More than Enough

We talked last week about the schemes of the Devil and one of the passages of scripture that I used was John 10:10 where Jesus says;

10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

The focus last week was on the desires of the Devil to destroy your life and rob anything that is joyful. Today I want to focus on the second half of this statement. Jesus came to offer life and offer it abundantly.

Who’s life? Ours! He is letting us know that we have two choices. We can choose to follow God’s way or our own. While we don’t consciously make a decision to follow the Devil anytime we decide to follow anything other than is God’s desire for we are choosing to oppose him.

Why does he desire that we follow his will, because it is his desire that we live. He doesn’t want us drowning in misery and self doubt. He wants us living strong and joyful life. The word abundant means to have plenty or more than enough.
So, what does Jesus want to give us more than enough of? This first thing is joy.
10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. John 15:10-11

Our joy comes through obedience! Jesus is the source of joy and he desires to give us HIS joy. It’s not just any joy that he is offering it’s the joy of Christ! It’s the joy that keeps us living when things go wrong. It’s the joy that increases our experiences when things go right. It’s not a joy that we find anywhere else, it’s only found in Christ and he gives us more than enough.

The next thing he gives us in abundance is peace. People look everywhere to find peace. They look in all kinds of lifestyles and philosophies and they find only things that only last temporarily. There is no sustained peace. The reason why is as long as you are looking for peace you won’t find it. Like joy peace comes from Jesus Christ.

27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27

The peace of Christ is something that the world (people who are not believers) cannot understand. They will refute it and deny that it exists because they don’t understand. However, there is a noticeable difference when a believer goes through troubled times as opposed to an unbeliever. Notice the difference in the family at the funeral of a believer as opposed to the family of an unbeliever. What’s the difference? Believers have the peace of Christ!

Jesus also offers us abundant grace. Grace is unmerited favor, getting something that we do not deserve. It’s grace that allows us to come into salvation.

8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
We would never be able to earn our way into heaven because we are imperfect people. In fact, if we were to get what we deserve for our sin, things we do outside the will of God, it would be eternal separation from God.

It’s out of His love for us that he extends grace, giving us what we do not deserve and He gives us more than enough. What you and I have to do is accept it, even though we do not understand it. I’ve heard so many people say that they don’t understand how God could love them and accept them because of all that they have done. Well, the truth is, I don’t understand it either, because He is offering me something I don’t deserve! However, I do accept it!

God’s grace leads to forgiveness. Our forgiveness from God is based on our confession of our sin to Him.

9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

When we confess we do it directly to God. There has not been a person yet who has caught God off-guard when they confess a sin to him. God knows what we do and when we do it! Confession is your acknowledgement before a Holy God that you recognize what you did was wrong. When we do that God immediately releases that sin and offers to us the chance to begin again, slat wiped clean.

Everyday we choose to live at the moment that we crawl out of bed. It’s my prayer that you choose to live abundantly through Jesus Christ.

Matt Hofeld
Pastor
Mayfair Baptist Church
OKC, OK