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Outline One - I Came That You Might Have Life
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I CAME THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE LIFE
I Introduction:
A. We have concentrated on the message of Jesus and well we should.
B. What we have failed to do is to also concentrate on the method
Jesus used to deliver His message.
C. If He were here today, would He be ministering within a building or out
in the streets?
II Learning from Jesus
“I have come that they may have life, and that they might have it
more abundantly.” (John 10:10)
A. Three Questions
1. Am I enjoying the abundant life Jesus came to give me?
2. If not, do I want to?
3. If so, am I willing to do what it takes to achieve it?
B. Jesus tells us how to enjoy the abundant life.
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you
and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28)
1. Who are those who labor and are heavy laden?
2. Is Jesus talking about physical labor?
3. Or, is Jesus talking about emotional pain and the cares
of this life?
C. Emotional pain is a part of life.
“Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.”
(Job 14:1)
1. This being true, “How can I enjoy an abundant life if all my
days are full of trouble?”
a. The key to the abundant life is given to us by Jesus
when He tells us, “Learn from me.”
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b. The abundant life will only be enjoyed by those who
take the time to Learn from Jesus.
2. The Apostle Paul understood this when he said,
“...I have learned in whatever state I am to be content.”
(Phil. 4:11)
III Learning Contentment
A. Contentment is a learned behavior.
B. We learn contentment by learning from Jesus.
C. Paul gives us the key to finding “Every State Contentment.”
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus”
(Phil. 2:6)
D. Paul goes on to explain how Jesus,
“humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:8)
E. When we look into the mind of Christ we will find He used two attitudes and three skills to accomplish His purpose.
IV Two Attitudes
A. Humility: “Putting other peoples needs ahead of our wants.
1. Did Jesus want to go to the cross? Absolutely Not. Remember
His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane,
“Oh My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me;
nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 6:39)
2. Did we need for Him to go to the cross? Absolutely.
3. On the cross of Calvary Jesus put our needs above His wants.
4. Solomon tells us,
"By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honor
and life.” (Proverbs 22:4)
B. A Positive Outlook on life: “Always looking for and finding the good
in any person or situation.”
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1. Jesus understood that there is the potential for good in the
worst of us.
2. Remember how when He was criticized for eating and drinking with publicans and sinners? Jesus responded by saying,
“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those
who are sick.” (Luke 5:31)
V. Three skills:
1. Accurate Thinking: Guided by our minds, not our
emotions.
“Let the proud be ashamed, for they treated me wrongfully
with falsehoods; but I will meditate on your precepts.”
(Psalm 119:78)
A. Remember how Jesus dealt with Satan during the temptations
in the wilderness.
B. He answered, “It is written, it is written, it is written.”
C. This is the essence of accurate thinking.
2. Assertiveness: Getting our needs met without offending others.
“Be wise as serpents but harmless as doves.” (Matthew
10:16)
A. Remember Jesus and woman caught in adultery.
1) Jesus was challenged to enforce the Law of Moses
which required stoning.
2) He could of said, “You are a bunch of sinners who
have no right to condemn this woman and no real
regard for the Law. (Aggressive and offense
statement)
3) Instead He said, “Let him who is without sin
cast the first stone.” (Assertive Statement)
B. Or Paul on Mars Hill in Athens in Acts 17.
1) His purpose was to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
2) He could have said, “You are nothing but a bunch of
ignorant fools, worshiping false gods and on a fast
track to Hell.”
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3) What would that have accomplished?
a. They would have been offended and closed
their ears to anything else he had to say.
4) Notice instead, how Paul successfully accomplished his mission by using assertiveness.
a. He began with a compliment.
“I perceive in all things you are very
religious.”
b. He then found an area of agreement.
“For as I was passing through and
considering the objects of your worship, I
even found an altar with this inscription,
‘ TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.’”
c. He was then able to hold their attention while he preached Jesus.
“Therefore, the One whom you worship
without knowing, Him I proclaim to
you.”
3. Listening:
“For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are
hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they
should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they
should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should
heal them.” (Matthew 13:15)
A. Wives, do your husbands really listen to you?
B. Parents, do we really listen to our children?
C. My brothers, and sisters, do we really listen to
God?
D. Do we really listen to the cries and hurt of those we associate
with every day?
E. Jesus heard and listened to the cries of the people and they
flocked to Him by the thousands.
1) He heard their cries.
2) He addressed their pain, both physical and emotional.
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3) He was then able to teach them things about the
kingdom of God they would never have accepted
before.
VI Summary
1. Jesus came to provide everyone with an abundant life.
2. By example, He has given us the attitudes and skills by which we can
enjoy the abundant life.
3. As we work toward having the “mind that was in Christ Jesus” we must
learn from Him the attitudes and skills He relied upon to accomplish His
mission.
4. We must also be aware of the manner in which He went about
accomplish ing His mission.
5. Remember the many times when Jesus first attended to the illness,
emotional pain and other needs of the people before He attempted to
teach them.
6. Because of His method of first addressing their needs, they were willing
to listen to instruction they otherwise would have refused to hear.
7. That is a lesson we need to learn if we are going to have the “mind of
Christ Jesus.”
VII Conclusion:
1. Finally, we need to notice the judgment scene in Matthew 25:31ff.
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels
with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate
one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
And He will sit the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the
left.
Then the king will say to those on His right hand, Come, you
blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from
the foundation of the world:
For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave
Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you
clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.”
And when they asked when they had done this, Jesus replied,
“Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least
of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”
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2. It’s easy to talk the talk but the kingdom of heaven is reserved for
those who walk the walk.
3. Paul sums up for us the result of having “the mind which was in
Christ Jesus” when he says.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be known to
God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ.”
(Philippians 4:6-7)
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