HE IS THE POTTER, WE ARE THE CLAY 7-5-08
Jeremiah 18:1-6
Today I want to talk just for a little while on the fact that God is the Potter and we are the clay, some times He has to break our worldly vessels and make us over again. And I’m glad its that way aren’t you?, I’m glad that when He saves us He don’t just lay us aside and say well, “THERE’S ANOTHER ONE THAT’S MINE” no, He starts right away working on us to make us better for His use & glory. I’m afraid though that like Israel many of Gods children today find them selves all involved with the things of this world. Idolizing many things.
God took clay and formed man, the physical part of man. Gen. 2:7 “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” God was the Potter.
Let me say that the potter has absolute control over the clay; the clay will yield to the potters every demand, because the clay is lifeless and helpless in His Hands. The potter is absolute. That is, he has power over the clay and that power is unlimited. No clay can stop the potter, nor can it question his right. No clay can resist his will, nor alter his plans. The clay cannot speak back to the potter.
“Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto di)shonour?” Rom. 9:21
Listen as I read today’s text found in
Jeremiah 18:1-6 1The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. 3Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. 4And 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. 5Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 6O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
We see here that God was talking about Israel, but the truth in these verses can be applied to you & I as individuals as well as nations also, God always receives us in our old carnal ways and then He begins to reshape and mold us into a vessel that He can use, our old man and old nature are still with us even after we’re saved but He slowly but surely starts a work on each of us for His use and glory. He is the Great Potter and He is expert at what He does.
Some times the clay may need to season a bit to become more workable and useable, the potter may lay that clay aside for a time but he never throws it away.
Much like Israel is today, the Potter has simple laid them aside for a time but He has not forgotten them or abandon them, when the heated oven of the Tribulation is hot, Israel will come back to Him, their His chosen people and nothing or no one can change it, nor do we that love God & Israel want to.
Rom.11: 25-27 25For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits;*{ideas} that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Again let me say that God is the Master Potter and He is shaping, molding and forming us at this very time and He will be until we’re out of here.
Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
--will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: according to this verse, He will continue to mold, shape and make us better right up unto the day of Jesus Christ.
In Jeremiah’s time the people of God found themselves deep in disobedience to God. As a nation they were sliding deeper into sin. Sins were written permanently on the people’s hearts, It stood etched there, and on their most prominent places of worship, the pagan altars throughout the land.
Rather than blood on the horns of the brazen altar in the temple courtyard testifying to the people’s commitment to Him, the Lord saw their sins marking the horns of their pagan altars.
n --There’s many Christians today that are worshipping the pagan altars of materialism, a lot of so called saved people on Sunday morning load up their boat and head to the lake instead of loading themselves with the things of God and going to His house, Church.--
Jeremiah 17:1-2 tells us 1The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars; 2Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills. ". . . the people’s heart has guilt not only written all over it but etched into it, engraved.
The people of Israel had been involved in idolatrous worship so long that even their children were engulfed with the sin of their parent’s idolatry. It was in the hearts of their children.
n And the same holds true today, the children of today take in ever thing their parents do and chances are will be just like them as they grow into adulthood .--
Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
I heard a man say one time that he was not going to make his children go to Church, that they could make up their own mind when they were older. Needless to say neither him nor his wife attended Church either. --Total ignorance to what the Bible said.
And I know people who don’t believe in spanking their children; they say it will ruin their disposition.
But the Bible says;
Proverbs 22: 6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 10: 13 In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.
Proverbs 13:24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
Proverbs 22:15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Proverbs 23: 13 -14 Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. 14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
Proverbs 29:15 The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame
That is what the Bible says.
Do you know why we have such a crowd of rebellious children on our hands today? Not all. *
For one thing and the biggest thing is because their parents didn’t bring them up in a good Bible believing Church, a great number of the parents never have attended Church themselves, these rebellious children have been raised that way, they know no other way, and the parents wonder where they went wrong. Parents its so important to be saved and raise your children in a godly atmosphere.
n Well back in Jeremiah 17: we find that; There were three main areas of Israel’s rebellion and sin: **
1.* Idolatry: v2** 2Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills.
And we find that they were even sacrificing their own children to Baal– Jer.19:5 They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal,--
2.* Wealth and materialism: -JER. 17:3 O my mountain in the field, “Jerusalem is God’s mountain in the field; it was built on a hill in the midst of a plain.” I will give thy substance and all thy treasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin, throughout all thy borders.
3rdly .* Self-centeredness JER. 17: 5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
Jeremiah goes on to say how bad they were in:
Jeremiah 17:9-10 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins,**{ the inter self } even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
I have heard people say and I’m sure you have to, “ well if I know my heart thus and thus” but we read here in Jeremiah 17:in vs. 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Our flesh is weak let’s never forget that.
Throughout history and in the scriptures… God uses many things to teach us. Jesus used a bucket of water, fish, trees, boat, stones, etc. God used many things in the Old Testament as well; donkey that spoke, birds, quail, fiery bush, and many others.
Here in Jeremiah we see the Lord revealing to Jeremiah the wickedness of Judah and how they needed to repent. Or else, God the Potter will do as He pleases with His vessels of clay.
Again from our text:
Jeremiah 18:1-6 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." 3So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4But 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. 5Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6"O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.
** “For Human Clay to be shaped and finally used it must cooperate with the Potter” **
but we are clay with a stubborn will.
As clay in His hand we must be cooperative with the Lord, because the clay is totally subject to the design of the Potter, yet the clay won’t change if not made to.
If we are unwilling to submit to the Potters hand he could break us and start all over again.
~~There’s the story of two ladies who lived in a convalescent center. Each had suffered an incapaciting stroke. Wilma’s stroke left her left side restricted, while Ruth’s stroke damaged her right side. Both of these ladies were accomplished pianists but had given up hope of ever playing again.
The director of the center sat them down at a piano and encouraged them to play solo pieces together. They did, and a beautiful friendship developed by cooperating with each other like the Potter and the clay.
Clay must…
1. Be Free of IMPURITIES.
Proverbs 28:13-14 13He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. 14Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.
When a potter is modeling the clay, he’s doing two things. He’s working the clay to work out any tiny air pockets because he knows when the pot is fired in the kiln, they will burst and destroy the pot. He’s also searching for any tiny pebbles that will weaken and blemish the finished vessel.
Sin always makes our hearts hard and unpliable, we must to be in cooperation with the Potter.
1John 1:9 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
2. The clay must be CENTERED on the wheel.
Romans 9:19b-21 For who hath resisted his will? 20Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour
The Potter has the sovereign right to break the vessel and to start all over.
Love motivates the Potter even when He crushes the clay and starts to remold it.
If the clay should slide over to the edge of the spinning table It will spin off.
We need to be in the dead center on the potters’ wheel and in His hands.
The Potters wheel is constantly turning (turned by the Potters feet) – like the circumstances of our lives. The Potter is actively involved in our life, trying to get our cooperation to shape us for the good.
When we become off-centered we get thrown off and fall into some hard circumstances of life.
As clay must stay centered and focused upon the Lord no matter what experience or trial comes into our life.
As clay we need to be RESPONSIVE to the Potters touch.
1 Peter 5:6 6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: A Potter must “master” the clay before He can start to form it. Mastering the clay is when the Potter brings pressure to the clay and slowly it starts to take form, the Potter adds WATER **.** keeping pressure WITH His hands so the clay starts to respond to the Potters touch.
We see in verse 4 of JER.18: how the clay was marred, and the Potter had to begin again –4But 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. God the Potter knows us better than we know ourselves.
If we are marred or flawed the Potter may have to break us to get our attention.
1 Peter 1:6-7 though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ
Lets never forget are Great Potter is in full control of the clay.
