I will be sharing some things that will probably offend you; but rest assured that if I step on your toes, the Lord will heal them! I am not the perfect example. I have my share of major problems in my life. I am not living the abundant life. I have not arrived, but I have left. The words you hear me say are not my own. They belong to my mentor who sent me, Andrew Wommack.  And he is getting supernatural results in his life.

As we see funeral processions moving through the streets daily, it is quite strange how seldom this causes us to intensely reflect on our own inevitable end. For we are gathered here, not so much for the memory of the dead, for our memory of them is already written on our hearts. Although, my memories may be subject to minor changes based on what we say or do here today, my primary purpose for this gathering is for us the living. For me, it is a call to intensely reflect on my own inevitable end. It is a call to intensely reflect on, the quantity and quality of the life, that God has promised us in this world. For it is written for our learning, that, as he is, so are we in this world. It is written that I tell you these things that you might know that ye have eternal life.

One of the most familiar passages of Scripture is John 3:16. It seems like everybody knows that verse from a young age, yet I believe it has really been misunderstood and misapplied. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Traditionally, this scripture has been used to teach that Jesus came and died for our sins so that we would not perish. As true as this is, this verse is saying that the real purpose of Jesus coming to this earth and dying for us was so that we could have everlasting life. It just so happened that our sins were a barrier that stood between us and this everlasting life.

It is true that Jesus did die for our sins, and it is true that if we believe on Jesus, we will not perish, but there is much more to the Gospel than that. The real message of the Gospel is that God wants to give you everlasting life. Now let me explain that.

The night before His crucifixion, Jesus was praying, and He said, "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent".

This says that everlasting life is knowing the Father, the only true God, and knowing Jesus Christ, whom He has sent. That is what everlasting life is. Many people think that everlasting life is living forever. Well, every person lives forever. It is a misconception to think that when a person dies they cease to exist. The spirit and the soul go back to God. The body decays in the grave. The truth is, every person who has ever lived on the face of the earth will continue to live in spirit form. So, to say that eternal life is living forever is not the whole truth, everybody lives forever. 

Some people would say, "Eternal life is living forever in heaven versus living forever in hell: But eternal life is just what Jesus said in John 17:3, to know God and Jesus Christ. It is more than an intellectual knowledge. This word "know" is used throughout Scripture to describe the most intimate, personal relationship that you can have, as Adam knew Eve.

The primary purpose of salvation is not living forever in heaven, as great as that will be. The primary purpose of salvation is to have intimacy a personal relationship with the Lord God, and that starts now in this world. There are multitudes of people who have cried out to God for the forgiveness of their sins but have never had intimacy with God as a goal.
 
By not explaining the real purpose of salvation, we are doing a disservice to the Gospel. When we present salvation as something that deals with just spiritual things that will only benefit us in the future, in eternity, we are not helping people. There are some people who are living in such a figurative hell right now on earth. 

Many of us, although we have a real relationship with the Lord, and when we die we will go to be with the lord, still many of us are bitter, miserable, sick, angry, there is un-forgiveness. Many of us are depressed, living in poverty, dealing with strife, rejection, hurt, and failed marriages. The divorce rate of Christians is higher than the divorce rate in the world. God forbid. People are just trying to survive day to day. They are just trying to keep their heads above water. By making salvation something that deals only with the future, many people put off that decision because they are too busy just trying to survive today. Many of us are converts and not disciples.

Many of us are not living an abundant life represented by this eternal life, this zoa life, this type of life that is capable of raising the dead. So that you might have my knowledge of eternal life:

Here begineth the reading of God's Holy Word.
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Matthew 9:18
While he spake these things unto them, behold , there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying , My daughter is even now dead : but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.
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Here endeth the reading of God's Holy Word.

The Greek word used for live, in "and she shall live" is zoa. This zoa is the same word which is used for life in John 10:10; when Jesus said "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly"

The truth is that Jesus not only came to affect our eternal destinies so that we can live forever in heaven in blessing instead of the punishment and curse of hell, but Jesus also came to deliver us from this present evil world (Galatians 1:4). Jesus came to give you intimacy and a personal relationship with God the Father today.

Eternal life, that abundant life, does not start when you die, but it starts in this world today (John 5:24-29).

- Here begineth the reading of God's Holy Word.
John 5:24-29
24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 
25  Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. 
- Here endeth the reading of God's Holy Word.

Notice in verse 24 the present possession of eternal life. They have already passed from death into life.

Verse 25 "A time is coming and has now come" (NIV). A reference not only to the future resurrection but also to the fact that Christ gives life now. The spiritually dead who hear him now receive life from him now.

In conclusion I am persuaded that like many Christians, Alvin was not a disciple. He did not live the abundant life. His life was not a good reflection of Jesus. Alvin did have a wobboly walk throuh life. Nevertheless, Alvin did confess Jesus as his Lord. He did express a desire to be rededicated. He was baptised by water. Let God be the Judge. We do not have to be sad about things that we are uncertain of. Let us reflect on our own inevitable end, that we might know that we have eternal life. To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you." Indeed, the "right time" is now. Today is the day of salvation.