Vessels:
(author unknown)
THE VESSEL OF HONOR
"The most purchased vessel in the potter's yard, the vessel of honor, fulfilled an important role in every household. Every day it was filled at the well or brook with fresh water to serve the family and any guests coming into the home... the jar was placed on a stand usually just beside the door. It was an earthen jar and its main use was to quench thirst."
"God has placed vessels of honor within every church. they are those who have found their source of fullness, who go daily to the streams of refreshing water for a new supply. They know the way to the wellspring of wholeness and are ready to share that supply with anyone who asks... Jesus saw Himself as a vessel of honor. the life-giving thirst-quenching water He offered was Himself."
THE VESSEL OF MERCY
"The vessel of mercy looked like and was a vessel of honor in appearance. Though it too was filled with fresh spring water from the wall... [it] was taken into the center of the city to provide water for strangers."
"The significance of the vessel of mercy lies in its easy accessibility. Carry the water of life to your job site. Vessels of mercy are not afraid of action. They meet the challenge and bloom where they are planted. They can turn a garbage can into a victory garden."
THE CHOSEN VESSEL
"There was no distinctive design given to the chosen vessel. Its strength and beauty were known to the potter alone. The chosen vessel was the best work the potter could produce. It was handled differently -- kept out of view. The potter knows the vessel will never bring him shame no matter where it might go. It's the best his hands can make. Thus, he alone chooses the vessel."
"If God singles you out to be a chosen vessel, He will also provide you with a special grace. For, with the calling to be a chosen vessel comes the need for a stricter discipline and a more intense commitment than is required of other vessels. When God forges character, He cuts deeply. I have found that God's intention is to take from our hearts everything that we love most. Everything we trust in, everything that might compete with God, must be chiseled away. Essentially they are concerned, loving, God-filled human beings who are available and touchable. Chosen vessels know they are clay."
THE CLEAN VESSEL
"When turned by the potter, the clean vessel was made to be a vessel of honor. It was designed for the service of pouring out for others. But frequent use marred and soiled the vessel. Its beauty faded beneath the touch of many hands. In essence it became a second-class vessel both in appearance and service."
FOUR-STEP CLEANING PROCESS TO RETURN TO SERVICE
1. Emptied - nothing can remain inside - honest, hard self-evaluation. It's still the truth that sets us free.
2. Scraped with strong brushes and files - produces humility. Let us then learn silence. God's raking does not need explanation, it needs repentance.
3. Restoration to fix and re-file the lip - so the vessel can pour correctly. Because much use has widened the vessel's mouth, the lip must be reshaped.
4. Fired again - we are again ready for the fresh supply of life-giving water.
THE VESSEL OF DISHONOR
"...the Judean garbage can. Though it had been fashioned to be a vessel of honor, it became pock-marked in the fire. Air in the clay, or some other flaw... It wasn't the lack of skill on the potter's part, but some gritty substance that refused to yield. Used for two purposes: for leftovers or used water on the bench at the front door, or as a container set apart for the slop."
"Vessels of dishonor are self-appointed vessels. A careless tongue, lack of wisdom and openness to the garbage of others separates them to degeneracy."
THE BROKEN VESSEL
"It's clay could not or would not take the heat. Although the fie of the kiln usually produced durability in vessels, in the broken vessel, it produced a crack - usually around the lip."
"God wants vessels of strength. We are plagued by angry attitudes, and our obedience in times of stress is woefully lacking. The potter would crush a tick-like insect and mix its blood with clay powder. The Cross of Calvary provides a glue that works effectively and uniquely in the lives of broken people."
"After a vessel that had broken in the fire was remolded with the blood mixture, it was placed right back into the same fire that had cracked it. The potter repeated the procedure again and again, as often as was necessary to save the vessel. Only after the vessel had been re-fired and came from the kiln uncracked was it released for service."
THE VESSEL OF WRATH
"When a broken vessel refuses to accept the blood, it becomes a vessel of wrath. There is no honor or joy for the potter in this vessel."
"When God puts a man into the fire to be tested, He goes into the fire with him. [Is 32:1,2] God takes us through the fire, not around it. To be with God in the midst of trouble is far better than to avoid trouble, but lack His presence... it entails voluntary suffering."