China or Porcelain?

CHINA OR PORCELAIN

2 Timothy 2:20–26 ESV

20 Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. 22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

INTRO

I’m a little strange about utensils and containers. Maybe everybody is to some degree.

I’ve shared with you before that I have favorite forks. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I do. There

are certain spoons I reach for every time. Certain mugs I love and certain mugs I would rather wash

dishes than use.

And then there is the fine china.

You know the stuff.

The dishes that sit in the cabinet for years waiting for a special occasion.

Nobody pulls out the fine china for leftover pizza.

It is set apart.

Reserved.

Special.

And then there is another porcelain object in almost every house.

The toilet.

Now both are porcelain.

Both serve a purpose.

But one sits proudly on display while the other gets cleaned constantly because of what it is used for.

That image may sound funny, but Paul is making a very similar point.

What kind of vessel are you becoming?

THE GREAT HOUSE

Paul says in a great house there are vessels of gold and silver and vessels of wood and clay.

The great house is the church.

Not a building.

Not a denomination.

The people of God. And we are truly a GREAT HOUSE!

Billions of believers RIGHT NOW across the earth and, get this, billions more across history!

2 Timothy 2:20 ESV

20 Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable.

This GREAT HOUSE is made up of vessels.

Notice Paul doesn't say some are vessels and some are not.

Everybody in the illustration is a vessel.

Everybody belongs in the house.

The issue is usefulness.

The issue is honor.

The issue is whether we allow God to shape us into something He can use.

A VESSEL FILLED WITH SOMETHING

A vessel exists to contain something.

That is why Paul chose the word vessel.

A vessel receives.

A vessel carries.

A vessel pours out.

Christian, you were never created to be empty.

You were created to contain the presence of God, Holy Spirit is within you!

You were created to carry the gospel.

You were created to pour out the love of Christ into a broken world.

But not every vessel is equally useful:

Some are available.

Some are clogged.

Some are compromised.

Some are contaminated.

And that leads Paul to his next statement.

IF ANYONE

Verse 21 may be one of the most encouraging verses in the chapter.

2 Timothy 2:21 ESV

21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

"If anyone cleanses himself..."

Anyone.

Not the pastor.

Not the missionary.

Not the person who grew up in church.

Anyone.

You may feel stuck.

You may feel spiritually stagnant.

You may feel like you've wasted years.

But Paul says anyone can become a vessel for honorable use.

That means there is hope for every person listening today.

THE LEAVEN MUST GO

But hear me, the LEAVEN MUST GO!

Paul says cleanse yourself from what is dishonorable.

There’s a feast celebrated every year in Israel, Passover.

This is the celebration of when Israel left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea.

When they left Egypt, they left quickly.

There was no time to let their bread rise, they made unleavened bread.

So, to this day, they celebrate this feast by eating unleavened bread - flat bread with no yeast.

But this isn’t about a food choice.

It was a mandate from God.

It is also a lesson from God, meant to point them to being vessels of honor.

During this feast Israel removed any trace of yeast from their homes, their business, and anywhere in the community.

Every trace of leaven had to be removed from the house.

Why?

Because a little leaven affects everything.

God was teaching Israel that freedom from Egypt required leaving Egypt behind.

It meant they couldn’t include a little bit of Egypt into their lives.

You see Israel struggled with wanting to worship their gods.

Wanting to live like they did.

Wanting to be sexually promiscuous.

Wanting to eat the foods that they did.

But here’s a real problem…

Though they lived among them,

They were never like them.

They were slaves living among free people.

They were slaves mimicking the lifestyles that the free people lived.

They weren’t Egyptian.

They were Israelites.

They weren’t free people.

They were slaves.

Them longing for some of the things they had in Egypt would be no different from a slave in American around the 1700’s or 1800’s getting freedom and longing for they way things were when they were back at their slave home.

No slave is going to miss even what few good things they had when they were slaves.

Those things will remind them of their slavery.

It makes no sense.

But they did.

They longed for the things which weren’t really for them in the first place.

And so do we.

We want God's promises without abandoning old habits.

We want freedom while feeding bondage.

We want holiness while protecting compromise.

We want revival while refusing repentance.

The issue isn't that God lacks power to change us.

The issue is that we keep bringing Egypt into the Promised Land.

We keep putting leaven into our unleavened bread.

HOLY LIVING

So what does removing leaven look like?

2 Timothy 2:22–26 ESV

22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

Paul tells us.

Flee youthful passions.

Notice he doesn't say manage them.

He doesn't say negotiate with them.

He says flee.

Run.

Some battles are won by standing firm.

Others are won by running away fast enough.

Youthful passions include lust,

but they include much more.

The need to prove ourselves.

The need to win every argument.

The need to have the last word.

The need to react emotionally.

The need to make everything about us.

Paul says leave that behind.

Then pursue righteousness.

Pursue faith.

Pursue love.

Pursue peace.

Don't just stop chasing sin.

Start chasing Christ.

THE SHOCKING MARK OF MATURITY

Then Paul gives us one of the clearest pictures of spiritual maturity in the entire New Testament.

Not quarrelsome.

Kind to everyone.

Able to teach.

Patient when wronged.

Gentle when correcting.

That doesn't sound like much of modern Christianity,

what we see in others and what we tend to live out.

We have become experts at arguing.

Experts at outrage.

Experts at proving our point.

Paul says holy people look different.

Holy people are kind.Holy people are patient.

Holy people are gentle.

The vessel of honor isn't the loudest Christian in the room.

The vessel of honor is the most Christlike person in the room.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Paul ends by saying people are trapped in the snare of the devil.

Captured.

Deceived.

Broken.

That changes how we see people.

The person arguing with you isn't your enemy.

The person attacking you isn't your enemy.

The devil is the enemy.

Our mission isn't to win arguments.

Our mission is to rescue people.

That's why holiness matters.

Because God wants to use holy people to help broken people find freedom.

CONCLUSION

Imagine standing in God's great house.

Vessels everywhere.

Some common.

Some honorable.

Some available.

Some surrendered.

Some have allowed God to remove pride.

Some have allowed God to remove bitterness.

Some have allowed God to remove compromise.

Some have allowed God to remove the leaven.

And now they sit upon the Master's table.

Ready.

Useful.

Available.

The question today is not whether you are in the house.

Paul assumes that.

The question is what kind of vessel you want to be.

Maybe God is pointing at one thing today.

One attitude.

One compromise.

One habit.

One hidden sin.

One piece of leaven.

And He is saying:

Get that out of the house.

Because He did not save you to be forgotten in a corner.

He saved you to be holy.

Useful.

Set apart.

Ready for every good work.

If anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use.

Anyone.

That means you.

Let's pray.