The Secret To Long Life

I. EXORDIUM:

What kind of life do you have? Zoe life.

John 17:3 (Amplified Bible)

17:3 And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), Whom You have sent.

II. AUDIENCE PROFILE:

Believers

III. OBJECTIVES:

To show that serving and following the LORD will keep our life here on earth and even for eternity. Go for zoe life (higher life) and not for psuche life. (low life)

IV. TEXT:

John 12:25-26 (Amplified Bible)

12:25 Anyone who loves his life loses it, but anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. [Whoever has no love for, no concern for, no regard for his life here on earth, but despises it, preserves his life forever and ever.]

12:26 If anyone serves Me, he must continue to follow Me [to cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying] and wherever I am, there will My servant be also. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

V. THESIS:

Praise, worship and thank You very much LORD JESUS for You have chosen me to serve and follow You giving me eternal life.

VI. TITLE:

The secret to long life

VII. EXPLICATION:

A. Author: John the Apostle, son of Zebedee and Salome, and younger brother of James.

—Life Application Concise New Testament Commentary

B. Date and Setting:

Written between a.d. 85–90 from Ephesus, after the destruction of Jerusalem (a.d. 70) and before John’s exile to the island of Patmos

—Life Application Concise New Testament Commentary

C. Audience:

New Christians and searching non-Christians.

—Life Application Concise New Testament Commentary

D. Purpose:

John 20:31 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)

But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.

VIII. MAIN BODY:

A. Hate your life on earth and you will preserve it forever

"Anyone who loves his life loses it, but anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. [Whoever has no love for, no concern for, no regard for his life here on earth, but despises it, preserves his life forever and ever.]"

The Greek word for life used in this verse, verse 25 is psuche life.

Two kinds of life here on earth: (based on 2 Greek words of "life")

1. Zoe life - GOD-kind of life - Eternal life - one that believer has

John 10:10 (Amplified Bible)

10:10 The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).

2. Psuche life - the low life found on this verse.

This is the kind of life that GOD wants us to hate.

Matthew 10:39 (Amplified Bible)

10:39 Whoever finds his [lower] life will lose it [the higher life], and whoever loses his [lower] life on My account will find it [the higher life].

Luke 14:26 (Amplified Bible)

14:26 If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his [own] father and mother [in the sense of indifference to or relative disregard for them in comparison with his attitude toward God] and [likewise] his wife and children and brothers and sisters—[yes] and even his own life also—he cannot be My disciple.

GOD wants us to find the higher kind of life, the GOD-kind of life - Zoe life. GOD does not want us to settle for just crumbs of bread, when we could have the whole table full of different types of food.

How to obtain eternal life? (zoe life)

Here are some of the ways what GOD's WORDS advise us to keep eternal life.

1. Believe on the LORD JESUS CHRIST

John 3:15-16 (Amplified Bible)

3:15 In order that everyone who believes in Him [who cleaves to Him, trusts Him, and relies on Him] may not perish, but have eternal life and [actually] live forever!

3:16 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

2. This kind of life can only be found in JESUS

John 1:4 (Amplified Bible)

1:4 In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men.

3. Be justified by His Grace, no longer works or law

Titus 3:7 (Amplified Bible)

3:7 [And He did it in order] that we might be justified by His grace (by His favor, wholly undeserved), [that we might be acknowledged and counted as conformed to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action], and that we might become heirs of eternal life according to [our] hope.