FOR THE LIFE OF ME. Text: John 10:10

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Trevor Harrell
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1 FOR THE LIFE OF ME Text: John 10:10 Key Word: Life Key Thought: Jesus Came to Offer Us an Abundant Life I grew up with a phrase that I seemed to hear more than I would like to admit. It was one of those thoughts that stays with you over the years. In fact, you start using it yourself when you re not even thinking about it. The phrase I m referring to is For the Life of Me. I m sure you ve all heard it. For the life of me I don t know what s gotten into you child. For the life of me if you don t quit, I ll knock you into next year. I Got to Thinking of a Different Slant on this Word Phrase That Leaves Me and I Hope it Leaves You with a More Encouraging Thought. I. FOR THE LIFE OF ME JESUS GAVE ME HIS LIFE II. FOR THE LIFE OF ME JESUS FORGAVE ME OF MY LIFE III. FOR THE LIFE OF ME JESUS OVER GAVE ME AN ABUNDANT LIFE I. FOR THE LIFE OF ME JESUS GAVE ME HIS LIFE According to Vine s Expository of New Testament Words the word Life that is used in our text and throughout the New Testament has a meaning of life as a principle, life in the absolutes sense, life as God has it, that which the Father has in Himself, and which He gave to the Incarnate Son to have to Himself. It is this life that you and I have been given by our Lord Jesus Christ to experience each and every day. It is a life with an incredible potential. It is a wonderful gift that we can and should all enjoy. It has been made available to everyone who has decided to place their faith in the One and Only, True and Living God. I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. John 5:24,26 Page 1 of 7

2 I. FOR THE LIFE OF ME JESUS GAVE ME HIS LIFE (Contd.) It is very clear from Scripture that our heavenly Father gave or granted the abundant and absolute life that He has to His Son in His incarnate state. That means that Jesus came to this earth without giving up the Life or should I say the Zoe type of life that distinguishes God from all His creation. Now follow me to this next stage of thought. This is very important. It can revolutionize our life when we understand and grasp this next part. Jesus not only came to this earth to die for us. He also came to give us Life - His life. It is not a make over of our old life. It is not just a laying aside of our previous likes and dislikes. It is taking on a whole new way of living. The moment we accept Christ as our personal Saviour we have been given eternal life. Many Christians believe that eternal life begins after they die. That is not true. You are already given eternal life when your soul passed on from death unto life at the moment of your salvation. Paul told the church at Rome to offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life... Romans 6:13 Life is like a 10-speed bicycle most of us have gears we never use. If you are still talking about what you did yesterday, you haven t done much today. H. Jackson Brown Live and Learn and Pass It on My question to you today is Are your experiencing the kind of life that God has made available for you. If not, why not? Is it because you never knew it was available for you? Is it because you don t believe you deserve it? Is it because you don t know how to receive it? Can I just say that we have made these simple truths much more complicated than they really are? We have taken the simple truth of the Word of God and added so much to it that it doesn t even have the same meaning. We ve added so many do s and don ts that we ve made a salvation by works not by faith. The Bible makes it very clear that eternal, abundant life is a gift from God which we cannot work to receive (Romans 6:23). For the life of me and you Jesus gave us His life. Page 2 of 7

3 II. FOR THE LIFE OF ME JESUS FORGAVE ME OF MY LIFE I truly believe that one of the reasons why we are not experiencing the fulness of life that God has made available to us is because of our memories. We are constantly reminded of the things we have done wrong in our lives. The enemy of our soul is at war with us and is using our minds as a fertile garden to plant his devious thoughts. We are not living as we can simply because we are living in our past mistakes. Not only do our minds play havoc with us there are also the voices of others who choose to be used of the enemy to speak out His words of condemnation. There is a way to defeat this. For the life of me Jesus forgave me of my past life. In order to live the life that Jesus intended for you and me to have we must understand and accept the scope of our forgiveness. This simply 11 letter word forgiveness carries with it an abundance of truth that can literally set people free from the chains of their past. Therefore my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38 I can still remember the day that I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ. I walked up to that make shift altar at Sydney Street School and accepted the forgiveness of ALL my past sins. What an incredible experience that was for me. I felt like a great weight had been lifted from by back. I was indeed set free from the guilt of sin and shame. I received the forgiveness of my past sins as the apostle Peter told the Gentiles who had gathered at the house of Cornelius on that glorious day. All the prophets testify about him (Jesus) that everyone that believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. Acts 10:43 My life of rebellion against God turned completely around and I began a new journey that has now lasted for 33 years. Jesus forgave me so I could forgive myself. He forgave me and offered me a new life. This life has been so different from what I was living before that it seems like I was dead and have come to life. Page 3 of 7

4 II. FOR THE LIFE OF ME JESUS FORGAVE ME OF MY LIFE (Contd.) I believe the reason why so many Christians are not experiencing the kind of life that God has made available is because they keep on flipping back and forth in the security of their forgiveness. Jesus doesn t forgive us one day and choose to bring back the sins of our past the next day. Frayed Friendship *** Old Joe was dying. For years he had been at odds with Bill, formerly one of his best friends. Wanting to straighten things out, he sent word for Bill to come and see him.when Bill arrived, Joe told him that he was afraid to go into eternity with such a bad feeling between them. Then, very reluctantly and with great effort, Joe apologized for things he had said and done. He also assured Bill that he forgave him for his offenses. Everything seemed fine until Bill turned to go. As he walked out of the room, Joe called out after him, But, remember, if I get better, this doesn t count! *** Our Daily Bread June 18, 1994 I am so glad that my past sins are my past sins. The Lord has taken my sins and cast them in the Sea of Forgetfulness and has placed a sign up for all to see which says, No Fishing. Karl Menninger, the famed psychiatrist, once said that if he could convince the patients in psychiatric hospitals that their sins were forgiven, 75 percent of them could walk out the next day! When Narvaez, the Spanish patriot, lay dying, his father asked him whether he had forgiven all his enemies. Narvaez looked astonished and said, Father, I have no enemies, I have shot them all. Today in the Word March 1989, p. 8 Jesus didn t get rid of His enemies instead He chose to forgive them. We are the recipients of His grace in order that we can live a life that is worthy of His forgiveness. Source Unknown Page 4 of 7

5 III. FOR THE LIFE OF ME JESUS OVER GAVE ME AN ABUNDANT LIFE So now I come to my final thought. For the Life of Me Jesus over Gave Me an Abundant Life The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly - KJV). John 10:10 This text carries with it a wealth of truth for daily LIVING. Jesus didn t just come to give us life. He has come to OVER GIVE us LIFE. He went far beyond what we require to exist. The reason for that is because God doesn t just want us to exist. He wants us to Live a life like He has it. Let me remind you what the word zoe means. The true definition of the word is life in the absolutes sense, life as God has it, that which the Father has in Himself, and which He gave to the Incarnate Son to have to Himself. It is not a greedy thing to ask God for this kind of life. In fact, it should be the kind of life we experience every day. This does not mean we won t have problems. What it means is that problems and trials will not overtake or overcome us. We can live above the clouds that thunder down their storms upon us. (I.e. - picture of fog/new day dawning above where God dwells). Did you know that the word life is found 486 times in the Bible. To know God is to experience life. There is another interesting meaning that must be considered when dealing with the word life which is the word bios. It is used in three ways. First, as the period or duration of our life (I Peter 4:3). Secondly, as the manner of our life or our moral conduct (I Timothy 2:2). Thirdly, as our means of life or our livelihood (Mark 12:44). While zoe is life intensive... bios is life extensive. But zoe is the nobler word. It portrays the highest and best that God has to offer us. I don t just want to have a duration of time that I live on this earth. I also don t want to just be known as one who lived a moral life. I definitely don t want to be known by my means of my livelihood or my job. I want people to say that I lived my life to the fullest in spite of the trials that came my way. I want people to know that I enjoy living because Jesus gave me a life that is abundant. I hope you can also say that about yourself as well. Page 5 of 7

6 C:\My Documents\WPWin(11.0)\Sermons.2009\\John 10_10.wpd Date: Feb 1/09 Place: FCA Time: 10:30 Am Song: More of You (Jesus I am Thirsty) - D Page 6 of 7

7 FOR THE LIFE OF ME Text: John 10:10 Key Word: Life Key Thought: Jesus Came to Offer Us an Abundant Life I. FOR THE LIFE OF ME JESUS GAVE ME HIS LIFE - John 5:24,26; Romans 6:13; Romans 6:23 II. FOR THE LIFE OF ME JESUS FORGAVE ME OF MY LIFE - Acts 13:38; Acts 10:43 III. FOR THE LIFE OF ME JESUS OVER GAVE ME AN ABUNDANT LIFE - John 10:10 ; I Peter 4:3; I Timothy 2:2; Mark 12:44

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