What Qualifies A Person to Do Ministry?... Broken Until Your Open

So here are the notes I took last night at Care View Community Church. Pastor Mason from Epiphany Fellowship spoke during their Pastor's 13th Anniversary Service. I was completely blown away...

He came from 2 Corinthians 4:7-9But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

Backdrop:
God is attracted to brokenhearted people. This is evidenced in:
Psalm 34:18: The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
Psalm: 51:17: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise.
A brokenhearted person is someone that is: shattered, crushed, wounded, grieved, anxious, disabled - A person is in a place where they can't do anything for themselves and need help.
During times of desperate need of help, it makes me teachable to the hand of God.
How do I know if I'm a broken person? Well, if I have a life marked by:
Independence- rejecting help from others
Over dependence- relying too heavily on others
Prayerlessness- haven't talked to God in some time
Dry eyes- haven't cried for some time
Secrecy- no one can hold you accountable for anything
Isolation- Proverbs 18:1- A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire;
He rages against all wise judgment
Unteachable- No once can tell you anything because you know it all and have an answer for it all
An unsynchronized life- You fill your life with things to look busy but it's all worthless

We then dove into the text:
History: Back in Jesus' day the rich folk would keep their most valuable possessions in the most lavishly decked out vessels. Once robbers started to break into their homes and steal these lavish vessels they began to put their possessions in clay pots. Although not lavish, robbers wouldn't think about taking them because nothing of good value could possible be in something so worthless. (You'll get that later!) In order to secure their possessions in the clay pots they had to seal the top and bake it to close it. In order to get to their possessions from out the pots they had to break them.

vs. 7 - But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us
God puts power in the vessel. The treasure is the gospel. The gospel sanctifies us, starts and grows our faith and empowers us to discipline.
You can look at the earthen vessel as the clay pots. God takes his best treasure and puts it in inconspicuous vessels. Thus, God puts power (the gospel) in the vessel(you, me, us). Romans 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

vs.8 - We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed
God approves of the pressure put on His vessels.
This hard-pressed Paul is talking about literally means to get jumped. It's as if everything goes wrong at the same time. (It gets to the point in Paul's life where he doesn't become surprised anymore. He expects pressure. It's almost as if it's a regular occurrence for God not to let up on him.)

we are perplexed, but not in despair
To be perplexed is to be confused when something out of the blue happens. Perplexity talks to God while despairing pushes God away. Perplexity doesn't understand but still trust because of the hope and faith one has in God. Never stop hoping in what God can bring to the past.

persecuted, but not forsaken
To be persecuted is to experience hostility.
Reference verses: Acts 8:1 - Now Saul was consenting to his death.
At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.God and the enemy persecute, they just use it differently. The enemy uses it to pull us away from God and God uses it to draw us closer to him. James 4: 7 - Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

struck down, but not destroyed
To be struck down is to be badly hurt, but not fully hurt. You can get back up again!

Although God loves a broken person there are some things He likes to break-up Himself:
1- God likes to break-up My plans!
2- God likes to break-up relationships (if He isn't the center) This refers to dating and non-Christian friendships.
3- God likes to break up My will.
The pastor gave a visual display of how God hurled a storm into Jonahs life to break up the boat (or himself). God will hurl specific storms at me to break up what I put before Him. - All this breaking up is done in LOVE!

Lastly he dealt with the "But Not"
- But Not Crushed
- But Not In Despair
- But Not Abandoned
- But Not Destroyed
God's "but not" is a protective mechanism. It proves to us that the devil has a limitd access badge. God only allows him to go but so far and it's at that point that we are brought to our knees, calling upon the name of the Lord. The good thing is that He hears. He sees our tears, hears our broken hearts and is then ready to deal with us according to His grace and mercy! God may even be quiet for some time, be still for sometime, but as long as we continue to trust God through our confusion, to draw closer to Him instead of pushing Him away, He will mend our brokenness.

And all this brokenness qualifies one to do the work of the Lord.


I know it's long, but I pray that it blesses you the way it blessed me. I'll soon post what God revealed to me that night. I'm telling you it really blew me away!!!