Thousand Oaks Baptist Church

 

How to be Honored by God

(Sunday evening sermon for April 29, 2001)

 

Text:  John 12:20-26 (KJV)

John 12:20 And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast:
21 The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.
22 Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.
23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
24 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.
25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

Introduction:

 

Just before His crucifixion, Jesus let His disciples know that His hour, His time, had come to be glorified. 

 

From a purely human standpoint, what happened next certainly doesn’t look like Jesus was glorified or honored or magnified.  After all, that very night, Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot to the unbelieving leaders of Israel.  And during the next day, He was nailed to an old rugged cross and lifted up between earth and heaven to die an agonizing death by crucifixion.  And before that next day’s sun had set, the dead, cold, lifeless body of Jesus had been placed in a stone cold tomb.

 

But three days later, He rose literally and bodily from the dead.  About seven weeks later, He ascended, bodily, back to Heaven, from the top of the Mount of Olives, in the full view of His disciples.

 

He had returned to the glory He had with His Father before the universe was created.

 

What greater glory could there be than to die and then rise from the dead and finally ascend to Heaven to sit at the right hand of the majesty on high?

 

Jesus spoke truly that His time had come to be glorified.

 

And this evening, it is time once again for Jesus to be glorified.  Just as did those early disciples, we need to remember and understand and personally accept and experience the things concerning Him that are written in the Scriptures.

 

In the text we read a few moments ago, a number of things had already become evident to both the leaders of Israel and to Jesus.  First, because of the marvelous miracles that Jesus had done, thousands of people were already believing on Him; this was unacceptable to the Jewish leaders.  Second, the chief priests had already decided that they would somehow have to silence the undeniable but also unacceptable testimony of Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead not long before.  In other words, Jesus’ time had come.

 

And for Jesus Christ, this was the hour for which He had come into this world in the first place.  This was the hour in which He would indeed be taken by cruel and wicked hands.  This was the hour when He would be falsely accused and mocked and beaten and spit upon, and then nailed to that old rugged cross, to die in our place, for our sins.

 

And that hour, as Jesus called it, would not be ended until after He had been crucified, dead, buried, and risen from the grave in His glorified resurrection body.

 

The hour had come for the Son of man to be glorified by death and by resurrection, so that He might be recognized as not only our completely satisfactory, substitutionary sacrifice, but also as our victoriously risen and faithful High Priest.

 

And so, in this passage that we read at the beginning, Jesus pointed out the necessity of His death.  He had to die so that His resurrection could take place.

 

And He used the illustration of a grain of wheat falling into the ground, and dying, and then germinating, and then coming forth in fruitful abundance.

 

And then Jesus instantly applied this illustration not only to Himself and to what was about to happen to Him, but He also applied it to all those who would believe on Him.

 

And in three rapid-fire applications, Jesus outlined the three basic principles of how to live for God and have God’s honor shine forth upon us in greatest abundance and glory.  Jesus outlined how to be honored by God.

 

And that’s the title of my message this evening:  How to be Honored by God.

 

And here are the three principles:

 

•        First, love your life, and you will lose it.

•        Second, hate your life, and you will gain it.

•        Third, follow Jesus, and God the Father will honor you.

 

I.       Love your life, and you will lose it.

 

The first point in my message this evening is this:  Love your life, and you will lose it.

 

In verse 25, Jesus said: 

Jn. 12:25 - He that loveth his life shall lose it…

You know, if we didn’t know and understand the rest of the Bible, and we just read this verse out of its context, there’s a possibility that we might begin to get the idea that God must be at least a bit mean and perverse.  After all, to cause someone to lose their life just because they loved their life does sound a bit strange all by itself.

 

It’s kind of like the mean little kid that used to live down the street who found out that one of the neighbor kids loves apples.  And just to be mean, the mean little kid finds an axe, and even though it causes him all kinds of work and difficulty, he goes out and chops down all the apple trees in town, and then takes a bite out of all the apples down at the market, just so the neighbor kid won’t be able to have an apple.  Folks, that’s mean to the bone.

 

But God isn’t like that.  And that’s not what this verse says.

 

Because, you see, in this first part of verse 25, the word life in the Greek of the New Testament means the kind of life that the carnal soul of man enjoys, apart from the saving, regenerating, sanctifying work of God in salvation.

 

And the word used for love in the Greek of this verse is not the kind of responsible love that freely gives of itself. Instead the word means lust, the debased kind of love that greedily and irresponsibly takes and gets for personal gain and carnal satisfaction.

 

And when we plug these concepts back into verse 25, we find that Jesus was saying that the person who lusts after the wicked, carnal appetites of this world will eventually lose them.

 

That’s why Hebrews 11:25 says that there’s pleasure in sin for a season.  Most of this world’s carnal pleasures cease the moment we’ve partaken of them.  And for the Christian, partaking of carnal pleasure leaves the bitter taste of guilt behind.

 

But far more serious than the temporality of the pleasures derived from sin, is the eternality of the consequences of sowing to the flesh.  The Bible says  that he who sows to the flesh in this life shall of the flesh reap corruption in eternity.

 

And so, in this verse, Jesus said that the man or woman who loves the life of the flesh, and who lives for the carnal desires of this world, and who makes these things the guiding principles of life – that person shall lose all that he or she has ever loved and lived for.  And what’s even worse, if you’re not saved, you’ll also lose your own soul!

 

Romans 8:6 says that to be carnally minded - to be mentally and emotionally inclined toward the things of the flesh - is death.  Carnal mindedness results in death.

 

And so now I think you can begin to see why Jesus said that the first basic principle of being honored by God is to not love – or lust after – this life – the carnal delights of the flesh.

 

My friends, the few short years that we spend here on earth are school days to get us ready for eternity.

 

We send children to school for the first few years of their lives, while they’re still pliable and open to instruction.  And we do this to try to prepare them to live responsible, productive lives as adults.  And our children may attend one school or another for twelve to eighteen years, but then, suddenly, school days are done.  And almost without warning, it seems, it’s time to begin to put to use all that they’ve learned for all those years.  And those who have excelled in school now have the opportunity to excel in life.

 

And in just the same way, these relatively few, fleeting moments that we spend on this old world are just a prelude and a preparation for eternity.  And the choices we make here and now determine where and how we’ll spend eternity.

 

Do you see why it’s so important to choose wisely and correctly, instead of just going with the flow, or doing what comes naturally?

 

Jesus said that to desire – to lust after – to pursue – happiness in those things that can satisfy only in this life, is to lose out for all eternity.

 

The Bible teaches – Jesus taught – every one of the Apostles taught – that there is a Heaven to gain and a Hell to shun.  And the Bible and Jesus and the Apostles all said that Heaven and Hell are mutually exclusive, and both last forever.

 

The issues of eternity are settled in time.  And we must make our choice to either love this life or to love Jesus.  We must decide to take what this world has to offer, or else take God’s deliverance and salvation by receiving Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.

 

There is no middle ground.  There are only two eternal options, and you’re standing in one of those options right now.  Either you are unsaved, living for what the world has to offer and headed for an eternal Hell, or else you are saved, and preparing for Heaven’s eternal blessings.

 

If you have chosen the latter, you have received Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, and God has declared you righteous in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and you are justified and forgiven and saved by grace through faith in Christ.

 

If you have chosen the former, and you are still rejecting the Savior and His great salvation, then you are still under the wrath of a holy God, headed for the everlasting fires of Hell.

 

Love your life, and you will lose it.

 

II.      Hate your life and you will gain it.

 

But, praise God, the second point in my message is this:  Hate your life, and you will gain it.

 

In the second half of John 12:25, Jesus gave us the second principle of how to be honored by God.

 

John 12:25b – …he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

 

Again Jesus used the same word for life as He did in the first part of the verse.  This is the soulish life – the life that lusts after the world, the flesh, and the devil.

 

Now the Bible says that the soul is that part of you that includes what makes you a unique human being:  your intellect, your emotions, and your will.  And the Bible says that the soul of each man and woman comes into existence at conception and will exist throughout eternity to come.  Your soul is the real you.

 

And by means of the physical body, our souls perceive and respond to the world around us.  You can lose major pieces of your body and still not lose anything that is essentially you, because the soul is you.

 

The Bible uses a word related to the soul to describe the person who is mostly or totally concerned with or into the things of the world, the flesh, and the devil.  It’s the Greek word psuchikos.  It’s translated natural in our King James Bibles.  It literally means soulish – or having to do with the soul, rather than the things of the spirit.

 

And the Bible says that the natural, or soulish man or woman is spiritually dead in trespasses and sins.  And so it’s no great wonder that the natural person is interested only in what his or her soul desires.

 

A natural or soulish man or woman cannot know, understand, or appreciate the things of the Spirit of God.  And so the soulish person says to himself, “Soul, take thine ease; eat, drink, and be merry.  Satisfy yourself with all that your eyes feast themselves upon.  Satisfy yourself with all that the body craves.  If your mind is fascinated by something, think on it, delve into it, become its disciple.”

 

This is the natural, soulish person.

 

But Jesus said, “He who loves this soulish life shall lose it, but he who hates this soulish life shall save his own soul unto everlasting life.”

 

What did Jesus mean when He used the word hate here?  In the Greek of the New Testament, this is a very strong word that means to detest, to abhor, and even – in some contexts – to persecute with an utter hatred.

 

Now let’s think for a moment.  The Bible teaches that born again Christians are now saved, and have been made spiritually alive in Christ.  We are alive in the Spirit.

 

But the Bible also teaches that the soul of the Christian has also been saved.  We have been made into new creations in Christ Jesus.  And at His coming again, we shall then experience the full reality of seeing our body, our soul, and our spirit completely and finally redeemed and made incapable of sinning any more for all eternity.

 

And of course, these blessed truths simply thrill our hearts.  But Jesus wants us to keep our minds and hearts fixed firmly on Him as we live in this present world.  And if we really want to serve Jesus, and we really want to be honored by God, then we’re going to have to learn to hate that which is soulish in our lives.  We’ll have to utterly despise the world, the flesh, and the occult.  We’ll have to go on the warpath to keep the natural instincts and soulish desires from rising up and dominating our lives.

 

Paul the Apostle told of his own daily experiences in this regard in 1 Cor. 9:25-27… 

1 Cor. 9:25 - And every man that striveth for the mastery [victory] is temperate [exercising self-restraint in our natural desires] in all things. Now they [folks in this world] do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.

26  I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:

27  But I keep under my body [put my body under guard], and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway [rejected, worthless, unapproved].

Paul never even hinted that he was afraid of losing his salvation.  What Paul really dreaded was somehow allowing the lusts of the flesh and the desires of the mind to once again control his life.  Paul knew that if he allowed this to happen, it would ruin the testimony of God’s grace in his life.  He knew that if he allowed the old soulish life back into the driver’s seat, he would lose the honor and blessing and power of God upon his life and ministry.

 

Paul had no fear of lions or persecutions or demons or death or any such thing.  But Paul did fear, lest he should allow the old nature – the soulish, natural desires that are always lurking in the darkness – to have control of his life.  Because then he would lose the approval of God.

 

And so, Paul deliberately waged war on those ungodly lusts that war against the soul.  He deliberately made sure that he didn’t place himself into a position or a condition or a situation where those lusts and desires could corner him and overcome him.

 

If Paul saw lust coming down the street, he would turn and run the other way and not look back.

 

If Paul felt the urge to eat that extra helping that would have put him over the edge into the sin of gluttony, he would say, “No” to his stomach, and he would instead invite some hungry person to come and eat, instead.

 

If Paul felt like taking a nap when he should have been witnessing for Christ, he deliberately went out and witnessed for Christ.

 

If Paul was tempted to judge someone wrongly or to gossip, he made himself recognize that he quite probably didn’t have all the facts and that sometimes it was better to allow love to hide a multitude of sins.  And it’s never right to satisfy the urge to dig up dirt on someone else.

 

Paul realized the reality of actively hating and literally persecuting the lusts of the flesh and the ungodly desires of the mind.  Paul did this for three reasons:  First, he really loved Jesus Christ.  Second, he really wanted to serve Jesus Christ.  And third, Paul really had determined to follow Jesus Christ, wherever the narrow pathway led.

 

Paul knew that all that he had invested in the Lord’s service – the time, the money, the labor, even his very soul – all these and far more would be his to enjoy throughout all eternity in Heaven, once this world and its sins had long since passed away.

 

Paul was laying up treasures in Heaven by denying and hating and despising the lusts and desires that his soul craved for in the things and the pleasures of this wicked world.

 

Hate your life, and you will gain it.

 

III.    Follow Jesus, and God the Father will honor you.

 

The third point in my message is this:  Follow Jesus, and God the Father will honor you.

 

In John 12:26, Jesus gave us the third principle for being honored by God… 

Jn. 12:26 - If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

Here we find both the reality and the result of serving the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Because serving Jesus Christ is not just saying that we serve Him, and then doing anything we jolly well please.

 

Serving Jesus Christ in reality is going everywhere He goes.  Serving Jesus Christ is doing everything He wants me to do.  Serving Jesus Christ is being a servant to the One Who is my Lord.

 

The modern western world knows very little of the ancient institution of slavery.  But almost every century and culture and land has witnessed both men and women in bondage to the whim and will of other men.

 

Even today, any man with power and riches will almost certainly have those around him who make themselves his servants for one reason or another.  And of course there are also those who have been forced into servitude, again for one reason or another.

 

And when that man of power and riches travels about, he usually takes with him such servants as are needful to minister to his needs and desires.

 

And if his servants voluntarily serve him, they will voluntarily follow him wherever he goes.  In doing so, they receive his praise.  They also get their portion of whatever it is they want, in due season.

 

We who love the Lord Jesus Christ serve Him voluntarily.  We love Him because He first loved us.  We owe our lives to Him, because He gave His life and blood as the ransom for our souls.  And we love Him even more, because He has shed His love abroad in our hearts by His Holy Spirit.

 

And our love is such that we love to yield our all to Him.  We do, don’t we?

 

We love to give Him all that we have and all that we are.  We do, don’t we?

 

We voluntarily become His servants, especially since we are members of His body and one with Him.  We do this, too, don’t we?

 

And we follow Him wherever He goes, and we serve Him in all of His stated purposes.  We do, don’t we?

 

What were His stated purposes?

 

Jesus stated that He came not to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.

 

Jesus stated that He had come to seek and to save that which was lost.

 

He stated that He came to purchase for Himself a special, unique people all His own, to wash us and cleanse us by the water of the Word, and to conform us to His holy image, that He might present us unto Himself, pure and spotless.

 

And as He does these works to which His heavenly Father sent Him, we voluntarily follow, because we love Him.  We do, don’t we?

 

But where does Jesus go?  Where shall we follow?

 

The Bible tells us.

 

Jesus went, in service, to those who were lost, and He shared the good news of salvation with them.

 

Jesus went, in fellowship, to His own people, to make their hearts rejoice with His presence.

 

Jesus went, in comfort, to those who were despised and rejected and hurting, to bring His peace and joy in the midst of deep distress.

 

Jesus went, in communion, to His own heavenly Father, to share His burdens and blessings alike, getting new strength for each new day.

 

And these are just some of the places we need to follow Jesus, if we would truly serve Him.

 

We need to go to the lost, with the Gospel of their salvation.

 

We need to go to the saints, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, but rejoicing together, praising Him together, building up each other in our most holy faith.

 

We need to go to the distressed and discouraged and hurting, comforting them with the comfort wherein God has comforted us.

 

And we need to go to the throne of grace, seeking communion with our blessed Lord in His Word and in prayer.

 

Following Jesus will lead first to the Cross, where we see ourselves as undone sinners, and where we see Jesus Christ dying for our sins, being made sin for us.

 

Following Jesus must lead to the death of self.  It must lead to counting ourselves crucified with Christ, dead to the world, and the world dead unto us.

 

Following Jesus will lead to a grave, where all of our sins of the past as repented of, forsaken, repudiated, and buried, never to be remembered again by God.

 

Following Jesus will also lead to resurrection.  And here we discover ourselves risen with Christ into newness of life. To walk in the freedom and joy of the children of God.

 

Following Jesus will give our eyes an upward look, as we wait and watch for His return. 

 

Following Jesus will one day lead us to things that eye hath not seen, that ear hath not heard, and that has not entered into the heart of man – to things that God has prepared for those who love Him and follow Him.

 

If I say that I love Jesus, then I’d better keep His commands in the New Testament.

 

Jesus said, “…If any one will serve Me, that person my Father will honor.”

 

Conclusion:

 

That’s what the Apostle Paul wanted, more than anything else.  He wanted God’s honor.  And I think that’s what we want, too.

 

Desire God’s best for your life.  Don’t settle for second best. 

 

Remember:

 

•        If love your life, you will lose it.

•        If you hate your life, you will gain it.

•        If you follow Jesus, God the Father will honor you.

 

And this will bring glory to Jesus Christ.