Monday, January 20, 2020

Ultimate Approval Rating

Christmas – 1958

Love, Mom and Dad.

2 Tim 2.15

That scripture verse became my "life's verse."  I want to share with you what has been a lifelong love affair between that verse and my heart.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.  2 Timothy 2:15NRSV

Godly excellence is the right explaining of His Word.  The handling is the picture of a father dividing up the apple pie, so that each family member in the household gets an equal share.  (Believe me, that was a closely watched event in the house in which I was raised!)
Excellence in the handling of God's Word comes from a commitment to learning and rightly using the Word.  Vince Lombardi once said, "The quality of a man's life is in direct proportion to his commitment to excellence, regardless of his chosen field or endeavor....I firmly believe that any man's finest hour – his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear – is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle, victorious."
Notice the excellent vessels of which God approves...

Prepared Vessels

A prepared vessel is one of which God approves, and may stand before Him in service, unashamed.  The word approved is a term from the banking industry and means tested and found worthy.  It’s like examining a $50 bill and finding it genuine, not counterfeit.  How do you get there?  How do you become God’s  worthy workman?" 
Note the characteristics of a Prepared Vessel:

1.     Preparation means knowledge 

Our business is to gain the kind of knowledge we need to be God's workers.  That comes primarily from the Word of God.  In such a world as we live, a world of darkness, only the light of the truth of God’s Word will do.  You can never honor God as a prepared vessel if you will not study the Word of God.

2.     Preparation develops knack 

Just as a carpenter develops skill with his tools, a worthy workman in God's Word will learn how to rightly handle it.  So many people read God's Word with minds already made up as to what it says.  How in the world can you learn anything if you won't allow God to speak to your heart?  It is God who must teach you the "knack" of using His word properly.

3.     Preparation begins on the knee 

Submission to God, His Word, and complete allegiance to Him as Lord, is not just bowing the knee in prayer, it is bowing the life in surrender.  A prepared vessel is a vessel surrendered into the hands of the Great Potter! 
Another kind of vessel the Lord approves is....

Pure Vessels

Among the timeless truths God’s Word teaches us, are some purity principles Paul teaches:

1.     The Mouth reflects the heart

Pure vessels avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.  Their teaching will spread like gangrene.  Paul mentioned to Timothy about Hymenaeus and Philetus, two men who wandered away from the truth of God’s Word.  They taught[2] that the resurrection had already taken place, and they destroyed the faith of some of the church.
Jesus laid down the principle (Mark 15:19) that whatever comes out of the mouth simply reveals what the heart is like.  Hymenaeus and Philetus taught an erroneous view of the resurrection.  Their view was that the afterlife was a myth, and that you needed to get everything out of this present life you could.   To Paul these false chatterboxes were to the church what gangrene is to a leg wound.

2.     The Mouth can be cleansed if the heart is cleansed

God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription:  

The Lord knows those who are his; everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.  In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble.  If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. 2 Timothy 2.19-21

There is a reality about sin that is not debatable – you cannot cover it over; God must remove it from you.  If we ever attempt to hide sin, cover it over with good works, God can still see.  The heart can only be cleansed with confession.  That is what empties a heart.  But there is a caution in this too…

3.     Be careful not to stay empty

You do well to confess sin and be done with it.  But, remember that in nature (which often parallels the spiritual realm) a vacuum is abhorred.  Empty space will be filled. 
In Matthew 12 there is recorded the Lord's parable about having a "house swept clean."   If it stays that way, it will only be an invitation to trouble.  You see that in churches all the time.  People get saved, and store up an incredible amount of Bible knowledge, yet act the part of the troublemaker – a child of Hell.  Why?  Because it isn't enough to empty of sin in confession.  Living the Spirit-filled life is a matter of continually being filled with the Spirit.  Remember, no vacuums. 
It is useless to prepare the vessel in surrender to God and purify the vessel in confession of sin if you won't allow the Spirit to fill you and make you a....

Powerful vessel

Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.  Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.  And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.  Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,  and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.  2 Timothy 2:22-26(NIV)

How does it happen?  How are you filled?  How are you useful?  Paul says, pursue righteousness, faith and love.  These are put forth as in opposition to evil youthful desires. 
I have been young (it was a long time ago), and I know that all youthful desires are not evil.  But the most prevalent ones are impatience, greed, anger, and lust.  Paul is trying to tell us that the most powerful forces for God are the opposites of those. 
·      Righteousness shows itself in kindness and gentleness. 
·      Faith evidences itself in patience and unselfishness. 
·      Love is revealed when one lays down his life for another.
How are you doing with handling rightly the Word of Truth?
Two lions escaped from the Washington Zoo.  They knew they couldn't stay together, so they agreed to separate and meet back in a month by the Lincoln Memorial.  They met.  One lion was pathetically thin and emaciated.  The other was well-fed and robust.  The skinny one spoke, "I'm going back to the zoo.  It's impossible out here.  I hide in the park and hunt for lunch scraps.  At night I fight squirrels for peanut shells.  I can't make it.  But look at you, all fat and sleek.  Where did you hide?"  Said the fat lion, "I'm hiding out at the Whitehouse.  Every other day I eat a Cabinet Member.  As long as I clean up the mess, nobody seems to notice."
Cabinet members that aren't missed in an administration are no different than Christians who aren't missed in the Lord's service.  To be a useful vessel in God’s Kingdom requires preparation, purity depending on the power supplied by Christ. 
A few Questions
·      Have you trusted Christ for salvation, leaning on His Word for direction? 
·      Are you current in confession of sin to keep this vessel, your life pure for Christ? 
·      Have you asked and allowed God's Holy Spirit to fill you for serving powerfully?  Have you?
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…Amen!

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[1] Title Image:  Russell Brownworth (original work)      All Scripture from The New Living Translation (unless otherwise stated) 
[2] 2 Tim 2:16-21



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