Reshape

RESHAPE “The Potter Is Still Working on Me”

Primary Text: Isaiah 43:18–19 (KJV)

Extended Text: Jeremiah 18:1–6

INTRODUCTION — GOD IS NOT DISCARDING YOU; HE’S DEVELOPING YOU

My beloved Saint Thomas Baptist Church family, grace and peace be multiplied unto you in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

As we journey together through this New Year series—Fixed for 2026: Restore, Reshape, Revive, Renew—we have already declared that God is restoring what life took away.

But now the Spirit pushes us a little deeper. Because after God restores you…

He will reshape you. And shaping is not always comfortable. Restoration feels good—because you get something back.

But reshaping feels different—because you have to change. Some of us shouted last week when God said, “I’ll give it back.”

But now God says, “Now let me work on you.” And this is the part where faith is tested.

Because reshaping means: God interrupts your habits. God challenges your thinking. God confronts your comfort. God reshapes your posture, perspective, and priorities.

Hear this clearly at the outset: God does not reshape people He plans to abandon. He reshapes people He plans to use.

TRANSITION TO THE TEXT

The prophet Isaiah announces that God is doing a new thing, but Jeremiah shows us how God does it. God sends Jeremiah down to the potter’s house—not to hear a sermon—but to see a process. So, with the help of the Holy Spirit and the real preacher Jesus Christ let me leave us with some exhibits of evidence to help us to understand the process of God’s reshaping and the first is this.

THE POTTER CONTROLS THE PROCESS(Jeremiah 18:2) “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.”

Notice something powerful: God does not speak to Jeremiah in the palace, Or the temple, Or the marketplace.

He speaks at the workshop. Because sometimes God reveals His will not in glory—but in grinding.

The potter controls: The wheel. The pressure. The pace. The timing. The clay does not set the schedule. The clay does not negotiate the pressure. The clay does not determine the outcome.

Preaching Truth: If God is shaping you, it means He’s in control, even when life feels chaotic. Some of us are frustrated because we keep trying to manage a process that belongs to God.

TRANSITION: And once Jeremiah watches the potter long enough, he notices something unexpected…

FLAWED CLAY IS STILL USABLE CLAY(Jeremiah 18:4a) “But the vessel that he was making from clay was spoiled by the potter’s hand…”

The text does not say: The clay jumped off the wheel. The potter threw it away. The potter walked out.

It says the clay was marred in his hand. That means the flaw happened while the potter was working.

My Saint Thomas Baptist family and friends, let me free somebody right here: Your mistake did not surprise God. Your struggle did not disqualify you. Your failure did not cancel the assignment.

Preaching Moment: We serve a God who is not intimidated by imperfections. If God threw away marred clay— none of us would be standing here.

(Psalm 103:14) “For He knows our [mortal] frame; He remembers that we are [merely] dust.”

(2 Corinthians 4:7) “But we have this precious treasure [the good news about salvation] in [unworthy] earthen vessels [of human frailty], so that the grandeur and surpassing greatness of the power will be [shown to be] from God [His sufficiency] and not from ourselves.”

(Proverbs 24:16) “For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of disaster and collapse.”

TRANSITION: But here’s where the shout comes in…

GOD RESHAPES WHAT HE DOESN’T DISCARD(Jeremiah 18:4b) “…so he made it over, reworking it and making it into another pot that seemed good to him.”

The potter did not abandon the clay. He reworked it. The Hebrew idea here suggests intentional redesign not patchwork repair. God didn’t reshape you to look like your past, He reshaped you to fit your purpose.

That’s why God had to interrupt you. That’s why God allowed pressure. That’s why God slowed you down. Because where you were headed, the old shape wouldn’t survive it.

Preaching Declaration: “God didn’t break me—He reshaped me so I wouldn’t break later.”

TRANSITION TO ISAIAH: And this is why Isaiah can boldly say: “Remember not the former things…” Because after reshaping— the former shape no longer fits.

RESHAPING PREPARES YOU FOR THE NEW THING“Behold, I will do a new thing…”

New wine requires new wineskins. New assignments require new discipline. New seasons require new faith.

Some of us keep praying for new blessings while holding on to old mindsets.

But God says: “If I don’t reshape you, what I release will rupture you.”

(Romans 12:2) “And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].”

(Isaiah 64:8) “Yet, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our Potter, And we all are the work of Your hand.”

(Proverbs 3:5–6) “Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart And do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way].”

TRANSITION: So, the question isn’t: “Why is God working on me?” The question is: “Can I trust God while He is working?”

THE CLAY MUST STAY ON THE WHEEL

Clay only gets shaped if it stays: Submitted. Available. Pliable.

You cannot get reshaped if you keep jumping off the wheel every time it gets uncomfortable. Some people abort the process and then blame God for unfinished work. But hear me: What you survive on the wheel. Will save you off the wheel.

WHOOPING / CELEBRATORY CLOSE

He’s shaping me! He’s molding me!

I didn’t like the pressure—But I needed the purpose!

I didn’t enjoy the breaking; But I appreciate the becoming!

I didn’t understand the delay—But God was developing me!

If God left me on the wheel; It means He wasn’t finished with me yet!

Ask your neighbor: Are you still on the wheel?

He didn’t throw me away—He worked on me again!

He didn’t discard me—He reshaped me again!

He didn’t throw me away—Clap your hands if you can testify: “I’m not who I used to be—Because the Potter is still working on me!”

ALTAR CALL / CONSECRATION MOMENT

This altar is not for perfect people. It’s for pliable people.

If you’re willing to say: “Lord, shape my thinking, shape my attitude, shape my obedience, shape my future…” Then this is your moment.