Potter & Clay
Series: Shaping the Clay
Gtcotr/ws111109
This
message by Pastor Kenneth Bent.
Review of
Previous Teaching:
Jeremiah
18:1-6 (NIV)
1 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 "O house of
3 things
involved in making a clay pot:
1. The
Potter
2. The
Clay
3. The
Process
Of
course we easily understand:
1.
God is the Potter
He gets
to choose how He wants us to be when He is finished making us:
2. We are the
clay
3. There evidently is a
parallel process which is used by the Potter to make something valuable,
useful, and desirable from the clay.
Five Steps for a Potter
Making a Vessel
Step 1:
Choosing the Clay
Step 2: Preparing the Clay - Washing and
Treading
Step 3: Centered on the Wheel
Step 4: Shaping
Step 5: The Fire
Step 1: Choosing the Clay
We are
dug out of the pit of sin by God’s gracious hand.
Psalms
40 NKJV
1
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; And
He inclined to me, And heard my cry.
2
He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my
feet upon a rock, And established my steps.
Step 2. Preparing the Clay - Washing and
Treading
God begins the work of Sanctification in our lives.
The
clay must first be washed to remove the exterior dirt, mire and surface
impurities. This initial washing will not be the last time the clay will see
the potter use water to aid the process. Of course we understand the natural
water of the potter to be a representation of spiritual water which is the Word
of God.
Ephesians
5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by
the word
Water
was used not only to begin the cleansing process but also to soften the clay
and keep it workable. Now begins the treading process.
The
potter, and/or others assigned the duty by him, would begin to tread upon the
clay, stomp it, and jump up and down on it. He does this to get the pockets of
air out of the clay, mix it good within itself to bring about a balance in the
consistency of the clay, and to help identify for removal any foreign objects
dangerous to the process. All during the preparation process the potter is
gauging the purity and consistency of the clay. It is the goal of the potter to
prepare the clay mixture so that it is ready to be placed on the potter’s wheel
for shaping. Perhaps this time of preparation is the most important step in the
process of clay becoming the beautiful and useful vessel the potter envisioned
when he first went down into the pit.
We must
all be prepared for use and submit ourselves to the cleansing and kneading
processes of God.
Step 3. Centered on the Wheel
Thus
far the potter has taken the clay out of the pit, prepared it, placed it on the
rock, and has now established its goings. After the potter places this lump,
this glob of clay on the wheel and sets it to spin, he places his hands on the
clay, not to shape the clay, but to center it. At first the clay fights with
the potter’s hands, as you can imagine, uncentered on the rock, each time it
comes around to the potter’s hands it finds resistance.
Clay is centered when it no longer resists!
We must not be:
Eccentric
Egocentric
Ethnocentric
We must be:
Christocentric
True capacity is created only after a
person becomes Christ centered and stops resisting the hands of God.
Tonight’s
Lesson:
Step 4.
Shaping the Clay
Video: The CLAY
(Potter
and Clay Video (silence the audio on the video please) with narration by Pastor
Ken)
Scene 1 narration
There was
potter, and in this potter’s studio, there were 3 lumps of clay.
The first
lump was hard.
When the
potter took this lump to his wheel, and began to center the clay, it would not
yield.
When the
potter pushed, the clay pushed back,
The
stubborn clay would not be centered.
The Potter
was not about to fight this lump of clay, so he threw it into a bucket of water
so that it might soften up.
Scene 2 narration
The second
lump of clay was very soft
When the
potter put this lump of clay on his wheel, it centered easily.
As he
began to fashion it, the clay was so soft, that it could not hold the shape it
was given.
It wavered
and flopped until it finally collapsed.
It was, as the scripture says, “marred in his hands.”
Then the
potter took this pile of clay and put it aside so that it might firm up.
Scene 3 narration
The 3rd
lump of clay was not soft, yet neither was it hard.
The potter
brought this clay to his wheel.
Without
any resistance, it responded to the movement of his hands.
Once
centered, the potter began to raise up this lump in the shape of a pot.
And the
clay held this form firmly so that the potter might finish his work, shaping
the clay according to his design.
Teaching:
7 Points:
1) God’s
Design, Not Ours
Romans
9:21 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?
God
designs different vessels for different purposes.
Pouring,
drinking, food storage, water storage, wine storage
Each one
has a unique shape for God’s own choosing and specialized use.
2) God’s “5-Fold” Hand Molds Us:
The hands
of the Potter work on us to make us into a vessel fit for the Master’s use.
Ephesians 4:11
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be
evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service,
so that the body of Christ may be built up 13
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.
14 Then we will no longer be infants,
tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of
teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will
in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
The
image of a hand is often used to represent God using what in our circles is
called the “5 Fold” ministry to prepare God’s people for works of service.
Apostle -
Thumb - can function within every other ministry, basic, flexible,
foundational, functional
Prophet -
“Pointy” finger - directional, purpose and guidance
Evangelist
- the Long Middle Finger - Reaches out beyond, touches what others can’t
Pastor -
“Ring” Finger - covenant compassion and love - tradition says it has a vein
that flows blood directly to the heart, a Pastor is a shepherd, keeper of the
sheep
Teacher -
“Little Finger” - can get in your ears, prober, seeker, extractor of
information
We
need all 5 ministries in our lives to have a more complete development of our
ministries.
“Perfecting” or “Preparing” here refers to mending (as in nets), perfect craftsmanship, restore to perfect working order.", "whipping something into shape."
We
need to realize that those who teach the Word and minister to us are God’s
molding hand upon us. We need to hear
and receive the “Hand” of God working on us and molding us with the Word of God
and the ministry of the Spirit to make us what He wants us to be, so we can
work for the Lord.
3) Upward Pressure
The Potter
applies pressure to the clay to mold it.
It is an
“upward” pressure - God wants to lift us to higher capacity and usefulness.
Phil.
3:14
I
press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ
Jesus.
God does
not push us down or condemn us, He wants to lift us up in His mighty hands.
He is
trying to draw us to Himself.
He is
trying to enlarge our capacity.
Without
pressure, this would not be accomplished.
When we
are under pressure, we need to keep our eyes on the eternal purposes that God
is establishing in and through our lives.
2 Cor. 4: 17 For our light
and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs
them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on
what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is
unseen is eternal.
Affliction
= “Thlipsis” = pressure
2 Cor 1: 8 For we do not want you
to be unaware, brethren,
of our affliction
which came to
us in Asia,
that we were burdened excessively,
beyond
our strength,
so that
we despaired
even of life;
1Th 1:6 -You also became imitators of
us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit,
1Th 3:3 - so that no one would be
disturbed by these afflictions;
for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this.
1Th 3:7 - for this reason, brethren, in
all our distress and affliction
we were comforted about you through your faith;
No
Outward and Upward Pressure = No Development
4) The Heart
At this
point in the formation of the clay vessel, the exterior, having had the upward
and constant pressure applied, begins to take shape and look attractive.
You can
begin to imagine what its ultimate shape might be.
You can
begin to see what its intended use might be.
But then,
something almost “cruel” begins to happen…
The Potter
takes his fingers and forces them down into the center of the vessel.
The inside
of the vessel is called, appropriately, “the Heart.”
If the
potter doesn’t work on the heart, then the vessel cannot contain anything.
The vessel
will only look good on the outside, but will have no usefulness.
The bigger
it is ON THE INSIDE, the more it can contain and the more it can pour.
The
scripture speaks of God “enlarging” our heart - enlarging our capacity for Him
and to be used by Him.
Psalm
119:32 - I run along the path of your
commands, for you will “make wide” ( enlarge) my heart
2Co
7:2 Make room for us in your hearts.
Our hearts must
be changed,
Man looks on
the outward, but God looks on the heart. (1 Sam. 16:7)
The potter at
this stage has one hand inside the vessel, and one hand on the outside.
“God works on
the whole man.”
**People
observing a potter work on the inside of the vessel CANNOT
**We might
begin to criticize an unfinished vessel - and what they are going through
unless we get close enough to the Potter to see what He is doing.**
To enlarge the
capacity of the vessel, the Potter MUST
Our hearts are
a repository for everything that will come out of us, and thus must be changed,
having the Law of God written on them.
Pr 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it
is the wellspring of life.
5) The Mouth
After the potter has shaped and molded the vessel both
inwardly and outwardly, he must finish with the topmost part, which is called
“the mouth.”
The mouth is vital - it is the final part that anything
inside the vessel touches when it is poured out.
Lu 6:45 The good man brings good things out of
the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the
evil stored up in his heart.
For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth
speaks.
The mouth affects or influences everything that comes out
of the heart. Even if what is coming out
of the heart of the vessel is pure, if the mouth is broken or contaminated, it
can change the nature and the way the pure substance is ultimately perceived or
received.
Pr 18:21 ¶ The tongue has the power of life and
death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
James 3:9
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men,
who have been made in God’s likeness.
10 Out of
the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.
11 Can
both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?
6) Always
in His Hands
As the Potter works with the clay and the forming vessel,
it never leaves the hands of the Potter.
At least one hand is on it at all times, even when the other hand is
reaching for some more water, or a forming tool.
God keeps His hands on us.
He will not let us spin out of control.
He gently and patiently forms us.
We are always in His hands.
He will never leave us or forsake us.
Even in times when we are being chastened by the Lord, He
is putting His hand into our lives to form us increasingly into the image of
Christ.
7) Water Poured on the Clay
Water is a
type of the Word of God.
We must
have the Word continually.
We must
apply it to our hearts.
Col
3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and
admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with
grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Next
Week:
Step 5.
The Fire