Title: God Who Uses the Clean
Contents
Word: 2 Timothy 2:20-21
Title: God Who Uses the Clean
In the Old Testament, Jeremiah l8:6 says, “House of Israel, as clay is in the hands of the potter, so are you in my hands.” This verse introduces God as the maker of vessels. Another verse that supports this verse, Isaiah 64:8, also says, “We are clay, and you are the potter; we are all the work of your hands.” In other words, God is a potter who makes art out of clay, and we are the kind of pottery made by the potter's work.
The material of the old bowl was clay. God made man from dust (dust). Therefore, the expression “a vessel” is often used in the Bible when looking at a human being.
A person who makes a bowl is called a potter. The potter puts great effort into making pots out of clay. However, the vessels serve different purposes. Some vessels are used sparingly, and some vessels are used preciously. Not only do they make bowls out of clay, but they also make bowls out of gold and silver.
I heard that 40 million worth of fountain pens are being sold in the so-called luxury store that opened in a department store in Seoul not long ago. And I heard that there is also a watch worth 100 million won with dozens of diamonds being sold to the rich. Most of the people have a hard time even living with their belts tight due to the economic hardship, but hearing this news from poor people makes me feel really pathetic. What are the luxury items these youngsters are looking for? No matter how expensive a fountain pen is, it is useless if the watch is not accurate. A fountain pen that writes well and a watch that shows the correct time are masterpieces.
Where is the true value of the vessel? What matters is not what the material of the vessel is, but what it contains and how it is used.
Even if it is a bowl made of gold, if you put dog food in it, the gold bowl is nothing but a dog food bowl. However, even if it is an earthen vessel that is likely to break at any moment, if you put a treasure in it, the value of that vessel is truly like a treasure.
The big house in today's text means the kingdom of God in a larger sense, and the church in a smaller sense. And the vessel refers to us as saints. There are many kinds of vessels belonging to a large house. Some are made of gold, some are made of silver, and some are made of wood and earth.
From a worldly point of view, a good vessel is usually used when a precious guest comes or a vessel is used on a special day. There may be times when you deliberately use a gold bowl to show off yourself. However, there is a separate vessel to be used for the kingdom of God. It reveals that the vessel is not made of good materials but is a clean vessel. Also, it says that God, the owner, sets apart clean vessels and prepares them for use again.
Knowing that a clean vessel is a vessel that is preciously used for the kingdom of God and for the church, I and all of us earnestly wish to become vessels worthy of the kingdom of God.
1. A clean vessel refers to a person with a pure heart.
What do you mean? This means that we should not dishonor our bodies and do not pollute the world. If you fill me with all kinds of unclean things in the world, you are defiling the body, the temple of God. It is filled with worldly things, how can it be filled with heavenly things?
When it's hot, a glass of cold Coke is great. There is one cup, and the cup is full of spoiled milk. In this case, you have to empty the milk, rinse the water, and pour Coke to drink.
For the saints who are empty of the world and have this state of mind, the Lord said in Matthew 5:3, “They are called poor in spirit, and such people will possess the kingdom of heaven. ” and said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
Who will see God, who will discover His will, and who will see His glory? Those who are pure in heart are pure.
We are inherently full of all kinds of sins. So we are not clean and we cannot be clean ourselves However, God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, to this earth with earnest love for suffering because of our sins and having no choice but to go to Hell, and Jesus shed all His blood on the cross to cleanse us of our sins. Except for the precious blood that Jesus shed on the cross, we can never wash away our filthy sins. Only the blood of Jesus cleanses us from sin.
God loves us so much that through His only begotten Son, Jesus, our sins as red as scarlet are made white as wool. Therefore, we should always give thanks before God that we have been freed from sin through God's grace, and always strive to be clean from sin.
Just as in the anecdote of General Kim Yu-shin, who cut the horse's head when he found out that he was heading to the gisaeng's house while he was sleeping, he has to face sin resolutely and tense from the temptation of sin. To do that, you must always break yourself. We have to break greed and we have to break pride. You must wash your heart with prayer and wash it with the Word. We must also disinfect with the fire of the Holy Spirit.
Who would use a bowl with dirty foreign objects? Who can see the light in a bowl full of dust?
Do you think that I am not yet used by God? If so, the reason is not that I do not have money, it is not that I do not have knowledge, and much less that I do not receive an office. It's just that my bowl isn't clean yet.
I hope that both of us and I will have pure hearts and become clean vessels used by God.
2. Even a clean vessel should contain what it should contain.
A little while ago, it was said that our body is the temple of God in which the Spirit of God dwells. In other words, if the devil dwells in me, my body becomes the devil's house. But if you put beautiful and precious things in it, it becomes a beautiful house and a precious house.
No matter how clean my body is, what I put in my body is very important. Even if the owner of the house sterilizes the bowl overnight, it is used as a dog food bowl if leftover food is put in it.
Do I have something in my heart right now that I shouldn't have? I go to church and worship, but isn't my heart filled with the worries, anxieties and fears of the world rather than longing for God's grace? Aren't my mind filled with fantasies about material things?
Jesus often pointed out their wrong behavior toward the Pharisees, who were religious legalists. In Matthew 12, there is a scene in which they point out an important mistake. Here's what the scene is about: At that time, the Pharisees thought that the law made them clean. But they made a big mistake. They did not know that the law could never wash away our sins, and that nothing but Jesus could cleanse us completely.
So Jesus pointed out their mistake and said this. Matthew 12:43-45 says, “When an unclean spirit goes out from a person, it goes through waterless places, seeking rest, but cannot find it. Then he said, “I will return to my house from which I came.” When he came, the house was empty, cleaned, and repaired. They brought in seven more evil spirits and dwelled in them, and the man's last condition was worse than before. And so it is with this evil generation.”
A house whose house is empty, cleaned, and repaired The meaning of these words is a person who is moral and ethical who can live without the law, or who has a clear conviction in his or her own way. But why warn the Pharisees that they have eight demons? Because they believed that their hearts were cleansed by the instrument of God-given law.
What should we include? You have to put Jesus right there. We must contain the Savior Jesus Christ, the Savior who died and rose for us, and we must never spill it. Even if it is a vessel made of clay, if it contains a treasure, it is a vessel that contains the treasure and is a very precious vessel.
Therefore, it is Jesus that we must contain. it is the love of jesus These are the words of Jesus.
3. Set aside clean dishes.
There is no foolish housewife who keeps a shiny clean bowl with a dirty bowl, and a dirty, stained garment with a clean wash. If you are a common-sense housewife, of course, keep the clean and dirty separately.
The world sees us and calls us saints. What is a saint? The holy city and the way Dora is a Chinese word used to refer to those who walk on a holy path that is different from those of the world. We and I are saints who know the words of Jesus as the truth and follow the words of Jesus.
The word “holy” means “set apart” or “separate”. In verse 21 of the text, it is said that the vessel that God has set apart and is used for honor is recognized as the vessel that has been prepared for all good works in the future.
This bowl is the owner's favorite bowl. The Bible describes it as “a worthy vessel.” In the book of Acts, when we see David, God describes him as “a man worthy”. I really envy David. David was able to become a person pleasing to God. No matter what he does, he always thinks only of God and makes decisions that conform to God's will. He was a man who lived with gratitude and humility for being used as an instrument only for the kingdom of God and its glory by thoroughly rejecting the world's greed and selfish thoughts.
So how could God not like David? God kept David closer to him and was always with him. And he was proud. David, who was prepared every day with cleanliness, God used David in a place where God's glory was greatly revealed.
If you put a clean bowl in a dirty place, it gets dirty quickly. We, who are called to be used for the kingdom of God, must always prepare with cleanliness to be worthy of that use.
Let's become a person who enjoys coming to church more than living in the world. Let's become closer to God's Word than to try to acquire the world's vain knowledge. Rather than shed tears of sorrow in despair and frustration because of the worries and pains of the world, let us come to the bottom of the cross and kneel. As we strive to live in this way, we will continue to be clean vessels pleasing to God.
Rather than filling the gold and silver vessels that are the joys of the world, but that give pleasure for a while, but that disappear after a while, even if they are made of materials that are of little value by the world's standards, they become clean vessels that do not change forever. I want you to become a bearer of the treasure of Jesus Christ. Clearly remember The vessel that God uses is not in its ingredients, but in a clean vessel.