JEREMIAH 18:1-12 YOU ARE CLAY IN THE POTTERS HANDS2016 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Jeremiah 18:1-12 You Are Clay In The Potters Hands

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2016. Well, this morning as we look at Jeremiah chapter 18, we're going to be looking at verses 1 through 12.

And obviously, as we just read, the subject of Jeremiah's message here is going to be in regards to the potter's house and the clay that he saw being formed on the wheel. And so the title of the message is, You Are Clay in the Potter's Hands. And the Lord begins this chapter by speaking to Jeremiah and says, Jeremiah, I want you to go to the potter's house. And so that's what we're going to do this morning. If you can, let's all pack our bags.

Pack up in our cars. We're going to carpool down to the potter's house. No, we're not going to do that because we have YouTube. So instead, I thought it'd be good for us to just take a moment and reflect on what it looks like, what Jeremiah might have seen as he went to the potter's house. And so here's a little glimpse of what that might have been like. ♪♪♪

The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, Go down to the shop where clay pots and jars are made. I will speak to you while you are there. So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped. So the potter squashed the jar into a lump of clay and he started again. Then the Lord gave me this message, O Israel,

Can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand. If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, but then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned.

And if I announce that I will build up and plant a certain nation or kingdom, making it strong and great, but then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey me, I will not bless that nation as I had said I would. You are clay in the potter's hands.

Probably not exactly what Jeremiah saw, but very close. Pottery has not changed that much from then until now.

It requires some, well, the spinning wheel, it requires the lump of clay, it requires the water, it requires the hands-on shaping of the pottery as the wheel turns. And it's a really great illustration for a lot of many things. There's a great many truths that you could pull out of that illustration and a lot of accurate things that, you know, would demonstrate how God works in our lives in many ways. But from this, the

The Lord is going to bring out one main point. Now, I'm going to break that into four points as we work our way through the passage this morning, but it's really one main point that God is seeking to pull out from this illustration of the potter, and it's really summed up in my first point this morning in verses one through six. Point number one is God has full rights over you.

As you think about the potter and the clay, again, there's lots of applications. There's lots of ways that you can pull out, you know, meaning and truth from this illustration. But here's what God wants to highlight this morning. His ownership, his right to do what he wants with us.

Let's look again at verse 1 and 2. It says, And so as we have the picture now, the visual of the potter's house and the pottery being made, we can kind of follow along with Jeremiah as God desires to reveal his word.

And through this illustration, God is going to speak some important truths to Jeremiah that he might be able to deliver them to the nation.

These are things that they would have understood. These are things that Jeremiah had known. It wasn't like today. You know, we don't have a lot of pottery houses, you know, today. If we need plates or cups or something, we go to the store. They're already made. But of course, in those days, you know, you didn't have that convenience. And so you would go to the potter's house. And so being at the potter's house, you would see these kinds of things happening and going on all the time. And

And so Jeremiah has been there before. This isn't brand new information to him, but God wants to show him something fresh as he considers the potter's work on this day. So verse 3, it says, "...then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was making something at the wheel."

And so as you saw the clay on the wheel spinning as the potter was working with it, again, that was the same way that it would work in those days. It wouldn't be as mechanical as it probably is in many cases today, but they would have this large stone that would be kind of the foot of their pottery wheel and another stone that stood upon it where they would have the clay. And this large stone, they would just kick it

with their foot, and they would be doing that to keep it spinning while it's working. It's pretty cool. There's some good examples on YouTube if you want to look it up later and kind of see a little bit of the old style of making pottery. But this wheel would be spinning, and so he's there working on this pottery wheel. Well, that's what Jeremiah sees when he goes to the potter's house.

Now, again, there's a lot of points that you could look at as you think about this, because the involvement of the potter in the fashioning of the whatever it was that he was making is intense, right? I mean, it's hands-on, as hands-on as you can get. And that potter, although it looks kind of gentle, you know, as he's like shaping it and stuff, and there's a lot of pressure being applied. And it's pressure being applied to shape and direct and cause that clay to take the shape

that he desires. And maybe there's some comfort in that as you think about the picture of the potter and the clay, and I am the clay in the Lord's hands, that his involvement in my life is hands-on. That it's not, you know, just there's a lump of clay somewhere in the galaxy. You know, he knows it exists. He's not really sure what's happening with it.

No, there's a direct hands-on involvement of God in people's lives, that he is there, he is working to that level of involvement. Another thing to observe, if you look at some other pottering videos where it shows the face of the potter, the eyes are fixed on

the clay. I mean, there's a, it's not just like something you do while you're looking around and doing other things. I mean, it's, there's a focus. It's paying attention to what is being shaped and, and that's why the adjustments are being made and why, you know, whatever the potter is doing, it's because of that attention that's being paid to that piece of clay. And those are comforting things to think about ourselves in God's hands in that way. But again, the main point that God wants to bring forth is something different from that. Although those are true, but

the main point that God wants to bring out is, I have the right to do what I want with the clay in my hands. Look again at verse 4. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter. So he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. So Jeremiah is there. He's watching the potter at work. And maybe the potter is making a nice big vase or something, or maybe a little cup. We don't know exactly, but

And he doesn't know yet what God wants to show him through this. So he's just watching intently. He's just watching, okay, the clay is taking shape, and wow, look at that, and how it's all coming together, and it's looking wonderful and beautiful. And then all of a sudden, he says, the clay was marred in the hand of the potter.

There was an issue now. All of a sudden, while the clay is spinning there on the wheel, there is an issue. It's marred, it says, in the hand of the potter. Now, this isn't an issue with the potter. It's not that the potter made a mistake, but what was normal and common is that there would be issues with the clay.

And so as you're working with a piece of clay and you're, you saw you could, you know, you're thinning out the sides and building up the wall. By the way, I have no experience with pottery whatsoever. So this is all, you know, what my wife told me because she has experience with it. But, but as you're working with it, you're building up the walls. And so it's then that, it's then that you discover there's perhaps a hard piece of clay in the midst of that lump of clay.

or maybe a rock or a piece of gravel. And because of that, it causes the whole thing to be misshaped. It causes the whole thing to collapse. And the result is it's marred in the hand of the potter.

Now, we also know that sometimes there's different consistencies with different types of clay. And so some are more appropriate for, let's say, more delicate items than, you know, other clay that's more clumsy can be used for more clumsy items. And so it depends on what you're fashioning, or really what you're fashioning depends on the clay that you are working with. And so here, what Jeremiah sees is this potter working with this piece of clay.

And there is an issue with it. There's an inconsistency in it, or there's a rock, or there's a hard piece that causes the vessel to be marred. And so what does the potter do? Well, the potter takes that messed up clay and he begins to rework it. He puts it back into a big lump. He smashes it back together and kind of starts over to rebuild that piece of clay. But this time he changes direction.

He doesn't try to make the thing he was going to make at first. Now he makes something different out of it. He's discovered, you know, this piece of clay isn't really going to be good for a teacup. It needs to be something that can handle a little bit of lumps. It needs to be something that can handle something different and something that's more appropriate for this kind of clay. And so he decides, there on the spot, in the middle, I'm going to make something different.

And that is really the core of God's main point here. The potter has absolute rights, full control over what he makes. He gets to decide what that clay becomes. And he can change his mind about what he wants to make based on the condition of the clay. And there's nobody there telling the potter, hey, you originally set out to make a teacup. Now you don't have a choice. You

Doesn't matter if the clay is not good for it. You got to make a teacup because that's what you set out to make when you first started. No, that doesn't happen. The potter gets to choose. He has full rights over the form that that clay takes as he works with it. Verse 5, then the word of the Lord came to me saying, oh house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter, says the Lord?

Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. And so here God brings the point to the people. The word of the Lord came. As the clay in the hands of the potter, God says to his people, you are clay in my hands. And can I not do with you as this potter does? Can I not make decisions about the form of this clay?

Can I not make decisions about what I make, what I fashion as the potter? Because you are clay in the potter's hand. God is asserting his rights. He's declaring his ownership of his people. And absolutely, that was true of the Jewish people. They were his people. But it extends beyond that as well.

You and I today as we read this can put ourselves right here in the middle of this and understand I am clay in the potter's hand. This is me we're talking about. You could look at our nation and maybe we could talk about that another time. But this morning just focusing on the reality that I am clay in the potter's hand. And that is true. And God has rights over me as a result of that.

The prophet Isaiah talked about this in similar terms as well, using the potter and the clay. In Isaiah 64, 8, he says, but now, O Lord, you are our father. We are the clay, and you are, or you are potter, and we are the work of your hand. God has full rights over you. First of all, as we think about the potter and the clay, because you are his creation.

He created you, and that means He has rights over you. He has full rights over you because you are His creation. I was thinking about it in this way because it's something I have to deal with quite a bit because as you can tell on Sundays when I do a presentation, I usually have some kind of image or something in the background behind the slides, and

And I have to be very careful. Not that I would get sued, but there is copyright issues with using...

imagery and stuff that other people have created. And so I have to make sure that I find images that are licensed for this kind of use, that are okay to use and legal for me to use in this way. Even the video of the potter, I made sure that that was a video that was licensed in such a way that it gave me the right to show it because the creator of that video set it up so that we could use it in this fashion. If you create something

You have rights over that. Just a silly example. When you take pictures with your phone or with your camera, those are works of art. And you have full rights over those works of art. And it's not right for me to just take your picture and then just use it how I want or sell it where I want. I don't get to do that. It's your creation. And so you have rights to those things that you make. In the same way, God made us.

And so as our creator, he has full rights over our life because he is the one who fashioned us, who formed us, who created us. But not only that, he not only created us, but he also purchased us. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6, verse 20, he says, "'You were bought at a price. "'Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, "'which are God's.'" Your body and your spirit belongs to God,

Because you were bought at a price. So not only did he create you, but he also purchased you. And so twofold, you belong to God. And he has full rights over you. He has full rights over your life. He has full authority over everything about you. He gets to say what goes and what doesn't go. Now, if you'll think about it this way, if I own a vehicle, I have the rights to that vehicle.

And if I don't want to wash it, well, that's my choice. I cannot wash it and I can drive around with a dirty car or I can choose to wash it and take good care of it. And well, that's my right. I get to choose. And if I want to take a baseball bat and beat up my car, that's legal. I can do that. Now, if I want to take a baseball bat to your car,

I think you would understand there's some issues with that. I don't have the right to do that. I don't have rights to your vehicle. I have rights to my vehicle. It's not a crime to destroy your own property because you have full rights. There's a

I don't know if you've seen it. They produce some videos. The question that they ask is, will it blend? Have you ever seen those? It's really just advertisements for a blender company, so I'm not going to try to advertise too much for them. But check out this video as they ask the question, will it blend of an iPhone? What I really want to know is, will it blend? Will it blend?

So

You like how he's just smiling? So the question is, will it blend? Now, I don't know about you, but this is kind of painful for me to watch. I mean, put a perfectly good...

I love my electronic devices. Those things are precious to me. And now to put that in a blender and just watch it be destroyed. Whenever I see somebody with a cracked screen on their phone, like it literally hurts me a little bit. I feel bad. It's like, oh, it hurts to see that. I want to help you fix it. You know, it just, I don't like to see that. And so to see it put in a blender, oh man, it's just, it's a little bit painful to watch. But you know what? It's a little bit painful to watch.

You have the rights to do that. If you want to put your phone in a blender, don't touch mine, but if you want to put your phone in a blender, you could do that, and you have full rights over it in that way. Now, hopefully, you're not painting the picture that I think you might be painting in your head that God's putting you in a blender and trying to, like, destroy you. No, no, let me put it a different way. We're the ones putting our lives in the blender, and God's the one looking on and saying, oh, that pains me to watch that.

That's not good. I don't like to see that kind of destruction. I don't like to see those kinds of choices. You've asserted rights over your life, and so you've put somebody else's phone in the blender, and God says, that's my phone, and that's not what I designed you for. That's not what I want to do with you and in your life. And so it's painful to watch. But God is letting you make those choices until he decides not to. And listen, he can decide not to. He can, because he has full rights,

Change everything in your life at any time without notice, however he wants. Now, sometimes it might feel like a blender. For example, if God brought the life of Job upon you, you'd probably feel like you're in the blender, right? But God has the rights to do that if he wants to. But it's not just that kind of scene. Hey, you know, God could also bring the life of David upon you. You know, like the ultimate rags to riches story from a shepherd boy to the king of the nation. You know, if God wanted to...

He has full rights, not just over you, but over the nation. He could make you the next president. He could. God could absolutely do that. He has full rights. He could do anything that he wants to. He could bring the life of Paul upon you and cause you to be, well, like Paul, he was originally against the Lord,

But then God changed his life and caused him to be effective as an evangelist, as a church planter, as a missionary, as an apostle. And God could do that in your life as well because he has full rights. You are clay in the potter's hands. And this morning, that's the primary thing that God is seeking to pull out from this passage, that we are clay and he's the potter.

Our part, as we'll see in the next few verses, is to be responsive to the potter, but we don't get to say what is made. We don't get to say what the Lord does. He's the one who has the rights because he created us, because he purchased us. And although that could be scary and maybe people would get freaked out about the life of Job or the blender picture, but here, let me just settle that with this. You could not be in better hands.

If you are clay in the hands of the potter, if you're clay in the father's hands, you could not be in better hands because there is no one more wise. There is no one more skilled at shaping lives. There's no one more loving than your father whose hands you are in. And so being clay in the potter's hands is not something to be feared. It's something to be embraced.

But as I mentioned, maybe what's not clear in the video as the potter is working with the play, sometimes very serious pressure has to be applied. And of course, we as clay don't like to be pushed around too much. And that pressure doesn't always feel good. But it's always for our best. The work that God is doing in our lives is because he is the most wise, because he is the most loving, because he is the most skilled. You could not be in better hands. You are clay sometimes.

in the potter's hands. And so God has full rights over you, but he will go on to make the point that he exercises those rights in conjunction with your choices. Check out verse 7 and 8. Here we have point number 2, and that is that God has the right to show mercy. Verse 7 says, the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it,

If that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. So God now goes on to give some practical examples. So here's the illustration. Clay in the potter's hands. That's the illustration. The rights of the potter have been made clear. Now, what does that look like in real life, Jeremiah? Well, here's what it looks like. God says, when I speak concerning a nation...

And I say this nation is going to be plucked up and pulled down and destroyed. When I announce judgment on a nation, in other words, when God declares his intentions to destroy a nation, first of all, understand it's because of their evil. And that's why he says in verse 8, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil. So if he announces judgment, it's because of their evil. It's because of their rebellion against God.

But when he announces judgment, he says, if they turn, if there's a change and they turn from their evil, God says, well, then I will change too. If you change, I will change. Now we hold fast to the word of God and we believe the word of God. And we can trust that God is true to his word. But also I would go on to say that God is not trapped by his word. So that if he announces judgment,

and then a nation repents, God is not forced to carry out the judgment that he initially spoke. A great example of that, of course, is the example of Jonah and the city of Nineveh. And Jonah ran from Nineveh when God called him to preach to Nineveh, because Jonah knew that if Nineveh repented, that God would not bring the destruction that he was announcing.

And Jonah wanted Nineveh to be destroyed. He wanted them to be put in the blender, but God didn't want them to be put in the blender. He wanted them to be saved. And so he announced judgment to give them the opportunity to turn from their evil. And that's what the city of Nineveh did when Jonah finally got there. Now, Jonah put himself in the blender, right? By running the other way, by trying to run from God and not letting God form him into the prophet that God wanted him to be.

And so God says, look, if a nation that I've spoken against, that I've prophesied against, if they turn from their evil, he says, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. God has the right to show mercy even after he's announced judgment. In fact, we've often commented, I've often shared, the whole purpose of God announcing judgment is to give people opportunity to repent. And so I say that God is never more merciful than when he announces judgment.

Because it's people who deserve to be judged because of their evil, but God gives them another opportunity to turn back, to get right, and not experience the judgment that they deserve. Now, God has been announcing judgment to the nation of Judah for some time through the prophet Jeremiah, but also other prophets who came before him, like Isaiah. And so the people have been hearing this announcement of judgment for

But thus far in Jeremiah's ministry, the people have not responded and turned from their evil. But if they do, God says, I reserve the right to show mercy. At the beginning of Jeremiah's ministry, there was a young king named Josiah who was on the throne. Now, Josiah was a good king. And when he heard about the judgments being announced upon the nation, he humbled himself before the Lord.

And he inquired of the Lord. He sought the Lord. He turned his heart to the Lord himself individually. The whole nation as a whole didn't turn to the Lord, but he did.

And as he did, God sent him a message in 2 Chronicles 34, verse 27. God says to Josiah, because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before me and you tore your clothes and wept before me, he says, I also have heard you, says the Lord. I've heard your prayer. And Josiah, the nation as a whole has not turned back to me the way that you have.

But because you've turned back, I've heard your prayer and I'm going to bless you. I'm going to take care of you. If the nation as a whole did the same, well, they would be preserved as well. But they didn't. But Josiah did it. And again, that's why I'm speaking to us as individuals. God has the right to show you mercy. When we recognize the sin that has been going on in our hearts, the things that have been happening in our lives, sometimes we can feel like we've gone too far.

That we've gone beyond what God is able to work with. That we've gone too far so that God is, you know, maybe he'll save us. Maybe, but nothing more. But God says, look, if you will turn back to me, I have the right to show you mercy.

I reserve the right. I can make something new out of that marred clay. I can clean up that clay and I can do something new with it. That's why I've brought sin to your attention. That's why I've brought these things to you so that you know and recognize them and turn from them so that I can show you mercy. Dave Guzik puts it this way. The illustration at the potters did not only demonstrate God's right to display judgment, but also his right to display mercy.

He was free to work with a previously marred vessel if he chose to do so. God can work with a messed up lump of clay. And I praise the Lord for that because I'm a messed up lump of clay that God is working with. I think we could all relate to that to some degree, right? We're messed up in so many ways and

And yet, if we will turn as God speaks, if we will respond as God is working, if we will respond as we read and understand more of what God wants of us, he will continue to respond and show us mercy and work in our lives and do some of the great things that he has promised towards us. And so God has full rights over you. And that includes the right to show mercy as you respond to him.

He has full rights, but he exercises those rights in conjunction with your choices. And that's further demonstrated in verse 9 and 10, where we have point number three. God has the right to withhold good. He has the right to show mercy as people turn from sin and respond to him. But as people turn towards sin, he also has the right to withhold good from them. Check out verse 9 and 10. It says...

And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom to build and to plant it, if it does evil in my sight so that it does not obey my voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it. So here God gives the other side of the coin, the other picture that goes along with the nation that deserved judgment, but God showed mercy. Here's the nation that God said, I'm going to bless you.

I'm going to work in your life. I'm going to protect you and preserve you and build your kingdom. Now God says, when I say that, if afterward that nation does evil and will not obey my voice, he says, then I will relent concerning the good that I said I would benefit it. If you change, I'll change, God says. Now again, God is true to his word, but he's not trapped by his word. The people of Jerusalem were convinced that

They've been hearing Jeremiah prophesy already. They heard prophets before Jeremiah announced judgment, but they never changed because they were convinced that can never happen. No, no, no. Babylon's not going to come and destroy us. We have the temple. God built this temple. God's promised great things to us as a nation. We're his people. So that's never going to happen. So they never bothered changing when the prophets were announcing judgment.

When the prophets were calling people to repentance, they said, eh, that's all right. Thank you anyways. That's never gonna happen because God's promised great things for us. And it's true. God did speak about Israel like this. He did talk about building Israel and planting Israel and protecting Israel and preserving Israel. He did talk about establishing them and blessing them abundantly. He did talk about those things. And so that's what they were holding onto. But not taking into consideration Israel

that they had changed and that now they were living lives against God. Israel has not been faithful to God. Now, although at this time they were still practicing what you might call religious Judaism, they were still going to the temple, they were still offering sacrifices, they were still practicing the feast, they were still engaging in those rituals of the law that God had given to them, yet they were also at the same time

engaged in worshiping other gods, false gods. They were also engaged in direct disobedience to the word of God. They were completely disregarding what God said and living according to what they wanted to do instead of living according to the word of God.

But they thought they could get away with that. They thought that would be okay because God had given promises about how he would build their nation. And again, that's why I would make the point, God is not trapped by his word. When God gives promises, some of them are unconditional, but not all of God's promises are unconditional. God will love you unconditionally, but that doesn't mean that all of God's promises are applied to you unconditionally. Huh.

I would say it this way. God's promises have the right clauses so that he has the right, he reserves the right to withhold good from those he said would receive good if there is a change. It made me think about when I was young and

Apparently, first service says I'm a little bit odd, but when I was young and I would conduct transactions with my sister, I would write out contracts. It was something that we would do from time to time. One example that I was considering was, well, there was this radio-controlled car that I had. It was given to me for Christmas or birthday or something, and I think it was called the Wild Thing, and it was a cool little, you know, off-road radio-controlled car, and

It was mine, but you know how it is when you get a toy. You play with it for a while, and it's a lot of fun, and it kind of gets old. And so eventually I let my sister have it. I could borrow it from time to time, but, you know, I just gave it to her because I was done with it. But then as time goes by, I'm watching her play with my radio-controlled car, and I decide, you know, I want that back. And so I write up a contract, and I try to be crystal clear, ironclad,

This radio-controlled car will be mine forever and could never be transferred again. That's not my exact words, but it's something along those lines. I wish I kept that contract. It'd probably be worth a lot of money by this time. But I wrote out the contract. I handed it to her, and she signed it happily, only to be absolutely shocked afterwards when I took the radio-controlled car. Because while she was thinking, I was making it hers permanently, too.

I know for a fact it did not say that. She didn't read it quite well enough, but that was her impression. So she signed it happily, and then I got in trouble because she was convinced I tricked her. And so my mom was upset because I tricked her into signing this contract that made her give me back the radio control car. God's promises have the appropriate clauses. There's no trickery going on. There's no like gotchas in the contract. It's very clear. We just got to read it carefully and pay attention.

God says, look, I want to bless you, but I'm calling you to obedience. I'm calling you to surrender to me. I'm calling you to be clay in the potter's hand. And if you refuse to be clay in my hand, well, I'm not bound to do the things that I said I would like to do for you. God's promises have the right clauses. He has the right to withhold good. And so in verse 10, he says, if it does evil in my sight so that it does not obey my voice, I will not do it.

well, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it. I have that right, God says. I don't have to do everything that I said I was going to do if you turn away from me, if you disregard my word. God has the right to do that. In Romans chapter six, Paul the apostle asked the question, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?

He says, certainly not. How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? In another passage, similar passage, Paul also says that they were falsely accused of saying, hey, there's grace, so we might as well just live in sin because, well, where grace abounds or where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. And Paul says, should we continue in sin that grace may abound? Absolutely not, he says.

But that is the approach that some people take. Hey, there's grace. I've got grace so I can disregard God's word. I can live in sin. I can do what I want. I don't have to respond when God calls me to take steps of faith. I don't have to move forward when he calls me forward. I don't have to step out of things when he calls me out of things. I can do whatever I want because there's grace. And I'm sorry, it doesn't work that way. God has the right to withhold good when his people turn from him.

that's a reality. It's not a catch. It's not, you know, some tricky thing. It's very clear. What God calls us to is to walk with him in obedience. Not perfectly, because he knows we're not perfect, but as we fall, as we fail, that we turn back and that we get right with him and that we go forward with God and that we don't make decisions to run from God or live in a way that is against him or contrary to him.

And you need to understand God has the right to withhold good. He also has the right to show mercy. I like that one much better, right? Yes, Lord, show mercy where I don't deserve your goodness. I don't deserve, but yes, show mercy. And God will. He has the right to do that. He has the right to work in our lives because he has full rights over us. But he exercises those in conjunction with our choices.

And so now he brings that message to the people in verse 11 and 12, and that gives us point number four. God wants you to make the right choice. He has full rights, but he gives you choice, and he asks you, he invites you to make the right choice so that he can do the good work in your life that he wants to do. Verse 11, now therefore speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, thus says the Lord.

Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now everyone from his evil way and make your ways and your doings good. And they said, that is hopeless. So we will walk according to our own plans and we will everyone obey the dictates of his evil heart. Up to this point, God's just been instructing Jeremiah, showing him the example of the potter and the wheel and the clay and

Speaking to him about the meaning of all of those things. And now he says, okay, now bring forth that message, that illustration to the people and then let them know. God says, I'm fashioning a disaster against you. That word fashion, it's the same word that is used to describe the potter fashioning the clay. God says, I've got something on the wheel. It's against you. It's a disaster. You're not going to like it. It's getting ready on the wheel. It's almost done.

I'm fashioning a disaster against you. But that's not what God wants to be doing. That's what God's doing because of the condition of the people, because of their rebellion against him. That's not what he wants to be doing. And so he says, I want you to let them know I'm fashioning a disaster. I've got it on the wheel. It's coming together. And look what God wants in verse 11. He says, return now everyone from his evil way and make your ways and your doings good.

He's fashioning disaster, but that's not what he wants. Instead, what he wants is make your ways and your doings good. So that, going back a couple verses, so that when I've announced disaster and a nation turns from its evil ways, then I can show mercy. God is here inviting his people. There's a disaster coming. It's on the wheel. It's almost ready. Now, I'm letting you know to give you opportunity to change your ways so that I can show you mercy.

God is never more merciful than when he announces judgment. He's calling them to mercy with this announcement of judgment that is to come. God the potter is wanting to remake his people. He says, you guys are marred clay. You're messed up clay, and I'd like to remake you if you will allow me to. If you'll turn back, I can do something new with this lump of clay. Otherwise,

I'm fashioning a disaster with this lump of clay and it's going to be destroyed. Just like the potter found that the clay was marred and remade it. God says, you guys are marred clay, but I can remake you. If you'll be soft clay, I've got some good plans for you. If you'll be responsive, then I can show you mercy and do a work. Return everyone from his evil way and make your ways and your doings good. That's what the Lord desires.

return to the Lord. Verse 12 is their response. They said that is hopeless. They had already given up. They said it's hopeless. We're never going to change. We're never going to be different. So we're just going to walk according to our own plans. We're going to walk according to our own desires. We're going to do what we want because it's too late. They've given up in their relationship with God. They've given up in turning from sin. The New Living Translation puts this verse this way.

But the people replied, don't waste your breath. We will continue to live as we want to, stubbornly following our own evil desires. Jeremiah, you're wasting your breath, calling us to repentance. We don't want to. We're going to be stubborn, and we're going to keep on doing what we want to do. At least they were honest about it, but it's not a good place to be. They had given up in changing, given up in responding to the word of God, given up in responding as he spoke to them.

God wants us to make the right choice, as he called his people to make the right choice. But let's learn the lesson from the nation of Judah, and not be stubborn clay, but be soft clay. So that when God speaks something, and it might be correction, there might be some sin that God says, you need to repent of that. Well, we need to respond to that, and repent, and turn from that sin, and

That doesn't mean that we live perfectly after that, but that as we continue to fall into those things that God has forbidden, that we continue to come back and get right with God and respond in the way that he's called us to. But being soft clay also means that, well, when God calls you to do something different and something new and take a step of faith, that, well, that you need to be obedient to that as well. And that also is part of being soft clay, that we are responsive and let God shape us. What if God wants to make you the next Billy Graham? He could do that because you're a lump of clay in his hands.

And he can accomplish whatever purpose he desires to accomplish with your life if you'll let him. Sometimes when God is doing in our lives, we don't really want him to do. It's often been said we ask God to reveal his will so that we can decide whether or not we want to do it. And that's not the way that it works. God has the full rights. His will is what must prevail, and we need to be submitted to that. That's soft clay. So that when God calls us forward...

We go forward. Pastor Tom was talking about that last week, taking those steps of faith, getting out of the boat, jumping off the cliff when the Lord instructs. And in those times, it's easy to resist. Sometimes we resist in sin. Sometimes we resist in not going forward in the way that God has called us to. God wants us to make the right choice. You're clay in the potter's hands. And listen, there's no better hands to be in. God has full rights over you because he created you, he purchased you,

And he is the best one to mold you and shape you. If you want the best life imaginable, here's what you do. Surrender completely to God. If you want the best eternity possible, here's what you do. Surrender completely to God. God has full rights over you. He gets to say what goes. He can bring anything into your life that he wants to bring. And you can become bitter about that and grumpy about that. But that's God's right. He can do what he wants.

What we have control of, what he invites us to do is respond as he speaks. To be like good clay. To let him show us mercy because we turn and respond as he speaks to us. To let him fulfill the good that he wants to do because we continue to walk with him, because we continue to respond as he speaks to our hearts. God wants you to make the right choice. Even when we've messed up, he can take a marred vessel and make it into something great. God is a master potter.

and you're clay in his hands. He loves you. He wants what's best for you. He knows how to accomplish what's best for you. What we need to do is to surrender to him and let God have his way and everything he says we must do.

And every time he points out, he highlights issues in our hearts and in our lives, we need to respond to those things. And every time he calls us forward and prompts our hearts, we need to move forward. We need to respond as God speaks, as God works. We need to respond to the word of God to be like Josiah. Our nation as a whole might not respond, but as an individual like Josiah, we can have tender hearts towards God and respond as he speaks. You could not be

And that is once and for all demonstrated at the cross. We want to take some time this morning to finish up service remembering the cross and partaking of communion together. And so the ushers are going to get ready. Ronnie, you can come up and get ready. Paul tells us in Romans 5, verse 8, that God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God...

exercises his rights in conjunction with our obedience, but he also is the first one to make a move. He also is the one who initiates the relationship with us. He, while we were still sinners, he didn't wait for us to change and then, okay, let me provide salvation for you. He provided salvation while we were still sinners, proving once and for all, hey, God says, I love you.

I want what's best for you so much so that I'm willing to die on your behalf to receive the penalty and punishment for your sin. It's painful for me to watch someone blend an iPhone. Can you imagine how painful it is for God to see someone put themselves in a blender and destroy his creation, one that he has formed and fashioned? He wants what's best for us. He desires great things. He's planned out eternity for us.

that we can't even imagine or speak of. He's demonstrated it all, once and for all, by dying upon the cross for us so that we can remember. We're clay in the potter's hands, and that's not a bad thing. As much as maybe we don't like the pressure or we don't like what God says sometimes, it is what's best for us. And God gives us those things because he loves us. He calls us to repentance because he loves us.

And he gave us communion as a reminder so that we could always look back and remember, oh yeah, God does love me. Jesus took the bread and the cup and said, hey, do this often. Do this frequently in remembrance of me. The bread, it represents my body, which is broken for you. Remember that I allowed my body to be beaten, that I allowed myself to be crucified. Although I have full rights, I didn't have to be on the cross. I could have just wiped out everybody, but I love you. And so I suffered.

I suffered the pain in the body and my blood was shed. And he gave us the cup. He said, this is the reminder of my blood which was shed that you could be forgiven of your sin, that you could be cleansed and washed, released of guilt, released of the burden of that and be put in a position of right relationship with God. Absolutely, completely forgiven. God says, I want you to remember that. And so we're gonna partake of communion this morning. Ronnie's gonna lead us in a song and the ushers will pass out the bread and the cup. And as they do, I wanna encourage you

Do what communion was designed to do. Take this time to remember while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And let's be soft clay this morning. Let's respond. Whatever God's been speaking to you about, whatever sin he's calling you out of, whatever steps of faith he's calling you into, whatever God is doing in your life, let's be responsive. Let's surrender to the will of God as we remember Christ.

It's a good will. It's a good plan. Ultimately demonstrated by these elements that will partake. The cross. Showing how much God loves us. So let's receive that love. Receive his grace and forgiveness. And surrender to his will as we worship together. Let's worship.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.