Go back to John chapter 12. The
son must die in order for sinners to live. No way around it. No way around
it. That's what he teaches us in
these verses. He says in verse 23, And Jesus
answered them, saying, The hour is come that the Son of Man should
be glorified. Then he speaks of his death. But when he speaks of his death,
he speaks of it as a glorification. I would to God that we could
see death that way, carnation day, glorification day. I wish we could see that day
as being a day that we're glorified. I know
we're glorified in Christ now as he's seated at God's right
hand, to experience that glorification. When the doctor says, you have
a week to live, you say, no, I've got eternity to live. I've
got a week to go maybe on this earth, but I'm going to be glorified. Some doctors may think you're
a nut. Some may think, well, you know,
he's religious. But this is real. This is real. We all have to die. We have to. But those who die in Christ,
it is, it is a day of glorification. And what a day that'll be. We
sing that song, what a day that'll be. Up to this time, our Lord had
been saying, mine hour is not yet come. And they could not
touch him. They could do him no harm. His
hour had not yet come. But now the time for his greatest
glory has come, and that's his redemptive glory. You know, He's
the One. He's the One who created all
the angels. He created the heavenly host.
By Him were all things created. Without Him, nothing was created. He created all the angelic hosts. He created all the stars, the
galaxies. And it's amazing what we keep
finding out We just keep building these telescopes that go further
and further, and we keep seeing stars further and further. And
it just keeps amazing. He created that. This is the
Creator of heaven and earth. He created us. But His chief glory is His redemptive
glory of His elect. That's his chief glory. Us. Us. Redeemed. Redeemed by the blood
of the Lamb. But now he gives us here in verse
24, he gives us an illustration of what he's talking about. He
talks about when he says that the Son of Man should be glorified. The hour has come that the Son
of Man should be glorified. And we see that he's talking
about his death. He says, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die,
it abides alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth
much fruit, much fruit just like itself. Don't feel sorry for
him. We don't feel sorry for our Lord. His death brought forth much
fruit. And I'm telling you, it is fruit. He's not trying to bring forth
some fruit. He's bringing forth fruit, and it's fruit. It's real. It's real. He tells us here, He gives us
here the necessity of His death. except a grain of wheat or a
corn of wheat fall to the ground and die. That doesn't seem logical,
does it? Doesn't seem logical. That something dies, a grain
of wheat or corn, it falls to the ground and it dies. It has
to die in order to bring forth much fruit just like itself. It has to. You know that in order for us
to live naturally, just naturally, something has to die. What did
you eat today? Did you eat a hamburger? It died. If it was greens or vegetables,
it had to die. Something has to die for us to
live. And Christ is saying here, I
must die. Because you see, later on they
say, no, you're not going to die. Peter resisted him. No,
I have to die in order for there to be many to live. Had to. If you take a grain of corn and
you put it on the shelf, put it on this table, It abides alone. It will never produce any fruit. It will never produce any fruit.
It will be unproductive. But if you take that kernel of
corn and you bury it under the dirt and let it die and germinate,
and by the power of God, that secret working power of God that
you and I can't see, that's going on when We're in bed asleep or
whatever we're doing, that power of God is going on underground
where that corn was planted. And you and I can't see it, but
it's working. God's power is working. That
mysterious power of God is working. And then in a little while, God
sends the rain and you see a little blade come up. Then it grows. Next thing you know, you've got
a stalk. And next thing you know, you've got corn. And you just planted one, but
boy you take that ear of corn off and you got many kernels
on that stock from that one that died and was buried. That's how
heaven is going to be populated by the death of this one. That's how it's going to be populated. You take that kernel of corn,
you put it in the ground, it germinates, and by the power
of God, it brings forth much fruit, just like itself. And
listen, that's important, just like itself. You don't plant
corn and it comes up cucumbers. It comes up corn. And listen,
everyone, everyone for whom Christ died, everyone who is a product
of that death, will be just like Him. We can't see it now. We can't
even really grasp it now. But we will be made just like
the Son of God. Just like Him. Except Christ fall to the ground,
except He be humiliated, except He suffer and die and be buried
in the ground, He must abide alone. There'll be none like
him, that's what I'm saying. He's higher than the angels. There'll be none like him. If
he does not do this, he will not be the life-giving spirit
to sinners that he is. He must die. He must pour out
his soul unto death, or else he cannot divide the spoil with
the strong. As it says over in Isaiah 53,
for heaven to be populated with many sons of God, the one son
of God, the one son of God must die. He must die. Sin must be atoned for. The law
must be satisfied. Must be. Even as the law of nature requires
the death of the grain of corn to die in order for many to spring
to life from it, even so must Christ die in order, listen,
in order for him to bring many sons to glory. Got to do it. And when he speaks
of it, he doesn't speak of it as a tragedy. He never speaks
of his death as a tragedy. He doesn't speak of it as something
he wished he didn't have to do, but, well, I'm going to have
to do it, you know. No. He speaks of it as glory, being
glorified. Now is the hour come that the
Son of Man should be glorified. And then he speaks to us. He
says here in verse 25, and remember the example he just gave about
the corn of wheat. dying as we go through this. He that loveth his life, this
earthly life, this sinful life, this material life, will lose
it. He'll lose it. That's so plain. It doesn't need
any explanation. It's so plain. And he that hates
his life in this world, don't you hate this natural life? Seriously. But except he hates this life,
this sinful life, this life where it's full of evil. It's full
of wickedness. It's full of lies. It's full
of torment. It's full of heartaches. I hate
it. It doesn't mean I hate getting
up in the morning and living, but I hate this natural, sinful,
ungodly life. I hate the life I live without
Christ. When I look back on those years
and the things I went after, I hate those things. I hate that
I live like that. I hate that I love those things. He that loves his life shall
lose it, but he that hates his life in this world shall keep it until life eternal. If you're not willing to lose
your life as Christ was willing to lose His or to give up His,
you will abide You will abide alone. You will
abide alone. You'll be without hope. You'll
be without Christ. You'll perish. That's what will
happen. If you cling to this life as
Lot's wife, clung to Sodom. When she looked back, she didn't
look back to see if it was burning. or see how the smoke was rising
up. She looked back and it really
gripped her heart. It's just like, oh, she loved
that place. She loved that place. She loved
that way of life. She loved her companions there.
She loved it. God turned her to a pillar of
salt. If you cling to this life like she did to Sodom, you will
lose your life. We cannot love this world, and
he's talking about the principles of the world, the sinfulness
of the world, the evil of the world. You cannot love this world
and God too. You can't do it. But if a man hates this life,
it's not for him. That man has set his affection
on things above. where Christ sits at God's right
hand, he shall keep his life unto eternal life, and he won't
be alone. He'll be with a multitude of
sinners that no man can number who've tasted that the Lord is
good. He will not come to misery and
shame, but that person, that sinner, will rejoice evermore. This sounds too good to be true,
doesn't it? You know, you take somebody, someone that's just
lost, never been born of God, and when you tell them these
things, it sounds like you're reading a fairy tale. I mean,
I read books to Madison and Cole. Me and Vicki do that every night.
And some of these books are out there. They're just, and that's
what this sounds like. to a lot of people that's just
lost. It's just like, you know, you're out there in La La Land. As someone said one time, religion
is the opium of the people. It's a drug you take to make
you feel better. No, this is real. This is real. And he that loses his life, he
has satisfaction on things above, he'll keep it until eternal life. If any man serve me, he serve me, let him follow me.
Remember that one said, Lord, I'll follow you. He said, foxes
have holes. The birds of the air have nests. But I saw a man
that has nowhere to lay his head. Are you willing to have no place
to lay your head? When I think of that, I do think
of one person. I think of Walter Gruber. and
her Mexico. How poor they were. What he gave
up, went down there. How poor they were for years
and years. If any man serve me, let him
follow me. And where I am, there will my
servant be. And if any man serve me, him
will my father honor. You know, we serve Christ as
a servant serves his master. That's how we serve him. We're
not serving him to get something out of him. We serve him because
we love him. It's a labor of love. It's a labor of love. It's a
willing service. And if any man serve him, serve
me, let him, listen, let him follow me. Let him make an open
and public profession of me. That's what he's saying. Confess
me openly. And our Lord has told us how
to do that. First, by baptism. And then by
the gathering together of ourselves. Let him follow me. And where Christ is, he says,
there will my servant be also. If he's in Mexico, his servant
will be there too. If he's in Africa, his servant
will be there also. His servants are where he is,
not where he's not. They are where he is. They don't
stay with false preachers and people. They go where he is. Where the gospel, where the Lord
has the gospel, you'll find his sheep. You'll find his sheep. And if the gospel's not in, if
it's not in, if it was not in our area, I would say pack up
and go where it is. Go where it is. And listen. Him will my Father honor. How
does He honor us? With eternal life. With forgiveness. To be with Him where He is. Can you imagine that? A worm
like me being where God is, paradise, holy of holies, and to be there
where He is. He says in Proverbs 27, 18, He
that waits on his master shall be honored. Now, he says in verse 27, 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."
He's about to suffer the wrath and anger of God for our sins,
and his soul is troubled. This shows one thing, his manhood. He was a real man. He suffered. He felt it. And he knew he was about to suffer
the wrath of God for our sins. And thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin. That's what it says in Isaiah
53. And his soul was troubled. And what shall I say? How shall
I handle this soul trouble? How shall I handle this soul
trouble that I'm going through? Shall I ask my Father, Father
save me from this hour? No. He said, this is the reason
I came. He knew why he came. He knew
what he was doing. How shall I handle this soul
trouble? Shall I ask my Father to save me from it? No. No. If Christ be saved from this
hour, then our souls will be troubled. And I mean troubled forever. This hour has been purposed from
eternity and it must be fulfilled. Here is what he says, and this, pray God help us come to this
point. Father, glorify thy name. Here is our attitude under trials. Whatever glorifies our Father,
so be it. I put in parenthesis here. Just
help me through it. Help me through it. And I say
this, I say this with fear and trembling. I do. I really do.
Because, Father, glorify thy name. That
can mean some very painful things. Look what it meant for him. Well, you know, the older you
get, the more you experience, the more careful you are When
you read these Scriptures, you ponder on them. You don't just
say them. You know what it means. And you
do say, Father, glorify Thy name. Boy, you say it with fear and
trembling. But you know what it could mean.
You know what could happen. Then came a voice from heaven.
He said, I've glorified Him. When did He do that? Through
the whole Old Testament. He glorified His name. At the Red Sea, He glorified
His name. Throughout the Old Testament,
He glorified His name. God glorified His name many times.
And He will glorify it again when He delivers us in Christ
from all sin and to His eternal presence. He'll glorify it again. He's glorifying it again tonight. I pray that's what's going on
right now. And the people heard something. They couldn't tell
what it was. Someone said, it thundered. God
speaks once, yet twice, man perceives it not. Someone said, it thundered. They couldn't tell what it was.
God must give us ears to hear before we can hear him speak.
That's a language the natural man does not know. It just sounds
like thunder. And this voice, he says, did
not come for me or for my help. It didn't come for my assurance.
It came for you. This word is for you. And that voice that came from
heaven was for them, his disciples, who were there. And they were
going to, in just a short while, they were going to witness him
going through his sufferings nailed to a cross, dying and
buried. This voice came for you. He said, now is the judgment
of this world come. Satan is cast out. Satan is about
to have his head crushed. That's what God said back in
Genesis. He told that serpent, you'll
bruise his heel, but he'll crush your head. He's about to have
his head crushed. Death will lose its victory,
and Christ will lead captivity captive. That's what's about to happen. Who would have thought? Who would
have thought that the death of death would be through
the death of Christ? He destroyed it by his own death. And then he says in verse 32, This is how it's going to happen.
This is how he's going to crush Satan's head. This is how he's
going to win the victory. This is how he's going to leave
captivity captive. If I be lifted up from the earth, crucified,
that's what he's talking about. If I be crucified, I will draw
all men unto me. We do not, and men are not, drawn
to Christ through any other way than the preaching of Christ
and Him crucified. You can have all the programs
you want. You can have all the hoopla you want. You can have
all the so-called revivals you want. But it's through the preaching
of Christ and Him crucified that sinners are drawn to Him and
saved. That's how it's done. He speaks
here in verse 32 of His crucifixion. I must be lifted up. He was lifted
up on that tree. He was nailed to it. And listen. To this day we preach
Christ and Him crucified. And the people, the people thought
they could trick Him. They said there in verse 34,
they thought they were going to trip Him up. They said that
the Christ, the Messiah abides forever. And you say the Son
of Man must die. Therefore, you cannot be the
Christ. Human reasoning. Human reasoning
never understands the gospel, never. God must give light and
life. He must give us an understanding
or we will never understand the gospel, never. Then he says in
verse 35, a little while, the light is with you, speaking of
himself. Don't argue with the gospel.
He is the gospel. Christ is the gospel. Don't argue
with the gospel when it comes. It's only with us, listen, for
a little while. Wherever it's being preached
right now, it's there for a little while. For a little while. And while it's with you, for
a little while now, but while it's with you, walk in it. Walk in the light. Don't just
look. Don't just look at it. Walk in it. Walk in the light God gives you,
and He says He'll give you more light. Give you more light. But if you
neglect it, He said you'll walk in darkness. Now listen, there
are millions of people right now walking in darkness who think
they're walking in the light. And they're not. Walking in darkness. Because they believe not on the
Lord Jesus Christ. They believe another Jesus. Paul
said they'll come preaching another Jesus. And millions upon millions
believe in another Jesus. But the Christ of God, the sovereign
Christ of God, who gave his life to save, not to try, but to save
a multitude of sinners. Those who believe in him walk
in his light. It'll give you more light. It'll
give you more understanding of the gospel. And while you have
the light, believe in the light. That's the same thing as walking
in it. Believe in it. When you hear it, you believe
it. Believe in the light that you
may be the children of light. Don't take it for granted. Don't
take the gospel for granted. Believe it. Love it. Walk in
it. Be obsessed with it. Look what he did here in verse
36 after he said this. These things fake Jesus and departed
and did hide himself from them. He said walk in the light. You
have the light a little while. You have it a little while. Walk
in it while you have it. Believe in it while you have
it. Believe in the light. And what did he do? He went and
hid himself. leave in the light, walk in the
light, as he depart and hide himself and cannot be found no
more." Serious business, isn't it? Serious business.