Bro.

Bobby Bacal and Family from CDO

LESSONS FROM THE POTTER’S HOUSE
Jeremiah 18:1-6
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my
message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 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.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the
Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.

(Living Bible) Here is another message to Jeremiah from the Lord:

2 Go down to the shop where clay pots and jars are made, and I will talk to you there. 3 I did as he told me and found
the potter working at his wheel. 4 But the jar that he was forming didn’t turn out as he wished, so he kneaded it into a
lump and started again.5 Then the Lord said: 6 O Israel, can’t I do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the
clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.
HISTORY:
 Jeremiah has been called by God to plead with His people to return to Following after Him.
 For more than 40 years he proclaims a message of doom to the people of Judah who would not repent and
come back to the ways of God.
 Through his sermons, signs and tears , he faithfully declares that SURRENDER to God’s will is the only way to
escape the calamity that waits if they do not. (JEREMIAH 1:4-19)

 The Bible uses symbolism to deepen the message God has for His people. He uses a metaphor to describe on
how He WORKS IN OUR LIVES.
o One such symbol is that of potter and clay.
o The most detailed example is found in Jeremiah 18.
 In our Text– God wants Jeremiah to again address the people and try to get them to correct the errors of their
ways before He will cast them away.
 It is interesting to note that he wants Jeremiah to go to the POTTER’S HOUSE to have a “visual” understanding
of what he wanted to convey to the people - Verse 2
o There was something wrong with what He was shaping and so he smashes the clay back down and
starts over.
 There are many things we can take from this, but for our lesson we want to note that the clay was not shaping
into what the Potter wanted it to be. It was rejected. VERSE 4
 Let’s take a few minutes today and look into these verses together as we consider the subject, Lessons From The
Potter’s House.

I. V. 1-3 THE POTTER AND HIS MISSION

A. The Potter’s Intentions –
 The Potter has a singular purpose.
o He plans to take clay and from that clay PRODUCE VESSELS.
o He wants to make vessels that will reap a profit; that will be found useful; and that will bring honor
unto him.
o The pieces he manufactures are intended to be used by him and others.

 This is God’s intention as well.

 He excels in taking Old Worthless Clay and transforming it by His grace into vessels of honor and glory.
 He takes those things that are the “off scouring (tainted, rotten) of all things”, 1 Cor. 4:13 - when we are slandered,
we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world--right up to this moment., and turns
them into vessels of honor.
 God is interested in taking the worst He can find and changing it into the best Heaven has to offer.
B. The Potter’s Ingredients –
 In order to accomplish this lofty goal, the Potter must work with materials that leave much to be desired.
 The condition of the clay as it is found: Clay as it is found in the ground is not suitable for use.
 It is dug out of the ground and brought to the place of the pottery and allowed to weather for weeks.
 It undergoes process before it could be found useful.

 In other words, the clay, as it is taken from the ground, is worthless.

 It must be transformed into a useable state and this is a process that takes time and energy on the part of the
Potter.

 This is a perfect portrait of those lost in sin.

 We are worthless to God in our natural condition.
 However, He is able to see the vessels that we can become.
 Therefore, He begins the process that will bring us to a place of usefulness.
 He digs us out, washes us clean and dries us up.

 This is a clear picture of the process we all go through prior to salvation and even after salvation.
 After we receives Christ as Savior, God begins the molding process.

C. The Potter’s Instruments –

 The potter uses several instruments or tools to bring the clay to a place where it is usable.

1. A Mallet –
 After the clay has been cleansed and processed, it is placed on a table and beaten with a wooden mallet.
 The Potter does this to remove any air bubbles that might be trapped in the clay.
 If he doesn’t the air bubble will form a pocket that will produce a weak spot and cause the vessel to be fragile
and unusable.
 This is a picture of the trials, calamities and chastisements of life that tend to work together to shape us in the
image of the Lord Jesus Christ - 2 Cor. 4:17.
 We may not like the pounding of the mallet, but its sole purpose is to make us more usable and flexible in the
Potter’s hand.
 You see, the Heavenly Potter is in the business of making us look like Jesus –Eph. 4:13. Therefore, it is a good
thing!
o until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the
whole measure of the fullness of Christ

2. His Hands –
 While the clay spins around on the wheels, it is never out of contact with the Potter’s hands.
 He is in constant contact, molding, shaping and bringing the clay along through His loving guidance.
 If he were to ever remove His hand, the clay would spin right off the wheel and would be lost.
 Therefore, he remains there with the clay and brings along until it become what He desires it to be.
 HE ADDS PRESSURE IN IT SO THAT IT WILL BE MOLDED TO WHAT HE WANTS IT TO BE ..

 What a picture of the Heavenly Father.

 There are times when God seems remote, removed and millions of miles away from us and from our needs.
 However, He has promised us that He will never leave us, nor forsake us and that He will ever be with His children,
Heb. 13:5; Matt. 28:20.
  The child of God need never fear that the Lord will walk out on us and leave us to spin out of control.
 No matter how fast the wheels spin, or what comes our way, we can rest assured that the Lord of glory will
never remove His hand from us.
 This truth we always have to bear in mind --- He is always in touch with His clay!

II. V. 4 THE POTTER AND HIS MINISTRY

 A Problem With The Vessel –
 Even in the Potter’s hand, things can still go terribly wrong.
 The fault is not with the Potter, but with the clay.
 There are times when even with the best of care, the vessel still gets out of shape.

 Isn’t this the way our lives seem at times?

 We are going along just fine and we are growing in the grace of the Lord, then along comes a temptation or a trial
and for one reason or the other, we are thrown off balance and we become disfigured in the Potter’s hand.
 Every turn of the wheel makes the blemish more visible.
 It soon becomes evident that God cannot use us in our present shape.

 Never be guilty of believing that this cannot happen to you.

 There are many people in this world that started out running well for the Lord, but along the way they got weak
and out of balance in their lives.
 Before long, they were vessels of dishonor.
 They never planned it that way, but it happened just the same.
 So, never think that it can’t happen to you - 1 Cor. 10:12 - So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!

 The Perception Of The Potter –

 Because his hand is resting on the vessel, the Potter knows instantly when a problem arises.
 He senses the changes in the clay and begins taking whatever steps are necessary to correct the problem.

 The same could be said for the Lord.

 There are times when we are all just cracked pots.
 Yet, because He knows everything about us and because His hand rests on our lives, He is instantly aware when
things aren’t as they should be.
 At that moment, He takes the necessary steps to get us back in usable condition.
 Never think, even for a second, that you are going to hide something from the Lord. He sees it all, Pro. 15:3; The
eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
 He is aware of every thought, every deed and every motive and will allow none to pass before His gaze
unchallenged.
 If God knows when I have a need, it stands to reason that He also knows when I have a sin or some flaw in my
attitude that needs correction.
 The Lord knows when we are not okay, we may pretend and set aside that fact and replace it with a thought
that we are still okay and we are still spiritual well in fact we are not!
o (no word, no prayer, no meditation, no fellowship)

 The Patience Of The Potter –

 HERE’S MORE REVELATION : Even though the clay is misshapen and deformed, it is still in His hand.
 The Potter takes the disfigured vessel, presses it back into a lump and begins again.
 This time, the vessel may turn out well, but it may also be deformed once again.
 If so, as long as the clay is moldable and workable in His hand, the Potter will rework it and reform it until he
is able to produce a vessel that satisfies Him.

 Again, this is a picture of the work of our heavenly Father in our lives.
 There are many times along the way that I can look back to and see myself deformed and misshapen upon the
Potter’s wheel.
  At those times, He loving pressed upon me with His hands and began the process once again.
 This process is not always pleasant!
 There are times when the Lord has to bring His chastisement into our lives.
 He does this because He loves us and seeks His best in our lives.

 However, it isn’t a pleasant thing when the Lord has to press us down, Rev. 3:19 Those whom I love I rebuke and
discipline. So be earnest and repent

 When the vessel is marred (DISFIGURED) , the Potter does not throw the clay away and start fresh with a new
piece.
 There is a reason for this.
o He has already invested too much time in salvaging the clay from the soil and in preparing it for use.
o He has a vested interest in what happens to the clay.
o Therefore, He can afford to be patient and to keep working in the clay until it begins to resemble that
image that He desires it to bear.

 Now, I will say this, there are times when the clay becomes no longer workable to the Potter’s touch.
 When this happens, the Potter has no choice but to set aside that hardened vessel and chose another lump of clay
with which to work.
 It is a picture of being shelved.
 There are times when the Lord removes His hand of blessing and places us aside and uses another vessel instead.
 However, we can be assured that this will never happen to us by always being moldable and yielded to His hand -
1 Cor. 9:27-No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not
be disqualified for the prize.

III. V. 5-6 THE POTTER AND HIS MESSAGE

A. A Message About Control –
 According to verse 6, the Potter has absolute control over what becomes of the clay.
 It is in His hand and He makes of it what He desires.

 What a message to the people of God!

 He is in control of our lives and He makes of us what He wishes.
 The whole point here is that God decides what He wants you to do and to be.
 Your duty is to submit to His will for your life

B. A Message About Compliance –

 The only duty that the clay has to yield to the will of the Potter.
 If we want the blessings of the Lord and want to be vessels of honor unto Him, then let us be what He has
equipped us to be.
 All I am saying is that we are to grow where we are planted and use our gifts for His glory.
 If we will place ourselves in His hands and genuinely allow the Lord to work His will in us, then we will be
blessed and will be vessels of honor unto the glory of the Lord.

 There are times in our lives that we don’t yield to the will of God.
 Or “There are areas where we are still in control.
 There are parts of us that we haven’t given to the Potter.
 There are circumstances that we face that we still try to control and work out.

Conc:
 God has made something beautiful from an ugly piece.
 JUST AS GOD HAS TAKEN AN UGLY LUMP, DIRTY LUMP OF CLAY, HE WAS ABLE TO COME UP WITH A BEAUTIFUL
MASTERPIECE, A VESSEL UNTO HONOR, SO CAN YOU BE!
  HE CAN MAKE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL OUT OF YOUR UGLY PAST, OUT OF YOUR UNWORTHINESS, FROM A VESSEL
UNTO DISHONOR TO A VESSEL UNTO HONOR!
 Can you sense the hands of the Heavenly Potter and He patiently, lovingly molds your life into His image?
 If you are a vessel that is refusing to yield in your life, here or there, there is no better time that the present to
take care of that need.
 Will you come to Jesus today and place yourself afresh and anew into the miracle working hands of the
Heavenly Potter?
 Will you allow Him to work His will in your life so that you can be a vessel of honor and glory unto the Lord?
 If you have never been saved by God’s grace, you need to know that God loves you and that He will save you if
you will come to Him through Jesus Christ His Son.
 He wants to take your life and make it into a thing of beauty for His glory. Will you come to Him?

However, as it is written: "What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived" -- the
things God has prepared for those who love him- 1 COR 2:9 (ISAIAH 64:4)