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The Bible Breakdown
Jeremiah 18: The Potter and the Clay
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The More We Dig. The More We Find.
Hello everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today, jeremiah chapter 18, and I'm going to tell you I love the first part of this chapter. It's called the potter and the clay the potter and the clay man. I love the theme of this and the usual sad stuff toward the end, right. But as we get ready to do that, I want to tell you a story about something that happened to me when I was a kid. But before we do any of that, make sure you get your Bible out Jeremiah, chapter 18. And while you're doing that, if you're new here, make sure you like, share and subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you're leaving us a five-star review on the podcast and make sure you're going to the Bible breakdown discussion, because the more we dig, the more we find. Well, once again, if you have your Bible, open up with me to Jeremiah, chapter 18. I want to tell you about the life of a pastor's kid. Okay, now, my wife and I have done a very hard job, or tried very hard. Say it that way. We've tried very hard is what I was trying to say to help our kids feel like they're just normal kids, right, because a lot of times in church life, the pastor and his wife and his children are kind of looked at under this microscope. You know this kind of stuff, right, we try to do that with our kids. Well, my dad I don't know if he did that or not, but what he loved to do is he loved to use his son in a lot of different let's see what can I say. Sermon illustrations Now, I use my kids as sermon illustrations, but I don't use them by name, which, by the way, disclaimer. I don't do that for reasons. Okay, the reasons why I don't do that is I made this horrible deal with them one time, and that is that if I ever use them by name, I would give them money, because they said it embarrassed them. Well, I found a workaround and that is I just don't mention their names anymore. Hey, you got to do what you got to do. I was going broke, all right, but my dad would do this one time, or a lot of times, and one particular time.
Speaker 1:I think that some of it had to do with the fact that as a little boy in church I had ADD, pretty bad, and so I had a hard time sitting still, and I remember one time my dad. He said, brandon, I want you to come up here. I want to use you as an illustration. Well, immediately, I'm terrified, right, I don't get in front of everybody. And he said I want you to lay right here. And he was using the example of whenever you go into surgery, your job and I'm a kid so I still remember this when you go into surgery, your job is to lay there and it's the surgeon's job to do the surgery. Well, as a kid, I'm sitting here thinking now, dad, I didn't sign up for any surgery, but of course I'm not going to do anything because I'm terrified. At this point I think my dad's going to pull a knife out. Obviously, he didn't, but in my head eight-year-old boy, I don't know any different. So I am sitting there terrified. I don't think I've ever actually told him this. And so, dad, if you're listening, I'm over it now.
Speaker 1:But that particular day I was terrified because in my head I mean, imagine how traumatizing this was for a child. In my head I am laying down as an illustration as someone who is about to go into surgery, and in my head I think my dad's about to pull out a knife and demonstrate what surgery looks like. And I was probably laying down right there for no more than 10 seconds, but it felt like an hour. And finally the illustration was over with and all this, and he was like see, so many of us are like my boy here, where our job is simply to sit there and let the surgeon do what he does. And he said when we're sitting there, we're not supposed to suggest what scalpel he should use. Good heavens, you know, as a kid, you know I'm going oh Lord, scalpel, you know. And we're not supposed to suggest which organ he takes out. Oh Lord, an organ. And he said all we're supposed to do is lay there and let the man do his job. And I'm like, oh Lord, I don't want to lay here and let the man do his job. And finally he said all right, son, you can go sit down. Praise the Lord, barely escaped with my life, right? Well, that is a lot like what Jeremiah is talking about today.
Speaker 1:Once again, we get to see this overall theme of God is giving us a future and a hope in spite of all these difficulties. Well, what God is going to tell the nation of Israel, judah, through Jeremiah, is man, you are just like this clay and I am the potter and I love that idea and I love it. Even when we mess up, god can start over with us again. So let's read this together, and we're going to come back and revisit this at the end. You ready?
Speaker 1:Jeremiah 18, verse 1 says this and so he crushed it into a lump of clay and again started over. Then the Lord gave me this message oh 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 you are in my hand. If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, but then the nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it, as I had planned. And if I announce that I will plant and build up a certain nation or kingdom, but then the nation turns to evil and refuses to obey me, I will not bless it, as I said. I would Therefore, jeremiah, go and warn all Judah and Jerusalem. Say to them this is what the Lord says I am planning disaster for you instead of good. So turn from your evil ways, each of you, and do what is right. But the people replied don't waste your breath. We will continue to live as we want to, stubbornly following our own evil desires. So this is what the Lord says.
Speaker 1:Has anyone ever heard such a thing, even among the pagan nations? My virgin daughter, israel, has done something terrible. Does the snow ever disappear from the mountaintops of Lebanon? Do the cold streams flowing from those distant mountains ever run dry? But my people are not so reliable, for they have deserted me. They burned incense to worthless idols and they stumbled off the ancient highways and walk in muddy paths. Therefore, their land will become desolate, a monument to their own stupidity. All who pass by will be astonished and will shake their heads in amazement. I will scatter my people before their enemies as the east wind scatters dust and in all their trouble, I will turn my back on them and refuse to notice their distress.
Speaker 1:Then the people said ah, come on, let's plot a way to stop Jeremiah. We have plenty of priests and wise men and prophets. We don't need him to teach the word and give us advice and prophecies. Let's spread rumors about him and ignore what he says. And then Jeremiah says oh, my goodness, wow. First thing is don't ever make Jeremiah mad at you because he got some words for you. I mean, come on now, Jerry, that's some tough stuff, but you got to kind of hand it to the guy. They're trying to kill the fool, I mean. So he's like you're going to kill me. I'm going to pray against you and I would not want Jeremiah praying against me because he looks like he knows what he's doing right.
Speaker 1:But let's get back to the point. Remember, I was telling you how my dad went and laid me out there on the ground and it was like, hey, look, you know. Well, it would be silly for us if we I'm ever able to have surgery, if I'm ever having surgery, and it's the kind of surgery where they don't have to like put you under, like they just like dead in the area, whatever I don't want that surgeon to take my advice. You know why? Because I've never been to medical school. I don't know what I'm doing, and some would say, well, yeah, but it's my body, I don't care, it's my body. I still don't know what I'm doing. I'm going to trust the guy who is supposed to be an expert to know what he's doing right. It would be silly for me to do that.
Speaker 1:However, how many times do we try to coach God on how to order our lives. How many times do we say you know God, I know you're the king of the universe and all? How many times do we say you know God, I know you're the king of the universe and all, and I know that you have watched over, at this point, billions and billions and billions of people as they have lived and died on the planet. You have made and under your watch, people have been born, they've grown up, they've gotten married, they've had kids, started businesses closed businesses made fortunes, lost fortunes, dealt with sicknesses, all the things. So you're pretty experienced at all this. But I have a few suggestions.
Speaker 1:Wow, I mean, imagine the unintended pride, hubris behind trying to tell God how he should order our lives. You ever thought about it like that? It would be like a lump of clay looking at a potter and going is this the best you got? Come on, man, I don't have a handle or anything on me. What good am I going to be? And the whole time, the potter's going well.
Speaker 1:Actually, I had some very specific plans for you, you know, and that's hard to do because God doesn't always present himself in ways that we can easily notice. Can we just be really honest, if God were to present himself in ways that we could easily notice, it'd be different. But God has a way of slowly developing our lives in ways that we can just see the edges of his ways, the edges of what he's doing, and that's why it can be so difficult sometimes. But if we trust him, then we can trust what he's doing. And what I love about that is, even when we don't understand, even when we mess up, even when we look like our lives are not turning out the way we would want, it doesn't mean that God can't fix us. That's one of the things I love so much about God. He's not the God of the second chance, he's the God of the third chance and the fourth chance and the 10th chance and the 1000th chance, and however many times we mess up, he's got the ability to bring us back.
Speaker 1:And so I think the question for us today is do we have the courage to take our hands off of the wheel of our life and say, god, I've got some real good ideas for what you can do and what you should do, but at the end of the day, I trust you, and so what I'm going to do is I'm going to go and I'm going to move forward in the best direction. I know how and I'm going to trust that you are going to steer me as I need to be steered, and I'm going to trust you along the way. That's hard, but there's something beautiful about trusting the Lord in that way. Can you trust the Lord with your life? Let's pray together, god. Thank you so much for today.
Speaker 1:Thank you, god, that you know us, you know our lives. Jesus, you walked among your people. Your word says you were tested in every way, yet without sin. Therefore, you know what it is to go through this life and walk with people who are experiencing uncertainty and all those things. And so your word says in Hebrews that you understand what we go through. And so, lord, I'm thankful, lord, that you have patience with us. I pray that we will continually turn back to you. We'll put our trust and our hope in you and realize, god, that you're for us in every way, and realize that you are the potter and we are the clay and, as we trust in you, you always lead us in the right direction. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen and amen what God's word says in Jeremiah 29, verse 13,. And amen, what God's word says in Jeremiah 29, verse 13,. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. My prayer is that today you find God in a fresh and new way. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Jeremiah, chapter 19.
