Ready Vessels

amazing to be here I've I think I spoke on a Tuesday about six months ago I had a great deal of fun so I'm looking forward to it i love your party he's very envious of my hair and I'm very envious of his tan but it is fantastic to be here nine years old how amazing is that look what gods don't give yourself a round of applause nine years of age multiple campuses just about the planner campus standing rockingham right here Gennaro rockingham that Kwinana area is the fastest growing area suburb in the nation right now how amazing is that some smart people some smart planning I think hey it is going to be amazing just to let you know a little bit about myself my name is Marcus I'm pastor Pete said I moved over from South Australia about 10 months ago to take on the other life position here and just loving being part of wa my family live here my parents live in a wonderful holiday resort location of Kalgoorlie if you've ever been there keep on driving and the rest of my my family lives here and I just love WI I feel like I feel like it's home already um love getting around and seeing my job is to come around and see churches and young pastors all around our wonderful staton just just love what god is doing do you know God is doing something in wa something significant that it's not just happening everywhere God has definitely got a grace and his hand upon our state like nowhere else in Australia the churches that I see a healthy are growing people like yourself good looking people but definitely I think WA has the best looking churches can you say men and just a privilege to be part of it and I want to share something that I can't I in both Pentecost Sunday where the Holy Spirit first infield his church and also to tie in with your miracle off I love miracle offerings up being part of church since I was three years old of I've seen thing senior pastor of a church and also been on team influences church for a number of years and and there's something about a miracle offering that begins its kind of one of those things everybody's a bit hesitant it's like at the swimming pool it's like on a novel but once you're in you are in and it's the best experience of your life and I believe that God is just going to build over the next few weeks something significant to transpire in this church and I want to read from the book of second Kings a story about a widowed lady and her vessels a message that I've entitled ready vessels everybody stay ready vessels because I believe that they're at Centerpoint are some vessels that are ready to be filled can you say men ready to be filled with new oil ready to be filled with the new spirit ready to be filled with new miracles are you ready this morning let's have a look at SEC second Kings chapter 4 let me tell you a little bit more about myself before we do it because I think this is really important as a child I was severely dyslexic in fact it was that I took me to 22 years of age before I could say the word dyslexic I used to say it like this dish / like wasn't so cute at school well no one else thought I was good as you thought you're an idiot but um uh my biggest problem is with spelling any dyslexic people here I'm amongst friends thank you very much the thing with dyslexia is each the words just don't make sense in your mind so I would often times i would spell things different i will just read whatever i thought was on the page not necessarily what's on the page and it kind of culminated in year 12 in my english class if you can remember back in the day or if you're in high school we used to have folders and on the on the outside of the folder we would kind of contact or gaffer tape like ow whatever subject that was so when they were in your locker you could just say oh it's math english PE and I put all my on my classes on the outside of my folder and i went into my english class and I was ready for the new year nothing more exciting than having new pens new folders new books at the start of the year for me it lasted about a week and a half before i had no more pens and all my my my crayons were broken but i went into class and one of my mates said hey laughs and I was like yeah it's like you spell English wrong I was like oh did I I missed out the G and my mates just gave me a hard time for the rest of the and for the rest of the day hey MA we're going to English we're going to end lish and I was so upset that I grabbed my folder and corrected it and said there I fixed that the only problem was i put the G in the wrong place I say that to say it's very important when I preach that you read along with me because dyslexics have a tendency to change a word or two which is quite dramatic when you're reading the scriptures I'll give you an example thou shalt commit adultery just miss the word or two now I'm pretty good these days but let's read along in our verse second Kings chapter 4 it says a certain woman other wives of the sons of the Prophet cried out to Elijah saying your serve your servant my husband is dead and you know that your servant feared the Lord and the creditors are coming to take my two sons to be his slave so Elijah said what shall I do for you tell me what do you have in your house she said your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil then he said go borrow the vessels from everywhere from all your neighbors empty the empty vessels do not gather just a few and when you have come in you shall shut the door behind you and your sons then boy into those vessels set aside the full ones so that so sorry so she went from him and shut the door behind her and with it it was sorry yeah here we go behind her with her sons who had bought the vessels to her she poured it out now it came to pass then the vessels were filled she said to her son bring me another vessel and he said to her there is no other vessel so that oil ceased let's pray Heavenly Father we thank you feel work we thank you that we are here on this day Pentecost Sunday in the midst of preparing for our miracle offerings we open up a heart and we present ourselves ready for the Holy Spirit to do what it wants to do and all the saints said a man Thank You spirit fingers you can grab your seats there's a few things that I want to dwell on as we look at this scripture firstly we have this widowed woman that goes to the prophet and says my husband is dead and his creditors have come to steal or take or enslave my sons I see this as a picture of the spirit of this world in our current day the spirit of this world is banging on the door of the church desiring to enslave our next generation it's coming to enslave our next generation from the depths of the past generations they're coming here to enslave them with bondages they're coming to enslave them with addictions they're coming to enslave them with insecurities the coming to enslave them with depression with materialism and they're banging at our door this morning and I love the fact that the only thing that stops this enslavement is the oil see the oil in this passage represents the Holy Spirit it represents his miracle power it represents his outpouring so it tells me that the only thing that's stopping the spirit of this world the spirit of enslavement stopping and taking our next generation it's a wonderful power lots of his holy presence this is why it's so important and we've got to understand that when we come into church it's not a program that's going to set a next generation free it's not performance that's going to set the next generation free it's about pouring of his spirit in his church that when people came in they don't leave the same way as they came but they encounter something supernatural that sets the captives free can you say Amen there's something amazing when there are two or more gathered and he is in the midst that when people come in it doesn't make sense they can't quantify but they walk in and they say something is different about Center Point Church it's not the guy that's speaking his average but there's something about the presence of God that you can't verbalize you can't quantify you don't understand but you just come in and you say that's exactly what I've been looking for I thought it's in I thought it's in relationships are I thought it's in drugs or alcohol but when I come into this place I'm sure you've heard stories of a generation or people love person next to you our husband or wife that it's coming to church then like it just didn't make sense the end of the message came and I didn't understand why but I'm just putting up my hand because there's something that I needed in this place I love that Center Point is a church that he steams that the Holy Spirit that he steams the anointing that he seems God in a way that will let God do what only he can do will work hard and make it a place of excellence and hospitality and make sure that it's welcoming but we rest wholly and solely on the power of his presence on the oil of anointing to shift people's hearts from dryness to field see here's this lady she succumbs to the Prophet says prophet you've got to do something for me there's a there's another generation my next generation that's going to be enslaved and and what's what the the Prophet says the response to the to this Widow is quite profound he says to her what do you have in your house what do you have not what does a person down the street has what's a gift things over there what's happening on the other side of the country what in centerpoint this morning what do you have that can set the next generation free it's in your house it's in your hand that's why when we come into a miracle offering God's going what do you have in your house ready because it is the answer to the next generation and I looked through the five projects that you guys have got coming up I love the fact that you're going and investing in a problem pregnancy house south of the river why because you are a church that believes and protects the next generation you say I've got something in our house they can stand in the gap for those that can't do it themselves what do you have in your house it's not going to be a program it's not going to be a performance it's not going to be a great motivational message it's going to be the oil there's an answer in this room right now there's an answer in you right now for a generation that's not in church yet there's an answer in your heart in your life in you quite often will disqualify ourselves and say God who am i what am I to give what am I to bring I'm just a regular Church attendee I don't have the talents all the gifts that somebody else does but you have what only you have can you say Amen the Prophet said to her you have the vessels go and gather all the vessels that are in your house gather them together ask your neighbors ask the people around you that want to partner with you that want to give you the empty vessels the thing I love about this scripture is that all that the vessel needed to be was clean and empty all it needed to be was clean and empty it didn't need to be fancy to need to have hi Gert hieroglyphics is that a word hieroglyphics there we go didn't need to be a Ming Dynasty vase it just needed to be clean and empty I wonder if you this morning have the ability to be clean and empty because when we come in what I believe God is going to do for you this morning is going to clean you number one and he's going to empty you from some of the stuff that's been holding you back see I believe that that the devil that your enemy he knows that he can't mess with the anointing so as you I read this scripture I noticed two things firstly that the oil wasn't the issue the oil could keep on flowing the issue was how many vessels were there ready to be filled the Bible tells us in this passage it says that as soon as the vessel stopped the oil stopped flowing which tells me the amount of miracle that God wants to pour into your life is not restricted by him it's restricted by us there's enough oil to flow into every crook milk and every cranny into every vessel into every soul if we would empty ourselves and present ourselves a willing sacrifice to say God I am ready fill me up baby let's get this show on the road see I know that if the devil can't mess with the anointing if he can't mess with what God could do the only thing that he's trying to mess with is the vessel he's trying to hurt the vessel he's China do something to the vessel this morning we see this from the beginning of time when God poured he spirit into humanity do you know what humanity oh she's being human means in little in the Latin it means dwelling place of the spirits you as a human or a piece of dirt prepared for his spirit this is the problem with the spirit of the world is rather than being filled with the Spirit of God it's not clean and empty it's got gear it's got stuff happening and even as we come into church the thing that I know that hurts me the most is not my it's not God's willingness to pour into my spirit it's the fact that sometimes they come in and I'm so I'm jammed up to here with gear I've got worries and I've got concerns I've got insecurities and I've got fears I've got addictions and I've got desires and they're so jammed in there and this is what I understand the devil doesn't and he can't stop the anointing but if he can get us worried if we can get you concerned about the stuff that's happening in your life the battles 1 because there's a willingness on God's side to pour and anointing into your life to pour miracles into your life to pour power into your life but if we're full up to the brim where is God got to go the Bible tells us that the anointing or the oil stopped because there wasn't a ready vessel see the Satan understood this when Jesus came fully God fully man but he the devil could only see the the man part so he thought you know what is a guy Jesus and if we keep him if we don't stop him his business is he's casting out the demons he's healing the sick he's restoring lives he's feeding this he's feeding the broken he's doing all these things you know what we've got to do we gotta mess with the vessel we got to get rid of this vessel and and you know what he thought if I could just kill him so when he was first born Herod decrees I want to kill the vessel let's kill every single baby that was born in that region we're going to take this vessel out because if we could stop the vessel we can prevent the anointing 30 years go by and he is tormenting the devil everywhere he goes he's healing the sick his opening blinded eyes he's feeding the multitude is bringing hope to hopeless situations he's raising people from the daddy never god I've got a mess with this vessel I've got to stop this vessel and so he crucifies that vessel but I'm here to tell you that when that vessel died the only thing that happened was that the spirit was set free the spirit set free on to all men so young men can dream dreams all men can have visions that the Church of Jesus Christ can be empowered with a new anointing see I want you to understand this morning that if we are willing to empty ourselves God is willing and ready to fill ourselves oh sure what does a mum do when she's feeding a baby she empties those bottles and she feels it once the bottles are clean see God has such a powerful plan for Centrepointe church and this is the reality of of the journey of any miracle offering this is the reality of the journey of any Christian is that there's this tension there's this battle between filling ourselves with the spirit of the world and filling ourselves with the Spirit of God and so often they're not evil things that the world is trying to fill us with it's a desire for a promotion or to desire for more money it's a desire for our family it's a desire for more friends it's a desire for better relationships but what happens is when they're seated and elevated and we begin to concern ourselves concern turns into worry and we take ourselves out of the presence of God and we take ourselves into the presence of concern all of a sudden we come into church and we saying God meet my need rather than ourselves empty asif and said they will be done not my will be done I think this is why so many for so many years I've been in church and our kids testimony after testimony when it comes to miracle offering I I gave everything I had I emptied my bank accounts why is it because God wants you to give all of your money he needs you to give up no it's not about that it's because at the end of yourself at the end of all you have is the beginning of all he has at the end of giving of all that you be now the manufacture and create is a beginning of an outpouring of miracle power that you cannot contain it's an outpouring of seeing something supernatural that he has done and he wants to do in your life see the reality of a vessel it is almost worthless it is almost worthless I think about I asked my son the other day there was some chocolate in the fridge and I said to my son Luke is five years old I said Luke continue get me some chocolate from the fridge now the thing that you understand about being a parent is specifics matter so Luke goes in to the fridge about 10 minutes later I'm like Luke where's the chocolate he walks in chocolate in his hand unwrapped uncovered it's been in his hand for like 10 minutes I'm like what have you done with the chocolate goes dad here's the chocolate I said what about the wrapper you imagine you ring up Domino's on a Saturday night say hey I'd love a pizza what type of pizza I want one with the lot pile it on extra olives extra pepperoni extra cheese I want that thing so high that Edmund Hillary will need to climb to the top I want that thing packed about 20 minutes later there's a knock on the door you answer the door hi mr. Lasser yes here's your pizza there's a dude in a Domino's uniform and he's got the pizza in his hands just there it's like here goes through and you're like you're grabbing it their stuff just falling everywhere how many at that moment would go there is great value in the box it's like where's the box body are it's only worth a couple of cents you don't need the box you like dude I want the box your estimation of the worth of a box just went through the roof because when it's presented without the vessel that can carry the product how many no it's not the vessel that gives value to the product it's the product that gives value to the vessel it's the Holy Spirit that gives value to us it's what's in US swine first Corinthians 6 it says that we are temples of the Holy Spirit we have an intrinsic value because of what was birthed into us what we carry gives us value that's why I can confidently say I am not qualified to speak on this platform my year 11 english moderation I finished my presentation my oral presentation stood that took took a step off the platform and went to sit down in my English teacher I can remember him so clearly missed the truck he walked past and he looked at me and he said mark that was possibly the worst presentation I have ever heard in my life please don't take our public speaking for a living I know that my reading and my speech sometimes isn't deserving of the platform that God is giving me but it gives me the opportunity to say hey I'm a 30-cent box but it's what in me that makes me valuable it's what in me that gives me power it's what's in me that when I speak demons begin to tremble it's what in me that when I lay hands on the sick they can recover it's what's in me that brings hope to the hopeless that can open blinded eyes it's not a bad about it's about an in filling it's about a clean empty vessel that just says God I'm here do something with me she I've got to get outside of myself sometimes get out the way I myself and my thinking so many of us coming to church and we're praying you know I don't know about you but sometimes I get caught up in shopping my problems around I'll be on the phone i'll be ringing our dude I've got this issue I've got that issue i can tell i'm texting trying to trying to get an opinion that i like maybe sometimes we should just start a new contact in our phone God just text those when we have a problem when we have insecurities we just text God God I'm not feeling it today but I know that you've made me more than a conqueror what to be freaky one day if he texts back it's like oh my god I'm thinking about you and he's like oh and me I was thinking about you as well said I I know who you are I know when you rise up and when you fall I've thought about you when you were in your mother's womb I know exactly the answer to the situation call on me and i will come rather than filling ourselves thinking that the answer to our problem is a bit more money a few more friends a better car praying to god this is the the unusual or rns-e are earning honesty irony thank you very much irony of christianity is sometimes we're so busy trying to get God to come down to our level god this is my problem that's my issue rather than just coming into the presence of god and going god you already know my dear i want to know your gear see this is the truth sometimes our prayers I actually prayers of Independence of God God give me more money so I don't need to go to you as my provider God give me a better marriage so I can I don't need to have intimacy with you God give me more relationships so that i can tell them all my issues rather than coming to you first or God is wanting from you this morning is a clean empty vessel i takes the pressure off me being talented you being able all God wants us to come is God over the next few weeks as we come into a time of miracle offering is when I come into this house I want to have but from you I want to be filled with you and I want to be prepared by you isn't it interesting that the Prophet says once you've gathered all of the vessels together I want you to do something I want you to shut the door why does he want here her to shut the door is because sometimes we need to shut the door from outside influences we're ready we've got our empty vessels god I don't want to hear what grandma's got to say about my circumstances right now I want to I don't want to hear what Susie's got to say I don't want to hear what my bank's got to say I don't want to hear what my boss has got to say the only voice I want to hear is you so I'm going to lift up my hands and I'm going to prepare for a word from the spirit i'm going to prepare for miracle power because what is in this house is what the generation that is to come needs from me the amazing thing about these earthen vessels if you have a look at what these earthen vessels were used for that had two main objectives firstly they were used to carry water that we use to carry oil that we use to carry wine things that people relied on things of substance but you know the other thing that they were used for human waste the same vessel two very different inputs CIU a vessel for trash or are you a vessel for treasure because i'm here to tell you this morning the oil by itself will not pay for what god is doing here the oil by itself will not be a witness to your family will not be a witness to your high school will not be a witness to your workplace the oil needs a vessel the oil by itself will not provide a prog prevalently problem lilium a pregnancy problem house south of the river the oil by itself won't plant a new campus in Rockingham but the oil in filled with a vessel can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me it can provide for the week it can provide for the homeless it can provide for the needy that's why the devil is trying to mess with your vessel he's trying to get you sick he's trying to get you worried he's trying to get you concerned with all of these things because he knows if I can mess with a vessel there won't be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit there won't be something to pour into because they'll already be filled with concerns and worries a number of years ago I remember listening and watching social media I'm not sure if you can remember that there was an online campaign called make Kony famous who can remember that showed show me hands make Kony famous sir was built around the concept of there's a guy a warlord in Africa that has enslaved multiple women and children and rising up an hour child army and it's gone relatively unnoticed across the Western world so there was this group in America that thought you know what I want to make this guy foam famous so he cannot be ignored the atrocities that he's committing cannot be ignored and so he generated this online campaign like nothing anybody has ever seen within seven days this online campaign this video that they produce had been seen 27 million times after a month it had been signed by 86 a petition had been signed by 86 million people across the world nothing like this had ever seen the social media was a frenzy with videos and blogs of people getting on board signing liking retweeting reissuing showing their friends in high schools and workplaces we've got to make this guy famous and it was meant to culminate on the twentieth of April where there was make Kony famous parties were meant to have been planned across the globe posters put up across cities all over the world there was meant to be placards and and marches and parties and planning so that on the twenty first of April every person across the world would get up and be face-to-face with make Kony famous I want to ask you a question it was only four years ago if anybody can remember waking up across Perth and seeing make Kony famous posters all across our great city put your hand up if you can see remember that was amazing 87 million people signed petitions countless people retweeted shared liked but when it came time to actually investing in something nothing happened nothing happened so so shocked was the united nations of the difference between social media support and actual real support they brought in a new word into our vernacular and it's called slacktivism if you look at the word slacktivism it means this somebody that thinks by supporting a social media campaign makes a real difference to the world when in actual fact it only serves self an ego see this is the thing that I've come to know and I'm sure you have every great movement that has happened across the world has not been cemented by has not being brought by an idea but why the by how much the people are willing to pay I think about it dr. martin luther king who changed the way that race is interacted in America why because he gave a great speech no but because he was willing to lay his life down I think about a young man called William Tyndale that said I need I desire I believe that every single person should have the Bible in their own tongue and was willing to lay his life down I think of the moderates and the people that have gone before us that have said I'm not just willing to give rhetoric but i'm willing to pay something I'm willing to empty myself of everything I had because I believe that I have the answer and there is one man that stands as a pillar above all others and his name was Jesus that he says I don't just have a social media campaign I'm not asking anybody to like or comment I am willing to pay the ultimate price I'm willing to get my back whipped and stripes upon my body because I know that by those stripes people are going to be healed I know that when I put my hands on that cross and I put my life on the line I know that it means something because i believe so much that i'm willing to pay so much i love the story of a missionary called jim elliot Jim Elliot was a missionary that went into the Africa's so the South American rainforest the Amazon rainforest to meet and bring the gospel to tribes that no one had ever seen or heard of he went there for a few weeks and after a few weeks his wife was interacting with him over the radio after about two weeks that radio went silent a wife among with two children heard that her husband that had gone into this amazon rainforest had been killed I think about how I would feel in that moment that my partner my spouse had been killed trying to bring the gospel and this lady cheers my husband has been killed by the people that he's trying to rescue and safe and bring hope to you know what this mother of two children did she didn't throw in the towel I can't believe it he's left me my children and our father lets you know what she did she packed up those two boys and flew straight to the village that killed her husband and brought the same gospel that killed her husband the same Jesus that killed her husband and because of that one lady 17 villages in the Amazon rainforest know Jesus Christ and I'm sure in the back of her mind motivating her the whole way was one of my favorite quotes by Jim Elliot when he said here is no fool to give what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose he is no fool to empty himself of what he cannot keep to fill himself with what he cannot lose you