WEBVTT 00:00:00.300 --> 00:00:04.459 Well, if you have a Bible, we are going to be in the Gospel of John this evening, John chapter 3. 00:00:04.639 --> 00:00:05.960 If you would turn there with me, please. 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:15.519 The title of this evening is Escaping the Snare of Compare, and you'll see why I've called it that as we get into this passage. 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:19.400 As we get underway, I want to introduce you to three people. 00:00:19.559 --> 00:00:25.539 I want you to listen to their little stories, and I want you to tell me, what do these three people have in common with one another? 00:00:25.539 --> 00:00:25.619 Okay. 00:00:27.279 --> 00:00:28.300 We'll start off with Arthur. 00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:30.179 Arthur is the kind of guy that you would want working for you. 00:00:30.299 --> 00:00:31.160 He is hardworking. 00:00:31.379 --> 00:00:33.140 He is meticulous in all that he does. 00:00:33.219 --> 00:00:33.820 He's reliable. 00:00:34.439 --> 00:00:37.299 He knows the business inside out, having worked there for many years. 00:00:38.299 --> 00:00:39.479 However, Arthur struggles. 00:00:39.899 --> 00:00:43.379 He feels unappreciated by his managers. 00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:49.420 He's especially troubled by the fact that there are new recruits into the business, and they seem to get all the praise. 00:00:49.420 --> 00:00:53.480 They're celebrated for their contributions while he just seems to live in the shadows. 00:00:53.960 --> 00:00:54.799 It doesn't seem fair. 00:00:56.299 --> 00:00:57.600 Second person is Bethany. 00:00:58.060 --> 00:01:00.939 Bethany is one of those super moms, I like to call them. 00:01:01.259 --> 00:01:13.400 They manage to juggle having children, a job, all the household responsibilities that they have to take care of, as well as being a taxi driver, getting multiple children to all the different places they need to be at the same time and not being late. 00:01:14.099 --> 00:01:15.840 My mother-in-law is like this. 00:01:16.039 --> 00:01:17.280 These people do really exist. 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:22.719 And yet, Bethany, she feels it's just stressful, stressful, stressful. 00:01:22.840 --> 00:01:25.840 She looks at other moms, other families, and she thinks they make it look so easy. 00:01:27.060 --> 00:01:28.320 And she worries, I'm not good enough. 00:01:28.359 --> 00:01:29.760 I'm not doing enough for my family. 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:32.620 Then there's Charlie. 00:01:32.719 --> 00:01:33.939 Charlie is a tech genius. 00:01:34.080 --> 00:01:35.820 If something goes wrong with your computer, call Charlie. 00:01:36.060 --> 00:01:37.020 They'll fix it for you. 00:01:37.420 --> 00:01:40.060 They'll probably tell you, turn it off and on again, and that'll fix it. 00:01:41.240 --> 00:01:49.520 Her Charlie being constantly connected to multiple platforms, social media-wise, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, you name it, Charlie's connected to it. 00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:59.920 And being exposed to that never-ending feed of other people's happy lives, happy stories, happy meals, just leaves Charlie feeling empty and inadequate. 00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:04.420 Here's our three people, Arthur, Bethany, Charlie. 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:06.239 What do you think they have in common? 00:02:08.439 --> 00:02:10.759 Well, they're all struggling with this thing, comparison. 00:02:12.079 --> 00:02:13.120 I like this picture. 00:02:13.219 --> 00:02:15.800 I typed into Google Images, comparison, and this is what came up. 00:02:15.800 --> 00:02:22.960 I suspect the vast majority of us here this evening know something of the problem of comparisons in our lives. 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:29.980 That's where we try to measure our identity and self-worth against how we're doing in comparison to how other people around us are doing. 00:02:30.540 --> 00:02:33.600 I have to confess to you this evening, I know this problem really well. 00:02:33.780 --> 00:02:36.540 I have a lot of experience with comparisons. 00:02:37.780 --> 00:02:41.480 Unfortunately, when you start playing the game of comparisons, you very rarely end up winning. 00:02:41.479 --> 00:02:44.439 And even when you do win, it's short-lived. 00:02:45.159 --> 00:02:51.359 Because you will be left anxious, you'll be left looking over your shoulder, just waiting for the next person to come along who is in some way better than you, 00:02:51.539 --> 00:02:56.459 some way more competent than you, somehow more popular than you. 00:02:57.280 --> 00:02:59.439 There's no way to win in the game of comparisons. 00:03:01.599 --> 00:03:02.399 What are we to do? 00:03:02.739 --> 00:03:06.519 If you recognize yourself in any of these three people, in what I just said there, 00:03:06.659 --> 00:03:09.539 what are we to do if we wrestle with this problem of comparisons? 00:03:09.539 --> 00:03:14.060 Well, this evening, I think that John the Baptist is going to help us deal with this common struggle. 00:03:14.919 --> 00:03:19.180 Just as a little bit of context, in curbers, we've been working our way through John's gospel so far. 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:21.879 This was a message that I was sharing two weeks ago. 00:03:22.899 --> 00:03:28.000 At this time in Jesus' ministry, we're approaching what's called the year of popularity. 00:03:28.120 --> 00:03:30.599 This is the year whenever Jesus is doing really well. 00:03:30.680 --> 00:03:32.599 Everyone is flocking to see and hear Jesus. 00:03:32.799 --> 00:03:35.780 He is at the height of his ministry, if you like. 00:03:35.780 --> 00:03:41.960 But Jesus' rising stardom results in John the Baptist's becoming eclipsed. 00:03:43.060 --> 00:03:47.780 The question is, how will John and his disciples cope that as Jesus becomes greater and greater and greater, 00:03:48.120 --> 00:03:51.560 they become less and less and less? 00:03:52.420 --> 00:03:52.979 Let's find out. 00:03:53.020 --> 00:03:53.879 Let's read the passage. 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:57.080 Let's read verses 22 to 26 to get us started. 00:03:57.080 --> 00:04:26.860 Now, a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew for purification. 00:04:28.079 --> 00:04:31.079 And they, that's John's disciples, came to John and said to him, 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:37.319 Rabbi, he who is with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness, 00:04:38.259 --> 00:04:43.680 look, he is baptizing and all are going out to him. 00:04:45.560 --> 00:04:49.979 I wonder, did you hear in that passage, did you hear what John the Baptist's disciples said, 00:04:50.579 --> 00:04:52.240 how they are struggling with comparison? 00:04:52.240 --> 00:04:54.240 He is baptizing. 00:04:55.379 --> 00:04:56.139 That's our job. 00:04:56.699 --> 00:04:58.259 And everybody's going to him. 00:04:59.960 --> 00:05:01.160 These guys, these are struggling. 00:05:01.280 --> 00:05:01.740 They're struggling. 00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:05.240 You hear the turmoil in their hearts in the words that they speak. 00:05:07.900 --> 00:05:11.840 John the Baptist's disciples' words here, I think, will help us to diagnose the problem of comparisons. 00:05:12.300 --> 00:05:14.860 I've got three quick thoughts to help us just diagnose this problem. 00:05:14.860 --> 00:05:20.220 And maybe it's helpful to think of comparison like a weed that grows in the soil of our hearts. 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:25.000 And this weed of comparison, it often is rooted in pride. 00:05:26.040 --> 00:05:28.980 Just put yourself in John the Baptist's disciples' shoes for a moment. 00:05:29.580 --> 00:05:32.540 John the Baptist appeared in the scene after 400 years of silence from heaven. 00:05:33.439 --> 00:05:37.360 Suddenly, he appears saying, the long-awaited Messiah is coming. 00:05:37.460 --> 00:05:38.280 He's coming imminently. 00:05:38.340 --> 00:05:39.100 He's coming now. 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:39.759 Get ready. 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:42.439 Overnight, John the Baptist becomes a celebrity. 00:05:42.920 --> 00:05:44.439 Everybody is talking about him. 00:05:44.920 --> 00:05:52.680 In today's terms, if he had lived today, if he had ministered today, the TV camera crews would be following him everywhere he goes to report on his latest baptism crusade. 00:05:53.360 --> 00:05:58.240 Thousands throughout the nation would be following him on Twitter, reading his every tweet. 00:05:59.079 --> 00:06:03.959 His book of collected sermons would reach the number one place in the Amazon bestseller list. 00:06:03.959 --> 00:06:10.120 And I just imagine how it would feel if you were one of John the Baptist's hand-picked disciples. 00:06:10.699 --> 00:06:13.799 Just imagine if he picked you to be on his team. 00:06:15.060 --> 00:06:20.539 You see, the John the Baptist's disciples, they had this privilege of living life in the spotlight, on the national stage. 00:06:20.599 --> 00:06:23.240 They were at the center of all the attention. 00:06:23.779 --> 00:06:25.740 It was an exhilarating feeling for them. 00:06:27.359 --> 00:06:28.859 However, all that began to change. 00:06:29.339 --> 00:06:32.859 The day whenever John met Jesus at the River Jordan. 00:06:32.860 --> 00:06:37.920 Whenever John points to Jesus and says, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:49.460 Because suddenly in that moment, the spotlight that John and his disciples have bathed in, that spotlight begins to shift and move over to Jesus and his disciples. 00:06:50.939 --> 00:06:53.980 Why do John's disciples struggle with that so much? 00:06:55.500 --> 00:06:58.540 It's because their pride has been wounded and hurt by this. 00:06:58.759 --> 00:07:01.939 They feel the loss of their significance and their status. 00:07:01.939 --> 00:07:07.800 As Jesus becomes more, they become less. 00:07:08.040 --> 00:07:08.839 And they don't like it. 00:07:09.300 --> 00:07:12.420 There's even a little hint of resentment here towards Jesus. 00:07:12.779 --> 00:07:14.100 Because they won't even use his name. 00:07:14.519 --> 00:07:18.500 Did you hear, did you see how they will only use the pronoun he? 00:07:19.639 --> 00:07:22.000 All are going over to him. 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:26.540 I wonder if you've ever felt that way. 00:07:26.680 --> 00:07:27.500 I know I have. 00:07:29.259 --> 00:07:34.600 Personally, in the past when I have seen my struggles with comparisons, I have tried to massage them a bit. 00:07:34.680 --> 00:07:38.980 I've tried to say, oh, these are my fears, my insecurities coming through. 00:07:39.540 --> 00:07:42.139 I've tried to say this is a case of poor me. 00:07:42.139 --> 00:07:46.919 Have pity and compassion on poor, insecure, fearful me. 00:07:47.919 --> 00:07:51.099 Rather than wanting to actually admit that actually this is bad me. 00:07:51.839 --> 00:07:55.479 This is something which I need to actually repent of rather than just simply excuse. 00:07:56.680 --> 00:08:01.000 But then fortunately, I have a friend who is able to say the things that most people don't say. 00:08:01.500 --> 00:08:02.659 You maybe have these people in your life. 00:08:02.660 --> 00:08:07.520 And he came along to me one day and said, David, did you realize that your insecurities are actually just thwarted pride? 00:08:08.500 --> 00:08:11.300 Whew, that was hard, but it was true. 00:08:11.880 --> 00:08:15.360 So often our insecurities are evidence of thwarted pride. 00:08:15.520 --> 00:08:20.000 That feeling, that little thing that we say to ourselves, that these people don't treat me. 00:08:20.040 --> 00:08:22.580 These people don't think of me the way that I know I ought to be treated. 00:08:22.840 --> 00:08:25.600 The way I know people should think of me. 00:08:26.100 --> 00:08:27.220 That's thwarted pride. 00:08:27.740 --> 00:08:30.660 And so often our insecurities come from that place. 00:08:30.660 --> 00:08:39.960 And so I have to confess to you this evening that a major reason why I compare myself with other people, for good or for ill, is because at heart I am a proud man. 00:08:41.279 --> 00:08:44.360 And here's a piercing insight from C.S. Lewis about that kind of pride. 00:08:44.480 --> 00:08:47.879 He says, pride is essentially competitive. 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:56.220 Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. 00:08:56.540 --> 00:09:00.040 We say that people are proud of being rich or clever or good looking. 00:09:00.659 --> 00:09:01.539 But they are not. 00:09:02.120 --> 00:09:07.500 They are proud of being richer or cleverer or better looking than others. 00:09:08.159 --> 00:09:12.799 If everyone else became equally rich or clever or good looking, there would be nothing to be proud about. 00:09:13.659 --> 00:09:16.379 It is the comparison that makes you proud. 00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:20.319 The pleasure of being above the rest. 00:09:22.699 --> 00:09:24.179 C.S. Lewis is right, I think. 00:09:24.179 --> 00:09:30.239 So often our struggles of comparison begin here in the place of selfish pride. 00:09:32.639 --> 00:09:34.659 Then this weed of comparison, it grows. 00:09:35.779 --> 00:09:37.559 Grows into particular sins. 00:09:37.699 --> 00:09:39.939 Sins of envy and jealousy. 00:09:40.799 --> 00:09:42.659 And there is a subtle difference between these two sins. 00:09:42.879 --> 00:09:45.199 Let me paint it out for you. 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:46.660 The sin of envy. 00:09:46.660 --> 00:09:52.480 That is when you see someone who seems to be better than you in some way or someone who has an advantage over you in some way. 00:09:53.040 --> 00:09:56.620 And you wish that they didn't have it and you had it instead. 00:09:58.040 --> 00:09:58.720 That's envy. 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:00.759 I don't want them to have that. 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:01.860 I want it instead. 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:05.840 Jealousy, however, is a little bit different. 00:10:06.060 --> 00:10:07.240 It's related, but it's a little bit different. 00:10:07.700 --> 00:10:12.440 Jealousy is when you see someone and you become afraid that that person is going to become my rival. 00:10:12.820 --> 00:10:16.639 That that person is going to become equal to me or superior to me in some way. 00:10:17.920 --> 00:10:22.200 So here are two sins that grow out of our comparisons and our pride. 00:10:22.620 --> 00:10:24.720 Jerry Bridges calls them respectable sins. 00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:30.440 Vices which he says we all too readily tolerate and excuse even in our Christian lives. 00:10:31.180 --> 00:10:32.560 And he's helpful the way he draws aside. 00:10:32.740 --> 00:10:40.460 He points out that we tend to compare ourselves with people who are similar to us in things that are significant to us. 00:10:41.440 --> 00:10:44.779 For example, take the example of a keen amateur sports person. 00:10:44.879 --> 00:10:47.440 Maybe we have some like that here this evening. 00:10:47.879 --> 00:10:52.800 Someone who plays for the local club, whether it's rugby or football or hockey or whatever it is. 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:57.479 This person is unlikely to struggle with comparing themselves with someone in the top league. 00:10:57.959 --> 00:11:01.079 Someone who's out there playing for their nation. 00:11:01.319 --> 00:11:04.359 They're probably not going to struggle too much because they're just so far apart. 00:11:04.659 --> 00:11:06.979 They might do the same sport, but they are leagues apart. 00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:16.799 However, when someone else joins their local team and this person suddenly is more popular and this person seems to be more skillful than they are. 00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:24.639 That's when they're going to start to struggle with comparisons because that team and their place in that team, that is significant to them. 00:11:25.419 --> 00:11:26.579 This is too close for home. 00:11:26.699 --> 00:11:28.819 And so the game of comparisons begin. 00:11:29.179 --> 00:11:30.899 The sins of envy begin. 00:11:31.059 --> 00:11:34.099 Oh, I wish they didn't have that skill. 00:11:34.139 --> 00:11:35.059 I wish I had it instead. 00:11:36.099 --> 00:11:40.319 Oh, I'm afraid that this person is going to become my rival, that they are going to become equal to me. 00:11:40.500 --> 00:11:41.759 Everyone's going to love them as much as they love me. 00:11:41.759 --> 00:11:44.200 In fact, that people are going to love him more than they love me. 00:11:45.379 --> 00:11:47.879 The sins of envy and jealousy start here. 00:11:48.840 --> 00:11:53.899 And it's interesting that Jerry Bridges says this because that's precisely what's happening here with John's disciples. 00:11:53.899 --> 00:11:58.460 Now that their ministry is overlapping with Jesus's ministry. 00:11:59.340 --> 00:12:02.500 You see, people used to come to John, the Baptist disciples, to be baptized. 00:12:03.639 --> 00:12:05.299 That was significant to them. 00:12:05.299 --> 00:12:10.259 And now Jesus's disciples, they're the ones that people go to to be baptized. 00:12:11.620 --> 00:12:12.539 And that hurts. 00:12:14.319 --> 00:12:16.719 Jesus's disciples are now their rivals. 00:12:17.659 --> 00:12:22.519 And they wish that the success now being enjoyed by Jesus's disciples was theirs instead. 00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:27.199 You see, John's disciples, they're struggling with these sins of envy and jealousy. 00:12:27.479 --> 00:12:31.539 They're becoming consumed by what Shakespeare called the green-eyed monster. 00:12:32.099 --> 00:12:32.659 You read Othello? 00:12:32.839 --> 00:12:33.779 You watched Othello ever? 00:12:33.779 --> 00:12:35.600 It's an incredible play. 00:12:36.339 --> 00:12:37.799 I can't believe I'm saying that from school. 00:12:37.879 --> 00:12:38.860 Fifth year at school in English. 00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:41.240 It's about the only thing that ever went into my head in English. 00:12:41.740 --> 00:12:46.339 I remember Othello and this particular phrase really striking home with me. 00:12:47.939 --> 00:12:50.480 It's actually the villainy Iago who says it. 00:12:52.059 --> 00:12:53.679 Beware of jealousy. 00:12:54.039 --> 00:12:59.019 Beware the green-eyed monster that mocks the meat upon which it doth feed. 00:12:59.720 --> 00:13:00.500 Right, Shakespeare. 00:13:00.500 --> 00:13:06.899 You see, these sins of envy and jealousy, they will gnaw away at you from the inside. 00:13:07.220 --> 00:13:08.399 They will twist you. 00:13:08.600 --> 00:13:16.080 They will brew venom inside of you that will just make you bitter against anyone and everyone who is a threat to you. 00:13:16.179 --> 00:13:20.000 These are dangerous, dangerous sins that grow out of our struggles with comparison. 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:26.000 These are not things that we should tolerate and allow to fester in our lives because they will ruin us in various ways. 00:13:26.059 --> 00:13:28.759 They will steal our joy in the Lord and our happiness in him. 00:13:31.220 --> 00:13:34.159 Well, this weed of comparison, it begins, it has its roots in pride. 00:13:34.559 --> 00:13:36.320 It grows into these sins of envy and jealousy. 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:40.140 But one last wee thing is that this is the weed of comparison. 00:13:40.340 --> 00:13:42.360 It is fed, it is watered by a lie. 00:13:43.320 --> 00:13:49.520 You see, beneath our sins of jealousy and envy, there is always a lie that we are believing to be true. 00:13:50.200 --> 00:13:57.120 This is a lie that says that other people are happier than us because God has given them something which he has withheld from us. 00:13:57.280 --> 00:13:58.300 And that's not fair. 00:13:58.299 --> 00:14:00.819 There is this lie that God has not been good. 00:14:00.899 --> 00:14:04.479 He has given them something that we should have as well. 00:14:05.620 --> 00:14:06.599 God has been unfair. 00:14:06.740 --> 00:14:07.500 God has not been good. 00:14:07.559 --> 00:14:09.459 This is the lie that goes all the way back to the garden. 00:14:10.079 --> 00:14:13.779 And this is the lie that so often we struggle with whenever we're struggling with comparisons. 00:14:14.219 --> 00:14:17.120 That God has deprived us of happiness. 00:14:18.979 --> 00:14:19.839 So that's the problem. 00:14:19.919 --> 00:14:22.919 That is the snare of compare. 00:14:22.919 --> 00:14:30.360 If that's the snare, the question then is, well, what's the way to escape the snare of compare? 00:14:31.620 --> 00:14:39.339 Let me suggest to you that the antidote to this poison is in the words of John the Baptist that this passage continues with. 00:14:39.939 --> 00:14:45.019 And John, very simply, he takes his disciples from looking around them and looking at themselves. 00:14:45.019 --> 00:14:52.059 And he lifts up their eyes so they would look at the Lord and see themselves and see their circumstances in a whole new light. 00:14:52.059 --> 00:14:58.659 To help you remember what John says next, I've got an A, B and a C to escape the snare of compare. 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:02.739 The first one, the A, is acknowledge that God is sovereign. 00:15:02.819 --> 00:15:04.799 This is what John begins saying in verse 27. 00:15:04.939 --> 00:15:11.179 John answered, a person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. 00:15:11.179 --> 00:15:17.479 Rather than entertain the lie that God has been unfair, that God has not been good to him and his disciples, 00:15:17.879 --> 00:15:25.799 John immediately begins to remind his disciples that they have a small but a significant part in God's great plans, his sovereign plans. 00:15:26.359 --> 00:15:31.279 In essence, here he's saying when he says that no one can receive one thing unless it is given to him from heaven, 00:15:31.339 --> 00:15:36.219 he's saying that, guys, our ministry, our successes, that was a gift from God. 00:15:36.220 --> 00:15:42.220 And now Jesus and his disciples, their ministry, their successes, that's a gift from God. 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:44.820 We've all received gifts from God. 00:15:45.320 --> 00:15:47.000 None of us have been shortchanged here. 00:15:47.279 --> 00:15:49.139 None of us have been treated unfairly. 00:15:49.220 --> 00:15:50.120 God has been generous. 00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:51.200 God has been kind. 00:15:51.620 --> 00:15:53.779 God has used us at this time for his purposes. 00:15:54.320 --> 00:15:58.500 And now these guys, God's using them sovereignly for the next stage of the plan. 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:01.060 Let's rejoice and celebrate what God is doing. 00:16:01.060 --> 00:16:05.560 Let's not get hung up over the fact that he's using them rather than using us. 00:16:05.559 --> 00:16:09.219 In essence, I think that is what John is trying to get into his disciples' minds. 00:16:10.979 --> 00:16:16.039 Now, maybe you're thinking that's easy for John the Baptist to say, to acknowledge that God is sovereign in these things. 00:16:16.439 --> 00:16:18.339 Maybe you're thinking to yourself, well, I'm not John the Baptist. 00:16:19.139 --> 00:16:23.319 My life, my ministry wasn't predicted hundreds of years in advance by the prophet Isaiah. 00:16:24.299 --> 00:16:28.719 I didn't have an angel announced to my parents that I was going to be born miraculously. 00:16:28.719 --> 00:16:33.439 It's easy for John to know that he has a part in God's sovereign plans and you've got all that going for you. 00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:41.280 Nevertheless, I do want you to know this evening that you do have a part to play in God's sovereign plans. 00:16:41.520 --> 00:16:52.640 When you look at your life, when you look at your natural talents, your spiritual gifts, your resources, your opportunities, your strengths, your weaknesses, all of these things, they are gifts to you from God. 00:16:52.639 --> 00:16:58.460 Jesus, John says it here in verse 27, that you have nothing unless it is a gift that's come down from God. 00:16:59.480 --> 00:17:01.600 None of these things are accidental in your life. 00:17:02.419 --> 00:17:04.700 None of these things belong to you outright. 00:17:04.859 --> 00:17:13.000 All of these things are God's gifts to you, which he has given to you on loan to use for his glory, for his purposes. 00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:16.500 It's true not just for what you have. 00:17:16.539 --> 00:17:19.019 It's also true for what the person sitting next to you has. 00:17:19.460 --> 00:17:21.900 They also have that on loan from God. 00:17:21.960 --> 00:17:22.859 It doesn't belong to them. 00:17:23.400 --> 00:17:24.400 It's not theirs. 00:17:24.980 --> 00:17:28.380 It is on loan to them from God to use for his glory. 00:17:30.519 --> 00:17:31.960 Jerry Bridges, again, is very helpful. 00:17:31.960 --> 00:17:43.980 He says, we must remind ourselves that God determines what abilities we have, but also the degree of those abilities and the blessing he will bestow on their use. 00:17:45.940 --> 00:17:55.160 Does it ever annoy you whenever you and a friend or someone in church who is very much like you, they have, you both are good at similar things, just that they're better than you? 00:17:55.640 --> 00:17:58.600 They just seem to do it more easily, to have more success. 00:17:58.599 --> 00:18:02.279 And it just annoys you like, why, why are they always so much better than me? 00:18:03.559 --> 00:18:06.740 That is also part of God's sovereign decision. 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:11.639 In the Christian sphere, just think a month ago, Billy Graham went to glory. 00:18:12.119 --> 00:18:15.480 There is a man who dedicated his life to faithful evangelistic service. 00:18:15.819 --> 00:18:20.839 I think he preached in over 200 countries around the world in his time. 00:18:21.099 --> 00:18:25.879 I think he spoke to over 215 million people live and shared the gospel with them. 00:18:26.439 --> 00:18:26.839 Incredible. 00:18:28.599 --> 00:18:35.679 I also know, I was at a wee church in Fife this morning preaching and I heard that a man called Donald Cormack had passed away. 00:18:35.939 --> 00:18:36.839 Some of you might know Donald. 00:18:36.980 --> 00:18:43.259 Donald was in the Heralds, an evangelistic band that went around to the central parts of Scotland, I think in the 60s and 70s. 00:18:43.480 --> 00:18:46.319 Maybe I've got my times wrong, forgive me if you know better. 00:18:47.919 --> 00:18:48.699 Donald was on the BBC. 00:18:48.899 --> 00:18:49.459 They were well known. 00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:51.039 They shared the gospel everywhere they went. 00:18:51.839 --> 00:18:53.699 And Donald on Thursday went home to glory. 00:18:54.839 --> 00:18:56.119 Donald was faithful all his life. 00:18:56.119 --> 00:18:59.559 Into his latter years, he was involved with us at Corroboros and various evangelistic work. 00:19:00.679 --> 00:19:03.359 But Donald didn't preach to 215 million people. 00:19:03.500 --> 00:19:05.899 Donald didn't have the kind of success that Billy Graham had. 00:19:07.019 --> 00:19:11.579 But Donald was just as faithful as Billy Graham was in his life and his ministry and his integrity and his preaching. 00:19:13.519 --> 00:19:14.379 What did he make of that? 00:19:14.459 --> 00:19:15.339 Well, God is sovereign. 00:19:15.339 --> 00:19:17.980 God sovereignly gave Billy that ministry. 00:19:18.179 --> 00:19:20.319 God sovereignly gave Donald that ministry. 00:19:20.899 --> 00:19:25.959 And God has received both of them now home into glory and said, well done, my good and faithful servants. 00:19:26.859 --> 00:19:27.539 Inherit the kingdom. 00:19:29.039 --> 00:19:29.519 Well done. 00:19:30.220 --> 00:19:31.519 So it can be for us. 00:19:32.539 --> 00:19:35.779 John the Baptist would counsel us, I think, to stop worrying about what other people have. 00:19:35.779 --> 00:19:41.660 To trust God simply with what he has gifted us and to use it for his glory. 00:19:42.139 --> 00:19:48.539 Trusting and believing that our greatest good, our highest joy will be found in our relationship with God. 00:19:49.399 --> 00:19:53.720 Rather than in the gifts that God may give or may withhold from us individually. 00:19:54.599 --> 00:19:55.680 That's what we have to believe. 00:19:56.680 --> 00:20:02.019 We have to acknowledge that God is sovereign in giving us gifts and talents and abilities and successes. 00:20:02.019 --> 00:20:04.339 That's A. 00:20:05.619 --> 00:20:06.180 Then B. 00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:06.859 B is. 00:20:08.319 --> 00:20:10.859 Be who God has made you uniquely to be. 00:20:11.019 --> 00:20:13.920 I almost fear that I sound like some sort of self-help preacher. 00:20:14.139 --> 00:20:15.299 But forgive me. 00:20:15.339 --> 00:20:15.920 I don't mean to. 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:16.500 But here we are. 00:20:16.539 --> 00:20:17.799 Verses 28 to 30. 00:20:18.339 --> 00:20:18.940 John continues. 00:20:19.059 --> 00:20:23.220 You yourselves bear me witness that I said I am not the Christ. 00:20:23.960 --> 00:20:25.839 But I have been sent before him. 00:20:26.420 --> 00:20:29.019 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. 00:20:29.019 --> 00:20:35.339 The friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:38.660 Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 00:20:39.579 --> 00:20:40.799 He must increase. 00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:42.900 But I must decrease. 00:20:42.900 --> 00:20:54.400 I really wish I find it as easy as John the Baptist to get out the pom-poms and do it to celebrate when somebody is surpassing me and outshining me. 00:20:55.580 --> 00:20:59.880 But in these verses I think John gives us an insight into the secret of his contentment. 00:20:59.940 --> 00:21:01.920 The secret of his security as a person. 00:21:02.740 --> 00:21:05.320 See John knows who he is and who he's not. 00:21:06.240 --> 00:21:10.380 John knows what he's been called to do and God knows what John knows what he's not been called to do. 00:21:10.380 --> 00:21:13.720 If we start with the negative what John isn't. 00:21:14.300 --> 00:21:17.660 Negatively John reminds his disciples I am not the Christ. 00:21:17.760 --> 00:21:18.900 I am not the Messiah. 00:21:20.060 --> 00:21:25.340 Can't help but read those words and think about how I often read the newspaper in the morning and I begin to read about things happening in our country. 00:21:25.480 --> 00:21:26.160 Things in the world. 00:21:26.560 --> 00:21:27.400 And I begin to despair. 00:21:27.860 --> 00:21:28.960 I care about these things. 00:21:29.400 --> 00:21:30.300 I feel them deeply. 00:21:30.980 --> 00:21:34.260 And then as I get myself riled up and like oh what are they thinking? 00:21:34.340 --> 00:21:35.060 What are they doing? 00:21:35.760 --> 00:21:37.840 I have to remind myself David you're not the Prime Minister. 00:21:37.839 --> 00:21:37.959 There. 00:21:38.599 --> 00:21:43.659 To which I then can get on with my cornflakes and my cup of tea and be quite relaxed and happy that I'm not the Prime Minister. 00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:47.459 Because my goodness what a difficult and thankless task that is these days. 00:21:48.519 --> 00:21:51.839 I wonder if John the Baptist when he says to his disciples I'm not the Christ. 00:21:51.939 --> 00:21:52.679 I'm not the Messiah. 00:21:52.759 --> 00:21:54.419 Whether he says it with a grin on his face. 00:21:54.759 --> 00:21:56.539 Knowing thank goodness I'm not the Messiah. 00:21:57.339 --> 00:21:58.619 You see John knows the scriptures. 00:21:59.000 --> 00:22:01.819 John knows what the job description for the Messiah is. 00:22:01.819 --> 00:22:03.200 It's atoning for sin. 00:22:03.879 --> 00:22:05.099 Reconciling heaven and earth. 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:07.159 Defeating evil and injustice. 00:22:07.379 --> 00:22:08.700 Bringing the nations back to God. 00:22:09.740 --> 00:22:10.579 Sounds like hard work. 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:12.279 Oh. 00:22:12.960 --> 00:22:14.599 It's enough to keep you lying awake at night. 00:22:15.539 --> 00:22:16.259 But not John. 00:22:17.159 --> 00:22:20.119 Yes John is wrapped up in his what is it camel hair. 00:22:20.519 --> 00:22:22.119 He's been eating his locusts and honey all day. 00:22:22.200 --> 00:22:23.759 But no I think John sleeps well at night. 00:22:23.839 --> 00:22:26.339 I think he goes to bed and switches off like a light. 00:22:26.399 --> 00:22:28.200 Because John knows that he is not the Messiah. 00:22:28.579 --> 00:22:30.299 None of these things are his responsibility. 00:22:30.299 --> 00:22:32.419 John knows who he's not. 00:22:33.139 --> 00:22:34.099 I'm not the Christ. 00:22:35.539 --> 00:22:38.139 You know it's really futile to compare yourself with other people. 00:22:38.440 --> 00:22:40.480 It's like comparing apples and oranges. 00:22:41.220 --> 00:22:42.759 They're both fruit but they're different. 00:22:43.460 --> 00:22:44.659 God likes apples apparently. 00:22:44.740 --> 00:22:45.339 That's why he made them. 00:22:45.419 --> 00:22:45.980 God likes oranges. 00:22:46.099 --> 00:22:46.879 That's why he made them. 00:22:47.720 --> 00:22:48.579 But you can't compare them. 00:22:48.659 --> 00:22:49.759 They're just different. 00:22:50.599 --> 00:22:52.960 And God didn't make you like somebody else. 00:22:52.980 --> 00:22:53.799 He made you like you. 00:22:54.419 --> 00:22:55.539 He likes them like them. 00:22:55.579 --> 00:22:56.599 He likes you like you. 00:22:57.399 --> 00:22:58.319 And you're not them. 00:22:58.319 --> 00:23:01.879 Be who God has made you uniquely to be. 00:23:01.960 --> 00:23:03.019 That's the negative side. 00:23:04.500 --> 00:23:06.339 But also there's a positive side in what John says. 00:23:06.439 --> 00:23:10.700 John goes on and he says that he is the friend of the bridegroom. 00:23:11.740 --> 00:23:16.259 You'd be forgiven for wondering why on earth has John jumped to talking about weddings? 00:23:16.259 --> 00:23:24.220 Well in the Old Testament the relationship between God and Israel is often pictured as a relationship between a husband and a wife. 00:23:24.759 --> 00:23:28.559 Indeed a faithful husband and a faithless adulterous wife. 00:23:29.539 --> 00:23:33.319 Later in the New Testament the relationship of Jesus and his church is also pictured in the same way. 00:23:34.180 --> 00:23:38.259 And I think here there is a little throwaway reference to the divinity of Jesus. 00:23:38.379 --> 00:23:39.180 This is the identity of Jesus. 00:23:39.379 --> 00:23:40.400 He is God. 00:23:40.619 --> 00:23:41.299 He's in that place. 00:23:41.339 --> 00:23:41.740 He's the groom. 00:23:41.740 --> 00:23:42.299 He's the husband. 00:23:43.980 --> 00:23:47.279 But John's point is not to make a point about Jesus' identity in this point. 00:23:47.519 --> 00:23:54.160 His main point is actually trying to correct his disciples for having forgotten that the wedding is Jesus' big day. 00:23:54.799 --> 00:23:56.059 Not John's big day. 00:23:57.620 --> 00:24:03.960 Sometimes you hear stories about young women who are getting married and they receive this unfortunate label of being a bridezilla. 00:24:04.180 --> 00:24:05.700 Have you heard of that phrase? 00:24:05.779 --> 00:24:06.480 Have you come across that? 00:24:06.519 --> 00:24:07.140 A bridezilla. 00:24:07.140 --> 00:24:14.259 She's just got a little bit carried away with all the preparations and has turned on her friends and got rather bossy. 00:24:14.720 --> 00:24:16.900 Well I want to introduce a new phrase to you this evening. 00:24:17.480 --> 00:24:19.520 And it is a best manzilla. 00:24:20.560 --> 00:24:22.380 Now a best manzilla, it's new. 00:24:22.600 --> 00:24:23.259 I appreciate that. 00:24:23.320 --> 00:24:26.560 So let me paint the picture for you of what a best manzilla is like. 00:24:27.120 --> 00:24:30.740 He shows up to the wedding service and he upstages the bride and groom. 00:24:30.860 --> 00:24:35.140 He is wearing a neon yellow bright jumpsuit. 00:24:35.140 --> 00:24:36.160 That's what he's wearing. 00:24:36.320 --> 00:24:40.480 Totally upstages the bride in her lovely white dress. 00:24:41.120 --> 00:24:47.480 Then when it's reception time and the official photographs are being taken, he photobombs all the official pictures. 00:24:47.560 --> 00:24:48.980 That means that he's jumping in the background. 00:24:49.160 --> 00:24:49.920 He's getting in the way. 00:24:50.020 --> 00:24:51.840 He's doing wee things behind people's heads. 00:24:52.200 --> 00:24:53.280 It's just an absolute mess. 00:24:53.900 --> 00:24:58.020 And then at the end of the reception, the best manzilla runs off with and kidnaps the bride. 00:24:58.019 --> 00:24:58.099 Right. 00:24:59.619 --> 00:25:00.579 It's unthinkable. 00:25:00.839 --> 00:25:03.579 You're laughing because that's not the role of the best man. 00:25:03.660 --> 00:25:06.720 That sounds like the role of the worst man you could possibly imagine. 00:25:07.940 --> 00:25:11.779 And I think John wants us to know that he is not like a best manzilla. 00:25:12.839 --> 00:25:15.900 John the Baptist knows his role in all of these things. 00:25:15.960 --> 00:25:17.339 He says, this is not my wedding. 00:25:17.339 --> 00:25:22.359 My job and my delight is to introduce the bride to her husband. 00:25:23.839 --> 00:25:27.740 I am here to witness God be married to his people. 00:25:28.159 --> 00:25:30.720 And Jesus, the groom, he must increase. 00:25:30.799 --> 00:25:31.559 It's his day. 00:25:32.179 --> 00:25:34.899 And I'm just simply his best man to introduce the bride. 00:25:35.539 --> 00:25:36.599 He must increase. 00:25:37.899 --> 00:25:38.939 I must decrease. 00:25:39.079 --> 00:25:39.720 Verse 30. 00:25:41.659 --> 00:25:42.740 So that's the two sides of this. 00:25:42.740 --> 00:25:46.359 That there's the negative, I'm not the Messiah, but I am the best man at this wedding. 00:25:47.680 --> 00:25:53.579 For us, there's this danger that when we get consumed with comparing ourselves with others, 00:25:53.700 --> 00:25:57.460 that we waste our energy. 00:25:57.640 --> 00:26:02.019 We waste our lives worrying about who we're not and who God's not made us to be. 00:26:02.900 --> 00:26:04.079 Again, Jerry Bridges puts it well. 00:26:04.079 --> 00:26:08.079 He says, we should realize that if we spend emotional energy on envy or jealousy, 00:26:08.079 --> 00:26:12.779 we lose sight of what God might uniquely do in our lives. 00:26:14.319 --> 00:26:16.919 God made you the way he made you for a purpose. 00:26:17.879 --> 00:26:20.819 He has work for you to do that no one else can do. 00:26:21.179 --> 00:26:23.500 And when you worry about what other people are doing for him, 00:26:23.639 --> 00:26:25.699 you're not getting on with doing what he's given you to do. 00:26:26.179 --> 00:26:27.679 That's a waste, a tragic waste. 00:26:28.579 --> 00:26:29.599 You are no accident. 00:26:31.319 --> 00:26:36.399 Rather, the Bible declares you are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works, 00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:39.500 which God has prepared in advance for us to do. 00:26:40.220 --> 00:26:43.759 And so let me urge you this evening, worry less about what other people have been made to be 00:26:43.759 --> 00:26:45.380 and what other people have been called to do. 00:26:46.120 --> 00:26:49.680 And get on with being who God made you uniquely to be. 00:26:50.580 --> 00:26:52.060 Because that's no accident. 00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:53.700 That's his plan. 00:26:55.700 --> 00:26:57.340 So A, acknowledge that God is sovereign. 00:26:57.340 --> 00:27:00.600 B, be who God has made you uniquely to be. 00:27:00.599 --> 00:27:05.079 Then C, celebrate that God gives us everything in Christ. 00:27:06.059 --> 00:27:07.879 This is the final six verses. 00:27:08.559 --> 00:27:11.099 This chapter ends with a series of comparisons. 00:27:11.500 --> 00:27:14.259 Ironic, but there are some comparisons in this passage. 00:27:15.819 --> 00:27:17.939 And John really here is trying to teach his disciples 00:27:17.939 --> 00:27:22.279 why it is that Jesus must increase and he and they must decrease. 00:27:23.059 --> 00:27:25.419 I want to just run through these comparisons at lightning pace 00:27:25.420 --> 00:27:31.680 and really stick close to some real raw application for our lives. 00:27:32.420 --> 00:27:36.140 The first comparison is all about where Jesus comes from, verse 31. 00:27:36.940 --> 00:27:39.100 He who comes from above is above all. 00:27:39.960 --> 00:27:43.400 He who is off the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. 00:27:44.360 --> 00:27:47.080 He who comes from heaven is above all. 00:27:48.920 --> 00:27:50.539 Here John's saying Jesus is from heaven. 00:27:51.259 --> 00:27:52.740 And I, John the Baptist, I am from earth. 00:27:54.320 --> 00:27:55.240 Simple comparison. 00:27:55.440 --> 00:27:56.220 Where they've come from. 00:27:57.620 --> 00:28:02.299 What I draw from this for application-wise for us is that whatever you have or don't have, 00:28:03.160 --> 00:28:08.480 when you have Jesus, you have someone, something which is greater than anything else you'll find in this world 00:28:08.480 --> 00:28:09.440 because he's from above. 00:28:10.039 --> 00:28:11.120 That's where he's come from. 00:28:11.559 --> 00:28:16.220 When you have him, you have something better than anything else in this world. 00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:21.700 Next comparison is to do with who Jesus is in verses 32 to 34. 00:28:22.599 --> 00:28:23.319 John continues, 00:28:23.319 --> 00:28:48.779 There's a lot packed in there, but really all John is saying is that John, he himself, he's just a messenger from God. 00:28:48.779 --> 00:28:51.420 But Jesus is the living word of God. 00:28:51.599 --> 00:28:54.779 He is the one who is uniquely filled with the spirit of God. 00:28:54.779 --> 00:29:01.119 And so what Jesus has to say about you, what Jesus thinks of you, that is more important than what anyone else says of you in this world. 00:29:01.279 --> 00:29:03.839 More important than what anyone else thinks of you in this world. 00:29:04.299 --> 00:29:06.279 Jesus is the living word of God. 00:29:06.779 --> 00:29:08.700 What he says about you is what God says about you. 00:29:08.920 --> 00:29:10.019 There is no higher court. 00:29:10.119 --> 00:29:11.240 There is no higher authority. 00:29:11.339 --> 00:29:14.119 There is no higher opinion than what God has to say. 00:29:14.119 --> 00:29:16.759 And what God has to say about you in Christ by his spirit. 00:29:16.899 --> 00:29:18.479 That's the most important thing about you. 00:29:18.480 --> 00:29:26.240 And thirdly, there's this next comparison to finish off the chapter, verses 35 to 36. 00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:32.039 The father loves the son and has given all things into his hand. 00:29:32.680 --> 00:29:35.559 Whoever believes in the son has eternal life. 00:29:36.059 --> 00:29:39.920 Whoever does not obey the son shall not see life. 00:29:40.259 --> 00:29:42.880 But the wrath of God remains on him. 00:29:44.319 --> 00:29:46.700 This comparison is all to do with what Jesus gives. 00:29:46.700 --> 00:29:53.059 The theology here is that when John says that the father has given all things into the son's hand, 00:29:53.220 --> 00:30:00.740 that is saying that the father has entrusted all the authority of his kingdom into the hands of Jesus, his son, his appointed ruler. 00:30:01.200 --> 00:30:02.940 Jesus is, if you like, the judge. 00:30:03.440 --> 00:30:08.680 He is the one who will decide the final verdict on your life, whether it is eternal life in heaven, 00:30:08.779 --> 00:30:11.299 whether it is eternal destruction in hell. 00:30:11.660 --> 00:30:14.400 Jesus is the one who is God's appointed judge. 00:30:14.400 --> 00:30:18.300 Life in his kingdom or life or death outside of his kingdom. 00:30:19.740 --> 00:30:24.100 And it's interesting here that John finishes with taking us to think about judicial things, 00:30:24.620 --> 00:30:25.880 things in God's courtroom. 00:30:26.980 --> 00:30:32.120 Because when we start playing with comparisons, what we're doing is we're putting ourselves in the courtroom. 00:30:32.620 --> 00:30:33.900 We're putting ourselves on trial. 00:30:34.940 --> 00:30:38.460 And here's a phenomenally helpful insight from Tim Keller about this. 00:30:38.920 --> 00:30:43.920 He writes in his little book, The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness. 00:30:44.400 --> 00:30:51.540 The problem of self-esteem, whether it is high or low, is that every single day we are in the courtroom. 00:30:52.380 --> 00:30:58.920 And everything we do is providing evidence for the prosecution or evidence for the defense. 00:30:59.740 --> 00:31:01.960 Some days we feel we are winning the trial. 00:31:02.620 --> 00:31:04.840 On other days we feel we are losing it. 00:31:06.100 --> 00:31:07.180 Do you ever feel that way? 00:31:08.600 --> 00:31:09.259 No, I do. 00:31:09.259 --> 00:31:11.799 The code goes on. 00:31:11.920 --> 00:31:14.660 But the trial is over for the Christian. 00:31:15.200 --> 00:31:19.319 They are out of the courtroom because the ultimate verdict is in. 00:31:20.059 --> 00:31:22.319 Jesus went into the courtroom. 00:31:23.680 --> 00:31:26.799 It was an unjust trial in a kangaroo court. 00:31:27.180 --> 00:31:31.660 He faced a trial that should be ours so that we do not have to face any more trials. 00:31:31.660 --> 00:31:37.019 And so we simply need to ask God to accept us because of what Jesus has done. 00:31:37.640 --> 00:31:45.700 Then the only person whose opinion counts looks at me and he finds me more valuable than all the jewels in the earth. 00:31:46.940 --> 00:31:48.000 What does Jesus give? 00:31:48.080 --> 00:31:49.800 Jesus brings an end to the trial. 00:31:50.340 --> 00:31:53.840 Brings an end to your ordeal in court. 00:31:53.839 --> 00:32:03.139 You can find your ultimate security in Jesus because life and death, salvation or condemnation, eternity in heaven or hell, it doesn't hinge upon you. 00:32:03.199 --> 00:32:04.299 It doesn't hinge upon your performance. 00:32:04.779 --> 00:32:08.939 It hinges entirely on Jesus and his performance for you on the cross. 00:32:11.419 --> 00:32:14.379 So I think the application here is quite simple. 00:32:14.459 --> 00:32:15.639 It's quite simple, quite straightforward. 00:32:15.640 --> 00:32:19.120 Lord, we want to escape the snare of compare them. 00:32:19.240 --> 00:32:25.259 We need to stop worrying about the successes and the abilities that God has given to other people. 00:32:26.080 --> 00:32:31.580 But rather, we just need to celebrate that when we have Christ, we have received everything that we need. 00:32:31.580 --> 00:32:34.060 Anything that we could need now and forever. 00:32:34.380 --> 00:32:37.620 When you have Jesus, you have everything you need. 00:32:37.700 --> 00:32:38.820 Therefore, we should celebrate. 00:32:38.819 --> 00:32:45.899 This celebration, I believe, is the antidote to the poison of comparison. 00:32:47.379 --> 00:32:58.419 So you go, there's an ABC from John the Baptist on how to escape the snare of compare, to acknowledge that God is sovereign, to be who God has made you uniquely to be, and to celebrate that when you have Christ, you have everything. 00:33:00.500 --> 00:33:05.659 Now, if you folks here at Brunsfield or anything like my folks at Corubbers, then they'll often say, well, that all sounds great, but what's the one thing? 00:33:05.660 --> 00:33:09.519 What's the one thing you want me to walk out of this place this evening with? 00:33:09.980 --> 00:33:21.120 And if I may, can I give you one thing, an old piece of advice tried and tested from an old dead friend up in Dundee, Robert Murray McShane, who would often counsel people in his church when they came to him struggling with things like this. 00:33:21.800 --> 00:33:26.740 And he told them, for every look at self, take 10 looks at Christ. 00:33:26.740 --> 00:33:29.500 Can I challenge you this week to try that? 00:33:29.740 --> 00:33:36.539 That when you've catched yourself, when you find yourself starting to go to that place of, oh, they're better than me. 00:33:38.400 --> 00:33:40.720 Oh, I'm better than them. 00:33:42.259 --> 00:33:43.539 Would you catch yourself? 00:33:45.539 --> 00:33:51.059 And for that look at self, would you start taking 10 looks at the Lord Jesus and who he is and all that he has done for you and all that you have in him? 00:33:51.059 --> 00:33:55.940 You see, earlier we met Arthur at work, feeling out Sean by his younger colleagues. 00:33:56.399 --> 00:33:59.059 We met Bethany at home, feeling inadequate as a working mom. 00:33:59.679 --> 00:34:04.639 We met Charlie, who feels insecure by their consumption of social media. 00:34:06.319 --> 00:34:10.299 And for each of them, for each of us here this evening, the antidote to the snare of compare. 00:34:10.300 --> 00:34:18.840 It's for every look at self to take 10 looks at Christ, to look more at him, that he might become greater. 00:34:18.960 --> 00:34:24.340 You would celebrate that he becomes greater and that you would become less in comparison. 00:34:26.220 --> 00:34:31.180 You're not threatened by the fact that Jesus becomes greater and you become less because whenever you have faith in the Lord Jesus, 00:34:31.240 --> 00:34:34.960 when you look to him and you have faith in him, you are united with him and his destiny. 00:34:34.960 --> 00:34:42.659 You know all that he is and you receive the father's song that's sung over you, just as it was him at his baptism by John. 00:34:42.960 --> 00:34:44.119 Behold, you are my son. 00:34:44.880 --> 00:34:48.320 Dare I say, behold, you are my daughter with whom I'm well pleased. 00:34:50.220 --> 00:34:52.079 May Jesus become greater in your life this week. 00:34:52.579 --> 00:34:57.099 Look to him and know the father sings his song of love over you. 00:34:58.860 --> 00:34:59.480 Let's pray. 00:34:59.480 --> 00:35:06.940 Father, there are so many songs that we hear in this world. 00:35:07.039 --> 00:35:09.000 We turn on the radio and they're blasted at us. 00:35:09.079 --> 00:35:15.240 We walk down the street and we hear people walking past us with their music players on, loud. 00:35:15.460 --> 00:35:18.139 And we can hear the words and the music, the beat coming out. 00:35:19.260 --> 00:35:23.280 We turn on televisions and we watch and we hear things and we see things. 00:35:23.280 --> 00:35:33.140 And yet we thank you that there is a voice that sounds above them all that tells us that we are your beloved children with whom you're well pleased in the Lord Jesus. 00:35:33.840 --> 00:35:38.360 We thank you that you've made each one of us uniquely, deliberately, intentionally. 00:35:38.900 --> 00:35:41.440 We thank you for your many gifts you've given us in our lives. 00:35:42.180 --> 00:35:47.500 Forgive us for the many times that we are not content with what you've given us and we'd much rather have what someone else seems to have. 00:35:48.580 --> 00:35:50.940 Forgetting that they're probably looking at us thinking just the same thing. 00:35:50.940 --> 00:36:00.059 Father, I pray that you would deliver us from this snare of compare that causes us to waste our lives, to waste our emotional energies, to waste our time. 00:36:01.059 --> 00:36:06.000 And instead that by looking to Jesus and enjoying the freedom that comes by your spirit, 00:36:07.179 --> 00:36:13.220 that we would be able to live our lives more fully for you, more usefully for your kingdom. 00:36:14.300 --> 00:36:17.240 And for your name's sick this week, help us, we pray in Jesus' name. 00:36:18.139 --> 00:36:18.480 Amen.