If you turn over to Romans 8:29 tells us that we are to be conformed to the image of His Son… and that very idea implies something… it is stating that as we stand right now, we don’t conform to the image of Jesus Christ… and this verse is also stating that God has a plan that will take us from what we are, to what He wants us to be.

Now you might be asking… “how does that change take place in our lives” …. now don’t miss the connection here to verse 28, because it is the “all things” that God uses in our lives that work out for good.. but the Good is that conformity to the image of God.

There are many analogies in the scriptures that God uses to describe our relationship with Him.  And many of them bring certain images to our minds both positive and negative and you can look at them any way you like, but the more you think about them, the analogies become clearer.

In my opinion, there is no greater imagery of our relationship with God than this picture of the potter and the clay.    But some things about clay that we may not have thought of, if the clay is not soft and pliable enough to be molded, they it will not be shaped properly by the potter.   The potter has a goal in mind… it is to take something that has little value, and turn it into something that has great usefulness… but to do this, there is a molding and a shaping and a sculpting that must take place in the life of that believer.

Two thoughts about deciding to be clay…..

#1) Be where you need to be  Jeremiah 18:2-3  Notice the ability of God to shape Jeremiah in this analogy… notice the first 4 words of verse 2…  “Arise, and go down”… and notice the first 4 words of verse 3…  “Then I went down”.

There is a willingness in his life to be instructed… and for many people the ability to be clay stops right here… there is not a willingness to be instructed… there is not a openness to what God might have for them beyond where they are in their spiritual lives.

God here wants to teach something to Jeremiah… this lesson which is going to give Jeremiah a greater understanding of God… will never take place without Jeremiah yielding to the direction and the instruction that God had for him.

Not look at verse 18:2… and notice the word “there”…  this is a very specific place that God wants jeremiah to be.  If jeremiah goes anywhere else right now, God will not give him the instruction that he intends to give him..

I ask this question… “Where does God deal with you”… “Where are you spoken to by God”… and by that I mean where are you being challenged in your spiritual life… where does God take you to that next decisions… where is the Spirit of God speaking to you at… because when you answer that question… that is the THERE for you.

Illustration:  You know, when a potter is starting with a piece of clay on a pottery wheel, they place it on a some type of a knob in the center of the pottery wheel… if for some reason that piece of clay moves and it comes off center, the potter cannot work with that piece of clay, until it is back in the center of where it is supposed to be.

What I have noticed in many peoples lives is that when we are on this potters wheel and it happens to be a painful time… so often we remove ourselves from the place where God can shape and deal with us.. we take ourselves out of that center position and now the potter cannot work in our lives in the same way…

#2) Be what God wants you to be.  18:4 Notice in verse 4 the word “marred”… it has to do with the fact that this vessel wasn’t coming out like the potter determined that it was coming out… so the bible says that He… the potter… made it again.

Let me ask you something… who decided that the vessel, which represents us… was marred… who decided what needed to be changed in your life and in my life… who put us on the wheel of the potter in the first place?  It was the creator… it was the one who has already figured out what He can best do with your life.

It can be painful, it can be a long process at times… but the potter has something in mind.. he wants to use you in a way that you might not be able to imagine right now.

I read a book from a young man who was going through cancer and he said this…

“Clay doesn’t have a will. Clay doesn’t expect, presume, or worry. Clay doesn’t resist or fight. Clay doesn’t have an agenda or a script. Clay has two simple jobs—sit still and stay soft.”

Do you know what I learned about the potter… is that once that clay is on the wheel, he never takes his hands off it.  The whole time this guiding and shaping is going on, the potter is in constant contact with that piece of clay.

Can I remind you of something… when you are on the wheel of the potter… can I challenge you to trust in the character of God rather than the circumstances that you can see.

Can I challenge you to Decide to be Clay… let him mold you… be where God speaks to you, and allow God to shape and mold your life…  and you say… “You don’t know what is going on in my life”… but the God of heaven… the potter, gave us what you and I need to get through life victoriously.

I know that the easiest thing to do is to collapse in your despair… but that is not wht God wants in your life… stay faithful… stay soft… stay on the wheel

Decide to be Clay

Your comments and questions are always welcomed.

Pastor

In  I Corinthians 14:40…  the Bible tells us that everything must be done decently and in order.  If you notice this passage of scripture… it is very plain what Paul is saying here.   It is in the context of the church service… as a matter of fact, it is in the context of the using of spiritual gifts in the context of a church service…   But this is a general principle….

Let everything be done decently and in order… what exactly does that mean?    As we go forward as a ministry… as we begin new ministries and maintain existing ministries….  you will see that we do our best to take this principle very seriously.

Decently means appropriate or becoming…. It means that what we do should be a reflection of what is true.   In the verses that I mentioned… it is speaking of the Christian living their lives in a way that is appropriate for what they call themselves.  I think we understand this concept of decently… it is a reflection of what is true.

In Order obviously means that there is an organization to it…   or an arrangement to it.  Now I mentioned that this passage is used in the context of the church service… but there are a lot of issues that Paul has addressed already… strife, and service, and marriage, and taking believers to court, and being single…. And the use of spiritual gifts within the church service…

It changes here from how to act… to the resurrection chapter in chapter 15.   So I would not have a problem saying that Paul is using this as a conclusion to all the things that he touched on, and saying that “all things” includes everything he mentioned and all the things that he did not mention.

Illustration:  have you ever told a child to pick up there room… and they start asking about the clothes, and the games and the toys… and you say… pick up everything… that means the things that you may mention specifically, but it also means whatever is out of place.

This verse is the same ideas.    So what does it mean to do things decently and in order as a church.  It means to do things in a way that are appropriate for what we are trying to accomplish.   So what are we trying to accomplish?  We are trying to point people to the Lord Jesus Christ, not only for their salvation, but also so that they can be taught about their faith and rooted in Christ.   That means that If they are unsaved, then it is for salvation….  If they are saved, then it is for edification or to build them up and see them live a victorious Christian life…. Right isn’t that what we are trying to accomplish?

So how do we approach ministry?  Let’s start with what we know to be true… and from that truth let’s look at how it impacts us personally and corporately as a church.

1)  The Premise.  What we do must reflect the character of God.

(1 Peter 1:14)  As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:  (1 Peter 1:15)  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;  (1 Peter 1:16)  Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

So the character of God is holiness… that is kind of a no-brainer… but it really is foundational because it means that everything we do, should reflect the holiness of God.  So let that sink in for a moment.  Because sometimes we associate that statement with only the preaching, or with only the music….  But it applies to every aspect of our lives and ministry.

God never sets the standard and then lower it for us….    (Matthew 5:48)  Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

So we must come to the conclusion that …. What we do must reflect the character of God…. and we know that the character of God is Holiness…. Perfection… and that is expressed in another way in the scripture… it is a word that we probably understand better… it is the word Excellence.

We should never approach ministry with a “Is it good enough” attitude… we should always say… “Is it our best”.

Pastor