Clay in the Potter's Hands [Part 2]

Pastor, author and Bible teacher Alan Wright.

I like to think. Thank God that he has a commitment to keep our hearts soft before faster life excited for you to hear the teaching today. In the series. We may as presented with an old church in North Carolina that will stay with us throughout the entire gram today.

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Alan Wright. So as you listen to his message go deeper as we send you today's special contact is a pastor at.org that's pastor Alan.R. G. Or call 877-5448 60 really be more on all this later in the program but right now let's dig in and get started with today's teaching is Alan. When Jeremiah Potter sounds he saw much like what we so marvelous want to go with them and imagine Jeremiah there was a sea onesie notice. I think you notices in the first place that Clay is common.

There's nothing more basic or unimpressive than a little dust a little water a little. My that by itself it without any shaping from the Potter is not much to look at and not much use, but he notices that the Potter can take something that's completely amorphous, something that has no shade, no purpose yet and the Potter, the Potter, it's a vision for the clay, the Potter gets in his mind something beautiful for that which is not yet lovely Potter has in his mind and idea of usefulness for something that in its present form as it is very useful. It begins is the Potter's creative instinct, love that Leanne Payne and her brilliant chapter called creative power and insightful book the healing presence spoke of Michelangelo and commented on how Michelangelo would set of his greatest works like the sculpture of Moses or his famous David that Michelangelo said that they were in the stone clamoring to be freed and he said he just chipped away the stone to uncover it and I love her insight for our lives when we end paints is the artist then is not creator is merely discoverer and servant to the work that is already there. The work says release me from chaos. Give me my form I shape my being and listening to the work, the artist frees it to become to be give to me my form give to me. My being the sole and chaos cries out separate me from the darkness.

The stone I'm here all of me is here. Free me in the spirit. When we invite him broods over us in the situation and it comes to a priest of Almighty God and he does it.

So God is both the creator and the shaper of our lives he created. But then the Holy Spirit brooded over the chaos of the deep, to bring the form out of the void he got ordinary stuff that's what Monday means. It means just of the world.

We once were mundane and now we been made holy. We once were, without form, and life in chaos, but we have been shaped and brought into order and you watch with Jeremiah and see what you see. I think he notices that the clay has the Potter's full attention is not something Jeremiah the prophet comes in. Potter looks up, acknowledges his presence, but he can't take his eyes off the clay. It doesn't stop and let the clay grow hard stagnant on the wheel. He has to keep it moist. He has to keep it spent and he has to keep his hands on the clay has his attention is hard to imagine that you're in the thoughts of God. Passion paraphrases beautiful in many places, says of Psalm 139 renders it this way in verse 17 every single moment is thinking of me Psalm it says how precious and wonderful to consider that you cherish me constantly in your every thought of God your desires toward me are more than the grains of sand on every shore. When I awake each morning you're still with me whenever you're going through.

Potter has his eye and that is out of no one we say I'm thinking of you as a nice thing to say somebody say you're in my thoughts, but say God's thinking of you say something different, because God's thoughts are formative powerful I'm I say sorry you're going through what you're going through and thinking of you know well that makes me feel some compassion and change anything but God's thoughts how precious they are. I think Jeremiah watches how the Potter keeps dipping his hand into the water and just the right amount I have never thrown a pot on Anna like I might try that.

So we've got a few Potter's in the church. They say this is the right consistency of moist kind of little layer of clay on the Potter's hands. It makes it just right, you know, wanted sloppy wet you want to dry it again find that and then you keep the clay, the right level of moisture so that it stays pliable, malleable moldable say and he watches as he keeps moisture coming I like to think and thank God that he has a commitment to keep our hearts soft before him in all the member all those tax in the Old Testament about being a stiffnecked people text about having a heart of stone.

Those are descriptions of people that become resistant to God's shaping and God has a commitment to do the opposite. The words of the prophet Ezekiel, the word of the Lord. I'll give you a new heart and a new spirit, but within you remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes. This is what I love about the gospel is it is a gospel when the gospel through the good news of what God's son in Jesus and his love comes into your heart. It makes your hearts soft towards God. It is you you don't change yourself, but to the degree that you become less and less resistant to the changes God wants to make you will be changed and what happens is when you when you get filled with the love of God and you will him you love him more and more in a very real sense what's happening as it is prophecy is coming true is causing his statutes to take place in your life is causing you to be who he made you to be because I love is constraining you the lot has changed you your you can can help yourself and God's committed to keep an eye soft like clay and then he watched it spin and and and and is is it as it spends is what's cool about throwing a pot. It is this vessel is formed because as it turns in the Potter skillfully.

The Potter was skillful hands puts pressure pressure pressure light, sometimes more firm and where the pressure is then it clay has nowhere to go except where the hands are not so you put pressure on the lower part and the clay moves upward and and wherever the pressure is the clay moves the other direction. So he's moving these moving the clay in the direction he wanted to go by applying subtle and sometimes more intense pressure to the clay that so shape and it is Alan Wright will have more teaching moment from today's important series.

Many Christians in America today. You're starting a nation's culture has turned away from God values in our country have changed. Suddenly, most people don't go to church or had a difficult one to make you feel like an alien in your own culture.

There's a lot to learn from Daniel when he was exiled to the page Amanda I. Through our special off. It is not you can learn to live under the favor of God in Aryan culture the way Daniel did you give before the end in mind senior Pastor Alan's idea series, Daniel favored for you may feel like a stranger in this world that is God should favor to Daniel and his four man God's grace is upon you as well.

Nation will not only help you navigate through these troubling times.

It will also help someone else links for your partnership with our night ministry. We missed 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor.org today's teaching now. Can you once again is Alan Wright as always I did get some point my spirit alive are the pressures that you feel are not high or not the sign of despair and God's judgment, but God's love, moving you in this way, I'm shaping your life and is what you go this way as ever tried bulldoze their way through somewhere and God didn't want to go in and later realized he didn't let you go back in your really thankful for that archer. The psalmist says you him me and behind and before and lay your hand upon me as a good prayer to pray God put your hands around me and wherever I need the pressure to come so that I'll go that way. With the pressure.

There is going the right way because I so we don't know the right way to go in his hands or shakiness.

Alleluia. Jeremiah watches and I think he notices that the Potter's force is not one of anger that is displacing but of purpose and the Potter is not taking out his frustrations on the clay. He's an artist he's making something beautiful and watches and he watches it spin and Jeremiah seen Potter's spinning the wheel probably hundreds of times in his life, but now is there with prophetic eyes. The Holy Spirit's teaching, speaking to is looking is watching a thinking about the spinning. I think it occurs to him that the spinning is essential that there is there is a force at work that it has to be turning has to be spinning that that's where the creative genius is coming from the Potter's hands is that he's taking that which looks like it's flying around flying around some uncontrolled way but actually it is in the spinning that in that turbulence that is being formed in the turbulence. The vessel is being formed in the spinning. The beauty is emerging in the world. Link shape is taking place. What looks like.

While the disorder is actually sovereign, purposeful rolling of the clay watches and I wonder if that's when it dawns on him that the clay is, it spends is never out of the Potter's hands. That's a key. When you go through tough times and you just feel like clay just I'm just spinning I get you get can be dizzying candidate.

Life can be weird just start it's not turning out the way I thought it's not going the direction go test it seem like it. It doesn't seem. I don't understand, live in such a time and what Jeremiah sees is that is that clay spends spends and spends turns in terms is never out of his hands for not Isaiah 4110 firm with you.

Be not dismayed from your God, and I will strengthen help you I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

First Peter 56 humble yourselves therefore this be soft. Just be malleable, be pliable. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God. So the proper time he may exalt you. Just be clay just be clay spinning in his hands casting he said in verse seven all your anxieties on him because he cares for you. Jesus said in John 10 my sheep you're my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give them eternal life in the never parish and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

My father's given them to me, is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out. Of the fathers and wife spinning aware in his hands lives troublesome when it's wife is sorrowful at times, aware in his hand. Life is uncertain and we not sure which way to go, and it's in his hands. We don't know what the world looks like after all of this sickness and death and where in his hands and we don't know what church would be like in business is to be liked and what your vocational be like and what everybody will be like in this polarized world and we are in his hands. We are spinning and spinning and spinning like this great earth itself and it is all in his hands. I promise you that Potter has not taken his eye off the clay and we are being shaped and he will get glory and make something beautiful from it.

He's the Potter, I tell you, and I think in the end what Jeremiah must've been most prophetically encouraged by and this this this is the Col.

This is the this is what I think God most wanted Jeremiah to see because remember Jeremiah this long prophetic book full of so many judgment articles he wanted to wanted him to get this at the heart of his ministry.

Don't miss this hunt does the Potter do when he looks, and suddenly realizes that the part of vessel is marred.

The text says it's spoiled we don't know what it could be a bubble in the clay. It could be an impediment. It could been he found a pebble in the clay could be.

There was some imperfection in the clay itself. It doesn't describe it as if the Potter messed up it says is there something wrong with the clay is clay and the watches in the car stops. He stops the spinning and realizes this is vessel is ruined and Jeremiah watches thinking what ordinarily would have been something's been ruined.

As you take it you've thrown away and he watches and instead, the Potter takes this vessel that had begun to be formed and then realizes it is marred in spoiled and ruined and he takes the vessel and instead of chunking it in the can.

The balls and up again. Roles and motions a little bit and throws it back down.

As we all and he starts spinning again, and he spends and he spends and he takes the same exact clay and makes it that had been marred into something perfect. He's seeing not just into the restoration that will come in 539 BC when the people go back to their homeland. He seen what he can't even describe a whole new covenant.

We are the people who have been remade what God made from the dust and formed a man and a woman in his image.

Send against him and became marred and spoiled and ruined spiritually by the creation's rebellion in the Potter did not throw us away, but he sent Christ such that anyone who trusts in him and a new covenant of grace is made to be reckoned to be un-spoilt righteous a new creature in Christ remade a and guess what, what one day you breathe your last, you will and should Jesus Terry we will all experience it one way or another we become dust again is will take the same dust your selfsame being moistened up and remake it into a spiritual body.

Same clay remade.

I think that's what he saw at the potter's house and God's commitment is instead of just realizing he messed up all goofed up and just covered over with mist tear it up, throw away now with God.

This Potter get a remake it and that's the gospel.

Allen right. Today's good news message playing in the Potter scene needs from our series remade and past relatives joining a specular in the studio with a parting good news thought for the day to carry with you in just a moment. Many Christians in America today. Your standby have technicians culture has turned away from God values in our country had changed. Suddenly, most people don't go to church or had a difficult one to make you feel like an alien in your own culture. There's a lot to learn from Danielle when he was exiled to the pay command through our special offer. This night you can learn to live under the favor of God in Aryan culture the way Daniel did you give before the end of the month senior Pastor Alan's idea series, Daniel favored for you may feel like a stranger in this world that is God shed favor to Daniel and his four man race is a timeless plan ordination will not only help you navigate through these troubling times.

It will also help someone else links for your partnership with how I might ministry steel as I don't call us at 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor.org but here is to use your best real and sporting good news thought for the day and so the admittedly you've not what's the term from thrones that have not thrown any time that you have done some artistic that I have is I got it about my famous horse in the middle that judges increasingly became mist.

I want to leave everyone with this incredibly nourishing thought.

God doesn't scrap his creation. He he didn't scrap Adam and Eve. He wants scrap the world. In the end you'll make all things new and make a new heaven and a new earth. What he does is he takes that which he's made that has become marred by sin, and he remakes it. He takes your life. The real life that you live stuff you've been through things you faced in whatever is marred damaged your life. He takes all of that he doesn't is a so I'm given up on you at least know he's a Potter versus there was an impediment.

Let me spin the wheel.

Keep shaping because he remakes you are playing the Potter's. Thanks for listening today. Visit us online at pastor at.org or call 877-544-4860 877-544-4860 if you only caught part of today's teaching. Not only can you listen again online but also get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching delivered right to your email inbox. Three. Find out more about these and other resources.

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