Sermon Summary
This week, Pastor Chris launched us into the new year with a new sermon series about abundant life in Christ. God’s Word says that Christ came to give us abundance, yet we often feel as though we’re lacking. The enemy will always seek to steal, kill, and destroy our hope. Pastor Chris called us into a new day to shake off the old, to ground ourselves in prayer, and to receive our inheritance of abundance in Jesus.
John 10:10 (ESV)
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Abundance: A degree which is considerably excessive. Very great, excessive, extreme, emphatic, surpassing, all the more, much greater.
John 7:38 (ESV)
38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
Our God is an Abundant God
Ephesians 3:20 (ESV)
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
Luke 6:38 (ESV)
38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
Abundance comes through praying mighty prayers
Jeremiah 33:3 (ESV)
3 Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.
James 5:16b (AMP)
The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) can accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].
Luke 18:1,7-8 (ESV)
1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Luke 18:1 (ESV)
1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.
Jeremiah 33:3 (MSG)
3 ‘Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.’
“Pray the largest prayers. You cannot think a prayer so large that God, in answering it, will not wish you had made it larger. Pray not for crutches but for wings.” Phillips Brooks
“Prayer does not mean that I am to bring God down to my thoughts and my purposes, and bend his government according to my foolish, silly, and sometimes sinful notions. Prayer means that I am to be raised up into feeling, into union and design with him; that I am to enter into his counsel and carry out his purpose fully.” D.L. Moody
1. We pray mighty prayers to a mighty God.
Revelation 19:6 (ESV)
6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
Hebrews 1:3 (ESV)
3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Psalm 147:5 (ESV)
5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.
Job 42:2 (ESV)
2 “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
2. We pray the Word of God.
1 Chronicles 4:9–10 (ESV)
9 Jabez was more honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” 10 Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked.
1 Chronicles 4:9–10 (MSG)
9 Jabez was a better man than his brothers, a man of honor. His mother had named him Jabez (Oh, the pain!), saying, “A painful birth! I bore him in great pain!” 10 Jabez prayed to the God of Israel: “Bless me, O bless me! Give me land, large tracts of land. And provide your personal protection—don’t let evil hurt me.” God gave him what he asked.
Matthew 7:7 (ESV)
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
3. We pray to the God of the impossible.
Matthew 19:26 (ESV)
26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Jeremiah 32:17 (ESV)
17 ‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
Matthew 17:20 (ESV)
20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
“There are three stages to every great work of God; first it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done.” Hudson Taylor
“God is looking for people through whom He can do the impossible, what a pity that we plan only the things we can do by ourselves.” Tozer
Jeremiah 32:17 (ESV)
17 ‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
• Are you living in the abundance of Jesus?
• Is your family overflowing with the life of God?
• Is your heart alive in Christ watering the dry places of our city?
• Are you yearning to see revival in our nation?
• What has the enemy stolen from you and destroying?
• Where is abundance lacking from living in your own strength?
Discussion Questions
- How would you describe an abundant life in Christ?
- What is the inheritance of a believer in Christ?
- Are there any areas of your life that need a shift, revival, or breakthrough? Share honestly with the group.
- Do you ever find yourself trying to think your way through circumstances rather than praying?
- Pastor Chris said that fasting and prayer together create a dynamic force that can shift things in the spiritual realm. Is there anything you need to fast and pray about in order to create a shift?
Application Questions
- Are you struggling to experience the abundant life in Christ? Pray Jeremiah 33:3 daily this week.
- Has your relationship with Jesus grown cold or distant? Choose to fast from something for the next 3 weeks and recommit to Christ as your Lord and first love.
- Is the Word of God your foundation? Find a Bible reading plan and become grounded in the Word again.