Matthew 17:14-21
14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, 15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. 16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. 17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. 18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. 19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. 21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
THE FIRST THING I WANT TO SAY THIS MORNING IS THIS; THE FAUCET IS NECESSARY TO GET THE WATER TO WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE.
I don't want to minimize the importance of a vessel! God needs faucets!
God has always worked through human vessels.
In fact, most of the time, God works through the most unlikely vessels!
God Can Use Anyone
Moses stuttered.
David's armour didn't fit.
John Mark was rejected by Paul.
Timothy had ulcers.
Amos' only training was in the school of fig-tree pruning.
Jacob was a liar.
David had an affair.
Solomon was too rich.
Abraham was too old.
David was too young.
Peter was afraid of death.
Lazarus was dead.
John was self-righteous.
Naomi was a widow.
Paul was a murderer.
So was Moses.
Jonah ran from God.
Miriam was a gossip.
Gideon and Thomas both doubted.
Jeremiah was a bullfrog;
Just kidding -- he was depressed and suicidal.
Elijah was burned out.
Martha was a worry-wart.
Mary may have been lazy.
Samson had long hair.
Noah got drunk, and that's not all.
Did I mention that Moses had a short fuse?
But God doesn't require a job interview.
He doesn't hire and fire like most bosses,
because He's more our Dad than our Boss.
He doesn't look at financial gain or loss.
He's not prejudiced or partial, not judging, grudging,
sassy, or brassy, not deaf to our cry, not blind to our need.
God needs us to be faucets! John 7:38
38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
God can have all the plumbing in place, have the pump hooked up, ready to pour out blessings on His people, on the world, but He needs us to be vessels! He needs a faucet!
In many cases, the only thing that stops a move of God is the lack of a vessel.
When Elisha was performing the miracle for the prophet's widow, and the oil was flowing freely, the Bible says:
2 Kings 4:6
6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.
The only thing that stopped the flow of oil was the lack of a vessel!
Now, don't ask me to explain why God decided to use imperfect vessels to accomplish His work.
It doesn't make sense to me that this God who can do all things would choose to restrict Himself to moving through imperfect, flawed, inconsistent humanity!
I don't know why the Creator chooses to move through His creation!
But God is always seeking for men and women through which to move!
At the day of Pentecost, God poured out His spirit upon all "FLESH"! Was filling vessels!
In Isaiah 43:18 He said, "I will work, and who will let it?"
God needs a vessel to through which to work!
Ezekiel said that God was seeking a MAN to stand in the gap and make up the hedge!
When the Lord struck Saul from his horse on the road to Damascus, He then told Saul, "Go see Ananias, he will tell you what to do!" GOD USED A HUMAN VESSEL!
In the Book of Revelation, John says that God wept because He could find no MAN to open the book of salvation, so God Himself took on the form of man to bring redemption!
Do you understand how important you are to the work of God! God will not move without a vessel!
God will not pour out His spirit without a faucet for it to flow through - you are that faucet!
God needs you and He needs me!
NOW, THE SECOND THING I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IS THIS: EVEN THOUGH GOD NEEDS US, WE CANNOT AFFORD TO TAKE THE GLORY FOR WHAT ONLY GOD CAN DO!
I am a faucet, but I must remember that there is no magic in the faucet!
Its what is behind the faucet that counts!
If the power supply ever gets shut off behind the wall, this faucet is useless!
I may still look good, may still say the same things, may still appear to be the same, but if my power supply is shut off, I am of no use to anyone!
Romans 7:18
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
I must understand that I am only the vessel, the conduit, the faucet!
2 Corinthians 4:7
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
The power is God's, I am only the earthen vessel! I can't sing well enough, I can't preach well enough to duplicate what God can only do!
Romans 12:3
3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
No matter how much God moves through us, remember it is God and not us!
No matter how many prophecies we give, no matter how much anointed preaching and teaching comes forth from us, we must never forget that it is what's behind the faucet that makes all the difference!
No matter how many good things happen through me, I am only the faucet, there is a power supply behind me, and if that is ever cut off I am useless!
IN OUR TEXT THIS MORNING, JESUS IS TEACHING HIS DISCIPLES THIS VERY IMPORTANT LESSON.
They had most likely watched Him cast out devils many times before.
They had heard Him teach about going into the Strongman's house and taking his armor.
They had probably watched as he sent the legion of devils into a herd of swine.
Numerous times the scripture speaks of Jesus casting out devils, and it is probable that the disciples were witnesses to these events.
So, now they come across a situation that they feel very confident that they can handle!
They have watched Jesus do this, they have observed His hand motions, listened to what He said, and how he said it!
They have the words, actions, motions, and everything else down pat, but there is one thing missing!
They have no power! There is nothing behind the faucet, and they fail miserably at the task at hand.
And Jesus takes this opportunity to tell them that there is no magic in the faucet!
In other words, if there is no prayer and fasting, there will be no power!
There is no magic in the faucet, its what is behind the faucet that makes the difference!
I can:
Say all the right words
Do all the right hand motions
Use the right tone of voice
But, if there is no prayer and fasting that has taken place behind the wall, there will be no power coming from the faucet! This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting!
THE DANGER WE FACE IS WHEN WE TRY TO DUPLICATE THROUGH MERE HUMAN EFFORTS WHAT CAN ONLY BE PRODUCED BY GOD!
Preachers get into trouble when they learn how to preach!
Singers get into trouble when they learn how to sing!
Teachers get into trouble when they learn how to teach!
We must never reach the point where we learn how to do what only God can do!
I am never going to become so smart that I don't need God!
2312 Simpson's Most Valuable Discovery
The most valuable discovery that you and I can make this morning is this:
No matter how smart I am,
No matter how well I can preach,
No matter how well I can organize
I am still just a sinner saved by grace!
There is no power in me, I am just the faucet, the conduit, the vessel through which His power moves!
There is no magic in the faucet - I NEED JESUS!
By Rev T Silas
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