LESSON EIGHT – HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS

Luke 1:53 — The hungry He has filled with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.

Luke 1:53 says, “The hungry He has filled with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.” This verse shows us that God’s grace is reserved for one type of person—a hungry one. If a person comes to the meeting only for the purpose of observing and listening, he will not see anything or hear anything. If all that a person wants is some Bible knowledge, his real spiritual problems will not be solved. Only those with a pressing inward need and those who are determined to meet God will receive His blessing. We must realize that spiritual progress is based on our hunger.

THE HOLY SPIRIT EMPTYING US

It is an amazing thing that in our experience the Holy Spirit can empty us. Many genuine Christians have passed through such an experience. When we first became a Christian, we considered ourselves to be rather good and capable in everything. But after some time we noticed that the life we were living was short of the Christian standard; we realized that we had failed and could not go on anymore. Consequently, we felt dissatisfied, and we prayed for God to fill us up and make us obedient. God then ordered some unbearable and distasteful circumstances to come upon us. Yet by the grace of God, we eventually overcame them. Then we had something to testify about, and we were able to say that we overcame. We were able to say that we overcame a certain particular matter and that, at a certain point in time, God filled us. We may have even thought that we would be an overcomer from that point on. But surprisingly, after some time, the victory was lost, and failure came back again. We thought that it was very easy to overcome, but it seemed as if all strength was gone, and new obstacles were before us again. There seemed to be a wall in front of us; we could not find any way out, and there did not seem to be any way to bypass  Consequently, we said that our previous victory was lost, and we were no longer filled with God.

OUR PROGRESS BEGINNING WHENEVER HE BRINGS US TO OUR END

Let us bear in mind that everything ordered by the Lord in our circumstances is intended to create a need in us and make us realize that we cannot overcome by past experience. Past victories remain unchanged, but trying to overcome new difficulties by means of past victories never works. Many people look at their past victories and wonder why they cannot overcome now. Brothers and sisters, we have to realize that God does not want us to have yesterday’s manna. With each new difficulty there comes a new need that we have never realized before. Brothers and sisters, we cannot go on without new knowledge of the Lord and a new vision of Him. Whenever He brings us to our end and whenever we find ourselves crying, “I cannot make it!” our progress has begun. Then God is able to easily create a desire for Him in us. Is it not clear to us that our hunger begins from this kind of experience? God desires to see you seeking after Him in a genuine way. Therefore, He places trials and difficulties before you. When these things are before you, you should honestly seek after Him. When you really need His power, you will realize that you can do nothing apart from Him.

OUR NEED TO BE EMPTIED CONTINUOUSLY SO AS TO BE FILLED

Brothers and sisters, whenever we become empty, the Lord will fill us up.…The story in 2 Kings 4 shows us an important spiritual principle.…What did the woman and her sons have? They only had a pot of oil. This same pot of oil was later poured into many empty vessels. The little bit of oil that she had at the beginning was crucial. In the Bible oil represents the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works only on those who already have the Spirit abiding in them.

The widow’s problem was that she had too few vessels. Elisha told her, “Go and borrow vessels outside, from all your neighbors, empty vessels, and not just a few. Then go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour out into all those vessels; and each one you fill set aside” (vv. 3-4). What did the woman do? “So she went away from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons; and they brought the vessels to her, and she poured out into them. And when she had filled the vessels, she said to her son, Bring me another vessel. But he said to her, There is no other vessel. And the oil stopped” (vv. 5-6). She had to borrow empty vessels—this speaks of the need for empty room within us for the Holy Spirit. She was to borrow not just a few—this means the more the better. There should not be only one empty room but many empty rooms.

Another very important thing is the place where the oil was to be poured. It was to be poured in the house and with the door shut. To shut the door means to confine the woman, her sons, and the oil within the door. This indicates that we have to deal with the Holy Spirit directly ourselves. Everything should be between us and the Lord. Difficulties and victories are all personal.

GOD WAITING FOR US TO EMPTY OURSELVES

We should consider another very precious thing: “But he [the son] said to her, There is no other vessel. And the oil stopped.” The Holy Spirit will fill every empty vessel, even the very last one. If there had been more empty vessels, there would have been more oil. We must bear in mind that the reason the oil stopped was that there were no more vessels. It was not the oil that first stopped but that the empty vessels were first exhausted.…Brothers and sisters, God is waiting for us to empty ourselves.

We need to pray and ask the Lord to dig more deeply in us and make more room in us so that the Holy Spirit can fill us. The filling of the Holy Spirit depends on our emptiness. I will repeat: our emptiness ought to be a continuous state. If we cannot empty ourselves, God cannot fill us. The Holy Spirit is waiting for empty rooms within us. The more empty rooms we give to Him, the more He will fill us. If there is empty room, it means that there is more filling by the Holy Spirit to come. Therefore, we need not seek for the filling; all we have to do is to empty ourselves. The Holy Spirit alone is responsible for the filling; our responsibility is to empty ourselves. If we can empty ourselves, we will have the filling. We may not be conscious of the filling, but the fact of the filling will certainly be with us. (CWWN, vol. 37, pp. 132-140)

Reference: CWWN, vol. 37, ch. 22

I COME TO THEE, DEAR LORD

Study of the Word— Feeding on the Word – 812

• I come to Thee, dear Lord,
  My heart doth thirst for Thee;
  Of Thee I’d eat, of Thee I’d drink,
  Enjoy Thee thoroughly.

• Just to behold Thy face,
  For this my heart doth cry;
  I deeply long to drink of Thee
  My thirst to satisfy.

• Thy glorious, radiant face
  My heart delights to see;
  Here I’d abide and ne’er depart,
  Beholding constantly.

• In such a fellowship
  Thou, Lord, art grace to me;
  My heart and spirit gladdened, filled,
  I enter rest in Thee.

• Lord, I would linger here,
  Still seeking after Thee,
  Continue in the Word and prayer
  Till Thou dost flow thru me.