*** NOTE - Both a brief Children's Sermon and a full Adult sermon are included ***
CHILDREN’S SERMON
[Bring 2 empty glass jars]
Take a look at these two jars… they’re just plain jars. What’s inside? Nothing… they’re empty inside. What are they made of? Glass… What would happen if I dropped this jar on the floor? It would break… This jar is not very strong. People are like this jar… When we do not have Jesus, we are empty inside. But what happens when I put something inside?
[pour coins into 1 jar, leaving the other empty]
Now I have some treasure! This is still just a glass jar, but now it has treasure inside! Did the jar make the treasure? No! I put the treasure into the jar. When you believe in Jesus, then there is treasure inside of you too! That treasure is Jesus Christ… God wants us to share this treasure with other people… He wants us to share Jesus everywhere we go. Let me share some of my treasure with you…
[give coins to the children].
Let’s PRAY...
[dismiss children]
ADULT SERMON - INTRODUCTION
This morning, we’re going to talk about jars… except the jars will be made out of clay… like a clay pot... [put an old clay pot on a stool on stage]… even more fragile and weak than these two glass jars… very easy to break.
Please turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 4:5-7…
5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
Let’s PRAY…
Verse 7 will be our main verse this morning… We’re going to look at 3 things from verse 7 today…
1. THE GOSPEL IS PRICELESS
First, it says, “we have this treasure”… So, what is the treasure this verse is talking about? Is it like the coins I put in the jar? No, the treasure from verse 7 is far more valuable! The verses just before verse 7 tell us what this treasure is… It is Jesus Christ!
Let’s see how this treasure is described in Matthew 13:44-46…
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.
46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is this treasure of incredible value. Take a look at how the Apostle Paul describes it in Philippians 3:8-9…
8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.
[hold up jar of coins]
Just like this jar of coins… The jar is NOT the treasure… What has been put INSIDE the jar is the treasure… The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the treasure… a treasure that is worth any price to obtain!
And this is a treasure that God has trusted to us… but He did not trust us with this treasure so we can hang on to it selfishly… God has trusted us with the Gospel so we can freely share it with other people. If I share the coins in this jar, I will eventually run out of coins… But the treasure of the Gospel is not like that… You can share and share and share, and never run out!
2. WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE WEAK
If we look back at our main verse… verse 7… it says that we have this treasure in “jars of clay”. This is referring to US… WE are the jars of clay. This is describing plain, ordinary pots made out of clay. Isaiah 64:8 says, “We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”
A jar or pot is designed and created to hold or contain something. When a jar is empty, it is not being useful… it is not fulfilling the reason it was made.
But some pots are more like decorations… There are clay pots that are so fancy, so beautiful that maybe you would only see them in a museum or on a display shelf… Our attention is drawn to the pot itself because it is so pretty.
But this treasure is held in jars of clay… plain, simple, ordinary, flawed pots… The treasure is NOT the pot itself… the treasure is what is INSIDE the pot.
Are we like the fancy pot? Do we try to attract attention to ourselves? To our own abilities and talents? Or do we point all the attention to what is inside of us? Do we put God on display for others to see? Or do we put ourselves on display?
To truly be the kind of clay jar that God can use, we must realize that we are weak and flawed… We’re more like a pot that has a crack in it… a useless pot that is ready to be thrown away.
God shows us in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31…
26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.
27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are,
29 so that no one may boast before him.
30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”
If you are a child of God, then He has a job for you… As you seek after God and do your best to understand the purpose He has for your life, you will start to notice something… You will notice that God usually calls on us to do things that are beyond our skills or abilities… Things that are impossible for us to accomplish without Him… Things that are impossible for ME to accomplish without Him…
It is impossible because I’m not qualified… I’m not gifted or talented… I don’t have proper training… I’m not smart enough… I’m not outgoing enough… I’m not a good enough speaker… We come up with all kinds of reasons why we can’t do what God is wanting us to do.
“God, don’t you know that I’m WEAK and FLAWED? Don’t you know I’m not talented like those others? Why don’t You ask THEM to do it? Wouldn’t they do it so much better than me?”
But God chooses to use those who are weak and flawed. For example, one of the most famous men in the Bible is Moses. God calls out to Moses, and has a very important task… God wants Moses to go speak to Pharaoh to free the Israelites from slavery. But when God calls to him, Moses says this in Exodus 4:10-13…
10 Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”
11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord?
12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
13 But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”
Moses basically tells God… "Hey, I’m just a weak clay pot… I’m not good enough or talented enough to do what you are asking me to do." But God uses Moses to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, and to the Promised Land in spite of his weaknesses and flaws.
There is another time when God tells Samuel to go and anoint a new king. When Samuel meets someone who is strong and handsome and has the bearing of a natural leader, he thinks, “This must be the one!” But God tells him in 1 Samuel 16:7…
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Instead, God chooses the youngest and weakest of several brothers… His name was David… God made David to be king of Israel… God took David as a weak jar of clay and said this in Acts 13:22…
22 After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’
3. THE POWER IS GOD'S
Why does God continue to use weak, cracked jars of clay? Back in our main verse… verse 7… we see why… It is so that everyone will know and see the power of God on display!
Take Gideon as a perfect example of this. God calls upon Gideon to lead an attack against their enemies… a very strong, powerful enemy who had a large army… Judges 6:14-15…
14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
15 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
God, why are you asking me? Can’t you see that I’m nobody? I’m just a plain, weak, cracked jar of clay! But God convinces Gideon to do it. So Gideon prepares 32,000 soldiers for battle. But God tells him, “You have too many soldiers”. If they should win the battle, they would think they did it because of their own skill and strength. Instead, God reduces the size of Gideon’s army from 32,000 down to just 300... And with only 300 men, they defeat their enemy. Everyone sees the strength and power of the One True Living God, instead of the strength of men.
Even when Jesus chose His closest 12 disciples, He selected simple fishermen… He didn’t choose the people with fancy college degrees, or important job titles… or those in positions of power... He chose common everyday people like you and me… People full of flaws and weaknesses.
2 Corinthians 12:9…
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 3:5…
5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.
The power belongs to God! Do we serve God and live as if the power depends on us and our own abilities? God uses the frail and ordinary to display His strength.
CONCLUSION
God has formed us, shaped us… like a master potter… Do we trust Him? When He directs our path, do we come up with excuses why we cannot do it? Or do we walk boldly along that path in faith, knowing that our Heavenly Father is calling us?
God didn’t create you to be a fancy pot that just sits on a display shelf or in a museum… He created you as a clay pot to be useful for His kingdom!
[draw attention to the 2 jars]
If you are a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, then you are like this jar full of treasure… You are filled with the Holy Spirit… The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the treasure that is worth giving your life up for…
If you are NOT a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, then you are like this empty jar… and I’m sharing this treasure of Jesus Christ with you this morning… All you need to do is cry out to God… Admit that you are a sinner, and ask for His forgiveness. Surrender your life to Jesus, and allow Him to fill you with the treasure of His Spirit. He is a treasure that is worth everything you have to give!
May the world not see and admire and praise this ordinary, cracked jar of clay… But instead, be drawn to the treasure of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
May the glory of Jesus Christ be clearly seen in your life… wherever you go… whatever you do…
Let’s PRAY…
