From Overwhelmed to Overflowing - Part 1

0:27 Time Magazine has said that today we live in an age of FOMO, F-O-M-O, stands for fear of missing out. And about 70% of millennial generation, because they're on social media a lot, say they struggle with FOMO, the fear of missing out. and in a desire to keep up with everybody, people have overbooked their calendars, overspent their money, overdrawn their credit, overloaded their emotions, overworked their bodies, overcrowded their days, and overvalued the approval of other people. And as a result, you may feel overstressed, overanxious, and overwhelmed. Now why do people do this? Why do we do overkill? It's the fear of missing out. They don't want to feel inferior or inadequate or unloved or left out.

1:28 Today I want us to look at the subject of moving from being overwhelmed to overflowing. I want to begin by explaining two different fundamentally different approaches to life. You can approach life with a shortage mindset or you can approach life with a surplus mindset. Big, big difference. A shortage mindset, if you might write this down, means I never have enough and I never will. I'll never have enough and I never will. That's gonna leave you feeling overwhelmed. I don't have enough time, I don't have enough money, I don't have enough energy, I don't have enough contacts, opportunities, knowledge, education, or whatever it's the feeling that you're always a little bit short and a day late. That causes you to feel overwhelmed by life. In the Bible, words like lacking, wanting, needing are used for this lifestyle, this shortage mindset.

2:27 Good examples in the Bible, there was a famine in Israel, and Elijah and his servant Gehazi had a discussion about this. Notice up here on the screen, the Bible says, a man brought Elisha, the prophet, some loaves of bread. Now remember, this is a famine going on in the land. Elisha said, give it to the people so they can eat. And Elisha's servant said, there's not enough here for 100 people. Not enough. That's a shortage mindset, shortage mentality. Just give it to them, Elisha said. The Lord has promised there'll be more than enough. That's a surplus mindset. So the servant gave the bread to the people, and sure enough, it says they ate until they were full and they still had some left over just as God had promised. Shortage lifestyle, I'm never gonna have enough. Surplus lifestyle, I've got more than enough. Now, the focus, if you wanna write this down, the focus of a shortage mindset is I focus on my limited resources.

3:24 My limited resources. I look at all the things that I'm lacking. I don't have enough money. I don't have enough time. I don't have enough energy. and the result of a shortage mindset is an overwhelmed life. I just feel so overwhelmed by everything that's going on in my life. I just am always behind. I'm always in competition. When you have a shortage lifestyle, you think that life is like a pie and if somebody takes a bigger piece, that means a smaller piece for you. That there's a limited number of resources and if they get more, then you're gonna get resentful. Are you gonna get worried? Are you gonna get anxious? because there's only so much of the pie to go around. That's a shortage mentality. And it leads to envy, it leads to jealousy, it leads to resentment, it leads to worry, it leads to insecurity. If you have any of those things in your life, you're living on a shortage mentality that there's not enough to go around and if you get more, then I should resent it.

4:21 Now instead, God wants you to have this other kind of lifestyle, which is the surplus mentality. And the surplus mentality is this, right? this down. God has more than I'll ever need. And he'll never run out. God doesn't give us one pie. He's a pie factory. And there'll always be more pies because God will keep creating them. And in the Bible we have words like abundance and plentiful and abounding and bountiful. God has more than enough to meet all your needs and everybody else needs at the same time. Let me give you an example. Have you ever worried that the person breathing next to you was stealing your air? No, of course not. Why? Because God created more than enough air for everybody to have plenty of air. All you need and everybody else can have all they need too. Now, the result or the focus of a surplus mindset is instead of focusing on my limited resources, I focus on God's limitless resources.

5:22 That changes everything. God's unlimited, limitless resources. And he's got plenty. and the result is an overflowing life. Now, with that understanding, we can go to where we're gonna go today in Psalm 23. We've been studying the Lord is my shepherd Psalm now for many, many weeks. And we come to the next phrase where David says, you fill my cup to overflowing. You fill my cup to overflowing. The ICB translation says, you give me more than I can hold. the New International Version says my cup overflows and if you memorize this years ago in the old King James you memorize it my cup runneth over what's he talking about there? he's talking about the overflowing life rather than the overwhelmed life now I want you to compare we've been in this psalm for a long time it's only six verses in verse one he says the Lord's my shepherd I have everything I need he gives me everything I need I shall not want now in verse 5 he says my cup runs over he's taking it to the next step verse 1 God gives me everything I need verse 5 God gives me more than I need my cup runs over I can't keep it all my cup runs over he gives me more than I need now what's your cup what's the metaphor here write this down my cup is my life When David says, my cup runs over, he's saying, my life is overflowing.

7:00 I'm not overwhelmed anymore because I don't have enough time, energy, or whatever, but instead, I'm overflowing. There's like a river coming out of me. My cup overflows. Jesus talked about this. In John chapter seven, Jesus, 2,000 years after David, said this. On the last day of the festival, it's the most important day, This is at the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus stood up and he shouted to the crowds. Now there's probably 50,000 people on the last day of the festival outside the temple, 50,000. Imagine the drama of this. Jesus Christ stands up and he shouts to the people. And what he shouts is this. If you are thirsty, come to me.

7:50 Everybody's looking around. If you're thirsty, come to me. everyone who really believes in me will have rivers of living water flowing out of their lives. What's he talking about there? He's talking about the same thing David's talking about. My cup runs over. My life is not overwhelmed. My life is overflowing. I'm not worried about running short of anything because God is the source of my life. He can turn on one faucet and turn off another. I can lose one job, he can turn on another. When the faucet runs out of water, I don't think, oh, there's no more water in the world. I just get a new faucet. Here is an overflowing life. And he says, anybody who believes in me, really believes in me, will have rivers of living water flowing out of their lives. Living an overflowing life.

8:41 Now he says there, who believes in me. Circle that phrase, really believes. That word in Greek is the word pistou. And it actually means, more than just having head knowledge, like I believe Jesus is the son of God, it means to trust in. It means to cling to. It means to rely on. It means to depend on. He says, if you really, really, really depend on me, your life's not gonna be overwhelmed. Your life's going to be overflowing. You say, well, okay, fine. What is an overflowing life? Let me give you a definition. Write this down. An overflowing life means to be filled beyond capacity. To be filled beyond capacity with an endless supply of God's goodness. That's what I want in your life as your pastor, as somebody who loves you, as your spiritual coach.

9:36 I want you to be filled beyond capacity. It's overflowing with an endless supply of God's goodness in your life. That is what an overflowing life's all about. Now this illustration, this example, this metaphor that the cup is your life, my cup overflows, the Bible uses this all through scripture. And it talks about having a cup of joy, having a cup of blessing, God's blessing, having a cup of hope, having a cup of peace, having a cup of salvation. He said, I want your life to overflow with joy and hope and blessing and salvation. Why? Because God is a good God. Now remember, we've been in this series for now 10 weeks, and we've been looking at how good God really is. and I want you to write this sentence down, okay? And if you really get it, it'll change your life.

10:31 Because God is good, because God is good, everything he does in my life is for my good. Anytime you doubt that, you're gonna get in trouble. Anytime you doubt God's goodness in your life, you're gonna get in trouble. You're gonna worry. You're gonna have all kinds of problems. Because God is good, everything he does in my life is good. Even the tough stuff he does in my life is for my good. Now there's lots of verses in the Bible that talk about this. In Isaiah chapter 48, it says this. I am the holy God who rescues you. For your own good, I teach you and I lead you along the right path. The reason we have the Bible with all these principles in it.

11:24 He says, for your own good. For your own good. I teach you. I don't do this to make life tough or rough for you. I do it for your own good. I do it so you can live a good life. Live a better life. He says, for your own good, I teach you and I lead you along the right path. And he says, how I wish, man, how I wish that you'd obeyed my commands, the ones I told you that I led you in. How I wish you'd obeyed my commands. then, listen, your success and your good fortune would have overflowed like the flooding river. Did you know that God wants you to succeed to an overflowing way? That God wants your life to overflow with good fortune and success?

12:09 Everybody wants to be a success. Well, he says there, if you would have just observed the commands I gave you, your success and good fortune would have overflowed like a flooding river. Did you notice the key to success in life? He's not going to self-help seminar. He's not watching some TV show. He says, if you just do what I told you, if you just read the owner's manual, I did this for your good.

12:35 If you just treat your body the way I tell you to treat it, it'd be for your own good. If you just treat sex the way I tell you, it'd be for your own good. If you would just treat money the way I tell you, it's for your own good. and every time you don't listen to me, you're just messing it up. You abuse and misuse and pervert the good gifts I've given you. Sex, money, energy, reputation, everything else you got. He goes, I want you to succeed in life. God is a good God. I have good plans for your life.

13:10 He said, if you would just do what I tell you to do, you'd succeed in life. He said, well, I'd rather go on my own plan. How's that working out for you? Have you had the overflowing success in life that you thought you were gonna have? No. Has your life been overflowing with good fortune? No, why? Because he says, if you would just do it the way I told you.

13:34 Now listen to this. Anytime I disobey God, God says do it this way and I do it that way. At that moment, I'm doubting the goodness of God. That's the fundamental problem. Anytime God says, do it this way, I go, well, I think I know better. I think I know what will make me happy more than God does. In fact, I'll just be my own God. At that point, I am doubting the goodness of God. And anytime you doubt the goodness of God, you are making a fatal mistake, friend. Because God knows what will make you happy more than you do. You don't even know what will make you happy. You think you do. And that's why we get off. when I think I know I'm gonna make myself happy by doing something different than God says to do, it causes all kinds of problems in my life. Stress, overstress and overstrain and overburdening and overanxiety and overwhelming because I'm doing it my way.

14:35 He says, look, I do this for your own good. I'm a parent who loves you. I'm their loving heavenly father. And anytime you disobey me, you're just saying, I don't trust your goodness, God. I really don't. I think what's good for me is more important than what you think is good for me. You know, 2,000 years later, Jesus said the same thing. John 10, verse 10. I love this in the Amplified. Notice a verse. Jesus said, I've come that you may have real life. That means we're not really living until we know him. We're just existing. And he says, and enjoy it in abundance to the fullest until it overflows.

15:19 Jesus says, that's what I want you to have. I want you to have a full life. I want you to have an abundant life. I want you to have an overflowing life. What a great message from Pastor Rick today. There's something I always take away from his message. Here's Rick to tell you how you can help support this ministry. Jesus told his disciples that they should live their lives according to five specific purposes. He said, you've got to love God with all your heart, that's worship, and love your neighbor as yourself. That's ministry. That's called the great commandment. And then Jesus said, go make disciples. That's evangelism. Baptize them into the family of God. That's fellowship, a sign of fellowship. And then he said, teach them, obey everything I've taught you. That's discipleship. And we call that the great commission. We believe at Daily Hope that a great commitment to the great commandment and the great commission will produce a great Christian, a great church, a great company, a great community. You know, I started Daily Hope so I could spread the good news about Jesus, not just across America, but all around the world. And we want people to know that God's word is filled with hope and truth. And the power that we need to follow him every day is available to every single one. You know as well as I do that the word of God changes lives. It's alive, it's active, and it breathes new life and new love into all of our lives. So wherever you listen to this, whether you listen on the website, whether you listen on a radio station, whether you listen to a podcast, you're a part of the Daily Hope family, and I need your help. We could not do this without your support. We're 100% listener funded. Would you continue to pray for this broadcast, and would you continue to support us? And write to me. Let me hear from you. I absolutely love reading the stories that are sent to me. So write me, pray for me, and support this ministry. And God will bless it, and God will bless you, and we'll get to heaven,

17:27 and we'll thank God for all the people who are going to be in heaven because you cared.