LIFE MORE ABUNDANDTLY

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
¹⁷ "For God id not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
¹⁸ " He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

⁹   "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
¹⁰   "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
¹¹   "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

HAVE SOMEONE READ: Philippians 4:18-20
¹⁸   But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent,a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.
¹⁹   And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
²⁰   Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

²⁵   "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
²⁶   " Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
²⁷   "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
²⁸   "And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,
²⁹   yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
³⁰   "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
³¹   "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?'
³²   "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
³³   "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
³⁴   "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

HAVE SOMEONE READ: John 6:1-7 then 8-14   Five Thousand Fed
¹   After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias).
²   A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick.
³   Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples.
⁴   Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.
⁵   Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?"
⁶   This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.
⁷   Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little."
⁸   One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him,
⁹   "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?"
¹⁰   Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
¹¹   Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted.
¹²   When they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost."
¹³   So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
¹⁴   Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world."

What would you have done if you saw 5,000 hungry men gathering together? Would you have rung your hands in despair? As you face difficult, near impossible situations in your life, what is your typical response? Do you take it to the Lord? What do you trust in when you face the challenges of life? Do you trust in your money, intellect, people, and organizations? Do you fret when they do not provide your needs?

Philip and Andrew left Christ out of the picture. We do not have enough money, and we do not know where we can get such an amount. Five little barley loaves and two dried pickle fish is all we have. “What are these for so many people?”

                   ¹ The LORD is my shepherd,  I shall not want.
² He makes me lie down in green pastures He leads me beside quiet waters.
³ He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness
  For His name's sake.
⁴ Even though I through the valley of the shadow of death,
   I fear no evil, for You are with me;
   Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
   You have anointed my head with oil;
   My cup overflows.
⁶ Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
  And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Kyle M. Yates expressed it eloquently: "Because He loves me as the good Shepherd, I shall never want for rest, refreshment, nourishment, forgiveness, restoration, fellowship, guidance, deliverance from fear, comfort in sorrow, victory over enemies, security in troublous hours, joy in the Lord, power for service, or a home at the end of the earthly journey. Does He leave out anything in the world that a soul can possibly need? Every material and every spiritual need is provided for helpless, needy creatures who look to the Shepherd for such satisfactions. Only in Him can they be found."

My cup overflows. Our kind Shepherd spreads a table of abundance before us every day. God provides even to the excess. There is no lack of provision. It runs over the brim. My cup runs over the brim. He fills my cup brimful. There is fullness even to excess. He more than supplies everything I need. What a God we worship!

Haddon Robinson reminds us of God’s blessings in our lives: "With Him the calf is always the fatted calf; the robe is always the best robe; the joy is unspeakable; and the peace passes understanding. There is no grudging in God’s goodness. He does not measure His goodness by drops like a druggist filling a prescription. It comes to us in floods. If only we recognize the lavish abundance of His gifts, what a difference it would make in our lives! If every meal were taken as a gift from His hand, it would be almost a sacrament."

Jesus said, " I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly" (John 10:10b). The idea is, "I came that they may keep on having life, and might keep on having it till it overflows in super abundant surplus!"

When the “LORD is our shepherd,” “our cup runs over” in superabundance.

We don’t have to wait until we get to heaven to experience God’s banquet house. His overflowing grace is something we experience as Christians in this life. Jesus said, “I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly” (John 10:10b). That is a cup running over with God’s grace. He does not just give us the gift of eternal life when we first believed, but He keeps on giving eternal life. The life He gives us is perisson, meaning, “to have a surplus,” “superabundance,” “till it overflows.”

Jesus gives us Himself (John 14:6 "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.). He is this abundant life. It is God’s kind of life. “My cup overflows,” means it is not just full; it is “running over,’ filled to the brim and overflowing.

God’s saving and sustaining grace is always like that. His grace is always in fullness, abundance and all-sufficiency.

My cup runs over because He “is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us” (v. 20). That is the believer who has received the fullness of God, and grace upon grace. It is the superabundance of life that we receive through the Spirit in Christ Jesus. This is the fullness of life Jesus gives and it causes our cups to run over with the fullness of joy. No Christian is poor while Christ is rich. Because of our intimate vital union with Christ we enjoy all His riches of His glory. We can never be poor spiritually when we enjoy “the unsearchable riches of Christ.” “My cup runs over!”

One of the great principles of the Christian life is the more you receive, the more you want. If your cup is overflowing, you want more of Him, and the wonderful thing is it will never run dry. All you have to do is come and drink. This superabounding life in Christ is ever growing, expanding and increasing as we are “changed from glory into glory” (2 Cor. 3:18). Our cup overflows by drinking a life that changes us “from glory to glory.”

Another great principle is the more you give away the more you get. There is no more effective way of serving Christ than when your cup is running over. When you serve Him from the overflow you have a ministry that will impact eternity. Oh, Lord cleanse, and fill me until I run out all over the place with the fullness of your grace.

Because goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,

LEADER: The Lord also gives us an abundance of LOVE:

and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you;

The phrase "make you increase" means to make to abound, to superabound. The word carries the idea of multiplying. Paul prays that Thessalonian love will come in abundance by multiplying. The Lord is the source of multiplying love. A love that increases is a stronger love this year than last year.

The second word "abound" means to be superabundant. Christians are to love each other in an extraordinary way. Christians love in a different way than non-Christians love each other. God expects Christians to excel in love. Mature Christians love more than in the expected way. Their love is a surpassing love. Love that is full to the brim is one thing. Love that overflows the container is another. People get the over-flow of our love.

"And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment…" (Philippians 1:9).

The combination of these words for superabundance reinforces the intensity of Christian love.

HAVE SOMEONE READ: 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
¹⁶ Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace,
¹⁷ comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.

LEADER: The Lord gives us HOPE.

The Greek word carries the idea of confident prospect. The Christian is confident of God providentially working in time and eternity.

Our hope is "good." The word "good" is the good of intrinsic value, of practical value. Some people promise things that will never happen. God always comes through with His promises. The Christian's future is invincible.

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit".

LEADER: AND…He gives us GRACE.

Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me".

LEADER: EXCERPT From Today’s Word 3/3/99

Grace is God's provision for us because of the death of Christ for our sins. God is the source for all our provisions. We do not earn nor deserve His gifts.

⁸   For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
⁹   not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
¹⁰   For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

HAVE SOMEONE READ: 2 Peter 1:2-3

² Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;
³ seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

LEADER: He has granted us EVERYTHING pertaining to life….HOW:

HAVE SOMEONE READ: Ephesians 3:14-21

¹⁴   For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
¹⁵   from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,
¹⁶   that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,
¹⁷   so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
¹⁸   may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
¹⁹   and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
²⁰ Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,
²¹   to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

HAVE SOMEONE READ: Deuteronomy 31:6"⁽Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you."

“There is nothing that God has done in the life of any other Christian at any period of history that He is not able to do in you if that is His plan for your life. . . If He has placed something in your life for a test, He has done it in order that you and others might see Him bring blessings,” writes James Boice.

All that He asks of you is for you to make yourself available to Him one day at a time. Are you ready for the Master to expand your horizons? Will you trust it to Him? Will you surrender what He has given to you into His hands? Will you surrender whatever is in your hands to the Lord? All that He asks of you is to make yourself available to Him just like the lad with the five small barley loaves and the two fish.

Listen to the Exhortation of the Dawn!
Look to this Day!
For it is Life, the very Life of Life.
In its brief course lie all the
Verities and Realities of your Existence.
The Bliss of Growth,
The Glory of Action,
The Splendor of Beauty;
For Yesterday is but a Dream,
And To-morrow is only a Vision;
But To-day well lived makes
Every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness,
And every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope.
Look well therefore to this Day!
Such is the Salutation of the Dawn!

LEADER: As we look to the New Year…We can and enter our 2004 and greet each dawn with great hope in our Lord and His promises…

· My needs will be supplied according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

· He has given us grace, hope and love. (Ephesians 2:8, 2 Thessalonians 2:16, I Thessalonians 3:12)

· He will give us far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, (Ephesians 3:20)

· I can have abundant life….because that is why Christ came. (John 10:10)

EXCERPT “The Lord is My Shepherd”

#6 Because I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil,

#9 Because Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies,

#12 Because goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,

2 John 1:3

2 Peter 1:2-3

QUOTE #2 A POEM