These are notes on the sermon, The Overflow Life For You!, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on Sunday, 4 August 2019, at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore. We hope these sermon notes will be an encouragement to you!
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Pastor Prince opens the service by sharing that when we come to church and come into God’s presence, we never leave the same way!
When we enter God’s house, we do not just enter a building, but we join the many-membered body of Christ where there is a corporate anointing that is not present when we are alone.
In John 15:5, Jesus tells us that He is the vine and we are the branches. The branches cannot produce any fruit without life from the vine. Our role is simply to receive supply from Him to bear fruit.
When God created Adam and Eve, He created them in the Garden of Eden where everything was provided for (see Gen. 1:29–30). He fashioned beautiful sceneries and created every living thing for them to enjoy. For Adam and Eve, their first day was a rest day!
From the beginning of time, God intended for man to be “human beings,” not “human doings.” We are created to receive and made to enjoy the finished work!
When God created man on the sixth day, He declared that it was “very good” (see Gen. 1:31). Man is God’s crowning glory of accomplishment, made in His image (see Gen. 1:27).
God gave man souls, which other created things did not have, and souls live forever (see Gen. 2:7). Because souls live forever, they need a place to go after the body dies. Souls who do not receive Christ cannot enjoy heaven, for they are unrenewed.
In the Bible, the first mention of holiness is found in Genesis.
“Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”
—Genesis 2:3 NKJV
“sanctified it” — The word “sanctified” means “made holy.” Rest is holy.
Today, the principle is the same—rest is holy, and we can only be holy when we rest. Your spirit cannot be holy when it is stressed and self-driven. God wants you to be at rest!
Man’s first day was to rest and enjoy God’s love and His favor.
God’s heart is for us to prosper and be a blessing to many. In a practical sense, we cannot impact the world if we ourselves do not have the resources to do so.
God wants to supply us, and we are to use money to love God and love people. Not love money and use people.
Pastor Prince goes on to share more about Adam and Eve while they were still in the Garden of Eden.
God provided everything for man, but man chose to let his belly—his appetite—rule him.
“Whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.”
—Philippians 3:19 NKJV
After the fall, man has let his appetite, his lust for what he does not have, become his god.
“Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.”
—Ecclesiastes 7:29 KJV
Before the fall of man, God provided everything man needed. Now, after the fall, we keep having to invent in an attempt to fill what is now lacking, and to sustain or improve previous inventions.
However, God in His love and mercy for man sent Jesus into the world to rescue us from destruction. At the cross, Jesus, God’s only begotten Son, became the only forgotten Son. That is why today, we can live knowing that God will never forget or forsake us!
On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus referred to our need for fulfillment.
“In the last day, that great day of the feast, 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. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)”
—John 7:37–39 KJV
“out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” — The belly refers to our appetite. It refers to our cravings and desires, not only for food, but also for fulfillment.
“come unto me, and drink” — When we come to Jesus, out of our bellies shall flow “rivers of living water.” This tells us that the part of us that is crying out for fulfillment will be fully satisfied and overflowing when we come to the Lord.
We cannot be satisfied with man-made things. We need Jesus.
“rivers of living water” — “Rivers” speak of an overflow. For a vessel to overflow, it needs to first be filled, and filled until overflowing. God wants to satisfy us till we are overflowing!
This overflow is not just supply for our own lives, but it is also for others. The rivers are for the benefit of the people around us.
God loves it when we come to Him to be filled.
Sometimes, the miracle or breakthrough we are praying for doesn’t happen instantly. But every time we come to the Lord, we are being filled, and He is taking care of our situations. If you are waiting for a breakthrough that is delayed, know that God is making all things beautiful in His time (see Ecc 3:11).
Sometimes when we partake of the Communion, we expect an immediate manifestation of healing. Know that your healing is taking place. In the meantime, enjoy communing with the Lord. It is called “the Holy Communion” because it is all about communing and spending time with the Lord. Every time you partake of the Holy Communion, see the Lord embracing you.
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.”
—Ecclesiastes 3:11 NKJV
“He has put eternity in their hearts” — God has created us with eternity in our hearts. That is why we cannot be satisfied by the things of this world.
Man still tries to satisfy himself and his belly with passing things of earth and time. There is no satisfaction because we are created for higher things.
Now, through Jesus, God has given us a way to be satisfied.
Pastor Prince dives into the story of Jesus visiting Mary and Martha in Luke 10.
“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
—Luke 10:38–42 NKJV
From the passage in Luke, we see that Martha was serving but Mary chose to sit and listen to Jesus’ word. Some may look at Mary and see her actions as impractical, but on the contrary, they were crucial to her well-being and effectiveness.
Sometimes, we get so caught up in serving the Lord that we end up doing it with stress, worry, anxiety. With a spirit of strife and a lack of peace.
What the Lord truly wants from us daily is for us to be in His presence, to come to Him and drink (see John 7:37). Only then, rivers of living water will flow out of us (see John 7:38), and that is how powerful ministry happens.
Notice that Jesus does not ask us to draw; He asks us to drink—which is an act of receiving. We can draw for others without drinking for ourselves. Jesus wants us to drink!
The power of the rivers that will flow out of us have nothing to do with the capacity of our human vessel. Stop looking at your own limitations and instead look at His limitless power within you!
We cannot live life without Jesus, our source of satisfaction. When we try to live without Him, we end up looking toward people for approval. When we receive from Jesus, our bellies (the very area of need) will produce rivers of living water! What used to be an area of craving is not only satisfied, but overflowing.
“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
—Luke 10:38–42 NKJV
“Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.” — Many of us are occupied with a to-do list everyday. We are like Martha in Luke 10, who was stressed out as she was serving the Lord. Martha was troubled by many things because she did not do the ONE thing, which was to occupy herself with Jesus.
“Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.” — The one thing we need is to sit at Jesus’ feet and hear His Word. For you, that could be listening to a sermon, or reading the Word for ourselves, or reading a devotional.
Before you do this every day, it’s good to tell the Lord, “Lord Jesus, I come to You right now.” Then, your time in the Word becomes a living, vital time of occupying yourself with Christ.
When you occupy yourself with Christ, even when difficult situations arise, you will arise with the spirit of power. You will have love, joy, and peace, because you are overflowing!
You will find that God will give you grace for each new day. Give the Lord time, and you will find that He always multiplies it back to you.
When the disciples lent their boat to Jesus, they were giving Him time that they could have spent fishing. When they did this, Jesus blessed the fishermen with a net-breaking, boat-sinking load of fish (see Luke 5:6–7)!
Believe in your heart that Jesus came to serve, not to be served.
“Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
—Matthew 20:28 NKJV
Pastor Prince alludes to the difference of superiority between the Melchizedek and Levitical priesthood (see Heb. 7:1–28), the former being superior to the latter. He also touches on the revelation of tithing.
Whoever you tithe to shows the superiority of the person. For us today, we tithe to the Lord not to gain riches, but to acknowledge Him as our source. Generations after us will continue to see the fruit of our tithe.
Beloved, He is the power for us to receive supply and abundance in this life!
“Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.”
—Hebrews 7:7 NKJV
This is why Simeon did not bless baby Jesus when Joseph and Mary brought Him to the temple to be consecrated; Simeon only blessed Joseph and Mary (see Luke 2:25-35). Baby Jesus was greater than Simeon.
In the church, it is vital to have servers in the house, but that serving has to come out of a place of being occupied with Christ.
Pastor Prince reminds us that God is the better, and that is why He is the blesser.
In our society, you would expect a person of high status to be served. When you look at Jesus in all His glory, why would He come down all the way to earth to be served by you? In Heaven, His angels serve excellently, better than us as human beings.
Jesus didn’t come to be served. He came to do the serving.
When we see the armies surrounding us, we need to see that the angels in heaven are greater than whatever situation is surrounding us! When disease and viruses lurk around your dwelling, see His angels taking charge over you (see Ps. 91:11).
Jesus was conscious of heaven. In the story of the five loaves and two fish, His disciples saw the need and lack of food, but Jesus saw heaven’s supply and He took the little and multiplied it. That is the life that God has called us to live—being conscious of heaven’s resources!
Don’t be poverty-minded, but see your need being multiplied in Jesus’ hands.
Jesus sees supply where others see lack. He saw David as king while others saw him as a shepherd boy.
Pastor Prince prays for the healing of liver and knee conditions.
Jesus is fully man and fully God. God’s heart has found joy and delight in a man—Jesus. God accepts us because our representative, Jesus, is of infinite delight to Him. As He is, so are you in this world.
As a man, Jesus' accomplishments are credited to our account.
Pastor Prince notes that till this day, man has not found an invention that can do away with death. It might prevent death from coming immediately, but death still comes. There is no medicine, invention, smartphone, nothing among the most brilliant inventions of man that eradicated death. Because death is the wages of sin.
We have a craving to stop death from occurring because of the very fact that God never meant for us to die. God hates sin, for it brings sickness, disease, and ultimately death. That is contrary to the will of God, who wants to see us blessed, healthy, and living the abundant life.
“Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.”
—Hebrews 7:7 NKJV
When Martha was busy serving the Lord, thinking to herself that He needed her service, she was actually placing Him in the place of the lesser.
God did not come to be served by you and I—if He really wanted to be served, He would have stayed in Heaven to be served by angels who never get tired.
What makes Jesus happy?
When Jesus was tired, what made Him happy and energized was a Samaritan woman coming to take from Him (see John 4:7–26).
The only reason why Jesus asked her for water was to start a conversation with her. In the end, she was the one who drank from Jesus and was filled.
When you ask from Jesus, you will be filled with living water. When you take from Jesus, you replenish and reinvigorate Him. Jesus wants us to receive, and receive, and receive!
Pastor Prince uses the analogy of a window to describe how faith works. Just like windows don’t create light but let the light in, faith doesn’t create God’s supply but allows God’s supply in.
Martha saw Jesus in His tiredness, Mary saw Jesus in His fullness—an infinite fullness to be drunk and received from. There, Mary sat and drank from Jesus till her vessel was full.
The result is that Mary ended up being the one person to anoint Jesus for His burial before He went to the cross. When other women came to anoint Jesus after His death, He had already resurrected.
Because Mary was first served by the Lord, she could serve Him effectively. Because she did the ONE thing needful, she ended up doing the right thing at the right time.
By the leading of the Spirit inside you, you will serve God well.
Jesus came to be used. He came to allow us to use His power. Every time you take from Him, He loves it!
When the multitudes came to Jesus in Bethsaida and lined the streets with their sick, Jesus touched them and healed them all of them and they all were healed.
But when Jesus went back to His hometown of Nazareth wanting to heal the sick, the people there were apprehensive and dismissive of Him, and He could not perform the healing miracles He wanted there.
Every day, have the revelation of Jesus’ fullness. Prosperity does not just mean wealth, but also in the area of health, family, ministry, work. When you come to Jesus, see Him coming to bless all these areas that are important to you.
Pastor Prince shares how his Jewish friend in Israel caught a revelation of partaking of the Holy Communion and received healing from cancer.
The Communion will never become legalistic if you see it as a time when Jesus Himself is coming to you with the bread and the wine.
The Lord comes to us with the bread and wine daily and invites us to partake of our portion for the day.
Don’t just see yourself preparing the elements at home. See Jesus coming to you with the bread and the wine in your kitchen or wherever you partake of the Communion. See yourself receiving the Communion from Jesus.
In the book of Revelation, John was a prisoner on the island of Patmos, yet he was enjoying heaven.
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last… And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.”
—Revelation 1:10–13 KJV
Pastor Prince shares that he believes that John was in the literal tabernacle of God in heaven. The tabernacle of Moses was designed after the pattern of heaven.
"being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks" — When John turned around, he saw the menorah. This means that he was initially facing the Table of Showbread (see Slide 13).
Pastor Prince believes that John was partaking of the Lord’s Supper at the Table of Showbread. As John was receiving Communion, he heard God’s voice.
When John saw Jesus, He was “girt about the paps with a golden girdle.” The girdle is the equipment of a servant. Back in those days, servants washed people’s feet with their girdles.
In heaven today, Jesus has His golden girdle. He came to serve, and now that He is glorified and back in heaven, He is still serving us.
God chose John Mark, the servant who failed in his ministry, to write the Gospel of Mark which portrays Jesus as the servant who never fails.
Even in heaven, Jesus is still working. Every day, Jesus says to you, “Come, take your daily bread from Me.”
Sometimes, you will find yourself disappointed because your own efforts at holiness fail. Just tell the Lord, “Lord, I cannot. I need Your supply.”
In closing, Pastor Prince emphasizes that Jesus’ heart is always to serve His people and encourages us to see His supply and not just the demands of life. Simply come to Jesus and receive from Him.
“This coming week, the Lord lavish His blessings on you. Will you receive it? Get ready—every day, there is a daily bread. Get ready every day. The Bible says, ‘Blessed be the Lord God who daily loads us with benefits.’ So this week, every single day, expect to receive blessings from Him. Even in your adversity, your trial, whatever you are going through, expect the blessings to overwhelm the adversity. Expect His favor to swallow up your shame. Thank You Jesus.
This coming week, the Lord lavish you with His blessings and the Lord keep you, preserve you and your loved ones. He gives His angels charge over you. Be conscious of their presence around you and your children. Know and have the assurance that there are more with us than with the enemy. Amen. And the Lord make His face shine upon you and be favorable to you. The Lord lift up His countenance on you and grant to you and your loved ones His wonderful shalom peace, well-being, and health. In Jesus’ name, and all the people say, amen. God bless you!”
We hope these sermon notes blessed you! If they did, we encourage you to get the sermon and allow the Lord to speak to you personally as you watch or listen to it.
© Copyright JosephPrince.com 2019
These sermon notes were taken by volunteers during the service. They are not a verbatim representation of the sermon.
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