THe Potter And The Clay

Earthen Vessels Jeremiah 18:1-10 But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Be not so terribly angry, O Lord, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people. (Isaiah 64:8,9) In our scripture today, we have the image of the potter slaving over a piece of clay seeking to make a caly pota clay pot The potter is God and the clay is us. We see here both Gods grace and power and the seriousnious of our sin. The verdses say that “the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands” (v. 4) marked by sin and saddness. This suggesting that the pot still had some imperfections, and it was not finished. Because of these imperfections, the potter could not get the clay back to what He had first intended for it to look like. Jerimiah here is suggesting that, similarly as we as Gods children continue to rebell against Him , we will not and cannot experience His full blssings on our lives. So just as the potter could not make a perfect pot because of poor material, Like a potter forced by poor material. in a since, God is like the potter because God is a perfect God and sin cannot be in His presence He responds to their rebellion and bring judgement on them (vv. 9-10). How be it though His grace stays steady,unchanged and available.God is the same yesterday, today and forever. I know that if at any point in this senario any the (clay)the people would repent, God would tske away the judgment (vv. 7-8). As I was saying today, would be the very same, when we are willing to repent and turn away from Sin, God will with draw the judgment and pour out His blessing. This is true, His grace and restoration are always available. When repentance happens and forgiveness is granted. - Isaiah 64:8 and Isaiah 45:9 says "O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we are the work of thy hand". - Romans 9:20-21 - Paul here says that God as the Creator has the authority to do whatever He wants with His creation. After all it is His We see here that the master potter has a plan for the clay, a vision and a purpose for the clay He is working on, just as God has a vision, a plan, and a purpose for your life and mine life. When we are willing and ready to repent and turn to God, He is ready and willing to forgive and to bestow blessings of forgiveness, grace, love, peace and all of His other blessing upon us, so our cup will be full and running over. Malicah here says , "For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?" If you have ever made pottery, you know that the raw clay needs water to soften it and we need living water "Jesus", the clay also needs shaping, just as we need shaping. it also needs to have the impurities removed from it, just as we need sin removed from our lives. Jesus saysd go and sin no more. Then and only then can we be recentred on the whieel, and can begin to take the shape God had planned for us. This is a comforting thought, if a clay vessel takes on an odd shape on the wheel, the potter does not throw it away, but rather He breaks it down and starts over anew, He reworked it and reshapes it until He has something beautiful, now we must realize that clay does not have a mind of its own, in like us as human beings, God made us with one, and also gave us a free will and we can resist Him and harden our hearts and resist the reshaping by the hand of God. Father God, this morning as I have come into your presence, I pray that I am moldable clay, that I will not resist your changing me to be more in line with the plan and purpose you have for me in these days Please help me accept it and to be willing to see and do the things that are planned for me, in my later years. Lord I know the time is short and your son will return for your people soon. I pray Lord God that I will be working, watching and waiting, to see the Lord coming in the clouds with my light trimmed and beaming brightly, to show others the way, to the coming of the Lord.. Thank you Lord for reshapung me, to be the person you want me to be.. In your name I pray AMEN.