Empty is Not Good

Happy Sunday. Today we're beginning a study on the Holy Spirit. This came about after looking at John chapter 20 last week. There we saw the disciples hiding in a locked room on the evening of the first Easter. Jesus was alive, and the type of disciples were hiding and wondering how that could be.

We saw in verse 22 of John 20 that Jesus breathed on the disciples and told them to receive the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, the disciples were empty and going nowhere. After receiving the Holy Spirit, they were unstoppable missionaries. That's what kindled me in the decision to do a study on the Holy Spirit.

Please pray for me as I study for these messages. Also, if you have a prayer request, please send it to me via my website, davidshivers.com. Today will be about our need for the Holy Spirit. It's really kind of a long introduction for next week.

Do you remember several years ago Geraldo Rivera had a special TV program where he opened up a secret vault that allegedly belonged to the notorious gangster Al Capone? It was live TV, April the 21st, 1986. It was called The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault. You can find it online.

There was a lot of press and build up for the big reveal, and when they broke through, nothing was there. It was empty. The show lasted an hour and a half, and the vault was empty. For Geraldo and his show, empty was not good.

Today we're going to look at an interesting story that Jesus told about an empty life. It's found in Matthew chapter 12, verses 43, 44, and 45. Jesus said, "When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none, and then it says, 'I'll return to the person I came from.' So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. And then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there, and so that person is worse off than before. Jesus said that will be the experience of this evil generation."

Here it's clear that an empty life is a very dangerous life. One question we might ask is, why did the demon leave in the first place? Good question. Maybe Jesus sent it out like he did to a man earlier in Matthew 12.

In verse 22 we are told, "Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and couldn't speak was brought to Jesus, and he healed the man so that he could both speak and see." I wonder whatever happened to him. Could this be the man? We don't know. Some suggest that it may have been someone that was baptized by John the Baptist.

The reason some think that is found in Acts chapter 19. Paul is in Ephesus, and he finds several believers, and Paul asked them, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? They responded they'd never heard that there is a Holy Spirit. I'm going to read verses 3, 4, and 5 from Acts 19.

"Paul asked, 'Then what baptism did you experience?' They replied, 'The baptism of John.' Paul said, 'John's baptism called for repentance from sin, but John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later,' meaning Jesus. As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus."

John himself told people in Matthew chapter 3, verse 11, "I baptize with water, with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God, but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am, so much greater that I'm not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."

The point is, we don't know why the demon came out of the man that we met in Matthew 12. What we do know is that he did not fill his life with the Holy Spirit. He was trying to live on his own power, and as a result he was in big trouble, and demons came back even more than before. Without the Holy Spirit in our lives, we are sitting ducks.

If you've looked around lately and wondered, how can people be so blind to the truth, believing all sorts of things today? You see, they are the problem of many in this world with empty lives. G.K. Chesterton said this: "It is often supposed that when people stop believing in God, they believe in nothing. Alas, it is far worse than that. When they stop believing in God, they will believe anything." That's the truth.

We live in a world where people, where people will believe anything. Without the Holy Spirit, people will drift and attract all sorts of evil, and we see it every day. One of my favorite illustrations comes from the world of sports. Suppose a football player has some off-field issues. What does the team do?

Well, if he's average, they cut him. They get rid of it. But if he's a star, they get a PR firm to help his image, and they get a team of lawyers to deal with the legal issues. They may even hire a handler or a babysitter to keep the player out of certain places and away from certain people.

As time passes and the trouble blows over, the team may let the player have his freedom back. No more babysitting. There's one big problem: if the young man does not have the Holy Spirit of God in his life, he's doomed. He'll mess up again. Are doomed too if we don't have the Holy Spirit.

I read recently that there's a machete attack every two hours in Great Britain. This is a result of strict gun control laws. The government thought if they could eliminate guns, the people would be safe and behave, but the criminals chose to use knives. If they eliminate knives, the criminals will find something else.

The problem is with empty lives. The people of this world need the Holy Spirit of God. All of us need the Holy Spirit. First Peter 5:8 warns us. It says, "Discipline yourselves, keep alert. The devil is like a roaring lion, prowling around, looking for someone to devour."

I hope you'll join me in the weeks ahead in the study of the Holy Spirit. I'll close with this verse from Romans 15:13: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Let's pray together. Holy Spirit, we ask that you would reveal yourself to us in the days and weeks ahead. Guide us to where you want us to be. Protect us, seal us, deliver us. And Father God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, help us to know you better. In Jesus' name, amen. God bless.