When things become empty, most people usually brace themselves for some rough times. Take, for instance, when your bank account becomes empty. Life seems quite meager when that happens. Or, maybe your refrigerator is empty—then, your belly is going to start complaining. What about when your gas tank is empty? With gas prices today, that’s a real possibility. That kind of emptiness can leave you walking down a long, hot road with a gas can in hand. Any one of these examples of emptiness can make life tough. But, what if all three things happened to you at once? Wouldn’t that be awful? Well, that is exactly what happened to a woman that I read about recently. Everything about her was empty. She had absolutely nothing. She had a husband, but he died. At home the chair that he sat in was empty. She had a little money, but it had run out and her purse was empty. Now, creditors were coming to her house and threatening to take the most precious things that she had left. If things kept going the way they were, the whole house would be empty. About the only thing she had going for herself was that her gas tank wasn’t empty. Actually, it wasn’t really a gas tank; it was more like an oil container. . . olive oil that is! You see, all this woman had to her name was a little jar of olive oil. Everything else was totally empty. So, what could she possibly do?
Well, she did the only thing that makes sense in such desperate situations—she turned to God. And, she did that by finding a man of God named Elisha. But, what can God do with nothing but emptiness? This woman was about to find out, because if you look in 2nd Kings 4, you’ll find that Elisha told her this: 3 “Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. 4 Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.” 5 So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. 6 Soon every container was full to the brim! “Bring me another jar,” she said to one of her sons. “There aren’t any more!” he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing. 7 When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.” 2nd Kings 4:3-7 (NLT2)
This is amazingly good news—because, at one time or another, all of us have experienced emptiness—if not material emptiness, then certainly spiritual emptiness. Here, this woman came to God with virtually nothing. All she had was a few drops of olive oil—that’s all. But, Elisha knew that God specializes in making great things out of nothing. Can you imagine the puzzlement on the woman’s face when Elisha told her to “borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors.” Christian writer, Larry Libby, gave a great description of this when he wrote: “It was as if the prophet were saying, ‘Listen, we don’t have enough emptiness here. I want you to collect all the emptiness in the neighborhood—as much as you can beg, borrow, or finagle. . . So the widow gathered up all the nothing she had and all the nothing she could borrow and went into her empty house. . . And God smiled. It was just enough nothing [to make a plenty]. . . From the proceeds of her hoarded emptiness, she paid her debts [and had an abundance remaining].”[1]
This woman had serious material needs and was facing a very desperate situation. While it’s true that we can have such material needs, we are blessed to live in a country where there is generally great abundance. Even so, our nation is a land of immense spiritual poverty. There are many people “running on empty” from a Godly perspective. They are hungry and thirsty and long to be filled. The problem is many of them don’t realize the spiritual scarcity that plagues them. Unlike this widow whose needs were met, they don’t know where to turn in order to be truly satisfied. The poor woman didn’t turn to a psychologist to solve her problem. She didn’t enroll in a “self-help” seminar or read some secular book for guidance. She didn’t consult a psychic for a prediction as to how her troubles might pass. No, she sought out Elisha—a prophet and a man of God. She had faith that God would meet her needs. And, God did exactly that. This poor widow had nothing. Yet, it is out of “nothing” that God can produce some bountiful things. After all, God created the entire universe out of “nothing”—and He did it by merely speaking a few words! For Job tell us: “God stretches the northern sky over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing.” Job 26:7 (NLT2) And, the Book of Hebrews adds: “It is by faith that we understand that the universe was created by God's Word, so that what can be seen was made out of what cannot be seen.” Hebrews 11:3 (TEV)
We see other examples of this throughout the Bible—particularly in the New Testament during Jesus’ ministry. For instance, out of a few empty stone jars, Jesus instantly produced gallon upon gallon of the finest wine that the wedding party in Cana had ever tasted.[2] With only five small loaves of bread and two fishes, Jesus fed a hungry crowd of 5,000 men, not to mention all the women and children present.[3] Yes, Jesus can provide us with great abundance if we let Him.
These instances of God filling our emptiness provide us with an important message. It is when we are most empty that God can fill us the most. Look at it this way: If the woman had had even more empty jars to be filled, the oil would have come forth without end! It was her emptiness that enhanced her ability to be filled. Again, to the words of Larry Libby: “She was not limited by her emptiness, she was limited by her lack of emptiness.”[4] This seems counterintuitive to us, but in our weakness, God makes us strong. In our emptiness, God shows us what true fulfillment is all about. Emptiness can be a good thing, but only when we look to God to fill us with His blessings. The Bible reminds us of this spiritual reality many times.
For example, Jesus used the metaphor of someone who has an empty stomach or a parched tongue to tell us: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6 (NKJV) Righteousness refers to both having a right relationship with God, as well as meeting the needs of those arounds us. Those who hunger for this kind of “food” will be both filled and blessed for they will be doing the things most pleasing to God. Again, Jesus spoke in this way when His disciples had returned from town with food and asked Him if He was hungry. John’s Gospel tells us: “Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.’” John 4:34 (NASB) If only more people were truly hungry for that kind of “food” by doing God’s will instead of following their own ways, how full and satisfied they would be! Not only would their spiritual stomachs be filled, but they would also experience God’s cool, fresh water that revives their weary, dry souls. When Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, He promised her, as He promises us today: 13 “If you drink from Jacob’s well you’ll be thirsty again and again, 14 but if anyone drinks the Living Water I give them, they will never thirst again and will be forever satisfied! For when you drink the Water I give you, it becomes a gushing fountain of the Holy Spirit, springing up and flooding you with endless life!” John 4:13-14 (Passion NT) This water, to which Jesus refers, is the only remedy for spiritual dryness. If you drink His Living Water, amazing things will happen in the thirsty soil of your heart. Paul explains this when he said: 17 “Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the FULLNESS OF LIFE and power that comes from God.” Ephesians 3:17-19 (NLT2)
Once you have truly experienced that kind of spiritual fullness, you will never be empty again regardless of how much or how little is in your bank account, your refrigerator or your gas tank. For as Jesus assures us: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” Matthew 6:33 (HCSB) I thought about these very words when considering two news stories that came out this past week. The first one was a bit odd and points to the fact that sometimes Christians allow material things to distract them from first seeking the Kingdom of God. This news report dealt with John Piper who is one of most outstanding pastors and Christian teachers in America today. Earlier this year, in one of his podcasts, Piper commented on a rather unusual controversy that has emerged in some large mega-churches. During worship services, members of some of these congregations apparently are getting filled in a way that diverts their attention from the Sunday sermons. With what are they being filled? Well, as it turns out, they are filling themselves with coffee! I suppose that some of the worshippers are making so much noise sipping their coffee that it’s difficult for other members to concentrate on what’s being preached. I have heard of people dozing off during sermons and snoring so loudly that it drew frowns from other worshipers. But, I have never heard of this problem regarding coffee-sippers! You can feel the disappointment in Piper’s words when he commented: “Sipping coffee is not the heart of the matter. The heart of the matter is that people and leaders don’t have a heart that resonates with what I mean by ‘reverence and awe’ and the holiness, the sacredness of that hour of congregational worship on Sunday morning. Those realities are not prominent in their mind and heart, those reverent realities. They know those words: Reverence [and] awe. . . But the words don’t have compelling existential content, with the kind of serious joy that makes people eager for reverence and awe.”[5] It’s a sad thing when God’s people “seek first” a cup of coffee during worship service instead of having that “reverence and awe” for God’s Word to which Piper refers. I have never heard of a church having that problem—one in which the congregation would rather be filled with caffeine than with the Holy Spirit!
The second news story is much more positive in nature. It gives an example of how filling your heart with God can have huge physical benefits. The world’s oldest man died earlier this month at the age of 114. He was a Venezuelan named Juan Vicente Pérez Mora. He spent much of his life as a farmer and served as a local sheriff. Mr. Mora attributed his long life to never allowing himself to become spiritually empty. He had a strong faith and love for God that he replenished daily through an active prayer life. In 1922, Guinness World Records confirmed his status as the world’s oldest living human being, at which time he told them the secret of his longevity. Mr. Mora attributed his long life to “work hard, rest on holidays, [going] to bed early, [drinking] a glass of aguardiente [a sugar-based liquor] every day, [loving] God, and always [carrying] Him in your heart.”[6] Did you hear that? He didn’t run on empty by filling himself with the things of this world. No—Mr. Mora filled his heart with God!
There is a common thread in all of this. The poor widow trusted God’s prophet, Elisha, that God could fill her needs—and a few drops of olive oil ended up filling jar after jar. John Piper’s plea follows in line with the widow’s faith. He urges us to focus on the things of the Kingdom of God first—punt the coffee—have “reverence and awe” for God’s Word and, in so doing, be filled with the Holy Spirit. And finally, Mr. Mora teaches us that the fortitude needed to endure a long life comes to those who carry God in their hearts and let Him fill them with spiritual abundance.
I am blessed as I stand here this morning: I don’t see any coffee thermoses in the sanctuary. And, I am certainly relieved not to see any shot glasses filled with sugar-based liquor! I hope that you are blessed as well. If you are feeling empty but long to be filled with the power of Jesus Christ, then there is no question about it: YOU ARE TRULY BLESSED INDEED! For if you allow Him to fill your heart, if you put the Kingdom of God first in your life, then your oil jars will always be spiritually filled. And, you will be able to join Paul in saying: 12 “I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:12-13 (NLT2)
We all have but one true need—and He is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Apart from Him, our jars will always remain empty. It is only His Living Water that can truly fill our needs. It is when we are so foolish as to think we can be filled by the wine of the world that we become truly empty and bone-dry. It is when we convince ourselves that we are rich according to worldly standards that we become fatally impoverished. The early Christian Church in Laodicea had a lot of coffee-sipping members who were like that. Jesus had a dire message for them when He said: 17 “You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. 18 So I advise you to buy gold from Me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from Me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. 19 I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference. 20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear My voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” Revelation 3:17-20 (NLT2) Yes, anyone who takes Jesus up on that invitation will be treated to the finest feast they could ever have. For those who have a spiritual hunger, God calls out in the words of the Psalmist: “Open your mouth wide and see if I won’t fill it. You will receive every blessing you can use!” Psalm 81:10 (TLB) Yes, your hunger and thirst will be satisfied, and you will be spiritually filled beyond measure. And, who knows—it may make you want to search for some more empty oil jars of your own that may need just a little more filling![7]
Let us pray.
Darvin Satterwhite, Pastor
Forest Hill Baptist Church
April 14, 2024
©2024 All Rights Reserved as follows:
Anyone is at liberty to use this sermon or any portions thereof for educational or religious purposes, with or without credit. The pastor believes the material presented herein to be true to the teaching of Scripture, and desires to further, not restrict, its potential use as an aid in the study of God’s Word. The publication of this material is a grace ministry of Forest Hill Baptist Church in Louisa, Virginia.
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[1] Adapted from: Larry R. Libby, “Nothing Matters,” Discipleship Journal, Issue 66 (November/December 1991). NavPress, 1991.
[2] John 2:6-9 6 Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, 8 he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions. 9 When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. (NLT2)
[3] Matthew 14:16-21 16 But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary—you feed them.” 17 “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” they answered. 18 “Bring them here,” he said. 19 Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people. 20 They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. 21 About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children! (NLT2)
[4] Larry R. Libby, “Nothing Matters,” Discipleship Journal, Issue 66 (November/December 1991). NavPress, 1991.
[5] Michael Gryboski, “Can caffeine be harmful to a Christian’s spiritual life? John Piper answers,”
https://www.christianpost.com/news/can-caffeine-be-harmful-to-spiritual-life-john-piper-answers.html (April 10, 2024).
[6] Jon Brown, “World’s oldest man dies at 114, attributed long life to loving God—‘Love God and always carry Him in your heart,’” Christian Post, https://www.christianpost.com/news/worlds-oldest-man-dies-at-114-attributed-longevity-to-god.html (April 5, 2024).
[7] Adapted from: Larry R. Libby, “Nothing Matters,” Discipleship Journal, Issue 66 (November/December 1991). NavPress, 1991.
