Lessons From The Potter’s House

LESSONS FROM THE POTTER’S HOUSE

Jer. 18:1-10

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR

1. In Johnson City, Tennessee, a police officer and his partner pulled over an unlicensed motorist. They asked the man to follow them to the police station.

2. But while on their way there they spotted a North Carolina vehicle whose driver matched the description of a very dangerous criminal.

3. The officers took off in a high-speed chase for some 20 miles, often going over 110 mph. They finally stopped and arrested the criminal.

4. As they were loading the felon into their squad car, the unlicensed motorist drove up, white as a sheet and shaking. "If y'all will just tell me how to get to the station, I'll wait for you there," he said. "I’m having a heck of a time keeping up with you!" [John Newland]

B. TEXT

1. This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. 5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, 10 and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.

C. THESIS

1. God not only shaped Adam, but He shapes our lives too, making us who He wants us to be – if we submit to His direction.

2. We’re going to consider with Jeremiah about the nature of clay, its shaping, its problems and its remaking. The title of this message is “Lessons From the Potter’s House.”

I. THE NATURE OF THE CLAY

A. PEOPLE ARE LIKE CLAY IN THE HANDS OF GOD

1. ILLUS.: Modelling Clay Vs. Fine China

a. A blob of clay isn’t worth much, but a piece of fine china does cost a lot. Why? Because it’s become valuable because of the workmanship invested in it.

b. This piece is the final product of a long, arduous process, so instead of being worth 50 cents, it’s worth close to $1,000!

2. A basketball only costs $34, but in the hands of Stephen Curry it’s worth $34 million!

A baseball only costs $22, but in the hands of Mike Trout it’s worth $36 million!

A tennis ball only costs $3, but in the hands of Roger Federer it’s worth $77 million!

A golf ball only costs $2, but in the hands of Tiger Woods it’s worth $43 million!

3. WHAT REALLY MATTERS IS WHOSE HANDS YOU’RE IN! And it’s awesome that we’re in God’s hands!

B. WE THINK WE DETERMINE OUR OWN LIVES! THAT’S ILLUSORY!

1. YOU & I HAD NO CONTROL OVER:

a. The color of our eyes or of our skin.

b. What country/ time in history we’d be born.

c. Our economic status.

d. Our IQ.

e. Even our opportunities to improve ourselves.

2. ALL THESE WERE GIVEN US BY GOD.

3. “From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth: and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.” Acts 17:26, NIV1984. “But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth…” Deut. 8:18.

4. Beware of being arrogant, “Can I not do with you as this potter does?” Jer. 18:6.

5. God can ‘lower us down a notch’ anytime He gets ready. Don’t take God’s grace or mercy for granted. We are clay!

C. WHAT GOD SAW WHEN HE LOOKED AT YOU

1. To everyone else I looked like MUD, but the heavenly potter saw a vessel. He saw something in you and me. He chose us to be His vessels.

2. If we really become valuable, it will be because of the work He does in us. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” Eph. 2:10, NIV1984.