The Abundance of God

The title of my message today is “The Abundance of God.” Think for a moment what comes into your mind when you think of abundance. The thing that comes to my mind is the night sky. Since I was a child, I have always enjoyed looking up into the night sky, and in that sky you will find an abundance of stars.

How many you might say, well astronomers say that we can see with the naked eye just under 10,000 stars in the night sky. Actually, someone counted them and came to a number of 9,096. That is stars with a magnitude of 6.5 or better which is what the average person could make out in the night sky.

Of course, when you look into the night sky you will only be able to count about half that number because you can only see half the sky from the earth at any one time.

I challenge you to go out on some clear night and look up into the night sky with a pair of binoculars. You will find that you can see many, many, more starts than you could with just your eyeballs.

In our little corner of the cosmos, the Milky Way galaxy there are around 400 billion starts and scientists have estimated that across God’s creation there is something in the nature of 200 billion trillion stars in the universe. Now I would call that abundance.

But God not only created an abundance of stars in the universe, He also created an abundance of blessings in our lives, and that is what we are here to talk about today.

I direct you to Ephesians, chapter 3, verse 20:

Ephesians 3:20–21 (ESV)

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Lets look at some of the abundant provisions of God.

Abundant Grace to Save Us

Romans 5:20–21 (ESV)

20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

When Paul states that the law came to increase the trespass, he is talking about the Mosaic law, the Old Testament law. The law came to give us a blueprint of how to live a life in perfect obedience to God.

The problem was, no man was capable of living in perfect obedience to God’s law. The law served to prove to us that we could not come before God as perfect examples of what God wanted of us. We were flawed, we had sin in our lives, and no matter how hard we tried, we could not meet that standard of our own volition.

That is where God’s abundant grace comes into play. God gave us a pass. And that brings us to our next point:

Abundant Pardon to Forgive Us

Isaiah 55:7 (ESV)

7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Romans 8:1–9 (ESV)

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

Here the scripture explains the pardon that we were granted by our faith in Jesus Christ. It says we have been set free from the law of sin and death, for God has done what the law could not do.

The law couldn't save us because we could not keep the law. The law could only condemn us. But God granted us a pardon.

Abundant Peace to Comfort Us

Philippians 4:7 ESV

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Two artists sat down at their canvas to render a painting of their idea of peace. The first artist painted a placid rural scene in the center of which was a quaint country home encircled by a white picket fence. Adjacent to the house were fertile fields of growing grain just about ready for the harvest.

You could see a road winding off into the distance to disappear in some low foothills. One the other side of the house you could see a pasture of green grass with some cows grazing while other cows lay around under a large shade tree in the middle of the pasture.

The other artist painted a much different picture in his concept of peace. A raging storm was central in his painting. A fierce wind whipped the limbs of trees all around while a driving rain beat down in a torrent. The sky was dark and ominous with jagged streaks of lightning reaching out across the sky.

Now how could the artist call this violent, turbulent scene a representation of peace? Depicted on the left side of the painting was a tall grey cliff face rising up from the valley floor. Halfway to the top you could see a rock projecting from the cliff wall, sheltered by an overhanging boulder. And in this small hollow, sat a little bird calmly sitting on its nest, seemingly unmindful of the howling wind or the torrential rain.

There the little bird sat in peace, with no fear, unperturbed and undisturbed. In this world, God’s children live and move have their being amidst scenes of turmoil, tribulation, strain, stress, and storm. Inwardly, their hearts and minds are kept by God in ever deepening peace and calm. Daily they prove the genuineness of the promise found in Isaiah 26:3:

Isaiah 26:3 (ESV)

3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

Abundant Life to Equip Us

We all have a life, but what does it mean to have an abundant life? An abundant life is a life that does not suffer from feelings of lack, or emptiness, or dissatisfaction, things that are so common in the world today.

John 10:10 (ESV)

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

As Christians we see life a little differently than the world does, or at least we should. What is the goal of life? Is it to accumulate the most money? This is the message you may see from reading the obituary of Reuben Klamer. Klamer was the creator of the board game, The Game of Life.

When The Game of Life was introduced, in 1960, the purpose was to earn the most wealth. The way you got there was simple enough—by going to college, getting a job, buying insurance, saving for retirement. That was “indicative of what sold in that era,” a former Hasbro Vice President said.

Over time, designers realized that the game didn’t reflect consumers’ changing views of life goals. So in 2007 they gave it a big update, allowing players to score points for virtuous deeds like saving an endangered species, opening a health-food chain, or recycling. Now instead of starting the game at point A and finishing at point Z, there is no fixed path: You decided how you wanted to spend your time.

Jill Lepore, a writer for The New Yorker, said the redesign teams always had a hard time addressing the fundamental criticism of the game — that the only way to reward a player for virtuous acts was with money: “Save an Endangered Species: Collect $200,000. Solution to Pollution: $250,000. Open Health-Food Chain: $100,000.”

And so, the company’s 2007 overhaul, the Game of Life: Twists & Turns, was almost existential. Instead of putting players on a fixed path, it provided multiple ways to start out in life - but nowhere to finish. “This is actually the game’s selling point; it has no goal,” Ms. Lepore wrote. “Life is … aimless.”

To the world, life without the measure of money, is aimless. So what is the meaning of life? This is the question that many of today’s young people wrestle with. Many of them do not find an answer that satisfies their deepest longing for significance. Only in Christ do we find the answers to life, our purpose in the universe, and what awaits in eternity.

Abundant Joy to Gladden Us

Romans 15:13 (ESV)

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy (chara) and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Some people equate joy with happiness. They are really two different things. Happiness is more like what you are feeling in the moment. Joy is a state of being.

Experiencing happiness depends on external factors. You got a phone call from a friend you have not talked to in some time, you just got a raise at work. These things make you happy. Happy shows up in your face, but joy is in the heart.

Joy is something grander than happiness, joy is a fruit of the spirit:

Galatians 5:22–23 (ESV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Philippians 1:26 (ESV)

26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

Abundant Power to Energize Us

In Luke, chapter 24, there is an account of one of the appearances of Jesus to His disciples after His crucifixion:

Luke 24:49 (ESV)

49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

The Lord was talking about the coming of The Comforter, The Holy Spirit. This is point when the disciples were going to gain the abundant power that they were going to need to carry on their work.

Colossians 1:11 (ESV)

11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;

Acts 1:8 (ESV)

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

I read a story of a minister who was touring a manufacturing plant where they made locomotives. As they stood beside one just finished locomotive that was about the leave the plant the tour guide said, “This is latest and most powerful locomotive that we produce.”

The minister replied that just standing next to it he could tell how powerful it must be. The tour guide said, “Yes, it is very powerful, but the available power is contingent upon three things. It must filled with diesel fuel to fire the internal combustion engines, it must be operating on the track for without the track to moderate it, the engine would destroy itself, and it must have a skilled engineer to make it operate efficiently.

The minister thought for a moment and then he said, “It’s just like a Christian. We are useful and powerful only when we are filled with the fullness of God, are walking in His way, and under the direct control of the Holy Spirit.”

Conclusion

Abundant Life

By Gary James Smith

Abundant life the blessing from God

Purchased Redemption through Jesus shed blood

A life that old earth can never steal away

For the great Gift Giver is mine for always

Lord Jesus my life... He's living in me

Now and forever.... Eternity!

Nothing can match it... You'll fail if you try

He's the Author and Finisher and reigneth on High

Eternity, the bliss of that thought

His Word my assurance I cherish that thought

When I get to thinking "praise God I am free! "

It once again starts... rejoicing in me

Death you old rascal you can't keep me down

Even if you bury me I'll be Heaven bound

For Christ my Redeemer has paid for my sin

And guaranteed forever my presence with Him

Hallelujah I praise Him the Lord of the earth

Lord of the Heaven's who gives second birth

Lord over all and He's Lord over me

So thankful I know Him who gives liberty

Are you shackled by sin and tormented inside

Then humble yourself and swallow your pride

Repent of your sin and put faith in the Son

Come now be saved by the Crucified One!