ESOCS Devotional 16 November 2022
TEXT: JOHN 12:20-36
MEMORY VERSE: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” John 12:24
0 And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. 11 But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. 12 When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted lace ”
In the secular world, there is a parlance that says, Death is a necessary evil. In the context of Christianity, this saying is basically true. Something must die to produce life. Farmers know this truth because each time they sow a seed it dies first before it would germinate and grow. Our Lord used this agricultural fact to teach us the mystery of the Christian faith. The first step to becoming a Christian is to become dead to the world. Romans 6:11 counsels us to “… be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We must die first before we can resurrect and be alive to God. What we need is to live a new life in Christ.
A dead man does not have anything to do with things of this world; so also we should not be attracted to the pleasures and things of the world. A dead man has no need for them. We do not have need for them too. We belong to another world: a spiritual world. We should desire only the things of that world. Our Lord Jesus has made us to become spiritual beings. We should be diligent to live our lives like the spiritual beings in heaven. We are no longer like the natural man (Adam); we are like the spiritual man (Jesus Christ the Lord). Romans 8:5 says, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.”
Being dead to the world would make it possible for us to remain spiritually alive and focused on God in our Christian race. It would enable us produce fruits of righteousness. We would not think evil but good always. The way to die is to cut ourselves off from the things that do not please God. We are to promote God’s glory; and not the glory of this passing world. It is our bounding duty as Christians to uphold our integrity as people that Christ died for, and turn our backs against the world. Our Lord Jesus gave us dominion over sin. We should exercise the spiritual right and authority. We have to put them to use and invest them in our lives; otherwise they wouldn’t make sense in our lives.
The Scripture makes a clear statement that “if [a seed] dies, it produces much grain.” It is necessary that we must die so that we would become fruitful in the kingdom business. A dead man transits to another world. Let us move on to that spiritual world that our Lord has created for us. That is where we should belong; not here! People in that world live their lives for Jesus. They are dedicated to holiness and righteousness. They produce fruit of the Spirit such as love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness; and they do this in all goodness, righteousness, and truth (Gal. 5:22; Eph. 5:9). Let us learn to die spiritually. Paul said, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phil. 1:21). This is true; for if we die to the world (that is, cut ourselves away from unrighteous pleasures of this life), we would be spiritually alive to God; and that is much more than gold.
CHALLENGES
- In what ways are you dead to the world?
PRAYERS
- Pray to the Holy Spirit to help you harden your heart against the pleasures of this world.
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
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ESOCS Devotional 16 November 2022
