed about the trend.

There is a wave. The wave was in the favor of John the Baptist in Matthew chapter 3 when Jesus is baptized. The multitudes are coming out of Jerusalem to the Jordan to be baptized. John the Baptist is the beneficiary of the wave in Matthew chapter 3, but now it's John chapter 3. The wave has moved on.

John the Baptist disciples love their teacher, they love their Rabbi, and they've been excited about how God has been using them. This is a disturbing wave to them, this is a disturbing trend to them. The multitudes that were coming to them are now going to Jesus. This is a bad trend to them. The sense of it is they are coming to John the Baptist probing, how do we reverse the trend?

How do we reverse the bad trend of the multitudes abandoning us to go to Jesus? That brings us to the next section. So we're moving on. That was the first section. Parallel baptism ministries.

Now verses 27-30. In verses 27-30, we have John the Baptist's view of his decreasing influence. So the wave has moved on. It was a wave that he was benefiting from, but now it's moved past him to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now what does John the Baptist think about this?

Well he tells us exactly what he thinks about this in verses 27 through 30. So if you're taking notes on the handout and filling in blanks, it's decreasing. John the Baptist's view of his decreasing influence. Follow along as I read, starting in verse 27. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing unless it is given to him from heaven.

You yourselves bear me witness that I said I am not the Christ but I have been sent before him. He who has the bride is the bridegroom. But the friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease." John's answer is so simple.

A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven." John, why did the multitudes come to you, God? Why was the wave in your favor, God? John, Why are the multitudes going from you? God. Why has the wave moved past you and now Jesus is the beneficiary of the multitudes coming to him.

God, God. John saw the favor and the influence that he had enjoyed for probably something like six months as the hand of a sovereign God, as the work of a sovereign God, doing a certain thing at a certain time, giving him a certain role to play in the economy of salvation, the movement of salvation. John the Baptist understood that he was Malachi 3.1. He says right here, I have been sent before him. He's quoting Malachi 3.1.

He's acknowledging again, we've already seen him do it a couple of times, he's acknowledging, I am the fulfillment of that prophecy. I'm not the Messiah, I am the prophesied forerunner of the Christ. This was his previous repeated testimony. So you can just point his disciples back. Remember that I said and said and said again, I'm not the Messiah, I'm the prophesied forerunner.

I am Malachi 3.1. That is my place in the economy of God's salvation. That's where I fit. I'm not the puzzle. I'm not the maker of the puzzle.

I'm just a piece of the puzzle. I fit here, Malachi 3.1. God is sending me to make ready the people prepared for the Lord. I'm not the whole puzzle, I'm not the maker of the puzzle, I'm a piece of the puzzle, and here's where I fit into the puzzle. Had John the Baptist disciples grasped this, they would not have been surprised, and they would not have been disturbed that the wave is moving past them and the multitudes are going to Jesus.

They were listening but not hearing. Did that ever happen to you? They've been listening. Their master, their rabbi, their teacher keeps saying again and again, I'm not the Christ, I'm the prophesied forerunner. I'm not the Christ, I'm the prophesied forerunner.

I'm not the Christ, I'm the prophesied forerunner. Yeah, we get it. It means this. That the waves are going to move beyond us and the multitudes are going to go to Jesus. What?

That's listening but not hearing. Yes, I understand, but I didn't understand it meant that. Happens a lot. John the Baptist explains this in terms that we haven't seen yet. Look again at verse 29.

29 is worth reading and re-reading and isolating on. So let's do that. Verse 29, He who has the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. I just want to say here, look at how much John the Baptist understands. The prophets who came before John the Baptist, John the Baptist is a prophet.

It's been 400 years before God has prophesied through a man in this way, in a way that is enshrined in scripture. Here's John the Baptist, and he is different than those other prophets in the extent to which he understands who Christ is, what Christ will do. The others have gotten glimpses and they revealed what God gave to them. You have progressive revelation, but wow, what a jump forward in what John the Baptist understands. Jesus will say that he's the bridegroom and give parables about his wedding and the people who attend his wedding.

Then Paul will speak, especially in Ephesians 5, about Jesus as the bridegroom. He will end that passage in Ephesians 5 saying, this is a great mystery, but I speak of Christ and the church. So Paul will preach on this. John, our Gospel writer in the book of Revelation, will set before us at the very end of Revelation about the wedding. But first, before all of them, is John the Baptist and this declaration that Jesus is the bridegroom and the bride is His.

What is the situation? In other words, when John speaks about Jesus as the bridegroom, having the bride, what is he explaining? Well the situation is this, the multitudes are going to Jesus and John the Baptist is saying, good, that's where they should be, they belong to Him. Nothing is more fitting that the multitudes should leave me and go to Jesus because they belong to Him. My job was just to point to Him.

He owns the multitudes. Anyone who is really repenting and believing is His possession. They are His. Think about what John the Baptist is saying. How inappropriate this would be to say this of anyone who is just a man.

If John the Baptist uses this analogy with anyone else who ever lives, that is blasphemy. No man owns another man. The Lord's people are the Lord's and only the Lord's. John the Baptist could only say this of the God man. Any good Jew would have gotten this and and when John the Baptist disciples and the Jews who are debating with them come to them that they know that throughout the Old Testament God is the groom and His people are the bride.

Don't think for a minute that any of John's disciples or any of the Jews that we are debating with them, who I am assuming are now here before John the Baptist, missed what he's saying. They know their Old Testament, they know that God is the groom and His people are the bride, and that's what John the Baptist is saying. What a claim. At Jewish weddings, the role of the friend of the bridegroom is this, to make things ready for the union. So in these times at a Jewish wedding, the friend of the bridegroom would have a lot more responsibilities than the best man today.

The best man is sort of a ceremonial thing. The friend of the bridegroom in Jewish weddings during this time, they were workers. They were making things ready for the union of the bridegroom and the bride. Actually, they were very important. They were front and center until the bridegroom comes to claim his bride.

And then, they're nothing, because the bridegroom then takes center stage, and they have a secondary, a completely subservient role. They're very important. They are making things ready for the union, but when the bridegroom comes, when you hear his voice, when he comes to claim his bride, then the friend of the bridegroom exits stage right. Furthermore, John the Baptist says, Therefore, this joy of mine is fulfilled." It makes him joyful. What does John the Baptist think about his declining influence?

Hooray! Jesus is actually worthy of the honor and the influence that I enjoyed. In his analogy he says The friend of the bridegroom rejoices greatly. So the friend of the bridegroom isn't put off when the groom finally comes and his importance is made subject. Not at all.

The friend of the bridegroom has been waiting for that moment when he hears the voice. He's come to claim his bride. All eyes are on the bridegroom. Good. In his heart he's rejoicing.

Then he says this, he must increase, but I must decrease. Think if you went to a wedding and the attention never shifted from the best man. How would you even conduct a wedding that way? It would be impossible. It would be impossible.

John the Baptist is just saying that. It's impossible that at this point, when the bridegroom has come to claim his bride, when we all hear his voice, that the attention doesn't completely shift to the bridegroom. I'm rejoicing. He must increase. I must decrease.

He's the bridegroom. And God in His providence actually removes John the Baptist altogether. Herod does imprison him because he says, you have your brother's wife, that's an unlawful marriage. And the end of that is John the Baptist losing his head. If you were to ask John the Baptist today about that, why'd that happen?

What would he say? God, God did that. There are people, it's recorded in the Gospel, saying of John the Baptist, is this the Messiah? God in His providence left no doubt, left no temptation to divert attention from the Lord Jesus Christ. John the Baptist was that puzzle piece.

He fulfilled his role wonderfully with the testimony that he gave. He made the people ready to receive Jesus, for Jesus to come onto the scene. And then his time was done. He was given the honor to be a martyr. People have been saying, is this the Christ?

Jesus, or God, in his providence, just takes him completely out of the picture and gives him the honor of being a martyr for the Lord Jesus. Verses 31-35. In verses 31-35, we have the ground of Jesus' increasing influence. So if you're taking notes on the handout and you're filling in blanks, it's increasing. The ground for Jesus' increasing influence.

In other words, John the Baptist tells us why God is sidelining such a mighty prophet. With Jesus' own testimony about John the Baptist, it is that among those born of women, there is none greater than John the Baptist. God, why are you sidelining him? Well, John the Baptist is about to give the reasons for that. Follow along as I read verses 31 through 35.

He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. And what he has seen and heard, that he testifies, and no one receives his testimony. He who has received his testimony has certified that God is true.

For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son and has given him all things into his hands." I'm going to give you five things out of these verses that John the Baptist gives as the ground for Jesus' increasing influence. In other words, they're the reasons why God is sidelining even a mighty prophet like John the Baptist. It would seem like he's so useful. Just like leave him on the scene too.

No, there's a reason why Jesus gets the stage all to himself. There are five here. Let me give them to you. By the way, each one of these deserves a sermon. I'm just going to skim over them.

The reason that I don't mind is that none of us can stand a sermon that long. None of us can stand to go that slow in the Gospel of John, and in each one of these are going to be other places in the Gospel of John. We're coming to it anyway. There's no need to pre-preach those sermons. So don't worry that I'm skimming over these five points, and that they're very underdeveloped in this sermon.

We're coming to them again. Point number one. These five things make the ground of Jesus' increasing influence. Number one, as the only one from above, Jesus is above all. As the only one from above.

In all of human history, there is one who is from above. It is the Lord Jesus Christ. And as that one, Jesus is above all. Listen to verse 31 again. He who comes from above is above all.

He who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. So there is sort of a sandwich here. He says the same thing at the very beginning of the verse and the very end of the verse, Jesus is above all. And then he talks about people from the earth and then he says it again, Jesus is above all in case you missed it.

John the Baptist is actually including himself in those who are earthly. Does that mean that everything that John the Baptist said or did was earthly? No, it just means that Jesus is in a completely different category. Compared to the scribes and the Pharisees, John the Baptist was saying heavenly things compared to Jesus Christ. He is an earthly man who is only man.

He is drawing a distinction between the God-man and every other man who has ever lived or ever will live. Is John the Baptist saved? Yes, most assuredly he is. Is John the Baptist a prophet? Yes, he most assuredly is.

Is John the Baptist great? Yes, there's no one greater. According to Jesus' own testimony, Is John the Baptist earthly? Yes, he is only a man. And being only a man, that pervades everything about him.

It's filled with weakness and the things that we struggle with. In the same way that's true of every other person except for the God-man, Jesus is unique. As the only one from above, Jesus is above all. This is why God would sideline even a mighty prophet to give the stage only to Jesus. Number two, everything Jesus says is based on being a primary participant in the eternal councils of heaven.

Everything Jesus says is based on being a primary participant in the eternal counsels of heaven. In the beginning was the Word, And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. Look again at verse 32. And what he has seen, what Jesus has seen and heard, that he testifies, and no one receives his testimony.

This is just what Jesus said to Nicodemus. We're in the same chapter. Look at what Jesus said in Nicodemus in verses 11 and 12. Jesus says to Nicodemus, Most assuredly I say to you, we speak what we know and testify what we have seen, and you do not receive our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" John the Baptist is essentially saying, actually throughout This whole discourse that we're studying today, John the Baptist in many ways is repeating what Jesus was teaching to Nicodemus.

This is one of those places. Jesus is speaking out of first person experience in the eternal counsels of God. He's always been there with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Everything that's been said within the Godhead was seen and heard by the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything that he speaks comes out of that.

Now find a prophet who can say that. John the Baptist also marvels at the natural resistance of every man to receive this perfect testimony. What does he say? No one receives his testimony. You think, well, some receive his testimony.

Yes, after the Holy Spirit of God supernaturally breaks into their lives and makes them new, then if God left people to themselves, not a single person would receive the perfect testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm going to say that again, that's so important. You must believe that is the consistent teaching of Scripture. Unless God supernaturally breaks through your natural resistance, Meaning the resistance that is in your nature because you love darkness, because you love your sin, unless God supernaturally breaks through that and fundamentally changes your heart, you will never receive the testimony, the perfectly true testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're saved, you should be so happy.

That God took your natural resistance, the resistance in your nature. And we learned the nature of that last week. What is the nature of that resistance? You love sin. You love treason.

You love rebellion. You love darkness. But God, who is rich in mercy. I wonder if it's possible to preach a sermon without referencing Ephesians 2. Probably not.

I hope we never know. That's number two. Everything Jesus says is based on being a primary participant in the eternal councils of heaven. That's why you can believe every word that he says. Number three.

Jesus only speaks the words of God. Only and always. Many of these things are of course intertwined. So I'm sort of untangling them and separating them. But they do belong together.

Number three, Jesus only speaks the Word of God. Look again at verse 33 and the beginning of 34. He who has received his testimony has certified that God is true, for he whom God has sent speaks the words of God. He whom God has sent speaks the words of God. God the Father sent Jesus, God the Son, and every word that Jesus speaks is God's Word.

What does John the Gospel writer call Jesus from the start? The Word. In the beginning was the Word. Every word that Jesus ever spoke, being God, was God's word. Listen to Paul in 1 Corinthians 13, 9.

For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. That's true of every human and even every prophet that has walked God's green earth. They know in part and they prophesy in part, but that does not describe Jesus. He does not know in part as God, He knows all. He does not prophesy in part as God every word he speaks is God's word.

So if you receive his testimony you have recognized that what Jesus says is the truth of God. It says you have certified that God is true. A literal translation is you have sealed. A seal you would put your seal on something you were taking ownership of. Like I own this as God's truth.

It's like saying amen to the gospels. Saying amen. Like that is God's truth. I own that as God's truth. You put your stamp on it, I recognize that that is true.

You don't make it true, you're recognizing that it is true. That's number three. Jesus only speaks the words of God. Number four. Jesus has the Spirit without measure.

Jesus has the Spirit without measure. Just look at this last part of verse 34. For God does not give the Spirit by measure. The King James clarifies this by adding the words unto Him. For God does not give the spirit by measure unto him unto the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is surprising, the King James almost never does that. You find the King James to be very rigidly word for word and yet here to make sure that we get the point of what's being communicated here, they add the words unto him. It is Jesus who has the Spirit without measure. You, believer, As wonderful as the indwelling of the Spirit is, you have the Spirit by measure. Jesus did not have the Spirit by measure.

This is also something that makes him fundamentally different from any other prophet who has ever come on the scene. Jesus has the Spirit without measure. All the others have prophesied in part. Look at chapter 1 verse 32. Back to chapter 1 verse 32.

This is John the Baptist speaking of Jesus' baptism. And John bore witness saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. At the time I said that is highly symbolic. The fact that the Spirit alights on Jesus but remains upon Jesus is not to communicate that Jesus didn't have the Spirit, but this was the point in time when he got the Spirit. It was to let us know that Jesus has the Spirit remaining upon him.

The Spirit doesn't come and go. The Spirit does not ebb and flow with the Lord Jesus Christ. He has the Spirit without measure, an infinite amount of the Holy Spirit. And we hear it from Jesus and His teachings, meaning there's never a gap in truth. It's truth, truth, truth, truth, truth, truth, truth, truth, truth, truth, truth, truth, truth, truth, truth, truth, truth, God's Word.

Think of the prophets. How many of their words do we have? How many words do they actually speak? How many of the words that they spoke were actually of God? Across their lifetime, almost nothing, .0001% of any of the prophets words were God's words.

Every one of Jesus' words were God's words because he had the Spirit without measure. We see it in what He is doing. Think of all the wonder workers in the Old Testament up to the time of Jesus Christ. How many wonders did they work? There are five on every page of the Gospels.

Jesus had the Spirit without measure. Brothers and sisters, this has implications for us. Because now Jesus is dispensing the Spirit. So how much does He have to dispense to you and I who are needy? Well, there are no boundaries.

There are no bounds to it. Number four, Jesus has the Spirit without measure. Number five, the last ground for the increase in Jesus' influence, and for a mighty prophet being sidelined by God, is number five, Jesus is the beloved Son who has been given all things. Jesus is the beloved Son who has been given all things. Jesus is the beloved Son who has been given all things.

Look at verse 35. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Jesus is the only begotten, unique, one-of-a-kind Son. He's beloved of his Father. The times that you hear the voice of God in the New Testament, He's saying, I love Him.

This is my beloved Son at His baptism. This is my beloved Son at the Mount of Transfiguration when Jesus is transfigured. Jesus is the loved son and God has given everything over into his hand and so he is so worthy to have the place of honor and preeminence. Compared to Jesus, John the Baptist is great as he is, doesn't deserve one nanosecond of attention compared to the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is the beloved Son of God, the unique one of a kind Son of God who was loved by his Father and his Father has given every single thing over to his hands.

You see this truth said over and over again by author after author in the New Testament. Everything is Jesus's. He's received it from the Father who loves him. And John the Baptist rejoices to see it. See all this handed over to Jesus.

Turn to Colossians 1. Colossians 1. Colossians 1, Paul speaks so clearly about the preeminence of Jesus. Preeminence just means first place. If you have the preeminence, you have the spot of highest honor.

There's no one who is your rival. You are first place, alone. Colossians 1, I'll read verses 15-18. Paul is saying this of the Lord Jesus Christ, Colossians 1, 15-18. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth visible and invisible whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers all things were created through him and for him and he is before all things and in him all things consist and he is the head of the body the church who is the beginning the firstborn from the dead that in all things He may have the preeminence. God has given the Son that He loves first place in all things and John the Baptist sees it, knows it, and says, that makes me happy. I hope you have a heart like that. I hope you have a heart like that. I hope you have a heart seeing Jesus being given all things, seeing Jesus being the object of God's love, and so God the Father just gives all things over into His hands, and it makes you happy.

It's rejoicing in your heart. John the Baptist gets it and it makes him able to step aside and watch the waves sweep over and past him and all the multitudes go to Jesus and it doesn't make him remorseful at all. He is exceedingly joyful at the sound of the voice of the bridegroom. Finally, verse 36. In verse 36 we have the consequences of believing and of rejecting.

If you believe, there are consequences to that. If you reject, there are consequences to that. Look at verse 36. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life, and he who does not believe the sun shall not see life but the wrath of God abides on him. This sermon has already been preached I think twice in this chapter.

If you believe you have everlasting life, if you don't believe you are damned. The wrath of God abides upon you. Jesus just said this in the clearest words and elaborates on it when he's teaching Nicodemus. John the Baptist here just says he understands exactly the same things as what Jesus has taught. There are consequences for believing you gain everlasting life and not just that, it is a life of joy.

When you believe, you gain an everlasting life of joy in the presence of your Savior. There are consequences for not believing. It's interesting, The NASB and the ESV render that obey. Instead of not believe, it's rendered not obey. He who does not obey shall not see life.

So it's rendered differently by the NASB and the ESV. The NIV renders it rejects. He who rejects the sun shall not see life and and this is because One one word doesn't capture up the full range of meaning of the Greek word listen to the range of meaning in the Greek word The primary meaning is not to allow oneself to be persuaded. So I guess not believe is okay, but it means more than just not believing. You actually will not allow yourself to be persuaded.

You see the difference? You see how much more stark it is when you actually look at the Greek word. I have not allowed myself to be persuaded. Why? Because there's not enough evidence?

No! Because I don't want to be persuaded. I will not allow myself to be persuaded to refuse or withhold belief. To refuse belief and obedience. That all is the primary meaning.

Now here's the secondary meaning, not to comply with. Not to comply with. So that's why you see NASB and ESV rendering it. You do not obey the Son. The consequences are this, if you will not allow yourself to be persuaded by the ample evidence of the New Testament that Jesus is the only remedy for your treason against God, you will not see life but the wrath of God abides on you.

I'm going to re-quote Matthew Henry from last week. I quoted this last week, but it's so perfect for here, I couldn't resist. Matthew Henry says, Unbelief may truly be called the great damning sin, because it leaves us under the guilt of all our sins. It is a sin against the remedy. God has given a remedy.

God didn't owe you a remedy, but God has given it anyway. Out of His goodness, He has sent His own Son. It has pleased him to crush his son, but you will not be persuaded. And so, God's anger at your treason against him remains on you. Because you will not have it removed by believing on his son.

A final word. A final word. All of this is present tense. In the English, in the Greek, anywhere it's present tense. He who believes in the Son has right now everlasting life.

He Who does not believe in the Sun or who withholds belief or who will not be persuaded Shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides today right now the wrath of God abides Upon you It is present tense because it is a present reality. If you have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, you have entered into eternal life. Eternal life has started for you. It is a present reality for you. If you have withheld belief, if you will not be persuaded, then the wrath of God is not a future reality for you.

It is a present reality to you this second, this second, this second, this second, except it's only getting worse. The Puritan writers, over and over again, the Puritan preachers say that every second of time that you reject God's remedy increases your guilt, increases God's wrath against you. Another second has gone by. Another second has gone by. You will not embrace his son.

The wrath is increasing against you every tick of the clock. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. Here's what J.C. Ryle says about the present reality for the believer and the unbeliever. Ryle says, John the Baptist declares, He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.

He is not intended to look forward with a sick heart to a far distant privilege. He hath present tense everlasting life as soon as he believes. Pardon, peace, and a complete title to heaven are an immediate possession. They become a believer's own from the very moment he puts faith in Christ. They will not be more completely his own if he lives to the age of Methuselah.

Think of that. Peace, pardon, and a complete title to heaven will not be more completely your own if you're a believer, if you were to live to the age of Methuselah, that's 969 years, if you were to live that long, your title to heaven would not be more yours than it is today if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. There are no works to be done, no conditions to be fulfilled, no price to be paid, no wearing years of probation to be passed before a sinner can be accepted with God. Let him only believe in Christ and he is at once forgiven. Salvation is close to the chief of sinners.

Let him only repent and believe and this day it is his own and then J.C. Ryle says this, if heaven is very near to the believer hell must be very near to the unbeliever. The greater the mercy that the Lord Jesus offers, the greater will be the guilt of those who neglect and reject it. Applications. I give you three.

They come in the form of questions. Three questions. Number one, to what extent do we have this sectarian spirit? John the Baptist's disciples come and because it's not their master's, rabbi's, teacher's ministry, it sort of doesn't count. To what degree do we have this sectarian spirit that would have us arguing about purification and missing the Messiah.

Ryle says the true Christian must watch and pray against the spirit here manifested by John's disciples. It is very insidious, very contagious, and very injurious to the cause of religion. That's so true. It is insidious, meaning it will be upon you, it will be working in your heart, and you will never even see it. It is contagious, it spreads rapidly from one to another.

When you allow space for this in your heart, even unknowingly, you jeopardize us all, because of how contagious it is. It is very injurious to the cause of religion. We have distinctions. I love our distinctions. I praise God for our distinctions, but God is at work in people who don't hold our distinctions.

There are people who love the Lord in our sincerity who know nothing of many of the things that we hold dear. I'm not talking about an ecumenical spirit where we cross lines and partner with people who don't believe the Bible is true. There is a bridge too far, I'm not talking about that. But I am talking about what we see in our text where the distinctives held and loved by John the Baptist disciples kept them from what they should be rejoicing in. That's a disease of the heart.

And we are subject to it. To what extent do we have this sectarian spirit? Number two, to what extent do we understand that the Lord Jesus Christ is everything and we are nothing? What extent do you understand that? Jesus is everything.

We don't deserve any honor. We should never exalt ourselves. Jesus is the one worthy of exaltation. He should have it all. You find yourself in conversations steering things towards your own exaltation.

I do it all the time. I want to repent. Jesus Christ is Everything. We are nothing. The trajectory should be, we are decreasing.

Christ is increasing. And we're not discouraged by that. We're made happy by that. That's what we see in John the Baptist. Here's an offshoot of that.

Is the preeminence of Christ bad news to you? It was bad news to John the Baptist's disciples. Jesus is being exalted. What are we going to do? Well, you could rejoice like your master.

Beware when the preeminence of Christ, when Christ being king is bad news to you. Maybe he wants to touch one of your idols. Maybe he's been touching one of your idols and you're not appreciating it. It's bad news to you that he's king. Repent.

Here's an offshoot for me. The better of a job I do, the less attention I'll have from you. The better I am. And the role God has given me to play, the less attention I'll have for you, because you'll be enraptured by a vision of Christ. The more mature you become, the less attention I'll have.

I hope as that happens, my heart will rejoice. John the Baptist's heart rejoiced. Thirdly, finally, right this minute, what is happening with God's anger towards your treason. Write this minute, present reality, what's happening with God's anger towards your treason? Is it growing by the second?

Have you assented to the truths about Jesus Christ and consented to the person of Jesus Christ? You know this is the language that they keep using over and over again because the word believe that we keep encountering in the Gospel of John has two components. Ascent to the truths, embracing the truths about what the Bible says about Jesus, but it's more than that. It's consenting to the person. It's entrusting yourself to the object of those truths, to the teller of those truths.

So you have to both assent to the truths and consent to the persons. Have you done that? If you have, then your present reality is you have peace, pardon, and a complete title to heaven. If you haven't, the wrath of God is abiding upon you and it's increasing every second. Father, Thank you for these repeated truths.

Thank you for the goodness of your words. Thank you that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and taught us these things. These are the things we need to know. Thank you for raising up men and women throughout history who knew parts of the truth and testified to the Lord Jesus like John the Baptist. Make us happy by seeing Jesus exalted.

We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.