Running on Empty
II Kings 4
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/RunningOnEmpty.html
Do you clean your plate? At a restaurant, do you feel compelled to suck down your soda before you leave and get the last bit you paid for? Do you scrape out that one ravioli stuck in the can? How about cereal or soup, do you tip up the bowl and drink down the last bit? Whether your answer is yes or no, I guarantee you would if you were starving or literally dying of thirst!
In our text...
A man died / left wife penniless / she had no husband / money / food / income / government program to apply to / no prospects for improvement.
All she had was 2 sons, and the creditors were about to come take them as slaves (the law allowed for this).
She had one more thing: a little pot of oil. Every other pot in the house was empty / vessel / jar / cupboards / pockets / purse.
In her emptiness / nothingness, she went to the Prophet Elisha…and she learned something about nothing! / what God can do w/ an empty vessel!
v. 3 “empty” is the key word in this story.
The prophet did not tell her to go try and borrow food from neighbors / oil (like money back then) / money / get a loan…he said to go and borrow as many empty jars as possible.
It was like the Prophet Elisha was saying, lady, you’ve got a lot of emptiness in your life…but not enough emptiness! So gather together some more emptiness, go back to your empty house / empty cupboards, and close the door behind you and those 2 boys that are about to be “emptied” out of your house, and I want you to see what God can do w/ emptiness.
The story continues: she set out all those empty jars and vessels, took her little jar of oil and poured it into one of the empty jars. It was filled full, and yet her little jar wasn’t empty. She filled the 2nd / 3rd / 4th / many more? Finally, she said, hand me another, and her son said, that’s it, there’s no more emptiness!
Notice what happened when there was no more emptiness…
v. 6b “stayed”= “stopped flowing”
Primary interpretation is how God meets the material and financial needs of His people (He’s never once failed / never will…for He’d be a liar if He ever didn’t meet your needs as He’s promised)!
But let’s make a spiritual application from this story:
Premise: If you are not experiencing God’s presence in your life, it may be that you’re not “empty” enough! We serve a Lord that specializes in filling emptiness!
In creation He flung the universe into an expanse of emptiness / He hung the stars upon nothing (He turned nothing into something, then hung it on nothing!)
Jn. 6—empty stomachs (likely 15,000 plus)
4 plans offered:
1. Disciples said, let’s just get rid of the problem…tell them to go away
Jesus said, that’s not it, they’ll faint on the way home…they’re running on empty.
2. Phillip said, let’s raise the money. He did some figuring and found it would take 200 days’ wages to buy enough bread. (money’s not the solution to every problem…it can’t buy everything! House / not a home; bed / not good night’s sleep; medicine / not health; beautiful church bldg. / not the power of God!)
3. Andrew found little boy w/ small lunch, and said, it’s not much, but it’s a start!
4. Jesus had the true solution as he took the little boy’s lunch and demonstrated that little is much when God is in it!
In all 4 gospels, Jesus gave thanks prior to even breaking the bread…showing the multitudes that only God can fill their emptiness!
We serve a Lord that specializes in filling emptiness!
In Jn. 2 He filled some empty wash pots…at a wedding feast, a village event that the whole city came out for in those days. There was a festive mood until the unthinkable happened: the host ran out of wine and the people began to scurry about, whispering about the problem, until the whole crowd knew and the host was embarrassed!
The Lord let them scramble for a while before bringing the solution…He allowed them to feel their emptiness / inadequacy…He waited until they ran out of options, and then He took empty water pots, filled them w/ water, and then worked the miracle!
And the joy that the world has to offer is just temporary…it always runs out, the result is always a void left over…emptiness. But the joy of the Lord is ever new and ever satisfying!
The world offers you its best at first…until you get hooked, and then it’s all downhill from there.
“The best day you’ll ever spend in sin will be the 1st day”
Heb. 11 talks about the pleasures of sin “for a season”
Prov. 14:13
Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.
Pr 20:17
Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.
But Jesus gives a miraculous joy that never ends. He gives us His best from the start, and somehow, miraculously makes the joy grow and get even better!
Truly, every day w/ Jesus is sweeter than the day before / the longer I serve Him the sweeter He grows! [Bro. Carl, 91 this week!]
Jesus took water pots that were used in those days for external washing, and made them useful for something internal, something deeper and more satisfying. He created something fulfilling…and He used emptiness to do it!
We serve a Lord that specializes in filling emptiness!
Are you running on empty? If you’re not experiencing intimacy w/ Christ on a daily basis…it may be that, though you feel empty…you’re not empty enough!
Intimacy w/ Christ is poured into a vessel that has been:
1. Emptied of sin.
Is. 59
1 Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
Intimacy is an impossibility if we harbor sin in our lives.
Before intimacy can flow like oil, in unending supply, there must be recognition of sin / confession of sin / forsaking of sin!
Ps. 66:18
If I regard (cherish / tolerate / foster) iniquity in my heart…the Lord will not hear me.
I’m not talking about some state of sinless perfection…but that you don’t have an ongoing sin in your life that you’ve just learned to tolerate.
And, by the way, confessing and repenting of sin doesn’t make us deserve God’s blessings and His intimacy…it just helps to qualify us to receive it by His grace! (But He cannot fill a sinful vessel or it would appear he condones sin or overlooks sin).
1. Intimacy w/ Christ is poured into a vessel that has been emptied of sin.
2. Emptied of self.
George Mueller exemplified emptiness of self. Known for his great prayer life, he was often asked about it. He once answered...
“there was a day when I died…I died to George Mueller, his opinions, his preferences, his tastes, his will…I died to the world and it’s approval…I died to the approval of my friends…and since then I have studied only to be approved unto God!”
Total, complete surrender and intimacy w/ Christ go hand in hand!
William Booth, founder of Salvation Army, was asked for the secret of his success. With tears he answered,
“God has had all there was of me to have. There have been men w/ greater opportunities, but I made up my mind that God was going to have all there is of William Booth. If there is truly any power in the Salvation Army today, it is because God has had all the adoration of my heart, all the power of my will, and all the influence of my life.”
Ladies and gentlemen, we will never find intimacy w/ Christ until we stop bowing down to the shrine of self!
You won’t find it at this altar, if you are just gonna get up and bow to the shrine of self tonite at 6 / you won’t find it tonite at 6, if you bow to the shrine of self on Monday at work or at school! / you won’t find it during the day Monday, when all you’re looking forward to is bowing at the shrine of self called the TV that evening! / you won’t find it at all any day this week, if you’re planning on bowing to the shrine of self w/ your plans for next weekend!
What happens when a Christian is emptied of self?
• They are filled w/ spiritual understanding.
Jn. 7
17 If any man will do his will (full surrender), he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God
Nothing blinds your spiritual vision like self-will!
Nothing clears spiritual vision like total surrender!
I’ve known too many people who struggle over a decision in their life for weeks, months, even years…their problem seemed unsolvable / mountains uncrossable / rivers impassable…and they spent their days saying, “what do I do, which way do I turn? I can’t seem to get the mind of God on this matter!”
Then they realize there is an area of self-will in their life. They had given the Lord every area of their life except for that one area!
And when they dealt w/ it, it was like the blinders came off / spiritual cataract surgery / their vision was no longer clouded / what was as dark as night before…all of a sudden became the brightness of the noonday sun, once that area was fully surrendered!
• They are filled w/ joy!
Jn. 15
10 If ye keep my commandments, (total surrender) ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. 11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
Yes, total surrender and joy go hand in hand!
You see some professing Christians come to church w/ a face so long that it’d take a week to shave it…a complete absence of joy…chances are, they aren’t walking in victory / fully surrendered / they’re holding on to self in some area.
There’s no joy in being a half-hearted Christian / riding the fence.
You’ve got just enough Jesus that you can’t enjoy the world, and just enough of the world that you can’t enjoy Jesus!
They’re like Israel, wandering all their lives in the wilderness / meandering. They’re deprived of the leeks, garlic, and melons of Egypt, but they also don’t have the milk and honey of the Promised Land…what a wretched, miserable place to be!
Make a total surrender of self and you’ll have joy unspeakable!
Filled w/ joy / understanding…
• Filled w/ God’s intimate presence!
Jn. 14
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
The Lord says, make a total and complete surrender and I will manifest myself to you…I will become very real, personal, intimate w/ you…you will experience Me like you never dreamed!
The oil of intimacy / sweet fellowship, is only poured into a vessel that has been emptied of sin / emptied of self…
3. Emptied of substitutes.
Be careful, often we try to substitute service for surrender / work for worship…and Martha becomes Mary when she drops her “to do list” and falls at the feet of Jesus!
Serving is good and right, but don’t let yourself get so busy doing things for Christ that you neglect spending time with Christ!
Some of you are busy, but not blessed. And as a result, you’re running on empty…but evidently, you’re not empty enough!
All work and no worship makes Jack a grumpy, disgruntled, over-sensitive, burned-out Christian.
Running on empty?
Empty yourself of sin / self / substitutes!
Empty yourself out on this altar (toxic waste dump)
Empty the sin, the self, all substitutes...then ask God to fill you and use you!
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/RunningOnEmpty.html
