|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FROM THE
PASTOR’S DESK Pastor Randy Barnett, Oklahoma |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
THIS TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS Read our text passage, which is II Corinthians
4. The apostle Paul here delivers sound doctrine for us, truths that
can have a great effect on our lives. For that reason, we are compelled
to feed upon it and grow thereby. Now look closely at verses 6-7. Paul
speaks here of a treasure. This treasure is apparently something each
of us who knows Jesus possesses; we know this because he uses the pronoun
“we” as he relates this truth. So, from this you can understand that God has
placed what He considers to be a treasure within you. Our task is to discover what this
treasure is and what it means to us. Verse 6 holds a key for us. God,
whom we know spoke light into existence, (Genesis 1:3) is also the One that
has called for light to be shone into our hearts; this is the light of truth
or knowledge, as Paul puts it. This knowledge has brought to us the
glory of God. We can get a picture in our minds of how this glory looks
by the description of the face of Moses after he came down from Mount Sinai.
(Exodus 34:29-30) Please remember that Paul is saying that you who are
born again by the Spirit of God have this same glory Moses had and the same
glory that was upon the face of Jesus. (see Isaiah 60 for further insights
into the glory of God) The treasure Paul refers to in this
passage is the literal anointing of God. The anointing is something
that is supernatural in power. You cannot see it, but you can see the effects
of it. It is the means by which Jesus heals the sick, raises the dead,
walks on water, and changes water into wine. The anointing is the power
of God at work on the earth to carry out the will of God. It is
important to remind yourself at this point that as we discuss this tremendous
power that you not lose sight of the truth that you too possess this power,
if Jesus lives within you! As you finish reading verse 7 of our
text passage, you will discover why you possess this powerful force called
the anointing. God has chosen to distribute His power on the earth
through the most unlikely vessels - us. He did not choose golden or
platinum vases to carry His glory. The vessels God chooses are, as Paul
puts it, “…earthen vessels…” One might ask, “Why did God choose just
plain, everyday folks like you and me to handle such a divine task as
carrying His glory?” The answer to this question is found in this 7th
verse: “…that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”
In other words, He wanted to make certain that the vessel did not receive
glory, but that whatever He did through His saints would cause glory to be
directed towards Him. One can see that God has developed these
vessels for this divine task to be ordinary people. But not everyone is
qualified to be one of these vessels of the glory of God. No, only those who
are sanctified by God and set apart and deemed holy enough for such a
glorious purpose. The fact is, we seldom feel very holy because we are
all too aware of our own carnal tendencies and fleshly weaknesses. But
this personal knowledge does not change the reality of this lofty calling to
which we are called by God – to be carriers of His glory. Verses 8 and 9 aptly describe our
humanness as Paul recounts how we are hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted,
and carrying about death in our physical bodies. But he also rightly
points out that these things do not prevent us from our appointed task of distributing
and displaying the glory of God. We can understand from this passage
that neither our humanity nor the challenges we face can keep us from
adequately functioning in our divine calling. For that we should give
God praise! The tendency of most Christians is to
spend far too much time worried and concerned about themselves. Now
read verses 16-18. Here you are told the obvious, that your outward man
(physical body) is perishing. It is prone to weakness, fatigue, and it
ultimately will even die. But God wants you to focus on what is inside
– that treasure that is within you. The outward challenges you face
are, as Paul puts it: “…light affliction…” This means they are not
worthy of undue concern or anxiety. In fact, we are told here that
these things that seem to be hard and painful are actually producing in us,
“…a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” With each
victory over these hard things, God is glorified as others see us strong and
unmoved by them. Perhaps verse 18 holds an important key
for you. It discusses what things command your attention. Paul
tells you that it is not good to focus on what you can actually see. He
knows that these things are subject to change. This is because the anointing
of God that is within you is more powerful than whatever it is that is
confronting you! Praise God! The truth is: whatever you focus on
will determine the outcome of the challenge you face. If your focus
remains on Jesus, He will cause you to be victorious. On the other
hand, if you focus on all that is wrong and hurtful, that is what will become
foremost in your mind, and it will ultimately create death or destruction to
some area of your life. Keep your eyes on Jesus and see that treasure
within you cause victory! Now let’s discuss how you can
practically apply what you have learned in this simple lesson on the treasure
that is within you. The anointing is what God uses to carry
out His will, as you have learned; therefore, once you know the will of God
on any given subject, you can apply His anointing that is within you to that
situation and you will see His divine will unfold on your behalf. For example, what would you do if you
just learned that your employer was going out of business and would be
shutting down the office in which you work? First of all, you would remind yourself
that what you focus on is very important. Paul admonishes you to set
your focus on Jesus, not on the challenge itself. As you can imagine,
if you were to lose a job you had had for 15 years, it would be traumatic in
the natural. But, you are not in the natural nor are you limited to
natural principles; as a child of God, you operate in the supernatural realm
due to the powerful anointing that is within you. So, the first thing
to do is to avoid the temptation to allow the problem to become all
encompassing. How do you focus on Jesus? You
focus on Him as you immerse yourself in the Word of God. He is the
Word. (John 1:14) This immersion into the Bible will do two things: 1. It will give you a clear understanding
what the will of God is concerning your life and even your employment, 2. It will begin to renew your mind, giving you strength
and wisdom to face the present challenge. Knowing what God thinks on a particular
subject can mean the difference between victory and defeat to you. When
you know that God wants you to prosper, (III John 2) and that He has promised
to bless the work of your hands in all that you do, (Deuteronomy 28:1-14) it
begins to build faith in you that regardless of the job layoff, God will
cause wonderful things to happen for you with a brand new, better job.
When you understand that He promises to surround you with favor (Psalm 5:12),
you will approach that prospective employer with a new confidence and even
boldness that will impress him and cause him to lean toward you in his hiring
decision. That’s the way it works! The next thing you should do is to begin
to immediately release the power of God into your situation. How is
this done? Let’s return to our text passage and look in verse 13.
Paul declares, “…I believed and therefore I spoke…” The faith of
God within him empowered him to not only believe God but to speak what He has
said to him in the Word. The speaking of the Word is key to releasing
the power that is within it. Using the promises of God, you might want to
make this confession: (see the confession in the box at the left) Do you see that I took Scripture verses
and fashioned them into a prayer of confession? This is what you must
do. Use the Word to bring about God’s will in your life. I simply
used the powerful anointing that is within me to implement the next stage in
the plan of God for my life. That anointing empowered me to
believe. It enables me to speak in faith. And, it will bring
about that which I have spoken, to the glory of Jesus Christ. Your new job is on the way! However,
the timing is up to God. That is why Paul wrote what he did in
Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due
season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” Don’t give up before the promise
manifests into the blessing. Keep confessing; keep believing.
Your Father is faithful to His word and He will cause it to happen.
When it does happen and you are enjoying the fruits of that new job, give God
glory for it by telling everyone you see that God has done this wonderful
thing for you. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
