LEADERS SUFFER IN ORDER TO GROW

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THE SUFFERING OF LEADERS
Jeremiah 48:11, “Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and
he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel,
neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and
his scent is not changed.”
Zephaniah 1:12, “And it shall come to pass at that time,
that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled
on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will
he do evil.”
Moab was a small nation. Moab had
been at ease from his youth he has settled on his lees or dregs. He had not
been emptied from vessel to vessel neither had he gone into captivity there his
taste remained in him for his scent was not changed according to the
Scriptures.
God is saying here that Moab the
nation has not been poured from vessel to vessel thus Moab has not been poured
from vessel to vessel he settled on his dregs and he doesn’t taste any better.
His taste has not improved! His scent or odor has not improved because he has
not been poured from vessel to vessel.
This ancient people had lived a
passive life.  They lived
undisturbed! No external enemy had attacked them. No great natural national
disaster had befallen them and for this reason they had made no progress. They
had become a contented and complacent people and therefore God is saying they
were not a blessing to anybody in the whole world.
THE EXAMPLE OF THE NATION ISRAEL
On the other hand the little
nation Israel had been and would influence the entire world for good.
·     
From
Israel would come the Word of God
·     
From
Israel would come the Son of God
·     
From
Israel would come the New Testament Church
 Israel the nation was a blessing for Israel had a good taste
and a sweet scent. Why, because Israel had been poured form vessel to vessel.
God uses the example of making
wine. When the grape ripened it is taken from the tree, put into a vat 8-foot
square with little holes in the bottom. Below that vat is another vat 5 inches
lower. The people would come and trample those grapes or tread those grapes.
The juice would fall from the pulp and go down into the vat underneath. 

Then
they would take the juice and pour it into a vessel. They would leave the
vessel there for a short period of time. They would take the juice and pour it
into another vessel. They would leave it there for a while more that way some
of the dregs would be left. They would take and pour it into another vessel and
keep on pouring this juice form one vessel to another vessel. Now every time
they poured it some of the dregs were taken off and made it made the juice a
little better. The scent was better!
God is saying Moab had not been
poured form vessel to vessel and because Moab has not been poured form vessel
to vessel she has not been a blessing to the world. However, the little nation
of Israel had been poured from vessel to vessel.
The entire history of Israel is
an alternation between prosperity and trouble. Under one king they enjoyed the
blessing of peace. Under another king they endured the hardships of war. During
one age they endured a revolution that divided them and in another age it
brought the humiliation of exile. From vessel to vessel they were poured and as
a result they were a blessing.
However Moab sat there on his
lees: no disturbance, no heartaches, no problems, no burdens, and thus Moab was
not a blessing.
THE EXAMPLE OF JACOB
Jacob was the man to the nation
Israel was named after. His name was Jacob at first then his name was changed
to Israel, which means “prince.” This man went from out bargaining Esau,
deceiving his own father, out smarting Laban, and he went on to become the
prince of God. How does this man become the prince of God? He was poured from
vessel to vessel with the disobedience of Simeon and Levi, the trouble between
him and Hamor, and the death of his beloved Rachel, the mysterious
disappearance of his son Joseph, the detention of Judah in Egypt, and the
demand for Benjamin. 

All of these are God making him a prince by pouring him
from vessel to vessel to vessel! God is saying I’m going to make Jacob a prince
so I will have to disturb him with burdens, heartaches, problems, and
heartbreaks. God is saying I must pour him from vessel to vessel to vessel!
No one has ever been used of God
who has been allowed to stay like Moab! If God is to use His people mightily He
will have to disturb them by pouring them from vessel to vessel.
THE EXAMPLE OF GREAT CHURCHES
Who are the churches that have
blessed a nation the most? They are churches like Dr. J. Frank Norris’ church,
Dr. G. B. Vick’s church, Dr Lee Roberson’s church, Dr. Dallas Billington’s
church, and a Dr. Jack Hyles’ church.
Wait a minute! All of these
churches have something in common for the hand of God has disturbed them. They
have been poured from vessel to vessel to vessel. Are these churches that were
satisfied with the status quo? NO! Are they churches that sat in their lees?
NO! Are these churches that had arrived and not need to gain higher ground? NO!
Are they churches that were comfortable and sat in their lees? NO!
The First Baptist Church of Fort
Worth, Texas, under Dr. J. Frank Norris had been poured and poured and poured
and poured! This church was the mother church of the independent Baptist church
movement and was a blessing to a nation.
Hold it! When that same church no
longer wanted to be poured from vessel to vessel she went back into the
Southern Baptist Convention and no longer was a blessing to a nation but she
sits in her own dregs!
Temple Baptist Church of Detroit,
Michigan, under the leadership of Dr. G. B. Vick was poured from one vessel to
another vessel to another vessel for years resulting in her being a blessing to
a nation. However one day she no longer wanted the stigma of old fashioned
fundamentalism and now even the Baptist Bible Fellowship is ashamed of her
Saturday night rock and roll shows. That same church is no longer being poured
and she has ceased to be a blessing to our nation for she sits in her dregs!
The great First Baptist Church of
Hammond, Indiana, was poured from vessel to vessel under the leadership of Dr.
Jack Hyles and she was a blessing to a nation. 

In every case when the pastor
that pastored those churches was poured from vessel to vessel to vessel the
church was a blessing, but when those men of God died, or resigned, someone came
in who refused to associate with old-fashioned fundamentalism. The result was
the dregs began to collect, the taste was gone, the scent was gone, and a
nation went unblessed!
THE EXAMPLE OF FAMILIES
Hey dad and mom? Do you want your
family to be a blessing? Then you thank God for the burdens, the heartaches,
the trails, the heartbreak, the tears, the pain, and let God pour you from
vessel to vessel to vessel. However, the minute you decide you don’t want to
fight anymore for right or struggle anymore for right and you decide to let
your little pin-headed son or daughter take you out of the battle and refuse to
let God pour you from vessel to vessel you will end up sitting in your own
dregs. Your family life will be filled with dregs, a bad taste, and a bad
smell.
God said to Moab, “I cannot use
you! You will not have a good taste or scent and I can’t use you! You have been
sitting there complacent in your peace, no attacks, no battles, and no outside
enemies.” God is saying Moab, “I cannot use you” but I will take little Israel
and I’ll pour her in this vessel and then pour her over and over again into
other vessels and she not Moab will give us the Saviour, the New Testament
Church, and the Scriptures!
My mama who went to Heaven on Christmas
Day of 2010 at 98 was poured from vessel to vessel to vessel. She scrubbed
floors in a nursing home to help support the family. She finished her GED for
high-school diploma. She went on to college and became an Administrator of
several Nursing Homes. She was poured from vessel to vessel to vessel. She
never sat down in her own dregs and as a result she was a blessing!
THE EXAMPLE OF PREACHERS
God comes looking to seek a
preacher and he does not want Mr. Personality, Mr. Orator, or Mr. Pretty Boy
for God is looking not for the obvious leader but a boy born in poverty with a
drunken dad while being reared by a single mom. It is the Jack Hyles’ whom God
is looking for. These are the ones poured from vessel to vessel to vessel who
are not sitting in their own dregs. These are the ones who are a blessing to a
nation and not afraid to be the off scourging of the earth for they have lived
that way for a lifetime.
These were not born with a silver
spoon in their mouths! Ignorant and unlearned much like Acts 4:13, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and
John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled;
and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”
When some
Reverend rails on you for being unlearned and ignorant praise God for it!
Some of you reading this chapter
have been poured from vessel to vessel to vessel and I want you to thank God
for it! You are sitting here reading this and asking yourself, “When will the
hurt ever stop and end?” The truth is you are going to be mighty tasteful one
day! You are going to have a sweet scent about you one of these days!
What preacher gave us “Pilgrims
Progress?” It was John Bunyan who was poured from vessel to vessel. Check the
biographies of great men and you will not find any who had it easy! The
Moody’s, the Spurgeon’s, the Paul Radar’s, the B. R. Lakin’s, the Beauchamp
Vick’s, the J. Frank Norris’, the Lester Roloff’s, the Lee Roberson’s, and the
Jack Hyles’ were all poured from vessel to vessel and were not found sitting in
their own dregs.

The John Wesley’s were poured from vessel to vessel. The John R. Rice’s were
poured from vessel to vessel. The Bill Rice’s were poured from vessel to
vessel. The Billy Sunday’s were poured from vessel to vessel. These men were
not found sitting in their own dregs. Too much pouring to have them sitting in
dregs!
I must allow God to pour me from
vessel to vessel so that I may be available to be a blessing! I do not say run
toward suffering but I do say if you do right and refuse to run with the
compromisers you will suffer! When this happens keep letting God pour you from
vessel to vessel so you can avoid the dregs of life!
When God chooses to take a
husband from your side, or a wife from your table, or a little child from your
arms, or your health, or the health of a loved one never forget God is pouring
you from vessel to vessel. He does this so you will taste good, so you will
have a sweet scent, and you can be a blessing to the world around you!

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