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Jesus Became the Seed of Salvation

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[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.”

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In Judea, there is a very important festival called the Passover.

During the Passover, people from various provinces came to the temple in Jerusalem to

offer sacrifices. Jesus also went up to Jerusalem on a donkey on the Passover.

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There were Greeks among those who came to keep the Passover.

Those Greeks came to Philip, a disciple of Jesus, and said,

“We want to see Jesus. Help us to meet Jesus.”

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They asked to see Jesus with a genuinely respectful and earnest heart.

Philip told Andrew about it. Andrew heard what Philip had to say and went to Jesus with

Philip and told him about it. "Jesus! The Greeks want to see you.”

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Hearing that the Greeks wanted to meet him, Jesus said these words.

“The hour has come for me to be glorified.” To be glorified means that the purpose for which

Jesus came is fully accomplished and that he is exalted for it.

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After saying those words, Jesus continued to speak.
[John12:24] “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.”

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To grow wheat, you must first plant wheat seeds in the ground.

But what if wheat seeds were planted and left still?

Nothing will happen and it will just remain as a single wheat.

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Wheat seeds planted in the ground must rot in the ground in order to bear much fruit.

The wheat seed dies and sprouts from it, and wheat begins to grow.

At harvest time, one planted seed rots, yielding many wheat berries.

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There is a wonderful secret hidden in the story Jesus said that a grain of wheat must die to

bear much fruit. The grain of wheat that Jesus spoke of is Jesus Himself.

That the wheat dies means that Jesus is put to death on the cross.

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Jesus knew that he would soon be put to death on the cross.

He was saying that the death of one Jesus on the cross opens the door to salvation for all.

He said this knowing that through the death of one Jesus, many people would bear the fruit

of salvation.

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Jesus knew that even the Gentiles who did not believe in God, wanting to meet Jesus earnestly

were God's signals for all nations to complete salvation.

Jesus came to this earth so that all nations of the world could believe in Him and be saved.

Now, knowing that the time had come for that to happen, He said, “The hour has come for

me to be glorified.” Jesus was most proud of doing God's will.

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Jesus also talked about who will receive eternal life.
[John 12:25] Anyone who loves their life will lose it,

while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

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He said that those who love their life will eventually lose their life.

To love one's own life is to ignore God's will and live according to the will of Satan.

Such people cannot have eternal life because they cannot accept Jesus as their Savior.

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But he said that those who hate their life in this world will be preserved to eternal life.

To hate one's life means not to fall into the sinful image that my body wants.

Instead, those who live according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit to serve Jesus who

saved me and live the life He wants will have eternal life.

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Jesus died on the cross just like a grain of wheat rots to save us.

The seed of love that died on the cross opened the way for all people to be saved from their sins. Through faith in Jesus, not only Greeks but also people of all nations of the world became

the fruit of salvation.

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We too are people who have received great blessings that become the fruits of salvation

through faith in Jesus. We must do our best to live a life worthy of the saved fruit.

We must resemble Jesus who became a grain of wheat.

We should strive to be like grains of wheat that benefit others.

We should all strive to be people of faith who live in the greatest glory of doing the will

of Jesus, just as Jesus most glorified doing the will of God.

(This is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)