In verse nineteen. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Proceed ye how ye prevailed nothing. Behold, the world is gone after him. And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast. The same came, therefore, to Philip, which was of Bethesda of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew, and Andrew, and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of Man should be glorified. Fairly, fairly, I say unto you, except the corn of wheat fall into the ground and die. It abideth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his light shall lose it, and he that taketh his light in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me. And where I am, there shall also my servant be. If any man serve me, him will my Father honor. We're taking up this book in John, the book of John, and we've been in chapter twelve, or three or four weeks, we'll likely be in it a couple more. We were noticing last week, the opening of the chapter, where you have the supper. They made him a supper. Our Martha served, and Lazarus sat at the table, and Mary was at his feet. Then we noticed the entry into Jerusalem, and the excitement on that occasion. and there are some things that happen inside the city. But here's an interesting verse. In the midst of all this excitement and seeming joy, there are some who didn't go along with us. The enemies of Christ, powerless, frustrated, bitter, faced with defeat. We read that in verse nineteen. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing before the world has gone after him. So we find the enemies of the Lord Jesus terribly upset and disturbed, aggravated, and even angry at the attention given to the Lord Jesus Christ. They said, Why, the world is following? The world's gone after them. What a different world we had had today, if that were true, the world going after Jesus Christ. They were going to suffer defeats, and they didn't like. We ran into the same crowd over in chapter eight and verse nineteen, and you read there, there was a division among them because of him. In other words, Christ causes a division. There are those for him and those against him. And that's what the Bible teaches. There was a division among them because of him. You always find wherever there are those in favor of Jesus Christ and being blessed by Jesus Christ, there are those who are aggravated and angry. Why the division because of him? Isaiah referred to this in the Old Testament. He said that Christ would be a stumbling stone and a rock of offense. Christ is a stone, referred to in the Scripture. He's a foundation stone. He's a stepping stone to glory. He's a living stone. He's a precious stone. He's a priceless stone. And he's also a stumbling stone. They stumbled over the simplicity that there was in Christ Jesus. These Jews, they thought by going to the temple and going to their ritual and all their ritualistic activities and their good lives, their saying of prayers and so on. This is the way to go to heaven. They couldn't see that faith in Christ was sufficient. They stumbled over the simplicity of God's salvation that's in Christ Jesus. He was a stumbling stone, but the seventh thing the Bible says about him He is a smiting stone. Those who stumble over him will be smitten by him. The Bible tells you that very clearly. He says, Whosoever shall fall upon this stone, Christ is speaking, whosoever shall fall upon this stone shall be broken, broken by contrition, broken in repentance. but on whomsoever that stone falls he shall grind him to powder. Christ is the smiting stone, and if you read over in Daniel chapter two, that stone cut out without hand, he smites the image upon the feet, and the whole Colossus crumbled. We're living in the day of the fourth world power, as seen and depicted and described in Daniel chapter two. And in the feet of that image where you have Gentile power that's been going on for twenty-five hundred years, beginning with the Babylonians, the Medieval Persians, the Grecians, and the Romans, you have a mixture of iron and clay, imperialism and communism. And it's at that point, when world history gets to that point, the stone cut out without hands, Christ is going to smite the whole business on the feet, it will collapse. We're living in that day today. Communism and what they call capitalism. And they weaken every nation because of the mixture. And that's the time when Christ is coming to be the smiting stone of judgment. This applies to the individual, not only the world. Unless you are humbled and brought to repentance, By hearing about Christ and you're in need of him, and you reject him, he will grind you to powder. That's an awful judgment. Why were these people so bitter against the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, the Bible has the answer. The natural man has no desire for the things of God. The natural man doesn't want to have anything to do with that which is spiritual. The natural man understandeth not the things of the Spirit of God, for their foolishness unto him. Here you have the natural man compared with the spiritual man. Back in chapter eight they said, He hath a devil. He's man. Why hear ye him? There's the enemy. And again, we've all noticed in verse nineteen, the same crowd. Here they are. Opposed to what Christ was doing. And yet you'll notice that all these characters, these individuals who were opposed to Christ, never performed a miracle. They didn't help anyone. Yet they're opposed to Christ who helped all of you. All who would let them. Christ says, I'm not come. Right now, to save the world, I'm coming to divide us. And you find that over in Matthew ten and thirty-two. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on the earth. I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and a doctor against her mother, and the doctor-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man's pose shall be vey of his own household. Christ knew he was going to be a divider of men. And he is. So many today, and there are millions of homes divided at this very moment, because some in that family are saved on the way to heaven and others are not. And that's a solemn thing. You have the carnal and the spiritual, and they do not blame you. How remarkable. These are not the works of him. Now here's the side. The one say he's mad, he's crazy, he has a demon. But the others say, Why, these are not the works of him that have the devil? Can the devil open the eyes of the one born blind? And then that was a remarkable miracle that stuck in their claw, but now is a greater miracle, the raising of Lazarus. People look, use some logic. Why, these things are not the activities, the works of him that have the demon. This man is not man. He's not crazy. He doesn't have the demon. Have a demon. So you see the division among the people. The works of Christ prove the verity of his words. When Christ says something, he backs it up with his work. There's power in his work. His words and his works always benefit man. Always do. Not so with Satan. Think of Satan's names and Satan's nature given us in the Bible. I think there are about nine names given concerning Satan. Dragon, Satan, the old serpent, devil, deceiver, liar, murderer, an angel of light, and enemy. All these things are said about Satan. But think of all the good things. said about Jesus Christ, has Satan done any good in the world? No. Just a trail of blood and wreck and ruin. What about Christ? By the blessing he brought. But all who follow him will be blessed, and the world will never know peace till he comes back and establishes peace. So the world has a choice between these two. These two. It's just that plain. And what a choice. Christ and Salem. Compare their names. Compare all their works. Right from the beginning. Satan is a rebel. He's a murderer. Christ is not. Think of the Lord Jesus. No one like him has ever been on the face of the earth. He's the Son of God. He's unique. But oh, sick. One thing, you can't have both. You can't have both. You've got to choose. The Bible says you'll either, and Christ says you'll either love the one and hate the other. If you're not saved this morning, whether you realize it or not, you're hating Jesus Christ. and you're loving the devil. That's what the Bible says. Not very clear. This is what he says over in Matthew six. Twenty four, no man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Satan. If you don't love Christ, you despise him. You love the devil. These are strong words. These are not my words. These are the words of the Son of God. There's no neutral ground in this subject of salvation. You're either in Christ or you're in your sin. You're either in spiritual life or you're in spiritual death. You're either in light or you're in darkness. You're either saved or you're lost. You're either on the broad road going to hell and the narrow road leading to heaven. You're either on the rock or you're on the shifting sand. You're either going to heaven or hell. And if the breath were to leave your body now and you're not saved, you'd go straight to hell. That's how serious this situation is and is developed right in the script. Solemnity. How refreshing. Following that word in verse nineteen, you have Greeks coming to Christ, verse twenty. And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the beach. This is a refreshing thing. After those bitter enemies of the person of Christ who wanted to kill him, here are Greeks, evidently converts of Judaism. And they came up. What did they do? They wanted to see the Lord Jesus. What a desire. We would see Jesus. Being aliens, they couldn't enter into the temple. As far as they could go was the temple courtyard. That's where they stopped being Gentiles. So they had to consult one of the Lord's followers when they came to Philip. They said, Philip, we would see Jesus. My how that must have thrilled the heart of Philip. And Philip tells Andrew, and the two go to Jesus. And, Lord, there are some Greeks, and they're seeking you. How that must have thrilled his heart. The Jews, his own people, were seeking to kill him. Here are some Gentiles. He's Greek, and there were seeking him, wanting blessings that must have thrilled his heart. We met these two in chapter one, that is Philip and Andrew, when we took up that chapter. Andrew was a real go-getter. Nothing stopped him. He knew what he wanted, and he took a shortcut to do it, or to get it. He would set the world on fire while someone else was looking for a match. That's Andrew. You notice how no obstacle stood in his path. He finds Peter in chapter one. We have found him. He said this to his brother, Simon. We have found him. We have found the Messiah of whom the prophets did like. Ah, yes, Andrew. He finds his brother. I'm going to get my brother and bring him to Christ. Also on another occasion, when there were five thousand people hungry, Philip began trying to calculate how much is it going to cost? Two hundred penny worth of bread, not enough to feed this crowd. Andrew looked up a boy who had five loaves and two fishes. He found a boy with a lunch. Ah, he brought him to the Lord. Here he's very optimistic, Andrew. He finds a boy with five loaves and two creatures. Now we find them teaching Greeks to the Lord Jesus. Philip just told Andrew about it, and Andrew got busy and brought these Greeks to the Lord Jesus Christ. It makes you wonder about these Greeks. They'd evidently turn from their pagan religion that the Greeks had to Judaism. They came up to the feast, so they must have embraced Judaism. But they were not enchanted with Judaism. In fact, they must have been disappointed and disillusioned with the Hebrew religion. So they saw Christ. Maybe this man has got the answer. Have they heard a lot about this man? Likely they have. what he had been doing and so they came we would see Jesus we want to see this man millions in the world today are hungry just like these Greeks they are hungry Billy Graham returned from one of his trips around the world and he said I saw a spiritual hunger in the faces of countless thousands everywhere And only Christ is the answer. And friend, that's true. There are hungry people in the world, everywhere. But I don't think there are very many in America. Why is it you hear of thousands, hundreds of thousands, turning to Christ in other nations who have been in heathen darkness for centuries? They're crying out for the gospel. Behind the iron curtain, the purple curtain, the bamboo curtain, people by the millions are hungry for Christ. Because they've got nothing in this world. They're starving by the day. They haven't a thing. They know nothing about a good home. They know nothing about a good bed. They know nothing about a solid meal. They have nothing in this world good food. therefore they want Christ. Americans have got everything of this world, and therefore they don't want Christ. They're satisfied with material things. Satisfy with what the world has to offer. Americans are majoring in material things and minoring in spiritually. How wonderful to see these Greeks. coming to the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to say this. The Lord can't help you, nor will he save you unless you have a hunger. He's not going to force himself on you. He'll feed the hunger. He'll save the loss. But you've got to realize your need of Christ. How remarkable he is. says here, and the Bible makes it plain, he can't give you peace, he can't meet your hunger until you obey the principle in verse twenty-four, and this is what he says, notice that verse twenty-four after the Greeks came. In verse twenty-three, and Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come. Time and time again in these studies, It said, His hour is not yet come. His hour is not yet come. They tried to throw him over the hill and kill him. But He said His hour was not yet come. Twice they tried to stone him to death. But He said His hour was not yet come. Now it has come. The times come for him to die. That's right after the Gentiles saw them. The Lord realized. Other sheep I have, he said, not with this foal, the Jewish foal. They're the Gentiles. And when these Greeks came to the Lord Jesus, warning him, he said, the times come for me to die. These Gentiles can't be reached and saved and satisfied without my death. And he says, except the corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. Yes, this corn of wheat has got to die. Jesus Christ has got to die. To remain as he was on earth, no one could have ever been saved. Jesus Christ has got to die. And he did die. He was the corn of wheat that fell into the ground and died. Had he not died, he would have remained alone with God and angels forever. But in order for a man to be saved, Jew or Gentile, he's got to die. If there's to be a harvest, except the corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone, but if it dies, it bringeth forth much fruit. And your heart has got to be broken. Just like the soil, the ground has got to be turned up before the seed is received and fruit results. And you will not be saved until your heart is broken. Then you can receive Christ as your Savior, not till then. Material things can't give you peace when you're dying. Material things can't give you a home in heaven at the end of the way. It's only when you know Christ, an entrance to the meaning of his death at Temple. He died that you might live. Material things don't mean much when a person is at the end of the road. Possibly you remember the incident of General MacArthur at Corregidor Fortress when the Japs were closing in and they were going to take over Corregidor. And you remember the awful march of death that resulted. MacArthur left and he left behind a few soldiers to take care of the details. And in that fortress there were stacks of United States currency. And they didn't want that to fall into the hands of the Japs. Hundred dollar bills wrapped in big bundles. And so the soldier threw the one a pile and put a match to them. One soldier took out a cigarette and he stooped down and he picked up a hundred dollar bill and he ignited it by the fire and lit the cigarette. He said, I've been wanting to do this all my life. He well enough off to light a cigarette with a hundred dollar bill. But he said, this doesn't mean much for time is running out. I'll soon be put to death by those jets. So being wealthy enough to light a cigarette with a hundred dollar bill doesn't mean much. Let me tell you material things won't mean much to you when you come to die. You realize how empty this world is then. I thought of what was in the paper about two weeks ago, maybe you saw it, maybe you read it. Well, I cut it out. I attorney used these things. And you likely know the incident of Marvalla there. The wife of Senator Bear of Indiana. She died at the age of forty-six. A very strong personality, a very fine-looking woman, with tremendous talents. And this is what was in the paper. She wrote this. She said, furthermore, she was going to receive some award. She was going to receive in March the Hubert Humphrey Inspirational Award. She was too weak to accept it. Also, she was going to receive the Philip Murray William Green Humanitarian Award. This next month, she's not here. Because of her shining personality, watch the secret at forty-six. This is what she said. I am wrapped in love, encircled, surrounded, covered by love. My faith is stronger each day. I have a wonderful new relationship with my God. I have experienced a rebirth in Jesus Christ. And I do now believe in miracles. The first miracle has already happened. I have the most wonderful peace and quiet in my heart. She wasn't looking for a miracle to heal her body. She experienced the miracle of God's salvation, and she passed peacefully away. The material thing didn't mean much to her. She found Christ. She had time to make that decision. You may not. You may grow it like a light. What about then? When time runs out and runs out in a hurry, and you've missed it. Now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation. Are you like these Greeks? I want to see Jesus. I want to see Jesus. You know when you think of these Greeks for five centuries, the Greeks had marched at the head of humanity. And these Greeks were in that third power, world power, under Alexander the Great, the Babylonians, the Medieval Persians, and then the Greeks came along. And the whole world seemed to be following the torch of these Greeks because of their genius, their wisdom, There are athletes, the Grecian game, but all that. They couldn't regenerate the world. They didn't change the world, because they didn't know Christ. But here you find the few of them who did. The real master words of the Greeks back then was self-culture, self-enjoyment, wisdom, and sport. Those things don't change a band. They don't change the world. just a person, and that person is the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, the hour has come, I've got to die. He referred to himself in that corner of wheat who was going to fall into the ground and die. Think of the possibility of coming to Christ. We would see Jesus. They wanted a private interview. They could have seen him anytime in the crowds that followed him. But these Greeks said, we want to have a private interview. We would see Jesus, Peter, James, Philip, Andrew, can you give us a private interview with this man, Jesus? We want to see him. We want to talk to him. We've got something on our heart. We're hungry. We've tried pagan religion. We've tried Judaism. We want something that'll satisfy him. And Andrew, Peter, Andrew, and Philip go and tell Jesus. Oh, he said, now, it's time for me to die. Before these Greeks can be saved, the corn of wheat has got to fall into the ground, it's got to die. And he did die. What a remarkable all this is. This is in our... And we noticed, pointed out the tragedy or mentioned the tragedy of undeveloped lives. And we're living in a world of undeveloped lives. Think of it in the vegetable world. Here's a seed. What good is that seed? The seed may be healthy. It may be attractive. It may be desirable. but it remains just to see if it's put in a dish, put on the shelf, on the table, and there it is alone. It may last a few months, it may last a few years, and there's that seed, and it'll remain alone until it's put into the soil, and with the proper environment, it'll grow, and it'll bring forth fruit. The Lord Jesus realized that. He had to die. He was that corn of wheat that fell into the ground and died. There are lots of lives today like that grain of wheat, undeveloped. There'll never be anything more than that unless they're brought into the contact with the soil and the atmosphere of Jesus Christ. They'll remain alone. undeveloped life. The sadness of seeing a child suffer and die, and a child in a castle, that's not the thing to be so sad about. It's the promised life, the potential of a life that never materializes. You understand people dying old, but to see a child up, it didn't develop them. did not reach its potential or possibility that's a tragedy of an undeveloped life think of young people today and they're on dope and drugs and they're dying young in life undeveloped life gifted talented men young men young women they never will reach their potential or possibility in life until they get in touch with Jesus Christ. And don't forget that. That's the law of the vegetable world. It's the law of the physical world. Many young people today, their potential, their life, the possibilities of their life, and the development of their gifts, it simply means this. It'll mean nothing but a sad and sickly life. and death in the end, they'll die like they would less friends than they started out in life with. I know. How sad that in the spiritual realm, and this is for Christians, unless we Christians know something of the principle of dying, dying to our self-desire, desire to what we want, dying to what we want. and living in the power of an endless life in Jesus Christ. Only in the measure I relate myself to the soil which was moistened with the blood of Christ, and the roots of my faith are laying hold of that what Christ did for me at Calvary and by the atmosphere that goes along with that seed in the soil, reading his word, prayer, attending meetings, Then that seed is going to grow and develop and has real potential. What possibility? Except the corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. Think of the fruit from the death of Christ. The world is in a mess, a sordid mess today. All because the world rejected Jesus Christ. They pushed them out. But he's coming back. And he's coming back to rain. He's seeing blessing. There is fruit today in everyone who accepts him. And what a harvest of souls awaits that coming day when Christ will come. Millions will rise to meet him. And then he will establish his kingdom. he reigned in Jerusalem, the new heavens and the new earth, the fruit, the harvest from his death. Had he not died, it never could have happened, except the corn of wheat fall into the ground and die. It abideth alone. There's a price to be paid in being a Christian. A lot of people are not prepared to pay that price. Had Christ not died, He would have remained eternal, alone with God and angels. Now he's going to have millions, billions of redeemed men and women, saved men and women, with them for all eternity, because the corner of grief fell into the ground and died. And out of his death, resurrection and present glory. This is true, whether it's the subject of salvation or service or security or success, in the life of a Christian, in the measure that I relate myself to the person of Christ. Why are some young men and women on the mission field today seeing great things done for God? Oh, they didn't like those people naturally. Think of the language, the circumstances, the dangers they are going into. from a comfortable home in America. They died to their own desires and likes. They wanted to live for Christ and be a missionary to foreign land. That's the principle. David Burnham, a half-backed Wheaton College, fifty-two to fifty-five, turned down forty-five scholarships. He was offered a contract by every professional football club. Three straight years, he was All-American. He was assistant pastor to his father in a half-million dollar church in Akron, Ohio, which would be about five million today. A sports writer in Chicago Daily News had the answer to this young man, and this is what he wrote, an enduring faith Stronger than the lure of fleeting fame is guiding Dave Burnham along a path of greater glory. That's a young man who died yourself. And David himself said on a radio interview on a Chicago station, he says, no sport, crowd or event can offer the lasting joy or friendship of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the principle of dying, the things natural and material to live without which is spiritual and eternal. It's up to you. It'll abide alone. If you're lost this morning and you die lost, you can put it simply. either saying, yes or no. Yes, I'll have Christ. Yes, I'll receive him as my Savior. I'll do it this morning. Then what a glorious future, a potential, a possibility in this life and the next. Did you say no? You'll abide alone. Alone forever without God. for God will not be in hell. Without Christ, He'll not be in hell. Without the Spirit, He'll not be in hell. Without Christian, for no Christian will be in hell. Without saved loved ones gone before, they'll not be there. Without friends, you'll have no friends in hell. You'll be alone. An awful long... Eternal alone. You'll be dropped over into Tokyo. You're surrounded by millions of people. But you're alone. You don't know one. Drops in the middle of Peking. You're alone. You don't know anyone. Mascau says you're alone. You don't know anyone. In hell. Millions of lost souls. just like you, but awfully eternally alone, because you left God and Christ out of your heart. Only the companionship of the wicked, and there'll be no companion, there'll be tormentors then, no friends. Here's the principle, except the corner of wheat, fall into the ground and die. They'll abide alone. But have they done? And Christ did done. Look at the fruit. Look at the harvest. If you reject him, it will be a harvest of tears, a harvest of tragedy. It will be a harvest of eternal torment. It's just a case of yes or no. Yes, I will have Christ, or no, I won't. The choice is yours. Follow these Greeks. We would see Jesus. Could you desire to see any better person than the Lord Jesus Christ? God help you to receive him this morning. Open your heart and he'll come in. And bring all the blessings he possessed into your heart today. Receive Christ and be saved. Go and pray. Our Father in heaven, in the name of our Lord Jesus, we come into thy presence. We thank thee for thy word. We thank thee for the Savior we know and love and seek to serve. He's never been a disappointment. We've had many occasions to disappoint him, and many all born-again Christians can say they have. But he has never disappointed us. Oh, Father, we thank thee for our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. May someone here this morning who knows them not, who is still with the wicked, the unconverted, the unregenerate, the lost, the hellbound. Oh, may they see their plight, their position, and come to Christ and be saved and be saved now. We ask it in our Lord Jesus' precious name. Amen.