Vessels of Honor
Zechariah 13:7-9 (NKJV) 7 “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, Against the Man who is My Companion,” Says the LORD of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered; Then I will turn My hand against the little ones. 8 And it shall come to pass in all the land,” Says the LORD, “That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, But one-third shall be left in it: 9 I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’; And each one will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’ ”
Introduction:
- Strike the shepherd.
- Sheep scattered.
- It is enlightening that we are called the sheep of God’s pasture.
Ez. 34:31 And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord GOD.”
- A human flock.
- Intended to be together.
- That is why any time a sheep separates themself it is never ok.
- The Chief Shepherd Christ goes after the one.
- Yes, to find it, save it, but to reconnect it to the flock.
Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
- Fire is inevitable.
- Fire burns away the ramble.
- The refining fire, the shepherd’s sheers, the pruning scissors, all for the purpose of
sanctification.
1. God has called us all to be a radiant church.
1.1. To be vessels of honor
1.2. Not a dimly shining Church
1.3. Brightly shining forth the glory of God.
2. Without holiness no one will see the Lord.
Leviticus 21:8 Therefore you shall consecrate him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I the Lord, who sanctify you, am holy.
1 Chronicles 15:12 sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it.
Hebrews 12:14 (NKJV) 14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord
2.1. We need to be consecrated to approach Jesus.
2.2. Consecration happens by sanctifying ourselves. 2.3. Being taken through the refiners fire.
2.4. Because without holiness no one will see the Lord.
3. Once strangers to the covenant of promise.
Ephesians 2:11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
3.1. Brought near. 3.2. Made holy. 3.3. By the blood. 3.4. Set apart
- Sanctification is first imputed to us.
4.1. Sanctification defined: “Broadly speaking we may define sanctification as a separation to God, an imputation (attributing) of Christ as our holiness, purification from moral evil, and conformation to the image of Christ”
4.2. Imputation defined: The act of imputing. Impute defined = to attribute (righteousness, guilt, etc.) to a person or persons vicariously (through a substitution); ascribe as derived from another.
4.3. Attributed defined: regard something as being caused in our lifer by someone else.
- The sanctification process
Eph. 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
5.1. Christ washes us
5.2. Immediately Christ cleanses us
5.3. Christ sanctifies us: to separate, consecrate; cleanse, purify, sanctify; regard or reverence
as holy → consecrate; holy; make holy; sanctify. 5.4. Christ plans to present us to Himself in perfection 5.5. To be a radiant Church
6. Consult the Lord for the proper order.
1 Chronicles 15:12-15 He said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it. For because you did not do it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not consult Him about the proper order.” 14 So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel. 15 And the children of the Levites bore the ark of God on their shoulders, by its poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.
Ex. 29: 1, 4, 7
1 “Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. Take one bull of the herd and two rams without blemish,
4 You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and wash them with water.
7 You shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him.
6.1. The priest had to be washed. 6.2. It starts with sacrifice.
6.3. Then to cleansing
6.4. Then to dressing
6.5. Then to entry!
Matthew 22:11-12 (NKJV) 11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12 So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless
7. In Christ we are a new creation.
2Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
7.1. All things are new.
7.2. This change first takes place positionally and internally in a person’s life. 7.3. Internally: we are given a new heart and freedom/victory from sin.
7.4. Positionally:
7.4.1. we become members of the family of God.
7.4.2. We are positioned as Co-heirs with Christ.
7.5. Externally and our lifestyle will begin to catch up with what happened positionally and internally.
8. Cleansing yourself.
2 Tim. 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.
8.1. The goal is to be a vessel of honor.
8.2. With our new found life, freedom and position we then begin to take action and make
changes in our life.
8.3. We clean out the old leaven.
8.4. We can not just Christians verbally, but their lifestyle does not change.
9. It is the little things that distract.
1 Corinthians 5:6-7 (NKJV) 6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened
Song of Songs 2:15 Catch us the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes.
9.1. young, small, insignificant, unimportant
9.2. small insignificant young unimportant
9.3. become sinful
9.4. Giving ourselves over to Christianity light concept
9.5. Giving into to temptation and justifying it in our heart.
10. Wrong desires and pride.
1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life is not from the Father but is from the world.
10.1. We all have wrong desires and pride but the question is only, how much. 10.2. The eye gate, the ear gate, the nose gate, and the mouth.
10.3. When we do not protect the gates we loose the power
10.4. When we do not protect the gates temptations increase
2 Peter 3:11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people should you be in lives of holiness and godliness,
Conclusion:
- Once you experience the glory of God you will never want to be apart from Him again.
- Everyday we have to wake up and make a decision to serve and love God today.
- This means forsaking the things which He has saved us from.