Today’s selected passage continues in the Old Testament prophetic book of Jeremiah, and more specifically, is found in the eighteenth chapter. This particular passage of Scripture begins in the potter’s house, with the potter’s wheel and with the potter’s clay, and ends with mention of the pit, of devices, of snares, of conspiracy, and the like. What begins with the potter’s wheel in the potter’s house would conclude with the prophet Jeremiah speaking of the pit—a place which he would actually become quite familiar with, and that on more than one occasion. As I stop and reflect upon this passage of Scripture, I can’t help but notice the first portion contained within it. The prophet Jeremiah is instructed by the Lord to arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and it was there in and there from the potter’s house he would hear the words of the Lord. Perhaps one of the most intriguing realities that surrounds this passage of Scripture is that in order for Jeremiah to hear the words of the Lord, he had to take the journey from where he was to where the Lord had called and instructed him to go. The Lord could have very easily spoken His words to Jeremiah in the place where he was, yet there is something incredibly powerful about the place of the spoken word. It is true the Lord can indeed, and the Lord can in fact speak to us in the place where we are, but more often than not, the place where we are called determines the message we received. Have you ever noticed that you have not been able to hear the words the Lord desires to speak to you because you have not taken the journey to the place of the revelation? Have you ever found yourselves growing frustrated, and perhaps even bitter with God because you feel as though He has not spoken and is not speaking to you—not even recognizing or realizing that you have not aligned yourself with the place of revelation. ALIGNING YOURSELF WITH THE PLACE OF REVELATION! The Lord called Abram out from Ur of the Chaldeans, yet it wouldn’t be until he aligned himself with the place of revelation and the place of manifestation that the Lord would be able to speak to him. How many times have we been unable to receive the word the Lord desires to speak to us because we have been unwilling to journey to and align ourselves with the place of the revelation? We complain, we murmur, we grumble that the Lord has not spoken to us, yet we have not obeyed His voice when He instructed us to go to the place of revelation. THE VISION IS BEFORE YOU! THE MESSAGE IS AHEAD OF YOU! It’s almost as if the Lord was declaring to Jeremiah that he could not receive or hear the word He desired to speak to him so l one as he remained where he was. How many of us are unable to hear the word the Lord desires to speak to us because we are unwilling to leave the place we have been in order to journey to that place we have been instructed to go. Abram was called to leave Ur of the Chaldeans, and was promised that any one who blessed him would be blessed, and every one that cursed him would be cursed, yet it wasn’t until he began aligning himself with the journey of revelation that he began to receive the word of promise. Abram could have remained in Ur of the Chaldeans, and he could have chosen not to align himself with the path of manifestation and the path of revelation, yet had he chosen to do so he would have never received the word of the promise. The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah instructing him to go down to the potter’s house, for it was there in the potter’s house where he would hear the words which the Lord desired to speak to him. What’s more, is that going down to the potter’s house wasn’t merely about hearing the words of the Lord, but about seeing the words of the Lord in a tangible and physical form. Jeremiah was instructed to go down to the potter’s house, for it was about more than just hearing the words of the Lord, but seeing the reality of the words of the Lord in real and every day life. Have you ever noticed that while it is true the Lord desires to speak to you, it’s oftentimes not until you are in the place where every day life occurs that you understand and truly receive the word? There are many of us who desire to hear the word of the Lord in our hearts and in our lives, yet we aren’t willing to go down to the place of the potter’s house. Undoubtedly Jeremiah was curious why the Lord would instruct him to go down to the potter’s house, yet Jeremiah was assured that there was a message for him contained and wrapped up in the potter’s house. If Jeremiah had refused to go down to the potter’s house, I would dare say that he would have missed out on hearing the word which the Lord desired to speak to him. How many words have we missed out on within our lives because we have been unwilling to go down to the potter’s house where the word of the Lord will be manifested. What’s so peculiar about this passage is that it opens with Jeremiah speaking of the word which came to him, but it wasn’t until Jeremiah went down to the potter’s house that he would hear the words of the Lord.

 UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A WORD FROM THE LORD AND THE WORDS OF THE LORD! More often than not it is our obedience to the word from the Lord that will ultimately and inevitably determine whether or not we will receive and hear the words which the Lord desires to speak unto us. How many times have we become so caught up and consumed in the word which proceeded from the Lord that we have missed out on hearing the words which the Lord desires to speak. MISSING THE WORDS BECAUSE WE GET CAUGHT UP IN THE WORD! I am convinced that it is possible for us to miss out on the words which the Lord desires to speak to us because we either get caught up in the word which proceeded from Him, or we refuse to heed and walk in obedience to that word. A word from the Lord came to Jeremiah, and it was a word that demanded movement—it was a word that demanded motion. WHEN THE WORD DEMANDS MOVEMENT! WHEN THE WORD DEMANDS MOTION! I can’t help but wonder how many of us miss out on the words which the Lord desires to speak because we don’t give ourselves to the motion of the word. How many times do we miss out on the words the Lord desires to speak to us because we are unwilling to give ourselves to movement demanded, and the movement required of the word? There are so many of us who miss out on hearing the words which the Lord desires to speak to us because we aren’t willing to give ourselves to the movement demanded by the word. I am convinced the Word of God is only the starting point and the beginning, for oftentimes the Word of God will call us to a place of movement, and to a place of motion, and it’s only as we give ourselves to that movement and motion we encounter and come in contact with the words which the Lord desires to speak. Notice that the word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord was in essence the launching pad that propelled him into a place of revelation. I believe with everything inside me that the Word of God is more often than not a launching pad that propels into that place where we begin to hear the words the Lord desires to speak to us. More often than not the Word of God is a spring board that sets us on a journey and sets us on a path where we can hear the words the Lord desires to speak to us. Please note and please understand that I believe the word of God is the divinely inspired and the divinely authored word and words of God, and that it is the single and sole authority for every area and facet of our lives. What I am suggesting, and what I am speaking of is that the word of God is more often than not the starting point that propels us on a journey to discover and hear the words the Lord desires to speak to us.

 When Jeremiah arrives at the potter’s house he noticed the potter wrought a work on the wheels, thus when Jeremiah arrived at the house of the potter, the first thing he noticed was a work which was being wrought. A WORK WROUGHT IN THE HOUSE! A WORK WROUGHT ON THE WHEELS! A WORK WROUGHT WITH CLAY! I absolutely love that Jeremiah arrived at the house of the potter while the potter wrought a work on the wheels, for Jeremiah walked in to a scene of process and progress. The work which the potter wrought on the wheels was a work of process and a work of progress, and was not a quick work that could be accomplished. When the prophet entered the house of the potter he was immediately confronted with both the process connected to the work, and the progress of the work. The prophet Jeremiah speaks of the work which the potter wrought upon the the wheels, which speaks of the process of the work. The prophet Jeremiah also speaks of the vessel of clay being marred in the hand of the potter, so the potter made it again another vessel. It is this second reality—the reality of making it again into another vessel—that speaks of progress, for some times progress can’t be seen or even experienced right away. Sometimes the work which the Potter has wrought needs to be made again into something which seemed good to the Potter. There is the initial work which began on the wheels, yet that work was quickly altered, and a new work was begun—a work with the same lump of clay the potter was using. It’s interesting and worth noting that even though the vessel which he made of clay was marred in his hand, the potter did not discard the entire lump of clay. I’m sure it could and perhaps even would have been easier to simply discard the lump of clay and begin brand new with an entirely different lump of clay, yet that simply was not the case. If we are to understand the process of the work and the progress of the work we must understand that new materials aren’t always and aren’t entirely necessary. The potter didn’t need a new lump of clay to perform a work on the wheels, nor even to continue the work upon the wheels. Notice that the work was continued with the same lump of clay that the work was begun with. Oh please don’t lose sight of this, for how many times do we engage in a work, and the minute that work becomes marred in our hands, we discard it and reach for new materials?

 NEW MATERIALS AREN’T NECESSARY! NEW MATERIALS AREN’T REQUIRED! There are so many times within and throughout the course of our lives that a work becomes marred in our hands, and rather than continue with the same materials and substance we began with, we are quick to discard it and reach for new materials. CORRECTING OUR REACH! As I am sitting here right now, I can’t help but get the strong sense the Spirit of the Lord desires to correct our thinking in this generation. I believe that in this very moment the Spirit of the Lord desires to correct our reach—correct our need to always reach for something new when that which we have been working with becomes marred. I believe the Spirit of the Lord wants to correct our reach, and even correct our way of thinking as we believe and get caught up in always reaching for something new. Let me ask you this question—what has become marred in your hands? What work has become marred within your hands? Has the work of marriage become marred within your hands? Has the work of your job become marred within your hand? Has the work of relationships become marred within your hands? Has the work of ministry become marred within your hands? Has the work of parenting become marred within your hands? Has the work of a career become marred within your hands? Has the work of your own company and business become marred within your hands? There is the growing tendency within our hearts and minds to either give up on the work altogether, or to at least give up on the materials we have been used. There are those among us who have given up on the materials they have been used for the work, yet have not given up on the work itself. There are others among us who have given up on the work altogether and as a result have given up on the materials as well. Let me ask you another question—what do you do when the work becomes marred within your hands? What do you do when that which you began suddenly, and perhaps without warning becomes marred within your hands? If there is one thing I am convinced about concerning the life of a potter, it’s that potters undoubtedly and move often than not anticipate and even expect work(s) to become marred within their hands. No potter ever puts their hand to the clay thinking and believing the false belief and deception that every work will turn out perfectly. There are times when a potter will have to work two, three, four, perhaps even more works with a single lump of clay before finally arriving at that which “seemed good to the potter to make.” I do not believe for one moment that there is a single potter who expects every work they set out to perform to turn out right on the first try.

 NEW MATERIALS AREN’T ALWAYS NECESSARY! I would dare say that there are many of us who expect every work they set their hands to to turn out perfect on the first attempt. I must pause for a moment and interject the declaration that not even the works which the hands of the Lord perform turn out the way He intends them to on the very first attempt. I am convinced that our lives are a continual working and re-working as the Lord make us again into another vessel. The apostle Paul declared that he was confident that He who began a good work in the Philippians would be faithful to complete it until the coming of Jesus. With that being said, however, I am convinced that that work involves and has always involved the working and re-working of that which has been found in the hands of the Lord. When the Lord first placed us upon the potter’s wheel, we didn’t immediately turn out exactly as the Lord had planned or designed. In fact, I would dare say that there have been times when the work which the Lord has wrought has become marred within His hands, and He has had to work a new work with that same substance. The Lord has had to make again and again that which He originally held in His hands to perform, which speaks a great deal concerning the words which the apostle Paul wrote. I am convinced that the faithfulness it takes to complete the work which was originally began involves and even requires the Lord to make again into another vessel. There are times when we have become marred in the hands of the Lord, and instead of discarding us and throwing us off to the side, the Lord simply takes that which is marred and makes it again into something that is new. I’m sitting here right now and I can’t help but wonder what the original vessel was the potter sought to work upon the wheels. Is it possible that the new work which the potter wrought was something entirely different than that which was first in the heart and mind of the potter? Is it possible that the potter saw something different in the clay the second time around, and as a result formed and fashioned it into something different? I would dare say that the work and process of the Lord within our lives includes and involves the work of making us again vessel after vessel. In other words, the Lord makes us into one thing, and then makes us into another thing, and then makes us into another thing. The Lord will be faithful to complete the work which He began in us, yet that work may require the Lord to make it again, and work it again, and make it again, and work it again. The Lord doesn’t discard the material simply because the material becomes marred in His hands, for I am convinced the Lord anticipates and expects those moments of marring to take place. The Lord anticipates those moments in your life when the work becomes marred in His hands, and His grace fills those spaces and moments when the work becomes marred in His hands.

 I am completely and totally saturated and consumed with the thought that the Spirit of the Lord desires to correct our reach. I know there have been times in my own life when the work has become marred within my hands and instead of making it again into another vessel, I have discarded those materials and reached for new materials. There have been times when I thought the answer and the solution to the dilemma was new materials, when in all reality the only thing that was required of me was commitment to the materials. COMMITTED TO THE MATERIALS! COMMITTED TO THE WORK! I know there have been times in my life when I have given up on the materials and have immediately stretched forth my hands for new materials. There have been times when I have attempted to perform something within my life, and the minute that work becomes marred within my hands I not only discard the materials, but I may even give up on the work altogether. I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt the Spirit of the Lord desires to correct our notion and belief that new materials can and new materials will solve the issue of the work becoming marred within our hands. Notice the prophet doesn’t declare that “the clay became marred in the hand of the potter,” but that “the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter.” I don’t believe the Spirit of the Lord desires to simply correct our reach, but also correct our perspective, for there are times when we look upon the wrong reality. There are times when we think and believe the clay itself has become marred within our hands, when in all reality it is the vessel that has become marred within our hands. In other words, the clay is still perfectly useful, and is still perfectly able to be formed and made into something new. I can’t help but be reminded of what the Spirit of the Lord records in the second chapter of the Old Testament book of Genesis, and how the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground [formed man from the clay of the ground], and then breathed into His nostrils the breath of life. As a result of Adam’s transgression before and Adam’s transgression against the Lord, that work became marred in the hands of the Lord. What we must recognize, and what we must realize is that even though the Lord cast Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, He didn’t discard the clay, nor did He do away with the materials. Instead, the Lord set in motion events and realities that would bring about the clay being made into something new. The Lord didn’t discard the clay that He formed from the earth, but took that clay and began forming it into something entirely and something brand new.

 In fact, the apostle Paul makes an absolutely incredible and absolutely astounding declaration in the fifth chapter of his second epistle to the Corinthians. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Did you catch that? Old things are passing away. All things are becoming new. I absolutely love this verse, for the apostle Paul doesn’t simply state that some things are becoming new, but that all things are becoming new. How many times have we grown and become frustrated in and with the process because we aren’t seeing all things becoming new, or because we aren’t seeing all things becoming new in the time frame we desire? The apostle Paul declared that “all things” are become new, which means that even if the vessel becomes marred in the hands of the Potter, all things are becoming new. I am convinced, and I would dare say that in order for all things to become new, the Lord has to work a new work with the vessel which He has within His hands. The Lord causes old things to pass away, yet that doesn’t mean that the clay which He originally held in His hands was discarded or removed. The Lord is able to take that vessel and those vessels which have become marred—even in His hands—and is able to cause all things to become new. It was the vessel itself and not the clay that had become marred in the hands of the potter, and it was precisely because the clay could still be used the potter didn’t discard it. THE CLAY CAN STILL BE USED! I believe the Spirit desires to speak to us today in this generation and declare that the clay can still be used. You thought that because that which has been in your hands has become marred you needed to discard and trash the clay. You thought that the clay was bad and therefore was the reason why the work was marred within your hands. The Spirit of the Lord wants to correct our reach and declare to us that we don’t need to reach for new materials. The Spirit of the Lord wants to correct our perspective and reveal that it is the vessel that has become marred—that original design which was present within our minds and imagination, which has become marred. The Spirit of the Lord wants to correct our perspective and reveal to us that the clay can still be used, and there is great need for commitment—commitment both to the work and the materials themselves. There is great need for perseverance within the depths of our heart and soul, for we dare not, we cannot, we must not give up—either on the materials, or the work itself.

 Are you willing to allow the Spirit of the Lord to correct your reach? Are you willing to allow the Spirit of the Lord to correct your perspective? Are you willing to allow the Spirit of the Lord to reveal to you that you don’t need a new lump of clay in order to accomplish that which you have desired within your heart and mind? We are being called to the place of perseverance and commitment, for we are being called to be committed to both the work and to the process. The work which was Adam became marred in the hands of the Lord, yet the Lord didn’t discard that original clay, but took from that clay and continued to bring forth men and women upon the earth. Pause for a moment and consider that even though the original clay became marred in the hands of the ultimate Potter, the Lord didn’t discard the clay, but from that clay brought forth all races of men within the earth. We dare not miss or forget this, for to do so would be to miss out on the grace and mercy of the Lord of hosts. The Lord is committed—not only to the work and the process, but the Lord is committed to the materials. THE LORD IS COMMITTED TO THE CLAY! The Lord is committed to the clay—even though the vessel became marred in His hands—for the Lord knows that He can take that clay and make something new. From that original clay the Lord made Seth; from that original clay the Lord made Noah; from that original clay the Lord made Enoch; from that original clay the Lord made Moses; from that original clay the Lord made David. In all reality, and ultimately, it would be from that clay that the Lord would bring forth the ultimate work, for Luke records something tremendous about the lineage of the Son of God. “And Jesus Himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph…which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.” Did you catch that? The lineage of Jesus was traced all the way back to Adam, thus revealing that God brought forth the ultimate work from that same original clay. The Lord didn’t discard that original clay after it had become marred in His hands, but instead took that clay and continued making it into something new until He could bring forth from that clay that which would make all things new. The Lord of hosts took that original clay and caused it to continue to be made and remade throughout the years in order that He might bring forth it that which would make all things new—that which would cause old things to pass away.

 “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will pout my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statues, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And the shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that we not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for you iniquities and for your abominations. Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel” (Ezekiel 36:25-32). Let the Lord correct your reach. Let the Lord correct your perspective. Let the Lord produce within you commitment and perseverance in order that you might be committed both to the materials and to the work. Never ever give up on the materials, nor the work which is wrought with those materials. Let this word penetrate deep within the very fibers and core of your being and allow the Spirit of the Lord to speak to you right where you are. Do not brush this word off, for to do so would be to make a terrible and grave mistake. Oh that you would have ears to hear what the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord would say unto the churches in this hour and in this generation!