Unlikely Vessel

The year was 2013, Dori Rhodes and her family decided it was time to make a little extra cash so they cleaned out the closets they really get rid of some junk that's right it was time for them to have a yard sale as her family began to pilot all the things they were collecting in their small garage things are piling up in Dori realized I really have any of my own stuff in the pile.

Perkins look at her and said mom you got a lot of junk. Why is it your stuff in this pile to fair question.

Dori realize she shook it should contribute as well soap up the stairs.

She goes where she grabs a few things and puts them in the pile more of those items was an old denim jacket. No big deal just your normal run-of-the-mill John Moeller asked denim jacket, knowing she had worn in a while and that just like everything in America these days.

What was once in style went out of style and will come back in style again.

She threw it in the pile, knowing full well that a millennial would come along and they buy soap at some point the morning. The garage still gets going and she starts haggling back and forth with the young guy like she was asking a whopping $25 for the jacket. Now the buyer thought himself.

That price is way too steep for a yard sale item cake even guys like I want nothing to do with that. Dori starts working a deal with the guy so she gets it down to though whopping price of $20 boom she sells the jacket the old rickety jacket for how much money 20 bucks she was pumped. She had finally got rid of some junk and she made some cash in the process now.

It wasn't until later on during that afternoon when she realized she had just made the biggest mistake of her life. Why, what, well, like many of us. Dori had some fears.

What are some your greatest fears.

I'll tell you some of my greatest fears cake number one snakes playing and simple. I hate snakes. If I if I came across a snake.

I would stomp on it said because I believe that's what God would want all of us to do. Okay now Dori Dori had a legitimate fear is well one of her biggest fears was that someone would come to her house and steal her stuff so like anyone with that kind of fear. She wanted to ensure that she kept her valuables in a place that even a possible thief would never think to look so Shirley the pockets of an old denim jacket would be the perfect hiding spot for I don't know her diamond earrings, a wedding ring and some cash to achieve and save not surprise her family with for a vacation that day. Dori Road sold her old rickety denim jacket for a whopping $20. The contents that were inside the pocket valued upwards of $20,000. People have a tendency to hide treasures in places that are strange unlikely shoeboxes underwear drawers behind books on a bookshelf in the pockets of old denim jackets something of great value to you being stored in an on likely place that what getting ready to say to you, may be the biggest understatement of the century. But can we all disagree that 20/20 has been up weird year right. I mean, like the normal rhythms of your life have been shaken up.

I mean your parents are always yelling you to get out the phone turn off the computer quit playing video games. But this year there like whatever it takes to get you out of my hair for a few minutes just go go and get online that's fine with me. That's weird right.

The parents have been watching kids school sports games on at the beginning of 2020. It was toilet paper that was the most impossible thing to find. And now, at the end of the year. You know it's really hard to find a live Christmas tree is been a crazy year to perfect had to switch things up for a while I thought those guys were untouchable. And you got all the way back to the beginning of the year in January. Kobe Bryant died still in shock. Weird days. My friends weird days now. What if, through the chaos of 2020. God has been at work underneath the layers of all this chaos, where he's been shaping you preparing changing you an unlikely vessel with an unrivaled message to make the name of Jesus famous with your life.

The book of second Corinthians. The apostle Paul is writing another letter to followers of Jesus in a city called Corinth.

Now these people are people that Paul really cares about.

But man they are given mom and Paul some serious heartburn because of people.

I got your life. I have three of them. Okay, there ages 12, nine and seven Holt Annie and Parks. I love them. But man they can really just crush me sometimes to the Corinthians are those people for Paul.

They have started to believe some messed up stuff they were led to believe that because Paul was a broken human being, meaning that he didn't talk the way that they thought. A leader should talk. He didn't look the part.

He didn't dress the part that because he didn't have all of the external things that he really couldn't believe they really can believe that he was actually one of God's guys who would entrust such a great treasure to such an average guy.

There's no way they thought Paul reminds them that the gospel lives in unlikely people, and it shines the brightest in difficult and unlikely times. Let's read together. Second Corinthians chapter 4, but we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side that were not crushed were perplexed but were not in despair persecuted, but not abandoned, struck down, but not destroyed two very simple things I want us to see today. Paul reminds the Corinthian church of two troops reminds him of this great possession that they have and a great message that they have number one are unique possession we have, he says we have this treasure. The word that's used here in the Greek is meant in the present tense. That means we have something now okay if you were to just take a second right where you are and you thought about the last five, 10, 15 minutes of your day, you probably had something in your possession that you do not currently have right now may be here at home and it's a blanket. Maybe it's a phone maybe is a glass of sweet tea, God's favorite you had it, but now you you don't. The great thing about the gospel is that you don't have it and then you just don't it doesn't just disappear.

Okay, it's a lot deep in the recesses of your heart. The hope and the glory of the gospel is not just a hope for the future.

It is a hope for the future but is not just all hope for the future. It's a hope now it's life altering for your life right now.

It's life shattering. Now it's life-giving now everybody say now now that's right Jesus would say it this way in John 10 verse 10. I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly. Now Jesus did not come to make life miserable for you. They came to bring joy unspeakable joy in all seasons.

Right now, not what I'm not saying is that Jesus came to make your life comfortable and pain-free that that's not it at all. In fact exhibit a Hebrews chapter 11 the great Hall of faith. Right when we read that chapter, we tend to focus on the ones that saw God do great things like God shut the mouths of lions for them right. We tend to focus on the guys that God did incredible things through, but we tend to forget the ones listed that because of their faith that some pretty bad things happen them as well. Some of them lost their life because they refused to deny their greatest treasure. Jesus. Listen closely. GE Jesus did not say that you be safe and comfortable following him what I am saying though is that whether you walk through the valley that feels like the shadow of death, or as you stand on the mountaintop and feel like you've just been at the feet of Jesus, you have the same treasure in both places you possess Christ and in Christ. You are enough because Christ is enough. Jesus is our great possession.

He is our great treasure and that treasure isn't just a flicker of light at the end of the Dark Tunl., Jesus our great treasure illuminates every dark corner of that tunnel, he illuminates every dark alley of your life may be the enemy has grabbed a hold of your mind. This year, driven a wedge of doubt were trust used to exist because they some he got to go.

Okay, not today. Satan right. Don't let the enemy don't let the enemy take a weapon of your worship, which is your mind. The things that you think upon the things that you meditate on take your weapon of worship and let them turn into a weapon of destruction in your life. Don't let up if God 10 God where is God dominate every piece of your life. We begin to forget that we possess the greatest treasure and that nothing can take him away, signed, sealed, delivered, he is your greatest treasure. Take hold of this treasure that is Christ every single day that's a question that I can I think is important for us to ask how I take hold of this treasure daily. Now I started the year off with this on ending it with this. I spent every day, reminding myself of this and I'm rolling into 2021. With this as the banner of my life only to say it again and again and again. The way that you grab hold of that treasure, his eyes on Jesus, E.

O. J. I said it again EOJI don't have a tattoo, mainly because I will have any muscles guy but one day when I do get some muscles only gets up Inc., and on that Inc. is going to get EOJ right there okay because I always want to be reminded that the cure for distraction and the cure for discouragement okay and the cure or prescribe such like a cure that's prescribed by me. It's a cure prescribed by God in the word of God is to set your eyes on Jesus, to lift your eyes to see your eyes to behold to remember Psalm 121 verses one through two says this Osama says I lift my eyes towards the hills where does my help come from my help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. Hebrews chapter 12 verse one into. Therefore, he says, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses. That's all the people Chapter 11 right since were surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off the things that hinder us and the sin that entangles us, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out before us, but he's like, how do I run with perseverance how I run in this world, how I run in this chaos, how you doing by fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith is struggling to believe that you possess a great treasure within you. Because of sin that you allowed to creep in your life. Isa as far as the east is from the west. Psalm 103 verse 12 says as far as the east is from the West. So far as he removed our sins from us eyes on Jesus limitations 322 and 23 the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies are new every morning great is his faithfulness towards you. Don't let the enemy try to dim the light of Christ in you, how rich a treasure you possess. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. We have a great great possession in Christ. Number two, we have a unique message and we are unique messengers that we have something to say to the world you have something to say to the world. Even if you don't feel qualified to say, but we have this treasure in jars of clay.

He says, look at this to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us. Now she is the crazy thing okay we have this great treasure in a dirty old beat up jar 111 you'll one that's a fading one that's passing away like if you are to go into the garage of grass you walk out the door and go to the garage at your house okay and you look at the nasty beat up stinky polished shoes that are gathered right by your door and you know that you got them there right okay because like that's us. That's us were not the shoes in the shoebox are all nice and shiny and beautiful know where the shoes just the average run of the day shoes that you put on your feet to mow the grass in your clay pot.

That's it.

Jar of clay average every day. One of the bill, not polished, not fancy. The imagery that Paul gives you here is something that everyone in their homes is like saying that you got $1 million – in your shoe pile in the garage.

God and the best part is, he takes great joy in it is not the way that Jesus came in common riches in glory.

But in a lowly manger, not through an earthly ruler that was in power, but through the loneliness of to obscure people anything, one of the great cities of antiquity know we came in Podunk Bethlehem. God does the same thing with you and with me.

God put his greatest treasure, the hope of the gospel in our broken hearts in your heart.

My heart broken imperfect unsuspecting ordinary people. Aren't you glad that human weakness is no barrier to the purposes of God. I that's that's what God does. That's his strategy to reach your school. That's a strategy to reach her friends at work to reach your neighbors, your friends on your sports teams and your clubs in the world so no one but him gets the glory. He puts his perfect treasure in an imperfect people to feel underqualified in every aspect of life. Take courage walk to the bus stop good like good luck finding a seat. We get on this bus as it is crowded on the Jesus bus with imperfect people look as Peter the leader and spokesman of the 12 disciples ride. The guy was outspoken as all get out, one whose confession Jesus says he would build his church upon a really when you get down to it, he's a little bit of a goober.

Okay, they deny Jesus multiple times and think God uses him to set the world on fire. In the book of acts is life was a life of ups and downs over and over and over, fall down, get back up phone now get back up, fall down, get back up.

Most people probably looked at Peter thought what a new guy like you is this guy just the clay pot. David David was a man after the heart of God. He had it all messed up. It was a relationship that he shouldn't of been in the plotted and succeeded like somebody in the Mafia to have somebody somehow God used David to make his glory now is just the clay pot. Moses started in speech quick-tempered, yet he was the man chosen by God to lead God's people out of the cruel hand of Pharaoh.

What was Moses was a special note just the clay pot. Jonah ran away from God.

Joe Joe was making a rain that he had all the money he had all the land he had all the cattle, but then he lost it all broke clay pot you me us.

We are broken, imperfect people, yet God said God values us clay pots enough that he would put the greatest treasure the world would ever know deep into the recesses of your heart. Why, so that you may make known the light of Christ everywhere that you go in every season that you go through Jesus made famous for your life. The 2020 may have had you feel impressed because I just say something in Christ, you're not crushed.

Do not abandoned you may may feel struck down or not destroyed.

That's our message never get over the treasure that is Christ in you, a broken, fragile clay pot now go put your eyes on Jesus and tell the world about the greatest treasure that you have found