Vessel
Casia Tibbs
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5 For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake.
6 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.
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;
*PRAY*
*Sabbatical Story*
As some of you know, I went on a sabbatical recently…
Lately, Eythan and I have had to be very intentional about our time, and what that looks like to be able to stay connected and in pursuit of Christ and the Holy Spirit.
If we do not prepare ourselves to receive and take in what the Holy Spirit has for us, we risk not receiving it at all.
So, Im driving out of town to my destination; I have a little airbnb booked out in Valley View Texas, not too far from here. We found a great deal on this modern, small shipping container looking place. All windows wrapping around except for the section on the back side. Perfectly perched in a wooded area, alone and in the quiet.
I pull up and the area is beautiful! A little spot out in the middle of nature. A forrest of trees surrounding me, and nothing else but myself, the local wildlife, and Jesus. Just as I had pictured.
I grab my very packed book bag from the car, with various things ready to study and hear from God. My bible, some pens and highlighters, a notebook, few devotionals, studies and other various reading materials. I was ready to relax and meet with Jesus, uninterrupted.
Holding my things, I pull open the sliding door to a very dark room, with curtains shutting out the light from sun. I set my bags down, pull out my phones flash light and look around for some sort of lightswitch. Feeling around the walls, I find the control panel to the automated curtains, and begin pressing each one. As the whirring sounds from the curtains begins to draw each one back, I can now start to see the rest of the room, and what I expect to be a relaxing atmosphere. Instead….I am met with a very unclean, dirty, messy unattended to place.
I start going around examining the state of the rooms, and realize that nobody has been by here to clean from what looks like the last set of wedding bachelor party guests. Every trash can was full to the brim, the toilet seat were soiled, dead bugs everywhere, food crumbs on the countertops and couch, boots tracks on the floor, old decaying flowers, dirty towels and used bedsheets… So many things that are the opposite of relaxing.
Immediately I moved my bags I had carried in, back into my car, started taking pictures of the various messes, and once the shock wore off I messaged the host.
He responds immediately, kindly, and very apologetically. He said that it looked like his cleaning lady did not have it on her schedule to be cleaned and never made it to the airbnb. He assured me that she would be over to do so asap and that this was not a common occurence…. I told him that I would be fine, and would go ahead and head to town for dinner to give her some time to work.
So, I head outside, I get back into my car, took a deep breathe, and with a large sigh said, “ok Lord, it’s not a big deal, it will be clean and ready when I return.” I put my car in reverse and begin backing out of the gravel drive. And as I do I notice something….in huge letters behind the container are the words, “Vessel.”
I suppose I had not noticed it before, since Eythan booked it for me, and I was so enamored with the windows and outdoors that it slipped my notice coming in.
But as I looked at it, Immediately I felt the Holy Spirit speaking….The Vessel was not yet ready for Him, but soon it would be.
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;
*PRAY*
Some context for this scripture…
First, What is a Vessel?
The word vessel used here comes from the Greek word “Skevos”
Implement, equipment or apparatus (literally or figuratively).
Represents a person, especially in terms of their function or role.
In this chapter Paul is addressing the Church in Corinth.
Putting an emphasis on the ministry being solely focused on proclaiming and exalting Jesus Christ, and not himself or his companions. God not man.
He is clarifying that what they are doing is not for self promotion, or their own agendas. It is not for the views on facebook, the amount of likes they receive, or so that their church could be named the best.
The Corinthian church was facing issues related to worldly wisdom and self-promotion, and Paul's message in this verse is a direct response to that.
Here he puts the emphasis on Jesus Christ as Lord, and highlights his authority through the Gospel.
New American Standard Bible (1995) Chapter 4
For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake.
In other words, WE are not in charge, HE IS.
In their preaching and establishing the church, they were not setting up their own kingdom, but HIS.
In fact, they humble themselves with the description of “YOUR Bond-servants” for Jesus’s sake.
By doing this they separate themselves from any credit, any glory, or any boasting.
It’s not us who do any of this, but HIM.
I was not in charge of the situation. As much as I wanted to be, God was. I would not get credit for taking care of my mental health, or being so spiritual in taking time away to be alone with God. I couldn't even do anything to clean the mess or make it better. There was zero cleaning supplies, trust me I looked. He had to send me a helper. He had to do the work to make the place clean and presentable. A ready vessel, made to house his glory.
If you're in charge, he is not.
If HE is in charge you're not.
“When you're full of yourself, God can’t use you. But, when you empty yourself, God has a useful Vessel.” Max Lucado
Paul then goes on to say…
6 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.
Here he connects the light of the Gospel with the light of the universe in the beginning of creation…
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
God commanded there be light, and so there was light. By HIS power.
GOD created light before the Sun itself ever entered into creation The ordering of all of creation began because GOD spoke it. Here i’ll show you….
14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years;
15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.
16 God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.
17 God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,
18 and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.
With the spoken word of GOD!
One of, if not the biggest, most powerful forces of energy on earth. The very thing that is said to be the center of our whole solar system. The sun is the source of energy that sustains all life on earth. The difference between life and death, was not and is not even the source! GOD IS THE SOURCE. HE brought fourth the light. Then HE spoke the sun into existence, simply to give us a concept of the division of time. He holds it all!
The same power that brought light to the universe is the same power that transforms our hearts and our minds.
Through His Gospel, Christ illuminates our hearts to reveal His glory! His truth has already been spoken.
6 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.
Ask for help to turn lights off
*ILLUSTRATION*
So, we have this light…
(turn on nightlight)
The same source that gives power to the sun, and to the moon and the stars, does not come from us it comes from Christ and His word….
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels,….
(insert disc)
so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;
the value of the vessel is only as good as what it holds.
thats why he calls it a treasure, because it is holding the treasure. It not about the treasure chest, its about whats inside of it. the treasure within it. its whats inside that holds the value. its whats inside that makes us.
Everything about us; our purpose, our value our worth all comes from him. He is the treasure inside these earthen vessels. So that God shines through. Not us, and not even the light, but God himself.
so maybe im speaking to someone who feels not ready. unprepared for what god has to put inside of them. the secret is the vessel was designed to hold its contents. even dirty and unprepred it was still deisgned to hold the contents.
god designed us to hold the contents of his glory, ready or not. its only when his glory begins to shine through us that his message becomes clear. your testimony is subject to only you. your testimnoy is not meaningless or dull, he causes it to shine out so all the world can see and know him. so that all may be saved. bringing them from the dark into the light.
you were designed to house the spirirt of god so that his glory can shine through you.
he wants to use us. he could have stayed in heaven and done it all from up there, but instead he lowered himself and met us where we were at, to live like we lived, experince what we experinced. thats the ebauty of it all.
he didnt need us but he chose us to be his vessels.
ALTER CALL TO ACTION
CASIA, Do I even want to do this?
My first call to action is for those of you who do not know if you even want it, or maybe have never experienced a life lived out for Jesus. Maybe you have not yet had a heart transplant, and are ready to accept Jesus into your heart.
Casia, I want God to make me into His vessel
Maybe you are ready to become his vessel.Ready to be cleaned out to be filled again. Ready for god to do something new. To give up control and let his light shine.
