Before any problem can be solved we must find the CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM!!!
Illus: From an article in Reader’s Digest: A friend of mine awoke one morning to find a puddle of water in the middle of his king-size waterbed. In order to fix the puncture, he rolled the heavy mattress outdoors and filled it with more water so he could locate the leak more easily. The enormous bag of water was impossible to control and began rolling on the hilly terrain. He tried to hold it back, but it headed downhill and landed in a clump of bushes that poked it full of holes. Disgusted, my friend threw out the waterbed frame and moved a standard bed into his room. The next morning, he awoke to find a puddle of water in the middle of the new bed. The upstairs bathroom had a leaky drain.
This true story in Reader’s Digest explains a lot of things in our life. To really find out what is causing the problem, we must first locate the source of the problem.
You can ask any good mechanic to fix your car, and he will tell you the first thing he must do is locate the problem.
Sometimes that is the hardest part of fixing a car.
Illus: A lady bought a brand new car and several days after she bought it she noticed that every time she went around a corner it made a “Clunk” sound. She brought it to a mechanic to see what was wrong with it. He tested and drove it, and sure enough every time he went around the corner the new car made a loud “Clunk” sound. He went back to the shop and fixed it and charged her $50.00.
• She said, “It only took you a few minutes to fix it, what was causing that “Clunking” sound when I went around the corner?”
• He said, “It was the bowling ball in the trunk!”
Before we can fix something we first have to know what the problem is.
During the days of Jeremiah the people of God had a SERIOUS PROBLEM.
Jeremiah 17:9 told them they had a deceitful heart problem. That’s a very serious problem!
Physically and spiritually today, many folks have heart problems.
Illus: Speaking of heart problems, did you hear of the two fellows who went to school together? One of them turned out to be a heart surgeon and the other one turned out to be a mechanic.
The one who was a mechanic was removing some engine valves from a car when he spotted his classmate, the heart surgeon, Dr. Samuel Kaiser, who was standing off to the side, waiting for the service manager.
The mechanic who was somewhat of a loud mouth and thought he was underpaid, shouted across the garage, "Hey Kaiser, is that you? Come over here a minute."
The surgeon, a bit surprised, walked over to where the mechanic was working on a car. In a very intimidating way, he says to the doctor, "So, Mr. Fancy doctor, we basically do the same thing. I too take valves out, grind them, put in new parts, and when I'm finished, this baby will purr like a kitten. So how come you get the big bucks, when you and I are doing basically the same work?"
Dr. Kaiser, very embarrassed, shook his head and replied, "I guess the big bucks come because I do all my repair while the engine is running!”
Jeremiah recognized that these people had a serious heart problem.
Look at Jeremiah 17:9, we read, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
God was going to use the “Potter’s House” to teach them what they must be willing to do before He could bless them and use them.
Illus: Throughout the scripture, God uses many things to teach us. The Lord used fish, trees, boats, stones, water and many other things to teach us.
In this passage of scripture, the Lord is going to use something that the people of Jeremiah’s generation were familiar with. He was going to use the local POTTER!
Look at Jeremiah 18:1-6 “This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. 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. Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 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.”
Let me illustrate…
Illus: A grandfather and grandmother were in a gift shop looking for a gift for their granddaughter. Suddenly the grandmother sees this beautiful vase and shows it to the grandfather. This is perfect; it is the loveliest vase I have ever seen.
At the point something remarkable happens, just like in a movie, the vase says to the grandparents. Thank you for the compliment, but I was not always beautiful.
Instead of being surprised that the vase could talk, the grandfather asks the vase… what did you mean you were not always beautiful?
Once I was just an ugly lump of clay. One day a man with wet dirty hands threw me on the wheel and started turning me around. Then he poked me, punched me, made me dizzy and I yelled stop! Not yet He said.
Each time that I thought he was done, he would start again and then he did something worse, he put me in a furnace. It got hot until I could not stand it. Stop, stop! Not yet he relied!
He took me out of the furnace, and he began to paint me, and the fumes were so bad I could hardly breath, it made me feel sick! Stop, stop, not yet!
When I thought he was done, He put me back into the furnace, it again was hot.
Finally, he took me out of the furnace and let me cool. A pretty lady put me on the shelf. When I saw myself in the mirror, I was no longer ugly.
It was then that I realized that all the pain was worthwhile. Without it I would still be ugly. It was then that all the pain took on new meaning, the pain had passed, but the beauty had remained.
What God can do for a nation, He certainly can do for us as individuals.
For the Potter to make a beautiful vessel out of their life, they needed to go to the Potter’s House. And so do we!
Let’s go to-
I. THE POTTER’S HOUSE
Look at Jeremiah 18:1-2, we read, “The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.”
Making pottery was a very popular trade in the days when the Lord was here on earth.
God wanted to make His people into a beautiful vessel.
When we arrive at the Potter’s house we see a number of things.
1) We see the Potter’s House is a place of labor where He MOLDS and SHAPES beautiful vessels.
2) We see the Potter’s wheel where he placed a large portion of clay that came from the clay pit that was to be molded.
3) We see the Potter’s seat where he sat like he was riding a bicycle, and with his feet he pedaled, which caused the potter’s wheel to spin.
4) We see the Potter’s hands that take the soft pliable clay from the clay pit, and as the wheel spins, you see the Potter using his skillful hands to shape and mold the soft clay into a beautiful vessel.
5) We see beautiful vessels on the shelves waiting to be used by the Potter
6) We see broken vessels scattered around. They were not pliable and must be reshaped and remolded.
7) We see an oven. Once these vessels are molded and shaped the way he wants them, he places them in the oven and under intense heat they harden.
God told Jeremiah to go to the Potter’s House, and when he arrived these are the things he saw.
We have looked at THE POTTER’S HOUSE, but let’s go to the Potters house and look at…
II. THE POTTER’S HANDS
Look again at this portion of scripture. We read in verses 1-4, “The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter.”
The Lord Jesus is the Potter, SHAPING and MOLDING our lives.
We have many today in our society who has placed their lives in the hands of lady luck.
Illus: Lost and Found ad - Lost dog, brown fur, blind in one eye, deaf, three legs, slightly arthritic, goes by name of Lucky
• There are golfers who feel that a certain golf ball brings them good luck...
• Some carry a rabbit’s foot in their pocket thinking this will bring them good luck. But if it brings good luck, why wasn’t the rabbit lucky?
• Four leaf clovers bring them good luck.
• Some feels if you break a mirror it brings you 7 years of bad luck.
• Black cat cross your path is bad luck
• Walk under a ladder bad luck
• Number 13 is bad luck
• Crossing your finger to avoid bad luck and help a wish come true
• According to a poll, 23% of Christians read horoscopes and believe in astrology.
The key to understanding a superstition is its origin.
Illus: For example:
• In ancient times, a mirror used to cost 7 years wages. To ensure that people didn’t handle it carelessly, someone invented the story that anyone who breaks a mirror gets 7 years of bad luck.
• Ever hear someone say, “Knock on Wood?” People use this expression to avoid "tempting fate" after saying something positive.
Origin: Pagan religions believed that all living things, including trees, had their own spirit. When a tree was cut down, the “tree spirit” would die and evil spirits would take up residence inside the wood. These evil spirits would devise ways of ruining the plans and hopes of people in the area. But, if someone knocked on the wood, it would drive the evil spirits away and prevent misfortune from occurring.
We live in a society that is filled with people who trust in lady luck.
Our lives are not in the hands of lady luck as some would have us to believe. We are in the hands of almighty God!
And I am here to tell you today that ….
1) He will be the one who will decide if you are going to get up in the morning.
2) He will be the one who will decide if the sun will come out tomorrow.
3) He will be the one who will decide if it is cold or hot.
4) He will be the one who will decide if it is going to be windy or not.
It is not LADY LUCK that is in control, it is almighty God!
We go through life thinking that the things that happen to us are a result of Lady Luck, but not so!
Illus: A funeral service was being held in a synagogue for a woman who had just passed away. She was married to a good man and she had given her husband a hard time for many years.
At the end of the service, the pallbearers are carrying the casket out, when they accidentally bump into a wall, jarring the casket.
They hear a faint moan. They open the casket and find that the woman is actually alive. Someone said, “It sure was good luck when we bumped that wall!”
She lived for ten more years giving her husband a hard time and then she died.
A ceremony is again held at the same synagogue, and at the end of the ceremony, the pallbearers are again carrying her casket out. As they are walking out, the husband screams, "Watch out for the wall!"
Listen; there are people who believe that our entire life is built on GOOD LUCK or BAD LUCK!
BUT THAT IS NOT SO! Our lives are not built on LUCK, God is the one who MOLDS and SHAPES our life.
HE IS THE POTTER AND WE ARE THE CLAY!!!
When Jeremiah went to the Potter’s House he saw
I.THE POTTER’S HOUSE
II.THE POTTER’S HANDS,
But let’s go to the POTTER’S HOUSE AND EXAMINE…
III. THE POTTER’S HEART
Look at Jeremiah 18:6, “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.”
God can do with us as He sees fit. He has that right because HE IS OUR CREATOR and we are HIS CREATION!
Illus: One of the first thing we ought to do in each morning look in a mirror and look at that person that is looking at you and say YOU ARE GOD’S CREATION AND DO NOT FORGET IT!!!
Illus: We need to be like the little boy that made a sail boat. He took it out to sail it and a big puff of wind blew it out of his reached.
Later, he and his mother were walking by a flea market and he saw his little boat he had made was there and it was for sale.
He asked the man how much he wanted for it. The man said a quarter. He bought it and he was heard walking away talking to the little sailboat saying…
1. I made you!
2. I lost you!
3. I found you!
4. And now I paid for you!
That is exactly what the Lord has done for us!!!!
Many accuse God of being unfair because things do not go their way.
But we have to remember that GOD KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING!
We might not know what He is doing, but that is the reason we have to trust Him.
Listen, every one of us could talk about unfair things that have happened to us.
1) Some feel it is unfair they were born in a country of poverty and ignorance
2) Some feel it is unfair they were born in a poor family
3) Some feel it is unfair they were not born with good looks
There are things that happen in our life and we cannot help but consider these things to be unfair if we compare ourselves to others.
Illus: When I look at Clint Walker (Cheyanne) on television I feel it is unfair God did not create me to look like him. (Humor)
It seems unfair to us as tax payers, that we are tricked all the time by these politicians.
Illus: For example, Hillary Rodham Clinton, as a New York State Senator, now comes under this "Congressional Retirement and Staffing Plan," which means that even if she never gets reelected, she STILL receives her Congressional salary until she dies.
• If the former President, Bill Clinton, outlives her, he then inherits HER salary until HE dies. He is already getting his Presidential salary until he dies.
• If Hillary outlives Bill, she also gets HIS salary until she dies.
• Guess who pays for that?
WE DO! We who are being taxed on almost 50% of our income…it just does not seem fair!
We live in a society that is possessed with FAIRNESS. Even though we talk a great deal about it, we see very little of it. The concept of fairness has become ambiguous today.
Life is UNFAIR in many ways, socially, racially, economically and sexually.
But God the Creator is not UNFAIR!
Illus: If He chooses one vessel to be placed on the shelf to be admired, and another one to be a vessel to haul dirt in, that is His prerogative!
The reason that many folks think God is unfair is because Satan has tricked them into thinking this!
Illus: One night, a police officer was staking out a particularly rowdy bar for possible violations of the Driving under the Influence laws.
• At closing time, he saw a fellow stumble out of the bar, trip on the curb and try his key on five different cars before he found his.
• Then he sat in the front seat fumbling around with his keys for several minutes.
• Everyone else left the bar and drove off. Finally he started his engine and began to pull away. The police officer was waiting for him to pull out into the highway.
• He stopped the driver, read him his rights and administered the breathalyzer test.
• The results showed a reading of 0.0%. The puzzled officer demanded to know how that could be.
• The driver replied with a smile on his face, "Tonight I'm the designated decoy."
Many the devils has tricked them into thinking God is unfair
GOD HAS NEVER DONE ANYTHING UNFAIR! NEVER!
If you think He has, that it is because Satan has tricked you into thinking this.
God would remind us that HE IS THE CREATOR and we are the CREATION, and what right does the clay have to say to the Potter, “That’s not fair”.
Illus: Suppose I built a home. I built it, I paid for it and when I have completed it, I take a match and burn it down to the ground. I have that right if I so choose, because it is mine to do with as I please.
I am here to tell you that God created us and He has every right to do with us as He so chooses.
HE IS THE POTTER AND WE ARE THE CLAY.
Now you might not like that, BUT THAT IS THE WAY IT IS, LIKE IT OR NOT! HE IS OUR CREATOR AND WE ARE HIS CREATION!!!
When Jeremiah went to the Potter’s House, he saw…
I.THE POTTER’S HOUSE,
II.THE POTTER’S HANDS,
III.THE POTTER’S HEART
But let’s go to the Potter’s house and see…
IV. THE POTTER’S HONOR
He saw two things:
• He saw all the beautiful vessels that the Potter had SHAPED and MOLDED! They had been already placed in the oven, and they were now completed
• He saw vessels that had to be remade
Some of the vessels had defects, and the Potter had to take the clay, get it soft and pliable again and place it back on the spinning wheel and take his hands and reshape the vessel again. Only when it was completed was it placed in the oven to be dried and hardened.
• God wanted Jeremiah to go to the Potter’s house so he could see the BEAUTIFUL VESSELS the potter had created.
• But He wanted him to see the vessels that had cracks and could not be used until they were remade.
Aren’t you glad God is a God of the second chance? GOD OFFERS A NEW BEGINNING TO MARRED OR RUINED VESSELS.
Look at Jeremiah 18:4, we read, “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.”
No matter how bad you feel about yourself, God can REMAKE you!
• God gives 2nd Chances!
• HE allows “U-turns”!
Illus: A college football coach was faced with the possibility that his star player might be declared academically ineligible, so he pleaded with the math professor not to flunk the player. The math professor said, “I tell you what coach, I’ll give him one more chance, I will ask him a question in your presence. If he gets it right, I’ll pass him."
The athlete was called in, and the professor asked, "What’s two and two?" "Four," replied the player.
Frantically the coach cried, "Give him another chance! Give him another chance!"
Listen, there are people in our society that will give you one chance and if you blow it, THAT’S IT!
But God can take our shattered lives, and as the Master Potter He can remake and reshape our lives and give us another chance. God can take a broken life and remake it if people will come to him.
Satan has made havoc of some lives, but God can fix those lives if they will come to Him.
Conclusion:
Illus: A new hair salon opened up for business right across the street from the old established hair cutters place.
The new place put up a big sign which stated in big bold words, “WE GIVE $7 HAIRCUTS!”
Not to be outdone, the old Master Barber across the street put up his own sign which stated, “WE FIX $7 HAIRCUTS!
Listen; no matter how far you have fallen into sin, God can FIX your life if you will surrender to the Lord.
Illus: I want to share with you the testimony of Mel Trotter who was a bartender and he drank as much as he served. I WANT YOU TO LISTEN TO HOW HE GOT GLORIUSLY SAVED.
“He said One day my little daughter was taken seriously ill. A faithful doctor came even though he knew there would be no payment for his call. After diagnosing the case, he reached into his own pocket, took out some money and thrust it into my hands for a prescription for the sick child, “Mel, run, don’t walk to the drug store which is two blocks from here – here’s the prescription. Come right back. It might even now be too late – so hurry!”
I climbed the stairs and was out on to the pavement. I looked to my left and sure enough I saw a drug store about two blocks away, but then I looked to my right and saw that the saloon was only one-half block away. A sudden desire came over me – one that drove all thought of my sick child out of my head. Even the fact that the money in my hand did not belong to me was erased as I blindly rushed to the bar. Soon the doctor’s money was all gone and soon some other fool started buying and we continued on and on through the day and into the night. When it was time to close, I was so far gone that the saloon keeper just threw me into the back room to sleep it off. When he came back the next day I was still there, and it wasn’t until the night began to approach that I came enough to my senses to decide to go home.
When I arrived back, I slowly descended the rickety stairs. I saw that someone was talking very quietly to my wife and they were crying. I still did not know why and was still too far gone to have understood. There had been no furniture before, but now there was a little box on a stand. As I went over and looked into the box, I saw that it was the body of my little child, but looking very different. Someone had put on her clean clothes, new clothes and somehow there was even a pair of brand-new little shoes. Still, I didn’t get the message. As I stood there that urge came over me. I craved another drink. What I wouldn’t do for another drink.
My dear friends – as I think back on this next part my heart feels as if it were ripped out – for I am so ashamed. As the urge overwhelmed me, I hurriedly slipped the new shoes from the cold feet of my precious child, rammed them into my pocket – I still had not attracted the attention of my wife and the woman with her – I went out of the apartment, and I sold those shoes for a few pennies and bought another drink. I had gone down so low that I have often said that I had to reach up to touch bottom.
With all of this, I was still not awakened to reality, until one day I decided to end it all. With me gone, I reasoned that the world would be better off, especially my wife. With this end in mind, I headed for Lake Michigan to drown myself. It had gotten dark and cold. As I went through the open door, someone set me in a chair. It all happened so quickly that it took my muddled brain a little while to realize that I was in a room filled with men and a man was speaking. He was talking as if he knew all about me as he said: “Perhaps you have come here tonight and you haven’t even planned it – in fact you had decided that you’re going to end it all – for you feel that no one understands you, no one cares, and there is no hope. My friend, I’m here to tell you there is Someone Who understands you, there is Someone Who cares for you, and I can tell you there is hope for you. You will find all of your answers when you come to Jesus Christ and receive Him as your personal Savior. He not only wants to save you from your mess but wants to go with you the rest of your life.
The speaker was Harry Monroe, and the place was the Pacific Garden Mission. I became a different person that night. God saved me and made me a new man. My wife got a new husband – the part with its sin and stain was washed away and I found a brand-new tomorrow.
Mel Trotter was not only born again, but God also miraculously delivered him from alcohol. He never took another drink. He went on to become a preacher of the same gospel of Jesus Christ that had so delivered him. From that time on, until he died in 1940 at the age of 72, he planted 67 rescue missions in cities all across America.”
Spirit of the Living God, Fall Afresh on Me (Iverson)
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Isle of Man Methodist Church
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I. THE POTTER’S HOUSE
II. THE POTTER’S HAND
III. THE POTTER’S HEART
IV. THE POTTER’S HONOR
