Someone rightly said, “If all people see is you and your efforts to build a platform, then you are stealing the show.” The clamour for people’s attention in a minister should be of concern. With the rise of social media, the temptation is ever real. Where does one draw the line? On the one hand, it is a wonderful tool for ministry. On the other, the dangers of self-praise are ever-present. Every man knows the motives behind his actions. One famous prayer should be every minister’s. Each line starts with the refrain, “Not I, but Christ.”

John the Baptist is a fascinating character. He plays an essential role in the narrative of the Gospels. Yet he is so peripheral we often don’t pay attention to him. Almost always, you hear him mentioned; it is, by the way, which was the role God intended him to play all along. Every time John speaks, he is pointing to Christ and deflecting focus from himself.
Interestingly, Jesus called him the greatest man that ever lived; only, at the same time, the least in the kingdom (Matthew 11:11). John the Baptist was always humble in his self-assessment. Notice the phrases used to refer to or describe him: he was not the light; I am not the Christ, nor Elijah or the prophet; a voice in the wilderness; and I must decrease. Finally he ended up in prison and beheaded. It is not a glamorous ministry. Neither is it one you crave. Yet John, by Christ’s estimations, was the greatest.
What lessons can we learn from the life and ministry of John the Baptist?
Ministerial Platforms Come from God
John answers, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven” (John 3:27).
This perspective of life and ministry will save many of us from envy of other people’s success and from jostling for attention and praise from people. Ministry platforms and opportunities come from God, and they are to be used for him, not self-promotion or exaltation.
This perspective will also ensure that you are content with your ministry, whether it is celebrated or little-known. Christians with this perspective are satisfied with being forgotten. They recognise a difference between proclaiming and promoting the cause of Christ and promotion of self. Oh, for wisdom to know the difference.
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The child of God can find confidence and assurance in the fact that the transcendent God is a relational and intimate God. He desires to lovingly dwell with his people. The storyline of the Scripture is one of God working and planning to dwell in sweet fellowship with his people (Deuteronomy 4:7, 20; 7:6; 14:7; 26:18; 2 Samuel 7:24; 2 Corinthians 6:18; Revelation 21:7). He wants to be their God, and they his people. He is Immanuel! Which is translated as ‘God with us.’

The messenger in Isaiah is exhorted to exclaim to the people: “Behold your God!” This is a call to see the majesty, splendour, and power of God, who is transcendent from all his creation, but also a call to behold the knowable, ever-present and intimately personal God. In many ways, the series on the attributes of God has served that purpose, to cause us to look at, marvel, and worship God in light of both his transcendence and immanence. 
The Lord is the mighty and infinite one, who calls himself Father, husband, and redeemer. He is seated on his throne, but he reaches out to the needy in the ashes. He dwells eternally, but comes down to comfort the lowly. These twin truths, God’s transcendence and immanence, must be held in tension for the believer’s comfort, encouragement, and soberness.
Though He Needs Nothing, God Draws Near
As Stephen R. Holmes writes: “God is both transcendent over and immanent in his world. These 19th century words express the thought that, on the one hand, God is distinct from his world and does not need it. While on the other hand, he permeates the world in sustaining creative power, shaping and steering it in a way that keeps it on its planned course.” 
The Bible speaks of God as both transcendent and immanent. For example, we read that God is holy and in his holiness he will consume sinners in wrath. Yet he is so tender that he covers us in his unending and overflowing delight (Psalm 21:8–9; 16:11).
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Romans 14 and 15 address such a challenge between the strong and the weak in the church. In addition, Scripture admonishes that the strong should lovingly bear with the weak. In other words, it is God’s design for them to be together and to help each other joyfully grow.

Last week, I took my two boys for a walk. Our youngest is two. When we walked out of the gate, I knew where we were headed and how long it would take us to get there. However, there was a problem. If I walked at my pace, my son would have to run to keep up. If we walked at his pace, getting there would take a while. If I carried him the whole way, I would be tired, and he would miss the exercise that would strengthen his body.
In many ways, that is a perfect picture of the body of Christ. The church is comprised of people at different stages of Christian maturity. For this reason, it is often a challenge to figure out the pace at which the body should move. Some struggle with issues that others deem non-issues. Some clearly understand where they should be and what they need to do to get there, while some have to be convinced about the need to go first!
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God can be trusted in everything he says and does (John 14:13-14; Matthew 7:7-8; 1 John 5:14). In a world where standards, systems and relations are ever-changing, God is not. He remains true. And he communicates truth. He is reliable and trustworthy. He never changes, and that makes him faithful. His character, promises, and plans are ‘yes,’ and ‘amen!’ Child of God, stand on the promises of the ever-true and faithful God (Hebrews 13:5).

We live in an age of subjective truth. It’s an age that frowns on claims of absolute and even objective truth. Some claim truth is merely relative. It’s whatever you feel or think. The standard of truth in most cultures is on a slippery slope, ever-changing. In such a time, one of the most comforting and stabilising truths is that we serve a God who is both true and truthful, unchangingly so.
God has revealed himself as the authoritative and absolute truth. Wayne Grudem writes: “God’s truthfulness means that he is the true God and that all his knowledge and words are both true and the final standard of truth. The term veracity, which means ‘truthfulness’ or ‘reliability,’ has sometimes been used as a synonym for God’s truthfulness.” Truth denotes that which accurately corresponds to reality; to what is reliable and consistent.
The True God Speaks Truth
The truthfulness of God implies that he is the only true God and that all his words and ways are true. As one prophet declares: “The LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King…The gods who did not make the heavens, and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens” (Jeremiah 10:10–11). This echoes Moses’ glorious declaration: “I proclaim the name of the LORD: ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock; his work is perfect; for all his ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is he” (Deuteronomy 32:3-4).
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Attendance is necessary, but members should do more than just attend. They should serve. They should  “do the work of ministry” (Eph. 4:12). They use their gifts to serve God and other members, building up the church in the process. Great encouragement comes from knowing you’re not the only one on the team. Great comfort comes from knowing you have teammates fighting with you and encouraging you as you go. 

Every local church is comprised of a diverse group of people who have been radically transformed by the power of God through the person and work of Jesus Christ. These diverse people have no reason to live and work together, let alone care for each other—and yet, they choose to live in love and unity together, to the praise and glory of the Lord’s name.
Healthy local churches make a powerful and attractive testimony to a watching world. This means that every member has to be devoted to building others up.

The member who attends.

Attending is the most basic way members build each other up. It’s the most obvious way to show commitment to the body. There’s something encouraging about knowing a brother or sister is simply going to be present at a church service, and you are going to worship God together.
The writer of Hebrews tells the believers to “stir one another up to love and good deeds” and to “encourage one another.” How are they to do this? By “not forsaking the assembling of the believers” (Heb. 10:23–25). You cannot build others up if you’re not meeting with them regularly and faithfully. It’s no wonder that those regularly absent from the gathering often stagnate in their faith or become members who primarily grumble and complain.
Dear church member, church meetings are not about you or your convenience. Build others up by faithful attendance.

The member who encourages.

Consider Paul’s words about Tychicus in Colossians 4: “I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts” (Col. 4:8). Why does he send his friend? To encourage the Colossians. We should follow Paul’s model.
The encouraging member commends, recommends, praises, thanks, comforts, urges, supports, and compliments other members. We often think of encouraging as merely giving praise, like a spectator on the terraces. However, biblical encouragement is more than that; it’s a fellow teammate urging you to get to work.
Furthermore, encouragement is not mere flattery. It’s not just being nice or telling people what they want to hear.
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