THE PARABLE OF THE KERNEL OF WHEAT

THE PARABLE OF THE KERNEL OF WHEAT (2010 New Year's Special Message III) John 12:20-36 KV: 24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Good morning. Welcome to the new decade, 2010. A new year means a new start, and a new decade means a new chance to do new things. Last week we were blessed to here a New Year's Special Message entitled, Be strong in the grace of Jesus. Here we learned that in order to be strong Christians we need to hold onto the grace of Jesus in our lives. We can do that when we live out the Christian life and entrust the word of God to reliable people. This week s message is one more New Year's Key Verse message. It is the message from Jesus to the people right before his arrest and crucifixion. Jesus gives them a principle to live as kernels of wheat that falls to the ground and dies so that many others may live. This isn't just Jesus' motto but it is the parable that best exemplifies his life. Let us go into the Bible and learn from Jesus how our lives can be kernels of wheat and die to produce many seeds for the glory of God. Part I A Kernel of Wheat for all people (20-26) In the beginning of this verse Jesus had just entered Jerusalem during what is known as the Triumphal Entry. Many people in the crowd shouted and cheered for Jesus to come and be the king. But there was a small group who waited and came to see Jesus personally. Look at verse 20. Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. These Greeks were truth seekers who came to worship at the Passover. They perhaps had heard of Jesus and wanted to meet him. Many people want to meet Jesus or look to him to learn some great wisdom or teaching. The Greeks came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee (21). Verse 21b reads, "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus." Perhaps they felt more comfortable talking to him because of his Greek name. Either way these Greeks had a spiritual desire to know Jesus personally which was a great work of God in its own right. 1 Corinthians 1:23 tells us,... but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles... How did Jesus respond to their question? Jesus took the coming of these Gentiles to mean that his work was now complete. So Jesus answered aloud in verse 23, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. What does it mean to be glorified? Everyone wants to be glorified. One old quote on my wall calendar says, That nothing is so sweet to a person s ear than the sound of his own name. But Jesus would be glorified in a different way. The word glory can mean to reveal or it can mean humility ; to be humble. Jesus' glory came in his incarnation and humiliation. Jesus came to serve. 1

Jesus' life purpose was to glorify God through the cross and his resurrection. Jesus' glory came when he suffered in our places so that we might be set free from the power of sin and death. God glorifies Jesus' name through this and it glorifies God who is merciful to sinners. Jesus glory is different than man s idea of glory. Jesus continued on and spoke about two things that a disciple of Jesus does. First A kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies and raises many seeds. Jesus goes further in verse 24 describing how he would be glorified, I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Jesus knew that all around him were farmers and everyone was familiar with the concept of planting a seed in order to grow more plants. Some seeds you know are great for planting. How many people here have a garden? Last year I planted some green bean and lima bean plants. One little seed grew me 4 meals worth of lima beans. How delicious! But Jesus was not just giving Home and Garden tips. This wasn't Jesus' motto or some slick idea, but it was the summation of his life. Jesus lived as a kernel of wheat and died. He was illustrating a clear principle. So for us what does it means to die? What does it mean to produce many seeds? I am glad you asked. To die as a single seed means to give up our comfortable lives it means to turn from our lives of sin. As humans we tend to live selfishly. But not Jesus. He preached the gospel and called all men to repent. This made him unpopular and eventually he gave his life for this message. Through this 12 disciples were raised, which in turn could bring 3,000 people to faith and then down through time myriads of other people. In modern times, those who fall to the ground and die as kernels of wheat are those who teach the Bible to others and live a Christian life holding onto Jesus' teachings. When we follow Jesus, God uses us to produce many seeds for his glory. Think about how you came to this church building today. One person had to die to give up his time to invite you and help you to understand the Bible. Maybe one person invited many people in this way. You too can do the same. But if you remain as a single seed, then you cannot be a blessing or help anyone. There are many fine examples of this parable I know. My friend from Turkey, Vladimir Point, is one of them. He lived as a single seed in the Ukraine as a long haired lady's man and musician. A man with no cares in the world who couldn't even be bothered to visit his dying father in the hospital. But he met Jesus Christ personally through studying the Bible in college. His heart was changed. He saw Jesus' example of dying as a kernel of wheat to raise many seeds. He spent all his time sharing this life changing gospel with the people of his university. He invited so many people to study the Bible and so many people became disciples of Jesus in the Ukraine ministry when he became a kernel of wheat to give his time and care for them. Eventually Six house churches were established through the work of God in his life. Now God made his family a mission family to Turkey, a Muslim country, for the glory of God! 2

Second The man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Jesus goes on in verse 25, The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Jesus clarifies his example. The man who loves his life will lose it. The man who enjoys sinful pleasures and doesn't use his life for Jesus, well, you will lose it. There is no way around this fact. But there is good news. The man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternity. We all are born with the desire to live forever. Jesus is telling us we can live with him eternally or we can live apart from him eternally. In this case the word 'hatred' is referring to priority and focus in life. There are some things in life that we all hate. Some hate mushrooms, spiders, snakes, or zombie movies, things like that. But what is Jesus referring to? Jesus is referring to things like sin. Do we hate our sins? Do we hate our lack of relationship with Jesus? Do we hate doing things that the Bible disapproves of? Or do we love these things? Jesus clearly tells us the man who hates his life will keep his life forever in heaven with Jesus. Verse 26 gives us a hint on how to see if we truly hate our sinful lives or if we love our sinful lives. Verse 26, shows us if we are living a life as a dying kernel or if we are a proud seed. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. One cannot serve Jesus if he does not follow him. Jesus paints a clear picture here no room for misunderstanding. If you are a Chicago Bulls fan you don't wear Los Angeles Lakers gear right? You don't pick fruit off of a thorn bush right?... and where I am, my servant will also be. Where was Jesus? He was always teaching the Bible, he was always caring for the poor, he was always encouraging his disciples with good words and not bad jokes and foul language, and he was always praying to God. Are we doing these things with our time? One has to wonder, am I where Jesus wants me to be? Often we hesitate because we think that we might lose too much when we follow Jesus. But Jesus promises that His father will honor the one who serves Jesus. It is great to think that God will honor you when you follow Jesus. Let us remember that giving your life as a kernel of wheat can be the greatest thing you have ever done in your life. God will honor you with eternal life, as you give your life to raise many seeds. Part II Father, Glorify your name! (27 36) Jesus knew he was facing his coming arrest, betrayal, and crucifixion. Humanly he knew he would have to suffer just like this parable. He would have to die in order to produce many seeds. This brought anguish to Jesus. Look at verse 27, "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!" Jesus could have asked God for another way out. Which way did he choose? In verse 28, Jesus said, Father, glorify your name! Wow! Jesus chose to glorify God's name as his life focus. Compare this to John 17:4, I have 3

brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Jesus prayed to God to glorify God's name. This was the very reason Jesus came to the earth to glorify God's name. Jesus decided to accept God's will and take the cross of suffering to glorify God above all else. Verse 28 is Jesus' prayer topic. Do we as Christians have this same prayer topic? Are our lives used to glorify God's name or our own name? Look at verse 28b, Then a voice came from heaven, I have glorified it, and will glorify it again. Jesus lifted his prayer to heaven and God heard and answered his prayer. Through Jesus' obedience to God's will God would glorify his name. Hebrews 5:8-9 reminds us of this, Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him God publicly accepted Jesus' prayer and glorified him and would glorify him again through his resurrection and ascension into heaven. After God accepted Jesus' prayer and life direction Jesus explained to the people what this would mean for them. Look at verse 30, Jesus said, "This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. The voice of God came for all the people to hear so that they would know to honor the Son. God only speaks rarely and when he does you better listen. What did it mean that Jesus would be lifted up? Jesus was telling them the manner of his death and then his resurrection and ascension into heaven. Just like when Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, all who look to Jesus when he is lifted up will be saved. (John 3:14-15) This is great news, that anyone who looks upon Jesus can be saved. But it was bad news for one person. Any guesses? Verse 31 says,...now the prince of this world will be driven out. The prince of this world is Satan. He had control over people with the ultimate power of sin and death. But when Jesus would be lifted up, that power would be crushed, fulfilling the prophecy in Genesis 3:15, 16. After Jesus was lifted up, the prince of this world would have no more power, he would be driven out setting us free from the power of sin and death. Also Jesus' lifting up allows all men that believe in Jesus to be drawn to Jesus. Jesus himself will bring those to him that believe through his death on the cross. This means that we do not live in fear anymore but live victorious lives, giving our own lives as a kernel of wheat like Jesus. The crowd that was with Jesus did not understand that Jesus was speaking of his own death. The crowd remembered back to their Saturday School class when they were young and what they had learned. They said in verse 34, The crowd spoke up, We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain forever, so how can you say, The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this 'Son of Man'? The crowd was expecting Jesus to become king, not to die on the cross. They asked him if he was talking about someone else. Jesus must have been sorry that the people did not hear the good news of his parable and his prayer. So Jesus gave them one final invitation in verse 35 and 36. You are going to have the 4

light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light before darkness over takes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light. Jesus encouraged the people in the crowd to leave their lives of sin and follow him to become sons of light. When it is dark we cannot see where we are going. We think we know where we are going, but then we trip over someone s shoes or the sleeping dog or a laptop someone left on the ground. Jesus wants to tell them do not look for your own way or try to keep our own life, but give it up for Jesus and keep it for all eternity. When you walk with Jesus you walk in the light and can see his purpose for your life. John 12:24 happens to be my life key verse, my 2010 key verse, marriage key verse, the reason behind getting married by faith, and the reason behind living here in the Bible House and participating in this ministry. This verse leapt out of a world mission report magazine as I read about struggling missionaries in Eastern Europe 6 years ago. They had lost everything but joyfully held onto this verse while in the mission field raising disciples of Jesus. The Lord challenged me through this. God showed me that I loved my life too much in this world. One of the first things that helped me to challenge my single seed status was message and testimony writing training. To be trained to write and rewrite and have people critique your writing while everyone else is out having fun is like dying. But through this kernel of wheat training it helped me to be able to focus on the word of God and grow up as a man of God. One example of being a single seed would be that I used to play baseball on Saturday mornings. But the Lord called me to teach CBF on Saturday mornings forcing me to make a choice on who I would serve. Do I serve myself as a single seed or die and take the thankless job of teaching the Bible to children? The Lord helped me to grow and grow much with the children by teaching them the Bible and sometimes cooking for them each Saturday morning. I pray that serving them as a kernel of wheat and the power of the Holy Spirit, may help CBF members current and past, to grow up to be fruitful men and women of God for their generation. I have chosen this key verse, John 12:24, each year so that I can hold onto it as a reminder of what God has called me to in this life. It is not to be rich and live an easy life. The desire to be a single seed is so strong in my life. I have to call on the power of Jesus just to overcome that desire everyday to be a single seed. There is a desire to enjoy technology and just work at IIT all my life. There is a desire to just life a nice quiet life with my wife and have a small family for our own glory. But Jesus says,... unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains only a single seed. Last year I lived as a single seed not struggling, not hating my life, not serving the Lord first. And consequently there was no spiritual fruit in my life. No seeds could be raised. This was because I lost sight of my direction to live as a kernel of wheat and die for DuPage County ministry. Lord, please forgive me for being a single seed. Jesus gave his life. He died on the cross and shed his blood so that those after him could produce many seeds. Jesus' blood of 2,000 years ago produced me as a believer. Now being 30 5

years old and no longer a kid; the calling to give my life as a kernel of wheat is greater and louder. There were small dreams I was holding onto, but now I realize there are some things that I will never get to do and that is okay, because God has a better plan. He wants me to be a kernel of wheat and die so that many people in DuPage County can be raised. To die, to give one s life as a kernel of wheat is hard. But now I see the need and the call. The people of DuPage County have so many churches but many are walking without Jesus. There is a desperate need for kernels of wheat and that is why this is my key verse. Lord, please help me to die as a single seed and not think about my own wants and needs, but to think about Jesus and God's mission and will in my life as a disciple maker. The Lord led even led me to be a kernel of wheat in my marriage. I had at one time stoically planned to be like Apostle Paul and not marry, or I could have compromised and married some worldly woman. But I decided to be a kernel of wheat and wait and save my marriage for God to send a woman of faith. When I became a kernel of wheat with my marriage, God blessed me by sending the most faithful and spiritual woman, Msn. Susanna, into my life. Not many at my work or in my family could understand the purpose for my marriage. However, I saw that my life was not to be lived as I pleased. Marriage and family are instruments ordained by God to serve his mission. I decided by faith to give my marriage and family to Jesus by waiting and trusting him and he is already showing fruit through my sister coming to study the Bible with my wife. The Lord also called me to live as a kernel of wheat in this ministry. DuPage ministry is small and changes often and a few people do all the jobs. As a kernel of wheat I have my share of duties here. Mostly I have to share the Bible house as a public place. My co-worker and I have only one small room and that room is not completely ours to own. People come and eat all my bananas and I should be ready to serve guests at any time. I could have gotten my own apartment or another house. But the Lord called me to experience what he experienced by staying and living as a kernel of wheat here to help others grow in their faith. I have learned to love DuPage ministry much over the last few years. I see how all those involved suffer much but do so because their Lord Jesus set an example to be a kernel of wheat and fall to the ground and die to raise many seeds. DuPage ministry is a seed ministry if I do not give my life to die, then the ministry remains as it is. If my heart is not moved to give my life then this ministry will remain small. Lord, please don't let that happen. Lord, help me to teach the Bible in my spare time and raise disciples of Jesus by pouring out my life as a kernel of wheat like Jesus did. Conclusion * - Today we learned that the disciple of Jesus gives his life as a kernel of wheat so that many seeds can be raised. The disciple of Jesus follows Jesus and hates his life in this world. We learned that Jesus came to glorify God's name with his life. If we are disciples then our lives will be the same. May God bless us all to be kernels of wheat this year and die and raise many seeds for DuPage County and all the areas in which we live. May God bless us to double our DuPage ministry in this year 2010. 6