In
John 12:24 Jesus tells us that unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and
dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
Jesus
tells us that first there is death.
Jesus
tells us that life follows death.
Jesus
tells us that fruit follows life.
When
we are physically born into this world, we are born with a tendency toward sin.
Our natural tendency is to do what we want, not what God wants. We want our
will to be done, not God’s The essence of sin is disobeying God, not doing His
will.
Death
gives way to life when we die to self and come alive in Jesus.
Romans
6:6-8
For
we know that our old self was crucified with Him, so that the body of sin might
be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone
who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe
that we will also live with Him.
We
are dead because of sin; but when we die to self, we come alive in Jesus and
die to the sin that controlled and defined our lives.
Then,
according to Galatians 2:20, when we allow ourselves and our sins to die, we
really come to life.
If
a person has not entered into a relationship with God the Father through Jesus,
they are dead. When they surrender their
lives to Jesus and die to self, they become alive.
Raise the Roof and
Remove the Walls
is dying to self and coming alive in Jesus.
Life
does not mean that we just exist or survive. It means that we live. The word
used for real life in the New Testament is the word zoe. It is life to the
fullest. It is not just surviving, but really living.
Jesus
wants us to know life that is full.
Life
that is filled with:
a
fulfilling relationship with Jesus
a
security in Jesus
an
assurance of the awareness that Jesus loves us
hope,
peace, joy
This
life is a gift from Jesus so that we can enjoy the life that we were created to
have.
Every
person wants this life. We seek for this life. We have an inborn desire for
this life.
The
only way to have this life is to give up our life to Jesus and receive His
life.
Raise the Roof and
Remove the Walls
is experiencing the life that we were created by God to have.
When
we experience this life, then out of this life will come fruit.
In
John 15:5 Jesus says that if we remain in Him, the source of life, we will
produce fruit.
In
John 15:8 Jesus tells us that it is to the Father’s glory that we bear much
fruit. Producing fruit also shows that we are Jesus’ disciples.
Fruit
is produced in our lives because it is Jesus living His life in and through us.
When
we have Jesus as the vine and we are acting as the branches, we will produce
fruit and it will be natural. We don’t see apple or peach or pear trees out
there struggling and straining to produce fruit.
Apple
trees produce apples naturally.
Peach
trees produce peaches naturally.
Pear
trees produce pears naturally.
The
fruit we will produce is twofold.
First,
the fruit will be the character of Jesus in our lives.
The
fruit of love.
The
fruit of joy.
The
fruit of peace.
The
fruit of patience.
The
fruit of kindness.
The
fruit of goodness.
The
fruit of faithfulness.
The
fruit of gentleness.
The
fruit of self-control.
Second,
the fruit will be new disciples of Jesus.
Disciples
will be produced because the life of Jesus in you will draw people to Jesus and
then we have the opportunity to teach them all the things that Jesus has taught
us.
Raise the Roof and
Remove the Walls
is having the life of Jesus producing fruit through our lives.
Out
of death comes life.
Out
of life comes fruit.
1
Corinthians 4:8-11
We
are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to
despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always
carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be
manifested in our mortal flesh.
We
experience the death of Jesus as we die to self.
We
experience the life of Jesus as He comes to live in us.
We
experience fruit as Jesus reproduces Himself through us.
Death Leading to Life
Leading to Fruit,
Raising the Roof and
Removing the Walls,
Joe
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