Day 10/15 – Exalting Jesus

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Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man by Walter A Henrichsen (“Walt”)
Exalting Jesus
Day Two Hundred Eighty-eight

“He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30

The disciples of John felt that the ministry of baptism was their idea, and when the disciples of Jesus began to baptize, they resented it. To quell their concerns, John uses the illustration of marriage. The friend of the bridegroom exists to assist the groom at his marriage. The friend does not try to win the bride or call attention to himself. In this story Jesus is the bridegroom and John his best man. The bride is the church, or the people of God.

All that John did during his ministry, he did to call attention to the greatness of the Bridegroom. He had no other objective. And he certainly did not want to call attention to himself. So he told his disciples, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” To the degree that Jesus was exalted and worshipped, John was unnecessary.

The attitude of John reflects that of all of Christ’s followers. As you minister to others, investing yourself in their lives, your objective remains the same: “He must increase and I must decrease.” To the degree that you call attention to yourself you draw attention away from Jesus. As you minister to others let this be your job description, the gauge of your success: You and your opinions become less and less important while Jesus becomes more and more important.

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Isaiah 45-46 1 Thessalonians 3 (New King James Version)

Isaiah 45-46
Cyrus, God’s Instrument
45
“Thus says the Lord to His anointed,
To Cyrus, whose right hand I have [a]held—
To subdue nations before him
And loose the armor of kings,
To open before him the double doors,
So that the gates will not be shut:
2
‘I will go before you
And[b] make the [c]crooked places straight;
I will break in pieces the gates of bronze
And cut the bars of iron.
3
I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden riches of secret places,
That you may know that I, the Lord,
Who call you by your name,
Am the God of Israel.
4
For Jacob My servant’s sake,
And Israel My elect,
I have even called you by your name;
I have named you, though you have not known Me.
5
I am the Lord, and there is no other;
There is no God besides Me.
I will gird you, though you have not known Me,
6
That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting
That there is none besides Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other;
7
I form the light and create darkness,
I make peace and create calamity;
I, the Lord, do all these things.’
8
“Rain down, you heavens, from above,
And let the skies pour down righteousness;
Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation,
And let righteousness spring up together.
I, the Lord, have created it.
9
“Woe to him who strives with his Maker!
Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth!
Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’?
10
Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What are you begetting?’
Or to the woman, ‘What have you brought forth?’ ”
11
Thus says the Lord,
The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:
“Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons;
And concerning the work of My hands, you command Me.
12
I have made the earth,
And created man on it.
I—My hands—stretched out the heavens,
And all their host I have commanded.
13
I have raised him up in righteousness,
And I will [d]direct all his ways;
He shall build My city
And let My exiles go free,
Not for price nor reward,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
The Lord, the Only Savior
14 Thus says the Lord:
“The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush
And of the Sabeans, men of stature,
Shall come over to you, and they shall be yours;
They shall walk behind you,
They shall come over in chains;
And they shall bow down to you.
They will make supplication to you, saying, ‘Surely God is in you,
And there is no other;
There is no other God.’ ”
15
Truly You are God, who hide Yourself,
O God of Israel, the Savior!
16
They shall be ashamed
And also disgraced, all of them;
They shall go in confusion together,
Who are makers of idols.
17
But Israel shall be saved by the Lord
With an everlasting salvation;
You shall not be ashamed or disgraced
Forever and ever.
18
For thus says the Lord,
Who created the heavens,
Who is God,
Who formed the earth and made it,
Who has established it,
Who did not create it [e]in vain,
Who formed it to be inhabited:
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19
I have not spoken in secret,
In a dark place of the earth;
I did not say to the seed of Jacob,
‘Seek Me [f]in vain’;
I, the Lord, speak righteousness,
I declare things that are right.
20
“Assemble yourselves and come;
Draw near together,
You who have escaped from the nations.
They have no knowledge,
Who carry the wood of their carved image,
And pray to a god that cannot save.
21
Tell and bring forth your case;
Yes, let them take counsel together.
Who has declared this from ancient time?
Who has told it from that time?
Have not I, the Lord?
And there is no other God besides Me,
A just God and a Savior;
There is none besides Me.
22
“Look to Me, and be saved,
All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
23
I have sworn by Myself;
The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness,
And shall not return,
That to Me every knee shall bow,
Every tongue shall take an oath.
24
He shall say,
[g]‘Surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength.
To Him men shall come,
And all shall be ashamed
Who are incensed against Him.
25
In the Lord all the descendants of Israel
Shall be justified, and shall glory.’ ”
Dead Idols and the Living God
46
Bel bows down, Nebo stoops;
Their idols were on the beasts and on the cattle.
Your carriages were heavily loaded,
A burden to the weary beast.
2
They stoop, they bow down together;
They could not deliver the burden,
But have themselves gone into captivity.
3
“Listen to Me, O house of Jacob,
And all the remnant of the house of Israel,
Who have been upheld by Me from [h]birth,
Who have been carried from the womb:
4
Even to your old age, I am He,
And even to gray hairs I will carry you!
I have made, and I will bear;
Even I will carry, and will deliver you.
5
“To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal
And compare Me, that we should be alike?
6
They lavish gold out of the bag,
And weigh silver on the scales;
They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it a god;
They prostrate themselves, yes, they worship.
7
They bear it on the shoulder, they carry it
And set it in its place, and it stands;
From its place it shall not move.
Though one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer
Nor save him out of his trouble.
8
“Remember this, and [i]show yourselves men;
Recall to mind, O you transgressors.
9
Remember the former things of old,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me,
10
Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’
11
Calling a bird of prey from the east,
The man who executes My counsel, from a far country.
Indeed I have spoken it;
I will also bring it to pass.
I have purposed it;
I will also do it.
12
“Listen to Me, you stubborn-hearted,
Who are far from righteousness:
13
I bring My righteousness near, it shall not be far off;
My salvation shall not [j]linger.
And I will place salvation in Zion,
For Israel My glory.
Footnotes:
• Isaiah 45:1 strengthened or sustained
• Isaiah 45:2 Tg. I will trample down the walls; Vg. I will humble the great ones of the earth
• Isaiah 45:2 DSS, LXX mountains
• Isaiah 45:13 Or make all his ways straight
• Isaiah 45:18 Or empty, a waste
• Isaiah 45:19 Or in a waste place
• Isaiah 45:24 Or Only in the Lord are all righteousness and strength
• Isaiah 46:3 Lit. the belly
• Isaiah 46:8 be men, take courage
• Isaiah 46:13 delay

1 Thessalonians 3
Concern for Their Faith
3 Therefore, when we could no longer endure it, we thought it good to be left in Athens alone, 2 and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith, 3 that no one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this. 4 For, in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, just as it happened, and you know. 5 For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain.
Encouraged by Timothy
6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always have good remembrance of us, greatly desiring to see us, as we also to see you— 7 therefore, brethren, in all our affliction and distress we were comforted concerning you by your faith. 8 For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord.
9 For what thanks can we render to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sake before our God, 10 night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face and perfect what is lacking in your faith?
Prayer for the Church
11 Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, 13 so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.