Jeremiah 18:1-6 (NKJV) The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. 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. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “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! ”
As we read through the Bible, we often find metaphors and pictures of everyday life that God shared and communicated to His people effectively. Jeremiah 18 is one of those passages. When God wants to deal with areas in our life, He does not communicate with us in a way that we cannot comprehend. He shows us and reveals to us things so that we can comprehend and understand in order to change it.
The manufacture of pottery was one of the major industries in the Near East in that day. There is no doubt that Jeremiah had passed the potter’s house many times, and this time God had a special message for him and the nation of Israel. In Jeremiah’s image, we are the clay and God is the potter. When the Bible speaks of God as a potter, it means that He has a plan for our lives. God has the power to guide us and change us if we are willing to be guided and changed.
God uses different situations to mould our lives. He is always a good God. He wants the best for us and needs to start somewhere. The clay may not be attractive in itself, but as soon as the potter starts to form it, there is a real transformation. When you hold a piece of clay in your hands, it does not shout out to you “beautiful”. It is just a clay. But the goal is to create a vessel that will be used for a purpose in the end. Different steps will lead to an end result that the potter is intending from the beginning.
When we allow God to work in our hearts, He will change and transform us. It may not be an easy process. It is not always pleasant either. When God received us through Christ we were not much to look at. We were stuck in our sins, and in our shames. Before receiving Christ, we thought we could make it into Heaven on our own but once received into the hands of God, He could start the real process of forming us. This is the place where some Christians will resist because our flesh does not want to be changed. We fall easily back into our old behavior, habits, and thinking. For the flesh, remaining the same is easier than being changed. But the image of the potter at work is a picture of God’s grace.
Let us not harden our hearts against God. When we soften our hearts, He can rework us and make us good. When our hearts are hardened and we close access for Him to do what He wants, it will be harder for Him to form us. God in His grace wants us become all that He has called us to be. He wants us to release our full potential!
Sermon Series: God is Forming Us
在窑匠的手中
耶利米书 18:1-6 耶和华的话临到耶利米说，你起来，下到窑匠的家里去，我在那里要使你听我的话。我就下到窑匠的家里去，正遇他转轮作器皿。窑匠用泥作的器皿，在他手中作坏了，他又用这泥另作别的器皿。窑匠看怎样好，就怎样作。耶和华的话就临到我说，耶和华说，以色列家阿，我待你们，岂不能照这窑匠弄泥吗？以色列家阿，泥在窑匠的手中怎样，你们在我的手中也怎样。
当我们阅读圣经时，我们经常会发现神用日常生活中的比喻和画面，来有效地与他的百姓分享和交流 。耶利米书18章是其中的一个段落。当神想要处理我们生活中的某些领域时，祂不会以我们无法理解的方式与我们沟通。祂向我们显现并向我们启示事情，以便我们能够理解明白从而能改变事情。
陶器制造是当时近东的主要工业之一。毫无疑问耶利米好多次经过这个窑匠的家，这次神给了他和以色列民族一个特别的信息。在耶利米看见的画面中，我们是泥土，神是窑匠。当圣经上说到神是窑匠时，这意味着祂对我们的生命有一个计划。如果我们愿意接受指导和改变，神有能力引导我们并改变我们。
神用不同的境况来塑造我们的生活。祂永远是一位良善的神，祂要给我们最好的，并且会从一些情况着手。粘土本身可能并不具有吸引力，但一旦窑匠开始塑造粘土，就会有一个真正的转变。当你手中拿着一块粘土时，不会向你喊出“美丽”两字。它只是一块粘土。但窑匠目标是要造出一个器皿，最终能派上某个用场。窑匠通过不同的步骤将得到一个最终的结果，这是他从起初就想要得到的。
当我们允许神在我们心中做工时，祂就会改变和转化我们。可能这个过程并不容易，也并不总是让人愉快。当神在基督里接纳我们时，我们并不值得一看，因我们深陷于罪恶和羞愧之中。在我们接受耶稣之前，我们觉得可以靠着自己进入天堂，但一旦在神的手中，祂就开始真正塑造我们的过程。这是一些基督徒会抵抗的地方，因为我们的肉体并不想被改变。我们很容易回到我们以前的行为，习惯和思维。 对于肉体来说，保持原样比被改变更容易。但是窑匠动工时的形象，就是神恩典的一幅画面。
让我们的心不要对神刚硬。当我们的心柔软时，神就可以重塑我们，使我们变得美好。当我们的心变刚硬，我们内心就对神封闭了，神在我们身上便无法作为，这样就很难让祂来塑造我们。神在祂的恩典中要我们成为祂呼召我们成为的一切，祂要我们释放我们的全部潜能！
讲章系列：神在塑造我们
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