Life More Abundantly

Brethren, what does an abundant life mean to you?

If you're to think about that for a moment, what does an abundant life mean to you? What are the qualifications and the, shall we say, the characteristics that come to mind when you think of an abundant life?

Is it a big house? You know, a multiple-level house in a maybe gated community, three-car garage, and an RV garage, and an in-ground swimming pool in the backyard, and sprinkler systems, and manicured lawn? Is that an abundant life? Is it a new car? You know, shiny and new, one that the grocery cart hasn't come all the way across the parking lot to seek you out, one that still smells new, you know, the dog hasn't thrown up in the back seat, and, you know, wow, a new car. Is that the abundant life? You know, is it, what is it to you? What comes to mind when you consider the abundant life? You know, we live in an age that so often measures abundance by the standard of things. The things we've accumulated are possessions, maybe the things even we've accomplished. If you were to say, well, I've worked in my field of business for 30 years, and I became the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, you know, is that an abundant life? If you cemented Everest, you know, twice, without oxygen, is that an abundant life? If you're retiring a millionaire, would you rack that up into that category as well? An abundant life. You know, I think we would certainly look at these things and consider, you know, that is a very full life and does add vibrancy and abundance to physical living. And so I won't deny that certain accomplishments and financial successes lead to a more full life, a, I say, more comfortable life in many ways, but a truly abundant life, according to the standard of God's Word, is something that goes beyond merely the physical, beyond the possessions, beyond even maybe physical accomplishments that we've achieved. It actually consists of aspects of living that have been brought to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. An abundant life. Ultimately, an abundant life is tied directly to Him. We're coming up again on the Passover for this year, and as we approach those times, year after year, God's Holy Days, we consider the significance and the meaning, and specifically tied to the Passover, is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Right? Christ, our Passover was sacrificed for us. But why did He come? You know, what's accomplished through His life, death, and resurrection? There's a number of places we can turn in the Bible where Jesus said why He came. And there's a number of places we can read as well, where He said why His Father sent Him to this earth. And it's important for us to focus on those things, again, as we come up to the Passover. And so I want to focus on one aspect of the reasons, the multiple reasons that He came, but let's take just the piece of the pie today. John chapter 10 and verse 10. We'll begin there today, John 10 verse 10, and I'll begin by quoting it for you. Jesus states, I have come that they may have life, that they may have it more abundantly. I've come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. That sounds pretty good, doesn't it? An abundant life.

You know, it means that whatever we had going in our life here before a relationship with Jesus Christ, whatever level of abundance we thought we had, okay, I'm sure we had some level here of abundance, but just consider that in Him, now that abundance can be so much more full than it could have been otherwise. I have come that they may have life, that they may have it more abundantly. And according to Jesus' words, that is why He came. But what exactly does that mean? What is a more abundant life? What does that look like? And maybe even more importantly to all of us, how can we achieve it? How can we achieve it? How can we hold on to it? The more abundant life that Jesus came to bring. We're going to answer those questions today. Title for the message is life more abundantly. Life more abundantly. And I would say for all of us today, no matter how abundant our life is, physically or spiritually, through what God has given us, it can be even more. We can work it. We can grow it. We can increase it in Him. It is what God has intended for you and for me. So let's begin here in John chapter 10 because I think looking at the context in which Jesus makes this statement is important. And we see the connection then surrounding this statement. John chapter 10 and beginning in verse 1, he's here at some level contending with the Pharisees. Christ is going about teaching and Pharisees are in the mixed. And if you back up into chapter 9, there's a little pushback from them. Chapter 10, he's continuing, verse 1, most assuredly I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs up another way, he says the same is a thief and a robber. You know, one that comes in in a way that is maybe, you know, around back and secretively and in a way that just isn't front and center like the shepherd would enter in. Verse 2, he says, but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens and the sheep hear his voice and he calls to his own sheep by name and leads them out. Verse 4 says, and when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger but will flee from him for they do not know the voice of strangers. So what we have here is Jesus Christ is laying out the contrast between himself, who is the true shepherd as we will see, and those who are impostors, those who would seek to come in in another way and actually endanger the sheep that he is shepherding.

Now, Darla and I don't own sheep. We own horses, and I'll say they're Darla's horses, and I'm the hay-holler fence-fixer into the operation because if you spend any time around the horses, you would know whose horses they are. And they love Darla, and I'm always amazed as I watch her if she goes out, say, in the evening time, and especially as we come into spring weather and the sun is shining, you get this fine fuzz of green tender grass that's sprouting up, and as you've been to our place, we have that back hillside that's quite steep, and the horses like to be like mountain goats in the spring, and they get up on this hillside and they're grazing. But Darla will go out in the evening and she'll call them in. So first thing she'll do is give a shrill whistle. You've probably heard that whistle. That comes from playing with horses her whole life. But she'll give this shrill whistle, and way on the back of the hillside that sound will carry, and when it hits them, their heads will just pop up in unison and they'll look. And they're just standing there, they're looking, and she'll start calling to them, and she'll call them by name. You know, hear so-and-so, hear so-and-so, come here ponies, so-and-so, so-and-so, and they'll take off. They hear their name, and their master's calling, and it's pretty cool to watch because they'll be, I don't know, six, eight of them, how many ever she has out in the mare pasture. They'll come running across the trail at the top of that hill and they'll blow down at a full speed down this steep hill, and they'll hit the flat, and they'll be frolicking and bucking and just, you know, full of energy, but they're running to her. You know, thundering hooves, because they know her voice. The other thing they know is that she's the mama of reward, and she usually has, right, apple or carrot or some such thing for them, but she's the voice they come to. They usually ignore me, you know, unless I have something in my pocket, I have to get, you know, them worked up to that a little bit, but they come to her, and they ignore strangers. You know, there's times where people will come up to the fence, and they want to see the horses, and hear horsey horsey, horsey horsey, and they might raise their head up and look, but they're just sort of like, who are you? And they'll keep their distance.

So again, their, hers is the voice they come to, and Jesus Christ is telling the Pharisees that the sheep hear his voice, and they know his voice, and they respond to him, and it's different than what a thief then would be who would slip in another way. They don't know that voice. They don't recognize it, they don't trust it, and they don't respond to it. The voice of the true shepherd is the voice of peace, and calm, and safety, and the sheep will follow him because his voice is the voice of true reward. Again, too, we're talking about Jesus Christ, the true reward that comes through a relationship with him as the true shepherd, unlike those whose tactics are, shall we say, disquieting to the sheep, upsetting to the sheep. So verse 6, Jesus says, use this illustration, but they did not understand the things which he spoke to them. Then Jesus said to them again, Most assuredly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All those who ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door, as in, you know, the opening was closed before, but now it is open through me. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and he will go in and out and find pasture. So we're talking about salvation here, ultimately. Salvation that comes through Jesus Christ because he is the door. He has made open the way unto a reconciled relationship with God, resulting in, again, that reward of salvation. John 14 verse 6 states, I am the way, the truth, and the life. It's Jesus Christ speaking these words. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. And so he is the opening that one must walk through in order to have access to the Father, to gain eternal life, and it's through him that we can go in and out and find pasture, which means there's freedom in this relationship. There's the ability to come and go within, right, the fences of God's standards. There is abundance. There is nourishment, and there is growth that takes place by following the lead of the shepherd. And so sometimes people might question, well, what does a relationship with Jesus Christ look like? Because you hear it a lot, you know, we have a relationship with Jesus Christ. What does that look like? Well, the Bible describes it in a number of ways. It was described by Jesus himself as a master-disciple relationship.

Remember, he's the teacher, and the Twelve followed him and learned from him. And as a result today, we as well are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ, and it's a mentoring and learning relationship. And then we have here as well, it's the shepherd and the sheep. Sheep know the shepherd's voice. They're calmed and comforted by it. They follow it, and there's peace under the guard of the shepherd. So we are in this relationship of disciples to the master of the sheep to the shepherd. Ultimately, he leads us to green pastures in that relationship with God. Verse 10 then says, The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy, but I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. So he's drawing this contrast here between the authentic shepherd who gives us life for the sheep, right? Jesus laid his life down for us, and also, as he has said, gives life to the sheep. He's drawing a contrast between him and the one who would simply go after the sheep for their own personal gain. When the thief comes in, he's up to no good. The thief often harms the sheep. He scares the sheep. He upsets them. Again, you consider Christ said the shepherd enters in by the door, but the thief enters in some other way. Maybe, if you imagine at night, the sheep are brought in into a paddock or maybe even to a shelter or barn, and the thief would then maybe climb up another way and just kind of drop in and surprise the sheep because he's up to no good. And the sheep know that's not the master, and so there's distress among the sheep. And the thief has the shepherd's rod as well, but rather than lovingly guiding the sheep or defending against the wolves with the rod, the thief uses it on, frankly, the sheep.

And it scatters them to the point that they don't have peace and they don't have calm and safety in the voice of the thief. And in that confusion, some sheep are stolen away, some are even killed, and it says they're killed essentially because they've allowed eternal life to be snatched from them by the thief. So it's a very important contrast that Jesus Christ builds between himself and, again, the thief. Verse 10, the thief does not come except to steal and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, that they may have it more abundantly. So understand, the thief is the opposite of all that Jesus Christ stands for as the good shepherd. And so part of the message, remember he's talking with the Pharisees who have been contending with them up to this point, part of the message here is that beware the thief because his tactics don't lead to a truly abundant life, whereas the blessing of receiving and following Jesus Christ does. He is the door, the way, the truth, and the life, and the good shepherd who gives his life for the sheep and life to the sheep. And the sheep know his voice. In John chapter 10 verse 10 here, this Greek word translated abundantly is perisos, p-e-r-i-s-s-o-s, perisos, and its scope of meaning includes supremely, over and above, more than is necessary, exceedingly abundantly, according to Thayer's Greek lexicon. It's above and beyond, right, that we would have life above and beyond, more abundantly. And that's why he came. Life, ultimately, is eternal life he's referring to. I came that they may have life, but have it more abundantly is not only restricted to the age to come, it includes our age and life we live today, brethren, in him and right now. And it's only when we begin living the life that Jesus Christ made available to us through his sacrifice that we begin truly living as God intended. As the people of God, our ultimate fulfillment won't be found in the things the world has to offer, but rather in the spiritual things of God. That's where the truly abundant life comes from, the things of God, not the things of the world.

Go to Luke chapter 12 verse 15. We'll see Jesus' words continuing on this concept. Luke chapter 12 and verse 15.

Frankly, if you can live what we would call abundance physically in the flesh by hard work and wisdom, you know that is a blessing, and God would have us to do that. Because, believe me, as I've seen and as I've showed you pictures, there are people in other parts of the world that don't have that same abundance that you and I have, simply by virtue of where we live here. And it's truly a blessing, but it's not everything. Jesus came to bring the abundant life. Luke chapter 12 and verse 15. He said to them, take heed and beware of covetousness. You know, we know what covetousness is. That is, I need more. And when I've gotten that, I need more in addition to that. And it's a lack of satisfaction in what you have. But we know that godliness with contentment is great gain. So Jesus says, beware of covetousness. Luke 12, 15. For one's life does not consist of the abundance of the things he possesses. So, in other words, the yardstick of our life consists of something much different than simply our stuff. Right? The New Living Translation puts it this way.

He said to them, beware, guard against every kind of greed. He says, life is not measured by how much you own. So the point is abundant possessions don't necessarily equate to an abundant life.

And our things aren't what bring true fulfillment in this life. You know, they can bring comfort, they can bring a degree of security, but in terms of fulfillment that God created us for, it's not found in our things, it's found in him. I was on my way to the gym this week on Wednesday.

There's something about an upcoming Africa trip for some reason. It gets me motivated to get to the gym for two or three weeks before I go. I think I'm going to be sitting on the plane for hours and, you know, and just I want to hit it in good shape. So I'm heading to the gym this week and I drove by Golden Rule break out here on Pines. Right? They do breaks. And their motto is, we're honesty rules. Right? Golden Rule break. So they have them around Spokane and out on the front they have a sign and their sign generally has a phrase, you know, some good wisdom for life and they don't quote scripture, but many of the quotes that they have up there, I would say, are biblically based. So I was driving by this week and the quote caught my eye and it said, a rich man is just a poor man with money.

I thought, well, that's interesting. A rich man is just a poor man with money. I had to think about that a little bit and I thought, well, you know, that's true in most cases. I wouldn't say that's true in every case, but in many cases I would say that's true. A rich man is just a poor man with money. It's not money that makes someone rich towards God, is it? So the comparison is, we're talking about maybe physically rich but spiritually poor. God's called us to be abundant and wealthy in the things of his life. There's many well-to-do people who are actually quite poor and many other important aspects of their life. So again, what God has called us to live is a more abundant life and that is found through what Jesus Christ brought. I came that they may have life, that they may have it more abundantly. Verse 22 of Luke chapter 12, then he said to the disciples, therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat nor about the body what you will put on. Life is more than food and the body is more than clothing. Let's take you back a few weeks to Mr. Shaby's sermon on the difference in some of these words translated life. Some involve just the physical flesh in life and others involve the life that God is extending to us. Verse 23, again, life more than food and the body is more than clothing. So there's more that God has called us to in this life than simply those basic needs and we do need them. You know, don't quit your job because the Bible also says if a man doesn't work he shall not eat. But the point is what is our focus and the primary attention of our energies? What are we seeking to accomplish? Verse 24, consider the ravens for they neither sow nor reap which and they neither sow nor reap which have gathered which I'm trying to read it in the Matthew context. That's the one I'm used to but we're in Luke. So this is parallel. Consider the ravens for they neither sow nor reap which have neither storehouse nor barn and God feeds them of how much more value are you than the birds and which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature. If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow they neither toil nor spin and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not a raid like one of these. Solomon in his greatness and wealth and splendor, you know, says compared to just the lily of the field by God's creation is that is more magnificent and frankly Solomon did not live up to the potential for which God gave them him those gifts but this beautiful flower of the field is fulfilling its potential by providing just the magnificence of what God created it for.

Verse 29, if then God so closed the grass which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you? O you of little faith, do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink nor have an anxious mind for all these things the nations of the world seek after and your father knows that you need these things. He's going to see that you're provided for. We do do our part but God is the provider. Verse 31, but seek the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added to you. Of course, the parallel Matthew 6 33 includes his righteousness. All right, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and these physical day-to-day needs will indeed be added to you but just consider a life free of anxious care, a life free of fear. Seeking after God and his kingdom, that's the abundant life. It's not tied to materialism. Satisfaction isn't determined by how big your house is. It's about acknowledging God's blessings and his promises. So when we embrace all that God holds out for us through Jesus Christ, that is spiritual abundance, brethren, each and every day.

Again, as I mentioned in the announcements, I'm preparing to take off to Ghana and then Nigeria, be gone for two weeks. And believe me, when I tell you, I see many people who are poor compared to our standard of living here. Okay, I'll be visiting in Ghana the leadership and congregations, three of them that returned and joined up with UCG in August. I'll be out to visit with them and visit with the leadership and get to know them better. Henry and I will be traveling through the congregations.

I'll then go to Nigeria, and Dari and I will likely make some travels out as well. I'll be visiting people, many of whom don't have hot running water. Talking out in the village. Now, in the cities, it's a little better, although probably 50% of the time that I'm over there, I don't have hot running water in the hotel. You know, there's a hot water tank on the wall, but that doesn't really mean anything. Or sometimes there's just wires sticking out of the wall where there was a hot water heater. But again, when we're talking abundance and what we have, many of them don't have that. Many in the village don't even have running water into their house, or if they do, it's piped in, it's from a hand dug well that, frankly, you wouldn't drink out of it anyway.

Useful for other things. I'll be visiting people, many of whom their clothes are made of fabric, that they have traded the goods they've grown from the soil to trade for the fabric to make the clothes, and so there's no designer labels stitched into their clothing. I'll be visiting people, a number of whom live in houses made out of clay block. You know, you dig the clay out of the ground and you form it into these molds and you dry it in the sun. And it's always fascinating to me to drive across the countryside and you just see fields with these brick just laying out there drying in the sun. And people dug it out of their own ground, they've stacked it, they've put the house out of it, and that's what they live in.

Many of them arrive at Sabbath services in the village either on foot or piled three to four individuals on a motorbike. And I've shown you pictures of that. You know, you have like a 125 cc motorbike and you've got dad on the front with a child in front of him kind of sitting on the gas tank and mom's behind and a child maybe on the backpack on mom and they come rolling up into church services.

I'll be visiting people who they're tithe. Tithe means 10%, right? They're tithe. Their annual tithe each year ranges from around five dollars to twenty dollars. And so again, by the world's standards, we have it good, right? We are living an abundant life. All of us are living better than the majority of people over in other parts of the world. And yet they've responded to the calling of God. And they live abundantly. Doesn't mean there's challenges, doesn't mean there's struggles. I've been communicating with Dari this morning because Nigeria, frankly, is in a state of crisis to a degree.

It's a financial crisis because they decided we're going to call in and cancel the existing currency, initiating new currency. And the deadline for that was February the 10th. So they said all the Naira that's out there on February the 10th is no good. In fact, if you have large bills of that Naira, it's illegal to hold on to. So turn it all in. And by large bills, when I go over there and I exchange a hundred dollar bill, I get a stack of their largest bills, something like that. So that just gives you a scale of comparison. But they had, everybody had to turn their money in and the promise was then exchanged for the new currency released and the rollout was February 10th.

Well, what do you think happened? What often happens? Well, there's shortage, there's supply issues, there's whatever. Everybody turns their funds in, these funds aren't worth anything anymore, and now there's run on the bank. The bank doesn't have money, the ATMs are empty. They say, okay, we'll meet her out to you the equivalent of $43.

You know, and you can get a month on that is the expectation. Okay, so you show up to get it, and there's no money. And so now, I mean, there's riots breaking out in the streets, there's runs on the banks. It's a cash system. You walk out to hail a ride to get in the car and you're not paying with, you know, electronic payment 95% of the time. It's a cash system, and nobody has cash. And fortunately, Dari is able to function on a little bit different level just to kind of get by. But again, it's throwing things into a degree of chaos, and we're coming up onto the presidential election as well. So Dari canceled church today because movement about is not the wisest thing right now. And he said, actually, when I'm there and the elections are going on, we'll webcast the service. But that's where God's people live. And you could say, what a poor, desperate circumstance. And it is. But there's very abundant people in the midst of that. There's people who have an abundant life because of the door Jesus Christ has opened. It's a life where the sins have been forgiven through baptism. And, brethren, that's an incredibly abundant blessing. Money can't buy that.

It's a life where they call God their Father, and they know that they are His children by the spirit which dwells in them. It's a life whereby they are living by the standard of God's Word, and it is saved them from so much of the heartache that is, you know, in the world around them, in their marriages, in their families. Just simply the standard of God's Word brings blessing when it is lived.

They're living a life where they know that they're fulfilling the purpose for which God has created them. And they know that living in an obscure part of the world doesn't mean that they're obscure by God's vision. That He is there, and He is active, and He's involved with them. It's a life whereby they have the hope of the kingdom of God burning brightly in their mind. That that is the answer for what ails this world. They desperately want the kingdom. We want it someday. I hope we want it now, but actually when life is comfortable, your your yearning can just have a little bit of a different focus. So these concepts are not frivolous concepts. Man or woman who have embraced these things of God will have life more abundantly. Christ said, this is what I came to bring. This is what I laid my life down for so that the door could be open to a reconciled relationship with God, and your life will be full. It will be over and above and beyond. So let's look at some additional scriptures that highlight the more abundant life Jesus came to provide. Galatians 5 verse 16.

Galatians 5 verse 16. Apostle Paul writing, I say then, he says, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. And as this passage in plays out, Paul's contrasting works of the flesh in balance against the works of the Spirit. It's like if you put them on the scales, which is going to give you the abundant life? And the difference is dramatic. Verse 17, he says, for the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you're led by the Spirit, you're not under the law. You're not under the bondage of the penalty of death, which was included as part of the law. Christ came to relieve us of that through his sacrifice. For walking by his Spirit, we're not going to be under then that penalty. Verse 18, but if you're led by the Spirit, you're not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies. This goes on and on. All these things that lead to destruction in a relationship between man and man, and man and God, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like, which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Again, these are destructive attributes.

They separate you from God. They separate us from one another as the people of God, and those who live under such conditions says, will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But Jesus Christ said, I came to open the door to something new, in a different way of life. With the Passover approaching, we need to be examining ourselves for these natures, because we are of the flesh. We are of the carnal nature by our life we have lived, up until our baptism, and yet conversion, it is instantaneous upon baptism and the laying on of hands, but it's also a process, whereby self is put out and God is put in. And we need to examine and put out what we find like leavening as we approach the days of the Passover and the days of unleavened bread and take in the abundant life that God has opened to us. Verse 22 says, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, and goodness, and faithfulness. These are abundant things, gentleness, and self-control. Against such, there is no law. They're the attributes of God's Spirit dwelling in us, made possible by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I came that you may have life and have it more abundantly.

We could take each and every one of these aspects of the fruit of God's Spirit, and we could delve into them deeply, and we could see the benefit of living them, because it's not just love like the way man has love. It's agape. It's the love of God in us. And it's not just the joy like man has joy. It's the joy that the Apostle Paul had when he wrote the book of Philippians from prison.

It said, I rejoice in this truth of God, and I pray that your joy may be full as my joy is full, and he was under Roman guard and chain. So these are things that are of God, that make life abundant apart from whatever it is we may struggle with day to day. Again, we could take every one of these and just pull them apart and explore the abundance that God has for us by his Spirit. I just want to look briefly at one aspect, and that is peace. Just scratch the surface for a moment on peace, because I think we all desire a time and a place that we can live in peace. But I hope we're living there now, and I hope we're receiving it by God's blessing. Let's consider that peace for a moment. Let's look at it as Christ did. John chapter 14 verse 27.

John chapter 14 verse 27. Just a snapshot at a moment in Jesus' life, what did peace mean to him? John chapter 14 and verse 27. Jesus speaking to his disciples says, peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. The statement has always been incredible to me because Jesus Christ spoke this on the night of his arrest. Right? He knew what was coming. Just prior to his crucifixion, even knowing what he is facing, he's saying, I am at peace, and I want you as my disciples to be at peace as well. This is the peace of God. He was one with his father, and he says, you need this peace if you're going to walk through, frankly, what you're going to face after the aftermath of my crucifixion. And brethren, you and I need this peace if we're going to walk through what we're going to walk through at the end of the age. What we come to understand is that this kind of peace is not dependent upon the conditions on the ground around us. Jesus Christ knew what crucifixion was.

He grew up wandering the streets of—that's not the right word—roaming, wandering, traveling the streets, right, of Galilee and Bethlehem under Roman occupation, and he knew what crucifixion was. He traveled with his disciples in so many of those crossroads intersections of common travel. That's where they would crucify people. That's where they would put them up so that those who traveled by would learn and observe and consider the cost of crossing the Romans. So he knew what he faced. He knew he could still have peace even in the midst of the distress. And for you and I, the lesson is we can as well, by God's blessing and by his Spirit. And it is that peace that leads to a more abundant life. Jesus had such trust and harmony with his Father that he put himself into his hands completely, didn't he? Even to the point of death, the death on the stake, three days and three nights in the grave, nobody would bring him out of that other than his Father on his throne. He says, I'm at peace. I want you to be at peace as well. Well, harmony with God is the answer to dealing with all of the distresses around us.

There are distressful things happening, and they will continue to increase, but harmony with God is the answer to dealing with those things. And it doesn't mean we're going to escape being affected by it, you know, because your neighbor pays six dollars a gallon for gas. You're going to pay six dollars a gallon for gas, okay? This is just how this is going to work. But the fact is we can walk through these things with an underlying peace ourselves, knowing that we are in a right relationship with God, and that in the end, his will will be done. His kingdom will be coming, and all things will be said as he purposes. Having absolute confidence and peace, and knowing that all things work together for the good, to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose, is the element of a more abundant life that Jesus Christ came to offer. My peace, I leave with you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

In John chapter 6 and verse 63, Jesus stated, it is the spirit which gives life, the flesh, prophets nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

So again, if you want to do an in-depth study of living in a very fruit-filled way, delve into the fruits of God's spirit and consider the abundance that they add to your life today. Jesus attributed similar weight to his own words that he spoke. These words are spirit and they are life. He said, I came to bring you the words that my father gave me. This is life, and this is life abundantly.

Now, going hand in hand with all of this, we realize that there will still be times when trials and tests are part of our Christian experience. Abundant living will have trials from time to time, but it's how we respond to those that will make a difference between either losing our faith or going on to even greater abundance in him. Let's note, notice 1st Peter chapter 4. Could I request a drink of water, please? Sorry.

I've been running the wood stove for five days. It gets a little dry. 1st Peter chapter 4.

1st Peter chapter 4 and verse 12. Peter says, Beloved, do not think it strange, concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you. It's like, what in the world?

I was going to church, eat Sabbath. I was keeping the Ten Commandments. I was paying my tithe. And bang! What's going on, God? Well, Peter says, don't think it completely strange. When this happens, verse 13, he says, but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. The ultimate outcome is joy, but there may be some struggle along the way. There may be some trial. There may be some things that mold us and shape us like clay into what God has called us to be. Ultimately, that's the point that they would shape us into the likeness of Jesus Christ. I've said it many times before, and I'll say it again, we don't learn patience apart from having to go through experiences where we have to be patient. And that plays out in so many different ways. But these characters of Christ and these qualities that God is developing in us is a process of life, and sometimes it's a process of applying a little bit of heat, a little bit of pressure, taking you from what we were and to what God desires for us to be. It's perfect that Jesus Christ was. He still faced trials, didn't he?

I'll give you this verse to write down. Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 8. You can go study it and ponder it later. First Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 8 says, Though he was a son, he learned obedience by the things which he suffered.

That's talking about Jesus Christ. Though he was a son, he learned obedience by the things which he suffered. Well, wasn't he obedient always? You know, what does that mean exactly? I was saying, lest Dale be disappointed because I haven't given homework in two or three sermons now, I would just say, take this for homework. Hebrews chapter 5 verse 8. Ponder that. We learned obedience by the things which he suffered. Consider it. Muddle it around.

Pray about it. And let me know what you think. I think it's an important concept for all of us to focus on as we approach the Passover. The question I would ask us is, why would our lives be any different than he who we seek to emulate? Jesus went through trials and he suffered for righteousness' sake. And why would we expect that our lives would be any different than he who we seek to emulate? We follow Jesus Christ. He is our shepherd.

We are the sheep of his pasture. But what leads to an abundance in our life and, ultimately, glory is the outcome of a trial well weathered. And so knowing that the testing of our faith produces patience. It's not hooray for the trial, it's hooray for the outcome of what God allows to be worked out in us and what draws us close to him.

Sometimes God allows us to walk through very difficult circumstances because he knows that it will draw us into that relationship close to him. Because when life's going good and when we're accomplishing well and we go to work and we say, you know, I had a really good day, you know, I really nailed it today and you got that raise or you got that promotion or whatever it was, it's easy to start looking to yourself and your strength and your abilities and say, yeah, I did all right for myself.

But the point is we look to God and sometimes these struggles force our focus in that direction in a way that it would not have been before. Ultimately, it's to our blessing and to the abundance God has for us. Verse 13, still in 1 Peter chapter 4, he says, but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings that when his glory is revealed you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you for the Spirit of glory of God rests upon you. On their part he is blasphemed, but on your part he is glorified. The glory always, always goes to God. Verse 15, but let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters, yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.

For time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God, and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel? Now if the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear? Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to him in doing good as to a faithful creator. And so, brethren, no matter what we go through in this life, we must never take our eyes off of the steadfast promise that God is faithful, and that God finishes what he begins.

No matter the struggle, Jesus Christ said, I will go to the grave. All the power he had, right? He had life in him, because the Father who has life in him allowed him to have life in him.

He resurrected people from the dead. He healed people, and he was willing to himself give up control, submit fully to his Father to raise him up after three days and three nights. And sometimes abundant living comes down to going through the same thing each and every day, unwavering belief in the promise of God, unwavering trust in God that he is faithful, and he will fulfill indeed what it is he has promised. We can have confidence in this very thing that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Again, because that is his promise. That gives abundant life, no matter what's happening in the world around us.

And this is what Jesus opened the door to. No matter the challenges we face each day, we can't allow them to rob us of our abundant living. Jesus said, it is the thief who comes to steal and to kill and to destroy, but he came that we may have life and have it more abundantly. Isaiah chapter 55 verse 1.

Isaiah 55 verse 1, heading here in my Bible says, come to the waters.

God says, come and drink. Come to the waters. Isaiah chapter 55 verse 1. Oh, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. Have you ever thirsted in life in a way that wasn't going to be satisfied by taking a drink? What did Jesus say to the Samaritan woman at the well? You know, he asked her for a drink out of the well to start with, and she's like, well, what are you a Jew talking to me a Samaritan woman? And Jesus said, well, if you knew who it was that said, you give me a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you then living water. So we're talking about a thirst beyond the physical that can be satisfied by what God offers. Oh, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters and you who have no money, come buy and eat. Yes, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. The point is the price has been paid for you. And this is God's free gift.

Verse 2, why do you spend money for what is not bread and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me and eat what is good and let your soul delight itself in abundance.

I've underlined that word in my Bible, abundance, because again, it's not talking about the abundance of the flesh. It's the abundance of the spiritual life that God offers us. And he tells us to consume what is good, to fill your life up with the things of God that are abundant so that you won't be hungry and you won't be thirsty any longer, and so that you will be satisfied in what a reconciled relationship with God has to offer. Again, that's what Jesus Christ came to bring. Verse 3, incline your ear and come to me. Here, and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you the sure mercies of David. And so true abundance comes through seeking and finding a reconciled relationship with God. And he wants us to seek after it, but he's seeking after it as well, right? He extended a calling to us. He drew us to him, and he entered into an everlasting covenant with us. But again, true abundance comes through seeking and finding that reconciled relationship with God. And that is what is made possible by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He came that we would have life and that we would have it more abundantly. Let's conclude with the same concept we started with, and that is the blessing that comes from following the lead of a good shepherd. Psalm chapter 23 in verse 1, and considering the blessing and the abundance of following the lead that God provides, let's notice the abundance that King David knew all about. Psalm chapter 23 and verse 1 says, The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. David was a shepherd of his father's sheep before he became a shepherd of Israel, and he looked to God as his shepherd. And he says, in this relationship with my following his lead, I have abundance. I shall not want. What could I desire that I do not already have? Verse 2, he makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yet though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Isn't that what Jesus Christ said? My peace I leave with you. I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over. Just incredible, overflowing abundance. So surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Brethren, this is the truly abundant life that God has called us to live. Let us give him thanks for it, and let us use it well.

Look forward to being back with you in two weeks.

Love you all very much. May God be with you till we meet again.