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Four Types of Vessels God Uses for His Glory

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters."

— Colossians 3:23

God is not looking for impressive. He is looking for available.

1. CHOSEN VESSELS  —  Set Apart for a Specific Purpose

"This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel."  — Acts 9:15

• God's call doesn't always arrive dramatically.

• Sometimes it's a persistent burden you simply cannot shake.

• Opposition you face may be evidence your calling is real.

2. COMMON VESSELS  —  Faithful in the Everyday

"In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work."

— 2 Timothy 2:20-21

• Age doesn't matter. Status doesn't matter.

• Expect nothing in return. Just do what you can, where you are.

• In God's economy, there are no small acts of obedience — only faithful ones.

3. BROKEN VESSELS  —  Beautiful in Their Weakness

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

— 2 Corinthians 12:9

• Brokenness comes from more than one direction — from our choices, from others, from both.

• Kintsugi: broken pottery repaired with gold — more beautiful because of what it survived.

• People don't need our polish — they need our testimony.

4. EMPTY VESSELS  —  Ready to Be Filled

"It is enough, Lord. Take my life."

— 1 Kings 19:4  (Elijah)

• A vessel already full has no room for a miracle.

• Empty ≠ idle. Rest, rebuild, and listen — but don't drift.

• God never fills a vessel just to keep it on the shelf.

• The filling is always preparation for the pouring out.

Jesus Was All Four — On Purpose

Chosen  (Isaiah 42:1)   Common  (Luke 2:51-52)   Broken  (1 Cor. 11:24)   Empty  (Philippians 2:7)

"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."  — Ephesians 2:10

Whatever vessel you are in this season — the good works are already waiting. 

The vessel just has to be willing.

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1. What this was not. It was not part of what Paul called “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” (1Cor.15:20) In the first place it happened before Christ was resurrected and with Him brought others from the dead at that time (Mt.27:51-53). The raising of Lazarus happened at least a week before Jesus had even died.

2. Lazarus did not rise in the same sense Jesus did with a glorified body. After Jesus raised him from the dead he was no different than he was before he died, except he wasn’t sick (Jn.12:2). We are left to believe that he eventually died like everyone else who dies and has not been resurrected yet.

3. We have here a warning for all those who are tempted to believe all the testimonies of those today who claim to have died, gone to heaven, and came back to tell us what all they saw and heard. In contrast to all that we have the Bible. Lazarus came back and as far as we know said nothing about where he was or what he saw and heard. This would have been a good opportunity for that, wouldn’t you think? To pull back the veil and open heaven up to us. But we have nothing in the inspired Scriptures from anyone who came back from the dead giving us such information. Paul said that he went to the third heaven and later said nothing about where he was or what he saw and heard. This would have been another good opportunity to reveal to us what happens when we die. Quite the contrary, he wrote that he heard “inexpressible words, which are not lawful for a man to utter.” (2Cor.12:14) Beware of those who say they died, saw Jesus, and then came back to write books about it. We don’t need these things to tell us there is life after death. The Bible makes that very clear. It fully and adequately informs us that there is.

            Coming out of church one Sunday morning a lady handed me a book she asked me to read that had blessed her life so much.  I took it and later that week read about 10 pages, closed it and put it aside. Next week I handed the book back to her and she asked me if I had read it and what I thought. I said I hadn’t and told her why.  It was a book about somebody’s “out of body experience.” I told her I would not have believed a word of it and I didn’t read such nonsense. She was aghast! And told me she had become convinced, after reading that book, that there was life after death. I took her Bible out of her arms, showed it to her and said, “I became convinced of life after death by reading This Book, the Bible!

4. His resurrection was a display of the glory of God (Jn.11:40). What a display it was! A man who had been dead for four days without being embalmed, actually raised from the dead by the mere words of Jesus (v.43-44). Jesus shouted, “Lazarus! Come out!” A wise man once said, “Good thing He called his name or everybody in the graves would have come out! Lazarus came out hoping because he was wrapped up like a mummy. When they unwrapped him he was just like he was before he died; except, like I said, he wasn’t sick.

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THREE PRACTICES FOR EVERY NEW NORMAL   -   Kim Trujillo

1. NAME THE SEASON - What season am I in?

• Ruth (Ruth 1:16): Named it "planting season"
  • Planted herself in foreign land through faithful work
  • Galatians 6:9 - "At the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up"
• Empty Nest: Named it "releasing season"
  • Time to refrain from embracing (Ecclesiastes 3:5)
  • Proverbs 22:6 - Train them, then trust God with them

Your Turn: Look at Ecclesiastes 3:2-8 and actually name your season.

2. DO WHAT THE SEASON REQUIRES - What does THIS season need that the last one didn't?

• Sarah (Genesis 21:6): Waiting season required trust, not control
  • Isaiah 55:8-9 - God's ways are higher than ours
  • Psalm 30:5 - "Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning"
• Retirement: Togetherness season requires sacrifice, not selfishness
  • Philippians 2:3-4 - "Value others above yourselves"

Your Turn: Stop using last season's strategies.

• What worked before might not work now
• Ask God what THIS season needs
• Do it even when it's hard

3. TRUST THE HIDDEN PURPOSES -  What is God growing in me through this?

• Corrie ten Boom: Fleas seemed like more suffering
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:18 - "Give thanks in all circumstances"
  • God's hidden purpose: Fleas kept guards away → freedom for ministry
  • Romans 8:28 - "In ALL things God works for the good of those who love him"

The Growth Promise: Philippians 1:6 - "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion"

THE ULTIMATE NEW NORMAL:

Ecclesiastes 3:2 - "A time to be born, and a time to die"

For believers:

• 2 Corinthians 5:1 - "An eternal house in heaven"
• Philippians 1:21 - "To live is Christ and to die is gain"

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March 1, 2026 Sunday Morning 

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What is God Doing in the World Today?

Whatever God is doing, we are fellow workers with Him.

He is Rebuilding the Tabernacle of David

“I will return and rebuild the Tabernacle of David, which has fallen down;

I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up.” (Acts 15:16)

In our next chapter I will bring out the immediate context of this phrase “The Tabernacle of David” and what that means. But for now…

The church must be UNIFIED on what church is supposed to be like. If you and some friends landed on a deserted island and someone had a Bible, and you all began to read it and became Christians, what would you think church was supposed to be like? We are presently at a serious disadvantage when it comes to this. Most people think church should be like what they were brought up in and are used to. We must not do that. We must go by the Bible. Why? Because it is God’s word that alone tells us what God wants His own church to be like and how it’s supposed to function. If all you had was a Bible, what would your church look like? What would it be doing? The devil would like nothing better than for us or any church to not go by the Bible. A church needs to agree that what God says in the Bible is what God wants for His church.

What is the Tabernacle of David mentioned in the text? When David became king of Israel, the first thing he did was move the Ark of the Covenant, which was in the Tabernacle of Moses, from Shiloh to Jerusalem. At Gibeon there was no music. Just sacrifices. But when King David moved it to Jerusalem, he did so with much music. Much music! “Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments… Then David danced before the Lord with all his might.” (2Sam.6:5,14) So, part of the rebuilding of the Tabernacle of David was this singing with musical instruments, of which there were no such things at the Tabernacle of Moses. Solomon moved the Ark into the Temple and set up the worship with the music of David. There were hundreds “singing with cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, with 120 trumpets. When they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.” (2Chron.5:11-14) Then we have Psalm 150.

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Wednesday Night 2/18/2026 "The Cause and Cure of Unbelief"

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February 15, 2026 "Do your Job"

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“The disciples asked, ‘Why could we not cast the demon out?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your unbelief.” (Matthew 17:14-21-21)

 “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.” (Mark 9:21-29)

“Have faith in God. For assuredly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says.” (11:22-23)

We don’t think or talk about unbelief much. In fact, I don’t remember ever hearing a sermon on unbelief. I don’t think I’ve ever preached a sermon on this vitally important subject. We’re going to read about it now and learn about this dangerous poison that keeps our faith from working and our prayers from being answered.

We are still looking at God’s answering our prayers from the springboard of John chapter eleven. I have previously shown how the Bible emphatically teaches that God always answers our prayers with a resounding, although sometimes delayed, Yes! We must not take away from Jesus’ teachings on this subject, which we see in this passage of Jn.11 and the rest of the gospels. James writes, “The prayer of faith will save the sick.” God answers Yes to every prayer prayed according to the will of God with faith. The integrity of God Himself and His word are at stake here, and the promises of God, which are always Yes and Amen.

Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you.” (Mt.7:11) Not, “Ask and it might be given to you.” We can never deny that the teachings of Jesus will not allow anything other than “It will be given to you.” You’ll never find Jesus saying, “You pray in faith and the Father will sometimes say Yes and sometimes No. Jesus never said, “You pray and the Father will sometimes give you what you ask for and sometimes He won’t. The answer is up to Him.” The Bible never teaches that. Not once.

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Stay Connected with Grace Church!

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Non-Essentials are things some Christians believe but others may not. It’s not that some non-essentials are not important. They’re just not important to some Christians. In the church we have liberty to differ over anything considered non-essential. Many non-essentials boil down to personal preferences, like the types of worship music. Then it could include things like different views of the Millenium.

I share these essentials because all local church members should be united in these matters. If another member agrees with the Essentials he has liberty to differ in other matters. Only those who agree with the Essentials should be given places of teaching and leadership in the church.

I. The Bible. “We believe the Holy Bible to be the inspired and only infallible record of the revelation of God in human history. It is the final authority in matters of faith and practice. It is the Word of God.” (2 Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:21)

There are 66 books in the Bible: Old and New Testament (Covenant). God used many writers, at different times, using different languages, to say exactly what He wanted said. Every part of all the Bible is the Word of God. It contains truth without any mixture of error in whatever subject it addresses: history, science, and spiritual matters. It uses figurative language: prose, poetry, metaphors, similes, parables, antinomies, hyperbole, etc. to communicate perfectly what God wanted to say.

II. The Trinity. “We believe there is one God, eternally existent in three distinct Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Lk.3:22) This is a mystery – something we would not know unless God revealed it to us. Our beliefs are based on Revelation, not human Reason.

When Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit, he lied to God (Acts 5:3-4). In the Bible, only God is to be worshiped. There are two thrones before whom all creation worships (Revelation 5). All three are to be worshiped because all three are God in one Being.

III. Jesus Christ. “We believe in the deity and humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ: His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His atoning death, His bodily resurrection from the dead, His ascension and exaltation to the right hand of the Father in heaven, and in His personal return in power and glory.”  (John 1:1-3,14; 1 Timothy 3:16) This is another mystery we accept by faith, how that God and man can be united in one Person. Within the person of Christ are two natures: divine and human. The Son of God became the Son of Man without ceasing to be either at any time.

Jesus did all His miracles as a man empowered by the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:38). He is the only Savior of mankind (1Jn.4:14; Acts 4:12), our Example of what a human should be like (1Pet.2:21). In salvation God is making us to be like Jesus (Rm.8:29).

Salvation from sin and all its consequences is only through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31; Jn.3:16). John the Baptist introduced Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away sin and the One who baptizes us with the Holy Spirit (Jn.1:29-33). Everyone should ask himself, “Has Christ taken away my sins and has He baptized me with the Holy Spirit? (Acts 1:4-5,8) 

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