Abundant Life Pt2

Joh 10:22 And the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem, and it was winter.
Joh 10:23 And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's Porch.
Joh 10:24 Then the Jews encircled Him and said to Him, How long do you make us doubt? If you are
the Christ, tell us plainly.
Joh 10:25 Jesus answered them, I told you and you did not believe. The works that I do in My Father's
name, they bear witness of Me.
Joh 10:26 But you did not believe because you are not of My sheep. As I said to you,
Joh 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
Joh 10:28 And I give to them eternal life, and they shall never ever perish, and not anyone shall pluck
them out of My hand.
Joh 10:29 My Father who gave them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to pluck them out of
My Father's hand.
Joh 10:30 I and the Father are one!
Joh 10:31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.
Joh 10:32 Jesus answered them, I have shown you many good works from My Father; for which of
these do you stone Me?
Joh 10:33 The Jews answered Him, saying, We do not stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy,
and because you, being a man, make yourself God.
Joh 10:34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your Law, "I said, You are gods?"
Joh 10:35 If He called those gods with whom the Word of God was, and the Scripture cannot be broken,
Joh 10:36 do you say of Him whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world, You blaspheme,
because I said, I am the Son of God?
Joh 10:37 If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me.
Joh 10:38 But if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works so that you may know and
believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.
Joh 10:39 Then they again sought to seize Him, but He went forth out of their hand.
Joh 10:40 And He went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John baptized at the first, and
He stayed there.
Joh 10:41 And many came to Him and said, John indeed did no miracle, but all things that John said
concerning this One were true.
Joh 10:42 And many believed on Him there.

This is an interesting passage because it gets to the heart of the difference between what the Jewish
people were seeking and what the Father was seeking. The Christ the Jews were referring to was the
Messiah, for they believed that he would free them from the bonds of the Romans. They were looking
for a militant who would lead a military revolution and bring God's Kingdom into being on Earth.

On the other hand Jesus was seeking to bring a revolution of a different sought. For He had observed
and seen how those who the Father loved were being treated. How instead of there being a community
based on relationship, there was a community based on laws and regulations. Instead of freeing people
to be who God had intended them, these laws and regulations bound people up and gave them a false
idea of who the Father was. Jesus had come to set the captives free.

The Kingdom that He came to proclaim was not an Earthly one but one that took hold in the hearts of all
those who had eyes to see. He hoped that by doing the works of the Father people would see this.

The teachings and life of Jesus are just as radical today as they were then and His desires have not
changed. His new Jerusalem will be seen on the Earth one day, but when the time is right. What is far
more important now is what we allow Him to do in our hearts.

I pray that as you read this that you will allow Him to start working in a fresh way in your heart. That
you will come to see Him as more than a ticket to eternal life but as the source of all life from today on.
He truly cares for you more than you realise. He wants you to start living, in abundance today.