Book Excerpt - Vessels of Honor - from "Sold Out... Or, Selling Short?"

Sold Out... Or, Selling Short?
Book Excerpt

Vessels of Honor
(from the Introduction)
The world is on fire with sin today. Here we are, with our garden hose type of anointing, trying to put out their fire. Do you know what sin does with that? It laughs at us. We need to become fire hoses, to allow God's anointing to flow through our lives in such a great measure, that it will put a damper upon the sin of the world.
Many people today are turning to satanic worship, the occult, and the New Age Movement. Why? Because the world wants a demonstration of supernatural power. Since the church isn't showing them the real power of God, they are turning toward the counterfeit power of Satan. They're hungry for something supernatural, even if the source of that power is going to kill them.
Why don't they see the power of God in the church? Because we're too busy chasing after the wrong things! We're busy with our programs and trying to get more people into our church (not by salvation, but by transferring them from other churches). We don't have time for the God we say we worship.
Everyone I know wants more of the power of God, but not many truly want more of the God of the power.
We try in our limited way and understanding to get the manifestations of the Spirit in our services. When we find someone who can give a prophecy, or pray for the curing of a hangnail, or knock someone down with the power of the Spirit, we talk about how spiritual they are. But, what about their lives? Why is this only happening in special services?
We need the power of God flowing in our lives every minute of every day. We need the gifts of the Spirit. Not only for the church… but for the world!
Instead of seeking the manifestations of God, we need to seek the God of the manifestations. Instead of the gifts of the Spirit, we need to seek the fruit of the Spirit. When we have the fruit of the Spirit, and when we have the God of the manifestations, then we'll have the gifts of the Spirit in abundance!

How do we do that? By being purified by God. He desires to remove the impurities out of our lives, and make us into vessels that are "fit for the master's use."

But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. ²¹ If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet (ready) for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
2 Timothy 2:20-21 KJV

Which are you going to be, a vessel for honor, or for dishonor? Notice, it isn't up to God which one the vessel is, it is up to the man. We must purge ourselves in order to become vessels of honor.
How do we purge ourselves? Well, did you see what we are to purge ourselves of? It says in verse 21 to purge ourselves of "these" whatever "these" are. Let's find out.
It appears from the way the verse is written, that the gold and silver are in a different category than the wood and earth. I say this because the words "but also of" separate these two groups. Following this, we find that some of these vessels are used for an honorable purpose, while others are for a dishonorable purpose. I think everyone would agree that the gold and silver vessels are the ones for the honorable purpose.
Whenever you see various materials used in the Bible, they are there for a purpose. Throughout the Word of God, various materials carry specific symbolic meanings. If we look at this symbolism, we can gain a better understanding of what we need to purge ourselves of:

Gold = Divinity

Silver = Sanctification

Wood = Man

Earth (clay) = the World

So, in this light, it becomes quite clear that what we need to "purge ourselves of" is "man" or the human sin nature that we have, and "the world," or the world's way of doing things.
As long as we are dependent upon the world's system, we are not dependent upon God. There is nothing that can separate us further from God than that. When we depend upon the world, instead of upon God, we are involved in idolatry. God is a jealous God, and will not share us with anything else. He calls that spiritual adultery.
The other thing that gets in the way is ourselves. Christianity isn't about becoming a better me, it's about getting me out of the way, so that Christ can be manifested in my life.
There is nothing in the world, or in our own human ability, that can show either sanctification, or divinity. It is only when we get out of the way, and allow God's power to work through our lives that the character and power of Jesus Christ can be manifested in this world today.