Treasures In Earthen Vessels

Introduction

GOD WANTS TO USE YOU

The Bible in Ephesians 2:10 tells us that God has prepared in advance good works He wants us to do. What this means is that even before we were born, God had in mind a work, an assignment, a role for every one of us which He brought us to this earth to fulfill. The fact that these good works are things created and prepared by God, goes to show that the Almighty, the Most High, the King of Creation has interest in your life and wants to use your life for His glory.

God did not place us on this earth to just go to school, have a good job, drive nice cars, get married and have children. Those things are good but that’s not God’s main purpose for creating you and I. The reason why God brought us to this earth is because He has a special assignment for us. He wants to use us for His glory; He wants to manifest Himself through us. There is a unique contribution God wants us to make; there is a special role God wants us to play in our family, church, nation and world at large.

IT’S A BIG HONOUR AND PRIVILEGE FOR GOD TO WANT TO USE US

It is truly an amazing thing that God would want to use us. I say this because when we understand how we really appear before God, we will realize that indeed it is a big honour and great privilege for God to want to use us.

In Psalm 8:3-4, David said “what is man that you are mindful of Him, the son of man that you care for him?" Why did David say this? Because he had a clear understanding of how small he looked next to God.

Psalm 103: 20 tells us that angels excel in strength. Angels are so big and strong. You will observe from scripture that for most Bible characters that came in contact with angels, their reaction was usually one of fear. They trembled in fear at the mere sight of the angel that the angel would have to tell them fear not (Daniel 8:17, Luke 2:9-10)! Yet our God is bigger than the biggest angel. He has more strength, splendor, majesty and beauty than any angel. To think that a God so big can be concerned in wanting to use any of us should make us bow down in holy reverence before Him. Men tremble when they see angels but in God’s plan, God has bestowed a special kind of glory and honour on man which no angel has (Psalm 8:5).

Some Bible passages give us a picture of how big God is. Isaiah 40:15 tells us that before God, all the nations of the world are just like a drop of water in a bucket. Imagine how small one drop of water looks in a bucket, that’s how all the nations of the world appear before God.

The whole population of the world has been estimated today to be 7 billion people. But these 7 billion people are just like a grasshopper before God according to Isaiah 40:22. If 7 billion people appear as a grasshopper before God, then imagine how one individual looks before God. This means that before God, you and I appear much tinier than the smallest ant.

Now something that small can be easily overlooked and forgotten. Yet God remembered us, was mindful of us, didn’t overlook us when He was thinking of the work that needs to be done here on earth. He put us in the big picture when He was thinking of those spiritual, health and financial issues He wants to resolve in families, communities and nations of the world.

God isn’t going to come down physically to address or attend to the burning and pressing issues in our world today. It is you and I He will use to address these issues. This is why Matthew 5:13 describes us as the salt of the earth. Salt makes food sweet and tasty. In other words, God has put something in you to sweeten or make your church, family and nation much better than what it is today. God has set you aside to do certain things that will be of immense benefit to mankind.

YOU HAVE BEEN DIVINELY EQUIPPED AND EMPOWERED BY GOD

To fulfill your purpose; to carry out the assignment or the role God has for you, He has put certain treasures in you.

2 Corinthians 4:7 tells us that God has given us a treasure in earthen vessels. God cannot give you a special assignment or role to play and not equip you with what you need to carry out that assignment effectively. It’s like a farmer going out to farm without his farming tools. Such a farmer can’t do any useful or effective farming work that day. To be effective and fruitful in the assignment God has for you, God has equipped you with the right tools you need to carry out this work. The treasures He has put on the inside of you are the tools you need to carry out the work or fulfill the role He has set you apart for.