Abundant Life
Joh 10:10 "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
WHY AGING ISN’T BAD
• Kidnappers are not interested in you.
• People no longer view you as a hypochondriac
• Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can no longer remember them.
• No one expects you to run into a burning building.
• Nothing is left to learn the hard way.
• Your joints are more accurate than the Weather Service.
We have been looking at Abundant Life for a few weeks and tonight I want to remind you of some things we have seen.
*Abundant Life is not things but your reaction to things.
• Looking at some parables we see EVERYONE has problems and some are NOT SHAKEN and others are RUINED.
• Doing the Word is the way to ABUNDANT LIFE
• 75% of those that hear the Word do not do the Word.
*As we closed last week we found that we can experience problems in one area of life that we are doing what the Word says but if we check all the Word we will find we are failing some place elsewhere.
* We also saw that we can experience Abundant Life if we
1Jo 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Tonight I want to look a Hindrances to Abundant Life.
Problems and How to get past them:
I. Disobedience.
Jonah is an example of Disobedience.
Jon 1:1 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2 "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me."
3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
You cannot experience Abundant Life if you bow your neck and do your own thing. Nineveh was East and Joppa was West
We know about the problem that come upon Jonah because he was in direct disobedience to what God had told Him to do.
He could rationalize his disobedience but God had a plan.
The problem was not to punish but to give Jonah a chance to change.
Jon 2:9 But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD."
Repent and thank God for giving you another chance to do His Word.
II. Because You ARE DOING the Word.
Mr 4:35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side."
36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him.
37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.
Notice they are in the “Perfect” will of God.(Doing the WORD)
Problems will come even when you are doing the Word.
The BIGGER THE FUTURE MINISTRY the bigger the Problems you will face. The devil is committed to your failure.
They were going to face 6 Thousand to 12 thousand demons.
How do you overcome this kind of problem?
Mr 4:39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.
Speak to the Problem, the mountain, the sickness.
Speak the WORD, WORDS OF FAITH.
III. Problems – Hindrances to Your Abundant Life – People you are connected with.
Example: Marriage one serving God and one not. Or Supporting others in ungodly lifestyles.
You cannot repent for others, You cannot speak words of Faith to change them.
Paul was prisoner on the way to Rome (Acts 4:9-44) Paul knew it was God’s will for him to go to Rome but not right now. The captain of the ship would not listen to Paul. Paul could not refuse to go. A Problem come and there was a Ship wreck. The wreck was not God’s will. God got glory as He protected Paul and converted an Island.
Joshua come up to AI but was defeated and 36 men were killed. This was because of Achan was part of the Army.
In nether case was it Paul or Joshua fault, it was those connected to them.
Patience and Praise is the key:
Jas 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
While we are here in James there is another Hindrance to A/L
SELF DECEPTION
Jas 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;
24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
This is tell us that we can DECEIVE OURSELVES
We can think we are doing good and the Promises of God are not working for you.
But James tells us that Doing the Word will bring blessings that will affect everything that we do.
25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
OVERCOME WITH ABUNDANT LIFE
Deut.28:1-14
De 28:1 "Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.
2 "And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:
3.Blessed in town and Country
4.Healthy Kids and Gardens and animals
5. Plenty of good food.
6. Blessed coming and going (Good gas mileage)
This was the kind of Blessings that we listed in the first lesson.
To walk in theses Blessings we must:
Accept Responsibility
All the scripture that I have given you should leave no doubt that DOING THE WORD will allow you to LIVE THE ABUNDANT LIFE
You must guard against the tendency to shift responsibility of our circumstances
Don’t blame your lack of blessings on your boss, spouse, color, government, background or any other thing.
If the problems of life have stopped the Abundant Life from springing forth out of your life.
Humble yourself and confess that YOU ARE NOT WALKING IN THE LIGHT THAT YOU HAVE.
REPENT and Ask God to remind you of the places that you are not DOING THE WORD.
That will cure self deception and then you can be blessed in everything that you do.
Blessings will chase you down.
Take control YOU ARE THE ONE THAT CONTROLS YOUR BLESSINGS.
2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Begin to confess to being who the Word says I am.
Speak the promises of Healing, fianices, peace.
You cannot think about fears when you are speaking the Word.
