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Elm Street Community Church
The Gospel of John - Success is becoming more like Jesus!
in today's sermon, Pastor Steve digs into John 3:21-30.
Locations & Times
Elm Street Community Church
264 Elm St, Fitchburg, MA 01420, USA
Sunday 10:00 AM
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I have a video clip for us to watch, but it might be considered a bit out of season. For those who are younger, there is a famous Christmas movie called It’s a Wonderful Life, where George Bailey gives up his dreams for his town.
And there is a time when this ambitious young man has an opportunity to see his fortunes changed (let’s watch the video clip).
George has a chance to live a comfortable life, but it will come at the cost of others losing their homes and livelihoods. So he says no.
But a misplaces loan payment to an evil millionaire has him wondering if his life is worth living. And throughout the movie, with the help of his guardian angel, Clarence, he is given the chance to see what would happen if he had never been born. He sees that his life, even if it isn’t what he hoped it would be, is actually wonderful just the same.
And this begs the question… What is success?
For the world, we know that success is often seen in things.
It’s seen in buildings or cars or toys (grown ups have toys too). It is seen in big bank accounts and trips fancy clothes, and popularity.
Biblically, I think the answer would be that success is doing what God has called you to do, and becoming the person He has called you to be. Ultimately, success is becoming more like Jesus.
I just want us to flashback to JTB, whom we spoke about when we were going through John chapter 1 (read Luke 7:24-28).
And there is a time when this ambitious young man has an opportunity to see his fortunes changed (let’s watch the video clip).
George has a chance to live a comfortable life, but it will come at the cost of others losing their homes and livelihoods. So he says no.
But a misplaces loan payment to an evil millionaire has him wondering if his life is worth living. And throughout the movie, with the help of his guardian angel, Clarence, he is given the chance to see what would happen if he had never been born. He sees that his life, even if it isn’t what he hoped it would be, is actually wonderful just the same.
And this begs the question… What is success?
For the world, we know that success is often seen in things.
It’s seen in buildings or cars or toys (grown ups have toys too). It is seen in big bank accounts and trips fancy clothes, and popularity.
Biblically, I think the answer would be that success is doing what God has called you to do, and becoming the person He has called you to be. Ultimately, success is becoming more like Jesus.
I just want us to flashback to JTB, whom we spoke about when we were going through John chapter 1 (read Luke 7:24-28).
This is just a reminder that Jesus said that among those born of women there is no one greater than John. So in Jesus’ mind, John is a pretty important person. If you want more detail on him, you are welcome to go back and check out earlier sermons from John 1.
So let’s continue on in John 3 (read John 3:22-26)
So let’s continue on in John 3 (read John 3:22-26)
So before John was imprisoned, he was baptizing on one side of the river and Jesus’ disciples are baptizing on the other (read John 4:1-2)
A dispute comes up between John’s disciples and a certain Jew (for our purposes God determined that what was important was the dispute not the person who was disputing.
When they get to John, the person changes the topic from ceremonial washing to the fact that Jesus’ disciples are baptizing more people. This is probably to begin the argument by putting him down.
“Hey, before you give your input into our disagreement, let’s just acknowledge that the other guy, who you baptized, is becoming more popular than you.”
Quite honestly, whatever disagreement they were having about ceremonial cleaning is irrelevant for us.
What is important, and what we want to focus on, is John’s response. Let’s continue on (read John 3:27-30).
When they get to John, the person changes the topic from ceremonial washing to the fact that Jesus’ disciples are baptizing more people. This is probably to begin the argument by putting him down.
“Hey, before you give your input into our disagreement, let’s just acknowledge that the other guy, who you baptized, is becoming more popular than you.”
Quite honestly, whatever disagreement they were having about ceremonial cleaning is irrelevant for us.
What is important, and what we want to focus on, is John’s response. Let’s continue on (read John 3:27-30).
Here John is, this spiritual VIP, whom everyone was going to, and now people are going to Jesus. In the flesh, wouldn’t this be disappointing?
But John knows what success is. Success for him is doing everything God has called him to do. It is not about how many people he baptizes, but preparing people for Jesus.
He is not the groom. He understands who he is and what he is called to do. Instead of sulking over his numbers going down, he rejoices because Jesus, the Son of God, the One he came to prepare the way for, is here.
He didn’t let pride get in the way… it was always about Jesus! We see this clearly in verse 30 (read John 3:30 again)
“He must become greater; I must become less.”
Pastor Gary used to say this about me as I was beginning my ministry and he was nearing the end. But this verse is more than a verse to pass the torch from one human being to another.
This is about the prominence of Jesus. Jesus must become greater, I must become less.
And as we look at this through the broader lens of scripture, isn’t this the same call to us today? We ourselves, along with our plans, passions, wants and desires need to become less as we allow Christ more and more of us.
Who we are must become less so that Jesus can become greater in our lives! This is easier when we understand that success is becoming more like Jesus.
Beyond this section of scripture, let’s look at the words of Jesus to see how He defines success…
The disciples are arguing about who is the greatest - who is the most successful… this is what Jesus says (Read Luke 9:46-48)
But John knows what success is. Success for him is doing everything God has called him to do. It is not about how many people he baptizes, but preparing people for Jesus.
He is not the groom. He understands who he is and what he is called to do. Instead of sulking over his numbers going down, he rejoices because Jesus, the Son of God, the One he came to prepare the way for, is here.
He didn’t let pride get in the way… it was always about Jesus! We see this clearly in verse 30 (read John 3:30 again)
“He must become greater; I must become less.”
Pastor Gary used to say this about me as I was beginning my ministry and he was nearing the end. But this verse is more than a verse to pass the torch from one human being to another.
This is about the prominence of Jesus. Jesus must become greater, I must become less.
And as we look at this through the broader lens of scripture, isn’t this the same call to us today? We ourselves, along with our plans, passions, wants and desires need to become less as we allow Christ more and more of us.
Who we are must become less so that Jesus can become greater in our lives! This is easier when we understand that success is becoming more like Jesus.
Beyond this section of scripture, let’s look at the words of Jesus to see how He defines success…
The disciples are arguing about who is the greatest - who is the most successful… this is what Jesus says (Read Luke 9:46-48)
And what happens when we seek to be successful by human standards? Peter wants Jesus to be successful by human standards, but Jesus corrects him. (Read Matt 16:23-26).
What is success to Paul, dying to self and allowing Jesus to rule completely in his life.
And we know that Paul had a pretty impressive resume, but for him it was all about Jesus. We see this in the book of Philippians (read Phil. 3:4b-11)
For Paul, it was all about what Jesus did through him (Read Romans 15:17-19)
What is success to Paul, dying to self and allowing Jesus to rule completely in his life.
And we know that Paul had a pretty impressive resume, but for him it was all about Jesus. We see this in the book of Philippians (read Phil. 3:4b-11)
For Paul, it was all about what Jesus did through him (Read Romans 15:17-19).
Paul speaks about what Christ has accomplished through him, he clearly sees believes success is becoming more like Jesus, and is found in our work for Him.
And this is the model of leadership Jesus put in place. It is not success as we understand it, it is success as Jesus showed us through His life. (read Matt. 20:20-28 - projection start at vs 25).
And this is the model of leadership Jesus put in place. It is not success as we understand it, it is success as Jesus showed us through His life. (read Matt. 20:20-28 - projection start at vs 25).
Jesus was going to be successful by godly standards, not man made. And His expectation for His followers is that we wouldn’t look at success as the world does either. He wanted them, and us, to know that success is becoming more like Him.
How about you? How do you view success? Is your goal to become less so that Jesus can be seen greater in your life? Do you believe that success is becoming more like Jesus?
If not, I would encourage you to dig into this further. I also wonder how different Christianity would look if we as Christians actually lived this out.
So often, it is Christians, not Christ, that people have trouble with. If you don’t know Jesus, I would encourage you to dig into the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) so that you can understand Who Jesus is and what Jesus taught. You will find that it is apt to be different than what you have seen in His followers.
And for those of you who follow Jesus, do you view success as becoming more like Jesus? Is this your belief? Is this your goal? If so, what are you doing to make it a reality? Because it takes more than attending Sunday morning church services and prayers for ourselves and loved ones to become more like Him. If you are looking for a small group to connect with to assist you with your growth, please let us know.
May we seek Him, and seek to become more like Him, starting today and continuing throughout our lives, and may we view success as becoming more like Jesus…
How about you? How do you view success? Is your goal to become less so that Jesus can be seen greater in your life? Do you believe that success is becoming more like Jesus?
If not, I would encourage you to dig into this further. I also wonder how different Christianity would look if we as Christians actually lived this out.
So often, it is Christians, not Christ, that people have trouble with. If you don’t know Jesus, I would encourage you to dig into the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) so that you can understand Who Jesus is and what Jesus taught. You will find that it is apt to be different than what you have seen in His followers.
And for those of you who follow Jesus, do you view success as becoming more like Jesus? Is this your belief? Is this your goal? If so, what are you doing to make it a reality? Because it takes more than attending Sunday morning church services and prayers for ourselves and loved ones to become more like Him. If you are looking for a small group to connect with to assist you with your growth, please let us know.
May we seek Him, and seek to become more like Him, starting today and continuing throughout our lives, and may we view success as becoming more like Jesus…