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7th July 2024
SundayReflection
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Andrew Wommack offers
'Eternal Life There's More to It Than You Think'
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I once had an employee ask me, "If you only had one opportunity to minister to a person, what would you teach?"
I still had to think for a moment, but quickly came up with an answer. I would share the meaning of true eternal life
Someone might say, "Eternal life is living forever."
But that's not it. No one ceases to exist when they die.
Everyone lives forever in either heaven or hell.
John 3:36 says
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not have life, but will remain under God's punishment.
Everlasting life is a present-tense possession.
It's not something that begins when we get to heaven.
So, the question remains, "What is everlasting life?"
This is very important.
John 3:16 says this is the reason that Jesus came.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Many people have mistakenly thought that the goal of salvation is the forgiveness of sin to avoid hell.
That's not what John 3:16 is saying.
Sin was a barrier that stood between us and a holy God.
It had to be removed. That's exactly what Jesus did, and He did it well.
But to what does that entitle us?
Sure, it entitles us to live forever with God in heaven, but there are tremendous benefits right here, right now, on earth.
Eternal life is one of those benefits.
Jesus defined eternal life for us in John 17:3. That verse says,
And eternal life means to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, whom you sent.
Eternal life is knowing God.
You may be disappointed with that definition.
You think you know God and you still aren't satisfied.
You want there to be something more.
The key lies in understanding what the Bible means by this word "know."
This was speaking of much more than just intellectual knowledge.
It can be seen in hundreds of Bible scriptures, like,
"Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain" (Gen. 4:1).
Adam didn't just know Eve intellectually.
That won't produce children.
He had an intimate, personal experience with her.
This was speaking of a knowing between a man and a woman in the most intimate way possible.
Likewise, when Jesus said eternal life was knowing God, He was speaking of having an intimate, close, personal relationship with God. That's awesome!
Many people believe Jesus died to forgive their sins, but they still don't have a close, personal, intimate relationship with their Father God.
They think that is reserved for heaven.
They are content to muddle through life singing songs about how, when we all get to heaven, what a day that will be.
That is not to take anything away from heaven, but we are supposed to have eternal life (close, intimate, personal relationship with God our Father and Jesus Christ His Son) right now.
Jesus said in John 3:16 that God loved the world so much, He gave His only begotten Son so those who believed on Him wouldn't perish but have everlasting life.
The church has changed the message of salvation.
They have placed a full-stop after the word "perish" in John 3:16.
If we don't hear that Jesus came to bring us back into intimate relationship with God, then we won't have faith for that and we won't experience it.
This describes the modern-day church to a tee.
If there was no afterlife, if there was no heaven or hell, John 3:16 reveals that Jesus would still have come and died for our sins so we could once again have an intimate relationship with Him.
This was one of the main differences between the first-century church and our modern church.
Those people knew God intimately.
They had a relationship with the Lord that wasn't waiting to start in heaven, but was working in them while they were still in this world.
They impacted their world much more than we are impacting our world today.
Why?
They had such a depth of relationship with a Living God that it was contagious.
Let me ask you this question.
It's not intended to condemn you, but to enlighten you.
How many people would die to have what you have?
Is anyone envious of your relationship with the Lord?
If not, then may I suggest to you that you aren't experiencing eternal life as the Bible describes it and as our Lord Jesus died to give you.
><(((°>
This is an edited version.
The full article is avaiable on request
'Andrew Wommack Ministries'
God called us to teach the truth of the gospel to the body of Christ with special emphasis on His unconditional love and the balance between grace and faith.
We are doing our best to fulfill that call by teaching at conferences, in churches, on television, through podcasts, by training others at Charis Bible College, and by developing ministry materials to help you in your relationship with the Lord.
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This isn't something for the select few.
This is normal Christian living. In fact, if this isn't your experience, you aren't really living.
This is what drove the Apostle Paul (Phil. 3:10) and all the early Christians.
It's still what drives victorious Christians today.
It's all about personal relationship with a Person, not just some doctrine.
There is so much more I would like to share with you about this.
It's the foundation of everything I teach. Ask my Charis Bible College students.
They will tell you that the answer to everything is a personal, intimate relationship with the Lord.
And the good news is that our Lord wants you to have this more than you do.
Contact the Rector
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