Work in Progress - Keith Pittman

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

Thank you so much for listening today.

We hope it encourages you and it inspires you.

Here's today's message.

Hey church family, I pray that you are doing well.

We are so, so glad that you're here.

Wherever you're joining us from, whether it's at your home or maybe you're from one of our other locations, we're so grateful that you would join us today for church at home.

I'm so excited and expected of what God is going to do with us today.

I believe that we're all here for such a time as this.

I believe that God has a word for us.

So if you have your Bibles, I want to invite you to join me in two separate passages that I think can be an encouragement.

Um we're going to be looking at Ephesians chapter 2, verse number 10, and then after that, we're going to jump over to Jeremiah chapter 18, verses 1 through 6.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention Jeremiah 18:1–6

But here looking at Ephesians chapter 2, and it's going to come up on the screen if you're watching this online in your in your hand or in your home, whatever that looks like.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

It's going to come up on the screen right now.

But here's what the Bible says here, looking at verse number 10.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good work, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

I want to read that again because I think it's a powerful thought that the writer Paul is explaining to us that we are his workmanship.

Another translation actually says that we are his masterpiece, that God created us to be a masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus.

But here's the reason why we were created for good works.

That is the reason that God created us, which God prepared beforehand, which means he had an idea of what he wanted to do with us, that we should walk in them.

Now jumping over to Jeremiah chapter 18, looking at verses 1 through 6.

Jeremiah 18 · chapter mention

I think we're going to see kind of how this all comes together and where we're going to go today with our time today.

The Bible says it's starting at verse number 1.

The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there um I will let you hear my words.

So he went down to this potter's house, and there was working at a wheel.

A vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.

Then the word came to me, O house of Israel, can I not do with you as the potter has done, declares the Lord.

Behold, like the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

Today I want to talk to us on the subject of being God's masterpiece, but also understanding that we are all a work in progress.

And that is my title today, Work in Progress.

Let's pray.

God, we thank you so much for your word, and we thank you for opportunities that we have to gather together as family in community, that even in moments where we may not be able to gather in our buildings, we can still come together.

And we know that your word declares where two or three are gathered in your name, there you are in the midst.

So God, join us, be with us as we engage your word together as a family.

So, Father, we pray for open eyes that we can see you.

We pray for open ears that we can hear you, and God, we pray for open hearts that we can receive everything that you have for us in Jesus' name.

Amen and amen.

You know, I love this passage that we just looked at in Jeremiah chapter 18.

Jeremiah 18 · chapter mention

I want us to hold on to the idea of us being a masterpiece in the hands of a master.

That's going to kind of be this theme that supports it all.

But I love the practical illustration that we see here in Jeremiah chapter 18.

Jeremiah 18 · chapter mention

Now I gotta admit to you, this is a very loaded passage.

When you begin to actually look at it in its entirety, there's a lot of themes that begin to emerge from it.

There's a theme that deals with obedience.

What does it look like to be obedient to what God is telling us to do?

There's really a strong theme of repentance because we even see a part where it says that I can reshape it, but if my people repent, I have an ability to still use them for my glory.

We see a strong message of repentance in this text.

We also see a strong passage in and context dealing with submission, the importance of being fully surrendered in the hands of God.

We even see purpose connected to this, the way that God says, the way that I purposed you to function.

And while we're going to hit on a little bit of those themes, that's just a couple of them.

However, I believe that my assignment is to examine another context of this passage.

And it really is dealing with what I believe undergirds all of it, and it is God's sovereignty.

Now, you may be wondering to yourself, like, what does that really mean?

What does God's sovereignty really mean?

Ultimately, what that means is that God is in control.

It's that God is in control, and we have to trust that if God is in control, we're going to trust that God is going to work it all together.

You see that the imagery that is used to accentuate this concept of pottery, it's used several times throughout the course of the Bible.

We see that there are other instances where this idea of God being a potter and his creation being clay is literally littered throughout the course of scripture.

We see in Romans chapter 9, 21, where it is mentioned that Paul talks about the potter in the clay dynamic.

Romans 9 · chapter mention

We see that Isaiah talks about it in chapter 45 of his writing and verse number 9 talking about this dynamic of the potter and the clay.

But I really like how Isaiah talks about it here at Isaiah chapter 64, verse number eight, where it simply says this, but now, O Lord, you are our father.

Isaiah 64 · chapter mention

We are clay, and you are our potter.

And we are the work of your hand.

We are the work of your hand.

The same concept that we see that Paul talks about in Ephesians chapter 2, this idea that God is the creator, and that because he is the creator, he is the potter, we're the clay, we are in his hand, we're the work of what is happening as a result of the vision and the goal that he has for our lives.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

God is ultimately in control.

That's a beautiful idea.

And but I honestly understand that for many of us, when we think about the the potter and clay dynamic, maybe for many of us, we don't have a lot of illustrations to pull from.

This is not something that we typically see every day in today's common culture.

In fact, I'm confident that many of us, the extent of our knowledge when it comes to a potter and clay, is probably like that scene from Ghost with Patrick Swayze and Demi.

Now, I assure you, that is not, that is not what Jeremiah saw when he had this encounter with God.

But oddly enough, I do believe that that scene did give us a little bit of a an insight into what that experience looks like.

And here's the main insight that I think it provided for us.

One, when a potter is working with clay, it can get incredibly messy.

And then two, I believe that we can see just how helpless the clay is in the potter's hands.

Which means this, that that clay is just there.

And as the potter is molding it, if the moment that the potter decides to remove his hand, the clay will immediately begin to fall apart.

It kind of draws allusions to what Jesus says here in John chapter 15, verse number 5, where he says, That I am the vine and you are the branches, and whoever abides in me and I in him, it is him that bears much fruit.

John 15 · chapter mention

But watch this part.

But apart from me, you can do nothing.

This idea that as we are clay in the hands of the potter, that if we can just be yielded and surrendered to God, that we understand that as long as we are in his hands, that we know it's all going to work out.

But the moment that he removes his hand, or rather we remove ourselves from his hand, Jesus says that apart from him, we can do nothing.

I believe that this helps us to understand and to keep our pride in check.

In the same way that we can admire the way that a vehicle looks, but we know that there is a creator behind that vehicle, and ultimately that vehicle can't make it to its destination unless there is a driver.

In the same way that we could we can go into a concert hall and we can see a beautiful piano, we know that there's a creator behind it.

But at the end of the day, there must be someone who was playing the notes in order for its purpose to truly be accentuated.

Well, I believe the same thing should be said about us: that God has a purpose and value for our lives, but no matter what he has created us to do, no matter how successful we have become at it, as long as we are in his hand and we are yielding ourselves so we can be for the glory of God, I think that there's going to be true benefit from it.

But the moment that we begin to think that it's about us, about our skill set, about our intellect, even about our preparation, I believe that we can find ourselves at a place where pride comes before the fall.

I think this is why the writer of Psalms chapter 115 says this not unto us, not unto us, but unto you does all glory go, unto your name.

Psalms 115 · chapter mention

This is the message that I believe God is sending to us even now to make sure that we understand that we can pause enough and recognize that God is ultimately in control.

Now, here's a couple of things that I want us to recognize when it comes to this idea of this potter and clay dynamic.

You see, there's a couple of ingredients that are very important.

First and foremost, we know that there has to be a potter, a creator.

We know that there has to be clay, the thing that needs to be created in the vessel that it's going to be turned into.

We have the wheel, the uh the object that the clay is placed on so that we can get some rotation around it and begin to shape it using that as a foundation.

We have water that ultimately allows the clay to be flexible.

And then we also have oil, which actually goes onto the wheel that allows the wheel to have the mobility that it needs.

So we see these components of the potter who has to have a vision.

We have the clay that has to be flexible and presentable.

We have this wheel, this object that that allows it to be shaped and maneuvered.

We have the water which allows for elasticity.

We have this oil that allows the flexibility to take place.

So if we can look at these ingredients, I believe we can begin to see something that God is showing us in these ingredients and these necessary components that allows for us to begin to get an image of what does it mean for us to be clay and for God to truly be the potter.

Well, let's look at the potter for just a moment.

What we see is that we see in several instances in scripture where scripture defines God as a potter or creator.

In fact, when we begin to look closer at the word potter, we examine the language a little bit further, we begin to see some synonyms that begin to emerge from the scripture as a result of it.

One of the primary interpretations of that word potter is the word shaper, one who shapes, that is strongly connected to creation, God who was able to shape creation.

In fact, that very same language was connected to the way that Yahweh shaped the beasts of the fields and the birds of the air in Genesis chapter 2.19, how he was able to shape the Leviathan according to Psalms 104, how he's able to shape the very earth itself in Isaiah 45, the dry land in Psalm 95, how he shaped the mountains in Amos chapter 4, how he even shaped and created the light in Isaiah 45.

Genesis 2 · chapter mention Amos 4 · chapter mention

Indeed, we see that Yahweh, God, a creator, is the one who has been known to be the shaper or the creator of all things as we know it.

So this idea when Jeremiah begins to introduce it is not new to his audience.

They understand this imagery of God, the sovereign one, being the one who shapes the reality as we know it.

But let's take it a step further.

He then introduces this idea of clay.

Again, that's not a that's not a rare concept, but let's let's dig a little bit deeper.

See, clay was common vessels and containers that were used often for serving, that's what they would be molded into, for cooking and for storage.

These ceramic pots, they could hold more weight than the average um woven basket.

Now, all this is going to make sense in just a moment.

Imagine the brilliance of a creator that could look at a lump of clay and see a vessel that is capable of carrying something bigger than itself.

You see, when I when I look at a lump of clay, because I wouldn't necessarily consider myself to be a person who is spontaneously creative, I can add on to some creations, but when you just take a lump of clay, it takes a lot of creativity to see this lump of clay and yet see something bigger than what you're looking at in the moment.

We have a creator that is able to look at our lives and he is able to see something greater than what we are looking at right now.

The truth of the matter is for some of us, when we look into the mirror, what's staring back at us is a lump of clay.

Maybe we feel like there's a lump of clay when it comes to our marriages.

Maybe there's a lump of clay when it comes to our own identity.

Maybe there's a lump of clay when it comes to our finances.

Maybe we feel like our future is nothing but a lump of clay.

And when we look at it, we're we're lacking what our next steps are going to be.

But let me encourage you right now that you serve a father who is a potter, and that even though you may see a lump of clay, that is not what he sees when he looks at you.

He sees value, he sees purpose, he sees calling, he sees destiny.

And as long as we're able to be that lump of clay that has yielded ourselves into his hand, we know that he's able to shape it and form it into what his intended purpose is for our lives.

Listen to me, you are not a mistake.

You may have heard some words like that before.

You may have even heard someone say to you that you were not planned, but listen, you may not have been planned by man, but you have been purposed by God.

That God has knew what he was going to do with you before you were even born.

I love how the scripture says it this way in Jeremiah chapter 1, verse number 5.

Jeremiah 1 · chapter mention

Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.

Before I created you, before I formed you, the exact same language that we see with the pot or with the clay, I knew you, and I had consecrated and appointed you.

You had purpose in the mind of God before he even put his hands on top of you.

That is the beautiful thing about the God that we serve.

So you may be sitting in a place right now where you're wondering what your purpose is and what your value is.

Let me tell you something, God isn't.

All we have to do is continue to be that vessel that yields ourselves into the hands of God, be willing and be uh aware of what God is trying to shape us into and be submitted to that.

And I promise you that you will be a vessel that is able to bring God glory because that is what we're created to do.

We are vessels that were created to bring God glory.

That is our purpose.

That is all of our defined destinies that God had for us.

The Bible says that we are created in the image of God.

And as image bearers of God, we are created to go forth and to be people that are carriers of the glory of God.

That is our ultimate purpose.

Now that may express itself in many different ways, but you know what I'm supposed to do at my job?

Declare the glory of God.

You know what I'm supposed to do in my marriage?

Declare and carry the glory of God.

You know what I'm supposed to do in my relationships is declare and be a model of the glory of God.

That is our ultimate purpose above all else.

We are all called to be image bearers of God.

And if we can successfully do that, I believe that our assignments will become much more clear.

But if we can just be successful in being image bearers of God, I believe that there will be much clarity that will come beyond that.

Now let's look a little bit further here.

Because what we know is that we we have the we have the potter, we have the clay, but then there's this mention of this wheel.

Now, I'm I'm gonna go ahead and go out here and say this right now.

I'm gonna need you guys to give me like three or realistically five minutes to to nerd out on you for a minute because when I was looking at this, I was absolutely blown away at some of the things that I was seeing here.

Because watch this this whole idea of a wheel emerging in scripture, this is not the only place that we see it.

This is not the only time that we see it, and even in the context of the potter and the clay and understanding how the wheel served its purpose, but that is not the only place that we see a wheel emerge in scripture.

In fact, the one I want to highlight to us right now is one that we'll find in Ezekiel chapter one.

Now, let me give you some context.

Ezekiel is a prophet, and God had given him the grace to be able to see some amazing things.

In fact, what scripture tells us is that God had allowed him to see an open heaven and literally see God.

Now, I know that that's a weighty concept for some of us to even be able to comprehend, but the truth of the matter is the scripture tells us that Ezekiel literally saw the glory of God.

And then he was given an assignment to try to describe it.

Imagine for a moment that you had a responsibility of seeing the divine, the presence, the glory of God in heaven, and you're trying to use natural flawed language in order to communicate what you just saw.

Let me let me put it in ways that maybe we can understand it.

Imagine if we all lived in the 1700s and God had given us a glimpse of the year 2020.

Just for a moment.

And now our responsibility was to define the internet.

Now, it's even hard for us to process because the way that we would explain it would be in language that no one would understand.

We would we would have some statements such as I saw an image, a vision, I don't know, maybe with 18 faces and 22 voices and ancient text floating in the air.

That in and of itself is a mystery that would take centuries to decode it.

Then when we get to the year 2020, we realize that that person was just talking about a Zoom call where they just happened to see a bunch of faces.

They heard voices that of people who were blacked out and they saw people that were in the chat.

But in the 1700s, when you didn't have the vocabulary or the comprehension to be able be able to explain it, it would sound like we're speaking in these extreme mysteries.

Well, this was the responsibilities that the prophets had.

The prophets had to use common language to describe something that was incredibly uncommon.

And Ezekiel he uses this description when he's talking about the glory of God and he begins to talk about this will.

He says that on earth and that as the presence of God would move around, there were these wheels and they were everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

And here's what I truly believe.

I believe that Ezekiel was trying to use common language to define the very nature of God, his attributes.

In other words, he was trying to define the omnipresence of God, how God is everywhere.

I believe he was trying to define the omnipotence of God, the power of God, the glory of God.

And he's using this language and imagery to help us to get a hold of it.

But when he begins to talk about this wheel and how it is everywhere that the presence of God is, and how it was able to turn and keep straight, but at the same time make maneuvers, I believe that the wheel is a representation of the will of God.

Stick with me for a moment.

That everywhere the presence of God went, these wheels were there and they were turning.

And it even makes reference to the earth.

Here's why I say this.

Because now we see when Paul uses this statement that God works all things together for the good of those who are called according to his purpose, what we see is the will of God, that no matter where it may find itself, that the will of God is able to work it together for its purpose.

That means that even when we find ourselves in an earth that is far from perfect, that God is able to use his will, which is that will, and he's able to turn it together for its purpose.

Even when we find ourselves in situations where maybe the circumstance that we find ourselves in is less than ideal, but somehow God is able to turn his will and make it a part of his will and allows that to be something that brings him glory.

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one that can look at the tape of my life and look in a rearview mirror and look at situations that I felt were so far away from God.

Decisions that I made that remove me from the favor of God, but yet somehow the redemptive power of God was able to go back.

In other words, his will was able to go back and able to redeem even the mistakes of my past.

What I'm saying to you is that no matter what you have done, that may not be a good thing, but God is able to have his will present in such a way that it's able to work all things together for the good.

And that is what I believe this will can be a representation of.

I believe that the will of God is able to mold any circumstance into something that has purpose and value if we are able to surrender and submit it to him.

Now, here's the thing about this will that we see.

This will that we see it's it's created in stone.

Now, now this is this is important because where else do we see something of such significance that it's made out of stone?

Well, we we have we have Exodus chapter 34 where it says that the stone tablets which contained the word of God.

Exodus 34 · chapter mention

Stick with me for a moment, that the word of God was written on stone, but we also see that Jesus is referred to as the Word of God, full of grace and truth, found in John chapter 1, verse 1, and John chapter 1, verse 14, where it says that he's full of grace and truth.

John 1:1 John 1:14

We're about to go even further.

We even see that the scriptures tell us that we're supposed to build our lives on that stone, that foundation.

What it says here in Ephesians chapter 2 is that we are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole picture being joined together grows the holy temple.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

In him, you are also being built together into a dwelling place for the living Spirit of God.

Here's why we say all these things is that I believe what we're looking at is that this wheel that we're seeing in this text, it is a representation of the will of God, but it's also an expression of Jesus being a place of grace and truth.

And what would happen with the clay is that the clay would be set upon it and that the wheel would continue to rotate.

This is the grace where we're able to see it rotate, but then that other that other um stone foot piece would be the thing that's molding the clay.

And so even when the clay does not want to cooperate, it's continuing to mold it.

It sounds a lot like how the word of God operates in our very own lives, how the grace of God continues to evaluate us and the truth of God's word continues to examine us, and the grace allows the things that are not like God to be removed from it, and so the only way that those things can be removed from a potter's perspective is by the usage of water.

Now, water is a really incredibly important component to this because we would notice that sometimes the clay would actually end up getting corrupted.

In fact, what it says in the text is that it's spoiled in the potter's hands.

What that meant is that this clay lump that was selected, that maybe it had picked up some other ingredients from the earth that weren't supposed to be a part of the mixture.

And so as it was on the potter's wheel and it's being examined and the potter is having an intention of what he planned on doing with it, he would see something in it that's not supposed to be there.

So as the wheel is continuing to rotate, he would add water to it so that he could begin to purify and rub out the thing that is not supposed to be there.

I pray that someone is catching a glimpse of what I'm trying to lead you to see right now is that while we're sitting on this wheel, being examined by the grace of God, by the word of God, but the water representing the Spirit of God, how God is able to use his spirit to cleanse us, but it ultimately brings us to a place of freedom because every now and then there are elements that are part of this world that attaches itself to our purpose.

And God knows that if we don't rub this thing out, If we don't cleanse this thing out, you will not be able to hold up the weight of what I intend for you to do with your life.

So there's moments where we may feel like we're on this wheel and it doesn't seem like we're making progress.

We may feel like we're not getting any forward momentum.

But I assure you that the grace of God is examining where we are, and God is recognizing what his purpose is for you, the vessel that he's creating us to be.

And he's saying, I don't want to put a lid on your potential.

But right now, if we don't rub out this pride, you're not going to live up to the thing that I have called you to do.

I don't want to put a limit on your potential.

But I see right now you got some undealt with areas that if under the pressure you could possibly crack.

So I'm going to add a little bit more water to this.

I'm going to allow this to go through another rotation, allow my hand to put a little bit more pressure on this.

It may not be comfortable right now, but I assure you, I have a purpose.

I have a vision for your life in mind right now.

And what I need you to do is just to trust me because it's all in the hands of God.

We're all a masterpiece, but I assure you, we're all a work in progress.

We see that when this water begins to be used to rub out these other components out of our lives, that it allows us to have this purification process so that we can be used according to the purpose and will of God.

I have a couple of points that I want to share with us before we wrap up.

And I'm hoping that this can be an encouragement for us because many of us, we may feel like right now, Keith, I am on the potter's wheel.

I've been on his will for quite some time now, and there is some pressure that I feel.

There are some areas where I just feel like this cleansing trying to take place, but I'm wondering how long am I going to be here?

How long is it going to take until I can actually begin to flourish and begin to function in the way that God had intended me to function?

Here's the first point that I think can be helpful.

Here's what you need to do in those moments where we're just on that potter's wheel waiting, just waiting for God to move.

Be still.

Point number one, be still.

Psalms 46, verse number 10 says this be still and know that I am God.

Just be still.

Listen to me.

I want you to hear me with every ounce of your spirit.

Be still.

I know it's not comfortable, but be still.

I know that you may be wondering, like looking at your friends, but be still.

I've seen so many of us walk away from our destiny because we find ourselves not feeling comfortable with where we are.

I want you to hear me.

Just because it's not comfortable doesn't mean that it's not God.

That maybe just maybe that God is working some things out of our lives, and if we get off of the potter's wheel too soon, our true purpose, our value, our intended uh design, we will not be able to live up to it because we didn't allow that work to get done.

It's not comfortable right now, but I assure you it doesn't mean that God's not working and doing something.

Just be still.

Here's the other thing that I think is so important for us to do in these seasons.

Be patient.

We gotta be still.

Don't move from the place that God has assigned you to be.

If God has called you to be there, did you finish your assignment before you leave it?

Don't allow frustration to be the voice that you respond to.

So be still.

But you also have gotta be patient.

That's the challenging part.

Because without an expiration date, it can be exhausting to just be patient for what it seems to be no reason or endlessly.

Anyone who's been around our church for any period of time, you guys know that that I have I have at different moments, have expressed my my love, proclaimed, declared even my love for barbecuing, for grilling.

I would even go a step further, more specifically, specifically in the area of smoking right now.

Man, I let me let me be more clear.

I'm not talking about smoking.

I'm talking about like I'm talking about like smoking on my on my grill.

And what I what I know about this is that I have made several things, and I'm really finding myself like, man, this is a passion, it's an outlet for me.

A couple weeks ago I endeavored to to do something that that very few men will waver into, and that is to go and make a brisket.

Now listen to me.

Anybody can grill a hot dog, anybody can make a burger, you might even be successful at making chicken.

But what I learned is that real men that when they're ready to take that step in the whole barbecue smoking game, the brisket is the real thing that separates the men's from the boys.

So I spent a lot of time doing a lot of research to understand how do you how do you prepare the brisket?

How long does it take?

What are the next steps?

What are all these components?

I looked at over five different um experts at it, began to look at the things they said consistently, looked at their variables and how they said things differently, looked and see who was using the same equipment as me, and I looked at the instructions, and so I endeavored into doing it.

So here's the thing the instructions told me that this was going to be a nine-hour process.

I was excited, I prepared so it could be done in about nine hours.

It ended up taking us about 16 hours.

Now, this is way longer than I had attended.

I had planned on eating it at a certain time, but because it was extended, it it had messed up a whole bunch of things, and so I found myself getting a little bit impatient.

I've been talking to a friend of mine and he had given me a call.

He's like, Hey Keith, how's it going?

Again, I got like a whole network of friends that all speak around smoking.

And we were talking about it, and I said, Man, like I'm I'm at this spot, man, where I feel I feel a little bit stuck.

I've been sitting here and my my my meat has not it has not gotten the temperature hasn't changed at all.

Like I'm just sitting here, man.

It's been about two hours.

He said, Oh man, like you're just you're in the middle of the stall, man.

Just just stay put.

I'm like, man, like no direction had mentioned anything about a stall.

What is that?

He said, it's that moment where the heat is continuing to work.

Now the temperature isn't changing, it doesn't feel like it's cooking, but what the heat is doing is breaking down some elements that need to be removed in order for you to get to the place that you know that the meat is supposed to get to.

I think you guys are catching on what I'm saying.

He told me, he said, Keith, what you gotta do is just be patient and let the process work.

Be patient and let the process work.

Man, he was preaching to my manhood, but he was also speaking to my spirit because I know that there are many times that I am I am so anxious to get out of the situation that I'm in.

But sometimes we just gotta be patient and let the process work.

It occurs to me that many of us we want microwave solutions for crock pot problems.

Sometimes we just have gotta let this thing continue to marinate and cook in order for it to get to the place that God is truly calling us to get to.

Listen to me, church.

I know that you may be in a season right now where you've been patient, you've been looking at your watch, you're wondering when is the deliverance going to come?

When are you gonna see the change that you've been desperately crying for?

But the reality of it is we have sometimes just gotta be patient and let the process work.

Even when we don't feel it, we know that he's working.

Even when we don't see it, we know that he's working.

This is a moment where faith is the substance of things of things hoped for, but the evidence of things not that are not seen.

You may not see it right now, but you hold on.

You may not feel it right now, but I assure you that God is working.

Be encouraged, my friend, and recognize that in these seasons when we're on the potter's wheel and it doesn't seem like there's any expiration date, we feel like we have stalled.

I promise you that God is still working.

Allow him to work out the things from the world that have attached themselves to you so that way you can come forth and be able to bear the image that God has called you to bear.

Remember, the Bible tells us in Genesis chapter 1 that God created us in his image to fulfill his purpose.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

Be patient, stand still, recognize that God is not done with you yet, recognize what the word of God says about you, and we have to be patient.

You know, the word of God tells us that we are to be um conformed, not to be conformed to the image of the world, but transformed by the renewing of our mind.

Again, we see the emergence of this concept of being formed.

And I promise you, there are a lot of ingredients in the world that are desperate, they desperately want to form us.

They want to form our ideas, they want to form our spirituality.

And what they end up actually doing is they end up forming fear, they end up forming anxiety, they end up forming stress.

But if we can be people that can be patient and allow our minds to be renewed and allow us to be groomed into the image of God, I promise you it would have an ability to radically change our lives.

I believe this is why James tells us in his writing that the word of God is like a mirror.

And you know what happens when we look into a mirror?

We look in a mirror and we kind of see whatever the defects are.

We look and see whatever things that aren't lined up and we groom ourselves accordingly until we're comfortable with the image that we see.

This is why that wheel is also of stone, which is a reflection of Jesus, the word of God, because as we look into the word of God, it allows us to be molded into the image of Christ, the image of the invisible God.

And when people look at us, they're supposed to be able to see God, and it's a process, so we have to be patient.

Be patient with that process as God is developing you.

And here's my third and final point be productive.

We have to be productive.

See, when my friend talked to me and he said, Oh yeah, man, you gotta be patient and let the process work.

You know what he told me to do?

He said, Man, go back in the house.

Go back in the house and and and and grab a seat, man, watch a movie, take a nap.

You just gotta be patient and let this process work.

Because every single different cut of meat is different.

I can't tell you how long this this stalled process is going to be.

Every situation is different.

All you gotta do is just trust the instructions, trust what your grill is saying, go back inside, and it'll let you know when it's time for you to go out and go into the next phase of the cooking.

Every process is a little bit different.

I think that is so powerful.

So he told me to go in and be productive.

Man, I went in the house, I watched Hamilton, I spent some time with the family, I even began to read a book.

But imagine if, imagine if I didn't talk to my friend, and I stood outside the entire time, and I'm just looking at my grill, watching it go up one degree at a time, just staring there looking, just like one hour goes by.

I'm just standing there looking, not doing anything at all, except just watching the paint dry.

Imagine how exhausting that is.

Imagine how ridiculous that would be for me just to be standing there and not doing anything while I am waiting.

See, while we're waiting on God, we also need to be waiting on God and put our weight on God.

Here's what that means.

I'm waiting on God, I'm patient, I'm waiting.

But now I'm waiting on God, I'm receiving instructions from God, and I'm putting my weight, my burdens, my cares on God.

What being productive simply means is that while I am waiting on God to do something, I'm gonna be productive where I am right now.

I think what often happens is that we come to a complete standstill, that when we're in these moments where we don't see the breakthrough yet, when we're in these moments when we haven't gotten the clarity yet, we can come to a screeching halt.

But I promise you that even when, even when we have to wait, that there is still something that we can be doing.

There is still some way that we can be effectively moving the ball forward in some way whatsoever.

Let's be faithful with now so that we can be prepared for when the door opens up in the future.

If you're waiting for you to start your own business, instead of waiting for them somehow that to work itself out, begin to plan and prepare for what happens when you do start your business.

I know that many of us are wondering what our next steps are as it relates to um what our family dynamic may look like.

What can you do now?

I know that you may not be able to Google your way past the pain that you're in right now, but you can begin to do something now.

It starts with a conversation now, it starts with reaching out to someone now, it starts with a prayer right now.

Many of us are so fixated on a vision for the future that we lose sight of being faithful right now.

Here's what I know.

We all are dealing with some level of uncertainty.

Me, our church included.

All of us are.

What does it mean, even in the context of ministry?

What does it mean for us to begin to gather again?

And we have plans and contingency plans, and we're gonna provide updates and we've provided updates and all that.

But here's what I know: those plans are gonna come.

We're gonna activate those plans, we're gonna have some incredible gatherings, but what can we do right now?

We can continue to stay engaged with church at home, we can continue to stay connected to our community.

I know that there is a desired goal on the other side of that, but by all means, let's be faithful right now.

God is in the midst of us right now.

We often think that God is in the future, but God is a God of the right now.

Be faithful, be productive right now.

What can we do right now?

What often happens is we begin to compare and look at everybody else, and then we get anxious with where we are.

See, when you begin to compare, it can lead you to compromise.

Compromise corrupts character.

You don't want to find yourself at a place where we end up comparing someone else's waiting season to our waiting season because we stop being productive and then we end up compromising to try to replicate what God is doing in someone else's life, and I may not be the grace for what's on your life.

Be productive where you are right now.

Where you are right now.

What is it that God wants you to do in your context right now?

Be faithful to that.

And I promise you that the clarity is going to come for the next thing that He's going to do uniquely for you, for the vessel that He's creating you to be.

I want to close with this.

Because in the pottery process, we we've talked a lot about the potter who has a vision, the clay who has to be surrendered and submitted in the process of the will and how it how it shapes us and molds us according to the vision that the potter has.

We have the water that is used in order to keep us flexible and to purify and to rinse out anything that shouldn't be there.

We have the oil, the anointing, that allows all of these ingredients to work together.

But then there's this other part where now the the pot, the clay, is now put inside of the kiln, the firing process.

Now that's the part that gets a little uncomfortable when you think about what it means for us as individuals.

We think about the fiery furnace where the intense heat allows what is molded to harden and to really take form.

Did you hear that?

The heat allows what was molded to be hardened and to take form.

That means that it is impossible for us to be clay vessels to really fulfill our purpose if we do not go through the furnace at some point.

That is the place where we're hardened.

That is a place where we're tested.

That is the place where our integrity is now explored so we can see can we really handle the weight of the vision that the potter has for us.

You see, the Bible tells us here that there's a pruning process that takes place where the things that may not fit are pruned off.

But there's another process that then takes place as well.

That process where we know that the heat comes in.

And many of us are probably in a season right now where we feel like the heat is on us.

But I want to encourage you by what Peter says.

In 1 Peter chapter 4, verse number 12, it says this.

1 Peter 4 · chapter mention

It says, Beloved, don't be surprised at the fiery trials that comes to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

What Peter is saying is, man, it's not strange that this fiery trial is happening to test you.

This is actually quite normal.

But he says this, he says, Rejoice insofar as you share in Christ's suffering, that you may rejoice and be glad, knowing that glory is going to be revealed in you, that the weightiness, that your purpose will be revealed.

I know I've gone through seasons where it seemed as if the fiery furnace was going to kill me, but what it actually did is it revealed a deeper purpose that God has for my life.

You know, we really can't know the capacity of something unless it is tested.

You really can't say that you have a strong marriage until it was tested.

You really can't say that you have strong faith until it is tested.

You can't even necessarily say that you're really loyal until you are tested.

Everybody gets along when everything is good and we're all on the same page.

But what happens when we're not?

That's when the testing comes.

That's when the trial comes, and we then begin to see what rises to the surface.

Can it handle the weight of the pressure?

Can our relationship bear the weight of our disagreement?

Can our relationship bear the weight of when we're on different pages?

This is the concept that God is trying to introduce, and He's even saying to us, I'm glad that you love me when I bless you.

I'm glad that you love me when you get to promotion.

I'm glad that you love me when there is no pandemic.

I'm glad that you're faithful in all of these seasons, but right now you're on a potter's wheel and I'm working some things out.

Can you still love me when we're going through this season?

Can you be faithful right now when the pressure's on?

Can you continue to stay committed when there's no expiration date to the thing that you're going through right now?

This is where we begin to see what something's capacity is.

I love how Job 23, 10 says it.

But he says this, but he knows the way that I take, he when he's tried me, and I shall come forth as pure as gold.

You know what I've learned about fire and gold is that the greater the fire, the greater the value.

And right now you may be saying, Keith, I feel like all hell is breaking loose in my life.

The greater the fire, the greater the value.

You may be saying that I'm going through a whole lot of persecution in the year 2020 has hit me with one thing left and right.

The greater the fire, the greater the value.

I believe that if we're going through seasons as all of us are where we feel like the heat and the pressure seems to be surrounding us at every end, I believe it's because God is going to reveal a greater purpose and value for our life.

Never lose sight of the fact that God knew what he had in mind for you.

We are all in the hands of God, but we're all a work in progress.

The Bible tells us that test reveals capacity, integrity, and vulnerability.

And so in these moments when we begin to see areas where we begin to get a little bit weak, that's meant to reveal to us a space in our lives that maybe we need to put back into the hands of God.

Those moments when our employment gets a little bit shaky and we begin to wonder, it's the moment where we can begin to put our provision back into the hands of God.

I believe that these tests are meant to reveal something so powerful and potent about us and our faithfulness and our ability to trust God through it all.

Perhaps this has been a very trying season for you, as I imagine that it has been.

Maybe you feel like you're going through cycles and that you're on this potter's wheel and it just keeps rotating, and it seems like there's pressure and things are being removed, and you thought that that was a part of what was supposed to make you the vessel that God was calling you to be.

Maybe there's other moments that you're feeling that there's this heat and this other pressure.

But I want to encourage you in something.

I want you to be aware that God is for you.

And if God be for you, what can be against you?

You see, the beautiful thing about this whole pottery process is that after the heat came on and the pot was removed from the furnace, it was then painted.

The beautiful imagery that was meant to be the final mark of the creator.

Do you know that when God creates us in his image and we go through the molding process, we go through the process of the water cleansing us and and and helping to mold us, when we go through the process of going through the fiery furnace that we come out of that, that we are then painted with the imagery that the that the creator had in mind, that all of us are meant to be the fingerprint of God.

Do you know that even to this day that when archaeologists discover any form of pottery, it reveals to them everything they need to know about that culture and the creator.

Imagine if our lives was a type of lives, that when people were to examine our lives, they could learn everything they needed to know about kingdom culture and about our creator.

This is why the fire is necessary, so that when we are able to go out into community and we engage with people, they were able to see a love.

Jesus says that they will know that you're my disciples by the way that you love one another.

We're in a world that desperately needs to model that.

And what I want to do now is I want to encourage every single one of us.

Because we are all a work in progress.

We are all in the hands of God, and he's molding all of us to our own unique purposes.

He's molding all of us to be vessels that will bring him glory, but we have to be surrendered and submitted to him.

We have to, we have to be still.

We have to be we have to be patient and we have to be productive.

What I want to ask you though is maybe you're with us right now and you know that your next step is simply to surrender your life to Jesus.

Right now you feel like your life is just a lump of clay that's not connected to the creator, that's not connected to the Father, that's not connected to any purpose.

You don't recognize what your intended purpose is supposed to be.

What I want to tell you is you have an opportunity to simply say, I'm gonna take my vessel, my lump of clay, I'm gonna put it into the hands of the potter, I'm gonna surrender my life to him and allow him to mold me into a vessel that's gonna bring him glory and honor.

The Bible tells us in Romans chapter 10 that if we confess with our mouths and believed in our heart that Jesus Christ is Lord, that he died on the cross and that he rose from the dead, that we shall be saved.

Romans 10 · chapter mention

But there's a crucial thing that is mentioned in this Jeremiah text.

There's idea of repentance, acknowledging that there's a moment where we made a conscious decision to be separate from our Creator.

And what I want to do is I want to lead us in a prayer.

I want to lead us in a prayer of repentance, of surrendering, of submitting ourselves and saying, God, there's there's there's some there's some flaws in me.

So Lord, create in me a clean heart.

God, maybe we repent of our busyness where we just could not pause enough to be engaged in our family.

God, we repent of the times that we made excuses on why we can't engage your world in your word, God.

We repent of the times when we just bypass your people who were made in your image and ignored them.

God, we repent of the way that we talk to one another because we have different political ideologies.

God, we repent of the anger and rage that exists right now.

I believe that.

I believe that our lives are in the hands of God and we're a work in progress.

I believe that our country is in the hands of God and that we are all a work in progress.

I believe that the church is in the hands of God and we are all a work in progress.

And right now we're going through the motions of going in a circle, but God is pressing on us and revealing to us some things that we may need to detach ourselves from.

And so, Lord, we repent of that.

But maybe you're ready to repent and surrender your life to Jesus.

I want to lead you in a prayer that I truly believe it can be a declaration that these words are simply a reflection and alignment of your heart.

And as a result of those words, as a result of that prayer, it literally has the ability to change your eternal destination.

But in addition to that, I believe it puts you on a journey of walking alongside God and allowing him to mold you into the image that he's called you to be.

If you want to make that decision, I would love for you to pray this prayer with me.

Jesus, I believe that you died on the cross and that you rose from the dead.

And it's because of that belief I truly know that I am saved.

I repent of my sins, and I ask you to fill me with your spirit.

Reveal to me the areas where I've fallen short.

Allow me to get connected to a Bible-based community, and allow me to have the strength and endurance to be patient, to be still, and to be productive so that I can be molded into the image that you've called me to be.

In Jesus' name.

God bless you, church.

Amen.

That was so encouraging to me.

I know that I am definitely still a work in progress.

I think we all are.

But if you made the decision to follow Jesus today, we want to celebrate with you.

And all you need to do is text the word decide 25101.

And we'll send you some information and resources and some info on what your next steps could look like.

Yeah, at this time church, like we do every single week, we are gonna take communion together as a family.

Uh it's just a way to unify us as a body and to remember what Jesus did for us.

So you can go ahead and grab your communion elements.

If you don't have them in front of you, feel free to pause the video.

But on the night that Jesus was betrayed, he took the bread and he broke it and he said, This is my body which is broken for you.

Do this in remembrance of me.

Let's take the bread together, church.

In the same way, he took the cup and he said, This is the cup of the new covenant, my blood, which is shed for you.

Do this in remembrance of me.

Let's take the cup.

Father, we thank you for your body and your blood.

We thank you, God, that we are unified through that.

And Lord, we ask that you would continue to use us in your kingdom.

It's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Church, we want to come alongside you if you have any prayers or praises.

And you can send those in by texting the word connect 25101.

Yeah, we love you guys, and we'll see you next week.

Thanks again for listening.

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