THE POTTER & THE VESSEL

TEXT: Jeremiah 18:1‑6

INTRODUCTION: In chapter 18, we have an object lesson.  The Lord told Jeremiah to go down to the potter's house, and He would give him a message there.  Jeremiah  went down to the potter's house, and the potter had a work in progress.  Verse 4 tells us that the vessel currently being molded was marred.  He took the marred vessel, and began remolding the vessel according to his desire.

The Lord says, "I want to do to you what the potter did to that vessel.   I want to take a marred people and remake them into that which I desire."

Sometimes we sing a chorus which says, "And He made something beautiful out of my life." That is what God wants to do in our lives.

In this message, I wish to share five things with you.

I.          THE MARRED VESSEL IS USELESS

A.        Marred means decay, corrupt, cast off

B.        The marred vessel is without beauty.

1.      The only thing noticeable of this  vessel is it's mar

2.      Beauty attracts attention (Example-Vase at "The Trace")

3.      Our lives must reflect Christ to be beautiful

C.         Not only is it without beauty, but it is totally useless.

1.      Jeremiah 13 gives a rather strange incident.  Jeremiah is told to get a linen girdle, and put it on.  Not only that, but he is told to abstain from washing it. Jeremiah did exactly what the Lord told him to do.  After a time, the Lord comes to him again and tells him to take that girdle, go to the Euphrates River,  and bury it under a rock.  Again, Jeremiah did exactly that.  After many days, the Lord told Jeremiah to go back to the Euphrates, and retrieve the girdle.   Jeremiah did exactly what the Lord told him to do.  Verse 7 describes the condition of that girdle, "...the girdle was marred, it was profitable for  nothing."

D.        The lesson in Jeremiah 13, along with the lesson in  Jeremiah 18, gives us three significant truths:

1.      God wants you close.  Jeremiah 13:11 "For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah

a)      Example of Children & Grand children; Family

b)      God came down in the cool of the evening to fellowship with  Adam and Eve.

2.      That rotten useless girdle was a picture of God's people.

a)      God's people had become a wicked, rebellious people. Jeremiah 13:10 "This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the  imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing. "

3.      It is refreshing to see somebody who will obey the Lord without question.

a)      The Lord said go find a girdle and put it on.  He did!  Then He said  not to wash it.  He didn't!  He told Jeremiah to go to the Euphrates River and bury that girdle under a rock.  He did!  After a period of time, he was  commanded to go back and retrieve the girdle.  He did! You and I would have probably questioned the Lord at every turn.

II.       JUST AS THE MAR ON THE VESSEL WAS OBVIOUS  SO IS THE MAR IN THE LIFE OF THE CHRISTIAN.

A.        You may not know it is obvious, but it is.  It is revealed in several ways:

1.      It is revealed in UNFAITHFULNESS.

a)      Unfaithfulness in church attendance

b)      Unfaithfulness in Christian living.

(1)  Witness

(2)  Tithe

c)      Folks, the one attribute everyone of us can possess is FAITHFULNESS.

d)      You may not have a great deal of talent.  You may not possess great wealth.

e)      You can be faithful!

2.      It is revealed in REBELLION.

a)      Rebellion is the opposite of Obedience.

b)      I Samuel 15 tells us that Obedience is the most important thing you can do. 

B.        "Why was the vessel marred?"

1.      Surely, it wasn't the fault of the potter, so obviously it was the resistance of the clay!

2.      It is our place to yield ourselves to the skillful, knowledgeable hands of the potter.

3.      Judah had gotten used to the sins around her!  In fact, she had become like the nations around her.  Our teenagers attending public schools get used to  immodest dress, drugs, bad language, a continual downing of religion and  patriotism, liberal sexual behavior, etc.  They soon find nothing wrong with these things.  The things we once condemned are now condoned.

III.    THE POTTER DOES AS HE PLEASES!

A.        Ephesians 2: 10 says, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.... "

1.      He both created you and sustains you.

2.      Just about every product I know carries the manufacturer's trademark. 

a)      Every car in that lot carries not only the trademark of the manufacturer, but the trademark of the place you purchased the car. 

b)      Every appliance in your house carries the manufacturer's name.  That piano, the organ, the sound equipment, all carry the manufacturer's trademark.

3.      We are His workmanship, and we ought to carry His trademark! Our wonderful Lord takes blotted, spotted, worthless lives and transforms them into things of beauty and usefulness.

4.      History records the delightful background of Michelangelo Buonarroti's  famous statue of David.  He was passing a newly or nearly finished cathedral  when he spotted, among other refuse, a large piece of marble.  Although it was a costly stone from the famous Carrara quarries, it had an imperfection that caused its rejection by the builders.   On an impulse, Michelangelo had the stone brought to his studio and,  on September 11, 1501, he began his work.  What a masterpiece he created!  The finished product portrayed the young shepherd, sling in hand, ready to  throw the stone that terminated the life of the giant, Goliath.  Placed on the  terrace of the Palazzo Vecchio, the public square of Michelangelo's city, Florence, along the bank of the Amo, it was removed in 1882 to take its place  in the city's Academy of Fine Arts. Here was a supposedly worthless stone, rejected by the experts, turned into a thing of wonder, beauty and pricelessness by a master hand.  Thus it is with God's creative power in redemption. If we will only yield ourselves to the Master Potter, and allow Him to do with us as He pleases, He can do the same for us.

IV.    THE MARRED VESSEL CAN BE MADE OVER!

A.        One of the marvelous things about the Christian life. 

1.      Just because you "mess up" doesn't mean that God discards you. 

a)      Whether you are saved or unsaved, regardless of your spiritual condition, God can  remold your life into something meaningful.  Regardless of where you are, or what you are, you can still be a success in the Christian life.

b)      What the Lord wants to do in lives today, you and I have done with  various kinds of modeling clay.  We have started to make something, but it didn't turn out like we wanted it to, or we thought we could do a better job.We just rolled it up into a ball, and started over again. 

2.      That is what God wants  to do in our lives.

B.        Start all over again

1.      You start out living the Christian life, but you run into difficulty. 

a)      It may be temptation.

b)      Whatever the reason, you falter in your Christian life.  I am here to tell you that you can start over again. 

c)      If you do not believe me ask Samson.  He messed up, but started over. 

C.        Ask Jonah.  He rebelled on the Lord, and got about as far  away from the Lord as you can get, but he got a fresh start. 

D.        Ask Peter.  He denied the Lord and quit the ministry, but he started over.

V.       THE CLAY IS USELESS WITHOUT THE POTTER APPLYING HIS HANDS TO IT!

A.        The clay is totally without meaning until the potter puts his skillful hands on the clay.  He begins to mold something beautiful and meaningful from that insignificant lump of clay.  That is a picture of our lives.

CONCLUSION: What does God want to do with you?  Verse 4c tells us, "so He made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.  " This great God who created the heaven and the earth, who created man, wants to make  something of you.  Listen, if He made the world, the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air, man in His own image, put the planets in their place, hung the sun,  moon, and stars, don't you think you can trust Him with your life?

        Something has been keeping you from letting Him put His great hands on your life.  Will you let Him begin molding you, or perhaps remolding you, today?