Abundant Life in Jesus Christ
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Scripture: Jn 10:10
Download PDF file by clicking link above. Disc 102 - Abundant Life in Jesus Christ - Jn 10:10
It's the 2nd Msg in our Discipleship 100 series
& it is the LAST msg of the year - 2008 - (they go well together)
I wonder if we can just take a minute
& look back over this past year
Even for those listening NOT at the end of the yr
you can look back over the past year at any time
so let me ask you the most
"All Encompassing" 'Eternally Significant" question
that can be asked in reflection of your life
"Do you Know Jesus better today than you did 1 year ago?"
"Are you walking closer with Him?"
"Are you responding more naturally to His voice?"
Of all the things we THINK we need
THIS is the most all-encompassing - life changing
NEED that there is, really!
now, many would be quick to say
"oh no, I've got way bigger needs than that !"
REALLY? . . . That's NOT what the Bible says
I know that many of us have very real, & very difficult
TEMPORARY NEEDS
I'm NOT saying to ignore those Difficult Temporary Needs
& the Bible doesn’t really say to IGNORE those Temporary Needs
But I PROMISE you - If you would have allowed Jesus Christ
to truly Transform your life during this past year
That transformation of your life
would have effected EVERY Temporary need you have
God specifically PROMISES
if we will Seek FIRST (in priority) the Kingdom of God
then all our other NEEDS will be met as well
Mat 6:33 - NLT
33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
Unfortunately - it doesn’t say WANT - it says NEED
This Vs is about the PRIORITY of
Seeking of the Kingdom of God first - & trusting God w/ the rest
& it is the most important REFLECTION we could ever make
One of my favorite DC Talk songs is "Day by Day" - (didn’t write it)
The words capture my prayer for both the congregation here
& the congregation at large thru W-B-M
I live a simple life, I take a day at a time
I spend my mornings with God before I hit the grind
The subtleties of darkness never cease to amaze
As a physical world creates a spiritual haze
Blinded by distractions
Lost in matter-less affairs
Reaching through the darkness
Trusting You will meet me there
Day by day, dear Lord, Three things I pray
To see thee more clearly
To love thee more dearly
To follow thee more nearly . . . day by day
As you look back on this past year
I pray THAT has been your heart's desire
& (whether it has been or not) - LET'S pray that would be
our heart's desire for the coming year
Let's Pray
Again - The title of our msg today is;
"Abundant Life in Jesus Christ"
& this msg follows Lesson # 2
from The Discipleship Workbook
from "Family Discipleship Ministries" which can be downloaded
on the Word-By-Mail website (at wordbymail.COM)
there's also a link there to Family Discipleship Ministries
which I strongly encourage you to check out
The Bible teaches that - as believers in Jesus Christ
we have been given a New & Abundant Life
Jn 10:10 - ESV
10 The thief (the god of this world) comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
This is the abundant life I pray each of us
would commit to "Walk In" - Day by Day
But in order to do that - we must place our lives
completely in God's Hands - DAILY
We must choose DAILY to crucify
our Independent & Self-Willed "Sin Nature"
& instead - We must choose
to Walk in Constant Fellowship with God
& if we WILL - then we can be confident;
God Will Be With Us
He will Lead, Guide, Protect, & Provide
& THEN we really will be LIVING - The Abundant Life
But what does that really even MEAN - The Abundant Life
Maybe part of our frustration - - is a Mis-understanding,
or a WRONG-DEFINITION of the Phrase The Abundant Life
So maybe we need to start - by looking at
the Original Abundant Life - God gave man
In the beginning - God created the Heavens & the Earth,
He created Man & Woman
& then He created the Original Abundant Life for them
in the Garden of Eden
It was a perfect environment, where God gave Adam & Eve
a happy, abundant, fruitful, & satisfying, life
But THINK for a second
what was the KEY to this original Abundant Life?
The KEY to the Original Abundant Life
was Unbroken Fellowship with God
(Think about it) - The KEY to the Original Abundant Life
was Unbroken Fellowship with God
& in order for Adam & Eve to be able to experience
that unbroken fellowship with God
God gave Adam a COMMAND
meant to protect his Abundant Life with God
Gen 2:16-17 - ESV
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Simple enough - Obey God, Live an Abundant & Eternal Life
But what happened next ?
That Abundant Life was thrown away by Man's Sin,
with some help from the Devil
Satan (the Thief) came to Steal Kill & Destroy (Jn 10:10)
In GEN Ch 3 Satan;
QUESTIONED God's Word
(V.1 - Did God actually say . . .)
DENIED God's Word
(V.4 - You will not surely die . . .)
REPLACED God's Word
(V.5 - You will be like God . . .)
& Adam & Eve fell for it, just like we do today
& what was the RESULT of the Fall ?
Their Fellowship with God was BROKEN
& their Abundant Life was FORFEITED
Mankind was now LOST
with no means to Recover his Fellowship with God
Rom 5:12 - ESV
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned
Mankind was LOST
with no means to recover his Fellowship with God
BUT - - GOD !! - But God made a way
John Piper;
The wisdom of God has ordained a way
for the love of God to deliver us
from the wrath of God
without compromising the justice of God
God Himself, made a way to restore The Abundant Life
He originally created for man
Here's how Rom Ch 5 puts it
Rom 5:15-16 - NLT
15 . . . For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.16 . . . For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.
because there was no way we could never do it
God made a way for our Fellowship to be restored
& thereby - to make the Abundant Life available to us again
& remember - the KEY to the Original Abundant Life
was Unbroken Fellowship with God
SO - what's the PROCESS ?
How do we go FROM "Broken Fellowship" with God
leading to DEATH
TO "Unbroken Fellowship" with God
leading to LIFE
Well - first - we've got to be BORN AGAIN
We were born once - into Sin
& now we've got to be "Born Again" - into Righteousness
In Jn 3:3 Jesus said - ESV
3 . . . Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.
& then Nicodemus (the Religious Leader Jesus was talking to)
asks the question in
Jn 3:9 - ESV
9 . . . How can these things be?
to which Jesus answered in
Jn 3:16 - ESV
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
When we Believe in Jesus Christ (put our faith in Him)
we are Born-Again to Eternal Life
& God is able to do this - because
BY OUR FAITH in Jesus Christ - God JUSTIFIES US
Justified means - to be declared righteous
we like to say - "just if I'd - never sinned"
Rom 3:22 - NLT
22 We are made right with God (justified) by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
The Pathway to the Abundant Life - begins by
Being Made Right with God - Thru Faith in Jesus Christ
God JUSTIFIES us thru Faith
Which restores our fellowship with God
AND - gives us eternal life
In Jn 11:25-26 Jesus said - ESV
25 . . . I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. . .
SO - We are Born Again (by our faith in Jesus Christ)
which Justifies us before God & gives us Eternal Life
But Is there more than that - to having "Abundant Life"? . . . YES!
Remember - the KEY to the Abundant Life
is Unbroken Fellowship with God
In the Original Abundant Life - Adam Fellowshipped with God
in a close intimate relationship
& Now - because of Jesus Christ
we can again have a close intimate relationship with God
& there's no greater relationship God can offer us
than to ADOPT US as His own sons & daughters
Jn 1:12 - ESV
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
You & I have the right, to become adopted children of God
- & not only that
But we Receive the right to call the Almighty God
ABBA FATHER - the most intimate name for "Father"
Rom 8:15(b) - ESV
15 . . , but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Incredible - Miraculous - Indescribable -
is the love that the Father has given to us - (to address Him as Abba)
1Jn 3:1 - ESV
1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.
& 1Jn Ch3 goes on to say - that when Christ appears again,
We will actually Be Like Him
& not only will we Be Like Him
But we are actually Joint-Heirs with Christ
Rom 8:16-17 - ESV
16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, . . .
It is mindboggling to consider all that it means
that thru our faith in Christ - we have become Children of God
But at the CORE of us being sons & daughters of God
is the fact - that we can once again have
Unbroken Fellowship with God
Which is - - - The Key to Abundant Life
So let's review
The KEY to the Original Abundant Life
was Unbroken Fellowship with God
The KEY to our Abundant Life in Christ
is Unbroken Fellowship with God
Now - WHAT could get in the way of that ??
the same thing that got in the way originally
Back in Gen Ch 3
Satan's plan to destroy Adam & Eve's Abundant Life,
was to BREAK their fellowship with God
& what do you think Satan's plan would be today
in regard to your Abundant Life in Christ ??
Satan's plan to destroy your Abundant Life
is the same as it was back in the Garden of Eden
His plan is to BREAK your Fellowship with God
You have an Enemy !!
If you are currently Rejecting Jesus Christ
then your enemy is winning,
& so he's probably not bothering you much
However - if you are Desiring the Abundant Life in Christ
meaning - Unbroken Fellowship with God
then you have an enemy that is ACTIVELY
trying to destroy your Abundant life
just like he did in the Garden
in 2Cor 11:3 - Paul warns the Corinthian church
2Cor 11:3 - NLT
3 But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent.
Satan's tactics haven’t changed
He will tempt you, & deceive you - just like he did in the garden
& his goal is still the same
BREAK your Fellowship with God
Whether its thru
the lust of your EYES
the lust of this WORLD
the PRIDE of life
your enemy's GOAL - is to BREAK
your Intimate Fellowship with God
Because He knows - THAT is the KEY
to your Abundant Life in Christ
But Praise God!!
Because God has already provided for our VICTORY
even before the enemy's first attack
There are MANY vs's about our guaranteed victory in Christ
But let me use one that actually shows the PROCESS
we must take - to experience that victory
Jas 4:7-8 - ESV
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. . .
This is actually - the guaranteed Victory plan
Submit to God - Resist the Devil - Draw near to God
& God has already guaranteed your victory
The Devil is NOT an equal power to God
he is a created being that still must answer to God
& God has promised us - thru-out the Bible
if we will RESIST the Devil (turn from him), & turn TO God
that we WILL be victorious in every Spiritual Battle
& that VICTORY means
that our Fellowship with God is Protected
& that Unbroken Fellowship with God - is the KEY to what ?
(to the Abundant Life in Christ)
OK - we've been talking about the PROCESS
of Living the Abundant Life
& we've very simply said;
#1) We must be Born Again - thru Faith in Jesus Christ
Which makes us Right before God,
Gives us Eternal Life
& Restores our Fellowship with God
#2) This makes us "Children of God"
& we become Joint-heirs with Christ - but more importantly we now come to God - as our Abba Father
The Hindrances to our Fellowship with God
have been removed
But instead of Rejoicing - Are we adding our own Hindrances
Guys - We MUST Truly Understand
The Abundant Life
is a life of Unbroken Fellowship with God
In a way - like it originally was in the Garden
I've done a couple little surveys on
WHAT IS THE ABUNDANT LIFE
I've asked a few Christians - Who really got it RIGHT
I've also searched the Internet - Which really got it WRONG
But If we were to ask a dozen Church-Going Christians
to DEFINE the Abundant Life
MANY of them - would have the common misunderstanding
that somehow the Abundant life
has to do - with something that MONEY can buy
Which is a very sad (& very common) misunderstanding
It's sad - because that means
only people with money can live The Abundant Life
Which means that ABSOLUTELY NONE of Jesus' Disciples
ever lived the Abundant Life
Because NONE of them ever had anything Money could buy
Yet - certainly - Apostle Paul - John the Beloved - Peter - James,
& the others - experienced the Abundant Life Jesus came to give
Because Guys - The Abundant Life is NOT Material in ANY way
The Abundant Life NOW - is a "taste", a "down payment"
of what Heaven will be like
& Heaven is the ultimate . . . Unbroken Fellowship With God
I promise you - The Abundant Life - IS - (or flows from)
Unbroken Fellowship with God
which involves every single area of your life
& it involves many "specifics" or "details"
But let's start with the basics today
FELLOWSHIP means - companionship, relationship, union, habitual sharing, and giving & receiving.
THAT is fellowship with God !
Companionship - Relationship - Union
Habitual Sharing - Giving & Receiving
THAT is Fellowship with God!
& I Promise You - THAT is The Source of The Abundant Life
anything else you could classify as the Abundant Life
will COME THRU your Unbroken Fellowship with God
To close - let's list the BASICS - for DAILY Fellowship with God
which means - - the Basics for The Abundant Life
#1) DAILY PRAYER
We've got to PRAY - daily, regularly, w/o ceasing
Prayer is the 2-way intimate communion with God
& we've got to develop a consistent prayer life
#2) DAILY WORSHIP
We've got to Chose to WORSHIP God - EVERY Day
Worship causes you to focus on God (instead of yourself)
I'd really encourage you to Listen to Worship Music
I'd also Meditating on the Psalms - & writing thoughts of Worship
#3) DAILY WORD
We've got to read God's Love Letter to us Every day
Read a section slowly, & carefully,
listening for God to speak thru His Living Word
& again - I encourage you to WRITE what He speaks to you
I hope to develop these three Daily Disciplines
as we continue in this series
& then finally - to add to your Daily Fellowship with God - we have
Discipleship - to SUPPORT our fellowship with God
Evangelism - to SHARE our fellowship with God
But FIRST - we have GOT to ACCESS
The Abundant Life in Christ
thru our DAILY, UNBROKEN, FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD
Let's Pray