Jeremiah 18:1-12 Spiritual Awakening

Jeremiah 18:1-12 Spiritual Awakening

We are living in a world today that needs a spiritual awakening. However, spiritual awakenings among the people can only come when the church cries out to God for His deliverance and guidance. This church has gone through a difficult time in the past year. God wants to mold His church into the people He can use to reach others for Jesus Christ. In this passage God reveals to Jeremiah what He is going to do to His people if they keep going on their path of disobedience.

“This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down at once to the potter’s house; there I will reveal My words to you.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, working away at the wheel.” (Jeremiah 18:1-3, HCSB)

Lloyd Ogilvie makes the point that if we obey, then God reveals to us. God’s revelation only comes after obedience. He states:

For Jeremiah, the “knowing” was in the “going.” Revelation follows obedience. He had to get up and go, and so must all of us who wish for our spiritual lives to mature. We cannot sit and stagnate. We must be obedient to the truth God gives. Why should He give truth that will go unused?1

So God will reveal to His people what is going on, and what is going wrong. In this case, God uses the illustration of a potter and the clay.

“But the jar that he was making from the clay became flawed in the potter’s hand, so he made it into another jar, as it seemed right for him to do.” (Jeremiah 18:4, HCSB)

Arnold Fruchtenbaum notes this point about the process of remodeling the clay:

Jeremiah noted that as the potter was forming the clay, it became marred in the process. The potter then simply remolded the clay, since it was still soft, to make another thing as seemed good to the potter to make it (v. 4).2

“The word of the Lord came to me:” (Jeremiah 18:5, HCSB)

After Jeremiah sees the potter work on clay, he gets an answer from God.

““House of Israel, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay?”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “Just like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, house of Israel.” (Jeremiah 18:6, HCSB)

At the same time that God announces judgment the lost, He also disciplines His people and His church. Sometimes a church goes through what we have gone through and He disciplines His people. Why does God do that? Why does He judge the lost and discipline His children? God is sovereign. He is the Ultimate Boss.

While the illustration is about how God molds a clay, God is using this example to teach that God can also remold His people. God is sovereign. That means that He controls our destinies. Just as the potter molds the clay, God molds you and me. In the book One Cry: A Nationwide Call for Spiritual Awakening by Byron Paulus and Bill Eliff, the authors show that God doesn’t just bless his people and nations. He also judges them.3 God can choose to bless, and He can choose to judge and He can choose to discipline. In these verses, there are three steps to this judgment/discipline process. Notice that God will announce judgment or an action of discipline which He may take. In these cases it is for disobedience or an act of sin.

THREE PICTURES OF JUDGMENT OR DISCIPLINE FOR SIN

“At one moment I might announce concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will uproot, tear down, and destroy it.” (Jeremiah 18:7, HCSB)

God can uproot. God can tear down. God can destroy.

GOD SENDS DISCIPLINE TO URGE THE BELIEVER TO GROW

So God can use discipline to His people and judgment to the lost. There is a difference. Discipline is a remolding, growing process. God uproots, tears down, and destroys for my preservation.

“No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the fruit of peace and righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:11, HCSB)

God uses discipline to teach His children to produce righteousness and peace. That means discipline is a growing process. As a disciple, we discipline new disciples. However, there is a big difference between exercising discipline and being abusive. Discipline is acceptable for growth. Abuse is never acceptable. As a parent, sometimes we cross the line between discipline and abuse. It is rare. Although that may happen to parents, we should never treat each other that way in the church. Leaders who want to exert control usually exercise abusive behavior over the church.

Pastors are called to oversee, to shepherd the flock. That means you can guide sheep, or horses, or cattle, or even dogs. Cats are another matter. So as a pastor, you guide, you encourage, you strengthen. But you never use your position or power to abuse other Christians. So there is a difference between discipline and abuse. Discipline is corrective and it grows the believer.

GOD ANNOUNCES JUDGMENT TO URGE THE LOST TO REPENT

Judgment on the other hand, is a destructive process. God uproots, tears down, and destroys for the purpose of ending a thing. He ends a nation’s rule. He ends the rule of a leader. He uproots one country and replaces it with another. He did that to Israel. He did that to Babylon. He did that to Persia. He did it to Greece. He did that to Rome. He does it today with nations and kingdoms and He will do it in the future.

God does judge people based on whether they have decided to follow Him or not. If they follow Him, through repentance, it is a growing process called discipline. If they are lost, and they don’t follow Him, then it is a destructive judgment. So God announces a judgment to urge the lost to repent.

In this case, God announces these steps to teach His people to come back to him. In the case of lost people, notice that God will always announce His judgment first. He never gives judgment to the lost without announcing it. If you look at different examples, you will see that God announced his judgment to lost people prior to executing judgment:

Example #1: Noah and the Flood

“And the Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain with mankind forever, because they are corrupt. Their days will be 120 years.”” (Genesis 6:3, HCSB)

In Genesis, when evil was multiplying, God warned Noah that the people had 120 years to change or God would judge them. In this case, the people did not repent and God judged them.

Example #2: Jonah and the nation of Assyria

““Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because their wickedness has confronted Me.”” (Jonah 1:2, HCSB)

In this case, God told his very reluctant servant Jonah to preach against Nineveh because of their wickedness. He did preach to them and the nation repented. This was a form of discipline. The people heard God’s judgment and they repented. When we as Christians hear of God’s judgment and we listen to God’s voice, we take His discipline by changing.

“Then God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways —so God relented from the disaster He had threatened to do to them. And He did not do it.” (Jonah 3:10, HCSB)

Example #3: Nahum and the nation of Assyria

But don’t think that God won’t judge a people, a nation, or his church. He has done it in the past. Even to the nation of Nineveh, he sent one prophet and they repented. But within a century, they were back doing the same wickedness again. So God sent another prophet – Nahum. This time, they didn’t listen and God judged them.

“Whatever you plot against the Lord, He will bring it to complete destruction; oppression will not rise up a second time.” (Nahum 1:9, HCSB)

So the threat of judgment is real. God can and will judge nations and people if they don’t heed His warning. If a nation doesn’t listen they go through judgment, not discipline.

Example #4: Peter and the Promise

“The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9, HCSB)

The purpose of the announcement is for people to come to repentance. God doesn’t want to judge and punish us. He wants us to turn, pray, and unite to Him.

PROCESS OF SPIRITUAL AWAKENING

RIGHT ANSWER: TURN – PRAY(CRY OUT) – UNITE

“However, if that nation I have made an announcement about turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the disaster I had planned to do to it.” (Jeremiah 18:8, HCSB)

GOD’S ANSWER: HE WILL BUILD US – AWAKENING AND REVIVAL

“At another time I announce that I will build and plant a nation or a kingdom.” (Jeremiah 18:9, HCSB)

DANGER: NOT TURN, NOT PRAY, DIVIDE

“However, if it does what is evil in My sight by not listening to My voice, I will relent concerning the good I had said I would do to it.” (Jeremiah 18:10, HCSB)

“So now, say to the men of Judah and to the residents of Jerusalem: This is what the Lord says: I am about to bring harm to you and make plans against you. Turn now, each from your evil way, and correct your ways and your deeds.” (Jeremiah 18:11, HCSB)

“But they will say, ‘It’s hopeless. We will continue to follow our plans, and each of us will continue to act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’ ”” (Jeremiah 18:12, HCSB)

GOD’S ANSWER: DECLINE AND DISCIPLINE/JUDGMENT

The cycle can happen to individuals, churches, and nations.

The question is this for you today: are you going to cry out to Him? If you are believer, will you cry out for personal revival, church revival? If you are lost today, will you cry out for spiritual awakening? Will you cry out for salvation? God wants to know.