The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-05-16
The text-"So he made it again,
Jeramiah 18th chapter, 4th verse.

IN HIS sermon TUESDAY afternoon
Rev. w. A. Sunday said:
Among all the human crafts none is
more wonderful than that of the pot
ter. It's mingling of the vision of
the mind through the functions of the
fingers. They give expression to the
vision-otherwise it could not be seen.
Man is peculiar among the animals
in that he has the power to originate
and create. Also he is the only ami
NAL that has a thumb, which permits
him to be dexterous with his hands.
The combination of these two peculi-
arities is what permits man to build
anything from wrist watch to a
mogul engine. He should see that he
builds according to Gods wishes.
At the time jeremiah called upon
the prophet, the people of Israel were
in desperate condition They had
literally given themselves up to sin,
and the heart of the old prophet was
almost breaking. For 40 years he had
stood as a bulwark against the idola-
try, and he cried out to the nation
which was rushing headlong He
made his way to the house of the pot
ter. He watched the potter as he put
the clay upon the wheel-he watched
and listened to the whirring wheel,
saw the shapeless, inert clay take form
and shape, and my subject today
grows out of this incident
'Marred in the hand OF the potter,
Is he made it again" For some rea-
son the potter was unable to make
what he had in mind to make, but he
did not crush and throw it away. He
softens the clay, picks out the pebbles
and dashes it again on the wheel
jeremiah cries out in the words of my
text, 20 God, Israel is the clay and
Thou art the potter. Fashion US again
according to Thy Will"
Cast Out Evil
influences.
If there is something within you
inimical to Gods interests, cast it out
Take Gods word and salvation 10
yourself.
You wouldn't turn away doctor if
he came to cut a malignant growth out
of you. If you did you would be
fool. When you turn away Gods sal
walton you are bigger fool.
Be honest now. Cannot you look
back and see the pathway over which
You have travelled all Uttered with
broken vows? Somewhere concealed
Is the hidden secret sin which has be-
come part of your nature, marrins
and running your life.
You have fought against evil, but
you are being defeated by the devil.
Remember that you are the raw clay,
inert and unbeautiful. But remember
also that you are the very stuff that
God needs to do His work with.
God might have sent an angel to
preach to you people here, but He
said; Bill, l want you to go down
there and preach
God might have sent a choir of
angels here to sing for us, but he
didn't. God likes to use earthen yes
sells for His work.
There was a time when your life
was rising into fair and beautiful
shape. | look at the clay, it's SYM
boil of myself of yourself, inert and
lacking form, lacking beauty, but the
very stuff that God wants to do His
work with
Man Has Right
10 Choose.
jeremiah thought the potter would
reject it, but instead he picked up the
broken pieces and made it again. Men
say, The clay has no will power"
That's true. The clay cannot elect or
decide what to do. | can elect, can
choose. The central glory of man is
that he can elect--that he can choose.
II you choose to go to hell you are
going to hell. If you elect to go to
heaven you can go to heaven God
has given you your choice; it's up to
you.
But remember. old boy, that you're
electing yourself to go to hell if you
persist in serving the devil
God has revealed to us His will,
" 0tr IN
dividual will in harmony with it. If
you do, everything is all right. If you
don't you're fool.
There are senses in which the dis.
lance between God and man is greater
than between the potter and the clay
God is creator, man his creature; God
Is infinite, man finite. God can do all
things. Between the potter and the
clay there was no intelligent commun.
lcation Between God and man there
can be and there is. When you say
the clay cannot wish, it cannot desire.
! tell you clay cannot resist, but man
can elect he can choose and he can
resist. | can fling myself against the
shield of God and be broken | can
lay my head upon His heart and have
the comfort of mother.
If ! place myself in submission to
dllu III harmony with the government
OF the United States, the will and pow
er of 90,000.000 persons is behind me.
can buck that government if want
to, but then l have 90.0O0,OOO people
opposing me.
Put Heaven On
Your Side.
can put myself in submission to
and in harmony with God Almighty.
and then I'll have all heaven behind
me giving me support If set myself
against God, all heaven is my oppon-
emit. Thank God, friends, I've got
heaven on my side
When | was preaching up in the coal
regions of Pennsylvania / held a meet
ing near one of the toughest mining
eenters of the country. In the midst
OF my sermon a huge, drunken fellow
reeled into the tent He interrupted
me all through my talk. When had
finished and called for converts he
stumbled his way up to me, put out
his grimy paw and said:
Bill, III go you one for luck on it."
He said he'd go me one for luck,
but he meant it in earnest. That man !
was graduate of Yale university
whom the devil had dragged down to !
the paths of infamy in which / found
him. He was a drunkard at that time. !