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[0:00] Welcome to the chapter of Paul's epistle to the Romans, verse 21.

[0:30] Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, another unto dishonour?

[0:45] Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, another unto dishonour?

[1:00] Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel? Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel? We profess to believe in the sovereignty of God and I hope all of us in that doctrine of election.

[1:16] The sovereignty of God has two sides to it. It is wonderful when you can say, according to the sovereignty of God, there is a brand plucked from the fire.

[1:32] The same sovereignty of God is found in those who are left to perish in their sins.

[1:44] We rejoice when we hear the work of grace and see the effect of the fruit of that grace.

[1:56] But does it have any solemn effect upon our spirit? When we might use an example of someone, and it's only an example, someone who attends a place of worship all the days of their life and end their journey with nothing more than a conformity to the doctrines and to the ways of such a religion.

[2:31] When you look, my friends, at the world outside, you see the sovereignty of God.

[2:43] When you look at a child of grace, may you behold the sovereignty of God. God, I was given this text last Monday, and I watched a man on a potter's wheel making a vessel.

[3:04] I marveled, of course, at his ability, but then I realized this word dropped in very silently and very applicably, I hope.

[3:19] For there is lessons to be learned by these words. Now, as the Lord will help us then, we would look at these words.

[3:33] We read the chapter and it had a solemn effect upon our spirit when we first did so. Because the apostle there speaks of how the Jews, in the main, that is, that the Jews have rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[3:52] And that the gospel being preached to the Gentiles, the Church of Christ is therefore strengthened by the believing Jews and Gentiles.

[4:05] There are many words of prophecy which I don't intend to enter into, which would indeed, I believe, encourage us to believe in a day when the Jew also, or those of the Jewish nation, shall come into possession of the gospel and its blessings.

[4:27] But we must not limit the Holy One of Israel either in the words that we have. We have read, Jacob, have I loved Esau, have I hated.

[4:43] And that stands for time and for all eternity. And here we have a bedrock truth, as we might put it.

[4:56] Here we have a foundation truth concerning the spiritual people of God and concerning those who are not. My friends, it doesn't give place either to lethargy or lukewarmness or unconcerned matters.

[5:18] It doesn't give place to that at all. Neither does it give place either to the spirit of a Pharisee. But may it be, these words, may they have that effect upon our spirit that we might indeed be found inquiring at the mercy seat where we stand.

[5:41] I've always been struck by the account in the 8th of the Acts of Simon the Sorcerer. He himself believed and was baptised, we read, and he followed after Philip.

[5:56] Until the time came, he was to offer money for the gift of the Holy Spirit. I know the words of that apostle that spoke to him, thy heart is not right.

[6:13] My friends, that will determine the work of divine sovereignty, where your heart is in these things. Putting on religion like you put on your clothes, your best clothes for the services of his house.

[6:30] My friends, it will find out such characters. And taking off those best clothes afterwards, and taking off their religion with it.

[6:44] My friends, it will prove something. Why? Because it's a hard work that the Holy Spirit will do, and not only a hard work, but an outside work as well.

[6:58] Oh, it's one thing to move about and sit with and attend to, where the people of God are found, my friends. But, oh, the solemnity of being amongst them and not of them.

[7:16] And there again, you know, I've once said to you, my neighbour said of me, you can always tell when he's going to chapel because he's got a dark suit on. Well, my friends, I hope there's more than a dark suit that is evident of going to the Lord's house.

[7:38] Now, we have then this glorious and grand and yet solemn doctrine here of divine sovereignty. We read in the 11th verse, For the children not be a not yet bull, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth.

[8:00] And then in verse 27, Isaiah also crieth, Concerning Israel, though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved.

[8:15] Hath not the potter power over the clay. And that power is not given to anyone else.

[8:28] My friends, we have loved ones, dear ones, and they are a burden to our spirit. And coupled with that, for myself, is your precious souls also.

[8:45] But there's no power. It is not vested in man. It is not given to a preacher. It is God's power, God's eternal work.

[8:58] And God alone shall indeed bring his will and purposes to pass. Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour.

[9:17] many years ago, I believe I spoke from the following words. What if God willing to show his wrath to make his power known, endured, endured with much longsuffering, the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he had aforeprepared unto glory?

[9:47] And I ran into trouble with these words. There was one here that said, do you expect us to believe in this?

[10:00] Well, I said, I can't make you believe in it. But there is the word of God. That person's not here, by the way. Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour?

[10:22] You had no control or power or say in your birth whether you had godly parents or ungodly parents.

[10:36] You had no control over that. It was of the Lord's purposes and will and according to this power that you were born if you were born amongst the children of God and gathered into the sanctuary.

[10:54] But it's the same almighty power, my friends, that brings into the house of God those who otherwise would, continuing in their pathway, perish in it.

[11:10] We have examples in the word of God and we have examples in the church of Christ. In the word of God, of course, I was going to say the most obvious example is the apostle Paul himself and that's how he could preach this.

[11:29] He preached what he knew. Not like that dear old minister we used to have at Hanover years ago. He preached what he knew.

[11:39] He didn't preach. He wrote what he knew and preached what he knew. He said not what he thought. My friends, the marvelled of it all is though sin entered the world and death by sin that there is that grace given to whom he will and that grace is all sufficient for that work.

[12:08] Hath not the potter power over the clay. There isn't many believe it, my friends. There isn't many believe it. The words of the Lord Jesus Christ come to mind.

[12:22] One shall be taken and the other left. As many, a religious person will alter the words and alter the meaning of the words to suit his own natural self and to ease his conscience.

[12:39] My friends, my conscience would not be at ease if I do not preach the truth. Now this power is not then vested to other people.

[12:50] When you hear the ministers preach that would exalt and persuade and constrain men to take up with this or that of Jesus Christ where they, shall we say, put out an offer which is to be taken by you when they preach such things as the ability of man to put his hand to God's work, my friends, they are preaching error and God will deal with them in that preaching because a man who stands in the pulpit must be faithful and faithful he must be, faithful to the truth, faithful indeed to the God who called him into that work.

[13:47] But also, my friends, if you read through the word of God you will find many a warning to those who declare the word of God that they shall be faithful in so doing because they are not answerable to men, are answerable to God, not the pot of power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour.

[14:20] If you and I are called by grace, my friends, the word of God will tell you and the Holy Spirit enable you to believe it that in the eternal councils of Jehovah all who are the children of God were indeed blessed before they were ever born.

[14:47] Their names were put in the Lamb's Book of Life. They were by divine love and divine mercy given unto Jesus Christ.

[15:04] They were and shall be in time called by the Holy Spirit into divine life. The quickening work is his to do.

[15:17] Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour.

[15:29] The Church of Christ is a complete number. All are as yet not called or else this world would die in the flames by now.

[15:44] There are those yet to be called and brought into the light and to be manifested children of God. just a word or two about this word power.

[15:57] My friends, it is a tremendous word. This is the great God who created all things for his glory. This is the one who spake and it was done as far as the creation of this world is concerned.

[16:17] He spake and it was done. He commanded and it stood fast. that same almighty power that breathed this world into being breathed into the souls of his people eternal life.

[16:35] Hath not the potter power over the clay? My friends, what power is put forth in salvation? What power is put forth in redemption?

[16:49] Of the same lump? Oh, I wish you and I could fall under this word of the same lump. My friends, it would remove any spirit of the Pharisee from us.

[17:01] It would remove any spirit of self-righteousness from us. We would not go about then proclaiming we are the people. Some will do so.

[17:13] love. My friends, if you and I could enter into this word today of the same lump, to make one vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour, there is no difference between a person born in sin and shaped in iniquity to any other, other than that, this glorious power, this work of grace, this divine sovereignty to mercy, was placed upon them in every other degree, in every state or condition of the fallen, condition of man, they are identical.

[17:59] They have a heart that's deceitful, above all things and desperately wicked. They are by nature as far from God, as sinners brought them.

[18:11] My friends, there is no difference between one lump to another lump, all is fallen nature, all is sinful nature, all is corrupt and it lives and exists and continues until the day of death, does that fallen nature.

[18:32] Oh, but it is the mercy that makes the difference, this word power. power, my friends, has mercy in it. It has eternal choice in it.

[18:44] It has all the blessings of the gospel in it, this power. And first of all, my friends, it has eternal life in it because every vessel of mercy is a vessel that is called into divine blessings and mercies and the first blessing is eternal life.

[19:07] When he quickens a soul, he quickens a dead soul, puts life into that dead soul. It's the power, my friends, of our almighty God that does it.

[19:20] Pray as you will and continue to pray. The Lord answer your prayer concerning all who are near and dear to you. Beg the Lord that you might reveal that power and that authority.

[19:33] The work of the spirit that you've just sung of. Or may it be revealed, the Lord knows those that are his. You don't. But I believe, my friends, if you and I could enter into this word today, it would shut out for a season anyway.

[19:52] And I hope for a long season. Any possibility of looking upon ourselves as as though we deserve the blessing of grace. I believe some of the hymn writers would indeed agree with that statement.

[20:10] I think of those words, yes, the very worst of sinners. Who upon his grace rely, shall of endless bliss be winners and shall sing beyond the skies.

[20:24] It does indeed form a question too, upon the spirit, why it should be so. I don't mean why that God should be a sovereign, because he is a sovereign, he is an eternal God, he has an eternal existence, if I might put it, has no beginning nor end.

[20:44] And so all things are formed by him of both grace and providence. And every nature, and the nature of man is given to man.

[20:55] man, and because of the Adam fold are born in sin and shapen in iniquity. But the question, my friends, that comes to mind is, why then is it that there are those who are vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, and there are those who are vessels of wrath, but fitted to destruction, salvation, because of divine sovereignty of God.

[21:24] May the truth in this word not only concern us and burden us, but may the blessing of the truth of this word, if so be that you come into a sweet sense of the realisation of his saving grace, will it may they humble you and me, and may we see in the power an almighty God, now you just think, some of you, you haven't gone to summit lengths and breaths and heights and depths of sin as some of us have.

[22:01] My friends, grace is a retrievable blessing. What do I mean by that? I mean by this, that a child of God cannot in days shall not.

[22:18] What does the poet say? Glory to God, they ne'er shall rove beyond the limits of his love. Now there's in that power.

[22:30] You think about it, you that have gone into the world, or you think about it, those of you that were brought from the world into possession of the grace of God.

[22:42] unnoticed by you in all your unconcerned condition was an almighty God. And he followed your steps. In fact, he dictated your steps.

[22:55] He appointed your steps. He led you about and guided you. You were not allowed to go beyond the limits of his love.

[23:07] You were not allowed to go beyond the limits of his appointments. The will and purposes of God must be revealed in you if you are among the people of God and there's no power in hell can exceed or overthrow this power that he's spoken of here.

[23:26] And worst of all, my friends, your own sinful heart cannot alter this power. You don't give all the credit to misery and darkness and distress to Satan, you know.

[23:42] Don't blame him for your own sinful heart. You was born with it. And your own nature will go after sin as a sweet morsel. And what indeed the world finds good and great, so will you in your old nature.

[24:00] Hath not the potter power over the clay, you think, just go back to Saul of Tarsus for a minute. He left Jerusalem, you know, in possession of instructions.

[24:16] And those instructions was for the apprehension, the arrest, and the removal back to Jerusalem of believers in Jesus.

[24:29] What the consequence was, maybe long imprisonment or death itself, but it was all written in those instructions and he set out with them, determined to again bring the church of Christ into distress.

[24:46] But that was in his own power. And that was in his own delight, that was in his own leading, until he got to the edge of Damascus, and the almighty power of God overruled.

[25:03] Now, think of that word, we hear it sometimes, overruled. Ruled over, do you believe in it? Hath not the pot of power over the clay?

[25:17] The overruling hand of God, divine providence, the appointed way, God's appointed way, decrees, that were entered into an eternity past, that such a pathway should be a child of grace, left in a great measure to sin, to depths of iniquity, to all that a fallen state of man could possibly do, and more.

[25:52] there's no constraint, you know, on the depths of sin, unless the Lord makes a constraint. The fear of God's not in the heart of a natural man, opportunity, inclination, and temptation coming together, my friends, the depths of sin, it is terrible to consider.

[26:15] But then there's this almighty power that in effect says, at the time appointed, thus far and no further. The power, my friends, over the lives, the walk, the pathway, the providential matters too, of such who are the children of God.

[26:40] Lord, I'll go home today saying, well, I'm amongst the blessed people of God, and be lifted up and exalted in your own spirit because of the wonder of it. But go home today and wonder why, in all the countless millions that are born on the face of the earth, that amongst them you might obtain mercy.

[27:03] That's what's in this power. My friends, the eternal choice is in this power because it alters lives. It gives another nature, doesn't take away the old one, but gives another nature, and that other nature seeks after godliness, sees no beauty in the things of Christ in that old nature.

[27:29] Oh, it just drops in, and I know it's known to you, or some of you, against the God who reels the sky, I fought with hand uplifted high, despised the mention of his grace, too proud to seek a hiding place.

[27:49] But thus the eternal counsel ran, almighty love, arrest that man. I felt the arrows of distress, and found I had no hiding place.

[28:01] Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump, to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour.

[28:13] I woke this morning with these words, it's in the 18th of Genesis, and I read them this morning after breakfast, shall not the judge of all the earth do right?

[28:26] And I wondered what I would listen to. I wondered what news would come. Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?

[28:37] My friends, it's easy to read. you remember the occasion where God was going to rain fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham intercedes that there might be some righteous men there, some righteous people there.

[28:58] Would he therefore rain fire and brimstone upon the wicked and the righteous? And he goes down the scale, as you remember, down to ten, righteous souls.

[29:14] And the Lord said if he found ten righteous souls, he would not do so, but he didn't. And he rained fire and brimstone upon it, and destroyed the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, with the exception of Lot.

[29:33] There were those of Lot's family who heeded not his warning. He urged them to come out of Sodom. My friends, that's what the Word of God does, but it has no effect on a dead soul.

[29:50] They know they heed not the warning because they are dead in trespasses and sins. It's a living soul that listens to the Word of God and is affected by it, not a dead soul.

[30:01] every warning possible would be given, could be given, my friends, but if you're still destitute of life, there's no heed in the warning, there's no retreating from the judgment that was to be poured out.

[30:21] Is it not so, my friends, to the foolish and the evil? Is it not so to your heart and mine in your natural state? hath not the pot of power over the clay?

[30:36] To leave some to perish in their sins and to quicken some into divine life? Nothing haphazard, you know. It's not an opportunity not to be missed.

[30:49] It's nothing to do with that, as some people would tell you. Oh, how solemn, my friends, to those who preach anything but the truth. No offer here to all.

[31:00] This is God's work and God's alone. This is where salvation is begun, maintained, and brought to a glorious end. It's the same blessed person, the potter power over the clay.

[31:18] Wonderful mercy, my friends, if you can trace his dealings. You've something to thank him for, and you'll praise him for all, all eternity for so doing, because the choice was his, and therefore the calling was his.

[31:36] And the blessed spirit of God, who is the holy spirit of truth, who shall quicken every vessel of mercy, that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had aforeprepared unto glory.

[31:57] Oh, you think, my friends, of what the world call good and great. You consider what the world would attain, does attain, and glory in it.

[32:11] Oh, there's places and spots where you will find that the world glory in their possessions. And they don't speak of thousands, you know, they speak of millions.

[32:24] Would you exchange, child of God, a word from the Lord, a smile on his face, a little love in the heart to Christ, and some sweet evidence of a union to the people of God with all what the world call good and great?

[32:50] Compare the difference for a second. God's love in the world of the millions behind. And but for grace, a descendant to hell.

[33:02] But, oh, the mercy of his grace to the poorest, to the wretch, to the ruin, to the lost, to the undone, such is the mercy of his grace.

[33:14] You won't leave that behind when you go to glory. Grace will give place to glory, I know, but that possession of spiritual life will bring you into eternal bliss.

[33:27] Where Jesus is, hath not the pot of power over the clay of the same lump, to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour.

[33:42] God's love. I want to look at it too like this. The power of his grace, my friends, is an eternal power, and none can overcome it.

[33:59] The will of the Lord will be done, and the power of his grace will bring it forth. what is in your heart and mine by nature is in the world, and the world will say, in effect, we'll not have this man to reign over us.

[34:16] But the power of his grace and the influence of his love will bring you and me to bring those words of the poet to bear, reign over us as king, accomplish thy will, and powerfully bring us forth from all evil.

[34:36] Hath not the pot of power over the clay? I want to say this too, my friends, that not only is the power of his grace eternal, and the power of his mercy eternal, the power of his love is eternal.

[34:54] Do you know, my friends, that grace of love, that grace of mercy, will indeed direct you to walk in paths you wouldn't have walked in?

[35:08] Thy people, the 110th Psalm, thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. What power, my friends, no persuasion of man, nothing.

[35:24] No considering this or that, nothing like that. No weighing up the advantage or the disadvantage, nothing like that.

[35:36] My friends, there would be no counting of the cost when the influence of his love moves your heart to walk in the ways of God.

[35:47] That's the power. Blessed are those people who feel the influence of it. may we feel it more often. It will subdue rebellious spirit that the nature of man has.

[36:04] It will indeed bring a child of grace to conform to the purposes of God. In John's gospel you find, you will find these words.

[36:28] If I find them straight, if ye keep my commandments, ye abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.

[36:42] What motivates the world? Gain. For the most part, gain. I do anything for gain. Wicked men will steal and murder for gain.

[36:58] Those of the world in their esteemed offices and places will tread on another to gain. Another step up the ladder of power.

[37:13] And so will many ways the world use places. My friends, thee hath not the power over the clay. Has he ever influenced your soul by his love?

[37:29] Sitting in the house of God now, you might deem yourself to be the worst of sinners. And sitting in the house of God, you would in influence of the spirit, say, you take the lowest place.

[37:44] Christ. My friends, it's a good place where the love of Christ will bring you. Because it's not only a love of Christ, it's the love to Christ.

[37:55] When a child of God gets beyond the spirit of Christ Jesus, he's in his wrong place. Oh, you have to guard against your spirit, you say, I have to pray against mine every day.

[38:07] My friends, if the spirit of Christ is not in us, then it's the spirit of the world. But in the spirit of Christ there is mercy and there is this.

[38:20] What did he say? What did this apostle write rather of the dear Lord Jesus? Because in many, many ways, although in surely not in the same extent, but in many ways should a believer be as Christ?

[38:38] Well, we read this of Christ who made himself of no reputation. Now, my friends, there's power, you know, the power of humility, of love, of grace, and of mercy to your soul.

[38:54] If that's influencing your spirit and heart at this time, my friends, you won't mind being the least of sinners. You won't mind being the least of sinners.

[39:07] Rather, you will find that's your best place. If the spirit of grace is within you, the power of operation of the spirit of truth in your soul, my friends, you will welcome the lowest place.

[39:23] You won't run for the highest place and position. You'll only go where the Lord will direct you to go. You'll only be where the Lord directs you to be. You won't advocate this all that.

[39:36] It'll be, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? That's the spirit of grace. A soul of Tarsus was well esteemed as a Pharisee, I'm sure, by his friends and for his zeal for the ways of the Pharisee, you know, but when he was smote by sovereign grace on that Damascus road, my friends, he became a servant of God in a moment.

[40:07] Oh, not did he stand up and preach there and then, of course not, but he came submissive to the will of God. Oh, he had all the instruction that he needed when he left Jerusalem from the high priest, but when he was stopped in his wild career, it was to Christ that he loved, and it was to Christ that he spoke when he said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?

[40:35] In other words, my friends, this power over rules and rules over the natural inclinations of the mind and by that sweet power of love constraints.

[40:49] Hath not the patter, potter, power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour.

[41:04] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[41:18] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[41:43] I just say friends are that God willing there will be a prayer meeting on Wednesday evening I'm pleased to announce that there will be a baptising service on Saturday afternoon at three o'clock this will be followed by the ordinance of believers baptism next Thursday our pastor is expected to preach let's close with him 723 come ye sinners poor and wretched weak and wounded sick and sore

[43:01] Jesus ready stands to save you full of pity joined with power he is able he is willing doubt no more hymn 723 5 Nh rows 23 I e wo e s o o gl we ne woman ti que meu embora죄ism Ray discuss me thanks to them.'" We first stay safe goodossων up in heaven with

[44:08] A present joined with the law He is faithful有 내 oh may his finish first, Lord God, as not conscious thing you Ira love of earthness love with me love of earthness

[45:20] Aening water, Aening water, Saint Ka ripater.

[45:52] Liptus Saint Ka ripater. Is the perceiving Christholding The Earth of their grave evermore.

[46:21] Amen. Amen.

[47:21] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[47:33] Amen. Amen. O Lord, we seek thy blessing.

[47:48] May we rest upon thy word. Lord, own and use and bless it to our soul's good. Lord, shake us out of formality.

[48:01] Deliver us from legality, Lord. Keep us from this assuming. That, oh, for the witness of the Spirit, again and again, Lord, that we are found in that company of poor and wretched sinners.

[48:22] Now take us on our way through this day. Gather us together later, Lord, if it is thy will. May the grace of the Lord Jesus, the love of God the Father, fellowship of the Holy Spirit, remain with us, both now and forever.

[48:45] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. firsthand Gene. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[48:56] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[49:07] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you.

[49:46] Thank you.

[50:16] Thank you.