Handcrafted

Isaiah 64:8 ESV

8 But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.

We are the Clay

In today’s verse the prophet Isaiah refers to the people of God as clay. This is not the only time which Isaiah made this comparison. For example the potter and clay image is also used in Isaiah 45:9

Isaiah 45:9 NLT

9 “What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’

When taken literally you can imagine the ridiculousness of a lump of clay talking back to the potter about how it's made or used.

Isaiah is making the point here that the creation can not claim to know better or judge the creator.

Today we see so many prideful people that simply refuse to submit and obey the Lord and instead live in rebellion and mock those of us who are believers.

And those people who mock or reject the things of God will in fact receive a judgment if they do not repent and submit to the will of the Lord.

The Apostle Paul writes about the Lord having the sovereign right to do as He wishes with His creation.

Romans 9:20–22 ESV

20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,

Again Paul is stating that it is God’s right as the Almighty Creator of the universe to do what He desires with the things He creates which is everything and everyone.

For example, clay as many of you know is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals.

We also know that God formed man from the dust of the ground as we can read in Genesis chapter two verse seven

Genesis 2:7 ESV

7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

You see not only did God form man from the dust of the ground from the clay if you will but then the Lord breathed the breathe of life into man he became a living human.

So imagine for a moment that after God made man that the human then started to question or critique the Lord. That would be absolutely absurd most agree. But unfortunately there are many people today that question God or do not take the Bible literally and scripture is clear that there will be a judgment for those people.

I have said it before and I will say it again which is that the Bible means what it says and it says what it means. The Lord Almighty is God and we are not so we are not to live by our own thoughts or desires but rather from the word and Spirit of the Lord! Amen!

Another characteristic of clay is that in it’s natural state it is brittle and easily broken. However clay develops plasticity when water is added.

Hear me today, we need to have the living water that only Jesus gives to remain flexible. Otherwise we will have hardness of heart, become brittle, weak and easily broken.

It doesn’t take but a moment today brothers and sisters to see so many people exhausting themselves trying to make it in life on their own or with a worldly approach and while they can put on the fake face the truth is inside they are tired, and brittle and broken and are turning to all sorts of compulsions to fill the void that only comes with a right relationship with God.

Jeremiah 2:13 ESV

13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

Jeremiah is describing God as the fountain of living water who has been forsaken by His chosen people Israel.

The point is echoed in Jeremiah chapter seventeen verse thirteen.

Jeremiah 17:13 ESV

13 O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.

You see it is God alone who can provide us with the spiritual water we need as clay so that we may become adaptable and strong to face lives circumstances. When we do not seek the Lord in every area of our lives those areas become dry, weaker, less pliable and thus more easily fractured or broken.

Jesus teaches the Samaritan woman at the well that He is the source of living water which leads to eternal life.

John 4:10–14 ESV

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

So while Jesus has confirmed that living water only comes from Him you might be thinking what is the living water specifically.

John 7:37–39 ESV

37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

So the living water that that becomes a spring in a person and leads to eternal life is the Holy Spirit. And the only way a person can be sealed with the Holy Spirit is to put their faith in Jesus Christ.

So because we are the clay we are dry and weak in our natural state. However, when we put our faith in Jesus Christ then He gives us living water which is the Holy Spirit so that not only will we receive salvation by faith but also be strengthened and equipped with power from within. And like many clay structures in the world that have stood the test of time as a Spirit filled follower of Christ we too will endure not only in our earthly lives but we will live in paradise with Jesus forever. Somebody give Him praise in the house today!

God is the Master Potter

In today’s scripture Isaiah also describes the Lord as our Father and our potter. What Isaiah is declaring is that God is the holy sovereign Lord of all creation.

The Apostle Paul writes about the sovereignty of Christ in Colossians chapter one verses sixteen through eighteen.

Colossians 1:16–18 ESV

16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

Isaiah also declared in today’s text that God is our Father. John echoes this fact in first John chapter three verse one.

1 John 3:1 ESV

1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Not only does God love us but He has adopted us into His family as sons and daughters. This can be hard for some Christians to fully understand but it is necessary to walk in the power and authority which the Lord provides.

And as our loving Father, the Lord will help to instruct us and mold us into the best versions of ourselves. Just as the potter places the clay on the wheel and begins spinning the wheel, adding water and molding with His hands so goes the Lord handcrafting us to be more like Christlike.

When can think about our life before Jesus like the raw clay that the Potter places on the wheel. It is without specific shape and is dry and easily broken.

Then the wheel starts spinning which can be related to the ups and downs of life. Whether we like it or not in life we will all have moments when this can seem chaotic and beyond our control and other moments when we feel like everything is coming together. That is just part of the human experience.

However, the living water which Jesus gives us makes all the difference in the world. You see we could just be a lump of clay spinning on the potters wheel but without the addition of water we can never be formed by the Master’s hands.

When we give our life to Christ we now have a new life and we receive the Holy Spirit to live inside of us like overflowing waters. It is at that point that the Lord has already called us to Him, we are now wet enough to be pliable the Holy Spirit goes to work on us sanctifying us and taking us into a deeper relationship with Jesus.

Depending on your part or piece in God’s bigger plan you may be molded or spiritually gifted in a variety of ways but nonetheless we all need to be handcrafted by God through our worship, through our prayers, through His word, through His Spirit and most importantly through our relationship with Jesus Christ.

After the Lord has molded us and shaped us to be perfectly suited vessels for His purposes the next step is the firing process. When making pottery after the piece is molded and comes off the wheel it has to dry and then be placed into a kiln for the first round of firing called a bisque firing. This process turn the pottery into ceramic material. During this firing the temperature rises slowly and cools slowly. The typical temperature range of the bisque firing is between 1700 and 1900 degrees. Then the next step is glazing where the pottery is decorated and then undergoes a glaze firing around 1800 degrees in temperature.

My point here is not to provide you with a pottery lesson but it is simply to say this. While getting saved and filled with the Holy Spirit is the most important thing a person can ever do that does not mean your journey is complete rather it means that you are now ready to be used by the Lord in bigger ways because your character is now more Christlike.

Just as the pottery is formed and then goes through the fire we can read all throughout the Bible how great men and women of God had to go through challenges but because of their faith the Lord never left them.

There may be seasons that you must go through the fires to remove any impurities in your walk or it may be to bring you to a deeper level of trust with the Lord or it may be to do a work that you are specifically equipped to do.

So if or when you have to go through the fire so to speak remember that the Lord will be with you in the fire and He will take such good care of you that you can come out not even smelling like smoke! Hallelujah! Somebody give Him praise.

We Are The Works of God’s Hands

As Christians we are the work of God’s Hands. Furthermore, the Lord has great care and concern for what He has made.

Jesus tells us clearly that God values us in Matthew chapter ten verses twenty nine through thirty one.

Matthew 10:29–31 ESV

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

You see the penny was one of the least valuable Roman coins and the sparrow was customarily thought of as one of the smallest creatures. Therefore what Jesus is teaching us is that God is sovereign over all. This includes not only big things but also small things or things that some people would count as less significant such as a penny or a sparrow.

The Lord cares for us in such detail that even the hairs of our heads are numbered. This is one of the reasons I speak a lot about the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is based on my current condition but the joy of the Lord gives me long lasting peace because I know no matter what happens that my Father in heaven loves me and cares about me and will provide for my every need.

Paul writes in Philippians chapter four verse nineteen.

Philippians 4:19 ESV

19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

So again as Jesus said the Lord cares for even the sparrow and we are worth more than many sparrows so how much more does He love and care for us.

Closing

In closing today, let us never forget that we are the creation who serves the creator amen! Let us never become entitled or so self focused that we miss sight that everyone of us is part of God’s bigger plan and purpose.

On our own we are like clay which is dry, hard and easily fractured. But when we put our trust in Jesus Christ our lives become new by the power of His blood, His word, and His Spirit which flows as the living water only God can provide! Somebody give Him praise!

So the question I have for you today is will you rely on yourself more than the Lord or have you come to the point that you will freely and completely submit to His loving hands to transform your life into to a beautiful handcrafted vessel to share the love of Jesus with the world around us.

No matter if you have been serving the Lord for most of your life or if you are not yet born again there is no limit to the depth of love God has for you and what He can do in you and through you.

So I would encourage you today and throughout this coming week in addition to praying to the Lord for what you need to also completely submit yourself to Him and His will for your life and just watch how He takes you from glory to glory! Amen!

Prayer

Thank you so much for joining me today and remember our joy is in Jesus!