The Potter's House: Which Type of Clay Are You?

The Potter’s HOUSE

Which Type of Clay are YOU?

By k l rich

Copyright

2017 by K L Rich. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, except in the case of brief quotations printed in articles or reviews, without prior permission in writing from the publisher/author.

All scriptures are taken from the New International Version (NIV), King James Version, New Living Translations (NLT), and English Standard Version (ESV) Bibles.

Production/publishing by K L Rich

Illustrations by K L Rich

Printed in the United States of America

Rich, K L.

The Potter’s House: Which Type Of Clay Are You?

ISBN-13: 978-1-365-98303-0

Note: The information that is within this book is to encourage and help you develop a relationship with God, our Potter. This book is not to substitute your personal study of the Word of God, but is an informative guide for those wishing to know more about having a relationship with Him, and to understand the plans that He has in store for you. In no way is this book intended to substitute, revoke, or conflict with the advice given to you by a licensed physician and/or therapist. The final decision in regards to your spiritual, emotional, and physical health is between you and your physicians, therapists, and/or God. The material given is general and does not apply to every person in every situation. The author and publisher disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book. Any similarity to actual persons is coincidental and not factual.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my mom, Arma Rich, for allowing God to use her to give me the inspiration for writing this book. I pray that the words from this book are a blessing to people all around the world and that you will truly understand the Potter’s desire for your life.

CONTENTS

The Potter and the Clay Spoken Word

Foreword

Chapter 1 The Potter’s Plans for You

Chapter 2 Getting to Know The Potter

Chapter 3 Types of Clay

Earthenware Clay

Stoneware Clay

Kaolin (Porcelain) Clay

Ball (Plastic) Clay

Fire Clay

Facial Clay

White Facial Clay

Red Facial Clay

Pink Facial Clay

Green Facial Clay

Gray/Grey Facial Clay

Chapter 4 Anointing of The Potter

Olive Oil

Aloe Oil

Cedarwood Oil

Frankincense Oil

Myrrh Oil

Rose of Sharon Oil

Hyssop Oil

Tea Tree Oil

Chapter 5 Tools of the Potter

Administration

Apostle/Apostleship

Discernment

Evangelism

Exhortation

Faith

Giving

Healing/Miracles

Knowledge

Leadership

Mercy

Pastor/Pastoral

Prophet

Service

Teacher

Tongues/Interpretation

Wisdom

Chapter 6 The Making of a Vessel

Chapter 7 Directions to The Potter’s House

Chapter 8 The Potter’s Desire for Restoration

Abortion

Adultery

Alcoholic

Convict

Domestic Violence

Drug Addict

Food Binger

Fornicator

Homosexuality/Transsexuality

Idolater

Liar

Murderer

Narcissist

Porn Addict

Smoker

Thief

Tips for Overcoming Additions

Tips for Shifting from Victim to Victor

Chapter 9 What Does The Potter Want From You?

About the Author

References

The Potter and the Clay

You started out with nothing to create everything.

An empty space it was, but life, You did bring.

You spoke into existence the earth that came to be.

Yet, You did something different when it came to me.

You took Your hands and formed me in the image of You.

No one has my DNA, even if we were born in two.

You shaped and molded me to be Your masterpiece.

A Divine inspiration, my praises to You will never cease.

You are the Potter and I am Your clay.

You molded and made me into what I am today.

You tried me in the fire and as I softened to Your will,

With that same heat, You made me stronger, the vessel You

have filled.

K L Rich

FOREWORD

Jeremiah 18:1-2 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message. (NIV)

The world is full of people who are in search of discovering who they are. They are born being told what they should do, how they should act, where they should go and the way they should think. Although this is good in the sense of training children to be good citizens in society, if not reared up in the ways of the Lord, they will often conform to what they have been taught to be acceptable rather than who they are in God. College students, for instance, often change their major several times because they find that what they once believed was an interesting field of study was not what they thought it would be. Therefore, they go from major to major thinking that they will finally find the perfect field when it is really about understanding their purpose. If many of them knew the plans God had for their lives, they would be able to flow in that area without having self-doubt.

God has a plan for all of His children. He made us for His divine purpose. Unfortunately, so many people do not understand that God loves them and that He has something special for everyone to do for His glory. This is why many people struggle with low self-esteem, depression, abuse, and various addictions because they do not see the value that God has placed on their lives. Yes! Everyone’s life is valuable in the eyes of God. Why is this? It is because God created us and due to Him loving His creation, He placed a tag of value that was so high, no one could pay the debt but His son Jesus. We were bought with a price and that was through the blood of the Lamb.

1 Corinthians 7:23 You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. (NIV)

We are oftentimes like the Children of Israel, even though we have been chosen, selected and elected by God to be His special people, we allow the devil to interfere with our relationship with God and fully knowing and understanding who we are in Him. We permit the enemy to come in, turn us into rebels and therefore, remove us from our rightful place in God. Nevertheless, God always has His hands extended to us so that we can know that He loves and cares for us just as He did with Israel.

The Bible tells the story of a man named Abram who found favor with God. He longed to have children, but he and his wife, Sarai, had gone throughout the years with no success. One day, God informed Abram, whose name He later changed to Abraham, that He would end their barren state. God promised Abraham that He would bless him to be the father of many nations. Genesis 12:2 I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (NIV) Abraham and Sarah had given up on the idea of ever having children, but through Abraham’s line came his son, Isaac, and then through him came Jacob, whose name God changed to Israel. His descendants became known as the Children of Israel.

God promised to bless the Children of Israel due to the covenant that He made with their ancestor, Abraham. Genesis 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. (NIV) God’s only desire was for them to be faithful to Him as a nation, so that they could receive the bountiful blessings that He had in store for them and to set the example for the other nations. Exodus 19:5-6 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation…. (NIV) Israel, however, did not remain faithful and was repeatedly punished by God due to their rebellious ways. Nevertheless, God sought to restore them back to Himself because of the love He had for them.

Throughout Israel’s history, God sent prophet after prophet to warn them and their leaders of their idolatrous ways. King Solomon, David’s son, became the ruler of Israel after his father had died, but even though God blessed him to have tremendous amounts of wisdom, he too wandered after the idols of his foreign wives and therefore, brought punishment upon the land of Israel. After Solomon’s death, as prophesied, the nation became divided with ten tribes remaining as Israel and two being that of Judah. The divided nations served foreign gods rather than the God of their fathers and once again, God sent a prophet to warn them of their evil ways.

Jeremiah was the prophet whom God had chosen to warn the nation of their rebellion against Him. He cautioned that if they continued down the path of unrighteousness, His judgment would overtake them. Even in God’s warnings, He promised that He would be merciful to them if they would just repent and turn from their wicked ways. Jeremiah 4:1-2 If you will return, O Israel, return to me, declares the Lord, If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray, and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ then the nations will be blessed by him and in him they will boast." (NIV)

God did not want to punish the Children of Israel, but to have them be fully committed to Him as a faithful wife is to her husband. Yet, there were lessons that God had to teach them in order to help them understand the nature of who He was and what His expectations were of them. Therefore, God sent Jeremiah to the potter’s house to impart to the Children of Israel a lesson that HE was the Potter, they were the clay, and that He could form them into whatever vessel that He so chose because He was their Creator. Jeremiah 18:5-6 O Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does? declares the Lord. Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. (NIV)

God is still the Potter and we are His clay. Prior to making a vessel, a potter decides what type of clay that he is going to use in order to make the vessel that he so desires. He recognizes that every type of clay does not work for every vessel, but due to his expertise in the field, he knows what works best for his desired outcome. It is the same way with God, our Potter. He has a purpose for our lives prior to us ever coming into being. The Potter does not wait until we come into the world to decide what to do with us. He has already determined what we will be prior to our arrival.

There are times, however, that we do not bend to the Potter’s will and we go about thinking that we know what’s best for our own lives. We later find ourselves broken into pieces due to having strayed away from the path that God intended for us to take. Nevertheless, He is there to pick up our broken pieces because He knows where each one fits, for He created us. When God created Adam, He formed man from the dust of the ground into the image that He wanted him to be and for His intended purpose and pleasure. Genesis 2:7 The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (NIV) As with clay, that does not take shape until the potter molds it into a work of art, so are we without shape until God sculpts us into being, but never without purpose.

Within the pages of this book, you will further learn about the role of the Potter and various types of clay in order to understand the kind of vessel that God desires for you to be. Everyone will not be the same vessel, but the Potter has a unique design for everyone. Some clays are easier to mold than others, but everyone is capable of being a masterpiece if they allow the Potter to do His work from the inside out. Isaiah 64:8 Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter, we are all the work of your hand. (NIV)

CHAPTER 1

THE POTTER’S PLANS FOR YOU

CHAPTER 1

The Potter’s Plans for You

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (NIV)

May 21, 1936, Irvin Naxon, a creative inventor, applied for a patent for the sell and distribution of what he called the Naxon Beanery. This cooking appliance evenly distributed heat throughout the device and allowed for easy portability. In 1940, he finally received his patent, but when asked about the origins of this idea, he credited it to his grandmother. His grandmother was a Jew and believed in setting aside a day of worship from sundown Friday to Saturday sunset in reverence to God, which was called their Shabbat (Sabbath). During the Sabbath, it was their custom not to do any work, which included cooking (Wikipedia, 2017). This custom was in keeping with the Torah as well as the Holy Bible. Exodus 20:8-10 (8)Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. (9)Six days you shall labor and do all your work, (10)but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work…(NIV)

Although the Jews did not cook food on the Sabbath, this did not keep them from being able to have a warm meal after they returned from worship services. They normally cooked a bean-stew (cholent) that went into their ovens prior to the Sabbath hours. When the Sabbath began, they cut the oven off and the heat that remained continued to slow-cook the cholent until the next day, which inspired Naxon’s invention of the slow-cooker later to be named the Crock Pot.

Many slow-cookers are made from a ceramic material that began as clay. There are various types of clays and therefore, they do not all function the same. Nevertheless, the clay that is used to create many slow-cookers have to go through a process of refinery in order for it to be utilized; but first, the potter has to have a plan for which the clay is to be used. The slow-cooker does not automatically come into existence, but the potter has to carefully think about the purpose of what he is about to make and then bring his idea into fruition.

When the slow-cooker was originally designed, the potter had to first decide that the vessel would be used to hold food. He then had to determine how much food would be its maximum capacity. Some slow-cookers hold 2 quarts of food and others may hold up to 6 quarts. Whatever is the intent of the potter, he has the ultimate say as to how it is designed.

During the design process, the potter had to ensure that his slow-cooker was free from defects. If its purpose was to hold 2 quarts of food, then the potter ensured it fulfilled that purpose. After the design for the slow-cooker was achieved, the potter added tools that the slow-cooker needed to operate properly such as a plug to be the connection between the power source and the heating element within the slow-cooker. If the potter left off the plug, then the slow-cooker would had been nothing more than a ceramic bowl. Once everything was complete, the potter released his masterpiece into the market, so that it could be sold to the consumer.

God is our Potter and we are His clay. Just as the potter, who made the slow-cooker, had to have a plan, God has a plan for our lives, which was ordained from the very beginning of time. Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nation. (NIV) God was letting Jeremiah know in this text that he was not someone that just happened to come into existence. God had a plan for him from the very beginning of time. God’s plan then becomes our purpose.

For every person who is born, regardless of the circumstances by which that individual came into being, God has designed a plan for his/her life. Only by having an intimate relationship with God, can one truly find their Divine purpose. Psalm 138:8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever – do not abandon the works of your hands. (NIV) Many people are searching for their purpose in life from motivational speakers, television shows, secular books, harmful relationships, drugs, and alcohol only to find themselves left empty and unfulfilled. Unfortunately, what they have failed to realize is that God is the Potter who created them and that only He can equip them with the tools they need to fulfill the purpose that HE has for them.

Everyone’s purpose is not the same, but God has a universal tool that everyone can use called PRAYER. Jeremiah 33:3 Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. (NIV) By accessing this tool, the Potter can ensure that you understand what your purpose is and help you to be in full operational mode. He will then equip you with other tools for which His plan will come into fruition in your life. After which, He will send you off for delivery to be released into the market place as a masterpiece through which He gets the glory as you fulfill His plans for your life. First, you must understand what type of clay that you are so that you can bend to the will of God by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. (NIV)

Highlights from Chapter 1

a.) The Potter has a plan mapped out for every person.

Proverbs 16:9 In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. (NIV)

b.) The Potter has a purpose for your life, which is

discovered by getting to know Him.

Psalm 138:8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;

your steadfast love, O Lord endures forever. Do not

forsake the work of your hands. (ESV)

c.) The Potter has designed you to be a unique vessel for

His use.

Hebrews 3:4 For every house is built by someone, but

God is the builder of everything. (NIV)

d.) The Potter gives you the tools you need to fulfill your

kingdom purpose.

1 Peter 4:10 Each of you should use whatever gift you

have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of

God’s grace in its various forms. (NIV)

e.) The Potter then releases you to be the vessel that He has

created you to be.

Luke 4:18-19 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because

he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners  

and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed

free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor." (NIV)

CHAPTER 2

GETTING TO KNOW THE POTTER

CHAPTER 2

Getting to Know the Potter

Ephesians 1:17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. (NIV)

When a baby is born, he does not automatically know that Bill, the man who comes over all the time, is his uncle, or that the kid, making the funny faces, while lying in his crib, is his older brother. These intimate connections are made known over a period of time by being in constant contact and communication with the baby. Before long, the baby will know that these are not just people dropping by, but are family members, who are in relationship with him and cares about his well-being. It is the same way with getting to know the Potter. In order to know who God is, we have to build a relationship with Him by spending time with Him. How is this done? This is done through prayer, studying His word, and becoming familiar with the sound of His voice. But first, let’s define what a potter is, his characteristics, and skills, so that we can get to know our Heavenly Potter and His relevance in our lives.

What is a potter?

A potter is a craft artist who uses his skills to make various types of pottery. The pottery he makes can be versatile in nature such as jars, figurines, and other types of vessels. The pottery can either be functional or nonfunctional, dependent upon what the potter’s vision for the finished product. Functional pottery is often classified as having a specialized use such as plates, bowls, cups, pots, and plant vases. Pottery can also be nonfunctional and showcased as visual works of art such as sculptures, figurines, display vases, jewelry and even tableware (Sokanu, 2017). The skills the potter learns to create such pieces is perfected over the course of time through practice and training. A potter uses his hands to make the pottery himself, and in so doing, encounters a messy process, but the end results are pieces of uniqueness and creativity.

Who is our Potter?

God, our Heavenly Father, is our Potter. Unlike earthly potters, He did not have to acquire any specialized skills from a school of training or a certified teacher to create us. He has and always will be the Master Craftsman in our lives because He is the First and the Last; the Beginning and the End. Revelation 1:8 I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. (NIV) God is the Originator of all things because from Him, all things were made. He was able to do the impossible by creating man from the dust of the ground, for He was, still is, and forever will be GOD. Genesis 2:7 Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (NIV)

God took the time to form every single cell, organ, muscle, bone, and extremities that we need. As the Potter, He made sure that everything was aligned in place and functioned according to His intended use. The brain went inside the head, so that man could think. The tongue was placed inside the mouth, so that man could talk. The heart went inside the chest cavity, so that it could pump the blood needed for life. The stomach was designed to hold food to supply man with the nutrients that he needed and the list goes on and on. God did not take any shortcuts with creating man. He took great care in ensuring that His vessels were fully functional and would be used for their Divine Purpose. Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (NIV)

God could have spoken man into existence as He did with the sun, moon, and stars. However, the Potter took the time to skillfully create man with His own two hands and even in the present, He is still creating human beings for His divine purpose. Psalm 139:13-14 For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well. (NIV)