One of God’s amazing promises to us who are His sheep (His children) is found in John 10:10. “The thief (the devil) does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy, but I have come that they may have life more abundantly.” We are promised not just eternal life, but an abundant life. The word used in this verse means “superabundant (in quantity) or superior (in quality); excessive; advantage; exceedingly; very highly; and beyond measure.” John is describing the kind of life that Jesus promised us – and it is for right now!

How many of you would describe your life currently as “abundant”? Why? Or why not? What keeps us from experiencing this kind of life all of the time?

One reason could be our lack of understanding of how big, powerful, and loving our God is. Our life should be full of anticipation concerning our partnership with Him – full of possibilities, adventure, and opportunities. God designed us to work in partnership with Him, not for Him. If you see Him as “boss” rather than a “partner” you will always feel like He is evaluating your performance rather than coming alongside you to bring His kingdom to the earth. That is part of the prayer Jesus taught His disciples to pray – “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

I think the first thing that comes to most of our minds when we think about abundance has to do with money, possessions, or resources. Abundance from that perspective would certainly mean “more than enough” – enough to meet all of your own needs and desires plus enough to be generous to others. And that idea is certainly valid and accurate – it is just not the whole picture. It may be a very small part of the overall abundance the Lord has in mind for each one of us to experience.

All the resources of heaven are available to us as sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. The fruit of the Holy Spirit who lives inside each believer can be developed to bless those whose lives we touch – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Every gift mentioned in the scriptures that resides within the believer can be drawn upon for the benefit of humanity – wisdom, knowledge, understanding, healing, service, edification, exhortation, miracles, etc.

Can you imagine a church (or the church) in a city that believed that the abundance of heaven was available to them now? Every need in the city could be met by a believer who was living an abundant life – not just for themselves but for every person who lived in their town. There would be no more poverty because believers would share their resources with their neighbors. No problem would be too small or too large – because someone with the wisdom they had gained from God would have the answer to that situation. Unbelievers would come to Christ because of the kindness and love that was shown to them. Competitiveness would be saved for the sports arena and not used in an ungodly way in business or other spheres of influence.

Does this concept challenge you to consider the possibilities or does doubt and unbelief dominate your thoughts? Many of us would not even allow ourselves to dream that big or consider that our city could be a city that embraces the promise of abundant life here and now. We have too much negative thinking that has inoculated us against believing what the Word of God says.

I am not saying that there will not continue to be opposition, persecution, and division because we live in a world that is still under the influence of the prince of darkness. He is actively looking for ways to kill, steal, and destroy God’s creation and will until his time is up. But amid the storms of life, there is still a place of refuge in Him. Jesus lived and demonstrated how to bring heaven to earth amid very difficult natural circumstances – living under Roman rule and constantly having to deal with the religious leaders who opposed Him in every way possible. For three and a half years Jesus traveled throughout the small country of Israel demonstrating what the Kingdom should look like. In that brief time, His followers saw and experienced enough of the overflow (abundance) from heaven that would quickly spread throughout the whole known world within one hundred years of His death and departure back to heaven. One hundred and twenty people, after being empowered by the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost just forty days after He ascended back into heaven, saw three thousand people that same day come to salvation and the beginning of a journey that would lead them into an understanding of the Kingdom of God.

Despite tremendous opposition from their religious leaders who refused to acknowledge that Jesus was their long-awaited Messiah, the church grew very quickly. When persecution arose in Jerusalem and the surrounding area, the disciples began to disperse and move to other parts of the world. As I have mentioned before, the city of Rome in Italy was so impacted by this radical faith that it is recorded that over half of that city was converted to Christianity by 300 AD. Nothing else either before Christ or after His death and resurrection has impacted our world like Christianity. Today many countries are experiencing tremendous revival resulting in the salvation of hundreds of thousands of souls. Communist China has millions of believers who have to meet secretly or be persecuted and many times imprisoned and even martyred for their faith. Iran, which is a Muslim country, is reported to be the fastest-growing Christian population in the world. Many other countries that do not persecute believers like these two countries are also experiencing a multiplication of committed believers who are experiencing signs, wonders, and miracles (abundance). Even in our own country, there have been reports coming in for the last several years of revival on many college campuses. Young people, looking for truth and meaning in their lives, are turning to Christ by the hundreds.

So many of us have thought that we had to wait until we went to heaven to experience the abundant life I am describing. What if enough of us right here in our community began to believe and then demonstrate by our actions that the abundant life in Christ is available to us now?