He Must Increase | I Should Die and so Should the Vow

Key Scriptures

John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

Vow

Deuteronomy 23:21 “If you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. 22 But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin. 23 You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth.

Jesus Forbids Oaths

Matthew 5:33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

Exodus 14:13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

James 4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” — 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Psalm 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
 Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
 and lead me in the way everlasting!

Key Points

• Jesus Forbids Vows.
• Vows start with “I” and then we become our own “I AM”.
• Vows are born out of hurts.
• Vows should be forsaken.

Jesus is always dependent on the Father I can do nothing on my own John 5:19 & 8:28. What do I do now that I have made a vow?

• Repent.
• Renounce.
• Refill.
• Renew.

Discussion Questions

1. Have you ever broken a vow?
2. Have you made a vow or an I will Never statement from a hurt?
3. If so what was hurt and what was the vow?
4. Those with a strong “I” usually are found justifying themselves a lot.
5. Are you overly driven to achieve because you are trying to prove someone wrong?

Is that you? Explain.

The “I Wills”:

• “I will Never”.
• “I will Always”.

Hurtful Statements:

• “You Always”.
• “You Never”.