Q4. He Must Increase

[Pastor Ralph]

Q4. (John 3:30) In what sense, in order to be successful in your Christian life, must you decrease and Christ increase? How can you facilitate the shift necessary for this change to occur? What steps might help you do this?

[JanMary]

Q4. (John 3:30) In what sense, in order to be successful in your Christian life, must you decrease and Christ increase?

 

In the sense of Who is the focus of all that I do....it is Jesus and not me, myself and I!  What a relief that I don't carry the load!

 

How can you facilitate the shift necessary for this change to occur? What steps might help you to do this?

 

For me it is to surrender my will and ego to His authority and Lordship. I learned some years ago when I was striving and straining to serve Him, that success came for His honor and glory when I quit trying and just followed and obeyed His leading.

 

One of the verses which changed that is:  "For He knows our frame. He earnestly remembers and imprints on His heart that we are dust." (Ps 103:14. ) I breathed a big sigh of relief, quit striving, relaxed and let Him have the reins, since I don't have a clue and He knows all there is to know about all there is to know....and He has all the power and wisdom. His desire is for me to allow Him to work through me....not for me to work to get His approval or the approval of others!

 

Another verse which set me free from from pride: "All that we have accomplished You have done for us." Isa. 26:12 

 

And  Psalm 75:4 Lift not up the horn of personal aggrandizement. (amp)

 

This has been a process involving my willingness to allow Him to heal my broken heart and the abuse from childhood which resulted in shame and dysfunction, so that I no longer feel the need to be recognized, honored, or to take the glory for accomplishments which belongs to Him alone.

[Clarence]

 ^{In what sense, in order to be successful in your Christian life, must you decrease and Christ increase? How can you facilitate the shift necessary for this change to occur? What steps might help you do this?}

 

This question is a very deep one. It is about receiving the good news of what Christ has done for me (the 'gospel').

 

The underlying theme of the bible is that life is in vain, for humankind, apart from God (Romans 5:12). However, we have been reconciled to God, through what Jesus has done for us on the cross (Romans 5:10)

 

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me (Psalm 51:10).

 

Me decreasing and Christ increasing is about knowing the scriptures and diligently applyng them to my live. It is also about focusing on God (Jesus)

and trusting in Him with all my being in all that I do (Proverbs 3:5-6, Matt 16:24)

It is about being humble before God and not trying to promote myself (James 4:10). The bible also exhorts that apart from Jesus, I can do nothing that bears fruit (John 15:5).

 

And of course, we have been given a helper from God- paracletos (one who stands along side us)- an advocate . John 15:26 "When the Advocate^[a] comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf."

[blezed]

In what sense, in order to be successful in your Christian life, must you decrease and Christ increase?

1.  Christ must be allowed to be greater in our lives so we can receive all that he has in store for us. When he is greater in our life, we live in God's full power, but when we try to do it ourselves, we are limited by our own weaknesses.

 

How can you facilitate the shift necessary for this change to occur? What steps might help you do this?        

2.  Have a humble spirit willing to recognize that your successes are all because of Christ and nothing that you are doing on your own.    

[Jen]

In what sense in order to be successful in your Christian life must you decrease and Christ increase How can you facilitate this shift necessary for this change to occur?

 

In every sense.  If I have just added Christ on to my life and continue walking as I have I will not have a successful Christian walk.   I will have an unsuccessful me walk.   I must subtract me and myself and let the Holy Spirit increase as I talk with Him, spend time with  Him through the day and let Him put His thoughts in me.  It needs to be a daily thing otherwise I will just take control and then wonder what happened.

I can facilitate this shift from me to Him by prayer, meditation, reading the Word and obedience.

 

God Bless!

Jen

Numbers 6:24-26

[hanks]

Q4. (John 3:30) 

In what sense, in order to be successful in your Christian life, must you decrease and Christ increase? 

How can you facilitate the shift necessary for this change to occur? 

What steps might help you do this?

This question makes me think of my favourite passage in Scripture. Proverbs 3:5-6 which reads, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” It provides us with the guidance needed for a successful Christian life, and helps us understand that dependence on God is central to an abundant life. We are to commitment ourselves fully to the Lord, and this includes our whole being - all of our spirit, soul, and body. There must be an acknowledgment of the Lordship of Christ. Every area of our lives must be turned over to His control. In other words, He must increase and we must decrease. We must trust Him not only for the salvation of our souls but also for the direction of our lives. It must be a total commitment. Trusting Him with all our heart means giving Him control over our families, finances, jobs, and everything else. To facilitate this change there must be a healthy distrust of self, an acknowledgment that we do not know what is best for us, that we are not capable of guiding ourselves, and need His help in all we do. We do not rely on our own understanding. Since human minds are finite, comprehension is limited. Only God is omniscient. He sees everything, including thoughts and motives. If these conditions are met, the promise is that God shall direct our paths. 

 

[lighthouse2014]

Q4. (John 3:30) In what sense, in order to be successful in your Christian life, must you decrease and Christ increase? How can you facilitate the shift necessary for this change to occur? What steps might help you do this?

In order to have a successful Christian life we must relent control of our lives and allow Christ to live through us.

To facilitate Christ living through us we must crucify the flesh and learn to not give in to our desires and wants of the flesh.

In order to accomplish Christ in our lives we should learn scripture and memorize it. This scripture will help us to over come the flesh and allow the Holy Spirit to give us the strength to resist temptation and live for Christ.  

[RebeccaMallinson]

We must decrease in our worldliness and become more focussed on the things of the Spirit.  We can facilitate the shift by taking it one step at a time.  Firstly drawing a line under our sinful lives and promising a reformed life, then finding ways to serve others and thereby serving God, at the same time taking every opportunity to study the Gospels and other religious writings, ancient and modern.  I have found these steps essential in my spiritual growth.

[SoiKosum]

(John 3:30) In what sense, in order to be successful in your Christian life, must you decrease and Christ increase? How can you facilitate the shift necessary for this change to occur? What steps might help you do this?

 

Our focus must always be on Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. There is no grey about this - it is either Christ or not, there can be no straddling on the fence. Once we are able to accept this, that Christ is All in All, only then can be progress in our Christian life. It is not an easy transition. We live in a fallen world and all men are sinners. So there is always that struggle between our flesh and the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. However, if we deliberately choose to focus on Christ Jesus and ask Him for wisdom and the strength to overcome the flesh, He will answer our prayers.

[PeteD]

Thanks for many of the previous responses. They are helpful.

How to be successful in our Christian life: In so many ways I have to examine every thing I do and think as to whether it enhances my walk/ relationship with Jesus. For me, I have to find/make more space for Him. It means that I have to check that all I do and think is according to His will and this involves ( Rom. 12:1-2) offering my life as a living sacrifice and putting myself in a place where I can receive the Holy Spirit and allow him to transform me. I will need to spend more time in His word and less time watching TV. I'll need to spend more time in prayer. I  have to love mercy, act justly and walk humbly with my God.                                                                                                               

[royk]

Q4. (John 3:30) In what sense, in order to be successful in your Christian life, must you decrease and Christ increase? How can you facilitate the shift necessary for this change to occur? What steps might help you do this?
 

 

To surrender to God and Jesus is a life work. I pray for Him to remove the bondage of myself, and let me die to Him. What God has in store for me as a kingdom work is better than anything I can really imagine; still letting go of the old me is like letting something die that in truth is the me, the false worldly me, the "false-good-sinner' that God is slowly killing. Letting my ego die is only possible with a lot of prayer at the time of my life that God is ready to make this transformation because He las let me to this acceptance of His holiness and goodness and unconditional love.

 

its time to let go deeper, never a better moment. 

[Commissioned]

Q4. (John 3:30) In what sense, in order to be successful in your Christian life, must you decrease and Christ increase? How can you facilitate the shift necessary for this change to occur? What steps might help you do this?

To be successful in my Christian life and to have Christ increase and me decrease I need to give complete control over to Him.  I can facilitate the necessary shift by becominh more like Christ and become meek and humble; and allow the Spirit of God to lead.  I need to spent more time listening so that I can obey my God.

[royk]

Q4. (John 3:30) In what sense, in order to be successful in your Christian life, must you decrease and Christ increase? How can you facilitate the shift necessary for this change to occur? What steps might help you do this?

 

Pray, pray and pray more. Adopt a program and discipline of prayer and worship for each day, sun rise, sunset and in between. Prayers of surrendering to God's will and to His healing, and leading us, to trust Him in the moment of now

[quilter]

We must do exactly what this verse said. We must show humility. We do nothing on our own.  Pastors and christian leaders and people can be tempted to focus on the success of their ministries than on Christs.

To trust in the Lord read and study His word  pray for understanding and wisdom. Most of all read his word and listen to sermon being preach. Also you have to discern the message being preach.

 

Pray, learn the word of God so if it is not God's word you will know. The best for me is to pray for discerning and understanding.

 

 

 

 

[haar]

Q4. (John 3:30) In what sense, in order to be successful in your Christian life, must you decrease and Christ increase? How can you facilitate the shift necessary for this change to occur? What steps might help you do this?
 

 

I need to let go increasingly all my hold on my life and let Jesus Christ take over according to his perfect will and plan for my life.

 

I can achieve this by surrendering my will and plans to him, asking him to take the lead while I follow.

[Old Jerry]

The sense that I must decrease and Christ must increase is that I should stop doing things for myself and doing more for those around me. By following Jesus direction we can be successful at this. I can facilitate this shift by doing what I have been asked to do. Do things in the background so that others don’t know what you are doing. But I have to stay connected to Jesus in order to do these things.

[grace2free]

Q4. (John 3:30)

In what sense, in order to be successful in your Christian life, must you decrease and Christ increase?

Yes I must totally decrease, I must be humble down like a worm, I'm just a breathe, a mist and Jesus Christ is my gracious life.

 

How can you facilitate the shift necessary for this change to occur?

By the mercy and grace of God he can change you. Only he can save, only he can change.

 

What steps might help you do this?

By knowing that God is a Sovereign God you listen and obey only him.

[linda bass]

John the Baptist finds joy in Jesus' success by recognizing that his ministry is coming to an end while Jesus ministry is just beginning.

 

[Stanley Tavaziva]

John’s willingness to decrease in importance shows unusual humility. Some Pastors, leaders and other Christian members get tempted to focus more on the success of their ministries than on Christ. We should be beware of ourselves who put more emphasis on their own achievements than on God’s Kingdom. This can be achieved by knowing God and obey his decrees.

[JoanG]

As a follower of Christ, I must allow Him to take control of my life. I need to let go of fears and allow His light to shine into my heart. I personally have immersed myself into the bible. I got a study plan and read the bible cover to cover over a few months. I opened up my heart and mind to Jesus. I reaffirmed my belief in Him. I allowed Him to become a major part of my life. I learned how to listen to Him. I opened my eyes and I was able to see a new path that He was laying before me. It is not always easy, and at times I do try to resist the change, but with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit my life has changed into a more peaceful existance.

[John6:68-69]

I think I need to have more one on one quiet time talking to God.

I have actually just recently (today actually) to a step toward this. I got rid of cable tv, now I just have basic channels abc, cbs, nbc. I'm also thinking maybe to leave the house & find a quiet place in nature.

[Joe_Applegarth]

Q4. (John 3:30) In what sense, in order to be successful in your Christian life, must you decrease and Christ increase? How can you facilitate the shift necessary for this change to occur? What steps might help you do this?

 

1) The ultimate goal for our lives should be for Christ to have the preeminence in all things so... in order to decrease we first have to increase.  We have to increase our faith and trust in God.  2) The only way to increase our faith is through prayer and the study of God’s word.  It’s through our conversations with Him and by knowing and understanding His Word that faith is strengthened and it’s through our faith that we can actually decrease (empty) our reliance on self and allow Christ to increase in our lives.  Through knowledge and faith gained through prayer and diligently studying His Word we can then begin to decrease the sin in our lives.  When we decrease our reliance on self and allow Christ to fill the void of our decreased sinful nature.  As I said at the onset, our ultimate goal should be for Christ to have the preeminence in all things.  When we finally arrive at that point in our lives, we’ll finally begin to take on and embrace a more Christ-like existence. 3) The steps required to reach our goal; prayer, study and fellowship with other Christians.

[pickledilly]

I see this concept of personal decrease and Christ's increase in terms of death. I am called to put everything possible of my human nature to death in order for the Spirit to make me into all Christ has designed for me to be. Whatever the situation, this means that I am to actively offer up my desires, motives, goals, plans, and purposes as a sacrifice that dies so that the life of Christ in me can enlarge to fill and bring life to that dead space. This happens step-by-step in my life with every choice I make to accept what He wills and determines out of His perfection and love and goodness. It develops as I give up seeking pleasure in life for myself and seek to please God instead. There can never be “success” in my Christian life in anything that is generated by the flesh, my innate unrighteous sinful character as a human being. Nothing of the natural can produce something of the spiritual.

 

This yielding of self, this death to self is exactly what Jesus was telling Nicodemus when He said that one must be born again in order to see and enter the Kingdom of God (John 3:3,5). The old natural self (the “flesh”) cannot coexist with the new spiritual self to gain anything of that Kingdom, which means the old must die. Paul talked extensively about being united in Christ with death to sin so that we can walk in newness of life (Romans 6). We're not to let sin rule our mortal bodies, but are to choose obedience to Christ. In Galatians 5:17,24, he said that things of the flesh are set against the Spirit and those things include the passions and desires of the flesh that believers in Christ must crucify. This process covers a lifetime of spending time with Jesus in His Word and in prayer, of humbling self before Him, of giving up what you want or think for what He desires and says, of seeking to please Him instead of self. Ultimately, this is the decrease of myself and the increase of Christ.

[Old Jerry]

We must think more of Christ and less of ourselves. We must be thinking is this what Christ wanted me to do or is that something that is satisfying me. Will this bring glory to Christ or will just reflect on me.

[Godswriter]

4. (John 3:30) In what sense, in order to be successful in your Christian life, must you decrease and Christ increase? How can you facilitate the shift necessary for this change to occur? What steps might help you do this?

I must decrease in my social networking and learn to spend more time in His Word as His disciple daily as well as learn to pray more. 
By managing my time more effectively. 

Getting up earlier and making a conscious effort to spend time with Him daily by get everything out I need for Bible study the night before and having it on the table and ready.