The Secret of Being a "Seed" for an Effective Operation (John 12:24)


	The Secret of Being a "Seed" for an Effective Operation (John 12:24) The Principles of Being a Seed If we want to serve the Lord effectively and have a proper operation, there are secrets we must learn. The first, most crucial, and most basic secret for an effective operation is the secret of being a seed. This may seem very simple, and we may think that we know it already. However, what does it really mean to be a seed? If someone calls us a coworker, or a full-timer, or a leader, or an elder, that makes us feel very good. To be a pillar in our locality, or to be an operative blessing to the churches, sounds quite glorious. But what is a seed? A seed is not seen or appreciated. There is no glory, and there is no manifestation. Everyone who desires to serve with effectiveness must have this as a prerequisite. If we desire to serve the Lord effectively, then we must be a seed. The first principle of being a seed is that a seed is hidden. Then secondly, a seed is full of life. Then thirdly, a seed is ready to grow and bear fruit. If we want to be a seed, then we must have these three principles. Being Hidden Every seed, when it is in the right place, is hidden. To be hidden does not mean just to be put aside. To be hidden means to be ready to die. To be hidden means to be buried. If you are a seed in a certain place, then you are buried there. You are prepared to die so that your outward shell can be broken and the life inside can come out. Again, this is the first secret which everyone one who desires to serve the Lord must clearly bear in mind. You must be saturated with this realization. "I am here as a seed. My future is just to die. My fate is just to die. I am to be hidden, and I am to go through the process of death." Everything else is easy, but to be a seed is very hard for all of us. Many times we consider serving the Lord just as if we were picking up a job or a career. Suppose you are a very bright person, and you have knowledge in a certain field. Suppose you are also energetic and a very hard worker. When you pick up a career these characteristics will work together. When your person, your knowledge, and your energy work together, then you will produce something in your field. Eventually you will become successful at your career. But many times we bring this directly into the Lord's recovery. When a young brother in the recovery desires to serve the Lord, he may tell the Lord, "I'm here! Look at me!" The brother thinks the Lord is so blessed because he loves Him. This brother is bright, charming, and capable, and now he is willing to serve the Lord. Isn't that a blessing to God? But this brother is operating according to the same principle as the world. With every career, and with every field, your talent, ability, energy, and desire can cause you to be successful. Only serving the Lord is different. Serving the Lord is totally different from everything else on this earth. If you desire to serve the Lord, then you must be a seed. If you are ready and willing to serve Him, then the first thing the Lord will say to you is, "Are you really willing to serve Me? Are you prepared? Them I am digging the hole for you right now, so I can bury you! You are a good seed, so I'm going to dig very deep. Are you ready? Then jump in! From now on there is no more 'you'!" What is this? This is to serve the Lord. If you want to know the secret of how to serve the Lord effectively, then this is the first thing. Get yourself ready to disappear. Get yourself ready to die. You must be ready to be buried. As a seed, we must be hidden, which means that we must be buried. If we want to serve the Lord effectively, He will tell us, "I was a grain of wheat. I buried Myself and died. Eventually, I bore much fruit. A servant is not greater than his master. Do you want to serve Me? Then the path I took is the path you must take. The way I followed the Father is the way that you must follow Me." This is the first secret of serving the Lord with an effective operation. We must learn to say, "I am a seed. I am hidden. I am ready to be buried underground. No one will see me. No one will even know me. I am just a seed." This is a secret which we all must learn. If we select serving the Lord as if it were a career, then we won't allow ourselves to be buried. There will still be some part of us that we will try to keep alive. For some reason we cannot go through this first step. Again, the first step in serving the Lord effectively is this: "Lord, I am a seed. I want to be hidden. I want to be buried. I want to die." This is completely different from picking up a career in the world. If someone is serving a worldly institution, then his desire, talent, ability, and energy are all useful. But once a person decides to serve the Lord, he must realize, "My talent needs to die. My ability needs to die. My zealousness needs to die. My energy needs to die. Everything I have, everything I am, everything I can do, it all has to die. I must be a proper seed. I must die, and then I can grow." This is the first prerequisite for serving the Lord. Being Full of Life The next principle concerning a seed is that it is full of life. Any seed which is healthy must be full of life. This is true even when there is no manifestation. On one hand we have to say, "Lord, I want to die. I want to be hidden. I want to be buried." On the other hand, we have to say, "Lord, I want to be filled with life." How will this life come out? How will this life operate and manifest itself? We don't know. But we do know that each of us must be a person who is filled with life. When a person first gets saved and begins to love the Lord, he may have no idea what it means to be an apostle, or a prophet, or an evangelist. These things are very distant. He doesn't know how he will be manifested. But every day he enjoys Christ. Every day he has the Lord's presence. Every day he tries to spend time before the Lord. Every day he can say that he has life, and even has life abundantly. He may have no understanding of what life is. He doesn't know how life operates. He doesn't know how great or how powerful this life is. He doesn't know how sufficient, rich, and fine this life is. He has no idea how glorious it will be when this life is manifested. But he is simply filled with life. With us, we may have been following the Lord for a long time, but we are in the same process. We don't know how life will manifest itself. We don't know how life will operate. But we should simply be enjoying life. We should be filled with life. This is the second item of being a seed. We cannot lose sight of this principle. To be a seed means that we are full of life. We must be in life. Practically speaking, this means that if we want to be a seed, then we must learn how to sing a song to the Lord. We must learn how to call upon His name. We must learn how to touch Him and abide in His presence. We must learn how to stay in the anointing, and let the anointing supply, nourish, encourage, regulate, and strengthen us. If the element of life is weak, then nothing works. To serve the Lord effectively we must be a healthy seed that is full of life. Then when the seed is buried life will operate in a greater way, and with a greater capacity. Being Ready to Grow and Bear Fruit The third aspect of being a seed is to have a certain kind of readiness. First, the seed should be hidden, which means that it is buried. Second, the seed should be full of life. Then thirdly, the seed should be ready to grow and bear fruit. The proper understanding of the seed is to say, "God has dug a deep hole and buried me. But while I am hidden there, I will enjoy the riches of life. With the riches of life, I will be ready to grow and bear fruit." The seed is always seeking the opportunity to grow and bear fruit. Our problem is that we are extreme. Suppose the Lord tells us, "I don't want you to do anything. I just want you to be buried and die." Then we say, "You want me to go and die? Okay, I'll go and die." Then we lock ourselves in a room and cry, "Lord, I'm ready to die. I can do nothing but die. I'm hopeless." But then when the Lord's speaking comes, and the opportunity for growth comes, for some reason we are very numb. We don't respond. A seed doesn't just stay hidden and then feel sorry for itself. A seed always takes the opportunity to grow. If you have a little plant, it grows because of the good soil and the weather. But on the other hand, the plant is responding to its environment. The plant is taking the opportunity. When the environment is right, it will take the opportunity to grow. It is the same with us. When a person who is serving the Lord grows in a healthy way, on one hand it is the environment that causes him to grow. But on the other hand he grows because he sees the environment and he takes the opportunity. The problem with us is that either we refuse to be buried or we insist on being buried. Either we think that we are so hopeful and useful, or we say, "I will just be a normal church-going member of the Body, because I'm supposed to be buried." To be a seed does not mean to be passive. To be a seed is to respond to the opportunity for growth. If we are a seed, then we are willing to invest ourselves into something that may help us grow. We should not be too slow in our responding. We may think, "My time of being buried is not over yet. I'm still in the dying process." When that is the case, then after the dying process is over, the whole seed is unable to grow anything. We must learn, when the sun shines, to take advantage of it. When the good soil is there, take advantage of it. This must be our life-long learning. Whenever we see the opportunity to learn or gain something, our response should be, "I am ready." This is the third aspect of being a seed. When the environment is in season, take advantage of it. Always be ready to grow, and always be ready to bear fruit. This is to serve the Lord as a seed. If we have this understanding, then we will realize that even to preach the gospel is different from what we usually think. To preach the gospel is simply to be ready to grow and bear fruit. Instead, we are usually too focused on doing a work, or even too focused on ourselves being buried. We kill others, or we kill ourselves. The secret is to be buried, and yet full of life. Then we should have the readiness to grow and bear fruit. If someone is always ready to bear fruit, they have a certain kind of sensitivity. Wherever they are, they are ready to beget. When they are in a store, or in a restaurant, or on a plane, they are able to sense that a certain person is ready to hear the gospel. But usually we don't have this sensitivity. The Lord arranges the environment, but then we complain. When the Lord gives us riches, we become full and don't seek the opportunity to grow. We should have the ability to say, "Lord, I'm ready to grow, and I'm ready to bear fruit." When we have this realization we find out that the door is open. We meet someone who is in need. We meet someone who is seeking the Lord. We meet someone who is ready to be saved. This is true all the time, but we don't sense it, because we are too occupied with what needs to be done and are not seeking to grow and beget. That is why, after we are buried and are full of life, we must look for and take the opportunities that present themselves for us to grow and bear fruit. A proper seed must have these three aspects. First, a seed is hidden. This is the hardest lesson for all of us to learn. We all like being manifested. We all like being appreciated. We all like being somebody. But when the Lord came, He told us, "If you desire to follow Me, you must be as a grain of wheat. You must fall into the ground and die." We must be a seed. We must be hidden. Then while we are hidden, day in and day out, we should learn to enjoy the Lord's presence. Then while we are enjoying the Lord's presence and are full of life, we should also say, "Lord, I'm ready to grow, and bear fruit." Every opportunity that comes, we take it. This is to be a seed. The Lord Jesus Considered Himself as a Seed - He was Prepared to Fall into the Ground and Die The Lord Jesus Himself was an example of this. The incarnated God considered Himself as a seed. He had the right to consider Himself as everything. But eventually He was just a seed, falling into the ground to die and bear much fruit. He would say to us today, "My way is different from your way. Your way is to get things done. My way is to die, so that the fruit can be brought forth. Your way is planning, organizing, working, and laboring. My way is simple. I have only one way, and only one thing to do. I just die. I am a seed to be buried. And where I am, My servant will also be. If you want to serve Me, you must be a seed. You must follow Me into the ground to die, and bring forth fruit in resurrection." Consider the difference between the Lord and John the Baptist. John the Baptist was such a spiritual man. He declared, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" (John 1:36). Isn't that a marvelous declaration? But eventually there was a conflict between the two of them. John said, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). We sometimes admire this verse, because it sounds so spiritual. But we must realize that the Lord never told John the Baptist to "decrease." The Lord wanted John to stop completely. When John didn't cease, he was a frustration to the Lord, and the Lord was a frustration to him. John the Baptist was eventually put in prison, where he was later to be beheaded. John had worked so hard for the Lord, but the Lord didn't rescue him out of prison. John sent his disciples to the Lord to ask Him, "Are You the Coming One, or should we expect another?" (Matt. 11:3). How could John ask such a thing? Even in the womb he recognized the Lord Jesus. He jumped for joy in Elizabeth's womb. When Jesus and John grew up together, they were cousins. They knew each other. John knew who Jesus was. John knew how Mary was conceived. Then John testified for the Lord. He declared, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" But after he testified for the Lord, he said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." These seem like such spiritual words. After reading this verse, we would even be moved to pray, "Lord, you must increase, and I must decrease." But the Lord would respond, "What are you talking about? What do you mean by 'decrease'? You don't need to decrease. You need to be terminated!" It is religion which tells us that we need to decrease. That is why eventually there was a conflict between the Lord and John the Baptist. John's thought about himself was religious: "I must decrease." The Lord's thought about John was, "You must be terminated." And the Lord's thought about Himself was, "I am a seed. I must die. I must bring forth fruit in resurrection." The disciples also had the same conflict with the Lord. Consider James and John. Even their mother came to the Lord and asked Him if they could sit on His right hand and on His left. This was their human concept. "How can we be big? How can we be somebody? How can we be manifested?" But the Lord answered graciously, "It is not up to Me, but to the Father" (Matt. 20:20-24). For all of Jesus' life there was a conflict between Him and His disciples. Peter said to the Lord, "Behold, we have left all and followed You. What then will there be for us?" All Peter had before was a fishing boat. But still the Lord was gracious. "You will receive a hundred times as much and shall inherit eternal life" (Matt. 19:27-29). This shows that His disciples didn't understand Him. Even John the Baptist didn't understand Him. Their psychology was different from His. What was the reason? The Lord Jesus knew that He must fall into the ground and die. This was the only thing that counted. Everything else the Lord did when He was on the earth was precious, but without His death none of it had any value. His death was what counted. His death had the highest value. We must remember that the Lord was prepared to fall into the ground and die. All of His trust was in the resurrection life. The Lord Jesus Expected to Bear Much Fruit Not only was the Lord prepared to die, but He expected to bear much fruit. This is why He could be joyful in His spirit. He knew that the Father's will was for Him to fall into the ground and die, and then to bear much fruit. We must learn from this. In our serving life we must learn the difference between two things: bearing fruit in life, and producing fruit in work. What is the difference? Suppose you talk about a brother that you have cared for. You say that you love him, you have helped him, and you have raised him up. Then you say he is your fruit. But it is up to him to say whether he is really your fruit. Why? Because a father does not need to remind his son, "I am your father." The son knows who his father is. If someone is really your fruit, then he will call you his father. For example, Paul called Timothy his "genuine child" (1 Tim. 1:2) and "beloved child" (2 Tim. 1:2). Timothy was Paul's son. Paul wasn't afraid that Timothy would write back, "What are you talking about? You're not my father!" Paul could say it very naturally, because Timothy was his genuine child in the Lord. In our whole Christian life we must realize that bearing fruit is equal to begetting children. The Lord was this way. When the Lord expected to bear fruit, what did it mean to Him? "Behold, I and the children whom God has given to Me" (Heb. 2:13). Eventually we are all the Lord's fruit, because we are all His children. When we bear fruit, it means that we beget children. It does not mean that we manufacture something. As we labor for the Lord, we should ask ourselves, "Am I begetting, or am I manufacturing?" Manufacturing is a process. First you do one thing, then you do another thing, just as in an assembly line. When it is over, you get a product. You have produced something in your work. When we bear fruit, we should ask ourselves whether we are begetting or manufacturing? To manufacture is cold and dead. When we produce fruit this way, the fruit is just a product. Once we have the "product" it is of no use to us. We think, "I begot you. I served you. So now you are my fruit." Instead, our fruit-bearing must be in the principle of begetting. How precious it is to die and bear much fruit. That is to beget sons, and that is to bear fruit in life. Remember what the book of Hebrews says: "Behold, I and the children whom God has given to Me" (Heb. 2:13b). We must enjoy such a verse. It is a universal declaration from the very Christ. The Lord fell into the ground to die, expecting to bear much fruit. Then in resurrection He declared, "Behold, I and the children whom God has given to Me!" Now all of us have been brought forth as His fruit. All the Christians are the Lord's children. We are the sons of God. So when we desire to serve the Lord, we must tell the Lord, "Lord, I do not want to manufacture fruit. I want to beget. I want to bear fruit in life." Again, it means nothing to say, "That brother is my fruit. He is my son." The son knows who his father really is. The father may not be perfect, he may not always be right, but a father is just a father. The son knows his father. We must bear fruit by taking the Lord's way, which is to fall into the ground to die. As we fall into the ground and die, we are joyful, because we expect to bear much fruit. The Principle of the Seed Became the Principle of the Lord's Living: "He Will not Strive nor Cry Out, nor Will Anyone Hear His Voice in the Streets" (Matt. 12:19) The principle of the Lord Jesus' living was the principle of the seed. This included His teaching, His working and laboring, and His operation. With Christ there was a living which is very different from our living in the church life. One verse that describes His living is Matt. 12:19, which is a quote from Isaiah: "He will not strive nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets." The Lord's living was without strife, and without crying out. What does it mean to cry out? To cry out is to say, "Unfair! Unfair!" With us, our whole existence is strife and crying out. We try to be on the top. We try to be more manifested than others. We complain when someone rebukes us. Every opportunity that comes, we strive. When we are together with other brothers we strive with one another. We strive to be somebody. We strive to be manifested. But we must realize that to strive is against the principle of being buried. If you are buried, nobody knows you. Nobody appreciates you. You are dying, yet you are so alive. You are buried, yet you are so fruitful. When you live such a life there is no reason to strive or cry out. When we want to serve the Lord, it is easy to have strife. For example, we often compare ourselves with other brothers. "Who speaks better? Who speaks more often?" We have strife upon strife. But striving goes directly against being buried. If we want to follow the Lord, the first thing is to be a seed. And if we want to be a seed, then the first thing is to be buried. Consider the living of the Lord Jesus. With Him there was no strife, and no crying out. There was nothing called "fair," and there was nothing called "unfair." On one hand He taught many people. On the other hand no one heard His voice in the streets. He helped many people, but with Him there was no "noise." With Him, there was just His sweet presence. Everything He did was in the principle of being hidden. For us to follow Him we must be the same. We must be able to say, "My Lord is the Lord Jesus. I know whom I have believed. I know whom I have trusted. I don't need to strive. I don't need to cry out. I don't need to make any noise. With my life there is nothing fair, and there is nothing unfair. I am just a seed to be buried." The Lord's Teaching: Giving Life, Conveying God's Economy, Yet not Leading Him into Any Kind of Self-Glory Let us consider the Lord's teaching. His teaching gave life. His teaching conveyed God's economy. But His teaching did not lead Him into any kind of self-glory. Whenever people would begin to exalt Him or try to make Him king He escaped immediately. He never departed from the principle, "I am a grain of wheat. I am a seed. I am ready to fall into the ground and die." Compare this to our teaching. Our teaching may not give life. Our teaching fails to convey God's economy. Yet our teaching leads everyone to worship and appreciate us. Whenever we are manifested, whenever someone says that we are so good, then we must be very careful. We must never allow a good report to lead us to self-glory. This is a principle. The self-life is always waiting to be displayed. Our self-life always wants to stand out from everyone else. If we give one good testimony, if we give life in one meeting, or if we get one person saved, then what should be a marvelous blessing from the Lord becomes a trap to us. Our good speaking can kill us. Our fruitfulness can kill us. The blessing we have received can kill us. It is very hard for us to be in Christ. If the Lord blesses us, we think we are somebody. If the Lord doesn't bless us, we get discouraged. We must learn from the Lord. The way for us to serve the Lord is just to be buried. Receiving honor goes against the principle of being buried. As we are laboring we must do our best to keep hidden. Good reports may come, but we must not allow them to lead us to self-glory. We must stay in the principle of being a seed. This is how we may serve the Lord effectively.