Life In Abundance
Katia Adams • August 14, 2017
Our God is the God of excess. Abundant living is not simply an option for certain believers, it is an invitation for each one of us to display the lavish love of the Father to the world around us. In this teaching, Katia unpacks the implications of Jesus’ words in John 10:10.
– TRANSCRIPT
Katia: When my little one-year-old delightful son, Ezekiel, woke up this morning just after 5, I was thinking, “It can’t be morning already. It can’t be morning already.” But here we are, anyway. And everyone feeling awake and happy now? I am so excited about this morning because I’m about to take a risk. And it’s always fun when you take a risk with Jesus, right? People are like, “No, it’s not.” No, it really is because the amazing thing about taking risks with Jesus is that the outcome really doesn’t matter so that you’re entirely safe in taking the risk because your value and your worth is predetermined, isn’t it? So the outcome of your action really doesn’t matter.
And I’m gonna take a risk this morning because I’m gonna go with what I feel like Holy Spirit has put on my heart rather than a safe bet. And for me, that is a risk, but it’s a nice one because I know regardless of what happens this morning, that God is so jolly-pleased with me. And I wanna start with that because I feel like that’s important for some of us. Even this will be important for some of us. Whatever you do, wherever you are, whatever you take steps in life, your value, your worth, is predetermined. And your Papa is singing in joy over you. Do you know, He watches us when we sleep and as Psalms tells us, “He sings songs over us.” There’s such an overflow of joy from Him even when you’re doing nothing at all. He’s just so jolly-pleased with us.
And so, it’s kind of fun getting to do what I’m doing this morning because I know that my Papa is beaming right now. Not just over me, over you too. As you sit there and listen or don’t listen, doesn’t matter. As you daydream or as you pay attention, do you know your Papa is beaming over you? And He’s saying consistently in the heavens, “That one’s Mine. Look at that one. Hey, angels, gather round. Look at My son, look at My daughter. Aren’t they awesome?”
Do you know, it’s funny. With my son, Ezekiel, sometimes when he’s asleep, I’ll get out my phone and I’ll look at photos of him. And I think, “Isn’t it funny I’ve spent all day with him and yet I miss him when he’s sleeping and I’m keeping looking.” And if someone looks at my face in that moment, they’ll laugh at me because I’ve got this slightly dazed smile on my face because he’s mine and I love him, and I’m so proud of him regardless of how that day has gone. That’s your Papa over you.
Right. Let’s get on with this. That was a total tangent, by the way. And what I’d love to look at is Living Abundantly this morning. This whole last week, God’s been speaking to me about abundance and excess. Now, there’s a word we like in the church. And has been challenging me and provoking me to become comfortable in living in that place of abundance and excess. So, we’re gonna look at a couple of some passages. Some of you are looking so worried right now. It’s gonna be fine, I promise. We’re gonna look at John 10:10, and we’re going to look at Mark 6. And we’re gonna use those verses just as a springboard for some thoughts on the topic.
But I really feel like this is a message for us as a community and as a family in this season because I feel like God is gonna take us on a journey and He has an intention for us to come to a place of being comfortable with these truths. Because when we’re comfortable with these truths, then we’re open and receptive to some of the crazy things that He wants to do. And until we’re comfortable with these truths, we shy away from all that God wants to do because we don’t want Him to get a little bit over the top now. And we’re trying to encourage Him to just, “Come on now, be measured now, be controlled.” But we’ve gotta become comfortable with these truths because I think God wants to go a little bit wild and crazy with our community. And so, He’s leading us into a place of settling something in our hearts. And I hope and I believe He’s gonna do that this morning.
John 10:10, 1 verse, “The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy.” Let’s just say that together. “The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy.” I wanna just say right off the outset, let’s never confuse the devil’s job description with God’s. If something is stolen from you, destroyed, or is killed, that wasn’t God. That’s the devil’s job description. And sometimes in trying to explain the challenges and the hardships we go through, we start confusing whose job description it really is. “The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but I have come,” Jesus says, “that they may have life and have it to the full, or have it abundantly, or have it in excess.”
I like that. He’s come so that we may have life, not just the amount of life that would be needed for us, because that would be entirely reasonable and logical. No, no, he’s come so that we could have life and have it in excess, i.e., have leftovers – stuff we don’t need, stuff we’re never gonna use, stuff we’re not even gonna access. But that’s who He is. He is an excessive God, and if you don’t like that, then I’m really sorry, but I didn’t make up His character. He is excessive by nature. He loves to be lavish. He loves abundance.
And before we start over-spiritualizing this verse, because we really like to do that, because it makes us feel more safe, and start saying the life that Jesus was talking about is purely spiritual life or it’s about eternity, we can’t really apply this, the word that’s used here is Zoe life. And Zoe life is both physical, and spiritual, and both about the present and the future. It holds both of all of those things together. So, we can’t start saying, “No, no, no. The abundance that’s being talked about is the spiritual gifts that will be on show when we’ve all died and gone to heaven.” No, no, no. He’s saying, “I’ve come so that everything you experience in me will be in excess.”
Some of us are so trying to scrape by, trying to manage, trying to believing that we’ve just gotta somehow survive and hold it together. And I wanna tell you if that’s the Christianity you’re living, then there’s so much more for you because Jesus didn’t come so that you could survive. Jesus didn’t come so that he could meet your needs, Jesus didn’t come so that you would have just enough. He came to bring you life in so much excess that it’s embarrassing.
Second set of verses that I’d like to look at. I keep going back to this episode with Jesus and his disciples. Mark 6, we’re gonna start at verse 30, “The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all they had done and taught.” So, this is in the context where Jesus had sent out his 12 disciples and he’d equipped them, empowered them, “Go and heal the sick, go and cast out demons.” So they’ve gone on incredible adventures and they come back and they’re reporting to Jesus, and they’re on a big high. But if any of you have ever been in the ministry, well, you’d also know that they’re also exhausted. And they come to him, they’re telling him everything and he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.”
I wanna pause there. This isn’t the aim of this meeting but I do wanna say that sometimes the desolate place is a place where God has an intention for us. And I’m not saying that He brings desert places to us, but I am saying, if you’re in a desert place, that God has an intention for it, and He’s gonna use it for good and even for your rest and refreshing. And that’s what happens here. They go to a desolate place so that the disciples can rest, for many were coming and going and they had no leisure even to eat. Now, we’re gonna look a few versions down and you’ll see that this is the time where Jesus multiplies food and his disciples are involved in that miracle.
I love it because at the beginning of the story, what the disciples were unable to access for themselves, by the end of the story, are giving away to others. Beginning of the story, they can’t even eat. They don’t have the time, it’s not the right setting, they’re struggling to even access food. By the end of it, they’ve learned how to multiply food by God’s grace so that many can eat. It’s pretty cool. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.
Now, many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When he went ashore, Jesus saw a great crowd and he had compassion on them. Everything awesome starts with compassion. If you wanna see the miraculous, it starts with compassion. Because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.
And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place. The hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But Jesus answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy 200 denarii-worth of bread and give it to them to eat?’ That’s about two-thirds of a year’s salary. And they said… Sorry. “Should we give them something to eat?” and he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out they said, “Five loaves, two fish.”
And he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups by hundreds and by fifties. And taking the five loaves and two fish, he looked up to heaven, said a blessing, broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all and they all ate and were satisfied. So, they reached the point of being full. And they took up 12 baskets full of broken pieces and the fish. And those who ate the loaves were 5,000 men.
I like this miracle for so many reasons, but at the moment, I’m loving it because it speaks of the excess of our father. He could have done it so everyone had the exact right amount. So that everyone was bursting full, He could have done it. It’s not like He didn’t know how much everyone would eat. It’s not like it was kind of a guessing game and hopefully, this would be enough. “Oh, look. Yay, we’ve got leftovers.” That wasn’t the point. He did the leftovers intentionally. He knew how much would be required to be multiplied and He went way beyond that because He’s trying to prove a point here.
He’s taken them to the desolate place, and the desolate place is meant to be a springboard for them, both for rest and for the miraculous. I wanna tell you, “Whatever your setting, it is a setup to display the goodness of God.” Whatever your setting. Some of you may be hearing me and thinking, “I am in the desert right now. There’s nothing around me. Nothing good can come in this place. And I don’t know what to do.” And I’m telling you, whatever your setting and whatever has put you in that place, I wanna tell you, God has an intention for that place. Your setting is a setup to display His goodness.
Just like this context. We’ve got no food, it’s a desolate place, we haven’t even eaten. We’ve got nothing to give. And Jesus is smiling and he’s thinking, “Guys, you don’t get it. Your setting is always a setup for me to display my goodness.” And when he wants to display His goodness, it’s never gonna be just enough. It always goes into excess. It’s kind of embarrassing. “Jesus, what a waste, 12 baskets of food. Now, what are we gonna do? This is terrible, we shouldn’t be doing this. Who are we gonna give this to now? It’s gonna go off, it’s hot, desert humidity.” This isn’t like, “Oh, wow. This will keep fresh for a while.” Bread and fish, mixed together in baskets in the desert sun. His point isn’t, “Oh, we’re gonna put this to very good use. Don’t worry, everybody.” His point is, “I am a God of excess. My intention is not that you have just enough. My intention is that there are always leftovers.”
Now, I wanna say, before I really offend some people… I’m hoping not to offend anybody. But because of the word Zoe, that means life, and because of the physical nature of this miracle, we can’t deny that the abundance that Jesus wants to bring is, in fact, physical in some measure. Now, I’m talking about abundant living in all aspects. So, I’m talking about an abundance of joy as much as I’m talking about an abundance of food. I’m talking about an abundance of peace as much as I’m talking about an abundance of finances. And I don’t want you to think all I’m talking about is money, but I also don’t want you to think that I’m not talking about money. Because what Jesus is speaking about encompasses absolutely everything in our lives. He wants to bring us to a place where we are comfortable with excess because that points us to something of his lavish goodness. And we’ve gotta get comfortable with that.
Let me move on. Just to say, I’m not denying the place of suffering. I’m not denying that bad things happen to Christians. I’m not denying that we’ll all face difficulties. That is a fact in Scripture. But let me say it again, what I am denying is that Jesus thinks that suffering, in itself, is good spiritually. I am denying that. Because all suffering is good for the Christian if it points to something victorious and glorious in the meantime. Your setting has got to be a setup, if not, something is wrong. Listen, the cross, in and of itself, is not glorious if you don’t have the resurrection. And some of us are so adamant to defend suffering, it’s almost like we would like to defend the cross at the cost of the resurrection as if the resurrection is irrelevant. No. Even Paul says, “If the resurrection didn’t happen, we’re all in trouble.” It’s not like the cross has some spiritual merit in and of itself. It’s in light of the resurrection where the cross is glorious.
And I wanna say to you, if you’re a Christian who defends suffering, and if you’re offended with someone talking about victory, and glory, and abundance, even in the context of suffering, I wanna say to you, “But that’s the gospel. That’s the kingdom.” If we wanna defend suffering purely because it’s a spiritual discipline, then we’ve got it all wrong because everything in life is meant to be a springboard to display His goodness. And if we’re nervous about His goodness and His glory breaking into the place of suffering, as if, “No, no, I need to learn the hard lesson a little while longer,” then we really don’t get what He is about. Suffering will happen, challenges will happen, difficulties will come, guaranteed. And all of them is His intention to display His goodness. All of those things are His intention to bring about such a glorious fireworks display of how awesome, and kind, and abundant, and lavish He is.
I could tell you stories of people who’ve been imprisoned for their faith, who’ve been taken into solitary confinement for months, and in that place of suffering have had the most incredibly lavish physical experiences of Jesus. The setting is merely a setup. It’s all about what we believe and anticipate in that moment. I’ve been provoked by Mathew 20 as I’ve been thinking about all of this. Mathew 20 is when Jesus tells the parable of the workers in the vineyard. And I’ll just say the story rather than read the verses just to keep this brief.
But he tells a story of how an owner of a vineyard goes to hire servants for the day. And he hires guys right at the beginning of the day and they agree a price which is one denarii, which would be a very normal daily wage at that time. And the guys agree to that. Of course, it’s fair, it’s right. And they go and work in the vineyard. And throughout the day, the parable goes that the owner of the vineyard keeps going back to where the servants would be standing waiting to be hired for the day, and he keeps going back all throughout the day and keeps hiring more people. And after he’s agreed the wage with the first guys, we’re told, with the next set of guys, however many there are, he keeps just telling them, “Come and work for me. I’ll pay you what’s right.” They don’t necessarily agree a wage, but he promises to be just.
And so, throughout the day, workers keep coming and joining the others in the vineyard. And at the end of the day, he says, “Right. Gather everybody in. We’re gonna pay the guys who started last first.” It’s an interesting way of doing things. He’s trying to prove a point. And the guys who’ve only been working for an hour or two, they come in and they get one denarii, a whole day’s wages. Now, the guys who started first are now thinking, “Oh, hang on, if they’re getting one denarii, we’re gonna get something different to what was agreed, surely.” But Jesus says that the vineyard owner pays everybody one denarii. And by the end, when the first guys have been paid, they’re grumbling because they’re saying, “This isn’t fair.” And the vineyard owner says to them, “Why are you cross? I gave you a fair wage. I gave you exactly what was right. I gave you what was agreed. Why do you begrudge my generosity?’
And I love that one question, “Why do you begrudge my generosity?” The thing is about grace, and the thing is about abundance, and the thing is about the excess of God is that as Christians who’ve been Christians for a while, we can get a little bit nervous about God being lavish to those who don’t deserve it. And when we say that, we mean other people, of course.
I’ve been a Christian for quite a long time. I’m actually quite good at being disciplined and obeying Jesus. I must have earned something by now. I know I got saved by grace. We all know that. No one’s disputing that. But I’ve earned something now. I really don’t like how that person who’s been a Christian for a week is starting to get all sorts of blessings, they’re gonna get way too big-headed. And we try to tell God how to control Himself because it’s pastorally inappropriate what He’s doing. True? Some of you are smiling far too knowingly. I know it’s true because I’ve been around the church for a long time. And I’ve been this person. I’ve been this person.
When I know the person next to me who has fallen into sin is still being blessed by Jesus, and it offends my insides. And I’m thinking, “You’re being too lavish. You need to teach him a lesson now.” And what we don’t understand is God is saying, “Why are you begrudging my generosity?” What we don’t understand is that He’s been ridiculously generous to us. And that’s simply how grace works. We can’t buy in to one portion of it. It is what it is, universally.
And for some of us, we begrudge Him His generosity towards us. We’re shy of God being over the top with us. We’re embarrassed when we’ve been blessed. And we try to make excuses and reasons for it, and most often, this comes with material blessing. Someone says to you, “Nice car.” And rather than saying, “Yeah. Isn’t God so kind? This is the best thing,” we say, “Yes. No, you know, it was a gift and I’m really careful how I drive it, and I give lots of people lifts.” Your Papa is excessive, and lavish, and abundant. Let’s get used to it.
His intention is abundance. And we don’t need to be shy. We don’t need to hold Him at arm’s length. We don’t need to try to coach Him into being a little bit more reasonable, but rather, we can start anticipating His over-the-top goodness and start enjoying being channels of that to other people. Ultimately, this isn’t about you or me getting really fat and really rich at the expense of others because there’s enough grace to go around for everybody. And there’s enough abundance for everybody. And He is excessive to everybody. That is His intention. And sometimes He does it all by Himself, and sometimes He likes to use you and me to do that. But, the kingdom is excessive in nature, and if we’re gonna sign up to everything that He has, we’ve gotta get comfortable with receiving His excess and giving His excess too. And that can become the [inaudible 00:25:18] part for us.
He doesn’t seem to mind waste. He doesn’t. He doesn’t mind that there’s 12 baskets left over. He’s not embarrassed when a lady breaks a perfume jar and there’s waste. Because there’s something right about being lavish. There’s something that fits into the kingdom with that. I love Luke 6:38. It says, “Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be poured into your lap.”
This week I’ve got some sugar and I was trying to put it in a jar, and I knew there was too much sugar in the bag for the jar, but my stubborn streak came out and I’m like, “I’m gonna get this thing in there.” Ever done this before? So, I pour sugar in and then I’m shaking it to make it go down again. And I’m trying to press on it, and I’m pouring more, and I’m pouring more. And I keep doing this. And I know that we’re reaching the limits but I’m gonna try a little bit more, and, of course, it overflows and there’s sugar everywhere, and now I’ve gotta clean it up. But that’s this verse.
Jesus looks at us and goes, “I know how much you can take. Oh, let’s try a little bit more. Let’s try a little bit more. Let’s keep going. Oh, it’s pouring over, it’s spilling everywhere, all over your lap, that’s a waste.” Never mind, He’s excessive. And the whole point of this in Luke is to say to us, “Listen, there’s this crazy cycle in the kingdom. It’s not about earning something, it’s about getting onto this crazy cycle which is just going round and round, which is, He gives excessively, you give excessively, more excessively comes back to you, you give… It just goes round, and round, and round in circles.” And if we’re gonna learn to live in abundance, we’ve gotta get really good at receiving abundantly, and we’re gonna have to get really good at giving abundantly. Really good.
It means when we see someone who needs something, or maybe not. And we just have a little nudge like, “Oh, I wonder if I could do that. I wonder if someone could meet that.” Then our next thought in living abundantly can be, “Right. How much do they need? Why don’t we do a little bit more than that? Why don’t we give excessively? Why don’t we give embarrassingly? Why don’t we give abundantly?
Sometimes we have leftovers for unexpected visitors, don’t we? My husband Julian is an amazing cook. Thankfully, he does all the cooking in the house, so that’s great for me. But he’s really funny, I think, when it comes to portion sizes. And he has this philosophy that if the food finished, there wasn’t enough. And I’m always like, “No, no, we all ate and had our full, that was enough.” And he’s like, “No, no, no. There’s always gotta be a little bit extra so that people feel like they could have more if they wanted.” That’s just the way he grew up. I find that funny.
But the thing is, the good thing about having leftovers is when an unexpected visitor knocks on your door, you can feed them straight off. Some of your excess is gonna be used for the unexpected visitor. We’ve gotta be really good at living in the abundance of God knowing that some of what is spilled over all over our laps, we’re gonna come into encounter with someone who is in desperate need of joy, or grace, or peace, or kindness, and we’ve got it in abundance and excess. And in that moment, we don’t have to somehow try to access something or conjure something up, it’s like, “Oh, look, hang on. I’m living in abundance on this. Come and feast with me because there’s leftovers for the unexpected visitor.” And He wants that physically too in our lives.
The excess that we have in our homes, those things are awesome and good, and He wants you to get comfortable with it because His kingdom is excessive. But there’s also moments where the unexpected visitor comes and says to you, “I don’t have a pillow,” in passing conversation and you think, “Well, I’ve got an excess of pillows. I’ve got some in my storage cupboard.” Great. The whole point is to give off your excess because you’re part of the crazy cycle. Do you know you can’t ever out-give God? That’s just true. It’s not about earning something. You’ve gotta hear me on that. It’s not like, “We’re now gonna give so that we earn something in the kingdom.” It’s about joining the crazy cycle of the kingdom that’s going on with or without you. Abundance, giving leads to abundance, giving… It just goes round and round.
James 1:5 says that “If anyone lacks anything…” He’s talking about wisdom in this context. “If anyone lacks wisdom, they should ask God who gives generously.” That word “generously” is an adverb that comes from the word… I’ll read it to you just so you feel like I’ve done some research here. Haplos is the word, that’s not probably how it’s pronounced anyway, but the word literally means without fault, where we get our word generously from in the English. It means that when God gives, everything is unfolded in heaven. So, it is open-handed and free. The whole connotation of that is He doesn’t hold anything back.
You’re like, “God, I need this.” And he’s like, “Okay. let’s just open up the storehouse. That’s it. Open the doors.” All the grain pours out. That’s great. That’s how He works. Because there’s always more in the kingdom. But He is giving unreservedly to us as we ask. And sometimes we think that God is there like, “God I need wisdom,” and He’s going, “Okay, here’s your one portion of wisdom for today. Use it wisely. Come back when you need some more.” We have this image, “God I need this financed,” “Okay. Exactly how much do you need? I’ll give you this, make sure you give me back a tenth so I’ll make sure that we figure it out some…” He’s not like that. He’s not measured, He’s not controlled in that way. He’s excessive. His hands are open as He gives. And some of what He’s trying to draw us into is an anticipation of that.
I can’t remember where it is in the Old Testament, but the people are asking for rain and the prophet tells them, “Dig holes, dig wells, and the rain will come, and the water will fill.” That it’s what they anticipate for that gets filled. The rain falls but the more holes they dig, the more wells they dig, the more water they receive. And I feel like in this season, God is drawing us into a place where He’s saying, “Dream bigger, think bigger of me. Stop thinking of me as careful, and counted, and measured, and controlled because you’ve just gotta keep reading the stories, and the parables, and everything that Jesus did to recognize He’s too big for that.
Can you imagine when the lost son returned to the father, and the father said, “Kill the fattened calf and give him the best robe.” Can you imagine if the lost son had been like, “Father, the fattened calf is a little bit too much. That’s the prized calf, we don’t do that. And, you know, I’ve just come. Let’s just have a party, let’s settle for a goat.” It’s interesting because the older son later says, “I would have settled for a goat.” And I feel like the father wants to shout in that moment, “I don’t want you to settle for a goat. I had the fattened calf.” And the father says to the older son when he’s grumbling about how he would have settled for a goat, the father says to him, “All I have is yours.”
And sometimes we’re saying, “Not the best robe, Lord. Just get any robe, I just need a robe.” And He is like, “I wanna give you the best.” Why? Because it glorifies Him. Because it shows and displays to the heavens and to the Earth the lavish goodness and kindness of our Papa. And so, when we give, let’s give the best of ourselves. Let’s give the best robe. Let’s join the crazy cycle of abundance. It’s so much fun to live in.
In Mark 14… I’m gonna go back to a story that I’ve referenced, and we’re gonna finish with this. There’s a story of the woman who comes to Jesus… This is a great chapter, Mark 14. Jesus is reclining at the table eating. That’s how they ate in ancient times. All the guys would be reclined around the table. There would be no women eating with them.
And we’re told that this woman comes into the room where Jesus is reclining, which would be embarrassing already, and she gets to Jesus, which would be a challenge because they’re all reclining in a circle so it’s not like they’re sitting in individual chairs where she can easily get to him without touching anybody else. But she gets to Jesus and she takes an alabaster jar, which would be costly in and of itself, but we’re told that it was full of pure nard, which would be incredibly costly, and she breaks it to anoint him. And we’re told that everyone… There’s people in the room who were watching and some of them are saying, “What a waste. What an absolute waste.” She takes what is costly and she breaks it. She takes what is costly and pours it, and then onlookers cannot understand a lavish act and call it a waste.
It’s a beautiful story in and of itself, but its beauty is really a foreshadowing of a few verses later, and we miss the point if we don’t read the entire section in Mark because it’s paired with another dinner that happens only a few moments later, where Jesus is again reclining at a table with his disciples. And where he picks up some bread, and where he breaks it, representing something incredibly costly, “This is my body.” And he pours out some wine, representing something incredibly costly, “This is my blood.” And where a few verses later when he’s actually been broken and poured out, we see that people, yet again, onlookers cannot understand the lavish act and scold or mock and I’m sure many who wanted more shook their heads and said, “What a waste.” These two pictures go together. What is costly is broken and poured out.
What I would hate to do this morning is to make you feel like abundance comes cheap. It doesn’t. When Jesus promises us life in excess, it’s not about us as Christians being so other-minded and so selfish that we don’t understand cost. No, it’s about us as Christians recognizing the lavish act of one broken and poured out so that we say a wholehearted yes to the crazy upside down wild adventure of His kingdom. It’s about us living abundantly, overflowing with thankfulness, overflowing with a sense of, “I’ve gotta give this good stuff away,” not because we think it’s cheap, but because we understand its worth.
I can see that there’s bread and wine-ish out. And I just wanna encourage you today to take some, to take some with friends, to take some with people you don’t know, and to think for a moment of that lavish act. And recognize as we eat and drink, that what we’re saying is, “I’m a yes for abundant living. I wanna think bigger of you and what you wanna give to me, I wanna anticipate your lavish kindness. I don’t wanna tell you how to be pastorally wise, God. I wanna be a good receiver. And I wanna know how to partake of this, to be an excessive giver. Help me. Open my eyes to where I can give, what I can give, how I can give, which parts of me I can give. Help me give the best robe, not begrudgingly, but knowing that there’s a room full of the best robes in heaven. And I’m entering simply into the crazy, wonderful cycle of abundance in the kingdom.”
Let’s just stand together for a moment. We’re gonna end now. Father, we love You. You are overwhelmingly kind, and compassionate, and generous. And Lord, we wanna repent. We wanna say sorry and change the way we think. If we have tried to control You, or if we have tried to get You to be more measured, if we have judged how You have been gracious and generous to others, Lord, we wanna change the way we think. We wanna enter into abundant living in the kingdom, being great receivers of our Papa’s lavish kindness, and being great dispensers of that kindness too. Open our eyes that we would see where You wanna give to us, and open our eyes that we would see where we can give to others. We say we are all in to this crazy cycle, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
By Julian Adams
•
January 3, 2025
We are living in a world of dramatic change. The relentless pace of development often leaves us breathless and exhausted. The demand for innovative ways of communicating, inventing, and staying ahead of cultural trends can feel daunting and demoralizing. It can push us into a space where we find ourselves trying to copy rather than be authentic, to imitate rather than create. This pressure can lead us to believe that we need to be more creative, and that our individual stories do not matter. But nothing could be further from the truth. Your story, no matter how small, matters and is powerful. One of the remarkable aspects of ancient manuscripts, like the Bible, is that they tell the stories of individuals whose lives may seem small and insignificant. Yet, God chose to make their lives a memorial of what He could do with a life that the world deems insignificant. The incredible power of the gospel is that it changes lives one at a time. God is as interested in the individual story as He is in redeeming the cosmos. The aim of the gospel is not just dealing with personal sin; it is about restoring individuals to a relationship with a kind Father. In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis beautifully said, "The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God." Justification addresses our standing before God, but our adoption invites us into a relationship with the Father. It allows us to partake of who He is and to live in a place of deep joy from who He is. Romans 3:23 reminds us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Many of us forget that the work of salvation has turned this verse around. Through Jesus, we have been restored to the glory of God. One description of the word "glory" refers to the divine quality, the unspoken manifestation of God, and splendor. It is the revelation of God's intrinsic worth and beauty. Do you see that? We have been restored to His divine quality, splendor, and beauty. In a world where it can be easy to feel like just another face in the crowd, remember that your story is significant. Your experiences, your journey, and your voice matter. Embrace the unique narrative God has given you and let it shine. You are not just a spectator; you are a vital participant in God's grand story. Your authenticity, creativity, and individuality are valuable. As you navigate the rapid changes of our world, hold on to the truth that your story has power and purpose. God sees you, knows you, and has a plan for your life that is uniquely yours. Let us celebrate the beauty and significance of each individual story, knowing that together, we contribute to a tapestry of divine splendor and glory.
By Julian Adams
•
July 17, 2024
Rejection is a powerful force that can shape the trajectory of our lives, often in ways we don't fully realize until much later. For me, this journey began in childhood. I was born with a cleft palate, which affected my ability to speak, and coupled with my passionate devotion to Jesus, I faced daily ridicule and rejection throughout my school years. My speech and my fervent faith made me a target, and I found myself isolated and misunderstood. Despite the rejection, something beautiful began to grow within me: a deep and abiding friendship with Jesus. Through profound encounters with the Lord, I began to walk in the prophetic. This newfound gift led me to public ministry, where I started releasing prophetic words. However, beneath the surface, I was carrying an immense amount of pain that I hadn't dealt with. This pain manifested as a lifestyle of performance, driven by the need for acceptance and validation. Though I was a new creation in Christ, I was living as if I were still bound by my old wounds. In Matthew 23:27-28 (MSG), Jesus describes the Pharisees as "manicured grave plots, grass clipped and the flowers bright, but six feet down it's all rotting bones and worm-eaten flesh. People look at you and think you're saints, but beneath the skin, you're total frauds." These words struck a chord with me because I realized I was living like a professional Pharisee. Outwardly, I appeared to have it all together, but inside, I was disconnected from the healing process that God wanted to take me through. This disconnect had a significant impact on my prophetic ministry. My words, especially those concerning sin, were often harsh and unkind, reflecting my damaged perspective of myself and the world. It wasn't until I began to address my heart issues that my approach to the prophetic truly changed. God started speaking to me about the connection between my gift, my performance, and my worth. Through this process, He took me back to moments of pain and difficulty from my childhood and even into my adult life. In one profound moment, God said to me, "Son, I want you to grow up and be a child." This statement might seem paradoxical, but it revealed a crucial truth: the posture of the kingdom is one of childlike fascination and trust. My journey into sonship transformed how I viewed the prophetic and how I ministered to others. No longer driven by judgment and legalism, I began to approach people with love, kindness, and the heart of the Father. Understanding my identity as a beloved child of God allowed me to see others through His eyes. This shift not only brought healing to my heart but also enabled me to minister more effectively and compassionately. Rejection and pain had shaped my early years, but God's love and healing power brought me to a place of wholeness. This journey has taught me that dealing with our heart issues is essential for authentic and impactful ministry. As we pursue wholeness, we open ourselves to deeper intimacy with God and greater effectiveness in serving His people. If you find yourself struggling with similar issues of rejection, pain, or performance, I encourage you to invite God into those wounded places. Allow Him to heal and transform you, just as He did for me. Embrace the posture of childlike wonder and trust, knowing that you are deeply loved and valued by your Heavenly Father. In this place of wholeness, you will find the freedom to live and minister authentically, reflecting the heart of God to a world in need.
By Julian Adams
•
July 21, 2023
In my years of teaching people the prophetic and how to hear God's voice, I've learned several practices that help people hear Him. Here are a few of my most helpful!
Frequentsee Inc. PO Box 171629, Boston, Ma 02117
© 2025
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | JULIAN ADAMS | PRIVACY POLICY