The Joy of the Overflow // Full to Overflowing, Part 5

There are so many good things out there in life. And it’s great to get our fill. But what’s even better, is when we’re so full of goodness – that we overflow – right into the lives of other people. I love to see other people doing what God made them to do. Being who God made them to be. It's awesome when they excel at that. A brilliant musician or a sports person or someone who's great at caring for other people. Someone who can just lead an organisation, somehow make it sing. It never ceases to amaze me how different we all are and how when someone discovers their unique gig, whatever that is, what a wondrous thing that is to behold. For me it leaves me in awe of God, His grace to let us have gifts like that. His imagination. His plan to bless each one of us through the gifts and the abilities of other people. Sometimes we get all silly and we compare ourselves to other people and go, "Oh well, I can't do that." Of course we can't, it's not what God made us to do. He made us to be, well you and me. To be and to excel at whatever He's gifted us in our DNA. In fact it's a real passion of mine. To see people living out who God made them to be and the plan that He has for their lives. And when we're right in that sweet spot there's just nothing better. That's why I enjoy doing what I'm doing right now. I'm custom made for this gig. A whole bunch of other things I can't do but I love, I love sharing the good news of Jesus with you. This week we're looking at Jesus' ideal plan for our lives. A plan to use us as the entry point for His flood-tide of blessing into this world. Yesterday we looked at this passage, I want to look at it again today. It's John chapter 7, verse 37. And Jesus is talking at a time of a festival where they celebrate the enactment in a temple of the flowing of the Holy Spirit into the land. He says: If anyone is thirsty (anyone, that means, you know that's for you and me right? This is an invitation) If anyone is thirsty (Are you thirsty?) then let them come to me (Says Jesus) and drink because whoever believes in me streams of living water will flow out from within them. By this He meant the Holy Spirit whom those who would believe in Him were later to receive. This picture for the "anyone" and the "whoever", for you and for me, is for God to fill us to overflowing. When we're thirsty go to Jesus and we drink and we believe and then rivers of living water, His Spiritual blessing flows out of us. The Bible says literally: From our bellies into the world around us rivers, a flood-tide of blessing. You know near the delta of a river, when there's a flood all the wonderful silt goes out into the land and makes the land rich and fertile and things grow and they come to life. That's the picture. It's almost like we're a channel, an entry point for Gods blessing, a vessel used in His service. When I look around at the people I know it never ceases to amaze me how different we all are. A friend of mine, Bob, who's a counsellor, he sits and listens to people and empathises and helps them think through and work through their problems. I couldn't do that. Another good friend of mine, Lawrie. He's a gentle man, he has a special ministry. When Churches are going through hurts, sometimes when they go through splits or they sack their pastor or whatever went on, his ministry is to go and to be their pastor for the next few months or even the next few years and bring reconciliation and forgiveness and healing into that place. It's a really special ministry. I couldn't do that. Another friend of mine, James, he's the baby boomer social director at our Church. He's always organising for us to get together or to go away for weekends and he ushers in a sense of community. He loves doing that, he's passionate about it. That's not me either. The people I really admire, teachers. I spoke recently at a gathering of 300 high school teachers. Now those people, I reckon they deserve a medal. I mean I definitely couldn't do what they do. You know by now I could be tearing my hair out, I could be feeling really insecure. Wow, I can't do any of those things that those other people can do. What good am I? Me, I just sit in a radio studio behind a microphone. How boring is that? But you know something, when I'm doing what God made me to do it's such an incredible joy. It is your decision and my decision to draw close to Jesus and to get to know Him and to be filled by His Spirit. And when we're thirsty to go to Him for our spiritual nourishment, that's the inflow, it's an awesome thing. I was worshipping at Church recently and it was such a delight to sing praises and to bow down my life before God but if that's all I did with my faith it would get boring. You fill up and you fill up and you fill up with God and you never spend any of that and you never let any of it flow out, I think we'd explode. You know where there's as much, in a sense, an even more delight for me? When I see those rivers of living ...