Sunday: Out of the Overflow
Daily Lesson for Sunday 14th of June 2026
Read the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20. Write down the different messages of Jesus when He says “all” or “always” (which in Greek is the same word pas).
Jesus gave us a mandate to share His message with the world: “Go therefore and make disciples.” The mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is to make disciples, who can then make other disciples. That way we are all proclaiming the everlasting gospel and the three angels’ messages (Revelation 14:6-12) to prepare our world for Jesus’ soon return.
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Anyone who has received a new life in Christ is called to witness. Yet, too often, people think about witnessing as something that they can’t do or don’t want to do. You might picture yourself preaching on a street corner or giving a complex Bible study, and so you shake your head. “Not me! No way! I’m an introvert; witnessing isn’t my comfort zone.”
However, true witnessing is often the result of being an eyewitness to what God is doing in your life, of noticing what He is teaching you as you grow in Him, and then simply sharing your experience with others. God is so good, and what He has done for us is the best news that this world can hear. We cannot and should not be silent! He has redeemed you; He has called you by name—you are His. Could there be any better news for anyone anywhere?
Although the disciples in the early church weren’t educated in the Rabbinical schools or eloquent in the oral traditions, we can still learn from them.
Read Acts 1:8 and Acts 4:13. What was witnessing like for the early church? What impact did Peter and John have on those who heard them witness?
Peter and John went on to declare, “ ‘For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard’ ” (Acts 4:20, NKJV). “They had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13) and were compelled to share. The Holy Spirit gave them boldness and a convincing power in their words.
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Spend some time in prayer right now. Ask God for courage to share Him with people He puts in your life. Ask Him for wisdom to know when to share and what to say. Read 1 John 4:7-11 and pray for this kind of love. |
The Hebrew term is used by Isaac as he blesses Jacob (Genesis 28:3). God later repeats the same blessing to Jacob—now Israel—with a slight variation (Genesis 35:11). As the day of his death approaches, Jacob recounts this blessing to Joseph (Genesis 48:4) and passes it on to Ephraim.
is translated as a “company of nations,” “assembly of peoples,” “gathering of peoples,” or even “gathering of nations.” What can easily be missed in translation is that this is not an ordinary gathering. It is a gathering with a mission; a people assembled for a purpose. This becomes the foundation of the (1 Peter 2:9)—a people set apart for God’s service. As God’s chosen nation, they were to reveal His character to the world. First in the wilderness, and later among the nations, their purpose was to proclaim God’s love and character to a pagan world, so that both Israel and the surrounding nations might know Him. The prophecy of the “two sticks” in Ezekiel 37:15–28 further reinforces this picture—a multitude of nations united for purpose and mission.
A company of nations for a purpose. A gathering of peoples to speak and proclaim. An assembly of nations called to be a voice on a mission. Jesus ultimately transfers this purpose to His followers—to His nations (Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:19–20). Looking at the Greek equivalents of , we arrive at , concepts that closely align with what we today call the .
Now, that should make us stop and think. If is church, have we been fulfilling the function of church? Is church a movement, or is it a building where we gather to read Scripture, conduct Bible studies, listen to sermons—preaching and singing primarily to ourselves? Is church a mission-driven assembly of people, called and blessed by God to witness to the world? Or is it a denomination of law-keepers, confined within the boundaries and four walls of a building set apart for sacred use? Is the church accomplishing its stated mission to reach the world—to seek the one lost sheep out of the hundred, and to stretch out toward God’s sheep in the other fold?
It is sad that much of today’s church does not reach out. Sadder still is the notion that church operates only from Sabbath sunset to Sabbath sunset—”my day of worship,” we say—while for the rest of the week the mission is paused and our character, speech, and thoughts gradually conform to the norms of the world.
One final question then, —and I need to ask it of myself too: Is church an on-and-off switch in my life—turned “ON” during Sabbath hours and midweek prayer meetings, localized and labeled “For Seventh-day Adventists Only”? Or is it an , commissioned to carry out the ?
Thank you Stanley for sharing your research into the original meaning of the words. It helps with my understanding.
Leilani
We cannot give what we do not have. Likewise, we cannot pour out from an empty cup. We cannot share Christ whom we do have. Even scientific principles and theories agree with the concept of “Out of the Overflow”. For instance:
1. The conservation of matter and energy – matter and energy are not created from nothing.
2. The systems theory – Output depends on input. The quality of a system’s output depends on what goes into it.
3. Thermodynamics – A machine cannot produce more energy than it receives.
Perhaps biology offers the best illustration of the concept of “Out of the Overflow”. A tree bears fruit because it is connected to the roots, water, sunlight and nutrients. Jesus used the same illustration when He said, “Every good tree bears good fruit.” (Matthew 7:17). Nothing comes from nothing. What comes out of us reflects what has been put in us in the first instance. “Abide in Me… for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). How can we outflow with Christ without first being filled with Him?
When Jesus gave the “Great Commission” (Matthew 28:18-20), He knew that His disciples were well up for the task because He had prepared and equipped them. We can only share a part of Christ, which the Holy Spirit has put in us. The business of sharing Christ is God’s business. Our part is to enlist in “Team Jesus”. Jesus is the Team Manager. He will train us, equip us and empower us to win the game. He will supply us with all that is needed for victory. The good news is that all of us can be useful and effective in “Team Jesus” in one way or another if we can allow Him to train, equip and empower us. All we have to do is to tell Him, “I am available for your service, Lord”.
Every deliverance from difficult situations, every renound miracle of Divine providence, every saving grace from accident like the one I experienced recently and every healing mercies granted to us from Jehovah are gifts from our loving Father that should be shared grateful and happily to everyone around us, freely we have received and freely we should share to others.
I have come to understand that our God is willing and ready to answer our prayers as testimonies of His goodness and love and it’s up to us to proclaim His overwhelming love to a world that have been deceived by satan to view our God as not interested in the plights of His children thereby making them to distance themselves from our God. Our testimonies can change the narrative to the glory of our God.
We should not forget that the most powerful evangelism is the one mingled with our experiences with God. Practically demonstrating the benefits of trusting God with proof, to an unbeliever, is the most convincing outreach and should be encouraged by all.
As our “Cups run over” with God’s gracious providence and miracles, let it flow to the tasty souls around us and beyond.
May we receive encouragement from God.
Sharing Jesus is not a robotic act or perfomance rather, it is about inviting people into a living relationship with Him. When we walk in fellowship with Jesus, our lives become a testimony of His grace, truth, and love. Jesus asked His disciples to “make disciples of all nations… teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19–20). This kind of obedience grows out of a relationship with Christ rather than merely keeping rules. Sharing Christ means experiencing His work in our lives and helping others come into a relationship with Him, for the Bible says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit” (John 15:5).
The emphasis of sharing Christian must overflow from personally experiencing Him: “That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3). As His disciples, we do not simply pass on information; we share the reality of what we have seen, heard, and experienced in our walk with God.
The most authentic witness of Jesus to others is our personal experience with Jesus.
Luke 6:45 – ”A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
Matthew 12:34 and Luke 6:45 speak to this as well.
1 Cor. 3:16 – ”Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
1 Cor. 6:19 – ”Your physical body is a vessel and sanctuary of the Holy Spirit.”
2 Cor.5:17 – ”Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
All who believe and are called according to God’s Glory and Purpose have entered the gates to live in the Kingdom of God here on earth. They do not leave through the gates to go and visit the old ‘world’. Though at times we falter, because we now have our life in the Spirit of Jesus Christ, we will be healed by His Love for us.
1 John 4:7-11 – ”Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live THROUGH Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Our cistern/heart ought to be filled to overflowing with God’s Love for us. If His Spirit of Love resides in us and we in Him, much good can be done when we come in contact with our fellow man.
Brigitte, if “all who believe … do not go and visit the old world,” who will carry the gospel “to the old world”? If Christ had done that, He would never have left heaven!
That is the one thing Christ asked His followers to do – to go out into the world and call sinners to enter the Kingdom. That’s what He did.
All a Christ-follower does is centered around that commission. We study the Word of God so we can share it with those who know it not. We take care of our bodies, so that we may be examples of what following God’s rules can do for us and so that we may have the health to go out and share the gospel. Anything else is only selfishness.
Hi Inge. What I understood reading Bridget’s post was that we don’t walk back into the world by following our flesh but we remain in the Kingdom of God through His Spirit as we witness to the world.
Thanks. That’s a biblical reading. Perhaps a good way to put it is that we are to be “in the world but not of the world.”
There is the temptation to isolate ourselves from the world. It’s much easier than to go out to mingle and share the Good News without partaking of the spirit of the world.
In this lesson, the author suggests
Who has done this?
May I suggest that to get the best out of these lessons, it is really helpful to do what the author suggests?
Nina Atcheson has been exceptionally helpful in suggesting we do things that will grow our Bible study to go deep. For instance, I was blessed when she told us to write out a Bible passage several weeks ago, and I have continued to write out the Bible passages for each lesson and have been signally blessed. How about you?
And, yes, I did what she suggested for this lesson, but I’m going to let you find out for yourself. You might want to use the BlueLetterBible for this assignment. (I suspect the main reason for her mentioning this is to nudge us into better study habits.)
Witnessing should not be our main concern. Our main concern should be our connection to the source of all wisdom and life; if we are connected, living will be a constant act of witnessing.
We should always learn in the school of Christ to be able to be successful withnesses and the greatest miracle is when we have been transformed from sinfulness to righteousness and what has happened in our life’s can be seen by acquaintance and strangers then we can move the world acts 4:13.