Title
DEATH = LIFE 死亡=生命
Date
09/21/2025
Description
John 12:24 – “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
約 翰 福 音 12:24: 我实话告诉你们，如果一颗麦粒没有落在地里死去，它依然是一粒种子，但是，一旦它死了，它就会结出许多麦粒 (page 1744)
Romans 6:11: So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
羅 馬 書 6:11: 同样，你们应该明白自己已死于罪的势力，并且通过耶稣基督为上帝而活着。 (page 1829)
Gal 2:20: My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
加拉太书 2:20: 我已经与基督一同被钉在十字架上，现在活着的不再是我，而是基督活在我里面。我现在是靠信上帝的儿子而活着，祂爱我，为我舍命。(page 1887)
1 Cor 3:16 - Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
哥林多前书 3:16: 岂不知你们就是上帝的殿，上帝的灵住在你们里面吗？ (pg 1850)
Col 2:9,10: For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
歌罗西书 2:9,10 -因为上帝完全的神性有形有体地蕴藏在基督里，你们在基督里得到了丰盛的生命。祂是一切执政者和掌权者的元首。(page 1910)
約 翰 福 音 12:24: 我实话告诉你们，如果一颗麦粒没有落在地里死去，它依然是一粒种子，但是，一旦它死了，它就会结出许多麦粒 (page 1744)
Romans 6:11: So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
羅 馬 書 6:11: 同样，你们应该明白自己已死于罪的势力，并且通过耶稣基督为上帝而活着。 (page 1829)
Gal 2:20: My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
加拉太书 2:20: 我已经与基督一同被钉在十字架上，现在活着的不再是我，而是基督活在我里面。我现在是靠信上帝的儿子而活着，祂爱我，为我舍命。(page 1887)
1 Cor 3:16 - Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
哥林多前书 3:16: 岂不知你们就是上帝的殿，上帝的灵住在你们里面吗？ (pg 1850)
Col 2:9,10: For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
歌罗西书 2:9,10 -因为上帝完全的神性有形有体地蕴藏在基督里，你们在基督里得到了丰盛的生命。祂是一切执政者和掌权者的元首。(page 1910)
Creator
Pastor: Mike Koger
Contributor
Hillside United Methodist Church
3739 US 80
Phenix City AL 36870
United States
3739 US 80
Phenix City AL 36870
United States
Transcription
Death = LIFE
John 12:24
Have you seen that funny meme going around? "The calendar says 'Tuesday' but it still feels like Monday."
Tuesday mornings can sometimes be harder than Monday mornings.
Waking up around 4am, not feeling particularly enthused about the new day ahead. I found myself thinking, "I need a new attitude. I need a fresh perspective."
But where does that perspective come from?
HOW can we hear from GOD unless we take time to be quiet before Him?
To "Be Still and Know that HE is GOD"?
In those quiet moments, God whispers to our hearts: "This is a new beginning. You didn't expect it today, but here it is."
A few weeks ago, I shared something I firmly believe: "We were made for expansion and fuller expression. God wants to take you beyond your current limitations into places of greater impact for His kingdom."
I truly believe our DNA comes complete with a desire for expansion and greater expression. As the saying goes, "The first step toward getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are."
Remember when we talked about the power of decision? (definition)
But here's the truth—it can be hard to say "Goodbye."
Growth often has a component of grief to it. What may feel like a "loss" may really a transformation.
What may feel like "death" can really be a "rebirth."
For your new life to truly begin, the old life must end.
In Romans 6:11, we're instructed to "reckon the old man as dead."
This isn't just poetic language. The term "reckon" is an accounting term meaning to consider, account for, or take inventory. It implies a deliberate act of faith—
…aligning our beliefs and actions with the truth of our spiritual death to sin and new life in Christ.
Jesus expressed this profound truth in John 12:24-25. In The Message translation, it reads: "Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you'll have it forever, real and eternal."
Death equals Life. This is the divine paradox at the heart of our faith.
“funeral for a friend”
You basically need to have a funeral for your old self. That "friend" you're burying may be comfort. It could be called "security."
It might be familiar patterns that no longer serve God's purpose for your life.
Romans 6:7-8 reminds us: "For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him."
Romans 6:11: "So you also should think about yourselves in the same way. Sin has no power over you, as if you were dead. In your new life, you live to serve God, because you belong to Christ Jesus."
A seed will just remain a seed unless it is planted.
After it is planted, there is a complete transformation.
Jesus said it clearly: "Verily, verily I say unto you, unless a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit."
Eph 3:19 offers this beautiful prayer: "May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God."
Or as another translation puts it: "May you be filled through all your being with God himself!"
To be filled with one thing requires being emptied of another.
Does that make sense?
Watchman Nee wrote in The Normal Christian Life: "God never intended for man to live by himself. Man was created with a spirit capable of containing God and depending on God. And until God is everything to man, man will never be what God intended him to be."
Think about the tabernacle in the Old Testament. It was a physical structure designed for the Presence of God to dwell among his people. But now, under the New covenant, we do not have a tabernacle made of wood and fabric. We are the tabernacle.
As Paul says in 1 Cor 3:16, "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?"
This is the revolutionary truth that changes everything.
As Nee puts it: "You are not a seeker of God. You are a bearer of God. You are not trying to reach the divine presence. You are manifesting the divine presence. You are not searching for life. You are expressing the life that is already within you."
Jesus himself said in Luke 17:21: "the Kingdom of God is within you."
Faith is not feeling. Faith is accepting what God has said. ( )
...and God said that “Christ lives in you.” That you are "Complete in Him."
That you have received His fullness.
Accepting this by faith is to make the transition from seeking to knowing.
Romans 6:11 instructs us: "So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."
Remember that ad from that sweatshop shoe company: “Just Do It”
Last week, we discussed that your decision must be: "I open my life to the care and control of Christ. I don't know how it's all going to be worked out, but I know it's the right thing to do. So I'm just going to do it."
Hebrews 11:8 reminds us: "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going."
Jesus told his disciples in John 16:7: "I assure you that it is a good thing for you that I should go away. For if I did not go, the divine helper would not come to you. But if I go, then I will send him to you."
The disciples didn't want Jesus to leave—can you imagine how that felt?
—even though He told them it was necessary so that the next part of the church could really begin.
Charlie Kirk: "Jesus died so we can live."
And Jesus himself told us: "I tell you this: A seed of wheat continues to be only a single seed unless it falls into the ground. It must fall into the ground and then it must die. If it dies like that, it will grow to give a lot of seeds."
Gal 2:20 captures this beautiful exchange:
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
Death = Life
Make room in your life for the arrival of new life.
Ask yourself: “What must I die to in order to obtain the abundant, purposeful life God has prepared for me?”
If comfort is your aim, then change will always be just beyond your reach.
vs 25: “ …the one who detaches his life from this world and abandons himself to me, will find true life and enjoy it forever!”
Jesus: “Let me make this clear: A single grain of wheat will never be more than a single grain of wheat unless it drops into the ground and dies. Because then it sprouts and produces a great harvest of wheat—all because one grain died.”
We must "reckon the old man as dead."
You already know what that old man looks like—
…but do you have a revelation of what the new man (who you are in Christ) should look like?
1 Tim 6:12 tells us to “fight the good fight of faith”
Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to, the life you so fervently embraced in the presence of so many witnesses.
(just yesterday) “it’s better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.”
We were talking at work the other day about how fast college football season goes.
With less than four months left in 2025, what can we do to ensure this season of your life becomes the very best part of the year?
Proverbs 3:6 guides us: "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."
? Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all the things you need to do?
Find in your heart one single step of faith that you know you need to take in your life.
Focus on that one thing — not the whole world.
One baby step is worth much more than just “thinking” about a dozen things we could/should be doing.
Give it (now) to God without fear or hesitation.
Jesus said: A single grain of wheat will never be more than a single grain of wheat unless it drops into the ground and dies. Because then it sprouts and produces a great harvest of wheat—all because one grain died.
fear has no rightful place in your future you
As Spurgeon wisely noted: "The fear of God is the death of every other fear,"
- and "He who fears God has nothing else to fear."
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
and life is worth the living just because He lives!
John 12:24
Have you seen that funny meme going around? "The calendar says 'Tuesday' but it still feels like Monday."
Tuesday mornings can sometimes be harder than Monday mornings.
Waking up around 4am, not feeling particularly enthused about the new day ahead. I found myself thinking, "I need a new attitude. I need a fresh perspective."
But where does that perspective come from?
HOW can we hear from GOD unless we take time to be quiet before Him?
To "Be Still and Know that HE is GOD"?
In those quiet moments, God whispers to our hearts: "This is a new beginning. You didn't expect it today, but here it is."
A few weeks ago, I shared something I firmly believe: "We were made for expansion and fuller expression. God wants to take you beyond your current limitations into places of greater impact for His kingdom."
I truly believe our DNA comes complete with a desire for expansion and greater expression. As the saying goes, "The first step toward getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are."
Remember when we talked about the power of decision? (definition)
But here's the truth—it can be hard to say "Goodbye."
Growth often has a component of grief to it. What may feel like a "loss" may really a transformation.
What may feel like "death" can really be a "rebirth."
For your new life to truly begin, the old life must end.
In Romans 6:11, we're instructed to "reckon the old man as dead."
This isn't just poetic language. The term "reckon" is an accounting term meaning to consider, account for, or take inventory. It implies a deliberate act of faith—
…aligning our beliefs and actions with the truth of our spiritual death to sin and new life in Christ.
Jesus expressed this profound truth in John 12:24-25. In The Message translation, it reads: "Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you'll have it forever, real and eternal."
Death equals Life. This is the divine paradox at the heart of our faith.
“funeral for a friend”
You basically need to have a funeral for your old self. That "friend" you're burying may be comfort. It could be called "security."
It might be familiar patterns that no longer serve God's purpose for your life.
Romans 6:7-8 reminds us: "For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him."
Romans 6:11: "So you also should think about yourselves in the same way. Sin has no power over you, as if you were dead. In your new life, you live to serve God, because you belong to Christ Jesus."
A seed will just remain a seed unless it is planted.
After it is planted, there is a complete transformation.
Jesus said it clearly: "Verily, verily I say unto you, unless a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit."
Eph 3:19 offers this beautiful prayer: "May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God."
Or as another translation puts it: "May you be filled through all your being with God himself!"
To be filled with one thing requires being emptied of another.
Does that make sense?
Watchman Nee wrote in The Normal Christian Life: "God never intended for man to live by himself. Man was created with a spirit capable of containing God and depending on God. And until God is everything to man, man will never be what God intended him to be."
Think about the tabernacle in the Old Testament. It was a physical structure designed for the Presence of God to dwell among his people. But now, under the New covenant, we do not have a tabernacle made of wood and fabric. We are the tabernacle.
As Paul says in 1 Cor 3:16, "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?"
This is the revolutionary truth that changes everything.
As Nee puts it: "You are not a seeker of God. You are a bearer of God. You are not trying to reach the divine presence. You are manifesting the divine presence. You are not searching for life. You are expressing the life that is already within you."
Jesus himself said in Luke 17:21: "the Kingdom of God is within you."
Faith is not feeling. Faith is accepting what God has said. ( )
...and God said that “Christ lives in you.” That you are "Complete in Him."
That you have received His fullness.
Accepting this by faith is to make the transition from seeking to knowing.
Romans 6:11 instructs us: "So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."
Remember that ad from that sweatshop shoe company: “Just Do It”
Last week, we discussed that your decision must be: "I open my life to the care and control of Christ. I don't know how it's all going to be worked out, but I know it's the right thing to do. So I'm just going to do it."
Hebrews 11:8 reminds us: "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going."
Jesus told his disciples in John 16:7: "I assure you that it is a good thing for you that I should go away. For if I did not go, the divine helper would not come to you. But if I go, then I will send him to you."
The disciples didn't want Jesus to leave—can you imagine how that felt?
—even though He told them it was necessary so that the next part of the church could really begin.
Charlie Kirk: "Jesus died so we can live."
And Jesus himself told us: "I tell you this: A seed of wheat continues to be only a single seed unless it falls into the ground. It must fall into the ground and then it must die. If it dies like that, it will grow to give a lot of seeds."
Gal 2:20 captures this beautiful exchange:
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
Death = Life
Make room in your life for the arrival of new life.
Ask yourself: “What must I die to in order to obtain the abundant, purposeful life God has prepared for me?”
If comfort is your aim, then change will always be just beyond your reach.
vs 25: “ …the one who detaches his life from this world and abandons himself to me, will find true life and enjoy it forever!”
Jesus: “Let me make this clear: A single grain of wheat will never be more than a single grain of wheat unless it drops into the ground and dies. Because then it sprouts and produces a great harvest of wheat—all because one grain died.”
We must "reckon the old man as dead."
You already know what that old man looks like—
…but do you have a revelation of what the new man (who you are in Christ) should look like?
1 Tim 6:12 tells us to “fight the good fight of faith”
Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to, the life you so fervently embraced in the presence of so many witnesses.
(just yesterday) “it’s better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.”
We were talking at work the other day about how fast college football season goes.
With less than four months left in 2025, what can we do to ensure this season of your life becomes the very best part of the year?
Proverbs 3:6 guides us: "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."
? Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all the things you need to do?
Find in your heart one single step of faith that you know you need to take in your life.
Focus on that one thing — not the whole world.
One baby step is worth much more than just “thinking” about a dozen things we could/should be doing.
Give it (now) to God without fear or hesitation.
Jesus said: A single grain of wheat will never be more than a single grain of wheat unless it drops into the ground and dies. Because then it sprouts and produces a great harvest of wheat—all because one grain died.
fear has no rightful place in your future you
As Spurgeon wisely noted: "The fear of God is the death of every other fear,"
- and "He who fears God has nothing else to fear."
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
and life is worth the living just because He lives!