Running On Empty

Guest Speaker
Jul 27
2 min read

Updated: Jul 31

Running on EMPTY

Text: Matthew 25:1–10

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom... Five of them were foolish, and five were wise... the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’” – Matthew 25:1–10

What Is Emptiness in Life?

Haggai 1:6 – “You have planted much, but have harvested little… you earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”

“Inside every man there is a God-shaped vacuum that cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God the Creator through Jesus Christ.” – Blaise Pascal

Causes of Emptiness

Chasing the wrong things – wealth, success, pleasure (Matthew 16:26).
Living without purpose – going through life without God’s plan (Jeremiah 29:11).
Broken relationship with God – sin creates spiritual dryness (Isaiah 59:2).
Unhealed wounds – past hurts left unattended, create inner voids.

How to Overcome Emptiness

A. Stay Connected to Jesus Daily

John 15:5: “Apart from Me you can do nothing.”
Prayer and intimacy are how we keep the oil flowing.
Example: Samaritan woman’s emptiness was filled when she met Jesus. (John 4)

B. Surrender Your Life and Trust God’s Plan

Luke 5:1-7

“On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, ²and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. ³Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. ⁴And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” ⁵And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” ⁶And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. ⁷They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink”.

C. Be Filled with the Holy Spirit

Ephesians 5:18: “Do not be drunk with wine but be filled with the Spirit.” Only God’s Spirit can fill the heart’s vacuum.

E. Walk in Fellowship

Hebrews 10:24–25: ^“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together.
We are not designed to do life alone; we need to be surrounded by our brothers and sisters.

Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 – “Two are better than one… if one falls, the other helps him up.”