The Lord. He takes note that there is injustice on the earth, and the judges have not judged justly. But then he brings the kings and rulers to the attention that the Lord is a just judge. And this morning, we can all take comfort that the Lord is just, and he will judge justly. He will be our source of strength in trials. I will ask the congregation to rise as we sing the Lord of the Earth, the Lords of the Earth are in his hands, to the tune of Oh What Amazing Words of Grace. We've been there once, we'll take each step. We've heard our voices cry. How long will you betray the promise? You let the wind of the Lord run close upon the land, even as the world unfolds before you. So long as I have a place to go, I will be home. So let the wind blow me home, till my soul is home. Do return your seats. Turn with me to the Gospel of John. John chapter 12, we'll read from verse 20 through to verse 26, and this morning we'll be focusing on verse 25 and 26. John chapter 12, I commence reading from the English Standard Version. Now among those who went up to Jerusalem at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. Philip went and told Andrew. Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone saves me, he must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone saves me, the Father will honor him. Let's just pray together once again, shall we pray? Our Father, we pause before you this morning, asking that as we sit in silence of heart, may you speak to each one of us through your word. We ask that your word will come alive in our hearing and all of us will testify the Lord spoke authoritatively and convincingly. We pray that as your word is being proclaimed may God the Holy Spirit engrave this truth upon our hearts and that each one will know what is required of them to do in turning from sin and trusting in Christ for salvation or for sanctification. Lord, we pray that all of us may truly say at the end of our meeting, we were glad we went to the house of the Lord. but are conscious that in the multitude like this there are those still wallowing in sin and chasing after the fleeting pleasures of this world. Lord, we ask that you help them to see the eternal life that is offered in the Lord Jesus Christ. That they may not be so carried away by the things of this world that they forget that which is important, the state of their souls before you. We ask that you help them, O God, and bring them to yourself in faith and in repentance, that they'll confess of their sins and find life, everlasting life, in the Lord Jesus Christ. Hear this our cry, for we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Continuing in our study of the Gospel of John, this morning we come to verses 25 and 26 of John chapter 12. And we need to constantly be reminding ourselves of the purpose why John wrote his Gospel. In chapter 20, we see John tells us that the reason he wrote the gospel was that so that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ and believing in him, we may find eternal life. And so John, as he puts the account of the Lord Jesus Christ, he picks events or accounts in his life that will achieve his purpose to show all of us that Jesus is the Christ. And as you bear that in mind, it will help you also to overcome some of what people would term as contradictions in the Gospels, where John records one account this way, Matthew, Mark, and Luke in another way, is to go back to what is the purpose of each author of the Gospel and what is it that they're trying to communicate. And so with John, as he brings the narratives or the accounts of the Lord Jesus Christ, his major concern is not for them to be put in a chronological order as they appear or as recorded by other gospel writers, but that he's bringing those accounts that in his mind will be able to show us that truly Jesus is the Christ and that we may be brought to this realization that he is the one who came to save us from our sins. And so in the verses that we'll be considering this morning, we see how that John highlights from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ that discipleship involves sharing in Jesus' death. Discipleship involves in sharing in Jesus' death. In verse 23 and 24, particularly in verse 24 of chapter 12, John records for us what the Lord Jesus Christ had said as he talked about his own death. And so from his own fruitful death, the Lord Jesus Christ now moves to his followers, to his disciples. And John wants us to see a connection here, that there is this connection between the death of the Lord Jesus Christ and the life of his disciples. And in the case of his disciples, death is a necessary element in their entrance into Jesus' life, or in their entrance into life. Now the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ do not die for their sins, but rather that in Christ who came to die for sins, all those who are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ die to their sins. And so Jesus came to atone for the sins of the world And the followers of Christ, when they put their hope and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, in Christ they too die to their sins. And the Lord Jesus Christ here is giving us the template of Christians. of true disciples. And this template that the Lord Jesus Christ gives is for all of us to have a right perspective when it comes to life on earth. That as we live our lives on earth, we must constantly gauge and focus our attention on the Lord Jesus Christ who is the supreme example of what it means to be faithful to God the Father. This implies that as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, our standard, our focus will not be what the world demands of us, but what God in Christ demands of us and that which Christ came to fulfill for us. So let's open up those two verses and draw lessons for ourselves this afternoon. The first thing we see is that biblical discipleship demand we have a right attitude to life. Biblical discipleship demands that we have a right attitude to life. And this is what we read in verse 25. Whoever loves his life, loses it. and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. And from the onset, the Bible shows us that true followers of Christ must have the right attitude to life. As I've already said in verse 24, the Lord Jesus Christ is given to us by John as a model for all of us to see. He is a model for his disciples. And John shows us that as the Lord Jesus Christ was talking about his death on the cross, he was saying that unless a grain falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. And so the Lord Jesus Christ is clearly showing us here that as he focused on the cross and the death he had come to die, he was basically showing us that by him giving his life as a ransom for many, Jesus would bring many sons into glory. And clearly we can see that we can never imitate the Lord Jesus Christ in his substitutionary death. He is the only one who came to die for sin. He is the only savior of the world. He is unique. He is the God-man who came to atone for the sins of this world. But now in verse 25 we see what John is saying to us and in that verse he gives the mandate for his disciples and the mandate that he gives is this, whoever loses his life Whoever loves his life, loses it. And whoever hates his life in this world, will keep it for eternal life. And this is a mandate that John gives from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ for his disciples. And in the Greek text, the first two words translated life in verse 25, the first one comes from the Greek word which refers to the soul. The second one comes from the Greek word zoi, which refers to eternal life that God gives. And already John wants us to have this clear distinction of what he is talking about. He is saying that there's a life that stems from the desires of the sinful man, and then there's a life that God gives. And the paradox here is that the way to keep your life is to hate it. And the way to lose it, the way to lose it is to love it. And so John is showing us here that this paradox in the mind of his hearers which at first glance appears as if the Lord Jesus Christ is contradicting common sense. Because in the minds of all of us is that loving life assumes that we live in such a way that we have a good security system, a good healthy system, a good eating, a healthy eating lifestyle, and to avoid everything that will cause us to be in danger of losing our lives. And in the mind of the natural man, this is what it means to love your life. While on the other hand, to hate your life is to have no security measures in place, not conscious of whatsoever you eat in terms of a balanced diet or your lifestyle, exposing yourself to all kinds of danger. But the Lord Jesus Christ appears as if He's contradicting common sense. And the reason is simple. Jesus Christ is the life. And because He is life, those who love their lives and refuse to die with Him, they reject Him and therefore reject true life. Loving your life in this world is a sure way to lose your life. And this is what the Lord Jesus Christ had also said in Mark chapter 8 and verse 35. When he says, what profit does a man gain? Get when he gains the whole world and loses his soul. And the Lord Jesus Christ is showing us that loving your life in this world means that you are living for this present age only. Your life is so consumed with this life on earth and you've got no regard for what goes beyond the grave. When the Lord Jesus Christ says, whoever loves his life, loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. The Lord Jesus Christ is communicating here that to live as if this world is all there is, and so consumed and get engrossed in the enjoyment of life now, living your best life now is a sure way of losing your life for eternity. And hence the need for us to have the right attitude to life. There is eternity. There is life beyond the grave. And the Lord Jesus Christ wants all of us to constantly be thinking about that. And as we think about life beyond the grave, to live with that in mind. Maybe you're asking, but what does it mean to hurt my life in this world? Am I supposed to become a monk, take a vow of poverty and begin to dress in animal skin and close myself and insulate myself from the rest of the world and have no contact with the people of the world? Is this what the Lord Jesus Christ is saying to hurt your life on earth? that I close myself and begin to spend hours singing ancient chants? Is it wrong to enjoy life? Perhaps you are asking yourself that question. What the Lord Jesus Christ is saying is that to hate your life, is the same thing as denying yourself and taking up your cross daily to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. It means you are daily following Christ and what Christ demands of you. It means living for God's glory and bringing the whole of life under the whole of the scriptures and therefore bringing your thoughts, your action, your lifestyle and everything about you to the Lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ. It means moment by moment you are living your life in such a way that you seek to see that God's name is glorified and the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is being spread into this world. Is to live your life in such a way that you show that Jesus is the Lord of your life. is to live your life, not in subjection to what the world detects as living the best life, but living according to what God's word says. We must live our lives in this world. And that's faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then bringing all of our lives to the Lordship of Christ. And if you are not engaging daily in following Christ, taking up your cross and bringing your life under the Lordship of Christ, then you need to ask yourself whether you've truly turned away from sin and put your hope and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. You need to ask yourself, have my sins been dealt with in the death of Christ? Why is it that I constantly rebel against what Christ says? Why is it that I'm struggling to have Christ be Lord of my thoughts, Lord of my words, Lord of my actions? Why is it that I struggle to deny myself the pleasures of this world? Has Christ truly saved me from my sins? True discipleship demands that we have the right attitude to life on earth. But secondly, we see that biblical discipleship demands that we have the right pattern for life. The right pattern for life, the first half of verse 26. If anyone saves me, he must follow me. And where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone saves me, he must follow me. And where I am, there will my servant be also. Again, we see here that a right attitude to life produces a right pattern for life. And the Lord Jesus Christ assumes that all his disciples will follow and save him. And he's saying, if anyone saves me, he must follow me. And Christ is assuming that if anyone claims to be his disciples, they will save him and they will follow him. And these words used, save and follow, gives us this idea of a willing commitment. The word save gives us this idea of a willing commitment and the word follow gives us this idea of going alongside someone or going behind someone. It's to go behind the person you are following or to go along behind the person that you are following. And the idea here is that of constantly serving Christ and closely following Christ. So there's this consistency in your service to Christ and there's this closeness in your following of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the act of following Christ in that vase is put in the present tense in the original language, giving us the idea that this should be the habit of all those who claim to be disciples of Christ. They will be following Christ and it will not be a one-off act being done on such occasions like the Passover feast, no. But it is one that will be a constant lifestyle of all those who claim to be followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the root idea of the word save and follow is the same as that recorded in Matthew chapter 6 and verse 24. In Matthew chapter 6 and verse 24, the Bible says, No one can save two masters, for either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot save God and money. And that's the same idea that John is talking about here in verse 26. There's this indication of a willing commitment to service. And the verbs save and follow, they are both what I refer to as complete verbs. They call for total devotion and dedication. They cannot be referred to random acts of obedience or to occasional acts of obedience. They are strong verbs, meaning they demand a wholehearted devotion to one master. And that's why the Lord Jesus Christ shows us the impossibility of loving the world and following and serving Christ. They refer to perpetual service in total subjection to one master in a slavish manner. This is what Christ is saying. That must be a pattern, a right pattern for his disciples. A person can serve two masters on a part-time basis. if those two masters are in total agreement. But here, the Lord Jesus Christ shows that it is impossible to follow him and save him and at the same time loving and following the world. Because the world and Jesus Christ are not guests that needs to be entertained. They are masters that demands your total commitment. And so you cannot commit yourself in total subjection to the Lord and at the same time commit yourself to the things of this world. It is impossible. And therefore Christ is saying that you cannot make worldly and heavenly joys the object of your supreme affection at the same time. It is impossible. You will either love one and hate the other. You cannot save God and the world. And so the Lord Jesus Christ is saying, this is the right pattern for his disciples. They will be totally committed to him. They will follow him. They will serve him. And they will give themselves in the Lordship of Christ. And they will devote themselves to one master. And that master is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of their souls. The Lord Jesus Christ shows us here that an occasional commitment to Him is not true discipleship. Those of you who think by simply attending church and living a slightly better life than those out there, is what Christianity is all about. Here John shows us that devotion is where discipleship begins and not end. The mark of a real Christian is that you'll be totally devoted to Christ, not occasionally, not on special events, but every day throughout their lives. They will see Christ as a supreme object of their delight. They will see in Christ as Him offering riches that the world could not offer. They'll see in Christ the joys that surpasses all the joys of this world. They'll see in Christ and they'll say to themselves what Christ offers cannot be compared to anything this world can offer. And they'll say with Moses as recorded in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 26 that Moses chose to be treated with the people of Israel because he considered the riches of Christ who surpass the wealth and the delights of Egypt. That's the pattern for those who are Christians. They look at Christ and they see in Christ that he is the true joy, the delight of their souls, and they give themselves to his Lordship. If Christ is not the supreme delight of your life, then perhaps you've never come to know Him as Lord and Savior. If Christ is not your all in all, then you know nothing of what it means to be saved from your sins, your sins that helped you captive, your sins that brought about enmity between you and God the Father. And Christ came in and He died, and in Him you'll find eternal life, you'll find forgiveness, you'll find mercy, grace and justification. If you don't know what it means, to have Christ as your all in all, then perhaps you've never come to that point where his grace flooded your soul and he changed your heart and gave you a heart of flesh and not a heart of stone. If anyone saves me, he must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be. This is the right pattern for life. And in the third place, we see that biblical discipleship demand we have the right satisfaction from life. the right satisfactions from life. The last half of this 26. But let's read all of it. If anyone saves me, he must follow me. And where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone saves me, the Father will honor him. The Father will honor Him. And we see in this last half of verse 26 where John gives us this motivation for all the disciples of Jesus Christ. This must be the motivation. And our motivation must be that we save Christ and then the Father honors us. And Christ says, where I am, there will my servant also be. If anyone saves me, the Father will honor him. This is the right satisfaction from life. And the sequence that John gives us is follow Jesus, Save Jesus, enjoy Jesus' presence, and receive honor from the Father. Follow Jesus, save Jesus, enjoy Jesus' presence, and receive honor from the Father. And only the disciples of Christ qualifies for this. that they will receive honor from the Father and they'll enjoy the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And here, Jesus uses future tense when he speaks of these rewards. And by him doing so, he's not implying that these rewards will only happen in the life after or in the next life, which is true. But what he's showing us that this only comes after obedience to follow Christ and to save him. There's a sense in which, yes, this would be true. in the next life when we're ushered into the presence of God. But he wants us to see that this is true even while we live here on earth. And it only comes after obedience to follow Christ and to save Christ. And once we do that, we'll be able to enjoy his presence, but also the Father will honor us. Why? Because he has honored his own son when his son died. The Father raised him up on the third day and has given him the nations as his inheritance. Even though the world rejected Christ and cried out, crucify Him, crucify Him, crucify Him, the Father used that opportunity, the death of His Son, to give Him a name that is above all names and to give Him the earth as His inheritance. It is true also for the disciples of Christ when they follow and serve Christ. The Father honors them because they are in Christ and the day is coming when they will hear those words, well done, good and faithful servants. They are faithful because Christ was the faithful righteous one. accomplish salvation for them. And because they are in Christ, the Father looks at them as those who are faithful because of the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ. You remember the words of Jim Elliot, who said, he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose. He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose. And here God is showing us that the right satisfaction from life The right motivation for living is to look forward to a time when we will not only serve God while he on earth, but to receive honour from the Father because of the faithfulness of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. And we see here that God rewards faithfulness and this faithfulness is anchored in the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, salvation is unmerited and the rewards of God are unmerited. But we see that obedience is attached to those who would follow the Lord Jesus Christ. And God would despise those who despise him in this world. And as you live your life, This must be your motivation to look forward to that moment when you'll be ushered into eternal life in the presence of God with great joy and to hear the Father say to you, well done, good and faithful servant. And when you hear these words, immediately you'll be brought to the realization that the only reason why you were faithful is because of the faithfulness of the Son of God. And then you bow down in worship of Him who was faithful even to death. Because in His death, He made it possible for you to be God's righteousness because of his righteousness. This is the right satisfaction from life, not simply chasing after the fleeting pleasures of earth, accumulating things that will not satisfy and forgetting the words of Augustine, that there is a God-created vacuum in all of us that cannot be satisfied by any created things but God himself. That vacuum cannot be satisfied by any created things. Only God can fill that vacuum. Only God can satisfy that vacuum. And as you chase other things of this world, the more you chase, the more you want to chase after them, the more you want to chase after them, the more you realize that they cannot satisfy you. And the more you realize that they cannot satisfy you, instead of coming to Christ who can truly satisfy you, because of your sins, you want to accumulate more and more and more and more and yet still being not satisfied. And the Lord Jesus Christ is saying, pause for a moment. You can have satisfaction from life. And this will not be from what you are chasing after. It is in what I'm able to offer you forgiveness and salvation. Jesus Christ fulfilled all the demands of the law of God so that in him We cannot only find forgiveness, but satisfactions. That the terrors of the law have nothing to hold us on to. They cannot put us, feel guilty before God, because Christ has satisfied. Biblical discipleship demands that we have the right attitude to life, we have the right pattern for life, and we have the right satisfaction from life. Those in the world living as if this life is the only life there is, Their aim in life is to accumulate as much money and much stuff as they think will make them happy. And they live with this motto, he who dies with the most toys wins. And so they accumulate and accumulate and accumulate and yet still find no satisfaction in life. And this is the root of so much depression in this modern life. Because people are deceived in thinking that when they accumulate more of these things, they will reach a point where they will feel satisfied and they will feel no need to accumulate more things. But when they accumulate more things, they discover that they need more things in order to feel satisfied. And yet they chase after all these things and never satisfied. And they become depressed. And when you share the gospel with them, while they fail to admit that they have not found satisfaction in the things they've been accumulating and chasing. While they may not accept that that is true of them, as years move on, they are confronted with this reality of the meaningless of their pursuits when the time comes for them alone and the reality that their life is coming to an end hits them and they will look back at their lives that with all their accumulations, all their property, all their wealth they cannot be saved from death and they look back at their meaningless pursuits, chasing after things that cannot satisfy them. And in that moment, reality dawns that my life is coming to an end. And there is something that lies beyond the grave. And I spend time accumulating things that do not help me to prepare for my life beyond the grave. And in that moment, as their lives, their life begins to fade away, and their faculties are brought into their right senses, they begin to see all their idols, leaving them to a lost eternity. And in that moment, they realized Only Christ can satisfy. But it's too late. Their life on earth has come to an end. Is that your motto for life? To accumulate toys as much as you can at the expense of your soul. Pause for a moment and face the reality that one day you will die. And all the things you have spent your life pursuing will fade away, will be insignificant in that moment. And what will stare you right in your face is this reality that you are about to breathe your last and you will face a God. And that God demands faithfulness, demands righteousness, demands that sin be punished. What will you do when that time comes? Oh, that you may be one who look forward to that moment and hear the words of the Father, well done, good and faithful servant. Come share into the kingdom prepared for you, for you are faithful in little and now be put in charge of much. Is that what you are looking forward to? And the only way to prepare for that is to bring your life in total subjection to the Lordship of Christ. And those of us who are Christians, true disciples of Christ, when we begin to feel our lies being drawn to the glories of this world, that we may be like the hymn writer in the hymn we'll be singing in closing, who says, tell me the odd, odd story of unseen things above, of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his life. Tell me the old, old story. Tell me the old, old story. Please, tell me that old, old story of Jesus and his love. In one of the stanzas, he says, tell me the same old story. When you have cause to fear, that this world's empty glory is costing me too dear. Yes, and when that world's glory is dawning on my soul, please tell me that odd, odd story because Christ Jesus is the only one who makes me whole. And this must be our goal, must be our prayer, that our supreme delight will be the Lord Jesus Christ. That when the allurements of this world are throwing themselves on us, we may hear the same story of Jesus and his love. Because it is only that story which brings satisfaction in our lives. And it is only that story of Jesus and his love which will be our passport into this everlasting life. Oh, that we may tell this story to ourselves, to our children, to our neighbors, and to the world. The story of Jesus and His love. Amen.