A Life Made Over

Sermon OverviewScripture Passage: Jeremiah 18:3-6Pottery is one of the oldest arts known to man, and one of the most poignant metaphors God uses to teach us about our relationship with Him. As a vessel of beauty emerges from an ugly lump of clay, we can experience a life made over in the hands of the Good Potter.Jeremiah 18:3 says, “Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel...”We must see the potential of a life that respondsIn this passage, God is the potter and we are the clay; the wheel illustrates the circumstances of life. God is the one who turns the wheel, arranging our lives as He molds and shapes us.Adrian Rogers says, “Many of us think there are incidents in our lives that are meaningless; but not a blade of grass moves without God’s permission.”We must recognize the problem of a life that resists.“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” (Jeremiah 18:4).The problem of the clay is not found in the Potter; it is the result of hidden impurities. Its stiffness and unyieldingness keeps it from becoming what it ought to be. If we are resistant to His work, God will break us in order to reshape us.We need to understand the promise of a life that repents.“‘O 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!’” (Jeremiah 18:6).God is a God of second chances; He can still use us if we are still pliable and give Him all the pieces.We must remember the peril of a life that rebels.Jeremiah 19 warns us that if we remain hardened, we cannot be remolded. Those who have stopped listening to the conviction of their sins will become set in their stubbornness; then, it’s over for them.We must come to Him in humble repentance, while the clay is still soft and pliable.Apply it to your lifeDo you trust God to mold you into a useful vessel? A life made over begins with repentance and yielding to His conviction in your life.