Loving and Hating Life (John 12:24-25) (Part 1)

Click on the Notes icon above to download the outline.

Click here for next sermon.

Loving and Hating Life (John 12:24-25) (Part 1)

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. 25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” (John 12:24-25)

1. In Joh 12:24, Jesus taught us that the means of bringing forth fruit is death of self.
   1. If a corn of wheat remains whole, unchanged, in its original condition, and in a safe place, it will produce no fruit.
   2. It is only when that corn falls into the ground and the outer shell dies that the dormant life within it springs forth and produces fruit far superior to itself (1Co 15:36-38).
   3. So it is with a child of God.
      1. Until the old man is put off, the new man cannot emerge and produce fruit (Eph 4:22-24; Gal 5:22-26).
      2. Until our old man with its deceitful lusts is crucified with Christ and we are dead to sin (Rom 6:5-14), we will remain stagnant.
      3. A Christian’s old life is dead, and he is hid with Christ in God (Col 3:3).
      4. A Christian must die to himself daily (1Co 15:31).
         1. We must crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts (Gal 5:24).
         2. We should be crucified unto the world and the world unto us (Gal 6:14).
         3. We must deny ourselves and take up the cross daily in order to follow Christ (Luk 9:23).
         4. We must not live unto ourselves but for Christ (2Co 5:14-15).
         5. Our life and body are not our own (1Co 6:19); we were bought with a price, and therefore we must glorify God in our body and spirit which are His (1Co 6:20).
         6. If we are willing to lose our old life for Christ’s sake and the gospel’s (Mar 8:35), we will find the true life which Christ has given us (Mat 16:25), and we will save it (Luk 9:24).
         7. Being crucified with Christ is the means of living spiritually (Gal 2:20) and having an abundant life (Joh 10:10).
      5. We should pray that God will examine, prove, and try us to purge off the impurities (Psa 26:2; Psa 139:23-24; Job 23:10).
      6. We should search and try ourselves (Lam 3:40).
   4. So it is with a minister.
      1. A pastor has flaws and baggage like anyone else. He’s made out of the same dirt as others are (2Co 4:7).
      2. He has within him both honorable and dishonorable qualities (2Ti 2:20).
      3. If he will purge himself of the vessels of dishonor, he will be a vessel of honor, set apart, ready to be used by God, and prepared to do whatever good work God has for him (2Ti 2:21).
      4. But he must go through the painful purging process first in order to bear fruit (Joh 15:1-8).
      5. Like the Levitical ministers of old, God will purge and purify His ministers so that they may offer unto the Lord an offering of righteousness (Mal 3:3).
      6. “Whenever God means to make a man great, He always breaks him in pieces first.” – Charles Spurgeon
      7. If a man’s ministry is going to bring forth fruit, it likewise must undergo a purging to remove the wood, hay, and stubble that were built upon the foundation along with the gold, silver, and precious stones (1Co 3:5-15).
         1. The Lord will from time to time “sweep” through the church and try it by fire to burn off the chaff that should not be there.
         2. These fiery trials purge out the dross of the church like a furnace purifies precious metals (Pro 17:3; Pro 25:4; Eze 22:18-22).
         3. Sometimes these fiery trials can be heresies in the church which sweep out heretics like a divine broom, leaving only those who are approved (1Co 11:19; Deut 13:1-3) which demonstrate such by being grounded in the truth through reading and studying the Bible (2Ti 2:15-18).