Date: 15 March 2023
Preacher: Dr Ola Vincent Odulele
Editor: Mrs Nthabiseng Motubatse
Principal Scripture Reading: Jeremiah17:1-4, Jeremiah 18:1-2
When bad things start to happen in our lives sometimes, we tend to blame the devil, in the
scriptures we read today we recognize that the hearts and actions of Judah are driven by
strange altars. These were bad times, that God declared that even the land He gave them He said He would take it away from them, because they had left God behind. God can be angry, and we should never allow grace to blind us. Our focal point for today’s message is Jeremiah chapter 17 and 18.
In this message we see God’s anger revealed in the book of Jeremiah, then through delving deeper in scripture we see the danger of trusting in man and departing from God. Furthermore we will see how God’s word is initiated in transformation, after all this we come to understand what it’s like to be in the potter’s hands. Finally brethren remember that for transformation to take place the biggest requirement is that you start by opening your heart.
God's Anger revealed in the book of Jeremiah
Jeremiah 17:1-4 says “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; With the point of a
diamond it is engraved, On the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of your altars “ While their children remember. Their altars and their wooden images by the green trees on the high hills, “O My mountain in the field, I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures, And your high places of sin within all your borders and you, even yourself, Shall let go of your heritage which I gave you; And I will cause you to serve your enemies in the land which you do not know; For you have kindled a fire in My anger which shall burn forever.” God is angry in this text. This was a bad time; Judah had left God and God is saying that their sins were written in indelible ink and that their sins cannot be erased.
The Danger of Trusting in Man and Departing from God
Leaving the way of God tends to leave Christians deceived about how it is they got to where they are. All of a sudden you start to think that you gave that dream job to yourself, that dream career, the successful business you have, you make the mistake of thinking that this is all by your gifting and this displeases the Lord. Your trust in people will cause you to be rejected by God. God declares in Jeremiah 17 verse 5 and 6 “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited.”
God's Word in Initiating Transformation
The word of God came to Jeremiah and He said in Jeremiah 18:1 – 2 “This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: “ Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” Everything was initiated by the word of God, Anytime God moves He does so by His word. When God creates, He will first send His word, every time God brings transformation He will send His word. When God will do a new thing He sends His word. The word is the beginning of all things. In this passage of scripture God was removing Jeremiah from his experiential realm, God was saying to Jeremiah that his surroundings are inhibiting him from receiving the revelation that God needed to bring, Jeremiah had to move out of familiar territory. Jeremiah needed to move into a place where he could see and hear from GOD.
Notice how God instructed Jeremiah to go to the potter’s house, when God himself is the
ultimate potter. Isaiah 64:8 “But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand. This is a hypothetical parallel that God used to reveal Himself to Jeremiah, God is about to reveal Himself to you too He is going to do it in a new dimension and in a new measure. There is something about the nature of God that He wanted to show to Jeremiah that He wants to show to us. God is a revelator He wants to show us something.
The Potter’s Hands: Incubator of God's Work
This is the place of the architectural reconstruction; this is the incubator of God. This is the place where the baseline truths of God are brought forth. An understanding of the word of God, and an understanding of the virtues of God will cause you to be a force to be reckoned with. When you carry an understanding of God people come looking for solutions from you. When you carry an understanding of the word of God you don’t fight sickness, sickness runs from you.
Opening Your Heart
God said to Jeremiah, I want to show you something open your heart to hear what the Lord is saying. Child of God you may not understand what God is doing, you may not have the blueprints of what God is doing, you may not see or understand the way but what you need to know is that God is doing something. God is at work! Your friends may not understand but God is working in you a good work. You may be experiencing brokenness in your family, broken health, a broken reputation, a distorted vision and dream but who said that the fact that it is
damaged means that it is no longer in the hands of the potter? The Master potter says He will never leave you nor forsake you.
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