We Are All Teachers

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 26th of August, 2018, our Back-to-School service.  This service also included our annual Blessing of the Backpacks.  Look for the video of this and our other services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Paul was in prison yet again, but this time he was pretty sure his end was near.  So he sat down to write off a note to his young protégé, the one he called “son”: Timothy.  This was Paul’s 2nd letter to Timothy saved for us in the New Testament of our Holy Bible.  And to our knowledge, this was Paul’s last letter, written a few weeks before his execution.

In this epistle, Paul instructs Timothy on how a Christian should walk, should behave: in love, with all others, in unity with other believers, in humility.  It is a lesson we should all heed.

Please listen and follow along as I read from the Apostle Paul’s 2nd letter to Timothy, chapter 3, verses 10 through 17, as translated by the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible…

10 Timothy, you know what I teach and how I live. You know what I want to do and what I believe. You have seen how patient and loving I am, and how in the past I put up with 11 trouble and suffering in the cities of Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. Yet the Lord rescued me from all those terrible troubles. 12 Anyone who belongs to Christ Jesus and wants to live right will have trouble from others. 13 But evil people who pretend to be what they are not will become worse than ever, as they fool others and are fooled themselves.

14 Keep on being faithful to what you were taught and to what you believed. After all, you know who taught you these things. 15 Since childhood, you have known the Holy Scriptures that are able to make you wise enough to have faith in Christ Jesus and be saved. 16 Everything in the Scriptures is God’s Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. 17 The Scriptures train God’s servants to do all kinds of good deeds.

--2 Timothy 3:10-17 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Father God, we know that everything in the scriptures, everything in our Bible, is Your word and the truth.  Your Son Jesus gave Paul an incredible insight into Your truth and into the true mission Christ came to carry out.  Please help us to listen to Paul’s message, Father – to Your message.  Help us to hear and understand what You would teach us this day.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.   Amen.


Author Judith Swanson once wrote in Reader's Digest:

From the day we entered the ninth-grade health class, one blackboard was covered with the names and locations of the major bones and muscles of the human body.  The diagram stayed on the board throughout the term, although the teacher never referred to it.  The day of the final exam, we came to class to find the board wiped clean.  The sole test question was: "Name and locate every major bone and muscle in the human body."  The class protested in unison: "We never studied that!"  "That's no excuse," said the teacher.  "The information was there for months."  After we struggled with the test for a while, he collected the papers and tore them up.  "Always remember," he told us, "that education is more than just learning what you are told."


Last week I mentioned how messages are not always contained in words.  This little story illustrates that some of the lessons we are taught are not necessarily presented in a direct manner.

I think Paul may have been trying to point out a few of these, in his 2nd letter to Timothy.  In our scripture reading, Paul talks about how much he suffered and all he had to deal with, yet his faith never wavered and he gave all credit to Jesus for seeing him through those troubled times.  Isn’t that trying to teach us to be patient, to have faith in the Lord, to not give up even when it all seems hopeless?  Keep on being faithful, Paul instructs.  Be faithful to what we’ve been taught, to what we believe.  The Holy Scriptures, God’s word, have everything we need for wisdom, and to know the truth of salvation through Christ Jesus.

And then comes another indirect point.  All of God’s word is useful for teaching and helping people, for correcting them and showing them how to live.  The scriptures can be used to train God’s servants.  But people must be taught, they must be shown, they must be trained, otherwise it is all for naught.

So who is to do the teaching?  We are.  If nothing else, we need to be the blackboard on which God’s word can be seen, even if not spoken aloud.


I’ve mentioned before that we don’t have to feel like we’re going this alone, that Jesus assures us He will be with us always, no matter what we’re doing.  Jesus also promises additional help.  In the Gospel account of the Apostle John, chapter 14, verses 25 and 26, Jesus reassures us…

25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."

--John 14:25-26 (NKJV)

God’s Holy Spirit will help us, teaching us what we need to be able to teach others, reminding us of everything Jesus said.  But it’s kind of a scary thought for most of us, isn’t it, that we might be called on to teach?  Do we even know enough to teach?  I’ve always heard it said that the best way to learn any subject is to teach it, and that is certainly true when it comes to God’s word.  But again, there’s more to teaching than speaking words of instruction.

Basketball superstar Charles Barkley was once asked about his bad behavior on-court, and sometimes off.  The interviewer questioned whether this was setting a good example for children watching the game.  Barkley responded, “I am no role model.”

Well, Charles was wrong.  He was indeed a role model, just not a very good one.  For you see, people watch us.  They watch what we are doing.  If they admire or can relate to what we are doing, they just very well may adopt our practices and behavior as their own.  And this goes for bad behavior, as in the case of Charles Barkley, as well as for good.  This is especially true for those of us who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, who call ourselves Christians.  The world is watching us closely, waiting for us to slip up and do something we shouldn’t.

We are all teachers, whether we want to be or not.  If we do it right, if we live as we’re supposed to live, if we walk as Paul instructs us in his 2nd letter to Timothy, then some in the world may want to know more about our faith, giving us an opportunity to help bring them to Christ.


It isn’t an easy thing, being a Christian, walking the Christian walk, living as Christ would have us live.  It isn’t easy loving all others, especially those who would do us harm.  It isn’t easy trying to teach an uncaring world about Jesus, about His love, about His offer of salvation.  But as I said, we are all teachers.

In this same letter, in chapter 2 verses 1 through 3, Paul confirms to Timothy what I just said…

1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

--2 Timothy 2:1-3 (NKJV)

This won’t be easy.  We must be prepared to face hardship as good soldiers for Jesus.  But we can take strength in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit within us.

Like Paul, Timothy was a preacher, an evangelist.  Paul instructs him to commit everything he has been taught to other faithful people so that they too can in turn teach others.  We are faithful people – we are to teach others.

We are all students, still learning.  But we are also all teachers, instructing others by the example of our own lives.  Let us teach others how to live as Christ Jesus wants us to live.  And one by one, we can help save the world.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You inspired certain men and women to record for us the lessons You need us to learn.  And then You breathed life into them, making the scriptures Your word.  Your word has all we need to live a faithful and righteous life.  It is up to us to share Your word, if by no other means than by how we live our lives.  Please help us walk the true Christian walk.  Help us to love others as we love ourselves, and to show them Your love.  Forgive us when we let our fears or life itself distract us from teaching Your word.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, thanking You for Your many blessings, promising to turn from our sin, and asking for Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, You showed Your servant Paul how a true follower should live, and he in turn shared that insight with all of us.  Please help us to be true to that life, Lord Jesus.  Help us walk always in Your light, that we might be able to shine the truth among mankind.  Help us to be good and proper teachers, instructing others in how You would have us all live.  Help us to be better examples, better servants.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, our only hope.  Amen.

Sent as a Messenger

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 19th of August, 2018.  Look for the video of this and our other services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Jesus entered Jerusalem knowing it would be His last visit, that His death awaited Him there.  So He enjoyed one last meal with His friends, His disciples.  After supper, Jesus surprised them all by removing His outer garments and then washing and drying each one’s feet.  As we would expect of him, Peter tried to protest that he wasn’t worthy to have his feet washed by His Master, but Jesus quickly put him in his place.  And then follows more of our Lord’s solemn truth.

Please listen and follow along as I read from the chapter 13 of the Gospel account of the Apostle John, verses 12 through 20, from the New English Translation of our Holy Bible…

12 So when Jesus had washed their feet and put His outer clothing back on, He took his place at the table again and said to them, “Do you understand what I have done for you? 13 You call He ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and do so correctly, for that is what I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you too ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example — you should do just as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the solemn truth, the slave is not greater than his master, nor is the one who is sent as a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you understand these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

18 “What I am saying does not refer to all of you. I know the ones I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture, ‘The one who eats My bread has turned against Me.’ 19 I am telling you this now, before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe that I am He. 20 I tell you the solemn truth, whoever accepts the one I send accepts Me, and whoever accepts Me accepts the One who sent Me.”

--John 13:12-20 (NET)

Let us pray…  Father God, at Your Son’s request, You sent Your own Holy Spirit to dwell within in, to be our constant Companion, to be our Guide.  Too often, Father, we fail to follow Your Spirit’s prodding, we turn a deaf ear to His voice.  Please help us to listen, Father.  Help us to hear and understand the truth of Jesus and of what He said.  Speak to us now with the message You need us to hear this morning.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.   Amen.


It has been said that some pastors preach "longhorn sermons": a point here, a point there, and a lot of bull in between.  I pray that I never fall into that category.


Several years ago, the British Weekly Glass Window published a provocative letter that read:  It seems ministers feel their sermons are very important and spend a great deal of time preparing them.  I have been attending church quite regularly for 30 years and I have probably heard 3,000 of them.  To my consternation, I discovered I cannot remember a single sermon.  I wonder if a minister's time might be more profitable spent on something else?

For weeks afterwards, a tempest of editorial responses raged.  The storm finally subsided with this letter: I have been married for 30 years.  During that time I have eaten 32,850 meals - mostly my wife's cooking.  Suddenly I have discovered I cannot remember the menu of a single meal.  And yet, I have the distinct impression that without them, I would have starved to death long ago.


Are You getting fed on Sunday mornings, or might the time I put into sermon and service preparation be more profitably spent on something else?

I don't want you to think this is all about sermons and preachers.  It's about messages and messengers.  Preachers are simply messengers who strive to deliver the message God entrusts them with.  I’ll keep trying to keep the “bull” to a minimum.


Jesus tells us many times, as recorded by all four Gospel writers, that He was sent by God, His Father.  Shortly after entering Jerusalem for the Passover Feast, Jesus said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.”  And He added, “And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.”

We know why God sent His Son into the world: to offer us salvation through the sacrifice of His own blood.  But this also makes Jesus a messenger, bearing God’s message of salvation.  One of the first things He did as an adult, when He went to be baptized by John, was to deliver God’s message to all those gathered there, to “Repent!  For the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

Note that part of the solemn truth He shared with us this morning is that the messenger is never greater than the one who sent him.  Jesus acknowledged that even He is not greater than God the Father.  If we need more reason to see Jesus as a messenger from God, we need only look at the 1st letter John wrote to the early church, in chapter 1, verses 5 through 10…

5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

--1 John 1:5-10 (NKJV)

In John 3:16 we are shown that “God so loved the world…”.  God wanted to make sure we know we are loved so He gave the message to Jesus to deliver to us.  Jesus carried that message to us and added to it what God commanded so long ago to the ancient Hebrews that we love one another just as we love ourselves.  Again John shares this message in his 1st letter, chapter 3, verse 11, when he says……

11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another...

--1 John 3:11 (NKJV)

Allow me one last scriptural support of Jesus also serving God as His ultimate messenger.   This one comes from the Apostle Paul’s 1st letter to the Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 18, when Paul tells us that…

18 [For] The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

--1 Corinthians 1:18 (NKJV)

That was the strongest, the most urgent message God had Jesus deliver: dying on the cross.  Dying for us.  But we have to had paid attention to that message for it to mean anything to us!  Those already perishing think it nothing but foolishness.  But for we who believe, that message bears the full and frightening power of God.

What do we do with that information?  Jesus commands us to share it, to deliver it to someone else, to be a messenger.  And here I go again, with chapter 28 in the Apostle Matthew’s Gospel account, verses 19 and 20…

19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

--Matthew 28:19-20 (NKJV)

The thing is, we need not be timid or shy or fearful of delivering that message.  Jesus just told us right there that He will always be with us, even as we act as God’s messenger.  And John showed us how that message has God’s power in it.  We need not hesitate to deliver it.


I am a simple messenger, carrying God’s message to you and to whoever might hear.  Of the hour we are together on Sunday mornings, I have only 10 or 15 minutes to actually deliver the message God has sent for you to hear, as some get a little ..um.. anxious when the hour extends past 11:30.  So I try to include parts of the message in the congregational readings, parts in the so-called children's sermon, parts in the prayers...  God's message must be delivered, one way or another, whether it is actually heard or not.  For we humans are so easily distracted, and those of us with ADD or ADHD more so than most.

Someone recently commented that they thought the devil had entered the church.  Yes, I responded, he has.  Satan entered the church long ago, as soon as it was founded.  He walks in here, into this beautiful sanctuary, every Sunday morning and sits down in a pew among us.  We don’t see him, but he’s here.  He’s here whispering in our ear…  “Look at that person over there!  How could they come to church dressed like that?!?”  “Why is that man in the corner eyeing everyone?”  “The preacher’s droning on… don’t you have something else you could be doing right now?”

Satan is here doing everything he can to distract us from the message God wants us to hear.  The devil knows we’re saved, those who are, but he can still keep us from learning what God says we need to know.  And there’s always the off-chance that some unsaved soul might walk in.  Yes, Satan is in the church, trying his best to distract us from our worship, and from God’s word.


Now I know that I am not the most eloquent preacher in the world.  And I know that, no matter how hard I try to keep it from happening, our services tend to run over more times than not.  I am a poor messenger… but the message I bear comes from God and it is urgently important.

Hear God’s message, and be fed.  Believe, and be saved.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, no one nor anything could ever be greater than You.  Your message is powerful, especially when delivered by Your Son Jesus.  Please help us be more receptive to Your message.  Help us to better understand what You say.  And help us turn a deaf ear to Satan rather than to You or Your messengers.  Forgive us when we let too many things distract us from what we really need to hear.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, thanking You for Your many blessings, promising to turn from our sin, and asking for Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, You served many roles during Your short time on earth.  In one You served our Father God as His messenger, bringing His message of power to us mortals.  And You commanded us to take up that message and deliver it to others, that they might hear, respond, believe, and be saved.  Help us to, Lord Jesus to understand the message You carried, and to share it with others in our daily walk.  Help us to be better servants.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, our only hope.  Amen.

The Only Way

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 12th of August, 2018.  Look for the video of this and our other services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

A few weeks ago, we looked at a solemn truth where Jesus told us to obey His teachings and another where He said He had always been and will always be.  You may recall that we read where He escaped a stoning from the indignant Jews by being hidden from them by God.

As He walked away from the Temple that day, Jesus came upon a blind man, whom He healed of his blindness.  Now all this took place on the Sabbath, the day of rest.  This just made the Jewish leaders angrier, but rather than go after Jesus this time, they had the formerly blind man brought before them, and then they kicked him out of the church.  He could no longer worship in the Temple.

Jesus reassured the man that his blindness was indeed healed, both his physical blindness and his spiritual blindness.  He then told the Pharisees that, although they could see, their hearts and spirits were blind for they failed to see the Son of God standing right before them.  They either couldn’t or simply wouldn’t grasp His meaning, so Jesus tried another approach.

Please listen and follow along as I read from chapter 10 of the Gospel account of the Apostle John, verses 1 through 9, from the New English Translation of our Holy Bible…

1 “I tell you the solemn truth, the one who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The doorkeeper opens the door for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought all his own sheep out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. 5 They will never follow a stranger, but will run away from him, because they do not recognize the stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus told them this parable, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

7 So Jesus said again, “I tell you the solemn truth, I am the door for the sheep. 8 All who came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out, and find pasture."

--John 10:1-9 (NET)

Let us pray…  Father God, You sent Your own Son Jesus, that those who would believe in Him and come to know Him as Lord would be saved from eternal death and damnation.  We are weak, Father.  Help us be strong in our belief and our faith.  Help us to understand the truth of Jesus and of what He said.  Speak to us now with the message we need to hear this morning.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.   Amen.


One Sunday morning the youth minister decided to use the 23rd Psalm for his children’s sermon.  He began by telling the children about sheep — that they need lots of guidance and that a shepherd’s job is to stay close to the sheep, protect them from wild animals and keep them from wandering away.  He pointed to the little children in the room and said they were the sheep and needed lots of guidance.  Then he put his hands out to the side, palms up in a dramatic gesture, and with raised eyebrows said to the children, “If you are the sheep, then who is the shepherd?”  It was pretty obvious he was indicating himself.

A few seconds of silence followed, then one little boy said, “Jesus is the shepherd.”  The young pastor, obviously caught by surprise, said to the boy, “Well, then, who am I?”  The boy thought for a moment and then said with a shrug, “I guess you must be a sheepdog.”


Kids really have a way of cutting right to the heart of the matter, don’t they?  Jesus is indeed the Shepherd.  One of my brother pastors calls us “sub-shepherds”, leading a subset of the greater flock.  I kind of like that image of a sheepdog, though.  Sitting on a slight rise, overlooking the flock, watching out for wolves and mountain lions, sometimes running after a lamb that is about to wander off and leading it back to the flock.

I’ve heard it said that there are three types of people in this world.  There are sheep, just trying to get through their day-to-day lives without any major hassles or troubles.  There are wolves, who prey on the sheep, taking advantage of them as often as and in any way possible.  And there are sheepdogs, trying to protect the sheep from the wolves.  So yeah, I don’t mind being called a sheepdog.


Jesus imparted two solemn truths in our scripture reading, but they both really point to the same thing.  Looking at the second truth first, Jesus said, “I am the door for the sheep.”  Back in those days, an enclosure for sheep to protect them at night, was usually made from stacking stones up to waist height or higher.  There was only one door, only one way in.  So Jesus says He is the only way in for the sheep.

Who are the sheep in this little parable?  We are – humankind.  We are God’s sheep.  So Jesus is our door, our only way in.

Into what?  The key is in verse 9, where Jesus adds, “If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved.”  The only way to be saved is through Jesus.  Mankind’s salvation - our individual salvation – is only through Jesus.

Which comes back to the first solemn truth:  Anyone who tries to tell us there is another way in, another way to heaven, is a liar and a thief, trying to rob us of our eternal life in paradise.


Now this is very important for us to grasp.  So important that Jesus repeated it.  One such reaffirmation can be found a little further in John’s Gospel account, in chapter 14, verse 6, when Jesus spoke to His disciple Thomas…

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

--John 14:6 (NKJV)

No one can come to the Father, no one can get into heaven, unless they go through Jesus.  You may have heard it said that, just as there are multiple roads that all lead to the top of the mountain, there are many ways to get to heaven.  If we believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, as we claim we do, then we must accept it as the truth when Jesus says He is the only way, the only path, the only door.  For He is the truth, and what He speaks is true.


So what does it mean to go through Jesus?  Quite simply, to believe in Him as the one true Son of God, sent to earth for the remission of our sins.  And by our belief, we are to follow Him and obey His voice.  Jesus told us in verses 3 and 4 that His sheep hear His voice and follow Him because they recognize His voice.  If we are His, we will follow Him. 

Just a little further on in chapter 10 of John’s account, verses 14 through 16, Jesus adds…

14 "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. 15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd."

--John 10:14-16 (CEV)

Jesus, as the Good Shepherd, knows His sheep, His followers.  He even laid down His own mortal life for us, to save us from the evil one, to save us from ourselves.

Verse 16 may be a little confusing, but Jesus is talking to the Jews here and when He says there are other sheep not of this flock, He is referring to us, the Gentiles.  We believers have been brought together with the converted Jews who also believe in Jesus, combined into one flock, one church, the body of Christ Jesus.


Jesus is the door for the sheep: the way, the truth, the life.  We are sinful creatures, unworthy of mercy.  On our own, we could never receive forgiveness, never be redeemed, never be seen as clean in God’s eye.

But Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  He laid down His life for us, washed us clean with His own blood.  Through Him and only through Him can we be saved.  He is the only way to the Father, the only way to heaven, the only way to salvation.  Believe, and be saved.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, in Your eyes we are a repugnant sight, heavily soiled by our sin.  But You gave us a way, the only way, to be washed clean and forgiven.  You provided the only way to salvation, through Your Son.  Please help us fully believe, without doubt and without reservation.  Forgive us when fail to follow where Your Son leads us.  Help us to be ever faithful and to serve only Him.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, thanking You for Your many blessings, promising to turn from our sin, and asking for Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, You shared with us a truth that is critically important to us all.  You are not only the way into heaven, You are the only way.  Only through You can we get to the Father, our Father God in heaven.  You paid the price for us by laying down Your own life.  Help us be good sheep.  Help us to always follow Your voice, to always obey Your commands.  And help us as we try to share Your truths and Your offer of salvation with others, so that they too might be forgiven and saved.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, our only hope.  Amen.

Die to the World

[The following is a full manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 5th of August, 2018.  Look for the video of this and our other services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

We’re all familiar with the last trip Jesus made into Jerusalem, in the last days of His ministry on earth.  We call it His Triumphal Entry, when the people lined the streets and waved palm branches, all the while shouting “Hosanna!  ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”  Jesus had come to celebrate the Feast of Passover.  But what we may not recall is that Jesus shared another solemn truth with us at that time, as the festival proceeded.

Please listen and follow along as I read from chapter 12 of the Gospel account of the Apostle John, verses 20 through 26, from the New English Translation of our Holy Bible…

20 Now some Greeks were among those who had gone up to worship at the feast. 21 So these approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and requested, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew, and they both went and told Jesus. 23 Jesus replied, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 I tell you the solemn truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 The one who loves his life destroys it, and the one who hates his life in this world guards it for eternal life. 26 If anyone wants to serve Me, he must follow Me, and where I am, My servant will be too. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him."

--John 12:20-26 (NET)

Let us pray…  Father God, Your wondrous plan for life requires death.  Just as a seed must cease to exist as a seed in order to reproduce itself and continue the cycle of life, so must we die to this life in order to gain eternal life with You and Jesus.  Help us, please Father, to serve You, to carry out Your will, to continue Your plan.  Speak to us now, Father, with the message we need to hear this morning.  Help us to understand the truth of Jesus and of what He said.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.   Amen.


Let me share with you a few secrets to success, as provided by some unknown author:  See yourself as the center of the universe.  Focus attention on yourself.  Think about yourself.  Talk about yourself.  Use “I” and “me” as often as possible.  Mirror yourself continually in the opinion of others.  Listen greedily to what people say about you.  Expect to be appreciated.  Be suspicious.  Be jealous and envious.  Be sensitive to slights.  Never forgive a criticism.  Trust nobody but yourself.  Demand agreement with your own views on everything.  Sulk if people are not grateful to you for favors shown them.  Never forget a service you have rendered someone.  Shirk your duties if you can.  Do as little as possible for others.


I called those “secrets to success”, but only if we want to succeed in making ourselves miserable!  I would venture to say that most of us aren’t looking for ways to be more miserable in life, but aren’t we sometimes guilty of some of the points in that list?  Life is tough enough without our adding to our own misery.

I only bring this up because I feel it emphasizes part of what Jesus is trying to tell us in our scripture reading this morning.  In verse 25 He says that the person who loves their life destroys it!  That list pretty much describes a person that loves their own life too much, doesn’t it?  They need to be the center of attention, receiving praise for what they’ve done, being shown gratitude for any favor granted, never forgetting some service performed, and never letting anyone else forget either.

This kind of behavior will make us miserable because it is an unobtainable and non-sustainable ideal, a dream.  This will destroy our life.  Instead, Jesus tells us to serve Him, to follow Him.  In doing so, the Father will honor us and eternal life will be ours.


The solemn truths Jesus shared with us are all pretty simple, and for the most part fairly obvious.  That is certainly true with the truth we look at this morning, as any farmer or grower can attest.

In verse 24 Jesus tells us that for a seed to be able to bring forth new life, new fruit, it must first cease being a seed.  As a seed, it must die.  Think about a kernel of corn – that’s a fairly large seed, easy to see.  If we plant that kernel and a corn stalk grows from it, can we then pull up that stalk and find the kernel at the base of the roots?  No!  That kernel died, it no longer exists as a kernel.

And so it must be for us.  The Apostle Paul affirms what Jesus says and adds to it a little, in his 1st letter to the Corinthians, chapter 15, verses 35 through 38…

35 But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?” 36 Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. 37 And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.

--1 Corinthians 15:35-38 (NKJV)

When we plant that kernel of corn, other kernels don’t spring up.  No, a stalk comes forth, bearing many ears of corn, each ear filled with kernels.

A lady by the name of Constance Barnett told of an old college Professor of Biology who used to hold a small brown seed in his hand and address his class.  “I know just exactly the composition of this seed.”, the professor would say.  “It has in it nitrogen, hydrogen and carbon.  I know the exact proportions.  I can make a seed that will look exactly like it.  But if I plant my seed it will come to naught; its elements will be simply absorbed in the soil.  If I plant the seed God made, it will become a plant, because it contains the mysterious principle which we call the 'life principle'.”

Ms. Barnett went on to say that, “The Bible looks like other books.  We cannot understand altogether its marvelous power.  Planted in good ground it shows that it has the life principle in itself: it brings forth spiritual fruit.”


Now there are two aspects to this simple yet solemn truth Jesus shared:  one is literal, and the other more metaphorical.  Before we can enjoy a new life in heaven with God, we must first die to – physically cease to exist in – this life.  But we must also spiritually die to this life lest we destroy our chances for that new life.  The one who loves their life in this world destroys it.  Again we can turn to Paul’s writings for more insight into this aspect of Jesus’ solemn truth.  Listen to what Paul wrote to the Ephesians, in chapter 4 verses 17 through 24…

17 As a follower of the Lord, I order you to stop living like stupid, godless people. 18 Their minds are in the dark, and they are stubborn and ignorant and have missed out on the life that comes from God. They no longer have any feelings about what is right, 19 and they are so greedy that they do all kinds of indecent things.

20-21 But that isn’t what you were taught about Jesus Christ. He is the truth, and you heard about Him and learned about Him. 22 You were told that your foolish desires will destroy you and that you must give up your old way of life with all its bad habits. 23 Let the Spirit change your way of thinking 24 and make you into a new person. You were created to be like God, and so you must please Him and be truly holy.

--Ephesians 4:17-24 (CEV)

We must not be among those “stupid, godless people” that Paul describes as living in darkness, being stubborn and ignorant.  We have been taught about Jesus – we know Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior!  Our foolish desires and self-centered ways will make us miserable and destroy us.  So we must make our old habits die, our old way of life die.

We must die to this world and let God’s Holy Spirit work within us and change our entire way of thinking, of acting, of viewing others, of loving others.  And then a miraculous thing can happen, as Paul tells us in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 17…

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

--2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

When we do as Jesus and Paul tells us, Christ then is in us and we in Him.  We become a new creation, even here on this earth.  Our new life begins, and our everlasting life is guarded and assured.

Die to this world, and let your new life spring forth.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, Your Son Jesus honored You by obeying You and carrying out Your will during His life as a Man.  Please help us honor You, Father, by serving and following Jesus.  Forgive us when we can’t seem to let go of all our worldly desires.  Help us resist the temptations of the world, and of Satan, so that we might better serve You.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, thanking You for Your many blessings, promising to turn from our sin, and asking for Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, You told us a simple truth – that we must not let this life interfere with our eternal life.  Help us to understand how our failure to let go of the world will only make us more miserable and could destroy our future life.  Help us to serve You, to follow You, to obey Your commands.  And help us to share Your truth with a world that needs to hear and understand.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, our only hope.  Amen.