Easter 4 A (4/13/08) "That They May have Life"

Text: John 10:10 Here is an outline of today's sermon . . . "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." --John 10:10 Jesus came and Jesus comes that we might have LIFE—and have it to the full! Fullness of life comes from living in the truth of the following passages which reveal all that Jesus came to do . . . 1) To save the world (John 3:17) "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him." 2) To reveal the Father (Matthew 11:27) "All things have been committed to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him." 3) To do the will of the Father (John 6:38) "For I have come down from heaven not to do My will but to do the will of Him who sent Me." 4) To serve (Matthew 20:28) ". . . just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." 5) To call sinners (Mark 2:17) "On hearing this, Jesus said to them, 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’" 6) To preach the good news of the kingdom of God (Luke 4:43) "But He said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." 7) To be a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28) ". . . just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many."’ 8) To proclaim freedom for believers (Luke 4:18) "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed." 9) To give the Father's words (John 17:8) "For I gave them the words You gave Me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that You sent Me." 10) To testify to the truth (John 18:37) "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to Me." 11) To die and destroy Satan's power (Hebrews 2:14) "Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy Him who holds the power of death -- that is, the devil." 12) To taste death for everyone (Hebrews 2:9) "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone." 13) To destroy the devil's works (1 John 3:8) "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work." 14) To bring division (Luke 12:51) "Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division." 15) To become a high priest and atone for sin (Hebrews 2:17) "For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people." 16) To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor (Luke 4:19) ". . .to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." 17) To take away sin (1 John 3:5) "But you know that He appeared so that He might take away our sins. And in Him is no sin." 18) To fulfill the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17) "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." 19) To give security (John 10: 28) "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand." 20) To bring judgment (John 9:39) "Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."