Ken Lovelace Ministries


F a i t h M a t t e r s with Dr. Ken Lovelace Emphasis: Survivor Series Surviving Loneliness -- Part 3-- 2 Timothy 4:9-21; John 12:24-26 VI. The Secret To Overcoming (John 12) For the past few weeks, we've been looking at a Survivor theme. Today we conclude Surviving Loneliness with a look at the steps necessary to getting beyound it. If you are just now joining me in this study, please take a moment to catch up. If you'd like to read Part 1 of this Surviving Loneliness devotional, click here. If you'd like to read the introduction to the Survivor series, click here. Below you'll find Part 3 of Surviving Loneliness. A. The Question: What Causes Loneliness? If you want to know the secret to being more than just a survivor, it's found in John 12, beginning in verse 24. Jesus began with: "I tell you the truth..." In learning the secret, we must first understand the question. Here's the question: What causes loneliness? When Jesus says, "I tell you the truth," it's like those great big spotlights we see shining on the clouds at night. It's like a flashing red light trying to get our attention. Jesus is saying, "Hello, pay attention here. This is important." And here it is: "...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." Here is the Lord Jesus giving this tremendous secret to these followers. It is unreal the "spell" He cast upon the people everywhere He went. They were mesmerized by every word He had to say. Someone has said that there were more lost work-days during the time Jesus preached in Galilee and Judea than ever before. Why? Because great crowds of people left their work to follow Him. They sensed that here was a man who understood and possessed the secrets of life. He had none of the trappings of daily life: no prestige, no status, not even a place to lay His head. He was like the grain of wheat: alone, isolated, and different. Look again at that verse: "...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." "Alone!" Jesus could easily have chosen the path that led Him away from death. Who could have blamed Him had He simply returned to heaven, avoiding the cross? But if He had done that, He would have remained alone. For the rest of eternity, though He would be thronged with angels and every other created being, He would have been alone, undeveloped, and unfulfilled. There would have been no one else like Him in the universe. But that's not what God wanted for Him. God wanted Him to fall into the earth and die. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, what? It remains alone! The Lord Jesus is giving us here the meaning of what loneliness really is. It is an unfulfilled life, an unshared life, an undeveloped life, an incomplete life. That is loneliness. F.B. Meyer said: "Many people complain of lonely and solitary lives. They account for their condition by supposing it to be due to the failure of other people. It is however attributable to the fact that they have never fallen into the ground to die, but have always consulted their own ease and well-being. They have never learned that the cure of loneliness comes from sowing oneself in a grave of daily sacrifice." So, what's the cause of loneliness? Jesus puts His finger on it right here and tells us that it is the attempt to hold on to life, to grasp it to oneself, and to satisfy oneself. The result? An undeveloped life filled with loneliness. Our Lord knew what would happen. He states it plainly: "...unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed." Now this verse applied specifically to Jesus' and His death on the cross. Look at that next phrase: "But if it dies, it produces many seeds." When that seed dies, there will be a reproduction of all that is hidden away in that grain of wheat. B. The Answer In verse 25, Jesus applies this principle to us by giving us the answer for our lives: "Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me." This principle of life and death is true not only for Him but for us as well. It is the principle by which life is truly lived. Now, follow the parallel here. Jesus is still talking about the grain of wheat. When He says, "The man who loves his life will lose it," He is drawing a parallel between the grain of wheat refusing to fall into the ground and abiding alone. That is "loving your life." The parallel to not losing your life is being lonely. So the secret is here. The question? What causes loneliness? The answer is the hoarding of life, the seeking of self-fulfillment. C. The Cure There is so much here, I wish we had more time. In verse 26, Jesus gives a three-step cure for loneliness: "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor." 1. Whoever serves Me must follow Me - Where was Jesus going? To the cross. The first step to the cure for loneliness is to follow Him. I, too, must go to the cross and die to my old way of life, possessiveness, and self. 2. And where I am My servant will also be - When you and I take definitive steps to die to self, to live beyond ourselves, not only do we overcome loneliness, we can expect divine companionship. This is where we get a wonderful sense of His power, His presence, and His reality. In this divine companionship, you understand what He means when He says He can meet every need of your life and satisfy your heart to the fullest. 3. And then step three is: My Father will honor the one who serves Me - How? Well, in the way He mentioned earlier. Your life will bring forth much fruit. So, in a nutshell, the Father honors the life that is willing to cast itself upon the divine supply, by bringing out of that life an abundance of fruit, the reproduction of His life, and the satisfying ability to become a blessing to others. That, my friend, is the difference between the survivor and the over-comer. Copyright © 2010. Faith Matters by Dr. Ken Lovelace. All rights reserved. KDT022210

F a i t h M a t t e r s
with Dr. Ken Lovelace
Emphasis: Survivor Series

Surviving Loneliness -- Part 3-- 2 Timothy 4:9-21; John 12:24-26

VI. The Secret To Overcoming (John 12)

For the past few weeks, we've been looking at a Survivor theme. Today we conclude Surviving Loneliness with a look at the steps necessary to getting beyound it. If you are just now joining me in this study, please take a moment to catch up. If you'd like to read Part 1 of this Surviving Loneliness devotional, click here. If you'd like to read the introduction to the Survivor series, click here. Below you'll find Part 3 of Surviving Loneliness.

A. The Question: What Causes Loneliness?

If you want to know the secret to being more than just a survivor, it's found in John 12, beginning in verse 24. Jesus began with: "I tell you the truth..." In learning the secret, we must first understand the question. Here's the question: What causes loneliness?

When Jesus says, "I tell you the truth," it's like those great big spotlights we see shining on the clouds at night. It's like a flashing red light trying to get our attention. Jesus is saying, "Hello, pay attention here. This is important." And here it is: "...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."

Here is the Lord Jesus giving this tremendous secret to these followers. It is unreal the "spell" He cast upon the people everywhere He went. They were mesmerized by every word He had to say. Someone has said that there were more lost work-days during the time Jesus preached in Galilee and Judea than ever before. Why? Because great crowds of people left their work to follow Him. They sensed that here was a man who understood and possessed the secrets of life. He had none of the trappings of daily life: no prestige, no status, not even a place to lay His head. He was like the grain of wheat: alone, isolated, and different.

Look again at that verse: "...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." "Alone!" Jesus could easily have chosen the path that led Him away from death. Who could have blamed Him had He simply returned to heaven, avoiding the cross? But if He had done that, He would have remained alone. For the rest of eternity, though He would be thronged with angels and every other created being, He would have been alone, undeveloped, and unfulfilled. There would have been no one else like Him in the universe.

But that's not what God wanted for Him. God wanted Him to fall into the earth and die. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, what? It remains alone! The Lord Jesus is giving us here the meaning of what loneliness really is. It is an unfulfilled life, an unshared life, an undeveloped life, an incomplete life. That is loneliness.

F.B. Meyer said: "Many people complain of lonely and solitary lives. They account for their condition by supposing it to be due to the failure of other people. It is however attributable to the fact that they have never fallen into the ground to die, but have always consulted their own ease and well-being. They have never learned that the cure of loneliness comes from sowing oneself in a grave of daily sacrifice."

So, what's the cause of loneliness? Jesus puts His finger on it right here and tells us that it is the attempt to hold on to life, to grasp it to oneself, and to satisfy oneself. The result? An undeveloped life filled with loneliness. Our Lord knew what would happen. He states it plainly: "...unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed." Now this verse applied specifically to Jesus' and His death on the cross. Look at that next phrase: "But if it dies, it produces many seeds." When that seed dies, there will be a reproduction of all that is hidden away in that grain of wheat.

B. The Answer

In verse 25, Jesus applies this principle to us by giving us the answer for our lives: "Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me." This principle of life and death is true not only for Him but for us as well. It is the principle by which life is truly lived. Now, follow the parallel here. Jesus is still talking about the grain of wheat. When He says, "The man who loves his life will lose it," He is drawing a parallel between the grain of wheat refusing to fall into the ground and abiding alone. That is "loving your life." The parallel to not losing your life is being lonely. So the secret is here. The question? What causes loneliness? The answer is the hoarding of life, the seeking of self-fulfillment.

C. The Cure

There is so much here, I wish we had more time. In verse 26, Jesus gives a three-step cure for loneliness: "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."

1. Whoever serves Me must follow Me - Where was Jesus going? To the cross. The first step to the cure for loneliness is to follow Him. I, too, must go to the cross and die to my old way of life, possessiveness, and self.

2. And where I am My servant will also be - When you and I take definitive steps to die to self, to live beyond ourselves, not only do we overcome loneliness, we can expect divine companionship. This is where we get a wonderful sense of His power, His presence, and His reality. In this divine companionship, you understand what He means when He says He can meet every need of your life and satisfy your heart to the fullest.

3. And then step three is: My Father will honor the one who serves Me - How? Well, in the way He mentioned earlier. Your life will bring forth much fruit. So, in a nutshell, the Father honors the life that is willing to cast itself upon the divine supply, by bringing out of that life an abundance of fruit, the reproduction of His life, and the satisfying ability to become a blessing to others.

That, my friend, is the difference between the survivor and the over-comer.

Copyright © 2010. Faith Matters by Dr. Ken Lovelace. All rights reserved.

KDT022210