Articles by Charlotte Gambill

Valuable Vessels

Many Christians, leaders and churches have a ‘Do NOT Disturb’ sign hung over their lives. No one can remember putting the sign up but there it hangs, a symptom of becoming comfortable and set in their ways. The sign signals ‘business as usual’ and tells God to just keep on moving and leave them alone as they doze through their generation.

Christians must be disturbed! In fact, it’s what God wants. ‘Disturbed’ means: ‘to cause movement from a settled position’ and that is exactly what God is trying to achieve in your life and mine. In fact, here at Abundant Life Church we have set out to be as disturbed as possible!

Garbage or Gold

The Apostle Paul tells us that in God’s house there are many vessels of wood and clay but fewer vessels of gold and silver.[1] God doesn’t seem to think this is acceptable and sets you and I a challenge to make ourselves a more valuable vessel. The Message Bible puts it this way:
‘ In a well-furnished kitchen there are not only crystal goblets and silver platters, but waste cans and compost buckets; some containers used to serve fine meals, others to take out the garbage. Become the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing.’
Notice the word ‘become.’ You can become the kind of container God can use anywhere and for anything. God is saying, aim for gold, silver or crystal; don’t settle for being a waste bin, go for being a vessel of value.

God needs valuable vessels. He doesn’t want his life-changing gospel presenting to the world in waste paper bins or cheap vessels. He wants it served up in fine goblets of gold and silver that are no embarrassment to him and which attract those seeking new life in Christ. Presenting Christ to the world in a vessel that is valuable, attractive and excellent is the challenge for all Christians and churches in the twenty first century.
The church is full of different vessels. I have come across bins: people who are happy to be dumped in. Kettles: people who are quick to the boil. ‘Tupperware’ Christians: who just want to preserve everything and play it safe.

Then there are the Jam Jar Christians: those who are screwed up at the top! I hope that your church leadership, like ours, is committed to growing people into outstanding vessels and helping them to see their potential of becoming a valuable vessel on God’s table. Everyone can become a vessel with a ‘Wow’ factor. You can become a vessel fit for use on any occasion whether serving a prince or a pauper.

Can God take you anywhere?

Parents are sometimes heard to say to their children, ‘I can’t take you anywhere!’ I think God has been saying this to much of the church for a long time. He wants to be able to take his kids anywhere, confident they will be a vessel he doesn’t have to apologise for.
In Jeremiah God used the illustration of himself as the potter and his people the clay. In this illustration there is a central lesson about the responsibility God places on us, the clay.[2] God always has great things in mind for the clay, he’s always making vessels for significant use. However, when that particular lump of clay was worked, faults began to appear causing God to scale down the plans he had for the vessel of that life, church or ministry; the clay had to be used to produce a vessel of lesser quality and usefulness.

This is a reality check for people who think that they have no part to play in shaping their future with God. They imagine that they are a lifeless lump of clay and that whatever will be, will be. This concept of Christianity causes people to abdicate from taking responsibility for their lives and places it all on God. Whereas here in Jeremiah God is saying, ‘I want to take the clay of your life and make a valuable vessel for my house. But if as I work your clay, you are not dealing with the faults and flaws in your life; if you are not dealing with flawed attitudes and the hairline cracks of character fault lines, I will scale down my plans for your life.’

Increacing value = Increacing attention

Becoming a valuable vessel will cost you but it is worth it. You see, when you become a valuable vessel your value increases to God,
to the world and to the enemy. God treats his valuable vessels differently. He gives you more opportunity, which may lift your profile. For example, we are sometimes asked how we market our church, get our albums and product out and send our TV programme around the world. Do we have a great agent?

The answer is, ‘Yes, God is our agent!’ We did not employ someone to make us look good but simply worked on our clay, dealt with any flaws and became a valuable vessel for God to use. You don’t need an agent to promote you. Just put your efforts into improving your vessel and let God do the rest. Promotion comes from God and his promotions will be much safer than anything an agent could ever do for you. God wants to promote us in every area of life: home, family, work, marriage and in the community. People are looking for people like you!

If a thief broke into your home, your waste bin would not be at the top of his list of things to steal. But I am sure your gold watch would be. Why? Because he recognises the value of that item. And in the same way, the devil is far more interested in stealing valuable vessels from God’s house than he is in taking the waste bin. So if you are going to be a valuable vessel, be prepared for some opposition. And when it comes, be encouraged that you are obviously worth stealing!

Consistently Gold

Daniel was a highly valuable vessel both to God and the King he worked for. As his value increased, the enemy also became interested and he conspired to see if this vessel could be tarnished or stolen. Daniel’s response was pure gold and one we can all learn from. Faced with the challenge to compromise and not pray to God for thirty days to comply with the King’s new law, he made a stand knowing he could end up in the lion’s den. Because he feared God more than he feared the lions, he survived the test and was shown to be a more valuable vessel than ever! [3] The question is, do you? Or are you constantly compromising because you fear people or situations more than God? If so, you are devaluing your vessel.
When the vessel of Daniel’s life entered the lion’s den, he remained gold; he kept his faith, integrity and character. Instead, everything changed around him. God caused the lion’s behaviour to change; they acted against their nature and provided God’s valuable vessel with a luxurious lion fur pillow for the night. Gold isn’t changed by its circumstances.

So, stop wasting time worrying about what’s happening around you and work on what’s in you. You can become a gold vessel to God if you remain open to living a disturbed life, thus ensuring that God doesn’t have to scale down any plans for your future. Instead he will have to scale up as you keep aiming higher!

Love Charl

1 2 Timothy 2:20
2 Jeremiah 18:1-4
3 Daniel 6