His Hand is on me. Please be patient!

Introduction

God has a plan for everyone life

We

We are in the beginning of what the Center of Disease Control calls Influenza Season. During influenza season individuals may be highly exposed to what is called the flu virus. It is recommended that individuals take a flu shot. One memorial thing you may notice is that there are a lot of signs that are placed throughout the workplace, bathrooms during this season that says cover your mouth and nose if you sneeze or cough. Then it says wash you hands. The wash your hands sign appears every where. it is important to wash your hands at all time but especially in the influenze season because of the spread of germs by the hand.

God has a plan for everyone life

He made this possible through his son Jesus Christ God wants all of us to be save - Acts

Teaching people about handwashing helps them and their communities stay healthy.

God Plan for us to be save God’s wants us to be a witness

Handwashing education in the community:

You have to be careful of Judgeing.

Reduces the number of people who get sick with diarrhea by 31%

Jeremiah has to becareful not to judge - even though he see the clay marred - he has to understand that its still being worked on.

Reduces diarrheal illness in people with weakened immune systems by 58%

Please be patient with me be cause God is not through with me yet. Clay has to be Harden through the fire.

Reduces respiratory illnesses, like colds, in the general population by 16-21%

Fire is the strength process. God has to send you through the fire to strengthen you. He also have to send you through the purification process.

So keeping clean hands are very important. What I would like to aruge today in this text is that we serve a God with Dirty Hands.

Durability

God’s Hand always dirty - Thats what God shows Jeremiah down at the potters house.

Sustainbuilty

Please be patient with me because God is not through with me yet.

Longevity

God’s Hand always dirty

Thats what God shows Jeremiah down at the potters house

Context of this scene

Some of us may remember that

After David, Solomon, Rabon - is responsible for the division of the nation of Israel.

Rabon leadership - 10 tribes succeed from the nation and form northern country called Israel whose capital is Samaria. Two tribes form the southern country which is call Judea whose capital is Jerusalem.

So after Rabon there are actually two nations: Israel and Judea.

Israel is led by kings - whose the Bible say or more wicked than there preprocessor. As a result these kings led the people away from God as a a result in 730 BC God allow the Assyrian army to conquer the northern tribes called Israel.

But the south is rule by the linage of David. The king on the throne bares David Blood line. What has happen in the north cannot happen in the south.

Now as we move forward two hundred years, as the winds of disobedience and rebellion from the north has blew in the face of the south. The Bible says that every man was doing what was right in there own mind. In order to keep from the same destruction of Judea that happen to Israel.

God sends Prophets with words that was not popular or welcome. Which brings us to the text today: One of those prophets name was Jeremiah.

Jeremiah Prophesy

Was not like the prophesy we see, or hear today.

He didn’t prophesies that blessing was coming

He didn’t tell them to just show up and give a seed offering Didn’t say that if you drink this miracle water you will be healed No that was not his prophecy.

Jeremiah Prophesy was God is growing weary of you.

Jeremiah:

was saying either get right, or something is going to go wrong.

Get your house in order or the lord is going to disipline you.

Of course Jeremiah message was not received well.

Some even argue that his message was hopeless.

They had being doing wrong so long, and messing up so badly and had fallen so short of the will of God. That they had reach a point of believing that there is no possibility of change.

This is the pattern of the enemy.

When you are in a repeat pattern of doing things, struggling , sickness , brokenness, financial empty.

When you find your self struggling with same thing time in and time in after again. The enemy will make you believe this is normal.

The enemy will creep in your mind and convince you that there no way to break this habit you have formed.

You know people like that:

Who would rather cope than change, who would rather balance than be delivered.

Rather than get rid of it in there lives they are just covering it up because the devil has convince you that there is no way for you to change.

Look at how many times -

You said you would and you didn’t.

Look at how many times your cried or went to the alter and found yourself back in the same situation.

Look how many times said Lord if you bring me out of this. And find your self back in the same situation.

See there is a hopelessness that has form in Judea. God realizes this and tell Jeremiah,

I want to show you something.

He tells him meet me at the potters house.

Jeremiah - goes down to the potter house and he walks in and the man is making something on the pottery wheel with his hand.

The Bible says that whatever he was making with his hand was marred. - It has some flaws in it

Not the way he wanted The Bible says (in v4) that he made it again as a vessel that seem good to him.

The Bible says (in v4) that he made it again as a vessel that seem good to him.

the Bible says (in v4) that he made it again as a vessel that seem good to him.

4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

You might want to highlight or underline or write this word again.

Hebrew diction gives us two words for “again” one is to recreate and the other is to repair.

So the potter is working on the wheel, and has the clay in his hands, sees the flaw and instead of him throwing away and making up some new clay he repairs what he has in his hand.

See the difference between recreate and repair is the level of effort of the one whose doing it to change what needs to be change.

This why we need experts.

Jeremiah looks at the marred clay with the flaw and thinks its bad, but the potter looks at the marred clay and says that its repairable.

See with our judgements eyes we see things different than the ones who have experience, expertise in the matter.

See the potter is telling someone here today.

what looks major to you is not major to me.

He is saying,

“ All I need to do is put my hands on it”. What is hard for you is not hard for me.

The devil has a way of making you believe that there is no hope, that you are unrepairable. If it was up to you, you would have to be recreated but because its up to God. He is telling you if you just let me put my hands on it. I can repair you.

See we need understanding, see the lord says in -For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways”.

What may seem to be unrepairable, broken, unchangeable, corrupted, flawed, blighted is nothing in the hands of God.

No matter how ugly it is, how bad it is, God is saying if you just let me put my hand on it.

The Potter Process

Before a piece of clay can be added to an electric wheel to start the actual molding process to make the kind of pottery you wants to make, the potter first has to add enough WATER into it in order to make it pliable and soft enough for him to be able to actually use it. If enough water is not added into the clay, the clay will remain too hard and stiff to be able to actually use.

The adding of water makes the clay soft and pliable. It makes it easier to work with. Water in this analogy represents the Word of God.

” … that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.” ()

The Word of God is like water to our souls. Just like our physical bodies need water in order to be able to live and survive in this world, the same way our souls need God’s Word on the inside.

The best way to treat brokeness, abandoness, hopelessness is with the Word of God. We must give the Holy Spirit something to work with.

Let me backup - because what I’ve learned by watching pottery being made is that the potter has a bucket setting beside the wheel and every time he sees a flaw he reaches is hand in the bucket of water and puts his hand on the flaw.

So the next time you feel broken let me give you a word for the brokenness-

No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment

You shall condemn.This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,And their righteousness is from Me,”Says the Lord. :17New King James Version (NKJV)

I can do all things through Christ[a] who strengthens me.

Says the Lord. :17New King James Version (NKJV) I can do all things through Christ[a] who strengthens me. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Not only does the potter repairs you by placing his hand on you but once he has the vessel how he likes it he places it in a furnace. This initial firing removes the physical and chemical water so that the piece can be glazed without returning to mud and breaking. Now the furnace is used to strength the clay to keep it from returning to clay and breaking. In other words God puts you in the fire to transform you hearers to doers. We don’t need to just read the word but we need to know how to apply the word. The furnace strength and purify us.

In other words the hell you going through is making you stronger. The fire has made me stronger and wiser, now I’m better, so much better.

Not only does the potter place the vessel in the furnace but he waits for the vessel to cool.

See if the potter moves to fast the vessel may break. So he allows the vessel to cool,

Somebody knows what I’m talking about -

God waited on you!

While you was out being you - he waited on you

While you was out being you - he waited on you

With all the baggage you’ve been carrying he still waited on you.

With all the wrong, you done he waited on you All because he saw what he like.

He saw the best in you - when no-one else saw it God saw it.

God saw the best in you - I feel just like Jeremiah felt in the the 20 chapter - when he said

But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones.

When I looked back over my life and think about the chances - God has given me the fire keeps burning

Clay has to be Harden through the fire.

Fire is the strength process. God has to send you through the fire to strengthen you. He also have to send you through the purification process.

Durability

Sustainbuilty

Longevity