LIFE MORE ABUNDANT

JOHN 10:1

A. MISSION OF THE SON OF GOD
  1. Can you sum up the many reasons for the mission of our Lord to this world?
  2. He states his mission in a few words, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."
  3. You may sum up the gospel of Jesus Christ in one word "LIFE":
B. LIFE MORE ABUNDANTLY
  1. What is life to begin with?
    1. For me, personally, life is the gift of God - Dan. 5:23
    2. It is opportunity to develop character; to do good unto others; and to serve God.
    3. For Enoch, life was a walk with God - Gen. 5:22, 23
    4. To Paul, life was Christ - Phil. 1:21
  2. For the child of God:
    1. Life is fellowship - 1 John 1:3; 2 Cor. 13:14
    2. Life is service for others; he, who serves most, lives longest - Gen. 12:3. Peter, Paul, and John still live through their writings; that is true of all the writers of the books of the Bible.
    3. Life is usefulness - he, who does the most good, has the largest measure of life - Gen. 5:22, 23
  3. The more abundant life:
    1. One must keep in mind that life is a matter of degrees. Some have life, but it flickers like a dying candle, and indistinct as the fire is in the smoking flax.
    2. Others are full of life and are like the blacksmith's forge when the bellows are in full blast.
    3. A study of the Bible shows that even spiritual life is by degrees, some have more and others have much less.
    4. The more abundant life -
      1. It is a life of wide interest, "ye are the salt of the earth" - Matt. 5:13; "Ye are the light of the world" - Matt. 5:14
      2. It is the life of deep enjoyment - Matt. 18:13; Ps. 16:11
      3. It is a life of eternal duration - John 11:26
C. HOW THE MORE ABUNDANT LIFE MANIFESTS ITSELF
  1. In stamina or endurance:
    1. "He that endureth unto the end shall be saved" - Matt. 24:13
    2. "Blessed is the man that endureth" - Jas. 1:12
  2. By the constant enlargement of the sphere of influence:
    1. That was true of Abraham, of Joseph, and other Old Testament worthies.
    2. That was true of Paul, in a special sense.
    3. And think of Ellen G. White, a humble woman, and how her influence is growing with the growth of this movement.
  3. Life becomes more abundant as our powers are brought into exercise:
    1. An increase of energy is indicated by our opening text.
    2. Power, even though plentiful, must be put into use to be of consequence.
D. THE SOURCE OF THE MORE ABUNDANT LIFE
  1. Faith in Christ is one of the richest sources of the more abundant life:
    1. John 7:37, 38
    2. John 1:4; 8:12
  2. The presence and indwelling of the Holy Spirit:
    1. Remember the day of Pentecost - Acts 2:1-17
    2. Note the abundant life of Stephen - Acts 6:8, 15
  3. Secret prayer is still another source of the more abundant life:
    1. It was for Moses - Ex. 34:29-33; for Jacob - Gen. 32:25-30; and it was for the Son of God. Is it for you?


Design © John Bryant 2011