A Boasting Vessel

March 6, 2021

Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, Or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood!

~Isaiah 10:15~

We know that original sin was caused by pride, something that was fed through satan which caused him to fall from heaven. He wanted to be like God and his pride got in the way of his place in heaven. Pride gave birth to jealousy, bitterness and control. The need for followers to join him. He chose to deceive from the very beginning and in turn a third of the angels fell with him. Then his deception came to earth; "Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

(Genesis 3:1)

Satan's jealousy continued as his desires to make others fall grew in him. Adam and Eve fell and sin officially entered the earth all together. The issue is that satan could not simply bear the idea that he himself was a created being not worthy to call himself anything other than that. He wanted to be praised. He still does. The Lord creates and it is for purpose, once we choose to glorify ourselves we begin to boast as a vessel, just as Isaiah writes about. Basically the "tools" who think they are more worthy then the worker is full of pride and misunderstanding. We are not here to be noticed. We are not here to boast in ourselves. We are here to be put to work for our Lord and Savior to be greatly praised. "For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods." (Psalms 96:4)

Our focus is to be used by the Lord in what so ever our purpose is to be used for. Here we have different tools named in this verse; an ax, a saw, a rod and a staff. All of these which are used for different jobs, yet all are fashioned by the same Creator. You may think, "well, a man can make a tool." Yes, but who made the man? "Has My hand not made all these things?" (Acts 7:50)

The Almighty Creator makes all men and no man has any right to boast in his or herself. When we lack fear of the Lord we are vulnerable to pride. Pride is quite a destroyer. This is why the Lord tells us to humble ourselves to Him; "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time."

(I Peter 5:6)

Our reward comes in heaven. We cannot be concerned about exalting ourselves. If the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God and King of Kings, humbled himself then what makes us so special to think we can do otherwise? "but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross."

(Philippians 2:7‭-‬8)

God does not humble us we are told to humble ourselves. It is a choice we make. A free will. I urge us all to choose what is right in the sight of God. If we decide to exalt ourselves, to become puffed up and take a selfish path then sooner or later Jesus will cause a way for us to feel the truth of it.

"For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

(Luke 14:11)

We are His vessels, not our own. The glory belongs to Him for He made us. As humans we tend to have a desire to be recognized, accepted or praised. This is never what we are called to be. In fact Jesus tells us as we follow Him others will persecute us and hate us. "Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also." (John 15:20)

If we cannot handle being persecuted in anyway shape or form for Jesus, then we cannot say we follow Him. There may come a time when it is a matter of loosing our life for our faith or gaining the world to keep living here, which will we choose? This world, or faith in Christ? Im not saying I have all the answers or surety of a thing but my question is are we ready for this? We should be.

"For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?"(Luke 9:25)

The dangers of us boasting in ourselves or wanting to become noticed when we are in fact a vessel for God to work His own glory with us; we will end up falling to a place of defeat until we willingly humble ourselves. The devil is constantly trying to deceive every single day; for he knows that if he can get you to fall the way he fell, he is one step closer to getting you to fall away all together. This is why deception is what the Lord warned us against as disciples. "And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you." (Matthew 24:4)

Jesus knows deception leads to us falling and as we fall we cannot be used as well as we can when we are humbled. Let us search ourselves everyday and ask the Lord to keep us on our toes in these times we are alive in my friends. Let us toss aside any need for boasting in anyone other then the Lord Himself; "But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." (Galatians 6:14)

We must find out what God needs of us in this world, what type of "tool" are we and how can we strive to bring glory to Him alone.

For Great is His Name and greatly to be praised!

Prayer:

Gracious God, thank you for creating me in a time such as this. Thank you for trusting me with the works You have placed in me. I strive to boast only in You so that those around me may know that in You alone my joy is found. I cannot do anything on my own for I know without You I would fall. I pray against any deception in my life and I rebuke the enemy from causing me to fall in anyway today. Lord show me what You need of me to say and do today to glorify Your Name. I wish to be a useful tool for Your Kingdom. Honor belongs to You, the King of Kings. I want to always humble myself and remain obedient to the design You have for my life. I receive blessings and guidance through the Holy Spirit today with fire and power. In Your beautiful humbling Name, Jesus Christ. Amen.