Honesty And Giving Life

Let's open our Bibles to 2 Corinthians here. 2 Corinthians, we've been this probably a month now since we've been in this book here in 2 Corinthians. I'm going to try to go down from chapter 4, verse 1 all the way down here to verse 12 because we have touched on some of these verses already in chapter 4 here as we spoke in chapter number 3. But let's do some review.

Notice here in 2 Corinthians 4, in verse number 1, it says, Therefore, whenever you see a therefore, you need to ask, what is it therefore? And it's therefore because of what was spoken previously. Therefore, seeing we have received this mercy. So let's review a little bit about, before we go on, about what we've been talking about.

Paul has been making a comparison here between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. We talked about the glory. The Old Covenant had a glory to it.

The face of Moses shined when he was in the presence of the Lord there on Mount Sinai when he received the law. But the New Testament has a far superior glory. And we are all participants in that far superior glory.

We also talked about that the Old Covenant was an outside covenant. It was written on tables of stone. It was written on parchments with ink.

But the New Covenant is a inside covenant. It's an inside-out covenant. It was written on the tables of the heart.

Written on the tables of the heart. And so the New Covenant is an inside covenant. I want to draw an illustration up here for you just to remind you here.

Try to make this simple. That first outer circle there is your flesh. It's your shell.

It's the body, the house in which you live in. And this body is what Paul says, a vile body. It's a body that needs changing.

It can't be changed in this life. We're waiting for the Lord to come and to change it. That inner circle is your soul.

It's who you are, your mind, will, and emotions. Your soul is in there. And in the Old Covenant, there was an outside source.

It was called the law. The law was an outside source. And, you know, the soul would look at the law, and the soul would say, Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Thou shalt not lie. Thou shalt not steal. And maybe the soul would say, Yes, I agree with the law.

I want to do that. But because of the sinful nature in our bodies, the sinfulness in this vile body, the body was too strong. The flesh is too strong.

And even though the soul wanted to do right, Romans 7 says, The things I wanted to do, that's not what I did. The things I hated, those are the things I did. And so the law only exposed and only showed humanity where he was failing and where he was wrong.

But there was no power or strength to overcome and obey the law. Because it wasn't in the will of man to accomplish that. And the law, it terrified.

You know the law, the mountains shook and the lightning and the thunder, and the soul feared, and fearing God was not sufficient. The stonings even that they observed. Someone committed adultery, he was stoned.

You would think that that would terrify people to stay away from adultery, but that didn't do it either. So this is a picture of someone who has not a new covenant experience, has not the Spirit of God in them. Romans 8, 3 says, For what the law could not do, this could not do.

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh. This flesh here was too strong for humanity. It's too powerful, too sinful.

But then we've learned here in this chapter 3 that the Spirit of God was given to us. That's a little fire there. The Spirit of God in a new covenant.

And the Spirit of God has written His law in our hearts. And I love here in Romans chapter 8, in verse number 3, it says this, For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. That's how this law can be fulfilled.

And so we're a very privileged people, whether you know it or not, in the new covenant because we now have the power within. You shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you. And so when we don't walk after the Spirit, we put ourselves back under this condition here where we're still kind of in a bondage.

Maybe we're quenching the Spirit of God or we're grieving the Spirit of God and the Spirit of God is not being used for the purposes of overcoming. And so that's new covenant Christianity. And so getting here to 2 Corinthians chapter number 4, he starts out with therefore, and I'm going to walk down through this passage.

He's going to talk here about what this new Testament Christianity is going to do for us, how we can minister, how we can reach people with this new covenant Christianity. So let's pray. And then we'll start here in chapter 4, verse number 1. Heavenly Father, we acknowledge you've been very good to us and the Lord gracious to us and in giving us not only the forgiveness of sins, but the power to live and to walk in the Spirit and to live above sin and to represent and to manifest the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And Lord, may you help us today not only to hear and understand your word, but to make application to it in our own life. May the Spirit of God be awakened and quickened inside of each one of us. This treasure that we have in earthen vessels, that we could truly be overcomers and walk in the Spirit of God and in power.

We pray in Jesus name, amen. All right, we're going to start here in verse number 1. And I want to spend a little time on this. Therefore seeing we have this ministry.

Now, this is kind of one of the things I oftentimes speak about here, but we have this ministry. All of you, whether you know it or not, are in the ministry. All of you are in the ministry.

You know, some people think, well, Jerry, you're the minister here. The truth of the matter is we have all received a ministry. And that's something we really need to embrace.

Therefore seeing we have this ministry. What ministry is Paul talking about? Well, if you look back to chapter 3 and verse number 6, he says this. Who also has made us able ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the Spirit.

For the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. You and I are ministers of the New Testament. We have a ministry.

And it's a wonderful ministry. And so many of us are limited because of our mindset. We believe things that are not true.

We believe like the Catholics brought 1,600 years ago, that clergy and laity ought to be separated. That there was a special group of people called the clergy, and they had special contact with God. And they were a special blessed people.

And then there's these others called the laity. And this separation has caused the church problems for centuries. But in New Testament Christianity, there is not that separation.

Yes, there is this thing called elders, bishops, who are simply overseers because they're older. But the idea that there are privileged people and less privileged people is not a biblical concept. We all have received a ministry.

And I want to share this as a review. But I think this is so important. We've seen how Moses was able to go up into the mountain and meet with God.

And Moses was the only one who could experience this glory. But in the New Covenant, look at verse 18 of chapter 3. But we all, but we all, that word all is important. With open face beholding is in a glass the glory of the Lord.

You know, Moses got to see the glory of the Lord. And his face shone. But in the New Covenant, we all can behold.

The glory of the Lord. In the Old Covenant, there was a priest once a year who could go into the holy place. And nobody else could.

But now in the New Covenant, we are all a priesthood. All of us are priests unto God. And we all have the privilege to come boldly unto the throne of grace.

And then I shared a little bit also about this. In the Old Covenant, there was prophets. The Spirit of God came upon them in different times and then left.

And they prophesied. But here in the New Covenant, and that's the thing that Peter said when the Spirit of God fell down. And the Bible says that everyone in the upper room began to speak with tongues.

And they asked, what is going on here? And Peter says, here's what's going on. God is going to pour out His Spirit upon all, all, emphasis, all flesh. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.

It won't be just Ezekiel and Jeremiah and special people. I'm going to make prophets of all of you. Amen.

And so we're in the New Covenant. And let's start living or let's live as New Covenant Christians. Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not.

Now, the Bible says here, we have already received mercy. In the Old Covenant, they were looking forward to the atonement. And that atonement had not been made in the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

But now it's been made. And you can receive mercy. You can have mercy right now.

It's not something you're hoping for in the future. It's something you ought to be experiencing right now. And we ought to be able to say, I have mercy.

I have the forgiveness of my sins. I'm not hoping for it. I have it.

And therefore, I can have peace with God. Colossians 2.13 says, and you being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all your trespasses. It doesn't say they're hoping that someday he'll forgive you all your trespasses.

It says, having forgiven you all your trespasses. And that's good news for all of us. We're no longer under the law, but we're under grace.

And we have received mercy. And it goes on to say in verse number one, therefore, seeing we have received, we have this ministry as we have received mercy, we faint not. Now, have you ever been around a fainter? My brother was a fainter.

I still have in my mind that day when he had some blood on his hand, and he walked into our hallway. And I was on the other end of the hallway. And I just saw him just crumble right before my eyes.

Just he went straight down because of the blood. He saw he just couldn't take blood. My wife's a fainter.

She's not here. By the way, she's recuperating well. She thought she might be able to have the strength to be here today.

But my wife is also a fainter. And I've seen her when she gets sick, begins to vomit. I've seen her just go straight down on her face on the floor.

And she's a fainter. What happens when you faint? Your whole body just kind of collapses and gives up and loses its vitality and loses heart. And so therefore, seeing we have received this ministry as we have received mercy, we faint not.

We don't lose heart. We don't give up. We don't say like the Israelites, all right, I'm going back to eat.

I'm done. I'm giving up. I'm going back to eat.

We faint not. Boy, we have a great, great. We have a great new covenant situation that we're in.

We have power. We have mercy. We have been forgiven.

And so we don't faint. Now, why do people faint? Look over to verse 16 of chapter four. It says this, for which cause we faint not.

But though our outward man perished, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. That glory that is within. That's why you and I don't faint or shouldn't faint is because there's a glory within the spirit of God within.

Jesus never slumbers nor sleeps or the Lord never slumbers or sleeps. That spirit that's within us is a continuous motivator, a continuous energizer. The spirit of God continues to drive us.

And though, as some of us are getting older, realize this outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. I don't need to faint. Amen.

And and give up. Along the way, a day by day. Renewal, eating of his word, praying and keeping that fire burned.

You know, people talk about burnout. You know what that simply means? That fire is going out. That spirit has been so quenched that they're just so empty and frustrated.

And I'm just going to give up. That's not a good place to be. And so those who are keeping the fires burning, those who are in their prayer closets and fellowshipping with the Lord, those who are in the word of God there, their fire is burning and they have no thought of giving up.

And so there's there's energy, there's zeal, there's strength, there's power not to faint. It has nothing to do with you. I love verse number seven.

Jump down there. We'll see this in a minute. But we have this treasure in earth and vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.

The power is not about anything in you. There's nothing in your body, nothing in your mind, nothing in you that can keep you motivated and going forward. The excellency of the power is of him.

It is God which works in you. Both to will and to do. That's why, as you see this, it's so so vain to think that a person who has not the spirit of God could ever be saved or could ever have mercy or could ever overcome.

It's not possible. So why do we faint? We'll look down to verse here at number 18. It says this for while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.

For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. You know, I'm tell you how you're going to faint. Here's how you're going to faint.

You're going to start filling your mind and heart with the things which are seen. You're going to fill your heart and mind with politics, with money, with the cares of this world, with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes. And before you know it, you're going to have no flame in your heart.

And before you know it, you're going to start fainting, by the way. And and if you keep going that direction, someday you're going to surprise everybody saying, I'm finished. I'm giving up.

I'm done. Well, I'll tell you, three or four years ago, I tell you, you go down a certain road. And that road was you turned away from the word of God and prayer.

And you turn to the cares of this life. You turn to the pursuit of riches. You turn to the lust of other things.

And now, now you're in a position where you're burned out. And so I don't know if you're heading in that direction. Just a reminder, you don't want to go that direction.

Amen. And you want to make sure that you're, you're, you're keeping the fire burning within you. And I trust you can feel and you know, just like Paul said later on in 2 Corinthians, know you not that Jesus Christ is in you.

You know, you, you should know that, hey, I'm being motivated by something. It's not me. Something is in me.

That's the spirit of God who's driving me. So let's not faint. Now, look what it says here in verse two.

But we have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God, not being dishonest. Now, that should have been put away. Ephesians talks about put away lying.

Let us speak truth with everyone. But you know what? There is a lot of dishonesty. There's a lot of walking in craftiness.

And in the church, there's a lot of handling of the word of God deceitfully. And it's just, it's the flesh. But honesty is always a good policy as a New Testament Christian.

And if you notice here, it says, it says, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience. You know what the people out there in the world want to see? They want to see truth. Well, you know, when you see truth, you see Jesus because he's, I am the truth.

They want to see truthfulness. They want to see honesty. You know what they say? The church is full of hypocrites.

You know why they say that? Because most people aren't truthful and honest. And to commend ourselves before their conscience, we need to walk in such a way that that is honest. Before men.

Now here's something that's interesting. Honesty is always a good policy. I think you ought to live honestly before men.

And they see that you do your business deals honestly. And, and then maybe you even go over and above and just give them a little extra. And, and you speak something and you, you, you uphold your words and, and they know that you're an honest individual.

That is a testimony of Christianity. But you know what else is a testimony of Christianity? When you don't do right and you fail and then you, you're honest and say, listen, I'm sorry I did wrong. You know, that's as much a testimony of Christianity as just doing right all the time.

I'm not saying to do wrong just so you can confess it and be honest about your failure. But to be honest about your failure is also commending yourselves to another man's conscience. You know, I've told you the story and you've, some of you are new here, but we had this young lady and I'll shorten the story.

We had a revival meeting coming up and some brother suggested that we in the church have a confession time before the revival. And so we met together on a Friday and Saturday night and we just went around the church and made confessions. And the second night we were doing it, we only got halfway around the church.

The second night we were doing it and one of the brothers, he's a pastor now in Frederick town up here, Brian Snow, he brought a visitor. He and his wife brought a visitor to our confession time. That's not a good place to bring a visitor.

Is it loyal? You know, there's no preaching. There's no singing. And here we are just opening up our dirty laundry and confessing.

And I sat there stupid as I was back then and probably still am today. But I sat there and I thought, what a time to bring a visitor to a confession where all we're doing is acknowledging our sin and who we really are. So one by one, they began to confess their sins, brothers and sisters in the church and stand up and say, here's one.

And then we pray over them after they did that. It was a good time. And I'm just sitting there thinking, boy, what's this Angie girl thinking? She's like 22 year old girl.

What's she thinking? We're not even a church, you know, what a bunch of heathen. Lo and behold, about halfway through the session that night, I'm sitting here and she's right over here. And all of a sudden she stands and starts screaming.

I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner. I didn't say anything to her.

I didn't preach to her. I said nothing to her. You know what made her convicted? Because people were being honest.

It's a beautiful testimony to a conscience. When you're honest, even if you fail, you're honest about it. So renouncing the hidden things of dishonesty, honesty, children is always the best policy.

And every parent said, amen. Now it says also not walking in craftiness. Now, Emily and Tony, I was going to ask them, I asked Emily if I could bring it.

I forgot to bring it, forgot to ask her. But craftiness, you know what craftiness is? You're making a craft or you have a craft and you're designing this thing the way you want it. Emily showed me, they, her and Tony went to some of these mug places, you know, and they had a date and they gave them a mug and you could paint it up and do all this and design your mug and different kinds of mugs.

She showed me her mug and had a, what was it? A strawberry on those, some strawberries or peaches or whatever. It's a pretty little mug. And then she showed me Tony's mug.

What was that one on Tony's mug? What was that, Tony? Yeah, it was kind of a strange looking thing. But anyway, anyway, they both, they both, I was going to bring it to show you. They both crafted, they crafted something here.

And that word craft or craftiness means this, to design or to manipulate the situation the way you want it. To be crafty. I want the situation to go this way.

Therefore, I will do and speak what I can do to get it to go the way I want it. Not to have the will of the Lord be done and I have no will in it. No, I'm going to craft this situation.

You know what that's like, right? I'd like this situation to work out this way. Therefore, I'm going to work behind the scenes to get what I want. Crafty.

It's not honest. Look at Luke chapter 20 with me here as an example of craftiness. Luke chapter 20.

By the way, when people, when lost people especially see your craftiness, it's not a testimony of Christ for certain. In Luke chapter 20, I'm going to jump in here. Jesus has just told them that the stone's going to fall upon them and crush them to powder.

In verse 19 of Luke 20. And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him. And they feared the people for they perceived that they had spoken this or he had spoken this parable against them.

And they watched him and sent for spies which would feign themselves just men. Now, they're crafty here. That they might take hold of his words that so they might deliver him under the power and authority of the governor.

And they ask him saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly. Neither acceptest thou the person of any but teachest the way of God truly. Ah, there's a crafty move, isn't it? Oh, you're such a good teacher.

And you know all these things about God. And I know that you don't respect persons. You ever had people come and give you all these compliments? Oh, you're such a fine person.

But there's something they want. They're crafting things. And they have a motive in their heart that's selfish.

Let's keep reading. Here's the question. Is it lawful for us, verse 22, to give tribute unto Caesar or no? But he perceived their craftiness, same word, and said unto them, Why tempt you me? Their craftiness.

You know, they're crafting this thing. They're designing it to get what they want. They wanted him to say something that they could use to destroy him.

So they crafted the conversation. They crafted this whole thing. And they were trying to get him in trouble.

That's not a good thing. Well, the Lord responds here in verse 24. Show me a penny whose image and superscription hath it.

And they answered and said, Caesars. And he said unto them, render therefore unto Caesar the things which be these Caesars. And unto God the things which be gods.

And they could not take hold of his words before the people. He's very wise. He perceived their craftiness.

And he gave them an answer that destroyed their craftiness. But, you know, a lot of people are crafty. And they hide their motive.

And they're not honest. And they work behind the scenes to get an agenda that they want. Maybe a friend.

You know how that works. A friend. We talk bad about one person because we're crafting this thing.

Because I want to have this friend over here. Manipulating. Don't be a manipulator.

Amen? Don't be crafty. Just say, Lord, the will of the Lord be done. I just want your will, Lord.

I don't have to manipulate anybody. You put things where you want them. And I'll say amen to it.

That's being honest. Not walking in craftiness. Nor handling the word of God deceitfully.

And that's a part of it here, too. I want the word of God to say something. And so I'm going to twist it and turn it to get it to say what I want.

A lot of people do that. We used to call it in the Baptist church. Here he goes again.

He's doing gymnastics. You know, when people get out and preach and they have to twist and turn. And it doesn't really mean what it says.

And all these things are simply gymnastics to try to turn something. The way they want it turned. I like to just read it for what it says.

Not handling the word of God deceitfully. Let's keep reading here. But by manifestation of the truth.

Commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. Truth commends ourselves to consciences. To those that are lost.

There's something that lost people need. They need to see truth. And you need to live it.

And I need to live it. We need to speak it. Speak it and live it.

And that will commend us to their conscience. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. We're going to see here in a little bit that the life of Jesus.

Is what needs to be manifest in us. In our life, in our mortal body. How can we represent Jesus without living a life of truthfulness? Brothers and sisters, maybe this is the most important thing you can be.

And that's truthful. Truthful. What's the devil say? He's a liar.

What's the Bible say? He's a liar and the father of it. He's a deceiver. And if your life has any deception in it and lies in it.

It's going to be greatly hindering you. And also your ability to commend yourself to other men's consciences. How can I believe this person? They're deceitful.

They're crafty. By the way, I think we need to learn to trust one another. Amen.

Because we're truthful. Have confidence in each other. A life of deception, a life of craftiness, a life of dishonesty.

Hides our gospel from the loss. We're going to see that here in just a minute. Look at verse number three.

But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them. Their loss. You know, you can hide the gospel.

You ought to live it. You ought to speak it. But if you don't live it and you don't speak it.

You don't live the truth and speak the truth. Then you're in essence, you're hiding the gospel. Hiding it under a bushel.

What was it? Gandhi who said, I would be a Christian if it weren't for Christians. I think that's true. I know people use that as an excuse.

But I want to encourage all of us here today to be honest about life and about ourselves. And even if we fail, that's okay. Just be honest.

Bible says, confess your faults. Confess your sin to me. I'll forgive you.

Just be honest. But if our gospel is hid, it is hid to them their loss. Let me ask you this.

Do people know you're a Christian? Can you imagine standing at the judgment and maybe your neighbor or your companion says, I didn't know you were a Christian. I didn't even know you were a Christian. I think Lot's a good example of that.

When Lot came to them and said, hey, judgment's coming. It's time to get out of the city. They laughed and mocked it.

They're like, what did you get, religion? I didn't know you were a Christian. I wonder if people even knew he was a believer in Sodom. Here's a very familiar verse here in Matthew chapter 5. You are the light of the world.

A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in heaven.

So a light, a life, a testimony of honesty commends us to other men's consciences. But if your gospel be hid, and that's living a life of hypocrisy. Verse 4 says, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Not only is it the potential for us to hide the gospel with our life, but there's somebody else. And by the way, you work hand in hand with the devil, because he's trying to hide the gospel too. So here he is trying to hide the gospel, and you're trying to hide it with him.

If you're not living a truthful and an honest life. And it'll come down to some things here in a little bit that we want to talk about. About what that'll mean for us, for our life.

But how does the devil blind the minds? Well, one of the ways he does it is by distraction. You remember when the devil took Jesus up to the top of the pinnacle? No, he took him up to this great high mountain, and he said, look, look at all these kingdoms. Wouldn't you love to have them? All of them will be yours if you'll just fall down and worship me.

And trying to distract him by the things of this world. You ever try to take something from a baby? You know, maybe a baby has something. And so what you do is you maybe make a rattle up here, or put a sucker or something up here they like.

And while they're looking up there and going for it, you grab what you want and take it. That's the way the devil does it. Hey, look at this.

Look what you can have, all these kingdoms. And he pulls your soul right out from under you. Look what you can have, all of this riches.

You can be famous, all these things. Don't you want these things? And he's trying to steal your soul right from out from under you. And so distraction.

The Bible says when the word of God in the heart, he immediately snatches the word out of the heart. You know, one thing I think every one of us, if you're not saved here this morning, one of the best things you can do, I thought about this, to overcome the devil is to take a day, 24 hours, just one day of your life, and just get up in the morning and focus on your sin and ponder it. And focus on hell and damnation.

And focus on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And focus on, you know, the things that are eternal. And just spend your day there.

By the end of the day, you'll be convicted. You know, one of the reasons why people aren't convicted, because they're so distracted. They're so distracted that the mind and the heart can hardly settle in on the truth that I am a wicked sinner, that I'm heading for destruction.

And if people had just 24 hours to ponder and to meditate and to think on those things, they would probably, at the end of the day, say, I need mercy and I need salvation. But you know what? The devil's got all the bells all day long. You've got to look this way.

You've got to look this way. Don't think about eternity. I have this sign I just made up for the campus.

It's this fall danger. Eternity ahead. Prepare to meet your God.

You know how few of those young people ever think about that? Eternity and meeting God? Just to remind them, stop and think. You're on a pathway and eternity is before you. And so he is in the business of blinding the minds.

Let's keep reading. Well, let's go back to chapter 3. Here's another way he's blinding the minds. In verse 13, it says, And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished, but their minds were blinded.

For until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament. And so the devil points them back to shadows and types, the Old Testament types and figures, and they're still in blindness. They won't come to the marvelous light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So it's our responsibility then to get rid of dishonesty and craftiness and not use the word of God deceitfully so that we could commend ourselves to every man's conscience, so that the gospel is not hid, so that we do not hide the gospel The devil's doing a good enough job at that. We don't need to participate in it. Now let's keep reading.

For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves in you. Well, let's keep reading here. I want to talk about this last verse.

So die all around you life. By the way, that's the very center of the New Testament. Jesus came and what? Died.

What happened through his death? Life. Are you alive today? You're alive today because of his death. He showed us an example.

He laid down his life. He said, not my will, but thine be done. He died and all around him sprung up life.

He had influence. He had power and all around him sprung up life. You know, people who are truly dead to themselves will be fruitful.

And they'll give life to others. Those who are in a vessel that's tight and is sealed and they're living their life for themselves. There is no life around them.

There's no life. There's no influence all around them. There's no conversion.

There's no growth. There's no fruit. Paul said it this way in verse 12.

So then death worketh in us. We are dying. We are in our body.

We are dying for the Lord Jesus. And as we do so, we notice that the Lord is bringing life up all around us. Churches are being planted.

People are getting saved. Lives are getting changed because we're dying. Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone.

Many people are abiding alone, right? Abiding alone. Where's the fruit? Where's the influence? What's around me? I'm abiding alone. Or is there much fruit from life? Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone.

But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. And in other words, death brings life. Death in your life will bring life all around you.

Jesus died so that others might live. And as you die, others will live. Now, you can make this choice.

And I would not encourage you to do so. Just, I'm going to live. I'm going to live.

I'm going to do my will. I'm going to do what I want to do. And, you know, I'll roll the dice.

Hopefully, I'm a Christian and I make it into heaven. But I can guarantee you that if you choose to live and go according to your own will, you will not influence people around you. And there'll be no life and no fruit.

But if you'll make a decision and you'll say, I'm going to die. I'm going to lose my life. As a matter of fact, I want to read to you what the Lord said here in John chapter 12.

I just quoted you this verse. 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.

He that loveth his life shall lose it. That's a good question today. How many of you love your life in this world? He that loveth his life shall lose it.

And he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. I didn't say that. I just read to you what the Lord said.

Hate his life. And so when you think about hating life, I've always said this to many Christians that don't want to leave this world. If you ask Paul, he would say, I'd rather leave this place.

I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. You know why he wanted to leave this place? Because he was constantly being thrown in jail, constantly being beaten, constantly being persecuted. If you and I were that way, we'd probably be looking more to heaven than we do now.

And so as he bore in his body the dying of the Lord Jesus, as he was troubled, as he was distressed, as he was persecuted, as he was cast down, as he bore in his body the dying of the Lord Jesus, he brought forth life. He was fruitful. I told you this story a while back.

I read a story about the Egyptian tombs there, those pyramids. And they went in there and opened up one of these caskets of a king way back, a pharaoh or something way back. And they found a vessel, an earthen vessel, a vase sealed.

And so they wanted to see what was in this sealed vase. And they opened it up and there were peas, seeds, peas for peas in the vessel. And those seeds were the same seeds as they were when they were sealed, preserved for a thousand years.

There was no life. There was no fruit. It was inside a sealed container.

They took those peas, took them out, buried them. You know what happened a thousand years later? Life, fruit come out of those seeds. And the Lord says this, as long as you're going to keep that thing, that thing right there inside that container and not break yourself and not open yourself up and not be honest and stay and have your will and do your own way, nothing.

I don't care how long it takes. It could be a thousand years, still be nothing. But except you die and you crack and you say, Lord, I'm done.

I'm finished. It's not my will anymore. I don't, I know some of you young people, it's a challenge.

I don't need to be rich. I don't need to be popular. I don't need to get married.

I don't need anything. I just want to do what you want me to do. Amen.

I'm going to break. I'm going to crack and just humble myself and say, it's all yours. Fire.

And so don't, don't take control of your life. Try to guide it, direct it and do your own thing. It's not, it's not going to be fruitful.

It's not going to be influential. A thousand years, it was sealed up. No life, no fruit.

Well, when I get to be 50 or 60, you know, I'm sure I'll get some fruit. I'm sure there'll be some life. As long as you're sealed up, you can be 1060.

But the Lord is encouraging us and asking us to, to be willing to break the vessel. And to bear about in our body, the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. And I'm sure with all of us, there's different ways in which we can do that.

To some, it's how we use our time, our spare time. To others, it's how we diet, how we eat. To others, it's just being fearful, fearful of all kinds of things.

Just need to die. You know, a dead person is not afraid of anything. Not afraid.

And to lose your life for his sake and the gospel. So then death worketh in us, but life in you. That was the principle that Paul lived out.

I'm going to die. I'm going to pray. I'm going to fast.

I'm going to spend nights in prayer. I'm going to be persecuted. I'm going to suffer because as I do that, I see life all around me.

So let's live that way more and more. Let's close. We'll have a word of prayer and then open it up for anyone who'd like to share.

Heavenly Father, again, Lord, we thank you for the truth that is in your word. And Lord, may each one of us have grace to take another step of dying and cracking and being honest and opening ourselves up and not trying to have a reputation, not trying to be somebody in this world, not trying to control, but just to surrender it all. That we can truly be broken and can bring forth life in others and fruitfulness.

Lord, bless us as a congregation. Help us to crack. Help us to be broken as a people.

And Lord, especially as people look at us as a church, may we truly walk in honesty, not in craftiness, or handling the word of God deceitfully, but manifestation of the truth, commending their conscience and the sight of God. Lord, bless us. Bless each one here this morning.

We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.