THE MORE ABUNDANT LIFE SERIES | PT. 1
READING TEXT: John 10:1-18 | PREACHING TEXT: John 10:10
My favourite preacher of all time is Charles Haddon Spurgeon and on January 4, 1874, he penned the following thoughts in his journal which later formed part of his devotional book called, “Morning and Evening.”
4 JANUARY (1874)
Life More Abundant
‘I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ John 10:10
Abundance of life is often seen in the overflow of enjoyment. On a spring morning, when you walk in the field and see the lambs frisking so merrily, you have said, ‘There is life for you.’ You see a company of little children, all in excellent health—how they amuse themselves and what pranks they play! You say, ‘What life there is in those little children!’ Catch one of the little urchins and see if he does not wriggle out of your arms, and you say, ‘Why, he is all life.’ Just so and hence his mirth. In youth there is much life and overflow of spirits. When Israel came out of Egypt, she was young Israel and how merrily did she smite her timbrels and dance before Jehovah. When churches are revived, what life there is in them and then what singing! Never comes a revival of religion without a revival of singing. As soon as Luther’s Reformation comes, the Psalms are translated and sung in all languages; and when Whitefield and John Wesley are preaching, then Charles Wesley and Toplady must be making hymns for the people to sing, for they must show their joy, a joy born of life. When the Lord gives you, dear friend, more life, you also will have more joy. You will no more go moping about the house, or be thought melancholy and dull when the Lord gives you life more abundantly. I should not wonder if you get into the habit of singing at your work and humming tunes in your walks. I should not wonder if people ask, ‘What makes So-and-so so happy? What makes his eyes twinkle as with some strange delight? He is poor and sick, but how blissful he appears to be!’ This will be seen when you not only ‘have life’, but when you ‘have it more abundantly.’
The Christian life was never supposed to be a humdrum, monotonous, mundane, monochrome existence. God designed it to be full of life, colour, adventure, and excitement.
When Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10), He was not referring to material possessions, but the imparting of a life that flows with wonder, exuberance, adventure, and eternal soul fulfillment.
The prosperity teachers of our day suggest that Jesus was promising an abundance of wealth and blessing in the physical realm. This is ludicrous. In fact, Jesus said, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15).
Illustration
In J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece, The Hobbit, we are introduced to Bilbo who is a Hobbit and hence craves a life of peaceful routine punctuated by Gandalf’s visits. When invited to join a quest filled with adventure, he responds by saying, “Sorry! I don’t want any adventures, thank you. Not Today. Good morning! But please come to tea – any time you like! Why not tomorrow? Good bye!”
In an article entitled, “Reclaiming the Adventure of Christianity, Jeff Chaves writes, “The words of Tolkien’s lovable Hobbit could very well be a reflection of the 21st Century church. Like many people, we want a faith that is safe and a church life that is comfortable. We would rather have people come visit than go to them. For many of us, we don’t want any adventures.”
In other words, we have moved away from the adventurous Christian life. Even though we have an entrance into the abundant life through the Good Shepherd, we are living in dullness, unremitting repetition without a zest for life. There is a strange silence on the lips and in the lives of God’s people. Few are whistling, humming, singing, smiling, rejoicing, climbing, and pursuing. This was not the Lord’s intention for His people!
It would seem that most Christians are living without purpose and without direction. They go to work and come home; find solace in entertainment; build bigger houses; increase in goods; function within the “daily grind” of routine and sameness. This is not the call. This is not the abundant life.
To be clear, I am not suggesting we all “hang up our employment boots” in search of some adventure, but what I am saying is that the abundant Christian life should transcend and transform our daily routines into a wildness of life, an excitable energy that flows from a life led by the Spirit of God.
Can the ordinary become extraordinary? Can the plain become exceptional? Can the unadorned be filled with wonder? Can the dull be transformed to spectacular?
Can a barista in a local café be filled with joy and wonder whilst performing mundane tasks? Can a storeman sort and order a warehouse with a sanctifying mindset? Can the housewife find inexpressible pleasure in the vilest of tasks?
This was the testimony of the early church and the men and women of faith. Sadly, it appears that most believers are “stuck” in Ecclesiastes 1 rather than Hebrews 11.
Let’s compare the difference.
Read: Ecclesiastes 1 & Hebrews 11
John Bunyan wrote “The Pilgrim’s Progress”. At one point in the narrative, Pilgrim says, “This hill, though high, I covet to ascend; The difficulty will not me offend. For I perceive the way to life lies here. Come, pluck up, heart; let’s neither faint nor fear. Better, though difficult, the right way to go, than wrong, though easy, where the end is woe.”
C.S. Lewis wrote “The Pilgrims Regress”. At one point in this reverse narrative of Bunyan’s classic, the guide says, “You all know, that security is mortals’ greatest enemy.”
In this series, I would like to ask and answer some of the following questions:
- How do I embark on this great adventure?
- What does this great adventure look like?
- What does it mean if I am not “venturing out”?
- How do I get out of the rut of everyday sameness?
- How do I interpret the bruises and scrapes along the journey?
- What is a “rugged faith” and how will it empower me?
- How do I traverse the treacherous precipices?
- How can I have contentment in the dark, lonely valleys?
- What about when I feel that I cannot go on?
With that as our introduction, I would like to preach the first message in this new series entitled: The Great Adventure: The More Abundant Life Pt.1
The Great Adventure Begins with Conversion
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
I want to begin by stating categorically that the Christian Life IS A GREAT ADVENTURE!
O, I know it is hard; I know it is filled with pitfalls; I know that it can be lonely; I know that there is great adversity and the war never ceases, BUT I also know that it is the GREATEST LIFE possible.
If your Christian life doesn’t feel like a great adventure, you are either not living the abundant life, or you have never entered into it.
The journey and adventure that is the Christian life is embarked upon when one is converted.
By “converted”, I mean changed. Not like a new year’s resolution or a decision to live better, but a total change within wrought by the Spirit of God.
In theological terms, this is called “regeneration”.
“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:4-7)
For conversion or regeneration to take place, there must be an inward call of the Holy Spirit, and an outward call by the ambassador for Christ (“And how are they to hear without someone preaching.” Romans 10:14b)
When the irresistible call of the Spirit of God is made upon the soul; when the heaven-sent faith required for salvation is implanted within the heart; when the human being is so convinced of his utter depravity and incapability to rescue himself; when his self-reliance and all attempts of self-righteousness are crushed under the weight of his accumulated sin and the curse of God’s law; when he is fully and finally assured of Christ’s substitutionary death and His rising again, then, and only then, can he embark upon the Great Adventure otherwise called, the Christian Life!
We do not know the hearts of men, but it is my contention that many there be who go by the name “Christian” without a whiff of regeneration. So many attend the services of a local church but are no more cleansed from filth than a hog who delights in the mud.
Hell will be filled with men and women who prided themselves on a knowledge of God but were unknown to Christ on judgment day (Matthew 7:21-23).
How careful each of us must be to affirm and confirm our entrance into God’s grace.
“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? —unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”
(2 Corinthians 13:5).
Application
It would be remiss of me as a preacher and a Christian if I did not invite you to trust in Jesus Christ for salvation.
Some may say, “you are constantly inviting people who attend church services to trust Christ, why?” The answer, “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:14).
On the other hand, I call the Christian’s attention to the reality that you have been conscripted to and enlisted in God’s Army. You are already on this Great Adventure. Are you venturing out, or are you like Tolkien’s Hobbit who doesn’t want adventure and is satisfied with a few fellowship meals at home?
The Great Adventure is a Course
But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. Acts 20:24
When we speak of the Christian life as a course, we do not understand it to be a watercourse, racecourse, or golf course. It is an obstacle course!
In other words, the Great Adventure and the abundant life, is a journey filled with hurdles, fences, walls, ditches, elevations, gorges, scratches, scrapes, bruises, pain, suffering, hardship, endurance, patience, and bravery.
Consider how Paul described his journey: (2 Corinthians 11:24-28)
Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.
At the same time, it is also a pilgrimage of unrivalled joy, supernatural strength, heavenly views, divine companionship, blessed fellowship, sovereign protection, precious contentment, personal fulfilment, and steppingstones to glory.
Again, consider how Paul described the heavenly path: (Philippians 3:12-14)
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
There is an unmistakable joy and delight in Paul’s perception of this Great Adventure. Doubtless it is filled with perils, hardships, and pain, but it also resonates with indescribable wonder, thrill, and enjoyment.
This is the course. This is the call.
Biblical Examples:
- Abraham’s journey required totally sacrifice. He left all that He had known in Haran to follow the Lord as a 75-year-old man (Genesis 12:4). This course, though hard, led him to be the Father of the Great Nation of Israel, God’s chosen people.
- Moses was a Prince in Egypt and the world lay at his feet. Scripture says, “choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25). His descension from the courts of Egypt led him through the Red sea and up to the heights of Mt. Sinai!
- Elisha was in line to inherit a vast fortune from his family. The great prophet Elijah cast his cloak upon him symbolising his call to the ministry. Elisha surrendered all to follow Elijah and this decision introduced him to a life of Great Adventure as one of the most remarkable prophets in the Bible (double portion of Elijah’s spirit – 2 Kings 2:9).
- A number of the disciples had a successful fishing business. Jesus said, “Follow me.” When they left their nets, they did not fully understand what was meant when Jesus said, “I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). The Book of Acts helps us understand their Great Adventure!
- Paul was perhaps the greatest Jewish academic of his day. When he met Jesus on the Damascus Road, the entire course of his life was changed. Where once he was esteemed by colleagues and great teachers in the land, now he would be despised and rejected just like his Lord. Where once he stood in honour over the broken body of Stephen, now he himself would be stoned, beaten, and left for dead. Where once he was viewed favourably by all, now he would be forsaken by all. This is the Great Adventure!
Do not despise the course, embrace it, for only therein will you experience the abundant life!
What lies ahead for us in this little series?
- The Great Adventure and our Great Companion
- The Great Adventure and our High Calling
- The Great Adventure and the Need for Contentment
- The Great Adventure and Fellow Christians
- The Great Adventure and our True Compass
- The Great Adventure and our Spiritual Clothing
Michael Card is one of the greatest theological songwriters of our time. In 1987, Michael wrote a song entitled, Joy in the Journey. Let me read you the lyrics which have often brought encouragement to me in this Great Adventure.
There is a joy in the journey,
There’s a light we can love on the way.
There is a wonder and wildness to life,
And freedom for those who obey.
All those who seek it shall find it,
A pardon for all who believe.
Hope for the hopeless and sight for the blind
To all who’ve been born of the Spirit
And who share incarnation with him;
Who belong to eternity, stranded in time,
And weary of struggling with sin.
Forget not the hope
That’s before you,
And never stop counting the cost.
Remember the hopelessness when you were lost? (Repeat chorus)