[0:00] Let us turn now to read God's Word in the Gospel of John, chapter 12. John, chapter 12. John, chapter 12, and we'll read from the beginning.
[0:30] Then Jesus, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper, and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.
[0:47] Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
[1:02] Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
[1:16] This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. Then said Jesus, let her alone against the day of my bearing, as she kept this.
[1:32] For the poor always you have with you, but me you have not always. Much people of the Jews, therefore, knew that he was there, and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead.
[1:50] But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death, because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away and believed on Jesus.
[2:03] On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna! Blessed is the king of Israel, that cometh in the name of the Lord.
[2:23] And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon, as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Zion, behold the king cometh, sitting on an ass's colt.
[2:36] These things understood not his disciples at the first, but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.
[2:51] The people, therefore, that was with him, when he called Lazarus out of the grave, and raised him from the dead, bear record. For this cause the people also met him, for they had heard that he had done this miracle.
[3:05] The Pharisees, therefore, said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? Behold, the world has gone after him. And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast.
[3:20] The same came, therefore, to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew, and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.
[3:35] And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour has come, that the Son of Man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone.
[3:49] But if it die, it brings forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
[4:01] If any man serve me, let him follow me, and where I am, there shall also my servant be. If any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
[4:15] Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour, but for this cause came I into this hour. Father, glorify thy name.
[4:28] Then there came a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore that stood by and heard it said, that it thundered.
[4:40] Others said, An angel spake to him. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world.
[4:51] Now shall the prince of this world be cast out, and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying by what death he should die.
[5:05] And so on. Amen. And may God bless to us this reading of his own holy word. We're going to sing again from Psalm number 36. Psalm 36, and we're going to sing verses 5 to 10.
[5:18] Psalm 36, from verse 5. Thy mercy, Lord, is in the heavens. Thy truth doth reach the clouds.
[5:31] Thy justice is like mountains great, Thy judgments deep as floods. Lord, thou preservist man and beast, how precious is thy grace.
[5:42] Therefore in shadow of thy wings, men's sons their thrust shall place. They with the fatness of thy house shall be well satisfied. From rivers of thy pleasures thou wilt drink to them provide.
[5:57] Because of life the fountain pure remains alone with thee. And in that purest light of thine, we clearly light shall see.
[6:09] Thy loving kindness unto them continue that they know. And still on men upright in heart, thy righteousness bestow. These verses of Psalm 36, 5 to 10.
[6:21] Thy mercy, Lord, is in the heavens. Thy mercy, Lord, is in the heavens.
[6:35] Thy truth doth reach the clouds. Thy justice is like mountains great, Thy justice is like mountains great, Thy grace, Lord, is in the heavens.
[6:52] Thy grace, Lord, is in the heavens. Thy grace, Lord, is in the heavens. Thy grace, Lord, is in the heavens. Lord, thou be serviced man and peace, How precious is thy grace.
[7:14] Therefore, in the heavens. Therefore, in the heavens. Thy grace, Lord, is in the heavens. Let us have set us shall this.
[7:30] luz, in the heavens. muddy nets, ogni aver, worship And in the dearest light of life, weekly free light shall see.
[8:37] Thy love in kindness unto them continue at the know.
[8:53] And still on end I bright in heart thy righteousness bestow.
[9:13] Let's turn again for a little to the chapter we read in John's Gospel, John chapter 12. And I want us to look at from verse 20 to 22.
[9:27] John 12 at verse 20. And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast. The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.
[9:43] Philip cometh and telleth Andrew, and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. Now we have here this wonderful request from these Greeks.
[9:56] It's probably one of the great desires, great requests that you can find anywhere in the Bible. And it's a great request that anybody would ever ask. We want to see Jesus.
[10:06] Now these Greeks that we have here were, obviously they were Gentiles who had come to embrace the Jewish way of worship.
[10:17] They didn't, of course, have the same rights, all the privileges that the Jews had. For instance, in the temple, there was the court of the Gentiles, but they couldn't go past that.
[10:28] There were these exclusion zones. And it was, the Jewish religion was a very exclusive, in a sense, religion. And that, of course, was one of the great problems that the early church had, is reaching out to the Gentiles.
[10:45] Because they had this idea that, really, that God was for the Jew and for the Jew only.
[10:56] And yet, of course, Paul was the great ambassador to the Gentiles. He was the one who really reached out and he faced some quite, he faced opposition from some for that.
[11:09] So, the Gentiles, these Greeks would be Gentiles, they had seen, they were drawn into the religious way of life of the Jews.
[11:21] But there were restrictions. And how thankful we live in a day when there are no restrictions. And all the barriers that did used to exist, these barriers have been broken down.
[11:34] And we should never, ever try and erect barriers to prevent people from coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ. It's an awful thing to erect man-made barriers that are going to be a hindrance in order for people to come to know the Lord Jesus Christ.
[11:52] So, we find here that there are these Greeks and they want to see Jesus. And as we said, it's wonderful that we live in a day when, because we've got to remember that there are no exclusion zones in the gospel.
[12:11] The gospel is the most wonderful unifying force or power in this world. And it doesn't matter a person's creed or culture or language or race or colour or anything at all like that.
[12:27] In Christ Jesus, we are all one. Every person who comes to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, irrespective of where they're from or who they are, it's the same gospel and the same Jesus for both the prince and for the prisoner.
[12:44] And that's one of the wonderful things that we have. In some ways, it almost makes the gospel. It does make the gospel unique. So, we find these Greeks and they come to Philip wanting to see Jesus.
[12:59] Now, we're not too sure why they wanted to see Jesus. Some people suggest that it was out of curiosity. I don't think so. Some people suggest that it was out of curiosity, that they had seen him at a distance, they had heard him, and they wanted to know more about him, which is fair enough, because they wouldn't be the first people who wanted to see Jesus out of curiosity.
[13:25] You remember the little man, Zacchaeus. He was curious to see Jesus, who he was. Because remember, Zacchaeus was a crook. He was a tax gatherer, but he was one of those who took a lot more money from people.
[13:43] For instance, supposing the tax that he was to collect, say it was 20 pounds, or putting it in whatever money, he would go and say, well, you owe 35 pounds.
[13:54] That's what the Romans are charging. And he would pocket 15 himself. That's what he was doing, because he tells Jesus afterwards that he would give back fourfold from all the money that he had stolen from people.
[14:06] So that's why the tax collectors were hated. But, of course, it tells us he wanted to see Jesus who he was, because Jesus was labelled the friend of publicans and sinners, or the tax collectors.
[14:22] And there weren't too many of them about. So Zacchaeus, there's no doubt that he was really curious to see Jesus. And remember, he went up into the sycamore tree to see him, because he was a wee man.
[14:32] And because of the crowd, he couldn't see. So he went up to get a, as it were, like a bird's eye view, so he could look down on Jesus. But he wasn't left looking down on Jesus for long, because remember how Jesus said, Zacchaeus, come down.
[14:46] And he told him, this day salvation is coming to your house. So, the funny thing is that quite a number of people, I know a person who came to faith, and they came to faith largely through a form of curiosity.
[15:02] They weren't, they had no real interest in being a Christian, but were interested in the Christian faith, what it was about, and began to look at the Bible. I'd never really looked at the Bible and thought, well, I'm going to have a look at, see what this is all about.
[15:17] And as they began to study, the Bible came to faith. And I'm sure there are many who came to faith that way. It began with a sense of curiosity.
[15:30] But I don't think it was simple curiosity that we have with the Greeks here, because this word where they say they want to see Jesus, has the idea of desire in it.
[15:43] It has the idea of a need in it, of a real wanting. So, here are Greeks who really, really want to meet with Jesus. They have a deep-rooted desire within them to meet with Jesus, and to discover more about Jesus.
[15:59] So, they go to Philip. And some wonder, why did they go to Philip? Well, Philip actually was largely a Greek name. So, people think that maybe Philip had relations amongst the Greeks, which would make him an obvious way of approach, that they would go to Philip.
[16:19] But it then tells us that after they've told Philip, that Philip then tells Andrew. And, of course, Andrew has come from the same place as Philip, so maybe they were friends beforehand.
[16:31] But the one thing that you often find with Andrew, though it doesn't tell us an awful lot about him, Andrew seems to be the go-between.
[16:42] Andrew seems to have been possibly the most approachable of the disciples. Because this isn't the only instance we have of somebody going to tell Andrew in order to tell Jesus.
[16:55] You remember when Jesus fed the thousands, and there was a boy with the five loaves and two fishes, it was to Andrew, when Andrew came to Jesus.
[17:06] So, it would almost appear that Andrew had this way about him, this approachable way. He was maybe the most gentle, the easiest, because we've got to remember that James and John, it's hard to think of it, but when we read, when you go to the letter of John, John's letters, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, they're absolutely letters full of love.
[17:34] But in the early days, that's not, when John started out, that's not what he was. They were, Jesus, they were termed the sons of thunder. And there was a time when, when James and John wanted Jesus to call down fire from heaven, in the way that Elijah did.
[17:52] Jesus said to them, you don't know what you're asking. So there was, you can see that John mellowed, and changed, over the, over the course of time, as did Peter.
[18:03] When you read the letter of, when Peter's letters, very different to the impetuous, fiery kind of character, we meet in the, in the gospels.
[18:14] And that's, that's how it should be. Because as Christians, we ought to develop, and to mature, and to grow, and to become more Christ-like. And it's very obvious, that that's the way it went with the disciples.
[18:28] So, it's quite possible that, that the likes of, James and John and Peter, were not approachable, in these days. In fact, you find, they seem to be quite harsh.
[18:40] Remember how they, they tried to get rid of the women, who were wanting to bring the, the little infants to Jesus. Jesus rebuked them, and said, suffer little children, to come unto me.
[18:52] So, we, we've got to remember that, they were these disciples, they were, they were ordinary, they'd been fishermen, they were, rough and ready kind of characters, but of course, they mellowed, and changed, under, the, the, the teaching, and under the grace, of God, over the course of time.
[19:12] But it would, it would appear, that Andrew, was, probably, the, the, as we say, the most approachable, of the disciples. And again, when you think about it, the Lord, called Andrew, before, he called Peter.
[19:28] And in fact, it was Andrew, who brought, his brother Peter, to Jesus. And again, there's something quite, remarkable, that's what makes me think, that Andrew really, was a very fine person.
[19:43] Because, Andrew, ministers, in his own home, to his own brother. And in a sense, that's the hardest place of all, to witness, to minister, is in your own home.
[19:57] Because that's where people, know you best. They know you warts, and all you, there's nothing about, about you, that they don't know. So the fact that, Andrew was able, in, to, in a very, it would appear, in a very easy way, to witness, about Jesus, speaks, volumes, about the type of person, that Andrew was.
[20:18] And you remember, how Andrew, he, he, he said to, to Peter, that he told him, to come, and he says, he believed, that they had, he had met, the Messiah. That's how it says.
[20:30] Andrew found his brother, Peter, and said, we have found the Messiah. And he took him to Jesus. And you know, the wonderful thing, about Andrew, bringing Peter, to Jesus, is, how little Andrew, would have realized, at that moment, the impact, of that action, that it was going to have, on this whole world.
[20:53] because, about three and a bit years later, we find that, Peter preaches at Pentecost, and remember how, thousands, were converted, thousands, came to faith.
[21:08] And many of these people, moved out with the gospel, there was a, massive spread of the gospel, in the early days. And when you look, when you trace it back, it was Jesus, speaking to Andrew, and Andrew going, and getting his brother, and saying, come with me, come with me, to meet, with Jesus.
[21:29] We have found, Jesus. And you know, we're all part of a chain. And God uses us all, in different ways. And that's why, it's so important, that we're faithful, where we are.
[21:42] We don't read of Andrew, doing any great, great mission work, of great work. We don't read of him, preaching, and thousands, coming to faith. But yet, because of his faithfulness, because of his witness, because of his Christian duty, and obligation, to his brother, that was the end result.
[22:03] So you see, how important it is, for us to do, we all, do our own little bit, wherever the Lord, has put us. And leave, the result, to the Lord.
[22:14] And I believe, that's one of the things, that we will get a surprise, and glory, of how God has used, often maybe, our poor witness, even, even as a, even children.
[22:26] I'm sure that, the glory will surprise us, at how often, what a child has said, what children have said, the impact, that it's had, a lasting impact, for good.
[22:38] So it's all part, of God's great big plan, great big picture, which we, right now, so often, aren't able to see. So, anyway, Philip goes, and tells Andrew, and Andrew, and Philip, go, and they tell, Jesus.
[22:56] And, so, we find here, this, that, these Greeks, were the desire, to see Jesus. And the first thing, that we would say, about this desire, to see Jesus, is that, that desire, to see Jesus, that comes, in any person's heart, comes from the Lord.
[23:13] Because, it's not a natural thing, to want to see Jesus. The Bible tells us, very clearly, they saw, no beauty in him, that they should desire him.
[23:25] Now, if you're looking at something, and you don't see, anything attractive, or nice, or beautiful, in any shape, or form about it, you kind of dismiss it, and say, I'm not interested in that.
[23:37] Whereas, the opposite is true, if you see something, and you say, whoa, that, that's, that is really, worth looking at. That's, that's beautiful, that's interesting. You would find yourself, going to have a look at it.
[23:49] You want to see more of it. And so it is, spiritually, that the vast majority, of people, they, if they ever consider, Jesus at all, they just dismiss him.
[24:02] They don't see anything. They might, historically, believe in him. And they might say, oh yeah, he was a great man, he did a lot of great work, and all that. But that's as far as it goes. There's no desire, there's no desire, there's no desire, there's no desire, to investigate further, no desire, to explore this further, no desire, to come to know Jesus, more and more.
[24:22] So they see no beauty in him, that they should decide. And that's why the vast majority, of people, don't come to church. Why the vast majority, of people, aren't listening in, to services.
[24:33] services. But the, the, the, this desire, as we say, is a God-given desire. And you know, if that desire, is in your heart tonight, then be absolutely persuaded, that it's the Lord, who has put that desire there.
[24:50] That was not, born of your own, will. And, supposing you're a Christian, of, 30, 40, 50 years, 60 years, I don't know, maybe even more.
[25:02] The one thing, you'll be saying is, yes, I desire to see Jesus. And you believe, that probably everybody else, can see Jesus, better than you can. Because I think, it's one of the things, that so often, we feel.
[25:17] And we look around, and we say, oh, you know, they all see Jesus, better than I can. Because it seems to be, one of the, one of the great complaints, that we have. Oh, I wish I could see, wish I could see, more clearly.
[25:30] Because, you know, it says, we see, but through our glass, darkly. And that's often the way. It's by faith. Yes, we're, we see by faith. But there's blessing, in seeing, even however dim, and however faint.
[25:45] Because Jesus said, remember how he said to Thomas, and after Thomas had, he had invited him, to put his fingers, into the prints, and all that. And he said, blessed, he said, Thomas, because you've seen, you believed.
[26:00] But blessed are those, whom having not seen, yet believe. That's where we are. We haven't seen with the eye. We've only seen by faith.
[26:11] And Jesus' blessing, rests upon us, by seeing, by faith. But then, of course, we want that that faith, would, would, would be clearer, and would be better.
[26:22] So, it's a desire from the Lord. It's also a heavenly desire, because that's where, where this desire will find, its fulfillment, is in heaven. Where we are then, in the immediate presence, of Christ, with nothing, to hinder, our vision of him.
[26:40] We will see clearly, and we won't be saying, oh, you know, I, I'm only getting, a fleeting glance. And just, oh, my vision is so, so dim.
[26:51] We won't have that complaint, in heaven. Because heaven, is the immediate, presence of Christ. Paul said that, his desire, he says, you know, remember he was saying, I don't know whether, what's best for me, to stay or to go.
[27:03] But then he says, you know, it'd be great to depart, which is to be with Christ. And you know, it's a great evidence, a great mark, as to where a person, is spiritually.
[27:14] Because people sometimes, talk about wanting, to go to heaven, but they have no desire, for Christ. Well, that, that doesn't match up. You can't have a desire, for heaven, and no desire, for Christ.
[27:26] Because the two, are inseparably bound. Because heaven, is Christ. Heaven is, Christ is at the very, center, of your heaven. He's at the center, of heaven.
[27:39] And if people, in this world, really don't want Christ, and they, they don't have any desire, to have anything, really to do with Christ, at a distance.
[27:52] How on earth, could they cope, with being right, in the very, immediate presence, of Christ, forever? And you see, that's how, that's how it is.
[28:05] So, it's like, the great mark, the great evidence, of tonight, your desire is, and you say, my desire, is Jesus. That's who I want to see. That's who I want to be, with.
[28:17] Then, that is a heavenly desire. And that desire, will be fulfilled. Because that's, that's, that's exactly what, what will, in, in, at the end, of the day, it'll happen.
[28:30] And, you see, grace, grace brings, this desire, into our heart. Now, as we know, there's only one way, of being saved.
[28:42] We know that, and that's, by grace, you are saved, through faith. But, the experiences, that people go through, are also different. And, of course, it's, we've got to recognize that, and understand that, and we mustn't get cast down, if our experience, doesn't fit in, with somebody else's.
[29:02] I've, heard, I remember, way back, somebody giving their testimony, and somebody came out, somebody I was speaking to, came out, and they were really, they were really down in the dumps, because they couldn't follow, anything, that the person, who was giving his testimony, said.
[29:19] And, they felt that, they weren't a Christian, at all. And, I was saying, no, no, at the end of the day, we are saved, by the Lord. But, the experiences, that we go through, in the process, can be so different.
[29:32] If you enter the church, in Philippi, and you spoke to, two of the members, of that congregation, that church, their ways, of coming to the Lord, couldn't have been more different. If you spoke to Lydia, it tells us of Lydia, whose heart, the Lord opened.
[29:49] It was very gentle. Lydia, might not be able, to give any great, experiences as such, but just the Lord, opened her heart. And then, you have over there, in the church, you have also the jailer, the Philippian jailer.
[30:05] His coming to the Lord, was a violent experience. He was suicidal. And it was only, Paul's intervention, that stopped him, killing himself.
[30:17] What must I do, to be saved? He cried out. So you, there they are, in the one church, in the one congregation, and they couldn't be, more different. The gentle, and the violent ways.
[30:30] It's been, and I'm sure, all of us here, tonight as Christians, will fall into, not necessarily, into these two categories, but somewhere, maybe these are probably, two extreme, not, I shouldn't say extreme ways, but just showing, how, how incredibly different, it can be, within the one congregation.
[30:50] So, the way, as we say, the ways, can be very, very difficult, different. For some people, it's a gradual process. Some people, go into church. Friend of mine, went into church, one night, and he went there, simply for one reason, and that was to please his wife, because he wanted his wife, to do a few things.
[31:10] And she, said to him, please come to church, and she said, if you come to church with me, there were special services, on a weekday. She said, if you come to church, I'll agree to these things. And he came to church, and he was converted.
[31:22] No word of the other things, after that. It was as dramatic, and it was as sudden, as that. And then there are other people, and maybe you're in that category. And you can never exactly pinpoint, to the very day.
[31:35] But in a gradual process, over time, you were able to say, like the blind man, what I know is, I once was blind, but now I see. I can see.
[31:47] And that's, you can't pinpoint exactly, where that clarity, it seemed to be like a, just like the dawning of the day, a gradual process. But it's, but grace is grace, whatever the experience is.
[32:02] And the end of that experience is, always, we want to see Jesus. And irrespective of how you feel tonight, you might say to yourself, you know, I feel the poorest, the poorest, the poorest, the poorest, the poorest, the poorest, in this congregation.
[32:17] But you know, if your desire is to see Jesus, then you're not poor. Because that is a desire, that is from the Lord, it's a heavenly desire. And the great thing is this, that it's also a desire, that the Lord will satisfy.
[32:34] The Lord never creates a desire, within our heart, just to leave us in suspense, and to say, oh well, I've created the desire, I'm not going to do anything about it. When the Lord gives that desire, he will fulfill it.
[32:48] And he satisfies a hungry soul. He loves to do that. That's what the Lord does. And of course, he satisfies a hungry soul, through his word. Because it's, everything is centered, in the word of God.
[33:02] Because this is, this is where we see the Lord. And, the seeking soul, will always, be around the word.
[33:13] You know, if you find somebody, and they say to you, no, I'm seeking the Lord. And you say, oh that's, that's great. Do you read the Bible? I'm sure you're reading the Bible. Oh no, I don't open the Bible. So, where are you seeking?
[33:27] Because, this is where you will find him. Seek and you will find. You've got to be under the word. Whether it's, through God's house, and through the word of God, reading it.
[33:38] It's, this is, this is a way that we find it. And, you see, the word of God, is centered to our lives. And, we need to have an appetite, for God's word. And, pray the Lord, give me an appetite, for your word.
[33:51] And, you know, it's not a good sign, when we lose our appetite, for God's word. You know, in the natural world, and particularly children, are bad for that, for, eating junk food, between meals.
[34:03] And, sometimes they'll get older stuff, and, and they'll stuff themselves. And then, when it comes to the proper meal, they're not, they can't eat. Because, they've filled themselves, with junk food.
[34:15] And, they don't, they're not able to eat, the good food, which nourishes. And, you know, sometimes this can happen, to us as well. Where we get caught up, with all the junk, of the world.
[34:26] And, if we begin to fill our minds, with all the, the junk, of the world, and begin to lose, our appetite, for God's word, it's not a good thing. You know, we can learn a lot, from the sheep.
[34:37] You know, when a sheep, when a sheep isn't well, a sheep, we'll sometimes, you'll see the sheep, stop eating. But again, the sheep will often, go off on its own, when it's not well. And you know, it's an indication, in many ways, of how it is, with somebody, who's beginning to, maybe lose their way, as a Christian.
[34:56] Is they stop desiring, the company, of other Christians. There, they, there was a time, when they loved, the company, of other Christians. But now, they've lost that desire.
[35:06] They've lost the desire, for the word. They're filling themselves up, with other things. So it's not a good thing, when we see these things. So it's very important, that, we, we have this desire, to see Jesus.
[35:22] And, could I say, if there's anybody here, because I don't, I know some of you, but I don't, I don't know everybody. But if there's anybody, here tonight, who, has been seeking Jesus, quietly, for a long time, but you haven't come, to that assurance, of faith yet, to that place, where you're able to say, my Lord, and my God.
[35:44] Go and speak, to another Christian. Because that's what, these, these Greeks did. They went, and they spoke, to Philip, and Philip, to Andrew, and Philip, and Andrew, went to Jesus.
[35:57] Because, not that another person, can save you, another Christian, won't save you, but another Christian, sometimes, what they'll do, is they'll point you, in the right way. They will show you, the right way.
[36:10] And sometimes, it's a word, from somebody else. And you might say to yourself, oh, what will they think of me? I'll tell you something, they'll be delighted, that you've come, to ask that. There's nothing, that will thrill the heart, of a Christian more, than seeing, somebody, who's wanting, the Lord, who's seeking, the Lord.
[36:30] So don't be, don't be afraid, or don't be ashamed, ever, to ask someone. Because that's exactly, what these Greeks, did here. They came, and they asked, Philip.
[36:45] And so, that's what, one of the, one of the things, that really, we should do. And Jesus, in response, just in a word, in answer to, what was said there, Jesus said, the hour has come, that the Son of Man, should be glorified.
[36:59] And then he says, 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. And so on.
[37:10] And Jesus is very simply saying, I came in order to die. The grain of, that grain of wheat, if you leave it on a shelf, or leave it in a tin, or leave it anything, just leave it, that's it.
[37:25] But if you put it into the ground, and it dies, then it brings forth fruit. And Jesus said, that's what's to happen to me. This has got to be, the way of the gospel. This is how you're going to see me.
[37:36] If you want to see me, it is in my death, and in my resurrection. It is, this is the way that I bring light, and life into people's experience.
[37:47] And he brings forth this abundance, this great, this great harvest. Bringeth forth much fruit. Again, it's like what we said about Andrew. By going and bringing Peter.
[38:01] Just brought one man. But bringing that one man, in the end, brought thousands, to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the way it works. And so, this is what Jesus is saying.
[38:14] And then he says, he that loves his life will lose it. And he that hates his life in this world, shall keep it unto life eternal. The only way, really, for us to get eternal life, is to be prepared to lose our life, in Jesus Christ.
[38:30] And you know, that's a hard thing. This is why so many people, are opposed to the gospel. Because you have to hand over, your life to Jesus. That's the hardest thing, in the wide world to do.
[38:43] Why? Because we want to be boss, of our own lives. We don't want somebody else, to rule our lives. That's how it is. To be a Christian, we have to yield up.
[38:57] We have to, as it were, lose our life, in him. But by doing that, we in turn, gain life. And those, at the very end, who don't want to lose, control of their lives, end up losing it.
[39:13] So you see, that it's so vital, it is, that we, that we turn to the Lord. Because when we see Jesus, when we receive Jesus, what do we get? Well, we get life.
[39:24] And one of the evidences, of life is, that we cry to the Lord. If tonight, you're saying to yourself, you know, I don't know, if I've really got to spirit, your life in me. Well, ask yourself this.
[39:36] Do you find yourself, every day, speaking to the Lord, calling out to the Lord, asking the Lord, for help, and strength, and grace, and forgiveness, and mercy?
[39:47] Well, if you do, then, that is an evidence of life. When a baby, a new baby is born, baby cries, it's the evidence of life.
[39:58] And so it is, spiritually, it is the evidence of life, when we begin to call, and to cry out to the Lord. And again, the Lord gives peace. Because until we come to, come to see Jesus, there is a lack of peace, we're at enmity with him.
[40:15] We might not realize it, but we are. And we come to rest. You see, we're running from the Lord. Every person tonight, who is outside the kingdom of God, is running away from the Lord.
[40:28] We began to, we all began to run with Adam, in the garden. Remember when Adam sinned? What did he do? He ran away from God. And God, in his mercy, called Adam, where are you?
[40:41] How thankful we are, that God was merciful, and called him back. Otherwise, we would still all be running with Adam. But God called Adam back.
[40:52] And that's what, out with Christ, we're running away. We might not realize it, but there is an inbuilt direction in us, away from God. In fact, I'll say this, everybody in this world, is either running to God, or running away from God.
[41:09] There's no in between. People are either Godward, or not Godward. They're either going to God, or away from God. It's a solemn thought.
[41:21] And that's what the Lord has come to do, is to turn us round. To turn us all round, because all of us at one point, were going in the opposite direction. We've been converted, turned round, back to the Lord.
[41:35] So that's, that's one of the wonderful things, that the Lord does, when we see you. Gives rest. Gives a purpose to our life. We know why we're here. So many people have no idea, why we're here.
[41:50] They feel that life is meaningless. What's the point in life? Well the Christian says, it's to glorify God. I'm here for a purpose in life. We can all say that.
[42:01] And the Lord brings healing, into our souls. Spiritual healing. And he brings joy. Christian joy. The list really is endless. Well I hope and pray tonight, that all of us, that our desire is to see Jesus.
[42:17] If it is, it's of the Lord. It's a heavenly desire, and it's a desire, that will be satisfied. Let us pray. Lord our God, we pray to bless us, and that you will part us, with your blessing tonight, taking us to our home safely.
[42:32] Lord we need you, at every step that we take. Sometimes we think, we can manage our own steps, but it doesn't take us long, to discover, that we've just got ourselves, and to bother.
[42:43] Help us then Lord, to walk wisely, and to walk well, with our eye fixed upon our Saviour. Lord, grant us your grace, in everything. Be with us throughout this week, and all the duties, that lie ahead of us.
[42:55] And Lord, keep us safe, and do us good, and take away our sin, in Jesus name. Amen.