Mathew 5:6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness-for they will be filled." and because Jesus said it…it will be so!
Jesus is standing on the Mount Of Beatitudes, a hill in Northern Israel on the Korazim Plateau where He gave His famous sermon on the mount……"Blessed are they” and He
went on to describe and proclaim the man who was pleasing to God, the one who would be holy in God’s sight, who would experience His favour. This man, who hungered after righteousness would be filled, he would be satisfied. Jesus recognized so clearly the emptiness in man and the desperate desire for this void to be filled with something that would quench this craving for more, and He fully understood that nothing could satisfy except Himself. What was intended at creation, man in harmony and union with God needed to be restored. Only this perfect restoration would truly satisfy.
Timothy gives us a key, not only to see who we are but he helps us recognize all that is within us must be emptied out so that the Spirit of Jesus can fill us totally and completely in order for us to become all that Christ wants us to be. It is a process that is brought about by the power of the Holy Spirit as He works in us; to will and to act in a way that fulfills God’s good purpose giving us a sense of our true design and value. A process that must be built upon the solid foundation of God’s truth, His word and not our own opinion, and one that is designed to change us steadily, from the inside out into the likeness of Jesus. Redefining the original image of God in which we are made. Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription in 2 Timothy 2:19 “The Lord knows those who are His and everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”
When we repent and surrender to Jesus we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. It is a seal of ownership and the Holy Spirit is deposited into us guaranteeing our eternal inheritance. (Ephesians 1.14) God knows that we are His and His inscription says “Known to God, Mine!” A vessel designed by God for His purpose. Remember it is God Who calls us and chooses us, and it is He who fashions us into the perfect receptacle, jar, for His Spirit. The prophet Jeremiah understood this so well as he describes God as the potter and himself as the clay, teaching us how vital it is to allow the happenings in our lives, the good and the not so good, to challenge and transform us as the Holy Spirit works in us to make us Christ like. We will never understand the words of Paul who speaks about our “old self – the old man” being crucified with Christ (Romans 6:6) unless we fully appreciate that we are to change. The old man must die, bit by bit, until he no longer has any place in our lives. We no longer belong to ourselves and are now God’s possession to be designed and used as He sees fit. It is God’s desire that we “cleanse ourselves” so that we may be made into instruments for special purposes, holy and useful to Him. Our cleansing is not a work of our own but a willingness to submit ourselves to the will of God and the purifying work of the Holy Spirit.
In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. We are to be separated from common worldly purposes and prepared for service to the King. Jesus is our King, and we are subjects in His Kingdom.
How do we empty our vessel of the old, get rid of the carnal nature and yield to the transforming power of God? Does it happen instantly at our salvation, our baptism or even our baptism in the Holy Spirit? I think we can all answer that from experience. No! Positionally in God’s eyes we are snow white but experientially there is work to be done.
I forget who coined the lovely phrase "We are a work in progress.” This is why the early Christians were called “people of the way.” People walking along a narrow path as they learned the ways of Jesus. We learn and grow and mature. But what a wonderful, exciting journey as we lean upon the Lord, learn from the Holy Spirit and give Him full control of our body, mind and soul, yielding to His divine will and purpose for our lives. And so He fills us with Himself, His holy anointing fragrance, so that through us, God may spread everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. (2 Corinthians 2:14 ) We become living temples of the Holy Spirit as He takes residence in us and flows through us to touch people. We allow ourselves to be molded and remolded so that we, like the alabaster jar full of priceless, expensive perfume that Mary poured out over Jesus, can be filled with the Holy Spirit and poured out for the sake of the lost. It is such a beautiful image as we appreciate that Christ is a beautiful fragrance poured out to be noticed by all.
2 Corinthians 2:15
For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.
You are the alabaster jar. And so we understand Paul when he writes “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” (Romans 12:1) Our life in Christ is an offering as we willingly come to Him to serve and obey Him and a sacrifice as we give up our old life of living for ourselves and live for Him. Nothing of the old is worth holding onto when we consider the new that Christ has given us. Through the word that transforms our minds and the Holy Spirit who works the word in us to bring about the change required, we yield like clay in the potter’s hands and allow God to work His divine restoration and renewal in our lives. The born-again child of God is transformed into the son/daughter who calls God Father and Friend.
My prayer for all of us:
Lord, let us spend time in Your presence, let us listen for Your voice. We want to know You, what pleases You and how we can live our lives in a way that will reveal Your glory. Help us to recognize in ourselves what needs to be thrown out so the Holy Spirit can have full reign. Fashion our vessel and fill it with all of You. That is our heart’s desire.
Amen.
In the words of a friend the day after she was born again:
Now that void in my life, He has now filled. And that cry in my heart He has now stilled. That void in my life, that cry in my heart, has now been filled with Someone, Someone……Greater than me. Someone, Someone who has set me free. His name is Jesus, He is the key. And through His love I have been set free. His name is Jesus. He is the Key.