Have you ever felt like a “cracked pot”? David Dykes, pastor of megachurch Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, TX, reminds us that the Lord chooses “cracked pots” for His purpose. He uses unlikely people to do His work.
The earliest Christians were called “unlearned and ignorant people” yet God used this rag-tag bunch of believers to turn the world upside-down (Acts 4:13; 17:6). Paul wrote to the church in Corinth to remind them of the kind of people God uses. “Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world…and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).
In a way, it’s not surprising that God used Billy Graham. We all know that Billy Graham is a genuinely humble man who would never boast of his accomplishments. But naturally speaking, Billy Graham was tall, handsome, with a powerful distinctive voice. He had wavy hair and piercing eyes. Billy Graham is educated and sophisticated—and God still used him. God just had to work a little harder!
But the same God who called and used Billy Graham in the 20th century also called and used an overweight, uneducated shoe salesman by the name of Dwight L. Moody in the 19th century. Moody only had a third-grade education and those who heard him reported that he murdered the English language. He was never ordained, or attended a seminary, but God used him in the late 1900s to shake two continents for Christ. It was said he pronounced the word “Jerusalem” in only one syllable. Once when invited to speak to a group of educated clergymen in England he started his message by saying, “Don’t never think that God don’t love you for He do.” Moody was a cracked pot, but he was an empty pot who had allowed God to fill him with the priceless treasure of Jesus Christ. As a young man, Moody heard a preacher named Henry Varley say, “It remains to be seen what God will do with a man who gives himself up wholly to Him.” On that day, Moody determined to be that man and offered God his life as an empty clay jar to be filled with God’s power. Today, 108 years after Moody went to heaven (as of 2010), you can go to Chicago and still see Moody Bible Church, Moody Publishing, and Moody Bible Institute.
… J. Hudson Taylor was one of the first missionaries to take the gospel to China. Although he suffered from extremely poor health, God used him. He was a weak man (physically), but he was a plain, empty clay jar that God filled with the treasure of Jesus Christ. Taylor once wrote, “All of God’s giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on Christ living in them.” Hudson Taylor was too humble to call himself a giant, but he understood the puzzling paradox that a mighty God can use broken, cracked, weak vessels.
Do you feel unqualified to do the work of the Lord? Congratulations! You have just proven yourself to be qualified (1 Corinthians 1:26-29). It is not the perfect pots that the Lord uses; instead, it is the cracked pots. When you are filled with the presence of Jesus Christ, then His light can shine through the cracks of your life. It will not be your credentials or qualifications or accomplishments that are seen, but the divine work of the Hoy Spirit in your life. Our inadequacy and insufficiency reveal His supernatural working in and through us. We don’t get the glory; instead, He receives All the glory.
We have this treasure (Jesus Christ) in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us (2 Corinthians 4:7). What riches, friends. What treasure! You may feel at times overwhelmed by your own failures, inadequacy, and ordinariness. You may feel unworthy – and you are! All of us are. But you are a cracked pot shining forth with the light and leaking out the treasure of Christ! Proudly be a “cracked pot” for Jesus!
This Sunday, February 25, we will continue our teaching series, “Going Deeper!”, with the transforming truth, “Death & Life = Jesus!” from 2 Corinthians 4:7-11. Please invite someone to join you at 10:35am in the building or online for the Live broadcast on either Facebook (Honolulu AG) or our YouTube channel (Honolulu Assembly of God). We livestream every Sunday to both locations and would love to have you join us.
Aloha ke Akua!
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