The Game of Life

“Running On Empty”                     Page #16

There’s this place in the letter to the Ephesians where Paull writes

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Ephesians 5:6
The Lord said to me, “the problem is that people are empty”

Empty lives follow empty words
When you’re empty power, privilege and prosperity don’t matter    

Empty lives follow empty words & empty words fill empty lives

Look at what Paul writes on the 5th page of this letter  Eph 5:5-17

The Lord said the problem on both sides of the aisle is “emptiness”

Empty lives follow empty words & empty words fill empty lives

My dad always kept the car above a quarter tank

If you do, you won’t to worry about it or walk because of it

Great advice for cars but scarce advice for life

Do you understand that God doesn’t operate on empty?

John 2:7: 6:26, Lk 5:7, 26; Acts 2:4; Romans 15:13; John 10:10

You can’t afford to find yourself running on empty, it affects everyone
In the OT there’s a story about Naomi (we know it as Ruth)

Naomi was the wife of Elimelech, a Hebrew

They left troubles of Bethlehem for treasures of Moab
They had two sons who married two Moabites
And Naomi’s husbands and sons died & she turns back home

There’s this one statement Naomi makes coming home

She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty Ruth 1:20-21

Emptiness is a place we come to when...

We talk God but we don’t trust Him
We like God but we don’t live for Him
We think Hope but we don’t have Happiness

Empty People

Put the blame on God but not themselves

It might be God’s judgment but not God’s will        1 Cor 4:1-5

Point people back, not forward

It takes truth to talk about tomorrow                          Jn 8:31-47

Possess something less rather than something more

Call me Mara

If we don’t deal with emptiness it will

Defile our fame, derail our future and damage or faith

To deal with emptiness we must be like Ruth and...           Ruth 1:16-17

Commit our hearts, Commission our hands & Change our heads

Emptiness is a place we find ourselves depleted of truth, trust, and the treasurers of God.                    (Abraham believed God)

Emptiness is a starting place, not a stopping place       Phil 2:5-7 Type your paragraph here.