Emmaus Community 3/4/23

Wheat and Stuff

John 12:20-26 “Some Greeks were among those who had come up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and made a request: “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” Philip told Andrew, and Andrew and Philip told Jesus. Jesus replied, “The time has come for the Human One to be glorified. I assure you that unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it can only be a single seed. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their lives will lose them, and those who hate their lives in this world will keep them forever. Whoever serves me must follow me. Wherever I am, there my servant will also be. My Father will honor whoever serves me.

Death of things bringing life and fruit

Feb 23 - anniversary of the Martyrdom of Polycarp in 155AD

Story - “I must NEED to be burned at the stake,” “I’ve served him 80 and 6 years and he’s been faithful, why would I stop now?”

Did you know that your church is partially dead?

I don’t care which church it is…maybe it’s mostly alive, like many of yours, or maybe it’s on hospice, like the denomination I’ve been part of for nearly 50 years

What do I mean? Even in the most fruit bearing, Spirit flowing churches, right now there exist habits, attitudes, ownerships, that if left unchecked could eventually spell doom for that church. Maybe culture is sneaking in…maybe Satan has found a crack to introduce gnosticism, maybe some foolishly believe they know the date Christ is returning and so nothing else matters...

Jesus used an analogy of something his audience knew…wheat. Wheat, or any other seed, grows in a protecting covering of some sort. A husk or the hull. Think of a ships hull protecting the cargo from battering waves and storms and such, and you are close in concept.

In some harvest-ready grains, the hull is thin and papery, and easy to remove. Little or no threshing is required, as the hull is already loose. Traditionally, farmers would toss this kind of grain into the air, from big flat baskets, letting the thin hulls – called chaff in Middle English – blow away in the wind, or fall through the chinks in the basket. This wind-assisted process for separating the wheat from the chaff is called winnowing and the grains with almost no hull are called “naked” grains. (You can winnow other grains too — the photo here shows rice being winnowed in Indonesia.)

Other grains, even when they’re ripe, have a thick hull that adheres tightly to the grain kernel; these are called “covered” grains and threshing (hulling) them is a real challenge. In the old days, covered grains were often pounded to loosen the hull, or soaked in water; sometimes they even needed to be lightly milled to remove the hull. It’s no coincidence that “thrash” – meaning to whip or flog – originated as a variant of the word thresh. Alas, with such primitive means, some or all of the bran was often lost too, since the healthy bran layer was stuck to the inedible hull.

How do we consistently, routinely, sacrificially, separate the life giving, fruit bearing grain from the dying/dead hulls and husks?

Adherence to Scripture and Holiness.

God adores Holiness

Asbury - Holiness unto the Lord. That’s an old saying, it’s been inscribed there for years. But it’s bold, it’s life giving…Holiness, friends, is ALWAYS bold!

Accomodate culture if you like, but you better deal with the fact that God adores holiness. He’s LOVE, yes, but he’s HOLY love.

Scripture refines us, not the other way around. Orientation.

Yes, your church is partially, or in some cases maybe mostly, dead. But it’s also brand new.

There is a brand new harvest that will be released into the world tomorrow. Into your churches and our community…don’t kill them by trying to fit them exactly into old dying husks...

Earlier today we celebrated the life of Danny McCrea, a hero of the faith, much like Polycarp. You might say Danny died many deaths even before his last breath. He died to sin. He stepped into holiness. He shook off the husks of addiction that were suffocating him. And he bore much fruit! Praise the Lord! He went back, time and time again, to those stuck in the husks he knew so well and helped Jesus pull them out to life abundant and eternal.

If you’re out there floundering and are ready for a new husk, find me and talk to me. It’s scary. New husks don’t have much money, they just have Jesus. But Lord, is he great!

Pray - Lord, protect us from systems, attitudes, and sins that enslave us..and turn us away from life abundant and toward life suffocating.