This Is Life | Pastor Jeff Williams

The Open Door Church 337

Message: Have you ever pondered the question, What is Life? There are different thoughts that go through our minds. There are also many quotes about life. Thomas Edison, an American inventor, once said, "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how lose they were to success when they gave up." In 2018, LIFE magazine published one of their issues with the title, "Miracles Of Faith: Inspiring stories from the Bible, history and the lives of Saints." Also, in 2019, LIFE magazine published another one of their issues with the title, "Jesus: Who do you say that I am? 1 John 5:11-12 breaks down the definition of life in reference to Jesus Christ and 1 John 1: 1-4 there is a deeper detail as Christ is the completer of our joy. On the surface life and death seem easy. We see death as the end of physical life and life being everything previous to death. However, both are also defined in the spiritual sense as death as eternal separation from God, life being eternally in His presence. In Genesis, we see whereas Adam was made in the image and likeness of God, Adam's sinful flesh and likeness passed on to all mankind. Jesus, born of a woman was not exempt, being flesh, yet, as God would be the the sinless sacrificial offering for the debt of our sin. In our flesh we battle in our Spirit over sin, a rebellion against trusting God using the free will He gave us. In John 3:3-7, Jesus explains to Nicodemus the need for rebirth to enter the Kingdom of God, a birth of the Spirit which comes after our fleshly birth through the waters of our mother.

There are 3 key points to this life the message attempts to make: Be born of God, love God and keep His commandments. To be born of God is to believe in Jesus the Christ and recognized God as your Father. [Personal Testimony] When we love God, we love His children and through Him keep His commandments. It is meant by God to be life giving, not burdensome. In John 10:10, life abundant is God's plan, whereas the enemy wants to destroy life. God's plan is to overcome the world being born in Him, then through His forgiveness, we are able to get up to walk in faith again. Our victory is to trust we have overcome the world in Jesus the Son of God. Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Scripture: 1 John 5:11-12 "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" - NKJV