The Seed Principle John 12:20-26

When 16-year old Eliza married the 20-year old tailor, he had never been to school. Others might have written his education off as a lost cause, but Eliza didn't. She taught him to read, write, and spell. Those days were difficult, but he proved to be a fast learner. In fact, he learned so well that years later he was elected president of the United States! When he ran for a second term he lost, but refused to give up. Instead, he won a seat in the U.S. Senate. Who? our 17th president, Andrew Johnson.

-The Seed Principle: If you’re going to live your life, you’ve got to give your life.

I. Observe the Season of the Seed vv. 20-23

When we get to our passage, Jesus is on the edge of a critical moment in His ministry:

Jesus was experiencing a rejection of His ministry by the Jewish leadership and there was a plot to kill Him

Jesus was prepared for His death, having been symbolically anointed by Mary

Jesus was accepted by the Gentiles, as a group of Greeks came seeking Him

All of these things point to the fact that the critical moment had come:

Jesus will be glorified by giving Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of humanity, experiencing death on our behalf

This will come as the leaders of His own people conspire against Him and He willingly lays down His life

Meanwhile, the watching crowds will be ready to recognize Him as Savior of the world

The timing of this moment is everything:

In previous instances, we see Jesus silence those who proclaim His identity and turn from a focus on the Gentiles

Now, however, the hour is at hand and He is ready to act

This has to be the posture of His people as well:

We must understand the moment that we are in

We must be prepared to act!

There are several important factors that are at work in the life of our church right now:

We are in a season of growth and renewal: God is moving people into our fellowship

We have made tremendous strides forward in our facilities and are well-equipped to minister here in our community

Doors of partnership are opening and we have the chance to be invested both here and elsewhere for the work of the Kingdom of Christ

We have a low interest rate financing term for the next three years.

The time is right to pay as much of this principal down as we possibly can so that we are postured for maximal fruitfulness:

We know the size of the challenge

We know the time that we have

Now we must act!

1000 Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching The Right Thing at the Right Time

In his book, Putting Faith to Work, Robert McCracken shared a story concerning Leo Durocher. Everyone who follows baseball knows Durocher, how once he was brash, arrogant, loud, impetuous, impatient, and a merciless slave driver. His philosophy was wrapped up in his description of Mel Ott: “Nice guys finish last.”

He never dreamed that one day he would be a “nice guy” and finish first, and when that day arrived he had matured enough to give the team credit. He explained that all he did was to wave them home from third base.

But the crux of the story concerned the fabulous center fielder, Willie Mays, of the Giants. After joining the club, there was a period when he made only one hit in twenty-six times at bat. The old Durocher would have banished him, benched him, or sent him back to the minors, but he did none of these. One day, the twenty-year-old player came to his manager, weeping, and begged to be benched. The new Durocher draped a fatherly arm about the strong young man’s shoulders: “Don’t worry, Son, you are my center fielder, even if you don’t get another hit all season.”

Willie strode from Leo’s office with buoyant step and promptly began hitting the ball. He became one of baseball’s immortals, because at a strategic moment in Willie’s life, Durocher was keen enough and understanding enough to do the right thing at the right time.

II. Understand the Principle of the Seed v. 24

Next, Jesus uses a powerful picture to describe the purpose of His death, the image of the seed

Like a seed, Jesus must embrace a sacrificial death for the sake of a fruitful life

The seed principle is pretty simple: If you want to live your life, you’re going to have to give your life:

This is a call to transformation: Your life cannot stay the same and be made fruitful for the Kingdom

This is a call to suffering: It will not be easy and the clear picture Jesus gives is a picture of death itself

This is a call to fruitfulness: You can completely trust the Lord to use this in a way that is incredibly fruitful, both here and hereafter

The great problem that we face is that everybody wants to live and nobody wants to die, but that is not how any of this works at all.

You cannot have the fruitful and eternal life that you desire and stay the same

You cannot have the life that you want without a high cost

Whatever it takes, you will find that it was completely worth it!

Mark 14:8–9

[8] She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. [9] And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.” (ESV)

III. Follow the Example of the Seed vv. 25-26

How do we live according to the principle of the seed?

We must not “love” this life, but “hate” it

This sounds pretty extreme! What does Jesus mean by this?

We do not live in a self-willed way. We deny our own desire and pursue the Lord’s desire for us

We forsake the primacy of the present. We live our life in light of eternity.

We reject a life of self-glorification. We seek the glory of the Lord

I have to learn to choose another will, another want, and another way of living

We must follow the pattern set by Jesus

We cannot serve Him without following Him

What we see out of Jesus is a consistent pattern of self-denial and sacrifice

All of this is motivated by the glory of God and the good of others

When we do this, we can look forward to the hope of eternal life

This is nothing to do with earning salvation; instead it is the response of a life that has been redeemed and committed to our Savior

We look forward to a life:

That is eternal and unfading

That is lived in perfect communion with Jesus

That is honored by God

What might God do through a seed that is offered to Him?

Bernard Shaw played the "What If" game shortly before he died. "Mr. Shaw," asked a reporter, "if you could live your life over and be anybody you've know, or any person from history, who would you be?"

"I would choose," replied Shaw "to be the man George Bernard Shaw could have been, but never was."