Infinite Fellowship Ministries

Vessels Of Honour & The Cost Of Glory: Sermon By Deacon David Oyuke

But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also [utensils] of wood and earthenware, and some for honorable and noble [use] and some for menial and ignoble [use]. So whoever cleanses himself [from what is ignoble and unclean, who separates himself from contact with contaminating and corrupting influences] will [then himself] be a vessel set apart and useful for honorable and noble purposes, consecrated and profitable to the Master, fit and ready for any good work.

Shun youthful lusts and flee from them, and aim at and pursue righteousness (all that is virtuous and good, right living, conformity to the will of God in thought, word, and deed); [and aim at and pursue] faith, love, [and] peace (harmony and concord with others) in fellowship with all [Christians], who call upon the Lord out of a pure heart. 

2 Timothy 2:20-22 (AMPC)

There is a diversity in the Church. Vessels of honour belong in the house of God. There is a pattern and culture that they are birthed into.

God does not pick perfect people but perfects people over time.

There is power in our differences.

We are the prized possessions of God.

In the same way we cherish things we paid a high price for, it is the same way God protects and cherishes us.

Vessels of honour are to serve. We are in the house of God to serve not to be served.

The process to make vessels of honour is not pretty. Difficult conditions make the most beautiful vessels.

Unless we remain firm and humble in the tests that stretch us, we can never truly comprehend the vast expanse of our destiny.

If you are not willing to go through a certain level of pain, you cannot experience glory. Not all pain kills us. It fashions us. There is a stretching that transforms us.

Vessels of honour do not start off as being honourable. They start off as vessels.

Fishermen became bold men by laying down their lives to follow Christ. Women of disrepute were used to steward a lineage in which Christ was born into e.g.  Rahab and Ruth. There is a stretching that they underwent. 

Doing exploits for God is not a pretty affair. Ask Daniel who had faith in an invisible God staring back at visible lions. There’s a price you pay to be fashioned into a vessel of honour.

It is God that bestows honour and glory. We are just but stewards of the glory. Glory is a costly affair. There are ramifications for the faith we profess.

John the Baptist’s glory was in him preparing the way for the Lord and decreasing so that Christ may increase and be revealed as the Messiah.

To be vessels of honour, there’s a level of pride that must die.

The Holy Spirit took Christ to the wilderness to be tested. It was training for him for the work of the ministry.

There is a work that needs to be done by vessels of honour.

So whoever cleanses himself [from what is ignoble and unclean, who separates himself from contact with contaminating and corrupting influences] will [then himself] be a vessel set apart and useful for honorable and noble purposes, consecrated and profitable to the Master, fit and ready for any good work.

 2 Timothy 2:21 (AMPC)

We have a mandate on the face of the earth assigned by the Master of the house.

It is not our place to compare ourselves as vessels of honour. There is enough room for all of us. It does not matter what vessel you think you are. Our diversity empowers us.   

We need to show the multifaceted faces and dimensions of Christ because we are all unique and different, expressing Christ differently.

It is people that do not know or understand their mandate who compete with each other.

For every vessel of honour, there is a mandate to win souls for the Kingdom of God.

And when Jesus heard it, He said to them, Those who are strong and well have no need of a physician, but those who are weak and sick; I came not to call the righteous ones to repentance, but sinners (the erring ones and all those not free from sin).

 Mark 2:17 (AMPC)

Christ’s mandate was clear. We are to do greater works than Him.  

Our diversity is our greatest asset as a kingdom community.

We need to see Christian diversity in its plurality but still see the singularity of our purpose and mission in Christ. This will be the only way to get to the place of glory as believers. Comparison is what kills the mission.

To people, vessels are things to use and dump but to God vessels are precious. 

Wrong affiliations in our walk of faith can rid us of our honour e.g. Samson, Dinah, Jehoshaphat.

Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honour, but was allied [by marriage] with Ahab.

2 Chronicles 18:1 AMPC

After this, Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly. He joined him in building ships to go to Tarshish, building them in Ezion-geber. Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because you have joined Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy your works. So the ships were wrecked and unable to go to Tarshish. 

2 Chronicles 20:35-37 (AMPC)

In earlier chapters, Jehoshaphat was a man of honour. .

And Hezekiah had very great wealth and honour, and he made for himself treasuries for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and all kinds of attractive vessels. Storehouses also for the increase of grain, vintage fruits, and oil, and stalls for all kinds of cattle, and sheepfolds. Moreover, he provided for himself cities and flocks and herds in abundance, for God had given him very great possessions. This same Hezekiah also closed the upper springs of Gihon and directed the waters down to the west side of the City of David.

And Hezekiah prospered in all his works. And so in the matter of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon who were sent to him to inquire about the wonder that was done in the land, God left him to himself to try him, that He might know all that was in his heart. Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his good deeds, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. And Hezekiah slept with his fathers and was buried in the ascent of the tombs of the descendants of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honour at his death. Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.

 2 Chronicles 32:27-33 (AMPC)

God will test you to see if you have honour in your heart. We cannot want glory and not want God in all His fullness. There is no glory without God. 

When men prescribe to you your value they can take it away. When God crowns you with glory and affirms you, no one can take it away. It is better to be called nothing by men, but be called a vessel of honour by God.

You cannot separate having a heart of love from serving from a heart of honour. What transforms a heart of dishonour to a heart of honour is accessing the heart of God.

Two vessels may look alike in a house but can serve different purposes.

Paul, an apostle (special messenger) of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus. 

2 Timothy 1:1 (AMPC)

And the servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome (fighting and contending). Instead, he must be kindly to everyone and mild-tempered [preserving the bond of peace]; he must be a skilled and suitable teacher, patient and forbearing and willing to suffer wrong.

 2 Timothy 2:24 (AMPC)

If we do not walk in endurance, there are people who will miss out on salvation because we give up on them easily. In the same way, you were once evil before God saved you, you also need to respond in love, kindness and endurance to them that are lost.

He must correct his opponents with courtesy and gentleness, in the hope that God may grant that they will repent and come to know the Truth [that they will perceive and recognize and become accurately acquainted with and acknowledge it]. 

2 Timothy 2:25 (AMPC)

There must be gentleness in correction. Your gentleness might win a soul over. We must espouse Nathan’s approach with King David after which there was genuine repentance.

Glory will cost you everything because it cost Christ everything when He was on earth. We need to guard ourselves from unnecessary battles that do not glorify God.

Remind [the people] of these facts and [solemnly] charge them in the presence of the Lord to avoid petty controversy over words, which does no good but upsets and undermines the faith of the hearers. Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth. But avoid all empty (vain, useless, idle) talk, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness. 

2 Timothy 2:14-16 (AMPC)

As believers, we are both tools of reconciliation and warfare. You cannot wage warfare from a place of rest if you doubt your identity, your call and purpose.

God desires for us to be set apart for Him. It is not about how well we preach or the buildings we build. It’s about being in a place of honour with God. We should leave behind an imprint of the nature of God. God’s affirmation is the one we should strive for.

I have fought the good (worthy, honourable, and noble) fight, I have finished the race, I have kept (firmly held) the faith. [As to what remains] henceforth there is laid up for me the [victor’s] crown of righteousness [for being right with God and doing right], which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me and recompense me on that great] day—and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved and yearned for and welcomed His appearing (His return). 

2 Timothy 4:7-8 (AMPC)

It was the encounter that Saul had with Christ that impacted him as a vessel more than the time he sat under Gamaliel.

We need to serve in the house on the Lord’s terms not ours.

The end game of being made vessels of honour is to serve the Lord’s pleasure. There is an accountability required for our salvation. If we desire for glory to be found within us, we must allow God to have His way with us.

For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which exhales] unto God, [discernible alike] among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing: To the latter it is an aroma [wafted] from death to death [a fatal odor, the smell of doom]; to the former it is an aroma from life to life [a vital fragrance, living and fresh]. And who is qualified (fit and sufficient) for these things? [Who is able for such a ministry? We?] For we are not, like so many, [like hucksters making a trade of] peddling God’s Word [shortchanging and adulterating the divine message]; but like [men] of sincerity and the purest motive, as [commissioned and sent] by God, we speak [His message] in Christ (the Messiah), in the [very] sight and presence of God. 

2 Corinthians 2:15-17 (AMPC)

Everything God is asking of us, He is asking for a reason. In your obedience you will experience your fair share of grace.

God is after vessels of honour not just a vessel. There is room for all of us in the Master’s house. Our diversity will bring honour to the Father if we serve in unity.