Rev. (DR) Sola Kolade
Text: Matt 19:16-20
In John 10:10, Jesus said “…… “. The Amplified version says “I have come in order that they may have and enjoy life, and have it abundantly, to the full till it overflows.” We can call this Jesus’ mission statement. So in a sense, everything that has to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ has to do with overflow; In other words, if the Gospel is applied the way it should be applied it will lead to overflow. We all know what an overflow is; at one time or the other, we have tried to fill up a glass of water from the tap, and if the tap pressure is much, this would lead to the cup being filled to overflowing.
In other words, it has much in it and much more. So get ready after this convention to move from the level of not enough, to the level of just enough, and move from there to more than enough and then to much more than enough. No matter what level you are in right now, you can always move to the next level, so get ready for that change, for there is a place that is beyond where you are right now-there’s always a more beyond place with God. So overflowing means that a vessel is touched, filled up and spills over to other places, depending on how wide the space is.
In the story of the rich young ruler, we know that nowadays when somebody is rich and young, you think the person has it made, and it’s like he has arrived big time. But this young man came to Jesus and asked him what he must do to have eternal life. He obviously was faithful with keeping the law, as he confirmed having kept the laws Jesus mentioned from his childhood. He discovered that in spite of all that he had (he was rich, young and religious), he still lacked something. If he had money, he must have had other good things of life, but the truth is fulfilment does not come by riches or acquiring more things. The thing is, you can do those things and be satisfied for a while, but sooner than later you begin to hunger for more. Fulfilment does not come through religion either, the rich young man was very religious, but still there was a void in his life-so living a life of ‘dos and don’ts’ can never bring fulfilment, “Thou shall, and thou shall not’s”.
Jesus told him that in order to fill his lack he had to give up everything he had acquired and give to the poor. So we can now appreciate that to become truly fulfilled, we have to learn to give, not amass riches. In Gen 24:1 we see Abraham was a wealthy man who was also a giver. He knew a life of overflow indeed, living in abundance. Sometimes, we think living in overflow should be left till old age, but you can actually live a life of fulfilment now, no matter your age, you can be fulfilled every day of your life. Don’t forget it’s not by acquiring more; it’s by giving your best daily. Jesus told the rich man to sell everything he had and give all the money to the poor, and he should follow Him (Jesus), and he would have treasure in heaven. In Luke 12:13, Jesus refused to be drawn into a family dispute over inheritance sharing, as life does not consist of the abundance of possessions in one’s life.
When we talk of overflow now, the average Nigerian wants to believe what we are talking about is money, the truth is money is just a small fraction of it. Psalm 122:1 enjoins us to have a joyful attitude when worshipping God; we have to give Him our best because He deserves it – the best of your time, resources, and talents. Thank God for the corporate anointing when we come together as a Body to praise and worship Him, but He deserves much more than that; He deserves quality time with you, as you praise, magnify, glorify and worship Him in privacy.
To live a truly fulfilled life, you have to give your best to the following:
- God – in giving your best to God, He should have the best of your
- Time: not just the crumbs and left overs of your day, when you have done every other thing, and you are almost falling asleep. You must cultivate the habit of having a quiet time with God every day, alone with Him.
- Talents: There’s something you can do, which you can use to God’s glory. If you are holding back, from putting in your best with the talents God has given you, expecting a more favourable time to express it, you will miss your season of overflow, and will never experience fulfilment in life. It’s impossible to give your best to God and remain low in life, God is a rewarder of those who diligently serve and seek Him.
- Treasures: If you really want to have, you must learn to really give. It’s not prayers that make you receive from God, it is what you sow that you reap. It makes no difference if prayers were offered over your offerings or not, the Bible already says “Give and it shall be given unto you, good measures, pressed down, shaken together and running over, shall men add unto you”. Giving the best of what you have to God will bring you a life of joy and abundance. In John 4 when Jesus was at the well with the Samarian woman, He said “…my food is to do the will of Him who sent me.” In other words He found doing God’s will satisfying, it gave Him pleasure. Don’t you think if you give heaven joy constantly, heaven will not also give you joy here on earth? If what you sow is what you reap and you are in the business of winning souls into the kingdom of God with all you have, then there’s no way heaven will not see to it that you rejoice on earth. For heaven rejoices when a soul is converted to Christ.
If you are tired of where you are in life, you must do something about it. The reason why some people get blessed in church and some don’t is simply because those getting blessed are doing something about the word they hear. The Bible says in Joshua 1:8 that the book of the law shall not depart out of your mouths, but you should meditate on it, day and night and observe to do according to all that is written therein, and then shall you make your way prosperous and have good success. In order words, your prosperity is in your hands. Live each day as if it’s your last, giving your best all the time, doing all you know to do, when you should do it and how it should be done. That is the only way to experience fulfilment in every area of your life.
- Also give your best to your family: Eccl. 9:9, in spite of the fact that Solomon lived a life of all kinds of excesses and concluded that all was vanity, he still acknowledged the fact that one needs to live peacefully with the wife of one’s youth. You cannot be said to be enjoying life if you are not enjoying your family life. After God in your life, to find fulfilment you have to give your best to your wife and children.
- Give your best to other people: 2 Cor. 12:15. Spend and be spent for other people. When you water other people, you will increase, but when you withhold more than is necessary from others, it will result in poverty. The generous soul shall be made fat, in other words he will enjoy an overflow. Your life does not consist of the abundance of the things you possess; being a blessing to other people is what will bring you true riches. What God has put in your hands should be a benefit to other people, which is real living. The reason why the overflow will not stop is because you are always thinking of other people. Isaiah 53: Here the Word says, the pleasure of the Lord will prosper in your hands, if you do something that pleases God, it will prosper in your hands. God is a God of the world, so anything that you will do that benefit the world will receive God’s blessing and approval. That’s why the Bill Gates of this world will continue to have money, he uses his wealth to help solve poverty problems in Africa. Now, he’s going around the world convincing fellow billionaires like him to use their money to help mankind. So to enjoy overflow, be people-minded, see how you can help humanity, be a blessing to the next man to you. It’s like you are helping God to do His work. No matter how little you think you have, you still have enough to do something, and when you do your best, heaven will see to it you receive a just reward. It’s easy to do well in life, just find out what God wants to do and join Him to do it diligently and to the best of your ability.
- Finally give your best to your job/career: Eccl. 9:10. Whatever your hand finds to do (your platform of ministry), do it with all your might. In other words, whatever you do as a job, should glorify God. If you are a smuggler or armed robber, that cannot be a platform of ministry as it doesn’t glorify God. You have been equipped to do the work of the ministry through your career/job/work. Deut. 8:18, it is God who gives the power to get wealth, so whatever you have to do, the Holy Ghost is there to give you the enablement to execute it. So you have no excuse not to give your best in what you are doing. Even though the plan of God for Joseph was to be a Prime Minister in Egypt, he started off as a slave and later a prisoner. Joseph performed these roles to the best of his ability; in Portiphar’s house, he was the chief servant, in the prison, he was the chief prisoner, before God now promoted him from the jail to being a Prime minister. So you may never discover God’s purpose for your life, if you are not giving Him your best now in what you are doing. Prov. 19:23, we are to enjoy God, our family, other people, our careers and our lives, so that we can enjoy an overflow.
