It's in the Potter's Hands
Notes
Transcript
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.
ONE THING THAT WE MUST UNDERSTAND AS CHILDREN OF GOD IS THAT….. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS HAPPENSTANCE.
NOTHING JUST HAPPENS.
WE MUST KNOW THAT GOD DESIGNED EVERY INDIVIDUAL, THEIR DESTINY AND DELIVERANCE IS IN HIS HAND.
HE IS SOVEREIGN. HE CAN DO WHAT HE WANT TO DO.
AND HE CAN DO WHAT HE WANTS TO DO WITH YOU.
HIS WILL IS ….HIS WILL…..
AND NO ONE CAN STOP HIM FROM DOING WHAT HE WANTS TO DO.
HE IS THE POTTER; YOU ARE THE CLAY. HE MOLDS US, SHAPES YOU, BREAKS YOU, REMAKES YOU—WHENEVER AND HOWEVER HE DEEMS NECESSARY.’
WHEN YOU LOOK AT A POTTER, WE MUST ESTABLISH GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY.
THAT HE HAS AN ABSOLUTE RIGHT TO DEAL WITH US IN ANY WAY HE WISHES.
THE POTTER HAS THE ULTIMATE PLAN, OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN. HE CAN DO WHATEVER HE WANTS TO DO WITH THE CLAY.
THE CLAY IS AT THE WILL OF THE POTTER. WHATEVER HE WANTS TO DO HE CAN CHOOSE TO DO BECAUSE HE’S IN CHARGE.
AND THE POTTER IS IN CHARGE OF THE CLAY AND THE CLAY IS AT THE POTTER’S WHEEL.
THE IDEA OF GOD AS THE POTTER, PATIENTLY AND SKILLFULLY SHAPING THE WORLD AND HUMAN BEINGS TO HIS SPECIFICATION CAN BE SEEN IN THE CREATION NARRATIVE.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE CREATION NARRATIVE, THAT’S THE FIRST PLACE YOU REALLY SEE GOD AS THE POTTER AND US AS THE CLAY.
IF YOU LOOK IN GENESIS 1:3
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
IN VERSE 6 HE SAYS, Gen 1:6
Genesis 1:6 (NRSV)
“Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”
IN VERSE 14 HE SAYS, Gen 1:14
Genesis 1:14 (NRSV)
“Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years,
BUT IN VERSE 26, THE NARRATIVE SHIFTS.
Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
AND HE GOES FROM SAYING ‘LET THERE BE’ TO ‘LET US MAKE’.
WHEN HE GETS TO MAN, HE DOESN’T SAY ‘LET THERE BE MAN’. HE SAYS ‘LET US MAKE MAN’.
HE SPOKE LIGHT; HE SPOKE FISH; HE SPOKE THE SUN; HE SPOKE THE MOON. BUT WHEN IT CAME TO MAN, HE JUST DIDN’T SPEAK HE SAID, ‘LET US MAKE…LET US SHAPE HIM INTO OUR IMAGE.’
THAT’S WHEN THE PROCESS BEGAN—GOD DID NOT JUST SPEAK YOU; GOD MADE YOU. GOD FORMED YOU FROM THE DUST OF THE EARTH, FASHIONED YOU AND CRAFTED YOU—THEN HE STEPPED BACK AND SAID ‘THAT’S GOOD’.
BUT THEN A BIT LATER IN THE NARRATIVE….. SIN CREPT IN.
BECAUSE WITH THIS SIN ISSUE NOW, RATHER THAN LOOKING LIKE THE CREATOR…WE LOOK MORE LIKE THE ENEMY.
• AND THE ENEMY’S DESIGN IS TO KILL, STEAL AND DESTROY YOU AND TO MAKE YOU NOT LOOK LIKE YOUR CREATOR.
AND THEREFORE WE HAVE THIS DILEMMA.
THE DILEMMA OF TRYING TO LOOK LIKE OUR CREATOR—BUT THE ENEMY TRYING TO GET US TO LOOK LIKE THE WORLD AND LOOK LIKE THE ENEMY.
AND EVEN THOUGH THE ENEMY IS OUT TO GET US…..
LET ME REMIND YOU THAT YOU ARE IN THE POTTERS HANDS…
LOOK AT WHAT JEREMIAH SAYS IN VERSES 1-2.
NOTICE WHAT HE SAYS…. “COME, GO DOWN TO THE POTTER’S HOUSE, AND THERE I WILL LET YOU HEAR MY WORDS.”
• ISN’T IT INTERESTING THAT THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT GOD SPEAKS TO YOU THAT YOU CAN’T GET AT YOUR HOUSE OR WHERE YOU ARE?
• THAT IS WHY SOME THINGS GOD CANNOT SPEAK IN YOUR LIFE UNTIL YOU LET IT GO—AND IF YOU WON’T LET IT GO—SOMETIMES HE’LL SNATCH IT AWAY. (YOU WANTED THE RELATIONSHIP/THE FRIEND/COMFORTS/REMAIN IN THE STATE THAT YOUR WERE IN)
• BUT IT IS THE WILL OF GOD TO WORK IN YOU THE NEED TO HAVE DISTRACTIONS REMOVED.
(ILL—THAT IS WHAT IT MEANT WHEN JESUS WENT ALONE TO A SOLITARY PLACE TO BE WITH GOD.
THERE OUGHT TO BE A PLACE WHERE NOBODY CAN GET TO YOU BECAUSE NOBODY CAN FIND YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE ALONE WITH YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER.)
IS THERE ANYBODY IN HERE WHO KNOWS THAT IT WAS NOT UNTIL GOD BROUGHT YOU UP OUT OF SOME THINGS AND THEN BROUGHT YOU DOWN TO A PLACE WHERE HE COULD SPEAK TO YOU THAT YOU REALLY LEARNED HOW TO HEAR FROM GOD?
AFTER THE DIVORCE, LOST YOUR JOB, SICKNESS, A RELATIVE DIED, FRIENDS WALKED AWAY…THAT IS THE TIME THAT GOD BEGAN TO SPEAK TO YOU.
BECAUSE IT IS WHEN GOD BROUGHT YOU OUT—YOU LEARNED HOW TO CRY OUT TO GOD, CALL ON GOD, LAY BEFORE GOD.
• AND NOW YOU CAN TESTIFY THAT IF IT HAD NOT BEEN FOR THE LORD THAT WAS ON MY SIDE….
SO JEREMIAH, THE PROPHET, GOES DOWN THERE AND NOTICES THAT HE WAS MAKING SOMETHING ON THE WHEEL.
• DON’T TALK TO HIM WHEN YOU GET THERE; JUST WATCH HIM.
NOW IT’S FUNNY BECAUSE HE SPOKE TO MOSES FACE TO FACE; HE SPOKE TO JACOB IN A DREAM; HE SPOKE TO DANIEL IN THE DEN—BUT WHEN HE SPEAKS HERE TO JEREMIAH, HE SPEAKS TO HIM THROUGH A VISUAL IMAGE.
YOU KNOW THAT GOD CAN SPEAK TO YOU HOW HE WANTS TO.
SO WHAT HE SAYS IS I WANT YOU TO SEE MORE THAN I TELL YOU. BECAUSE IF YOU SEE IT THEN YOU WILL BE ABLE TO FEEL IT.
• IT REMINDS ME OF HOSEA THE MINOR PROPHET WHO GOD TELLS ‘I WANT YOU TO MARRY A HARLOT—BECAUSE ISRAEL HAS BEEN TIPPING OUT ON ME—AND I WANT YOU TO PREACH TO ISRAEL HOW BAD I FEEL WHEN THEY GO OUT TIPPING OUT WITH OTHER GODS.
SO I AM GOING TO LET YOUR WIFE SLEEP WITH OTHER MEN—SO THAT WHEN YOU GET UP AND PREACH NEXT SUNDAY—YOU WON’T BE PREACHING FROM YOUR SCRIPT YOU’LL BE PREACHING FROM YOUR HEART…AND YOU WILL KNOW EXACTLY HOW I FEEL BECAUSE YOU ARE GOING TO FEEL THE SAME WAY TOO.’ I DON’T WANT YOU TO SEE IT; I WANT YOU TO BE IT. I WANT YOU TO GO THROUGH THE AGONY.
AND TRUTH BE TOLD……
• THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT YOU REALLY CAN’T TALK ABOUT UNTIL GOD TAKES YOU THROUGH SOMETHING. THEN WHEN YOU STAND UP AS A WITNESS, YOU ARE NOT SPEAKING JUST FROM THE STANCE OF TEXTBOOK PHILOSOPHY—YOU ARE NOT JUST TALKING BUT YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT GOD CAN DO.
AND SO HE SAYS, JEREMIAH WHEN GET THERE…… GO DOWN AND WATCH HIM. DON’T SAY NOTHING—JUST WATCH HIM
AND ONE THING WE MUST UNDERSTAND ABOUT JEREMIAH….IS THAT JEREMIAH, IS A WEEPING PROPHET. SOMETIMES YOU GET AN ATTITUDE. ONE TIME YOU WERE PREACHING AND GOT MAD AND ANGRY AND SAID YOU WEREN’T GOING TO PREACH ANYMORE. I CALLED YOU FROM YOUR MOTHER’S WOMB AND WHEN YOU WERE 20 I CALLED YOU INTO THE PROPHETIC MINISTRY. AND NOW, JEREMIAH, IT’S TIME FOR YOU TO GO FURTHER AND PREACH TO JUDAH ABOUT HOW I FEEL WHEN JUDAH WALKS AWAY FROM ME.
3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel.
LOOK AT VERSE 3. VERSE 3 SAYS, ‘SO I WENT DOWN’.
VERSES 1 & 2 SAYS ‘GO DOWN’. VERSE 3 SAYS ‘I WENT DOWN’.
• THIS IS AN IMPORTANT REMINDER THAT WHEN GOD SPEAKS, YOU DON’T HAVE TIME TO PROCRASTINATE, AND HESITATE AND CONTEMPLATE—WHEN HE TELLS YOU TO MAKE A MOVE, YOU DON’T HAVE A COUPLE OF VERSES IN THE CHAPTER OF YOUR LIFE TO MAKE UP YOUR MIND; IN THE NEXT VERSE OF YOUR LIFE YOU NEED TO BE ON YOUR WAY DOWN TO WHERE GOD TOLD YOU.
AND IF I CAN BE REAL WITH YOU THIS MORNING…..
• THE PROBLEM WITH SOME OF US IS THAT YOU ARE GOING AT YOUR OWN PACE AT YOUR OWN TIME.
GOD TOLD YOU TO LEAVE THAT MESS THAT YOU ARE IN RIGHT NOW—AND YOU ARE TRYING TO WAIT UNTIL FINANCES GET BETTER AND WAIT UNTIL YOU GET A BETTER JOB.
GOD TOLD YOU TO LEAVE NOW—I’LL MEET YOU DOWN AT THE POTTER’S HOUSE.
VERSE 4 SAYS JER 18:4
4 The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.
‘THE VESSEL THAT HE MADE OF CLAY SPOILED OR WAS MARRED AT THE HAND OF THE POTTER—SO HE REMADE IT’.
AS HE WAS MAKING THIS CLAY, HE WAS NEAR DONE. AS YOU LOOK AT IT, HE IS NEAR DONE.
BUT HE SPOTS SOMETHING THAT HE’S NOT HAPPY WITH.
NOW THE CLAY, AS IT WERE, THOUGHT THAT IT WAS ALMOST FINISHED.
AND THAT’S A PROBLEM…BECAUSE WITH MANY OF US, YOU WERE HALFWAY INTO WHAT YOU THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE.
YOU WERE IN LOVE AND YOU HAD PICKED OUT THE HOUSE AND YOU HAD CHOSEN THE SELECTIVE OCCUPATION AND YOU SAID, “I AM THERE…I’M JUST A FEW YEARS FROM MY DREAM’. AND IN THE MIDDLE OF IT ALL GOD, WHO IS THE POTTER, LOOKED AT YOU—AND SPOTTED SOMETHING THAT HE WAS NOT HAPPY WITH.
AND SAID “THERE’S SOMETHING I DON’T LIKE ABOUT HER…I’M MOVING HER OUT OF YOUR LIFE.
I’M MOVING HIM OUT OF YOUR LIFE BECAUSE THERE IS SOMETHING I SEE ABOUT HIM THAT YOU DON’T SEE. AND SO I’M GOING TO REVEAL SOME THINGS ABOUT HIM SO THAT YOU’LL BREAK UP WITH HIM.”
NOW YOU THINK IT’S HIM—BUT IT’S REALLY THE HAND OF GOD.
GOD SAYS THAT WHAT YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND…’I AM THE POTTER…AND YOU ARE THE CLAY…AND I CHOOSE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PROCESS’.
GOD SAYS, “I’M STARTING YOU OVER”
• BUT GOD, I’M 35…I’M ABOUT TO START OVER
• LORD, I’M 40 AND IF I DON’T HAVE ANYBODY BY NOW…….GOD SAYS…..I’M ABOUT TO START YOU OVER
• LORD, I’M 50 AND MY LIFE IS HALFWAY THROUGH…I’M ABOUT TO START OVER
BECAUSE I’VE GOT SOMETHING READY FOR YOU IN THE LAST PART OF YOUR LIFE THAT YOU WEREN’T READY FOR IN THE FIRST PART OF YOUR LIFE.
I AM GETTING READY TO REMAKE YOUR FINANCES, REMAKE YOUR CREDIT, REMAKE THE HOUSE YOU LIVE IN, REMAKE YOUR RELATIONSHIPS, REMAKE YOUR ATTITUDE.
PREACHER, HOW CAN GOD DO THAT? TURN YOUR ATTENTION TO ISAIAH 29:16.
16 You turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay?
Shall the thing made say of its maker,
“He did not make me”;
or the thing formed say of the one who formed it,
“He has no understanding”?
PROPHET ISAIAH, HE SAYS…’WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT I DON’T UNDERSTAND YOU WHEN I MADE YOU?
I KNOW THE STUFF THAT’S RIGHT WITH YOU—AND I KNOW THE STUFF THAT’S WRONG WITH YOU.
I KNOW EVERYTHING THAT IS WRONG AND EVERYTHING THAT IS RIGHT. HOW CAN THE CLAY SAY TO THE POTTER, “YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND!”?
TURN TO ISAIAH 45:9
9 Woe to you who strive with your Maker,
earthen vessels with the potter!
Does the clay say to the one who fashions it, “What are you making”?
or “Your work has no handles”?
HOW CAN THE CLAY QUESTION THE POTTER?
THE POTTER’S IN CHARGE. WHATEVER THE POTTER DECIDES TO DO WITH THE CLAY, THERE’S NOTHING THE CLAY CAN DO ABOUT IT.
THE CLAY IS NOT IN THE POSITION TO CALL INTO QUESTION THE ONE WHO IS SHAPING HIM.
AND JEREMIAH SPECIFICALLY SAYS THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING ON THE CLAY THAT THE POTTER DIDN’T LIKE.
THERE ARE MANY VERSIONS: ONE SAYS THAT IT WAS MARRED, MARKED, STAINED, SPOILED.
THERE WAS SOMETHING ABOUT IT OR ON IT THAT DID NOT PLEASE THE POTTER AND SO HE DECIDED MID-PROCESS.
YOU’VE GOT TO HEAR ME BECAUSE I’M TALKING TO SOME PEOPLE THAT ARE WELL INTO THE PROCESS.
DON’T BE SURPRISED IF YOU PLACE ALL OF YOUR ENERGY, TIME AND RESOURCES INTO SOMETHING BUT IT DOESN’T –BECAUSE MAYBE ITS YOUR VISION; BUT NOT HIS.
DON’T BE SURPRISED IF YOU GET THIS CLOSE TO IT AND THEN SOMETHING HAPPENS TO WHERE YOU CAN’T GET TO IT. BECAUSE GOD SAYS, ‘I AM IN CHARGE OF YOUR DESTINY…AND I SEE WHAT YOU DON’T SEE.’
ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT THE DEVIL IS THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION.
AND WHAT THE DEVIL WILL DO IS …..AS YOU ARE SEEKING GOD FOR REVELATION, THAT DEVIL WILL TAKE WHAT YOU’RE SEEKING AND INTERPRET IT AND MIS-INTERPRET IT INTO CONFUSION.
AND WHILE YOU ARE WAITING ON GOD AND SEEKING THE WILL OF GOD, THE DEVIL WILL SNATCH THAT SEEKING AND THEN TRANSFER CONFUSION INTO YOUR THINKING UNTIL YOU SAY, ‘I DON’T KNOW WHAT GOD IS SAYING.
I DON’T KNOW WHERE I’M GOING. I DON’T IF IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO OR NOT.’
BECAUSE THE DEVIL IS TRYING TO POLLUTE YOUR DESTINY WITH YOUR MARRED HISTORY AND TRY TO TELL YOU THAT YOU ARE NOT HEARING FROM GOD.
BUT ALL YOU’VE GOT TO SAY IS “I’M IN HIS HAND’.
HE IS SOVEREIGN.
HIS WORD SAYS
THE EARTH IS THE LORDS AND THE FULLNESS THEREOF…..
I’M NOT GOING TO STRESS MYSELF OVER YOUR BILLS.
• I REFUSE TO GO CRAZY
• I REFUSE TO LOSE MY MIND
• I REFUSE TO HAVE A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN
• I REFUSE TO QUIT
I’M MORE THAN THIS. I’M BETTER THAN THIS.
I’M A CHILD OF THE KING.
I’M MORE THAN A CONQUERER.
I’M IN THE POTTER’S HANDS.
GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN ME THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD—I WILL PUT MY TRUST IN THE LORD.
• EPHESIANS 2:10
10 For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
• WE’RE HIS WORKMANSHIP. WE’RE NOT OUR OWN.
- THAT ALSO REVEALS TO ME THAT I AM NOT BY MYSELF
- IT ALSO TEACHES ME THAT HE IS NOT WITH ME—IT IS I THAT IS WITH HIM (IT’S HIS PROGRAM)
- IT ALSO TEACHES ME THAT WHEREVER I AM OR WHEREVER I’VE BEEN THAT HE IS THE ONE THAT TOOK ME THERE.
- IT ALSO TELL ME THAT SENSE HE TOOK ME THERE—HE KNOWS EXACTLY WHERE I AM.
HERE’S WHAT YOU’VE GOT TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE POTTER:
HE TAKES THE CLAY AND MEEDS IT.
THEN HE PUTS IT ON A WHEEL TO FORM IT (ONE HAND IS INSIDE; THE OTHER HAND IS OUTSIDE). ONE HAND HOLDS AND GIVES IT THE DESIRED FORM; WHILE THE HAND WHICH IS OUTSIDE SMOOTHES AND REFINES THE CURVES IN IT.
WHAT IS THE LESSON? GOD’S GOT HIS HAND ON YOUR OUTSIDE; BUT HE’S ALSO WORKING ON YOUR INSIDE.
• HE’S GOT HIS HAND ON YOUR INSIDE TO KEEP YOU STABLE; BUT HE’S STILL WORKING SOME KINKS OUT ON THE OUTSIDE SO PEOPLE WON’T SEE ALL OF YOUR FRAILTIES.
• HE’S FIXING ME ON THE INSIDE SO THAT HE CAN HANDLE ME ON THE OUTSIDE.
• THERE IS SOME STUFF THAT HE WANTS TO GIVE ME ON THE OUTSIDE SO THAT PEOPLE CAN SEE MY BLESSING; BUT HE CAN’T GIVE ME MY OUTSIDE STUFF UNTIL HE DOES AN INSIDE JOB.
• GOD IS WORKING ON MY INSIDE, BECAUSE THE SONGWRITER SAID ‘HE’S PREPARING ME”. WHAT IS HE PREPARING ME FOR? HE’S PREPARING ME SO THAT HE CAN BLESS ME.
LISTEN…..
SEE THERE WAS SOME STUFF A FEW YEARS THAT HE COULDN’T BLESS ME WITH—BECAUSE MY MIND WASN’T STRONG ENOUGH—AND MY SPIRIT COULDN’T HANDLE SUCCESS. BUT THE LAST FEW YEARS HE’S GOTTEN ME GROUNDED—HE HAS HUMBLED ME—SO THAT WHEN HE GIVES ME THE STUFF—I WOULDN’T PUT THE STUFF BEFORE HIM.
MATTHEW 6:33 ‘SEEK YE FIRST…..’
HERE IT IS:
BUT HERE IS THE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE—ONCE HE GETS YOU PROPERLY MADE, YOU’VE GOT TO GO IN THE OVEN. THE OVEN IS NECESSARY.
IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW GOOD IT LOOKS ON THE OUTSIDE; IF IT DOESN’T GO THROUGH THE BURNING—IT IS NOT COMPLETE.
BUT THERE IS ANOTHER STAGE—AFTER HE STARTED YOU AND THEN MOLDED YOU AND AFTER HE SAW SOME STUFF ON YOUR INSIDE THAT HE DIDN’T LIKE AND REMADE YOU AND THEN MOVED SOME THINGS, MOVED SOME STUFF, MOVED SOME HABITS AND MOVED SOME PEOPLE AND MOVED SOME DESIRES. AND NOW YOU SAY….’WHY DOES IT SEEM LIKE I’M STILL GOING THROUGH HAVOC AND HURT’.
YOU OUGHT TO SHOUT BECAUSE THAT MEANS THAT YOU ARE IN THE OVEN.
LET ME GIVE YOU FOUR THINGS ABOUT THE FIRE AND THEN I WILL TAKE MY SEAT:
# 1 THE FIRE REMOVES IMPURITIES (THERE IS SOME STUFF ABOUT YOU THAT NOBODY ELSE SEES—THERE WAS SOME IMPURE THINGS IN YOU—BUT GOD SEES IT BECAUSE HE’S THE POTTER—AND HE LOVES YOU TOO MUCH TO LEAVE YOU WHERE YOU ARE AND LEAVE YOU LIKE THAT)
• YOU CAN’T WORSHIP IT OFF, YOU CAN’T TAP IT OFF, YOU CAN’T SHOUT/DANCE IT OFF. SOME STUFF—GOD’S GOT TO TAKE YOU THROUGH THE FIRE. GOD’S GOT TO BURN SOME STUFF OFF. BECAUSE YOU WOULD NEVER LET IT GO UNLESS GOD TAKES YOU THROUGH THE FIRE.
- YOU WOULD NEVER LEAVE THAT BROTHER ALONE, UNTIL HE ALMOST DRIVES YOU CRAZY
- YOU WOULD NEVER LEAVE THAT SISTER ALONE, UNTIL SHE MAKES YOU WANNA SMACK SOMEONE.
#2 THE FIRE HARDENS THE VESSEL – SO ONCE GOD BRINGS YOU INTO THE PROMISE (BECAUSE NOTE THAT THIS AIN’T PROMISE—IT’S JUST THE REHEARSAL) WHEN THE DEVIL COMES AT YOU—YOU CAN SAY, ‘DEVIL, YOU GONE HAVE TO COME WITH MORE THAN THAT NOW.’
• FRIENDS USED TO WALK AWAY AND YOU USED TO THINK IT WAS THE END OF THE WORLD
• ENEMIES AND FOES USED TO LIE ON YOU AND YOU FELT LIKE NOBODY LOVED YOU
BUT THIS IS A NEW DAY AND THIS IS A NEW SEASON.
• YOU USED TO CRY YOURSELF TO SLEEP…BUT NOW IT’S A NEW DAY.
I’VE BEEN THROUGH THE STORM AND THE RAIN….THROUGH THE FIRE AND THE FLOOD AND STUFF THAT USED TO GET ON MY NERVES…I’M ROUGHER/TOUGHER/STRONGER/WISER THAN THAT NOW.
#3 IT BEAUTIFIES THE VESSEL -- YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE CUTE AND THOUGHT YOU LOOKED GOOD—BUT YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE FINISHED PRODUCT.
YOU WERE A NICE SHAPE—BUT WHEN YOU’VE COME OUT THE OVEN.
#4 FIRE LIGHTENS THE VESSEL
I WAS A DARK, MESSED UP INDIVIDUAL. THERE WAS NO LIGHT ABOUT ME. I DIDN’T EVEN LIKE MYSELF. BUT AFTER WHAT I WENT THROUGH AND THE POTTER WORKED ON ME, I’M BRIGHTER NOW. I’M HAPPY NOW. I’M HAPPY WITH ME.
LET ME SUGGEST…..METAPHORICALLY, THE WHEEL REPRESENTS LIFE (ROUND AND ROUND)
THE POTTER REPRESENTS GOD THE FATHER
THE CLAY REPRESENTS YOU AND I
THE OVEN REPRESENTS THE TRIALS/ABANDONMENT/BEING LIED TO
THE EVERYDAY UPS AND DOWNS ARE IN THE OVEN.
WHAT I DIDN’T GET TO IS THAT HE WORKS WITH TOOLS. HE DOESN’T JUST USE HIS HANDS. BUT THE TOOLS IS THE HOLY SPIRIT.
THAT’S WHAT GOD IS USING TO SHAPE ME. THE SPIRIT OF GOD IS CAUSING ME TO BE DIFFERENT. AND THAT’S WHY YOU HAVE TO BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT.
