Ze: Experiencing The Fullness f Gd In Every Area f Life INTRODUCTION: The final verse frm ur study in the Gspel f Jhn this mrning was Jhn 10:10 in which Jesus said, "The thief des nt cme except t steal, and t kill, and t destry. I have cme that they may have life, and that they may have it mre abundantly. That makes tnight the perfect time t launch int a series f lessns entitled: Ze: Experiencing the Fullness f Gd in Every Area f Life EXPLAINING THE SUBTITLE Experiencing the Fullness f Gd in Every Area f Life Ntice: The Emphasis f this study is NOT abut Hw t get MORE OF GOD/CHRIST int yu. The Hly Spirit, thrugh the Apstle Paul, went t great lengths t explain a great mystery which Paul calls: Christ in yu, the hpe f glry. Cl 1:27 T them Gd willed t make knwn what are the riches f the glry f this mystery amng the Gentiles: which is Christ in yu, the hpe f glry. Nr is this study abut Hw t get MORE OF YOURSELF int Gd The Hly Spirit thrugh the Apstle Paul went t great lengths t explain anther great truth YOU In Christ. It is said that the descriptin f the believer being in Christ is mentined almst 300 time in the NT mst being in the writings f Paul. 2C 5:17 Therefre, if anyne is in Christ, he is a new creatin; ld things have passed away; behld, all things have becme new. R 8:1 There is therefre nw n cndemnatin t thse wh are in Christ Jesus, Gd is nt a Gd f incrementalism. He desn t nly share part f Himself with us. Nr des He allw us t gain a partial salvatin in which we abide nly partially in Him. Cnsider the wrds f Peter, 2Pe 1:2-3 Grace and peace be multiplied t yu in the knwledge f Gd and f Jesus ur Lrd, 3 as His divine pwer has given t us all things that pertain t life and gdliness, thrugh the knwledge f Him wh called us by glry and virtue, What this verse is telling us is Thrugh Christ, we ALREADY have EVERYTHING we need fr life and gdliness. This series IS ALL ABOUT accessing r laying hld f what we ALREADY have. The ld truism says that humans nly access 10% f their mental capabilities. It is als evident that Believers nly access a similar fractin f Gd s fullness all that pertains t life and gdliness. 1
Ze: Experiencing The Fullness f Gd In Every Area f Life EXPLAINING ZOE The Greek wrd that is translated LIFE is the wrd ze. NOT the Greek wrd bis which is the generic wrd fr Life and is used in respect t things Such as plants, animals and insects. These things have life but they als have an expiratin date Instead the wrd used is Ze. The wrd that Jesus used is the wrd that is used t describe Gd Himself in verses such as Jh 6:69 "Als we have cme t believe and knw that Yu are the Christ, the Sn f the living Gd." Eph 4:18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated frm the life f Gd, because f the ignrance that is in them, because f the blindness f their heart; The fllwing wrds describe the character f ZOE that Gd pssesses and that Jesus came t give us. Ze is Eternal Pwerful Edifying Wise Lving Jyful Peaceful Patient / Merciful Kind / Gentle Gd Full f Faith Cntrlled Jesus says that he came t give ze and that ze t the full T the full That is what we are aiming at in this study. We seek t access / lay hld f that which Jesus has already given us but that we are nly partially experiencing. EXPLAINING HOW MANKIND LOST ZOE Yu realize that Adam and Eve are the nly humans t experience the True Life (ZOE) that Gd intended fr all f us t have. A quick read thrugh the 3 rd chapter f Genesis gives us an idea f what they let slip thrugh their fingers. They pssessed a mind uncluttered by the war between the spirit and flesh. They pssessed cmplete fellwship with Gd. Their Marriage Relatinship was pure and true withut selfishness. They understd their purpse in life. They were n the track t ppulating a wrld in which lve and selflessness wuld be the nrm. Their disbedience changed all that. The thief (Satan) des nt cme except t steal, kill and destry. This was Satan s plan and it wrked. 2
Ze: Experiencing The Fullness f Gd In Every Area f Life EXPLAINING THE PREDICAMENT OF MANKIND. Mt 6:24-33 "N ne can serve tw masters; fr either he will hate the ne and lve the ther, r else he will be lyal t the ne and despise the ther. Yu cannt serve Gd and mammn. 25 "Therefre I say t yu, d nt wrry abut yur life, what yu will eat r what yu will drink; nr abut yur bdy, what yu will put n. Is nt life mre than fd and the bdy mre than clthing? 26 "Lk at the birds f the air, fr they neither sw nr reap nr gather int barns; yet yur heavenly Father feeds them. Are yu nt f mre value than they? 27 "Which f yu by wrrying can add ne cubit t his stature? 28 "S why d yu wrry abut clthing? Cnsider the lilies f the field, hw they grw: they neither til nr spin; 29 "and yet I say t yu that even Slmn in all his glry was nt arrayed like ne f these. 30 "Nw if Gd s clthes the grass f the field, which tday is, and tmrrw is thrwn int the ven, will He nt much mre clthe yu, O yu f little faith? 31 "Therefre d nt wrry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' r 'What shall we drink?' r 'What shall we wear?' 32 "Fr after all these things the Gentiles seek. Fr yur heavenly Father knws that yu need all these things. 33 "But seek first the kingdm f Gd and His righteusness, and all these things shall be added t yu. Everybdy seeks fr Fd, Drink, Clthing, A Hme and Mney All f these things t varying degrees. These things are material and can be seen and felt laid hld f. These things are the wrld s OUTER slutin t the INNER NEEDS that we wall lng fr. Jesus tld his fllwers nt t seek such material things but rather seek the kingdm f Gd. Hwever, these INNER NEEDS are much mre elusive than thse material things mentined because inner needs cannt be tuched r seen. These things are mre f a state f being a search fr an inner feeling. These are the things that keep peple running day in and day ut in a race that has n defined finish line. Things such as Peace Jy/Happiness Satisfactin / Fulfillment Security / Safety / Success Cuntless bks have been written with plans and charts explaining hw yu can achieve these inner states f being if nly yu culd lay hld f the material things. These bks usually cme dwn t ne questin If yu culd nly have ne thing r d ne thing, What wuld YOU need t HAVE r what wuld yu need t DO t experience any f these states? That is impssible t say. There are s many characteristics and desires that make a persn the persn they are. That being said, it is next t impssible t think that nly ne THING r nly ne ACTION can bring cmpletely satisfactin t every part f yur life. Yet there are peple all ver the wrld wh are cnvinced that if they nly had Lve, mney, a huse, car, the right jb, right friends, greater pwer t wield, greater authrity r psitin they wuld then be At peace, full f happiness, ttally satisfied, and feel safe, secure and successful. Thrughut histry mankind has tried t fill the emptiness f their lives with ne r all f these things. In every instance, thse things have failed t bring true cntentment. S what is the answer? If these things cannt bring fulfillment, what can? The answer is fund in the wrds f Jesus, I have cme that they may have life, and that they may have it mre abundantly. 3
Ze: Experiencing The Fullness f Gd In Every Area f Life EXPLAINING THE FULLNESS OF GOD EVERY AREA OF YOUR LIFE In the cming weeks, we are ging t explre what Gd s wrd says abut the varius areas f ur life. Remember, Peter says that we have ALREADY received everything that pertains t life and gdliness. Yet I dare say that we are nt experiencing the FULL benefits f all things in every area f ur life. Fr Simplicity Sake I have divided ur life int 5 main areas Persnal Life Spiritual Life Family Life Wrk/Career and Academic Life Cmmunity Life (the Peple arund us) Our Studies f... The Persnal Life is made up f what Gd s wrd says abut Our Spirit Our Mind Our Muth Our Bdy The Spiritual Life is made up f what Gd s wrd says abut What we believe and hw we respnd t thse things Gd has rdained t edify the spirit within the believer. The Family Life is made up f what Gd s wrd says abut Husbands, Wives and Children and the hme. The Wrk/ Career/ Academic Life is made up f what Gd s wrd says abut Our Vcatin and Missin and Purpse within ur Schls and Businesses. The Cmmunity Life is made up f what Gd s wrd says abut The peple wh live arund us in ur cmmunities bth saved and unsaved, friends and enemies. 4
Ze: Experiencing The Fullness f Gd In Every Area f Life LOOKING AHEAD This series f lessns has been in the wrks fr clse t twenty years. I started assembling them 15 years ag. They have been develping ever since. Yu Knw I lve t expsitrily teach series thrugh Bks f the Bible Verse by Verse thrugh select chapters f the Bible. I am nt s big n Tpical Studies Hwever, I am cnvinced that if we will cmmit urselves t studying the tpics presented in this series we will, ver time, begin t see a remarkable advance in ur spiritual grwth. This will take cmmitment n yur part and mine. This series is nt a simple 5 Step Study t instant spiritual maturity and cntentment. This series will nt be finished in a few shrt weeks. My cmmitment t yu is that I will recrd each lessn and pst it n ur website alng with an utline when pssible fr thse weeks when yu aren t able t attend. Yur cmmitment will be t intentinally make time t take advantage f this pprtunity t advance yu spiritual grwth. Gd s plan is that we wuld nt lack anything in any area f ur life. Hwever, the things that Gd chses t satisfy mankind are very different than what the wrld chses. Man s chices are man-centered and designed t satisfy self and bring glry t self. Gd s chices fr mankind are designed t satisfy man with His fullness and bring glry t Him. The satisfactin that man-centered chices prvide are like the natural man very shrt lived. Hwever, the satisfactin that Gd-centered chices prvide are like Gd eternal. The things we will study frm Gd s wrd in the weeks t cme will give yu the answers yu need t experience Ze: the fullness f Gd in Every area f yur life just as Jesus prmised I have cme that yu might have life and that mre abundantly. 5