Episode 31: The Upsilon Factor: Empty for a Purpose

Many of us have experienced the challenge of an empty gas tank, an empty bank account, or an empty stomach. Can emptiness ever be a good thing? How can emptiness be something God could use? In this message we talk about how the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrates how God the Father can use the "upsilon factor" to bring glory and honor to himself. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus’ will and flesh were pressed and tested, while his disciples fell asleep. In this Garden of pressing trial of flesh and will, Jesus surrendered his own personal will to obediently and fully embrace the Father's will. Is there anything of flesh and will that we need to empty ourselves of, that God may receive more glory and honor in and through our lives? Just like Jesus, our lives - our will, our desires, our flesh - anything that diminishes our love for God - these are the seeds that must go into the ground and die, that the fruits of revival and reformation may come forth? When we empty ourselves, God can fill us, and keep filling us to overflow his power and presence into our families and communities, bringing about the kind of spiritual transformation we read about in the Book of Acts. How do we get empty? Go to the Garden and lay it all down. As Jacob Aranza once said, "Jesus isn't all you need, until Jesus is all you have." We pray this message blesses you. (Originally uploaded on July 11, 2021)