No Second Best
God is sovereign and will continue to work in our lives, even when it's difficult and painful, to create a vessel that is beautiful and usable.
K.P. Yohannan shares a powerful message about God's transformative work in our lives, likening it to a potter shaping clay. He emphasizes that, like the clay, we often become marred and flawed, yet God, the master potter, is never discouraged and can remold us into something beautiful. The sermon draws from Jeremiah 18, illustrating that despite our mistakes, God offers hope and the opportunity for renewal. Yohannan encourages us to trust in God's process, even when it involves pain and struggle, as He skillfully shapes us for His purpose. Ultimately, the message is one of resilience and divine craftsmanship in our spiritual journey.
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Growing up in the southernmost part of India, my friend and I would often pass the potter's house on our way home from school. Stopping to rest under the tall coconut tree in front of his shop, we would watch intently as he and his wife made their clay pots.
Numerous times I stood there mesmerized as he took a lump of clay and began spinning it on his wheel. Soon that which was formless turned almost magically into a beautiful and usable vessel.
Quite often I would observe that what he was working on became marred. Yet the potter was never as disappointed as we were. He knew his craft well. He simply took the piece off the wheel, kneaded the clay again and started over. This next time it seemed to me the new creation surpassed the one previously attempted.
In Jeremiah 18, the Lord had His prophet watch a potter go through this exact same routine. Then God spoke through His servant, saying, "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel" (Jeremiah 18:6). These words were intended as both a warning and a message of hope that in spite of repeatedly messing up, God could still make something beautiful of this nation.
All of us have been on God's wheel only to be taken off and repeatedly remolded. Who can't identify with these lines?
When God wants to drill a man,
And thrill a man,
And skill a man,
When God wants to mold a man
To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world will be amazed,
Watch His methods, watch His ways!
How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him,
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay which
Only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying,
And he lifts beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks
When his good He undertakes;
How He uses whom He chooses,
And with every purpose fuses him;
By every act induces him
To try His splendor out--
God knows what He's about.
Too often, however, we fight the potter, sometimes sinning grievously in the process. More often than we care to admit, our flaws have been exposed in the protracted process of becoming what God has in mind.
Sermon Outline
- I. The Potter's Wheel
- A. God's work in our lives is like a potter's wheel
- B. He takes us, molds us, and shapes us
- C. Sometimes we become marred, but God is not disappointed
- II. God's Sovereignty
- A. God is in control of our lives
- B. He knows what He's doing
- C. He is perfecting us for His purposes
- III. Our Response
- A. We often fight the potter
- B. We sin and become flawed
- C. But God is patient and continues to work with us
Key Quotes
“When God wants to drill a man, And thrill a man, And skill a man, When God wants to mold a man To play the noblest part;” — K.P. Yohannan
“How He ruthlessly perfects Whom He royally elects!” — K.P. Yohannan
“How He bends but never breaks When his good He undertakes;” — K.P. Yohannan
Application Points
- We should trust in God's sovereignty and allow Him to work in our lives, even when it's difficult and painful.
- We should not resist God's work in our lives, but rather submit to His will.
- God's ultimate goal for us is to create a vessel that is beautiful and usable, a vessel that will bring glory to Him.