We're going to visit the potter's
house. The name of the message is Visiting
the Potter's House. I'd like us to consider today
some passages about God as sovereign over all things. God's sovereignty
will be magnified in the passages that we will look at. And we'll
see this as we visit the potter's house. here in Jeremiah 18 and the corresponding
passages that we'll look at. What a great comfort it is to
know that the God we trust in is the one who holds tomorrow. Jeremiah 18, verses 1 to 6. The word which came to Jeremiah
from the Lord saying, Arise and go down to the potter's house.
There I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's
house, and behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of
clay was marred in the hand of the potter. So he made it again. Another vessel has seemed good
to the potter to make it. Then the word of the Lord came
to me, saying, O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this
potter? Saith the Lord, behold, as the
clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in my hand, O house
of Israel. Visiting the potter's house. And we see from this text who
has control. Who has control. And we'll see
that from the text that we will look at too. The corresponding
text. We'll see it clearly stated. And I pray that this message
will be a great comfort to God's people. Knowing. Knowing that God is
sovereign over all things. That He's sovereign over all
nature. That He's sovereign over all
providence. And praise God that He's sovereign over salvation. Over salvation. Now we who have had Christ revealed
to us, have been taught precious truths. Truths about predestination.
Truths about election by God the Holy Spirit. And by what
He's taught us we know, We know for a fact that if God had not chosen us,
we would never have chosen Him. We know that, don't we? We know
that. We know that from how we used
to be. And we know that from how we
are now as new creatures in Christ. How our whole desires have been
changed. Our thoughts. Now we still struggle
with sin, don't we? All the time. It's a constant
thorn amongst every believer. But we know for a fact that if
God hadn't chosen us, we never would have chosen him. We never
would have went to him. We never would have fled to him. If he
had not made us willing, we'd still be unwilling. My, if He never loved us, we
never would have loved Him. But praise God, we learn as believers
that He's loved us with an everlasting love. We learn as believers that
He made us willing. Not long ago, I was talking to
someone about election. Turn, if you would, to Ephesians
1.4. And they mentioned that when you believe, then you're
elected. And I replied, that's simply not true. That's simply
not true at all. Because the scripture plainly
declares, right? Plainly declares. And we sang
a song about it. How vast the benefits divine.
We see in the scripture, it's plainly, plainly said that we
are chosen in Christ in eternity. And with the people that I was
talking to, I had my tablet there with me, so I was able to pull
up the scriptures and look right in the Greek. And I said, what
does the Greek say? It means to pick out, to choose. It means this, to pick out, choose,
to pick or choose out for one's self, the word chosen in Ephesians
1.4. You can't get away from it. And
as I was talking to one guy who doesn't believe in election,
and another guy popping off, the first guy said, be quiet,
he's reading what Scripture says. Pray for him, please. Pray for
him. Because it plainly says, according
as He, God, hath chosen us to pick out to choose, to pick,
or choose out for one's own self. God chose his people for himself. For himself. When? When? Now, people in false religion
will say, it's when you made the decision, right? How am I
involved in this? According to this, he has chosen
us in him before the foundation of the world. So what people are peddling out
there is a lie. It's a lie. And it takes away
from the sovereignty of God as the master potter. He's a master
potter, beloved. What a blessed doctrine this
is. Look at this. Chosen in Him before the foundation
of the world that we should be holy and without blame before
Him in love. This is a blessed doctrine for the believer. It's
one of the most hated doctrines in religion. but it's a blessed
doctrine for God's people, because we know that if he hadn't chosen
us in eternity, we'd never come to him. And notice it's not a
result of us believing, it's that one man was falsely promoting,
because it's before the foundation of the world, far before any
of our births. And we know from scripture, right,
that none seeks after God, none. None at all. None understand
God until he reveals himself to us. Until we're born again
by the Holy Spirit. It's a work of God. Salvation
is of the Lord. Period. There's no getting away
from it. And the believer does not want
to get away from it. We rejoice in that fact because we know
we could never save ourselves. So you can't escape the truth
of election and predestination. They're biblical truths. Either
one believes in the sovereignty of God and that salvation is
holy of him, in its planning, in its execution, in its purpose,
and they wholly trust in Christ for our salvation, or one believes
in the sovereignty of man, and their decision, which will lead
them right to hell. There's no black and white. There's
no black and white. And man has no ability to save
himself, contrary to what people think. They're the blind leading
the blind. Let's go back to our text in
Jeremiah. Now we believe the predestination of elections is
in the hands of the sovereign almighty God. Wise God who rules
upon his throne in glory, beloved. In complete majesty. Complete
majesty. He's sovereign over all things.
And the potter can do whatever he wills with the clay. Let's
look again in our text. He can do whatever he wills.
Look at this. The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord
saying, Arise and go down to the potter's house. and there
I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the
potter's house, and behold, he wrought a work on the wheels,
and the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hands
of the potter. So he made it again another vessel, and it
seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the word of the
Lord came to me, saying, O house of Israel, can I not do with
you as this potter? Saith the Lord." These are the
Lord's words. Can He not do with us whatever
He pleases? Behold, as the clay is in the
potter's hand, so are ye in my hand, O house of Israel. Now
right here before us, we have illustrated, right here before
us, God's sovereignty. The unconditional sovereignty
of God on display. Now, there are three instances
in Scripture where God as a potter is brought forth. Here in Jeremiah
18, and then turn to Isaiah 64, and then put your finger in Romans
chapter 9. Three instances here where God
as the potter is brought forth. And in our text in 18, it shows
His sovereignty over national affairs, right? Because He says
to Israel, can I not do with you as with this potter? Okay? Look at Isaiah 64, 8. Here we see His sovereignty and
His providence over personal affairs. Isaiah 64, 8. But now, O Lord,
Thou art our Father. We are the clay, and Thou our
potter, and we are the work of Thy hand. We are the work of
Thy hand. But now, O Lord, Thou art our
Father, We are the clay, and thou our potter, and we are the
work of thy hand. And then the third passage is
found over in Romans chapter 9, which we will see displayed,
God's divine sovereignty over the salvation of his people.
And again, we will see mentioned the clay
and the potter. Romans 9, starting in verse 15.
Look at this. And remember our text about the
absolute power that the potter had over the clay. For he said
to Moses, I have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I have compassion
on whom I have compassion. So then it is not of him that
willeth. That's plainly stated, isn't it? It's not of your free
will. Suppose it's free will, but your
will's actually bound to your nature. So it's not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth. It's not based upon your works. It's not of your will, and it's
not of your works, but of God that what? Showeth mercy. So
right here before us, we see that if we are saved, it's the
mercy of God. It's God has shown mercy to us. To us. Then the scripture goes on. For
the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, he raised up Pharaoh, beloved.
Even for the same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might
show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout
all the earth. And in the destruction of Pharaoh
and his armies, Egypt was broken. Oh, his sovereignty is magnified. His people are delivered. and
their enemies are broken and crushed. Therefore hath he mercy on whom
he have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. What does God have
to do for us to be saved? Everything. What does God have
to do for us to be lost? Leave us alone. Just leave, and
we become hardened. My goodness, salvation is of
the Lord, beloved. It's all his work. Thou wilt
say unto me, why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted
his will? Now people always find fault
with God's sovereignty. And Paul's responding to this. Nay, but O man, who art thou
that replyest against God? Shall the thing formed say to
him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Shall the clay pot that the potter
makes say to the potter, why did you make me a clay pot? Oh, the potter molds it into
whatever he's pleased to. Hath not the potter power over
the clay? Does the clay have any power
at all? None. Absolute inability to do anything. Beloved, the potter has all the
power. All the power. Hath not the potter
power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto
honor? and another unto dishonor? Oh, a vessel of honor chosen
in Christ before the foundation of the world. Before the foundation of the
world. What if God, willing to show His wrath and to make His
power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of
wrath fitted to destruction? And that He might make known
the riches of His glory and the vessels of mercy? Has God not
made known to you who believe the riches of His mercy? Has He not made it known to you?
Has He not revealed to you the riches of His mercy in Christ
Jesus? That all your sins are forgiven
while others die in their sins and perish? Riches of His mercy. riches of
his glory. Even us whom he had called, not
of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. There's his people. They're called. And they're his people. And he
said in Osea, I will call them my people, which were not my
people. And her beloved, which was not beloved. So when we tie these three portions
in together, we see God's sovereignty over nations, we see God's sovereignty
over personal affairs, and we see God's sovereignty over the
salvation of his people. Beloved God is absolutely sovereign.
Let's go back to our text. Now keep your finger in Romans
9 there, because we're going to look at one verse, or a couple
verses back there. We're going to go back. But I
want us to look at verse 4 of chapter 18 in Jeremiah. And then
I want us to contrast it back to Romans 9, 21 to 23. And we'll go back and forth.
Look at this. And the vessels that he made
of clay were marred in the hand of the potter. So he made it
again another vessel. It seemed good to the potter
to make it. Okay? So verse 4 here brings
forth again the salvation of his people, and it ties right
into Scripture. And scripture will always back up scripture,
beloved, always. So look at Romans 9.21 again.
In light of that, I'll read Jeremiah 18.4 again. And the vessel that
he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter, so that
he made it again another vessel. It seemed good to the potter
to make it. Look at Romans 9.21. Hath not the potter power over
the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and
another unto dishonor? Again, who has the power? Who
has the power? The potter doesn't. The potter
has power over the clay. Absolute power over the clay.
The clay is dead. Lifeless. No life in the clay.
It's clay. And he must mold it and make
it into whatever he pleases. And he can make one a vessel
of honor. He can make one a vessel of dishonor.
Whatever he chooses. Because he has all the power.
He has all the power. All of it. Look at verses 22
and 23. And then we'll flip back to Jeremiah
18. What if God willing to show His
wrath to make His power known? So His power is manifested by
the salvation of His people. Endured with much longsuffering,
the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction. And that He might
make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy.
which he had aforeprepared unto glory. And we saw that in Ephesians
1.4, didn't we? Chosen in him before the foundation
of the world. Go back to Jeremiah 18. And the
vessels that he made of clay was marred in the hands of the
potter. So he made it again, another vessel. It seemed good
to the potter to make it. Now note here, beloved, this work before us is a work
on a wheel. The potter works on a wheel.
The power begins with the workmen, and he sustains it, and the pottery
is molded by the will of the potter. It's molded by the will
of the potter. And the potter is in absolute
control. Absolute control. Whatever he
wills that clay to be, Whatever he decides to form that clay
into, it shall become. It shall become. Now in ancient
Palestine, pottery making was quite sophisticated with a potter's
wheel and permanent kilns to be used. Now they baked the pottery
in the kilns, but they used a potter's wheel. And the Hebrew word for
potter in the Old Testament is yetzar, which means to mold and
to form, one who forms. And one commentator mentioned
that it's in the masculine gender, and it's said that a vast majority
of potters in biblical times were men, were men. And after the clay, now, after
the clay was extracted from the ground, it was bought to the
potter's shop. where it was prepared. It was
prepared, beloved. Foreign objects such as stones
and sticks were taken out of the clay, were removed. And then usually water was added
to soften the clay up, to make it moldable. And then I found this interesting.
In turn, if you would, do Ephesians 4. I found this really interesting. A tempering agent was added.
A tempering agent, such as sand, was added to make the clay more
workable, and I like this, or to give it particular qualities
that was desired by the potter. To give it particular qualities
that was desired by the potter. on what he was going to use the
clay to form it to. Think of this in light of the
various gifts that God gives his people. And some of them
are mentioned here. Look at Ephesians 4, 11 and 12.
And he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists
and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints,
for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body
of Christ. Ephesians 4, 11 and 12. He gave
some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors
and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of
the ministry, for the edifying of the body. So the potter is
absolutely sovereign over the clay, and he adds whatever he
needs to add to it for it to be fit for whatever use it's
going to be fit for. He has total power. He molds
it, and he makes it into whatever he's pleased to make it into. Whatever he pleases, the potter
can do with the clay. And what a picture we have before
us of God's absolute sovereignty. In creation, in all things, in salvation,
he's chose to save a people. He's chose to make them vessels
of honor. And God's people say, hallelujah,
what a savior. What a savior. Now, with the clay properly prepared,
the potter was ready to form his vessel. And he did this on
the potter's wheel. In biblical period, the potter's
wheel was a type called the double wheel or kick wheel. A flywheel,
which turned on a stone, and many which have been found in
excavations, was placed in a shallow pit on the floor of the potter's
workshop. A shaft was attached to the top of the flywheel and
at the end of the shaft was a small round wooden platform or stone
platform upon which the potter worked. He put the clay on there. And he placed the clay on the
platform, and by kicking the flywheel with his foot, there
was a pedal that they would use to spin that wheel, however fast
they wanted it, or however slow they wanted it to go. And the
lump of clay on the platform spun. It spun. And the potter could form or
throw Not throw it around, but that's what they use the words
for how they form it and all that. By guiding the clay with
his fingers, by molding it and making it into whatever he pleases,
that wheel spine. One commentator said this, allowing
the centrifugal force to aid in shaping a symmetrical vessel,
adding water when needed to make it moldable. He powered it. He powered the
wheel to spin. He makes use of the power that
he has set in motion to fashion his design. As the wheel would
be powered by the foot, so that both hands could be used in the
molding process, or to add water as needed, so that the clay remains
moldable. What a picture. What a picture,
beloved. And then the perfect type of
what he, think of this too, the perfect type of what he wants
to form on that potter's wheel is in his mind. It's in his mind. It's already there. And he must give it shape and
form and impress upon it, impress upon the clay whatever he wants
to form it into. What a picture. of how without
God we can do nothing. Nothing. All the power in salvation
originates from God. All the power in creation is
His. We are under His control, beloved.
We are under His control. For us to do anything, and again,
in light of salvation, the unwilling are made willing by His power. by His power. The unseeking are
made to seek Christ by His power. Salvation is of the Lord. Scripture
says, in the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand
of the potter, so he made it again. Another vessel it seemed
good to the potter to make it. Now having formed the pot, the
potter separated it from the remaining lump of clay by pinching
it off with his fingers or cutting it off with a string. Think of
this, beloved. God's people are called out in
Christ, separated from the rest of the world by God's choosing
and by God's doing. It's his work. And then the pottery
is put into the kiln. And one commentator said this,
once fired in the kiln, pottery is virtually indestructible unless
intentionally ground up. The remains of some of the pottery
made in antiquity, even though broken and discarded, are still
with us today. The pottery is hardened and baconed
in the kiln of fire. And so are we by trials which
we go through on this earth. Have you not felt the the heat
of trials and things that we go through. Job says this, Behold, I am according
to thy wish in God's stead. I am also formed of the clay.
Job 33, 6. Turn, if you would, again to
Romans and look at verse 21 of Romans 9. Romans 9, 21. Hath not the potter power over
the clay of the same lump to make one
vessel under honor and another under dishonor? Now, the Greek
word for power there is defined as power of choice. Power of choice, liberty of doing
as one pleases. God can do whatever He pleases. Physical and mental power, the
ability or strength with which one has endured, which either
possesses or exercises. And the power of authority, influence
and the right of privilege. Think on this, beloved. The power
that God has is divine power. He is the master potter. He is
the master potter. And He has the ability, in His
power He has the ability, and He has the rights, and He has
the authority to do whatever He pleases as the potter. He
has the rights, He has the authority, and He has the ability to do
whatever He pleases. Turn if you would to John 17.2
and put your finger in Matthew 9.6. John 17.2 and Matthew 9.6. We'll look at three other instances
where this word power is used, the same Greek word. He has the ability, He has the
right, and He has the authority and His power to do whatever
He pleases. John 17, 2. Christ's own words, as thou hast
given Him power. Remember? The power of choice,
the liberty of doing as one pleases. As thou hast given Him power
over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many
as thou hast given Him. Turn, if you would, to Matthew
9.6. Beloved, He has the power to heal the spiritually blind
and the spiritually deaf. He has the power to forgive sins
and praise His mighty name. He does for His people. And He
has. Look at Matthew 9.6. But that ye may know that the
Son of God hath power. He has all power, beloved. All power. that the Son of Man
hath power on earth to forgive sins. Then saith he to the sick
of the palsy, Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And in turn, if you would, to
Matthew 28, verse 18. And we will see here that Christ
has all power in earth and in heaven. He's sovereign over the clay. He's sovereign over all. Same
Greek word. And Jesus came and spake unto
them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. All power. There's nothing lacking. He has the ability. He has the
authority. And he has the right to do whatever
he pleases, because he has all power. All power. That's our rest. He is the one
who's our rest. He's the one who's our hope.
He's the one who's our redeemer. He's our salvation. The one who
has all power. All power. My. Now the clay, the potter speaks
of God's authority in our text. and of his interest and his attention
to his creation and his absolute power over all things. The clay
speaks of our absolute inability. Absolute inability. The clay
has no power. It can do nothing. It's lifeless. It could not form itself into
anything. It's just clay. So do you see the fallacy of
works-based religion right there? And aren't these words fitting
of our Master? Without me, you can do nothing.
Isn't that fitting? John 15, 5. Ties right in with the potter
and the clay. And the only conclusion you can come up with is that
you can do nothing to save yourself. And God has to reveal that to
you, though. And that's what He does to His people. He reveals
to us, I can't save myself. I have no hope. And then Christ
is revealed to us. Oh, what a blessed hope we have
in Him, beloved. So the emphasis and the subject
of our preaching in this church is the will of God in and through
the Lord Jesus Christ. And we preach Christ and Him
crucified, don't we? Turn a few words over to Isaiah
45. Isaiah 45. And this is what Scripture declares,
and it's wonderful for God's people. Wonderful. To know that
I am in the hands of the Master Potter. Isaiah 45, verses 5 to
9. Look at these wonderful words. And they just speak of God's
sovereignty. I am the Lord, verse 5, and there is none else. There is no God beside me. That means that all these other
gods that people have cooked up in their minds are false gods. There is no other God but our
God. I girded thee, though thou hast
not known me. He took care of us even before
He saved us, watching over us, beloved. even when we were shaking
our fists at Him. He is eyes upon His sheep. And that just makes your heart
sing. I know it makes mine. Mine. That they may know from
the rising of the sun and from the west that there is none beside
me. I am the Lord and there is none
else. And this is his statements. I
form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil.
I, the Lord, do all these things. Drop down, ye heavens from above,
and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open, and let them
bring forth salvation. And let righteousness spring
up together. Brother Matt hit that in Sunday
school. He's a branch that springs up. I, the Lord, have created
it. Woe unto him that striveth with
his maker! Let the pot-sheds strive with
the pot-sheds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him that
fashioned it, What makest thou? Shall animated dust and clay,
like we are, Say, God, why did you make me this way? Or thy work, he hath no hands,
Beloved creation in the world and in salvation. Remember this,
God said, let there be light, right? And what happened? There
was light. What a picture of regeneration. What a picture. The Holy Spirit
reveals Christ and there's light. There was darkness and now there's
light. My goodness. Beloved. And it's His work. It's His work. It's a result
of His sovereign will. Think of this. Our God is the
God who numbers the hairs of our head. He numbers the hairs. I can't
number my hairs in my head. He numbers the hairs of our head. Our God is the one That not even
a little sparrow that falls to the ground falls without him
knowing. That's how much he watches over
all things. Not even a sparrow. An insignificant
little bird, right? It's not insignificant to him.
So when you, as a believer, think of how He's numbered the very
hairs of our head, how just a bird falling to the ground He watches
over, how much more does He watch over us? No matter what we go through.
Our God is the God who raises up kings and tears down nations,
however it pleases Him. Remember Gaddafi? Is it all in
power there in Libya? Where is he now? Saddam Hussein
was all, everyone was worried about. Where is he now? Gone. He raises up whom? That's our
God. He has power, the rights, the
authority to do whatever he pleases, beloved. And rejoice, beloved. Rejoice you who are redeemed.
He's the one who keeps you in us. in his hand. He knows tomorrow, doesn't he?
I love that song. He knows what's coming tomorrow.
We don't have a clue, but he knows the one who holds our tomorrows
is the one who holds all things in his hands. If we have tomorrow. So he raises up kings, he takes
down nations, he's the one true God, and he is absolutely sovereign. Absolutely. Now that gives the
believer great comfort, right? Great comfort for us. Let us ponder some precious truths
here. God chooses to bring individuals
to salvation in eternity in and through Christ Jesus, our Lord.
He chooses to do that. At the time of his appointing. He grants life to the dead sin. to the one He's chosen. They're
born again of the Holy Spirit of God. And He grants them faith
and repentance to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Because
they are His chosen vessels of mercy. That's the only reason. There's nothing in me. There's
nothing in you, right? There's nothing in any of us
that would merit or warrant this wonderful salvation. We're taken
from the same lump of clay as all other people, aren't we?
But yet He's made us a vessel of mercy. It's wonderful. It's absolutely wonderful. And
it's all His doing. It's all His doing. And it's all according to His
purpose and plan. Now religious people hate these
precious doctrines. They hate them. They hate election.
They hate predestination. I know. I've talked to enough
of them. And as a matter of fact, when I first heard about election,
when I was lost in religion, I recoiled. Now I love it. Because God's taught me. He's
revealed Christ to me. I was lost then. I thought I'd
saved myself then. I was lost as a white goose in
the snowstorm. I had no clue who Christ was.
But praise God he revealed himself. Praise God he did that. And these
are precious truths for me and I know if you believe it, precious
truths for you. Election and predestination,
justification, sanctification, they're all in Christ. And think of this. God's election
of sinners is based upon no merit in us. No merit in us. Again, it's his choice as a sovereign
potter to do what he pleases with this creation. To take out
of the same lump, to make one a vessel of honor and to make
one a vessel of dishonor. It's his choice. Whatever he
chooses. And how does he make a vessel
of honor and a vessel of dishonor? He leaves one in their sin. And
he saves the other. Because the vessel of honor has
been his. His eye is being upon that. Now, we don't know who
the elect are, right? We have no clue, do we? Anyone
claims they know him? Spurgeon used to say that he
wished that people had a yellow stripe on their back, so he'd
just lift up the back and just preach to them. But we don't
know, right? We have no idea. Therefore, we preach the gospel,
the general call, it's called. The gospel goes forth, right?
And God does the saving. God does the saving, beloved. It's his work. It's His work. We preach what we know, and God
does the saving. There's no merit in we who are
the receivers of this precious grace. No merit at all. He's
the creator of all things. He rules over nature and history,
and His will is perfect. It's perfect. God's predestinated
purposes, His will, His decrees, cannot be thwarted by anyone. Anyone, no one can thwart his
will. No one can thwart what he's decreed.
And just think of that as a potter with the clay. Again, could the
clay ask to be made something else? No. It was worked upon. It was molded into whatever the
potter decided it to be. Whatever he desired it to be,
it was molded and worked into that. And we marvel, we who believe,
marvel at this precious truth. We stand in awe of God's mercy,
which has been shown to us. And think of the long-suffering
of God with us. With us. And it should make us long-suffering
with God's people, shouldn't it? When we think of His long-suffering
with us, it should make us long-suffering with His people. Think of the
love that you believe. Think of the love which has been
shed upon you from eternity. Just think about it. It's a divine
love. It's an everlasting love. And it should make us love those
who God loves. It should make us love those
who God loves. We are to love those whom God
loves, remembering that they are His. Remember that. Brother Newell, you're His. You're
the Lord's. You're the Lord's. You're a trophy
of God's grace. All who believe. Now, one preacher of old made
this comment. I had to include this. And I thought, is this not true
of every blood-bought saint of God? He said this. Brothers and
sisters, I can believe in Christ loving you. But there are times
when it seems a great mystery that he should ever have loved
me. I can truly say that often I
have felt that if I might sit at the feet of the poorest, meanest,
least of God's saints and serve with them, I would count it a
heaven to do it. If I but feel sure of Christ's
love to my own soul. I see so many beauties in my
brethren and sisters that I can admire the grace of God in them.
But often I do see and feel so many imperfections in myself
that I can only wonder that ever Christ should have loved me. I suppose that each of you feels
the same. I'm sure that you do if you're
in the right state of heart. For truth to tell, there is no
beauty in any of us that He should desire us. And there is no excellence
in any of us that we could have made it worth His while to die
for us. But Scripture declares, God commandeth His love toward
us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. When I read that, It spoke to my heart, because
all I see is my own imperfections, my own failings. But yet Christ's love has been
set upon me for eternity, and I'm a sinner saved by grace. What a statement, beloved. God,
the sovereign God, loves me. And if you're a believer, He
loves you. And He loves His lost sheep who
will come to Him. He loves me. Praise His mighty
name. And God's sovereignty, as we
have seen in our text, is a motive for praise, isn't it? It's a
motive for praise. It's a motive for praise that
God Himself has molded us and made us into whatever He pleases.
I've often told this to religious folks who ask about election
and predestination, that they're very humbling doctrines, aren't
they? They bring us low. They bring us low. But they lead
the praise from God's people that He would choose us. Ponder the state that you were
in when the Lord found you. Ponder the state that you were
in when the Lord found you. Because you didn't find Him.
He found you. You were deaf. But He called you. And He opened your ear to hear
His loving call. You were blind to Him. And to His work. Now He has revealed
Himself to you. He has given you eyes that see
Him. And eyes that continue to look
to Him in love. Because He's loved you. He loved
us first. He loved us before we loved Him.
You were dead. Lifeless. Just like that clay. Dead and lifeless. Dead in trespasses
and sins. all of us, but He quickened you. He quickened you by His Holy
Spirit. He gave you life. He formed you
into the vessel of His choosing. And now you're born again. You're
saved by His pure mercy, beloved. And now in times of trouble,
has He not been your constant comfort? You may have felt beat down and
worn out in this life, and yet He's sustained you, hasn't He?
He's sustained you. You may have been slandered either
by gossip or outright speech for no reason, and which has
proven to be false. But He's kept you, hasn't He?
And He's defended you, hasn't He? And He's proved that these were
false words against you because He is your shield. He is your
defense. He keeps and watches over His
people. You may have family members and
friends who have attacked you or deserted you for your faith. Or for your stand for the gospel. They no longer want to have anything
to do with you because of your stand. Yet He has been your rock. He's
been your rock. He's been your help. He has molded. molded you into a vessel that
he has wanted by his sovereign hands as the master potter, and
he still watches over you now. And we have proved ourselves
unworthy of his love, haven't we? We have. By our sins. And yet, he loves us. And yet
he loves us. Because his love for us has never
changed. And because we are vessels of
honor. And because his love has been
set upon us from eternity. And it's an unchanging love.
It's a divine love. It's humbling, isn't it? It's humbling. Remember the proofs
of Christ's love to you. Remember the proofs of Christ's
love to you. You were far off, Brother Matt,
you hit that. You were far off, but what? He brought you nigh
by his precious blood. We were lost and wandering. We
were lost and wandering in the world. We may have been raised in a
church. But didn't know Christ alone. And he sought you out. He sought you out, beloved. Because
you were one of his lost sheep. Whom He redeemed on Calvary's
cross by the shedding of His own precious blood. And now He
is working out His sovereign purpose in you. And He's doing
that for every believer. Mercy. Rejoice in the blessed fact and
remember, remember who He is. Remember who He is. Remember what He is. Very God,
very God, the perfect man, God in human flesh. The Lord Jesus
Christ, Emmanuel, God with us, glorified now in the highest
heavens, right now. Though once for our sakes, for
His people, He sank low, He sank low. Sank down to the very depths
of the grave. The very depths of death in the
grave. God's sovereignty is a great
comfort to His people. Turn, if you would, to John 10,
and we'll close with these words. God's sovereignty is a great
comfort to His people, knowing that He is the sovereign potter
and that we are the clay. And let us close with these words
in John 10, from our Master, who is the sovereign potter,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And look at these wonderful words.
John 10, verses 27 to 30. My sheep hear My voice, and I
know them, and they follow Me, and I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of My hand. My Father which gave them Me
is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of
My Father's hand. I and my Father are one. Rejoice, rejoice you who are
redeemed. Praise His name and be glad.
Rejoice in Him, our Savior, our Redeemer, the Master Potter. Oh, praise His name. Let's go
to Him in prayer. Gracious Heavenly Father, we
come before Thee, praising Your name with thanksgiving. We who
are redeemed, we who are born again by Your Holy Spirit, We
saw today in the picture of how you have all power, Lord. You
are the master potter, and we are but clay, moldable in your
hands, and you do with everyone and everything however you're
pleased, because you are absolutely sovereign. And we who are redeemed are left
speechless. And then hearts fill with joy. for the great things which you've
done for us, and we can only praise thee, because it's all
your work. We thank thee for your mercy
to us. May you get all the glory and honor and praise. In Jesus'
name we pray, amen.