"The Potter and the Clay"
Text: Jeremiah 18:1-6 & Selected
Cross Creek Community Church
Pastor Dave Martin – December 1, 2002
God’s Word is Powerful, Relevant, and Life Changing!
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. Life is that way sometimes isn’t it? Life sometimes can be full of confusion for us or maybe it’s stress in our lives over some bad decision we have made.
In Jeremiah’s time the people of God found themselves deep in disobedience to God. As a nation they were sliding deeper into sin. Reading Jeremiah 17 there were
Three main areas of Israel’s rebellion and sin:
1. Idolatry v2 (even sacrificing their own children – Jer. 19:5)
2. Wealth and materialism v3
3. Self-centeredness v5
Jeremiah goes on to say how bad they were in:
Jeremiah 17:9-10 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?
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; donkey that spoke, birds, quail, fiery bush, etc. In our passage we see the Lord imparting a lesson to Jeremiah about the wickedness of Judah and how they need to repent. Or else, God the Potter will do as He pleases with His vessels of clay for He is Sovereign.
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 effectively shaped and ultimately used it must cooperate with the Potter” **
“We are clay with a will”
Cooperate – Willing to work together for a common goal.
If we belong to Christ, as clay in His hand we need to be cooperative with the Lord.
The clay is totally subject to the design of the Potter, yet the clay has a will of its own.
If you are unwilling to submit to the Potters hand he could break you and start all over again.
Charles Osgood told the story of two ladies who lived in a convalescent center. Each had suffered an incapaciting stroke. Margaret’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.
Cooperative Clay must…
1. Be Free of IMPURITIES.
Proverbs 28:13-14 He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. 14Blessed is the man who always fears the LORD, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.
When a potter is modeling the clay, he’s doing two things. He’s working the clay to work out any tiny air pockets for he knows when the pot is fired in the kiln, they will explode and destroy the pot. He’s also searching for any tiny pebbles that will weaken and blemish the finished pot.
Sin always makes our hearts hard and unpliable, we need to be in cooperation with the Potter.
Have 1John 1:9 committed to your memory – being free from the impurities of sin.
2. Remain CENTERED on the wheel.
Romans 9:19b-21 For who resists his will? But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ’Why did you make me like this?’ " 21Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
The Potter has the sovereign right to break the pot and to start all over.
What’s the Potters motivation? Love motivates the Potter even when He crushes the clay and starts to remold it.
The clay must remain soft and pliable – possessing a soft and teachable heart in the center.
What happens if the clay gets on the edge of the spinning table? It fly’s away!
We need to place ourselves in the dead-center on the potters wheel and in His hands.
A Potters wheel is constantly turning (turned by the Potters feet) – like the circumstances of our lives. The Potter is actively involved in your life, trying to get your cooperation to shape us for the good.
When we become off-centered we get thrown off and get into some hard circumstances of life.
Don’t be going in your own direction, choose to stay centered and focused upon your Lord no matter what experience or trial comes into your life. Stay focused and centered on the Lord.
3. Be RESPONSIVE to the Potters touch.
1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up 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, this He does 3 or 4 times, adding a little water, keeping His hands wet with a little pressure so the clay starts to respond to the Potters touch.
We see in verse 4 how the clay was marred, and the Potter had to begin again – the clay has to be at the right consistency, 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 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Three areas that will help us as earthen vessels to be responsive to our Maker:
* Submission – An attitude of the heart. Putting away our arrogance and pride, coming broken in submission before Him. As we yield ourselves to the Lord we’ll become “softened” before the Potter. If we refuse to submit to the loving crafting hands of God, He is able to break us with circumstances.
* Solitude – Get away from distractions, clear your schedules and get alone with the Lord. Solitude produces stillness. Away from you work, away from your family, away from the many distractions of the world and get alone with the Potter, allow Him to speak to your heart.
* Stillness – Shut up and listen, “Be still and know that I Am God”. Sometimes we just need to stop talking and settle down; every idle word will come back to us someday when we stand before the Lord. God speaks to us in a still small voice, a quiet whisper and through His Word. Be still.
2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure (our salvation, gospel) in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
4. Be Shaped and USED by God.
Job 10:8 "Your hands shaped me and formed me…”
When the Potter has the clay at the right consistency He starts to “open up” the clay by pressing His thumbs down into it while still applying pressure with his palms. A shapeless clump of clay, now taking shape under the Masters touch. It’s beginning to look like something!
The finished vessel is then fired in a kiln to become a useful vessel. It may take years.
God shapes each of us for His purpose – you can check out our prior messages concerning our SHAPE.
S – God crafts us with spiritual gifts (given by the Holy Spirit as He wills),
H – God crafts us a with a heart (our passion, likes and dislikes),
A – God crafts us with various abilities (Things we’re good at),
P- God crafts us with a particular personality (over 18,000 different traits),
E – God crafts us with experiences of life (some good, some that hurt – God will never waste a hurt)
You are one of a kind; He made you and broke the mold. We are unique, no two alike!
The Potter has a perfect plan for your life, He’s just may be having a hard time getting your cooperation in some area. Refusing to be submissive, living your life to please yourself. Being self-centered. Remember God is the Potter and we are the clay vessel – He can break us any way and any time He chooses.
Colossians 1:10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
There are many ways God attempts to get our attention. He can bring more pressure upon the clay by using illnesses, employment problems, tremendous stress, family crisis, and martial problems, maybe you’re experiencing difficulties with people around you. God brings up the heat.
Our attitudes may need changing, evidenced by our lacking commitment, being bitter or complaining, jealous of others, exhibiting a rebellious spirit, maybe troublemaker while lacking real joy.
The greatest sense of peace and joy is being used of God in the center of His will in His hands.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Resulting in demonstrated fruitfulness and ministry…
* Saved from our sins and spiritually growing!
* Actively involved in ministering and reaching others!
* Lives around us being impacted for Christ!
* Eternal rewards being stored up in Heaven!
* God’s eternal plan being accomplished through you!
* Our Lord Jesus Christ is lifted up and glorified!
Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”.
We may know all the right words, know the Christian songs, maybe have the right prayers and deeds.
We may fool people around us but we cannot fool the Lord. Are you saved today? Is your clay soft and pliable?
Do you possess a cooperative attitude with God and others around you?
* Through the nail scarred hands he is shaping us into a masterpiece. Uniquely special to Him!
* Through the blood stained hands the potter is shaping His clay - those born again through Jesus Christ.
* The Potter has a purpose for your life – allow Him to shape you for your good and for His glory!
* Being cooperative clay submitting to His will!
Crafted into His perfect plan – He gently calls me into His presence.
Take me, mold me, use me, fill me – I give my life to the Potters Hand!
Play – “The Potters Hand” Darlene Zschech
Let’s Pray
(PowerPoint for this message at www.crosscreekcc.org) under messages
