A. In general, people want more of anything they consider to be good -- more money, more sleep, more food, more room, more vacation, etc.
1. Many men spend their lives in pursuit of such abundance and envy those who have obtained it.
2. Jesus warned of the inherent danger that comes with material abundance when He said in Luke 12:15, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions."
B. The Lord Jesus does not promise to give us an abundance of temporal possessions, but He promises something that is infinitely better -- abundant life.
1. In John 10:10, Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."
2. The word "abundant" means over and above, more than is necessary, exceeding, superior, extraordinary, surpassing, or uncommon. All of these adjectives describe the abundant life that Christ came to give us.
C. Presently, let us consider John 10:1-18 and the abundant life that Jesus came to give to His followers.
II. CHRIST GAVE HIS LIFE THAT WE MAY HAVE ABUNDANT LIFE
A. After creating a stir among the Jews by healing a blind man (John 9), Jesus began to speak to them using the figure of a sheepfold (John 10:1-6).
1. The Jews had always been a sheep-herding people, so the figure of a sheepfold was very familiar.
a. Sheepfolds are pens located in pastures or at the edges of villages. They are typically constructed with short walls made of stone or wood and have a single door or gate.
b. At night, shepherds leave their sheep in the safety of the fold under the watch of a doorkeeper. In this way, the sheep are protected from both predators and thieves.
c. In the morning, the shepherds return to the fold and call their sheep. The sheep that belong to them respond to their voices and follow them out into the pasture.
2. As Jesus described the sheepfold, the people did not understand what it had to do with Him.
B. To apply this figure, Jesus described Himself as the door to the sheepfold (John 10:7-10).
1. It is through Jesus that one may enter the fold or go out to find pasture. In spiritual, figurative terms, this means that Jesus provides both spiritual salvation (safety) and spiritual sustenance.
2. Others are thieves and robbers of the sheep, which indicates that other spiritual or religious leaders do not seek the welfare of the people. The sheep do not hear the voices of such thieves, which means that the Lord's people do not follow such false and corrupt leaders.
3. Contrary to the thieves' destructive ways, Jesus "came that [His sheep] may have life, and have it abundantly." His coming was entirely selfless and only served to benefit His followers.
C. At last, Jesus declared that He is the good shepherd who gives His life for His sheep (John 10:11-18).
1. The good shepherd is easily identified, for it is He who gives His life for the sheep.
a. Unlike the shepherd, a hireling does not defend the sheep against predators because he is not the owner of them. Instead, he flees to save himself and leaves the sheep in peril.
b. Jesus is the Chief Shepherd (1Pet. 5:4) who owns the sheep, and He is concerned about them. He puts Himself in peril to defend them against the predator, who is Satan, "a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1Pet. 5:8).
c. Indeed, Jesus showed Himself to be the good shepherd when He died on the cross to become the Savior of His people, for He died for their sins (Isa. 53:4-6; 1Pet. 3:24-25).
d. With the authority of the Father, Jesus laid down His life, and He took it up again when He was raised from the dead and declared to be the Son of God with power (Rom. 1:4).
2. The good shepherd is further identified because He knows His sheep and they know Him.
a. In John 10:27-29, Jesus said:
27"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30I and the Father are one."
b. As long as the sheep hear Christ's voice and follow Him, they remain in His protective care and no one can take them away or take life from them.
i. Contrary to Calvinism's "once-saved-always-saved," it is possible for a follower of Christ to stop following Jesus and be lost again (Heb. 6:4-8; 2Pet. 3:20-22).
ii. However, as long as a Christian follows Jesus faithfully, his soul is secure.
c. Notice that Jesus spoke of sheep from another fold in verse 16. These would be the Gentile believers, who also heard His voice and with the Jewish believers became one flock with one shepherd in the church (see Eph. 2:11-22).
III. THE ABUNDANT LIFE IN CHRIST
A. Let us focus again on Christ's words: "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." Nothing is more precious than life, and no amount of material abundance can purchase what Christ came to give us.
1. Notice Christ's words in Matthew 16:24-25:
"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"
2. The words "life" and "soul" in this passage are translated from the same Greek word, which is psychē (ψυχή). The idea is that one who tries to preserve his life (soul) through the world will lose it, but one who gives up his worldly life (soul) for Christ will gain his life (soul) through Christ.
3. The Lord's teaching is irrefutable. Anyone would give all of his possessions to preserve his life, for his possessions will be of no use to him when he dies (see Luke 12:13-21; Ps. 49:5-20).
4. On the other hand, Jesus provides abundant life to anyone who will let go of this world for His sake. "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose" (Jim Elliot).
B. Consider the qualities of life in Christ that make it abundant.
1. Life in Christ abounds in its endurance, for it is eternal (John 3:16; Rom. 6:23; Rev. 21:3-4).
a. This is the foremost feature of abundant life in Christ. This feature is well-stated in the famous last stanza of Amazing Grace:
When we've been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.
b. This means that death cannot hold those who have abundant life in Jesus (Matt. 16:18; Rev. 21:4). Jesus conquered death, and it will be destroyed forever (Heb. 2:14-15; Rev. 20:14).
2. Life in Christ abounds in grace (Rom. 5:15; 2Cor. 9:8-9; Eph. 1:7-8).
3. Life in Christ abounds in brotherly love (1Thess. 3:12; 4:9-10; 1Pet. 1:22-23).
4. Life in Christ abounds in hope (Rom. 15:13).
5. Life in Christ abounds in the work of the Lord (1Cor. 14:12; 15:58; 2Cor. 8:7).
6. Life in Christ abounds in comfort (2Cor. 1:3-7).
7. Life in Christ abounds in thanksgiving (2Cor. 4:15; 9:12; Col. 2:7).
8. Life in Christ abounds in knowledge (Phil. 1:9). Curriculum
IV. CONCLUSION
A. Finally, let us consider that life in Christ abounds in everything that is good.
1. Notice 2Corinthians 8:7-9
7But just as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also. 8I am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also. 9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
2. This passage is a good summary of the abundant life in Christ. He impoverished Himself in death to give us abundant spiritual life in every way, and therefore we should abound in the work He has given us to do.
3. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord" (1Cor. 15:58).
B. Such abundant life is available only in Christ Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who gave His life for His sheep.
