Words of Encouragement -- Santosh Poonen & David Lane -- August 8, 2021
http://rlcf.church River of Life Christian Fellowship 1306 N Lincoln Avenue Loveland, Colorado - 80537, USA
Summary
The speaker emphasizes that the most important message is pointing people to Jesus, exemplified by John the Baptist's declaration, "Behold the Lamb of God." He draws a parallel between John's ability to focus on this core message and the need for believers today to resist distractions. A key theme is the necessity of a "decreasing mentality"—the willingness to diminish oneself so that Christ can increase, as seen in John 3:30.
Outline
The message in plain words, in the order it unfolds. Select a time to jump the video to that moment.
Moving away from clever words to blessing othersReflecting on past desires to speak with cleverness to impress people, the speaker shares how knowing Jesus more has shifted his motive toward simply blessing others.
The most important sermon John the Baptist ever preachedWhile John the Baptist preached many powerful sermons that drew crowds, his single most important message was simply pointing to Jesus and saying, 'Behold the Lamb of God.'John 1:29
Hearing God's specific voice amidst distractionsJohn heard the specific voice of the Holy Spirit identifying Jesus because he was tuned in, whereas constant modern distractions like phones and news can cause us to miss God's moments.
The decreasing mentality of John the BaptistJohn's effectiveness stemmed from his mindset of decreasing so that Jesus could increase, finding complete joy in Christ's exaltation rather than his own.John 3:29
Following Jesus' example of a disappearing ministryJust as Jesus healed the man at the pool of Bethesda by listening only to the Father's voice and then quietly slipping away, we must avoid coveting personal recognition.
Peter's revelation and subsequent fallAfter receiving profound revelation from the Father, Peter allowed pride to creep in, leading him to rebuke Jesus and receive a sharp correction.Mark 8:29–32
Recognizing that our own interests are the opposite of God'sThe opposite of God's interest is not merely satanic evil, but our own self-seeking interests, which quickly block the anointing and the voice of God.
The biblical definition of prophecy and timely encouragementProphecy functions to edify, exhort, and comfort, acting as the right word spoken in the right circumstance that can lift someone out of deep despair.
The ear of a disciple before the tongue of a discipleDrawing from Scripture and the concept of a living rhema word, we must listen closely to God rather than relying purely on academic Bible study or cliches.
Dying to self to become instruments of hopeBy dying to our own self-interests and decreasing as Santosh described, we can allow the God of all hope to use us to lift the hopeless.
