Vessels of Honor

9/12/10 Sunday Mornings - Thanh Tran

2 Timothy 2:21-26
²¹If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
 ²²Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. ²³Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. ²⁴And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. ²⁵Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

Purity (v. 21-22)
Desiring to be a honorable person before the Lord means desiring to be pure before Him. The people that God chooses to use are holy and pure people. God doesn't seek people who are well trained, but people who are pure vessels. Striving for holiness and purity is something that will allow God to use us for his work.

But how do we cleanse ourselved from impurities and maintain that holiness? Simple. Run away from evil, and run toward the things of God. Flee from "youthful lusts" and run after faith and righteousness. Surround yourself with the company of other christians so that you can run with people who will encourage you.

Manifestation of Spiritual Discernment (v. 23)
We have to have the ability to understand what is right and what is wrong. You are no longer a "container" filled with knowledge, but a representative who is able to use that knowledge. There are many people out in the world who love to argue and to prove themselves. We are not to take part in those useless quarrels. They lead to nothing and edify no one.

Gentleness (v. 24)
When we talk to people, we should approach them with a tone of gentlness. We shouldn't be people who pick fights and love to quarrel, but people who are able to teach. People will receive more when we speak to them with gentleness, not when we speak with resentfulness.

Humility (v. 25)
Being humble is not neing weak. Jesus was humble but He sure wasn't weak. Being humble is not about winning arguments but about winning people to Christ. Humbleness give us the ability to correct people and draw them near to to God. We want to show people love and bring them to Jesus, not push them further away.

Compassion (v. 26)
As vessels of honor, we need to recognize that the people who approach us with quarrels and bitterness, are truely hiding themselves underneath a mask. Underneath the masks are hurting people who have been captured by the devil. These people have stayed away from God and developed a coldness. If we realize this and have compassion then someone's life can be changed. Take the life of Jesus for example. Every time Jesus did anything for people stemmed from His heart of compassion. Jesus knew the people were lost and confused. We should act with the compassion that Jesus had.

If we walk this life in purity, righteousness, gentleness, humbleness and compassion, we can become vessels of honor.