WEBVTT 00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:06.320 So when I was 18 years old, I weighed a very impressive 155 pounds. 00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:07.839 But I could run forever. 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:09.599 I could shoot a basketball pretty well. 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:12.000 So I was on the basketball team at my high school. 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:20.640 And in the fall of that year, my senior year, we had a scrimmage before the season started for the community to come out and kind of get everybody excited to come to games. 00:00:20.719 --> 00:00:22.559 And so we played this game at halftime. 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:32.640 We had a three-point contest and we had a very, very unimpressive dunk contest, which was basically like us doing layups, touching the rim, possibly, and calling it a dunk. 00:00:33.039 --> 00:00:36.640 Anyways, in the second half, I was driving to the basket. 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:45.200 I went up for not a dunk, a layup, mind you, and came down on my left foot and landed on somebody else's foot, and I rolled my ankle, right? 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:46.560 Classic basketball injury. 00:00:46.799 --> 00:00:50.479 Carried me off the court and we start to rice it. 00:00:50.640 --> 00:00:52.960 Remember rice, rest, ice, compress, elevate. 00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:54.079 Anybody in sports? 00:00:54.560 --> 00:01:01.359 So icing it over and over and over again, just icing it because immediately it started to swell. 00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:11.280 And every few hours I would try to walk on it, and I couldn't walk, it'd be immense pain, and then the swelling just kept occurring, and I kept icing and icing and icing and icing and icing. 00:01:11.359 --> 00:01:15.280 Now here's the thing: the swelling was not really the problem, right? 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:16.640 Swelling's never really the problem. 00:01:16.879 --> 00:01:18.480 I'm not even a doctor, and I know that. 00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:19.359 You probably know that. 00:01:19.599 --> 00:01:21.840 The swelling's a symptom of something else, right? 00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:26.959 The situation in this was the swelling was occurring because I had ligaments that were hurt. 00:01:27.040 --> 00:01:30.319 So there's a hurt under the hurt. 00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:48.560 And so maybe you know about this as you're planting some black-eyed Susan's next to your hostas and hollybushes, and you're down there and you're planting them, and a yellow jacket comes out and stings you on the finger, and that little finger swells up, and so you run inside, you take some benadryl to control the swelling. 00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:50.000 But the swelling is not really the problem. 00:01:50.079 --> 00:01:51.519 The benadry will help with the swelling. 00:01:51.599 --> 00:01:52.799 The real problem is what? 00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:56.480 It's the poison put in you by the yellow jacket, right? 00:01:56.560 --> 00:01:59.120 It's the hurt under the hurt. 00:02:00.799 --> 00:02:04.959 Now, maybe you're on an unbelievable good streak of being injury free. 00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:11.520 It's possible, but you still know about this because your feelings get hurt, right? 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:19.439 Janet said blah blah blah da Sheila, and your feelings are hurt about this, right? 00:02:19.520 --> 00:02:22.879 And so what you mean is you mean your feelings are upset. 00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:24.319 They're swollen. 00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:25.680 Your feelings are swollen. 00:02:25.840 --> 00:02:27.919 But something else is really hurt, right? 00:02:28.080 --> 00:02:31.840 The feelings are hurt, it's legitimate, but they're hurt because something else got hurt. 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:42.240 The thing that got hurt is this thing inside you, this self, this quite fragile self that's inside of us. 00:02:42.560 --> 00:02:51.520 And Janet's words to Sheila hurt your feelings, or Brian's words to Bennett hurt your feelings. 00:02:51.759 --> 00:03:00.400 And so, but really it's those words come into you and they touch into you at a inner self, a core self. 00:03:00.560 --> 00:03:04.159 And there's a hurt there which then upsets the feelings, a hurt under the hurt. 00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:06.879 Now, this is where the Christian faith has a lot to offer us. 00:03:06.960 --> 00:03:21.599 It actually says a lot to us because it speaks to this, it speaks to this core part of us, this self that's underneath everything else that we so often experience and operate out of. 00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:29.199 And this is where the hurt under the hurt is, and this hurt keeps getting hurt unless we heal from it and we deal from it. 00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:39.280 But the thing is, is the way that we heal and the way that we deal with it is actually a way that we're quite uh, we just don't like it. 00:03:39.599 --> 00:03:42.000 I mean, it seems quite paradoxical. 00:03:42.400 --> 00:03:45.680 Because what it is is to die to all of it. 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:47.439 And that sounds confusing. 00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:51.120 Sounds confusing, uh, but really it's not confusing, it's just paradoxical. 00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:56.240 And so we're gonna look at that this morning because Jesus speaks right at this. 00:03:57.199 --> 00:04:00.719 How does life happen in your life? 00:04:00.800 --> 00:04:02.879 How does life happen inside of you? 00:04:03.039 --> 00:04:06.159 So John 20, John 12, 20 through 24. 00:04:06.319 --> 00:04:09.360 Now, among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:14.719 So these came to Philip, who was from Beth Seda and Galilee, and asked him, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. 00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:15.919 Philip went and told Andrew. 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:21.519 Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus, and then Jesus said, and Jesus answered them, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:29.839 Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. 00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:34.319 But if it dies, it bears much fruit. 00:04:34.480 --> 00:04:37.759 So quite a principle is being taught here. 00:04:37.920 --> 00:04:42.000 And this is point number one, nothing new to say here. 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:46.240 And it's this by death we find life. 00:04:46.800 --> 00:04:49.120 So this makes sense that Jesus would use a seed. 00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:51.439 I mean, they're an agricultural society, so it makes sense. 00:04:51.519 --> 00:04:55.839 He would just find the most common thing that everybody understands and says, hey, you know, a seed, everybody understands this. 00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:59.279 We drop this seed in the ground, we cover it up, we bury it. 00:04:59.439 --> 00:05:03.519 And the way to get new life is to actually bury something. 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:06.399 So let me put it in our own words. 00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:14.720 Last week I was taking our little puppy brother out to see a boarding place that he could go be at when we go out of town. 00:05:14.879 --> 00:05:20.639 So I plugged the address into Waze, it's out in Paulding County, and Waze says it's gonna take you eight hours to get there. 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:23.120 So it didn't, it felt like eight hours to get there. 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:24.959 I don't know if you've been to Pauldine County. 00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:26.079 Uh it's out there, right? 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:28.160 Anyone from Pauldine County? 00:05:28.319 --> 00:05:29.279 You made the journey here? 00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:30.560 No, it felt like eight hours. 00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:32.959 I feel more comfortable to say that. 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:36.800 So I'm at about the avenues headed west. 00:05:37.040 --> 00:05:38.879 Some of you don't know where Paulding County is. 00:05:38.959 --> 00:05:39.759 It's just that way. 00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:40.560 That's all I can say. 00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:42.319 Just keep going. 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:46.959 And so I'm at about the avenues and my phone starting to die. 00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:58.480 And I'm the moron who doesn't have a phone charger in my car because I think I can manage my power, and I can't, I never do, so my phone constantly dies, but I'm sticking with it, sticking to my guns here. 00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:01.680 And so I'm at about the avenues, and I know my phone's about to die. 00:06:01.759 --> 00:06:09.920 Uh, but brother and I, we make it to the boarding place, we check it out, he approves of it, uh, I approve of it. 00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:13.279 We get back in the car, and the phone is dead. 00:06:13.600 --> 00:06:19.920 I'm also the moron who won't walk back in to get directions to go home because you know I got this under control. 00:06:20.160 --> 00:06:25.680 And so I make a few wrong turns, uh, but we make it home, right? 00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:28.319 Finally make it home. 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:35.920 And the phone's still dead, and there's only one way to use this phone again, and it's to bury it, right? 00:06:36.079 --> 00:06:37.519 And we hate this moment. 00:06:37.759 --> 00:06:39.680 You plug it in, right? 00:06:40.160 --> 00:06:44.959 It is a very frustrating minute for all of us. 00:06:45.199 --> 00:06:52.560 You sit there, and the little apple pops up, and you wait, and you wait, and then the little red bar pops up, which doesn't mean you can use it yet. 00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:54.879 It just means it's starting to get there. 00:06:55.120 --> 00:07:01.759 It's incredibly frustrating, but it's the only way that you can get to use it again is by burying it. 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:03.360 This is what Jesus is saying. 00:07:03.519 --> 00:07:29.199 He's saying you will eventually run yourself down to that red bar, to that low battery, and then eventually, what will happen out of all your self-saving efforts, self-justification efforts, all your coping mechanisms, all of that for you to feel, I don't know, absolved of something, forgiven of something, righteous enough, valuable enough, all of that effort of your own will eventually not be enough. 00:07:29.279 --> 00:07:30.800 And you will be exhausted. 00:07:30.959 --> 00:07:40.959 And the only way out of that, the only way out of that is for you to bury that sort of life for a new sort of life. 00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:56.560 Watchman Ni, who is a church leader and author in China, he said this God's means of delivering us from sin is not by making us stronger and stronger, but by making us weaker and weaker. 00:07:57.120 --> 00:08:03.199 That is surely rather a peculiar way of victory, you say, but it is the divine way. 00:08:03.519 --> 00:08:14.800 God sets us free from the dominion of sin, not by strengthening our old man, but by crucifying him, not by helping him to do anything, but by removing him from the scene of action. 00:08:15.040 --> 00:08:18.800 So this means, this means if you love your life, you'll lose it, right? 00:08:18.959 --> 00:08:38.399 If you love your life to have affection for trying to attain life by self-assertion, self-effort, to maintain a fulfillment, to get a redemption, to be valuable enough, whole by your own production, that sort of life is actually self-defeating. 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:46.080 Because your love destroys the life you seek. 00:08:46.399 --> 00:09:00.240 Because you smother it to death with that fragile self, that fragile, broken self that we were talking about at the very beginning, that's the hurt under the hurt. 00:09:00.399 --> 00:09:10.000 That self is so fragile and so broken, it will seek life in the very ways that condemns you and breaks you and exhausts you. 00:09:11.519 --> 00:09:13.039 Fortunately, there's a different way. 00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:21.440 Verse 25, whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 00:09:21.679 --> 00:09:25.600 So author and pastor Eugene Peterson says, learning to live is learning to die. 00:09:25.759 --> 00:09:35.120 And then he says, and here's the quote, you start losing all your illusions, and you start being capable of true intimacy and love. 00:09:36.480 --> 00:09:43.200 So I think when he says illusions, I think he probably means your self-justification methods, your self-saving methods, your coping mechanisms. 00:09:43.279 --> 00:09:51.679 You know, as you start to lose your life to know that you are loved and redeemed and absolved and accepted by God alone in Jesus. 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:53.840 And it is given to you outside of yourself. 00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:57.519 When you start to grasp that, all your illusions start to go away. 00:09:57.679 --> 00:10:04.639 And now, now you're able, you're to move into true intimacy and love, which is point number two. 00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:11.360 Jesus teaches us life is by death, and then Jesus calls us to love him and others. 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:17.919 Jesus teaches us life is by death, and then Jesus calls us to love him and others. 00:10:18.080 --> 00:10:20.240 So we're called to follow and serve. 00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:26.159 Verse 26, if anyone serves me, he must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. 00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:28.559 If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:30.720 So we're called to follow and serve. 00:10:30.799 --> 00:10:35.519 So to serve him is this great call to love God and love your neighbor. 00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:38.480 That brings us back to verse 24. 00:10:38.639 --> 00:10:44.159 I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into earth and dies, it remains alone. 00:10:46.720 --> 00:10:49.360 Now last week we talked about Randy and Sandy. 00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:51.600 Do you remember Randy and Sandy from last week? 00:10:51.759 --> 00:10:52.799 If you were here. 00:10:53.360 --> 00:10:58.080 Randy, I painted him as a hero husband to Sandy. 00:10:58.159 --> 00:11:01.039 I mean, this this guy, Randy, unbelievable. 00:11:01.360 --> 00:11:02.000 Remember him? 00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:06.080 He he loads the dishwasher the way that Sandy taught him. 00:11:06.240 --> 00:11:12.960 And he once she showed it to him, he couldn't believe he had been loading the dishwasher for 25 years, 30 years, as that way. 00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:14.879 Sandy's what unbelievable, Sandy. 00:11:14.960 --> 00:11:15.919 Thank you for showing me that. 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:18.480 And from that day forward, he always loaded it that way. 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:25.919 He does the laundry for the whole family in the morning before Sandy awakens, and she awakens to breakfast in bed. 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:27.279 That he gives to her. 00:11:27.440 --> 00:11:46.240 He prepares it, he brings it to her in bed, and he loves to sit and listen to Sandy's day at the end of the day because she has a high-pressure job and she comes home and he is waiting to listen to her about her horrible boss and that colleague and that post by that friend, and she can't believe that her friend made that comment. 00:11:46.399 --> 00:11:48.960 And he he wants to listen to he loves it. 00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:50.159 He loves to listen. 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:53.279 He offers no solutions, he just listens. 00:11:53.360 --> 00:11:54.240 He's unbelievable. 00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:56.080 He's unbelievable, Randy. 00:11:56.320 --> 00:12:01.840 Now, what I didn't tell you is as great as Randy is, there's more to this story. 00:12:02.320 --> 00:12:05.120 I didn't realize there was more to the story until this week. 00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:15.279 See, Randy, he serves and he listens and he gives, but Randy doesn't do something. 00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:25.200 Randy never lets Sandy into his thinking, into his doubts, into his hurt. 00:12:25.600 --> 00:12:29.840 So he's a rock of charity and generosity and service. 00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:33.279 I mean, we would all look at this guy and be like, this guy's unbelievable. 00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:34.879 What a husband. 00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:42.720 But people who know him actually know something quite differently because what they know is knowing him is almost impossible. 00:12:43.200 --> 00:12:49.039 And Sandy knows what he's doing all the time, but she doesn't know him. 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:59.120 And it is very hard to be loved by him truly, and it's very hard to love him because he doesn't ever let her in. 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:20.639 And Randy can be the moral right in any relationship, but until he dares to die to a few things like fear of being rejected, fear of actually being open or vulnerable, until he dies to those fears, his love will always be limited. 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:22.559 To give it or to receive it. 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:24.240 Now, maybe I described you a little bit. 00:13:24.320 --> 00:13:26.399 I described myself a little bit. 00:13:28.080 --> 00:13:32.480 We can be with other people and feel utterly alone. 00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:34.639 Very possible. 00:13:34.799 --> 00:13:43.919 Last night we were at the Atlanta United game with some friends, and at some point in the game, it's Saturday night, I'm thinking about the sermon, I'm sort of at the game, I'm thinking about the sermon pretty much. 00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:59.840 And so I was thinking about the sermon, and I'm thinking, I don't know, maybe 50,000 people here, and I'm thinking, how many people in this given moment, surrounded by everybody and all this energy, how many people feel alone? 00:14:01.120 --> 00:14:01.440 Right? 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:02.639 Because you felt alone. 00:14:02.720 --> 00:14:06.320 You're at a party in Paulding County or you were in a stadium. 00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:10.080 There's been a party, don't laugh at a party in Paulding County. 00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:10.879 It happened. 00:14:11.120 --> 00:14:12.399 Maybe a family reunion. 00:14:12.480 --> 00:14:13.600 I mean, there's some loneliness. 00:14:13.679 --> 00:14:15.360 You go to a family reunion. 00:14:17.120 --> 00:14:19.919 Sandy knew it sleeping next to Randy. 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:23.840 It has nothing to do with proximity to a person. 00:14:24.159 --> 00:14:26.879 Loneliness has nothing to do with a proximity to a person. 00:14:26.960 --> 00:14:34.480 It has everything to do with whether someone is dying for you, or if you are dying for someone. 00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:36.639 Because that's what love is. 00:14:37.679 --> 00:14:39.120 Not just romantic love. 00:14:40.080 --> 00:14:40.879 Any kind of love. 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:45.519 Love is you dying for someone or someone dying for you. 00:14:46.559 --> 00:14:48.639 And we have to learn. 00:14:48.960 --> 00:15:00.240 We have to learn if we're going to move out of loneliness into the call of Jesus to love God and love others, we have to learn how to die to some things. 00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:04.000 A lot of our fears and a lot of our anxieties. 00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:06.639 And then we're pulled out of our loneliness. 00:15:06.720 --> 00:15:08.240 And this is very scary. 00:15:08.559 --> 00:15:10.799 And this is what it's like with God. 00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:29.360 So often we use behavioral religion or morality because to be loved as a sinner, to be loved as a sinner as I am, I'm not quite sure if I want to die to that humiliation and exist in that place. 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:32.639 But that is the way of the gospel, and it's actually the way to life. 00:15:32.799 --> 00:15:34.399 It's definitely the way to love. 00:15:34.720 --> 00:15:36.240 And here's the good news. 00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:39.440 Because none of us are really good at this, so there's some good news at the end of this. 00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:46.879 And this is a as our love for our own lives is insufficient, your love for your own life is insufficient, it's not a good path forward. 00:15:47.039 --> 00:15:53.200 As our love for our own lives is insufficient, God's love for our lives is always sufficient. 00:15:54.399 --> 00:16:05.120 So while this text is teaching us something about life, say a principle for life, this text is showing us, is Jesus telling these people how he will die for them. 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:10.399 This is God revealing love in flesh for us to know. 00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:17.279 And the beauty of a God who dies for you is not that the love only meets you when you feel broken. 00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:23.360 Well, that wouldn't be that great a news, really, because then you would constantly have to feel broken. 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:27.679 And then how broken do you have to feel in order to be loved by God? 00:16:27.840 --> 00:16:37.759 See, God didn't come into the world to save you when you have your act together, nor did he come into the world to save you when you're humble enough, as if to earn something. 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:43.840 God came into the world to love you and save you as you are. 00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:53.519 Which at times is a very prideful sinner, quite blind to everything you do, and quite lonely. 00:16:54.159 --> 00:17:01.039 And at times it's you being exhausted and broken and very truthful and repentant and ready to receive. 00:17:01.360 --> 00:17:15.119 And the truth of this sufficient gospel is that it saves us, it absolves us, forgives us, grants us righteousness and value apart from our works, because he died for you. 00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:19.279 See, life is always found in death. 00:17:19.680 --> 00:17:22.960 My brothers and sisters, you are safe in Jesus' death. 00:17:23.279 --> 00:17:26.000 Loved by the Father, and you're never alone. 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:27.440 Let's pray together. 00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:30.000 God, thank you for your grace to us. 00:17:30.720 --> 00:17:33.839 Why we do not live out this principle perfectly. 00:17:34.480 --> 00:17:36.400 We know the loneliness. 00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:41.920 We also know we do not always die to the things we should die to. 00:17:42.079 --> 00:17:49.599 We know we don't always hate parts of our lives that are unhealthy and that are sin and separate us from you and peace. 00:17:51.119 --> 00:17:53.359 We thank you that your grace is enough. 00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:58.960 That you love us when we are broken, and you love us when we pretend like we're not broken. 00:17:59.920 --> 00:18:08.880 Forgive us for all the moments that we are unaware of how far we are from humility and repentance. 00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:17.440 Thank you that your love, your grace, your redemption in the cross is sufficient for us this morning. 00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:26.160 For those of us that are in extreme loneliness, would you help us to see that your love is always there? 00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:28.640 That you died for us. 00:18:30.160 --> 00:18:34.480 And would you call all of us to greater vulnerability before you? 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:41.359 That our hearts would be wide open as we are, that we might know your love in greater and greater ways. 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:44.480 In Jesus' name and power we pray. 00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:45.279 Amen.