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Living an Abundant Life
I believe that as we get older we are more keenly aware of how vital each day is. We understand how quickly time passes and that we can´t go back. We begin to play a movie in our mind of things we have done and things we still desire to do.
I don´t know about you but I long more and more to live a life in true abundance according to God’s promises for me; a life of NO regrets--not just letting time pass but truly embracing the moments as they come and knowing that I am fulfilling my life destiny.
You´ve heard people say that when we are young--we long to graduate from high school and leave home-- then we desire to get married and have children-- then when we have children, we can´t wait for them to get older--and when they are grown we miss them and wish they were little again!
How easy it is to get consumed in what we wish we had. Let’s not live a life wishing for something we don’t have. Instead, let’s live a life destiny that is fulfilled one day at a time.
One Day at a Time
Let us as women of God live a life that is focused on what God has given us right now--today. That is the secret to a life of Abundance. A life in abundance is a life that is active and engaged in the current location while attentive to its future destination.
The majority of us have heard enough sermons on Gods promises and His blessings. True? How many times have we heard God wants to bless you? God wants to answer your request? God wants to supply your needs? ALL of that is TRUE but it is dependent UPON US!! So if it is all true, Why do we live so far beneath our potential in Christ?
1. We are in Denial of our Sin
Proverbs 15:29 (NIV) “The Lord is far form the wicked but He hears the pray of the righteous.”
We have to examine our ways, our thoughts, and our behaviors and see where we have gone wrong. You may say, “I’m a Christian and I don’t have sin in my life.” I just want to ask you to take a closer look at those small things that we overlook that keep us from a life of abundant blessings that God has and wants for us.
What about Pride? - What about Jealousy?
- What about Envy?
These are things as women we have to allow the Holy Spirit to control! They become sin in our life and it is easy to deny they exist. Sin separates us from God and, if we are not careful, we will be just like Samson who didn´t even realize the Spirit of the Lord had left him!
- What about Gossip?
Ladies, we need to understand that gossip is a SIN.
Ephesians 4:29 (NIV) says, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.”
That’s a command! When you speak negatively about another member of your church, your pastor or pastor’s wife, you are not abiding in God’s Word and you will lose the benefits by that disobedience!
John 15:7 (NIV) “If you abide in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” The key is we have to abide in His Word! That word “abide” means staying ¨in sync--in tune¨ to what it says.
2. We Lack Obedience
How many of you are parents? You know what it’s like when you have had to take something away from your child? It wasn’t because you wanted to, but it was in a form of discipline because they disobeyed. It is that same simple formula with Christ as well. We are His children. He wants to bless us and pour out His abundance over us, but we have a responsibility to OBEY!
The times I have to discipline my children, I always say, “I’m sorry. This is not what I would have chosen for you, but it’s because of your decision to disobey.”
1 John 3:22 (NIV) says, “Whatever you ask, we receive BECAUSE we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”
Notice that it is a promise with a stipulation…it says we receive it BECAUSE we have chosen to obey His commandments!
Friends, I want us to be Godly women who choose to do what’s right--who choose to obey God’s Word, who don’t base our decisions on what we see others doing but we do what’s right-- regardless! Even if that means sometimes we feel alone!
When you start doing what’s right and standing up for what’s right in God’s sight, you may lose a few friends, but you will gain God’s Blessings and Abundance pouring and raining over your life like never before!
3. We Lose our Confidence
I know for some of you being self-confident is hard. Your self-esteem is low. You may feel like you have been beaten down and that you are not valuable.
I want you to know today that you are a woman of God. Words that people have used against you to make you feel inferior do not reflect how God sees you. You are valuable and wonderful in God’s sight.
I declare to you that you are a woman of God and what others have made you believe is a lie! You are important, you are valuable and it’s time today to let the past be the past! Let those chains of inferiority come off! I want you to receive boldness and confidence in Christ! 
Heb 4:16 (NIV) “Let us approach the throne boldly that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of trouble.
Mark 11:23 (NIV) “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.”
Ladies, lift up your head boldly and be the women of God He designed you to be! The verse in Hebrews says approach His throne boldly and Mark 11 says don’t doubt in your heart when you approach Him! Those are two things we have to do and we have to remember that they are a vital part of the keys to living an Abundant Life.
We’ve talked about three things that hinder us from living in that Abundance that God has planned:
1. Denial of Sin
2. Lack of Obedience
3. Lack of Confidence
Now I want us to finish this message looking at what Abundant Living really is. Abundance simply means ¨more than enough¨ in all things.
In a life that has been completely abandoned to God’s will and is 100% focused on Him, needs are met and supplied before you even have to ask or pray about them. The scripture tells us in Matthew 6:8 (NKJV) “… For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” What we must do is trust Him and believe the Word of God to be true.
There is:
- Abundant Freedom in Christ
- Abundant Forgiveness
- Abundant Joy
- Abundant Provision
- Abundant Peace
- And much, much more that God has for us.
Are you enjoying them now? Are you? Can you say, “Wow, I am living an abundant life in Christ?”
I understand that our daily life situations may change, including jobs, family, friends and circumstances that we can’t control, but what we can control is:
- Knowing that He is OUR God (say it now: “He is My God.”)
- Knowing who we are in Him (say it now, “I am a WOMAN of God.”)
That is Abundant Living. A way of living that brings such a peace, that when circumstances change around us we are still grounded in who He is and who we are in Him!
Deuteronomy 28:2-8 (NIV)
“All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.”
Prayer:
“Lord, in Your Word You have promised great blessings to those who follow You. Heavenly Father, help me to live in such a way that I inherit the abundant life that You have for me. Forgive me, God, of any sin that I have ignored, help me to follow ALL Your commands and to seek You boldly. I need You and I choose today to put You first above all things. Thank You for calling me Your daughter and allowing me to enjoy this wonderful journey of life. Amen.”
Copyright © 2008-2015 Melinda Henderson
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