Text: John 10:10 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.
This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. And one specific reason why it is so special and important to me is, that it makes a very clear and positive distinction between God and the devil.
So this verse makes it very clear…
—God is good, the devil is bad.
—Jesus is life, the devil is death.
—Jesus heals, the devil makes sick.
—The devil binds with habits, addictions, etc. Jesus delivers from every yoke.
—The devil steals, Jesus restores.
—The devil kills, Jesus resurrects.
It is the thief who comes to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: Of course there are many ways that the devil accomplishes this work, but the bottom line is, you can recognize the devil by his works. He is a liar, he is an accuser of the brethren, he is a murderer, and he is a thief.
Jesus said the thief comes for no other reason than chaos, confusion, loss, and ultimately destruction. He can and does use many tools to accomplish this. Usually there is some lying involved, and then some kind of bondage, habit, and addiction. Drugs, alcohol, pornography, lust, perversion, false accusations, evil imaginations, fear and anxiety just to name a few.
The goal is to strip you of your dignity, leave you in a state of hopelessness, shame, and guilt, under a heavy load of condemnation, feeling useless and unworthy.
This is how you identify the thief. The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy.
He wants to destroy your self esteem, and your sense of worth and value. He wants to destroy relationships, he wants to kill your destiny, and ultimately he wants to kill you. He will use drugs and other things, as well as sickness and disease. He really doesn't care how he does it, he just wants you destroyed.
Your very existence is a threat to him. Just the thought that you might actually surrender your life completely to Jesus, and fulfill your destiny, is a thorn in his side.
I want you to understand this… the thief, meaning the devil, comes.
He is coming to every single person under the sound of my voice. If the devil came for Jesus, he is going to come for you as well. I'm not saying that to scare you, but to give you the advantage.
The Bible doesn't say he will kill, steal, and destroy everything and everyone, it just says… "that's his purpose for coming". But you can devil proof your life.
Yes the devil goeth about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, but you don't have to be one of his victims.
Yes there are those he has devoured and will devour, but you can decide, he won't devour you.
—Tell your neighbor, he won't devour me.
The Bible says that when the children of Israel came out of Egypt, there were those who fell behind, and became stragglers. And Amalek came upon them from behind and killed them all.
How could he do that? Because they slacked off. To make it relevant to today, they stopped reading their Bibles, they stopped praying, they fell out of fellowship with the church, they quit praising and worshipping God. They quit pursuing and chasing after God. Their hearts became cold and indifferent, and they lost their love for the presence of Jesus.
This is how the thief got the better of them and destroyed them. Not because they were destined to be destroyed, and not because the enemy was so much more powerful than them, but because they cooled off. They quit hungering and thirsting after God, and their hearts grew cold.
That's why I'm telling you, yes the thief will come, but you can devil proof your life. You can decide not to give him any access to your life.You can build a fortress around your heart, mind, and soul, that he cannot penetrate.
—Tell your neighbor, just call me devil proof.
Then Jesus said, I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. So both come to your life, and you're the one who has the power of choice.
You can have the Abundant life that Jesus gives, or you can be destroyed by the theif… And that's the only two choices you have.
So the point here is… You stand in the middle, and you have to decide who you are going to choose, the good shepherd Jesus, or the thief, the devil. And no one can make that choice for you.
And this is not just a one time choice, the theif is always coming by to see if he can get in. He is always looking for that break in the wall. That place where you let down your guard. That place where you become apathetic, and indifferent.
Never take for granted that everything's fine. Never assume that everything is covered.
I always check my doors before I go to bed, usually 2 or 3 times. Is the dead lock turned all the way ? Is the chain hooked in it's place? Is the door knob locked? OK, now I can rest, I have done my due diligence.
Due diligence means, that I have done everything that is in my power to do.
How often do I do that? Every night. Why? Because I don't want to give the theif access to my house, my wife, or my belongings. I have a responsibility to be diligent in keeping the windows closed and doors locked.
The thief cometh to steal, to kill, and to destroy: Then there's a shift/ I am come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
We identify the thief by his works.
1. He steals. Satan steals joy, and peace, he steals your love, he steals your finances, he steals your dreams, he steals your dignity and self worth.
2. The Thief kills. He is a murderer, both physically and spiritually. Jesus said he was a murderer from the beginning (John?8:44). And what the devil cannot steal, he seeks to kill.
3. The Thief Destroys. Destroy means to ruin, to shatter, to break in pieces, to make useless and worthless.
But praise God, Jesus comes to give us abundant life: a life that overflows. Abundant peace, abundant joy, exciting dreams, and vision, and purpose.
As I meditated on this verse I thought about how Jesus describes the thief first. He tells us what the the thief is capable of doing... stealing , killing, and destroying.
In other words Jesus put in a nutshell every dark, evil, perverse, murderous thing the devil is capable of doing, and then he says, but I am come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
It's like Jesus is saying, add it all up, and anything and everything that the thief has ever done or is doing, I can undo.
And here's what you need to know about that. Jesus didn't just say it, he did it.
Acts 10:38 says, How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil.
In other words, Jesus went around every where undoing the damage the devil had done. And Hebrews 13:8 says... Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever.
Jesus is The Source of Abundant Life
He is not just the one who gives us Abundant life, he himself is the life. (John?14:6) says... I am the way, the truth, and the life.
He gives us life not by giving us things, but by giving us himself.
We must not seek the stream; but rather seek the fountain that feeds the stream. Jesus is that fountain.
... And that fountain becomes a well in us, and then it becomes rivers of living waters flowing out from our innermost beings.
He offers it to us abundantly… but we must come to the fountain and drink.
JN 7:37-38 Jesus said, if any man thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
—His intention for us is not just survival, it is overflow, beyond limits, more than enough. Rivers of living waters.
I don't have to have rivers rushing toward me to get a drink. I could get a drink from one small well, with one little cup, but he wants to saturate us, and inundate, and soak us with his abundance,
It's not about survival—its about overflow.
This abundant life did not come cheap. It came at a very high price.
1. Jesus The Good Shepherd Gave His Life for us. John?10:11—The good shepherd … giveth his life for the sheep.
What was the price of this abundant life? The answer is death.
This abundant life that we receive so freely, cost Him him everything, it cost him his own blood.
—Free to you doesnt mean it was free.
He Bore Our Curse.
Text: Gal?3:13—Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us…
He drained our cup of judgment. In other words the judgement for our sins, he took upon himself.
He wore a crown thorns so we could wear a crown of righteousness.
What is the meaning of abundant life ?
It is...
— A Life with Purpose
Text: Phil?1:21—For to me to live is Christ… we are called according to his purpose. You were born to fulfill a purpose. To be a child of God, to know him and make him known... to be a carrier of his glory to the ends of the earth.
—Life with Peace
Text: John?14:27—My peace I give unto you…
The peace of God is an inner assurance and calm beyond circumstances, and this produces a stability and confidence that the world can never know.
— Life with Power
Text: Acts?1:8—But ye shall receive power…
The Spirit empowers us to live a life of purpose, and peace, and power, and victory. He empowers to experience everything that Jesus purchased with his blood.
—A life to glorify God, to be a witness. Text: Matt?5:16—Let your light so shine…
Abundant life means more than enough for you. Your banks are overflowing. And that overflowing abundant life starts splashing on everyone around you...
-Say this with me... I drink to be filled, I'm filled to flow.
-Now Say, I abide to abound.
-Say this, from a cup to a well, from a well to a fountain, from a fountain to rivers of living waters.
-Say, from some to more, from more to much more, and from much more to too much for me.
That's what abundance means, it's too much for you.
Malachi says, I will open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it. That means, too much for you, abundance, overflow. Not to be wasted, but to be distributed.
-Say, I am a living, walking, talking, distribution center. -Say, The glory flows into me, then flows out from me.
-Say I confess I possess with intent to distribute.
Gal?5:13 says, —…by love we serve one another.
True abundant life cannot be constrained or contained, it has to flow, because it's too much for the vessel.
—You are blessed to be a blessing. Not blessed just to get a blessing.
—Nothing God does for you, or in you, is just for you.
We cannot afford to let anything, or anyone, hinder the flow of the life of Jesus through us.
This abundant life was never meant just for you, it was given to be shared. Text: Mark?16:15—Go ye into all the world… preach the gospel to every creature.
—Sharing keeps the flow fresh, and prevents stagnation.
—Sharing keeps the flow coming.
When the woman in 2 kings ch 4 ran out of empty vessels, the oil stopped flowing.
Abundant life is the overflow of the outstanding generosity of God poured into your life for the purpose of pouring out to others.
Jesus the Good Shepherd, came to rescue us from the grip of the thief. He laid down His life, rose again, and now offers eternal, overflowing life to all who believe (John?3:16).
This abundant life is the work of the Holy Spirit. He is the one who manifests this life to us and through us.
The Holy Spirit is grieved when the thief is able to steal from you, and restrict the flow of God's grace, mercy, and love to you.
—The Holy Spirit longs to not only fill you, but to overflow through you.
—The secret of the abundant life is the abiding life. Only as we abide in the vine can the Holy Spirit flow through us.
—The Holy Spirit is not a lake, he is a river. He is alive, and always moving. And he is full of energy and power.
—You and I are not called to survival, we are called to conquer.
—We're not called to simply contain, we're called to flow.
—We're not called just to go to heaven when we die, we're called to carry the atmosphere and the power of heaven everywhere we go.
The apostle Paul said, We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.
—What power was he talking about? He was talking about the abundant Christ life that heals the sick, and delivers the bound, and the oppressed, and that sets the captives free.
Friend, the normal life of the Christian is the abiding life, and the abundant life. If you are not experiencing that abundant life, then we have to find the blockage and remove it.
If you're not experiencing that abundant life, then somewhere the thief has made an inroad, and he has built a dam that is hindering the flow of God's presence and power in your life.
If your peace is gone or you're in a continual state of disturbance, or if your mind is cluttered with with fear, and doubt, and anxiety, and worry and feelings of hopelessness, and feelings of low self worth, and thoughts of you're not going to make it. All of these things are evidence that the thief has gotten a foothold, and we have got to get him out.
Jesus said, give no place to the devil.
You have to decide, I want that abundant life, and I'm ready to fight for it. I'm ready to locate and destroy the blockage. I'm serving eviction notice on the devil…
I'm not giving you any place...
In my mind.
Or my emotions.
Or my body.
Or my family.
Or my heart.
Say this with me...
Today I'm repossessing my vessel.
Today I'm eliminating the blockage.
Today I'm plugging back into the source.
Today I'm taking out the trash.
Today I'm opening the flow in and through.
Say this...
—I will be a fruit producing branch.
—I will be a channel of God's supernatural power.
—What flows to me, will flow through me.
Now Say this with me...
I receive to release.
I receive to redirect.
Say, I am not the source, but I have a connection.
Say we are just like that "show crossing of fingers".
He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit.
Abundant life is found not in possessions or achievements, but in a Person—Jesus Christ. He came, to redeem, and restore. He didn't come to give us a life of crumbs, and mere survival, and just barely getting by.
He came to put rivers of living waters in your belly, and to make you a blessing to this world.
Where are you at today, are you just at a cup level?
or are you at a well level, or have you reached the fountain level? Or maybe you have reached the rivers overflowing and rushing out of your innermost being?
The most important thing is, whatever level you're at, that you don't get stuck there.
—Tell your neighbor, you ain't seen nothing yet.
—Now tell them, I've just begun to flow.
Today, you can move from mere existence to the abundant overflowing life, he's just waiting on you to ask.
You can trade in your cup for a well, or your well for a fountain, or your fountain for rivers, or rivers for oceans, there is no limit except what you put on it.
