Leghorn, R M: Failure Is Not Final-Jeremiah 18

Jeremiah 18. The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear the words, or my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and behold, he wrought a work on the wheel, and the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter, so he made it again another vessel as it pleased or seemed good to the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter said the Lord? Behold, as clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in my hand, O Israel. Here is a very remarkable and a very interesting parable of God's persistent and timely dealings with the house of Israel. My subject this morning, if you like, the mystery and persistency of God's purposes, or if you like, failure is never final. Failure is never final in the purposes of God. Now, while I'm willing to admit and accept a spiritual application of the Word of God for instruction and for correction, and, uh, so on, knowing that all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine and reproof and instruction in righteousness, as Paul says in Timothy. But in accepting that only, there is the grave possibility of missing the actual interpretation of the text, and finally becoming absolutely confused as to the reality of God's purpose. Now I say, while willing to accept the spiritual application, we must not forget the national aspect. Obviously, the literal aspect refers to the house of Israel, and I believe that there are two things that we are always to keep in mind, either when we are preaching or when we be listening to the preacher. First, the interpretation of the word, the basic meaning, or if you like, the historic or prophetic value. And secondly, the application or the personal and spiritual value. So, first of all, and briefly this morning, a little word with regard to the interpretation. Now, quite obviously, God is the potter. Secondly, the house of Israel is the vessel, and this we must not miss. And thirdly, the marring of the vessel was by reason of some ingredient of obstruction which prevented the potter from making it according to the design. So you had to break it. Virtually, to me at least, that would express the history of Israel for about two thousand five hundred years. But notice he made it again, another vessel that seemed good to the potter to make. Now that is the ultimate, the final purpose of God in relation to Israel. Now let us look at some few aspects of this parable. First of all, let me suggest there is here a revelation of Israel's, yay, and of man's utter dependence upon God alone. Verse six, noted, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as the potter set the law? Of course he can, and he will. Now there is a sense of divine sovereignty in relation to this statement concerning Israel, at least, and the ultimate fulfillment of the purposes of God. We might consider such a fact utterly impossible when we look at such a people today, materialistic, humanistic, and for the most part atheistic, displaying the twisted cunning, cunning character of Jacob of old. That is, of course, if we leave God out of account. Of course, we are not very far behind, you know. However, However, let us just briefly for a moment look at the general aspect here. In this view, that man is dead in trespasses and in sins. He's neither conscious of his need, nor is there a desire to seek after the Lord. Therefore, two things in particular are needed. First, awakening. Secondly, repentance. Now, we are never awakened because of any desire in us. We are never awakened because of any seeking by us. We cannot awaken ourselves. Halesby has carefully pointed out that we are certain at least to do one thing, seek to avoid it, seek to hinder it by every possible argument or reason. However, we have to recognize that it's God who has to awaken us from this state of death. Now, you remember John says, Christ is that light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. How and where and how, I don't know, but he does. Every man, somewhere or other, is awakened by the mercy and the goodness of God. I was struck with this verse in Job last night. It's found in verse seven, chapter seven, verse fourteen. When I say my bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint, then thou scarest me with dreams and terrifiest me with vision. Notice, thou terrifiest me somehow or other, and I'm not going to deal with that this morning. In the goodness and providence of God, man will ultimately need to return in the final analysis of things and know that he's without excuse before the Lord. That's just exactly what Paul says in Romans. Let all the world become guilty, uh, and all the world become guilty before the Lord. So there is no excuse, as Paul makes it very, very clear. But don't go away with the idea that awakening to our terrible need is salvation. And therein there may be some aspect of our own moral responsibility. King Saul was awakened, but he was never saved. Judas was awakened, but he was never saved. I remember a family at Hurstville. They came through the Lewis Revival, that is the big island off the coast of Scotland in nineteen forty eight. They came through that revival. They saw what God did. They had a certain concern, but ultimately that left them. They come out here, they had no entrance. You know, I've seen them. Here is one young man after a service one evening, so agitated under conviction or awakening that when I spoke to him after the service at the door, he turned on his heel and ran for his life. Awakened, but not converted. Oh yes. God, no doubt, is sovereign in relation to awakening because man is dead in trespasses and in sin. He compels nobody to become a Christian, but he reserves to himself the right to awaken them to their need, and I believe we have got to distinguish in relation to this. You can think for this present moment. I don't know your experience. Every man has his own experience. It may be there are those who have been awakened, realize the fact of things and the truth of God, and yet have never been truly born again of the Spirit of God. Remember this, God will traverse every possible road and confront us somewhere along the line, for he willeth the death of no man, but that all should come to repentance. Anyhow, awakening may be the beginning of the possibility of the glorious work of salvation. Thus saith the Lord. But you notice with regard to Israel here, Israel wanted their own way. They were awake. Come to chapter seventeen and notice here verses five to seven. Thus saith the Lord, cursed be the man that trusteth in man and make the flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. Departeth from the Lord. How many have you known who have actually departed from the Lord? Then verse seven says, blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord. However, there must be the recognition here that there is the determined purpose of God to awaken man. Secondly, there is here in this parable the idea of design. The potter was seeking to produce a vessel of beauty and of usefulness. It had to be a proper vessel, perfect vessel for his use and pleasure and youth. That, says Jeremiah, is God's purpose with Israel. Oh, house of Israel, cannot I do with you as the potter, saith the Lord? Notice, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in my hand. O house of Israel. Here is a people in whom God lavished his love. They were the apple of his eye. They were his peculiar treasure. They were to be chosen witnesses for him to the ends of the earth. And many revelations are given of that in Exodus and in Deuteronomy. If you notice Exodus chapter nineteen five, and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. And in Deuteronomy, in chapter seven and also ten and Amos three, ye are my witnesses of the Lord, my servants whom I have chosen. That was God's design in relation to this people, a holy people, a God-glorifying people. They were to be witnesses of the wonder of God's grace. God has a design. He had a design for that people, and he has a design for every man made in the image of God. But notice, this is, I suppose, the major difficulty. There is here an obstruction in the divine purpose, verse four: The vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter. The vessel that he made with clay was marred in the hand of the potter. God is saying to Jeremiah, there is something in the constitution of this people that is opposing the holy design, opposing this perfection and beauty. Was it their stubborn will? Was it their pride? Was it their rebellion? If you turn just back to chapter seventeen there, and notice here God sets out clearly the marks of departure and decline. You'll notice here from verse one to four, it's idolatry. Of course, that was worshiping images, but that is current. That's not ancient. And you'll notice here from verse five and eight, that developed indifference as to the true way of God. You know, friends, it all depends what you're taken up with in life. It can rob you, absolutely rob you, and leave you absolutely helpless. Indifference develops. And then verses nine to ten, iniquity. Oh, sooner or later, departure from the ways of the Lord will show its signs. Then and now. Do people love to hear it? Of course they don't love to hear it. I wish I had the voice that could reach to the ends of the earth, because I believe they reminisce the fact that there are many sitting in the churches that need to be awakened to the fact that there is an obstruction in the life that's hindering the purpose of God. Aye. I. Yes, and notice there in verse thirteen, depart. They refused to accept God's way. Notice here the last verse of the chapter we read this morning, ver- chapter eighteen. and they said, we will walk after our own devices. In other words, disobedience, self-win, hinders the purpose of God and brought ruin to the nation. Think of this agonizing possibility. Our own rebellious, self-willed nature can hinder the design, the purpose of God. But it doesn't end there, and thank God it doesn't end there. Here is the wonder and persistency of God's glorious purpose. Failure is never final in the purposes of God. So in verse four here, we have a record of God's determined purpose. And will you notice that the potter doesn't throw away the clay in which he had found the obstruction, which was so greatly marred in the process. He didn't throw it away. As useless. As final. Because of the fault. Which prevented its perfection. And take up a fresh supply and make another one. He didn't do that. He started all over again with the same lump. Oh, I like that. That gives me hope, and I hope and trust that it gives you hope. And he made it again another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make it. That says Jeremiah, is Israel's hope. That's Israel's future. You'll notice if you've got a marginal reading in your Bible here that it says, and he returned. So he wasn't finished when it failed his purpose. He didn't throw it in the scrap heap of eternity. It wasn't refuge for a testimony to the ages. He made it again. Failure wasn't final. God's promises must be fulfilled. This people that so dishonored his name, that so despised and crucified his precious son, and so lamentably failed in the purposes of God, and who have suffered and bled the agonies of over two thousand years for their crimes. And still, the worst for them is to come, and the best, the worst. I like this, he made it again, another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. Here is God speaking, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this professeth the Lord? Well now, what a future for this people. I would say that well over a third, maybe half of your Bible is a commentary on this truth. Why didn't they cast Jacob aside for all his cunning and twisted ways? Why or did David, why wasn't David cast aside for his terrible deed? Why didn't God cast Peter aside for his base denial? Yes. Oh yes. Or even Augustine, for the awful expression of sin in his early, early years. He had a purpose to fulfill. He didn't cast it aside on the ashes. But I want to leave that for the press. To me, that's just a little glimpse of hope to a people that has become a byword and a hissy. They were God's vessel. They were marred in the process. But he's going to make it again another vessel as it seemed good for the potter to make. But can you bear for ten minutes or so an expression of the personal value of this lesson? He made it again another vessel, or if you like, he made it over again. What is this but a revelation of hope for the worst, for the weak, for the defeat, for the despairing? A revelation of hope. Israel was God's vessel, his vessel, his vessel. Are you a vessel that has been marred? Oh no, it doesn't say cracked. It doesn't say there was a chip out of it. It doesn't say that it was broken to smithereens. It says it was marred, probably only the potter could detect where it was marred. You and I can't see where that marring is, maybe, but it was marred in the hands of the divine Father. So he hadn't the liberty to make your life what he designed it to be. A life of righteousness, a life of holiness, a life of spiritual usefulness. In the image of God, or as Paul puts it in Timothy, a vessel meet for the master's youth. There is something in the nature of it that is hindering the divine will. What is it? Maybe a critical spirit. Maybe disobedience. Maybe self-will. Maybe self-pleasing. Maybe even some little secrets. And remember, it was the little foxes that spoiled the grapes. It was the little leaven that leavened the whole lump. Just a little. Maybe something that actually was what was with Israel. We'll do our own way, go our own device. That's... Maybe complete indifference. Maybe unbelief. And your life hasn't taken the shape that the divine potter had intended it. It's neither pleasing to him nor satisfying to you, because there has been an unyielding element, an obstruction that has hindered the puzzle. So there is no peace. There is no rest. There is no satisfaction. There is no real spiritual usefulness. Restlessness, yes. Distressed, yes. Unsettled, maybe unbelief. Your life may have been mechanically religious, mechanically religious, going through all the forms, but there's no victory, there's no satisfaction, there's no spiritual joy. Other things have come in. They have obstructed the purpose of God. Here are three young men, four if you like. Actually, they were all ministers. One is still. A young man with great potentiality, there was an obstruction came into his life, and he was out. We didn't hear of him again. Here's another one. Glorious possibilities. The first was an Irish. I knew him well, way back in the twenties. so that's long enough ago. The other one, excellent student, gift, acceptable, good to listen. An obstruction came into his life. It hindered the shape that God designed, and he was out lamenting to this very day. Here was another. I knew him years ago as a young man, and I remember an obstruction came into his life. I was in the country center when it happened. But listen, he was different. Why? The thing that had obstructed the purpose of God in his life, he yielded. And he became another vessel, and I've known him for many, many years since to have a fruitful and able and God-glorifying minister. Is there an obstruction? You know, all the potter required was yieldedness. Yielded. And he'll make it again another vessel. Another vessel. Now that's just exactly what Paul says in Romans chapter six thirteen. Yield yourselves unto God as those who are alive from the dead. Yield yourselves. Yeah. Well, God purposes a divine. You remember the word in Romans? He's going to fashion, form us into the image of his dear Son, or as it is more literally rendered, share inwardly his likeness, the glory of it, the beauty of it, the wonder of it, the power of it, the satisfaction of it. Another vessel. Well, I think Paul answered it very plainly in Galatians, did he not? Two twenty: I live, no, not I, but Christ. There must be the relinquished life, not I. Christ liveth in me the distinguished life, that the life that I now live in the body, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loveth me and who gave himself for me. He made it again, another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make. Do you want him too? Do you need him too? Then there's one thing you've got to yield. Do you say that your life is hopeless, useless, restless, mad, disappointed? Well, let me say what has been a failure. What has been useless can become another vessel in the master's hands, neat for the master's use. He made it again another vessel as it pleased him. Is there some ingredient in that vessel? Some obstruction in that life that has this morning been awakened to the realization that it's got to go, and God's got to be glorified in this life of mine. There is a hymn somewhere, somehow yielded, body, soul, and spirit. He made it again, another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make. Are you that vessel this morning? Are you ready to be yielded to the will of the Father, the divine potter, so that he will have the privilege and liberty of making it again another vessel. Shall we pray? Our Father and our God, we lovingly and earnestly commit each one here to thee. Thou knowest every heart and every need, and we pray thee that they may be encouraged today to realize, no matter what the marring may have been or the obstruction may have been, that the divine potter is ready to receive them and make them again a vessel fit for the master's use. In these moments while we are bowed before the Lord, it may be there are those who realize this need, and you're now ready to yield to the divine potter for him to fashion the vessel as it's pleasing in his sight, and you would like me to remember you in prayer, would you raise your hand and take it down? Thank you, sister. Any other one this morning hour wants to yield? Thank you, sister. Any other one this morning willing to yield that life? There's been some marring of it. There has been some obstruction in it, and you haven't yet yielded all. Would you like me to pray for you as you close? Will you raise your hand? Is there another? I'm not going to tally, but I give you the opportunity. Raise your hand and take it down that we might remember you in prayer. Is there another one as we close? Where are you? I believe there is. It was marred in the potter's hand, but he made it again another day. Thank you, thank you. Our Father and our God, we commit these dear ones to thee, praying that thy spirit may have liberty and they may have the victory. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.