From Heaven

John 3:²⁸ “You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.’” (NRSV]

John the Baptist know who he was. There is nothing as good as being comfortable in your skin. There will be only one Messiah and His Name is Jesus. The fact that your son is not the Messiah does not mean he will not fulfil His destiny. Some people cannot even bear the fact that their sons will play a role like John the Baptist and be preparing a way for somebody that is greater than him. They will say to him, ‘Is Jesus not your mate? You are even older than Him. How come you are the one to be His boy?’ We infuse unhealthy competition into the lives of our children. What if God has just called that boy to carry Jesus’ sandals? What if that is his destiny? You pressure him out of his destiny, he becomes miserable, gets on drugs, and gives you problems. Instead of you to allow him to carry Jesus’ shoes.

John 3:²⁷ “John replied, “A man can receive nothing [he can claim nothing at all] unless it has been granted to him from heaven [for there is no other source than the sovereign will of God].” (AMP, emphasis added). A man can receive nothing except it is granted by the Sovereign will of heaven, except it is given to him from above. A man can receive nothing, nothing except it is given to him from above. A man, born again or not, a man; the president of your nation could never have been president if it was not granted from above. When you see things the way God sees them, you stop fighting what you have no business fighting. You need to understand that a man can receive nothing except it is granted to him from above. There are three implications to that statement and John the Baptist unpacked it beautifully for us. The first implication is, Look To God And God Alone As Your Source. A man can receive nothing except it is granted from above, so look to God as your source. James 1:¹⁷ “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.”

The second implication of this is, Do Not Be Jealous Of Any Man. Do not be jealous of any man. I have been saying this for over twelve years that I have been pastoring. By the grace of God and the grace of God alone; there is no man under heaven that I am jealous of. It does not exist; I am not jealous of anybody. Note that I did not say that there is no man under heaven that is better than me – two different things. There will always be someone better than you in one area. You are beautiful, there is someone more beautiful that makes your beauty look like rags.  You are tall, there is always someone taller. You are slim, athletic, fast, intelligent, wealthy there is always somebody out there that is slimmer, more athletic, faster, more intelligent, and has more wealth than you. The issue of not being jealous is not because you have everything, it is because you are secure in your Father, in your God, in your Maker.

Prayer: Father, I will look to You and You alone as my source and by Your grace, I will be secure in You my Father, my God, in Jesus Name. Amen!