Sermon Outlines

By Frederick F. Schwindt, Evangelist

MY LORD AND I

1. The Jews asked him, "Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?":
2. His answer was short and to the point:
   1. "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord" - John 1:21-23
   2. To the disciples he said, "I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He must increase, but I must decrease" - John 3:25-30

1. Signification of our text:
   1. His influence must spread.
   2. "And Jesus increased in wisdom and in favor with God and man" - Luke 2:52
   3. "And the fame of Him went out into every place of the country round about." - Luke 4:37
2. The Messianic ministry must increase:
   1. Matt. 4:24-26
   2. Matt. 15:21-26
3. The number of His followers increased:
   1. John 3:30
   2. Matt. 28:18-20
4. But I must decrease:
   1. When the sun appears on the horizon, the moon fades away.
   2. Candle lights, kerosene lamps, gas lights, and electric lights lose their effectiveness in the presence of the sunlight.
   3. So it is with the light of all men in the presence of Him, who said, "I am the light of the world" - John 8:12
   4. He is, in truth, the light that shines in us, who are but candlesticks - Luke 8:16; 11:33
   5. My Lord and I.
5. The reason for our decrease is most obvious:
   1. The moon borrows its light from the sun.
   2. What light the Christian has comes from the Sun of Righteousness - John 1:4, 5; 14:1-4
   3. We shine when Christ, the light of the world, shines in us - Matt. 5:14-16
   4. We are but a mirror reflecting the son of God, dwelling in us by faith - Gal. 1:15

1. We must increase:
   1. The beauty of His character must become visible in my life - 1 Pet. 2:9
   2. He, through the operation of the Holy Spirit, must be seen and heard in my life - Gal. 2:20
   3. He must be allowed to subdue all sinful tendencies in me - Col. 3:17
2. But I must decrease:
   1. I, the old man, must die - Rom. 6:6; Gal. 5:24
   2. I must deny all my selfish, sinful desires so that the work of grace can do its perfect work - Matt. 16:24
3. My Lord and I:
   1. How fortunate I am to be associated with the Lord of glory, with the hope of the world, with my loving, personal Saviour!
   2. As I meditate upon this relationship and the blessing it brings to my unworthy life, I feel as Peter must have felt when he said, "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord" - Luke 5:8
   3. To be connected with the Light of the World gives full assurance that darkness must flee away.
   4. The history of the church of God is full of examples of the blessing the light of the world brings to those who let it shine in and through them.