A Dying Church
Notes
Transcript
Read John 12: 12-26 passage
(Skip over Triumphal Entry)
I have corn seed, watermelon seed
A Dying Seed
A Dying Seed
(show slide)
Explain the process, cool science
I’ve really always wondered about this metaphor, comparison
Seeds planted, when they are “dead”
Timing has to be right
The conditions have to be good and right
But…CANNOT grow without death (dead seed cap in the image)
And…Cannot produce fruit without growth
The seed itself - dies to self, gives all of itself to the growth of the plant
The plant becomes something completely new and different than the seed, which is no longer
The seed can produce no fruit
But the plant can
The Timing of Jesus’ Mission
The Timing of Jesus’ Mission
The John 12 focus
The right time had come for Jesus to begin the mission
The right time had come to invite the Gentiles, fusing them with the Jews into the Kingdom
Jesus will die, rise again, for all of them
Jesus’ dying was necessary for His resurrection
The timing had to be right
Our Response
Our Response
Born spiritually dead
Like a seed, dead, dormant, no sign of life
Salvation - new life
Something brand new, that new creation of God
God’s image, in each of us
Our soul/spirit, needing to be born again
We can talk and talk about “dying to self” and talk salvation
But it really comes into play more with living and growing
A Dying Church
A Dying Church
Full of dying believers (disciples)
Dying to Self - let’s dig into that (gardening pun)
Die to self, born again, new creation, new life begins
Sanctification - growing from the planted seed
The seed is gone - having given of itself to form the plant, at salvation
The old self is gone - the old self is consumed, done away
See 1 Cor. 15:31
I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
Paul - I die daily - the life of a set-apart believer is a continual exercise and practice of yielding to the Spirit, pushing back against the world
This church needs to push back
This church needs to die
How? To What? For what purpose?
GROWTH - We literally cannot grow, as believers, unless we are willing to die
Our church will not grow without “dying “believers
For seed to grow, the conditions must be right
Soil, temperature, etc.
Plants leave behind the shell of a seed they once were
For disciples to grow
Biblical worldview and healthy environment
Disciples leave behind the shell of the old self when they choose to follow Christ
OK, so what would that LOOK like, to die to self, if that were to be our church?
Three Ways We Need to Die
Three Ways We Need to Die
1) Striving for comfort
1) Striving for comfort
Our church environment
The temperature, we have great thermostats
Cushioned seats
Building updates (we are expected to be good stewards of what we’ve been given, being sensible)
But what if the A/C stopped working and we announced it ahead of time, and next Sunday is 95 degrees. You coming?
TRUTH - I enjoy comfort, but it’s not more important than disciple-making
Do I give to the church before or after I check my bank account?
Can I handle a message that hits home, hits hard on sin, demands change?
Do we think a friendly environment is the main reason people might join us?
2) Striving to be like the culture
2) Striving to be like the culture
“If we are not relevant to the culture around us, they will not join us” - FALSE
Jesus Christ is ALWAYS RELEVANT - HAS ALWAYS BEEN - He created everything
POINT - When we are just like the culture, then we are actually irrelevant, as we are just like everyone else (blend in)
GOD SAYS TO BE HOLY! - Be set apart, DISTINCT!
Look at Paul in Thessalonica, Galatia, Ephesus - he did not go there to fit it - he went there to help them change, for Christ
Jesus never came to “fit in”
He came to DRIVE the culture to repentance - unpopular
Jesus did not save you to “fit in”
He saved you to drive the culture to repentance
To make disciples (Matthew 28)
Who is driving the culture today? Pick a movement:
LGBTQ, Politicians, Environmental, global warming, racism,
Pro-abortion (the upcoming election has this as the main topic in focus)
The culture is in moral decline, maybe because the church hasn’t done its job
Church has become a social club, a social organization to address feelings and superficial needs
The church must preach the Gospel of Christ and challenge culture to Biblical obedience
Biblical Christianity will never be a movement - it needs to be our very life
GOAL - Be like Jesus, preach (and live) the radical counter-cultural Gospel, challenging transformed lives
Is this us? If not us, who?
3) Being satisfied by superficial commitment
3) Being satisfied by superficial commitment
TRUTH is attractive - even though few commit
17/44 - at least 40% of people calling self members here - are not meaningfully committed
Some we may see on Easter and Christmas, maybe Mother’s Day, too
Some are maybe once or twice a month
Even being here every week doesn’t mean commitment
Some do not understand giving, not understanding the NT principle
And then, some here are sold out, committed, surrendered
And it shows
Those are the ones I want to point visitors to
With a goal to see lives transformed….Jesus wants us to take those truly commited and…
….change our local culture with those truly committed
The truth has that affect
We cannot lower our standards just to please people - some will stay away
In John 6, Jesus preached hard truth, and drove “pretenders” away - who does this? Jesus!
Matthew 19 - Rich young ruler wants to follow, and Jesus challenges him about priorities, and the man leaves, not to follow
(Who challenges someone like that? Jesus!)
Matthew 16 - take up your cross, complete surrender
He asks people to die for Him (die to self, that is)
is this kind of Christianity for you? Because most say no.
Is this for you?
CLOSING
Can’t get watermelon if the seed never gets planted
Can’t get corn if I leave the seeds in the bag
A believer produces no fruit without first dying to self
Crucified with Christ - Gal. 2:20
Galatians 2:20 (NASB95)
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…
We die to self (the seed dies) - and it is Christ who lives in us, fuels our growth
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
And…
To hate your life here means to choose Jesus as priority
To love your life here means to prioritize yourself over Jesus - refusing to die to self
Every single seed has the potential to be an amazing fruit-producing plant
Every single person, each created by God, has potential for new life in Jesus
Our job, as the church, is to get those seeds around the nourishment of Jesus
Seeds - die to self, then thrive when nurtured with light
Disciples - thrive, when nurtured with the Light
We need to help people die (to self)
So they can live, truly live, now and eternally
And it starts with us, dying, so we can truly live