Under Construction
Jer 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 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.
I. Intro.
A. When the Lord chose to call you and I, God really made a long term investment in a project. That is, like a divine contractor, God covenanted within Himself and decided that He would bring you and I to that place where He wants us to be and make us into what He needs us to be. That is, God would provide the material, the patience, the skill, the work, and the muscle that would bring this wonderful work to completion. With a blue print in His mind and with skill and precision, God has taken on this massive project, and you and I are a work under construction.
B. Regardless of how spiritual we are, we are under construction.
C. We were not always where we are today, and we still haven’t arrived to where we’re going.
1. Maybe I’m not all I should be, but thank God I’m not what I used to be.
D. You’ve come along way baby.
E. Don’t turn your nose up to somebody who is struggling.
1. We weren’t always deacon dan or elder eddy…Sunday school sally or missionary Martha.
F. On the hidden side of every Christian there is a sign saying, “God At Work.”
II. The Potter’s ( one who crafts a vessel) Vision
A. “Before you and I can perceive the will of God, we must be able to perceive the Wheel of God”
B. The Potter’s Pit is where the potter receives his clay.
1. The Slick Walls of the Pit
2. The Miry Clay is at the bottom of the Pit.
3. The Darkness of the Pit
4. The Potter picks up the clay.
C. He sees clay with the potential to be a vessel of honor.
1. God is in the junk collecting business
2. God don’t want gold, silver, and a superstar
a. He says: Give me the clay
1) I’ll bring treasures out of trash
2) ******* jewels ***** junk
3) ******* glory ***** garbage
4) ******* riches ***** rubbish
5) ******* diamonds***** Debree
6) ******* righteousness** Rift raft
7) ******* Worship ***** Waste
8) ******* Majesty ****** Mess
9) ******* Deliverance to the Drug Addict
10) ******* a praise ****** Prostitute
11) ******* a Hallelujah *** Homosexual
b. God build his church on a bunch of misfits and throw aways:
1) Give me a murder like Moses, I’ll turn him into a liberator.
2) *********dreamer like Joseph, *********co-commander over Egypt.
3) *********a captive like Daniel ************ prayer warrior.
4) ********* a shepherd boy like David *********king.
5) ********* a child like Jeremiah **********prophet.
6) ********* a fisherman like Peter **********an apostle.
7) ********* tax collector like Zaccheus*******disciple.
8) *********persecutor like Paul ***********preacher.
9) *********prostitute like Mary Magdalene ****** faithful house keeper.
10) *****adulterer like the woman at the well ***** evangelist.
11) All I need is a piece of clay.
D. God sees a vessel in you.
III. The Potter’s Process
A. He puts it on the Wheel—a rock that spins very rapidly.
1. “He lifted me up out of the miry clay, and the horrible pit…”
B. He spins the Wheel
1. the clay would sometimes try to slide off the wheel.
2. The life of the clay is spinning around.
3. The speed almost dries up the clay.
4. He waters the clay.
C. For every blessing there is a spinning:
a. Abraham—had a promise, but Before God blessed him he said to
look for a city whose builder and maker was God.
b. Joseph-----had a dream. Before God blessed him he had to go from the pit—Potiphar’s house—to prison---the palace.
c. Daniel-----committed to prayer. He went to the lion’s den. God
brought him out
d. 3 Hebrew-went into the fiery furnace. Look up and saw the fourth
man in the fire.
e. David-----had to deal with Goliath before he reached the throne.
f. Jesus------had to go to Calvary before there was a resurrection.
D. On the Wheel, the potter breaks the clay’s will and creates a vessel
E. He applies his hands to the clay
F. He begins to Fashion it.
G. He creates the heart of the vessel
a. “Create in me a clean hear and renew in me a right Spirit.”
H. Everyone sees what is on the outside, but the potter can see what is on
a. the inside.
I. The vessel is without strength, therefore, it must go through the fire.
1. The oven is heated to 2400 F.
2. The vessel is purified.
3. Job went through the fire.
a. “For thou hast tried us as silver is tried…”
IV. The Potter’s purpose
A. A vessel reflects the craftsmanship of the potter.
1. A blacksmith can see himself in pure gold
B. God said Paul was a chosen vessel unto him, to bear his name.
V. The Potter’s faithfulness
“…and the vessel that he made was marred in the hand of the potter.”
A. It messed up somewhere along the way.
1. It leaked. There are a lot of leaky vessels in the church.
B. He didn’t throw the clay away
C. He made it. ---if it is going to be done, he has to do it.
D. He made it again another.
E. The clay never left the hands of the potter
1. The Story of the fiddle and the auctioneer
