Are you a crystal goblet or a peanut butter jar?
Dawson Trotman who founded the Navigators tells the story of having a friend in his home for the night and the friend asked for a glass of water. Dawson Trotman’s wife had been gone for several days so when the friend went to get a glass, there were only two in the cabinet. One was a crystal goblet and the other a peanut butter jar. The friend asked Dawson if he could use the crystal goblet. Out of embarrassment, Dawson told him he could, because the goblet was very expensive and had belonged to his wife’s grandmother and had great sentimental value. When the friend got the crystal goblet down he looked inside and saw that it was very dirty. He put it back and got the peanut butter jar which was very clean and used that for his glass of water.
The story illustrates the truth of 2 Timothy 2:20 which says, “Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, and some for dishonorable.”
Vessels are people’s lives. Some lives are for honorable or godly purposes and some for dishonorable or ungodly purposes.
All lives can be for godly purposes. But for lives to be used for godly purposes, those lives have to be:
Cleansed Lives
2 Timothy 2:21
Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
Paul says that a cleansed life is a life that is:
Holy
Useful to the Master
Ready for Every Good Work
1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to CLEANSE us from all unrighteousness.”
Confession of sins to Jesus brings cleansing. But how do we keep ourselves clean?
According to Romans 12:2 it is by not being conformed to the values of this world, but by being transformed by God renewing your mind continual.
It begins with our minds.
Allow God to cleanse, transform, and control your thinking.
In Psalm 119:133 David asks God to, “Keep steady my steps according to Your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me.”
A cleansed life isn’t about a one-time act. It is about daily submitting your mind, heart, and spirit over to God’s control.
Balanced Lives
2 Timothy 2:22
So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
Living a godly life means that there are some things we are to flee and some tings we are to pursue.
Flee: evil desires of youth (things that in our immaturity looks good but lead to destruction)
Pursue: righteousness, faith, love and peace
We are given one thing to flee and four things to pursue.
Many contend that Christianity is mostly negative. But here we are given a four to one ratio toward the positive.
We are not in this fleeing and pursuing alone. We are to surround ourselves with others who are calling on God with a pure heart. We are to connect ourselves with people who are fleeing ungodly things and pursuing godly things.
This doesn’t mean we are to be living only in a “Christian Fortress”, but we are to have fellowship with other believers so we can live in a fallen world and have balance.
Forgiving Lives
2 Timothy 2:23-24
Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil.
The first way we can lead forgiving lives is not to do things that cause arguments which produce the need for forgiveness.
The word foolish in this verse is the word we get our word moron from. Quarrels in this verse means fighting. So we are not to be morons and go around causing or getting into fights.
Quarrels are counterproductive because they don’t produce repentance. Repentance comes from followers of Jesus being kind.
Romans 2:4 tells us that God’s desire is for His kindness to lead people to repentance.
How is God’s kindness expressed to the world? God’s kindness is expressed through His people.
When God’s kindness expressed through His people is experienced by another person, it opens up the opportunity for us to teach them about God’s love and His plan for them.
Sometimes God’s kindness has to be shown to others by us as God’s people being patient as we endure suffering.
I think of Stephen.
Stephen as he was being stoned to death says, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
One of the people there assisting with killing Stephen was Saul, later to become Paul. The kindness of Stephen to those killing him was something that God used to transform Saul to Paul.
What Saul saw exhibited in Stephen as he died was what Jesus showed from the cross as He prayed for the Father to forgive them because “they don’t know what they are doing.”
Humbled Lives
2 Timothy 2:25-26
Correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
We are to deal with opponents, people who oppose us or what we believe, with gentleness. Gentleness carries the idea of humility. We are not to try to embarrass or prove others wrong. Our goal is to help people come to repentance. We do that by treating them with respect and not trying to argue them down.
We need to see people who oppose God not as enemies but as victims. They are trapped by the devil and have been taken captive by him and deceived into doing his will.
We should want them to come to their senses and escapes his enslavement.
Our condemnation will not accomplish that. God’s love expressed through His people will.
Being humble means we understand that we are not above falling into sin.
Galatians 6:1
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
We all can fall!
Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls is about living a life that has been cleansed by God and is continually being cleansed by Him.
Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls is about living a balanced life of fleeing what God doesn’t want in your life and pursuing what He does want in your life.
Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls is about living a life that forgives just as Jesus does.
Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls is about living a humbled life so others can see Jesus through us.
Being Useful for God to Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls
Joe
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