Jeremiah 18:1-6 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 you to hear My words." (3) Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. (4) And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. (5) Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: (6) "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?" says the LORD. "Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!
Philippian 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
Introduction
In Jeremiah 18 the Lord tells Jeremiah to go down to the potters house. Here he observes the work of the potter. The man at his craft. He observes the potter in the middle of a project. The potter notices that the project is marred so he “starts over again”. After this the Lord declares to Israel “as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!”
I believe this how we are in the hands of the Lord. He is the master potter and we are the clay working and perfecting us.
It is interesting we use to believe that as little children.
Song: He’s still working on Me
He's still working on me
To make me what I need to be
It took him just a week to make the moon and stars
The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars
How loving and patient He must be
'Cause He's still workin' on me
There really ought to be a sign upon my heart
Don't judge him yet, there's an unfinished part
But I'll be better just according to His plan
Fashioned by the Master's loving hands
He's still working on me
To make me what I need to be
It took him just a week to make the moon and stars
The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars
How loving and patient He must be
'Cause He's still workin' on me
In the mirror of His word
Reflections that I see
Makes me wonder why He never gave up on me
But He loves me as I am and helps me when I pray
Remember He's the potter, I'm the clay
I believe that this is what Paul is saying in Philippians 1:6
being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
being confident of this very thing. The apostle speaks from the depths of his spiritual experience. The good work had been begun in himself, and carried on by the grace of God, so that he confesses (1Co_15:10), ‘By the grace of God I am what I am.’ It is the sense of this which makes him confident for the Philippians.
1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
that he which began. – It is God who began this, it is God who set this forth. What God has done no one can stop. No one can separate.
Romans 8:38-39 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, (39) nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God will open doors that need to be opened and close those that we don’t need to walk through.
a good work in you. The work of bringing you to salvation through the Gospel of Christ. The work within you is a true comment on the narrative of the Acts, where we read ‘the Lord opened the heart of Lydia that she attended to the things which were spoken of Paul.’
All good gifts come from the father above.
will perfect it (perform, fulfill, complete) (He will do what he says He will do), bring it to a thorough completion.
until the day of Jesus Christ. ‘The day of the Lord,’ or ‘the day of Christ,’ is used by the New Testament writers for the time when Christ shall come to judgment, and the expression is so used on the warrant of Christ’s language (Luk_17:24), ‘So shall the Son of man be in His day.’ There is no doubt that among the early Christians there was an expectation that the day of judgment was very near.
Completion
Intentional – adjective
1. Done deliberately; intended: synonym: voluntary.
2. Having to do with intention.
3. Done by intention or design; intended; designed. Opposite of unintentional or unintended.
4. Intended or planned; done deliberately or voluntarily.
5. Done with intent.
6. characterized by conscious design or purpose
What should we do? Hebrews 12:1-3
Hebrews 12:1-3—"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
1. Have network of relationships, mentors and peers
let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,
2. Fight the battle of letting go of any sin or distraction
Remember “Don’t let your failure define you”
Philippians 3:13-14 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended (taking hold of it, understand everything); but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, (14) I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
One preacher put it this way, “Your Destiny is Greater than Your Disaster”
Isaiah 43:16-19, NIV This is what the LORD says – he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters… Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
3. Be perseverant and discipline
Stay prepared to fight, the enemy is surrounding us looking for ways to defeat us - Nehemiah
Devil roams like a roaring lion
2] Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
4. Have a perspective that helps you stay focused
Stay focused on what is ahead, why? We have never been this way before –
Joshua & the ark
Joshua 3:3-4 "When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, . . . , then you shall set out from your place and go after it. (4) Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before."
3] Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
5. Intimacy with Christ and a constant renewal (refocus))
This must be intentional.
Conclusion
As we begin this new year what is it that is distracting you. What do you need to “lay aside”? It is time to refocus on what is right?
