Sermon nuggets Fri .Feb 29
Theme – Unity
Verses- 31 "The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all.
32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.
33 The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful.
34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.
35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.
36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." (NIV)
Commitment confronts disunity.
Unity is achieved when there is a common commitment. We don’t serve a person, or an organization, or family member. As believers we are committed to serve Jesus Christ and Him alone. That purpose allows the Spirit of God to give different gifts for the common good. When we see Him working through us to accomplish His goals working together has a greater purpose than personal issues.
John’s commitment to the Father carried over to his commitment to Jesus. That took away any comparisons, competitions, conceit or confusion. The Spirit of God unifies us, and the Scriptures from the same Spirit, when believed and obeyed bring us together.
Only Jesus is from above, Only Jesus is eternal, Only Jesus is perfect, Only Jesus knows perfect love. Heavenly things are far superior to earthly things. We need to be humble when it comes to what we understand about spiritual things, but for the grace of God and the revelation of Jesus Christ. We are not trying to get a following. We are not looking for attention, but pointing people to the one who has power and authority. People will come and go. John the Baptist is no longer with us. Mary the mother of Jesus is gone. Peter, James and John all have their own graves. Paul is dead. But Jesus is alive now and forevermore. Receiving Jesus confronts our commitment
People that think the sun rises and falls on any particular pastor or religious leader, or radio or TV personality will soon be disappointed . They are all only men and women. But when these people point others to Jesus then you have resolved many of the problems of that cause disunity. Our commitment is to be first to Jesus Christ.
Why should we heed the testimony of John the Baptist? Because he says clearly we will escape the wrath of God to come. Because of the great love the Father has for his only son Jesus anyone who accepts his son receives everlasting life. Anyone who ignores or rejects his son will see God's wrath. Eternity is not something to be laughed at or mocked.
John sees himself as being Christ's servant. John can only call people to repentance, but cannot give repentance, He calls people to be forgiven but cannot forgive people their sins. He calls people to eternal life but cannot give eternal life, only God can do that and does through the works of Christ who died on the cross. Therefore is it any wonder our commitment to that which is above is far superior to any other earthly commitment?
Pastor Dale
