Vessels Unto Honor Ownership Conference Day 4 by Apostle Joshua Selman: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Vessels unto honor: the background

Ephesians 2:10, John 15:16, Matthew 5:16, Romans 9:23-24

Believers are classified twofold

1. Identity: our oneness with Christ. Joint heirs, branches of the vine
2. Function: light, salt, kings, priests, ambassadors. The level of trust invested in us to serve his purposes

Among the names for function, we are called vessels: with respect to function, service and the fulfillment of God's agenda

2 Timothy 2:20-21 unpacked

1. Believers with respect to function are called vessels

2. There are various kinds of vessels

   • Gold, silver, wood, clay differ in illumination and strength. Fire shows the difference
   • You can paint wood or clay to look like gold. When fire is introduced, authenticity is derived

3. Some vessels are unto honor, some unto dishonor

   • Not by pre-ordination, but by current formation. All of us have a high calling in Christ
   • Honor is defined by the capacity and level of refinement that makes one fit for the master's use. It is the level of spiritual capacity that gives you the wherewithal to serve the program of God effectively

4. Vessels can transition

   • From honor to dishonor or dishonor to honor. The vessels are men
   • If a man purge himself from these. Not one thing. A number of things. Purge from one of five and you are still not a vessel unto honor
   • A vessel unto honor is sanctified, meet for the master's use, prepared unto every good work
   • Good works is not what you define. There is a divine program that equals good works

Not all believers can serve the program of God

• All believers are vessels. Not all can serve the program of God, and not all at the same level
• Some can serve only within a locality. Some cannot serve beyond Johannesburg, however visionary. There is a bankruptcy of refinement
• Matthew 25 He gave five, two, one, each according to his several abilities. He tested them. The one with five deserved five, the one with two deserved two, the one with one deserved zero
• The one with five had a problem of pride but was humble enough to be visionary. The one with two had the humility to be mentored by the one with five. The one with one had offense, anger, jealousy, bitterness
• He said if a man, so the purging is individual. The one with five may not struggle with inferiority. The one with two may struggle to follow someone ahead of him
• Some serve at a national level, some continental, some transcontinental, some global. It is capacity dependent and consecration dependent
• Some speak and only a local environment responds. Some speak from one position and the whole nation must respond, because of ranking and stature in the spirit
• Oneness in Christ needs no works. Function has demands: capacity, consecration, enlightenment, maturity, not just desire
• When you say I want to serve the program of God, it is a commitment to carry a burden and responsibility that builds you into the vessel for that level
• Every territory should have apostolic and prophetic voices with capacity to steward God's program. They define the spiritual and socioeconomic trend of a territory. Ignorance, bankruptcy of maturity and prevailing darkness show there are sincere men without capacity
• Impartation is the latter part of the business of impact. A major part is building the stature and capacity that makes the anointing valuable

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• Pour water from a 60,000 litre tank into a 500 litre vessel and you waste everything minus the capacity of that vessel
• The requirements are non-negotiable, non-sentimental, not gender sensitive. It is an ancient path already predefined. You obtain grace to walk in keeping with the standard

Jesus and capacity

• John 16:12-13 Jesus weighed his disciples and shelved the lecture. What he taught was what their capacity could take
• The mystery and significance of his death came through Paul: we died in him. Jesus spoke of demons, Paul classified the wrestling Ephesians 6:12. Jesus never spoke about the gifts of the Spirit. Corinth had chaos until Paul sat them down 1 Corinthians 12
• Paul did not start ministry after his encounter. Nineteen years in the wilderness of Arabia with the background of a scribe and Pharisee. Then he taught and wrote two-thirds of the New Testament
• Jesus did not just get up to start ministry. Now being a man he was no longer exempt from the law of vessels. He needed to build capacity Hebrews 4:15
• He got up early to pray in a solitary place Mark 1:35. He was in the temple learning. Eighteen years he seems missing from scripture. At thirty he goes to John and receives the Holy Ghost, then is driven into the wilderness to be tempted. Then he returned in the power of the Spirit
• Growth order: wisdom, stature, favor Luke 2:52, then power. When he raised apostles he did not talk about anointing. Laborious lectures every day. Then he said you have the information now, but do not go. You need power Acts 1:4-8
• Even Jesus almost gave up. He was angry, hungry, frustrated at the fig tree Mark 11:12-14. Because of capacity he served the program of God
• Many think being called means you already have the wherewithal to serve at any level. It has produced children on the pulpit, in business, in politics Galatians 4:1
• Your efficiency in the kingdom is not dependent on God's calling, his love for you, or the prophecy over you. It depends on understanding the demands of becoming a vessel that can serve.

Grace received, utilized, maximized

• Paul labored more than they all, yet credits the grace of God 1 Corinthians 15:10
• We spiritualize the sacrifice that went into making a vessel of honor
• Same hand, same brain. One became a professor. One used his hand to beg, another to source materials. One used his brain to play victim, another to build capacity
• The grace of God available is not what produces champions. It is the grace of God received, utilized, maximized. Grace can be abused
• Rain can flow through a gutter and become waste. Someone can create a channel to water a plant
• Everyone called great in the kingdom had the same salvation, blood, name, word, light, revelation. What was done with it? Some carried two loaves and five fish and turned it into 5,000. Others said what is this and threw it down
• You can be available and not usable. The illusion that anybody can be used by God under any condition is not right. God can do without men. Once you come into the economy of partnership, there are demands

Isaiah 6: the demands

Isaiah 6:1-8

• God did not tell Isaiah he was unclean. He was exposed to a dimension of glory and saw the demands by looking at God's holiness. Woe is me is not condemnation. It is admission.
• Undone like food not fully cooked but brought out in a hurry. Like someone who ran from training and did not wait to finish
• Everything he said was accurate. The live coal from the altar touched his lips. Your iniquity is taken away
• Isaiah was a prophet, yet God had a vision Isaiah could not achieve. Whom shall I send? God is moving with you does not mean he does not want more done
• If it takes 10 years to bring revival in a territory, it is not only pre-ordination. It is because the capacity available works slowly. Subsistence farming versus industrialized farming
• A man can understand consecration and not the laws of relationship. You have the anointing but not the intelligence to get to government. Your curriculum was not complete. What built you omitted certain lectures
• When the program of God is stunted in a territory, the problem is not from him. He makes do with the vessels available
• It is according to the power that works in us Ephesians 3:20. Possibilities are based on the capacity at work in us, not on his power in heaven
• The bent woman, 18 years Luke 13:10-13. It was not God's will. The day Jesus, a man who had built capacity, entered the temple, that service became her service. It was the day God found a man with capacity enough
• Acts 3, the man born crippled Acts 3:1-8. His friends were kind, perhaps believers, but the best they could do was carry him to the temple. Peter and John went to pray consistently. The capacity of the apostles was built progressively. Then Peter said look on us. It is not pride or idolatry. They represent my possibilities to you
• Isaiah 51:2 There are men God will refer you to in tragic situations. Approved to carry the healing anointing, to prophesy over your life and shift your destiny
• All men are equal in Christ. Not all men are equal in capacity. Glory differs among men 1 Corinthians 15:40-41. There are men who, when you meet them, it is as though you met God. One handshake and your destiny changes
• The moon reflects the sun according to alignment. The part that does not glow is the part disaligned. The part of you that does not reflect the glory of God needs purging
• Fake is out of the equation. We are dealing with those who are real but not efficient. Pleasing God is not just sincerity. It is consecration and capacity. Your son brings home zero. He is still your son, but are you pleased? Can you send him to a national competition?

The refiner

Malachi 3:3, Proverbs 25:4

• Remove the dross from the preacher and he becomes a territorial apostle. From the businessman and he steps from millions to billions. From the mother and she produces sons like Esther, Joseph, Daniel. From the politician and he becomes the Daniel of his generation
• Knowing where God wants to take you does not mean you will get there. It is not always an attack problem. Without capacity, consecration, alignment, growth, maturity, you will not get there
• A crown and a scepter are symbols of royalty. Put a heavy gold crown on a swaddling baby and it is called abuse. A baby with a gun, they jail the mother. The same as a general in the army. What changed? Growth, maturity, training, accreditation
• Same sermon, same verses, but there is a witness in the spirit that it came with power. You hug them and by next week they have jobs. The barren has a child. It is not the activity. It is the realm from which you now function
• Five men of God can all say God bless you in Jesus name. The result depends on the power that works in you
• The real proof that you love your members is to grow, in a way that is non-sentimental. The real blessing you bring is growth
• The value of a child of God to the program of God is not being born again. That is for you. When you grow to become a vessel that can be used, you are profitable to the kingdom
• You love the savior and the provider but hate the refiner. You cannot reject the refiner. He is the dimension of God that produces men of stature
• The process has nothing to do with comfort. Vessels change under heat and pressure. You do not shape gold when solid. You melt it first
• Some want to be used as a battle axe but have the shape of a spoon. A spoon collects. You must be melted from needs-driven Christianity
• Pray: I receive grace. He is thorough. Not even your tears will stop him

Refining and purging

John 15:2 He is speaking to believers

2 Corinthians 4:17-18

• Refining is the process that leads to growth, maturity, spiritual circumcision (consecration), and accreditation (approved of God)
• Every believer who would serve the program of God at any level, in ministry or business, must go through it

3 levels of refining

1. Purifying of your heart

   • Death to self. Death to vain glory. The vetting of your motive and motivations
   • God asks for your heart first Proverbs 23:26, before your offering, ministry, voice, Bible, suit. Isaiah, do not come as a prophet. I need your heart, not your voice Isaiah 29:13
   • Psalm 51:10, Psalm 51:17. That is why David was a man after God's heart
   • Some pray all kinds of prayer, diagnosing their prayer by how prayer should be done, and should not receive answers. But it has moved beyond mechanics to intimacy. A woman in love, even a blink of her eye is a love language. Their hearts are so knitted and pure
   • Adherence to principles does not negate purity of heart. You can follow the principle of healing, but corruption of the heart will stop the results
   • The end point is a consecrated believer with unconditional passion for God. Not because he blessed you or the ministry is doing well. Whether he blesses me or not, my love and addiction remain unchanged. Not, bless me and see how I will serve you
   • I have seen preachers pray the right prayer, worshippers write the right songs, business people do the right things, and it did not work. The heart is the principal determinant. If your heart is wrong it has corrupted the process
   • Cain's problem was not only the pattern. It was the state of his heart Genesis 4:6-7. Jealousy can motivate someone to fast for 40 days. The fasting is correct but the motive is wrong
   • The first thing God does when he meets you is not give you a husband. He refines the motive. Come as you are. When you meet the refiner it is no longer about ministry expansion or tapping an anointing. It is about allowing him to do an X-ray
   • Psalm 139:23 is not a prayer for children
   • The greatest way to search your heart is to ask why. Why do I want the anointing? Why do I want to be an overseer? Why do I want to be a billionaire? Why determines what your increase will serve
   • We are in a season where men walk like gods on the earth. Young boys in their 20s command dimensions of wealth. I did not give God my business plan. I gave him my heart. Even if you join a cult you are useless until they get your heart
   • How to love: ask the person how they receive love. He told us how to love him: with all your heart, mind and strength Matthew 22:37
   • Loving God with your heart is replacing everything that tries to steal his place until he is no longer somewhere in your heart but at the center. Prioritizing him above ministry, above things
   • Lord, I love you. He says, Simon, do you love me more than these? John 21:15-17. Lord, I love you but I love money too. Fame too. My wife too. My job too. He arranges them and asks where he ranks. You say, number 15. It tells you, you do not love me until I become number one
   • From number 15 to number 13 after one service. The closer he gets the harder it is, because what was number one fights to stay. Loving Jesus is warfare
   • Abraham, take now your son Genesis 22. Take your camel, your cattle, Abraham does it overnight. Take your son, and Abraham carried his son. Some love for Jesus has blood dripping on the altar
   • If the purpose of your fasting is to manipulate his hand so doors open, he is not a politician. You can be in a church at the backside of South Africa, not even vocal, and do the business of the heart with God. He will gravitate men from everywhere
   • God is doing a work of circumcision, dethroning idols, even good things once they take his place. Marriage can become an idol. Business, preaching, church expansion, wanting to prophesy. John 3:30 That is the language of refinement
   • Someone sings and another rises from a wheelchair. It is not his voice. It is the altar of surrender. Death has happened there. He is there to satisfy a lover who happens to be a savior

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   • When I started ministry I did not know there was such a thing as an honorarium. It was a joy to serve Jesus. The Lord said, if you will let men see me, there is nothing I will not give you
   • The key to glory is death. To die does not mean stop what you are doing. It means dethrone it until Christ sits above it. To die to business means to enthrone Christ as Lord of the business
   • How do you know you are dead? You lose the ability to tell God no. Provided you can still tell God no, you are not dead enough. Only dead men can host the program of God
   • The major problem of the church is not ignorance. It is learned men who are alive to themselves Galatians 2:20
   • Members discern the altitude from which a preacher speaks, not by his English or Greek Psalm 24:3-4
   • My greatest prayer is not more ground to cover or greater renown. It is that my heart remains ever malleable. That growth never becomes a cause. That God never regrets what he has given me. Father, whatever dimension will destroy my life, may I never get there

2. Discipline of enlightenment and transformation

   • Consecration will not do much if in ignorance. Paul prayed spirit of wisdom and revelation, the eyes of your understanding enlightened Ephesians 1:17-21, 1 John 5:13
   • It involves refining your belief systems, accessing spiritual intelligence, and psychological and emotional maturity
   • If you cannot manage both praise and criticism you cannot be used at a certain height. If Satan uses criticism and it does not get you, he will use praise. He does not care how you go down. Even if he has to give you a Bible or bring membership
   • Maturity knows which door is open for you. Even the prison has a door. Not every open door demands that you walk in. Some are opened by Satan or by self. Can you watch a door open and restrict yourself until God gives the marching order?
   • Can you pray for your enemies while they persecute you? Can you be insulted, go to bed, sleep and still praise him? Praise and criticism, shame and glory, mean nothing to you
   • There are mysteries of the kingdom and laws of the universe you must know. The Holy Ghost and mentorship help us access them

3. Labor to understand God's prophetic program

   • The first part is your heart, the second your mind, the third his program and your assignment. You cannot steward or spearhead God's program if you do not know what it is
   • Know his grand prophetic program and your unique role Hebrews 10:7, Jeremiah 1:5

3 dimensions of training

1. The way of the altar or intimacy

   • Your walk with God, consecration, heart, person

2. The way of victory

   • Using the word and resources of the kingdom to command personal victory
   • Teach victory before purpose. Otherwise they are too distracted to focus on God's program
   • Give us our daily bread. When your bread is sorted, he can empower you to serve without interruption

3. The way of purpose or kingdom relevance

Weights and trust

• In boxing there is featherweight, lightweight, middleweight, heavyweight. A heavyweight loser was once a lightweight winner. When he moves you up, the budgets, giants, challenges, strictness and expectations change. It would be wicked for God to expect the same of someone just starting
• There is more money God wants to bring and steward through the church than we are willing to handle. He told me there are seven dimensions of wealth he wants to bring to the church. At that time the church was at the third
• There is a dimension of wealth that has nothing to do with buying and selling. It is bowing and kneeling. A product of allegiance to spirits. Satan said bow to me and I will give you Matthew 4:9. Dull people command strange wealth, not by transaction but by bowing to spirits
• God is counting on men and women who will enlarge Isaiah 54:2. Not just on prophecy
• All vessels cannot serve the program of God at their default state. Even those who can cannot serve beyond a certain threshold of trust. It requires refining, growth, maturity, consecration, accreditation, ranking in the spirit
• Even among demon spirits there are rankings. Among judges, some cases are beyond their jurisdiction. They refer you to a higher court, the Supreme Court. You can get to where you legislate from the Supreme Court in the spirit
• Elijah: who could have changed his verdict? 1 Kings 17:1. There was no other man on earth with the capacity for that level of business. The earth remained that way until the same Elijah changed. Some cannot die because they steward something for a generation
• Aaron could hold Moses's hand but not the rod. The rod has a skill to holding it Exodus 17:9-12
• Words attract the attention of spirits. They come to verify by what stature you spoke. Ecclesiastes 5:6 You can say something and your children's children go into perdition because you activated something you cannot defend
• A little child can turn on the ignition of a car and accelerate his own death. Many believers carelessly use the laws of the kingdom without capacity to manage them. They open portals without the intelligence to manage it. There is a depth and a height
• To be a vessel unto honor is beyond a preacher and a title. There is a business you must do with God
• Vessels unto dishonor: they refused to submit to the laborious process of alignment and consecration. Shame seems to thrill their lives, ministries and families, and they misrepresent God as though he decided to victimize them
• Other vessels obtained grace and submitted to the purifying of their hearts, transformation, enlightenment, maturity and understanding of God's program. God comes to them as he came to Abraham Genesis 18:17
• When God wants to do something in a land, it does not matter the prayer of intercessors. Until God says yes and that man says yes, the program cannot start
• Some professors are one of five on earth in their field. Research cannot continue until you refer to them. They are authorities. Some surgeons: fly this man in, only he can do this
• May you be the kind of believer God comes to and says, I want to raise a thousand businessmen for the kingdom but you are the only one I can find for now
• Isaiah 51:2 When Abraham was going through what he was going through, Jesus was in his loins. Soon God will say, look unto this worshipper in the choir who found how to trap glory in worship

• Gold is a non-living thing. You are a living sacrifice. Gold cannot run away. You can say Lord, I quit the training, and you also quit the glory that comes with it

Salvation

God can use anyone, even Cyrus, Pharaoh. But the one he gives grace to steward his program must be a believer, a child of God. That is the initiation process of becoming a vessel