I AM A CRACKED POT? THIS SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE TO ME?
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
TEXT:
Isaiah 43:2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers,
they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither
shall the flame kindle upon thee.
INTRODUCTION: BAD STUFF... THE TOOLS IN GOD'S HANDS?
A man was the lone survivor of a boat accident. After several hours of swimming he
found himself on a small island. He fished and found fruit on the island. He knew he
would be there for a long time. So he gathered material and built himself a small
hut. He made a waterproof roof. He worked hard to make things as comfortable as
possible. Each available hour he had he spent watching the horizon. Praying hard for
a ship to approach. Much of his time was traveling around the island in search for food.
The man was gone all day searching for material and food, he returned after dark
to find his small cabin on fire. The little shack burned down to the ground in the dark night.
Everything the man had worked so hard to achieve was gone, in one night it was gone.
The man when to sleep crying, he was angry at God for burning his shack down.
The man heard some strange sounds early the next morning and when he woke up he
saw a ship anchored in the bay and several men had come to the shore in the life
boats.
They carried the stranded man to the ship. The captain of the ship said: That was a
brilliant action, we saw your smoke signal and then the fire and knew someone was marooned
on this island. and we docked here during the darkness and waited until morning to come
and find whoever sent up the RESCUE MESSAGE...
IT TOOK EVERYTHING THE MAN HAD WORKED FOR TO BE DESTROYED
BEFORE HE COULD BE SAVED... THE WORSE THING THAT COULD HAPPEN WAS
THE BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO HIM!
I. BAD STUFF? WANT TO TALK ABOUT A HEAVY PROBLEM?
HOW WE WE EVER KNOW A MAN OF BIBLE COLLEGE, BY ADVERSITY WE REMEMBER
THE STUDENT STUDYING ABOUT GOD... LEARN ABOUT TRUSTING GOD...
A. We have a good called leader, his name is Elijah...Elijah had a student named ELISHA
Elijah had been training Elisha to walk in faith, under their leadership a REVIVAL GROWS...
B. The Bible school was growing so much, new students wanted to learn about God...
There was NO ROOM FOR THEM.
C. WHILE THEY LEARNED ABOUT GOD, THEY HAD TO LEARN ABOUT GOD!
They had to learn the lesson: THROUGH ADVERSITY GOD GROWS HIS CHURCH.
WHEN FAITH ARISES, GOD WILL ARISE...
D. SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? We have to remodel and enlarge the campus...
Each person has a job to do... ONE POOR STUDENT BORROW HIS FRIENDS AXE...
ELISHA HEARS THE NEGATIVE REPORT...
2 Kings 6:5 But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said,
Alas, master! for it was borrowed.
E. GOD'S MAN FINDS GOD'S PLAN, STAY CALM... OUR INTEGRITY IS AT STAKE...
GOD CARES ABOUT THE SCHOOL, THE STUDENT'S HEAVY PROBLEM...
2 Kings 6:6 And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut
down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.
II. BAD STUFF? MY PROBLEM IS SO HEAVY THE BEST DOCTOR IN THE COUNTRY CAN NOT
HELP ME?
IN MY HEAVINESS I LET ANGER TOWARD THE MESSAGE AND TOWARD THE MESSENGER
OF GOD DRIVE ME TO EXTREME ANGER...
A. A little NO NAMED GIRL starts a miracle...
She says: MASTER, THERE IS A GOD IN ISRAEL THAT CAN HELP YOU AND YOUR
HOPELESSNESS... HEAVY?
B. So Naaman packs his bag and goes to the KING...
HEAVY PROBLEMS CAN NEVER BE SOLVED BY POLITICS...
C. SO THE PREACHER REFUSES TO SEE THIS IMPORTANT MAN FACE TO FACE...
HEAVY... NOW ANGRY...
D. NAAMAN DESIRES A CIRCUS?
2 Kings 5:11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come
out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place,
and recover the leper.
12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not
wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
E. NOW I KNOW THERE IS NO GOD LIKE THE GOD OF ISRAEL...
THE WORSE THING --- GAVE BIRTH TO THE BEST THING...
2 Kings 5:14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying
of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and
he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee,
take a blessing of thy servant.
F. Would we know the name of NAAMAN today had he not faced a HEAVY ADVERSITY?
III. REALLY BAD STUFF?
WANT TO TALK IMPOSSIBLE? HOPELESSLY HEAVY? WORSE THAN THE FIRST?
DRY? VERY DRY? HAS DRY BECOME OUR NEW NORM?
A. DRY? Thirsty, lack of moisture, no interest, not responsive, TO BECOME HARD, parched,
DISAGREEABLE...
WILL YOU AGREE WITH ME DRY IS DANGEROUS?
Matthew 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking
rest, and findeth none.
Luke 11:24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking
rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.
B. HOW DID WE GET HEAR: DRY?
HOW LONG WILL WE STAY HEAR?
IV. BAD STUFF CAN GET HEAVY?
HEAVY? HAVE WE COME TO LIVE LIFE IN A DEEP VALLEY FULL OF BONES?
EXOSKELTON (HARD ON OUTSIDE?) ENDOSKELTON (HARD ON THE INSIDE)
A. THE PREACHER HAS A MESSAGE TO ISRAEL AND TO THE CHURCH...
THIS MESSAGE IS TO THE CHURCH ABOUT TWO ISSUES... FAITH AND HOPE...
B. BONES SPEAK OF DEATH... NO LIFE... It is over, hopeless, helplessness,
Ezekiel 37:1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and
set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
C. Bones seem to multiple: enlarge...
VERY MANY--- VERY DRY...
Ezekiel 37:2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in
the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
V. GOD HAS A QUESTION FOR YOU... DID THIS BAD STUFF CATCH GOD BY SURPRISE?
THE FLESH CAN NOT ANSWER THIS QUESTION?
Ezekiel 37:3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD,
thou knowest.
A. YOU MUST PERSONALLY ADDRESS THIS HEAVY PROBLEM OF DRY BONES...
B. 3 QUESTIONS OF CREDIBILITY?
1. CAN GOD?
2. WILL GOD DO THIS FOR ME?
3. WHEN WILL GOD DO THIS FOR ME?
VI. WHILE THE DRY BONES ARE A HEAVY, IMPOSSIBLE PROBLEM...
THERE IS THE WORD OF GOD. THE WORD OF GOD DOES THE WORK OF GOD...
BUT GOD NEEDS A PERSON TO STAND AND SPEAK THE WORD TO THE HEAVY PROBLEM?
Ezekiel 37:4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones,
hear the word of the LORD.
A. THE WORD OF GOD IS POWERFUL...
GOD NEEDS SOMEONE THAT WILL TRUST HIS WORD ENOUGH TO SPEAK THE WORD...
B. Speak the Word without fear...
His words are personal GOLD MINES...
VII. MANY SPEAK OUR BONES ARE DRY... WE ARE HOPELESS...
WE NEED SOMEONE TO SPEAK BEYOND TODAY...
Ezekiel 37:11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold,
they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
VIII. SPEAK SO ALL MANY KNOW: GOD IS GOD... WE MAY HAVE MANY DRY BONES...
THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOUR BONES THIS IS ABOUT THE RESURRECTION POWER
OF A HOLY GOD... THAT OTHERS MIGHT KNOW...
Ezekiel 37:6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin,
and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Ezekiel 37:13 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people,
and brought you up out of your graves,
14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall
ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
CONCLUSION:
How can you know you believe the word and have faith until your faith is tested?
GOD MAY HAVE TO MOVE US OUT OF COMFORT ZONE?
ONLY IN FAITH CAN WE CONFESS THIS PROBLEM MAY BE GREAT...
WE BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION...
TRIALS POINT US TO THE PROBLEM...
TRIALS DRIVE US TO OUR KNEES...
TRIALS CAN RELEASE THE WORD...
TRIALS CAN BRING JESUS TO HIS FEET...
STEPHEN SAYS: I SEE JESUS STANDING AT THE FATHER'S RIGHT HAND...
In many foreign lands water can be hard to get.
A teen age boy was assigned by his father to carry water from a well to the house.
Several times a day the young man carried water.
There were two jugs tied on the ends of a pole, the jugs balanced the weight of the water.
Over the years as the man carried the water the one jug had developed a little crack.
A little water would slowly drip out as he returned home.
The CRACKED POT WAS CRYING ONE DAY AND SAID: I AM A CRACKED POT,
I FAILED...
The master said: LOOK AT THE TRAIL, WHERE YOU HAVE LEAKED WATER,
THERE IS A SOLID PATHWAY OF FLOWERS GROWING...
YES, YOU ARE A CRACKED POT, BUT YOU HAVE SUPPORT THE FAMILY
AND ALL THOSE FLOWERS THEY SO ENJOY COME FROM YOUR LITTLE
TRAIL OF BROKENESS.
CRACKED POTS CAN GIVE GLORY TO GOD...
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
Pass it on?
