Except A Corn Of Wheat Die

Turn with me to John 12 again. John chapter 12. I have something that I deeply want to convey to you this morning. very, very deeply. We have a dear sister who many of us knew in this congregation, many did not, but many of us did. She was dear to many, Linda Brown. She lived in Spring Hill, Tennessee, that is the Nashville area. And she'd been very sick for the last few years. And the Lord called her home to glory last week. Some from this congregation attended her funeral. It was last Wednesday. And I was not able to go. But a brother told me that it was recorded. And so I went back after the fact and listened to it on the internet.

Her pastor is a man named Chris Cunningham, and he pastors College Grove Grace Church there in College Grove, Tennessee, right there in that area. And he brought a beautiful message for her service. He really did. He preached from 1 Corinthians 15, but at one point he quoted John 12. He read some verses here from John 12. And when he read one verse in particular, immediately three things came to my mind. He brought up two of them in the message. But a third one came to my mind, and I knew that this would be our message this morning. I immediately knew this would be our message this morning.

Now I wanna go ahead and tell you that I'm not gonna approach this outline in a standard way. There's not gonna be a beginning, a middle, and an end to this. I'm gonna go straight to the end. And the reason is because it is very important to me And I have moments where I wish that I could really show you my heart in the matter. I have moments where I'm just so sincere and so burdened, and this is one of those moments. It is very important to me that this word reaches us today. I want us to get it. I can't make myself get it. The Lord God Almighty has to cause us to understand this. And I want him to cause me to understand it and I want him to cause you to understand it. I want us to understand this. This life is short and we're going to meet God. And thank God our dear sister had the Lord revealed to her and these truths revealed to her. And I want all of us to have these truths revealed to us because we're going to meet God.

And I deeply, I really want to encourage you to give special attention to this. I believe it will be very brief. Usually when I say that, it's not. But I believe it will. But either way, I want to encourage you to really give special attention to this. I want to say this and then I'll just stop talking. If there is an intro, it's over. I'm not going to build up the body. I want to tell you three things and then I will stop talking.

Now look with me at John 12 verse 20. It says, and there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast. The same came, therefore, to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus." We want to see Christ. We want to meet the Lord Jesus Christ. We want to communicate with. We want to commune with. We want to know Christ. We want to see Christ. Verse 21, the same came, therefore, to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee and desired him saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.

Philip cometh and telleth Andrew. There are some some men over here who say and they want to see the Lord Jesus Christ. Philip came and told Andrew and again, Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying, Philip and Andrew came to the Lord and said, There are some men over here who want to see you. And this is how the Lord answered them. Verse 23, And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified.

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. Now, when I heard our brother read that verse of scripture, these three things came to my mind. Number one, our Lord is speaking of his own death on the cross of Calvary.

And he tells us that right here. There are some who want to see him. I mean, they really do. Not everybody does. You know, a lot of times religion is made up of people going because they just think they ought to go. They think it's the right thing to do just in case they want to go to heaven. So we'll go. And then they daydream through whatever the crazy service is, and then they leave and go about their business. But there are some who want to see Christ. And without his death on the cross of Calvary, that is not even a possibility. It's not even a possibility.

When our Lord died on the cross, he died because he was literally bearing the sins of his people in his body on the tree. These sins that separated them, these sins that killed them. He was bearing the sins of His people in His body on the tree. He died because that's what our sins demanded in Him. And that's what our sins demanded of Him. People know that He died, but they don't know why He died. Why did He die? He was spotless. It's because that's what our sins demanded Death, the wages of sin is death. And our sin, the sin of his people. They were in him, and that's what they demanded in him. That's what they demanded of him. He died because he was paying the price for those sins. And he died because he paid the price in full. If he didn't pay it in full, he would not have died. The moment he died, the price was paid. The sin debt was satisfied. The offense was over. The enmity was put away. Everything was reconciled. Everything was reconciled. And to prove that, this is what happened. To prove that, this is what happened. The moment our Lord cried, it is finished, and bowed his head and gave up the ghost.

The scripture says, the veil of the temple And most of us know what a veil is. It's something that you don't really see that much anymore, but brides used to wear them on their wedding day. You don't see many brides wearing a veil too much anymore, but they used to wear them on their wedding day. It was something that kept the bride's face hidden until it was pronounced, you are husband and wife.

It's done. You may kiss your bride. At that moment, The man would lift the veil and there she is. Clearly seen. Well, the moment it was pronounced concerning Christ the husband and his bride, the reconciling work of union on the cross of Calvary, the moment it was pronounced, it is finished. It's all done.

The scripture says the veil in the temple From the top, specifically, from the top to the bottom, it clearly points out that this started at the top to illustrate the hands of God Almighty. Ripping from the top down, it says the veil in the temple was ripped in twain. And from that moment on, it wasn't just the great high priest who saw the holy of holies. The great high priest is Christ.

And only Christ could go in. You try to go in and God will kill you. Only Christ could go in. Only Christ could see that. Only Christ could see that. But the moment he died, not only the great high priest could see the holy of holies, but every one of God's people could see straight on in. These Gentiles said, we want to see Christ. We want to see God manifest in the flesh. We want to see the Holy One of Israel. And he said, if I do not die on the cross of Calvary, number one, that's not even a possibility. Not even a possibility. Verse 23 says, Jesus answered them saying, the hour is come that the son of man should be glorified.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone. He's given this illustration of a seed going into the ground and it dies. And then all of a sudden that seed does whatever seeds do and you see something start springing up. And a plant that produces a lot more seeds, just like that seed. It is that seed. Comes forth and he said, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. Much fruit.

That's his people that are all allowed to enter into glory with him. Look at verse 32 right here. He said, and I, if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all unto me. The word men is in italics that was added by the translators. All of his people, all that the father gave to him, all of his elect. Verse 33, this he said signifying what death he should die.

So number one, if Christ the seed did not enter this earth and die, there would be no hope of any man or woman ever seeing him. All right, here's the second thing. I told you there were three things. Three statements, three truths based on scripture. And I really want us to get a hold of this. I really pray every soul here will get a hold of this.

Verse 24, He said, 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. He that loveth his life shall lose it. And he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto eternal life. Now here's the second truth that we can take from that statement.

Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die. All right, you take a man or a woman, a corn of wheat. Our Lord was talking about his body as a man. Well, here are bodies, men, women, corns of wheat. Whatever life man thinks he has in himself. Whatever life man, all people born into this world think they have life because they have physical life. So they think they have spiritual life. They just expect to go, I'm going to heaven. That's not what the scripture said. It says we're born into this world dead in trespasses and sins. And whatever life man thinks he has in himself, verse 25, our Lord said, he that loveth his life, his own life, if a man thinks that he has his own life within himself. And this is an issue of works and grace.

If you want to get to the heart of this, it's either man's ability or God must do it all. One of the two. But as long as man thinks there is something in himself that is capable of producing life, eternal life. If a man thinks there is some ability in him, some substance within him that is capable of producing fruit unto God. People love to talk about fruit. Well, the fruit of the Spirit, you gotta produce. That's the Spirit's work. If man thinks that there's something in him capable of producing fruit, as long as a man believes that in the core of his being, that man will abide alone.

That woman will abide alone and never see God. Never see God. Never see Christ, truly. If a man or a woman is going to truly see Christ, and I just ask you, do you want to see Christ? I mean the Christ, not the one I have made up in my mind, not the one somebody told me about, but I honestly don't know who he is, I've never seen any.

I mean Christ, the one and only Christ. If a man or a woman is going to truly see Christ, Every virtue that that man or woman sees in himself or herself is going to have to fall into the ground and die. Every one of them. Every one of them. If this flesh does not become dead to us, we will never see Christ. The hardest struggle when truths start to come, when God's Spirit starts to actually open up God's Word and somebody says, I'm seeing this. The hardest thing to figure out is, but how does man play in? What about the flesh? What about me? What about my works? What about my deeds? What about my worthinesses? The longer we go, the more we read, the more God reveals, we'll become deader and deader and deader.

That ain't a word it ought to be. If this flesh does not become dead, we're never going to see Christ. We'll never see Christ. Turn with me to Romans 8. Romans 8 verse 1 says, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh.

What that means is stop looking to the flesh. Stop trying to see the things of Christ and the things of God and the things of the Spirit in the flesh. Look to Christ, look to God, look to His Spirit, but don't look to man. Don't look to the flesh of man.

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh. What could the law not do? It could not look at my flesh and say, Well done. Enter into glory. You're a good person. It could not do it. What the law could not do in that it was weak through this flesh right here. God sending his own son in the likeness of me. In the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin. The margin says by a sacrifice for sin. condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, faith in Christ.

For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh." They're just constantly looking at the flesh and they're constantly worried about the flesh. But they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit, they're just constantly looking to Christ. They're constantly thinking about the things of Christ, hoping in Christ.

For to be carnally minded, that's right here, is death. You don't want to abide alone. But to be spiritually minded, look to Him, look to Him. That is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God. That's all this flesh is. It's the enemy of God. For it is not subject to the law of God.

Try to do one law. Just start with this one. You just love your next door neighbor as you love your own self. Just start with that one. See how you do. Go ahead, empty all your bank accounts and put it in your neighbor's bank account. That's what you would do. If you did, You take your favorite shirt and give it to your neighbor. Just see if you can do that one.

The carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. If a man thinks he could love his neighbor as he loves himself, that man is fooling himself. You can't do that. Verse 8, So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

But you're not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he's none of His. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead. because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.

Now watch verse 12 and 13. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh to live after the flesh. For if you live after the flesh, you shall die." What does that mean? That means finding hope of eternal life by what I see in my flesh. Verse 13, For if you live after the flesh, you shall die, but if you through the Spirit do mortify. What does that mean?

Kill. Do mortify the deeds of the body. Kill the deeds of the body. Is that talking about the bad deeds or the good deeds? What good deeds? There are no good deeds. There's none that do us good. There's none righteous. No, not one. All this flesh can produce is sin. If you live after the flesh, you shall die, but if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. Somebody says, I want to see Christ. I want to truly see Christ. Okay. The only way that will happen is if God's Spirit gives you the ability to take every value and virtue that you see in yourself and put it six feet underground. Kill it. Kill it. If in our minds and hearts everything about this flesh doesn't die, we will never see Christ. We'll never see Christ. We will never have union and fellowship with Christ. We will abide in our sinful, separated blindness alone.

I want to see Christ. I want to see Christ kill the flesh. Kill the flesh. Completely, totally kill the works of man and you'll see the glorious works of God Almighty. And if we do kill the flesh, it's God that killed it. This is not something man can do. We don't kill it. He does. But here's the thing that we do. We bow to it. We bow to it. He kills it in us, and we bow to it. We willingly, happily bow to what he has done. And we will say amen to the killing of all of our works and deeds before him. We will say amen. That's not as short as I thought it was going to be. But I will wrap it up, OK? I will wrap it up.

If Christ didn't die on the cross, number one, there's no way any man or woman would see him. Number two, if God's spirit does not slay a sinner in his or her own eyes, without the removal of this flesh, there is no way any man or woman will see Christ. No way.

And here's the third thing, and this is what our brother was pointing out in this service. Look at verse 24. Go with me back, I'm sorry, to John 12. John 12 verse 24 says, 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. He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto eternal life.

If any man serve me, not man, not the flesh, not our works, not our religion, not our anything. If any man serves Christ, Christ, Christ, let him follow me. And where I am, there shall also my servant be. If any man serve me, him will my father honor. Our sister was called home last week And God's people have been called home before her, and God's people will be called home after her.

And the physical laying down of these bodies in death, it's such a painful thing, and it's such a sorrowful thing. But if we have Christ, if we have seen Christ, if we have truly seen the Lord Jesus Christ, It should not be a dreaded thing. It's a painful thing. It's a sorrowful thing. But if God has revealed Jesus Christ to us, truly, it should not be a dreaded thing.

Because the moment we lay these bodies down right, right here, we're going through this life. You feel so lonely being a room full of people and just feel so lonely. I just I feel like I'm all I'm walking through this world alone. And then all of a sudden, the moment this body lays down, It brings forth much fruit. To be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord. It's to be with Christ. It's to be with his people. It's to be with his angels. It's to be with the whole company, the whole host, the whole host.

Verse 24 says, 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. He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto eternal life.

If any man serve me, let him follow me. And where I am, there shall also my servant be. If any man serve me, him will my father honor. Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour, but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. The people therefore that stood by and heard said that it thundered. Others said an angel spake to him. Jesus answered and said, this voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all unto me. I'll draw them all unto me. I'll draw every one of them. I'll draw every one of them unto me. That's what he says to every soul he died for. I will draw you to me because I died to do so. I died to do so. Verse 33, this he said signifying what death. He should die. Every soul he died for and every soul that he is caused to die to self and to live only to him. That's what he says to. Every soul he's promised to gather to glory, that's what he says to him. And.

First Thessalonians four, I'll quote it, I was going to have you turn, but it says, I don't want you to be ignorant about this. They that sleep in the Lord, they're not going to prevent those that are still on this earth when he returns. Their bodies are going to come out of those graves. Their bodies are going to come out of those graves. And one day it's going to be at a time you think not.

The archangel is going to blast a trumpet and nobody on this earth is going to say, what was that? Did you hear a trumpet? It's like when lightning strikes 10 feet from you, nobody says, did you hear something? All of a sudden the Trump is going to resound.

Clouds are going to roll back. The Lord is going to descend. And he's going to say, come to me. And we're all going to leave this earth together. and forever be with the Lord. And he said, you comfort one another with this. Accept a corn of wheat. Fall into the ground and die. It abides alone. But if it dies, it's going to bring forth much fruit. You just watch. You wait. You see. Comfort each other with this. I pray that will be a comfort. Amen.

Except A Corn Of Wheat Die

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Except A Corn Of Wheat Die

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