Title: The Saint's Separated Life
Contents
Title: The Separated Life of the Saints
Text: John 12:24
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
May God's great grace be with you. Being called by God and becoming a saint is a great blessing. It's already the last week of April. As a saint, I hope you have a week where you can fully enjoy the good blessings the Lord gives you. Today, I would like to give a speech under the title, The Settlement of the Saints, centering on John 12:24.
A believer must lead a life that is separate from the people of the world. When translated literally, “saint” means a saint who will be holy, and a group leader (徒). The holy group is the saints. A holy person must live a holy life. In other words, we must live separately.
Today's text also says, "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Saints must lead a separate life in order to bear much fruit.
Then, in order to bear much fruit through a separated life, God has commanded us through the Word of some things that believers need to be careful about.
1. Believers must be careful about what they see.
When God created man, he opened his eyes to see everything in the universe. The fact that He has given us eyes to see is a great blessing. Thank you God for giving me eyes to see.
But we have to be careful what we see with our own eyes. We should give thanks, praise, and glory to God by seeing beautiful and good things. The first man, Eve's first cause of crime, started with seeing.
Genesis 3:6 says, “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasing to the eye, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and gave it to her husband with her, and he also ate.” As Eve “saw the tree,” we must be careful what we see. Because what you see is what you think, say and do. There are things I have to take while watching, there are things I need to see once and throw away, and there are things I need to realize.
When Eve saw the tree of good and evil, she did not understand the word of God and fell into the temptation of sin, disobeying God's command and committing sin. The luxury of the world is also a branch. Of course, if you say that you buy all the good things or clothes, you are wrong. Seeing in itself cannot be a sin. But if that leads to an act of crime, it is definitely bad.
The Bible says, “The eye is the lamp of the body.” We must not sin by seeing in every way.
Hebrews 12:2 says, “Let us look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
I pray that you will become believers who look to the Lord who is truly the Lord and who shows perfection.
2. Believers must be careful about what they hear.
All temptation comes from seeing, but it is easy to decide by hearing. It's very easy to pretend you didn't see it. But it is very difficult to hear and pretend not to hear.
If you have conversations about unbelief among believers, you will lose your faith. That's why the Bible says in Mark 4:24, "And he said, Take heed of what you hear." Romans 10:17 teaches, “Therefore faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
I pray that you will not sin and give glory and praise to God through what you hear.
3. Believers must be careful about what they think.
God is pleased when our thoughts are pure and pure. You should always think positive thoughts.
Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as the thoughts of his heart, so are the great men.”
The apostle Paul also said in Philippians 4:7, “Then the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” I pray that you will glorify God with positive thoughts.
4. Believers must be careful in their words and actions.
For the saints, good words and deeds bear much fruit. That is why we need to be careful with our words and actions. In James 1:19 it says, “You know, my beloved brethren, let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” He commanded us to be slow to speak. Positive words can do miracles. Believers must be careful in their words and actions.
Dear saints,
(1) Be careful what you see.
(2) Let's be careful about what we hear.
(3) Be careful what you think.
(4) Be careful with your words and actions.
Because we are like the letter of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 says, “You are our epistle, written in our hearts, and known and read by all men, and you are the epistle of Christ revealed through us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God. And it was not written in stone tablets, but in the heart of the flesh.”
I pray that you will become a rotting grain of wheat and become the saints who bear much fruit.