Above and Not Below // An Abundant Life in Jesus, Part 5
A Different Perspective Official Podcast
Release Date: 01/10/2025
The Blessing of Joy // An Abundant Life in Jesus, Part 8
A Different Perspective Official Podcast
I spent a good chunk of my life looking for happiness, but I never found what I was looking for. Problem with happiness is that it’s linked to our circumstances – can’t be happy if something difficult is happening. Turns out, I wasn’t looking for happiness at all. What I longed for, was joy. It’s just back then, I didn’t realise that, because I didn’t know what joy was. I ask people this question, “what do you want out of life?” And 99% of them will answer, “I just want to be happy”. Why not? After all who wants to be sad all the time? Who wants to live out...
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The Blessing of Peace // An Abundant Life in Jesus, Part 7
A Different Perspective Official Podcast
I don’t think there’s a single person on this planet, who doesn’t want to have peace in their lives. A cessation of conflict and wrangling and fighting. Of course conflict comes in many different forms – the words, is a conflict with God. Turns out that one of the things Jesus wants to bless us with, is peace. We’re looking this week at Jesus’ outrageous promise of an abundant life. Have a listen, John chapter 10 verse 10: The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. I came that you may have life and have it abundantly. And as we unpack that promise, it’s worth...
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The Blessing of Righteousness // An Abundant Life in Jesus, Part 6
A Different Perspective Official Podcast
My hunch is, whether we like it or not, that we’ve been conditioned into thinking that God’s blessing has something to do with being healthy, wealthy and wise. Hmm – and yet God’s idea of blessing is something entirely different. It begins with the blessing of righteousness. Sounds odd I know – but there’s an abundance of blessing in this thing called “righteousness”. Well last week we kicked off a discussion on the program about the promise Jesus made, an outrageous promise in fact, of an abundant life. Here it is, have a listen, John chapter 10 verse 10, Jesus...
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Above and Not Below // An Abundant Life in Jesus, Part 5
A Different Perspective Official Podcast
Life can be a grind, and frankly life can get us down. We all know that. And so our view of what life is, and what it should be, becomes all twisted – inside out and upside down. So it’s time to get things right way up again. It’s time to discover what God has to say about the life He wants for you. This week on the program we’ve kicked off a new series where we’ve been looking at the promise that Jesus made to give us an abundant life. Here it is again in case you missed it earlier in the week. John chapter 10, verse 10: The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy....
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A Child in the Father's House // An Abundant Life in Jesus, Part 4
A Different Perspective Official Podcast
One of the ways that God explains His relationship with us, is that He is our Father, and we are His children. And actually, when you think about it, a father–child relationship is, or at least should be – an incredible blessing. So, if God’s our Father, and we’re His children – shouldn’t that be … a blessing? We’re chatting together this week on the program about living out the abundant life that Jesus promised us. A life overflowing with His grace and mercy, and love and peace, and joy and blessing. By that we don’t always mean abundant finances or complete safety. God has...
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A Super-Abundant Life // An Abundant Life in Jesus, Part 3
A Different Perspective Official Podcast
If there’s one thing we can all agree on about Jesus it’s that He didn’t do anything by half measures. No –– He threw Himself into things and when He said something, He meant it. So – when He promised us an “abundant life” – the words in the original Greek language literally mean – a super–abundant life! Told you – He doesn’t do anything by halves! I don’t think I know a single person who doesn’t want to enjoy their lives. And I guess when we think about it that doesn’t always mean happiness. Happiness is great, it’s great to feel on top of the world...
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The Thief and His Plan // An Abundant Life in Jesus, Part 2
A Different Perspective Official Podcast
Jesus promised each of his disciples – that’s anyone who believes in Him – an abundant life. Yeah, right!! But in the same breath – in the very same verse in the Bible, he also says that there’s a thief – and all the thief is interested in is to steal, kill and destroy. Well – if Jesus talked about him – this thief – then maybe it’s worth you and me taking a closer look. I was speaking recently with a group of people, it was a Church service on a Sunday morning and I asked them this question, “Is there anybody here in this room today who doesn’t have at least one...
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The Shepherd and His Flock // An Abundant Life in Jesus, Part 1
A Different Perspective Official Podcast
When we hear Jesus promising us an abundant life – which is exactly what He does promise us – it’s easy to think “Yeah, right! Must be for someone else.” But actually … it’s not. It’s a promise for everyone who decides to follow Jesus. Question is – how does it work? How can we have an “abundant life”? As we race through life day after day one of the things that I think happens to us is that we somehow get conned or duped into the mantra of the times, ‘the great lie’ I call it. And that great lie goes something like this: If you earn lots...
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Singing a New Song // God is a God of New Beginnings, Part 5
A Different Perspective Official Podcast
Sometimes – sometimes God decides to do something radically new in our lives – it’s as though He puts a new song in our hearts. So what do you do with that? When we feel trapped by our circumstances, which happen to so many people, sometimes we need to change something inside. In a difficult relationship, sometimes we have to change our attitude or forgive someone. In our work, sometimes God might be calling us to a whole new thing that can be scary so we need a change of heart; I mean, imagine if God wanted you or me to be a missionary in Timbuktu and didn't give us the heart to do it....
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Dealing with the Birth Pangs // God is a God of New Beginnings, Part 4
A Different Perspective Official Podcast
Sometimes, when there are good things happening in one part of your life – things start falling apart in another. It’s almost as though when God is birthing something new, there are birth pangs. I don't know if you've noticed but whenever we have changes in our lives, even good changes, they can often feel uncomfortable. I guess that’s because, basically, we're creatures of habit, we become comfortable with situations and relationships even when they're far from ideal. So often we want desperately for something to change, something that’s causing us grief, maybe we cry out, "God, God,...
info_outlineLife can be a grind, and frankly life can get us down. We all know that. And so our view of what life is, and what it should be, becomes all twisted – inside out and upside down. So it’s time to get things right way up again. It’s time to discover what God has to say about the life He wants for you.
This week on the program we’ve kicked off a new series where we’ve been looking at the promise that Jesus made to give us an abundant life. Here it is again in case you missed it earlier in the week. John chapter 10, verse 10:
The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. I came that you may have life and have it abundantly.
It’s a beautiful promise and it’s one that’s always touched my heart. It’s a promise from Jesus that I take seriously. He came so that you and I could have life and not just have life but have it in all its abundance.
Now abundance is an amazing word isn’t it? It means plenty, overflow, a very large quantity of something. But what if I told you that the original Greek word used here for abundance literally means super abundance. More than abundant, over the top abundant, because that’s exactly what it means.
That’s Jesus’ promise and yet the promise is made here as a point of comparison and the promise is the second part of the verse, the first part is about something else, it’s about the thief he’s called here in the story:
The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy.
And in fact as we’ve seen earlier this week on the program this whole story where Jesus teaches us that He is the good and true shepherd of us, the sheep, is about the authenticity of who Jesus is as that shepherd versus the sham of the impostors. Question is: why did Jesus make this beautiful promise in such a context?
Well of course the thief in the story is the devil and the original Greek word for the devil is diabolos which is the word from which we get our English word diabolical. It means a slanderer, a false accuser and elsewhere in the New Testament, in Revelations chapter 12 verse 9, the devil is also called the deceiver; someone who tricks people and leads them astray away from the right path or away from the truth into error.
That’s the devil here in this story, a thief who comes only to steal and kill and destroy. And so here Jesus presents us with an alternative, the thief or the true Shepherd, the hireling or the true Shepherd. The people who come into the sheepfold, climbing over the walls or the true Shepherd who comes to the front gate.
Now you might say to me, well there’s no real alternative, I don’t want the impostors, I don’t want a thief, I want the real thing, I don’t want someone who steals, kills and destroys, I want Jesus the good Shepherd. I will have the good Shepherd thank you very much, who came to give me a super abundant life.
Of course it’s an obvious choice in the light of Jesus’ parable of the good shepherd here. He means for it to be so obvious because it is obvious. When you stop and think about it the problem is we often don’t stop, we often don’t think about it because the devil doesn’t always come to us looking like a thief, you know with a little black beanie on. Quite to the contrary in fact; 2 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 14 says:
That satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
Isn’t that true? The whole point of temptation is that it’s seductive. Evil comes to us wrapped in a wrapper that cries out to us, “Open me, come follow me, take me I’m good, I’ll bless you.” The very first deception and temptation of Adam and Eve in the Garden was exactly that. Evil was dressed up as having a benefit, that’s why it’s so diabolical, that’s why the devil is a liar and a deceiver.
And so we’re seduced into his lies and all of a sudden we’re in the hands of the thief who comes only to steal, kill and destroy. To rob us of the super abundant life that Jesus came to give us because you know what? He came disguising himself as an angel of light.
Do you see the power of this parable? Do you see what’s going on here? God wants to bless us, God wants to heap His super abundant blessing into our lives but like any father when his children are rebelling He can’t bless us because the blessing would reward the rebellion.
When my children played up sometimes when they were young the tap of dad’s blessing turned off. Sometimes they were punished by removal of a privilege, no internet access for a few months. Why? Was I being mean? No, because I was teaching them right from wrong and the basis of that lesson is that blessing comes when you do right and you lose it when you do wrong. Parents do that because A) they love their children and B) we’re wired to be like that.
One of the very worst things we can do and you see it a lot these days is to continue to bless our children when they are doing wrong. I want you to have a listen to one of the best explanations of the link between obedience and blessing that I’ve found in God’s Word. It comes from Deuteronomy chapter 28 beginning at verse 1. Listen carefully to what God says to His people:
If you only obey the Lord your God by diligently observing all His commandments that I am commanding you today the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.
All these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord. Blessed shall be your city and blessed shall be your field, blessed shall be the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your livestock both the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock.
Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed you will be when you come in and blessed you shall be when you go out. The Lord will cause the enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you in seven ways. The Lord will command His blessing upon you in your barns and in all you undertake, He will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
The Lord will establish you as His holy people as He has sworn to you if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord and they will be afraid of you. The Lord will make you abound in prosperity and the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your livestock, the fruit of your ground in the land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give to you.
The Lord will open for you His rich storehouse, the heavens, to give the rain of your land in its season and to bless all your undertakings. You will lend to many nations but you will not borrow. The Lord will make you the head and not the tail. You shall be only at the top and not at the bottom.
If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I am commanding you today by diligently observing them and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I am commanding you today either to the right or to the left following other God’s to serve them.
But if you will not obey the Lord your God by diligently observing all His commands and decrees which I am commanding you today then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall be the city. Cursed shall be your field.
And it goes on and lists a whole bunch of curses.
Do you see the causal link between obedience and blessing, disobedience and the removal of that blessing just as in any relationship between parent and child? But the thing that strikes me here is the magnitude of the blessing. Verse 2 of Deuteronomy 28:
All these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord.
Don’t you love how the blessings will overtake you? They will be super-abundant just as Jesus said. Verse 13:
The Lord will make you the head and not the tail. You shall only be at the top and not the bottom. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I am commanding you today.
Friend, God wants to bless us, super abundantly so that the blessing chases us down the street and overtakes us. Do you get it? But that blessing happens when we are close to the good shepherd, safe in His care. Not when we follow the thief and let him plunder our lives through deception and temptation. Our Dad in heaven truly does want us to be the head and not the tail, to be above and not below. What father wouldn’t want that for his children?