ABUNDANT LIFE

Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) preaching on ‘Life More Abundant’ from the Gospel of John 10:10. This is an excerpt from his message on January 4, 1874:

“Abundance of a kind of life is painfully manifest in insane persons. The demoniac in the Scripture burst the chains with which he was bound, for he had unusual strength when the paroxysm of his rage was on him. Now if possession by an evil spirit arouses men to an unusual force of life, how much more shall possession by the divine Spirit gird a man with extraordinary energy! It is not possible for us to tell how potent for good any man among us may become. As the man who was feeble enough before, when he became possessed with an evil spirit refused to be held in bondage, so the man possessed by the divine Spirit becomes supernaturally strong, and refuses to be the captive of sin or Satan. Look at Martin Luther; could you have believed that such a poor monk would shake the Vatican? And yet in his zeal for truth and hatred of error he did it. Look you at other men in other times, who have been raised up of God for a special purpose; what abundant life their holy ardor gave them! They were like Samson of old. Go up to Samson, feel his flesh, look at his bones; he is no larger than another man; though his thews (muscular strength) indicate enormous strength, yet he does not seem so surprisingly superior to others. Wait you till the Spirit of God moves him in the camp of Dan, and then woe to the thousands of the Philistines. See how he piles them heaps upon heaps, while hip and thigh he smites them! See how he takes the pillars of their temple and rocks them to and fro, and brings the edifice down upon their heads! The Spirit of God is on the man, and he works wondrously. If the Spirit of God shall come upon you, it will make you do greater things than these, and achieve loftier victories. Only believe it, and come to Christ, for abundant life is yet to be had.”

“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Jesus