Handcrafted

By Bishop Richard Miller

Opening Line:

Isn’t it great to be in the house of the Lord today! Give Him Praise!!! Hallelujah!

Introduction:

Has anyone here ever thought about what is God’s plan and purpose for your life? I know I have.

As Christians, we do all share some common ground in that God has created us in His image and desires a relationship with each of us. And the only way that relationship begins is for us to be cleansed from our sin that separates us from a perfect Holy God. And the only way by which we are saved from our sins is through putting our faith in Jesus Christ and receiving the gift of salvation which He paid for with His blood.

Also, we are called to praise God, meditate on His word and desire the Holy Spirit to sanctify us into holy vessels so that we may do our part to fulfill the Great Commission both in reaching the lost and also to love and support our brothers and sisters in Christ.

As believers, even though we all worship the same God, are all part of the same Great Commission and the same family of God, we are also individually made to play a special part in God’s greater plans and purposes. God loves and equips us equally and with intention.

God gives all of His children love and limitless potential to fulfill His plans and purposes for our lives. He is the master workman and takes great care for that which He creates.

Anchor Verse:

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 people as clay.

Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil containing clay minerals and we know that God formed man from the dust of the ground as we can read in Genesis chapter two verse seven

Genesis 2:7 KJV 1900

7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

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

Today’s text is not the only time which Isaiah made the comparison of people to clay. For example the potter and clay image is reused 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?’

So imagine for a moment that after God made man that the human then started to question or critique the Lord about how he was made. That would be absolutely absurd most people agree. But unfortunately there are many people today that question God or do not take the Bible literally. Scripture is clear that there will be a judgment for those people. They refuse to accept the Lord and His design for holiness, for families and in our modern time even gender.

The Apostle Paul speaks on this very thing in Romans 9:20-22

Romans 9:20–22 NLT

20 No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into? 22 In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction.

What Paul is saying is that God as the Almighty Creator of the universe does not make mistakes with His creation but designs everyone and everything with purpose in mind.

I am a firm believer in loving the sinner and hating the sin because all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But this does not mean that we do not address sin as sin. In these last days we must remain steadfast in standing against the demonic attacks on our world.

In our culture today there are evil spirits attacking people that must be prayed out and stopped in Jesus name. There are people who are hurting and vulnerable to ungodly influences and we should do our best to lead them to the Lord.

In addition, we live in a culture where some people reject God and make themselves gods in their own eyes rejecting even the basic laws of nature.

I know this is not politically correct but it needs to be said. There are people who are born boys calling themselves girls and girls calling themselves boys and it’s not about freedom and equality it is about hurt, confused people with an evil spirit which is attacking and seeking to destroy our children and our families.

Hear me clearly God knows what He is doing and if He made you a boy you are a boy and if He made you a girl you are a girl and it’s about time that Christian people stopped sitting on the sidelines and allowing hurt, confused people with evil spirits to harm our kids and families. This world needs Jesus and not the wicked influences in this world.

My point here is simple, 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 to live by our own thoughts, fleshly desires or cultural influences but rather from the word and Spirit of the Lord! Amen!

So we have established that the Lord has made us from the dust or the clay of the ground. Also, that there are some that will reject the Lord and turn to rebellion questioning even how they are made. Now let’s look a little closer on the characteristics of clay.

A defining feature of clay is that in its natural state it is brittle and easily broken. However clay develops plasticity when water is added.

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 NLT

13 “For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me— the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!

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 NLT

13 O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who turn away from you will be disgraced. They will be buried in the dust of the earth, for they have abandoned 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 the living water is specifically.

John 7:37–39 NKJV

37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet 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.

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

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!

God is Like 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 NKJV

16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

John echoes this fact that God is our Father in first John chapter three verse one.

1 John 3:1 NKJV

1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because 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.

We 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 we will all have moments when life 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 potter’s 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, that we are now wet enough to be pliable and 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 are 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 when you must go through the fire 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 equip you to do a work that you are specifically called to do.

So if or when you have to go through the fire 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! Praise Jesus!

Closing

In closing , I want you to never forget that God made no mistakes when He formed you. You were handcrafted by a loving Father who took great detail to make sure every part and every piece of you was masterfully designed for His plans and purposes.

You may have been told you were flawed or that you wouldn’t amount to anything but that is a lie from the pits of hell.

God loves you and He makes not mistakes with His creation.

Let us be a creation that serves our Creator amen!

Let us never become entitled or so self-focused or we may 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, by His word, and by His Spirit which flows as the living water only God can provide!

So the question I have for you today is will you continue to 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 you.

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 what 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!