The Joy of Becoming Less | John 3:22-30 | Bradley Bell

Thank you all so much for your warm welcome.

I counted a great joy that my first visit and

literally my first hour to the UK is being spent

here at Oak Hill. I've admired this college from

afar for its faithfulness and theological training

and ministry formation, and the more that I've

learned about you through my dear friend Chris,

the more that I've sensed a heartbeat that's

so close to my own. A deep desire to serve Christ

and his church well for the long haul. To see

the church flourish, as I understand it. And

that's part of why I was drawn back to this particular

passage, John chapter 3, verses 22 to 30. This

John 3:22–30

is a text that I first preached two years ago.

At that time, it was my final sermon in the church

where I had served as lead pastor for over six

years. And to be candid with you, I had reached

a breaking point of exhaustion and taken a leave

of absence. Like many who love ministry, maybe

you can relate to this already, I found myself

doing good things for Jesus faster than my soul

could keep up with. But the Lord in his kindness

met me there. He gave me a fresh assignment,

a powerful experience of his healing presence,

and a new hunger to understand. What it means

not just to start well, but to finish well. And

out of that season came a question that I'm still

learning to answer. And it's this. Rather than

burning out along the way, how can we complete

our entire race with joy? And how can we do this

in a space where a friend of mine, Brian Croft,

who leads a ministry to pastors called Practical

Shepherding. has a statistic that says 50 % of

pastors will not make it five years in ministry

and 80 % will not make it 10. How can we complete

our entire race with joy in any realm of Christian

ministry rather than burning out? And I found

a surprising companion in that question, and

his name is John the Baptizer. We often remember

him for his boldness, perhaps his camel hair.

But in this passage, we see another side of him.

We see his surprising joy. Here is a man whose

ministry is fading, whose public influence is

declining, whose best days, humanly speaking,

are behind him. And yet he says, my joy is now

complete. That kind of joy anchored in a sea

of sorrows is something that every follower of

Jesus will need if we hope for resilience in

ministry. And it's this joy that I'd like for

us to explore together this morning. The first

wedding that I ever officiated was nearly a disaster,

and it was my best friend's wedding. Not only

was I underprepared for the ceremony, and not

only did I drop the bride's ring, which almost

rolled into a floor vent. Worst of all, when

the bride entered the room, I nearly cried. Now

for you, my British friends, crying is something

that happens when substance comes out of your

eyes and rolls down your face. Just for an explanation

there for context. You see, at this moment, in

most weddings, everyone stands as the bride enters,

and they look, first of all, where? To the bride,

to honor her and her beauty. But then secondly,

where do they look? To the groom. Why? They want

to see how he's responding, right? Is he smiling?

Is he emotional? Bonus points, is there a tear?

But imagine instead if the minister is the one

crying. You can almost hear the whispers. What's

this? Is this man unhappy? Is he jealous? He's

lost the plot. So the truth was simply that I

loved my friend. After years of waiting and praying

to see him finally receive his bride filled me

with such emotion that I couldn't help myself.

They were happy tears, the kind that make you

lose your composure just for a moment. And that,

I think, gives us a small picture of what we

see here in John the Baptizer. As he nears the

end of his ministry and soon his life, John also

speaks in wedding terms. A groom, a bride, a

best man, and complete joy. Who was this John?

Of course, he was the very promised forerunner

of Jesus Christ, the last great prophet chosen

to prepare the way of the coming of the Messiah,

a wild man who ate bugs and preached repentance.

Probably not the biblical character you think

of for exemplifying joy. And yet, listen to one

of the first things that we read about him in

Luke's gospel. In early pregnancy, when Jesus'

mother Mary went to visit John's mother Elizabeth,

Elizabeth said to her, as soon as the sound of

your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my

womb, what? Leaped for joy. How can this be?

A baby throwing shapes in utero? Like what's

going on here? It can be because we were told

earlier in Luke's gospel that John would be filled

with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's

womb. And when you are filled with the Holy Spirit,

it's like an umbilical cord that binds your deepest

desire with that of Christ's deepest desire.

The late pastor Timothy Keller puts it this way.

You know you love somebody when you put your

happiness into their happiness so that your greatest

happiness is just to see them happy. their joy

is your joy, their delight is your delight, and

there's nothing beyond it, then you know you

love somebody. So we might say that the defining

legacy of John's life and ministry was not that

he fully obeyed God or that he became known widely,

though those things were true, but that he simply

loved Jesus deeply. And this can be the only

explanation for what we see here in John chapter

John 3 · chapter mention

3. By this point, the door to John's once thriving

ministry is closing. The crowds that once flocked

to him are now following Jesus. John's own disciples

are starting to worry that their leader is no

longer trending. They say to him in verse 26,

Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other

side of the Jordan, the one you testified about,

look, he is baptizing. And everyone's going to

him. I don't think John's disciples are rejoicing

here. I think they're jealous. I think their

instinct is the same as ours whenever we feel

passed over in favor of another. But remarkably,

as the spotlight shifts away, John's joy doesn't

diminish. It deepens. So here are two things

that I think made that possible for him and perhaps

for us as well. First of all, we see that John

served with open hands. Listen to the first words

out of his mouth in verse 27. John answered,

John's disciples are focused on what's happening

on earth. Who's getting attention? Who's drawing

the crowds? Does that sound familiar? But John

immediately redirects them toward where? Heaven.

And looking toward heaven has a humbling effect,

doesn't it? It reminds us that we are small and

that everything that we have has been given to

us as an act of grace. And as the Dutch theologian

Abraham Kuyper spoke, there is not a square inch.

in the whole domain of our human existence over

which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does

not cry, mine. You think of a child who in its

human instinct immediately can begin crying mine

over this and mine over that, and yet it is only

Jesus Christ who can rightfully declare mine

over all. And Paul says, Virtually the same to

the Corinthians and to us with a simple question.

What do you have that you did not receive? And

here lies the gateway to what is a vital quality

for joy -sustained Christian servants. Humility.

John was humble enough to see that even his great

success came from God. So when the time came

for his ministry to fade, he didn't have to defend

it. He didn't have to grasp for it. It had already

been surrendered to God all along the way. In

his book, The Sacred Wilderness of Pastoral Ministry,

Pastor David Rohr actually uses John as a model

for the Christian minister. He argues that the

calling of a... minister is not to seize a church's

story, to make it his own, but instead to only

steward it for a season. To remember that the

story began before the pastor and the church's

story will continue on after the pastor. This

perspective continually pried open my seizing

hands as a pastor, which as you can see, was

the perfect preparation for when my pastorate

ended more prematurely than I had expected. But

notice this. John's humility, it wasn't self

-deprecation, was it? Self -deprecation is really

just pride in disguise. True humility is a true

assessment of oneself in light of what God says

of us. And John says this in verse 28. I am not

the Christ, but I have been sent before him.

There may be no more important words for promising

students who hope to complete their entire race

than these five. I am not the Christ. What a

freeing confession. Why suffer a career -ending

spiritual hernia trying to carry the weight of

the world? Your plate. constantly taking on more

and more and more that you cannot handle because

you are not the Christ. Hey, I can be the midwife

who faithfully delivers the message of the gospel,

but I cannot save the sinful heart. That's freeing.

I can be the midfielder who passes the ball forward,

but only Christ, the true striker, can score

the goal. Hey, that's a basketball player from

Kentucky trying to be in context here. Did I

get it right? All right. Thank you. It is, in

fact, the humble position where John's confounding

joy is found. And ours as well. And so we see

that John didn't burn out along the way, firstly,

because he served with open hands. But there's

another reason that I want to highlight today.

He also... finished with an open heart. John

continues in verse 29. The bride belongs to the

bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom

waits and listens for him and is full of joy

when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy

is mine and is now complete. So John turns to

a wedding image that would have been familiar

to his listeners. In Jewish culture, The friend

who attends the bridegroom wasn't just a best

man with a speech to give. He had serious responsibilities.

It was his job to not only arrange many parts

of the wedding, but also this when the ceremony

had finished. And I'm quoting here from New Testament

scholar Colin Cruz, so that you know I'm not

making this up. The friend would then lead the

groom to his bride. and wait outside the bridal

chamber while the marriage was consummated. Thus,

the reference to the bridegroom's voice refers

to the shout of exultation by the groom over

his bride. The work of the friend of the bridegroom

is then complete and he takes pleasure in the

bridegroom's joy. What an intimate responsibility.

Like it's maybe a bit jarring to our modern sensibilities

here, okay? Get that. But what does John mean

by this? In the Old Testament, the people of

Israel are often described as God's bride. And

so John gladly, as he releases his own hard -earned

disciples to Jesus, he's saying nothing less

than the bridegroom has come for his bride. What

does that mean? It's a confession of lordship.

He's saying, Jesus is God. And the church is

his bride. And so what does that make John in

the analogy? The friend of the bridegroom who

couldn't be happier. This is... This is another

vital quality for joy -sustained Christian service

that makes it to the end and doesn't burn out

before. And I want to highlight it here. It's

the perfect complement to humility. Do you know

what it is? It might be quite surprising. Confidence.

Not the arrogance that thinks too highly of itself

or grasps for control or attention. But the grounding

assurance of knowing Christ intimately, like

we sang about just a moment ago, knowing that

he loves you, that he loves you enough to entrust

a part of his bride to your care, whether that's

a classroom, a congregation, a child, or a faraway

people. He counts you his dear friend. What a

privilege. What confidence that brings. And when

the privilege of that grips your heart, do you

know what confidence sounds like? In a world

where people are spewing all kinds of arrogant

nonsense all the time, even in the name of Jesus,

what does confidence wed to humility sound like?

It sounds like this. He must become greater and

I must become less. That's not resignation. That's

resolution. It's the confidence of a servant

who knows his story is safe in Jesus' hands,

even as his own part of it comes to an end. And

we know here really that John's ministry didn't

come to an end, though he would soon be jailed

and then beheaded. His ministry still bears fruit

today because we are absorbing. From his life

and testimony, aren't we? Right now. John was

finishing a season with an open heart, ready

for whatever would come next. Don't you want

that? And so what does all of this have to do

with you? Well, for every one of us, there will

come moments. when it's time to lay something

down, and often sooner than we expected or before

we feel ready. A hoped -for opportunity will

pass by. A ministry role will change. A great

success will fade or perhaps never materialize.

Even the life you're now preparing for here at

Oak Hill, the study, the structure, the community,

it will give way to a new chapter that asks something

different of you. And someday, yes, the letting

go will become even deeper. Parents, spouses,

children, health, even life itself. The question

is, when those moments come, what will be true

of you? Don't you want to be like a marathon

runner? I know Larry and Chris do. I'm not quite

like a marathon runner myself, more of a sprinter

when it comes to basketball. But don't you want

to be like a marathon runner who's found their

ideal pace, who knows their limits because they're

humble, but also knows their abilities because

they're confident, and therefore they can finish

their entire race without collapsing in exhaustion

like I would? Don't you want that? That is, well,

in fact, the calling of Hebrews 12, is it not?

It tells us, let us run with perseverance the

race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus,

the author and perfecter of our faith. That's

what I want. But if I'm honest, I've often run

my race of ministry over the last 25 years. More

like Mr. Bean. Arms flailing. Tripping over my

own shoelaces. Darting between lanes with a completely

nonsensical pace. And occasionally crashing headlong.

It's almost a comedic miracle that I'm here at

all. And if John were here, perhaps he could

say the same. Because as much as we may want

to exalt him as an example to us of how to do

it, how to get it right, we also need to acknowledge

that while he sat in prison with great discouragement,

he sent a message to Christ, the one he loved,

and said, is it you or should we be looking for

someone else? We all crash. We all get it wrong.

We all go at the wrong pace in a modern world

that comes at us faster than we can keep up with.

And yet perhaps that's the point. Because in

the universal absurdity of real life and real

ministry, none of us will run smoothly for long.

The question isn't whether you'll stumble. It's

who will carry you when you do. How will your

joy -sustained Christian service be possible?

It will be possible for you and only possible

because Jesus first did it in your place. Tell

me who more than anyone embodied humility when

he laid down not just his ministry, but his very

life. His open hands nailed into that position

on the cross. And tell me who more than anyone

displayed confidence. in his father's love to

never abandon him, dying with an open heart to

the resurrection that would come next. And yet

what was it that gave Jesus this resilience to

the very end? The very next line of Hebrews chapter

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

12 tells us, for the joy set before him, he endured

the cross. scorning its shame, and sat down,

I'm sure, to great, great joy at the right hand

of the throne of God. The umbilical cord that

nurtured Christ's deepest desire was seeing the

joy of his Father. And what makes God's joy complete?

It's receiving his bride. And brothers and sisters

in Christ, you are part of that bride. And so

what makes God's joy complete can only be answered

by saying in part, it's you. That's staggering,

isn't it? What the gospel testifies is that God

has put his happiness into your happiness. His

delight into your delight. His joy into your

joy. That's what fuels your sustaining joy no

matter what comes at you in the highs and lows

of this life in obedience to him. That's how

you know he loves you. That's how you become

both humble and confident at the same time. A

sinner. and yet dearly loved on the basis of

Christ and what he's accomplished. That's how

you finish your race as part of the beloved bride

and helping to deliver her to God with joy. To

change the analogy slightly from umbilical cord

to another cord of sorts, the scriptures speak

of the vine. That Christ himself is that vine

and we are the branches. There is our connection.

The joy of God flowing into our hearts and filling

it up, knowing that we are deeply loved by him.

And our responding in like kind with the joy

that we bring to him by loving his bride and

helping her to flourish. There in that analogy,

and I'll end with these words, there are none

better. Jesus speaks, John chapter 15. I've told

John 15 · chapter mention

you this, Jesus said, so that my joy may be in

you and that your joy may be complete. Let's

pray. Lord Jesus, we bow our hearts before you

here in this chapel. I can only speak for myself,

though I hope this will echo true for others

in this room and who may be listening. You have

filled our hearts with joy at the wonder of your

love. I confess to you, Lord, that often my heart

has not been receptive to your love, and therefore

I have lacked joy that... Humility has maybe

been easier for me than confidence, though there

may be those in this room who find the opposite

to be true. Confidence is easier than humility.

And yet, Lord, I just ask, as I have been asking

for everyone under the sound of my voice, that

they would walk away from this moment with a

deepened, ever so slightly, or even greatly,

sense of receptivity to your love. based on the

truth of the gospel and the risen and resurrected

Christ who sits enthroned at your right hand.

I pray, Lord, for each one, God, that you would

sustain them with your joy, that they may be

able to finish their entire race. Use them mightily,

Lord, just as you did John, so that their lives

and testimonies will continue to bear fruit.

even long after their race has finished. And

Lord, to conclude, I know no better way than

how you concluded your word and revelation, where

our hearts, filled with joy, the wonder of your

love, and with great affection for you and your

bride, cry out with the Spirit, come. The Spirit

and the bride say come. We want to see your face.

We want to be present at the... Great marriage

supper of the Lamb. And so come. And until that

day, let us bring many to that feast as well.

I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.