The Abundant Life

Do you really know why Jesus  came? If you do, are you experiencing everything He bought and paid for with His  blood? If you are not, have you asked yourself why? Or are you giving yourself excuses by saying maybe God does not want me to have this or  that.

The  bible is very clear about why Jesus came, in John 10 vs10, Jesus said, ‘I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly’. The dictionary describes abundant as, ‘plentiful, fullness, rich, copious and affluent’. A life of abundance is a life so full and rich that it attracts attention and influences others. This is the reason Jesus gave  His life, for us to have a rich life; spiritually, emotionally, marital, relationally and  financially; ‘richness in every area’.

In John 10 vs. 11, ‘Jesus said I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. An exchange took place at Calvary, ‘He gave His life in  exchange for our death, i.e. everything that death represents. In Genesis 2:17,  God told Adam, the day you eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you
shall surely die’ ’.We know that Adam lived until he was 930 years old, after  the fall (Genesis 5:3).So he did not die physically but spiritually, i.e.  separation from God. Adam who was made in the likeness of God (Genesis 5:1), the  God of abundance fell from his exalted position after he bowed his knee to satan
by obeying him. He was therefore separated from the source of abundant  life.

In  Romans5:2,the bible says, ‘Therefore just as through one man, sin entered the  world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all have  sinned’. Separation from God means separation from His will for mankind. It means separation from the abundant life God preordained for us (see Ephesians
1:3-5).

The coming of Christ therefore has one purpose – to restore us (mankind) back to God and the original intention of God for us; ‘life of abundance’. In Romans  5:17,the bible says, ’For if by one man’s offense, death reigned through the  one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of  righteousness will reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ. Through the death of Christ, God’s grace towards us has been released in abundance to enable us to reign in life; to reign means to rule as kings and queens, to be supreme  and to have the strongest influence.

Ask yourself a honest question, are you reigning over your circumstances or is it  the other way round? If you are not, you are living below what Christ purchased  for you with His blood. You may even be saying, but I am already a Christian, I  go to church, why am I not reigning as a king? I asked the same question many
years ago when I was going through a difficult time. I went to God in prayer and  He has since then been showing me what I am sharing with you. The bible says in  Matthew 11:12, ‘And from the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of  heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force’. You have to take
what belongs to you, all that Jesus purchased for you, by violence – they will  not automatically happen because you are a Christian or you go to church ever week.

In  John 10:10, ‘Jesus said that the thief (i.e. the devil) comes to steal, to kill  and to destroy. Thieves go to places where they can get valuable stuff, they do not visit people who are poor or have nothing of value. The devil therefore comes just like he did in the garden to steal that which belongs to you – ‘what Christ came to give you’.

God has done His part by sending Jesus. Jesus did His part when He died and gave His  life in exchange for our death. Our part is to receive Him and all that He obtained for us. In John 14:6, Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life. He is not a way, but the way to the Father and the abundant life. Therefore the first step to the abundant life is to receive Jesus (the way) as your Lord and saviour. Acknowledge what He did on the cross and ask Him to come into your life. He has been waiting for you to take this step of faith to your abundant  life. The second step is to begin to spend quality time with Him (the source of  abundant life) in His word and in prayer. This is vital to continually live a life of abundance. Let us look at John 15: 4-8, the word abide is mentioned in  these verses on few occasions and it means to remain or dwell. If you remain in
Him through His word then you remain plugged in to the source of  life.

The  opposite of abundance is lack hence wherever there is lack (lack of spiritual  growth, lack of health, lack of money, lack of marital harmony etc) there is no abundance in that area. Our attitude is not to accept this but to go into the word of God and find out what the word says about the situation and begin to declare it by faith. Hebrew 4:12 says, ‘the word of God is alive and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword’. Also Acts 19:20, says, ‘so the word of  the Lord grew mightily and prevailed’. To prevail means to overcome, triumph and  to abound. The word of God has within it the power to overcome any situation.  Therefore as you declare the word over the area of lack, the power of God begins to produce change in that area.

Make a quality decision today to spend time in the word; reading it, listening to anointed words on CDs and meditating on it. Get connected to the source of  life and see the Lord manifest Himself in your life beyond your dreams.
Dr T. O