THE OVERFLOW (By Pastor E.A. Adeboye)

Key Text: Psalm 23:5

“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.”

That passage didn’t say ‘our cup’, it says ‘my cup’. Now personalise the verse by saying “I shall enter into overflow tonight because my cup shall run over”.

When considering the theme ‘overflow’ the first thing we should note is that our God is not a small God. How big is our God? Isaiah 66:1 says He sits in the heavens and his legs touches the earth. Those legs must be pretty big! Our God is so big and because He is big, He doesn’t do small things. In Genesis 1:20-22, God commanded the waters to bring forth abundantly and the moment He said that, the ocean was filled with all manners of fish and creatures. All God needs to say is ‘let there be’ and things get created.

When He created man, He said be fruitful and multiply. Beginning from now, you’ll begin to multiply rapidly in Jesus name. Amen. Because our God is a big God that does big things, His purpose for your life is not small at all. His purpose for your life is not for you to remain small…You may start small but in the name that is above every other name, you’ll not finish small. Amen!

Beginning from now your joy shall multiply! Your blessings shall multiply! Your miracle shall multiply and you will begin to overflow in Jesus name. Amen! There are many people who are alive but barely surviving. In Luke 13:11-17 the bible tells the story of the woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years and as a result was bowed together and couldn’t stand straight. The woman didn’t die, yet she was barely surviving. In 2kings 5, the bible also gives the account of a great captain called Namaan but despite his riches, his joy wasn’t full because of his leprosy. Many people are alive but barely surviving… Whatever is limiting your joy will disappear tonight in Jesus name. Amen.

God wants you to overflow. He doesn’t just want you to be healthy, he wants you to be healing people. He doesn’t just want you to be free but He wants you to be setting the captives free. He doesn’t just want you to be rich, he wants you to be lending to nations. He doesn’t just want you to be happy, he wants you to bring joy to your nation…He wants you to overflow!

However you have a choice. Of all the creatures God created, only man has a choice and the ability to choose. You have a choice on how great you want to be. If you want to overflow there is a price to pay because entering into the overflow is not cheap.

ENTERING INTO THE OVERFLOW WILL COST YOU THE FOLLOWING
1) Total obedience to God . Read Deuteronomy 28:1-13. However verse 1 and 2 says “ if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth.And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.

2) Hardwork. Proverbs 22:29 says “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.”. When God enlarges your coast, it will lead you to hardwork. Overflow is not for the lazy and slothful , it is for hardworkers!

3) Self-discipline. 1Cor 9:25 says “And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.”. Careless people, those who cannot control themselves cannot cope with an overflow. You must learn to control yourself and be moderate in all things if you want the overflow.

4) Consistent and generous sowing. 1Cor 9:6 says “ But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully”.

5) Lots of prayers (particularly in the spirit). In 1Cor 14:18, Paul testified to how he prayed a lot in tongues and in Acts 19, there were testimonies of how Paul overflowed in anointing because his sweat and handkerchiefs from his body was doing miracles.

HOW DO WE BEGIN TO OVERFLOW?
1) Stop looking at yourself alone, begin to look for how you can become a blessing to others. Stop praying for yourself alone, include others in your prayers. Move away from prayers like “God heal me” to “God use me to heal people”. Move from prayers like “God bless me” to “God make me a blessing to others”. In 2Chron 1:6-12, when God asked Solomon what he wanted after he had offered the sacrifices, Solomon asked for wisdom to lead God’s people. He wanted wisdom so he could be a blessing to others and God honoured the request and even gave him more than he asked for.

2) Get thirsty for God. Matthew 5:6 says “ Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”. 2kings 2:9-15 When Elijah asked Elisha to make a request, He asked for a double portion anointing. When you understand what a single portion anointing can do, you’ll realise that Elisha was hungry for the anointing. He got his request and was soaked in so much anointing to the point that even after he died, his grave brought the dead back to life.

3) Accept His invitation. In John 7:37-38 Jesus stood and cried, saying “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water”. The invitation has been made a long time ago, all God is waiting for is for us to come to Him saying “Lord I want to overflow”. God is not just about to make the overflowing blessings, He has already set the table before you and all you need do is ask for it.