The One Who Possesses, Enjoys, and Proclaims Eternal Life (John 12:20-36)
How can our lives bear much fruit? How can we possess and enjoy eternal life? How can we be regarded with honor from God? These three points are the message that Jesus Christ gives right before His death on the cross.
Let us bless one another, Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. I pray that God’s unlimited grace will be upon all the people and families worshipping in the church and in their homes and especially on the East Coast. The title of today’s message is about eternal life, and I pray that the blessing of possessing, enjoying, and proclaiming eternal life will be fulfilled in your lives this week.
The passage that we read today happened right after Jesus Christ had performed many miracles. He had ridden a donkey into Jerusalem, and many people were praising Him, “Hosanna to the King of Kings, Jesus Christ the son of David, the True King to come.” Later on, we’ll see that these same crowds changed into the ones who persecuted and killed Jesus. When Jesus Christ received the most applause, it was the time He spoke about his death on the cross to come, and that’s the passage we read.
From the passage we read today, the message has three different doctrines that should guide our lives. How can our life bear much fruit? How can we possess and enjoy eternal life? Third, how can we be regarded with honor from God? These three points are the message that Jesus Christ gives right before His death on the cross.
It might be great for you to be able to go to the bookstore and read about great advice for your life; however, the best advice for your life is found in the Bible. If you are within the greatest Word of God, then your life will become the greatest as well. On the other hand, no matter how powerful or great you may be, if you are not with the great Word of God, your life will become lowly and pitiful.
1. One’s Eternal Life
In John 12:25, Jesus Christ says that whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and the Lord continues to say that the man who hates his life on this earth will save it.1) Physical Life – Hates it
The life the Bible is talking about is the physical life. In other words, anyone who loves their physical life on earth, the food we eat, the air we breathe, making money, studying, going on vacations, anyone who loves that life will lose their eternal life. I’m not saying you don’t need the physical life; however, if you love your physical life, you will lose your eternal life.
However, the man who hates his life for this world will keep his eternal life. Not only will he gain eternal life, but he will also be able to protect his physical life. This is the reason why you have to listen to the words of God very well, because all the mysteries of your life are contained within God’s Word.
The one who loves his physical life is the one who lives centered on themselves, on materialism, and success. In other words, they live their life centered on their thoughts. They don’t follow the word of God, but they follow their thoughts, and they follow after things being centered on the things they see with their eyes, and they live for their own success. People like that will lose their eternal life, and that’s the way that unbelievers live. They think that’s good, so they don’t care about the eternal life, and this is the same word for us who believe in Jesus as well.
The people who believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on the cross have already received eternal life, and they’ve already relegated the curses and disasters they should have received onto Jesus. Not only that, but John 12:31, the “prince of the world has already been driven out.” If that has not happened, we have no choice but to be dragged around our entire lives by the prince of the world as his slaves, but Jesus has liberated us and has given us eternal life.
For us who have received salvation, what does it mean to live centered on eternal life, and when we live our lives centered on eternal life, what are the things that will happen? Romans 14:17 says, we will receive an indescribable joy, righteousness, and peace. The special blessing reserved for people living their lives centered on eternal life instead of the physical life will be this righteousness, peace, and joy of the Kingdom of God.
This peace does not exist in this world, it is a peace that is only from Jesus Christ for the children of God. You cannot buy it with money. No matter what you do in this world, you cannot gain this peace. When people try to pursue happiness, this is what they are trying to get. If someone battles depression, how could the depression overcome the peace of God? They would overcome their depression with this joy.
Where does this joy come from? It is the true joy from God. There are some people who chase after joy by going on vacations all over the world, and they feel joy because they see things they haven’t seen before and think, “This is life,” and they don’t want to see the same things over and over again, so they have to go to another location the next time. When they go on vacation, they have joy as they see things, but they come back to their life. Later on, there isn’t anything they haven’t seen, but that’s not the joy I’m talking about. I’m talking about the joy of Jesus Christ that is always there.
As a person living life, we should be joyful. As a person lives their life, they should always have this true peace. A person should be one who thinks righteous thoughts. Only the Lord can be righteous; it’s impossible for us to be righteous. Only when we enjoy the eternal life of the Lord are we able to think righteously.
The righteousness that the world talks about is a righteousness that comes from yourself, and the peace that the world talks about is simply a lack of problems. How is it possible to not have problems? Just the fact that you are living in a physical body is the beginning of problems. If you enjoy eternal life, these are the blessings awaiting us. Enjoying eternal life means you deny your physical life, you’ll hate it. You’ll love the life that is in Christ.
In 2 Timothy 3, it tells us that the ones who love themselves more than God will face suffering. The characteristic of people who are mentally ill is that they love themselves way too much, in other words, they are trapped too much in their own thoughts. Even if the Word of God comes to them, they reject it. Because they’re always centered on “me,” they don’t listen to the words of other people, but they’re under a misconception that they’re a very cool and classy person, “I’m not going to listen to anyone else, I’m only going to listen to what I think,” but the words they are actually listening to in their brain are the words that the demons put into them, and they listen very well to the visions that the demons put in their brain.
But they will always reject God’s Word, and everywhere they go, they raise conflicts because they think their words are the best and they don’t listen to the words of anybody else, and they have no choice but to be competitive and have a nature of conflict.
For the young adults who are preparing to get married, nobody gets married because they want to get into conflicts, but you’re already going into a marriage with the nature of conflicts. That’s what happens simply when you love your physical life. All you have to do is deny yourself.
That’s what meditation is, emptying yourself, and that’s the meditation that the world teaches, too. Because people lay down their scars, they say they have healing. They need to replace their scars with the joy, peace, and eternal happiness that comes from Jesus, but instead, they face more and more problems.
2) Death of a Kernel of Wheat
Jesus Christ says today, “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed, but if it dies, it produces many seeds,” so if a seed falls to the ground, it will produce many seeds. Of course, this represents the death of Jesus Christ, for through that one death, many people upon this earth were saved, but it also represents our lives as well.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in Me will bear much fruit.” It means that I’m not holding onto my own thoughts, but I’m holding onto Jesus’ thoughts…
3) Follow Jesus Christ
The Lord says, “Whoever serves me must follow Me.” What does it mean to “serve,” to be a servant? It means to serve our master. In order to serve our Master, we must let ourselves down and do what our Master commands. It is the one who does this, where worship is the seat of serving God. That’s why we call it a worship service, because we are serving God as a servant.
Today, if you let go of all your own thoughts, you’ll be able to hear the words of Jesus, and that is the posture of a servant, and those people must follow Jesus. In order to follow Jesus, you have to let go of your own thing to follow. If you follow Jesus with your own calculations, you’re going to be confused. You’re not going to follow Him if your calculations don’t match up, and if you have your own thoughts, you’re not going to follow Jesus if He is not aligned with your thoughts.
You have to lay everything down, but what does that mean? You acknowledge that none of your thoughts have no value. Where do they come from? My thoughts and experiences have come from a place that is separated from God. If they come from the Word of God, I can follow it, but anything that comes from your knowledge or experience must be laid down.
Whoever follows and serves Him, “Where I am, My servant also will be.” What does this mean? It means that wherever Jesus’ words are, I am. In other words, it means that wherever I am, God’s Word is fulfilled. It means that I’m remaining in the place where God’s Word is being fulfilled.
Of course that happens because you lay yourself down, you’re not going by your own plans. Every single day this week, you go out following the Word of God in prayer, and that’s why wherever you go, the Word of God is fulfilled. For people like this, “My Father God will honor those who serve Me.”
If God honors you and considers you precious, that’s the end of your life. If God Who is moving and controlling everything in the universe considers that you’re precious, then that’s it. Even if the President of the United States honors someone, he will use them, but the person whom God thinks is precious and honored is the one who follows the Word of Jesus. You follow the Word of Jesus 24 hours a day, holding onto it. That is the one who is honored by God, and they are the VIPs in God’s eyes.
God saw David was most precious. When David’s father Jesse saw him, he thought David was the very least, but God saw David as the best. The one who is honored and considered precious by God is the one who follows Jesus.
For people like this, when they face a problem, they’re able to see the answer right away. But people who follow their own thoughts instead of the words of God when they face a problem, they fall into their problem. When the ones who follow the word of God and follow Jesus face a problem, they see it as an opportunity, but for people who live according to their own thoughts, a crisis is a crisis, and they fall into that crisis.
The world teaches you something else, but God tells us there are always two choices ahead of us. There is one side where, in front of a problem, you can see the answers and blessings, and the other side is that you fall into a problem. Some people say life is a problem, but other people see the answer. What’s the difference? The one who enjoys life and follows the word of Jesus Christ will be able to see the answer.
People say life is so hard, they say it’s always hard, they say their life is always in a crisis, but other people say it’s an opportunity. Those are two types of people. It’s not that the problem disappears, but what’s important is that you’re able to see the answer and blessing of God within the problem.
In order for that to happen, you have to deny the physical things and love the eternal life. You have to have a life following the Lord, then you will be able to reach the conclusion that there is no problem. That’s what we call a Christian, because a Christian is someone who follows Christ, and you call someone who follows Siddhartha a Buddhist. If you come to church but you don’t believe in this or that, then you are a person of the world.
2. Eternal Life with Strength to Save
The second point is, how can we enjoy the strength of this eternal life? Every day, God gives you 24 hours, and there are people who have 24 hours with success, and there are people who are burdened 24 hours a day. The problem is within the person themselves, not the world around them.
1) Begin Every Day
How did these people begin their day? As soon as they wake up in the morning, they start with John 19:30 where they crucify all their problems on the cross. If you do not crucify all the problems on the cross, then you have to begin your day with all the problems. All your curses, disasters, hell, and sin have been crucified on the cross. All your problems have been crucified on the cross.
Your mind and heart must become one, and it must be only in the Word of God. Be the one who meditates on that Word. What is meditation? It means you are setting your heart and mind as one on the Word of God. If your thoughts and heart become divided from the Word of God, that is the start of their problems, but for those who unite their hearts with God, they will have spiritual strength.
If you just want to live a haphazard life, you don’t have to do this, but if you want to do world evangelization through your life, you have to do this.
2) Process Every Day
After the morning, you go into the day with your field, your school, and jobs. Even there, you need to hold onto the word God gave you on Sunday and go into the field in prayer. Psalms 1:1 says, “Blessed is the man who meditates on the law night and day.” “If I meditate on this night and day, when am I supposed to work?” People who say that don’t understand what prayer is, people like this have learned a Buddhist or shaman’s prayer. Prayer makes the Word of God into your personal life. Hold onto the Word of God that God gave you on Sunday and pray for 24 hours to make it your own, and that is prayer.
In Psalms 1:1-8, it says these people will not be found in the seat of mockers. People who walk in the step of the wicked complain, “I should have never met this person, this person swindled me of my money,” but the reason is because God gave you a way to walk in the seat of the righteous but you’re not doing it. You do not stand in the way of sinners, and that means you do not stand in the way of people who go against God.
They do not sit in the company of mockers. When Jesus received the most applause, He was about to die, and when all the crowds started following Jesus after the miracle of the five loaves and two fish, He ran away. The people who do this will never fail. If you look at it the other way, in Psalm 1:1-6, the people who do these things will fail.
But the one who is always following the Words of Jesus Christ and in righteousness in Psalm 1:3, it says they will be prosperous in whatever they do. Even though Joseph was a slave in Potiphar’s household, God blessed him with prosperity because he was standing in the seat that God desired, and whenever I’m doing the work that God desires, I will be used.
When God plans for temple construction and I go into that work, God will use me. That is prosperity. God will bless the work I’m doing so that I may be used for the work that He is doing for world evangelization. The one who goes within the word of God.
3) Organize Every Day
After you finish your whole day, you come back home and you have to get ready for bed. Before you sleep, you have to have a time of organizing everything that happened that day within the Word that God gave you. There is a life you lived that day, there are a lot of things that happened, maybe you used humanism and did all these things without even realizing it, but you meditate on the Word day and night, meaning you organize the Word within the Word of God, then you receive healing within yourself.
You need healing, I’m talking about the healing that a doctor cannot do, it is a healing you cannot do for yourself. It is a healing that only comes by meditating on the Word of God. Then, you organize and make a plan for the job you’re doing, because God is giving you wisdom.
I hope that the remnants, especially those who are dedicated towards world evangelization will follow these steps. Anybody who wants to walk in the step of the wicked or stand in the company of mockers don’t have to do this. If God has given you life, then you should enjoy this life, and the method to enjoy is prayer. Praying is holding onto the Word God gave you every week for 24 hours a day, but you’ve only learned about this Buddhist kind of prayer.
You think that diligently chanting the same things over and over again will bring some kind of fruit, but all you have to do is meditate on the Word God gave you on Sunday and bring it to life. That is prayer, and when you do that, undoubtedly God will bring you to the place where the Word of God is fulfilled.
How can you discover the fact that God is with you? If you believe in Jesus, of course the Holy Spirit is with you, but you have to be able to confirm that God is with you through your daily life. You’re able to see the fulfillment of God’s Word when you hold onto the Word of God. These are the people God honors as precious and gives them much fruit.
How can you discover the fact that God is with you? You’re able to see the fulfillment of God’s Word.
For these people, even though the coronavirus pandemic seems like a great problem and crisis, they will see the great blessings and answers behind it. For these people, even if they are dragged into slavery like Joseph was, everybody called him a failure, but they will absolutely be able to see God’s plan and blessing through it.
So, you have no idea how great and precious of a message God is giving us today. The Bible tells you, if you keep following the words of the “greatest people of the world,” you will be destroyed. Napoleon was the dictator of France, and then after 10 years of his reign, he was exiled and died slowly, alone. There was no greater king of France than Napoleon, it means he was a great and renowned leader of the age.
France was in a situation where they had so little hope such that when a leader like Napoleon rose up, they all rushed to him. He was so glorified that the musicians of the age were all singing his praises, but later on, the government switched, and eventually he was exiled to an island and died alone. If you hold onto the books of Napoleon’s life, and you look at the great pictures of him holding a sword while riding a horse, and you say, “I want to become like that,” you’re going to be destroyed, too. I’m telling you not to follow that.
We studied the books and writings of Tolstoy, but he ended up committing suicide. Even though it’s so moving, we’re deceived because there’s nothing there, but you have no idea how much of an influence it has on the kids. It seems so glamorous on the outside, but if you open it, you realize there’s a dead corpse inside.
If you look at the neon signs at night, they seem so bright, and the kids are following that bright light, going into the night and partying and dancing and get lost in it, but if you look a little deeper into the neon sign, you realize it’s full of dust, but because they see it incorrectly, they think all the pleasure and joy of life is there, and they go crazy.
There is nothing good in this world, it seems like we’ve lived all our lives, but we just begin our life knowing the Truth. Students and young adults may still have faith in the world, but there’s nothing there. Go ask anybody, ask President Trump. He has no choice but to get the coronavirus. We think these things are very powerful and glamorous, but there is nothing like that, so I hope you will follow Jesus Christ who is the greatest.
Until you make that conclusion, your life will flounder back and forth. You follow all these things thinking they’re greater than the Bible. You think the K-pop stars have it all, but when you really go look at them carefully, there’s nothing but empty death in there; you see that they’re all just machines, but you think they’re so great. It’s nothing. Only within Christ is everything that we need.
3. Life of Saving the Eternal Life
How must we live a life of saving the eternal life? You can know this by looking at how Jesus lived. In John 12:20, there were about 100,000 people in Jerusalem at this time, but when it was time for the festival of Passover, 400,000 Jews would come and gather, so imagine how crowded Jerusalem must have been. But among them is a Greek who came to observe the Passover.
Even though this was a festival for the Jewish people, idol-worshipping Gentiles came to Jerusalem to observe the Passover, so the disciples of Jesus introduce Jesus to the Gentile. Jesus says at this time, “The hour has come for the son of Man to be glorified,” in other words, it’s time for Him to be crucified, so the focus of every single point of Jesus’ life is focused on the cross.
The fact that a Gentile has come to find Him means that the time has come for Jesus to save all the Gentiles all at once. As soon as Jesus Christ came to this earth, the interest and focus on everything of His life was on this death on the cross, because that’s the way to glorify God.1) Focus My Life on Jesus Christ
Then, where should my focus be always? My focus should be where God focuses, isn’t that right? Where is that? Our focus should always be on the fact that Jesus Christ has died on the cross for me, He crucified sins and curses on the cross, and He is with me as light. That is what it means to focus on the cross.
2) My Focus = God’s Focus
Then, for these people, they are focused on their mission from God, and that’s the reason why Jesus explained about the Kingdom of God for 40 days. He told us to pray so that the Kingdom of God may be established on this earth. Our interest must always be set in spreading the gospel so that the kingdom of Satan is broken down and the Kingdom of God is established.
3) Focus of My Life = Focus of God
For this person, there’s no doubt about it. When they face a problem, they see the answer and will save people. People who cannot do that will face a problem and think it’s a problem. From their logic, it’s a problem, “How can you say it’s not a problem?” but for those who set their focus on the Triune God, whenever they face a problem, they see an answer because nothing can be a problem for God.
Because I’m setting my focus on the Triune God, all my problems are seen as a plan and blessing. But people who are always focused on themselves when they face a problem, it’s a problem. “What’s going on, how can I solve this? Why is this problem coming to me?” The Bible is telling you that your focus is on your physical self, so you need to know yourself properly.
Who am I? The “me” is the “me” that is always trying to leave God, and even if you say the right words, it’s always the word that is trying to lead you away from God and into curses and disasters. If you knew that, you would deny yourself. All your great thoughts are thoughts that bring you to Satan, so you become used to a life of suffering just like unbelievers suffer in hell. You can’t have an answer with that, so that’s why you have to deny yourself and set your focus on the Triune God.
Then, whenever you face a problem, it’s not a problem. How can it be a problem to God? It is a problem, but it is not a problem. The coronavirus pandemic is a problem and a crisis, but because your focus is on the Triune God, there is nothing that is a problem to God, you are able to see what God is doing. That is someone the world cannot overcome. That is what we call a Christian.
A Christian is able to earn from the Lord what they can never get from the world. You have to have this “only,” this “uniqueness” in order for America evangelization to be possible. If you just have a religious gospel, I’m sorry to say, you’re not going to be able to change religions or the world.
The church is a place where people like this gather and devote themselves to prayer in Acts 1:14. I hope you do not misunderstand prayer as shamanistic prayers or Buddhist prayers. Because you hold onto false prayers, you say that prayer is hard. It is simply that the word that God gives you on Sunday becomes your life. That is prayer, that means that even when you work, you’re able to pray. Even when you play, you’re able to pray, and that is how you will remain in the place where the Word of God is fulfilled.
That is whom God honors, and whoever blesses me, God will bless them. It is not me living, but God is living, so anyone who curses me is cursing God, so you don’t have to fight; you can just stay still, and that’s what happens when you believe in God. There are people who say, “They stabbed me in the back,” first of all, you shouldn’t have anyone stab you in the back, but even if they do, it’s okay.
As soon as I moved to LA, I started hearing this phrase about being stabbed in the back from people, even pastors. Can anyone stab the Lord in the back? If the Lord is living within me and someone stabs me in the back, am I really being stabbed in the back? Everyone is so full of their melancholy anger, and they’re so full of thinking, “I’m being treated unfairly.”
Now that I’m in America, I don’t hear the words of the gospel, I just hear, “I’m treated unfairly, I’ve been conned and swindled,” but people who go to church say that. If you’re at that level, it means you’re already seized by the darkness in America.
Joseph was stabbed in the back by his brothers, but that wasn’t an actual betrayal. The very fact that he was stabbed in the back became an opportunity for blessings. Why? Because the people who are always holding onto the Word that God gives him are always going to move in the direction of always seeing the opportunity for blessings.
Only the one who is truly able to enjoy the work of the gospel that God gives them is able to change this field. Then, everyone this person meets will be a blessing. Acts 2:9-11, they have a blessing of meeting with the businesspeople from 15 different nations.
What is a blessing of meeting? A meeting where that person says they will believe in Jesus as well and that they will do their business for Jesus as well. That is the blessing of meeting you will have for your life. The people who are unbelievers say they will accept Jesus.
Not a meeting where you get stabbed in the back. You only get stabbed in the back because you walk in the path of the wicked. Because you sit in the seat of mockers, just like King Hezekiah, you’re going to get all your treasure storehouses plundered. When other Gentile kings visited King Hezekiah, he took them to the storehouse to show off all the gold, and the Gentile king saw that and waged war and stole everything belonging to King Hezekiah.
That’s what happens when you sit in the seat of mockers, nothing that you have is yours. The Lord gives it to you for use towards His purpose, and that’s why all the work you are doing is an instrument used for saving people through missions and evangelism.
But people are in a misconception and end up following after the wicked, and they’ll all be destroyed. They sit in the seat of mockers because they think that all they have is their own. It is not their own, but God has given it to you, and that’s why if you do not become one with God, your job will always be “me-centered.”
However, if I become one with the Word of God, then the work I am doing will be used by God. Because you are not one with the Word of God and you’re trying to become one with the world, that’s why all these words are a burden to you. It’s just you and your work, so it’s all a burden, but if God and I become one, then everything I’m doing in my job becomes an instrument for God’s purpose.
Students who are in school right now, you have to know this in order to study. What kind of studies do you need to do? You need to have a study that is one between you and God. God doesn’t need someone who just goes to Harvard, but God uses one who studies to be one with God.
There are so many people in the world, and if you want to become a president or a king of a nation, you have to become the greatest elite, but there are some people who are used by God while others are destroyed. The finances you receive from the work you are doing must be finances used by God in order for you to be blessed. It will change into the economy of light.
If you’re holding onto the things of the world, everything will disappear and you will lose everything. God does that as evidence that it doesn’t belong to you. When you come to church, the normal and healed person will think, “How can I use the joy, the job, the finances and talents God has given me to serve the church?” But if you’re thinking, “How can the church help me?” then your life is already over.
Is the Lord a beggar? The Lord is not a beggar but you’re thinking the thoughts of a beggar, that means you’re not able to enjoy eternal life. I will now also go into the line of evangelism and missions to save the world. That is the will of God and that’s my own testimony.
When I was an assistant pastor, I only received $700 a month, and before that point, I wasn’t paid anything. My thoughts were always tied up in the church and I was worried about what people thought. One day, God changed my thoughts. “Let me do missions, too. I’m an assistant pastor, but why am I only caught up in the church? I’m not someone who needs handouts; let me go into the line of saving people.” I began to think like that.
Because God gave me the will to think like that, God gave me answers. This is my testimony. Are your thoughts inside the word of God or are they outside? That is everything. I will devote my entire business into the work of temple construction. I hope that these witnesses will absolutely arise.
Perhaps not all of you may be like that, but at least one? That’s how we will tell these words to the next generation. It’s okay if nobody else does it, just one person, because with that one person, we can save everybody, then in order to do that, your thoughts must become normal and correct.
But instead of you thinking, “How could I? I’m so old, I don’t have anything,” you’re already done. Is the Lord limited like that? The Lord is omnipotent and can do anything. God began to work through Moses who was 80 years old, but your thoughts are always beggar mentality, you’re always trying to get handouts and depend on other people even though the Lord is rich. That’s why you have no choice but to be destroyed. Every single thing that I have and I am, I will use to save lives.
Conclusion
- When I Die, Christ Lives
Let’s come to the conclusion. When I die, Christ comes to life, but because you are trying not to die, you are racing towards destruction. - Be a Victorious Witness in All of Your Life
If you die and Christ lives within you, you will sit in the seat of the witness to testify that no problem is a problem. - Be in the Seat of Saving a Lot of People’s Souls
You will be in the seat of saving many people, there’s no doubt about it. It is the evidence of the Bible, and even though my life is so short, it is the evidence of God’s grace. I know my own level, I know my personality, how could I be in the seat of saving? It is only possible because God is guiding me and giving me His grace. The only difference is whether the person is within the seat that God desires or not.
Prayer
I hope that throughout the rest of the week, you will be in the line of the one who possesses, enjoys, and proclaims eternal life. We received God’s Word today. I hope that every single day this week, you will live a life that is one with this word of God through prayer, and I pray that that life will begin today for you. That is what you call a life of prayer, a life of walking with God, a life of power. Let us pray together at this time holding onto the Word God gave us today.