John 12:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (25) He who loves his soul- life loses it; and he who hates his soul-life in this world shall keep it unto eternal life. (26) If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there also My servant will be. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
[Part 2 of 2]A seed must fall into the ground to die before it can bear much fruit. Before a grain of wheat falls into the ground, it has an outward shell. This shell protects the grain from any harm, yet it also frustrates it from bringing forth many grains. If the outward shell is not broken, the life within will not be released. When the grain is put into the ground and the water and the soil act on it organically, the shell soon breaks and decays, and the life within is released. The Lord is the one grain that fell into the ground and died. When this grain died, it brought forth many grains. From death unto life--this is the way with the Lord, and this is the way with us. Fruit-bearing through death--this is the way with the Lord, and this is the way with us. Hence, the principle of fruit-bearing is not preaching but death. Once we touch a person, we immediately know whether or not he has fallen into the ground to die. In order to know whether or not a person has died, we only have to find out whether the shell still remains. Much of our hardness is natural hardness, and much of our softness is natural softness. Whether it is hard or soft, as long as it is a shell, it frustrates the outflow of life and prevents men from touching the life within. Only the work of the cross will remove the outer shell from us. It is very difficult to touch a person who has not been broken. After one speaks to such a person for an hour, he still feels that there is a great distance between them. With him, there is a shell. But a person who has been smitten, stricken, and broken by God will have his natural and soulish elements shattered. When others touch him, they will touch life. Only those who have fallen into the ground and died will bear fruit! Only those who have passed through death will bear fruit before the Lord. There may be hundreds and thousands of people following you, but you may still have no fruit before the Lord. The principle of fruit-bearing is to die and then to bring forth many grains. If a grain of seed has not passed through death, it will not bring forth any fruit.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Watchman Nee, General Messages, Vol. 37, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, pp.129-130. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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