...that the Lord puts upon my heart for
this time is on a subject that is
very basic and yet it is most essential
and central in the thought of God.
And that is, we would like to share
together this time on this matter of life.
God willing, we'll begin with the issue of
life this morning, and then we'll continue with
the law of life, the battle for life,
and the practicality of life.
May we read a few scriptures first?
Revelation 1,
verses 17 and 18.
And when I saw him, I fell at
his feet as dead, and he laid his
right hand upon me, saying, Fear not, I
am the first and the last, and the
living one.
And I became dead, and behold, I am
living to the ages of ages, and have
the keys of death and of Hades.
John chapter 10, verse 10, the second part.
This is what the Lord Jesus said, I
am come that they might have life, and
might have it abundantly.
The same gospel, chapter 12, verses 24 and
25.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, except the
grain of wheat falling into the ground die,
it abides alone.
But if it die, it bears much fruit.
He that loves his life shall lose it,
and he that hates his life in this
world shall keep it to life eternal.
And finally, the same book, John chapter 20,
verse 31.
John chapter 20, verse 31.
But these are written that ye may believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God, and that believing ye might have life
in his name.
Shall we pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, we do commit thy word
back into thy hands, and trust thy Holy
Spirit to quicken it into our hearts.
We pray that thy word will be in
us, life and spirit.
And it is all for thy own glory,
in thy precious name.
Amen.
There is one theme that runs through the
whole Bible, from the book of Genesis to
the book of Revelation, and that theme is
life.
God is a living God.
He is the God of life.
His very nature is life.
Whatever is not of life is not of
God.
Whatever he touches always produces life.
And whenever God deals with his people, the
purpose is always life.
The Lord Jesus said, I am come that
they might have life and have it more
abundantly.
Therefore it is important for us who has
any relationship with God, or who wants to
have any dealing with God, that we focus
our attention upon this matter of life.
Unfortunately we find that it is very easy
for us to be distracted from the central
theme of life and into something other than
life.
Not only often times we are occupied with
the things of this world, but even in
our spiritual pursuit, we find sometimes we are
pursuing after something other than life.
Sometimes we are pursuing to have ourselves
being the center, and sometimes we find we
are occupied with God's works instead of life.
Sometimes we are after success, popularity, and many
other things that would draw us away from
the attention upon life itself.
We may produce many things that are not
life.
And I think it is very important therefore
for us to go back to the very
basic and consider together before the Lord on
this matter of life.
What is life?
You know at the very beginning of the
scripture we find that God puts before man
this issue of life.
God created man in his own image.
Now brothers and sisters do you ever think
that why does God create us in his
own image?
I think one of the reasons is that
he may give his life to us.
God used the red earth to form the
body of man, and after God
has formed that man, God breathed the breath
of life into the nostril of that man.
Now in the Hebrew we find that the
breath of life actually is the breath of
lives.
It is plural in number.
Now probably this is just a plurality of
excellence, but if it does have any particular
meaning.
Now probably the breath of life means that
when God breathed this breath into the nostril
of man, this breath of life becomes the
spirit of man.
Then aside from the spirit of man you
find that man becomes a living soul.
So in other words in this breath of
lives God has not only created in man
a spirit, a human spirit, but God has
also given to man an animated life, a
soul life.
God has made man a soul, a personality,
a consciousness of one's own self, the ability
to move, to speak, to act, to do
things, a living soul.
Now of course we must not mistake that
this life, this animated life, that God has
given to man so that man may become
a soul, a living soul.
We must not mistake this life as the
very life of God.
Why?
Because this life that is given to man
is a created life.
It is an animated soul life.
Or to put it in another way, the
life of the soul.
It is not the uncreated life of God
himself.
At the same time we find that the
spirit that was created by the breath of
God is not the spirit of God.
It is the human spirit.
It is an organ that is ready to
receive the life of God.
An organ that is ready to receive the
spirit of God, who is the spirit of
life.
But thank God that he does create man
as a tripartite.
We have a spirit, we have a soul,
and we have a body.
Then God puts man in the garden of
Eden.
Now the garden of Eden is a garden
of pleasure, because Eden means pleasure.
And in this garden God has planted all
kinds of trees, fruit trees, good for food.
In other words, God provided for man food
for the body.
He has created us with a body, and
now this body needs nourishment, needs food.
So God created all these good trees, fruit
trees, as food for man.
How good is our God.
And then in the center of the garden
God planted the tree of life, and the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Now the tree of life, the life there,
is not the soul life, the created life,
the animated life that God has given to
man.
It is not.
The tree of life, the life there, is
another kind of life.
It is the uncreated life of God himself.
Somehow, mysteriously, God has put his life into
the form of a tree.
Now why is it so?
Because God wants his life to be available
to man.
Not only available, but receivable.
Just like you take a fruit, and you
can take it, and you can eat it,
and you can absorb it.
So God put his life in a form
of a tree, so that man can receive
it into his spirit.
Then we find by the side of the
tree of life is the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil.
Now if the tree of life is the
fruit, the food of the spirit, then the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil
is the food of the soul.
You know, our soul needs food too.
And knowledge is the food of the soul.
The knowledge of good and evil, that is
the highest knowledge in the universe, apart from
life.
Why?
Because sometimes we think that today we live
in the twentieth century, technological age, and with
all the scientific knowledge, we think that well
that is the highest knowledge.
No, scientific knowledge is not the highest knowledge
in the world.
Because scientific knowledge is the knowledge of the
physical world.
But the highest knowledge in the world is
the knowledge of good and evil.
Rational knowledge, reasoning, moral, ethics.
Now this is the highest knowledge in the
world.
And this is the food of our soul.
Now why does God put these two trees
before man?
On the one hand you'll find the tree
of life, God's life, uncreated life, God offers
to man.
And on the other hand you'll find the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
God said there is a knowledge, the highest
knowledge man can ever have.
It will develop your soul to the highest
degree.
But you will live an independent life.
On the one hand you'll find God said
here is life, my life, life of your
spirit.
And if you take my life, you will
live by my life.
And you will live in the spirit.
You will be a spiritual being.
And you will be in constant communion with
myself.
Even to such an extent that you may
know my will.
You may be able to do my will.
But you will live a dependent life upon
me.
A life together with me.
On the other hand God said here is
another kind of life.
If you choose you may live.
You may develop your own soul.
You may get a knowledge of good and
evil.
You may feel yourself as if you are
God yourself.
You do not need anybody.
But the end of that will be dead.
So God put these two trees before man.
And let man choose what kind of life
he wants to live.
Whether he wants to live by the life
of God.
Or whether he wants to live by a
developed soul.
Whether he wants to depend upon God.
Or whether he wants to be independent of
God.
Make a God of himself.
God said you may choose.
The tree of the knowledge of good and
evil is very attractive.
You know when Eve looked at the tree
she saw that the tree was very attractive.
It was good for food.
And it will give you knowledge.
And Satan even suggested that you will be
God.
In other words knowledge is so attractive.
It will make us feel great.
That we are truly somebody.
We know.
We are God.
But it leads to death.
The tree of the knowledge.
The tree of life.
Life is not very attractive outwardly.
Why?
Because if you receive the life of God
you have to depend, to be dependent upon
God.
You will be reduced to nothing, nobody.
That God may be all and in all
to you.
And that is not very attractive to us.
No wonder our forefathers choose the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil instead of
the tree of life.
Now do not blame our forefathers because we
choose the same thing.
Throughout the centuries you will find human beings
always choose knowledge that puffs us up.
Make us feel great.
Somebody.
We do not want to choose life because
it humbles us.
It reduces us to be nothing.
That God may be all things to us.
And you'll find we as human beings, we
do not like that.
We do not choose life.
We always choose something other than life.
And that is the tragedy of mankind.
Because our forefathers chose the wrong tree.
And therefore you'll find they were driven out
of the garden of Eden.
And then God set the cherubim on the
east side of the garden with flesh and
soul to guard the way to the tree
of life.
In other words, God had offered his own
life to man.
But because man rejected that life, so the
way to the tree of life was forever,
as it were, blocked.
Sin enter into this world.
Sin ruled over man.
And the wages of sin is death.
So far as man is concerned, it is
a hopeless situation.
Man cannot get back into the garden to
put the fruit of the tree of life.
Because if they dare to do that, the
cherubim with the flesh and soul will certainly
cut him to pieces.
So far as man is concerned, life, God's
life, once offered but rejected, seem to be
forever blocked from man.
But thank God, God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten son.
In other words, you'll find that God never
gave us up.
He began to work.
As our Lord Jesus said, my father worketh
until now, and I work.
God works unto.
And the way he did was, he sent
his only begotten son into this world.
You know the book of John.
The gospel of John is a gospel of
life.
I think it will be very helpful if
we can go through the gospel of John
and just look at life.
You'll find that God has sent his son
into this world.
For what?
In John chapter 1, verse 4, it says,
in him was life, and the life was
the light of man.
In other words, when our Lord Jesus came
into this world, the very life of God
is in him.
And he came to bring that life back
into this world.
He came to offer God's life again to
mankind.
In John chapter 1, verse 12, it says,
whosoever received him, that is, believing in his
name, he will give them the right to
be the children of God, child of God.
So here you'll find our Lord Jesus come,
and he came to offer life again to
mankind.
God's own life.
If you read John chapter 2, you'll find
he turned the water into wine.
In other words, our soul equal life, the
life of the soul is flat as water.
But the life that he comes to offer
is like wine.
It's full of flavor.
It gladdens.
It satisfies.
And then in chapter 3, you'll find our
Lord Jesus talk with Nicodemus on new birth.
You must be born again.
Born from above.
For God so loved the world that he
gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth
in him shall not perish, but have everlasting
life.
In chapter 4, you'll find he talked to
the woman at the well, the Samaritan woman.
And our Lord Jesus offered the living water
to her.
And that living water will become a fountain
within her, springing up to eternity.
She will never be thirsty again.
In chapter 5, you'll find the Lord Jesus
say, you search the scriptures.
You think there is eternal life in it.
But that scripture bears witness of me, and
yet do not come to me to receive
life.
In chapter 6, the Lord Jesus say, I'm
the bread of life.
If you shall eat of me, you will
be never hungry.
If you shall drink of me, you shall
never be thirsty.
And in chapter 7, you'll find our Lord
Jesus said, if anyone is thirsty, come to
me.
And if you believe in me, as the
scripture says, out of his belly shall flow
rivers of living water.
Life abundant.
In chapter 8, our Lord Jesus said, if
you believe in me, you shall never die.
Chapter 9, the Lord Jesus say, I'm the
light of life.
Chapter 10, the Lord said, I am come
that you may have life and have it
more abundantly.
Chapter 11, the Lord Jesus say, I'm the
resurrection and the life.
And chapter 12, the Lord said, the grain
of wheat falling into the ground and die,
it shall bear much fruit.
So here you'll find God sent his beloved
son into this world for one purpose.
And that one purpose is to bring his
life to man.
Once.
Now, how did he give his life to
us?
Of course, we know that he gave his
life to us through the cross.
In 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 24, it
says that our Lord Jesus came to bear
in his body our sins on the tree,
that we may die to sins and live
unto righteousness.
You know, the cross is a tree.
Today, people may wear a cross around the
neck, and it is maybe in gold or
silver and quite polished, refined.
But we must remember when our Lord Jesus
was crucified on the cross, it was not
a polished wood.
Nobody would bother to do that, to crucify
a criminal.
They just cut a tree.
So our Lord Jesus, he was crucified on
a tree.
He bore our sins in his body on
the tree.
In Galatians chapter 3, verse 13, it says,
cursed is everyone hanged upon the tree.
Now, when our Lord Jesus died on the
cross, he was cursed.
To him, that cross is like the tree
of knowledge of good and evil.
You know, we live by the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil.
And because we live by that knowledge, the
result is death.
And here you'll find our Lord Jesus took
upon himself our sins, and he died for
us on that tree.
Because the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil leads to death.
And he died.
But thank God, that cross not only represents
the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil that brings in death, but because our
Lord Jesus died on the cross, to us
it becomes the tree of life.
There he released his life.
He is like the grain of wheat that
falls into the ground and dies.
And by dying, he releases the life within
him.
And that life is given to all who
believe in him.
So to us, it is the tree of
life.
The Lord Jesus said, no one can take
my life.
I lay down my life, and I can
take it up again.
You know, it is very important to see
that the life of our Lord Jesus while
he was on earth, now what kind of
life does he have?
When he was born, he was called Emmanuel,
God with us.
In other words, he is God.
And yet he came into this world to
become a man.
He is perfect God and perfect man.
He has that eternal life, uncreated life of
God in him.
And yet, he came to become a man.
He also received a created human life.
So you find that divinity and humanity, divine
life and human life join together in him.
He is the God-man, Emmanuel.
His life is a divine human life.
And his soul life is always subject to
his very life.
There is no separation in him.
Because he is sinless, holy, blameless.
Now this is the life that our Lord
Jesus has in him.
Can God die?
God cannot die.
Now he being God, his life is eternal
life.
How can that life die?
It cannot die.
But man can die.
And man does die.
So here you find when our Lord Jesus
laid down his life on the cross, that
which died is that human life in him.
Because his human life is perfect, sinless, therefore
he can be our substitute.
Now we are sinful, therefore if we die,
we die for ourselves.
That's our end.
But he being sinless, he need not die,
and yet he died for us.
That is substitution.
Because he is the son of God, therefore
he, one man died, and we all died.
If you read carefully the gospel according to
John, you'll find that the same word life
that we have in English, if you go
through the Greek original, you'll find that the
life mentioned in the gospel of John are
in two different words.
And these two different words apply to our
Lord Jesus.
For instance, in John chapter 10 verse 10,
I am come that you may have life,
and have it more abundantly, that life is
zoe, eternal life.
Zoe, life of the highest quality.
Principle of life.
God's uncreated life.
A life that is in God.
A life that is given to the son
when the son is incarnated.
A life that the son gives to all
who believe in him.
So the life that he gives to us
is that uncreated God's own life.
That you may have life, and have it
more abundantly.
But when you read the following verse, John
chapter 10 verse 11, he laid down his
life for his sheep.
The life there is the soul life, the
human life, the animated life.
So you'll find that when our Lord laid
down his life on the cross, he poured
out his soul like water, as we find
in Psalm 22.
His soul life, his sinless life, human life,
was poured out as a substitute for all
of us.
And then if you read, say, John chapter
12 verse 24, you'll find that a grain
of wheat fall into the ground and die.
It is alone, and if it dies, it
bears much fruit.
And the life there, if you read the
context, is God's own life given to us.
Why?
Because if we read the following verse, 12
verse 25, the Lord Jesus said, He that
loves his life shall lose it, and he
that hates his life in this world shall
keep it to life eternal.
Now, he that loses his life, the life
there is human life, soul life.
But if you lose it in this world,
shall keep it to life eternal, that is
eternal life.
In other words, in giving up the soul
life, you can redeem, you can save your
soul life even into eternity.
So brothers and sisters, when our Lord Jesus
died on the cross, his human life went
into death as a substitute for our sins.
But of course, the divine life and the
human life are joined together in one in
our Lord Jesus.
So you see that when the Lord went
into death, that eternal life can never die.
It went through death, overcoming death, and coming
out of death.
And in coming out, of course, it brings
that human life into life too.
And that's victory.
And this is the life that has been
released and given.
So brothers and sisters, we do thank the
Lord that our Lord Jesus came to give
mankind, as it were, a second chance.
That flaming sword, that guard, that way to
the tree of life, actually smoked our Lord
Jesus.
Because there he was slain on our behalf.
The judgment, the righteousness of God.
You'll find the judgment came upon him.
In order that we may have life and
have it more abundantly.
This is the way that our Lord Jesus
offers his life.
Now how do we receive that life?
Of course, if you read the gospel according
to John, you'll find the way to receive
the life is to believe.
He that receives him, that is believed on
his name.
If we believe, whosoever believes shall not perish,
but has everlasting life.
If we hear his word, and believe in
the Father that has sent him, then we
will pass out of judgment, out of death,
into life.
If we come to the Lord Jesus, and
receive him, we will have life.
So to us today, it is the gift
of God.
Brothers and sisters, here you see the love
of God, in giving his only begotten Son
to us, that we may again.
Now the important thing is, do we know
what this life is?
What is the difference between this life, and
the life that we knew in the past?
What is the difference between this spirit life,
and the soul life that we live in
the past?
Now first of all, of course, we say
this life is the eternal life.
Now what is eternal life?
We often think of eternal life in terms
of time, and sometimes we even think of
eternal life as something of the future.
In other words, we say if we believe
in the Lord Jesus, we have eternal life.
But what is eternal life?
Eternal life is something that we have, not
for today, but for the day that we
die.
Then we'll go to heaven, and eternal life
is a passport to heaven.
Now oftentimes people think of eternal life in
that way.
People think of eternal life as an insurance
policy, a life insurance policy.
You cannot use it today.
You have to have it, but you don't
use it today.
It becomes effective when you die, and then
you can use that to go to heaven.
And many people think eternal life as that
way, but we know that it is not
so, because life begins the moment you receive
it.
So when we receive the Lord Jesus, we
have this life in us.
This is eternal life, and eternal life begins
in you the moment you receive the Lord
Jesus.
In other words, you can use that life,
you can live by that life right away.
You do not need to wait until you
die to get the benefit of it.
But eternal life, is it just a matter
of time?
No.
Now sometimes I think, suppose you live to
a thousand years old, but you are always
in poor health.
Do you think it's worth living a thousand
years?
You know if life is so long, and
yet it is of so low quality, actually
it's not worth living.
So eternal life is not just eternal.
In other words, timeless.
Now if it is timeless, and you live
a miserable life, you hope that better is
terminated.
It's not worth living.
So you find eternal life is more than
a matter of time, timelessness.
It is timelessness, because God is without time,
eternal.
But eternal life is a life of the
highest quality.
It is undefiled, uncorrupted, unfading.
As we find in 1 Peter chapter 1
verse 4.
You know this life of ours, this soul
life of ours, is defiled.
It's already defiled, it's corrupted, and it's fading.
But the life that God has given to
us, that we receive in Christ Jesus, is
an undefiled life.
Look at our Lord Jesus, while he was
on earth.
He lived in a dirty earth.
Everything around him is defiled, is corrupted, is
transient, is passing away.
But when our Lord Jesus lives upon this
earth, you find that he can live such
a pure undefiled life, in an environment of
defilement and corruption.
He is uncorrupted and incorruptible.
Men try to corrupt him, even his disciples
try to corrupt him.
His enemies of course try to corrupt him,
tempt him, offer him, persuade him from the
will of God, to think of himself and
of his own gain.
But you find he is not only uncorrupted,
he is incorruptible.
And his life on earth is unfading, unfading.
It's not transient, he lived in eternity, while
he lived in time.
Brothers and sisters, this life that is offered
to us in Christ Jesus, this eternal life,
is the life of the highest quality.
It is love without pretense.
Unfading.
You know, sometimes we say we love, but
that love is faint, is not true.
But that love of that life is unfading.
It is hope without fear.
It is faith without doubt.
You find the fruit of the Spirit is
in that life.
Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, fidelity,
meekness, self-control, everything is there.
You find it is endurance without murmuring.
It is strength in weakness, wisdom in adversity.
Look at the life of our Lord Jesus,
that is the life, that is the life
that God has meant for man.
That God has offered to man.
And that life is now in each one
of us.
Isn't that marvelous, that wonderful?
You know, sometimes we do not know what
we have received.
We do not know that God has offered
to us a life, his own life, uncreated
life.
We do not know how glorious is that
life, how powerful is that life.
It is the life that overcomes death.
And death is the strongest power in the
world.
It is a life that is holy.
And that's the life that is in you.
Now do you know this life?
You know we know a life by its
nature.
And if you read 1 John, you know
the gospel of John, John himself tells us
that he wrote this in order that we
may know that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of the Living God.
And if we believe in him, we will
have eternal life.
That is the purpose of the gospel of
John.
Then he wrote the first epistle of John.
And in the first epistle of John, in
chapter 5, he tells us that he wrote
this epistle for the sake that we who
believe in the Lord Jesus may know that
we have life.
In other words, when we believe in the
Lord Jesus, we have life.
Eternal life.
But we may not know it.
So John wrote again and said, now I
write you another letter, and in that letter
I want you to know that you who
believe in the Lord Jesus, you should know
that you have life.
Now how do you know you have life?
You know you have life by its very
nature.
And briefly you'll find 1 John tells us
that God is light.
And in him there is no darkness.
If we walk in the light as he
is in the light, we are fellowshiped one
with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ,
God's Son, cleanses us from all our sins.
In other words, life is known by its
light.
You'll find that within you, after you believe
in the Lord Jesus, you know, after you
believe in the Lord Jesus, you'll find that
there is a light that shines from within
you upon your path.
Oftentimes we wonder, now I believe in the
Lord Jesus, I am the Lord.
Now how do I know what is the
will of God?
How do I know that I will please
God?
Now thank God everyone who is born of
God has a kind of inward conviction that
now I'm a child of God, and I
should live to please God.
It's natural in us.
But how are we going to please God?
How do we know that this is what
God loves, this is what God does not
like?
How can I live a life that is
pleasing to God?
Now thank God, as you believe in the
Lord Jesus, you'll find that light will begin
to work in you.
The light within you will shed light upon
your path.
When you are going to do certain things,
the light is on, a red light, say
stop.
When you are going to say things that
you used to say, say you love to
criticize people, you love to say dirty words,
and after you believe in the Lord Jesus,
you don't need to go to a school
in order to reform your language.
You'll find that after you believe in the
Lord Jesus, when you begin to speak dirty
words, the red light is on.
Now, life is operating.
Brothers and sisters, do you know life is
operating in you?
It is operating all the time.
But unfortunately, you'll find that we neglect that
light.
Instead of watching that light, we go around
and try to find light from outside.
And that's where we get into trouble.
We know light by the light within us.
It is the light of life.
Then we will not walk in darkness.
We know light by righteousness.
It's righteousness.
God is righteous, and he that practices righteousness
is of God.
He that does not practice his righteousness is
not of God.
Brothers and sisters, after we believe in the
Lord Jesus, how do we know this is
right and this is wrong?
Many things we think we thought were right,
after we believe in the Lord Jesus, we
discover they are wrong.
And many things we think are wrong.
After you believe in the Lord Jesus, you'll
find they are right.
Now, how do we know this?
How does that come to you?
God is righteous.
And when you're doing something that is not
right, your conscience begins to put a brake
on it.
Stop.
Or if you're doing something that is pleasing
to God, there is peace and life.
God wants us to live a righteous life.
A life that is right before God.
A life that gives God the right.
Give God his rights.
And then, of course, God is love.
His love within you will tell you what
his life is.
If we hate our brother, we are in
darkness.
If we do not love the brothers that
we see, how can we love God whom
we do not see?
And there you'll find life within us begins
to work in us.
We know life by the operation of its
nature.
But what is life?
You know, life is more than attributes.
Life is a person.
In other words, the life that you receive,
not only has all kinds of qualities, attributes,
love, righteousness, light, and so forth.
But you'll find that the life you receive
is a person.
You know, attributes is impersonal, as it were.
But a person has a personality there.
So you'll find in 1 John it is
said, he that has the Son has life.
He that does not have the Son does
not have life.
In other words, the eternal life that God
has given to us is not something that
he gives apart from his Son.
It is true that eternal life comes by
his Son.
But eternal life is not something apart from
his Son.
When you believe in the Lord Jesus, you
believe in a personality, a living person.
And so what you receive is a personality,
a living person.
Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Christ is your life.
So brothers and sisters, let us remember this.
When we believe in the Lord Jesus, it
is not just that we take from God
an eternal life.
As if we can live by that eternal
life apart from God himself.
Having that eternal life, now we can love,
now we can be righteous, now we can
live in the light, but apart from God,
never.
Why?
Because the life you receive is nothing but
the Son himself.
It is Christ who is your life.
And he lives in you and me.
There is a personality there.
You know, the life in you has a
personality.
And how we need to lay hold.
The Apostle Paul, in his exhortation to Timothy,
he says, lay hold on eternal life.
To which you have been called.
And you have confessed a good confession before
many witnesses.
Lay hold on eternal life.
Brothers and sisters, we are called to eternal
life.
Now if eternal life is impersonal, how can
you be called to eternal life?
You are called to eternal life because eternal
life is Christ.
You are called to him.
And you are to confess the good confession
among many witnesses.
Brothers and sisters, we are here to confess
our Lord Jesus.
We are not just here to tell people
there is a better life that you can
have.
We are here to testify that there is
a person that you can receive.
And he will live in you and through
you.
Now this is our confession.
So finally, God has put before us this
issue of life.
I believe, brothers and sisters, we have already
chosen.
But often times, we do not really know
what we have got.
And because we are ignorant, therefore, we do
not enter into the fullness of the good
of that eternal life.
So may the Lord continue to guide and
lead us that we may have life and
have it more abundantly.
Shall we pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, we do thank thee for
thy goodness to us that even before the
foundation of the world, thou has willed to
give thy own life to us.
Lord, we do pray that we may know
thy life.
We may appreciate thy life.
And we may enter into the fullness.
And it is all for thy glory.