“God, the Master Potter” 「 神 － 極めの陶器師」 Jeremiah エレミヤ書 18:1-6 Rev. Kazuo Ozaki 尾崎 一夫 師

1. “God, the Master Potter” 「神 － 極めの陶器師」 Jeremiahエレミヤ書　18:1-6 Rev. Kazuo Ozaki 尾崎 一夫 師

2. Jeremiah 18:1-6 (NIV) 1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.  

3. Jeremiah 18:1-6 (NIV) 5 Then the word of the LORD came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.

4. エレミヤ書　18:1-6 （新改訳） 1主からエレミヤにあったみことばは、こうである。 2「立って、陶器師の家に下れ。そこで、あなたに、わたしのことばを聞かせよう。」 3私が陶器師の家に下って行くと、ちょうど、彼はろくろで仕事をしているところだった。 4陶器師は、粘土で制作中の器を自分の手でこわし、再びそれを陶器師自身の気に入ったほかの器に作り替えた。

5. エレミヤ書　18:1-6 （新改訳） 5それから、私に次のような主のことばがあった。 6「イスラエルの家よ。この陶器師のように、わたしがあなたがたにすることができないだろうか。――主の御告げ。――見よ。粘土が陶器師の手の中にあるように、イスラエルの家よ、あなたがたも、わたしの手の中にある。

7. Jeremiah 18:1-6 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.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the LORD came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.

8. In Jeremiah chapter 18, God had a lesson to teach the prophet. The lesson was so important to God that he had Jeremiah physically go to the potter’s house so that he could observe the potter mold and create something out of clay. In other words, God provided Jeremiah with an excellent object lesson. I believe that the most profound lesson in all of scripture and practically the only lesson that we need to clearly understand is right here in this particular passage.

9. First of all, God The Master Potter, has a purpose to every lump of human clay. In Genesis 2:7 the Bible says that God made man out of the dust of the earth. Meaning that God created us out of dirt or clay. Therefore you and are vessels of God. We are like that “dust” of clay. A potter would never place a piece of clay on the potter’s wheel unless he had a definite purpose in mind. God never made something for nothing. He did not make something for the purpose of nothing. He had a definite purpose for your life. When you were born into this world God had already chosen the purpose for your life.

10. Did you decide where you were born? Did you wish you were born into a certain family, or maybe a millionaire? You did not choose where to begin your life. Your life began by a Divine Appointment. You were born into this world from God’s own heart. God allowed you to be born with a purpose. Let me say it again…..God allowed you to be born with a purpose in his divine secret.

11. Now, when the potter places the clay on the potter’s wheel, he has a specific design in mind. He doesn’t just throw this piece of clay on the wheel and let the wheel decide what form the clay should take. The potter himself already has a specific design for the clay and already knows what the end result will be. Therefore, when he looks at the clay, he will not see clay, he will not see mud, instead he will see is the finished result.

12. Corrie Ten Boom, internationally known speaker and author, came to the Bible camp in Japan in 1958. I was a college student and worked as bookstore manager at the camp. Her book, “Not Good if Detached” with her signature on sold out that day.

13. She wrote 18 books. Her most popular, The Hiding Place, has sold more than 15 million throughout the world. Born in Holland, she spent the first 50 years of her life as a watchmaker in her father’s shop.

14. During World War II, the ten Boom family secretly helped the persecuted Jews, until their own arrest and imprisonment. But her prayer was “Lord, never let the enemy put me in a German concentration camp.” God answered “No” to that prayer, but in the German camp she and her sister Betsy were among many prisoners who had never heard of Jesus Christ. God has no mistakes – only plans. Therefore, God does not always grant us what we ask for in prayer. Sometimes He says, “No.” That is because God knows what we do not know. God knows all.

15. My life is but a weaving, between my God and me, I do not choose the colors, He worketh steadily, Often times He weaveth sorrow, and I in foolish pride, Forget He sees the upper, and I the underside, Not till the loom is silent, and shuttles cease to fly, Will God unroll the canvas and explain the reason why. The dark threads are as needful in the skillful Weaver’s hand, As the threads of gold and silver in the patterns He has planned. Look at a piece of embroidery. The wrong side is chaos. But look at the beautiful picture on the other side – the right side.

16. We see now the wrong side; God sees His side all the time. One day we shall see the embroidery from His side, and thank Him for every answered and unanswered prayer. Faith is like radar which sees straight through the fog; the reality of things at a distance that the human eye cannot see. In that way we saw God’s side, and could thank Him for the unanswered prayer. Since God sees His side of the embroidery, He has no problems concerning our lives. God has no mistakes – only plans.

17. One of the biggest mistakes that we make is that we look around and say, “well, if I could be just like him, or if I could be just like her, or if I had the gifts and talents that so and so has I would be a much better person. What are we doing? We are trying to compare ourselves with others. Please do not do that! Nowhere in scripture does it say that God has made two vessels alike. Not two fingerprints are alike.

18. I heard the news on Radio Japan telling us that one of the criminals in Japan had minor surgery to erase his fingerprints. Just so that they would not be able to find him if he were to commit a crime. Today if you are travelling internationally, your fingerprint will be printed at the entrance of immigration office at the airport to capture the terrorists. Just think, there are 5 billion people in the world and not two people have the same finger print. This shows the infinite-creative ability of God.

19. God created us and has designed each of us for a specific purpose. What is that purpose? It is not My purpose or Your purpose but His purpose. The issue is not whether God is working in our lives or not, the issue is “am I in agreement with what God is trying to do in my life?” If I am in agreement, then it doesn’t make any difference weather he uses me in a small way or in a big way, with a few people or with a lot of people. It shouldn’t make any difference where He uses me.

20. The issue is what God had in mind when he put this clay on the wheel with Your name on it and began turning it. He put his loving, divine hand on the clay, He did not look at the clay, he looked at the finished product, which was in his MIND. He designed each one of us to fulfill His purpose in our lives.

21. Therefore, once I submit to His purpose and yield to His will then I have no reason to compare myself with someone else and say things like “I wish I was this” or “I wish I were this”. NO! What matters is God and what He wants to do with My life. And what ever that purpose is we must be open to say to him, “Here am I. Mold me, make me, and shape me anyway you desire.”

22. When I was a student of Japan Christian College in Tokyo, I had absolutely no idea what the future had in stored for me. Except for a lovely lady working as a secretary in the Evangelism Department in the College. I used to help her with her translation and typing, so the day after I graduated, I helped myself. We were then married.

23. After the honeymoon, I joined the staff of the Pacific Broadcasting Association. A Christian recording studio that produced gospel programs for local radio stations throughout Japan. I ‘ve never dreamed of going to South America to start the Japanese broadcasting from Ecuador to reach numerous listeners around the world through shortwave.

24. When radio station HCJB asked the question “Who could we get to come to Ecuador from Japan?” “Not me!” was my immediate response. I was a newly wed and our first born son was only one year old. Not only did I have my responsibilities with broadcasting but I also was a pastor of a local church. I told the Lord that I was NOT available. I gave Him all kinds of excuses and reasons just because I did not want to go to South America.

25. Then things started to happen. One day I was preparing a message, the message that I was preparing happened to be the story of Jonah who had run away from the will of God. Then when I was flipping through an English magazine, the title of the magazine read in large print “Here Am I Oh Lord. Send My Brother is Your Prayer?” Well, yes, that was my prayer. I had a best friend and I decided that he would be the Perfect candidate to go to Ecuador and did every possible thing you can imagine to get him to go.

26. The Psalm 37 says, “The steps of a good man are established by the Lord and He delights in His way.” I was trying to take the steps of MY way to delight MYSELF. I was not at peace within myself. I knew that there was something wrong. I knew that I was not right with God. As I look back on my life, I recognize now that God was indeed preparing me to become a missionary.

27. I joined the Self Defense Force for three years and was trained physically. I was also assigned as a liaison officer to use my English with the Foreign Military Advisor Group. After I was saved, God gave me a wonderful opportunity to study at the Bible College all expenses paid. Physical training, Language training, Bible training and radio training………all these elements in the hand of the Master-Potter were put together for God to create His own vessel.

28. None of my life was wasted. God used every second of my life, every experience on my life to mold me into what I am today. I finally said to the Lord, “Here Am I Oh Lord, send NOT my brother but ME! I’m yours.”God has a PURPOSE for your life. He has a WILL for your life. God has a PLAN for your life and God LOVES you personally. He wants the best for you and He wants to work in your life to make you something beautiful. He knows that you are capable of becoming.

29. Now, God, the Master Potter has absolute power over the clay. He has a specific purpose and plan of molding, and working daily through our entire life. However, God does not get in a hurry. We live in a world of rush, rush, rush, but spiritually maturity is not something you can rush. It’s a life time process of learning.

30. When the potter works on his clay and it does not work exactly like he want to, he will pull it off the wheel and throw it back on again and then he begins to reshape, remake and remold it. One important thing that a potter does not do with his clay is that he NEVER throw it away! God never discards the human clay. That’s the Good News, Isn’t it? He will never throw you away. He will never say, “you’re hopeless or you won’t work”.

31. We all have ONLY one life to offer. It is the most precious, important thing. But we can not keep it in the refrigerator or freezer. If you offer it to God, then He delights to use it for His way. God asked Moses “what do you have in your hands?”. A stick. He used it to let the people of Israel going out of Egypt to get to the promised land. God asked Samson “what do you have in your hands?” Sampson had a jawbone of a donkey and he used it to eliminate 1,000 enemies of the Lord.

32. A Little Shepard boy David had a good fight against a giant Goliath using a slingshot. A boy who had a snack lunch with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish could fed multitude. God takes simple human beings and makes them His own. Then He employs their limited abilities and through them accomplishes His great work. The Lord often takes what you consider to be weak and small and uses it for His glory. So stop trying but start trusting Him recognizing that even though we are weak and small God can work through us to accomplish His purposes.

33. Therefore, when he places his hand in your life, you must say “Yes, Father”. Even to the pressure in your life you must answer by saying, “Yes, Father”. You may or may not understand what He’s doing in your life but we all do understand and know that God is a Loving Father full of wisdom and power!

34. Have Thine own way, O Lord Have Thine own Way, Thou Art the Potter, I am the clay Mold me and Make me after Thy Will While I am waiting, yielded and still. He will always make you become exactly what he hade planned for you in your life. He will make you the maximum of everything you could become in the hand of God, the Master Potter who is ready to make you something beautiful out of your life. All you need to say to Him is…..