The Potter, and the Clay

Jeremiah 18:5-6 “Then the word of the Lord came to me saying,
O house of Israel, can not I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord, Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.”

Paul says the same thing in:
Romans 9:20-21 “Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?”

This is not our bodies; yes, they are all different, but God is speaking of molding our souls. God has used every experience of our lives to shape our souls.
Our souls are that which makes us unique. They are a gift from God that no other creature has.
Genesis 2:7 “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

The soul is the apartment of self-consciousness. It is where our personality is. There, our individual character is formed, and rules our thought life, our emotions, our will, our conscience, and our social interactions.

When we are born again, we are given the blessed privilege of having the Holy Spirit come and dwell with us, for Christ said He would not leave us comfort less, He would come unto us.
John 14:16-18 “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;
Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”

As Christians, Paul is saying that as God’s “clay”, we need to accept what we are, how we are, and, even, where we are, and then be reconciled to Him in them.

How much of our discontent lies in this.
God wants to make us a vessel unto honor, and has given us His Spirit to enable and mold us:
2 Timothy 2:20-21 “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor, and some to dishonor.
If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”

To move forward with God, you must be in your place before Him. To know that He is there with us, because He loves us.
So many people say, “God knows best”; yet doubt every time trouble comes. They are anxious, burdened, and worried. (Haven’t we all experienced this doubt?)

But we are called to “possess our souls”.
Luke 21:19 “In your patience, possess ye your souls.”

We are to gain, by subjection to the Holy Spirit, real power over our affections:(Proverbs 4:23 “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” Proverbs 23:26 “My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.”)
Our thoughts:
(1 Peter 1:13 “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;”)
And wills:
John 7:17 “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whither it be of God, or whither I speak of myself.”
For it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that we possess our souls.

To Yield to the Holy Spirit is true freedom; for it places Him first.
It is His Will you want, and by that will, you are enabled to bring your soul under subjection to Him and yourself.
There is always trouble here, in this world; but as you yield to the Holy Spirit, the influence of the trouble is less, and less. His power to help, strengthen, and encourage is more and more.

He is the Potter, we are the clay.
Yielding to Him we have liberty, and begin to have the fruit of the Spirit working in us and through us.
Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

Let us yield; or give in; or submit; or surrender; all terms which mean that for us, Christ will choose.

Sanctification is not imitating Christ; but Living by Christ’s Life.

Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

Sanctification is the setting ourselves aside to God.
Sanctification does not require us to fulfill the will of God as He makes it known to us, without the power to do so.
That would be like the Egyptian taskmasters which required Israel to make bricks without straw. (Exodus 5:9-11)

Instead, Sanctification is the growing life of Christ, in our life; whereby we experience by His Holy Spirit, the holiness, patience, love, peace, and power over the enemy of our souls; that is in Christ.

When Paul said:
Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life that I live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

This is what he meant. That the life he used to live as the self-righteous Pharisee was over. He saw himself dead in Christ’s death.
“Good riddance” was probably his thought, for the life he had before, did not bring him closer to God, though he worked hard at it.
He also saw that now he lived by Christ’s life. That the life of Christ was so powerful that, not only himself, but everyone who trusted in Christ, could have His character formed in them.

For some time after being born again, I prayed about sanctification.
I had thought this must be some sort of holiness experience, which we have at some altar; or with some crisis experience in our lives.
Years ago, a man was teaching a Sunday School class about:
Matthew 16:24-25 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”

And, if no one else got the message; I did.
This was the means of being sanctified.

I was to deny myself.
We think, that when we talk of denying ourself, we mean: just not doing what we want. We think it means denying things in our life.

When Jesus speaks of “denying ourself”, He means denying our intention to rule our life. And denying every way it shows up in our lives.
It is not just things we deny, but ourselves we deny.

If I wanted to follow the Lord, then I must co-operate with God, when He shows me His will. I must put aside my thoughts in the matter and do what He commands.
I must be honest about my attitude toward what He shows me, and ask for the power to change.
But again, Christ does not demand that we do His Will, without His enablement.

Christ has given us His Holy Spirit, not only to indwell us, but to give us the grace and power we need.
That power comes from our Risen and Glorified Christ. He has all spiritual blessings for me in Him, in Heaven.
Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:”
Ephesians 2:6 “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:”
They are there in Christ, for us.
But how do we get them down here into us, especially in these circumstances?

Matthew 6:10 “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven”

Notice, it is “in earth”, in us.

This is the means whereby we receive into our lives what Christ has for us.
As we yield to His authority in our lives, we become ambassadors of His Kingdom, and authority, here.

Sanctification is the setting aside of ourselves to God, for sacred use.
It is the practical work of having Christ’s Kingdom come within our hearts, and lives.

Where He rules, there is peace, joy, patience, and all the characteristics of Christ, in our lives.

Are You Listening?
Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and sup with him, and he with me.”

To answer the call of Christ in this Laodicean Age requires not an answer of words, but an answer of a life open to, and receptive to Him.

What is sup in this verse? It means fellowship, which is the reaction of a love relationship. The Creator having fellowship with His creature.
We forget that God is God.
At the head of this church letter, He calls Himself the Amen.
And He is the only one who can say Amen, or so let it be, to any plan, or suggestion, or purpose.

Then He calls Himself the Faithful and True Witness.
He is Faithful, never letting the Purpose for which we were created, out of His sight.
And therefore, He truly tells us how we are, so that we can, if we will, bring ourselves to Him, so we can be made what He wants us to be.
He is a faithful and true witness to His church, as how they are.

Then He is The beginning of the creation of God.
When God created: Christ as the Man, Christ Jesus, was His first thought.
For He knew the world, by Adam’s sin, would be lost without providing a Savior.
So, before anything was created; God the Father, and God the Son entered into the Everlasting Covenant.
God promised Christ that if He would come, and die on the cross as the Perfect Man, then He would raise Him up from death, and give Him a people which would love and obey Him.

Christ Jesus tells us here; what we are…lukewarm, and about to be vomited out of Him; so we will be without His sustaining.
He also tells us how we are…we are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. All of these things speak of a people, who are not letting Christ make them into what He has planned for them.
They think they are, but He says they are not.

Then He gives us very good advice.
Revelation 3:18 “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thy eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”

In Psalms the Lord tells us that His counsel will stand. We can count on it , because we can count on Him. That He gives us the best counsel for our situation.
Psalms 33:11-12 “The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for His own inheritance.”
He tells us that the best advice for the strengthening of our Christian lives: Buy of Me.
We are not to buy salvation, no. But we are to buy the things He has already purchased for us, for our Spiritual Health.

You may ask, Why do we buy, if He has already purchased them for us?

We buy them…..of Him. Again, we are not buying Salvation….that is a free gift for all who will come to Christ as Lord and Savior. Once He is our Savior, we are to come to Him in faith receiving all He has for us. But if we refuse? They are set aside, till we….”Wake up”; and want them.
Often, since we have refused them before; He will see how much we want them; and this is when He requires that we “buy them”.
We buy them by Obedience to what He says. If we will Obey Him in these things, we prove that we really want His life and gifts.

We buy of Him the things that we have refused to use before.
Has He not offered the grace to grow and the power to do? Yet we have often prayed for these things, but not the way they come.
“Sorry, Lord, I’m going to refuse this gift, for now, because I don’t like the people I have to work with; no, no, I just couldn’t do it now”

If this is the way you treat your Savior; now you know why He says we are: “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked–not clothed with the righteous acts whereby we manifest His Light to the world.

So He says, Buy of Me. If you finally are willing to Obey Me as your Lord, and Savior; buy these things that I have for you by obedience to My Will.
Get them, and I will manifest Myself unto you in a special way, for you have finally opened your life to Me, as you should.

Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

This is Fellowship with the Almighty Christ.
He knocks, and speaks to your heart.
Are you listening?

God’s Power for my Life
Ephesians 3:16 “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;”
God’s Power is Almighty.
Here it says we are to be strengthen; not according to our measure…but according to His measure:
“According to the riches of his glory”.
In other words, God does not grant us His might by His Spirit to make us something; but to manifest His great grace.
And how much we need to be reminded that it is His might and grace within us, making us strong.

Ephesians 3:17 “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,”
The Holy Spirit comes within our spirit at new birth.
But Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith, has to do with how much we love Him.

John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
This has nothing to do with being born again…It has everything to do with the powerful presence of God in my everyday life, and circumstances.

We are to be rooted and grounded in love to Christ.
Rooted, so every wind that blows against us, does not move us from Christ and His Will for us.
Ephesians 4:14-15 “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:”
Grounded, so that the “house” we build upon the Rock of Christ, stands the test of life; My life.
Matthew 7:24-25 “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.”

Ephesians 3:18 “May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;”
We can not know the breadth, length, depth, and height of Christ’s love without the other Christians; But we can know our part of it.
The Church is to comprehend God’s wonderful purpose in the ages; God’s great plan, and we are to comprehend our personal part in it.

Ephesians 3:19 “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.”
This stresses the Spirit’s fullness has to do with how much we love Christ.
Do you love Christ Jesus?
Or have you “lost your first love”?
We are to know Him, whom to know aright is to have Eternal Life.
Eternal Life is a condition of life. It is His life in our life…it begins when we are born again…but never ends.
What is the condition of your life in Christ? How far have you come in your journey to find your place in His Will?

Ephesians 3:20 “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”
He is able, but it is according to the power that worketh in us.

This the telling phrase.
What is it that hinders that power from working in you?
What selfish idea, or worldly allies, or remembered resentments, keep you from receiving all He has for you?
For He is able to do exceeding (overflowing), abundantly (more than we need), above all that we ask or think (His ways of deliverance, the means He uses, and His tender care are all above the low thoughts we often think of Him).

Paul wrote about this for himself:
Colossians 1:27-29 “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
(This is God’s plan for Paul to do)
Whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.”
(This is that exceeding abundantly above all that Paul asked or thought, for it worketh in him.)

What about us? Will we let Christ’s love fill our hearts , and let the Holy Spirit work in us that mighty power within us, and then through us in the work God has for us?

Balaam and his donkey.

The Children of Israel had come out of Egypt about forty years ago, and had finally come close to the border of Canaan, to enter into their inheritance.

But a King of the Moabites, became frightened because of their coming, and sent to Balaam to curse them, for he was known to hear from God; and to have his sayings come true.
Numbers 22:5-6″He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor, to Pethor which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:
Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: preadventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.”
They come, and present a pretty lucrative package to Balaam.

So Balaam tells them he can do nothing except God says so. God tells him, he can not curse Israel because they are blessed by Him.

Balaam informs the men, and they go back and tell the King. But he thinks it is a ploy to receive a better offer. So he sweetens the deal, with position, and wealth.

They return, and instead of turning them away, because God has told him “these people are blessed”; he asks them to wait to see what God will say.
He wants to twist God’s arm about this. This is serious money, and prestige; and he does not want to refuse the job.

So God tells him, if they come for you, go ahead and go.
He did not tell him he could curse the Israelites, but to go ahead and go.
But he warns Balaam that he can only say what He gives him to say.

This He did to prove him. Would he obey God’s will or give in to the gain of the world. For he knew God would not curse Israel.

Well, Balaam gave in to the temptations of the world.
He got up early, saddled his donkey, as soon as they came; he was going. He would work something out.

Numbers 22:22-23 “And God’s anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.
And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.”

The Lord, Himself had talked to Balaam, so now he send a different messenger.
One Balaam would have to listen to.
First, there is the angel. Balaam, did not notice the angel or the sword. But his faithful donkey did. So she turns out of the way of the sword.
Had she continued, the angel would have slain Balaam.
Now this did not just happen once, but three times.
The second time in the path of the vineyard, where there was a wall on either side, and when the donkey saw the angel and the sword, she crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall, to save Balaam’s life.
Yet her thanks was a beating.
But on he goes. He is going to get that reward.

So now, the angel stood in a very narrow place where the donkey could not turn away. So the donkey fell down, instead.

Numbers 22:26-27 “And the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.
And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam’s anger was kindled and he smote the ass with a staff.”

Numbers 22:28 “And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, what have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?”

God had this donkey talk to Balaam, which should have been a sign unto him. But he was set in his way of going….until…
Numbers 22:31-33 “Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.
And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? Behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me:
And the ass saw me and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.”

Thy way is perverse before me. This is the first time in Scripture that the term “perverse” is used.
It means to rush headlong. To precipitate, or to be rash.
Balaam was rushing headlong into the most dangerous situation of his life, and he did not know it.
He did not know it, because he was too caught up in the idea of prosperity and promotion.
He would die, to get this; and in fact, does, for God lets him go, but again warns him of saying only what he is given to say.

In fact, Balaam can’t curse Israel. In every instance, he blesses Israel instead.
Numbers 23:8 ” How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? Or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?”

Yet the love of the reward was such a temptation, that Balaam thought of another way of destroying Israel, and told it to the king. If they could not destroy by curse, or battle; then by temptation and sin, so God would destroy them.

Numbers 25:1-3 “And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.
And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bow down to their gods.
And Israel joined himself to Baal-peor: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.”

It would seen Balaam’s scheme was working.
God had everyone that had been joined unto Baal-peor killed. That was 24,000.
But even in times of great temptation there are those who seek the Lord. He always has His remnant.
Numbers 25:11 “Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned away my wrath from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.”

But what happened to Balaam? Did he get what he sold out for?
Evidently, for he was found with these kings when Israel was told to “Vex the Midianites, and smite them: for they vex you with their wiles,”

Numbers 31:8 “And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain namely, Evil, and Rekan, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.”

Was the riches worth the loss of all things?

Jude 11 “Woe unto them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah.”

Remember perverse means rushing headlong. When God speaks, we need to hear what He is saying, and then obey Him.
Greed for anything, is a terrible Master.

God’s mercy and His cleansing word, will help us with any temptation.
Hear Him.

The Man with the Withered Hand.

Matthew 12:9-10 “And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
And behold, there was a man who had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days? That they might accuse him.”

Jesus had been on a teaching tour through the cities of Israel. And now he was come to their synagogue.

The Pharisees had laid a trap for him, in the appearance of a man with a withered hand.

To have a deformity in Israel, was to be disgraced, for it meant that sin was somewhere in the family of the person. This man had sinned, or someone in his family had sinned, and he was being punished for it.

So the Pharisees asked a question, that they thought was pretty straight forward.
Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?
The Sabbath was the day of rest. A day which should be spent in contemplating God, and His Word. A day of fellowship with others of His people.

They were to do no work on the Sabbath, or it would be defiled.
But what is work, and what is mercy?
Jesus points out the difference.

Matthew 12:11-12 “And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
How much then is a man better that a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.”

Would you save you one sheep? Your only sheep?
This is interesting. Jesus does not say one out of a hundred. Or a thousand.
But one.
That is exactly the way He feels about us. If He only came to save one, He would have.
We are that one. The man with the withered hand was that one; and He would save us, and He would save him.

So His question to the Pharisees was really: would you, save the one sheep you own; would you save your livelihood?
The answer He gave; of course you would.
Therefore, since you would save your one sheep on the sabbath, I will save this one man on the sabbath.

Also notice, the way He talked of the sheep: “if it fall into a pit”. Are we not also ready to fall into a pit, without His Salvation?

Christ’s answer was God’s Character. The Sabbath was made for man to have rest with His God. It is lawful, then to do well on the sabbath days.

Matthew 12:13 “Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.”

This man may have been a tool of the Pharisees to use against Jesus, but heard enough to know that the mercy of God was being extended to him.
But it would cost him something.
It would cost him embarrassment.(And how many of us would be stopped right here?)
He would have to show his deformity for all to see.

It would also cost him the company of these people. For to be obedient, would show that he believed Jesus. This was dangerous, as these people were influential.

So, here is the choice: Jesus, and God’s mercy; or his normal existence, but accepted by the religious rulers.
Which would he do?
“And he stretched it forth.”
His choice was Jesus, and obedience. For it, he was healed.

But Jesus was also offering mercy to all those in the synagogue: including those Pharisees.
Matthew 12:14 “Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.”
Their choice was to keep the life and influence they had; not to yield to the mercy offered.
How much they lost by their choice!

Jesus talked of saving the “one sheep”, because each of us are that one sheep.
He came to save us: from the guilt of sin, the power of sin, and one day from the presence of sin.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Ask, and You Will Receive.

Luke 11:9 “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”
The disciples have just asked. “Teach us to pray” after seeing Jesus pray.

Then Jesus tells the story of the friend who comes at an inconvenient time. “At Midnight.” (Luke 11:5-8)
He has company. Someone who has come from a long journey and is in need of bread. But the one housing the man, has none to give.
So he goes to his neighbor and knocks.
“Forget it…it’s midnight, I am in bed, and I’m not getting up!” Is basically the word given the knocker.
But he keeps knocking.
So, not because he is his friend (he might not be, after this); but because he kept knocking; he opens and gives what he has asked for.

Then Jesus says, the way to get from God is the same:
Ask, like you really need it.
Seek, like you really want the reply.
And knock, till the answer comes.

When we come to God to pray, Jesus is saying that we should come, believing God will hear, and expecting that He will make known His will.
Ask, and you will receive. Ask till you receive an answer as to what and how you should ask. (How many times we think we know what we need, but as we are praying we receive what we really need to know or have answered.)

Seek, till you get the means of getting your petition answered. (Sometimes there is a verse to claim, or a prayer promise to use: Hebrews 4:16, 1 John 5:14-15)

Then knock, using those means, till you get the answer that you were seeking.

Just to be clear, “means” are those parts of the promise that we must use:
Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy ladened, and I will give you rest.”
“Come unto me”, is the means; His rest is the promise.

When Jesus healed the ten lepers: (Luke 17:14) “When he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.”
Jesus healed them by His word, but only as they went to do as He said. That is the means.

Luke 11:10 “For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

As Christians, our lifeline is prayer.
Paul said:
Philippians 4:6-7 ” Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Prayer gives us that peace in all situations, so we can be without the care which burdens.
The promise is: you will receive, find, and have an open door set before you.
The means is: ask, seek, and knock.

God is Nigh unto them with a Broken Heart.

Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart: and saveth such that be of a contrite spirit.”
This is a promise from our God to Christians.
Often the broken heart thinks that God is far away….but not so. He is near.

This broken heart is found in all places. We are broken in heart by our sin and many failures to such a Good God.
We are broken in heart, often, when we are in troubles and afflictions.
We are broken in heart as we go through this weary world.
Isaiah 32:2 “And a man (and that man is Christ) shall be as a hiding place from the wind and a culvert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as a shadow of a great rock in a weary land.”
We are broken in heart by people’s cruelty, and circumstances which seem like repeat offenders.

But we have a promise: The Lord is near us. I don’t know about you, but the greatest joy of my life, has been His Presence.
I’ve know it since being born again, and though I have wavered (often), He has not. He has loved me (and let me tell you what a big chore that is!); and helped me.

Yes, I can say it has not been always the way I wanted. But I can also say, it has been what I needed.

My broken heart, (by loss, by hate, by hurt feelings, by money troubles, by other troubles) was not always miraculously healed, but always mended.
Ezekiel 34:16a “I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which is broken, and will strengthen that which was sick:..”
And it has taught me to be more sensitive to other broken hearts.

“And saveth such that be of a contrite spirit.” When we are broken in heart by our sins, and contrite (or bruised) to remember that we have rebelled against our Loving Lord; then God is well pleased. For sin is the evil which crucified Christ.
Psalm 51:14, 17 “Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

It brings God near to us, and opens the soul to God’s grace, and peace.
(Grace is the unmerited favor of power for our lives; Peace is peace with God, and peace with ourselves. Peace “surrounds” us)
Isaiah 57:15 “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”

Jeremiah 30:17a “For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord;…”

Jesus quoted this promise when He was here on earth, (Isaiah 61:1)
Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Christ Jesus was sent to do this very thing to all who would receive Him.
This was His work. And as we are to follow in His footsteps, it is our work, as well.

He has promised. He will give it. Ask for it. Look to Jesus, and He will heal your broken heart.

We are His Workmanship
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

God does all things well. Even when He made me. I am a sinner, but He has saved me; yes, even me.
Now that I am born again; He creates me in Christ Jesus. For we are His workmanship.
This comes from the pouring in of a mold.
We are to be molded in the same likeness as Jesus.
We are His workmanship from eternity past to yet eternity future.

In other words He has been molding us; in His plans, before we even were.
By natural circumstances to lead us to Himself.
And since we have been born again, He has been molding us by the Holy Spirit, in every situation.
This is the reason entire of our existence: to be molded into Jesus likeness, so we may do good works.

“Which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
To ordain is to prearrange by His Authority, and to provide before all we need in the circumstances. And with the people; and especially with ourselves.

What are these good works?
They are Obediences to Christ in our world (the situations of our life); those things which the Lord would have us to do, which show us standing with Him, against the World, the Flesh and the Devil.
Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

Paul, here, is not showing the Ephesian Christians how to be born again; they are born again.
But He is speaking of one of God’s Eternal Decrees.
This, Paul says, is what God Purposed for us :
To be saved by grace–the unmerited favor of power; God’s power.

Through faith–which is given to us by the Holy Spirit so we may come and believe.

Not of yourselves–Of course not, we can never please God in our own righteousness; For we have none.

It is the gift of God–and a gift is freely given; and either received or rejected.

Not of works–those works which we could come up with, to try and make us acceptable to God.

Lest any man should boast–Which is what we all could and would do, if we had anything to do with our being born again, besides to receive it.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus–molded, and still being molded; since our purpose is not done till we stand in His presence.

Unto good works, which God hath before ordained–We were always in His plans; how and what we should do.

That we should walk in them–It is a walk with Jesus; in that purpose and doing those works which show we stand with Him.

The Widow of Zarephath:

God had caused a famine, in Israel and the surrounding area. Elijah, God’s Prophet, had been fed with bread by ravens, next to a stream of water; during part of the famine. But now the water had dried up, for there had been no rain.
Yet God would not forsake His Prophet. And Elijah was told what to do next.

1 Kings 17:9 “Arise, get to Zarephath, which belongeth to Sidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.”

Let us take a look at this command.
First, God said it; and is He not able to deliver? Of course!
So Elijah goes to the next country over, Sidon; and to the city of Zarephath.

At the command of God (What else made this woman gather sticks at just this time) a widow was at the gate, preparing for her, and her family’s last meal.

Seeing her, Elijah asks for her to get him a small drink of water. Even in her extremity, she was courteous, and was going to go to get it.

Then Elijah, understanding that this was the woman to whom he had been sent, asks her another favor.
1 Kings 17:11 “And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand.”

This stranger would have seemed very presumptuous, in my way of thinking. After all, wasn’t I being nice enough to get him a drink?
But remember: “I have commanded”. This was a test to see if indeed this was the woman.

1 Kings 17:12 “And she said, As the Lord, thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”
She was not rude.
She just told this man the truth. But notice; she recognized him as an Israelite; and a Godly one; since she said, “As the Lord, thy God liveth”.

Convinced that this was the woman to whom he was sent, Elijah gave a command, and a promise to her.

1 Kings 17:13-14 “And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.
For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.”

She was to feed him first. This, again, may seem presumptuous, but how else would he have known if she believed the Lord’s Word? If she had made three cakes, one for her son, one for him, and one for her….that would have been generous, but unbelieving. It would have been the wait and see attitude. Maybe you’re right, maybe not; here is what we have, we all eat, and see.

But she was to believe God, and make him a cake, and see him eat it; and return and make cakes for herself and her son.

Amazing God we have, who can move a heart, any heart, to truly believe enough to obey.

1 Kings 17:15-16 “And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.
And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.”

God’s Word is always true. Our believing enough to obey, is often the problem.

It was the same, when the Lord Jesus returned to His hometown of Nazareth. They refused to believe His clear message, that He was the Messiah. In His rebuke of their unbelief….the wait and see attitude; Jesus then speaks of this widow.

Luke 4:24-26 “And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;
but unto none of them was Elijah sent, save unto Zarephath a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.”

Belief is always recognized, and honored by God.
God’s power works within us, as well as without us; if we trust and obey.  It did for Elijah–God saw to his needs, in the famine.       It did for the widow, who trusted God’s word,  obeyed.