Treasure In Earthen Vessels
2 Cor 4:7-9 & 16 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; ... For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
Cheryl is a 29-year-old Army sergeant from St. Louis. Her job is to train soldiers in hand-to-hand combat. But the greatest struggle in her life is not the combat she engages in daily with well trained, able-bodied warriors. Her greatest fight is with a hereditary disease called Fatal Familial Insomnia or FFI. As I read her story in the most recent issue of National Geographic I was somewhat surprised to learn about the absolute necessity of sleep.
There is harmful, and even fatal, effects of persistent insomnia. Sleep, and the necessity of the physical rest that it brings to our bodies, is one of the enigmas of the medical and scientific arenas. With all of our knowledge and understanding, science and modern medicine is hard pressed to tell you exactly what sleep does for your body. However, the evidence presented by the disease that Cheryl battles is that when the human body fails to sleep, it dies. Patients with FFI never live long after the disease finally robs them of their capacity to sleep. Death comes for no apparent reason, with no obvious cause. A lot of interest has focused on the cause of the death that overcomes those that suffer from this genetic insomnia but there is no obvious physiological reason for death. The best explanation is simply that they die from a lack of sleep.
Of course, the obvious application of this little piece of knowledge is that we really do need our beauty sleep. There is no doubt that some of you live just like I do and, by ignoring the needs of our bodies, we may very well be doing incomprehensible damage to our physical well being. However, as I was to contemplating that truth, God began to deal with my heart from another angle. There is no doubt that I neglect the physical needs of my body in the realm of rest and refreshing, however, the tragic truth tonight is that many of us also neglect a spiritual desire of the same nature. There exists a rest and refreshing that comes only from the presence of God and I am convinced that we ignore that need at the peril of our spiritual well being.
In 2 Corinthians chapter 4, Paul describes born again believers as vessels that contain the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. What a wonderful treasure we have been entrusted with. What a tremendous transforming truth that we have received. The knowledge of God and the revelation of the mighty God in Christ is the very light of truth and it is described by Paul as a tremendous treasure. One would suppose that, in keeping with the analogy, the treasure would be safeguarded in an infallible receptacle, a fortress, or a stronghold. However, that’s not the case at all. According to Paul the glorious gift of God, the precious treasure of the Holy Ghost, resides in jars of clay.
This is an important truth. We may have been filled with the spirit of God but we are still simple, frail, human vessels. The Ancient of Days, in a wisdom that defies human logic has chosen to house his spirit in the hearts of mere humans. Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, reveals the reason for such a decision. God has chosen to house the treasure in earthen vessels to show that the excellency of the power that works within us belongs to God and not to us.
Often, when we study this passage we place our focus on the treasure, on the wonderful thing that God has given us. However, tonight, I want to turn our eyes towards the vessel. The vessel is just a simple container of clay. It is, in all truthfulness, a weak vessel. It is subject to trials and troubles; it is burdened with problems and imperfections; it is but a frail jar of clay. But God is not afraid to house the revelation of his glory in human vessels because He controls the trials, He masters the storms, and He provides the grace to overcome the imperfections.
God is glorified through weak vessels. Paul said, on a different occasion, “When I am weak, he is strong.” When, in spite of my weakness, this frail human vessel shines forth with the incredible power of God that surpasses human understanding, all of the glory belongs to God. That’s why he chose these human vessels to become the ambassadors of heaven. Because anything good that comes from these jars of clay can only be attributed to God. God is glorified in these feeble earthen vessels.
This is a wonderful revelation, but we would do well to remember that the implication of this understanding is that God will, most assuredly, allow this fleshly vessel to be assaulted by the cares of this life, because that’s when His glory shines through us. Indeed, Paul launches from that familiar and much celebrated verse into another often quoted passage, acknowledging in the very next verse that, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.” This is the nature of the earthen vessel. It endures much hardship and many trials.
It was Job that said that man’s days are short and full of trouble and the inescapable fact is that we will be troubled, we will be perplexed, we will be persecuted and we will be cast down. It’s not my intention tonight to be discouraging, nor is it my desire to highlight only the negatives of this life, but I want to make an important spiritual point and in order to do that we must see this earthen vessel for what it is. This flesh is always going to have its struggles. The jar of clay is always going to be subjected to the pressures of day-to-day living. This earthen vessel will always be assaulted by the storms of this life.
But, thankfully, the story doesn’t end there. Just because we are troubled doesn’t mean that we have to be distressed. Just because we are perplexed doesn’t mean that we have to be in despair. Just because we are persecuted doesn’t mean that we have been forsaken and just because we are cast down doesn’t mean that we will be destroyed. Nope. As a matter of fact, the opposite is true. We can be afflicted in every way, but not crushed; confounded, but not driven to depression; mistreated, but not abandoned; even struck down, but not defeated. We can endure life’s passing afflictions while demonstrating the grace of God, because of the treasure that is housed in our earthen vessels. The treasure that shines through our weakness is also the power that sustains us and keeps us through every trial and every storm.
This is the crux of the matter. The vessel may be frail, but the treasure is not. The vessel may be subject to the pressures of this life, but the treasure is not. The vessel may be beaten down, and driven to its knees, but the treasure rises above the occasion. This is what I want you to grasp tonight, the precious gift of God, the treasure of his spirit that he has placed in your life, is more than able to sustain you through everything that this life might bring against you. The power is not in the vessel. The power is in the treasure and as long as we guard the treasure, God will preserve the vessel!
Here’s what concerns me tonight. When I find myself overwhelmed with the things that need to be done and the myriad of tasks I have committed myself to, I tend to neglect the physical needs of my body. I’ve already mentioned my persistent habit of not sleeping the way that I should in order to focus more time and attention on the things that need to get done. It is but a small leap to reach the conclusion that if we are inclined to neglect our physical needs when we are pressed on every side, how much more likely are we to neglect our spiritual needs as well. I am convinced that there exists a great danger of becoming so involved in the trials, troubles and pursuits of this present life that we fail to preserve the treasure that is within us. If that’s the case, we do so to the detriment of our spiritual well being.
The treasure is what preserves us. The presence of God in our lives is the sustaining strength to endure the hardships and pressures of this life. The treasure is the power within the vessel. If we neglect the treasure, we put ourselves in a dangerous place. There is a rest and refreshing in the Holy Ghost that we desperately need. There is a renewing that refreshes the treasure within us. That refreshing comes only from the presence of God. And I’ve come to tell you tonight that we need that rest! We need to spend time alone with God, we need to escape from the cares and toils of this life, on a regular basis, and find our way into the presence of God. There is a rest there that is necessary to our continued well-being. Just as surely as failure to sleep can kill the physical man, if we neglect our need for spiritual rest it will imperil our spiritual man.
Paul understood this, which is why he wrote, in the verse 16 of the same chapter, “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” It was that daily renewal that kept the jar of clay from cracking under the strain. The reason he didn’t faint, or falter, or fail is because he was renewed day by day. The outward man, the earthen vessel, was strained, distressed and troubled. But the inward man, the treasure in the earthen vessel, was renewed day by day. It was the daily renewal that kept the man of God from giving in to despair and hopelessness. It was that much-needed rest and refreshing that he experienced day by day that enabled him to rise above the trouble and tragedy of his life. And it is that daily renewal that I am afraid that we are too easily persuaded to neglect in our personal lives.
We need rest. We can’t afford to neglect that need. This is the way God made us. Our bodies were designed, for reasons beyond the understanding of medical science, to operate well for 15-17 hours and then to sleep for 7-9 hours every day, without exception. If we ignore that truth we do so at our own peril. In February of last year a commuter jet crashed en route from Newark to Buffalo , killing all 49 people on board and one person on the ground. The co-pilot and the pilot had only sporadic moments of sleep the day leading up to the crash and National Transportation Safety Board concluded that their performance “was likely impaired because of fatigue.
Physical fatigue is dangerous and that’s a truth that few will disagree with. However, what I want you to see tonight is that spiritual fatigue is just as dangerous. When you fail to find a place of spiritual rest on a regular basis you neglect the treasure in your earthen vessel and your ability to rise above the troubles and temptations of this life is impaired. How many people have lost out with God, given in to some tragic sin, or drifted away from God because they failed to recognize the importance of a daily renewal for their spirit. We need rest! We need a spiritual renewal!
Researchers say that if you spend a week sleeping only 5 hours a night, then your ability to react is impaired to such an extent that it is equivalent to a person with a 0.1% blood alcohol level, which is the legal definition of drunkenness. Yet, many folks in the church carelessly neglect the condition of their souls, existing for weeks and weeks on end with only the spiritual refreshment that they might glean in our regular weekly worship services. We have often wondered why the church today seems anemic compared to the church of yesteryear. I believe that the problem lies in our failure to recognize our need for spiritual refreshing on a regular basis. Many have questioned what it will take to have a genuine apostolic move of God today. Can I submit to you that it starts with daily renewal of the treasure that is within us! These earthen vessels can’t endure the trial of time and pressures of life without a constant, consistent rest and refreshing. We need a spiritual rest!
Sleep is a peculiar thing. Your body has no capacity to store up its beneficial effects. I know that, when we miss a night of sleep, we like to use terminology that says that we are going to “catch up” on sleep. But the real truth is you can’t store it up and you can’t catch it up. Sleep is sufficient only for the moment. No matter how much you sleep today, you are still going to need to sleep tomorrow. And, if you neglect to sleep today, your body will still be renewed with its normal amount of sleep tomorrow.
The same is true in regards to our spiritual rest and refreshing. God provides places of rest and refreshing for us on a day-to-day basis. The blessing of today is sufficient for today, but by tomorrow, you are going to need a fresh blessing, you are going to need a fresh anointing. No matter how great of a blessing you might get tonight, tomorrow your soul is going to begin to long for a fresh blessing. If, by chance, you neglected the longing of your soul for a fresh blessing yesterday, then that longing is still going to be there today. You can’t make up for the blessing you missed yesterday, but today’s blessing will be sufficient for today.
This is the way it was in the wilderness with the heavenly manna that fell from heaven. It was only good for a day. After the day was passed it quickly became rank and inedible. You couldn’t store it up, but there was always a sufficient amount for the day at hand. Day-by-day, God prepares for you places and times of refreshing. Day-by-day, he provides you with an opportunity for the rest that your spirit so desperately needs. Day-by-day He gives you an opportunity to renew he treasure in your life.
The problem is that some of us have, for far too long, neglected the rest and refreshing. And I’m here to tell you that if you neglect the treasure, the vessel crumbles. If you neglect the treasure, over time the vessel loses the battle. If you fail to preserve the precious presence of God in your life, over time the earthen vessel becomes so weak and weary in the battle that it succumbs to the tide of trouble and despair. Mark the words of this preacher tonight – we need rest! We need spiritual renewing. We need to find our way into the presence of God and drink deeply from his cup of refreshing. We need to be renewed, day-by-day, in the presence of God!
I find it refreshing that Paul, in his writings makes no attempt to conceal the fact that this earthen vessel is often weary and distressed. He said, in 2 Cor 7:5 that when he came into Macedonia, “Our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears.” We had no rest. There was trouble all around. There was physical opposition, people and spirits that were opposing us. And on the inside, there were fears. Fear of failure, fear for safety, fear that we would be overwhelmed.
If we were honest about it tonight, we’ve felt that way before. We’ve struggled with the turmoil and chaos, with the self-doubt and fears. That’s the nature of this earthen vessel. As a matter of fact, I would go so far as to say that there are those, under the sound of my voice tonight, that are struggling right now with those same feelings. You are burdened and weary. You have grown tired with the trouble and turmoil of life. You’ve wondered if, perhaps, there is something wrong with you. You’ve grown distressed with your seeming inability to rise above the circumstances and you’ve been made to feel like a failure because your strength is nearly gone.
I’ve come to tell you tonight that there isn’t anything wrong with you. You’re simply an earthen vessel and, in the midst of the dilemmas and difficulties of your life you’ve, perhaps inadvertently, neglected the rest and refreshing that your soul so desperately craves. The problem isn’t that the vessel isn’t strong enough. The problem isn’t that the vessel is weak and frail. The problem isn’t that you are a feeble earthen vessel. The problem is that you’ve neglected the treasure in your life. And I want to encourage you in the Lord, to find a place of rest and refreshing and renew the treasure in your life. There exists a rest and refreshing in this house this evening that will be water to your soul and a renewing to your troubled spirit.
Jesus extended an invitation in Matthew 11:28 to all those that labor and are heavy laden. The first word denotes active travail and the second word relates to weariness. Some are actively involved in the fight right now and others are passively burdened by the weariness of your soul. It doesn’t really matter which category you fall in, tonight, the message is still the same. Jesus said, “Come unto me… and I will give you rest.”
Rest. Refreshing. A spiritual renewing. Come unto me and I will give you rest. That word “rest” means to calm, comfort and refresh. It reflects the Old Testament concept of rest as a release from the pressures and tensions of life and the peace that follows that release. That’s what we need tonight. We need rest. We need relief. We need the peace that follows that release. That’s what the Lord longs to give you in this place, tonight, rest.
The prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 50:4 that God had anointed him to be able to speak a word in season to him that is weary. I believe that God has given me such a message tonight, a word in due season to that are weary. I have a message for you. God has extended an invitation for you to come into his presence and find the rest and refreshing that nothing else in this world can give you. There is rest here. There is a refreshing here. There is a peace that passes all understanding in this house. God has prepared yo a place where you can, in the words of the Psalmist, “Lie down in green pastures…”
I wonder tonight if there’s anybody that would take advantage of the opportunity. Come into the presence of God. Come and find rest for your soul and refreshing for your spirit. Come and renew the treasure in your life. Come.
