"20 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. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. 22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. 24 The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, 25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will."
Good Morning my beloved,
Welcome to worship this Lord's Day!
We are so grateful to have our brothers and sisters from all over the world here with us today.
We praise God that He continues to grow our ministry, reaching even more people! God is great!
We continue you lift up all in prayers.
There are Christians, and there are Christians. Not all that are fellow
saints cause us to rejoice, though we do not doubt their sincerity in
the Faith. In life, though it quite often seems to be neglected by many believers today, the principle nevertheless holds true, the character of a Christian counts.
The great preacher Charles Spurgeon, was absolutely correct, when he once said "Of two evils, choose neither."
I suspect that deep within every person's heart, there is a desire that
God might use him. I should say, that is a normal and a proper desire. It is right. So today, I want to speak to all of us who truly want to be used of God. I would first like to tell you this, there is no
thrill in this life, quite like the thrill of being used of God. There is nothing that
remotely comes close, in terms of excitement, satisfaction and
fulfillment, the consciousness that one has been the instrument in the
hands of God, to do some of His work, to change the direction
of someone's life, perhaps, to prevent an injury, to resolve an
argument, to answer a challenge, to heal a weakness, fulfill a need, to rebuke a ruler,
or even to turn a nation.
While it is certainly true that character counts in the broader world, we are not shocked with dwellers of this fallen world fail to demonstrate righteous
character. We understand intuitively that those identified with this
dying world cannot be men or women of character. Ultimately,
all of these dying souls expose the poverty of life, through acquiescing to that
which is directly opposed to God. However, when our fellow Christians choose what is against righteousness or even approve of such ungodly acts, we are rightly shocked Those who are marked as belonging to the world will attempt to absolve themselves of blame.
Let us bow our heads in prayer.
Heavenly Father,
Father, thank You for this clear Word for us today. We know that righteousness speaks of our adherence to the Law which You have set before us, our faithfulness speaks of
our loyalty, that we may live our Christian life as an
effort to be obedient to Your commands. Help us run from iniquity because we want to fulfill Your commands to be obedient to Your Word. Not because we have to, but because we love You Father, we love Christ, and we want to be loyal to the one who gave Himself for us. We want to be faithful to the One, whom we love. Lord, help us to run toward righteousness, toward loyalty and run toward
the love of Christ and the consequent love for others, remind us that in doing so, we're running
toward a life of peace. Remind us that obedience, loyalty, love, peace are the marks of
holiness.
We pray that You would you raise up, Lord, deliver the heavenly food to Your people, save us from those that should never be seen in public, never be heard, who only come to pollute. Lord, we pray that You would keep us faithful. Help us to demonstrate our love for You, by demonstrating our love others as You have loved us, that we would do more than talk about our faith, we would demonstrate it by our actions and good works, which You have called us to do. That by this, the world would know that we belong to You.
In Jesus' name
Amen
Today's Message: Vessels Of Honor
I have seen many great men of high achievement in the world tremble with a sense of
awe as they realized that on a given occasion, they were chosen to be the instrument
of God's working. I can tell you from my own personal experience that is
something that is beyond compare in this life. And, it can happen anywhere,
anytime. God works in wonderful ways, though quite often not always in dramatic ways, however, in ways we generally do not anticipate. It can happen to anybody. Being used
of God is not confined to pastors, preachers or teachers. Anybody, including unbelievers, can be
used an instrument in God's hands. The church, as designed by God is to be functioning in society in such a way that it is upholding truth in a world that is denying truth.
Jesus said in
John 13:35, "
By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
While there is certainly no shortage of analphabetic souls who will attempt to preface their unrighteous tolerance with ambiguous words intended to excuse their silence with such statements as "Though I do not personally approve, who am I to judge?" Allow me to boldly state, the character of the Christian counts!
James 4:16-17 clearly teaches us "
But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin."
Open with me your Bibles to the Second Book of Timothy chapter 2 verses 20-26. Today, in our ongoing study of this marvelous epistle, we find ourselves, at the end of chapter 2, with these last seven verses. I am sure that if we will open our hearts, and our minds, we will be richly and wonderfully blessed by what this portion of God's Word has for us today.
I would like to encourage you to follow along with me, as I read to you from our text, to set it in our minds. Listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit. II Timothy 2:20-26.
"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 from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with
gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may
grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will."
And so, we turn to the situation among the faithful as we consider the Apostle Paul's instructions concerning character. What Paul will say here in these verses, comprising our text assume
exaggerated significance in light of the prophecy he will soon
present to us in II Timothy 3:1-9. No need to turn there, I'll just quickly read it to you, "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith. But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes’s and Jambres’s folly was also."
Paul begins in verses 20-21, by writing "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 from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work." In light of the preceding verses, I believe that it is quite obvious that Paul has
the congregation as a whole in view. He sees the individual members as
those that make up the house, however, he has an obvious and high regard for
the congregation. Paul cautioned the pastor to avoid "word wars," warning that such battles not only are worthless, for the purposes of God, but that they ruin the hearers. He also urges Timothy to strive for God’s approval in his own labors in the Word. Never one to needlessly avoid hurting the feelings of destructive
individuals, Paul names names, exposing two men as religiously toxic,
gangrenous to the faith, detailing their heresy.
Paul, having now established this background, then writes, "God’s firm foundation stands," citing in rough fashion two statements from the Law. When Paul writes, "The Lord knows those who are His," he is a referring to Moses’ statement
delivered when Korah rebelled, that the Lord would show who was His
through either accepting or rejecting those who drew near. Beloved, this can only be seen as a serious word of warning to those who presume as leaders of the congregation.
The second rough citation, "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord
depart from iniquity," recalls perhaps two verses of Scripture. The
first of the two latter references is given as a warning to the
congregation issued subsequent to the earlier warning Moses gave. Moses
warned the congregation, "Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked
men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their
sins." The second reference is to God’s warning through Isaiah, "Depart, depart, go out from there, Touch nothing unclean; Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, You who carry the vessels of the Lord."
"God’s firm foundation," points unquestionably to the congregation of the Lord, of which Christ Jesus is recognized as the Head. He is likewise the foundation of the faith. In
I Corinthians 3:10-11, Paul reminded the Corinthian
Christians, "According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ
." We who belong to the Faith by the grace of God are established on Christ
and we are built up on Him.
In
Ephesians 2:19-22, the Letter to Ephesian Christians, Paul
wrote, "
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner
stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you
also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit."
Paul, having established that the congregation has the Lord in view,
the opening words of the text are dramatically clarified. "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 from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work." The vessels to which Paul is referring, are the members of the congregation.
Perhaps it shouldn’t have to be said, however to be sure this is clear, Paul is speaking of those who
are truly members, who are not pretenders. By such a provocative statement, I
am stating that there are always some who will align with a
congregation who have never been redeemed. I believe, this is quite apparent from a
parable Jesus related that is applied in a broader context when He spoke
of His coming in
Matthew 13:24-30. I'll just quickly read that to you.
"Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ But he *said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow
both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest
I will say to the reapers, "First gather up the tares and bind them in
bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn."
Paul is obviously focused on those who are born again, who are part of the
assembly of God. The unsaved, whether claiming membership in the assembly or
not, cannot lay hold of the claim to the solid foundation. Those who have never put
faith in Jesus Christ are lost, and they must therefore face
the reality of exclusion from the love of God. Later in Matthew 13, Jesus explains the parable so there is no question of His meaning in verses 37-42. "And He said, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as
for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil
one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it
be at the e
nd of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
The hard truth is the unsaved are not in the Kingdom of God. Just so, the unsaved, though
perhaps having their names listed as members of a church, cannot claim
to be founded on the solid foundation. They are lost and under sentence
of death. Therefore, when Paul speaks of vessels he is speaking solely of those
who are truly members of the household of faith. Now that we have, I hope, established this, what then can we make of the vessels, some suited for honorable use and some for dishonorable.
Allow me to say, any pot or pan that is used is useful. We get that right? Now, some of you who are older, may remember chamber pots or, as they were sometimes referred, thunder mugs. No one is going to argue that these pots
were suited for storing foodstuffs or fine linens; nevertheless, they
were useful. Likewise, one of the first jobs I had during college was
working as an orderly in a hospital. No one is going to argue that an
emesis basin would probably make a good soup bowl. However, they were essential
for assisting those who were nauseous so that they would not soil
themselves. The point of thinking of the use of the vessel is that any
vessel must be considered useful, when it is used for the intended function for
which it is reserved. However, I we have hopefully been able to see from my illustrations, they are not useful for everything!
Now, with wickedness in mind, let's look at verse 21 again. "Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work." It is the cleansing of oneself through the dissociation with wickedness that makes a
vessel honorable. Whether the vessel is gold or silver, or whether the
vessel is wood or clay, that is not what's important for determining it's usefulness.
However, to store a chamber pot together with food bins would not
degrade the chamber pot, though, I can with all certainty, assure you it would cause revulsion when using the
food bins. And, to store an emesis basis with containers holding medications
would not contaminate the emesis basin, it would however, cause anyone needing to ingest those
medications to be uneasy. In other words, regardless of your position in the
congregation, you are responsible for separating yourself from errant
people. You are responsible to purify yourself by refusing to listen to
their rhetoric, or even to tolerate people that are engaging in word wars or prattling
with irreverent babble.
Let's look more closely at the at the purpose of self-purification. According to the text, we purify
ourselves, dissociating from the actions and the attitudes of
disruptive, divisive people, in order to be reserved for honorable use,
to ensure sanctification, to make ourselves useful to the Master of the
house and to ensure that we are ready for every good work! The goal of
each Christian must be to fulfill these four purposes.
Let’s briefly
consider each of these purposes in order to equip ourselves as followers
of the Risen Christ. We dissociate ourselves from errant people, whether they are indulging
in heterodoxy or whether they are guilty of heteropraxy, in order to be
reserved for honorable use. The refusal to associate with such
attitudes and actions is a decision made once and maintained. To rationalize continued association with disruptive people, regardless of how much
we may wish to maintain long-standing friendships, is to expose
ourselves to contamination with their spirit, therefore, becoming like them!
Should we choose to adapt the attitudes and actions of those who are
opposed to Christ, grumbling, accommodating error and reflecting the
spirit of this dying world, we will cease to honor Christ the Lord and
thereby cease to be a vessel fit for continued service. The point is, that our bodies are nothing more than jars of clay. And, as such, they are unsuited to perform service for the Lord.
In
II Corinthians 4:7, Paul acknowledges this when he writes "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves."
It is necessary that we refuse to embrace or even tolerate the evil perpetuated by spiritually dissonant church members. Tolerating disruptive people, even though we may have enjoyed a long
association with them, will hinder sanctification. Our goal as
Christians is to be holy, to be sanctified. We can say with authority
that God’s will is holiness for His people.
I Thessalonians 4:1-3, Paul writes "Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more. For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality."
Each Christian wants to be useful in service to the Lord. I know
that some church members stand out for their gift of warming a pew;
however, the best case scenario for such people is that they are
disobedient. In many instances, it must be admitted that such
individuals are senescent and unproductive because they never had a
living relationship with the Lord.
In one congregation I
know of, one particular member never did anything in the church. I
wasn’t even sure whether he prayed or even read the Bible. He had a
Bible, which he proudly showed me because it was given him by the lodge
to which he belonged. He certainly was not familiar with what was
written inside the Book, however. He was showed each Sunday, rarely smiling, just observing all that transpired, he never participating
in anything, ever, in meaningful way. I remember one time, I challenged him to become involved in God's work in the congregation. He
smiled and dismissed my invitation with a wave of his hand and made the
statement, "I’ve already done my time!"
I have attended the funerals of congregants, where others struggled to find anything positive to say about them. They simply show up, draining energy from the assembly and contributing absolutely nothing of substance. God calls us to service, not sloth. He seeks workers, not wimps.
Paul then writes in verses 22-23, "Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. Here, Paul employs two imperatives—"flee" and "pursue." Timothy was being called to flee were unhealthy controversies, quarreling about
words and allowing money to dominate his life. Turning from those evils,
Timothy was to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love,
steadfastness and gentleness. In other words, Timothy, as well as all believers, was
admonished to labor ardently to inculcate those very characteristics we
associate with Christ Himself.
It is my prayer, that every Christian should know what they believed and why they believe it! I do not want any of you to be like one man who responded to my
question of what he believed by saying, "I believe whatever my church
believes."
I pray that we would all heed the words of Peter, in 1 Peter chapter 3:15-16, "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame."
It would appear obvious to me, that Paul is warning Timothy against surrendering to
headstrong passions, allowing such impulses to rule his life. Many
times, youth are attracted to novel ideas; they are quite prepared to
become engaged in meaningless debates and fruitless arguments that will only lead to quarrels. Paul
has been cautioning against engaging in word wars and entering into
dialogue with those spewing what he has called "irreverent babble";
these actions are simply equated with immaturity. Such
battles are seldom vital to the advance of the faith. Furthermore, battling over words plays right into the hand of false teachers,
leading to ungodly behavior and error that contaminates the entire
congregation. Instead of responding to the error through a combative
stance, the apostolic counsel is to run! The Apostle Paul's counsel is not so much that a believer should run, but feel youthful lusts to engage in such battles and pursue righteousness. The believer must always run toward those things that will buildup his faith. Pursue those qualities that mark a mature believer, which are "righteousness, faith, love and peace."
Allow me to caution those who disregard the congregation of the faithful, holding the Bride of Christ in contempt is equivalent to holding a low view of Christ. Just how much did Christ esteem the congregation of the faithful? He willingly laid down His life for her. By His willing sacrifice for the church, we learn the model for the love husbands have for their wives. In Ephesians 5:25, Paul said "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her."
The church of the Living God is not to be a debating society. It is not our business to engage in quarrels. It is one thing to teach truths that challenge those who hear to stop and think. However, it is quite another to engage in fruitless quarrels. "..refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels."
Verses 24-25, "The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth. Those who disagree with the truth, who are not winning the argument, they often resort
to demeaning us, casting aspersions, calling us profane names. The godly
person does not respond in kind, but rather patiently continues in
presenting the truth.
Paul writes in verse 26, "and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will."
We refuse to quarrel in the hope that God may grant repentance. We are
kind even to those with whom we disagree in the hope that God may grant
repentance. We teach the Word in the hope that God may grant repentance.
We tolerate even verbal assault in the hope that God may grant
repentance. All that we do with those who persist in error is done in
the hope that God may grant repentance. We who are redeemed know that
the divine gift of repentance always leads to knowledge of the truth.
Because we know God, we want the unregenerate, undisciplined unbeliever to "come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil" Because we seek the salvation of all, through the gentle presentation of the truth of God, with the love of Christ.
In Closing...
We are acutely aware, that those who would disseminate error have been taken captive, to do the will of Satan. They do the will of him because of ignorance because Satan has
blinded their eyes and they cannot see the truth. Because we who believe are fellow workers together with God we seek the freedom of all who are captives of Satan.
Beloved, I can assure you that we will not see
them freed from their captivity through arguments, quarreling and combative
attitudes. But through patience, kindness, through gentle firmness, we will be
instruments of God's righteousness.
May God give us His grace to be used to the praise of His glory.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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