Fruit In Death (Condensed)

Text

John 12:23–24 KJV 1900

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.

Introduction

Death is not generally a pleasant thing to think about. For those who were listening to Jesus’ words as he spoke on this Palm Sunday they were perplexed by them. Certainly He must be the Messiah, many of them thought. Here he was, in complete fulfillment of prophecy riding into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. Just as the prophet Zechariah had predicted:

Zechariah 9:9–10 KJV 1900

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: Behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; Lowly, and riding upon an ass, And upon a colt the foal of an ass. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, And the horse from Jerusalem, And the battle bow shall be cut off: And he shall speak peace unto the heathen: And his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, And from the river even to the ends of the earth.

How could this fit into the plan to redeem Israel?

John 12:34 KJV 1900

The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?

They were confused by Jesus’ words

God’s ways do not line up with our ways

As we look back on this text we can clearly understand the Church age was about to begin, but as Jesus was speaking the Jews and many around him that day did not

Colossians 1:21–22 KJV 1900

And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

1 Peter 3:18 KJV 1900

For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

Declaration:

Fruit in our life can only be produced as a result of death in our life.

Preposition:

Have you considered that God calls us to a fruit bearing life?

John 15:5–8 KJV 1900

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

Transition

I want us to look at 4 aspects of death and how they relate to bearing fruit in our life.

I. The Exclusivity of Death

John 12:24 KJV 1900

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.

“except a corn of wheat fall”

This means there is no “other way” - there is no shortcut

A. The singular way of Faith

John 14:6 KJV 1900

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Acts 4:12 KJV 1900

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

B. The singular way to fruit

As it is with faith - it is the same with fruit!

Illustration: I am always looking for shortcuts! I dont mean in some sort of criminal way but there are legitimately better ways to do just about everything! Google maps and live traffic data prove this point. I hate! I despise traffic! If I can find a way to avoid it I will and at almost any cost!

But when it comes to bearing fruit - when it comes to glorifying God - there are no shortcuts! there is no other way!

John 15:16 KJV 1900

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

The Exclusivity of Death and ....

II. The Explanation of Death

“fall into the ground and die”

What did Jesus mean? He was using farming as an illustration wheat was very important - it was the source of bread which sustained them

A. The seed must fall

A seed starts in the hand of a farmer but must fall into the ground - it’s the first step in the process

Philippians 2:7–8 KJV 1900

But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Application: Before growth can take place in our lives we must be humbled.

B. The seed must be buried

“into the ground”

The seed must be covered -

The ground is dark and damp -

This speaks of Christ’s burial that was soon to come

We find the word darkness over 200 times in the Bible and in the case of the shikinah glory or the cloud that represented God’s presence to the nation of Israel God is said to have dwelled there.

Exodus 20:21 KJV 1900

And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

1 Kings 8:12 KJV 1900

Then spake Solomon, The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

Application: There is a connection between the presence of God and the darkness that we often feel in our lives.

Consider what David said....

Psalm 22:1 KJV 1900

My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

C. The seen must die

“…and die”

It is not the whole part of the seed that must die, just the outer shell that must be discarded so the internal part - the germ can shoot forth new life

The outer part of the seed (the kernel) is fibrous and hard

The value of the seed lies within

Galatians 2:20 KJV 1900

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Romans 6:6–7 KJV 1900

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.

The Exclusivity of Death....the Explanation of Death and the ....

III. The Exclusion of Death

John 12:24 KJV 1900

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.

“it abideth alone”

What Jesus is referring to here is self-preservation

No one wants to be a fruitless Christian but no one wants to die and you can’t have one without the other

John 12:25 KJV 1900

He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

Application: God place people and situation in our life to humble us and to initiate death to the hard exterior layer that surrounds our life. It is a hard and dense exterior that we can use to protect ourselves but in doing so we will remain fruitless.

The Exclusivity of Death....The Explanation of Death....The Exclusion of Death… and finally

IV. The End of Death

“it bringeth forth much fruit”

Death has a purpose! It has a reason for existing!

For Christ it was the glorification of the father through his victory over death! He defeated death by concurring it!

What about for us? What does fruit look like in our lives?

Galatians 5:22–23 KJV 1900

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Conclusion

The Exclusivity of Death - there is no other way to fruit

The Explanation of Death- the seed must fall, be buried and the outer husk must deteriorate

The Exclusion of Death- if we self preserve - we will be fruitless

The End of Death- if we stay and endure the result is fruit