Jeremiah 18:1-6
John 10:27-30
Topic: I am still in his hands
No matter what comes our way, it is a sweet relief in knowing, that we as children of God, are still in the hands of the Lord. We all face some troubles in our lives. We all face some setbacks in our lives. We all experiences some pain, loneliness, disappointments, dejections, rejection, or sickness. But through it all, it is a sweet relief in knowing that we are still in the hands of the Lord.
Why is it a sweet relief in knowing that you are in the hands of the Lord? Well, being in the hands of the Lord is like Allstate, when you are in the hands of the Lord, you are in good hands because in the hands of the Lord you will find healing. In the hands of the Lord, you will find deliverance. In the hands of the Lord, you will find peace. In the hands of the Lord, you will find joy, strength, guidance, power, eternal life, abundant life, victory, and salvation. You are eternally secures when you find yourself in the hands of the Lord.
But yet, just because you find yourself in the hands of the Lord, that does not mean that everything will all be rosy and smooth for you. For example, Joseph was in the hands of the Lord but yet he went through a lot of trials and tribulations before he was made second in command in Egypt. Job was in the hands of the Lord, but yet he experienced trials and tribulations when he lost everything he had within a 24 hour period, including the death of his children. The three Hebrew boys were in the hands of the Lord when they were thrown into the fiery furnace. Daniel was in the hands of the Lord when he was thrown into the lion den’s. John the Baptist was in the hands of the Lord when he was beheaded for speaking the truth. The Apostle Paul was in the hands of the Lord, but yet he was shipwrecked, beaten, left for dead, whipped, thrown into prison for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, etc. Yes, just because you are in the hands of the Lord does not exempt from persecution, from troubles, setbacks, or pain. But yet when you face the trials and tribulations in your life, it is the hands of the Lord that carry us through the storms, through the trials, through the tribulations, through the setbacks, through the troubles, and through the pain.
Not only does God carry us through the storms of this life in his hands, but don’t you know he mold us, and shapes us with his hands? Yes, you are already fearfully and wonderfully made by God according to Psalm 139:14 . Yes, you are the crown of God’s creation according to Genesis 1:26-31. But yet God is still shaping you and molding you, or better yet, He is still re-shaping and re-molding you from the inside. That is, He is re-shaping you in your heart, in your soul, and in your mind so you can transform into the person that He wants you to be for his glory. Just like a potter who shapes and molds his clay into a vessel that he wants it to look like; God is shaping and molding us in to a vessel with his hands so we can be reflection of his son Jesus Christ in our lives. Now the question is how does God shapes and molds us to be like his son Jesus Christ?
1. God shapes and molds us when we place our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
2nd Corinthians 5:7 says that “We walk by faith and not by sight.”
Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith, it is impossible to please God, for he that cometh to God must believe that He is ,and is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”
2. God shapes and molds us when we go to Him in prayer in faith.
Jeremiah 33:3 says “Call to me, and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
3.God shapes and molds us when we study, obey and live according to the Word of God.
Psalm 119:133 says, “Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.”
4.God shapes and molds us through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:8 says, “But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost past of the earth.”
5.God shapes and molds us through life experiences.
Psalm 119:67 says, “Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now have I kept thy word.
You see before the affliction, the psalmist was not keeping the Word. He was not praying, nor was he worshipping God himself. That is why he also says in Psalm 119:71 says “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.” You see, some of us would not pray, if it had not been some troubles that came into our lives. Some of us would not be in church if it had not been for some trouble in out lives. Some of us would not be in Sunday School if had not been for some trials and tribulations that came into our lives. But most of all, some of us would not have came to Jesus Christ, if it had not been some of the trouble that had came into our lives.
Yes, God will use variety of life experiences (good and bad experiences) with the purpose to shape and mold us into the person that He want us to be for the glory of God. That why the Apostle Paul can say in Romans 8:28 where he says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Just like you use a lemon, which is sour and you use sugar, which is sweet, to pour into water to make some good lemonade to drink; to shape and mold us into the person that He wants us to become for the glory of God, God will use some sour circumstances or situations as well as some sweet circumstance and situations to shape and mold us into the person that He wants us to be for the glory of God.
But you know what? What I am about to say may sound painful, but sometimes God has to allow us to be broken spiritually, mentally, physically, emotionally, or financially so God can shape and mold us into the person that He wants us to be. Just like to potter has to squash the clay while on the spinning wheel so he can reform the clay into the vessel that he want it to become; sometimes God has to squash us so we can be re-shaped and re- mold into the person that He wants us to be. Sometimes God has to squash the pride out of us so we can be re-shaped and re-molded into the person that He wants us to be. Sometimes God has to squash the pride, the hate, the bitterness, the excessive anger, the drugs, the alcohol, or anything that is not like him out of our lives so we can be re-shaped and re-molded into the person that He wants us to be. But know this one thing; if God has to break you to re-shape and re-mold you, that is a good thing because while he is breaking you to re-shape and to re-mold you so you can be a reflection of Jesus Christ, that is a sign that you are still in his hands. And since we are still in his hands, instead of fighting and resisting Him, we should willingly submit every part of our lives to God so He can continue to re-shape and re-mold us into that person that He wants us to be for the glory of God. Romans 12:1-2 says, “I beseech you therefore brethern, by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove that is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Not only is God interested in shaping and molding, but He is also interested in putting you life back together again. Your life may have been shattered by the storms of this life, but yet God wants to put your life back together again. Psalm 37:23-24 says, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and he delighteth in his way Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.”
You know, it is a good thing is that when you have messed up and sinned, when your life has been broken into pieces by the storms of this life, God “will not utterly cast us down, for the Lord upholdeth us in his hand.” You see our life is like a broken vase that was broken when it fell off the shelf. Instead of throwing the vase away, the owner of the vase goes and buy some super glue to put that vase back together again. Likewise, sometimes our lives get shattered by sin, shattered by the storms of this life, but God is able to put us back together again. Instead of using the super glue, God uses the blood of Jesus Christ to clean us up and He uses the power of the Holy Spirit to put us back together again. No matter how bad you may have messed up, no matter how bad your life has been shattered by the storms of this life, Jesus Christ is able to straighten up your life, and put you back together again,
There is a song that has lyrics that goes like this.:
In case you have fallen by the wayside of life
Dreams and visions shattered, you are all broken inside
You don’t have to stay in the shape that you are in;
The Potter wants to put you back together again
Oh the Potter wants to put you back together again
In your situation has turned upside down
And all that you’ve accomplished is now on the ground
You don’t have to stay in the shape that you are in
The Potter wants to put you back together again
Oh the Potter wants to put you back together again
Then the next part of the song goes like this:
You who are broken, stop by the Potter’s House
You who need mending, stop by the Potter’s House
Give the fragments of your broken life to the Lord, my friend
The Potter wants to put you back together again
Oh, the Potter wants to put you back together again
Why stop by the Potter House?
There is joy in the Potter’s House
There is peace in the Potter’s House
There is Love in the Potter’s House
There is salvation in the Potter’s House
There is healing in the Potter’s House
There is deliverance in the Potter’s House
What ever you need, you will find it in the Potter’s House
Who is the Potter’s House?
Jesus Christ, the Potter himself. He wants to save you, and give your eternal life.
How can I get to the Potter’s House?
Romans 10:9- “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
