Tues Passion Week - John 12_23-26
Hey everyone, it’s Pastor Dave Shepardson at Word By Mail, here on a Tuesday morning with you. It's Tuesday morning of Passion Week as we continue to set our hearts and our focus, our minds on Resurrection Weekend – on Good Friday and on Resurrection Sunday. So, If you have your Alone With God journal, open it. Open it to a “Daily Journal” page. If you don’t have an Alone With God journal, grab one. Go to wordbymail.com, or download the Word By Mail phone app from your App store, and order an Alone With God journal.
We are going to go through a “Daily Journal” guide today. We’re going to be digging into scripture here. It’s a great way to do it. I’m going to walk you right through it so you know how it works. If you don’t have an Alone With God journal, grab whatever journal you have, maybe get some blank paper, and most importantly, get your Bible.
Today, we are looking at John Chapter 12. We’ll look at verses 23-26. This is a section of the Gospel of John that comes right after the Triumphal Entry, which we talked about yesterday. (And hopefully, you watched our message – “Your Savior is Here,” from Palm Sunday. Be sure and watch it if you haven’t.) And here’s where we’re going to start. And I’m just going to give you some thoughts on these verses – not really so much background – just comments on these verses to give you some meat, some information that you can meditate on. And then I’m going to turn you over to meditate on this Word by yourself. So, let’s go through it first.
John 12:23-26 (NLT)
(Right after the Triumphal Entry ) 23 Jesus replied, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory. . . . This is right after Jesus allowed this great celebration as he entered Jerusalem as a victorious King and all that went on in the Triumphal Entry. It seems like, quickly, maybe the next day. Jesus replied, “Now the time has come (my hour has come) . . . All through his ministry, he would say, “My hour has not yet come.” Now, his hour has come. His hour has come to complete our salvation and for him to enter into his glory.
24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. What a great verse – I mean, it’s great for us. This is Jesus, not really predicting, but he’s explaining; he’s illustrating his death that is coming on Good Friday. He’s saying, “I can’t finish this work unless I die. . . . unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. Jesus is saying here in the second half of verse 24, but my death will produce a plentiful harvest of new lives. And that’s where we want to be. We want to be part of that plentiful harvest of new lives. That’s what Jesus is going to the Cross for – so that he can offer us that new life as he dies for our sin in our place and pays the full penalty for our sin so that we can be part of that plentiful eternal life harvest.
But then in verse 25, Jesus gives us kind of our deeper calling. He leans on us. He just leaned on himself, acknowledging that he had to die, and now, in verse 25, he’s going to call us to, in some ways, die to this life as he did.
25 Those who love their life in this world will lose it. . . . Those who love their life in this world will lose it. It’s a priority statement. Those who love this world more than they love Heaven, who love the things of this world more than they love Jesus and the things of eternity and the joy of Heaven. That loving the things of this world could very likely cause you to lose your eternal life. That’s heavy, right?
The second half of verse 25 says, (on the contrast) . . . Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. That’s the positive side. That’s us saying, “Lord, I’m a citizen of Heaven. I’ve died to this life. I’ve died to my flesh life. And I’m alive in you for eternity. My life is reserved in Heaven. It’s kept in Heaven with you. My sights are set on Heaven, and nothing in this world is going to take priority over my love for you and my desire to be in Heaven with you.” Again, . . . Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. It’s a challenge of priorities. Do you love the things of this world, the worldly things, the fleshly things more than you love Jesus? More than you long to be with Jesus in Heaven. OR are you willing (as Paul said in Philippians 3) to throw everything of this world overboard, to willingly suffer the loss of everything in this world so that you may gain the knowledge of Christ Jesus? I pray that’s you.
In verse 26, there is a little more depth here. This is the depth of being a Christ-follower put out right here at the beginning of the Passion Week.
26 Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. Jesus is speaking not of physical death on the Cross, but of dying to this life. OF being ready to sacrifice this life in order to gain Heaven. To live a sacrificial life in honor and glory of him in whatever it is you’re doing. In wherever you’re called. So that you can be with him for eternity and experience the joy of the abundant life – of him living through you here. It’s deep, right? It’s not shallow Christianity. This is the real deal. Jesus is speaking very directly. And then, at the end of verse 26, Jesus says . . . And the Father will honor anyone who serves me. And that’s the encouragement, right? That’s the blessing to know that our honor from God is reserved in Heaven for us. Our treasure’s reserved in Heaven. Our crowns are reserved in Heaven. That as we serve the Lord here, the Father will honor us there.
So, those are our verses. Now, let me go through the journal with you and explain it.
The journal begins with the Meditate section. And it just says, “What is God’s Word saying? What are the spiritual principles here?” So, if you have a journal (or if you don’t, either way), I want you to pause this guide and do a little meditating on those verses yourself. Go back over or even listen to this video. Watch the video again and hear me talk about it again. But dig into these verses. And then just write plainly, “What is God’s Word saying? What are the spiritual principles here.” So, pause the guide, write in your journal, and then come back.
Alright, you’re back. The second step is Apply. It says, “How does this apply to my life today, personally and specifically?” So, now it’s getting a little personal. (It should be getting really personal.) How does this apply to your life today? Where is the Holy Spirit kind of poking at you today in these verses? What did he convict you of or encourage you about? Or call you to? So, in the Apply section, you write, “How does this apply to my life today, personally and specifically?” So, pause the guide, write in your Apply section, and then come on back.
Alright, you’re back now, and you’re in the Respond section. The third section is Respond. Now, it’s getting “rubber meets the road” time. Under Respond, it says, “What action will I take today in response to this truth?” Guys, we like to say, “No response – No relationship.” What God calls us to involves a response in some way in our lives. And that response is a response of love. It’s a response out of love. It’s a response of obedience, of a desire to know the Lord as he reveals himself to us, even in this small section of verses. So, one more time, pause this guide and write in the Respond section. Write, “What action will I take today in response to this truth?” And then, come on back.
And then, finally, it’s prayer. It says under your Pray section in your journal, “My prayer to align my heart with the will of God on this truth is:” And so, here’s what I like to do. I want to pray through these verses with you, and then I’m going to ask you to stop this guide (we’ll be done then) and finish by writing out your prayer to God. It’s very powerful to write your prayer to God.
So, let me pray through these verses, and then we’ll end. I’m John 12, verse 23, praying God’s Word now.
Lord, Jesus, just after the Triumphal Entry, you made it clear that your time had come. Your time had come to complete our salvation and for you to enter your glory. And then, Lord, you told us why. Why you came. Why you were at this point in the Passion Week. It’s so, Lord, that you could die in order to gain, to produce a plentiful harvest of new lives. And Lord, while your death is unimaginable for us, what you took in our place as you paid for our sin in our place, Lord, we know that you did it so that we could be part of the plentiful harvest of new lives. And so, we pray Lord, that we would be.
And then, Lord, we hear you. We hear your Word in verse 25 when you say If we love our life in this world that we will lose it. If we love the things of this world more than you, then it may prove that we love the things of this world more than you. But Lord, you also say those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. And, Lord, that is a matter of the heart. It’s a priority of the heart, Lord. Don’t allow our heart to be owned by this world. Don’t allow us, Lord, to love the things of this world, but instead, Lord, to willingly sacrifice the things of this world in order to gain life for eternity with you. And Lord, we know that if we want to serve you, that we must follow you. We must live a life of sacrificial, unconditional love just like you did. And we pray you would fill us with your Spirit to do that, and we thank you, Lord Jesus, that the Father will honor us as we serve you. We thank you, Jesus, that we know that’s true. We thank you for this Word. We thank you for these verses. We thank you for this time. In your precious name, Jesus, amen.
Alright, guys. Finish up by writing your own prayer in your journal guide. Write your own prayer and then go with God. Just walk with Jesus every day – especially this week as we approach Resurrection Sunday. God bless you, thanks for joining us. Text us for any reason. If you need a journal guide or have a question. If you want an explanation about the verses – anything you need. Prayer requests – we love to pray. Text us at (877) 790-9673. Let us know what you need; we’re here to help you. God bless your day. Bye-bye.
We are going to go through a “Daily Journal” guide today. We’re going to be digging into scripture here. It’s a great way to do it. I’m going to walk you right through it so you know how it works. If you don’t have an Alone With God journal, grab whatever journal you have, maybe get some blank paper, and most importantly, get your Bible.
Today, we are looking at John Chapter 12. We’ll look at verses 23-26. This is a section of the Gospel of John that comes right after the Triumphal Entry, which we talked about yesterday. (And hopefully, you watched our message – “Your Savior is Here,” from Palm Sunday. Be sure and watch it if you haven’t.) And here’s where we’re going to start. And I’m just going to give you some thoughts on these verses – not really so much background – just comments on these verses to give you some meat, some information that you can meditate on. And then I’m going to turn you over to meditate on this Word by yourself. So, let’s go through it first.
John 12:23-26 (NLT)
(Right after the Triumphal Entry ) 23 Jesus replied, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory. . . . This is right after Jesus allowed this great celebration as he entered Jerusalem as a victorious King and all that went on in the Triumphal Entry. It seems like, quickly, maybe the next day. Jesus replied, “Now the time has come (my hour has come) . . . All through his ministry, he would say, “My hour has not yet come.” Now, his hour has come. His hour has come to complete our salvation and for him to enter into his glory.
24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. What a great verse – I mean, it’s great for us. This is Jesus, not really predicting, but he’s explaining; he’s illustrating his death that is coming on Good Friday. He’s saying, “I can’t finish this work unless I die. . . . unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. Jesus is saying here in the second half of verse 24, but my death will produce a plentiful harvest of new lives. And that’s where we want to be. We want to be part of that plentiful harvest of new lives. That’s what Jesus is going to the Cross for – so that he can offer us that new life as he dies for our sin in our place and pays the full penalty for our sin so that we can be part of that plentiful eternal life harvest.
But then in verse 25, Jesus gives us kind of our deeper calling. He leans on us. He just leaned on himself, acknowledging that he had to die, and now, in verse 25, he’s going to call us to, in some ways, die to this life as he did.
25 Those who love their life in this world will lose it. . . . Those who love their life in this world will lose it. It’s a priority statement. Those who love this world more than they love Heaven, who love the things of this world more than they love Jesus and the things of eternity and the joy of Heaven. That loving the things of this world could very likely cause you to lose your eternal life. That’s heavy, right?
The second half of verse 25 says, (on the contrast) . . . Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. That’s the positive side. That’s us saying, “Lord, I’m a citizen of Heaven. I’ve died to this life. I’ve died to my flesh life. And I’m alive in you for eternity. My life is reserved in Heaven. It’s kept in Heaven with you. My sights are set on Heaven, and nothing in this world is going to take priority over my love for you and my desire to be in Heaven with you.” Again, . . . Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. It’s a challenge of priorities. Do you love the things of this world, the worldly things, the fleshly things more than you love Jesus? More than you long to be with Jesus in Heaven. OR are you willing (as Paul said in Philippians 3) to throw everything of this world overboard, to willingly suffer the loss of everything in this world so that you may gain the knowledge of Christ Jesus? I pray that’s you.
In verse 26, there is a little more depth here. This is the depth of being a Christ-follower put out right here at the beginning of the Passion Week.
26 Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. Jesus is speaking not of physical death on the Cross, but of dying to this life. OF being ready to sacrifice this life in order to gain Heaven. To live a sacrificial life in honor and glory of him in whatever it is you’re doing. In wherever you’re called. So that you can be with him for eternity and experience the joy of the abundant life – of him living through you here. It’s deep, right? It’s not shallow Christianity. This is the real deal. Jesus is speaking very directly. And then, at the end of verse 26, Jesus says . . . And the Father will honor anyone who serves me. And that’s the encouragement, right? That’s the blessing to know that our honor from God is reserved in Heaven for us. Our treasure’s reserved in Heaven. Our crowns are reserved in Heaven. That as we serve the Lord here, the Father will honor us there.
So, those are our verses. Now, let me go through the journal with you and explain it.
The journal begins with the Meditate section. And it just says, “What is God’s Word saying? What are the spiritual principles here?” So, if you have a journal (or if you don’t, either way), I want you to pause this guide and do a little meditating on those verses yourself. Go back over or even listen to this video. Watch the video again and hear me talk about it again. But dig into these verses. And then just write plainly, “What is God’s Word saying? What are the spiritual principles here.” So, pause the guide, write in your journal, and then come back.
Alright, you’re back. The second step is Apply. It says, “How does this apply to my life today, personally and specifically?” So, now it’s getting a little personal. (It should be getting really personal.) How does this apply to your life today? Where is the Holy Spirit kind of poking at you today in these verses? What did he convict you of or encourage you about? Or call you to? So, in the Apply section, you write, “How does this apply to my life today, personally and specifically?” So, pause the guide, write in your Apply section, and then come on back.
Alright, you’re back now, and you’re in the Respond section. The third section is Respond. Now, it’s getting “rubber meets the road” time. Under Respond, it says, “What action will I take today in response to this truth?” Guys, we like to say, “No response – No relationship.” What God calls us to involves a response in some way in our lives. And that response is a response of love. It’s a response out of love. It’s a response of obedience, of a desire to know the Lord as he reveals himself to us, even in this small section of verses. So, one more time, pause this guide and write in the Respond section. Write, “What action will I take today in response to this truth?” And then, come on back.
And then, finally, it’s prayer. It says under your Pray section in your journal, “My prayer to align my heart with the will of God on this truth is:” And so, here’s what I like to do. I want to pray through these verses with you, and then I’m going to ask you to stop this guide (we’ll be done then) and finish by writing out your prayer to God. It’s very powerful to write your prayer to God.
So, let me pray through these verses, and then we’ll end. I’m John 12, verse 23, praying God’s Word now.
Lord, Jesus, just after the Triumphal Entry, you made it clear that your time had come. Your time had come to complete our salvation and for you to enter your glory. And then, Lord, you told us why. Why you came. Why you were at this point in the Passion Week. It’s so, Lord, that you could die in order to gain, to produce a plentiful harvest of new lives. And Lord, while your death is unimaginable for us, what you took in our place as you paid for our sin in our place, Lord, we know that you did it so that we could be part of the plentiful harvest of new lives. And so, we pray Lord, that we would be.
And then, Lord, we hear you. We hear your Word in verse 25 when you say If we love our life in this world that we will lose it. If we love the things of this world more than you, then it may prove that we love the things of this world more than you. But Lord, you also say those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. And, Lord, that is a matter of the heart. It’s a priority of the heart, Lord. Don’t allow our heart to be owned by this world. Don’t allow us, Lord, to love the things of this world, but instead, Lord, to willingly sacrifice the things of this world in order to gain life for eternity with you. And Lord, we know that if we want to serve you, that we must follow you. We must live a life of sacrificial, unconditional love just like you did. And we pray you would fill us with your Spirit to do that, and we thank you, Lord Jesus, that the Father will honor us as we serve you. We thank you, Jesus, that we know that’s true. We thank you for this Word. We thank you for these verses. We thank you for this time. In your precious name, Jesus, amen.
Alright, guys. Finish up by writing your own prayer in your journal guide. Write your own prayer and then go with God. Just walk with Jesus every day – especially this week as we approach Resurrection Sunday. God bless you, thanks for joining us. Text us for any reason. If you need a journal guide or have a question. If you want an explanation about the verses – anything you need. Prayer requests – we love to pray. Text us at (877) 790-9673. Let us know what you need; we’re here to help you. God bless your day. Bye-bye.
Posted in Journal Guides, Passion Week
Posted in Alone With God Journal Guide, Daily Journal, Journal Guide, Passion Week
Posted in Alone With God Journal Guide, Daily Journal, Journal Guide, Passion Week
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