2 Ki 3:14-19 “ THAT VALLEY SHALL BE FILLED “
Eph. 5:18-19
Understanding what the will of the Lord is: Be ye filled with the Spirit
Lu 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
What an awesome experience, and the promise is unto you and unto your children and unto all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
But before we can be filled we must be emptied. ( Our filling will be in proportion to our emptiness)
Acts 1:14
These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
I am concerned this a.m. that we are not in that blessed condition of emptiness. But are full, We did not come empty this morning, nor did we come in desperation. We are full of self, full of comfort, full of natural life. Some may be full of anger, or resentment, or jealousy, or rebellion. Or just stuff.
Martha received Jesus into her house but her life was so filled with stuff that the only time she even spoke to Jesus was about her stuff
What was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah that brought their Destruction?
We think first of the sin of Homosexuality, but their first sin was Pride and Fulness of bread.
This is the great danger we face in the church. That of being full of pride and full of bread.= (The condition of heart that feels no need)
The spirit of laodician in the church is manifested in the attitude that says, I’m full. I don’t need God. I am rich increased with goods and have need of nothing.
To this church: Jesus said behold I stand at the door and knock.
Here was Jesus standing outside the church door while they were inside having church, and they never realized he was not there. Why? Because their lives were full.
In our text we find 3 kings who found themselves in a desperate situation, They were faced with the very real possibility of dying of thirst, or being so weakened from lack of water that the Moabites would easily overcome them.
God’s answer for this delima? Create a condition of emptiness. (make this valley full of ditches.) #1 This required personal effort, #2 This effort served to Make them more desperate for water, their labor increased their thirst.
When we are willing to become uncomfortably thirsty, and unashamedly desperate, we are on our way to being filled
What was the condition of these 3 kings? (Desperation)
They were not digging for the exercise, they were digging for their life.
The emptiness they were creating was to be the measure for the fullness they were to receive.
Notice these words: Make this valley full of ditches
That means: Fill this valley with emptiness.
It’s not our fullness that attracts God it’s our emptiness.
It’s not our strength that touches God it’s our weakness.
It’s not our dignity that impresses God. It’s our desperation.
Note: That valley shall be filled with water.
But even then, only those who have made room for the spirit will receive.
The Glory can come and fill the very house where you are sitting, and leave you as unchanged as ever if you are not willing to make room for the spirit in your life
When they Created the emptiness, God Did the filling
Their salvation was not in their strength, or their fullness, but in their emptiness, their desperation,. Their emptiness became the key to their victory.
First their thirst was satisfied, and then they went on to smite the Moabites, even into their own country.
And so it is, that when we bring our emptiness to God he fills us, and satifies the cry of our hearts, and then he empowers us to go forth and conquer every enemy of our souls.
