But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.(2 Corinthians 5:7)

Our dear friend Drew Maxwell illustrated a great truth with a simple illustration this morning when he preached at the 173^rd Anniversary Service at Morgan’s Point United Church in Wainfleet, Ontario, Canada.

In one hand he held a coffee cup from the hotel where he had stayed the previous night. It should not surprise you to hear that the quality of this coffee was not quite up to snuff.

In the other hand he had a cup of Tim Horton’s coffee. (For the benefit of our non-Canadian subscribers, Tim’s, as it is affectionately known, is a nationwide chain of coffee shops known for their addictive coffee, donuts and assorted pastries)  

Tim’s Coffee is not in the same league as Starbucks (in quality or in price), but is immensely popular with Canadians, definitely a few cuts above the hotel coffee.

Drew then proceeded to pour coffee from the Tim Horton’s cup into the Best Western cup. He went on to point out how even though the container gave the impression that it was holding the inferior hotel brand coffee, in reality, its contents were high octane java!

As you might have figured out by now, the superior coffee represented the “treasure” of the Holy Spirit which has been poured out into our earthen vessels, which can belie their contents by their appearance.

Drew pointed out how when we focus on the contents of the cup, we do fine. But, when we focus on the container, we can easily get judgmental.

I could relate to what he was talking about. I still remember the first ever large-scale Holy Spirit-led meeting that I attended. It was nothing like the mainline church services that I was used to leading.

Yes, they had a Praise Team like we did, but the worship they offered was very different. I’d never seen a band take a 4 minute song and stretch it to 8 minutes with copious repetition, room for spontaneous prayer and silent spaces. Frankly it felt strange and unnecessary.

The din of people talking and singing in tongues, the weird movements and jerky motions of some of the people in the meeting and manifestations which I had never witnessed before were quite disconcerting, even disturbing.

When I focused on the containers, I was beginning to wonder whether what was going on was of God or not.

When I started to focus on what God was doing though, then I had no doubt whatsoever that what I was witnessing was really a 21^st century version of the book of Acts.

There were healings galore. There were testimonies shared by those who had been touched by God. It was obvious that lives had been transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Emotions erupted as people shared how they had experienced the Father’s love. Jesus had wooed many into the Kingdom. Churches were birthed. Movements were born. Missions were an integral part of this Holy Spirit Outpouring. Yes, there was even persecution.

Sometimes I wonder what would’ve happened had I judged the contents by the container. My life would not be what it is today. I am so thankful to God for giving me the wisdom to discern the Tim’s coffee that was masked by the Best Western cups.

Dear DWOD friend, on the road to your destiny, you too will be faced with this kind of situation over and over again. Please make a conscious choice to check out the contents and not judge by the container. It could make a world of difference for you, as it did for me.