WHAT KIND OF VESSEL ARE YOU?
by Ronnie Mutina
Surrendering to God is not always easy, wouldn’t you agree? God’s goal for our lives is an unconditional surrender to HIM. God’s perspective of surrender is "victory." From HIS viewpoint, surrender is the doorway to blessings, fulfillment and spiritual triumph. HE wants us to be ‘Vessels of Honor.’
We find in the scripture, in 2 Timothy 2:20, where Paul said, "But in a great house there are not only verses of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour." An unconditional surrender means that one is willing to obey God’s call – even if it involves painful sacrifices. It is a yielding of one’s life to the complete control of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God knows that as long as a person retains control of his life, he will do what he thinks is best for him without acknowledging Jesus as his LORD. But God sees the big picture – from the beginning to the end. He knows the strengths and weaknesses of His children. HE promises that all HE does is for our good and HIS glory. Therefore, whenever HE calls upon us to submit, we can trust HIM completely, knowing HE is working everything for our best. Romans 8:28 backs this up, by telling us, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to HIS purpose."
If we read 2 Timothy 2:19 – 26, we will see an example of unconditional surrender. False prophets had arisen in Paul’s time, spreading their false doctrine. Paul directed all true believers to depart from those evil ones and their practices. In so doing, they would then be identified as vessels of honor, and instruments for a noble purpose – the work of the LORD. In Paul’s day, two kinds of vessels were used in a household – vessels of gold and silver and earthen vessels. Some were used for noble purposes and some for ordinary purposes. All of God’s children are to strive to be noble vessels for God’s use.
In today’s world, we find that nothing has changed as far as false prophets arising. There are many more false prophets today, I believe, than ever accounted before. Of course I didn’t live back then either. Paul went on to tell Timothy, in 2 Timothy 3:1 – 6, how people would become before Christ’s return. We cannot argue the fact that this is the way it is now, and I don’t see it getting any better soon. We even have people, who claim to be saved, doing what Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:3. Paul said, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine: but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears." Vessels of honor want to hear sound doctrine, but finding preachers and teachers who want to teach sound doctrine are getting thinner and thinner every day. The churches today or more for how much money we have, how big of a building we can have, how many people can we have, etc. When truth is preached, people don’t want to hear it. Why? People don’t like to be told the truth when it is concerning the way they are serving God in their life. We are in a feel good generation. If the preacher pats us on the back and tells us how good we are doing, then we feel good coming out of church. However, should the preacher show us how truly wretched we are, then we don’t like it. God’s Word is a two edged sword. It cuts us to the very core of the problem. When we listen to it and accept the surgery, it’s then that we grow much stronger in our spiritual and physical life. Why, you many ask? Because the more important the things of God become to us, the better vessel for God we become. Luke 6:46 shows us that no one can serve God on a basis of compromise; an unconditional surrender is needed to bring spiritual victory.
