Take a moment and ponder these words from II Timothy 2:20-21, “Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself of these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”
Recently I shared with the body at Sierra Bible Church my new-found wonder of the grace of God (Gifts of Grace 7-8-12). The verses above carry us beyond saving grace and keeping grace and provisions of grace to equipping grace. As I read one particular phrase in that passage, all I can do is cry out with the Apostle Paul, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! (Romans 11:33). The phrase that utterly blows my mind is “…useful to the Master…” Do you get it? By God’s grace you have not only been chosen and redeemed and sustained, by His grace He longs to make you a useful vessel in His hand. He wants to pick you up as one would pick up a gold or silver or fine crystal goblet and use you for His eternal purposes in Christ!
I’ll never forget the first time that my Dad invited me into his work and put a tool in my hand. Don’t you remember a time when someone trusted you with more, more responsibility, more privilege, where you became more useful to those around you? The usefulness that is talked about in these verses, isn’t usefulness to Dad or Mom, usefulness to an employer or a corporation, its usefulness to God Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth!
God is searching for useful vessels. II Chronicles 16:9 says, “The eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the whole earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” In our thrill a minute and bored an hour later culture, there is nothing to compare with being a useful vessel in the hand of Almighty God. Talk about something that will knock the world boredom out of your life forever, this is it! Talk about something that will cause your life to pulsate with purpose and overflow with wonder! This is it!
God is searching for conduits, channels that He can trust with His vision, His love, His grace, His mercy, His power, His resources, His purposes. Can He trust you with these things? That’s what we are going to talk about over the next few Sunday mornings at Sierra Bible Church. This is exactly what Mary Maxwell had in mind when she wrote, “Channels only, blessed Master, but with all Your wondrous power flowing through us, You can use us every day and every hour.”
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