Certainly, the lives of Christians are full of responsibility and self-restraint, but the rewards and blessings that accrue over a lifetime of pleasing God and living His way of life simply overwhelm the seemingly onerous duties and strictures. There is no comparison! Most people are not aware that this is a primary reason Christ came as a man to this earth to teach us how to live abundant, fulfilled lives. According to the very Founder of Christianity, His disciples, if they follow His teachings, will live enviable, full lives! They will have lives worth living! The Greek word Jesus uses in John 10:10 to describe the kind of life He came to teach His disciples is perissón, meaning superabundant, superfluous, overflowing, over and above a certain quantity, a quantity so abundant as to be considerably more than what one would expect or anticipate. In short, He promises us a life far better than we could ever envision, reminiscent of I Corinthians 2:9, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him (see Isaiah 64:4). Paul informs us that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). However, before we begin to have visions of palatial homes, classic automobiles, around-the-world trips, and wads of pocket money, we need to step back and consider what God says comprises life. Once we determine His view of living, we will have a better grasp of what kind of blessings we can expect as Christ's disciples. All we need to do is glance around at our and our brethren's situations to know that wealth, prestige, position, and power in this world are not high-priority items on God's list of blessings (I Corinthians 1:26-29). In terms of economic, academic, and social strata, most of us come from the lower and middle classes, and we tend to remain in a situation similar to the one in which we were called (compare I Corinthians 7:20-24). Perhaps the most telling biblical definition of life particularly eternal life is uttered by Jesus Himself in John 17:3: And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. Note that this definition makes no mention of length of days, health, prosperity, family, occupation in fact, the only thing it does mention is knowing God! As humans, we are naturally oriented toward material things, but as Christians, our perspective must change. Paul admonishes, Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died in baptism, and your life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:2-3). To us, life and our perception of abundant life is a whole new ballgame! It is true that the Bible is full of promises. It is also true that Jesus tells us several times in John 14-16, If you ask anything in My name, I will do it (John 14:14; see also 14:13; 15:7, 16; 16:23-24, 26). Psalm 37:4 pledges, Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. These sound like absolute promises, and if God is to be true to His Word, He must fulfill them, right? Very few of God's promises in the Bible are absolute in nature; they are, instead, conditional promises, governed not only by our responses to God, fulfilling certain requirements, but also by the perfect judgment of God. As James 1:17 says, He gives only good and perfect gifts; He will never give one of His children a blessing that would ultimately derail His purpose for him or that would be too much for him to handle. It works similarly among mere mortals. A human parent would not send his son to vocational school if he really wanted him to be a doctor, even though tuition to the vocational school would be a good thing. Likewise, the same parent would not entrust his child with thousands of dollars in cash at Toys 'R Us, despite the fact that such sums of money would be considered a wonderful gift. If human parents have enough wisdom to give

It's not really about a church building, an organization, or even a denomination. It's about a way of life, a system of belief God Himself designed. We are all here today on God's Sabbath because we've chosen to live in His system. We've chosen to return to Him, to worship in the way He recognizes, to obey in the way He defines. We embrace the faith that existed before culture, politics, and human tradition reshaped it. When God says come out of her, My people, He is not calling for rebellion. He is calling for a willingness to listen, to trust Him enough to obey and to worship Him on His terms. That is simply faith, faith lived according to God's way of life. This is not a one-time decision; it's an everyday decision. We must stay focused on a life dedicated to truth, with consistent prayer, consistent study, and consistently proving all things, not focused on our will but on God's will, under the authority of the pure, whole word of God. That's the life God calls us to—a life fully His, fully obedient, worshiping according to His authority.