"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have [it] more abundantly. - Jhn 10:10 NKJV
Interestingly, these words are recorded in chapter ten, verse ten of John. Ten is the number that represents testimony, law, responsibility, and the completeness of order. It is a complete and perfect number, such as 3, 7, and 12. God designated His feasts on certain days and numbered them for specific days. Numbers often represent something that we should tune into.
Jesus' words give us two examples of how life may go. One way is death, and the other is life—the life of death and destruction or the life of abundance. God's people are given a choice. "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, - Deut 30:15
You have been positioned so that two things will happen, you will live an abundant life on earth and in eternity, or you will live the opposite of that – death.
If you are not living a life of prosperity, goodness, and hope, you may need to make some changes in who you are walking with. The enemy gains a foothold and finds a way into a believer's life in many ways. All these ways come from some area of darkness in our lives or our ancestors' lives. Whenever we embrace sin in any form, the enemy takes advantage and tries to kill, destroy, or steal something from our lives. He will always start with a believer's worship.
5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours." 8 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'" - Lk 4:5-8 NIV
The account of Jesus' time in the wilderness and Satan revealing his power to give authority and splendor offers a great example of how the enemy wants your worship to be offered to him instead of God. When we worship, we express through our attitude and often by our position, our allegiance to and regard for deity. Satan offers death and destruction, and yet millions of people worship him. Why would anyone worship anything that brings death?
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you [the priestly nation] have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you that you shall be no priest to Me; seeing you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children. – Hos 4:6
The lack of knowing Jesus and God's Word will keep us in the dark. When God told the people to choose life or death, He wrapped that into loving God and keeping His law or commands. Notice the same thing with Hosea. Living a life of holiness, moral purity, and keeping Jesus' command to love God with all your heart, mind, body, and strength means living a life for Him, not yourself. When we truly seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, we will not be denied life and goodness.
In one sentence, John 10:10 describes two kingdoms at work—light and dark, life and death. However, if a person does not see their darkness as bad or death, they will continue to stumble in it until Holy Spirit gets their attention. Jesus said He was the way of life, and nobody would get to the Father without Him. Jesus is the gatekeeper of human souls. He alone can open the gate to Heaven. Without a personal relationship with Him as a Person yet revering Him as God, all the scripture knowledge in the world will not help you get to Heaven. Knowing without understanding is not helpful in any relationship.
Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. – Lk 6:21 Many will beg Him with no understanding that even though they prophesied in His name, cast out demons in His name, and did many wonders in His name, they did not know Him. We know this to be true because of a testimony of seven Jewish exorcists that tried to cast out a demon in Jesus' name but were assaulted by the demonic spirit.
You can know of Jesus and know God's Word in your mind, but if it never breaks through into the heart, the very core of your soul, then you only have head knowledge. To know Jesus is to have a direct relationship with Him as an individual. It means having personal experience with Him, which happens when we spend time in the Word, worship, and prayer. He speaks to us and draws us near the Father and Himself.
Jesus said that those who do all these works in His name but do not have a relationship were practicing lawlessness and commanded them to depart His very presence!
Let's pray,
Heavenly Father, I confess my sin, both known and unknown. I ask that You search me and know my heart, try me, and know my anxieties. Help me see any wickedness in my soul that I might leave it and turn to You entirely. Lead me in the everlasting way. Lead me in the way of light and remove every part of me from the darkness. I desire to walk in Your will and not stumble in the darkness of Satan's. In Jesus' name, Amen