What Kind of Vessel Are You?
written by: Michael Catt
In Second Timothy Chapter two, Paul wrote these words to a young minister named Timothy. “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work” ( 2 Timothy 2:21, NASU). Other translations read: “a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use”, or “become the kind of container God can use,” or “you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.”
We need to look for a few moments at this picture of Christian service and ministry. If we are going to be used by God to the fullest, we must adjust our wills to His will. Our purposes and plans must be submitted to Him for approval. The danger for many ministers is that they will fall into the trap of ‘who do you know?’ Our focus should be, ‘How’s my relationship with the Lord?’ The minister who desires the blessings of God on his ministry must readjust his life to the will of God on a daily basis.
In the book of Isaiah, we read, ‘This people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise.’ What follows is tragic. The people blew it and failed to fulfill God’s purpose and plan for their lives. When you turn to the New Testament, to First Peter you read about “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that we shall show forth the virtues of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.” It’s sad to say, but many have failed to live up to that picture. Far too many have failed to fulfill God’s high calling on their lives. For some reason, they have settled for the ministry of mediocrity.
All of us need times of reflection and heart-searching when we examine our lives in relation to our call. We live in a world that is filled with distractions, characterized by drifting, dominated by dissatisfaction and overwhelmed by disillusionment. God stands waiting to meet these situations head on. God’s method is you and I. The only way God can meet the need of this world is through lives adjusted to His will and purpose.
In the New Testament there are multiple metaphors that tell us how God seeks to use us and what God requires of us. The metaphor in Second Timothy isn’t hard to figure out. We all may have different definitions or ideas of what serving our Lord looks like. However, this picture is one that demands a closer look and self-examination. To be a fit vessel, we need to remember that we are not so much working for Him as with Him. As vessels for the Master, we are to be available for whatever the Master has in mind. We are to allow the Holy Spirit to flow through us. To be a fit vessel, I need to be consecrated for His use. I must prepare my heart to be a vessel He can use.
Sometimes preachers and teachers pray, “Lord, use me.” The truth is, He is using us as much as He can. The better prayer would be, “Lord, make me usable.” If we take care of the depth of our ministry, God will take care of how far our ministry goes. In reality, God is more willing to use you than you are to be used.
Two reasons’ ministers are not used to the fullest. One is uncleanliness. God can’t use a dirty vessel. I know God can draw a lot of straight lines with crooked sticks. I know God got the prodigals attention in the pigpen B but I’m talking about the clear teachings of the Word of God. Before Isaiah could be used, he needed a vision of God. In that vision, he saw himself, as he really was, unclean. “I am a man of unclean lips.” Are your lips clean? In the Word of God you’ll find verses and illustrations of many forms of unclean lips. The list is endless, but it includes: lying lips, flattering lips, perverse lips and impure lips. Like Isaiah, we need the Spirit of God to touch our lips so we can speak the Word with power.
The Psalmist prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God.” It was only after David prayed for cleansing that he felt God could use him again. Every minister needs to seek a scrubbing from the Lord. We should ask God to search our hearts and shine the light of His holiness into our hearts to reveal any unclean areas of our lives.
The other problem is unyieldedness. How easy it is to hold back an area from the Lord. I remember the first time I read the little classic, My Hear, Christ’s Home. It’s easy to cover up and hide. It’s tempting to lock the Lord out of a few rooms in our lives. Paul writing to the Romans said, “Yield your members as servants to righteousness.” In chapter twelve you find the familiar words, “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice.” It’s hard for us to get on the altar. Our flesh wants to crawl off.
God can only use what we yield. What we yield, He possesses. What He possesses, He will use. There’s not a one of us that hasn’t talked about yielding to the Lord. We preach about it, but are we doing it ourselves? We sing about it, but does the word strike a chord in our heart of hearts? It’s easy to sing, “All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I Freely Give . . . ” and leave the surrender in the Hymnal?
To yield to Christ means to put myself at His disposal. It also means to be ready to serve in whatever capacity He demands. I don’t argue about the field. I don’t question the assignment. Like Paul, I may be required to suffer for the gospel. I cannot be like Simon Peter who wanted to know what Jesus would ask John to do. I must simply love Him, feed His sheep and do what He says.
Let me ask you, have you put yourself at God’s disposal? Does your consecration have reservations? Are you holding anything back? The process of absolute surrender to God, and of putting yourself at His disposal is not easy. It can be costly. It can be a painful process. It could require brokenness. It always requires an emptying of self. What would happen in our churches on the next Lord’s Day if every preacher and teacher of His Word stood before the people of God as a vessel fit for the Master’s use?
In Second Timothy Chapter two, Paul wrote these words to a young minister named Timothy. “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work” ( 2 Timothy 2:21, NASU). Other translations read: “a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use”, or “become the kind of container God can use,” or “you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.”
We need to look for a few moments at this picture of Christian service and ministry. If we are going to be used by God to the fullest, we must adjust our wills to His will. Our purposes and plans must be submitted to Him for approval. The danger for many ministers is that they will fall into the trap of ‘who do you know?’ Our focus should be, ‘How’s my relationship with the Lord?’ The minister who desires the blessings of God on his ministry must readjust his life to the will of God on a daily basis.
In the book of Isaiah, we read, ‘This people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise.’ What follows is tragic. The people blew it and failed to fulfill God’s purpose and plan for their lives. When you turn to the New Testament, to First Peter you read about “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that we shall show forth the virtues of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.” It’s sad to say, but many have failed to live up to that picture. Far too many have failed to fulfill God’s high calling on their lives. For some reason, they have settled for the ministry of mediocrity.
All of us need times of reflection and heart-searching when we examine our lives in relation to our call. We live in a world that is filled with distractions, characterized by drifting, dominated by dissatisfaction and overwhelmed by disillusionment. God stands waiting to meet these situations head on. God’s method is you and I. The only way God can meet the need of this world is through lives adjusted to His will and purpose.
In the New Testament there are multiple metaphors that tell us how God seeks to use us and what God requires of us. The metaphor in Second Timothy isn’t hard to figure out. We all may have different definitions or ideas of what serving our Lord looks like. However, this picture is one that demands a closer look and self-examination. To be a fit vessel, we need to remember that we are not so much working for Him as with Him. As vessels for the Master, we are to be available for whatever the Master has in mind. We are to allow the Holy Spirit to flow through us. To be a fit vessel, I need to be consecrated for His use. I must prepare my heart to be a vessel He can use.
Sometimes preachers and teachers pray, “Lord, use me.” The truth is, He is using us as much as He can. The better prayer would be, “Lord, make me usable.” If we take care of the depth of our ministry, God will take care of how far our ministry goes. In reality, God is more willing to use you than you are to be used.
Two reasons’ ministers are not used to the fullest. One is uncleanliness. God can’t use a dirty vessel. I know God can draw a lot of straight lines with crooked sticks. I know God got the prodigals attention in the pigpen B but I’m talking about the clear teachings of the Word of God. Before Isaiah could be used, he needed a vision of God. In that vision, he saw himself, as he really was, unclean. “I am a man of unclean lips.” Are your lips clean? In the Word of God you’ll find verses and illustrations of many forms of unclean lips. The list is endless, but it includes: lying lips, flattering lips, perverse lips and impure lips. Like Isaiah, we need the Spirit of God to touch our lips so we can speak the Word with power.
The Psalmist prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God.” It was only after David prayed for cleansing that he felt God could use him again. Every minister needs to seek a scrubbing from the Lord. We should ask God to search our hearts and shine the light of His holiness into our hearts to reveal any unclean areas of our lives.
The other problem is unyieldedness. How easy it is to hold back an area from the Lord. I remember the first time I read the little classic, My Hear, Christ’s Home. It’s easy to cover up and hide. It’s tempting to lock the Lord out of a few rooms in our lives. Paul writing to the Romans said, “Yield your members as servants to righteousness.” In chapter twelve you find the familiar words, “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice.” It’s hard for us to get on the altar. Our flesh wants to crawl off.
God can only use what we yield. What we yield, He possesses. What He possesses, He will use. There’s not a one of us that hasn’t talked about yielding to the Lord. We preach about it, but are we doing it ourselves? We sing about it, but does the word strike a chord in our heart of hearts? It’s easy to sing, “All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I Freely Give . . . ” and leave the surrender in the Hymnal?
To yield to Christ means to put myself at His disposal. It also means to be ready to serve in whatever capacity He demands. I don’t argue about the field. I don’t question the assignment. Like Paul, I may be required to suffer for the gospel. I cannot be like Simon Peter who wanted to know what Jesus would ask John to do. I must simply love Him, feed His sheep and do what He says.
Let me ask you, have you put yourself at God’s disposal? Does your consecration have reservations? Are you holding anything back? The process of absolute surrender to God, and of putting yourself at His disposal is not easy. It can be costly. It can be a painful process. It could require brokenness. It always requires an emptying of self. What would happen in our churches on the next Lord’s Day if every preacher and teacher of His Word stood before the people of God as a vessel fit for the Master’s use?
©2001 MCC This article is copyrighted by the author and is for your individual use.
Reproduction for any other purpose is governed by copyright laws and is strictly prohibited.
Michael served as the President of the Large Church Roundtable, the Southern Baptist Convention as an IMB Trustee, President of the Georgia Baptist Convention’s Preaching Conference, Vice President of the Georgia Baptist Convention, and President of the 2008 Southern Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference. He has spoken at conferences, colleges, seminaries, rallies, camps, NBA and college chapel services, well as The Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove. Michael is the recipient of The Martin Luther King Award, The MLK Unity Award, and a Georgia Senate Resolution in recognition of his work in the community and in racial reconciliation.
Michael and his wife, Terri, have two grown daughters, Erin and Hayley.
