October 4, 2021
John 10:9 I am the Door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
Jesus said, I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10) David wrote, Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all His Benefits. (Psalms 103:2) The Benefits David wrote of are what makes up the Abundant Life Jesus spoke of. What we are attempting to do is define that list, which by the way, is far to vast and long to do but we will do the best we can.
Every born again believer in Christ is viewed in the same manner by God. No one is greater or lesser in the eyes of God. He sees us all the same. Peter said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: (Acts 10:34) Other translations say it like this: Truly I understand that God shows no partiality,
The point is that everyone who is Redeemed by their faith in the shed Blood of Christ on the Cross is equal in God’s sight. It doesn’t matter who they are or what they have done in the past. The Bible uses the word, whosoever. This word means exactly that. Whoever the person is, they will be saved when they come to God through faith in Jesus Christ. At that point in time, ALL the Benefits of Abundant Life are theirs through faith.
Jesus shed His Precious Blood on the Cross as the final Sacrifice required by God. Faith in what He accomplished that Day is what opens the door to all the Benefits of Abundant Life for all who believe. Jesus said, I am the Door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. (John 10:9) The “pasture” Jesus spoke of here is the Abundant Life He spoke of in the very next sentence!
Sometimes we single out certain verses of Scripture when we need to read the whole paragraph to gain better understanding. These Words of Jesus in the 10th Chapter of John are a perfect example of this. One of my favorite Verses is John 10:10 but I must not isolate it because it is not the complete thought. The whole Passage reads like this: Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the Door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he will be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” (John 10:7-11)
Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He laid down His Life for us. He died that we may live an Abundant Life here on Earth (John 10:10) AND eternally in Heaven when our lives on Earth have ended. (John 3:16) In short, Jesus paid the ultimate price that through faith in Him, we may have all the Benefits now and forevermore. Hallelujah!
The first Benefit of Abundant Life in Christ for every believer is, Forgiveness. The second is Healing. The same Blood that we believe in for Salvation (Forgiveness) is the same Blood by which we receive Healing and all the other Benefits of Abundant Life.
When we come to Salvation through faith in the Finished Work of Jesus on the Cross of Calvary, ALL the Benefits are ours. We are not given a list of benefits and told to pick three or four. We get them ALL! The problem is, we don’t know what they all are. We cannot not receive a Benefit that we don’t know exists.
When my husband died, we had just opened a checking account at a local bank here in Oklahoma. When the banker heard of Jack’s death, he called me and said, “Where do you want me to send you this check?” I didn’t know what he was talking about. Then he explained that the account we had opened two days prior included an “accidental death life insurance benefit.” I had the benefit, but I didn’t know I did so I didn’t know to file a claim. Most Christians live their lives not knowing the Benefits that are available to them. They are countless and limitless and until we know the Benefits, we will not claim them for our own.
Your Benefit Package will.……….turn the tide………..in your life.
Claiming my Benefits! Doreen
