1 SAMUEL 20:16-18 “A MESSAGE FROM AN EMPTY SEAT”
A) This text I read ... I personally have only heard quoted at funeral or memorial services!
* It’s from verse 18 of our reading ... And this wasn’t a funeral or a memorial service!
* It was between two precious friends ... Two friends that loved one another!
* They were not homosexuals as some critics would say!
* David was an emotional person and so was Jonathan!
* And when you have two courageous men like Jonathan and David also filled with emotion you
have great passion, you’ve great loyalty and you’ve great love!
* And this is what Jonathan said to David: “Thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.”
B) Brothers and sisters - every empty seat preaches!
* It preaches a sermon ... And let me say your empty seat preaches!
* Who does your empty seat preach to?
* First, it preaches to the pastor! * It says, “It’s time you resigned.”
* “Your sermons are not worth coming to hear!”
C) Then it preaches to the sinner! * It says .......
* “The Christian life must be miserable, look how few attempt it!”
* Then it preaches to the visitor! * It says, “Better not join this church, it’s not going anywhere!”
* Then it preaches to the member ... “Why should I try, others don’t!”
* Then it says to God, “Even the shed blood of your sinless Son cannot make them faithful!”
* And last, it preaches to Satan saying, “Keep at it, victory is at hand!”
* So every empty seat this morning preaches - preaches a sermon, and your empty seat preaches!
D) But when your seat is occupied it preaches totally opposite to all this!
* And that is by way of introduction this morning!
* “Thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty!” * Could I go a step further ...
* Though you fill a seat in some other church you visit, your empty seat here still preaches!
* Churches are like families and homes – you’ve got to be loyal to one!
* Occasional visits to other homes are fine and are well.
* But your obligation is to the home that God has set you in!
E) So our text says, “Thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.”
* The two key words of our text are - missed and empty.
* But there are other empty things that are missed when your seat is empty, and they hinder the
gospel! * Five things that are empty when your seat is empty .......
(1) FIRST, WHEN YOUR SEAT IS EMPTY THERE ARE EMPTY ENVELOPES!
* Empty envelopes pastor? * Yes! Empty envelopes!
* Do you know, in our Lord’s parable of the good Samaritan in Luke 10, money was the last
thing the Samaritan let go of?
* Yes, he gave him his donkey, he gave him his oil, he gave him his wine, he gave him his service,
he gave him his time - but the last thing he gave was his money!
A) There are many believers like that - they will give anything but their money!
* The monies of God’s people the God ordained tithes of God’s people are for the upkeep of God’s
house and for the upkeep of God’s servants .......
* And are for the upkeep and support of God’s mission and God’s harvest fields!
* An empty envelope can mean an empty heart! * “Thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will ...”
(2) HERE’S ANOTHER EMPTY - EMPTY HEADS! * Now don’t laugh at me - empty heads!
* We have a lot of those in the Christian church today!
A) The Church today is so poor, so miserable, so scanty in its thinking - its pathetic!
* We forget that Jesus emphasized in Mark 12:30: “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the ...”
* Do you love Him with your mind! * It’s sad to see in this modern age, the church of Jesus Christ
is so slow, so awkward in its thinking and it’s movement, it’s only revealing it has empty heads!
* By all means this morning, we need full hearts; hearts that are filled with love, with fire and
emotion for the Lord Jesus!
B) But we also need full minds - active minds!
* Minds that are filled with the knowledge of God’s Word ... The knowledge of God’s plan and the
knowledge of God’s purpose.
* That’s why Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15 “ Study to show thyself approved unto ...”
* If you had studied so poorly at school, you would still not have graduated or got your diploma!
* There are hundreds of preachers and hundreds of professing believers, and the truth is, they have
empty heads ... They still have not graduated from God’s school!
* “Thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty!”
(3) HERE’S ANOTHER EMPTY - EMPTY HEARTS!
* Remember the words of God to Samuel the prophet when he was looking for a king.
A) Remember when Jesse’s first son, Eliab, stood before him!
* This big, tall, handsome, hulk of a man. * God said to Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:7
* “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the
LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD .......”
* God is the God of the heart, and when we have a church full of empty seats, that can be a sign
that we have a church full of empty hearts!
* And don’t forget the Lord Jesus declared, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth .......”
* It’s pathetic to hear sermons and witnessing and singing and worshipping from people who speak
so sparingly, who sing so gloomily, who worship so pathetically! * Its a sign of empty hearts!
B) But a full heart is extravagant! * Its extravagant in its giving! * Its extravagant in its vision!
* A full heart is extravagant in its worship!
* That’s why in service and in churches of today there is no shine – there’s no enthusiasm, there’s
no glow, there’s no life with its witness, its worship and its song!
* How’s your heart this morning? * Do you love the Lord Jesus?
* If He came this morning do you think you would rise from that seat to meet Him in the air?
C) O, that Christ could give us what He gave the two on the road to Emmaus!
* He gave them the heart burn and you don’t need Tums for that! * He gave them the heart burn!
* Listen to what they said in Luke 24:32 “Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us
by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures.”
* “Thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.” * Empty hearts!
(4) HERE’S ANOTHER EMPTY - EMPTY ALTARS!
* Do you know years ago preachers used to preach at God’s people about smoking altars.
* When there was a smoking altar, there was hope!
A) As the old saying says - you cannot have smoke without fire! * But there is no smoke today!
* The altars are empty and the altars are vacant, and at least when Isaiah saw the Lord upon the
throne, we are told that the house was full of smoke!
* But these days there’s no smoke in God’s house ... There’s clean air!
* Here’s a thought that the Holy Ghost gave me! * The church is the wife, Christ is the husband!
B) The altar is the bed of travail and birth, and do you why we have no babies?
* It’s because we have no intimacy ... no close communion!
* That’s why many churches never see a soul saved from one year to the next!
* There’s no intimacy * There’s barrenness! * Altars are empty!
* Some churches don’t even have altars anymore!
(5) HERE’S ANOTHER EMPTY - EMPTY BAPTISTRIES! * Think about this!
* Look up the church advents, or look at Church reports in the various religious magazines!
* You seldom read of a baptismal service! * You seldom read or hear of a baptismal service!
A) But read the book of Acts! * There are 28 chapters in that book!
* Everywhere, there are people and water, and they were having baptismal services!
* When they were saved, they were baptized! * There was no waiting!
* “Ah, but preacher, you’ve got to wait to see if they go on!”
* Peter, James and John, Paul - all the servants of God didn’t wait to see if they were going on!
* They believed that God was doing a work and they were baptized the same day!
C) Acts 2:41 Day of Pentecost ... 3000 were saved and baptized!
* Acts 8:12-13 Phillip baptized both men and women, including Simon, the sorcerer!
* Acts 8:36-38 Phillip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch.
* Acts 9:18 Paul was baptized 3 days after he was saved!
* Acts 10:47-48 - Cornelius and his household got baptized!
* Acts 16:15 Lydia and her household was baptized when they received Christ!
* Acts 16:33 The jailor was saved and baptized the same hour of the night!
* Acts 18:8 Many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized!
D) Empty baptisteries! * One thing I’ve never understood, is why some refuse to be baptized!
* “I’m nervous of water ... Lord my nerves are bad!” * Get in the water!
* “Lord I feel closed in!” * Jesus says, “You’re closed in with Me, get in the water.”
* “I don’t want to get my hair wet.” * Do you ever wash your hair? * Get in the water!
* “I’m scared I’ll drown!” * Get in the water, I ain’t lost one yet!
* “Thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.”
* And look what the empty seat represents - all those empties ... The church is full of empties!
I MUST CLOSE, BUT BEFORE I DO, LET’S GET BACK TO OUR TEXT AGAIN!
A) “Thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.” * I want to bring a serious note here!
* God sometimes moves to empty the seat you leave empty so often!
* I’m going to repeat that! * God sometimes moves to empty the seat you leave empty so often!
* Sickness and death will finally cause the empty seat!
* If you’re missing church, God will give you a real reason for missing!
B) Why don’t you admit to God, instead of telling Him lies, that you’re not here because you’ve
fallen out of love with Jesus! * Besides, ain’t that the real reason?
* You might offend the Master, but at least He knows!
* And do you know what He’ll do? * He’ll seek to win you!
* Because Jesus is a lover! * He’s a wonderful lover!
* But to say I’m busy or I’m this and I’m that, or it’s because of so and so ... it’s no good!
C) Just admit you’re backslidden – you’re away from God!
* When you start saying the truth, then God will bless you!
* But if you don’t, then sickness and death will finally cause the empty seat!
* Remember what David said in Psalm 77:13 “Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary:”
* “I’ve been missing, Pastor, because I don’t know what way to turn!”
* You should have been here - because the way of the Lord is in the sanctuary!
* God would have told you the way!
D) The way of the Lord is also in the storm! * Jonah found that out!
* He rose up to flee from the presence of the Lord, but the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea.
* Some of you there’s great winds hitting your house at the minute - the devil’s at us!
* Hey ... sit down a minute ... do you think it’s Him?
* Do you think it’s Somebody who loves you who has sent the wind into your house .......
* To bring you to your senses! * Now, Pastor - wait a minute! * No, I’m not waiting a minute!
* Jonah rose up to flee from the presence of the Lord, and the Lord sent a great wind into the sea to
counteract him ... To get his attention ... To get him back to where he’s supposed to be!
E) That’s why things are not going right because He’s making sure they won’t go right!
* Sometimes the way of the Lord is in the storm!
* The storm will get you where you’re supposed to be in your service to the Lord!
* Either you want to serve the Lord or you don’t want to serve the Lord!
* He wants you to serve Him, and He wants you to serve Him 100%!
F) May God write these lessons on our hearts!
* “Thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.”
* I’ve never heard a sermon like that before in my life!
* I’ve never heard a preacher preaching like this in my life - because I heard them preach at
funerals, “Thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.”
I CLOSE WITH THIS STATEMENT.
A) The ultimate of empty seats means empty envelopes; empty heads; empty hearts; empty
altars; empty baptisteries and they mean empty crowns at His coming!
* One last thing ... “Thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.”
* The two key words are missed and empty, and that means you are important in God’s eyes!
* Do you hear me ... You are something in His eyes! * You may be nothing in my eyes!
B) I may be nothing in your eyes ... But everyone of us are important in God’s eyes!
* So important that the devil will use everything and anything to hinder, to hamper and to block
you from becoming what God wants you to be!
* “Thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.”
