John 3:23-36 KJV
23 And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.
24 For John was not yet cast into prison.
25 Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying.
26 And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.
27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.
29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
31 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.
32 And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.
33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.
34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

No man but Jesus has the right to say he was from heaven from before birth. John the disciple who wrote Revelations, Ezekiel and some other prophets have the right to speak of what they saw in heaven. Jesus did not come speaking what he saw in heaven or knew about heaven but about repentance and forgiveness. Christ could of spoken of heaven, but upon the earth he taught how to live. John the Baptist in this passage talks how he must decrease and Christ must increase, that he was just the bridegroom at the wedding. John own death would come before Christ did he understand that he would enter the throne room of God before Christ. I do not think he realize his own words completely what he spoke. Sometimes ministers do speak what they do not understand fully. Yet when it comes, people will know that what heard is coming to pass and those that heard that believe know if it was from God.

A little girl just got her first evidence of becoming a young woman. As she grew up, it had not occurred that other your girls her age were changing to or those older then her had gone through these same changes. The idea that she was changing and that all or most women go through these changes as they age had not caught up to her. She got the idea that when here mom had the talk with her that she should not talk about it with other girls because they might not know yet. The thought for the little girl is no one else must know about these changes and it was the mother only trying to keep the little girl from talking about it inappropiate to friends. However, the idea no one else knew what she was going through existed in her mindset. Do not think this does not happen to little boys too, because i heard a young man speak as if an adult was ignorant one day of his changes. I almost laughed because he was old enough to know better, but thought had not occured to him why he was told about his own changing was not to be talked about. When the reality everyone knows and everyone going through changes too gets in place in one's head, the shackles of ignorance is removed, because everyone the same. Okay the reality of I am different is removed. Now we know there people that are different in many ways, sometimes changes that should occur do not in a person's life. However as a believer in Christ when we get to the point we realize God not just speaking to our heart but he speaking to other believers' hearts has well, our shackles of our own knowledge being what some might feel superior is gone. The cliquish attitude of I have to tell that new believer is removed.

John had superiority of who Jesus was because of the call on his life to be the forerunner of Jesus, but I suspect there was a lot he spoke he fully did not understand because it had not been made evident to him to have understanding completely. He knew his ministry must decrease and Jesus ministry must increase, but did he know he would loose his head in the process of decreasing. Do you know there is still a sect of believers that say they are John the Baptist followers. Interested, because what should of decreased still existed in our world today. In fact Paul would find people that had received John baptism of repentance but have not received the baptism of Christ or the Holy Spirit. The baptism of Christ is faith in Jesus and the word of God. The baptism of the Spirit He must do as we learn to yield to his Spirit through prayer and asking him to lead and guide us. One can ask him to fill their heart with his Spirit. One must remember the purpose, to be filled is for witnessing and testifying about God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

To be called a minister or teacher of faith we not called to judge another spirituality or communication of another with their God. One is called to present the teaching of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. However to demonstrate what is taught about faith in general and to compare it to John, Christ, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Let us not leave out the fore fathers of faith Abraham, Noah, Enoch, and so forth. John gift was unique because he was the only forerunner at the time of the Messiah. Yet the priesthood at the temple even taught about the Messiah was coming. John place was to prepare the way for the Messiah to be received. When John taught he point out who the Messiah was. The priesthood though they had been testified to who Jesus was, denied it or was in the process of investigating what they heard, not fully believing and yet some would believe in secret.

John disciples ever hearing but not fully understanding who this Messiah was, yet some would turn and follow Jesus knowing who Jesus was because of the signs and miracles that he did caused them to believe. The Holy Spirit was drawing people to Jesus, yet not all would follow Jesus and not all would believe. It like going to a crusade and at the end of service going down front but only be there because everyone else seemed to be going down front, never considering there was purpose to going down front. Some people follow like lemmings and other follow like ducks, watching their step and knowing the direction to follow is Jesus. Everything else around them has no value, other then for that group to learn to follow Christ on their own and not the person ahead of them other then Jesus. The following military style not because you were told to, but the Spirit lead you too.

To take the altar call seriously is to not follow because others say to do so. It because of God's direction. To bow and pray is to do so not because others say too. John call to point out the Messiah was the call of the Holy Spirit on his life. To fullfill his call as forerunner to Jesus. There would always be people to follow John in succession because they were told to do so. There are adults and children that will go to the altar to pray and will do so because they were told to by the pastor, but the ones that go because of the Spirit are going because of God's direction. This is something not seen with the naked eye. We all are going to die unless God translates us to heaven, or Christ returns. Now if God brings a person home to him upon their death then that person will not see hell. If God sends Christ for the believer, the world will not be following the call of Christ when he returns only the believer. The world will continue to follow the world below only to discover Christ is standing in the eastern sky and no one else is rising up but the believers. That is when the world knows that Christ has proven his return but they are not ascending upward and they began to scream and cry because they know the door to heaven is closed to them. This is the one curtain call the non believer can not follow the believer to the altar. John knew his ministry had to decrease, but he knew some would follow but he still had to point to the Messiah knowing his time was short.

Every minister job is to call people to hear the Gospel of Jesus, but not all will hear and not all will follow in faith. When they following in faith, they begin to yield to the call of God on their own life through faith in Christ Jesus. We are to gaze at Christ not the minister of faith. Yet the minister of faith maybe like Moses getting one to the place they look to Jesus on their own. Every believer has a call to be like Moses in that regards. Not to exalt themselves but the name of Jesus. The name of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and to be a testimony of faith.

John taught it and so we need to understand we not alone in the spiritual world of faith, but there many believers out there we know not, but have a call on their life as well as another to point out who Jesus is. To declare who the Messiah is. Holy Spirit testifies to the person's heart who he is, something unseen by the naked eye. You can gather the sheep but who is suppose to be the Sheperd? Jesus' voice is who the world better heed because any other voice is not Christ. Learn you scripture learn who is calling you. Samuel thought it was the Prophet Eli but it was God that was speaking to him. Read first Samuel until you get to the story if you do not know it. We must all learn to hear the call of God in our personal life. It not a secret to the believer who is calling them, it seems to be a secret to the world because of the believers humanity. Jesus was the only perfect person called to perfection because of God's grace for mankind, to be the Savior of the world. One might be called by God but your humanity still remains. If we yield to Jesus, our humanity is what God is working on to change into his likeness and the image of his Son. We can not create godly people, God's Spirit must create in us a new heart to change us into God's army of believers.

Dear Heavenly Father may the call of man decrease and your call on our hearts increase to a magnitude we all following you as one army built for the kingdom of God. In Jesus precious name, Amen.

Continual Scripture Study: 1 Corinthians 3:4-11 KJV
4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.
10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.