Why Jealousy Blocks Your Peace

Okay, today's topic is quite interesting and it is a struggle of the human race. And when I say the human race, I am not only talking about Christians, but humanity in general. But since we are Christians, then we will also focus the topic on us as Christians more so.

We will be reading from the gospel according to Saint John chapter 3 and verses 22 to 30. It is John chapter 3 and verses 22 to 30 inclusive. Here we go.

After these things, Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea, and there he remained with them and baptized. Now John also was baptizing in Anan near Salem because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized for John had not yet been thrown into prison.

Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification. And they came to John and said to him, Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan to whom you have testified, behold, he is baptizing and all are coming to him. John answered and said, a man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.

You yourselves bear me witness that I said I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him. He who has the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore, this joy of mine is fulfilled.

He must increase, but I must decrease, and all glory be to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ forever and ever. Amen. Absolutely golden verses and golden words from the mouth of John the Beloved, one of the 12 apostles by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

John 3, 22 to 30. If we were to give it a title, these verses, he must increase and I decrease. That is the title for today's topic.

He must increase and I decrease. That is the title for these verses. Now to understand what John the Beloved is saying here at the very last verse, which is verse 30, he must increase, meaning the Lord Jesus, and I, John the Baptist, must decrease.

To understand what John the Baptist is really saying here, we need to go through all these verses from 22 to 30 to understand just verse 30 alone. Here we go. Now when we come to John the Baptist's work or ministry, what did John the Baptist come to do? He came to do a proclamatory work.

He came to proclaim. He came to proclaim a proclamatory work. When we go to Matthew chapter 3 and verses 1 to 2, it reads the following.

In those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. So we said that John the Baptist came to proclaim. What did he come to proclaim? Well in Matthew 3 verses 1 to 2, it tells us what he came to proclaim.

John the Baptist's proclamatory work is repentance. He came to proclaim the word repentance to everyone who came to hear him in his time. So John's proclamatory work is repentance.

Now my beloved, the word repentance in Greek, if I'm pronouncing it correctly, I hope so. So this is the meaning for the word repentance in Greek, in the Greek language. What is repentance? Repentance is metanoi.

This means more than just remorse. It is a fundamental transformation turning away from sin and toward God. So what is repentance? It is not just feeling remorseful for the wrong things you've done, but it is rather more turning away from sin and facing God.

In other words, true repentance is when we hate sin and face God. When we start hating sin, that is a true, true repentance. Therefore my beloved, repentance brings you close to peace.

However, repentance does not give you peace, but rather closeness to peace. So when a soul comes and says, I'm sorry God, I'm repenting before you, that doesn't mean that repentant soul received peace from within, but that repentance of that person brought him close to peace. Repentance does not give you peace, but it brings you close to peace.

So vital these words, so vital. Now why does repentance, why doesn't it give you peace, but rather give you closeness to peace? Why? You see, when I come to repent, say today, well that's the only time I can really come and repent. So when I come today to repent, I say, God please forgive me, I won't do anything wrong today anymore.

What happened? That repentance of mine prevented me by the grace of the Lord for not doing anything wrong today. However, what about the past? All the wrong things I've done, what about them? Today's repentance does not give me peace for the past miseries that I and the sins I've committed. So whenever I look back and see all the wrong things I've done, I feel depressed, sad, upset, empty, disorientated, even though I repented today, but the past is still haunting me.

And also the future. I repented today, but then I am anxious because I'm not sure if this repentance is going to continue with me in the future, I may fall again. And this absecurity, the unknown of the future, also gives me anxiety and depression.

But for today, I'm okay. Yesterday, I'm not. When I look at it tomorrow, I'm frightened of it.

I may fall into the same mistake or other mistakes tomorrow as well. That's why repentance does not give you that inner peace, but it gives you closeness to peace. And this is why John the Baptist was baptizing in English.

It's written the way you pronounce it. He was baptizing in Aenon near Salem, but the proper pronunciation of the word in Aramaic Syriac is Anion. It is called Anion.

Anion is a compounded word, two words in one. And this Anion, this place was close to a place called Salem. We'll come to that.

That is in John 3.23. So now, therefore, repentance is the negative attitude to salvation. Repentance is the negative attitude to salvation. What does that mean, negative attitude? Means even though I repented, I repented of negative things, i.e. sins.

Since I repented of negative things, those negative things that I am trying to avoid led me to salvation. You're with me? However, faith in Christ is the positive attitude to salvation. Repentance is the negative attitude to salvation, but faith in Christ is the positive attitude to salvation.

Now, when we come to John chapter 3, and verses 27 to 30, we see that John the Baptist begins to put the following. So, John chapter 3, verses 27 to 30, we see John the Baptist begins to put the following. Number one, the general principle, verse 27.

In verse 27, John the Baptist, he puts the general principle. Number two, a reminder, in verse 28. Number three, a metaphor, in verse 29.

And number four, and lastly, decision, in verse 30. So, in verse 27, he places the general principle. In verse 28, he places a reminder.

In verse 29, he places a metaphor. And in verse 30, he makes a decision or places a decision there. So, now let us come to these verses that we read, in John chapter 3, from verses 22 to 30, and let's look at every single verse to understand the very last one, verse 30.

He must increase, and I must decrease. So, all we said thus far is an intro to our topic. So, let's come to verse 22.

Verse 22, John chapter 3, and verse 22 says, after these things, Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea, and there he remained with them and baptized. After these things, what is after these things? After the beginning of John chapter 3, from verse 1 to 21, after everything that took place in John 3, from verses 1 to 21, after all that was mentioned in all these 21 verses, verse 22 comes into play. What happened in John chapter 3, verses 1 to 21? Well, the Lord Jesus is engaged in a conversation or a dialect with somebody called Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin, the 70 elders of the Israelite nation, and also a leader of a synagogue.

In other words, a very educated, well-informed, well-embedded in the holy scriptures. He comes to the Lord Jesus by night and engages into a conversation with the Lord Jesus about being born again, which is the holy baptism, my beloved, the sacrament of baptism, one of the seven sacraments of the true church of Christ, which is the sacrament of holy baptism, being born again. That's not our topic, but we will address it one day in the near future, so you know how the holy Bible is truly structured.

So the Lord engages with him about baptism, unless one is born again, cannot see the kingdom of God, unless one is born of water and the spirit, cannot enter the kingdom of God. And then the Lord Jesus goes on and explains all these things. And then he comes and says, if anyone believes in the Son of God, he is not condemned, but he who does not believe in him is already condemned.

And what is the condemnation? The light came to the world and people chose darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. So the light came to the world. Who is the light? Christ came to this dark world, but people still chose darkness over the light.

Why? Because their deeds were evil. They didn't want to come to the light, lest their evil deeds be revealed. In other words, they wanted to remain living in sin.

They were enjoying it. And until this very day, why people reject Christ, it is not because Christ has done anything wrong, but because people are still choosing to live in sin. That's why sin is darkness.

Light is holiness. Darkness hates light. Can't stand it.

That's why they didn't want to come to the light. So after all these things that the Lord spoke of in 21 verses, it says, after these things, Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea and there he remained with them and baptized. And mind you, the Lord Jesus never baptized himself, never baptized people himself.

He led baptism for his disciples. You'll find that in John chapter four, verse two. The Lord never baptized people himself.

It was the disciples who did it. And you know why? Even though it's not our topic, but I have to mention it because baptism is about death. Baptism is about death.

And Jesus did not come to kill people. He came to give them life. That's why he let the disciples baptize, not himself.

You with me? Just an information for you. Why Jesus never baptized people? Because baptism is death. Christ came to give life, not death.

All right. Now verse 23. Now John, John the Baptist, meaning now John also was baptizing in Anion near Salem because there was much water there.

Now John was also baptizing in Anion near Salem. Now, what did we say earlier about repentance? Repentance does not give you peace, but brings you close to peace. Correct? Very good.

Now the word Anion is a compounded word in Aramaic Syriac. An here in this particular verse or this word, An means spring. Yon short for Yonah dove.

It is the spring of the dove. Anion literally means the spring of the dove. Spring means where water comes out of.

You know, when the water comes out of the ground, we call it a spring. So that spring is An in Aramaic. Yon, Yonah, dove, the spring of the dove.

So John the Baptist came to a place called the spring of the dove, Anion near Salem. Now the word Salem is Hebrew Aramaic Shalom. Shalom, Shlama, Shlomo means peace.

Oh, so he came baptizing in a place called the spring of the dove near peace. Salem. Why is it near peace, Salem? Because John the Baptist came with the baptism of repentance.

That is the proclamation of John the Baptist. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. That is his proclamation.

Since he came to give the people the baptism of repentance, repentance, all it can do is get you close to Salem peace. That is why he baptized in Anion near Salem. You with me? Now he baptized in Anion the spring of the dove.

And what does the dove represent here? The Holy Spirit. So who sent John to baptize the baptism of repentance? God. God sent him, no one else.

And also it says there was much water there. What is, why is the Holy Spirit so much going into details and inspiring John the Beloved to document it? There was much water there. You know why it's the Holy Spirit says there was much water there? It's trying to tell us, the Holy Spirit, that baptism is submersion, not water sprinkling.

There was much water means it was deep. The Jordan River in that particular area, Anion, was very deep because baptism, the true baptism is full submersion underwater, not sprinkling of water. You don't believe in sprinkling of water.

Baptism is full submersion because the word baptism derives from the Greek word, baptism, which is fully died in that color. And we were all died in the color of the blood of the Lamb of God. We died with him.

We were buried with him and we rose in him. That is baptism, death, burial, and resurrection. We were fully submerged in the blood of the Lamb of God and the blood is red.

But when we were fully submerged in that blood, we came out whiter than snow because the blood of the Lamb of God takes away the sins of the world. And when our sins were washed, we came out instead of black, white, pure, righteous, blameless, blameless. So there was much water because you need to be dipped in the water, fully submerged.

And they came and were baptized. So John the Baptist went to this place called Anion, the spring of the dove, and there was plenty of water there and very deep. And people came and were baptized by him.

Now we go to verse 24. Verse 24 says something when you read it. It's kind of irrelevant.

It doesn't make sense. For John had not yet been thrown into prison. What has this got to do with John coming to Anion and there was much water there and people came and they were baptized by him.

And then verse 24 jumps and the jump here has got no connection. For John had not yet been thrown into prison. Now to understand verse 24, I'll take you to the gospel according to Saint Mark chapter 1 and verse 14.

So let's go together to Mark 1.14. Now in Mark 1.14 tells us what verse 24 in John chapter 3 is all about. One thing I want to mention here, the Holy Bible explains itself by itself. It's self-explanatory.

Whatever answer you're seeking for a particular verse, you'll find it in another verse elsewhere. This is the power of God and the wisdom of God. So let's come to Mark chapter 1 and verse 14 to understand John 3.24. Mark 1.14 reads, now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.

Now, what do you understand from Mark 1.14? We understand the following, the ministry, the ministry of Christ did not begin until John was thrown into prison. So the Lord Jesus began his ministry when John the Baptist was thrown into prison. For as long as John the Baptist was baptizing and preaching, the Lord had him began his ministry.

John the Baptist was thrown into prison, then Christ began his ministry. But in John 3.24, it says, for John had not yet been thrown into prison. That is why the disciples of Christ were baptizing.

Christ was quiet. Now, who can tell me why? Why the Lord did not begin his ministry until John was put into prison? I'll tell you why. Because John the Baptist is the ambassador of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

He is the ambassador to the king of all kings. And for as long as the ambassador is in that particular country, going and coming and talking and meeting these people and meeting those people and getting the message across, the king is silent in his kingdom. But when John the Baptist is thrown into prison, that means the ambassador's role is complete.

So when the ambassador is missing, who is there now? The king. Why? Because the ambassador was initially sent by the king to represent him. So when he is no longer representing the king, that means the king now has come and taken over.

You with me? Very good. But let me point this out. The ambassador of Christ is totally different to every otherworldly ambassador.

Let's say in Australia there are plenty of ambassadors that represent their own countries. When an ambassador of a specific country that is residing in Australia, and that ambassador commits a felony, can Australia prosecute the ambassador? No. Why? Because he has full protection of his own country, meaning Australia has no jurisdiction to prosecute an ambassador that represents a totally foreign nation.

The only thing and the ultimate Australia can do to that ambassador is to depose that ambassador back to their own country. And if they wish to prosecute that ambassador, then it's entirely up to that country. Australia has no jurisdiction whatsoever to prosecute an ambassador.

That's why embassies are fully protected. Australia can't enter those embassies without the permission of the country they represent. However, when you are the ambassador of Christ, you do get prosecuted and persecuted and thrown into prison by that foreign country.

Poor Christ. The only one who is persecuted is Christ and his ambassador. And that's why the world can't stand Christians.

Because of Christ. Not because of Christians, but because of Christ. And why the world can't stand Christians? Because they have Christ.

Those who have Christ in them, they are a pain in the neck of the world. Why? Because the world is placed in the bosom of Satan and Satan hates Jesus. That's why the world always persecute Christians.

Doesn't take a genius to figure this one out. What happened in Nigeria and so many other places and throughout the centuries, you know, the Roman empires and all the empires, they're slaying the Christians. All right.

Now, so now we realize in John chapter 3 and verse 24, when it says that John had not yet been thrown into prison because the Lord's ministry would not have started until John was thrown into prison. So now we go back to John 3, 25, verse 25. Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.

Please bear with me. It will come very clear very soon. Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.

What is purification here? Baptism. What happened? Where did this dispute happen? Where John was baptizing Anion, the spring of the dove. So what happened here? Some Jews went to Jesus Christ to be baptized by his disciples.

So when they were baptized by the Lord Jesus disciples, they came to the disciples of John the Baptist, which was a different place. It was a close by, but a different place. So they came to John Baptist disciples and they said, well, hang on.

How many baptisms is there? Is it two or only one? Is it Jesus baptism or is it John, your rabbi's baptism? Which one is it? How come Jesus is baptizing and your rabbi is baptizing? Some people are coming to your rabbi and a lot of people are going to Jesus. So which one is the real one? Is it two or one? And if it's only one, which one? So they started disputing with the disciples of John the Baptist. Satan entered the dispute.

Why? Because he initiated the dispute. He initiated the dispute. What happened in Anion, the spring of the dove? An exchange took place between who? John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus.

John the Baptist was captured in Anion and cast into prison as Mark tells us in Mark 1.14. So John the Baptist's final missionary work was Anion. He was caught there. So what happened in Anion? John the Baptist, the ambassador coming to Jesus Christ, the king, and says, I have fulfilled my mission.

My job is complete. It is done. It is over.

I am handing the baton to you. You finish the race or king of kings. My job is done.

So when that exchange took place between John the Baptist, the ambassador and Jesus Christ, the king, Satan created a dispute. Why? Because Satan now is eating hot pepper. I will not let Jesus take over.

I'm going to cause a problem where I will make John go against Jesus. I'm going to ruin the plan. So when these Jews who were baptized by the disciples of the Lord Jesus came and talked with the disciples of John the Baptist, the disciples of John the Baptist became upset, angry.

Why? Because we will see that in verse 26. So let's go to verse 26 and see why the disciples of John the Baptist were so angry when the Jews entered a dispute with them. In verse 26 it says, and they came to John, who came? His own disciples.

They came to John the Baptist and said to him, Rabbi, our teacher, he who was with you beyond the Jordan to whom you have testified, behold, he is baptizing and all are coming to him. All are coming to him. In other words, they said to John the Baptist, their master, their teacher, their rabbi, they said, it is all your fault, John, our rabbi, if it wasn't for you testifying about that guy over there, he wouldn't have been famous.

You made him famous and now, cop it, he's taking over your role, your position, your fame, your people. All people are going to him to be baptized. Only a handful are coming to you, whereas before all came to you, John, none went to Jesus.

Nobody knew Jesus. They all knew you. They respected you, honored you as the prophet of God, a man of God, a holy man of God, but it is your mistake.

You shouldn't have testified and spoken about him. You gave him too much fame. He took over from you.

Well, now, cop it on the chin, John the Baptist. I'll give you another example where Satan uses the same methodology where he causes dispute. Let's go to Genesis 3.12. It's the same Satan, Old Testament, New Testament, same Satan.

Genesis 3.12, it reads, then the man, who is the man here? Adam. Sorry, I think it's a little bit loud, my voice maybe, isn't it? I'm trying, I don't want to, is it good? Okay, I'll leave it father, sorry. I want to scream, but I'm seeing myself already loud.

I don't know, I can't talk very softly. I'll try to be soft. See, in Genesis 3.12, it reads, then the man, the man here is Adam.

Then the man said, the woman whom you, you here means God, the woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I ate. So, what is Adam saying to God? It is your fault, God, for giving me Eve. Did I ask for it? No.

Did I really want it? No. You came and put me in a, under a general anesthetic or a local anesthetic and you took one of my ribs and you created a woman out of me and then you said, this is your wife, but I didn't ask for it. You gave me the woman, therefore it is your fault, God, for giving me the woman.

Why are you blaming me for, for eating from the, from the forbidden tree? It is the woman you gave me, she made me fall, therefore it is all your fault, God. Isn't it always the case we blame the one who loves us the most? We never blame those who hate us. You know why we don't blame the one who hate us? Because we know if we do that, we will cop it from them and we will never hear the end of it.

But it is very easy to blame the one who loves us because we know they will not retaliate because they love us too much to hurt us. That's why we take the easy way for the blame. It is your fault, God.

But imagine, why didn't Adam blame Satan, for example? Didn't Satan whisper in his wife's ear, why don't you blame Satan? No, he's going to come after me. He is harsh, he is poisonous, he is a murderer, he's a killer, but God is kind, loving, tender, I can get away with it. Don't take advantage of someone's love, don't, do not.

He's not weak, he's just love, but if he turns the other cheek, he can be very, very harsh. Yes, he's not weak at all. So now, exactly the disciples of John the Baptist said what Adam said to God, they said it to their Rabbi John.

It is all your fault, look at you, what you shouldn't have opened your mouth and said, behold the Lamb of God who carries away the sins of the world. You just pointed everyone to go to him, now he's taken over, well thanks to you. It is now you didn't just cause dramas for yourself, but also for us being your disciples, because as long as you were famous, we were famous.

So now you're losing the fame, we're copying it. What did Satan plant here that caused the dispute? Jealousy. Jealousy is the most poisonous thing ever in the human race.

Jealousy leads to murder. Looks like the disciples of John the Baptist became jealous when those Jews who were baptized by the disciples of the Lord Jesus, when they said all people are going to Jesus, they got jealous of Jesus. They said, well we better go and tell our Rabbi off in a nice way, all your fault.

Why did you say all those nice words about Jesus? And look how they are saying in verse 26, and they came to John and said to him, Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, they didn't even mention the name of Jesus, even though they knew his name, but they never mentioned his name. They said, he who was with you, you know when you are jealous of someone and that jealousy is eating you from within, when you want to talk about that person and you want to mention him, you will never mention their name. You will say, that guy, that guy, it is all his fault, but that guy has a name.

Why aren't you mentioning their name? Because their name makes me lose it. I'm jealous. That guy, just like some church leaders when they spoke about me, never mentioned my name.

They said, that guy. Why? Because of jealousy. That guy.

That guy. It is sad. It is sad.

And will come why we shouldn't be jealous. Will come to it. Satan is the one who plans the tear of jealousy.

So the disciples of John the Baptist became jealous. So they told their Rabbi off. A jealous person has no shame because that jealousy can't keep him quiet.

They'll come out in the open, but they'll never mention the name of a person they are jealous of, but they will go at that person full steam ahead because they are fuming from within. That's why there is no shame. They'll speak and they'll say some nasty words without even thinking about it.

The filter in front of that mouth falls and nasty words start coming out without being remorseful or ashamed of those words. Behold, Rabbi, he who was with you, that guy, but his name is Jesus, but yeah, but we're jealous now. That guy.

That guy, you know, who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you see pointing the finger, you blaming the Rabbi, blaming their teacher. Aren't you ashamed of yourself, disciples? No, because we're jealous. There's no more shame.

I can't hold myself. I'm going to tell my Rabbi off in a nice way, but I'm telling him off. It is you.

You have testified. Behold, he is baptizing and all are coming to him. All.

Well, at that time, it was an exaggeration because it wasn't all, because even John the Baptist was also baptizing some people in anion. But you see, when you, when they are jealous, they'll just speak in the general sense. It is everybody.

Well, who's everybody? Can you define them? No, but it's my jealousy talking. It is all going to him now. Thanks to you, John.

Just like Adam, your fault, God. God is all love. He says, it's not good for you to be alone, Adam.

I'm going to give you a helper to help you, to support you, to sustain you. I can't see you alone. It is, it is hurting me.

It's breaking my heart, Adam. I'm going to give you a helper. Is this the way you treat me, Adam? After all the love I've shown you and given you, you come and blame me.

Now we're approaching verse 27. So now from verses 27 to 30, we mentioned earlier that John the Baptist begins to put these four points. We mentioned it earlier.

We're going to remind ourselves again of those four points. So from verses 27 to 30, John the Baptist places these foundations. Number one, general principle, verse 27.

Number two, a reminder, verse 28. Number three, metaphor, verse 29. And number four, decision, verse 30.

Now let's come to verse 27, which is the general principle. John the Baptist is placing a general principle in this particular verse. Verse 27 says, John answered and said, a man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.

My disciples, you just came blaming me for testifying about that guy who was with you across the Jordan River, that all people are going to him now. Well, let me tell you this. You're blaming me for testifying about him and now he is famous and I'm not.

Well, let me give you this general principle, my beloved students, disciples, followers. A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. Why? This verse 27 should stop you immediately from getting jealous from anyone else.

A man can receive nothing unless it is given to him from heaven. Well, who is heaven? God, our father who art in heaven. So who is in heaven here? God.

Well, a man can receive absolutely nothing unless God gives him that thing. Well, since God has given that gift to that particular man or that particular person, since that gift comes from God, even if you fight and the whole world goes against him, they cannot prevail simply because God is with him. And when God gives a certain gift to somebody, you cannot take it from that somebody because it is God who gave it.

Then you need to snatch it out of God's hand, not that weak bishop. Anybody home? Are you with me? So when you have a nice voice and I don't have a nice voice, tough luck. God gave this person a nice voice and he did not give me.

If I fight and argue and bring an army to go against that person with a nice voice, I will not prevail because the nice voice came from God, not anyone else. Stop fighting the person of the nice voice. You're not fighting that person with the nice voice.

You're fighting God who is in that person and you can't fight God. You have to fall. So this is the general principle, my beloved disciples and all of us.

A man can receive nothing unless it is given to him from heaven, God. Let's on verse 27 of John chapter 3. Now Acts 5, 33 to 39. It reads, when they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them.

Kill who? Kill the disciples of the Lord Jesus. Who is them? The Pharisees and the scribes. You know, those people that said we are the Israelite nation.

How dare these 12 disciples come and take over as if we are nothing. They became furious, jealous. They became furious and plotted to kill the disciples.

Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people. He was very respected and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while. He said, just send them outside.

I want to talk to you guys privately. Let us not embarrass ourselves anymore. In public.

So they took the disciples out because they captured them. They were going to kill them. So this Gamaliel stands up and he says, just let them out for a moment.

I want to address the Sanhedrin. And he said to them, men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men. For some time ago, Theodos rose up, claiming to be somebody.

A number of men, about 400 joined him. He was slain and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing. After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the senses and drew away many people after him.

He also perished and all who obeyed him were dispersed. And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone. For if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing.

But if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it. Lest you even be found to fight against God. What a wise man.

Guys, before you take that foolish step. Let me remind you. Haven't you seen those guys that came and claimed that they are someone special? They brainwashed few people's heads, just like nowadays.

So many people brainwash people in the name of the Lord even. But they are false teachers, false disciples. So he said, well, they came and brainwashed a few people and took him with them.

But since they were not from God, they perished and the people with them. Haven't you learned your lesson? Time will tell if these 12 apostles are from God or just claiming to be something special like the others did. Well, if they are fake with time, they will perish.

You don't need to take any action. Be smart about it. But if they are from God, even if you go against them, my fear is you'll be going against God.

And you cannot do that. You'll be put to shame. You can't win with them.

2026 years later, the disciples are still glorified. Amen. That just tells you they were of God, not of their own accord.

So my beloveds, the principle is a man can receive nothing unless it is given to him from heaven. So if these people are from God, can't go against them. You're going against God.

You can't win. And if they are not from God, just leave them. Why bother? Why waste your time, your breath, your energy? Time will just make them disappear.

Now, verse 28, verse 28, John the Baptist places the places, a reminder, a reminder, a reminder for his disciples, the ones who came blaming him for testifying about the Lord Jesus. He said to them, look in verse 28, you yourselves bear me witness. You are my very witnesses that I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.

I am not the Christ, but I've been sent before him. What does that mean? He says, John is saying to his disciples, I'm reminding you, you were standing next to me when the Pharisees and the scribes came asking me, are you the Christ? I said, I'm not. Are you this? I'm not.

Then what are you? I am the voice crying in the wilderness, prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. You were standing next to me. You heard me say these things.

Have you forgotten? Well, it looks like you have out of jealousy, but I will remind you because I love you. I have said, I'm not the Christ. What does that mean? Because John's disciples came and said, Rabbi, your baptism is the right one, not Jesus.

It can't be two baptisms. You need to stop this man immediately. He can't keep on baptizing people.

Baptism is given to you by God. It belongs to you, not to Jesus. So your one is right.

His is wrong. He said, I'm reminding you, I told you, I'm not the Christ because the one who baptizes you with the Holy Spirit and fire is Christ, not John the Baptist. His baptism is the true one.

My one is the baptism of repentance that brings you close to peace, but his baptism gives you peace because when you are baptized into Christ, your past sins are washed, your present sins are dealt with, and the futuristic ones are also dealt with because God is omnipresent. Yesterday he is, today he is, tomorrow he is always present. But John the Baptist, yesterday he was, today he is, tomorrow he will be, ever changing, but Christ's never changing.

That's why his baptism is the true one, not John. So I'm giving you a reminder in verse 28, I told you, I'm not the Christ because it is Christ who baptizes no one else. Verse 29.

In verse 29, John the Baptist places a metaphor. What is the metaphor? He who has the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice, therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He who has the bride is the bride's groom, and what does the groom's friend, the bridegroom's friend, what does he do? He rejoices when he hears the voice of the groom.

Now to those who are getting married in the near future, a piece of advice, it's up to you. There is no need to have a long train on either side of the groom and the bride. The only biblical truth, to the groom there has to be only one groom's best man, and to the bride there has to be only one, the bride's maid.

No more, no less. One groom's best man and bride's maid. All the others, they've wasted your time, your money, your energy, and you kept on going for rehearsals and testing this and trying this and trying, and you went through problems and then your cousin came and then the family of your cousin engaged in that, and I don't, I want to be number, I want to be second.

No, I want to be third. Why are you putting this guy third before me? I want to be, and then you start arguing and fighting, and then you're out of pocket because it's costing you a lot of money. Trust me, the marriage has to be based biblical.

The marriage is to do with the Lord Jesus, no one else my beloved. It is not about getting the photos and looking beautiful in the photo. It is about your faith with Christ Jesus.

One. You know why? Because when we give the blessings, we give the blessings, of course, to the couple, and then the groom's best man and the bride's maid, the others get zilch. Nothing.

They get nothing. Because that's the Bible. Well, you see, in John 3, 29, John the Baptist says, I am the groom's best man.

And how many were there? One, John. Not 10. Only one.

The metaphor is, you came blaming me for bearing witness that Jesus Christ is the one and only, and now all people are going to him. You brought me this news that people are going to Jesus to be baptized. You know, that voice that came to me made me rejoice where that voice, when it came to you, made you jealous.

And very fuming, furious people. The voice that made you jealous made me joyous. You heard the same voice from those Jews who were baptized by the disciples of Christ and made you jealous.

The very voice that came to my ease. It was music to my ease. Hallelujah.

Finally, thank you God for sending me to prepare the way. Finally, people are going to the one and only, the way, the truth, and the life, the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, the only one. He is the reason for the season.

His name reigns forever. His name is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. All glory to his holy and mighty name.

Finally, God, I am rejoicing and leaping with joy to hear that people are going to Christ. That's what I came for. That's what God sent me for, rather.

I didn't come. God sent me. But what God had sent me for, finally, it hit home.

That voice, quite the contrary, made me the happiest man on earth. I heard you say that all people are going to Christ. Hallelujah.

I not only pray the entire Israelite nation goes to Christ, I pray the whole world comes to Christ. Why? Because I'm the friend of the bride's groom. I'm the groom's best man.

The wedding is not about the groom's best man. The wedding is about the groom. So the groom's best man's honor is when he hears the voice of the groom.

If it wasn't for the groom, there wouldn't have been a best man. If it wasn't for the groom, who would have given one penny about the best man? If it wasn't for the groom, people wouldn't have gone to the wedding for the sake of the best man. People wouldn't have put money in those envelopes.

It is the groom that made all these people come. That's why it is only natural, it is only normal, and it is only truthful for people to go to the groom, not the best man. So this voice makes me joyous.

Hallelujah. Finally, my disciples, not only you but me as well, all of us, we need to go to Christ and be baptized by Christ. All of us.

He is the groom to the bride. I'm just a friend. Therefore, this joy of mine is fulfilled.

That's it. That's what I came for. That's what God sent me for, for people to go to Christ.

I've done my duty. Hallelujah. Thank God.

You see, my disciples, John is saying this, Satan tried to plant jealousy between us. Satan tried, he tried through me first because he sent the Pharisees and the scribes initially. They said, are you the Messiah? Are you Christ? I said, no, no, far from it.

Please relax. Are you Elijah? No. Are you Jeremiah? No.

Are you a prophet of the altar? No, no, no. What are you? I'm just a voice. Why? Because I'm the ambassador.

And who is the king? The logos, the word. What precedes the word? The voice. I'm talking to you words.

Can you see the word? No, you hear the word. So it is natural for the word to be preceded by the voice. Before you see the word, you have to hear the word.

That is the natural thing of the word. Christ is the word, cannot be seen first, can only be heard first. The voice to the word is John the Baptist, the ambassador to the logos, the king.

I came delivering a message. The message is repent. Repentance means gets you close to peace, Salem.

And who is peace? Christ. Christ is the king of peace. I came to bring you close to Christ.

And once I brought you close to Christ, my job, my role is complete. It's done. I can't go any further.

Therefore, I have to be thrown into prison and beheaded. The job is done. I can't work anymore because the logos is in the midst of you now.

The king has come. When the king comes, the ambassador is silenced, has no right to talk. Now in verse 30, John finally stamp seals it with a decision, a decision he never changed his mind with till he died.

What a man, what a faithful man of God. No wonder the Lord Jesus said and testified about John and said, John, there is no one born of a woman greater than John. The greatness of John the Baptist is his humility, self-denial.

That's the greatness of John. And he makes a decision, a decision in verse 30, and he sticks by that decision till death. A man of principle, a man of morals, a man of ethics and values, which we lack very much so in our time and age, in governmental bodies and in church.

In verse 30, John the Baptist makes that decision. What is the decision? He must increase and I must decrease. That is my decision.

I've made it. I will never go back on it. He must increase and I must decrease.

Verse 30, he must increase but I must decrease. The highest, listen to this, the highest form of love, the highest form of love is for the one who loves to be consumed completely and entirely by the one they love. I'll say it again, it's on the screen.

The highest form of love is for the one who loves to be consumed by the one they love. So John the Baptist, who does he love? Christ. So the highest form of love is for John who loved Jesus Christ to be consumed by the one he loves, i.e. Jesus.

He wants Christ to consume him wholesomely, wholeheartedly, from head to toe, inside and out. He wants to be all for Christ. That is the highest form of love.

Just like Christ, all of him gave up himself for us on the cross. We need to do the same. We give up ourselves entirely to him.

Love is a two-way street. It is never selfish. The way I loved you, I want you to love me back, says the Lord.

Love one another the way I have loved you. And how did you love us, Lord? You gave all of yourself for us and he expects us to give all of ourselves for him. We want to be consumed fully by the one we love, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Now I'll sum it up with this, my beloveds. There is what we call the natural law and the natural law is called me. I am that natural law.

But there is the law of Christ called not me. So there is the natural law which is me and there is the law of Christ which is not me. Question we need to ask ourselves, is Christ increasing in you every day or is he decreasing? He must increase and I must decrease.

We need to ask ourselves, we are all like John the Baptist. We need to learn from John the Baptist. Is Christ increasing in us every day or is he decreasing and I am increasing? You see when I increase and Christ decrease, I fall into sin.

But when Christ increase and I decrease, I fall into holiness. The more I'm seen, the more I'm a sinner. The more Christ is seen, the more I'm a saint, not a sinner.

Is Christ increasing in you every day? That's a question we need to answer. Are his actions increasing in you every day or your own actions increasing in you? You see my beloved, we all have our own actions. You want to hear some of them? That's a long list.

I'll give you a few of them. These are some of our actions. Number one, lying.

Number two, false oath. Number three, swearing. Number four, false pride.

Number five, anger. Six, envy. Seven, quarrel.

Eight, lust. Nine, defilement. Ten, stealing.

And the list goes on. That's some of the actions we have. And these actions we have, we call it the natural law, which is me.

When I walk, when I live my way, I will do all these things. All of these above are called me. But there is the law of Christ.

Well, let's see what the law of Christ is. Number one, love. Number two, purity.

Three, holiness. Four, humility. Five, giving.

Six, kindness. Seven, tolerance. Nine, patience.

And the list goes on. He is God, the eternal God. The list never ends.

I just gave you a few. All of this above is called Christ, not me. These are his actions, and the one before it were my actions.

You want to do it your way, you'll do your actions. You want to do it Christ's way, you'll start loving, forgiving, being kind, being humble, being pure, being nice, being everything. Because now it is Christ doing it in you, no longer you.

And I'll sum it up with this, and I'm grateful to the Lord Jesus that I've taken all this time from you. Listen, my beloved. Prior to coming to Christianity, this was me.

Prior to coming to Christianity, where is it? Is it on the screen? Prior to coming to Christianity, step one, I used to say, I only. You see, before I came to Jesus Christ, it was all me, me, me, me, me. Prior to coming to Christianity, when I was worldly, when I was all for the world, nothing to do with the Christian faith, nothing to do with the Lord Jesus, I was living it to the core, my way.

When I did it my way, everything was all about me. The way I spoke, I went, I did, I said, I, I, I, I. So the first thing I was prior to coming to Christianity, it was I only. Step two, after coming to Christianity, I said, I and Christ.

You see, I was distant. The Lord Jesus touched my heart and brought me back to him. And I was baptized and I became a Christian.

When I was baptized, I'm still new. I'm still used to the old way, which was only me, me, me. Now, to engage another person with me, it's very hard.

I'm not used to it. But the grace of the Lord touched my heart and enabled me to say, me and Jesus. But I'm still first, but not just me.

Thank God I'm improving. It is I and Christ. Step three, after receiving the faith, meaning I received baptism, but I need to grow in the faith.

I'm new, even though I'm baptized, but I'm new. Baptism is birth. When a baby is born, needs to learn as a baby doesn't know anything.

So I am new to the faith. I need to start learning. So as I grew in the faith, as I started learning, I started believing more and more and more and more in the Lord.

And when I received the faith, I said, Christ and I. The cycle is reversed. You see, when I was distant, it was only me. When I came and I was baptized into the Christian faith, I said, me and Christ.

But when I grew in the faith and I started learning more about the Lord and having more faith and more faith in the Lord, I said, Christ and I. But step four, after I entered the depth of grace, after I entered the depth of grace, I said, not I, but Christ who lives in me. Well, no longer me. I'm gone.

It is all Christ. That is the depth of grace. The depth of grace is verse 30.

John the Baptist reached it over 2000 years ago. He must increase and I must decrease. St. Paul comments on it and says, I live, but not I anymore.

It is Christ who lives in me. That is verse 30. When I live the Lord, jealousy has no place anymore.

Because it's no longer me. Therefore, I'm not comparing anymore. So when people say, that guy is better than you, I'm happy.

And when people say, you are better than that guy, I'm not boastful. I'm steady. You know, when John the Baptist was asked, are you the Messiah? Are you Christ? He said, no, are you this prophet? Are you that prophet? No, no, no.

What are you? He said, I am the voice crying in the wilderness, prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. He says, mountains shall be humbled, brought down, valleys shall be filled and lifted up, and crooked ways shall be made straight. For the one who comes after me, who is before me, his way is straight.

Three things to have an encounter with the Lord Jesus. Three things we must do. Mountain, one, valley, two, crooked way, three.

You get rid of these three, you'll be waiting for the Lord to come in his straight way. And when he comes and he sees you on the side of the road waiting for him, he will stop and say, what shall I do for you? Just like that blind man, he said, Lord, I want to see. I don't want to see with my naked eye.

I want to see with my spiritual eye. I want to see you. I don't want to see the world.

Don't open the eyes that shows me the world. Open me the eye that shows me the divine, you. The mountains, pride, false glory.

He says, if you want to meet the Lord, John the Baptist, he said, I'm the voice preparing the way. If you have self-pride, you better come down from your high horse and be straight. Valley, losing hope.

If you have lost hope and said, I'm dead, I'm finished, it's useless, it's hopeless, I'm going to kill myself. You better lift up yourself and be straight. And if you're walking in the ways of the world, crooked, what is a crooked way? Snake.

That is the sneaky, snaky way of Satan. That is the world. The world walks in a crooked way.

Why? Because the world is placed in the bosom of Satan, who is the old serpent. And the serpent, when it walks, it walks crooked. You know what? The only time the snakes go straight when it gets into its home, that's the only time it goes straight.

When it leaves the house, it's always walking in a crooked way. But when it gets home too late, it will drag you with it and it will bring you straight to hell. That's home straight to hell.

That's the straight path to hell. If you are walking in a crooked way, stop it. If you are living in the world for the world, stop living for the world.

Stop focusing on materialism. Stop focusing on your body. Focus on your spirit.

Stop saying, I need to fix this eyebrow and this nose and this tooth and this cheek. Start fixing the heart. Start fixing it because it's full of spider webs.

Clean it. Clean it. Clean it for the Lord.

Stop walking crooked. Walk straight. The Lord is not in pride.

The Lord is not in losing hope. The Lord not in a crooked way. The Lord, his way is straight.

I came to prepare you to meet him on his way. And the way to get you to his way is repentance. And when I get you to his way, I am beheaded now because he is the head.

I'm no longer. Yeah. He is the logos.

I'm just a voice. He's the groom. I'm just a friend of the groom.

So when you live for Christ, thank the Lord what he has given you. And let me assure you, what God has given you has not given to someone else, no matter what. Find the gifts God has given you.

Focus on them. Stop focusing on what God has given gifts to others. Because if you do that, you're going to get very tired.

You're going to hurt yourself. Why? Why is she pretty? Well, go and fight with God. Why is the world listening to this guy? Well, go and fight with God.

I don't know why. Go and ask God. But look what God has given you as gifts.

You have certain gifts the bishop doesn't. And there are certain gifts the bishop has you don't have. You're not me.

I'm not you. We are individual unique identities given, made by God. Stop changing the ID God has given you because you cannot.

If you were born as a man, that's your ID. Don't say anything else because you become nothing. Stick to the ID God has given you.

So my son, wherever you're working, be faithful to the Lord before you're faithful to your boss, before you're faithful to your colleagues, be faithful to God. And in the church, remember, everything is the Lord's. So if I'm given a task and then the task is taken away from me, I should not be hurt at all.

Because if the task was given to me, I'll take it that the Lord Jesus gave it. And when it was taken from me, I'll take it that the Lord Jesus took it because what the Lord gives only the Lord can take. No one can take away.

No man can receive anything unless it's given to him from heaven. Yeah. So why are we fighting and who are we fighting? Do not let Satan to plant jealousy between you.

Do not be jealous. She may be beautiful from outside and you're jealous of that. But the Lord says, my daughter, don't be jealous because you are beautiful from inside.

You attract me more than her. Why are you jealous? You've got a big nose. Live with it.

You've got big ears. Live with it. What are you going to do? What about those people who are paralyzed all their life? What about those people who are in nursing homes? Have you been to a nursing home? Have you been to a hospital, cancer section? Have you been to the Westmead children hospitals, all the leukemias? Have you been, have you been, have you been to places, to countries where people starving, living in the gutter, in the streets? Thank God for what you have.

Stop whinging. Stop complaining and stop comparing. Stop.

When it comes to material, look at the people who are below you, not above you, because if you're going to look at people above you materialistically, you will be never happy because you'll, you'll start whinging, complaining, arguing, fighting. How come she lives in a mansion and we live in a granny flat? How come she drives a brand new car and I'm driving a piece of wreck? Stop it. Why don't you look at the people who are below you materialistically? Then you'll thank God and say, this granny flat is a mansion because so-and-so lives in the street.

So-and-so has no food. We've got it. So-and-so has no health.

We have it. So-and-so has no freedom. We have it.

Over 40,000 people, some reports say they were killed in Iran within two days because of the riots. I watched the video yesterday. I pray it's not true, but I've seen the video, but the one who showed it said that this guy, after recording the video, he killed himself.

He committed suicide. A young Iranian man, very handsome young man. He was sending a message to Mr. Trump, not my job, but I'm just saying, look at how some people live.

He says, I have no future. I don't know what happened to my friends whom I love very much. Maybe they were killed in the midst of those 40,000 people.

He said that 40,000 people were killed, massacred. He said, and what kind of a life is this? I just want to be free. I just want to live like so many people on the face of this globe live.

The basic human rights, the basic human freedom, God-given freedom, he does not have it because of a certain ideology. And then the one who shot the video, he said this guy committed suicide. He killed himself.

Why? Because of what? Because of your belief system? Honestly, think. Think. I believe in Christ.

You don't want to believe in Christ? No problems. I'm not going to harm you. I'm not going to come after you.

I'm not going to do anything. You want to live the way you want to live? Go for it. But hey, if you're going to come and talk to me about my faith, I will give you an answer by the grace of the Lord Jesus.

But we're not enemies. We disagree, yes, but we're not enemies. We can still live in harmony and still greet and say hello to one another for God's sake.

What has gotten into people's head? But thank God for what you have. Look at people who are below you when it comes to material, but when it comes to spirituality and the faith and the belief and the love of Christ, look at the people who are above you. Because to go to Christ, you need to climb up and you need those who are above you.

You hold on to them to take you with them to Christ. Look at someone who has more faith than you. Hold on to that person because you'll learn from them.

Don't be jealous. Don't have a dispute. Don't go against each other.

Live in harmony. We all complete one another. The picture is perfect.

When the bishop comes, the priest, the deacons, the nuns, the faithfuls, when we all come together, picture is perfect. Imagine I say, hey, I'm the only one. Hey, you need me and without me, you're nothing.

And you don't come to church. I become a nothing. So what I'm a bishop.

I, without you, I'm a nothing. The shepherd without the flock is nothing. And the same is also as correct.

The sheep without the shepherd are nothing. But the shepherd and the sheep together are everything. We complete one another.

We work together, not against each other. All right, let's stand for the finale prayer. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God.

Amen. Lord, make me an instrument of your peace where there is hatred. Let me so love where there is injury.

Pardon where there is doubt, faith, where there is despair, hope, where there is darkness, light, where there is sadness, joy or divine master. Grand that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned. It is in dying that we are born again to eternal life. Amen.

May the Lord Jesus bless you, guide you and protect you all the days of your life now and forevermore. Amen. Go in peace.

The peace of Christ be with you always, my beloved. God bless.