Life

What did Jesus accomplish while He was here? There are many good ways to answer that question. We could talk about forgiveness of our sins or being justified before the Father or that we are assured of heaven. Good answers all. But this morning we're going to consider another way that our question can be answered. Listen to Jesus.

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. [John 10.10]

This idea about this life is not new to you. The famous John 3:16 has life as the result of believing in Jesus. In fact, John refers to life a great deal in his Gospel. So, while Paul talks a lot about justification, John talks a lot about life. Jesus has come so that His sheep might have life. 

Let's consider this life. I've talked to you before about it, but it's worth another look. The life that Jesus is talking about is the life of God. For an eternity before there was a creation, God existed as Father, Son and Spirit. And for that eternity, if I may say it this way, they enjoyed being a family, a perfect family with perfect relationships. Each of them - the Father, the Son and the Spirit - loved, and was loved by, the others fully. Their relationships were open, intimate and deeply enjoyable. When Adam and Eve were first created they were included in this family. They had life. But, because of sin, death replaced the life that they had. 'In the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.' But Jesus has come that we might, once again, have life and have it abundantly. Jesus has come so that we might, once again, be included in the family of God and have the same relationships of love that He has enjoyed since forever. And while your full experience of this life of eternity is yet to come, you began tasting it at the moment you became a child of God. At that moment you became a member of the family. And just as a newborn grows into a greater experience of life, you are growing into a greater experience of life.

However, there is a problem. We have seen lots of newborns learn to crawl and then walk. We've seen them develop language skills, reach a measure of maturity and then take their place in a grown up world. We've seen newborns mature into fully developed men and women. And yet, there are lots of Christians where that doesn't seem to be happening. There doesn't seem to be a growing experience of the life of God. There doesn't seem to be the expected maturity. It seems that too many Christians are stuck in the insecurity and confusion of the teenage years. Why is that? That's the question that I'd like to consider. Jesus said that He came that His sheep might have the life of God abundantly. You'd think that we'd see more evidence of that than we do.

Let me be clear. By this I don't mean that there ought to be lots more 'flash'. Some have understood 'abundant life' in those terms. And that leads to people who try to live in a different world: the abundant life as a problem-free existence. That's not what Jesus is talking about. This life is about open, intimate relationships with the Father, the Son and the Spirit, relationships that are, in the very best sense of the word, fun. That doesn't have to show as a lot of 'flash', but it will show. It will show as a changing life, a maturing life. How can getting to know and enjoy the Three more and more not show?

Well, that’s the problem: less of this life than you'd expect. There are three possible responses to this problem. Here's the first: To expect more than what we currently see is to expect too much. Whatever this life of God is, it will not show as a huge difference. No one actually says it like this, but it is an assumption built into the expectations of many. 'Don't expect too much now. Being a Christian won't make you look very different from your neighbors. It's what happens later that counts.' And yet, the Scriptures teach that one goal of the Gospel is that we would become just like Jesus. Maybe that's expecting too much - after all, just like Jesus? But isn't that what the Scriptures teach? Obviously, I don't buy this response. I actually think that we can expect lots more than what we are used to seeing. Lots more.

Here's a second possible response - and nobody even thinks this, but I'm including it just to be complete. It's all Jesus' fault. Somehow He isn't coming through. Yes, He came so that we could have this life, but something changed, and He doesn’t do that anymore. I think that we all agree that that's not even possible. How can Jesus not keep a promise?

But then, there's the third possibility. We are dropping the ball. To be specific, the problem is our unbelief. The enjoyment of the Gospel, of every aspect of the Gospel, requires faith. If someone is not growing in that enjoyment it's because of some sort of unbelief. It's because that person does not believe what Jesus has said. This is the problem.

So, this is my point. I am convinced that every Christian can enjoy a growing experience of the life of God now. There will be times, when you hit a bump in the road, that it may not feel like you're developing a greater experience of life. But when you see that bump in the larger context, it becomes clear that even that experience of suffering was intended to move you into more of the life of God. So, while we will all be at different places in the process, the normal Christian life is one in which there is change. The normal Christian life is about a greater enjoyment of open and intimate relationships with the Father, the Son and the Spirit. And this change will show. And one place in which it will show will be in the relationships that we have with each other. Those relationships will likewise be increasingly open, intimate and enjoyable. Jesus has come so that we can enjoy the life of God and to enjoy it abundantly. Settling for less than that is a great sin that is rooted in unbelief, a failure to believe Jesus.

Now, on to a solution to this problem. Identifying the problem as unbelief is very helpful. It makes the solution obvious. The appropriate response to the sin of unbelief is always the same: repentance and faith. So, in this case, a prayer of repentance and faith might sound something like this. 'Father, I have settled for less. I have lived thinking that this is about as good as it is going to get. You have promised more, but I have not believed You. Please forgive me for the insult of my unbelief. Please forgive me for doubting Your good intentions for me. Please forgive me because of Jesus. And then, please change me so that I would believe You, that I would believe that You promise life. Please work in me by Your Spirit so that I would grow in my experience of this life; that I might develop relationships with You and others that are open, intimate and enjoyable.' Now, that kind of prayer is honest about sin. It is also hopeful. It believes that Jesus has come so that we can be forgiven and be changed. It also understands that change, the real change that has roots in the heart, is something that only the Spirit can do. It's a good prayer. So, is that all that needs to happen? Well, no.

Imagine someone who, quite regularly, gets drunk. And then, he becomes a Christian. But something isn't quite right. He's still getting drunk. The Spirit has made it quite clear that this drunkenness has to go. This new Christian hears that and totally agrees. He repents of his sin of drunkenness and desires to live a sober life. And yet, he finds that he is still getting drunk. He continues to pray his repentance, and he means it. But he's still getting drunk. You see, before he became a Christian he would meet up with his friends after work. They would meet at the local bar. That's when he used to get drunk. He still meets with his buddies. And try as he might to avoid getting drunk, one thing leads to another and he's drunk once again. Now, he's prayed about it. He knows the verses about drunkenness, and he believes them. But he's still getting drunk. And that's because there is more to do than just praying and reading your Bible. So, in this situation, this new Christian needs to see that he can no longer meet up with his friends at the bar. At least for the time being, he can't even go near a bar. Joining his friends at the bar is an obstacle to his honest desire for a sober life. So, he needs to understand what's going on and develop a plan so that he can reach his goal of a sober life. Part of his plan is to avoid the bar.

The same is true for you. When it comes to enjoying more life, saying your prayers and reading your Bible isn't enough. You need to understand the particulars of your situation, the obstacles to your enjoying more of the life of God. Then, you need to develop a plan to overcome those obstacles and achieve your goal. So, you need to ask yourself some questions. First, what are the obstacles that block your way to enjoying more of the life of God? Identify them. (You’ll need to ask the Spirit to show these to you.) And that leads to the next question. What do you need to do to remove those obstacles? Part of the plan will definitely include saying your prayers and reading your Bible. But that's not enough. There are some things that you need to do or need to stop doing. The specifics will be different for each of you. Doing this will take time and effort. You will probably have to choose between some things that are good, but only one of which is the best for you to invest yourself in. And that will be hard. But you need a plan.

And what should you expect from all of this? You should expect a growing experience of the life of God. You should expect to get to know the Father better, and the Son better and the Spirit better. You should expect to enjoy a greater openness and intimacy with them, as well as more fun with them. And you should expect to see this growing experience of the life of God overflow into the relationships that you have with other people.

This sermon applies to each of you differently. For some of you, while the labels might be new, the key ideas of the sermon are not. You do believe that Jesus has come so that you might enjoy the life of God. And you have a plan in place, even though you might not label it with the word 'plan'. I think it is to your advantage to state your plan. Make it very conscious so that you can come back to it and see how you're doing. I hope that this sermon has been an encouragement for you to keep at it. Enjoying more of the life of God is something worth working at. Your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Now, for others of you, the key ideas of this sermon are not a part of your life. You don't expect to grow in your experience of the life of God. You're settling for less. You have not identified obstacles. You don't have a plan. And the problem behind it all is some form of unbelief. But it's not too late to change that. After all, that's why Jesus has come: to save us from our sins. So, begin with repentance. Then, believe Jesus. Develop a plan. As you do that you can be very optimistic about what the Spirit will do.