LIKE CLAY IN THE HAND OF THE POTTER
Oct
10
Written by:
10/10/2010 12:00 AM
LIKE CLAY IN THE HAND OF THE POTTER
Oct. 10, 2010
(Jer 18:1 NIV) This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: (Jer 18:2 NIV) "Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message." (Jer 18:3 NIV) So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. (Jer 18:4 NIV) But 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. (Jer 18:5 NIV) Then the word of the LORD came to me: (Jer 18:6 NIV) "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.
The Lord had an interesting way to give Jeremiah a message. Jeremiah was told to go down to the potter`s house to receive his message. The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah while he was watching the potter work the clay. The clay that was in the hands of the potter was marred so the potter formed the clay into another pot as seemed best to him. We are the clay and God is the potter. God has a plan for us. He wants to make us into a beautiful vessel. We are in God`s hand. God has chosen what kind of vessel wants to make us into. God is the potter and he has the right to make us into the vessel he wants. (Rom 9:21 NIV) Does 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? We need to let God be God. God is sovereign. He is almighty. The question is will we become the vessel that God wants us to be? The answer depends on the type of clay we are. For this message I will consider four types of clay. The four types of clay all represent Christians. We are clay, but clay with a free will! We all make choices that will determine whether God will be able to make us into the vessel he desires for our lives. In other words, will we fulfill the plans God has for us?
The first type of clay is clay that has become too dry. Potters take very good care of their clay and cover it in plastic so it does not become too dry. When clay becomes too dry it cannot be used. This type of clay may represent the Christian that accepted Jesus as savior and started to follow Jesus. However, the person may not have allowed Jesus to really become Lord of their lives. The excitement of becoming a Christian faded and the cares of this life caused the person to lose interest in following God. Exposure to the world can cause a Christian to become like dry clay. Clay that has become dry is of no use to the potter. God cannot use this type of Christian. Clay that has become too dry has to be ground into powder before it can be used again. God may allow circumstances to crush us if we become too dry so that we will again turn to God. Then we can again become clay that is useful to God. God can then mold or shape us into the vessel he wants us to be.
A second type of clay is clay that is not moist enough. The appearance of the clay is good, but it cannot be molded into the vessel the potter wants to make. Many Christian are like the clay that is not moist enough. These people know Jesus as Savior, but they have not allowed Jesus to become Lord of their lives. They may go to church regularly and do many things for God, but they have not surrendered their will to God. They have not surrendered their lives into the hands of the potter. God cannot shape them into the vessel he wants them to be.
A third type of clay has air bubbles in it. The clay is moist enough and looks good. It can even be molded into the shape the potter wants. However, when the potter puts the vessel into the kiln to dry the vessel is not what the potter hoped it would be. The air bubbles represent impurities in the vessel. Therefore, the vessel cannot be used as God intended. The air bubbles may represent hidden sin in our lives or an unwillingness to yield to God completely. Maybe God has asked us to do something that we are not willing to do or to give up something we will not give up.
The fourth kind of clay is very useful to God. It has not become too dry. It is moist enough and does not have air bubbles in it. This type of clay is very pliable in the hands of God. God can make this clay into the vessel he wants it to be. When we become this type of clay we have yielded our lives to God. God is the center of our lives. Our desire is to fulfill the plans that God has for our lives. Then our lives can truly be the work of God`s hands. Isa 64:8 NIV) Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.