We will be reading from John chapter 3 verses 22 to 36. You can follow along in your bulletin, in your Bibles, or on the screen above.
Let's read.
After this, Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing.
John also was baptizing at Enon near Salem because water was plentiful there and people were coming and being baptized.
For John had not yet been put in prison.
Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over purification.
And they came to John and said to him, Rabbi, he who is with you across the Jordan to whom you bore witness, look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.
John answered, A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.
You yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.
The one who has the bride is the bridegroom.
The friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice.
Therefore, this joy of mine is now complete.
He must increase, but I must decrease.
He who comes from above is above all.
He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way.
He who comes from heaven is above all.
He bears witness to what he has seen and heard.
Yet no one receives his testimony.
Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.
For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the spirit without measure.
The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.
Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
This is the word of God.
Thank you, Zoe.
Well, good morning again.
Good morning, Kevin.
Good morning again.
My name is Oscar.
If you don't know me, hopefully this doesn't fall over as I preach.
I'm one of the elders here at Watermark, and I have the great privilege of...
Sorry, thank you.
Thanks, dude.
I have the great privilege of delivering God's word today.
Can you pray with me as we consider God's word?
Father, we all humbly come before you.
As Kevin was sharing, we all...
We're broken people.
We don't have it all together.
And yet you are perfect and holy God.
So we ask as we look into your word today, as I try to deliver it, I pray that all of our hearts would be open and soft to hear your voice.
I pray that we would receive what you want us to hear.
Not what I want us to hear, but what you, Holy Spirit, want us to hear.
May Jesus be glorified in our hearts as we consider your word today.
We give this time to you in the precious name of Jesus.
Amen.
In this day and age, with the widespread use of smartphones and social media, we can easily go online and follow all sorts of different online influencers.
We can follow celebrities and athletes.
We can follow artists and musicians.
We can follow thought leaders and so-called experts in multiple different fields.
So who do you follow?
Cristiano Ronaldo, apparently the most followed person in the world with a billion followers.
Lionel Messi, LeBron James.
How about Blackpink or BTS?
I don't know who they were until last year.
How about, do you follow Jamie Oliver or Gordon Ramsay?
How about Dr. Peter Atiyah or Andrew Huberman?
Maybe you follow Warren Buffett or Jack Ma.
Or perhaps you don't go on social media like our good friend Kevin here.
But maybe it's closer to home.
Maybe you've been influenced, your worldview and values have been influenced by a parent or an older sibling or a coach,
a teacher, maybe a pastor or an elder.
Who is it that when they say or do something, you have to click on it?
You have to sit up and listen to them.
And have you ever asked yourself, why do you spend so much time following the people that you follow?
Why do they have the credibility to be someone worthy to be followed?
Have you looked into their private lives?
Do their outer lives look all nice and put together?
But behind the camera, it's a different story.
This morning, as we dive into this passage from John chapter 3, 22 and onwards,
the question is, if we all follow someone, which we all do, then who should we follow?
Who should we follow?
And we'll look at this passage in two parts.
The first is, don't miss the point.
And the second is, who is Jesus?
Don't miss the point.
Over the past six or so weeks, we've been looking at this book of John, the first few chapters.
And towards the end of this book, in chapter 20, John the Apostle, the writer,
he writes that this book was written that you may believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
And by believing in him, you may have life in his name.
This book was written to give us a sense of who Jesus is from multiple different accounts or testimonies.
From John the Apostle, the writer.
From John the Baptist, a different John.
From many people who interact with Jesus.
And of course, from Jesus himself, who spoke about himself.
He spoke about his Father in heaven.
He spoke about heaven and hell.
He spoke about eternity.
This book of John was written that we may see Jesus, believe in him, and have life in his name.
And today in our passage, the background is that Jesus has left the city.
He's out in the countryside.
And there, he's baptizing.
Actually, chapter 4, verse 2, tells us that Jesus' disciples were baptizing.
And at the same time, John the Baptist was also somewhere out in the countryside at a place called Anon near Selim.
We don't know where that is.
But John the Baptist was also baptizing somewhere else in the countryside, apart from Jesus.
And a situation comes up.
Some tension comes up.
Some of John the Baptist's disciples are upset that some people are leaving Jesus'
Some people are leaving John's group and going to Jesus' group to be baptized.
Team John was losing people to team Jesus.
In verse 26, John's disciples complained to him.
Rabbi, he who is with you across the Jordan to whom you bore witness.
Look, he's baptizing and all are going to him.
Now, clearly, not all people were leaving John and going to Jesus.
But this sort of emotional tone of the disciples indicates the jealousy in their hearts.
Now, this comment that all are going to Jesus and that that's a bad thing, is this surprising to you?
After all, ever since John the Baptist began his ministry, he was pretty clear as to who he was and who he wasn't.
Back in chapter 1, John the Baptist said,
He who comes after me, referring to Jesus, ranks before me.
Because he was before me.
John the Baptist also says, when he saw Jesus, he said,
Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
And John responds to his disciples in verse 28.
He says,
You yourselves bear me witness.
You've heard me say this before.
That I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.
John was quite clear.
I am just a messenger.
I'm not the most important person.
Jesus is who you should follow.
Jesus is who you should trust.
Jesus is the one you should run after and adore.
And yet, somehow,
John's disciples completely missed the point of his entire ministry.
And his ministry was to shine a spotlight on the beauty of Jesus.
Imagine it's a beautiful day.
You've hiked up Twin Peaks or another mountain in Hong Kong.
And the sun is just about to set.
And you're just ready to bask in all the beauty of nature.
You're overlooking the harbor.
The sun's coming down.
But over there, you notice a couple folks.
They're armed with their selfie sticks.
And they're spending all this energy trying to take the perfect selfie
just as a sunset with the perfect light.
But they take too long.
They spend too much energy.
The angle's not perfect.
The light's not perfect.
And they miss the sunset.
They miss the selfie.
They completely miss the point of that experience.
And it was kind of like that for John the Baptist's disciples.
They were so fixated on John
as if he was someone to worship
that they miss Jesus.
Now, I've been a Christian since I was probably,
I don't know, seven or eight years old.
But for the first 20 years of my Christian life,
I cannot honestly say that I knew Jesus.
I didn't really have a personal relationship with him.
I went to church in my teens.
I went to youth group.
I was in university ministry.
I even helped to plant a church.
But for those first 20 years,
I didn't know Jesus personally.
We didn't have a relationship.
I thought that being a Christian meant I had to serve in church.
I had to be a good moral person and not sin.
Of course, I was sitting all the time,
and I still do.
For the first 20 years of being a Christian,
I missed the point of being a Christian.
How about for you?
Maybe you've grown up in church,
and you're a Christian by tradition.
But if you're truly honest with yourself,
sitting right here,
you can't say that you really know Jesus personally.
Or maybe you grew up in a Christian home,
but you find it difficult to believe that God loves you
because you've never experienced love before.
Or maybe you've been in church for a while,
but your church leaders have hurt you.
And now you find it hard to love God and trust God
because, well, if his church leaders were not good people,
how can God be good?
Or maybe you've struggled with life.
Nothing ever goes your way.
And so how can God be good?
Well, on this last point,
when we give our lives to Jesus,
when we surrender to him
and say that he's our Lord and Savior,
he does bless us with many, many things.
He gives us his grace and forgiveness.
We receive eternal life in heaven.
And he also gives us many material things as well,
many resources, if he so chooses.
But the point of being a Christian
is not what Jesus gives us.
It's Jesus himself.
It's that relationship with him,
knowing him,
praying to him,
experiencing him,
experiencing his joy,
being in a relationship with him.
It's kind of like marriage,
in a way.
For my wife Celeste and I,
the point of our marriage
is not that we need to work really hard
to raise our kids,
to send them out into the world.
The highest calling of marriage
is the intimacy of a relationship.
It's not just functional partnership.
It's relational intimacy.
It's loving intimacy.
You know, years ago,
I'm not sure if you were here for this,
but we ran a poll here at Watermark
and we asked everyone,
what's the best thing about Watermark?
And the most common response was,
it's the community.
And that's a wonderful response.
We're called Watermark Community Church.
Being a Christian is not a solo project.
We will miss the beauty of Jesus
if our Christianity is just internal and private
and away from community.
And yet,
community is not the most important part of church,
nor the most important part about being a Christian.
Jesus is.
And in this passage,
in many ways,
John,
sorry,
Jesus,
was messing up this community of discipleship
that John had.
People were leaving John's CG
and going to Jesus.
And,
imagine what Niels would say if that happened.
But,
and John's disciples were upset at this.
But John said,
hey,
that's a good thing.
You're leaving me,
but you're going to the one that should be adored.
You're going to Jesus to know him,
to experience him,
to understand him,
and to love and trust him.
Because being with Jesus was more important
than being in John's community.
And so for us,
let's remember,
don't come to church
primarily because your friends are here.
Don't come to church
primarily because you think that
if you can just hang on to that good sermon,
not for me,
from Kevin and Niels,
if you can just hang on to that good sermon,
all will be okay.
Don't worship your church leaders.
Worship Jesus.
We should all follow our church elders,
yes,
but all the elders here,
we're all broken men.
We're all highly fallible.
We're all sinful
and need the grace of Jesus.
The point of being a Christian
is to worship Jesus Christ.
And so the question is,
do we truly love Jesus
or do we just love our church community?
Do we truly love Jesus
or we just love what we think he can give us?
And this is what John the Baptist
was trying to say in these verses.
Don't miss the point.
Don't focus on me.
Focus on Jesus.
I am not the point.
Jesus is the point.
And in verse 29,
he uses this metaphor of a wedding.
Similar to in chapter 2,
when Jesus turns water into wine
at that wedding,
a wedding is a symbol
of the ultimate celebration.
And the seminal part of a wedding
is the wedding ceremony.
But imagine if at that ceremony,
just as the bride and the groom
were saying their vows,
the best man interrupts
and starts talking about himself.
Or imagine if just as
a newly married husband and wife
are taking their wedding photos,
the best man photo bombs them.
Of course,
all the guests and the family would say,
dude, get out of here, man.
It's not about you.
It's about the husband and the wife,
the bride and groom.
John says,
the best man isn't the point.
Verse 29,
he says,
the one who has the bride
is the bridegroom.
The friend of the bridegroom
who stands and hears him
rejoices greatly
at the bridegroom's voice.
Therefore, this joy of mine
is now complete.
The bride is for the bridegroom.
We are the bride.
Jesus is the groom.
It's interesting,
this last sentence,
therefore,
this joy of mine
is now complete.
What an incredible thing to say
in that context,
if you really think about it.
John's own status
was being diminished.
He was pretty much giving up
his ministry and career,
but his joy was full
and complete
and perfect
because he saw Jesus
lifted up
and adored.
How about for you?
What would make your joy complete?
Is it that perfect job?
Is it that perfect relationship?
Is it financial security?
For John the Baptist,
it was seeing Jesus
lifted up
and adored.
And so for John,
the very thing
that offended his disciples
was the exact thing
that he wanted to see.
Verse 30,
he must increase
and I must decrease.
My ministry must diminish
so that Jesus can be lifted up.
Jesus is the main show.
I'm just the opening act.
John lived not for his glory.
He lived to honor Jesus.
These were the last recorded words
of John the Baptist
in this book of John
as around 6 to 12 months later,
he was put in prison
and then he was executed
a bit after that.
You could say
this was John the Baptist's
last testimony.
In our culture of self-promotion,
isn't it hard to believe
that John the Baptist
was excited
at the downfall of his ministry?
This is his career.
How many of us here today
have worked incredibly hard
in school,
at work,
to get to where we are today?
Would you be able
to give it all up?
Give up all your hopes
and dreams,
your status and position
to honor Jesus?
Who here can truly say
he must increase,
I must decrease?
Often actually we say this
and we say he may increase
and may we decrease.
Actually it says
he must increase
and we must decrease.
This is the Christian life.
I imagine it took John years
to build up a reputation
in the ministry field.
I imagine it took him
a lot of hard work
to build up all those disciples
that followed him around.
But John was willing
to give up all of that
if it meant his disciples
were going to experience Jesus
and love and trust Jesus.
And so the question is,
how could he do that?
How could he give up everything?
Well,
it's because he knew
who Jesus was.
He knew who Jesus was.
Who is Jesus?
Well, let's take a step back.
Over the past six or so weeks,
as we've opened up
these first few chapters
of this book of John,
we've seen and heard
about Jesus
from multiple different angles
and perspectives.
In chapter one,
John the Apostle,
the writer,
he tells us that
Jesus is the Word.
The Word, Jesus,
he was there from the beginning
creating the world.
And then the Word became flesh
and lived among humanity.
And then John the Baptist,
he comes on the scene
and he tells us,
look to Jesus,
he is the Son of God.
And then in chapter two,
Jesus turns water into wine
at that wedding in Cana.
showing the reader
for the first time
that he isn't like everybody else.
The laws of nature
and physics don't apply to him.
And after that,
he goes into the temple
with full authority.
He drives out
all of those money changers
and people doing commerce
and trade.
And he shows that,
yes,
I'm not just any rabbi.
He said,
this is my father's house.
And then last week,
we heard that Jesus
spoke to Nicodemus.
And in the dead of night,
he tells Nicodemus,
if you want to see God,
if you want to see
the kingdom of heaven,
you must be born again.
You must be born of heaven.
But how?
How?
Through the Son.
And only through the Son.
Believe in the Son
and you shall be saved.
Over these few chapters,
John the Apostle
has been slowly
painting this mosaic of Jesus,
adding texture and color.
And now,
in these last few verses
of chapter 3,
after all the testimony
and comments about Jesus,
dialogue and actions
from Jesus himself,
John finally cuts to the heart
of the most important question.
Who is Jesus?
Is he a political activist?
Is he a rabbi?
Is he like an Old Testament prophet?
Is he a good moral teacher?
Who is Jesus?
And in these last verses,
from 31 to 34,
John tells us,
Jesus Christ is none other
than God himself.
If you have seen Jesus,
you've seen the very face of God.
If you have heard Jesus speak,
you've heard the very words of God.
If you have seen Jesus in action,
you've seen the very hand
of God at work.
Jesus is none other
than God in flesh.
Jesus is divine.
Listen to what John says.
Verse 31.
He who comes from above
is above all.
Jesus was born
as a human,
as a baby,
excuse me,
2,000 years ago
in Bethlehem.
But Jesus existed
always
in eternity.
The Old Testament prophet
Micah,
he says this about Jesus.
He says,
from the clan of Judah,
which was a lineage
of Jesus,
from you
shall come forth
one who is ruler
over Israel,
whose origin
is from old,
from everlasting.
Jesus comes from heaven
and is therefore
above all.
He has full authority
to do anything
and everything
he pleases.
Hence,
the laws of nature
and physics
don't apply to him
and he can turn water
into wine
in a heartbeat
and even death
and the grave
have no hold
on Jesus.
He's from heaven.
verse 34,
if we go on,
it says,
for he whom God
has sent
utters the words
of God
for he gives
the spirit
without measure.
In the Old Testament,
prophets like Isaiah
and Jeremiah,
for example,
were given
a measure
of God's spirit
for a period
of time
to speak
God's word
for that period
of time.
But Jesus Christ
is full
of the spirit
without measure.
He's been given
God's spirit
fully
and completely.
He's full of God
because he is God.
And if we pay attention
to these verses,
31 to 34,
we see these words,
speaks,
bears witness,
testimony,
utters the words
of God,
referring to Jesus
speaking.
These are like arrows
pointing us
to pay attention
to the words
of Jesus.
What he said
was very important.
We should listen
to him.
And so as we reflect
on the words
spoken by Jesus,
this raises
three questions
for us.
The first is,
are we following
the words of Jesus?
Going back
to the people
that we follow,
I mentioned
Dr. Peter Atiyah.
Dr. Atiyah,
years ago,
he was espousing
these medical views,
these health hacks,
that cold baths
and hot saunas
and long-term fasting
were good for immunity
and health.
But recently,
Dr. Atiyah,
he changed his mind.
He said,
after further research
and empirical experience,
he doesn't recommend
these things anymore.
The negatives
outweigh the positives.
He changed his mind
because, well,
he's human.
But Jesus Christ,
because he's from above,
he's above all.
He's full of God's spirit
without measure
because the Father
has given all things
into his hands.
Everything Jesus said
in the Bible
either came true
or will come true.
He never changes his mind.
He never changes
his convictions.
He never,
never lies.
He always tells the truth.
Everything he says
comes true.
And yet,
how much of what Jesus said
do we actually listen to?
How much of what he said
do we actually believe
and respond to?
Actually,
Jesus said,
whoever wants to be
my disciple
must deny themselves
and take up his cross.
Jesus said,
whoever wants to save
their life will lose it.
But whoever loses
their life for me
will find it.
Jesus said,
no one can serve
two masters.
You cannot serve
both God
and money.
Are we following
the words
of Jesus?
And second,
who is Jesus
to you?
Last week we heard
Jesus on Nicodemus,
the most famous
passage in the Bible.
For God so loved
the world
that he gave his only son
that whoever believes
in him
shall not perish
but have eternal life.
belief.
We cannot separate
belief in God
from belief
in Jesus.
The very words
of Jesus,
the testimony
of Jesus
is the testimony
and the words
of God.
Jesus was there
at creation.
The Father loves
all,
the Father loves
Jesus and has given
all things
into his hands.
Jesus said,
the road
to all that is good
come through me.
The road
to all that is good
now and forever
Jesus said
comes through me.
I am the good shepherd
who comes down
and from heaven
and gives life.
I and the Father
are one.
I am the way,
the truth
and the life.
No one comes
to the Father
except through me.
Who is Jesus
to you?
Is he an interesting
influencer?
Is he a good
moral teacher?
You know,
Coldplay is coming
to Hong Kong
I think next month.
I bet
if Chris Martin
walked through
those doors
right now,
some here
would gush,
some would scream
and yell
and I bet
a select few
may even faint.
Where is Leo De Silva?
He would faint.
What would you do
if Jesus Christ,
the Savior of the world
walked through
those doors
right now
into this hall?
Would you gush?
Would you meet him
with indifference?
Would you be fearful?
Or would you bow down
in worship
and adoration?
Who is Jesus
to you?
And third,
do you believe
in the Son?
When Jesus
walked this earth,
he made astounding
claims
and performed
miracles
that no one
had ever seen
before.
He claimed
that you must
believe in him
and him alone
to be saved.
There is
no middle ground.
Verse 36,
whoever believes
in the Son
has eternal life.
Whoever does not
obey the Son
shall not see life
but the wrath
of God
remains on him.
The challenging verse.
this morning,
if you're not yet
a Christian
or if you think
you're a Christian
but your words
and your actions
suggest that you're not,
this verse
is speaking
directly to you.
And friends,
your response
is binary.
Either you bow down
to Jesus
in worship
and adoration
or you reject
everything
he has said
and the wrath
of God
remains on you.
Either you believe
that Jesus
is who he said
he is
from above
and above all
full of the Spirit
without measure
who utters
the very words
of God
the Son of God
the Savior
of the world
the one who died
on the cross
for you.
Either you believe
all those things
or you reject
everything
he has said
and done.
John the Baptist
has made his choice
and I've made mine.
With all my mind
when I go down
the rabbit hole
of history
I can see
that Jesus
is who he said
he is
everything
he said
is true.
And with all my heart
and every bone
in my body
I know
my Redeemer lives
I know him.
Don't let
another second
go by
without knowing
your Savior.
Come talk to me
or Kev
or another elder
if you want to know
your Savior
Jesus Christ.
We'd love to help you
to get to know him.
And for those of us
who are Christians
and have declared
that our faith
hope and trust
is in Jesus
today's passage
reminds us
that Jesus
is divine
and he's worthy
of worship.
And so as we
as we think
about how to respond
this week
let's consider
these
couple
ways.
For me
I find spending
a little bit
of time
every morning
in prayer
just pouring
my heart
out to
Jesus.
I read his word
a little bit
and I just pray
to him
and I just
pour out
all that I'm
thinking
feeling
all my hopes
and anxieties
praise and adoration
it's a relationship.
He's my refuge
he's my shepherd
he's my God
it's a wonderful
time of intimacy
and relationship.
Perhaps consider
doing that
this week
or
I suggest
coming up
for prayer
our prayer team
will be around
the hall
in just a moment
sometimes
you know
God works
when we take
that step
of faith
to ask
to physically
ask for prayer
not that we're
earning God's
favor
but God
honors
that step
of faith
and finally
perhaps consider
opening up
and sharing
with someone
a burden
on your heart
or
perhaps
this is
something
that you know
isn't right
in your heart
maybe there's a
conflict
that you haven't
resolved yet
maybe
you've been
repeatedly
sitting against
God
in some
certain way
you've been
idolizing
something
confess
that to
someone
and then
ask them
to pray
for you
let me
close
today's
passage
tells us
that we
can call
ourselves
Christians
and come
to church
for many
years
and totally
miss the
point
being
Christian
is about
knowing
Jesus
loving
Jesus
experiencing
Jesus
and experiencing
the
incredible
joy
and peace
and satisfaction
that nothing
in this world
could ever
replace
and it's not
because of a
new way
of thinking
it's not
because of
a philosophy
or mindset
it's not
because of
some great
moral clarity
it's not
because we're
really disciplined
it's because
of Jesus
Christ
who he is
the son of
God
the savior
of the world
he's from
above and above
all
who utters
the very
words of
God
it's about
him
he's God
and yet he
beckons us
and he invites
us to know
him
what an
incredible
thought
the God of
the universe
says hey
I want
to know
you
I want
you to
know
me
I already
know
you
I want
you to
know
me
I want
you to
love me
and trust
me
Jesus
Christ
is worthy
not just
to follow
he is worthy
of all our
adoration
praise
and worship
let's
now respond
to him
let's
respond to
him
let's
pray
Father God
Holy Spirit
Lord Jesus
if you've
been speaking
to us
Lord
if we
have heard
your voice
today
Lord
I pray
that
we would
not just
let it
pass us
by
like some
interesting
information
and data
I pray
God
that
you would
convict
us
may our
hearts
open up
and receive
your word
today
Lord
I pray
God
that
Jesus
Christ
would be
magnified
in every
person's
heart
today
Lord
I pray
God
for those
of us
who
have been
indifferent
about you
those of us
that have
struggled
to believe
that you're
good
and you
love us
those of us
that don't
even know
you at
all
those of us
that have
rejected you
God
wherever
we're at
we're all
in different
places
I pray
even now
right now
we would
respond to you
in praise
and worship
in surrender
and God
we may not
even know
what that
looks like
what does
it mean
to surrender
help us
Holy Spirit
open up
our hearts
and reveal
to us
the ways
in which
we have
put other
things
and prioritize
other things
above you
open up
our hearts
to show us
where we've
idolized
the things
of this
world
our own
hopes
and ambitions
above you
open up
our hearts
to help
us to see
where we
have
prioritized
even things
in church
above you
help us
to see
make these
words come
alive
that you
are
from above
and above
all
you are
full of
the spirit
without
measure
that the
father loves
his son
has given
all things
into his
hands
the son
utters
the very
words
of God
as we
respond
to you
may our
hearts
adore you
and love
you
and worship
you
we give
you the
rest of
this
service
in Jesus
name
amen