Dear TVCC Students,
Last night we spent time diving in to the message that John the Baptist preached. There were some very vivid illustrations given to help make this Word sink in and makes sense. Here is a recap...
John 3:22-30
~John 3:23- 26: Jesus and John are both ministering to the people at the same time. John knew that he was not the Christ but that his mission from the Lord was to point others to the Messiah. Even after Jesus started His ministry, John continued to minister and to point people to the Lord. It wasn't about making much of John and his ministry but about people coming to know their Savior.
Q: Do we view life the way John did? Are we always trying to make a name for us our "OUR" ministry or do we simply point people to the Savior who alone can satisfy their souls?
~John's message can be seen clearly in Luke 3:1-18. Here are a few things to notice about John's ministry...
1. The crowds came out to hear John's teaching (Luke 3:9). John was not begging people to come and hear him. They had heard of his message and they came out to hear more... and he spoke the truth, not what people wanted to hear.
2. John didn't promise physical blessings in this life to those that would believe his message; He preached a message that would profit the people eternally- the people needed to have faith in the Lamb of God who had come to take away the sins of the world! True belief would cause them to "bear fruit in keeping with repentance." Genuine faith produces fruit and that fruit requires cultivation and exercise; It does not come easily (garden illustration).
-In talking about bearing fruit we must always remember that Jesus did everything in regards to our salvation when He died on the Cross. Our salvation was finished and perfected on the cross... BUT we were saved to do good works to the glory of God (Ephesians 2:8-10). Our good works point people to the Lord.
Q: Is your faith genuine? Do you see any spiritual fruit in your life? This could like the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) at work in your life or it could be people that you have poured your life in to for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Either way, real faith will produce fruit. If you do not have any fruit of the Spirit in your life, we encourage you to see if you really have trusted in the Lamb of God (Jesus) to give you new life.
-In talking about bearing fruit we must also remember HOW we are to bear fruit. In order to bear fruit we must abide in the Lord (John 15). We must spend time with Him daily- meditating on His word and praying to Him. Our salvation is the just the start. Once we have trusted in the Lord, God wants us to bear fruit for His name. This is not easy! The world is full of "bugs" and "weeds" that are trying to prevent us from bearing fruit. We must fight those things by abiding in the Lord.
~John 3:28: John knew that he was not the bridegroom but simply a friend of the Bridegroom who had come to claim His bride. Jesus has come so that we could have a personal relationship with Him. This relationship requires time and dedication but is all satisfying and full of joy!
~John 3:30: John's heart was that Jesus would increase and John would decrease. His life was revolved around making much of the Lord!
Q: Is your life like John's? Can you really say that your life is revolved around making less of your name and more of the name of Jesus?
Dear students,
We are so thankful to get to worship with you all. We pray that this week you would spend much time meditating on the Lord and His Word. We pray that you will continue to abide in Him so that you might bear fruit that would bring glory to His name. May all of us decrease this week and Jesus increase! We love you all!
With hope,
Sonny and Casi
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