The Abundant Life Of Jesus: # 2 Series

The Abundant Life of Jesus

Part II - The Greatest Life

Introduction:

Well, if you were living on "Depression Avenue," have you

moved; have you moved to the "Abundant Acres of Jesus." John

10:10 invites all to come, the place is paid for, come on and see,

what the Lord can do.

A friend once lived in Atlanta doing intern work for a Church.

He had to pass a Church every day and it had one of thos Church

signs that usually contained a message. One day, he noticed, no

message, but a prayer request. It read, "Pray for Pastor Richard-

son." This went on for quite a while, until one day he had to laugh.

Because the permanent message on the sign read, "God is Good."

But, that day, the other message read, "Pastor Richardson is

Better."

What is the greatest life? If you could choose another life,

the greatest kind of life to live, what would it be? Would you

choose riches? Would you choose fame? Would you choose

adventure? Would you choose to be a great athlete? Well, Jesus

tops them all. HIS abundant life is greater IN EVERY CATEGO-

RY than anything else.

You ever watch those "infomercials?" I do. I’m fascinated

by them. If you watch close, you’ll notice that they are not really

selling money. They’re selling what MONEY CAN BUY.

We really don’t want more money! I mean, who wants stacks

of lousy pictures of dead presidents? And they’re green! Of course,

they’re green, they’re all DEAD! We don’t really want money, we

want what money CAN GET US. We really want feelings like:

Love, joy, peace, freedom, self-control and the like. And $50,000 a

month seems like a good way to get it, depending on who’se

program you believe.

Jesus said, in John 10:10, " . . . I have come (remember how

He came) that you might have LIFE, and this life MORE

ABUNDANTLY." This is the greatest life because it offers what

the world is really seeking.

Luke 5:1-11 and Gal. 5:22-23 describes this life in more

detail, and we don’t have to pay three easy monthly installments of

$125. We merely need to believe His promise and do what He said

to do.

I know, for me, I began getting these ends without those TV

means. I began getting my nets full, and my boat sinking from

Jesus Himself. Love, Jesus came to me with amazing love. There

I was, a rebel, stiff-necked, arms folded, and my back to Jesus (you

know, we are not poor little puppies, beaten down by life, abused

children of sin, we are REBELS). I remember a time when I was

all of this and more, I didn’t seek Him, He sought me. He came to

me, the rebel, and pulled me to Himself. I was not eager, but He

was persistent.

But, He didn’t just love me. It wasn’t, "Oh well, I guess I’ve

gotta love Gary Waguespack." He did it with JOY! With a smile

and a chuckle, gladness in His countenance, He drew me to Him-

self.

And, He shared a great PEACE with me. He took me to the

end of my life and showed me my security. My name was written

in His blood, in the Lamb’s Book of Life. I know, I’m going to

make it to the end. His blood cleanses A l l sin. And, boy, was

He patienct with me. And KIND? Why should He bless me so,

after my stubborn self-will. GENTLENESS, was always His man-

ner, I deserved a good swift kick, many times, but it wasn’t

harshness that greeted me, it was always gentleness. And, so on

through the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus fills our nets all by Himself.

But, he goes beyond this. His life, is MORE abundant. He

allows us to get blessed everywhere we go, by everyone we meet.

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, add to the blessings. Family and

Friends also squeeze more good feelings in. And, indeed, our

lives are overwelmed, NOT BY THE WORLD, but by the Lord

and His Blessings!

Well, if we’re not living this, why not? There are reasons,

and they all flow out of Mat. 7:24. "He that heareth these words

of mine, and doeth them, is like a wise builder, who built his house

on a ROCK."

Wisdom is practical knowledge. It’s knowing how to make

life work. You know when you shake something to get it to work,

or your computer isn’t cooperating, so you turn it on, and turn it

off, turn it on, and turn it off, until it works. Well God designed

our lives to work in a certain way.

BY HEARING AND DOING, ALL THINGS ARE

POSSIBLE! You’ve probably heard, "Knowledge is Power."

But, that’s not quite true. Knowledge ALONE is not power,