He Must Increase, but I Must Decrease

As we approach, once again this year, the start of the Holy Days, it's a blessing. God bring thee around every year to His days as He rolls out for us His plan of salvation for all of mankind. And here we are once again, and I believe, hopefully after all these years, we recognize the fact that this is about us.

Right? God's focus, His emphasis, His plan, it's what He's doing. These days are about our salvation. They're about the love of God that was so great that He gave His only begotten Son, who laid His life down as a sacrifice for us. They're about the grace and mercy of God that He's poured into our lives. Again, about His great love that He would bring us along from physical birth to spiritual birth through baptism to the point then, one day, we will be literally born into His likeness and the glorified family of God, and the reminder of these things each and every year begins with these Holy Days. I'll be traveling to West Africa. Here I leave a week from tomorrow, so since I won't be with you for the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread, I want to continue with a message here today that focuses us towards those days. Maybe a little more emphasis today on the Days of Unleavened Bread, but certainly wrapping the Passover into this as well. And I want to remind us that these days aren't simply about what God is doing in us. Obviously, that is the overarching focus, but the point is we don't just sit back and let the grace of God, so we say, fall upon us, happen to us, and work things out in us.

This is a relationship, and God is working. And as Jesus said, my Father works, and I am working. You and I, brethren, are called to be working as well in this process. We work as we reach for the high calling of the prize in Christ Jesus. So these days also is about the salvation and our own personal and active involvement in it as well.

These holy days are about God's nature, His character being developed in us. They're about going from the carnal man to the stature of the fullness of Jesus Christ. And again, the work that we must do individually as that's accomplished in us.

I think about Israel coming out of Egypt, and I think about the fact that God brought them out of bondage, and He was taking them to the Promised Land. And it's so easy to think about what you left behind and where you're going to go, and the goal that's waiting there, that sometimes maybe you forget to journey along the way. And there's so much that is important that takes place in that journey. Israel, actually sadly, not by God's intent and design, wandered in circles in the wilderness for 40 years while His work in them was in preparation for them to enter the Promised Land.

And we know that generation that came out of Egypt, those adults, did not enter in. Their children entered in and obtained the promise. So the journey is important as well, and the development and the refinement through this process is important as well. And indeed, that's what these days point to. So today I want to speak on the topic focusing towards, again, the days of the 11 bread most specifically.

And I want to convey to us our focus that I believe we must keep during these days. And there's a concept found in the words of John the Baptist in John chapter 3 and verse 30 that I want us to grab hold of and keep in mind as we walk through the Passover and as we walk through the days of 11 bread this year. Let's begin in John chapter 30. Excuse me, John chapter 3 and verse 30. A very simple statement, yet very profound in its implications.

John chapter 3 and verse 30, breaking into the context, again, the words of John the Baptist.

Speaking of Jesus Christ, he says, he must increase, but I must decrease.

Again, very simple statement, yet very profound in its implications. He must increase, but I must decrease.

Understand, brother, John the Baptist was speaking in response to a situation that had come to his attention. You see, the one that he had baptized was now beyond the Jordan, and his disciples note that people are going to him, Jesus Christ.

And they're hearing him, they're following his teaching, following his ministry, and they come to John about this, and this was his response.

Let's broaden out the context just a little bit so we can understand the depth of what he's saying here. Let's go back up to verse 25. John chapter 3 verse 25.

It says, 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 was with you beyond the Jordan 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.

He says, but the friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.

Therefore, his joy, this joy of mine, is fulfilled.

And he must increase, 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.

Brethren, we see here in John the Baptist, the man who understood the great purpose of his ministry, he came to prepare the way for Jesus Christ, to lay the groundwork, to preach repentance, to baptize, and to soften the people's heart for the message that Jesus would bring and literally the work that he would do through the laying down of his life.

John says, I'm the messenger, I'm not the message.

Okay, so now Jesus Christ is on the scene, and as Jesus' ministry is ramping up, John understands now I must take a step back.

This is the purpose. This was the point of his ministry, and he said, Jesus Christ, he must increase, but I must decrease.

His humility at this moment reflects a deep spiritual truth that we're called to embrace as well, which is, brethren, our lives are meant to magnify God the Father and Jesus Christ, not ourselves.

This life isn't about self. Self-ambition, self-pride, self-motivation.

It is about what God is doing in us.

And in our own personal and spiritual lives, understand this principle is so vital, especially during these holy days, as we recognize, if I'm to be who God has fashioned me to be, if I'm going to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, he must increase, but I must decrease.

And indeed, it is what we must all do, continuing to put off self and putting on Jesus Christ in its place.

So that's my title for today, this simple phrase from John.

He must increase, but I must decrease.

How are we doing in that process? How am I doing?

This is a time of self-examination as we come up to the Passover.

As the Apostle Paul admonishes us in 1 Corinthians 11, verse 28, he says, Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

And so this time approaching is a time of self-examination, a time of looking inside, of seeing who and what we are, but also looking to the example God sent, his only begotten Son, the one who walked perfectly, the one whose footsteps we follow in.

It is time to see how we measure up.

Over this past year, has Paul Moody increased in my life, or has Jesus Christ increased in my life?

When I look into that spiritual mirror of evaluation, seeing more of me or more of him, indeed, if we are becoming as he is and we are taking on the mind of God, he must increase, but I must decrease.

And easy as that might sound, brethren, it is work. It is effort.

It's what we must put our heart and our mind to as we go through this examination process, walking up to the Holy Days.

Notice what the Apostle Paul has to say about this in 2 Corinthians 13.

We will turn there. 2 Corinthians 13 and verse 5.

2 Corinthians 5. Paul says, Examine yourself. Take a look.

Look deep down inside. See what's in your heart. Peel back the layers of the onion of your life, so to speak, and see what's revealed.

Examine yourself. He says, To whether you are in the faith, test yourselves.

Do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you?

Unless, indeed, you are disqualified.

Paul says, He's there. He ought to be there.

If you look for Him, hopefully you find Him.

Unless, perhaps, He's not there.

But indeed, He must be if we call ourselves His.

Or to examine ourselves, brethren, for evidence that we truly are His, and that we are living according to the faith we profess.

Ask yourself, is a spiritual fruit that is laid out here by God's standard being developed in my life?

Are the fruits of the Spirit evident? Has this past year reflected a growth, an improvement, moving more and more towards the stature of the fullness of the Son of God?

Do I just say I'm in the faith, or do my words and actions actually reflect Jesus Christ in me?

Paul says we are to test ourselves, and he says Jesus Christ is the standard.

Mr. Nelson mentioned measurement, right?

So there's times around the ranch where there's always a project going on, and probably the most used tool around our house is tape measure.

We're always looking for the tape measure. We have three or four tape measures around, and we can never find them.

Well, I don't know. It was in the drawer. Did you put it back?

And we're looking for the tape measure, because you have to get the measurement right.

Jesus Christ is the standard against who we measure ourselves in examination.

It's not our spouse. It's not our neighbor. It's not anybody else. He is the standard.

And I think clearly we would understand that we always indeed have growth and work to do as we consider that measurement.

But again, he must increase, but I must decrease. That's a tall order. As human beings, it's not easy for us to step down.

Step down from self. Maybe to step down from pride or elevation or self-acknowledgement of me.

That's not typically what's built into our carnal nature.

To set a self aside, if we look at it and we say, well, we take this measurement, and I don't measure up. The point is we have work to do, and we must set aside then that measure of self, continuing to look to the one who set the ultimate example.

But again, we don't do that easily as human beings.

But you and I, brother, need to be those who know how to step down, to actually lower self so that there's room for Jesus Christ to increase in our lives.

One of my favorite stories of humility from American history involves President James Madison.

You may know a little bit about Madison. He was the fourth president of the United States, served two terms in office, so a total of eight years from 1809 to 1817.

Madison's often been referred to as the father of the U.S. Constitution because he was instrumental in working to draft that. He's also the key author of the Bill of Rights, so no menial tasks we would understand as to what our country has founded upon.

This individual was very prestigious in government.

Madison spent much of his adult life in politics, and before his presidency, he served as Thomas Jefferson's Secretary of State.

During that time, he oversaw the Louisiana Purchase, an event that doubled the footprint of our nation at that time.

So again, somebody of high esteem, high accomplishment, high stature, two terms as President of the United States.

And a specific point I wanted to note about President Madison pertains to his retirement years, because after he finished his two terms of President, he returned to his Virginia plantation, and he served out the remainder of his career serving in the Office of the Justice of the Peace.

That's impressive to me, honestly.

It's an interesting concept to consider. Here you had a man who held the highest office in the nation, and accomplished a lot of incredible things upon which our country is founded.

And when he left that office, he didn't go on a book tour and make millions more to add on top of the millions he somehow gained along the way. No, he went and continued as a public servant in what many would consider the lowly office, the Justice of the Peace.

He administered minor criminal and civil justice issues, and he performed weddings.

James Ruskin, an American historian and writer, made the following observation about President Madison.

Ruskin said, I think that's an interesting concept for us to think about, brother.

So much of our public education around us focuses on how we can climb up the ladder, so to speak. The corporate ladder of success, or the ladder of success in your life. There's self-help books, there's classes, there's instructions on how you can climb the ladder of success.

And you know what? We should put our best efforts into doing so in a godly manner.

But that's the education, how to reach the top.

But there's so little education that actually instructs individuals how to actually be able to step down gracefully from a position that's been high and perhaps exalted, especially in the sight of many.

And Madison's story is so incredible to me, I guess I would say, because he could step down in humility and grace in a way that he continued as a public servant for the rest of his life.

I believe it's an example in a story that shows how indeed one can climb up and one can step down again as well.

In the world around us, that's not often what we see.

Success and advancement often will go first floor, second floor, third floor, top office.

Next guy, first floor, second floor, third floor, top office.

How do you step down? There's education for stepping up.

Jesus Christ showed us how to step down, and indeed it must be what we do for self in this life.

Proverbs 22, verse 29, talks about the fact that a man who excels in his work will stand before kings and not obscure men.

So that's climbing the ladder. And again, society will teach that well, but what about climbing back down, about letting go of the top rung of self?

Being willing to come down a few rungs on the ladder so that we can receive through humility what it is that Jesus Christ has to add to our life.

Most would probably tell you climbing down is a negative concept that is related to failure and loss. And you know, sometimes it indeed can be, but climbing down of self is something we must learn to do as the people of God if we're going to climb up in our spiritual lives.

No wonder he climbed up because he knew how to climb down. Indeed, could we not say the same thing about the one who set the perfect example for us, Jesus Christ?

As it pertains to self, brethren, it is about him. It is about him in us.

Colossians 1, verse 27, it is about Christ in me, the hope of glory.

And so it's not all about me. It is much about me.

It is what God is doing in me, what he is doing in you, and what we do to participate in the process. But again, it is Christ in you that that glory indeed shines forth.

He must increase, but I must decrease.

You know, the more we allow him to reign in our lives, the less room there will be for sin and self.

This week we had our first foal born on the place. We have four coming this year. And we had this pregnant mare, Darla had been watching. We'd been putting her up in the pen at night in case she'd fold at night, and let her out in the morning so she could move around, get some grazing in in the pasture with the other horses. And on Thursday I was working at my desk, and I got up and went to the kitchen. I decided I'll make a cup of tea, and as I'm waiting for the kettle to heat up, I look out the window, and across the pasture I see the mare, and she's kind of towards the back of the field, sort of over the hump. So I see the top of her, but she's obviously laying down, and she's half down, and she's half up, and she's half down again. And I'm watching, and I'm thinking, you know, this is looking a little suspicious. And then pretty soon she's up on her feet, and she's turned around, and her nose is to the ground. I'm thinking, well, maybe she's grazing. Then a couple of the other horses come over, and they've all got their nose down to the ground. And I'm thinking, surely they're not eating the same blade of grass. You know? So I put on my jacket, I put on my shoes, I hop the creek, I'm walking out there, and pretty soon as I'm coming sort of over the rise, I see this red and white head pop up. Red and white pinto colt. And I see this head pop up, and this baby's trying to, you know, it's fumbling around. It's all legs. You know, three minutes old, dripping wet, trying to figure out, what do I do from here? It's like, how do I get on my feet, and, you know, legs everywhere? It's not good to leave them in the pasture for very long. You can have a little excitement. Someone else can decide, hey, that's my baby. So, Dabitha caught her horse, and I picked this little guy up, and now I'll kind of walk across the five acres, carrying him, and get him into the backyard, put him down. Today, he's out on a speed, he's jumping around, you know, Froth came around, running and playing, and is working under his own motivation, but there was a point there where he needed to be carried, literally, across the field. But now, this is the point, right? This is the relationship. He must increase, but I must decrease. And there's areas of relationship in our lives where this goes in different directions, but is there not a time, certainly, where our shepherd, Jesus Christ, carries us in moments of our life that, frankly, we cannot carry ourself? Our dependency is upon him, and simply, we have to allow him to do the work that he does within us. Our carnal nature resists that, frankly, and this is part of our calling. How do we overcome? How do we put out that which is resistance to Christ in you, the hope of glory?

Notice Paul's words in Colossians 2 and verse 20.

Excuse me, I may have said Colossians. Let's go to Galatians. Galatians 2 and verse 20. We'll save Colossians for another day.

Colossians 2 and verse 20. Very important principle. That's our focus. Apostle Paul writing, and he says, I have been crucified with Christ. He says, it's no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Okay, this is at the heart of what it means for Christ to increase in our lives. Our old selves must be crucified. It must be put to death. We're going to put somebody under the waters of baptism today. Okay, that's where this starts, but that's not where it ends. This is an ongoing process of our life, each and every day, as Paul said, to be crucified with Christ. And it's not me who lives, it's him who lives in me, so that my words and my actions reflect, indeed, who it is that he is that is being developed in me. The idea that he must increase calls us to a higher standard of living at all times, and challenges us to reflect upon our lives and to ask, in what ways am I still holding on to my own self-will, to my own pride, to my own selfish ambitions. Indeed, this standing is a call to examination, and it's a call to repentance, if indeed we find things that are in opposition. And yes, brethren, we're preparing to walk through a set of holy days that point our focus in exactly that. Exodus 12.

Exodus 12 and verse 15.

This is the focus of these days.

Exodus 12 and verse 15, the instructions, says, Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses, forever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day. That person shall be cut off from Israel. And on the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you, no manner of work shall be done on them. But that which everyone must eat, that only may be prepared by you. Verse 17.

From the same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. On the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, so we're caulking in context of the days of unleavened bread, so this is sunset at the end of the fourteenth, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses. Since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land.

Okay, so God's instructions are for seven days, right? No leaven shall be found within your houses. And we prepare for that time, don't we? It's time in the run-up to the days of unleavened bread. We prepare. We de-leaven our houses. We hunt for the leaven. We look in the pantry. We look in the refrigerator. We look between the couch cushions and everywhere else that might have gone. We look in our car. We look in ourself. Because if this process is just physical, brethren, we're missing the point. The physical is important. And we do physical things.

It's like baptism. That's a physical thing. It's important. But if the heart's not right, all that happens is the person gets wet. Right? This is a physical element that points to a spiritual reality that God's accomplishing in our life. Leaven in biblical terms often represents sin. It represents pride. And all that's contrary to God's holiness. And we remove that from our homes. We're not just cleaning physically.

At least, I hope we're not. We ought to be examining ourselves spiritually. Saying, where are the crumbs in my life? That leaven. That nature within me that is contrary to the righteousness of God. I've got to get it out. I've got to put it out. Not just because the holy day is coming, but because this is now who and what I am.

A Christian is not just about what I know. It is about who and what I am by character. Who am I in becoming? Indeed, to put out the leaven is the start, physically. But ultimately, to put it out spiritually, that's the goal. So in context of John the Baptist's words, the more leaven we remove from our hearts and minds, the more room there is for Christ to reign in us. Indeed, I must decrease. And he must increase. God and Christ in us. During the days of leavened bread, we're reminded this is not just about a physical act, but a spiritual transformation. Verse 20 of Exodus 12 says, You shall eat nothing leavened.

But it doesn't stop there. It goes on. It says, In all your dwellings, you shall eat unleavened bread. So understand, these days aren't only about putting something out of our lives, they're actually more so about what we're adding into our lives. The unleavened that's going in, because when the days of the leaven start, that leaven's put out. We've come through the Passover. Christ, our Passover was sacrificed for us. Now it's about what we're taking in, what we're putting in, the unleavened. These aren't the days of no leavened bread. They're the days of unleavened bread.

So each and every day we take something in that reminds us about who and what we're to be becoming. Again, Christ in you, the hope of glory. 1 Corinthians 5. 1 Corinthians 5, That which we replace the leavening with, brethren, is the most important focus of the days of unleavened bread.

1 Corinthians 5 and verse 6. Apostle Paul writing, he says, Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened, for indeed Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, Paul says. This is one of those strong New Testament proofs that the early church kept the feasts of God.

These aren't just swept away with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Let us keep the feast. This is not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. It's a spiritual process. The physical is there with it, but the spiritual really is actually what God is doing. What goes in must replace and remedy what was put out. The nature of whores a vacuum. You've probably heard that phrase, nature of whores a vacuum. It's like you displace something, something else is going to come into its place.

If I had an empty bottle up here, it's full of something, it's full of air, right? And I could... How am I going to displace that air? I've got to put something in its place to displace it, fill it with water, right? Displace... Displace the air. If you just put out the spiritual leavened bread and you leave a void, then something else, probably not of God's choosing, will move into its place. And so the point of these days of unleavened bread is you must intentionally and deliberately fill that with something.

And that's what that feast portrays, filling the void with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, the source of which is Jesus Christ, the bread of life. John 6, verse 32. John 6, verse 32. I read this in a recent message, but I don't think we can come here too often in the run-up to these days. Because in our Christian calling, Jesus Christ is the bread that sustains us. He's the one the Father sent. John 6, verse 32.

So Christ is revealing Himself to be the bread that sustains our spiritual lives. He was sinless. He was perfect. The Father sent Him into the world, and we partake of Him. Okay? And this is the part of the days of unleavened bread that we keep in mind each and every day.

It's a relationship with Him that can only happen through this process. Verse 48, dropping down, He says, I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and are dead. You know, physical food, miraculous, yes, given by God, but there in a day, gone in a day. Jesus Christ says, this is something different. This is the bread which comes down from heaven. That one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. And if anyone eats this bread, he will live forever. And the bread I shall give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.

But then the days of unleavened bread reminds us of our need to partake of Him daily. That each and every day of our Christian lives is a calling to put out the leaven and to partake of the unleavened. To put out self, to put out self-will, to put out pride, and to put in that which God has sent for us to partake of. Indeed, He must increase, but I must decrease. And each and every day of this feast, as we would take a piece of unleavened bread, I want that to be our focus, our thought, as we do that.

The concept that He must increase, but I must decrease. And the focus of our life each day is to partake of Him and to grow into the likeness of God. I'd like to shift gears now and consider, briefly, five areas where we must allow Jesus Christ to increase in us, if this is going to be a success.

And you could make a list a mile long, but just kind of the prime to pump here, five ways in which increase must happen. And we'll also notice there's that counterpoint of decrease that must happen in you and I as we allow this process to happen. Area number one is humility. Humility. We must allow the humility of Christ to increase in us daily. This was His nature, and it must become ours as well. Philippians chapter 2 and verse 3.

Philippians 2 and verse 3, the Apostle Paul writing, he says, He says, You know, as carnal human beings, brethren, that's so difficult, isn't it? It can be so difficult to esteem others better than ourselves, to look out for their interests, maybe even ahead of ours. Maybe even at the detriment of our interests. Maybe even at the hurt of what it is we think we want to accomplish. But that is this humility that was displayed by Jesus Christ. Obviously, what needs to decrease in this process is pride. It's the motion that says, I'm looking out for me. Number one, it has to be set aside if this humility is going to fill our life and accomplish God's goal in us. Verse 5, we see how this is to take place.

Paul said, Let that be formed, let that grow. And there's no way I can think of that that will happen in my life. Okay, this is self-examination. I'm talking about me. No way that's going to happen unless I decrease and he increases. That is indeed what I must allow to happen. Area two is service. Service, we must allow the servant's heart of Jesus Christ to increase in us daily. Matthew chapter 20 verse 25. Matthew 20 and verse 25. But Jesus called them to himself and said, You know the rulers of the Gentiles lorded over them, and those who are a great exercise authority over them. He says, you know, this world system is very heavy-handed, very authoritative. It's not a servant's heart. It must not be so among you. But whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave. Jesus, the son of man, did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. One of the greatest ways for Christ to increase in our life is through serving others. And he modeled this for us, modeled it for us on the last night of his physical life. After supper, when he arose, girded himself with a towel, got down, loosened his disciples, put a sandal strap on their feet, and washed their feet. You know, an action of humility, of service. Remember, Peter says, Lord, you're not washing my feet. I mean, you're the master. I'm the servant. Right? But Jesus says, no, I came to serve, and if you don't let me do this to you, Peter, you have no part with me. And then he said, you go and do as I've done to you. And he said, I'm not going to lower myself to that. That's leavening of the heart. And indeed, must be set aside. If he's going to increase, brethren, I must decrease. Area number three, obedience to God's will. Or we could say submission to God's will. It's one and the same. It must allow the obedience of Jesus Christ to increase in us daily. We have our will, don't we? We have our hopes. We have our desires. We have our purpose. And some of those can be very good. And some of those can align with God. But maybe they don't always do so. During his physical life, Jesus Christ lived in complete obedience to his Father, trusting his plan and purpose as always being for the good, even in the face of his own suffering. Even in light of recognizing his death was at hand, he always submitted to his Father's will. Matthew 26, verse 36. Matthew 26, verse 36. On the final night of Jesus' life, we get insight into just how committed he was. Matthew 26, verse 36.

Jesus knew what lay ahead. He knew what crucifixion was. He'd seen it. He knew what would be required to give his life for the sins of the world. And frankly, it was distressing. Right? Flesh and blood. That fight-or-flight response had to be brought into submission to the will of God. He's like, if there's any other way, I don't have to go through this. But you know what? It's not about me. God is about you and your plan and your purpose and what you're accomplishing through me. Verse 42. Again, a second time, he went away and prayed, saying, Oh, my Father, if this cup cannot pass away from me unless I drink it, your will be done. Your will be done. As human beings, our natural tendency is to resist God and the will of God to fight for our own way. The carnal mind is enmity against God. It's not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be, so that those who are in the flesh cannot please God. That's where we start, but we're to be moving from that into the stature of the fullness of Jesus Christ. But it takes work. We must bring our will into subjection to God's. Jesus was in great distress in the hours before his own death, knowing what lay before him, but he was always obedient to his Father. And his prayer is a powerful example, encouraging us to seek God's will above our own desires, no matter how intense our own desire might be. There's opening to express that to God. We express our petition in prayer, but we always submit ultimately to his will and purpose as supreme. I admit, brethren, for me to do this properly is a growth process. He must increase, but I must decrease each and every day.

Area 4 is forgiveness. Forgiveness. We must allow the forgiving nature of God in Christ to increase in us daily. Luke 23 and verse 33. It says, And when they had come to a place called Calvary, there they crucified him. They took the perfect Son of God, they pinned him to a stake, they set him upright, and he hung there until he died. There they crucified him. And criminals on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. This is such an incredible concept to consider, brother. The concept of humility, the concept of forgiveness. Jesus prays for forgiveness for the very people who are killing him.

Those are the very people he came to die for along with you and me. And literally in the moment of his agony and his death, in the mocking, the dividing of his clothes, the calling out saying, if you're the Christ, save yourself. You know, if God loves you, if you're his Son, let him take you down. In the midst of all of that, Jesus Christ cry was, Father, forgive them. Again, they know not what they do. Talk about an attitude that's hard to emulate. That is exactly, though, what you and I are called to do.

In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6, verse 14 through 15, Jesus said, For if you forgive men, their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. This takes work. This takes effort. By the way, forgiveness isn't the same thing as reconciliation.

It takes two parties to reconcile. Both have to be willing. But, you know, we must always be a party like Jesus Christ willing to extend forgiveness in the hopes even that reconciliation could one day occur for the very people who were killing him. So we're called to extend again this forgiveness. Regardless of the wrongs against us. Again, how do I do that? In my examination, the truth is clear. I must decrease. But he must increase. It's the only way. Such a thing as the forgiveness of God and Christ in my heart can happen.

I struggle with it. Maybe you do too. But this is a daily process, brethren. As we take of the unleavened, let's consider what it is. Indeed, we must take on. Area number five, final one we'll cover today, is the love of God. The love of God. We must allow the love of God and Christ to increase in us daily.

To do so, we must put out self. Again, that's the only way there's room for that increase. Love is at the core of the humility we've looked at, the service, the obedience, and the forgiveness. It's why God sent his only begotten Son into the world, and it's why Jesus Christ was willing to lay his life down unto the death. It was a love that goes beyond anything that you and I can fully understand, I would say, in the flesh.

But that nature should be growing. That understanding should be deepening. Jesus stated in John 15, verse 13, Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You know, sacrificial love. We're not called to die, but we are called to be living sacrifices, to give of ourselves in that outgoing expression.

Even beyond that, he commands his disciples to be participants of the same kind of love for themselves. John 13, verse 34. We'll wrap up here today. John 13, verse 34. Jesus says, A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, as I have loved you. It's not just your typical run-of-the-mill human love. He says, As I have loved you, that level that brought me here, brought me to the point of laying my life down, is what indeed you must have.

As I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you're my disciples, if you have love, one for the other. That's going to be evidenced among us, as we heard in the sermon at this calling this way.

It was truly part of us. We'll be living epistles for what God is doing in our life, through the Spirit. The love of Jesus Christ was compassionate, it was sacrificial, and it is unending. And as followers, we're called to love others in the same way, even when it's difficult, even when someone seems unlovable, and even when that same isn't expressed to us in return.

It is outgoing concern for others. I would say the opposite of the love of God, I don't know if I would say it's hate, I would say it's self. Right? It's inward focus. It's about me. The love of God is about those around us, laying our life down, giving of ourselves, for the benefit of others. That is what Jesus Christ said as the example. So what's it going to take for me to be able to express that? Again, the lesson is clear. He must increase, but I must decrease. And it must happen each and every day of my life. As I come up to the Passover this year, again, that's my examination. When I look in the mirror, do I look more like me this year or more like him?

When I consider his effect in my life, is it me who's grabbed hold of the wheel? Or is it him that I'm allowing to carry me, indeed, in my time of need?

Brethren, the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread that we're approaching are God's annual reminder of the value He places on us. He sent His only begotten Son who died so that you and I can live. In doing so, He has brought us out of spiritual Egypt, and He has set before us the Promised Land of the Kingdom of God. And we follow Him, because the example's been set. We follow the pillar of fire and cloud. His example is there. His Son's example is there, day and night, for us to see. But, you know, it's not just about what we've come out of, and it's not just about where we're going. It's about the journey along the way as well, because the journey is about refinement. Let's not be like the Israelites, that generation that came out and wandered 40 years in the wilderness until it was decided they could not enter because of unbelief. Let's be among those who put off our nature and put on the Son of God and the example that has been set. In order to be prepared for service in the Kingdom of God, we must be continually searching our lives for the leavened crumbs that are called sin and self. We must put them out willingly, and then we must partake of the bread of life, Jesus Christ, that unleavened sacrifice that was given for you and me. After all, the more leaven we remove from our hearts and minds, the more room there will be for Him to reign in us. And isn't that what it's all about? Christ in you, the hope of glory. So, brethren, this year, as you take a bite of the unleavened bread each and every day, of the seven days of unleavened bread, let's not forget the profound truth of this lesson. Don't let it escape you. Don't forget about it. Don't just quickly eat and be on your way and shove any other thoughts to the side. Consider this point, brethren, that He must increase, but I must decrease.