Being Vessels Of Honor

Introduction

Hello, it’s me again.

Again, if you have your Bibles, turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. And also if you had one of those tabs, go ahead and put that tab there at 2 Corinthians 4, because we’re also going to look at 2 Timothy chapter 2. And just look at a few things here to help us again, the idea of working together with God. As we have seen, especially from Ephesians there, where God tells us that we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works.

And it’s not something that we design, but it is God who designed the means by we are saved.

And it’s not a as a result of works.

See, God didn’t mess up. We did. And so that’s what you’re seeing from these passages to remind us that God has made this so that we could be his workmanship. And when you’re looking at this idea of workmanship, the idea of craft, you know, that God has crafted us. And in the crafting of us, he gave us a purpose. What’s that purpose of molding us? What’s that purpose there? And it talks about a purpose that he had prepared beforehand so that we could live in them. And when you’re looking at these passages, for example, like the passage over in 2 Corinthians chapter 6, there verses 1 and 2 about working together, that’s the whole point. The crafting is for us to be able to work together and accomplish the task that God has given.

Now, 2 Timothy, look there with me, if you will. And I’m going to do this part of like a preaching or as teaching, and then I’m going to get your involvement. And so I want you to be prepared for that. And as we’re looking at 2 Timothy chapter 2, and as the apostle has written to Timothy, now in the second letter, just to give a little bit of background, I’m sure some of you may be already familiar with that. But in the second letter, Paul realizes that he doesn’t have much time left. He realizes he’s going to die. And here’s this young man, Timothy. And when we talk about young, that’s in comparison to Paul’s age. And he’s encouraging Timothy because what he is going through, that is Paul, can be very intimidating.

It can be discouraging for us when you think about it.

And you say, wow, could that happen to me? And it kind of sets you back a little bit. And so here is Timothy doing the work of serving God, and here is Paul suffering. And the idea might be, and sometimes we we think of it this way, just as uh Job’s friends thought of it. Hey, you had to have done something wrong, Job, for this to happen to you.

And then we say, well, if I if I connect myself with God, those kinds of things won’t happen to me. And that’s how we think a lot of times. I used to think that way. That if I, you know, if I circum no bad things will happen. That’s not so. That’s not so. So with that reality in mind in mind here, and I don’t mean to be a downer. I just want to convey that to you. And to let you know that there’s a lot of people that think that way. So, how do we deal with this? And so, in this letter that Paul is writing to Timothy, he is letting him know and encouraging Timothy. Don’t be intimidated by it. You keep moving forward in serving the Lord.

So in chapter 2, he brings to Timothy’s attention there. And let’s look at verse 14 in particular. He says, remind them of these things, of all the things about who Jesus is and what God has done, and to be faithful to him. He says, You remind them of these things and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words which is useless and leads to ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth, but avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness. And he says, and he talks about Hymeneus and Philetus. And he says, Men who have gone astray from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already taken place and they upset the faith some.

He says, nevertheless, though, about the foundation of God, having this seal. The Lord knows those who are his, and everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness. I want to pause there for a moment and talk a little bit about the implication of that statement. The implication of that statement that Paul is making to Timothy, and that is we can’t hide from God. We can’t hide from it. We can’t sneak past him. If we try to think that, we could do it. No, no, that can’t happen. It won’t happen. The Lord knows those who are His. He knows those who belong to Him. And those who have claimed the identity of Christ. He says, you’re staying from wickedness. You turn away from those things.

Because when your name and the name of Christ are taking on that identity, we’re striving to be more and more like our Savior. And God’s intention for us is to live according to that identity. Do we know it all at first? No. It’s a growing, it’s a learning process. And that’s why I say the more, as we’re working with God, we’re learning, we’re growing together and being what we ought to be. And each of us filling our part or doing our part in the growth here. And so that’s the point he’s bringing out to Timothy in verse 19. And then he says, verse 20. Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver, silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthen vessel, earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.

1. Sanctified, Useful to the Master

And then he talks about anyone who cleanses themselves from these things, he will be a vessel for honor. Sanctified, useful to the master, prepared for every good work. Looking at 2 Corinthians chapter 6 and reading a passage like 2 Timothy, that all plays a part in working together with God. The focus I want to talk about this morning is verses 20 and 21 about this vessel, or these vessels of honor. Now, in the vessels of honor, as we will look at in just a few moments, there are several things that he brings to our attention about those vessels. And I believe it’s in the context of 2 Timothy. But there is also mentioned of vessels over in 2 Corinthians as well. And the mentioning of vessels in that aspect, I believe, is more of in Timothy’s, in the letter in Timothy, you can clearly see that.

And then over in 2 Corinthians, there’s a deeper aspect to it as well. And it’s building trust in God in connection to these thoughts. When he talks about sanctified, he’s talking about the vessels that have been cleansed, washed. They get on me because I have this jar, this glass mason jar, and it has a handle to it. And that’s the jar that I, you know, I I’ll when I’m finished, I’ll rinse it out and I’ll put it back on the counter. And I said, Dad, that is unsanitary. I said, I always rinse it out when I get ready to use it. I said, oh. And Deb is always trying to get it, my wife Deb, she’s trying to get it and put it in the dishwasher to cleanse it, you know, get it ready.

And I will say, when she does that, and I pull it out, and it’s all sparkling and shiny. And it makes me want to drink more tea. But I said, no, I don’t. I said, I rinse it out with hot water because it’s there for purpose. It’s there that I love drinking my tea from. I’ll drink water from other glasses. But I drink tea from that glass. It’s a purpose to it. That’s my vessel. And what God is saying in connection to all of that, God’s vessel, He sanctified, He washes it. He prepares it for His use. And I like the way He says that. Sanctified, useful to the master. Who is the Master? It is God who cleansed, who made, who washed it, who then set it apart for his purpose there.

Again, similar to what Ephesians chapter 2 says. Prepared for every good work. Yeah, that phrase there. And the reason why I told you about the glass jars, like the kids are getting on. Wash it. I wash it, but I’m con I’m concerned about the inside more so than the outside. Because on the outside, they do see some film on there. The other day we were kind of teasing about that. And my oldest Mike, he said, the reason why I don’t like it, he says, the reason, because you see, you look on there, you can see the level of the last time you drank. And you can see where you put your lips and everything. I said, No, I wash it out, I cleanse it, you know.

2. This Treasure in Earthen Vessels

I’m concerned about the inside. And that’s what it. God is concerned about the inside. Because when the inside is taken care of with us, then the outside is going to do what it’s supposed to do. It’s going to fall in line. And so the whole purpose is when we’re sanctified, cleansed on the inside, we’re used, uh, ready to be used for the master. And one of the things that he points out is you abstain from wickedness. But let’s look at 2 Corinthians chapter 4. In 2 Corinthians chapter 4, if you’ll notice, Paul says, For God who said, light shall shine out of darkness, is the one who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Now, Paul and those who are going around preaching, their purpose in serving God is to proclaim this light that to store so it shines out of darkness. People can see what’s going on. And then he says in verse 7, but we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed, but not despairing. That’s why I said, when you and I see things that happens to others, and we say, Well, they’re a righteous person, but some bad things have happened. Yeah, that’s right. It does. But what we need to understand is what Paul is trying to get across to the Corinthians. Even though those things happen, you still will live.

You still will be useful in the service to God. Because it will be God who will, which we will talk about later on in our series of lessons this week, it is God that will sustain you through all of this. One of the things I think about is losing the use of my limbs and not able to get and move on my own. And I have a great admiration for brethren who have endured and went through that, but yet serve God with what they can do. And that power helps them to overcome their physical circumstances. And if it helps them, as Paul is pointing out here, it will also help us.

Because Paul describes this message, this information, the things that God has revealed as treasure. Treasure. And it’s not treasure for the outside, it is treasure that is placed on the inside. And he says, this earthen vessel. And this earthen vessel at times can be cracked or has cracks in it. Sometime the earthen vessel has been worn. The image that was there is no longer as distinct as it was at first. But yet God, in his mercy, yet God in his power is able to take this treasure and put it in earthen vessels. And that’s what Paul is bringing to the Corinthians’ attention. And so with that in mind, the thought is this treasure in earthen vessel. And with this treasure in earthen vessels is what makes us vessels of honor.

This treasure. When we allow God to cleanse us from our sins, and he dwells in us as his people, the information that we have, and as we’re learning, as we’re growing and we’re being filled up, we have treasure in us. And it makes us a vessel of honor as we’re applying the things that we learn. Now, I want you to turn back over to 2 Timothy, chapter 2. And the verses that we read, with this treasure in earthen vessels, and here we are, vessels of honor. Let me go on that here. 2 Timothy chapter 2, verses 16 through 26.

3. The Cleansing Process and Naming the Name of the Lord

Now, as we look through that, and you can even mention, you can go even go back up in chapter verse 14 as we did. But in those verses, let me ask you, what in the context of those verses makes an individual vessels of honor? What in the context of those verses will make a person a vessel of honor for the master’s use? I’ll give you a few more minutes to look back at that. I’m incorporating your health.

And I was going to get you involved. Ah, yes. Get the juices flowing.

What do you see there? Do you see anything like that can help identify what makes a vessel of honor?

Don’t be shy. What’s that?

All right. First of all, the cleansing process that takes place. That’s what makes you a vessel of honor. In other words, the things that God has done, that is what does it. We can come up with our own prescribed method, it won’t do it. It will not work. But if we follow God’s prescribed instructions, it’s going to work. That’s how it’s done. That’s how we’re cleansed, and then we’re ready to be made vessel. We’re being made vessels of honor. Alright, what else? The cleansing process. See anything else? That makes us vessels of honor in that text. What was that? Alright, we will be useful to the master there as well. Alright, we will be then set apart for the master’s use. What else?

What’s that? Everyone who names the name of the Lord. Alright, there is the naming, the identifying or taking on the identity of the Lord. When you name the name of the Lord, that means you’re taking on his identity. That’s going to make you a vessel of honor. Absolutely. I saw someone else over here. Yes. Oh, fleeing youthful passions and work. Ah, fleeing youthful passions or lusts. That’s going to help make you vessel, a vessel of honor. And that’s an interesting phrase, as Paul makes sense. When you’re young, you have all these raging hormones, right?

4. Flee Youthful Passions

And you think, well, I mean, you start rationalizing. You say, well, I can do this. I don’t care. And you do it, and they are wrong to do. Paul is saying, you flee those things. The youthful passions or the useful, uh, youthful lusts. Because of the raging hormones that are there. In other words, you do things right. If you do things right, you’re going to be a vessel of honor. And that comes in or fits in with this concept of morality. That’s important. We’ve forgotten a lot about that. Morality is very important. And the vessels that God has given us, if we are cleansed, we name his name. In other words, we’re going to take on his identity. We’re going to take those passions that we have, and they’re going to be channeled in the proper way.

And as they are channeled in the proper way, we’re going to be God’s product of showing what happens when we do things the right way. Nowadays, well, the I read this in a book. That uh years gone by, when people tried to live right, they were called squares. Like I said, I read that in the book. Let’s think about that for a few moments.

And nowadays, they’re called something else. You see, they’re using all of these negative terms to cause you to stray away from the path of morality that God teaches. And I’m talking to you young folks. And we as adults, oh, older folks, I mean I mean to say, we as older, older folks, we have to also keep those things in mind.

We have to keep the morality thing in mind because that’s what God wants us if we’re going to name the name of Christ. So this is a lifelong process. And as we stated earlier, the sooner you start, the better. I have often told folks that I obeyed the gospel when I was in my twenties.

I wish I had known that when I was younger. You see, those of you who have obeyed the gospel at a young age, my statement to you, you are an encouragement to those who have obeyed the gospel later on in life. Because I wish I had had those things earlier in my life. And we are a testimony to you that the gospel works. So as young people, and you think that you’re missing out, yes, you are. You’re missing out on the regrets and the pitfalls of life. That’s what you’re missing out on. You’re not missing out on anything fantastic. No, you’re missing out on those things which those of us who obey the gospel later have realized how terrible that life was outside of Christ. So the encouragement for Timothy, flee youthful lusts or passions.

5. Pursue Righteousness, Faith, Love and Peace

And then was stated, pursue. Notice that. What was the first thing he tells to pursue? Righteousness. Pursue that. Pursue righteousness. My way of determining or defining that simply is you pursue right wyness. And that right wayness is God’s way. And in the pursuit of right wyness, as that term righteousness sometimes is used in reference to justification, made right. In God’s justification system, in reference to the obedience to the gospel, another way of saying that, cleansing, sanctification.

But he says, you pursue the right way. Not only do you pursue the right way, that’s going to help you to be a vessel of honor, but what else? He says the pursuit. Faith. Pursue that. And faith in every sense of the term. Growing in it. Growing in even in another way of really saying God’s salvation system is that word faith. As Jude uses it, talks about contend earnestly for the faith. That’s God’s justification system. That’s God’s system that he put in place. That’s another way of saying that. So a lot of the terms that you’ll see in scriptures are saying the same thing, but in a different way, to help us to fully grasp how awesome and magnificent God’s way is. God’s way is all about.

That’s really what it’s doing. It’s amazing. Our theme at Mill Road this year is walking in the counsel of God. The word counsel, you see it throughout, but it’s worded in different ways. God’s counsel is also worded in, we use the word commandments. If you look at the commandments, you’ll see counsel there.

Instructions. That’s another way of saying God’s counsel, God’s commandments. Instructions. And you start to see all of these terms. He said, whoa, it’s written all throughout the scriptures. And a lot of times we look at God’s word as, oh, God is trying to limit me or rob me of my fun, my joy. And that’s the farthest from the truth. In fact, what he’s trying to teach you is how to truly enjoy life. That’s really what he’s doing. Helping you to grow to see that. And when you see that, you will gladly take on those instructions and live by them because of what they provide. So pursue faith. Righteousness, pursue faith. What else? Love. Isn’t that interesting? Pursuing love. Not as the world talks about love, but the way that God talks about it.

Yeah, the caring. For Him, the caring and the love that we have for our families. Friends, our neighbors. When you look at it from God’s perspective of pursuing love and understanding how love applies in those different relationships, and we abide by them, guess what happened? There is joy. And sometimes it is so impactful. Whoever said that real men don’t cry? Yes, they do. You know why? Because that’s the impact of love.

That happens. And it’s a cleansing for the soul when those kinds of things happen. Because there is the joy and there is, yes, the sorrow that’s there, but also implied in this love is this hope for tomorrow. That’s there. And Paul is telling Timothy to do that. And as you read throughout the letter that Paul writes to Timothy in the second letter, and you start to hear some of the terminology and the things that he says, it begins to impact your soul. When Paul talks about being laid, uh poured out as a drink offering. And he’s given the final words of his life. And you’re reading, and man, I’ll tell you what, it starts to impact me. It does. That I may have that kind of heart, that kind of mind when I am about ready to leave this life for service or in service to God.

Finishing the course, you see. Don’t be ashamed of that. Don’t be ashamed of the things that God is telling you to pursue and what Paul is telling Timothy to pursue. Don’t be ashamed of it. Reach for it, grab it, embrace it, and have it fill you up. And as it does that, you’re going to be a vessel of honor. That’s a part of it. We’ve gotten to where we are ashamed of those kinds of things. No.

That’s where we’re emptying ourselves of the treasure and starting to fill ourselves up with the world. No. Fill yourself up with the treasure of God. And there will be no room for the world. That is what Paul is encouraging Timothy to do in connection to these things. You flee them. In other words, you pursue the spiritual things. That’s really what he’s going at here in verse 22. And it’s interesting as you start to look at all of this. What’s another one? Forgiveness. Ah, forgiveness. That’s a part of the love. That’s a part of all of that is included. Forgiveness is a part of making us vessels of honor. Somebody said something. What was another one? Peace. Let’s give a good example of spiritual peace with God.

That we’re no longer fighting against the things of God, but now we’re embracing them, and it brings peace. It settles the mind, gives stability. Pursue it. And then another aspect of the peace is here’s a prime example.

And it’s also a part of the forgiveness, is a part of. Remember Jacob? When he left home? When he left home, what was the problem? Remember Esau? Esau was going to kill him. Wow. And then Jacob goes back to the land where his kins folks are, and then he has God blesses him. And as he comes back, and word comes to him of Esau and his men, and Jacob is terrified. And what he does, he says, Well, I tell you what, I’m going to try to soften Esau. I’m going to send cattle, and I’m going to send the women and children. And he hung, he hung back. And then he wrestles with this man. And after wrestling with this man, Jacob’s life has changed. And what he does is he hurries ahead of everything.

Before it was to soften. And to put that before. But after his change, he rushes ahead, limping and all. I call that learning to lean on God now. And he goes, and he comes to Esau. What do you see? You see forgiveness, and you see peace that comes about. And that peace that came about and the forgiveness that you see there is these two brothers are embracing each other. And I’ll tell you what I tear up. Families that have been torn apart. But when they pursue the peace of God, the forgiveness that comes in, the love that’s restored, and you’re sitting down there, and you’re having these healthy discussions, embracing each other, hearts being filled, and tears flowing. You try to keep them from falling as you’re wiping them away.

And we describe it as who’s cutting up onions in here. Yeah. That is what makes us vessels of honor. And we allow that to shine through our lives. So you see all of this. This is what’s going to make us vessels of honor.

6. A Vessel of Honor Does Not Preach Itself

You have done so well. Since you’ve done so well, let’s go to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. There’s a lot more in 2 Timothy, and I encourage you to look through there and you’ll see more of what makes one a vessel of honor as Paul is pointing those things out. But here in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, in reference to verses 6 through 8 is the one in particular here. Again, the treasure in earthen vessels, and we being vessels of honor in those passages. So now I could do this.

In the vessels of honor, and this treasure being in earthen vessels. Notice what happens. Look at verse 1. In verse 1 it says, Therefore, since we have this ministry, in other words, the ministry of reconciliation, this ministry that transforms lives. He says, as we receive mercy, we do not lose heart. What makes them vessels of honor, and they’re filled with this treasure is that they renounce the things hidden because of shame. They renounce those things, not walking in the craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth, commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. In whose case, he says, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

He says, For we do not preach ourselves. A vessel of honor does not preach itself, but what it does preach is Christ Jesus our Lord. And therefore, because the person may even ask, why are you the way that you are? Because of the Christ. I didn’t do this on my own. I was working with my God.

From working together with God. You can do that too. How? Christ Jesus. You see the level in which of addressing this idea of vessels of honor and this treasure being in earthen vessels. It is God who provides such things. And he says, and ourselves as your bond servants for Jesus’ sake. For God who said, light shall shine out of darkness is the one who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. When we do those things, as you pointed out, as we talked about over in 2 Timothy, and then do this here, as Paul is bringing to our attention, this is exactly what happens. As vessels of honor, being filled with the treasures that God provides, that is true value.

And let me say this in connection to what we talked about a little bit earlier in at the nine o’clock hour. Now, don’t, I did not mean for us not to plan for the future when we’re living in the now with God. Because really, that is the natural outcome that you’re planning for the future. As I tell a lot of young folks, that is, you learn God and His way as though you’re going to live forever on this earth. But you live for God in such a way that you’re going to die tomorrow. If we’re planning for the future, that means we are living in the now, working together with God. And if it doesn’t work out that I don’t live many years afterwards, it’s going to be okay.

Because you are but you’ve been taking care of your family, preparing for their future. Yeah, see, it’s all inclusive in that. A lot of times when we talk about living in the now, we say, oh, you disregarding the future. No, no, no, not at all. When you’re living in the now, you’re preparing for the future, especially as you’re living in the now with God. And Paul is bringing this to their attention in regards to this message, this treasure that’s in earthen vessel, proclaiming the light of God. Verse 7. But we have this treasure, so as you talk about the suppressing greatness of the power of the glory of God. Verse 8 and 9 following begins to tell you the impact of doing this. The impact of living such a way, but not crushed.

As we’re serving God, we’re going to get doors closed in our faces. We’re going to be called all kinds of things, but don’t let it crush you because of what you have inside and who you are working with. Perplexed but not despairing. There are some things that we don’t understand. But we know that if we follow and work with God, we begin to understand it more and more. There’s that song, we’ll understand it better by and by. Yeah, that’s that kind of implication there. We may not understand why we are going through what we’re going through. And then all of a sudden it dawns on us. Oh, it was to help this person at this particular time in God’s providence. Also, as he says, Persecuted, but not forsaken.

When we’re going through persecution, God hasn’t forsaken us. He’s there. He’s filled us up. Now we take advantage of it. Remember Paul and Silas? They took advantage. They were persecuted, but they took advantage of it. And what happens? The Philippian jailer. And who knows how many else? Whoever, the others that may have obeyed the gospel from that impact. You see, that’s the idea that he’s bringing to their attention. And it and it’s brought to ours. Always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. Vessels of honor. Vessels of honor.

That’s awesome, isn’t it?

Conclusion

God has taken us, He’s crafted us, and He’s put us before the world. He says, This is what I can do for you. Even though this individual has suffered a great deal, they still stand. Awesome. The lesson is yours.