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

John the Baptist, the man who was sent to prepare the way of the Lord; the man who our Lord Jesus Christ said was the greatest prophet born of a woman, said: “The Lord Jesus Christ must increase, but I must decrease.” To that, all of God’s people will cry: Amen! The higher that the Lord Jesus Christ is raised up, and the more exalted God’s people see Him to be... the happier they are! When Christ is exalted, their joy is exalted, their hope is exalted, and their faith is exalted as it LOOKS UP to Him, HIGH in the heavens. The higher they see His throne to be, the more glorious the gospel of their redemption is to them, and the more in awe they are of how far He came down to save them. After seeing Christ in all of His exalted glory, God’s people cannot and will not ever see Him any other way. They will cry to every soul who will listen: “He must increase, but I must decrease!”

Pastor Gabe Stalnaker

The Preaching That Honors Christ is the Preaching of Christ Himself

“He (the Holy Spirit) shall glorify ME; for He shall receive of mine and show it unto you” (John 16:14).

The Holy Spirit does not reach after something novel, new, or spectacular in order to glorify Christ or to preach Christ to men. He does not need tongues, fleshly emotion, bodily healings, and creature fame and importance in order to bring glory to Christ and call out His sheep. He finds Christ’s glory in CHRIST HIMSELF! If we want to honor Christ, glorify Christ, and preach Christ, we must not look for something outside of Christ; but we must honor Him by preaching that which is His already – His deity, His person, His manhood, His life, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, His intercession, and His return!

Strange as it may seem, there is today very little preaching of CHRIST HIMSELF. Men preach about those who knew Him, who served Him, and who wrote of Him. They preach His church, His doctrines, and His commandments. They preach series of messages on those who used to preach Christ, on the conduct and conversation of those who profess to know Christ, and on the duties and responsibilities of believers in Christ, but very few messages on the person and work of Christ Himself. They read papers and conduct discussions on ways to organize the kingdom of Christ, and how to honor Christ; and they seldom get around to doing that which God has ordained and commissioned us to do and that is TO PREACH CHRIST!

Jesus Christ is most glorified, His sheep most edified, His will and purpose accomplished, and His church perfected in faith, hope, and love when we preach CHRIST HIMSELF. The work of the Spirit of God is to reveal to us the beauties of Jesus Christ, and they are all found in Christ Himself. Pastor Henry T. Mahan (bulletin 1986)

I Commend You To God

“And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified” (Acts 20:32).

As Paul departs from the elders from Ephesus he gives them this good and true word by inspiration of God (2 Tim. 3:16). It was not only good for those to hear in that day but also for us today (Rom. 10:17).

What blessing to be given over to the total care and keeping of the Lord Jesus Christ; the good, great and chief Shepherd of the sheep (Psalm 23:1-4). We are truly and fully in His almighty hands (John 10:27-30), kept by His power (1 Peter 1:5), justified by His grace (Rom. 3:24), redeemed by His blood (1 Peter 1:18) and blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ (Eph. 1:3).

But the apostle Paul also adds to that recommendation, “To the word of His grace;” this is the same as the gospel of His grace that is the power of God unto salvation (Acts 20:24; Rom. 1:16), who is also the God of all grace and glory (1 Peter 5:10).

And then Paul tells us what the word of His grace will do for the believer in Christ, “Which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance;” not puff us up with religious pride but rather build us up in faith, grace and love in Christ. Our Lord said, “Upon this rock, (foundation) I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Isa. 28:16; Matt. 16:18). The Lord Jesus Christ is our total and complete inheritance (Rom. 8:17; Eph. 1:11; 1 Peter 1:3).