Are You Running on Empty?

The theme of the Bible Study is “The Spirit Empowers Believers.” The thrust of the study is that the Holy Spirit is at work in the lives of believers to empower them for Christian living and Christian loving. This message is an exhortation to Spirit-empowered living based upon Luke’s description of the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus.

Luke 3:21-22 "When all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized. As He was praying, heaven opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a physical appearance like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: You are My beloved Son. I take delight in You!"

Are you trying to run on empty? Just this week my wife stop me at church and said don't leave church tonight before you check with her. I found out that she had left her purse at school and her car was on empty and she had no money to pay for the gas, so she wanted me to take her car to get filled with gas. She was on empty!

So let me ask you as an individual, “Is your spiritual gauge reading empty?” As a group of believers, “Is our spiritual gauge on or near empty?” It is futile for us to try to run our spiritual lives when we are on empty. The Bible can show us how our spiritual gauge can be moved from where it is to a greater level of fullness.

What God wants in your life . . .
First, The Presence of His Spirit (Luke 3:22).
Jesus experienced the presence of the Spirit in His own life (Luke 3:22).
We can experience the presence of the Spirit as promised by Jesus (Luke 11:13; Acts 1:8).

Second, The Filling of His Spirit (Luke 4:1).
Jesus experienced the filling of the Spirit in His life (Luke 4:1).
We can experience the in filling of the Spirit in our lives (Eph. 5:18).

Third, The Leadership of His Spirit (Luke 4:1).
Jesus experienced the leading of the Spirit in His life (Luke 4:1).
We can experience the leading of the Spirit in our lives (Acts 13:2; Acts 16:6).

Fourth, The Joy of His Spirit (Luke 10:21).
Jesus experienced the joy of the Spirit in His life (Luke 10:21).
We can experience the joy of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).

Fifth, The Instruction of His Spirit (Luke 12:12).
Jesus taught His disciples that the Spirit would teach them when they needed it most (Luke 12:12).
We can be taught by the Spirit (John 14:26 - “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit—the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.”

1 John 2:27 - ”The anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you don’t need anyone to teach you. Instead, His anointing teaches you about all things and is true and is not a lie; just as He has taught you, remain in Him.”

If we are convinced that Christ’s life was controlled and empowered by the Spirit and if we are convinced that our my own spiritual gauge is on empty or near empty, how can we be filled with the fullness of Christ’s Spirit?
According Lewis Drummond, the Bible gives 5 keys:
1. I must tell God I need to be filled. Have you said, “I need to be filled”?
2. I must abandon all known sin. Are you willing to make a break from all known sin?
3. I must step down from the throne of my heart. Have you stepped down from the throne of your heart and given Christ His rightful place as Lord?
4. I must ask to be filled. Have you asked the Spirit to control and fill your life?
5. I must accept by faith that I am filled and thank God for His goodness.
Have you moved beyond how you feel, to accept by faith the in filling of God’s Spirit? The good news is you don’t have to stay on empty!
Lewis Drummond, The Revived Life (Nashville: Broadman, 1982), 107-111.