Dying to Live

Scripture:

John 12:20–33 NLT

Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration paid a visit to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee. They said, “Sir, we want to meet Jesus.” Philip told Andrew about it, and they went together to ask Jesus. Jesus replied, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man* to enter into his glory. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me. “Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But this is the very reason I came! Father, bring glory to your name.” Then a voice spoke from heaven, saying, “I have already brought glory to my name, and I will do so again.” When the crowd heard the voice, some thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him. Then Jesus told them, “The voice was for your benefit, not mine. The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” He said this to indicate how he was going to die.

God’s Part, Our Part, and Timing

Ministry runs in seasons. Most people know them fairly well by the big events that happen inside them: Christmas, Easter, Summer Vacation, and in the south: Revivals.

Each of those events is built around getting new people, especially people who are not Christians, into our church building. One of the ideas that was passed around for years was, the more people we can fit into this building at one time = the more successful we are as a church.

In 2019, the church leaders here discovered that wasn’t working well.

In 2020, the rules changed for everyone, and even if we wanted to keep doing the same things that weren’t working, we couldn’t. While there were points where it felt like everything just fell apart, there was also the birth of a new season that gave us new opportunities and tested our commitment and resolve to be the church. It became a season of many months rather than just a few, and we are not out of it yet.

In all of these seasons, God has a huge part of leading and providing for us. God did not stop working in 2020, no matter what you may have read on the internet.

We have our part as well. In a season filled with every kind of discouragement, we never stopped sharing God’s word and inviting others to worship with us. That would not have happened if we all had not stepped up to do our part. I have to admit when I first got here I was very nervous about Facebook Live. I don’t mind writing for the internet or occasionally sharing my voice, but I know I don’t have movie star looks, and if you haven’t figured it out, I usually try to grow my hair out a little to hide my ears. And I’m not alone. I don’t know that I’ve met anyone from our church that loves being on camera. But so many of you offered up prayers, scripture readings, music, benedictions, and other pieces of worship to encourage others in their faith, no matter how you felt about being on camera. You did it for Jesus. And that is why we are still here today. You are still doing your part as God does His part in this ministry. When we stop doing our part, we stop being the Church.

Sometimes our part changes though, as the seasons change. That is what our passage today is about.

Thesis: While our roles in ministry can change, we always We lift Jesus up by following His example and dying to ourselves.

Closing the Door

Greeks not let in… yet

Jesus loved people of all types. He healed Jews and greeks, made disciples from men and women, and spent time with those who were beloved and despised by the world around him. So, the disciples Philip and Andrew may have been a little surprised when Jesus did not tell them to bring the greek visitors over to talk with Him.

Instead, He told them that the time had changed. Not Daylight Savings Time, mind you. The season of ministry had changed. No longer was Jesus going out preaching, teaching, and healing, while the disciples recruited people to come see Him do all this work. No. The time had come for Jesus to prepare for His end, and their beginning.

Death will produce new lives (plural). Without death, there is no new life. Those who enjoy their lives will lose it. Those who hate their life will keep it forever. This sounds really different than John 3:16. Look at the example of Jesus though. Here, at the height of his popularity and power among the people, getting ready to march into the capitol and bring the people back to God, Jesus instead prepares to die at the young age of 33.

It was a change of season for the disciples. Suddenly the door that Jesus kept leaving open for strays to come into their family was shut and barred. Instead of letting new people in, Jesus looked to the family of faith around Him to see who wanted out.

Then He says the hardest words of all. “Whose coming with me?” If you choose Jesus, the world will treat you the way it treated Jesus.

Would you give up your life for Jesus?

Jesus Lifted Up

Death and Glory

Jesus asked his disciples if He should pray to God to be saved from the terrible death awaiting them. Then, before they could answer, He answered his own question based on what He had just told them about death. He wasn’t quizzing them or just asking for their opinion. He was giving them an application of what it means to love your life and lose it or hate it and keep it forever. When faced with death for the sake of showing God’s love to others, we should do it.

In the war against sin and darkness, the King of Kings and Lord or Lords did not stand back and let the expendable people go out on the front line. He was the first one to step into the trenches Himself. He did not fight alongside the disciples. He went ahead of them.

God’s voice rang out through the heavens for the ears of those disciples to help them know that Jesus was not crazy, suicidal, or trying to get out of being the Messiah - their Lord and rightful King. He was glorifying God with his willingness to obey God and give up everything to show God’s love and save God’s people.

He glorified God not because He died, but in the way He died. While the world considered torture and execution the most dishonorable ways to die, the fact that Jesus took accepted that treatment without retaliating back glorified God. He died well, showing that love covers a multitude of sins and that the darkness, no matter how thick it is, cannot extinguish the light.

Speaking of the Light...

Our time in this season of Lent is almost over. Excitement is building in us for Easter as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. Now is the time to pause and look back at what Jesus has done in us during this seasons of Lent.

How has He grown us? How have we changed? What direction is He leading us.

These questions are important because all the work Christ has done in us as we sacrificed and followed Him through Lent leads us up to the big question He is going to ask us after Easter.

Will you pick up your cross and follow me?

John 12:34–36 NLT

The crowd responded, “We understood from Scripture* that the Messiah would live forever. How can you say the Son of Man will die? Just who is this Son of Man, anyway?” Jesus replied, “My light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness cannot see where they are going. Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light.” After saying these things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them.

CTA

Ministry goes in seasons and God gave us a special season of Lent that is coming to a close soon. This time around it was not 6 weeks. It has been over a year now. I still remember Pastor Andy Stanley saying last year that he didn’t realize how much he would be giving up for Lent in 2020. We took our focus off of Sunday mornings and were able to focus on what Jesus was doing in our lives everyday.

That season is drawing to a close. The devil is going to be telling us to go back to playing church 2 days a week, just like we always have. But Jesus is about to break down the gates of hell, rise up from the ashes of defeat, and the Spirit of God is about to tear open the temple curtain and flow out into the streets. The Spirit will flow among and through those who carry their crosses and follow Jesus. Those who do not fear giving up their lives… not by dying foolishly, but by becoming living sacrifices.

The trouble with living sacrifices, as the saying goes, is that they keep getting up and walking away from the altar and going home.

It’s time you took the altar home with you. It’s time you took the altar to work with you. It’s time you took the altar to your family, your friends, your neighbors, among Christians and non-Christians alike. The altar Jesus laid his sacrifice upon was a cross, and that is what He called his disciples and us to pick up and carry as we follow Him.

Our Lent has been the practice for the work ahead of us. Are you getting better at carrying that cross and is it easier for you to trust Jesus? He has work for us all in the days ahead and He is putting His trust in you.