This is a timely message on the life of the prophet Jeremiah that will help open our eyes to the way God uses the fiery trials and heartbreaks of life to break our stubborn will and produce Godly character that will prepare us to be leaders in the coming battle with the kingdom of darkness.

SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES

(Jeremiah 18:1–4) NKJV (1) "The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying:" (2) “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” (3) "Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel." (4) "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 18:5–6) (5) "Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:" (6) “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!"

PROLOGUE

The prophet Jeremiah lived during a dark time in Israel's history. He is known as the weeping prophet because of his burden for his people to turn from their wickedness and turn back to the Lord, who graciously delivered them from Egypt's bondage. However, instead of embracing his message, the people turned on him and placed him in solitary confinement with sand on the bottom.

There came a time in his life when he made the statement that he would not mention the name of God again, but later recanted that statement, saying, "It was like fire shut up in my bones, and I could not stay. (Jeremiah 20:9)

God wanted the prophet Jeremiah to realize that his ways are not like man's, and he does not see the way man sees; therefore, He instructed his prophet to go down to the potter's house and observe the work that the skilled potter would do in making a vessel upon the wheel.

The message these scriptures convey to us today helps us understand the pruning process needed to produce Godly character by breaking our self-centered ways, including our fleshly desires, which can only lead to destruction.

In this message, I wish to give the vessel being fashioned on the potter's wheel a voice so that it might talk back to the potter, complaining about the way it was made and its reluctance to go through the fire designed to harden its exterior and cause it to stay together.

It has been said that Judas hanged himself in what they call the potter's field. Did you know that the field was called that because it was a place they used to discard their broken pieces of pottery?

Jewish elders have stated that if they find a pottery vessel with a flaw, no matter how many times they moisten it and put it back on the wheel, they can never remove the flaw.

The elders also stated that someone discovered that if they find a certain tick that has been sucking the blood of a lamb will cause the piece of pottery to go back flawless.

The mixture of the ticks' blood, representing the world, and the lambs' blood, representing the blood shed by our Lord on seven different places on this Earth during the atonement, paid the price for our redemption.

HE KNOWS YOUR NAME

God instructed the prophet Jeremiah to go to the potter's house and observe the potter's work upon the wheel. Notice that the prophet was not instructed to engage in a conversation with the potter but to observe.

He noticed the potter make a beautiful vessel out of clay and set it aside. However, it was either too small or not the vessel the potter wanted, so he destroyed it, placed it back on the wheel, and shaped it to his liking.

Can you imagine what went through the prophet's mind as he watched the potter place the reworked vessel back on the wheel and use his fingers to apply pressure to mold it to his desired shape?

After a short while, the potter decided to put the vessel in the fire so that it would harden and stay together, but what if we were to give the vessel that was just created a voice to illustrate what our life would be like without the trials that test us?

Can you imagine the potter approaching the beautiful vessel, asking if it is ready to go into the fire so that it may become hardened and stay together, informing it that if it does not go into the fire, it will begin to fall apart?

What happens if the vessel begins to complain about how it was made and shouts to the potter that he did not consult with it about how it wanted to look? (Romans 9:20) "Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus?"

The potter has no choice but to place the stubborn vessel on a shelf and walk away because it is of no use to him or others, especially in this prideful condition.

After a few days, the potter returns to see if the vessel has changed its mind about going in the fire, only to receive a sharp reply of no. Again, it begins to complain about how it was made and how it looks, ending with complaining about witnessing others who have gone through the fire.

One day, the potter came to check on the vessel and discovered that it was falling apart. He noticed that what was left on the shelf was a broken shell with a trembling voice that could barely be heard.

Realizing that time was of the essence, the potter asked the vessel if it had changed its mind about going through the fire. Without hesitation, the potter received a different reply than before, for the vessel realized that it was falling apart not only on the outside but on the inside, and it no longer cared how it looked or what church it was to pastor, for it was falling apart.

The potter carefully moistens the clay to begin putting the vessel back together, speaking kind words, asking it how it wants to be fashioned.

In humility, the vessel responds by saying that it no longer matters what it looks like or what kind of ministry it is being fashioned for. It states that all it wants is to exist and be in the body of Christ.

The potter delicately places the vessel into the fire. The vessel feels the change taking place in its structure as it begins the hardening process. It no longer feels the heat of the flames because something in the fire is giving it strength, which causes it to sing, which alerts the potter that the vessel is ready to come out of the fire.

The stubborn and prideful vessel is now being hardened like glass as it sings in the fire of persecutions, trials, and hurts, which no longer have a hold on it. It is now maturing in its walk with the Lord and is not quick to give in and fall for the things it used to fall for, realizing that time is short and that it now is a prized possession bought and purchased by the blood of the blessed lamb of God.

I sense an atmosphere of revival as the potter (Christ) takes the vessel out of the fire, brushes it off, and places it on a white sacred tablecloth on his Father's table. The Father then removes the top covering from the vessel and continues to pour it full of the blood of His precious Son until the Glory of God permeates the room.

GROUNDED IN GRACE

In this message, we just learned that if the vessel does not go through the fire, the trials and unforeseen things it may encounter will cause it to come apart, causing it to end up in the potter's field of discarded broken pieces of pottery.

To better understand these trials, we need only look at the life of the Apostle Paul and glean from his life how he was able to make the statement that can be found in (Romans 8:18) "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

How can this man of God make this statement after suffering shipwrecks, being thrown in jail many times, stoned and left for dead, bitten by a poisonous serpent, and beaten with many stripes so severe that they broke the bones in his feet?

Before his experience with Christ on the Damascus road, he was responsible for the deaths of Christians, but after that experience, his name was changed from Saul to Paul.

To have more power in our spiritual lives, we must experience more pressure, and the only way we can endure this pressure is to be willing to leave the potter's wheel and enter the fire.

Do you still think you can embrace the trials life throws at you, without going through the fire that is specially designed to mature you in the things of God?

When Paul was in Ephesus, it seemed he had gained nothing from the mission. He gave us no details except that some trouble erupted in the city. He gave a report that he had just escaped death, and now this journey seemed hopeless.

He spoke of being under such intense pressure that he and the men with him despaired even of their own lives. He informed the people with him that they needed to trust God, who could raise the dead. He ended by saying that they were pressed beyond their human strength and that their only hope was God.

The pressure we endure must be great enough to press us beyond our human strength and any outside source of hope we may be hanging on to. It must be powerful enough that we see no hope, and if God does not intervene, we will surely suffer defeat.

There are no shortcuts with God, and once we are called into his service, we must be willing to endure the fire because without the maturity we gain through life's trials, we cannot stay together.

The pressures we encounter in life are designed to harden and develop our character and the way we handle the trials that come upon us will determine our level of trust in God which should lead us to a place of sincere prayer which will bring us to a place of power, for it is in this place that we will find the Living Christ ready to deliver us from the strain and stress which if allowed going unchecked could actually cause us physical harm.

This is how we grow in the walk of faith, for to be useful in the hands of the potter, we must come to the end of ourselves until we have no hope but the living God. When we come to the end of ourselves and sink down and have no hope in human strength, this is when the victory of the cross comes into shining view.

God allows some of us to suffer and be put in a no-win situation that we cannot conquer because it is in this struggle that we realize He is equipping us to comfort others and trust him more.

I have discovered that when I come out of a severe trial, I will have more of God's anointing in my life and ministry. I could be safe in saying that God anointed you for the position before He placed you in it, and the devil does not realize that the more he is allowed to test you, the more power you will have with God, especially when his grace brings you out on the other side shouting the victory.

MY CONCLUSION

The storms and trials of life are going to come to try our faith, but when they do, we can look at the life of the Apostle Paul, who not only made it into God’s hall of fame but was also used by God to give us most of the New Testament, which we have in our hands today.

The Apostle Paul suffered through several shipwrecks and was beaten till the bones in his feet were broken, but through it all, he declared that the sufferings of this present world are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18)

No matter how much trouble we may encounter, such as heartaches and sorrows, there is a reason and purpose for it. We can rest assured that our God is at work behind the scenes, honoring his word and seeing that all things, both the good and the bad, are working in our favor.

(Romans 8:28) “And we know that all things work together (good and bad) for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose."

We know that when we attempt to do anything for the kingdom of God, we are often met with opposition. Victory does not come easy, and you cannot do what you say you can’t do until you attempt to do what you can.

In conclusion, remember that spiritual growth is the ultimate goal of enduring the fire and paying the price for the anointing. You will not be ready for where God wants to take you until you go through these trials. The rewards of the anointing are indeed immense, but the true richness lies in the growth of your spirit.

In conclusion, the trials and tribulations you endure are not obstacles, but opportunities for personal growth. Through these challenges, you will be truly ready for the remarkable path God has destined for you. The price of the anointing may be steep, but the rewards await you, transcending the boundaries of this world.

International Evangelist
Jerry W. Hulse, Ph.D.
Miracle Life Church International