How to Experience a Life of Overflow

When I was just starting to drive, I didn't have a lot of money, and as a result, I developed a fundamental tension with fuel stations. Since I would always buy a minimum amount of gas, I often pulled away from the pumps, my gauge still reading “E” for empty. It was a very “unfulfilling” experience; especially, as I pushed my “fill up” as far as possible before the next stop. The result of this twisted cycle: I often ran out of gas on the side of the road. Needing a roadside fill-up, many times I had to call others for help! First on my call list was one of my uncles. Every time I would call, he would ask, “Where are you at this time?” Over time, I called him and requested refueling assistance so frequently that he finally bought a one-gallon fuel jug and wrote my name on it.

Are you running on “E,” not in your vehicle but rather your soul?

Even when you leave spiritual filling stations like church services or small groups, do you still feel like your spiritual fuel tank is on E?

Maybe, out of exhaustion and fatigue, you’ve had to call God for roadside assistance so many times that you’re starting to feel like he’s got a jug with your name on it?

Know this truth, while God can most certainly visit you roadside, he doesn't intend for you to live life running on empty. He has designed an opportunity for you to live life running on full!

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. (John 10:10 NKJV)

We have an enemy, he is the devil, and he comes to wreak havoc and bring chaos in our lives. Most often, his attack is progressive. First, he tries to steal something from you. Next, he tries to kill something in your life. Ultimately, he wants to bring destruction to your life. Knowing our enemy is this vicious, we should then become very grateful to our risen Lord, Jesus, who has decreed, “I have come so that you may have life and you may have it more abundantly!”

Since abundantly means extremely plentiful and overflowing, we can celebrate that our God wants us to experience His presence in such a way that it is overflowing with life. The exact opposite of what our enemy intends for us! And, thankfully, Jesus exemplified through His ministry precisely what it looked like to live an abundant, overflowing life. The disciples knew this fact when they pleaded, “Lord, TEACH US how to pray!” The disciples recognized how Jesus valued and placed importance on prayer, and they desired to mimic this model in their own lives. I believe they wisely understood that Jesus’ life was full of abundance because of His prayer life.

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray...” 2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.” (Luke 11:1-4 NKJV)

In last week's message, Grave to Garden, we talked about living our lives full of prayer, praise, purpose, and power! If you haven't watched last week's message, I invite you to do so now. It could open some things up for you in an “overflowing” kind of way! (Watch Here)

In this week's message, Running on Full, I continue to move through Jesus’ model for prayer and teach three additional ways we can access the abundant and overflowing life God intends for us to live.

Let’s start here, “Give us day by day our daily bread.” (Luke 11:3 NKJV)

Our Lord is a provider, and He wants you to live a life that is full of provision. God can get you in, God can get you through, and God can get you out of it! Our Heavenly Father is the God of provision! He will provide you with physical and spiritual provisions within your life daily by honoring His promise, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us… (Luke 11:4 NKJV)

We need to be very intentional about asking God to forgive our sins. But we also need to be very intentional about forgiving others. We must live life full of pardons. Your willingness to live in abundance correlates directly with your ability to forgive and be forgiven. If you want to be effective in your prayer life, you MUST be willing to forgive (ref. Mark 11:25). Creating offense and bitterness among us is one tactic the enemy uses to stifle our prayer lives; stealing, killing, destroying. The enemy understands that if he can get you to refuse to pardon others, he can rob you of the abundance God has for you. Examine your heart. Is there anyone you've chosen not to pardon?

Cancel culture has taken over our whole world, but this is an excellent time for the gospel to shine. Because when you live a Christian life, you don’t get to cancel anyone! Because if you did, you and I are canceled too. Aren’t you glad that Jesus didn’t cancel us because of all of our sins and mistakes? He gave us the ultimate example of what pardons look like!

And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. (Luke 11:4 NKJV)

We must choose to live life on the right path. Not by our standards, but by the example the Word of God provides, and with Jesus as our shepherd. Making this decision is how we get to walk in an overflowing life and abundance. God reveals this path to anyone who asks Him to do so. The enemy will always try to draw you away from the narrow path God has for you. Don’t let the enemy distract you. Stay on the right path. Jesus is your light. He is your help. He will lead you to the overflowing and abundant life God has for you!

Through God, we can experience incredible, abundant, overflowing life. Not just on the other side of eternity, but here and now! God can and will give you a lifestyle in the peace, joy, and love of His presence that is exceedingly above anything you could ever ask for or imagine. And now you know how to access it.

Choose to live a life that is full of prayer, praising God, and receiving His power and purpose. If you do, you will discover that you aren’t running on empty. You will be running on FULL!

FULL OF PROVISION

FULL OF PARDONS

& ON THE RIGHT PATH

Check out this message by Pastor Eric as he continues to walk us through Luke 11:1-4 and teaches us some compelling practical applications to start applying to our own lives!

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE | MESSAGE NOTES

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3 Questions to Ask During Times of Adversity

1) Have you considered that recovery might occur through the process of time? Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out, and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. (‭Exodus‬ ‭2‬:‭23-24‬ NKJV) God uses time. It is no more than a harlot to His will. Existing in eternity, God makes time work for His good pleasure, maneuvering in and out of it to fulfill His plan and teach us what He desires us to learn. In Exodus 2, Israel, though away from their homeland, had become complacent. They lost interest in returning to their God-appointed zip codes. As a result, God allowed adversity to come throughout the process of time and then used that adversity to help them remember His covenant -- which had been there all along!

2) Have you considered that God’s provision may come in a way that is different than you anticipated? So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. (John‬ ‭4‬:‭46-54‬ ESV) Applaud this father! He did not allow his preconceived notions to imprison his family in an adverse circumstance any longer. By faith, he submitted to God’s plan rather than his personal plot. In this account, the leader of the household had a clear picture in mind of how God could help his family: he anticipated that Jesus would come to his home and heal his son. Instead, Jesus simply sent his word and accomplished the miracle through Heaven in a way that Earth didn’t expect. When experiencing adversity, we must not box God in with our preconceived notions.

3) Are you believing God for anything for which -- if He answered your request -- it would affect your entire household? So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee. (John‬ ‭4‬:‭46-54‬ ESV) This man’s son was suffering. Adversity had arrived at their house. However, what the enemy meant for evil, God turned to their advantage. This family’s entire household experienced salvation. If you are experiencing adversity, consider the possibility that the Holy Spirit may be using it as a setup for the amazing things he wants to do in your life.

Four Practical Ways You Can Live an Abundant Life Through Christ

During the message, Grave or Garden, I share an encounter our family had in Wisconsin. Enthralled with a tourist attraction that was little more than a photo-op (a giant orange moose), all around us, others -- more informed than us -- explored incredible beauty through miles and miles of trails. Our family didn’t even know the trails existed, yet we were standing within just a few feet of the entrance. This experience taught me something... Through God, we can experience incredible, abundant, overflowing life. Not just on the other side of eternity, but here and now! God can and will give you a lifestyle in the peace, joy, and love of His presence that is exceedingly above anything you could ever ask for or imagine. But… you must know how to access it.

There may be some of you that are very new to your walk with God, or maybe for others, you’re walking in a season of rededication to the Lord, and you want to make sure you're taking the right next steps. Yet others, after many years of professing salvation, are finally ready to pursue more than just a Sunday experience with God. You want to become a genuinely faithful follower of Jesus. A true disciple! With these realities of different journeys in mind, I would like to give you a handful of applications you can use to take your walk with God to the next level of abundant living and better explore everything His presence has to offer.

Throughout Grave or Garden, we evaluated the first section of the Lord’s Prayer:

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” 2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Luke 11:1-2 NKJV)

Notice, Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say...”

There is an expectation within this verse that you and I will pray. Anyone who’s a follower or a disciple of Jesus must be someone who prays. To truly live a life that is full of abundance, we must live a life full of prayer. For in sin, a man declares his independence from God, but humanity expresses dependence on God in prayer. As S. M. Lockridge once so eloquently proclaimed, this truth is why God did not say, “Men ought always to work or men ought always to preach, or that men out to always play. God said men ought always to PRAY!

God’s declaration about prayer It’s not a suggestion; it’s a command. We must have lives that are FULL of prayer. On the good days and the bad days, in every situation! The disciples wisely understood this concept. They grasped that Jesus’ life was full of power because of His prayer life. In the Gospels, we do not find their focus on asking Jesus how to preach or perform miracles. Instead, they pleaded, “Lord, TEACH US how to pray!” The disciples saw how Jesus valued and placed importance on prayer, and they desired to mimic this model in their own lives.

Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.”

He teaches his first disciples and now us to pray by starting with praise. If you are going to live a life of abundance through God, you need to live a life full of praise. If you haven’t already, then start praising God because praise has the power to draw the presence of God near to you. (We see this truth declared many times throughout scripture.)

I encourage you to stop lamenting what you’ve lost and start praising God for what you have left! After all, the miracle is always made manifest in what you have left! If you want to live a life of abundance and walk-in resurrection power, you have to bring praise into your life!

Rather than pointing out your bruises, start thanking God that the weapon formed against you will not prosper! Quit detailing your pain, and start thanking God for the breath still in your lungs. Be encouraged that you have the resurrection power of Jesus Christ within you, and you will prosper! Start praising God! (Ref. Ps. 150:6)

Life is just like a vapor; it’s just a mere breath when compared to eternity. As I once gleaned from Myles Munroe’s preaching, don’t worry if you’re going to die young or die old; just die finished. Jesus died at 33 years of age, but He was able to say it is finished! Everything that was in Him had been released through Him. Live your life full of prayer. Live your life full of praise. BUT also live your life on purpose.

Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven... Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

I hear so many people allude to the reality that they feel as though they have potential but can’t identify it. I think they are trying to say is, “I know I have a purpose, but I can’t define it.” Only when we submit your own will to God’s will for your life can you begin to walk in the true purpose He has for you. Pray for God’s will to be done in your life, and start living your life on purpose. We must be totally and utterly dependent on God if we shall walk in actual power and purpose in our lives, just like Jesus did.

Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven... Your kingdom come.

We serve a King for whom the grave could not hold. A King who resurrected fully, and this truth is why His kingdom can be with us wherever we go is that He has conquered death, Hell, and the grave. Live a life full of prayer. Live a life full of praise. Live life on purpose. But also live a life full of power -- Jesus’ resurrection power!

In the message, Finding Jesus, we get to recognize through John’s Gospel that Mary Magdalene struggled to stop looking in the grave for Jesus (Ref. John 20). She couldn’t fully process that He was no longer there. It wasn’t until she turned around and looked in the garden that she saw the resurrected Jesus. With her experience assisting our perspective, I want to encourage you: stop looking in the grave, turn around, and start looking in the garden.

Think about it, graves house death but gardens house life. Mary’s encounter teaches you to stop looking for God where the dead things in your life were laid and start looking for Him where things are alive! Start seeing the abundant life God has for you, and start walking in the resurrection power! There is power through Jesus Christ in your life.

LIVE A LIFE FULL OF PRAYER.

LIVE A LIFE FULL OF PRAISE.

LIVE LIFE ON PURPOSE.

LIVE LIFE WITH POWER.

Check out this message by Pastor Eric as he walks us through Luke 11:1-2 and gives us some compelling practical applications to start applying to our own lives!

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE | MESSAGE NOTES

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