God's Willing Vessel
"As the heavens as higher than the earth, so are my ways
higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
Isaiah 55:9
For a long time, I used to think God would never use me because
I was not "perfect". I had done so much wrong in my earlier
days, that even as a new Born-Again Spirit-Filled Christian
I felt that God would not use me as a servant for Him.
God will use any imperfect vessels, like you and me. No matter
who you are, if you will yield your spirit and life to the
Lord, you will become a vessel that God will delighfully use.
God looks at the heart of a person. He is not concerned with
what's on the outside of you. He is more interested with the
inside of you...your heart and soul. If that heart and soul
WANTS to do those things which are good, then God will use you.
But, there will be requirements. Being a "willing" vessel is
the first step of all of the requirements. When you are
willing to do what God has for you to do, then the rest will
be common ground for you. But, I will not say it will be easy.
Let's first look at Moses. Do you think he was perfect? What
about David? Ooooh, now he really got under God's skin. And
what about Jesus' Disciples...surely they were not perfect
men, were they? Why some of them could tell the biggest
stories! But, they were all willing to please Jesus. Once they
got themselves 'out of the way' that is.
The first requirement to being a willing vessel for God, is
to accept the way God made you. Oh, you might say, you did
this or that before you became a Christian and you feel that
you just 'barely' got saved. There is no 'barely' to it.
Either you did, or you didn't. And if you did, then a change
will take place in your life. One of these changes is the fact
that you no longer want to do those things that you did in the
past. You must give the past to Jesus. Understand that you are
a child of God and that you are a new creation, redeemed by
the blood of Jesus. God will help to make those changes in you
if you give your life to Him. The inward changes will come
first. The outward changes God will take care of later. Letting
go of any pain from the past that you may have is a big
requirement. This comes with accepting the way God made you.
"But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance
or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not
look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward
appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
1 Samuel 16:7
The second requirement is to be emptied of self. Remove all
selfishness and make room for God. Let go of all the things
that YOU want to do, and fill yourself with what God wants you
to do. Pray over all those things that you want and ask God to
replace those things with things that He wants you to do. Let
God show you what you need to let go of. Embrace God's will
for your life and then wait on HIS timing. Waiting on His
timing is the key. Think about this: Would you jump off a
diving board, just because you knew how, when there wasn't
any water in the pool? Duhh! I don't think so! So wait on God,
and he will fill the pool with water when it's time to jump!
Now we come to the toughest requirement of being a willing
vessel: cleansing. Cleansing comes with confessing our sins to
God. Don't allow unconfessed sin to rot inside you. Most
always there are consequences which come with wallowing in
unconfessed sin. Has a friend ever came to you and told you
something that you were doing was just not right? Did you go
off in a 'huff' and walk away? Sometimes our friends can be
THE one to help us see the wrong we are doing. Read 2 Samuel
12:1-14 and see what happened to David. Don't be caught with
unconfessed sin in your heart. Pray and give in to the Holy
Spirit. Give it all to God so He may cleanse you.
"Be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms,
hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart
to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for
everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Ephesians 5:18-20
Being filled with the Spirit of God is the fourth requirement
in becoming a vessel that God will use. How do you get filled,
you ask? By reading God's Word, praying and singing spiritual
songs unto God. Doctrines, habits, rituals or traditions are
not enough. We must fill ourselves with God's Living Water by
abiding in the Almighty God. We must also be filled with love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control.
What? All of those, you say?! Sounds like the fruits of the
Spirit to me! Let me ask you this...Was Rome built in one
day? Of course not! Neither will you be filled with all of
these in one day. It is a daily learning of God's Word, daily
absorbing, daily studying. Be sure that while you are aborbing,
you always give back to God and His people what you, yourself
have learned. This is very important.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord,
"plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future.
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me,
and I will listen to you.
You will seek Me and find Me
when you seek Me with all your heart."
Jeremiah 29:11-13
The fifth, and final, requirement of being a willing vessel,
is giving of yourself in ministry as the Lord God directs. Be
responsive to God's directions. Pour yourself into other
peoples needs. Be willing to minister to others as God directs
you to. Don't let anything be a motive for yourself. Don't
witness to others, because of pride. Don't serve others
because someone will admire you. Don't go to church just out
of habit. And please, don't pray, just to get what you want.
We are leaving God out of our lives when we are doing things
out of the wrong motive. Always listen to what God is telling
you BEFORE you go and do. Make sure it's God telling you to do
something, and just because YOU want to something.
The first biggest step in being a vessel that God can use,
is to just be willing.
If you would like to know more about becoming a willing
vessel, I highly suggest purchasing the book, "Becoming A
Vessel God Can Use" by Donna Partow.
Please Note: The lovely red rose divider bar
used between paragraphs is not a creation of
Graphics by Peg. This site's webmaster does not
know who to credit for that lovely graphic.
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