Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
March 21, 2004 - W0412

ìI have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantlyî. (John 10:10b) Eternal life is not something that begins after you die, rather it begins when you say ìI doî to Christ. His quality of life, His abundance begins from that day on.

JESUS PROMISES A:

QUALITY AND A QUANTITY OF LIFE.

 ìÖthe hope of eternal life, which God who cannot lie promised long ages agoî. (Titus 1:2) God gives the gift of eternal life or a quantity and quality of living. Some think that eternal life begins after we die. On top of that many believe that they must life a curtailed life, full of suffering, and forgoing everything in order to prove our holiness and thus deserving life hereafter. Well that is unbiblical. The Bible says, ìBy this is my Father glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciplesî. (John 15:8)  Of course, Heís not speaking about some lavish opulent lifestyle. He is speaking about taking delight when there is a sense of wholeness in our families, when our relationships are fruitful, and when we have a sense of contentment, gratefulness, and fulfillment. And the Lord gives us that quality and quantity of living the moment we say YES to Him and become a people of the eternal promise.

Now we donít want to miss-define eternal life. He wants us to have a life of wholeness to influence people in a positive way in such a way that leaves a legacy. Why does He want us to know that there is eternal life? Well first of allÖ

JESUS PROMISES US AN ASSURANCE.

We can know for sure that we have eternal life. And itís not wrapped up in our performance here on earth. Rather it is wrapped up in Jesusí performance on the cross. We cannot earn or un-earn eternal life. Once we believe in Jesus Christ, repent genuinely, and change our life eternal life is given to us as a gift based on His purchase not on our performance. ìThese things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal lifeî. (1 John 5:13) He gives us a confidence to know for sure that we have eternal life.

ìTherefore many other signs Jesus also performedÖwhich are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His nameî. (John 20:30-31)

Why does He give us that assurance? Itís because it gives us the quality of living today. Sure there will be some temporary setbacks, but tomorrow we are assured of eternal life. Well how do we tap into that? The first step is Ö

1.      HE INVITES US TO BELIEVE.

The word, believe means to trust, to completely depend upon, and to actually put your weight on. Belief is going beyond a mental ascent to Jesus and letting it affect your life. ìJesus answered and said to him, ëTruly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of Godî. (John 3:3) ìTruly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal lifeÖî (John 5:24)

Hearing is not enough. We must believe or let our lives be affected completely. You may have to die to your old ways in order to be born again. So we receive a new identity when we believe in Christ. We trust Him and not what we used to know. We begin to let what the Bible says affect our life not matter what we think. However, it can only happen by dying to the old and putting our weight upon Him.

You see we wonít be born again of the flesh or of water. Rather, we are born of the spirit and thus become a citizen of Heaven. We must however, be willing. And the only way to do so is through Jesus Christ. Then Jesus becomes our source of life and God becomes our Father.

The greatest gift is to have a new identity and be a child of God. Not only do we become a child of God, everyone who has been born again becomes brothers and sisters, our family. Therefore once we believe and are born again, the next part of this eternal promise Ö

2.      HE INVITES US TO A QUALITY OF LIFE BY KNOWING JESUS MORE AND MORE.

You see the more we get to know Jesus who loves and cares for us, the more we become like the one we love. So donít just receive Christ and wait till you die to receive eternal life, rather be transformed and get to know Jesus now.

ìThis is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sentî. (John 17:3) In other words He is saying He has everything that we will need through the knowledge of Christ.

ìÖseeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellenceî. (2 Pet. 1:3)

Everything we need pertaining to life will be found in getting to know Jesus. Did you know that the Bible is the best business book in the world? Going to seminars Iíve realized that the best principles that work are all biblical principles. The only difference is that they donít give God the credit.

God gives us instructions to become the best He wants you to be, but we must follow it. Weíll arrive at our destination either way, but if you donít follow those guidelines by getting to know Jesus, we arrive and are ill- prepared.

ìYou shall therefore keep every commandment which I am commanding you today, so that you may be strong and go in and possess the land into which you are about to cross to possess itÖî (Deut. 11:8) Therefore, by leaning on Him and living a quality life by getting to know HimÖ

3.      IT ADDS AN ETERNAL RING TO OUR EARTHLY ASSIGNMENT.

There is a touch of eternity on our life without you even knowing it. As we follow His commandments and naturally live our life of fruitfulness and abundance, thereís an eternal touch on our life and we begin to influence people without even knowing it.

ìFor our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, Jesus ChristÖî (Phil. 3:20) In other words, we have been bought with a price and God uses us for His eternal purposes.

The people who have influenced my life the most have been those who donít even realize how much theyíve affected me. I remember a man who was a father of nine children. He never had much, but he was faithful to his wife, to God, and raised wonderful children who loved the Lord. And thatís the kind of heart I want -- one thatís faithful, stable, committed, and loyal. That man will never know just how much of an eternal ring he was in my life. So donít for a minute think that what you do is not important. Little do you know that the person you influence and affect today will one day be the leader of our country?

You see when you understand what eternal life is, it gives you the assurance of life hereafter. With that settled, your quality of life gives way to a sense of natural following after God. Then the more you get to know the Lord, there is an eternal touch on life. Then by just following Jesus and enjoying His abundant life, being content, fruitful in relationships, the person you influence today may just change the world tomorrow. And maybe one day in eternity, weíll find out. For now letís live as a people of the eternal promise.  

Discussion Questions:

1. What does Jesusí promise of an assurance mean to you?
2. When we believe, the lesson says that we trust completely and place our weight on Him. How do you feel you are doing in this area?
3. Knowing that eternal life begins this side of eternity, how are you living right now? Are there areas you need to work on in order to have the quality and quantity of life God desires for you?
4. How do you feel about your walk with the Lord? Can you recall people who most influenced you? Who were they and how have they impacted you? 
5. What most impacted you about todayís lesson and how will you be changed because of it?