Become a Person of Value Everywhere You Go

In this episode, we reflect on 2 Timothy 2:20–21 and the call to become a vessel of honour in God’s hands. The message reminds us that while our background, experiences, qualifications, and journey matter, our relevance and usefulness before God carry greater weight. You will be encouraged to look beyond how you got here and focus on the value God expects you to add where you are now.

Transcript

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A vessel is not only defined by what it is made of. In the hands of God, a vessel is defined by what it is useful for. The question is not only how did I get here. The deeper question is, what value am I contributing now that I am here? Good morning and welcome to this expression of igniting your day. This morning, our consideration is about being a person of value. I like to enter a place and the moment I leave, let it be said that while I was there, value was added to the organization. If it's a friend's home I'm visiting, let it be said that while I was there, value was added. If it's a sibling I'm speaking to, let it be said that during that conversation, value was exchanged.Anywhere you go and anywhere I go, I believe strongly that God wants to see value deposited. God wants to see value imparted. What I was shown this morning is that many people do not think they have what it takes to deliver value because they often focus less on important things. Many people do not think they can offer value because their attention is fixed on the wrong measures. This morning in scripture, the Lord showed me two important things. Both of them have their roles, but according to the passage we are going to read, one of them is more important for value generation and value creation than the other. Many times we focus on the first, but if we truly want to create value, we must focus on the second. Let us read 2 Timothy 2, verse 20 to 21. The Bible says, But in the great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor and some to dishonor. If a man therefore urges himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. First of all, what does it mean in contemporary language to be a vessel of honor? To be a vessel of honor is to become a value adding vessel in the hands of God. It could be in your organization, you are a value adding vessel, it could be in your business, you are a value adding vessel, it could be in your church, you are a value adding vessel. It means you are someone who adds value to whatever you are called into. I observed in this passage that Apostle Paul spoke about two major things. First, he spoke about material composition. Second, he spoke about relevance. He said, In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth. That speaks of material composition. Then he said, Some to honor and some to dishonor. That speaks of relevance. What are you useful for? So Apostle Paul spoke about material composition, and he also spoke about relevance. Friends, many times we think that adding value is solely dependent on material composition. But no, Apostle Paul is showing us that what you are relevant for is weightier than material composition when it comes to value creation. Many times we look at our background, we look at our social background, we look at our academic background, we look at our skills, we look at our qualifications. All these things are truly potent and consequential, they matter. But Apostle Paul is saying that what you are useful for carries more weight. You can have the best material composition, you can have the best qualifications, you can have the best skills, you can have the best academic background, you can have the best social background, but the question is, are you useful? And the next question is: if you are useful, what are you useful for? Are you relevant for honor or are you relevant for dishonor? Friends, I want you to look beyond how you got here. I do not know what you have been thinking about your material composition. Yes, how you got here is synonymous to your material composition. I do not know what you have been thinking about how you grew up, your academic life, your qualifications, your current social status, or how challenging it was for you to even get one degree. I do not know what has occupied your mind. But Apostle Paul is saying, Can you shift a little and start thinking about what you are relevant for? Are you relevant for honor or are you relevant for dishonor? Probably, because it took us years to arrive at where we are and where we can now comfortably define or describe our material composition, it seems to carry so much weight in our eyes. But what the Lord would like you to see this morning is that however long it took you to arrive at your current status, it's not as important as what you are relevant for while you are on that status. This morning, the Lord wants you to make a choice, the Lord wants you to decide. No matter what I have experienced, I will focus on value. No matter what I have passed through, right now that I am here, I focus on value. Some of us have unforgettable memories about getting to where we are, and we seem to be giving those memories a lot of space in our minds. But the Lord is saying, can you stop processing some of those images right now and focus on adding value where you are? Focus on adding value to that organization, focus on adding value to that friendship, focus on adding value to that unit where you serve. Focus on adding value to that marriage. I am not diminishing your experience. Your experience is part of your material composition, but I am saying that your relevance matters more to the Lord now. Stop processing and reprocessing some of those negative images that have contributed to your current material composition and start thinking about how to become a person of value where you are. Start thinking about how to become a person of value where you are. I understand that you have experienced pain. I get it. I understand that you were cheated many times, I get it. I understand that you could have been higher than where you are right now. Honestly, I agree with you. But the Lord is telling you this morning that there is the issue of material composition, and then there is the issue of relevance. Why not start paying attention to how relevant you are? This is where we begin this morning. As we pray for ourselves, we will also pray for everyone around us. There are people right now who have not been able to move past their material composition, they are stuck, they are focused more on what they have been through than on how relevant they are and how relevant they can continue to be as they go forward in life. Take a moment this morning and pray for them. Whether it is somebody you know, a close relative, or someone in your circle, pray that they will be able to move forward. Pray that they will be able to take their eyes away from how they got to where they are and begin to see what God expects them to do. Yes, pray for them that they will live the way God expects them to live, and the value God expects them to create, they will create in the name of Jesus. Yes, I know that in your intelligent mind, you may already be asking, is material composition not what determines relevance? I hear you, I hear you. But no matter what you are made of, if what you are creating in that organization where you work is dishonor, then the quality of the material you are made of has become irrelevant. No matter what you are made of, if you cannot add value, it does not make the people around you give you the attention you think you deserve. There are vessels of gold, there are also vessels of wood, but what matters in the eyes of God is the kind of relevance you give. Are you giving something positive or are you giving something negative? Are you associated with honor or associated with dishonor? Are you associated with what is moving the organization forward, or are you associated with what is drawing the organization back? This morning, I give God praise for your material composition, especially if it brings you joy. But much more, the Lord wants you to look at the kind of value you are generating, the kind of value you are creating, and the kind of value you are providing. Is it such that brings joy to those who accommodate you? Is it such that brings progress to those who align and associate with you? Is it such that brings posity to the circle where you belong? This morning, the Lord wants you to take your eyes away a little bit from your material composition, that is, from the experiences that have led to your current status. The Lord wants you to focus on the kind of relevance you are providing now. Let me say this to you. Many times when you focus too much on your material composition, it can lead to pride and to be balanced as well. When you focus too much on your material composition, it can also lead to low self-esteem, especially if your experience has not been all positive. But this morning, the Lord will have you take your eyes a little away from your material composition and deliver value. Yes, please deliver value. For the next few moments, why don't you declare with your own mouth? I deliver value everywhere I go. I deliver value in everything I do. I look beyond how I got here and focus on what is important for my today. I look beyond how painful it has been getting here and focus on the things the Lord will have me do while I am at this stage of my life. I take my eyes away from how painful it has been getting here, and I wake up to the realities of God's expectations concerning me while I am here. Maybe you are here, and for the past few days you have been talking strongly about how painful it has been getting to where you are. The Lord is saying, My daughter, wake up. My son, wake up, wake up to the realities of the expectations I have concerning you while you are here. I understand that it took a long time to get here, but now that you are here, there are certain things expected of you, and you cannot take those expectations for granted. Yes. Another intelligent mind might be asking, What if the material composition is generally of low quality? The Bible shows that there are things you can do to ensure that what you deliver is positive and not negative, regardless of what you are made up of. That is the whole essence. We are not saying your material composition is useless, it has its own qualities and consequences. Yes, we agree. But where you are now, are your outputs essential for growth or are your outputs producing decline? Let's read verse 21 of 2 Timothy chapter 2 again. The Bible says, if a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. The Bible says that if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, that is, if anyone cleanses himself from anything that can produce dishonor, he will be a vessel unto honor. Then it mentions three things. Sanctified, useful for the master, prepared for every good work. Sanctified, useful for the master, prepared for every good work. Sanctified means you rid yourself of everything, every moral construct, and every pattern that does not lead to honor. Useful for the master means to equip yourself with what you can use to fulfill the obligations of those who have enrolled you into service. Prepared for every good work, includes your availability and readiness to be sent for any task. The message this morning is simple, but I believe it can be life-defining. There is your material composition, which primarily refers to how you got here. But then there is your relevance, which speaks of what you produce. There is how you got here, and there is what you are relevant for. Are you relevant for honor? Are you relevant for dishonor? I do not talk down on how you got here. I do not belittle it. How you got here has its own significance. But the Lord is saying to you this morning, take your eyes a little away from how you got here and start thinking about what is expected of you while you are here. There is material composition and there is relevance. Apostle Paul acknowledged the two, and he made us understand that it is possible to be made with the best materials and still produce dishonor. It is also possible to be made with what may seem like the lowest grade of material and still be relevant for honor. I encourage you this morning as you go today, make your choice that everywhere you go, you will produce honor in the name of Jesus. Do you remember the statement of Jesus in John chapter 9, verse 5? Jesus said, As long as I am in this world, I am the light of the world. Let that be your confession and your position today. As long as I am in that organization, I am a light. As long as I am in that group, I am a light. As long as I am in that fellowship, I am a light. As long as I am in that class, I generate relevance and positive value. I contribute immensely to positive values everywhere I go. In closing this morning, choose one place where you have been focusing too much on how you got here and ask yourself, what value does God expect me to add here? Take one clear action that produces honor, usefulness, and positive value in that space. The Lord bless you in Jesus' name. An amazing, amazing, amazing.