Vessels of Clay

Anytime Apple releases a new product there are people buy it as early as possible, and then jump on the internet and give a review of … the packaging.

They ooh and awe over every aspect of the packaging.

They show the sleek plastic shrink wrap.

They point out the clean design of the box and the minimalistic writing on it.

They point out the simplicity of the design.

They carefully slice through the shrink wrap, the way a skilled baker slices through a wedding cake.

Being careful not to unnecessarily rip the wrapping.

They roll back the wrap, till they get to the seams of the box itself.

They carefully open the lid.

And there you see the product, the $1500 laptop.

This they carefully pull out … and push aside, because they’re not looking at that, they’re looking at the box.

They look at the placement of the instruction manual.

Their eyes feast on where the headphones are placed in the box, and how the power cord is elegantly wrapped.

They note that every part of the packaging has a specific home for every part of the product.

The whole process is ridiculous, because you didn’t spend $1500 to look at a box.

You bought it for the computer.

If you understand the misguidedness of the unboxing video of an apple product, then you can understand why Paul wrote this part of II Corinthians.

He was writing to a church that was more interested in the packaging then the treasure within it.

Paul had originally spent 2 years preaching in Corinth, establishing the church.

After he left, the church fell under the influence of false teachers.

They were proud about their sin.

They were proud of their gifts.

It was all about the individual.

And so, after being deceived by false teachers, Paul wrote his first letter to them, I Corinthians to correct their errors.

The letter was hard hitting.

It poked them in their eyes, and stepped on lots of toes.

Paul himself, was small man.

A weak man.

Frequently sick and ill.

Not a very powerful speaker.

And so, after teh letter, the relationship between him and Corinth was tested.

They started following super-apostles.

Men with greater influence.

Louder voices.

And stronger speeches.

They looked at the outside, and thought pretty packaging could make up for what the inside lacked.

And so, Paul writes II Corinthians almost as a biography.

A defense of his apostleship.

Trying to show, that though he is weaker, and not as entertaining as the super-apostle, his ministry is greater.

So he begins by spotlighting the treasure

He begins verse 7 by saying, “But we have this treasure ...”

What is the treasure?

It’s not the packaging.

It’s what’s in the packaging.

Going back to , he says, “”Therefore, since we have this ministry ...”

Verse 5 he says, “For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord ...”

This is the treasure.

Paul’s ministry is the treasure.

And what is his ministry?

The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Good News.

The announcement that there is peace with God in Christ Jesus.

When there is good news people want to hear it.

Your wife is pregnant, it’s a blessing; we want to hear it; you announce it.

When the baby is born, it’s a blessing; we want to hear it; you announce it.

The battle took place at Marathon

The wages of sin is paid for, we can be with God … we want to hear it; you announce it.

talks of this wonderful ministry of preaching the good news, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”

And so Paul’s ministry is a treasure, because his ministry is announcing the gospel.

And the same goes for any of us who have the privilege of serving the Lord.

Which, if you’ve been paying attention for the past 12 weeks you would know is what all Christians are to do.

We all are to serve.

We all have this treasure.

In your life, in your possession, you have the greatest treasure there is.

You have been immensely blessed by God.

Don’t ever say God hasn’t blessed you, because if you are a Christian, you have the greatest treasure there is.

And so we go into this world, we wake up every morning knowing this.

You may have a rough day ahead of you at work.

The fridge may be freaking out.

The cat got sick in the middle of the night … in your shoes.

But you have the Gospel.

Eternal life is better.

Peace with God is better.

We have this treasure.

It’s not as if the package isn’t worth noting.

Apple Computer wants you to see their packaging.

It does look nice.

And it’s worth admiring.

At the same time, we have a treasure, and we are the packaging.

So let’s look at the packaging of this treasure.

In , it records Gideon and his attack upon the Midianites.

In that attack, God had winnowed Gideon’s army from 22,000 men to only 300.

They were to surround the Midian camp.

Not only was the army rather small, but the army wasn’t equipped for battle.

God had them stand outside the Midian camp, and they only thing they had for the battle was a trumpet in one hand, and a clay pitcher in the other.

Inside the clay pitcher was a torch.

And when the order was given, the 300 men were to smash their clay pitchers, display the torches, and cry out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”

Those clay pitchers were supposed to be a package for the light.

And when the time came, those weak clay pitchers could be easily crushed, and the light from the torch would shine out.

That is the ministry that we have.

One verse previous in our text in II Corinthians, in verse 6, Paul says, “For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

And in the same way, we act as clay pitchers, clay pots, to hold onto the Gospel and shine it out into the world around us.

But that packaging … it’s weak.

He says we are earthen vessels, or jars of clay.

We are weak vessels meant to contain the light and shine when the hour is needed.

In biblical days there were different types of jars.

There were metal ones.

These could be repaired and fixed if they got dinged.

They were fixable.

Then there were glass jars.

These though fragile, could be recycled.

If they were broken, you could melt the glass down and use the materials over again.

But then there were the clay jars.

These weren’t as nice as the other options.

They weren’t fixable.

They weren’t recyclable.

They were trashable.

They were simply thrown away.

Now occasionally these clay jars would contain a true treasure.

Jesus alluded to this treasure in the parable of a treasure in a field.

, “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

Occasionally, you might find a treasure in a clay jar, and that was surprising.

Which is why what happened in 1946ish was such a great surprise.

In 1946, the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.

There was an extinct Jewish community that was found in the desert.

In the ruins of this community were fragments of the Old Testament found in clay jars.

So occasionally you’d find a real treasure in a clay jar.

But as a whole, these jars weren’t for noble purposes.

They were for waste.

They were used as trash cans.

They were used as toilets.

Paul isn’t saying, you are made of the finest material, and a treasure.

Paul is saying, we are earthen vessels.

We are jars of clay.

We are toilets

This will wreak havoc on the self-esteem movement won’t it.

You’re not a unique snowflake.

You’re a toilet.

And this brings us the humility that we need in life.

Growing up we had the normal silverware.

Then we had the fancy silverware.

The fancy silverware was made of real silver.

We used it for special occasions:

Thanksgiving

Easter

Christmas

Family get togethers.

And anytime we pulled out the fancy silverware, my job was to polish the silverware.

I’d take the silverware and piece by piece, dip it in some chemical that made it all shiny and new.

I’m sure the chemical was poisonous and known to cause cancer.

But it was 1980 something, and it was still legal to ride in the back of pick up trucks, so really how dangerous was some silver polish on bare skin?

At home we have a hutch in our living room that has the fancy plates.

It’s got the crystal and the princess house plates.

We use these on special occasions.

God is doing something great in this world.

And He has entrusted the Gospel to His creation.

But who has He entrusted it to?

If we were plates and silverware, who has he entrusted it to?

Not to the fancy crystal plates or the shiny silverware.

He’s entrusted the Gospel to:

The cheapest paper plates.

You know the ones with the crinkly edges that you have to take 2 or 3 of so the plate doesn’t fold over when you use it?

He’s entrusted the Gospel to:

The cheapest silverware there is, the sporks from KFC.

Why do we need to hear this?

Because we are prone to pride.

Like those unboxing videos where the people that get more excited about the packaging than the product inside the box, we get more excited about the vessel then the treasure inside it.

We tend to think that we are more than we are.

That we are on display.

All things work for our glory.

What is man?

Man is weak.

says, “You turn man back into dust And say, “Return, O children of men.” For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it passes by, Or as a watch in the night. You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep; In the morning they are like grass which sprouts anew. In the morning it flourishes and sprouts anew; Toward evening it fades and withers away.”

The phrase at funerals used to be, “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”

Why?

Because we were formed from the dust and God breathed life into that dust.

We are dust.

You ever seen the remains of someone that’s been cremated?

It’s just coarse sand and dust.

And what is the life span of a man?

It’s relatively brief.

I love flowers, I like roses.

But the life of a rose is pretty quick.

It’s there, then it’s gone.

Just like the life of a man.

I went to the funeral of a man who was 41 years old just a little over a week ago.

So young.

And even among men, among our equals, what are we.

Let’s be honest, we aren’t the best.

As I look across this room, I don’t see:

The coolest people there are.

We aren’t the smartest.

We aren’t the most musical, or the most talented.

We aren’t the best speakers.

We aren’t the strongest.

But that doesn’t mean God messed up when He chose you.

says, “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.”

God hasn’t chosen the best and the strongest.

Why?

So that He would be put on display.

I do know this, though the packaging might be weak, God knows what He was doing when He picked you to be the holder of the treasure of the Gospel.

And what an honor that is.

As we talk about having

It’s the treasure, it’s the Gospel that is the substance.

The purpose of the packaging is to put the power of God on display.

When I look at the outside of a products box, it’s supposed to sell the product inside of it.

The packaging is to make what’s inside seem wonderful.

In addition to selling the product, the packaging is supposed to keep the product inside of it safe.

There are special molded areas to keep the laptop from sliding around inside of it.

But it’s all so that the product itself would be the spotlight.

In the same way, we have this treasure, in clay jars, our body, and why is that?

Paul says, “So that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God.”

So that God’s power would be on display.

Less than 2 weeks ago, a French cyclist, named Cyril Fontayne, was convicted of fraud.

He was convicted in a court of criminal charges.

Not like Lance Armstrong for taking performance enhancing drugs.

But because he hid a motor inside the frame of his bike.

He’s 43 years old, and has been racing a while.

He recently started flying while going up hills.

It was noticed that he has been going up faster then he ever did before, and suspicions were raised.

It turns out, that a motor was hid inside the frame of his bike, and one of his water bottles was hiding a battery for that motor.

People started saying, “Something fishy is going on. He’s appearing too strong for his frame and his history.”

Understand, something similar is going on with the Christian; only it’s not illegal.

What are we?

Earthen vessels.

And particularly weak ones at that.

And what has happened?

God has put His Holy Spirit within us.

He has gifted us with a spiritual gift.

And this gift is not something that you can buy.

It’s not something that you pick.

You don’t get to go to a career day, or a spiritual gift day, and say, “Here’s the spiritual gift I’m going to pick for myself.”

This gift is given to you by the Holy Spirit as He chooses to give.

And the result is that these weak bodies somehow are incredibly productive.

Just like Fontayne, who was somehow able to go up hills faster then he should.

The Church is moving forward.

Think of the history of the church.

It began with Jesus and his 12 rather inept disciples.

Mostly fisherman.

Not trained in starting churches.

Then on Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit was given, to the church, 3,000 people were saved in one day.

By the end of it says that the Lord was adding to the church day by day.

As the New Testament progresses, the church spread.

It expanded beyond Jerusalem.

It went into Asia Minor, Southern Europe.

In , these weak and inefficient Christians were accused of turning the world upside down.

And today, there are Christians on every continent of the world.

They’ve even expanded to this little street called Del Rio Road in Temecula, California.

And that little church on Del Rio goes out into the neighborhoods and the mall and even to the Czech Republic, sharing the treasure of the Gospel.

And when people wonder how we exist.

When people wonder how we are as active as we are.

The answer isn’t found in our skill, it’s found in the surpassing greatness of the power of God.

We are going uphill faster than we should be.

Why?

Because of the power of the Holy Spirit within us.

This is why I desire for you to know your gifts and to put them to action.

Because when you know your gift, then you can be a steward of that gift, and then others can see the Spirit of God working in you, and then give Him glory.

Lastly, Spotlight the Treasure

We as a body need to be in agreement on something and that is we are not on display.

We are the packaging that spotlights the treasure.

We are here to spotlight the glory and the power of God.

The moon doesn’t shine on it’s own.

Where does it get it’s light?

It’s reflecting the light from the sun.

And you do not shine on your own, you are reflecting the power of God.

Therefore, we are to spotlight the glory and the power of God.

When we serve, there is no room for selfishness.

As people serve and as you watch others grow, there will be a temptation for jealousy.

There will be a temptation to look to others being used by the Lord and to be jealous of them.

You may wish that you were recognized like them, credited like them, seen like them, thanked like them, and known like them.

That is not the purpose of this.

We must remember what we are.

We are just the packaging, a vessel, a container to proclaim the great power of God.

Which is a great reminder of who God is using.

God isn’t using the perfect person.

He’s not using the one who has no flaws.

He’s not using the one who is sinless.

God is using those who have sinned.

He’s using those that quality control would have thrown out.

As we sit here and talk about God using people, you may sit there and think I’m talking to everyone but you.

You may think I’m talking just to the super religious.

A casual flip through the Bible will show you that God uses the unlikely, to display His surpassing greatness.

He used an:

Idolatrous Abraham

Unpredictable Jacob

And Proud Joseph.

Angry Moses

Prostitute Rahab

Small and young David.

Unpredictable Jacob

And Proud Joseph.

What are you?

A liar?

A thief?

Sexually immoral?

Blasphemer?

I promise you, that the grace of God is put on display in someone like you.

Paul said he was the chief of sinners.

In fact, you could even say, that the worse you are … the more God is glorified because it shows the type of people He is saving, and the type of people He is using.

There is no sin that will disqualify you from the forgiveness of God.

So let me ask you, what kind of vessel are you?

Dear Christians, are you pointing people to the treasure?

Perhaps today is the day for you to finally surrender to the greatness of the power of God, and for Him to do a work in you.

It would be wonderful, if today, you finally became a vessel that knew the treasure of the Gospel.