Vessels of Refreshment (a very interesting extract from Living Water B.Y). :) But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 2 Cor 4:7 These are exciting days we are living in. God is doing mighty things in many parts of the world where there had previously been no light of the gospel. This is good news does not get reported on your television or on the newspapers, as the media tends to report mostly the bad news of the world. Yet God is saving millions of people and completely transforming their lives from the inside out. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood Gods grace in all its truth, Col 1:6. A number of years ago the Lord showed the house church leaders in China to launch an initiative called the gospel month. Between Christmas and Chinese New Year, every believer was required to lead at least three people to faith in Jesus Christ and then begin to disciple and train them, in turn, to go out and win more people to the Lord. Each church leader was required to lead and disciple at least five people during this time. The results were extraordinary. In my home area of Nanyang alone, more than 12,000 new believers were baptized in a single day. They were trained, and the following year, approximately 300,000 people came to the Lord in Nanyang! In years since the gospel month was launched, it has spread to many other parts of China and whole regions have been saturated with the gospel. Millions of people have been saved, and the church has been a vessel of refreshment for the kingdom of God. God wants to bring His living water to your nation too, but you need to first realize that the living water will not flow directly from heaven, nor will it flow from your church buildings, for the Lord said that streams of living water would flow from within us! Before your nation will see a revival, the followers of Jesus Christ must first experience a revival in their own lives. Only then will the water be able to flow out and bring refreshment to others. The very first miracle Jesus did involved water. The Lord was invited to attend a wedding in the village of Cana, on the of the Sea of Galilee. When the wine had run out, the Lords mother instructed the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do. The Bible records, Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, Fill the jars with water; so they filled them to the brim. The first thing to note is that these six large jars were normally used for ceremonial washing, as the Jews were required to be clean before worshiping God. No doubt, over time, these jars started to become worn and grimy. Perhaps a crust had built up around the rims.This speaks of the condition of many Christians today. Their lives are designed to bring fresh water and blessing to those around them, but due to years of overuse, they start to lose contact with the living water of the Holy Spirit. The vessel that was created to bring refreshment to Gods people can be contaminated. It is a terrible thing to meet Christians in such a condition. You can easily recognize them by the constant criticism and gossip that come from their lips. Brothers and sisters, God has a better way. If you have been a contaminated vessel, burdened with the cares of the world, then I have good news! Jesus loves you, and He wants you to cast all you cares on Him. Repent, and He will forgive you and receive you back into His fold. The Bible says, Humble yourselves, therefore, under Gods mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you, 1 Peter 5:6-7 Jesus never asked you to carry the burdens of the world on your shoulders. Only He can do that. He wants to say to you, come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light, Matt 11:28-30. An overburdened Christian will never be able to experience the streams of living water flowing from within. Lets spend time with Jesus and lay down those things that He never asked us to carry. As you know, Jesus turned the water inside those six large jars into the most delicious wine anybody had tasted. The master of the banquet was puzzled that the best wine had not been brought out first. He said, everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now. This, the first of His miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed His glory, and His disciple put their faith in Him. How was it that Jesus, revealed His glory, by turning this water into wine? I believe it is because He reversed the natural order of things. Being God, He is able to reverse the natural laws of the universe. After all, He created it! He alone was able to take the water from a old jar and transform it into delicious wine. In the same way, Jesus can take your tired and stained life and completely transform you into a vessel of refreshment! Only Jesus can reverse the natural decay of your life. Religion cannot do it, nor can your own efforts do it. Only Jesus can change you from the inside out! God wants to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor, Isa 61:3. God wants His children to be vessels full of living water. If you have family members who dont know Jesus, I pray you will be the vessel that brings the living water into their lives. Water is such a wonderful blessing. Without it our world would quickly come to an end. Jesus has an endless supply of living water for us to use in this life. We only have these few days on the earth to reach out to the lost and dying world. All those who perish without having tasted the living water of the Holy Spirit will never have a chance to drink again. Oh, friends let us realize that we must be vessels filled with living water to refresh people in this life, lest they spend eternity without a single drop of water... Dear friend, are you a follower of Christ who has lost touch with the source of the living water that Jesus promised His disciples? Has your heart become hard and your spiritual life little more than a dreary, burdensome chore? Is it only on rare occasions that you experience the joy of the Lord in your life? I have good news for you! Hear what he Lord says about His sheep; I will bless them and the places surrounding My hill. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them, Ezek 34:26-27 If this seems overwhelming to you, then just relax and remember that Jesus wants to take your burdens, not add to them. If the soil of your heart has become hard and dry, I encourage you, dear friend, to confess your sins to our Heavenly Father and cry out for His help. The Holy Spirit will start to change you by moistening your hard heart. Remember that God desires an intimate relationship with you, and He loves you more than you can imagine. Lets conclude with the beautiful words of Hosea 10:12 Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your un-plowed ground for it is time to seek the Lord, until He comes and showers righteousness on you.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 13:18:37 +0000
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