There is within each person an emptiness that can only be filled by fellowship with God. Since God is holy and we are sinners, the only way this void can be filled is through the cross. Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin so that we can receive the forgiveness of sin!
A. "Many ‘walk’ (claim to be Christians).... who are the enemies of the cross of Christ" (Philippians 3:18). They seek to fill the void in their lives by other means:
1. "whose god is their belly (koilia)" (Philippians 3:19). They seek to fill the emptiness of their life by fulfilling the desires of the flesh.
Jude 4,8 "who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness"
2. "Self imposed religion" (Colossians 2:13-23) ...
a. Subjection to man-made regulations (2:16,20-21).
b. Delighting in mystical experiences (2:18).
c. Neglect of the body (2:23).
Those who try to fill the void by any other means continue to "run on empty".
B. John 7:37-39, "If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink ....out of his belly (koilia) shall flow rivers of living water".
Those who put their trust in Christ and His death on the cross to pay for their sins find the void in their lives filled to over-flowing by the coming of the Holy Spirit to live within them. The only thing that can stop the flow is unconfessed sin (1 John 1:9).
Is our "koilia" full or, are we "running on empty"?