Life More Abundantly for You!
Tom and Susan Shanklin
Praise God! We have a happy message for people. God is on your side. He wants the best for you. And He sent Jesus so you might have life AND life more abundantly. He didn’t tell us to go into all the world and make people miserable with religion. He has sent us with a message of hope, life, and victory through Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10, KJV.
At one time early in my Christian walk, God used John 10:10 to bring a clear revelation into my life about His goodness. Before that time I was a defeated Christian, up and down, in and out, like a yo yo. Every time something went wrong in my life, I thought God was trying to teach me something. My thought was that God was pushing all the buttons and I was a puppet, receiving the results to His maneuvering in my life. I saw God as inconsistent, therefore I was inconsistant. I had no stability in my life. But here I learned something. The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came that I may have life and have it more abundantly. It was a revelation in my life. Good things come from God. Bad things come from the devil. And Jesus gives me victory.
The thief He speaks of here are false shepherds who were abusing people for their own benefit. In contrast, Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. Jesus didn’t come to make merchandise of us. He came for our benefit, that we might have life and life more abundantly.
Satan is also in the business of stealing, killing and destroying lives. Jesus tells us in John 8:44 that the devil is a murderer from the beginning and the father of lies. He came to rip us off of our relationship with God, to kill and to destroy our lives. That is his modus operandi from the beginning. But Jesus came to negate his work and reverse what Satan has wrought. Jesus came “destroy the works of the devil.” (I John 3:8)
Now before we talk about life and life more abundantly, let’s talk about the first part of Jesus’ statement. “I am come that they might have life…” We must understand, without Jesus we have NO life. Jesus came to redeem us from spiritual death and to give us eternal life through His work on the cross and the resurrection. Without Jesus there is no life. We may walk and breathe and eat and talk, but we are separated from God because of sin, and we need a Savior. The scripture says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23, KJV. When we receive Jesus Christ, we are brought into eternal life through Him.
But not only did Jesus say He came that we might have LIFE, but also that we might have life and life MORE ABUNDANTLY. The word “abundantly” here means “over and above, more than is necessary, something further, extraordinary, superior, surpassing, uncommon, more remarkable, more excellent, and overflowing.” In other words, God not only gives us life, but He maximizes that life to us to the point where it is overflowing.
Remember the Prodigal Son who was in the pig pen feeding the swine. He came to his senses and repented and said, “I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.” Luke 15:18, 19, KJV.
The Prodigal Son was starving to death in a far away country. He thought, “Just give me a little corner in the bunkhouse and some food, that I might live and not die. I don’t deserve to be called a son any more. I don’t deserve to live in my father’s house and to enjoy all the blessings. Just help me to survive and I will be happy.”
Abundant life means I have joy, peace, and victory even in difficult situations. It means God’s gives me strength and wisdom to overcome in life. It means I can overcome temptations, and I can take authority over Satan and all his works.
But his father had other plans. He ran out to meet his wayward son. He hugged and kissed him and loved him. “But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:” Luke 15:22, 23, KJV The robe represents the robe of righteousness which God gives to His children. The ring represents family authority, the shoes represent the ability to walk with God, and the fatted calf represents the blessings of God. This is not only life, but life and life more abundantly.
I have an old Ford 9N tractor which illustrates this point. I use it to move snow in the winter. So this fall when I was putting chains on the tires and getting it ready, I recognized that the old tractor was not running very well. When I tried to start the tractor, it sputtered and choked and would die. It would take me about 15 minutes to get it to start running. Besides that, the exhaust manifold had a hole in it, and the muffler was shot so it was extremely noisy. But the worse thing was the clutch was not working right. When I pushed in the clutch to stop the tractor, it would keep going for 20-25 feet. I figured eventually I’d run into a car or a building. It was time to get my tractor fixed. So the folks from the tractor repair shop came and got it, fixed the clutch, and the exhaust manifold, tightened up the breaks, gave it a tune up, and even got the lights working. Now it runs like a top!
Well, that’s like many Christians. They have life, but just barely. They sputter and choke through life.
Well, that’s like many Christians. They have life, but just barely. They sputter and choke through life. They’re defeated by their circumstances. Satan is taking advantage of them at every turn. They’re saved, but they have no victory. But Jesus came to not only to give us LIFE, but also life and LIFE MORE ABUNDANTLY.
Abundant life means I have joy, peace, and victory even in difficult situations. It means God’s gives me strength and wisdom to overcome in life. It means I can overcome temptations, and I can take authority over Satan and all his works. And it means I have God’s presence in my life. “He walks with me and He talks with me and tells me I am His own.” His presence in my life is a joy and comfort to my soul, and I have victory.
You see, what Jesus did for me through the cross and resurrection means that I am a child of God. And if I’m a child, then I’m an heir of God. And my Daddy has plenty of provision for me. He has everything I need to live a victorious Christian life. He is Almighty God, El Shaddai, the God who is more than enough. And He wants to bless me with abundant life.
The Apostle Paul faced many difficulties in his life, but he said, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.” 2 Corinthians 2:14, KJV. Paul wasn’t defeated by the circumstances of life. No, in fact, he was spreading the knowledge of Christ everywhere he went. This is what happens when we are living the abundant life. People around us can taste and see that the Lord is good. They can recognize that God is the strength of our life.
He always causes me to triumph. I am more than a conquerer through Him that loves me.
When I have a dilemma in my life, I have Someone to turn to who can give me strength, provision, healing, and wisdom. Yes, I have victory, not because I have earned it, not because I’m so great or smart, but because Jesus paid the price on Calvary’s tree for me to have these things. That’s the Gospel. That’s life and life more abundantly!
To live the abundant life, we have to find out what God says about our inheritance in Christ. We need to learn who we are, what we have and what we can do. The only way to do this is to get into God’s Word and feed upon these truths until we know what has been done for us in Christ. And we need to ask the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, to make these things real to us.
Many Christians are like my old Ford 9N. They need a tune up and some repairs. I recommend that you pray the two prayers in the book of Ephesians, chapters one and three. These are anointed prayers for Christians. Pray the prayer in chapter one is for revelation of our inheritance and that we might know “the greatness of His power to us who believe.” Pray the prayer in chapter three is for strength through the abiding presence of Christ “that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.” Pray these prayers daily for yourself and meditate on the truths that are contained in the Word of God. When you do, you will begin to lay hold of your inheritance as a child of God and have life and life more abundantly.
If you’ve never received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, pray this prayer out load from your heart:
Dear Father, thank you for sending Jesus your Son to die for my sins. I believe He died for me personally and rose again. I confess that Jesus is my Lord. I will live for Him and follow Him. Thank you for forgiving me and making me your child. Thank you for giving me life and life more abundantly, in Jesus name. Amen.