Emptied to Be Filled
To be used by God, we must first be emptied of our own strength and abilities, and be left with a sense of our own insufficiency.
C.H. Spurgeon emphasizes the necessity of being emptied of self before God can fill us with His purpose and power. He illustrates that both ministers and teachers must first recognize their inadequacy and weakness, which prepares them for divine use. This process of emptying is essential for receiving God's blessings and effectively serving others. Spurgeon likens this transformation to a dish being cleaned and set aside before being filled with heavenly nourishment. Ultimately, he conveys that true effectiveness in ministry comes from a humble acknowledgment of our limitations.
Text
Before the minister shall preach the word to thousands, he must be emptied and made to tremble under a sense of inability. Before the Sunday-school teacher shall bring her girls to Christ, she shall be led to see how weak and insufficient she is. I do believe that whenever the Lord is about to use us in his household, he takes us like a dish and wipes us right out and sets us on the shelf, and then afterwards he takes us down and puts thereon his own heavenly meat, with which to fill the souls of others. There must as a rule be an emptying, a turning upside down, and a putting on one side, before the very greatest blessing comes.
From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled "Manoah's Wife And Her Excellent Argument."
Sermon Outline
- The Necessity of Emptiness
- Before being used by God, we must be emptied of self
- This emptiness is a sign of God's preparation for us
Key Quotes
“Before the Sunday-school teacher shall bring her girls to Christ, she shall be led to see how weak and insufficient she is.” — C.H. Spurgeon
“I do believe that whenever the Lord is about to use us in his household, he takes us like a dish and wipes us right out and sets us on the shelf, and then afterwards he takes us down and puts thereon his own heavenly meat, with which to fill the souls of others.” — C.H. Spurgeon
Application Points
- We must be willing to let go of our own strength and abilities, and trust in God's power to use us.
- God's emptiness is not a sign of failure, but of His preparation for us to be used by Him.
- Our weakness is not a hindrance to God's work, but a necessary step in being used by Him.