1 Thessalonians 1:3-5: The overflow.(click here for todays passage)

‘’The entire plan of salvation was born in the heart of God long before man was created or the universe formed…As far as God the Father is concerned, I was saved when He chose me in Christ before the world began. As far as God the Son is concerned, I was saved when He died for me on the cross. As far as God the Holy Spirit is concerned, I was saved one Saturday night in May 1945, when I heard the Word and trusted Jesus Christ. At that moment, the entire plan fell together and I became a child of God. If you had asked me that night if I was one of the elect, I would have been speechless. At that time I knew nothing about election. But the Holy Spirit witnessed in my heart that I was a child of God.’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘The Wiersbe Bible Commentary (NT)’, p.705.

There may be much we do not understand about the doctrine of election, but when it is being worked out in practice you know it because God’s Word comes with power and it is received by those whom God is calling. Was the ‘’deep conviction’’ in the preachers or the hearers? Possibly it was in both. Whatever, it was certainly there.

According to David Watson, the word translated ‘’deep’’ can also be rendered ‘’full’’. He said it describes a cup so full to the brim that it just overflows. He said we can be so full of the Holy Spirit that when people bump into us in daily life we simply overflow. Christian preaching and witness in general, is the overflow of a life filled with God.

Another well-known preacher used the illustration of a bath and an overflow. When a bath is full up to the top, the water starts to go out through a hole called an overflow. He said, ‘God has fitted each one of us with a little hole beneath our noses. It’s called the mouth! If you look at the book of Acts, every time someone got filled with the Holy Spirit they overflowed through the mouth in some way, such as preaching or praise or prayer.

Effective preaching comes with anointing. It has the power of God accompanying it. But it also has to do with the way we live. Powerful sermons are not only spoken in words but embodied in lives. Tell people how to live, but also show them. People who are filled with the Spirit overflow in words and deeds.

Prayer: Lord God, let me be so full of you that I overflow with you. May you be seen and heard in me.