June 9, 2016 BECOMING VESSELS FOR HONOR
2 Timothy 2:21: “Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”
No doubt that each of us want to be “vessels for honor” and “useful to the Master.” In the letter to Timothy, Paul is giving council and guidance to Timothy on what is required to become useful and effective in the kingdom of God and the instructions Paul gives are practical and easily understood. There are a number of things that Paul instructs Timothy to do; such as be strong in the grace of God, endure all things, teach others the word of God, be disciplined, pursue righteousness, faith and love and peace, be patient when wronged, etc. Paul also instructs Timothy and those he teaches to avoid certain things, and he sums it up in verse 19 when he says: “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord abstain from wickedness.” The gospel is powerful, supernatural, spiritual, and it takes the power of God to live out the gospel, but I fear that sometimes we over “spiritualize” the message of the gospel. For the believer, God’s word is clear and it is specific in nature, and its message is easily understood by those who “have ears to hear.” I recently heard a song entitled “He Didn’t Throw the Clay Away” and it is about God being the potter and we being the clay and how He wants to mold us into His image, making us vessels for honor. Our becoming vessels for honor is what God desires and He has told us how we become such vessels and He is indeed molding us with that end in mind. I’m sure that if clay had feelings, while it was being molded it would feel some discomfort and would have questions about the process! Paul told Timothy to pursue righteousness. There has been much damage done as a result of an erroneous teaching about “righteousness.” I don’t have the space to go in to detail about this, but to sum it up; some would say: “We are righteous in Christ” and end the sentence with a period. It is more accurate to say: “Because we are righteous in Christ, let His righteousness be seen in our life and in our action.” The word of God is full of instructions as to how we are to conduct ourselves while on this earth. Because we have been redeemed and made new and because we have the Holy Spirit living in us, we can indeed be vessels for honor, pleasing to the Master and prepared for every good work. How blessed we can be by being a vessel for honor, useful to the Master! Being a vessel for honor speaks volumes in regards to how we live our life, because only as we are working with Him as He molds us into His image, can we become vessels for honor. As being vessels for honor, we reflect the image of God to those around us-wow! A key aspect of becoming vessels for honor is to know the love of God-that His love has been “shed abroad in our hearts,” and this love is supernatural. It can become our ambition to be a blessing to others just as God blesses us. What could be greater or more fulfilling than being a blessing to our children, grandchildren, our spouse, our friends, our co-workers, even to those we don’t know. Being a vessel for honor does not mean that we are perfect, but it does mean that when we stumble, we are quick to confess it and then return to fellowship with our Father. There is no other experience or pleasure in life that can compare to the blessing we receive by becoming vessels for honor, useful to the Master. The good news is that, no matter our past, we can start today becoming vessels for honor.
2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Blessing,
Buddy
2 Timothy 2:21: “Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”
No doubt that each of us want to be “vessels for honor” and “useful to the Master.” In the letter to Timothy, Paul is giving council and guidance to Timothy on what is required to become useful and effective in the kingdom of God and the instructions Paul gives are practical and easily understood. There are a number of things that Paul instructs Timothy to do; such as be strong in the grace of God, endure all things, teach others the word of God, be disciplined, pursue righteousness, faith and love and peace, be patient when wronged, etc. Paul also instructs Timothy and those he teaches to avoid certain things, and he sums it up in verse 19 when he says: “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord abstain from wickedness.” The gospel is powerful, supernatural, spiritual, and it takes the power of God to live out the gospel, but I fear that sometimes we over “spiritualize” the message of the gospel. For the believer, God’s word is clear and it is specific in nature, and its message is easily understood by those who “have ears to hear.” I recently heard a song entitled “He Didn’t Throw the Clay Away” and it is about God being the potter and we being the clay and how He wants to mold us into His image, making us vessels for honor. Our becoming vessels for honor is what God desires and He has told us how we become such vessels and He is indeed molding us with that end in mind. I’m sure that if clay had feelings, while it was being molded it would feel some discomfort and would have questions about the process! Paul told Timothy to pursue righteousness. There has been much damage done as a result of an erroneous teaching about “righteousness.” I don’t have the space to go in to detail about this, but to sum it up; some would say: “We are righteous in Christ” and end the sentence with a period. It is more accurate to say: “Because we are righteous in Christ, let His righteousness be seen in our life and in our action.” The word of God is full of instructions as to how we are to conduct ourselves while on this earth. Because we have been redeemed and made new and because we have the Holy Spirit living in us, we can indeed be vessels for honor, pleasing to the Master and prepared for every good work. How blessed we can be by being a vessel for honor, useful to the Master! Being a vessel for honor speaks volumes in regards to how we live our life, because only as we are working with Him as He molds us into His image, can we become vessels for honor. As being vessels for honor, we reflect the image of God to those around us-wow! A key aspect of becoming vessels for honor is to know the love of God-that His love has been “shed abroad in our hearts,” and this love is supernatural. It can become our ambition to be a blessing to others just as God blesses us. What could be greater or more fulfilling than being a blessing to our children, grandchildren, our spouse, our friends, our co-workers, even to those we don’t know. Being a vessel for honor does not mean that we are perfect, but it does mean that when we stumble, we are quick to confess it and then return to fellowship with our Father. There is no other experience or pleasure in life that can compare to the blessing we receive by becoming vessels for honor, useful to the Master. The good news is that, no matter our past, we can start today becoming vessels for honor.
2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Blessing,
Buddy
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