Dave Connolly unpacks what Jesus actually meant by "abundant life" in John 10:10 — and it's not what the prosperity gospel suggests. Rather than promising material wealth or a problem-free life, Jesus offers something far more profound: a superabundance of spiritual life. Discover the Greek meaning behind this famous verse, learn Paul's secret to contentment in all circumstances, and explore practical ways to identify what's robbing you of the life Jesus came to give.
01Talk notes
Is "abundant life" actually something Christians are allowed to expect? Or is it just another phrase that sounds great but doesn't connect to Monday morning reality?
This week at Crowd Church, Dave Connolly explores this idea of abundant life by looking at John 10:10 and how it has been used to promise everything from job promotions to miracle healings. But what did Jesus actually mean when he said he came to give us life "to the full"? Dave unpacks the original Greek, challenges the prosperity gospel interpretation, and offers something far more profound than a new car or a bigger house.
02**When Abundant Life Gets Confused**
It's easy to see how we've got this muddled up. Some Bible teachers quote John 10:10 as support for the idea that Christianity leads to physical prosperity. They'll pair it with verses like 3 John 2 — "I wish above all things that you prosper and be in good health" — to teach that Christians are promised wealth and health if they have enough faith.
But as Dave pointed out, that verse was simply part of a polite letter greeting, similar to how we might write "I hope this email finds you well." It was never intended as a universal promise that every Christian will be rich or disease-free.
So what does Jesus actually promise?
03**Life as God Has It**
In John 10, Jesus draws a contrast between himself as the Good Shepherd and the false shepherds — thieves who come only to steal, kill and destroy. Then comes this extraordinary statement:
"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." — John 10:10
The Greek phrase here for "having life to the full" literally means having a superabundance of things. But not things in the material sense. Dave explained that John uses the word "life" (zoe) 36 times in his gospel — more than a quarter of all New Testament references to life. And in John's writing, life characteristically refers to eternal life, to spiritual life, to life as God intended it.
As Dave put it: "When we try to live life our own way, we find that life is a dull, desperate, empty thing. Yet when we walk with Jesus, there comes a new vitality, a super abundance of life. It's only when we live with Jesus that life becomes really worth living."
This isn't about throwing away crutches or getting that promotion. It's about a life lived at a higher level — in relationship with Jesus, empowered by his presence, reflecting his glory.
04**The Secret Paul Discovered**
There's a passage in Philippians that captures this beautifully. Paul writes:
"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength." — Philippians 4:12-13
Notice, Paul says he learned to be content. It didn't come automatically. He'd experienced both extremes — wealth and poverty, full stomachs and hunger. And in every situation, he found he could be content. Why? Because Christ strengthened him.
The word "content" here is fascinating. It means being independent of your circumstances. Whether Paul had a lot or a little, his sense of abundance wasn't tied to his bank balance or his health status. It came from his relationship with Jesus.
That's the abundant life Jesus offers. Not immunity from problems, but a deep contentment that doesn't depend on everything going right.
05**Identifying the Thief**
Jesus contrasts his gift of abundant life with the work of "the thief" who comes to steal, kill and destroy. So if abundant life is available, what's robbing us of it?
During Conversation Street, Matt and Jen explored this question honestly.
What robs you of an abundant life?
Jen reflected on seasons where worry and tiredness had the upper hand: "It made me feel sad for all the times I've not lived an abundant life — that I've allowed the worries of the world to get the better of me." She described those periods like "watching a black and white TV when there's a perfectly good colour one in the next room."
For some of us, the thief looks like apathy — that fog of tiredness where we stop running to God even though we know that's exactly what we need. Jen described it like a child wanting a hug but not going to the parent whose arms are open wide. "Why would you not run there? And sometimes I do and it's great. And sometimes I don't."
For others, the thief is distraction. Matt shared how in our always-connected world, we struggle with boredom and fill every quiet moment with screens and noise. "I find if I get distracted a lot, then that for me is a big thief that robs abundant life because it stops me connecting as much as I should with God."
Finding sacred spaces
The conversation turned to practical solutions. What helps us reconnect?
Matt talked about walking in the park, working in his woodwork shop, hiking in the Lake District, and even flying on planes where no one can call him. Jen mentioned car journeys as her sacred space — "somewhere no one will really find me. If they approach, I just drive off."
The point isn't that we all need to take up carpentry or go fishing (though Nicola in the comments was enjoying exactly that). It's about intentionally creating space to be with God. Jesus regularly withdrew from the crowds to pray on mountainsides. We need to find our own mountain places.
06**What Abundant Life Actually Looks Like**
So if abundant life isn't about material wealth, what is it?
It's contentment that doesn't depend on circumstances. You can have peace when life is chaotic. Joy when everything around you says you shouldn't—wisdom when you don't know the answers.
It's spiritual life empowered by Jesus. As Dave explained: "Because we have received Jesus, because he lives within us, we have the riches of the super abundant life."
It's living at a higher level. Not higher income, but higher in the sense of being grounded in obedience to God, dependent on him, surrendered to him.
And despite knowing this, we may not always walk in it. As Matt admitted, "That's my story — don't always walk in it. But that's down to me, not Jesus."
07**Your Next Step This Week**
If you want to experience more of this abundant life, here are some practical starting points from the conversation:
Identify your thief. What's actually robbing you of contentment and connection with God? Is it worry? Distraction? Busyness? Apathy? Name it specifically.
Find your sacred space. Where can you withdraw and be with God without interruption? It doesn't have to be a mountain — it could be a park bench, a car journey, or an early morning before the house wakes up.
Practise contentment. When circumstances feel difficult, remind yourself that an abundant life isn't about everything going well. It's about Christ who strengthens you regardless of circumstances.
Run to God, not away. When you feel low, that's precisely when you need a connection with God most. Don't withdraw into isolation — withdraw into his presence.
08**The Colour TV Is Waiting**
Jen's analogy sticks with us: why watch black and white when there's a colour TV in the next room?
The abundant life Jesus offers isn't about getting more stuff or having fewer problems. It's about a super abundance of spiritual life — peace, joy, contentment, wisdom — that doesn't depend on what's happening around us.
Dave left us with a challenge worth sitting with: "We need to surrender our lives fully to Jesus to experience the fullness of his abundance."
What would it look like this week to turn off the black and white TV and step into the next room?
Topics in this talk
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(419) Discover Abundance in Christ - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czvdzU4wLj4
Transcript: (00:00) [Music] welcome to this week's crowd church service we are a digital Church on a quest to discover how Jesus helps us live a more meaningful life we are a community a space to explore the Christian faith and a place where you can contribute and grow I want to invite you to connect with us here at crowd church and there are a few ways that you can do just that firstly you can engage with Crow from any device during our live stream and if you're up for it why not invite a few friends over and experience the service together you (00:42) see church is all about connecting with God and connecting with others and one of the easiest ways for you to do that is to also Join one of our midweek groups where we meet online together to catch up and discover more about the amazingness of Christ you can also subscribe to our podcast called what's the story where we Deep dive into stories of faith and courage from everyday people more information about all of these things that I've mentioned can be found on our website at www.c crow. (01:21) or you can reach us uh on social media at crowd church if you're new to crowd or new to the Christian faith and would like to know what your next steps to take are well why not head over to our website crowd. churchnext for more [Music] details and now the moment you've been waiting for is here our online church service starts right now good evening good evening and welcome to crowd church I'm here with j I love that well my name is mat Edmonson and I'm here today at crowd church with Jan B oh we could have some fun with that (02:11) very warm welcome to you for those who are joining online very warm welcome to crowd church we are an online Church uh just looking at this whole Jesus thing uh in ways which are hopefully interesting and fun and accessible and all those kind of good and TR don't forget true true is very important yeah um but yes warm welcome to you great that you're here with us do say hello in the comments let us know where you're watching from uh and of course as we said in the intro any questions anything as we go through just write them in the comments and we will (02:43) usually respond to them uh if we can it's usually how it works Jen right yeah you got your pen and paper there yeah but your pen and my my paper fair play fair play how's your Sunday been yeah it's been quite chilled um yeah I was very very very tired this morning but um it's been a nice day yeah thank you yours bit jetlagged a little bit jetlagged yeah um got back from a 3-week epic trip in the States on Friday M uh which you know still still recovering from you know hasht first world problems um but yeah no good good (03:24) day I watched uh a whole bunch of people get baptized this morning which was awesome and then I watched Louis ham spoiler alert if you don't want to know who won the British Grand Prix just mute the live stream for like a few seconds because leis Hamilton won the British Grand Prix I saw it yeah first time he's won a Grand Prix in two and a half years I know amazing my family were very pleased yeah I bet they were I was very pleased as well and England are through England are through in the semi-finals did you (03:55) watch that yeah y I did behind my cushion penalties it's just too hard isn't it oh penalties are a nightmare they are an absolute night they are what they are but yeah we did well though we did we did we did very well it's a good weekend for English sport but of course if you're joining us from outside the UK then I apologize for we're going on about English sport it's just normally we don't have an awful lot to cheer about in English sport uh and so when we do get stuff to cheer about we're very excited so well done England well done (04:29) Lewis keep going keep going strong cuz we are enjoying it right now do you think we're going to win the finals I think they've got all the potential to do it it's just yeah I think they they're improving that was the best game wasn't it it was it was definitely I was wasn't too sure at the beginning but uh yeah of course we'll win of course we'll win and for those of you watching uh the the live stream on catchup or listening to it on the podcast and the result is already out on the England whether win the Euros (05:01) or not yeah they they're either going to be cheering with us or just laughing at us either way hopefully the former let's hope so so what have we got coming up today Jan I'm know I'm asking you that question you have no idea Dave Conelly talking very good about or can Mr canoli as you said I love that I don't know um I've not had a chance to listen to it I'm afraid okay well you're going to get a chance to listen to it now yeah cuz great yeah yeah it's awesome so yes we have the very Reverend Dave Conley speaking today the way this works is uh (05:39) we play a talk normally lasts about 15 to 20 minutes and we then come back conversation Street and we chat about the talk so Dave is delivering the talk tonight he is talking about abundance in Christ what does it mean to have an abundant life now we are in a series on wholeness how to become whole that's what we're we're talking about that's the sort of overarching umbrella we were watching this whole thing in where nothing missing nothing broken and so in that series on wholeness we have got Dave talking to us about this concept of Abundant Life what does it mean to have (06:14) Abundant Life how do we have it how do we get it are we even allowed to have it is that a thing that we can do as Christians who knows we're going to find out uh in the next sort of 15 minutes from Dave and then like I say joh I'll be back to chat about it um so we'll see you in the comments if youve got your pen and paper ready I have I've got M on marks on I'm ready are you ready my pen is poised my pen is poised excellent well with my poised pen uh and my uh at the ready notebook let's listen Dave like I say write your comments and questions in the comments that I'm just replaying (06:52) that phrase in my head yes write it in the comments does make sense and Jan and I be back for conversation Street after this here we go today I want to share with you what it means to have Abundant Life in a broken world if you've ever heard me speak before you will know how much I love to read the word of God and how I love to understand the context It Was Written in there are some verses in John chap 10 verse 10 that have been such a blessing to me over the years let me read them to you the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy I have come that they may have (07:37) life and a it to the full Jesus said those words over the many years of being a Christian and going through a whole variety of different seasons of life these verses have become so precious and so meaningful to me through studying them and applying scripture to to my life it has enabled me to understand a little more of what my identity in Jesus Christ really is I know some Bible preachers and teachers quote John 10:10 as support for the idea that Christianity leads to physical prosperity and you know and every good thing they like to (08:28) quote these vers have been used as a description of the Christian Life the natural pattern as it were of life that Christians can expect because of God's blessing other scriptures including the salutation in um the third letter of John Chapter 2 which says I wish above all things that you prosper and be in good health these words are also used to teach that Christians are promised health and wealth if they have enough faith yet what I read in the New Testament usually emphasizes a radically different result in following (09:16) Christ but can I ask are we not told that we will be persecuted that the message of Jesus is divisive that we will need to take up our cross and follow him is that not the natural expectation for Christians is the expectation or should the expectation not be suffering the idea of job promotion the new car the new house more money throwing away the crutches these are not among the fringe benefits offered by Jesus hey please listen to me please hear me God is our provider God is the god of more than enough God is the god who will always (10:13) make a way where there appears to be no way don't lose sight of that in what I'm saying God is the god of more than enough he is the god of abundance the third letter of John Chapter 2 appears to be report of the introductory comments of a letter that was being written specifically for a man named gaas or gas it was simply part of a polite way to begin a letter in those days and similar greetings are found in other ancient writings today we might write a letter or an email by saying I hope that this letter finds you in good health likewise the third letter of John Chapter 2 (11:03) should not be used as a promise that God applies to all his people this scripture does not guarantee that gas or any other Christian will be rich or that they will never suffer from sickness or disease and in order to understand what John 10 verse 10 really means we need to look at it in context John's gospel develops the biblical theme of Shepherds and sheep that is Jesus being the shepherd and the church people being the Sheep the shepherd is accessible to the Sheep strangers do not have personal relationship with the flock but the Good (11:52) Shepherd does in verse 10 it draws the contrast between Jesus and the false Shepherds it tells us that the false shepherds are thieves who come to kill and steal and destroy John 20:31 describes the purpose of this gospel speaking of the Miracles and the signs John says but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the son of God God and that by believing you may have life in his name as we read John's gospel we see that life is one of the main Concepts one of the main ideas one of the main thoughts of his (12:46) writing I believe he uses the term life 36 times where no other New Testament writing as it more we can find it 17 times in the Book of Revelation 14 times in Romans and 13 times in the first letter of John so in this one writing there ures more than a quarter of all the New Testament references to life life in John's writings characteristically refers to eternal life in for example in John 3:15 we read that everyone who beli believes may have eternal life in him the gift of God through his son yet here I believe the term must be taken in (13:42) its broadest sense Jesus's main purpose was the Salvation the health of the sheep which is defined as free access to pasture and fullness of Life under his protection and by his gift they can experience the best life can offer in the context of John's emphasis on eternal life this statement takes on a completely new significance Jesus can give a whole new meaning to living because he provides full satisfaction and perfect guidance Jesus claims that he came that men might have life and might have it more abundantly the Greek phrase used here for having more abundantly means to have (14:42) a super abundance of things to be a follower of Jesus to know who he is and what he means is to have a super abundance of life when we try to live life our own way we find find that life is a dull desperate empty thing yet when we walk with Jesus there comes a new Vitality a super abundance of life it's only when we live with Jesus that life becomes really worth living and we begin to live in the real sense of the word those who are really his own listen to his voice they recognize that he has been sent from God and are ready to follow him as (15:37) the Good Shepherd who by his sacrificial love rescues his flock from Evil and death and leads them into the best of all pasture where they can enjoy a richer and Fuller meaningful life he does not offer them an extension of their physical lives nor an increase of their material wealth and possessions but the possibility or should I say certainty of a life lived at a higher level in obedience to God's Will and reflecting his glory I believe that God calls us to live at a higher level a level that is based in (16:27) obedience obedience to him him obedience to him through his word trusting in Him depending on him being surrendered to him knowing him as our Shepherd and in doing so allowing our words and our actions to bring him glory we could summarize John 10: 10 like this by saying clearly and loudly that it should not be used as though it gives some promise of an improved physical life for Christians such of you in the light of the context that we are talking about and have read about is no less than shallow and it (17:22) overlooks the profound truth that is found in this passage the passage promises Superior super abundant spiritual life life that is based in relationship with Jesus life empowered by the indwelling of Jesus because we have received Jesus Because He Lives within us we have the riches of the super Abundant Life this is what Paul means when he said he counted all things lost that he might win Christ John 10:1 promises a spiritual Dimension to life not physical abundance a focus on the physical only trivializes the profound death of these verses let me leave you with with these (18:29) closing thoughts we need to surrender Our Lives fully to Jesus to experience the fullness of his abundance we need to be fully aware that the enemy Satan is expressed through the image of the thief and a thief is not looking to bring blessing into our lives a thief only brings destruction loss and death and finally I started by saying how blessed I was to have learned and found something of my identity in Christ through reading the scriptures let me capture this thought with these verses and we find them in Philippians chapter 4 verse 12 to (19:25) 13 I know what it is to be in need I I know what it is to have plenty I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation whether wellfed or hungry whether living in plenty or in once I can do all this through him who gives me strength amen God bless you welcome back yes fantastic talk by Dave there talking about Abundant Life you got your microphone sorted out now yeah thanks Jam was just away with the fairies there weren't you yeah so yeah welcome back do write your thoughts questions comments uh and we will get into those in conversation street but in true Dave connley style (20:18) delivers a classic Dave con talk uh what's stood out to you Miss Jen um just [Music] how how exciting it sounds but it just made me feel in one sense sad for all the times or years various points that I've not lived an abundant life that have allowed yeah the worries of the world and different things to get the better of me but you know it I think it was a a message of of great hope and it was um so so important I don't think living on this planet these days without Jesus have have no idea how people yeah do it yeah and it's hard to it's hard (21:20) even then because you know what we're not immune to different things yeah um but we are called um to have a higher life to live in a a different yeah different plane if you like we we've we've got Eternal um eternity is real for us yeah so it's not all about here and now and we know where our home is in the future and it when I think that way I can cope better yeah because I know it's it's really brief our time here um so I think having an eternal perspective really really helps but I want to live an Abundant (22:13) Life yeah yeah yeah yeah how about you definitely I mean why would you not right why would you not want to live an Abundant Life yeah you know I find it fascinating that um Jesus Reveals His mission in various stages of the Gospel um you know the at the start of his journey he stands up and reads from the prophet Isaiah says the spirit of the Lord is upon me is Anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor and all this sort of stuff which is great and then he in this verse he says I have come that you may have life and life in all its (22:44) abundance um you know and you kind of think well gez that's one of the key reasons why Jesus came was that we could have an abundant life which is often not the message pedal by the church um but the reality of it is G one of Jesus's primary objectives for this whole coming uh thing was so that we could have an abundant life and it's um we have to I mean Dave did a good job of unpacking what Abundant Life means and doesn't mean really good um because I think it has been Mis interpreted is probably a good word um misunderstood maybe um that if you're not living in a brand new (23:25) house driving a brand new car then you're not living in abundant kind of thing I don't think that's what Jesus meant no um certainly not if I interpret the rest of the Bible yeah in the context of that um but so you have to understand what Abundant Life Is But the basic premise is such that we have an abundant life right yeah absolutely So when you say that um what's my okay I'll get back to the comments in a minute but uh when you say that you're sad for the Times where you weren't living an abundant life what do you mean by that um that I you know we have access (24:05) don't we to to God on a daily basis to wisdom to his love to his um wisdom have I just said wisdom well yeah you can say it twice because there's a lot of it I need wisdom um and I just think it's it's like um you know watching a black and white TV when there's a perfectly good color one next in the other room that's such a good analogy it's like why would you do that yeah so I think some of it is some of it's I think knowing who we are in Christ um sometimes you don't feel you deserve the color TV yeah um or I've maybe kind of felt that in the past (24:54) um I'm thinking back to when my children were very little right I it seemed for quite a few years that my faith was kind of on hold it wasn't but and I I still you know prayed and I still heard from God but I can't say that I grew expert entially yeah um in my faith at that time it was like a fog right you know I was tired I was I was you know busy at home most of the time and you know that was brilliant it was a real blessing to have to have all of that um but in those moments I don't I couldn't honestly didn't feel like my life was abundant yeah I was blessed (25:44) beyond measure yeah but I wasn't living at a higher level I was I was living on a maintenance level right good good phrase yeah so um and yet the there have been other periods in my life where it's totally being the opposite and I I can see that um I think it is possible to fully live in um this super abundance as Dave said um that doesn't mean that everything's going to be hunky dory all the time we know clearly it isn't but I do think it's it all comes back Matt to spending time with Jesus getting to know him where does my my help come from yeah (26:34) my help comes from the Lord yeah it doesn't come from anywhere else nothing else can satisfy us how about you have you ever you know when you heard the phrase abundance or Abundant Life what what did that mean to you so I love this phrase Abundant Life and it's it's one of the things I studied out quite early on in my Christian faith right um so when I put this in the comments when Jesus said I've come that you may have life and life abundantly the Greek says I've come that you may have Zoey yeah right so this is where my daughter gets her name from I remember years ago this is before (27:18) I was married this was before I was married and Sharon actually was in the audience yeah listening to me do this talk on the life of God yeah um and I mentioned the fact I was using these vers was it no no this was at church this was at front line and I remember these verses um were the the the the foundation for that talk and I said you know if I ever have a daughter because I was talking about the Greek word Zoey and I said if I have a daughter I'm just going to call her Zoey because I think it's one of the amazing it's one of the most amazing words in the in the New Testament and um hence the reason we (27:49) called it Zoe she was she was named even before I got married isn't that amazing yeah yeah but um that that word zo it abundantly life you see what we've done in typically in the west is we've said right Abundant Life means having a lot of stuff yeah right so um the prosperity and yeah and do I have issues with the Prosperity Gospel sometimes yes sometimes no I think you know you can take it or leave it in some respects but Abundant Life if we just if all we measure that by is how much stuff I have and how many problems I don't have in my life I think it's a very shallow (28:30) measurement of Zoey of because it means it means something more it means life as God has it so Jesus is saying that I'm coming to give you life but life as God has it or intended yeah and it's that kind of that yeah you know and I if we just measure it by pound notes and or dollar bills or yeah you know the square foot of our house we we are totally missing the point um because I don't I don't think God really cares about that I think I think God cares deeply about us as people and he's like you know what (29:07) When sin came into the world if you think about what happened to Adam uh in the story of the Garden of Eden God breathed into him the breath of life that Zoe right so here's life as God has it and Adam comes into being Adam and Eve then you know sin screw it up for everybody and that when Jesus when when God warns him of this he says the day you do that you'll die but it took 900 years for Adam to die right so the death he was talking about was this spiritual death that we talk a lot about in Christianity in other words that Zoey (29:41) was no longer there and I think that returning of that breath that life of God that spiritual force that turns black and white TV into color which I think is a beautiful analogy um I think there are definite to answer your question sorry this is a really long answer to your question to come back to it yes there are times when I have lived in and just accepted the black and white TV where I've where I've lived life not in its abundance not as God would have it and there are times when I have definitely known that joy that Abundant (30:21) Life that peace you know and that's Abundant Life abundance of Peace when life is all crazy in in turmoil right AB of Joy when everything around you tells you not to have that an abundance of um you know calm and wisdom when you don't know the right answer and all this sort of stuff you know that's that to me is abundant life so I agree yeah does that answer your question yeah thank you forgotten what my question was um but [Laughter] yeah yeah that's fine that's me too to be fair me too one of the interesting things that's fine I did (31:02) waffle on sorry uh one of the interesting things about all of this you know um Jesus said I have come that you may have life life as God has it the god kind of Life the Zoe kind of life this abundant joyous peace-filled life but he says he also warns us in this that the thief comes to steal kill and to destroy and I think sometimes with Abundant Life just like you did it's yeah you've got to identify what is the thief what's robbing you of Abundant Life well I I I think that in the middle you know what as you know you're going through your life on a (31:42) 24-hour basis it's not always clear um I don't think it's easy to identify how as I'm as I'm getting older I am realizing when I feel like I've been robbed um I kind of feel it in my spirit a lot more I think I probably always did um but sometimes I've looked in the wrong places for what I thought was was being robbed um but I I think it having that it's all about the fruits of the spirit the gift of the spirit all ties in you know we need discernment we need wisdom um we need to hear God don't we and it it's (32:38) like I think I've been totally um robbed at times and and only realized it in retrospect yeah not at the time when I could have done something about it yeah um yeah but no I I loved I loved what um Dave said about learning that passage um about learning to be content yeah I think that is the key yeah that is the secret to to all of this I think you know Paul was saying I I've known what it is to to be full I've known what it is to be hungry and um you know he he went through it he experienced both sides of the coin um but he was content with yeah (33:30) very little and he was content with you know when things were better but he wasn't more happy when it was better he was perfectly fine to go back to the other um and I think people that have are content I think that's a real gift yeah um it is it's it's remarkable and it's not actually contentment is one of those things that it's not easy to do do you know what I mean it's it's it's not like you learn yeah right and it's because I mean Paul says you know I know what it is to be rich I know what it is to be poor I know what it is to be uh without and I know what it is to be you know full and all this sort of stuff (34:14) yeah yeah and everyone listening to this and he and and he says all these things that go on the sort of the extremes of life and then he says in doesn't he I have learned to be content yeah and I can imagine as he's writing that everyone's going how can you be content in when when life's down the toilet and he follows that up with probably one of the most quoted verses in the Bible he follows It Up by saying I can do all of this because Christ strengthens me I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and (34:43) it's what he's saying there is I can be content in all of these situations because it's Christ who strengthens me yeah that's Abundant Life right there yeah yeah Abundant Life is being content and actually the word content is is another interesting word just to throw out a little bit more Greek cuz you know there's two Greek words that I know I've used them both tonight zo Zoe zo Zoe no contentment is all about being independent of the circumstances that's what contentment means it means regardless of what's going on around me I can live independently of that because (35:14) I living through Christ who strengthens me do you see what I mean so whether I have a little whether I have a lot I can have Abundant Life doesn't make any difference yeah yeah so AB like coming back to this Abundant Life is not material stuff right um and I think contentment is if if again I use the you know we go back to the thief analogy the thief comes to steal kill and destroy yeah what is robbing you of Abundant Life what is the thief that's operating in your life yeah um usually you know you're being robbed because you're not (35:46) content yeah do you see what I mean it's one of the the measurements of it isn't it am I content no well you're being robbed of Abundant Life yeah yeah uh in in some way and actually probably some of the places to look at are what's causing that discontentment for some people you've got too much and you're chasing more stuff yeah so Paul's saying I know what it is to be rich but if you're rich and wealthy you want to chase more rich and wealth yeah right um I know what it is to be poor so you know you're chasing obviously when you're poor there's a whole lot more to deal (36:17) with um and it's not easy and Paul in that says I've learned to be content you can be content in either situation if you can't find contentment where you're at then you're being robbed of Abundant Life it's such a powerful thing to say it is um and getting your head around that quite it's quite tricky right it is very tricky yeah and it and it would be different for for each of us the thief comes in different forms for for all of us um but I I do think the importance is that we recognize it yeah so what are (36:51) some of the things what are some of the things that Rob you do you think um I suppose sometimes it's like apathy MH um you know um tiredness yeah um a glass of wine too many yep um sometimes to relax um and I'm not going to God I mean I I hate I hate that I you know I do um yeah just zoning out a little bit I think when when I need to run to God is when I start to withdraw right um so you know feeling a bit low and depressed I feel my joy has been robbed in those moments um but God's just saying come to (37:57) me and sometimes I do and it's great and sometimes I don't and why don't I it's just stupid it's like a little little child wanting a hug and the mom or the dad with their arms open wide and then the kid just doesn't get there yeah it's like why why would you not run there yeah and um yeah so I'm very stupid sometimes not just you Jen to be fair I think we we're all in that bucket on occasions aren't we uh we all know what to do but doing it is not always the the thing that we do do it's hard to do the right thing isn't it at times um I tell you what's been when I (38:49) first got married um which is you know a long time ago now I wanted to be with Tim all the time right so if it meant for me to go and have like time with God meant leaving that room and going somewhere else I found it really hard to do yeah now now I don't when but um Tim if you're watching um but in the be I didn't want to be on my own yeah and um but that that's it it it you know you do have to take up your cross you do have to sacrifice everything yeah to follow Jesus you know I I was worried about (39:39) leaving one room in the same house CU I wanted to be near him but some many many times I've just said you know to God I wish I could see you yeah I just wish I could see you and that would really help and then I say why can't I see you or touch you you know just hold your hand or and that's what I've longed for and and that's why it's easy for me to go to a person right you know either my husband my children friend because I want that contact but you know God God is intimate with us but just obviously in a different way yeah yeah (40:33) and that's a I mean there it's one of those things isn't it God if I could to see you if I could to just touch you I think it's one of the things that is is a c a lot of people isn't it if I could just do this yeah um and then I'm reminded constantly well you know he's he's given us his word he's you know he's his spirit is here his as we going to learn in the next couple weeks his Spirit lives in us so we are in Christ he is in US absolutely um and so there's a whole bunch of stuff to get into here but I find I mean it's (41:09) interesting you know for you you talk about the thief being apathy which I I totally get um I think one of the things that I find is the biggest robber of Abundant Life For Me is distraction okay and I think in the world in which we live there is so much distraction um it's it's un unbelievable how much distraction there is and what you can get distracted with um we we we don't like to get bored now we can't do it we stand in a queue we'll look at our phones we'll do this we'll do that and it's that that I mean Matt put in the comment here regards to Abundant Life (41:47) he's talking about Sabbath in fact Nicola put in the comments today for me I have Abundant Life sitting fishing watching you guys yeah and I think that's really fantastic isn't it it's it's that switching off from distraction that Sabbath that rest yeah especially in the world in which we live and I find I if I get distracted a lot then that for me is a big Thief that robs AB life because that stops me connecting as much as I should with God if that makes sense I don't know if that's ever do you get distracted or is it just me um no yeah I (42:25) can't get distracted yeah easily it's one of Nicholas but that's why I go fishing so Sabbath rest isn't it I've never been fishing only you know at the beach with my little nut when I um and did you catch anything maybe a crab okay in the sand yeah not in the water not very good at fishing but I can't I understand why people do it cuz it is a it is a solitary sort of yeah just to switch quiet thing isn't it yeah and Jesus would go up the mountains wouldn't he and it's that he would be with people he would be with crowds but (43:03) he would withdraw he would withdraw and go to those those sacred spaces and I think in the world in which we live finding that Sacred Space that place where you can avoid distraction just be with God yeah well that's said that that that's great Matt that you've said that cuz my desire is to withdraw but I'm not going going always to a Sacred Space unlike Jesus it's that communion isn't it with the father um yeah that that's a real challenge what you just said to me that well it's going to a space it's making the space sacred isn't it because you're not you're not going away to a space where it's just you and an Xbox or you and (43:49) Instagram or whatever it is you know whatever your drug of choices these days you know that that distracts you um and I think this is where I'm constantly challenged actually is to create these moments these spaces where they are the Sacred Space what's my mountain side you know what's my Mountain Place sure and where can I go where I can connect because that's where Abundant Life is that's where contentment is and actually when I don't have those I over about six months I start to feel it I start to feel like (44:22) I'm burning out yeah you know we can only go so long in our own strength can't we but that that joy that abundance of life that Christ offers I I don't think is an automatic thing I think sometimes we have to go find it can you give any examples of times when you've gone and found your Sacred Space or oh yeah that would look like yeah so for me there's a number of things that I do um my go around the park don't you I I like to walk around the park yeah um I have my woodwork shop which sounds a bit um sounds a bit odd as a Sacred Space (44:57) but actually Jesus was a carpenter so I feel very Jesus likee in my in my shop and I I can put a podcast on and I can just get totally in the zone listen to the podcast and create something with my hands and I think that's an amazing space yeah I love the Lake District love to go up for Walking In The Hills which is just another Sacred Space um I actually I love flying on airplanes because no one can call me no and so I can get so much processing and thinking done in those times yeah um so I just came back from the states mhm this trip was a I've done so many trips where I've (45:31) come back more TI than when I've went and I last year I went and did seven flights when I was in the states I went seven different placees I was like I was so tired when I got back yeah um so this time I thought no I'm going to build in a little space so I just got a little Airbnb Just Me Myself and I and then Josh my son my eldest son came and joined me for a little while brilliant doing that again yeah just creating that pocket of space so I even if I can't get to the late District I can walk around the local park yeah do you know what I mean it I don't have to go somewhere (46:03) special or do something special no um and for me I just even just changing scenery I think really helps you know just taking my computer and working in a coffee shop just yeah with a journal that's the other thing I like to do I like to journal so um yeah some of the things I would do what about you yeah um I think my car being in my car on my own is a sacred space for me I do think in there and yeah I'll listen to podcasts or um listen to UCB at times um and again that's somewhere that no one really will yeah find me if they approach I drive (46:53) off I just I just like being driving on my own sometimes yeah and I get disappointed when I've reached the destination sooner than I like I like that time to think car Jour are great for that aren't they they are really great just for yeah yeah me just just doing um University open days as I said to you before jany um our friend Janny um I was with her in the car and you know and it was just great fun just being able to chat um and we had we had fun you know but we we got a chance to talk I haven't chatted with her for ages and uh I think cars are great for (47:37) that yeah yeah yeah they are and if you haven't done this already the Jenny she's talking about Jenny Oliver has a story on what's the story podcast does that yeah really great story which is a great story so do go check that out available at what's the story podcast. (47:54) com just go look for Jen's Jenny Oliver um she's got a great story and if you haven't subscribed to that do subscribe that was a good plug that was a good segue yeah well done I love what's the story it's amazing yeah yeah great little podcast great little podcast so what's your Thief what stops you from having an Abundant Life what robs you from that and I think identifying the thief that comes to steal to kill and to destroy yeah um is really we can spiritualize this can't we as Christians we can go this just talking about the devil let just talking about our enemy um he just comes to steal kill and destroy and it's like yes (48:23) that's true but what are the things the itics yeah that robs from you Abundant Life this Abundant Life Life as God has it that Jesus came to bring you what is robbing you from that now it may be obviously that you are new to the Christian faith you haven't yet decided to follow Christ and uh if that's you then stick with us um because we're going to be talking about this much more over the coming weeks um and dig into the Christian faith if you want to know more about it um head over to the crowd website crowd. Church ww ww. crow. (48:58) church and on there in fact I can do this there we go oh it's very small um you can go to www.c crow. church uh and on the website is a page um that talks about what it means to be a Christian uh and there's like a whole online Alpha course which you can do which is great we do iners well yeah iners online Alpha so we do live Alpha we do live Alpha online which you can come join explore the Christian faith a bit more because Jesus really did come to give us this Abundant Life and that's my story don't always walk in it but that's down to me not Jesus yeah would would that be fair (49:32) yes always always Fair always fair so yeah do check that out we'd love to hear from you and obviously any questions you've got do let us know uh but that's I think we'll probably end up conversation Street there unless you got anything you want to throw in from your notes no I think I've mentioned the main things that stood out to me so yeah thank you Dave another brilliant talk yep so um yeah it was a great great one today fabulous yes very good talk so identify your thief and enjoy um Abundant Life and obviously prioritize God I think that's probably a fair thing (50:08) to say absolutely uh with all of that um so just looking down the comments here where Matt crew reminds me of everything I need to do which is great so uh promote prayer yes if you have any prayer requests um then do reach out to us via the website www. crow. or via social media which is Crow Church uh you can reach on any of those platforms with your prayer requests uh we would love to hear from you we've been busy praying people all over the world this week which has been fan doz um so yeah that's (50:40) been great what's happening next week uh is Sharon Sharon is talking next week can't whistle sorry that was a is that what that was yeah I'm glad you told me because I had no idea shaza shaza sh sh so she is talking about so we're doing this sort of little mini series in the whole series on wholeness on what it means to be in Christ uh created in Christ and so Sharon is talking about the being his workmanship oh yeah that verse in Ephesians 2:10 for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works yeah uh he has prepared (51:24) in advance for us to walk in hey we got there amen so that's next week so do come join us next week if you haven't done so already make sure you like subscribe and do all of that good stuff as we are here every Sunday live at 6 PM with the exception of August uh just a heads up in August we uh go to what we call the non-live live stream which is great actually um and so what we do is we we it will say Live on YouTube and Instagram and it will bring it up as a live stream you can join in with the comments and join everybody else which is great um but the hosts aren't here we (52:01) take August off that's our Sabbath every you know we just we'd like to relax and have have some time uh and just rebuild ourselves a little bit so that's our Sabbath is August so we have the non-live live streams to look forward to we are going do you know what we're going to do have I told you this no no I don't think so not told you this Psalms oh love you so we yeah yeah we get SS we did it a little bit at front line we did it last year as well actually where we get people to bring their favorite song (52:27) yeah and just talk about what it means today oh brilliant yeah so looking forward to that that's going to be great very edifying well one would hope so so yeah we've got that coming up in August so do come join us for that um but yeah that's it from us I think um if you would like to know more about crowd uh obviously go to crowd. (52:50) church the website all the information is there uh You' be more than welcome to get in touch with us with any questions and of course if you would like to join us in our midweek Community groups we we'd love to see you in there as well um we I I joined it's funny this week we had our community group on Wednesday I joined from the states did you Angelica joined from I want to say the Philippines oh Japan no it was a Philippines I think and then we had uh a few folks from the I mean you talk about worldwide yeah amazing love that brilliant so if you'd like to know more about them uh just reach out to us (53:23) via the website www w Scooby dooby-doo yeah I have no idea either just go to crowd. church and all the information's on there you can always reach out to us VI the contact page and we'll we'll come back to you and and uh yeah thanks Jam for suffering Matt says putting up with Matt edmo Matt Edmond's Ace you tell him Jen just look down that camera there and tell him I like Matt Edmonson it's not it's not hardship thank you m though no thank you in fact you volunteered to do this tonight you stepped in I did yeah yeah which is great so uh I think that's it (54:04) from all of us here at crowd church thank you so much for joining us this week uh wherever you are have a fantastic week and I hope you just meditate and ruminate uh and think about this promise of Christ that he came to give you an Abundant Life identify the thieves what stops it happening for you uh and enjoy the abundance that Christ offers us because becoming whole is all about living and Abundant Life so that's it from me Jen any final words from you no just um have a great week and uh God bless you yeah fantastic and Nicola I (54:34) hope you cat Lots catch lots of fish yeah uh but that's it from Jan and myself have a fantastic week bless you guys we will see you next time bye bye thank you so much for joining us here on crowd church now if you are watching on YouTube make sure you hit the Subscribe Button as well as that little tiny bell notification to get notified the next time we are live and of course if you are listening to the podcast uh the live stream podcast make sure you also hit the follow button Now by Smashing the like button on YouTube or writing a review on your podcast platform it helps us reach more people (55:15) with the message that Jesus really does help us live a more meaningful and purposeful life so if you haven't done so already be sure to check out our website www.c crow. where you can learn more about us as a church more about the Christian faith and also how to connect into our church Community it has been awesome to connect with you and you are awesome it's just a burden you have to bear and hopefully we'll see you next time that's it from us God bless you
