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Welcome to Day 2139 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom The Gospel of John – 7 – The Preacher Who Lost His Congregation – Daily Wisdom Putnam Church Message – 03/06/2022 The Gospel of John – Part 2 Presentation Of The Word – The Preacher Who Lost His Congregation Today we continue our Good News series according to John the Apostle. Today we see that John the Baptizer fully understood his occupation and mission as a citizen of God’s Kingdom.  Let’s read John 3:22-36. Please follow along on Pages 1650-1651 in the Pew Bible. I would recommend keeping this passage open as we go throughout the message today: John 3:22-36 Then Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and went into the Judean countryside. Jesus spent some time with them there, baptizing people. At this time, John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to him for baptism. (This was before John was thrown into prison.)  A debate broke out between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over ceremonial cleansing.  So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.” John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven.  You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’  It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success.  He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.  “He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else.  He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them!  Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true.  For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit.  The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands.  And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”   If you want a lively discussion at your next dinner gathering, ask the following questions: “Except for Jesus Christ, who is the greatest person who ever lived? What made them great?” I guarantee the second question will quickly dominate the conversation, because we all have our own way of measuring greatness, and we rarely agree with the standards of others.   Jesus answered both of these questions for us. As He reviewed history from the dawn of time, He bypassed Abraham, the father of faith, and Moses, the instrument of God, to deliver His covenant people out of bondage. He omitted David, the rugged and humble shepherd, the champion warrior, and the greatest of Israel’s kings. He ignored Daniel, perhaps the world's most powerful and influential man, a leading figure in two of the world’s greatest empires, and a faithful prophet of God. He skipped over Noah, Samuel, Solomon, Isaiah, and every notable figure in secular history. Instead, Jesus boldly named a contemporary: “I tell you the truth, of all who have ever