Lessons Learned from the Potter - Jeremiah 18:1-6 (2)

Introduction

Last week we entered the Potter’s house. As we take a look back we learned how the Potter selects the clay he intends to make into a beautiful vessel. It is through this parable of the Potter that our Heavenly Father illustrates to Jeremiah, Israel, and us today how He in His wonderful Grace lifts us from the miry clay and like the Potter begins to soften and shape us for a vessel to bring honor to His name. Now, let us explore the second phase of the shaping and making of a vessel of honor.

CENTRAL TRUTH : An individual either goes with God and becomes something of value in His hands, or stands still and retrogresses—depending entirely on their response to the touch of God upon their life.

II. A Place of Stability - The Platform of Positioning

Psalm 40:1–3 “I waited patiently for the Lord; And he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

After selecting the clay, the potter performs a remarkable act. He doesn’t slam or throw the clay, he gently, tenderly and carefully places the clay in the exact center of his wheel. The clay must be perfectly positioned before any shaping can begin. This is exactly how God lifts us from sin and sets us in Christ, our new foundation. Centered not in self, but in the Saviour.

Spiritual Illustration

The Compass and True North: A compass only functions properly when its needle is free to find true north. If the needle is stuck, bent, or pulled by competing magnetic forces, it becomes useless for navigation. The human soul was designed to be oriented around Christ—He is our True North. When we try to center life on career, relationships, pleasure, or self, we become like a compass spinning wildly, unable to find direction. Only when we're properly positioned on the Potter's wheel—centered in Christ—can the shaping begin.

a. Centered on Christ

We must move from ego-centric to Christo-centric living.

The clay cannot be shaped in the pit, it must be positioned on the rock

Self-centeredness produces instability; Christ-centeredness creates constancy.

b. Careful Placement

The Heavenly Potter handles us with tenderness, not trauma

God doesn’t throw us into sanctification, He gently guides us.

Divine precision positions us exactly where we need to be.

c. Complete Transformation

“If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

New setting, new standing, new stability

We cannot carry on in the old way and expect God to shape us and make us into a vessel of honor.

Practical Applications

Survey Your Center: What currently occupies the center of your life? Work? Family? Money? Entertainment? Conduct an honest inventory of where your time, thoughts, and treasure flow. These reveal your true center.

Submit to Repositioning: Allow God to move you from the pit to the platform. This requires surrender—letting go of old foundations (habits, relationships, mindsets) that kept you stuck.

Stand on the Solid: Build your life on the Rock, not the rubble of your past. Daily decisions should flow from your position in Christ, not your previous patterns.

Conclusion - Key Insight

"A lot of us have the idea in life that we just carry on in our old way of living and somehow God will work on us without ever getting centered in Christ. I'm telling you He doesn't work that way."