Lesson of the Potter's Work - The Potter is Always at Work on the Clay

Lamentations 4:2 The precious sons of Zion, valuable as fine gold, how they are regarded as clay pots, the work of the hands of the potter!

"The clay is not attractive in itself, but when the hands of the potter touch it,
and the thought of the potter is brought to bear upon it,
and the plan of the potter is worked out in it and through it,
 then there is a real transformation."  J. Wilbur Chapman, Revival Sermon

Jeremiah 18:2-3 "Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause you to hear My words." Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, making something at the wheel.

As Jeremiah watched the potter at work he understood that this was a picture of the sovereign will of God bringing sinful man into conformity to His will.  It was the potter's hands working diligently and patiently to shape the clay to his desired end.

How does the potter work?  The potter brings the clay into the "center" of the wheel to shape it to its intended purpose.  Some he makes into decorative pots and others functional pieces for daily living.
When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn't he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into? Romans 9:21 NLT

When the clay is in the center of the wheel, it is ready to be fashioned.  At the center of the wheel, the hands of the potter have more bearing on the clay than the spinning of the wheel.  In other words, the circumstances are not as much in control of the shaping of the clay as the fingers of the artist.  Clay outside the center of the wheel is not able to be fashioned as easily as that in the center of the wheel.  The picture is clear...when we are in rebellion to the will of God we are not able to be fashioned to His purpose.

Destruction is certain for those who argue with their Creator.
Does a clay pot ever argue with its maker?
Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying,
“Stop, you are doing it wrong!”
Does the pot exclaim, “How clumsy can you be!” Isaiah 45:9 NLT

The patience of the Potter is without end.  Regardless of our rebellion, the Potter is never frustrated with His work but purposely works out for good the impurities and imperfections found in the clay. (Romans 8:28)

PROVIDENCE is real.  For a man to deny the hand of God in life's circumstance is to lose the impact of the message from the potter’s house.  The PRESENCE of the potter is of the utmost importance.  The wheel never turns without the his presence. The potter's commitment to fashion and shape the clay is a picture of God's working out His will in our lives on the wheel of life.  Remember these things as you spin on the wheel of life:

1.    God has a plan in mind and has since the day you were born.

2.    God has the power to bring it about.

3.    God is able to work on countless pieces at one time. He is at work not only on our lives, but on the lives of others around us as well.
He is able to so shape one so it relates to what he does with all the others.

4.    God has patience and will bring it to completion.

Scripture to Claim:

Philippians 2:13…for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.