What Kind of Vessel are You?

A verse stood out to me today when I was reading the Scriptures, and I wanted to take some time and reflect upon it for a moment.

Proverbs 25:4 - "Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer."

In the Scriptures the word "vessel" is a word that is used to describe an object that carries or contains something, and this object has a specific purpose. The most logical thing that comes to mind when I think of a vessel is a cup, bottle, or container. For the sake of illustration, let's speak of a container; it is an object that we use to hold anything that can be contained therein, and it can hold anything that we wish to put therein. There are certain containers that are better equipped to hold larger objects, such as cargo ships, and there are other containers that are best suited to hold smaller objects, such as lunch boxes. There are some that can hold liquids better, such as tupperware, or there are others that are best to hold solids, such as boxes. There are many, many different types of containers that were made to fulfill many different types of things.

Just like containers hold, possess, and carry various things, we hold, possess, and carry various things in us and in our lives. This is exactly why the Scriptures identify people and groups of people as a kind of "vessel".

• David, in Psalm 31:12, states, "I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel."
• God describes Israel as a vessel in Hosea 8:8 when He states, "Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure."
• Jesus tells Ananias about Saul in Acts 9:15-16, "Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.".
• God is called the potter who shapes people as vessels in Romans 9:21 when Paul states, "Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?"
• Paul calls our the body a vessel in 1Thessalonians 4:4 when he states, "That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;"
• Peter calls wives a vessel in 1Peter 3:7 when he states, "Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered."
• Concerning purifying and sanctifying ourselves unto God Paul states in 2Timothy 2:21 "If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work."

In respect to the last verse, 2Timothy 2:21, and Proverbs 25:4, we must all come to realize something... If we truly desire to be vessels used by God in this world, in this life, for His glory, honour, and majesty, then we we must know that we all have things in our life that can be considered "dross" that we must "take away". When a precious metal (i.e. - gold, silver, etc.) is heated over flames the impurities within the metal slowly rise to the top. Once these impurities rise to the top they must be skimmed off, or "taken away" from the substance of the metal. If the impurities are "taken away" then what is left is substance that can be shaped into "a vessel for the finer", which is fit to be used in the hands of the King.

With this in mind, I had to stop and think: "What are the impurities in my life that I know ought to be "taken away" so I can be "a vessel for the finer"? We know from the Scriptures that God allows "divers temptations" to come into our life to try our faith (James 1:2), and that these trials and distresses are like the flames of fire (1Peter 1:6-7) that allow the impurities in our life to slowly rise to the surface as the heat gets turned up more and more, but are we taking the time to diligently skim of the impurities that rise to the surface? When God allows these distresses to unfold in our life He has a purpose of making us "perfect and entire, wanting nothing" through letting "patience have her perfect work" (James 1:3-4). Are we letting patience have her perfect work in our lives so we can diligently purify ourselves before our Holy and Righteous God? If not, then do we truly have the desire to live and give our lives wholly to Him? Are we truly His? If we are the sons and daughters of the Almighty then we will purify ourselves and feel convicted when we don't purify ourselves; 1John 3:2-3 teaches us this by stating, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."

So, what is the conclusion of the matter? -- If we truly desire to follow after our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and please the Most High Holy God, you and I will willingly and whole-heartedly "take away the dross" (Prov 25:4) each and every day as we find ourselves under the flame of trials and tribulations that come from being obedient to God's Word. When we do this, we "shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work (2Tim 2:21)."

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The Heartbeat of Christ

"...They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentence." - Matthew 9:12-13

God has really been pressing upon me the fact that a true minister of God is a person that deeply cares for the souls of men. In fact, a true minister of God will care more for the souls of men, both lost and saved, more than anything else in this world. I have found that it is very easy to get distracted by many things in this life, especially within the Laodicean church age in which we live. As Laodiceans (I know these things because I am one of them along side of you!) we are concerned about "our rights" and "our freedoms"; we don't have time to be inconvenienced by other people's lives, problems, needs, and distresses. If we happen to help another in need it is often to promote and advance ourselves to a better "status" than what we had before. It is a shame that we allow our selfishness to drive desires to fulfill the needs of the lost and the strangers around us... this is not the heartbeat of Christ.

Jesus Christ "came to seek and save that which was lost (Luke 19:10)", He came not to fulfill His own will but to do "the will of the father" (John 5:30), and we must have the same desires if we are truly the children of the King. Jesus was not concerned about His life, His comforts, His needs, His rights, His wants, and His pleasures; He was concerned with one thing, and one thing only: to do the will of the Father - freely, willingly, and whole-heartedly give and spend His life for everyone else, so that they might be saved. This truth reminds me of something that a good friend of mine, Pastor Mike Blake, once said: God gave His only begotten Son so that the world might be saved, and He is still in the business of giving His sons and daughters for the world.

I have learned that we need to change... EVERYTHING. We need to recognize our Laodicean tendencies, and then repent from them. We need God to help change our hearts; we are not strong enough to do it on our own.

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