This teaching focuses on the lives of various biblical characters, despite their mortal nature, and how God used them.
Exodus 4:10-11, 1-9
God does not rely on our intelligence or smartness because He does not want any man to glory in His presence. God required a vessel, and the only one that drew God’s attention was making excuses for not being eloquent. He felt inadequate, but God was able to question him, “Who created man’s mouth?”
From verse 1, Moses stated that the people would not believe him when he went to them, and God commanded him to drop his rod and it turned into a snake. God also commanded him to put his hands in his bosom, and they were leprous; as he brought them out, they healed up. God was doing all of this to help Moses’s mind so he will have what to take to the people.
It is not the man, but the God within the man. The wealth that is placed in the clay vessel is what makes it extraordinary, not the vessel itself. Moses stammered, but he understood God wanted to send him on a mission. He comprehended the dynamics of the events surrounding the individuals to whom he would be sent, thus he felt compelled to inform God of his inadequacies. He even suggested Aaron to God. As an earthen vessel, it is not who you are that matters in the dynamics of fulfilling the agenda of God; it is the God in you that makes the man useful, and it is the God in man that brings about the fruitfulness, usefulness, productivity, and functionality of man. If you take God away from mortal men, they will be rendered useless. God did not settle for a vessel that was flawless or eloquent. Moses told God that he is not eloquent and that he speaks slowly.
It is not about you, but about God in you. It is God in us that makes all the difference. Never forget that without God in your life, you are nothing.
We can see that none of the vessels employed by God in scripture were faultless; they all had limitations and faults.
Moses, who said he couldn’t talk, was never helped by Aaron to amplify his voice. When God places his hand on a man, he turns his insufficiency or limits around.
Sometimes, our liability is God’s opportunity to demonstrate his glory in us. That you have those limitations is the reason why God wants to use you. So regardless of your limitations, God will step in and prove himself.
We could not trace Moses’ insufficiency after he began doing what God had asked of him. The same Moses who said he couldn’t speak was standing before Pharaoh. You won’t know what God can do through you unless you allow him to step in and carry out his plan. You have no clue of what God can accomplish through a mere man.
There are some possibilities in God that you will never experience unless you step in and fulfill God’s instructions. It is not your doing; you are just a vessel..
You will not see God in action unless you obey him. You will not see the manifestation of God’s might and glory unless you step out and obey Him. Never forget that it is not about you; it is for God’s glory. You are just a vessel he wants to use to accomplish his plans and his purposes. The template of biblical earthen vessels is that they are not perfect instruments.
God told Moses that he created the mouth and that he can make it talk. So it didn’t matter whether he stammered or not. It is about what God intends to do with the vessel he has chosen to employ. So never get to the stage in your life where you believe it is all about your intelligence, education, who you know, who you don’t know, your background, or your privileges.
In truth, God does not seek perfect men. Because when he obtains perfect men, perfect men will believe he is using them because they are perfect.
Judges 6:11-16
Some of us believe that the difficulties we are facing are the result of God’s anger toward us. When God utilizes a man with no background, it should be an opportunity to glorify God.
Gideon told God that because of his humble origins, he was unworthy of being used. His clan was the weakest, poorest, and smallest in the land. He was fleeing from the Midianites, and God told him that he would smite them all as one. These men had no prior experience, but God utilized them. It brings God glory when he can make something out of the foolish and weak things.
If God chooses to utilize a man, it is not because of what he has or can achieve, but because of what he wants to accomplish through them. That is the biblical template of an earthen vessel.
God delights in depriving men of what they value most. God does not require your qualifications to accomplish what He will achieve through you. God delights in utilizing men without names. All we have done is to show you that there is no reason why God cannot utilize you. You’re his choice. You are unqualified, yet he qualifies you.
When God takes a man into the spotlight and elevates him from obscurity, he becomes popular; nevertheless, for God to use a man, he may not be popular at the time. When he completes the mission, he may gain popularity.
When you eventually become popular, never forget that you are an earthen vessel.
Let us look at Paul’s life as an example from the New Testament. His life is a paradox of what I’m talking about, a slight twist on these dynamics.
Acts 9:3-7
And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
Philippians 3:3-9 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:
Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith (KJV).
His boast is in the Lord. His boldness is that he rejoices in the Lord rather than boast in the flesh and his profile. We must never assume that God does not utilize men from good backgrounds. Paul emphasizes his profile and origin as a Hebrew of Hebrews.
In the latter verse he stated he counted everything as loss so that he may have Christ and be found in Him. As a result, Paul was stating that God did not utilize him due to his profile and background. It will be of value to us not to consider that God does not rejoice in the state of background; hence, we should not start living carelessly and uselessly. We must constantly do our best and now rely on God’s grace. We must not move backwards in life, claiming that God uses those whose lives are stalled and that grace speaks for such people.
While it’s important to perform our best, it’s not the only reason God uses us.
God’s only representation on earth via us is His hands in us, His deposit of His treasure in us, who are simply earthen vessels. Paul stated that all that was valuable to him has been considered as dung by him, so that no one will glory in His presence. Therefore Paul cannot glory in him being used because he is a Benjamite. This is why we must maintain a balance in our thinking. We must never assume that God utilizes useless vessels. We say it is God in mortal man. We are stating that even if it is mortal man, God is using them as earthen vessels for His treasure.
Even with a good background, he will not use those bases to use such people. He utilizes men to accomplish His purposes. God has a way of utilizing a man’s abilities. However, this is not why God is using Him. God can utilize anyone. God can use a carpenter to do exceptional work. God can also use a graduate to do a wonderful job. However, he is not using them due to their skills and background. He is utilizing them to accomplish His purposes on earth.
The strength of their background, education and expertise will begin to shine through. However, this is not why he is using them. An unlearned person who is called will not be given a message beyond his ability. There are dynamics of our lives that the Lord will use our networks to reach out to people. Joseph of Arimathea’s status was used, and he stepped in to fulfill a prophecy. Because of his position, he had the boldness to request for the body of Jesus from Pilate. He could walk in, and Pilate ordered that Jesus’ body be delivered to him. It was a decree, a closed-door meeting. This means the soldiers were still agitating concerning His death.
This shows that God can use anybody. God can use any vessel to accomplish his will. What they are and who they are can also be an avenue for God to use them. We shouldn’t be so narrow-minded or substandard as to believe that God only uses unpolished vessels. He has chosen bus conductors and doctors. He has also chosen professors as well as school certificate holders, the same way he has chosen men with backgrounds and men without backgrounds.
One common factor is that he did not choose them based on who or what they are. We shouldn’t stop striving in life or stretching. Become all that you can be in the hand of God. That you accomplished anything, it will not be the basis for God to use you. He has used men in different capacities in life. It is of him that wills, the God who shows mercy. The one who is our sufficiency.
Paul counting all his achievements as dung is that he realized that it was not what he had or who he was that made the Lord use him. We must understand this also. So when God begins to use you and bring you out of obscurity, you will need this teaching.
God has an assignment for each of us even if you haven’t stepped into those platforms yet, you’re still a channel in his hands. You can be a better vessel unto the Lord. Give yourself to every form of growth you can and see how much you are able to do for God.