Gods Fullness for an Empty Vessel
Contents:
POURING LIFE INTO EMPTY VESSELS
His presence was intolerable to them, and they sought to get rid of it as soon as possible. It was proved beyond all question to be utterly impossible that Jehovah and the uncircumcised could go on together. Thus it was, thus it is, and thus it ever must be. And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?
Let us now turn for a few moments to 1 Sam. Here we find another condition of things altogether. Here we shall find something of the empty vessel, and, as is ever the case, the fullness of God waiting upon it. This is striking and instructive. The world cannot endure the very thought of the presence of God.
We see this from the very moment of the fall, in Gen. Man fled away from God ere God drove him out of Eden. He could not endure the divine presence. Thus it has ever been, from that moment to the present. As some one has said, "If you could put an unconverted man into Heaven, he would get out of it as soon as possible.
How it stamps the whole human race, and accounts for any depth of moral pravity into which a member of that race may sink!
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If man cannot endure the presence of God, where is he fit for, and what is he capable of? Weighty and solemn questions! But "all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord. Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only. And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the Lord.
Here we have a different condition of things altogether from that presented in 1 Sam. Here we see the empty vessel getting ready to receive the fullness of God. There is no hollow assumption, no looking to an outward form for salvation. All is reality, all heart-work here. Instead of the boastful shout, there is the out-poured water — the striking and expressive symbol of utter weakness and good-for-nothingness.
In a word, man is taking his right place; and that, as we know, is the sure precursor of God taking His place. This great principle runs like a beauteous golden line all through the divine volume, all through the history of God's people, all through the history of souls. It is wrapped up in that brief but comprehensive clause, "Repentance and remission of sins. Remission of sins is God's response.
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The former is the empty vessel; the latter, the fullness of God. When these meet, all is settled.
This is very strikingly presented in the scene now before us. Israel having taken their true place, God is free to act on their behalf. They had confessed themselves to be as water poured upon the ground — perfectly helpless, perfectly worthless.
The fullness of God ever waits on an empty vessel. The great difficulty is to get the vessel empty: when that is done, the whole matter is settled, because the. BY OLAWADE DAVID B. “I am only a vessel that God is using to reveal His you can present to God, the more of His fullness you can receive”.
This was all they had to say for themselves, and this was enough. God can now enter the scene and make short work with the Philistines. And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel" — How little they knew whom they were coming against, or who was about to meet them! Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer the stone of help , saying, Hitherto has the Lord helped us. What a contrast between Israel's boastful shout in 1 Sam. The former was human pretension; the latter, divine power.
That was instantly followed by humiliating defeat; this, by splendid triumph. The Philistines knew nothing of what had taken place — the water poured out, the penitential cry, the offering up of the lamb, the priestly intercession. What could uncircumcised Philistines know about these precious realities?
Meaty Minute: Filled with All the Fullness of God
When the earth rang with Israel's pretentious shout, they could take cognisance of that. The men of the world can understand and appreciate self-assertion and self-confidence; but these are the very things that shut out God. On the other hand, a broken heart, a contrite spirit, a lowly mind, are His delight. When Israel took the low place, the place of self-judgement and confession, then Jehovah's thunder was heard, and the host of the Philistines was scattered and confounded. May we enter more fully into its depth, fullness, power, and scope!
Ere closing this brief paper, I would just observe that 1 Sam. The former presents to us a condition which we should sedulously avoid; the latter, a condition which we should diligently and earnestly cultivate. In that, we see miserable self-complacency, and Christ left outside. In this, we see conscious weakness and nothingness, but Christ exalted, loved, and honoured; His Word kept, and His Name prized. And be it remembered that these things run on to the end.
It is very instructive to see that the last four of the seven churches give us four phases of the Church's history right on to the end.
POURING LIFE INTO EMPTY VESSELS | Daily Devotional
In Thyatira, we find Romanism; in Sardis, Protestantism. Your fullness in God should be seen when we appear before the congregation not your emptiness. I have made it a burden upon myself never to minister without waiting earnestly upon the Lord for the anointing. No matter how short the notice is, the duration of the ministration, nature of ministration; I will never minister until I feel the anointing fresh in my spirit which is a product of me presenting my emptiness always to God before ministering.
Vessels that are full are set aside either for immediate use so that they can return for filling or they remain in the same level because they think they can remain full. I can remember vividly some years ago while having a personal retreat with God as an undergraduate; I was feasting on Smith Wigglesworth late journals.
While I was feasting alone in the room during the retreat praying for this requirement for perpetual filling from on high, I was caught up in a vision. The Lord showed me different ceramic mug kind of a bit bigger than the one we use to have around us. They were arranged to a source of flowing water; some were already full, some were overflow, some were still at the base, some were empty. I also discovered that the rate at which the water was flowing to the vessels were quite different; the water was flowing heavily into some and was dripping in drops to another.
The Holy Ghost told me that is the way we are in the spirit. There are levels in the spirit Ezekiel This is the reason God chooses weak, base, empty vessels because the He can pour His life. If we consider ourselves up to the task, God will strip, empty us out and drain us of our own resources. If we really want to follow God, He will bring us to the place where He strips us totally and completely of every capability in the natural, so that He can fill us with all the resources of Heaven.
Notice from the text above; when there were no more vessels the oil stayed. This means that the measure of the anointing is in function with our emptiness. The anointing will not come until there is a vacuum to contain it. The moment you begin to draw from your own strength, your own resources, your own ability, that very moment; we are sending God a clear message that He is no longer needed and that we can handle things alone.
God wants to pour His spirit into us, but we have to be empty. It is essential that we embrace this principle upon which to build our lives. We constantly need to recognize our utter dependency upon Him and Him alone. And Lord, I want to humble accept and proclaim the statement of Jesus in John For the love of Mankind, Revival and a Revolution today.
To reach out, restore hope and proclaim liberty. By a sold out for God- Olawade David B.