He Made It Again Another Vessel

  "And the vessel that he made of clay was MARRED in the hand of the potter: so he made it again ANOTHER vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it." (Jeremiah 18:4) I believe that He has ALREADY made 'Another Vessel', which is none other than the Life of Christ. His intention IS to make ME again another vessel through which the Life of Christ can flow! This 'other' vessel He is making is designed to be a container for nothing less than His very presence, His very essence. It is a vessel to contain the very fullness of Him; "...and gave Him to be the HEAD over all things to the church, Which is His body, the FULNESS of Him that filleth all in all." (Ephesians 1:22-23) I believe we can get a glimpse of this 'other' vessel, this body, this temple that He is making portrayed in the book of Zechariah where we were earlier.

Father has declared that "...HE shall bring forth the Headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it." (Zechariah 4:7) HE shall bring forth Christ, the Headstone, and place Him in His rightful place as the Finishing Head of His Temple, a Living Temple, 'another' vessel . Nothing can stop Him, He has made a declaration that reverberates throughout the heavens and the earth. You see, my altar of inadequacies, failures and sin is really only an illusion. It is time to wake up out of my illusion. "And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept..." (Genesis 2:21) I am still trying to find a verse in Scripture that tells me that Adam ever woke up (smile). Metaphorically speaking, the Adamic carnal mind is still asleep."Besides this you know what [a critical] hour this is, how it is high time now for you to wake up out of your sleep (rouse to reality). For salvation (final deliverance) is nearer to us now than when we first believed..." (Romans 13:11 Amplified Bible) It is time to wake up!

"And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep..." (Zechariah 4:1) What we see when we are asleep is often vastly different than what we see when we are awake. "And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a CANDLESTICK all of GOLD, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:" (Zechariah 4:2) In Biblical symbolism, the Candlestick speaks of the Church (Revelation 1:20), and gold speaks of divine nature. When we wake up from our illusion, from our altar of inadequacies, failures and sin, we will see a CANDLESTICK all of GOLD, a Church that truly walks in the divine nature, as the Christ-Life shines through us.

Notice that there is a bowl on the top of the candlestick. The word translated as bowl, gullah in Hebrew, means a fountain, bowl, globe, spring. The bowl is placed on the top of the candlestick. The word translated as top, rosh in Hebrew, means the head, top, summit, upper part, chief, total, sum, height, front, beginning. Indeed, Jesus Christ IS the Head, the Top, the Summit, the Upper Part, the Chief, the Total, the Sum, the Height, the Front, the Beginning!

I see the bowl as a reservoir of oil, a reservoir of anointing, a spring or a fountain with a ceaseless supply. I believe the bowl represents His ABIDING anointing! "But as for you, the anointing (the sacred appointment, the unction) which you received from Him ABIDES [PERMANENTLY] IN YOU... so you must abide in (live in, never depart from) Him [being rooted in Him, knit to Him], just as [His anointing] has taught you [to do]." (1 John 2:27 Amplified Bible) Under the Old Covenant the anointing 'came upon' individuals for a 'reason and a season'. Unfortunately we have brought that same mentality into the Church. We must begin to understand that His anointing is an ABIDING anointing. The anointing is not a feeling, an adrenaline rush, or a release of endorphins... the anointing is a Person, the Person of Christ! He does not come and go, He never leaves us. Once this Candlestick, the Church, begins to understand the bowl, the ceaseless reservoir of Christ, we may begin to really shine.

We see that the candlestick has seven lamps. Seven is the number of completeness or perfection. A lamp brings illumination to everything around it. Could it be that Father has designed a Candlestick with a ceaseless supply of anointing to bring complete illumination to everything around? "YE are the LIGHT of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid." (Matthew 5:14) It is time to wake up and see the Candlestick for what it truly is!

We get a further glimpse in Zechariah 4:5-6. Let us start with verse 5; "Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord." (Zechariah 4:5) Keep in mind that they are talking about the two olive trees. The context is the Candlestick with the bowl and the two olive trees. Then it would seem that someone has picked up the remote control and 'changed the channel', because verse 6 starts talking about the Word of the Lord;"Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel..." (Zechariah 4:6) We must understand something here- nobody changed the channel, we are still in the same context and on the same subject. You see, the two olive trees ARE the Word of the Lord! And the prophetic declaration of the two olive trees is this, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts! "Then he said to me, This [addition of the bowl to the candlestick, causing it to yield a ceaseless supply of oil from the olive trees] IS the WORD OF THE LORD to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit [of Whom the oil is a symbol], says the Lord of hosts." (Zechariah 4:6 Amplified Bible)

Let's keep looking at these two olive trees present in Zechariah's vision; "And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof." (Zechariah 4:3) They are referred to as 'branches' in verse 12; "And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?" (Zechariah 4:12) In Biblical symbolism, trees speak of humanity and the olive speaks of peace. Also keep in mind that Jesus said,"I am the vine, YE are the BRANCHES..." (John 15:5) These two trees or branches are also referred to as "the two anointed ones" in Zechariah 4:14, and I especially like the wording in the Amplified Bible as it calls them "the two sons of oil." When we put all this together we begin to see a spiritual picture. So, who ARE these two anointed ones, these sons of oil? Well, we know that trees speak of humanity and that the anointing is a Person, the Person of Christ. Are WE not called to be sons of oil, anointed ones, branches, and trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified (Isaiah 61:3)?

Personally, I believe these two "sons of oil" are a picture of Christ and the overcoming church. Indeed, Jesus was the Word made flesh, and the Word is being made flesh in us also, as Christ is fully formed in us. These two "sons of oil" ARE the Word of the Lord, and our prophetic declaration is this- "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts! For who are you, O great mountain of human obstacles?.. you shall become a plain, a mere molehill!"

Remember also that the olive speaks of peace. Our definition of peace may not be entirely accurate however. Maybe I'm giving away my age here, but when I think of peace suddenly that old Eagles song from the 1970's starts playing in my brain, "And I gotta peaceful easy feelin..." All right, enough of that! The Biblical definition of peace is different. The word normally translated as peace, eirene in Greek, means to join, one, rest, to set at one again. Immediately my mind goes to a familiar Scripture,"But the person who is united ('joined' in the KJV) to the Lord becomes ONE SPIRIT with Him." (1 Corinthians 6:17 Amplified Bible) This definition of peace sounds like the answer to Jesus prayer; "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be ONE; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be ONE in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be ONE, even as we are ONE: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in ONE..." (John 17:20-23) These two "sons of oil" who ARE the Word of the Lord to the world are ONE in agreement, so that "In the mouth of TWO or three witnesses shall every WORD be established." (2 Corinthians 13:1)

These 'two olive trees', these 'branches' are building and bringing the Temple of the Lord to completion, and it is happening not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit; "...Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall BUILD the TEMPLE of the LORD:" (Zechariah 6:12) Of course we know that "...the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands" (Acts 7:48), so the Temple being completed is none other than a priesthood of people who bear His glory and rule from His Throne.

Notice also that Zechariah 6:13 says "the counsel of peace shall be between them BOTH." So, who exactly IS this 'them both' that is spoken of? Remember that in our context the 'two olive trees' are PLURAL. Then within the same context we read of 'the man whose name is The Branch'. A casual reading might lead us to think that this Branch Man is SINGULAR. However, Zechariah 6:13 clearly states that "the counsel of PEACE shall be between them BOTH", which is definitely PLURAL. Given our definition of PEACE- to join, to set at one again- it all makes perfect sense. The man whose name is The Branch is a plurality, a many-membered New Creation that is ONE in purpose and ONE in essence with the Lord Jesus Christ!

"Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the GLORY, and shall sit and RULE upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both." (Zechariah 6:13) The many-membered Branch Man is growing up! Most of the church at large is more concerned with 'going up' than growing up (smile), but not the Branch Man. He is building the Temple of the Lord, the true Body of Christ. This many- membered Branch Man shall bear the glory, the character and nature of the Lord. The many-membered Branch Man is a company of kings and a priests as they rule and reign from the throne of grace. I don't know about you, but I think that is something to be excited about!

This Temple is the 'Other Vessel' He is making us into, and the 'Other Vessel' is none other than the Life of Christ Himself. His intention IS to make US again another vessel through which the Life of Christ can flow! This 'other' vessel, this 'Temple' He is making is designed to be a container and habitation for nothing less than His very presence, His very essence. So much for the 'altar' of my inadequacies, failures and sin... it is an altar of idolatry! I must worship at the 'altar' of the FINISHED WORK of Jesus Christ that is found only in His true 'Temple' that is the habitation for His very Presence.

Doug Fortune