This message is about vessels! I am sure you must have guessed from the title. Our main bible text is from 2 Corinthians 4: 7-9:
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed...NKJ
What is a vessel? A vessel may be a pot, cup, pan, bucket, etc. By its design, the main purpose of a vessel is to hold or contain something: You use a cup for tea or coffee, a pot for cooking, or a bucket for fetching water. That is why it is called a container.
Human beings are also vessels. We are supposed to contain something. Spiritually, there are 3 categories of vessels:
1. Empty vessels
2. Vessels unto dishonour
3. Vessels unto honour
Note what the Bible says in 2 Timothy 2:20-21: But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honour and some for dishonour. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honour, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.
Empty Vessels
Empty vessels are people containing nothing of substance, those with zero knowledge of Christ, those who have not pledged allegiance to Christ, in other words, unbelievers who are not born again. If you have a cup on your table with nothing in it, how will you describe it: empty! And do you notice what you normally do with an empty container? You stow it by placing it upside down. That illustrates the life of unbelievers: upside down. Emptiness leads to restlessness, rebellion, suicide, etc. We often hear the stories of celebrities being arrested for shoplifting, in spite of all their wealth. This shows that there is something missing in them.
Vessels unto dishonour
These are Christians with no direction, lukewarm, Christians who will be hot for Christ today and cold tomorrow; those whom the Bible describes as unstable. They live a life of disobedience, not sure of their salvation. They are not much better than Empty vessels.
Vessels unto honour
These are obedient Christians striving unto perfection, in other words, earthen vessels with treasures therein. As human beings, we belong to one of these 3 categories, and this morning, I want you to examine yourself and see which category you belong. The Bible in 2 Corinthians 13:5 says: Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.
Let’s stay with Category 3 Vessels now
We as kingdom citizens are not only vessels, but earthen vessels. Genesis 2: 7 makes it clear that we were made from dust. And to dust we will return. In other words, we are nothing but insignificant bits of clay! And note that there are different grades of clay: china, which cracks easily, sun dried clay which crumbles at the first knock, the yellow attractive sort, dark, painted, etc. Whether you are white, black, yellow, or green, we are all clay that is why we face similar challenges. Simply put, we of ourselves are of little value. Galatians 6:3 says if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
Let’s take it one level deeper
The bible says we have this treasure in earthen vessels. What is this treasure? It is the power that comes from the Holy Spirit, not from nuclear power, not from shrine or voodoo, but one that breaks down barriers, the power that brings transformation, the power that has translated us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His dear son. (Colossians 1:13) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
The question you may wish to ask me at this stage is: why is this treasure hidden in earthen vessels. The second part of verse 7 of 2 Corinthians 4 answers that question: to illustrate that whatever we have is from God and not from us. Apostle Paul in 1 Corinth 1:31 points out clearly: ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.’
Watch this; people can only see what you look like on the outside, they don’t know the power of God in you as a carrier of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:19) It is like the wrappings of a plasma TV. It is often bulkier than the TV itself, but you have to break through the wrappings, the white fluffy stuff, to get to the real thing, so are we as believers. God put this treasure in faulty, weak, sinful men and women.
Let’s dig much deeper into this mystery
Despite this treasure in us, despite the power of the Holy Spirit in us, we still face all sorts of pressures. We are hard pressed, hedged in on every side by afflictions, sickness, bills we find difficult to pay, stuff in our homes breaking down, etc but still, we are not crushed. Glory be to God! To the world, you may look frail and helpless, but you are like the mango, mushy on the outside, steely on the inside. The power of Christ in you keeps you going, keeps resisting the vicissitudes of this world. Prophet Isaiah says when you pass through the waters, I’ll be with you, when you pass through the rivers, they’ll not sweep over you, when you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, the flames will not set you ablaze.(Isaiah 43:2)
We are perplexed by fears, anxieties, worries, uncertainties, decisions to be made when we don’t know what to do, but yet not driven to despair. Isn’t our God wonderful to us? We are persecuted by harassments, racial prejudice, insulted, abandoned, yet, not forsaken. Remember, our God will never leave nor forsake us. (Deuteronomy 31:6, Joshua 1:5, 1 Chronicles 28:20)We are cast down by those things such as earthquakes accidents and the like that leave us frightened, but like a boxer who may be knocked down several times, we are not knocked out. Psalm 34:19 says many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him from them all.
Today you may be facing a storm, but He who commanded the storm to be still is with you! Note that the pressure of fire doesn’t break a good earthen vessel, it only strengthens it. I have good news for you today, if you remain on the Lord’s side, the more the pressure on you, the more the power of God in you will grow. The more the enemy is putting you under pressure, the more the power of God will continue to be manifested in you.
Let’s take it to a greater depth now
So, what do we do with this earthen vessel? How do we put the treasure into use? How do we exercise the power? How do we open up the earthen vessel to put the treasure into use? There are 2 Things we need to do:
1. Putting the earthen vessel to the sword
2. Helping empty vessels to become vessels unto honour. I will explain this in more details later.
Putting the earthen vessel to the sword Turn with me to the Book of Judges 7: 16-22. This was where God gave the medianites into the hand of Gideon and his soldiers. Notice that the initial number of 32,000 going to war was first reduced to 10,000 and later to 300, so that they would not think their victory was the work of their hands because of their great number. That passage points out that Gideon divided the 300 men into three companies and placed two things in their hands: Trumpets on one hand and vessels on the other hand. This looks foolish doesn’t it? When you are praying in tongues, coming to church, reading the bible instead of newspapers, you may appear foolish to the world, but they won’t know that God is taking you somewhere! (…but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the wise…so that no one may boast before him…let him who boast boast in the Lord. 1 Corinth 1: 27.) The vessels in the hands of Gideon’s men are useless, but the touches, the light in them that were what is of value. The vessels were actually obscuring the smouldering touches inside.
Notice that God has already promised them victory but there is something they needed to do to claim victory. Let me remind you that God might have already announced your victory but it is not the time to go to sleep, it is not the time to call a party, there is something you need to do for you to claim your victory. Let’s continue with the story of Gideon in the book of Judges. The 3 divisions 100 got the edge of the camp of the enemies, grasping the touches in the left hand and the trumpets in the right, they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars, the vessels or pitchers and shouted a sword (the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God) for the Lord and for Gideon. In the confusion of 300 touches, the sound of the trumpets, and the sound of the breaking of the vessels, the medianites turned on each other and started killing one another!
Let’s bring the two passages together now
Victory only came after they broke the frail, useless, worthless vessels, which was what Apostle Paul was saying in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 that we read earlier. There are things you need to break for you to get a break! The vessels in Judges are like the earthen vessels, and the touch, the treasure inside of us. You as earthen vessels must be broken for you to attain that high level, for the purpose of God in your life to come to pass. Earthen vessels of pride, of ego, of disobedience, of arrogance, of anger, of covetousness, of impatience, of self pity, of self limitation, of debauchery, of unedifying communication, of prayerlessness, of laziness, of slothfulness must all be broken. You need to break it for the treasure that is inside of you to burst forth, for the life of Jesus to come flowing out.
Some of the stuff you need to break are not necessarily sin. Yours may be procrastination, timidity, or inability to forget failures of the past, so much so that you have become a hostage of your past. Once you break it, rivers of living waters will begin to flow out of you. It doesn’t matter if you are cast down, trampled upon, discriminated against, once you break the stuff that easily entangles you, you will break through, your enemies, like the medianites, will turn against each other, in the name of Jesus. Did I hear you say Amen?
Helping empty vessels to become vessels unto honour
We as vessels unto honour need do something to transport empty vessels from being empty vessels into vessels unto honour. Let’s look at 2 Kings 4: 1-7. Often in the Bible, oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit. It was described as the oil of gladness (Psalm 45:7, Hebrews 1:9). Remember we said we can characterise empty vessels as those who are yet to know Christ? Note in this passage that as long as there were empty vessels in the house of the widow, the oil flowed and when all the empty vessels were filled, the oil stopped. Gathering empty vessels is spreading the gospel of Christ. The important thing is that if we don’t gather more empty vessels, if we don’t witness to people, if we don’t preach the gospel, the oil, our anointing will cease, and we will become empty vessels!. Elisha sent the widow and her sons out to gather ‘not just a few.’
It just isn’t enough to take a stand for Christ, it isn’t enough to simply be on the right side, and you need to gather souls together for the Lord, so that your anointing will not stop. Elisha said, ‘Go... So did Jesus in Mark 16:15 to the disciples: Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. From today, you need to make a commitment to gather empty vessels and bring them to the Lord. You have to choose between being an earthen vessel with treasure inside, a vessel unto dishonour, or an empty vessel. The choice is yours
Conclusion
Remember what the Bible says in 1 Corinth 10:12 therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. and in 1 Corinthians 3:18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.
