(#201, Big Bear/Hinkley/Yermo 1951; Imperial 1955,1965)
Read Jeremiah 18:1-10.
Jeremiah was sent to the potters house to hear the Word of
the Lord (v2). God wanted him to listen
before he spoke, and He spoke through one of life's common things: a potters
wheel.
ƒ The work on the vessel, v3-4. First, the vessel was made and marred. So God created man but sin has come in to mar
God's work. We are all marred vessels. In v4 the potter remakes the vessel as it
seemed good. So the Potter, Who has
power to make the vessel as it pleases Him (Rom. 9:20f), has made believers to
be new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).
Thus, as with the vessel in Jeremiah's time, so we are vessels of honor,
fit for the Master's use (2 Tim. 2:20f).
ƒ The potter's house and the wheel, v3. The potter's house is the place that we spend
our lives. The potter's wheel is the
circumstances the Potter uses to shape our lives. These circumstances are the testings, the
trials, the chastenings. It is not always pleasant being shaped but it is very
necessary if we are to conform to God's plan.
ƒ The clay. The clay is of utmost
importance to the potter. Clay is
unusable if it is...
1. Frozen. Some of us are stiff, proud, haughty.
2. Thin. As in the parable of the sower (Matt.
13:19-21).
3. Rocky. Some "rocks" that make it difficult
for God's work to be done are selfishness, gossip, unforgiveness.
Clay must be pliable to be usable.
Have Thine own way
Lord, Have Thine own way.
Thou are the Potter,
I am the clay.
Mold me and make me
after Thy will,
While I am waiting
yielded and still.
Finally, think about the Potter and the hands that are
molding our lives. They are blood
stained hands. They are tender hands
that will not let us be tempted above that we are able to stand. Think of His love as he patiently works over
us. And He is making us to possess this
treasure of Christ that we have in earthen vessels (2 Cor. 4:6-7).
Because God is the Potter we can submit willingly.
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