Abundant Purpose

Series on the purpose of Christ's time: His purpose affects our purpose and our understanding.

Open with me to John chapter 10 and follow along. Good morning! How are you all doing? Would you stand with me, if you will? Take out your Bibles. If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. We're going to open to the New Testament book of John, the Gospel of John. So, open to about the middle of your Bible and turn to the right. You'll find the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. John chapter 10 is where we're going to pick it up today.

As you're turning there, something we started doing last week and will continue to do from now on is that you can text your questions to 760-814-1223. If you have a question as we're going through the message today, go ahead and text your questions. We will be working as a pastoral staff; we have some plans in the making for that, so if you have questions, text them there.

John chapter 10, verse 7. If you will look there with me, it says, "Then Jesus said to them again, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly.'"

Father, as we open the Scriptures, those last words there—that you have come that we may have life and have it more abundantly—are good words. I pray, God, that we would experience the fullness of that abundant life. Lord, I pray that you would continue to transform us in such a way by the renewing of our minds through the working of your Word and by the working and power of your Spirit, that we would fully experience and lay hold of the abundant life that you have saved us for. So, God, would you continue to speak to us today and transform us in such a way?

That our lives would display throughout this week as we interact with people in our neighborhoods, on construction sites, or in classrooms, wherever we are. Lord, that we would display Your perfect will. We pray this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen." You may be seated.

As we are moving right along into 2019, we are beginning the new year with this series where we're talking about the important topics of meaning and purpose. My point, or my kind of proposition, as we've been going through this series over the last two weeks leading into today, is that the purpose of Jesus, when we properly understand it, will help us to frame and understand our purpose in this world more meaningfully.

Now, what exactly does that mean? Well, Jesus, in the Gospels, on a number of occasions that we've been considering together, gives His purpose. He clearly articulates what His purpose was in coming through a series of statements that began with the words, "I have come." I have come for this purpose.

As you read through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and many of you are doing the listening plan with us this year, you are moving through the Gospel of Matthew right now and will move on into Mark, Luke, and John. As you go through, about twelve or thirteen times that I've seen, we see these clear words from Jesus: "I have come for this purpose." Some of those verses have actually become kind of the theme verses of the passages.

For the Gospel of Mark, the theme verse was the first "I have come" statement that we considered together three Sundays ago. There, Jesus says that the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many. So that's His first purpose statement: "I have come to serve. I did not come to be served; I have come to serve and to give My life a ransom for many." That's the theme verse of the Gospel of Mark.

Then, you go into the Gospel of Luke, which we looked at last week. The theme verse of the Gospel of Luke is found in Luke chapter 19, the story of a man named Zacchaeus. There, in Luke chapter 19, verse 10, it says that the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost. So, Jesus...

Clearly stated in these two purpose statements is the reason that I have come to this world: to serve by giving my life as a ransom for many, to seek and to save that which is lost. As we've been going through these passages, I've highlighted a few others along the way.

In Luke chapter 9, verse 56, Jesus says, "I have come to save men's lives." Moving along into John's Gospel, chapter 12, verse 46, I mentioned this last week: Jesus says, "I have come to be a light to those who are in darkness." Then, in John chapter 18, verse 37, He says, "I have come to bear witness of the truth." In Mark chapter 1, verse 38, Jesus states, "I have come to preach the gospel."

These are a number of Jesus's very clear purpose statements in the Gospel. He has come to seek and to save that which is lost, to give His life as a ransom for many, to serve in a sacrificial way, to be a light, to bear the truth, and to preach the gospel. As you look at every one of the twelve or thirteen purpose statements of Jesus, you begin to discover that His purpose was consistently evangelistic. His purpose in coming was very clearly to fulfill an evangelistic mission.

In Matthew's Gospel, chapter 5, verse 17, Jesus says, "I have come to fulfill the law and the prophets." The law in the Old Testament, the first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch, pointed to Jesus. All the prophets—think of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Micah, and Malachi—make up most of the Old Testament, and they were pointing to one who was going to come to bring salvation to people who are lost. Jesus says, "I have come to fulfill the law and the prophets. I have come to save men."

So we see very clearly Jesus's purpose. Point number one on your outline: Christ purposed to save us from sin and its devastating effects. This is the Gospel, Church; this is good news. Christ purposed to come to save us from sin and its devastating effects. When we begin to grasp Jesus's evangelistic purpose in this world, His purpose helps us to frame and to...

Understanding our purpose in a more meaningful way allows us to recognize that everything that makes up our lives—the place we live, the family we are a part of, the job we do, and the training we have received—ultimately serves a greater purpose: to commit to the purpose of Christ.

Much of the writing on the topics of meaning and purpose, whether secular or sacred, reflects this idea. This includes perspectives from those who do not believe in God as well as those who do. When we read what different thought leaders and intellectuals have to say about meaning and purpose, many, if not most, agree that to sustain meaning in life, we need to be committed to a purpose that is bigger than ourselves.

Some of the most aspirational speeches throughout history have called people to commit themselves to a purpose greater than themselves. We recognize the importance of having such a purpose, and I can think of no greater purpose than that of Christ.

There are many people—probably everyone we know—who are seeking sustaining meaning in life. They are committed to some purpose, believing it will bring them greater meaning. If we look around our culture, we can identify various purposes that people are committed to, thinking these will provide them with meaning.

For instance, some believe they will find meaning by making money, which reflects a very American cultural mindset. Others think they will gain meaning through fame, often measured by likes and subscribers on social media. This phenomenon is relatively new, emerging over the last decade, and many people believe that achieving this will lead to sustaining meaning. Additionally, there is a significant segment of our culture that thinks meaning can be found in experiencing pleasure or in garnering attention.

Power or leaving a legacy may seem significant, but none of these things come close to the sustaining meaning found in the purpose of God in Christ Jesus. His purpose is greater than any earthly ambition. One way to express this is that there are some purposes people might think are worth living for, but very few purposes are worth dying for. A sustaining meaning is found in a purpose to which you can be so committed that you would say, "I would be willing to die for this."

This is why many people find such great meaning in becoming a parent. In having children, you have something great that you love. While you may love your spouse deeply, there is a love for a child that goes even further. This gives people a profound sense of meaning, leading them to say they would be willing to die for their children. You would likely feel the same for your spouse, and I do not wish to diminish that. However, there is something transformative about the experience of becoming a parent.

The danger in this, though, is that children grow up, move on, and eventually leave home, which can lead some people to lose their sense of meaning. We see this happen often. Being committed to a purpose greater than ourselves is crucial. This commitment is clearly seen in the willingness to not only live for a cause but also to die for it.

This is why I think it is really helpful and important to read a very old book called "Foxe's Book of Christian Martyrs." I believe you can even find it for free online as a PDF document. This book outlines the names and stories of people who were so committed to the purpose and cause of Christ that they gave their lives for it, covering about the first eleven hundred to fifteen hundred years of Christianity. It provides an awesome testimony, starting with the very first martyr mentioned in the Scriptures, Stephen, in Acts chapter seven, and continuing through many years of individuals who were so dedicated to the cause of Christ that they would say, "I will not only live for this; I would die for this."

I have an acquaintance who is the director of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College. He oversees the evangelism and missions department there.

He's also the pastor of Moody Bible Church. His name is Ed Stetzer, and about a month ago, he posted on Instagram a picture from a journal entry dated October 28th, 1949. This entry was written by a man named James Eliot, whom you may know as Jim Eliot. In 1956, he and four of his friends were killed for the cause of Christ in Ecuador.

The next slide zooms in on the journal entry from October 28th, 1949. It states, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." This was the mindset of James Eliot. From 1949 to 1956, on January 8th, he died for the cause of Christ because he was committed to a purpose that was greater than himself. He is no fool who will give up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. This essence captures the idea of a cause bigger than oneself.

When we see our lives as an extension of Christ's purpose, we begin to engage as ambassadors, and everything else takes on greater meaning. The meaning and value of the things we are committed to change. The place you live, the job you have, and the way you frame that job or that place completely transforms when you see yourself as an ambassador of the purpose of Christ.

The training, gifts, abilities, talents, and education you possess—everything that may have letters added to your name or certificates attached—changes in significance when you realize you are committed to the cause of Christ. The way you see your family changes, and the way you see your finances changes. I would suggest that this change makes life all the better and more meaningful when you begin to see yourself as part of the purpose of Christ.

All of that leads us to the third and final purpose that we're focusing on today. It is found in John chapter 10, verse 10, which we read just a moment ago: "The thief does not come except to steal, to kill, and to destroy. I have come that you may have life."

That you may have it more abundantly. Simply put, Christ's purpose, as revealed in the "I have come" statement in John chapter 10, verse 10, is point number two: Christ has purposed to give abundant life. This purpose of Christ to come and give abundant life is in contrast to the one identified as the thief. The thief has come to steal, to kill, and to destroy. In contrast, I have come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly.

This is what Aristotle, 2,500 years ago, would have identified as Jesus' telos. That's the Greek word from which we get the idea or the concept of teleology. It refers to the ends, the aim, the purpose, and the goal. This was Jesus's purpose—His telos. What is the end that I am aiming at? The end that I am aiming at in coming to this world as a bearer of light, as a bearer of truth, and as a preacher of the gospel is to the end that you would have life and that you would have life more abundantly.

Now, there's a whole bunch that needs to be unpacked from John chapter 10, verse 10. First, we have to acknowledge, recognize, and maybe even accept that this verse reveals there are two opposing forces at work in the world. You see it there: the thief has come to do this, while I, Jesus Christ, have come to do this. So, we have two opposing forces at work in the world.

The thief in John chapter 10, verse 10, is not clearly identified. If you back up and read the first nine verses of John chapter 10, verses 1 through 9, you will see that thieves and robbers are mentioned in verse 8 and again in verse 1. Jesus is talking about these thieves and robbers, and He is speaking in metaphorical terms. He is saying that the church or the people of this world are like sheep, and He is the shepherd. There are thieves and there are robbers.

There is a lot of discussion among Bible teachers and commentators about who the thieves and robbers in John chapter 10, verses 1 through 9, represent. While they may disagree on the particulars of who the thieves and robbers are, they all agree that...

Ultimately, the thieves and robbers are connected to the thief whom Christians refer to as the devil, the enemy, the adversary. Christians believe that there is a force at work in this world that opposes the working of God. If God gives, then this devil, this thief, steals. If God aims at life—He is the creator of life—then this thief, this devil, aims at killing and death. If God aims at building and restoring, then this one seeks to destroy.

If you see evil, brokenness, suffering, and malevolence in this world, all of us would agree that we see that. We are confronted by it most of the time, sometimes at a distance, and sometimes we experience it. We have done the best possible job that we could do in modern American culture to try and shield ourselves from any sort of interaction with suffering. We try to keep it as far from us as possible, but sometimes it gets through the walls, if you will. We see it all around us, and wherever you see evil, brokenness, suffering, and malevolence in this world, there you are acquainted with the work of the thief, the work of the enemy.

The work of God is contrasted with the work of the devil. The devil is revealed in the Scriptures as a thief; he is revealed to be a murderer and a destroyer. That's actually one of the titles given to him: the Greek word "Apollyon." He is also revealed to be a liar.

In contrast to the working of the murderous, lying, thieving Satan, there is the work of Jesus. Jesus has come for a purpose, and His purpose is stated in verse 10. Jesus has come that we may have life. I want you to circle or underline the words "may have." They come up twice in John 10:10: "I've come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly." Circle or underline those words in your Bible. They are in what's called the subjunctive mood, both in English and in Greek. The subjunctive mood deals with that which is possible, that which is desired, but that which is not inevitable. It is important to recognize this. Jesus says there is the work of the thief.

In the world, he steals, he kills, he destroys. Jesus said that, and we all see it. It's a result of a broken, fallen world that is under, as Paul says, the sway of the wicked one. However, Jesus says, "I have come that you may have life." This is a possible, desired wish. The very fact that Jesus came to give it reveals that God is desirous that we would experience an abundance of life.

Suffering, sorrow, destruction, and death are the realities in this world, and they are real because of the fall. Genesis chapter 3 describes where brokenness and sin come from. It is the result of the fall, which is the result of sin. Paul, speaking in the book of Romans in the New Testament, states in Romans 5 that through one man, sin entered the world, and death through sin. Death spread to all humanity.

We have the fall in Genesis chapter 3, which is the result of sin, and this is the work of the thief—the serpent—who is a liar and comes in to oppose the working of God in the world. The thieving serpent is present, but Jesus has come to deal with the work of the serpent. Just as was prophesied, the very first prophecy of the Bible appears in Genesis chapter 3, immediately after the fall, immediately after sin had come in as a result of the serpent's lies and the temptation of Adam and Eve.

Then the prophecy is given. God is speaking to the serpent in Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, and He says to the serpent, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. There is going to come one who shall bruise your head." The word "crush" is literally used here: "He shall crush your head, serpent, Satan, but you shall bruise or crush his heel." So, you are going to injure him when he comes, but he is going to crush you.

That is the prophecy in Genesis chapter 3, verse 15. God, at the very beginning, when He beholds the brokenness of the fall, says, "I'm going to deal with this," and it's going to come through the seed of a woman. A woman is going to give birth to a child, and this...

The child is going to be a key figure, and he is going to crush you, Satan. You will injure him, but he will crush you. Jesus says, "I have come to the world so that you may have life." All of us, because of sin, are dead in trespasses and sin. However, Jesus says, "I have come that you might have life."

How does he make this life possible? How does Jesus make it available? Point number three: Christ fulfilled his salvific purpose by destroying the work of the destroyer. There is a word in there that may not be familiar to you; it's a theological word, but it's an important one. Christ fulfilled his salvific purpose. The word "salvific" means leading to salvation.

So, Jesus comes and fulfills his work, which leads to salvation, and he does this by destroying the destroyer, by crushing the head of the serpent, by destroying the devil and his work there on the cross when he said, "It is finished." He fulfills his leading-to-salvation purpose by doing this great work as he dies on the cross. Therefore, by this, Jesus makes life available to those who are dead in trespasses and sins.

Through one man, sin entered the world, and death through sin. Therefore, point number four: in Christ's purposeful death, we find life. These words are there on purpose. It would be perfectly logical to say, "In Christ's death, we find life," which is amazing. However, we must recognize that Jesus's death on the cross was not an accident; it was God's purpose going all the way back to Genesis chapter 3, verse 15.

"He shall crush your head, Satan's serpent. You're going to bruise his heel." There will be a blow to him, but it will not be long-term because he would rise from the dead. It was purposeful; the death of Jesus was intentional. Therefore, Jesus came to die. He was delivered up to death for our sins. Paul writes this in the New Testament book of Romans, chapter 4. Jesus was delivered up for our sins. Delivered up where?

Well, Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter 26. Note it down: Matthew 26, verse 2. Jesus is speaking to his disciples just before his arrest and crucifixion.

He says to his disciples in Matthew 26 that after two days, the Passover will occur, and the Son of Man, which is Jesus, will be delivered up to be crucified. He knew exactly what was coming. The Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified. Who delivered Him up?

After the crucifixion, after Jesus's resurrection, and after His ascension into heaven, one of Jesus's disciples, a man named Peter, gave one of the first great messages of the Christian Church. It is recorded in Acts chapter 2. This was from Peter's message in Acts 2:23: "Jesus, being delivered up by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God." Who delivered Jesus up to the cross? It was God's sovereign plan before the foundation of the world. Revelation chapter 13, the last book of the Bible, verse 8, says that Jesus is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. So, it is God's determined purpose that Christ would die on the cross.

Now, here's the interesting thing about what Peter says in Acts chapter 2, verse 23. He states that Jesus was delivered up by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God. He is speaking to the Jewish religious leaders who crucified Him, saying, "You have taken by lawless hands and have crucified Him and put Him to death." It is interesting that we have God's sovereign purpose and man's responsibility both together.

So, who determined this death? God the Father purposed Christ's death so that we would live. In line with what I said a moment ago, where this is in the subjunctive mood, I have come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly. It might be more theologically correct to write point four as "In Christ's purpose, through Christ's death, we can find life." It is not inevitable. Christ died on the cross, and His death is sufficient for the salvation of all people. However, not all people find life in the death of Christ because they have not put their trust in Christ for salvation.

I have come that you may have life. But not only did Jesus come that we may have life, look at what He says in John 10: "The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that..."

You may have life, and that you may have it more abundantly. Jesus desires not only that you would have life, where you once were dead in trespasses and sins, but that you would have life that is more abundant.

Now, before we even get into the topic of what "more abundantly" means, let's have a show of hands. How many of you think life more abundantly sounds pretty good? Right? The words "more abundantly," two words in English, are one word in the original language, the Greek. That same Greek word that's translated "more abundantly" in John 10:10 is used in another book of the New Testament by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter 3. He says this in verse 20 of Ephesians chapter 3: "Now to Him, to God, who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us."

So, Paul says there that God is able to work exceedingly abundantly. Recognize that this word is not just abundantly; it's "more abundantly." It is abundance of life squared, or cubed, or more than that—it's exponential abundance of life. The authors of Scripture are trying to emphasize in a greater way that this is life times lifetimes, life so much better than you could ever imagine.

Jesus desires that in Him we would find eternal life, where we were once dead in trespasses and sins. But He also desires that we would experience exceedingly abundant life too. There is apparently a difference between finding eternal life in Jesus, where we were dead in trespasses and sins by the crucifixion of Jesus, and a life that is greater than just that—a life that is abundant.

So, if you are a believer in Jesus and you have trusted in Him, today you were dead in trespasses and sins, but now you have life that is eternal in Christ Jesus. That's good news! However, Jesus says, "I desire that you would experience abundant life," something greater than that. You may wonder, "What is that?" I mean, life sounds pretty good, abundant life sounds pretty good, but what exactly is "more abundant life"? Well, I suggest to you that we will experience it...

Adopting Christ's purpose allows us to find life more abundantly. That's my pitch in this series. You're a Christian if you've put your trust in Jesus. Maybe you haven't done that yet, but if you will put your trust in Jesus, you will experience life where you were once dead in trespasses and sins.

Perhaps you've been a Christian for a year, ten years, or even thirty years. You believe you have hope, that you have eternal life, and that you have life where you were once dead. Jesus desires that you would have life abundantly, and even more than that, exceedingly abundant life. I want to suggest that we can come into the experience of that here and now by adopting Christ's purpose. We find life more abundantly, and I would say you would be hard-pressed to find a person who does not desire life more abundantly.

Of course, if you asked a hundred people what an abundant life is, you would get all kinds of different answers. If you asked your neighbors, your co-workers, or your friends what they think an abundant life is, you would hear a variety of perspectives. Therefore, we need to define the abundance of life according to what Jesus speaks of when He talks about it. Abundant life is not just necessarily a life that is long.

There are many people today who think that we just need to find a way to deal with illness and aging so that we can live a really long time. Do you realize that one of the biggest areas that billionaires in Silicon Valley are beginning to invest in is life extension research? They want to address aging. How many of you would say, "Yes, let's deal with that aging thing"? Some of you have knee replacements, some have shoulder replacements, and all of these things are life extension measures. Some of you have pacemakers, and some of you are on medication that makes it possible for you to live without those interventions. Without them, your heart might not work, or whatever it may be.

That's all life extension stuff, and while it's all well and good, listen: even if you lived for 400 years, you would still be living in a broken, fallen world. So, abundance of life is not just about living a long life. Other people think that abundance of life is characterized by comfort and ease. If they just have comfort, they believe they have abundance. These are very high values in American culture in the 21st-century Western world. If you look at our culture, you can see what we highly value.

Comfort and ease, long life, health, wealth, and prosperity—what else? There are some people who put themselves forward as preachers of the Bible. A lot of times, they have big TV shows and say that if you come to Jesus, you'll have all of these things. So, is that what Jesus is talking about when He says, "In Me, you might have life and have it more abundantly"? I would suggest to you that it's not.

There are plenty of people who have followed Christ who didn't live very long, but they experienced an abundance of life. There are also many who followed Jesus into experiences in this world that did not necessitate or add to comfort, ease, health, wealth, and prosperity, and yet they had abundance of life. So, it's something more than that. One commentator, my friend David Guzik, writes on this, saying it is a life of satisfaction and contentment in Christ.

Look around our nation at people searching for comfort, ease, health, wealth, and prosperity, and what seems to be lacking? Satisfaction and contentment are not there. Abundant life is sustaining in meaning; it is a life that has the peace-filled knowledge that it endures into eternity. It does not end when you breathe your last. It is a life that now is and that is to come.

Paul speaks of it in 1 Timothy 4:8. It is a life that experiences and enjoys the presence of God in His fullness. Colossians chapter 2 says, "For in Him dwells all the fullness of God, and you are complete in Christ." If you feel like you're lacking something, remember that you are complete in Christ. It is a life that enjoys every spiritual blessing in heavenly places, as stated in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 3.

One commentator speaking on this gift of abundant life said it is a life beyond our wildest dreams. Now, that sounds really good! That is the life that Jesus offers—life more abundantly. How do we apprehend that? We receive life where we were dead in trespasses.

And sins by trusting in Christ. How do we lay hold of a life that is more abundantly lived? My pitch again is that as we adopt the purpose of Christ, we experience life more abundantly. We have a purpose that is worth living for and worth dying for, though you probably will not be called upon to do that here in this place. To live for that purpose is where the greatest meaning comes from because meaning originates from a purpose that is greater than yourself.

So how do we wrap this up? I want to conclude with two final considerations as we close out this series. Adopting Christ's purpose is the path, I believe, to an abundant life with sustaining meaning. There is also the aspect of adopting Christ's purpose that involves bearing witness to the truth for people who trust in lies, shining light to those who are in darkness. Jesus said, "I have come to bear witness of the truth. I've come to be a light to those who are in darkness."

In doing that, we expose the work of the thief who comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy. When you bring truth to those who trust in lies and shine light to those who are in darkness, what happens? You make waves. When you begin to do this, Jesus said in John 3:19, "And this is the condemnation: that light has come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest their deeds should be exposed."

So when you shine light to those who are in darkness and love darkness because their deeds are evil, you can expect to make waves. When you bring truth to those who trust in lies, they have made lies their blanket, as Isaiah the prophet talks about. They comfort themselves in lies. What lies are comforting to some people? There is no God. There is no judgment at the end. All paths lead to heaven. These are lies that people make their refuge; they comfort themselves with that. When you bring the truth to those who trust in that lie and find comfort in that lie, it is going to...

To shake things up now, it is in adopting the purpose of Christ that we find the path to the greatest meaning in this life. However, it is a path that has opposition. There is a judgment that comes when you and I adopt the purpose of Christ in this world. When we bring truth to those who trust in lies and shine light to those who love darkness, there is a judgment that accompanies that.

This is why this is one of Jesus's purpose statements. In John chapter 9, verse 39, Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into the world." There is an implicit judgment in bearing truth to those who trust in lies and shining light to those who love darkness. Additionally, there is an explicit judgment when a Christian states that Jesus is the only way, truth, and life, and that no one comes to God except through Him.

In a world and culture that trusts in lies and makes them their refuge, and loves darkness because it hides evil, if you adopt the purpose of Christ, you will find yourself in conflict. One of the biggest things that our culture detests in 21st-century American society is anything that divides, anything that causes division, and anything that is narrow. Therefore, if you bear truth to those who trust in lies and bring light to those who are in darkness, you will be labeled a bigot in 21st-century American culture.

That is a challenge, but Jesus says, "For judgment I have come into this world." Why? So that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind. We all know full well that the truth of Christ is not always well received by those who walk in darkness and trust in lies. However, this is the path to the abundant life: to bear the purpose of Christ. It is where we find life more abundantly.

This division that comes as we adopt the purpose of Christ may be part of the reason why Jesus said something striking in Matthew chapter 10, verse 34. There, Jesus states, "Do not think I came to bring peace on the earth."

Earth, whoa! Wait a minute. He didn't say that. I thought He was the Prince of Peace. Those words are in red in Matthew 10:34: "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man's enemies will be those of his own household."

If you adopt the purpose of Christ, it is the path to meaning, but it is a path that has opposition. There is a force in this world that opposes the working of God. I have come to bring a sword. That's gentle Jesus, meek and mild, right there.

Final consideration: the first step in adopting Christ's evangelistic light, shining truth, bearing lost, seeking, selfless serving, and abundant life-producing purpose is prayer. So, in your bulletin, take out this card. Everybody, take this out. You all have them. Lift them up so I can see. I want to make sure you take this card out. You've seen this before if you've been with us at Cross Connection for a couple of years. It looks a little bit different than the last time. It just says "You Connect" on one side, and on the back, it has some information about it. It has three blanks at the bottom of this card.

Everybody, take this. There are tens in the back of your seat back in front of you. Take one of these out. What we're going to do today as we wrap up our service is I want you to be thinking right now of the first three individuals who come to your mind that you would like to see connected to God. They may be in darkness; they're lost, they're blind. They have trusted in all kinds of the cultural lies of our day, and you would like to see them come to know the abundance of life that Jesus gives. The first step in that is prayer.

Ian Bounds, a great man of God, once wrote, "Where prayer is focused, power falls." So, as you think about some people that come to mind, I want to highlight just for a moment how effective I believe this is.

I wrote three names down on a card just before Labor Day in 2017. One was Rick, one was Kim, and one was Daniel. That's my father-in-law, my mother-in-law, and my brother-in-law. My father-in-law is sitting right there this morning. Normally, my mother-in-law is there too, but my brother-in-law has not quite yet come. He will, because what he doesn't understand is that where prayer is focused, power falls. God moves.

What's amazing about that is my wife and I prayed for a long time, and we didn't think it would happen within a few months of that name being written down. God began to move powerfully. In fact, within three to four months of that day, I was able to sit with my father-in-law and share the gospel. Where prayer is focused, power falls.

I want you to write down three names. You can tear it off; it comes right off there. In just a moment, I'm going to pray, and our ushers are going to come and gather them up. These are from the first service. This week, we're going to pray for these names. You're going to be praying because you're already praying, but you're also going to ask others to pray with you. Our staff prays on Tuesdays, and we have a prayer team that comes in on Wednesdays. You're welcome to come and pray at noon on Wednesdays here in the sanctuary. They will pray for every one of these cards and the prayer cards that you turned in earlier. We're going to pray that God would move miraculously and powerfully in these individuals.

So, write down three names. Maybe you can only think of one; that's fine. But I encourage you to think bigger. There are a lot of people that you know, and I know, who don't know Jesus. They need Christ. They are looking for sustaining meaning, and they will not find it in money, pleasure, power, or any of the things that the world has to offer. It's only found in the purpose of Christ.

Now, here's the challenge. Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew chapter 9, "Pray the Lord of the harvest that He will send forth laborers into His harvest." About six verses later, He sent the very guys who were praying—His disciples—into the harvest. So, we're going to pray, and God is going to use you to reach out to these friends, family members, and neighbors. Would you stand with me?

We have already written those names on the cards in the center aisles. We're going to pray, and then we're going to sing a song. As we do, the ushers are going to gather these cards from back to front and put them in this glass jar.

Pastors in the center aisles, if you put names on them, let us pray. Father, we come before You in humility, recognizing that Jesus said no one comes to the Father unless the Spirit draws them. Where prayer is focused, power falls. We ask that by Your Spirit, You would powerfully move in the lives of these individuals right now, wherever they are. They may not be at church; maybe they are, but Lord, You know where they are. We pray that by Your Spirit, You would reach out into the lives of these individuals.

We are looking at some of these cards: Gary, Jenna, John, Janet, Tymberlee, and Chris. Lord, we lift these people into Your hands. Sonia and Dusty, we ask that You move in John's life, Theresa's life, and Ashley's life. Lord, we trust that Jill and Alex are individuals You have a desire to reach with the good news of the gospel. We pray, God, that You would move mightily for Your glory and for the salvation of those who are still lost.

You came to seek and to save that which is lost. You came to give Your life as a ransom for many. You came to save men's lives, to bring light to those who are in darkness, and truth to those who have trusted in lies. God, would You use us in our testimony and our witness to bring this glorious gospel to those who are dead in trespasses and sins, that they would have life? We pray for this purpose and to this end because it is Your purpose and Your end. We praise You in Jesus' name. Amen.

Pass all those cards to the center. The ushers are going to gather them as we sing to the Lord. We will put them in this jar up here. You are to be praised. You do make all things new. If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. All the old things have passed away; behold, everything has become new. We thank You for the new life that we have in You, where we once were dead in trespasses and sins, but now we have life in You forever.

We pray, God, that we would enter into a greater extent in 2019 the experience of this new life.

Abundance of life, God, that you have caused us to understand and grasp your purpose in this world. Didn't you cause us to see more clearly why we live where we live, why we work where we work, and why we are in the school we are in? Wherever we are in life, you have placed us there for your purpose, to be a light to those who are in darkness.

So, God, work in and through your church. We pray again for these individuals: Lord, we pray for Dwayne, for John, for Paula, for Kevin, and for Mary. God, we ask that you work in Diane's life and Brandon's life. We just lift these people into your hands. We pray, God, that you would bring salvation in the same way that you said to Nicodemus in the crowd, "Today salvation has come to this house." God, do a work, we pray.

And now may the Lord bless and keep you. May He make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you His peace. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of His Holy Spirit be with you.