ON THE SHELF, MARRED CLAY --- USELSS?
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
MARRED CLAY? ON THE SHELF?
Jeremiah 18:1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. 3 Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. 4 And 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. 5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 6 O 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.
ON THE SHELF? WHEN YOU FINISH A GOOD BOOK, OFTEN THE BOOK GOES BACK TO A SHELF AND THERE IT WILL GATHER DUST, USELESS ON THE SHELF…
To become useful again someone will have to reach to the shelf and pull it down. We don’t throw the book away…
CHOICES HAVE CONSEQUENCES THHAT MAY NOT SHOW AS A WEAKNESS FOR YEARS LATER.
2 Samuel 11:1 And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.
2 Samuel 12:7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
David takes a trip to the shelf and has limited usefulness. DAVID HAS MANY GOOD DAYS AHEAD, BUT DAVID’S POOR CHOICES PUT HIM ON THE SHELF, THE MIGHTY WARRIER CANNOT FACE THE GIIANTS ANY MORE.
2 Samuel 21:15 Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint.
16 And Ishbibenob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.
17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel.
PLEASE UNDERSTAND GOD CAN STILL USE FALLEN, BROKEN MEN. GOD NEVER THROWS AWAY PEOPLE.
Matthew 18:22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
THROW AWAY THE CLAY? NEVER, GOD RECYCLES PEOPLE?
Many years ago one of the most successful preachers in the mountains of east Kentucky had a terrible failure. Everyone in the region heard of this preacher’s success was now broadcasting his failure. He lost his family, his home, his life’s dream. He lost the radio ministry and the large church that his family had grown. He inherited this work, and he pastored the work very successfully. The politicians wanted his friendship. Let us skip some of the dark issues. This Preacher ended up several years in prison and he was a disgrace to the cross and his family. His wife divorced him. His children disowned him. His financial foundation was lost to lawyers and settling out of court cases. His name was mud in the community. FAILURE! MOST OF ALL HE FAILED HIS FAMILY AND JESUS CHRIST. FAILURE!
In prison he cried himself to sleep every night. How could he fallen so far. His FAMILY refused to pick him up when he finished his prison term. He returned to his home area and no one would talk to him. Failure, failure. He cried, his trail was a trail of tears. “HE WAS THE MAN” no one loved.
So to escape he moved deep in the mountains. God was dealing with him. He found an old dilapidated church. The moonshine stiles were active, several churches in the area were snake handlers. He knew the Bible. He started living under the church. He worked very hard and when he saved money he replaced the windows. He had a new chance. He witnessed and witnessed to others. One of the worse abusive men in the county started talking to him, they developed a relationship. The mean man found out the FALLEN PREACHER lived in an area under the church. The church was a failure just like the Preacher. But the fallen man cleaned up the church and started praying and dreaming in the church.
One day this “FALLEN PREACHER” was reading the Bible and crying so hard. The enemy threw up his past and he would never be usable again. The drunk abusive man that everyone feared in the community was looking in the windows of the church. It was remodeled and was beautiful. The drunk went in the church and talked and told the old preacher, God does not want me. The Fallen Preacher talked and instantly the drunk sobered up and had a personal encounter in the church that was closed. He went home a changed man. He wife and children no longer feared him. The community heard the failure of a church and the failure of the preacher and the failure of the man and his failure of the family was serving the Lord were all changed.
Soon another family and another family started attending on Saturday night. Revival was here in this FAILURE area. The church was beautiful. The Preacher lived in under the church. A flood covered the church in mud. The meanest failure in the community said, we can fix this. He went to his friends and said, you are going to raise the church for the Lord. He went to the coal mines and the rail road company and borrowed huge jacks and timber. They jacked the church high and built Sunday School class rooms and a small apartment under the church. They raised the church where the flood waters would never destroy God’s work again.
The old failure preacher saved a FAILED church and changed a community. When others would not LOOK BEYOND HIS FAULTS --- GOD USED A RE-CYCLED PREACHER TO RE-CYCLE A CHURCH. May years later I was traveling playing music and I had the honor of playing in that RESURRECTED CHURCH. At that time it was the largest church in that area.
I visited the Preacher’s widow. He had been dead many years. She spoke of his BROKENESS, TEARS AND REPENTANCE --- SHE SPOKE OF HIS BROKEN LIFE and how he never gave up on himself, the church or the mountain people. I was visiting his widow many years later. The failure preacher was a very un-educated man, he just loved people. He knew little but the coal mines and the Bible. He could barely write. She received a telephone call and I looked through his Bible. Written in super large letters in an old shaky penmanship were 9 words: BURY THE PAST OR THE PAST WILL BURY YOU. My little failure of a brother spoke volumes of words to my heart. I never met him, I knew his widow well. My family adopted her. I preached her funeral. She now lays by his side on a hill side. GOD NEVER THROWS AWAY THE CLAY.
This lesson needs to be taught. First to all the good people that never failed! I thank God for you. The Jews had a teaching for 7 times and then FORGET THE PROBLEM. The sad story was while the people that knew all the facts were so unforgiving, there is a GOD THAT TEACHES 7X’S 70 a day.
THE REAL LESSON IS FOR THOSE THAT FAIL… FALL FORWARD… TRY AGAIN. Keep it up!
KEEP THE CHEATING DOWN? MAYBE THE GRASS IS GREENER OVER YONDER… never quit!
When I taught school in Virginia our Math books had all the answers to the odd number problems in the back of the book. As the teacher I only assigned the even numbered Math problems. I kept a lot of cheating down.
I think Charlie Brown said something like this: ARE THE ANSWERS ARE NOT IN THE BACK OF THE BOOK.
I HAD A SMART TEACHER THAT WOULD TELL ME A FEW THINGS TO REMEMBER…
1. NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER GIVE IN. IT IS ALWAYS TOO SOON TO QUIT… TRY AGAIN…
2. She said: WHEN YOU LEARN IT IS YOUR RESPONCISBILTY TO TEACH OTHERS.
3. AND WHEN GOD GIVES YOU SOMETHING YOU MUST LEARN TO GIVE…
4. BE AN OPTIMIST IGNITE FIRES IN OTHERS… EVERYONE YOU MEET HAS A VALUE YOU CAN LEARN… AND APPLY THEIR LESSONS.
Fail again and again until I fail until I find the PLAN OF GOD… Where will I find myself? We tend to think failure is failure. There is a path for every human.
I have often found a hidden secret. I love big things. But I too have found I often get lost in big things, but there seems to be joy in little things.
Mahatma Gandhi said: WHERE THERE IS LOVE THERE IS LIFE.
Let us consider it is LOVE THAT GIVES US A REASON TO LIVE. Love helps us overcome bad struggles and deep failures.
STUMBLING BLOCK: Failure can be a waste of time or if we keep a God attitude FAILURE CAN BE A STEPPING STONE TO GROWTH AND PROGRESS.
DO YOU KNOW THIS SONG? NOT JUST THE WORDS… THE SONG HAS GREAT VALUE.
***HE NEVER THREW THE CLAY AWAY (unknown)
EMPTY AND BROKEN, I CAME BACK TO HIM. A VESSEL UNWORTHY, SO SCARRED BY SIN.
BUT HE DID NOT DESPAIR … HE STARTED OVER AGAIN. AND I BLESS THE DAY,
HE DID NOT THROW THE CLAY AWAY.
OVER AND OVER, HE MOLDS ME AND MAKES ME, INTO HIS LIKENESS, HE FASHIONS THE CLAY.
ALL BECAUSE JESUS DIDN’T THROW THE CLAY AWAY.
HE IS THE POTTER … I AM THE CLAY, MOLDED IN GOD’S IMAGE, HE WANTS ME TO STAY.
WHEN I STUBBLE … AND FALL … WHEN MY VESSELS BREAKS, HE JUST PICKS UP THOS PIECES,
HE DOES NOT THROW THE CLAY AWAY.
OVER AND OVER, HE MOLDS ME AND MAKES ME, INTO HIS LIKENESS, HE FASHIONS THE CLAY.
A VESSEL OF HONOR, I AM TODAY, IT’S ALL BECAUSE JESUS DIDN’T THROW AWAY THE CLAY.
CONCLUSION: NEVER QUIT! NEVER THROW THE CLAY AWAY. The potter can use marred clay. God re-cycles people. Love the un-lovable. The hard to love individual needs you. Love invest in the hard to love people.
That is some mother’s son… STAY AWAY FROM THE SHELF.
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
