1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,560 Welcome to the Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. We are a Bible-Believing Church located in 2 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:17,320 beautiful British Columbia, Canada. We are proudly part of the Christian Fellowship Ministries with 3 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:22,880 3,000 churches around the world. We are a church focused on world evangelism, discipleship, and 4 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:28,360 church planting. Here we will share recent sermons from P.H.S.A. Church and other sermons from 5 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:33,040 throughout our fellowship. I am Pastor David Bickford, and I will be your host for this podcast. 6 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:37,400 I thank you for listening today, and we hope these messages are a blessing to you and bring 7 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:51,200 you closer to God. Good morning and welcome back to the Potter's House podcast for the Potter's 8 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:55,240 House Church and Salmon Arm British Columbia. My name again is David Bickford. I'm the pastor 9 00:00:55,240 --> 00:01:03,320 here, and the message I've got today is, Our rest is in the Lord. God is sovereign in the storm. 10 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:08,640 So the text that we'll be using today, so if you have your Bible, if you're following along, 11 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:19,240 is going to be Isaiah 55 verses 1 through 13. So you can kind of go ahead and get ready or get to 12 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:24,960 that if you're going to follow along. As you're doing that, have you ever noticed how easy it is 13 00:01:24,960 --> 00:01:34,320 to be grumpy when you're tired, cold, hot, or hangry? Isn't it amazing how even the most devout 14 00:01:34,320 --> 00:01:39,960 believers or the most respectable people can let exhaustion get the best of them? Now I know this 15 00:01:39,960 --> 00:01:46,400 is, this might have never happened to you, or I bet you know that everyone here listening today 16 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:53,640 can remain calm as a cucumber despite any of these kind of outside, you know, situations or 17 00:01:53,640 --> 00:02:00,160 conditions. Even when you're tired and hungry, you're just the perfect, you know, you're perfectly in 18 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:04,800 control. When the weather's bad, I bet you're just a pillar of joy. As it's pouring down rain, 19 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:10,040 you're just, I love this liquid sunshine. It's the best thing ever. You know, as the blizzards are 20 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:14,560 hitting, you're like, man, it's such a beautiful day outside. You know, that's you, right? Well, 21 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:20,480 you know, I'm not personally one of those pillars. I can be quite grumpy if I'm cold, wet, and hungry. 22 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:26,880 If I am trying to sleep and, you know, heaven forbid somebody wakes me up prematurely, I have 23 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:34,240 been known to snap a few times. I might surprise you, but you know, it's, you know, let a resting 24 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:40,000 bear lie kind of a thing, you know. If I'm in the midst of my, you know, sleep cycle and I'm 25 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:47,000 abruptly woken up, I'm kind of in a fight-or-flight mode. And so it's kind of, you know, it's not 26 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:51,720 uncommon for me to snap and think, what the heck's going on here? Sometimes I wake up not having 27 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:56,440 slept well and it can be very hard to get moving. You know, we've probably all experienced that. In 28 00:02:56,440 --> 00:03:03,480 those times, how do you react though? What is the standard way that you go, you know, you try to 29 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:09,880 get a hold of yourself in those times of physical stress? It can be very easy for us to act out, 30 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:16,640 but what do you do? It's also easy for us to direct our frustration onto others and even onto God. 31 00:03:16,640 --> 00:03:21,120 So is that right though? That's the question. You know, when we're having these situations, 32 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:28,080 when all these conditions are plaguing us, you know, is it right for us to act out? How should 33 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:34,560 we react to our own frailties? Sometimes I'll try to force myself into action. You know, in the 34 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:39,640 Marine Corps, there's a term that we like to use. It's used in the military quite often, you know, 35 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:46,280 for multiple branches, but it's just the phrase sucking it up or embracing the suck. Now sucking 36 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:51,720 it up might work sometimes, but oftentimes it just makes things worse. Many of the injuries or 37 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:59,240 ailments I have for my time in the service come from me stubbornly sucking it up. With that, 38 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:04,280 you know, I have an illustration here. It's called His Sovereignty in the Storm. This is the story 39 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:11,320 of Sergeant Daniel B. Olson, who was part of the US Army Intelligence Unit, the 24th Mechanized 40 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:18,520 Infantry Division during the first Gulf War back in the early 90s. Their task was to seize the Iraqi 41 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:24,440 air base at Jalaba and trap the Iraqi army, preventing their escape from Kuwait. So as we 42 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:30,120 go through this story, you know, it's, you know, when you guys hear this podcast, it's going to be, 43 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:36,680 you know, around Remembrance Day or just after Remembrance Day or Veterans Day for the Americans. 44 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:44,360 And so keep in mind, too, like the to give give time in your thoughts to the fact of those 45 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:49,880 who have died, either to keep you safe or keep, you know, freedom in our land, or even those who 46 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:57,320 are currently serving. Because it is an important thing for us to recognize that it is an important 47 00:04:57,320 --> 00:05:02,920 part of freedom for how to have somebody who's willing to sacrifice, just like Jesus sacrificed 48 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:09,320 for us in life. It is important for us to give recognition to those who willfully sacrifice 49 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:15,800 to maintain the freedom that we all enjoy in the Western world. That being said, let's dig into 50 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:22,120 this story about Sergeant Daniel B. Olson. The word came just as I was settled down to get some 51 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:27,560 rest after a sleepless night and nonstop mourning. We had two hours to pack up and move out of the 52 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:33,160 Saudi Arabian desert. We had anticipated this order since the start of the air war 40 days earlier. 53 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:38,840 By now, we were ready to go home. And we knew that for us, the road home led through Iraq. 54 00:05:38,840 --> 00:05:43,720 I was part of the intelligence unit of the 24th Mechanized Infantry Division. Our mission was to 55 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:49,800 seize the Iraqi air base at Jalaba and trap the Iraqi army, preventing their escape from Kuwait. 56 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:54,680 The attack into Iraq wasn't supposed to start until the next day. But the collapse of the Iraqi 57 00:05:54,680 --> 00:06:00,600 defense east of us caused us to move out 15 hours earlier. I would start the march into Iraq after 58 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:05,560 more than 24 hours without sleep, while the army and Marine divisions to our east slog through the 59 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:11,960 artillery fire and landmines, our division raced across the empty desert expanse. After 30 hours 60 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:18,280 of nonstop driving, our company finally paused for six hours of rest. I was physically exhausted, 61 00:06:18,280 --> 00:06:23,800 having been on the go for two days straight and the adrenaline rush had run out. A chilling wind 62 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:29,720 blew sand in my face and I spread my sleeping bag over the rocky landscape and plopped down. 63 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:35,080 Drops of cold rain on my face interrupted my relief. I looked up at the dark sky in despair 64 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:41,160 as the drops began to intensify. There was no time to erect a tent. The fierce wind was blowing 65 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:49,080 the rain into every possible refuge. So we're going to go ahead and turn and look at our text now, 66 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:52,760 keeping in mind what we've already read. We'll find out more of the story. 67 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:58,040 You know, from our from the sergeant and in just a second, but let's turn to the word of God here 68 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:03,800 and let's let's make sure that we encompass this message within the framework of 69 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:09,800 biblical teaching. And so as we do that, let's also I'm just going to pray quite quickly that 70 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:15,640 dear Lord God, I just pray that you'd open our eyes to your word, give us wisdom and discernment 71 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:21,080 to be able to draw from you, Lord God, that what you'd have us to learn from this Scripture 72 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:29,400 this morning or this evening. Amen. So Isaiah 55 verses one through 13, the subheading to this 73 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:35,160 is the compassion of the Lord. Come everyone who thirsts, come to the waters and he who has no 74 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:41,960 money, come buy and eat, come by wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend 75 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:47,160 your money for that which is not bread and your labor for that which does not satisfy? 76 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:53,160 Listen diligent to me and eat what is good and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear 77 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:59,800 and come to me here that you may your soul may live and I will make you an everlasting covenant, 78 00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:07,000 my steadfast sure love for David. Behold I made a witness made him a witness to the people, a leader 79 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:12,440 and a commander for those people. Behold you shall call a nation that you do not know and a nation 80 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:17,960 that did not know you shall run to you because the Lord your God of the Holy One of Israel for he 81 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:24,120 has glorified you. Seek the Lord while he may be found call upon him while he is near let the wicked 82 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:30,920 forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord and that he 83 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:36,600 may have compassion on him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not 84 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:43,560 your thoughts neither are your ways my ways declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher 85 00:08:43,560 --> 00:08:50,840 than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as 86 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:57,320 the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but the water but water the 87 00:08:57,320 --> 00:09:03,960 earth making it bring forth and sprout giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater so shall my 88 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:10,920 word be that goes out from my mouth it shall not return to me empty but it shall accomplish that 89 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:16,920 which I have purpose and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it for you shall go out 90 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:22,520 enjoy and be led forth in peace the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into 91 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:29,160 singing and the trees of the field shall clap their hands instead of instead of the thorn shall come 92 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:35,080 up the cypress instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle and it shall make a name for the Lord 93 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:42,360 an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off so as we turn I want to look first at the storm 94 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:51,400 your life is full of storms but God is always found in the storm what do I mean by that well 95 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:57,320 you know let's look at the the definition of the storm a disturbance of the normal condition 96 00:09:57,320 --> 00:10:03,000 a disturbance of the normal condition of the atmosphere manifesting itself by winds an unusual 97 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:09,880 force or direction a company often accompanied by rain snow hail thunder a storm can also be a 98 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:16,360 violent military assault on a fortified place a strong position a heavy sudden volley or discharge 99 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:24,040 a storm of criticism a storm of bullets a violent disturbance of affairs a civil political social 100 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:30,120 commotion we're living in the times of storms right now everything that's happening between 101 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:37,080 Ukraine and Russia and Israel and Palestine and the other Arab nations these are storms these are 102 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:41,800 things that are happening and I don't know how how up to date you you tend to be with the news 103 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:51,880 but there have been many many attacks from Iranian proxy fighters against military US military 104 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:58,840 institute installations in the middle east and in retaliation the US has even had to do airstrikes 105 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:06,840 into Syria and into other countries to take out these threats so we live in this time of storm 106 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:15,400 right but God uses the storms so let's look at Job 38 real quick the Lord answers Job in Job 38 22 107 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:21,240 through 27 have you entered the storehouse of the snow or have you seen the storehouses of hail 108 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:26,760 which I have reserved for the times of trouble for the days of battle and war what is the way to the 109 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:32,760 place where the light is distributed or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth who has a 110 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:40,120 who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain a way for the thunderbolts to bring rain on the land 111 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:46,600 where no man is on the desert in which there is no man to satisfy the waste and desolate land and to 112 00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:53,400 make the ground sprout with grass so here we have again you know God challenging Job about where 113 00:11:53,400 --> 00:12:00,280 were you you know where how do you think you know you know my mind is the mind of the Lord 114 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:06,760 so as we go back to the story of sergeant Olson we can see this frustration beginning to rise in him 115 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:13,560 he's tired he's exhausted and now he is wet and cold why did there have to be a storm right now 116 00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:19,480 we are in the desert how can there even be a storm right now so what does sergeant Olson do he prays 117 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:25,800 God please stop this rain I cried out in anger and frustration I begged God to see the depths 118 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:31,720 of my faith to show him how much I believed he could stop the rain I thanked him for the miracle 119 00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:38,680 that would soon come and then it happened the rain came down in sheets why are you doing this 120 00:12:38,680 --> 00:12:45,000 God I pleaded your own son said that a mustard seed of faith could move a mountain I only asked 121 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:50,200 that you would move a dark rain cloud I was disillusioned that God who controls the wind 122 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:57,720 and the rain would not say peace be still after all I was his child wet and cold on the desert 123 00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:03,240 floor so you can see real you know real clearly here now this frustration is coming forth and 124 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:09,160 and it's challenging his faith this this faith challenge that he's being represented with is 125 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:14,920 like I'm tired I'm hungry and now I'm cold can you please just you know give me an out 126 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:23,080 help me out here Lord what what could possibly be the purpose of all this pain and suffering 127 00:13:25,960 --> 00:13:31,800 right there's always this questioning you know Job did the same thing right 128 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:36,360 right other his friends and his wife were way worse with this but he did the same thing there 129 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:45,080 was a questioning of the why there's a questioning of the why why does this have to happen to me 130 00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:53,480 so when we look at our our original text and we pick it up you know in Isaiah 55 8 again it says 131 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:59,080 for my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways declares the Lord for the 132 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:04,840 heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts are higher 133 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:11,000 than your thoughts and that brings me to you know my next point which is sovereignty God is in 134 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:19,720 control you know God is our monarch right and sovereignty when defined it is defined in such 135 00:14:20,440 --> 00:14:26,600 in a similar way a monarch or a king or queen or a supreme ruler that's part of the one way that we 136 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:32,120 look at sovereignty a person who has supreme power of authority so a dictator often oftentimes could 137 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:39,080 be considered a sovereign right a supreme and independent power or authority in government as 138 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:44,520 possessed or claimed by state or community and I always like to joke and it's true but I always 139 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:49,640 like to joke with people because they can ask you know what's the best form of government 140 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:54,600 you know oftentimes people say oh you know a constitutional republic or a democracy or 141 00:14:54,600 --> 00:15:00,680 something of that nature but as Christians we are called to to you know pray for the day that we 142 00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:09,960 live under a benevolent dictatorship because our king our Lord our Lord God is that he is 143 00:15:10,520 --> 00:15:17,560 fully righteous and fully faithful to us and he has full sovereignty so if God has a full 144 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:23,320 sovereignty so if God is sovereign then he has the ability to control the weather like Sergeant 145 00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:29,880 Olson quoted from Jesus Luke 17 6 and the Lord said if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed 146 00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:34,920 you could say to this mulberry tree be uprooted and planted in the sea and it would obey you 147 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:41,080 this then certainly this prayer from a faithful follower should have been heard and the rain 148 00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:47,640 would have stopped immediately the trick is that we neglect to remind ourselves about God's sovereignty 149 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:54,280 he is all the power he is all powerful but he is also all knowing and his thoughts are not our 150 00:15:54,280 --> 00:16:00,600 thoughts which we see which we saw in our text that I read you know in verses you know eight through 151 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:06,520 nine for my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are my are your ways my ways declares the Lord 152 00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:11,720 for the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts 153 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:17,400 than your thoughts so again you know I keep reading that that section or portion of scripture 154 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:22,760 because I want to drill that in because oftentimes we always want to reference our feelings 155 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:27,320 as an is a reason why God should give us our the answer we want to hear 156 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:32,520 and we always want to take away the sovereignty of the Lord for the situation 157 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:40,440 because we want something done our way right now Sergeant Olson's neglected to provide space for 158 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:46,760 God's will in the storm and often when we are in the storm we can't see the whole picture when we 159 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:54,120 are tired hungry cold wet grumpy that's when we judge God and and his lack of faith in fulfilling 160 00:16:54,120 --> 00:17:00,440 our prayers so we ascribe to him a lack of faith when we don't get the answer to the prayers that 161 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:07,560 we are hoping to see but God is always there and we can find our rest in him even during the storm 162 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:13,960 so let's pick up the story with Sergeant Olson and say and and and here he says again it was 163 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:20,680 then that I felt the Lord speak to my heart Dan you say you have enough faith to believe that I 164 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:27,720 can stop the rain do you have enough faith to trust me when I say that the rain is for your own good 165 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:34,840 is for your own good my answer was simple no how could this exhaustion be for my own good 166 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:42,680 what I needed was rest I never did sleep and the rain continued through the night 167 00:17:43,240 --> 00:17:51,080 I lay awake frustrated and cold until the sunrise when we mounted up again we continued to march 168 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:56,840 through the next evening and when we stopped I collapsed onto my sleeping bag the rain had 169 00:17:56,840 --> 00:18:06,520 stopped and blissful sleep came upon me so this will bring me to my final point 170 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:13,480 but I want to before we jump into that final point which is salvation I want to I want to emphasize 171 00:18:14,120 --> 00:18:20,120 this is a typical human reaction this is a typical reaction that we see throughout the word of God 172 00:18:20,120 --> 00:18:26,680 we see you know proud men of God questioning when things don't go the way they hope they go 173 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:36,120 we see it with Joe questioning God we see it oftentimes even with Moses with with you know 174 00:18:36,120 --> 00:18:44,600 questioning God with the with the people of Israel this is something that is very very common to us 175 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:52,680 in in mankind as humans is to is to feel that we deserve an answer 176 00:18:55,160 --> 00:19:00,120 despite having any like without having faith sometimes we don't get the answer we want 177 00:19:00,120 --> 00:19:05,400 sometimes we don't get an answer at all and that is where faith really has to take place 178 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:12,600 so let's look at salvation you can design you can define salvation as the act of saving or 179 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:17,880 protecting from harm risk loss or destruction the state of being saved or protected from harm 180 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:27,080 or risk a source cause or a means of being saved or protected and theology it it clearly means 181 00:19:28,360 --> 00:19:34,920 deliverance from the power well as a christian theology it it means deliverance from power and 182 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:43,560 penalty of sin it means redemption that's what that means so let's let's finish off this story 183 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:49,320 from sergeant olson we seized jalaba after a fierce fight when the shooting stop and the smoke 184 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:56,040 cleared i got a closer look at the destructiveness of the 44-day war i crawled through the bunkers 185 00:19:56,040 --> 00:20:01,800 and foxholes abandoned by the enemy and inspected an area where the iraqi troops slept day the day 186 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:08,360 before i felt the blankets that the enemy slept under the night that it rained so hard and in an 187 00:20:08,360 --> 00:20:15,320 instant god opened my eyes the blankets were wet the holes in the ground were filled with mud 188 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:23,480 the bunkers stank with mildew could it be that the same rain that kept me awake and demoralized 189 00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:29,320 had demoralized these troops did the clouds and the blowing sand that made me so miserable 190 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:35,960 conceal our forces as we maneuvered for our attack did the pouring rain uncover buried iraqi mine 191 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:43,160 fields and didn't the stormy weather keep the enemy from using chemical weapons did the god 192 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:48,920 whose hand controls the wind and rain know what was best for me that night as i cried out in 193 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:59,880 desperation i humbly bowed my heart and soul at that moment and declared he did titus 35 not by 194 00:20:59,880 --> 00:21:05,800 works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing 195 00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:15,000 of regeneration and the renewing of the holy ghost regeneration the church suffers and lost but can 196 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:22,040 heal itself in christ animals that regenerate many animals can regenerate and that it's regrow new 197 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:27,240 parts of their bodies to replace those that have been damaged lizards who lost all their part of 198 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:32,520 their tails can grow new ones this is a good escape technique a lost tail will continue to 199 00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:37,080 wiggle and might distract the predator and give the lizard a chance to escape most lizards will 200 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:44,600 have regrown their tail within nine months sharks continually lose teeth a shark may grow 24 000 201 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:53,240 teeth in a lifetime spiders can regrow missing legs and parts of legs starfish can grow new ones 202 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:57,480 sometimes an entire animal can grow from a single lost arm 203 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:07,240 these these somewhat odd ideas of regeneration what does that have to do with the rest of this 204 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:12,520 message well the simple point is the salvation can come in different ways obviously we know that 205 00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:19,000 salvation is only through christ but what i mean by that is in our life god can work in very very 206 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:25,720 different ways we see with these animals that have regenerative powers god has equipped them 207 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:33,880 to be able to you know survive in very different ways other animals use self-replication 208 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:40,920 the church can also turn a loss into the ultimately into self-replication planarians are flatworms 209 00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:46,600 and if you cut them into pieces they can grow into new worms sea cucumbers can have their bodies 210 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:51,080 grow up to three feet long and if you cut it into pieces pieces each one will become a new 211 00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:56,680 sea cucumber sponges can be divided in that case the cell of the sponge will regrow and combine 212 00:22:56,680 --> 00:23:03,800 exactly as it can it can be cut and grow back together so we have to be seeking salvation as a 213 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:10,440 church just like the sun or the prodigal son story shows us how we should always hold on to hope 214 00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:15,480 that the lost will find their way home and that we should be glad for their salvation and not jealous 215 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:23,000 of grace when it's applied in luke 1532 it says it was fitting to celebrate and be glad for your 216 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:29,400 brother was dead and is alive he was lost and he was found so as i close 217 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:37,160 you know my final point point being salvation i want to really dive into here yes sergeant olson 218 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:42,520 didn't know what was happening in the storm he didn't realize he was being saved by the storm 219 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:49,800 it similarly as a church we we can go through storms as christians we can go through storms 220 00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:55,080 as christians we can go through storms but through jesus christ we have the power of regeneration 221 00:23:55,960 --> 00:24:00,600 you know the idea of baptism is that you you go down into the water you die to your sins 222 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:03,960 and then you come up a new creation in jesus christ you regenerated 223 00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:09,480 your heart can be renewed it can be made new in christ 224 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:18,280 and then the point going forward from that is for us to self replicate it's to create 225 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:23,560 it's to disciple it's to spread the gospel of jesus christ so that others can also be regenerated 226 00:24:24,120 --> 00:24:28,840 and then they will follow in the same pattern and then we'll see it grow over and over again and 227 00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:37,960 that is why as a church we seek salvation we seek you know a ministry of growth we seek evangelism 228 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:45,240 we seek to evangelize for the message of the cross because that way even in the storm you're 229 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:51,480 not just crying out for the storm to end but rather you have understanding that the storm has a 230 00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:57,480 purpose it has a purpose in your life if i could have every head bowed and every eye closed if 231 00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:01,240 you're driving obviously keep your hands at 10 and two keep your eyes on the road and open 232 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:11,640 but just real quickly we come to the invitation maybe your heart's not right maybe you know that 233 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:18,840 you need something different maybe you know you need jesus christ maybe you've never you know 234 00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:23,000 thought about it before but this message is speaking to you because you're in a storm and 235 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:29,480 you don't see any reason for the storm and maybe you've prayed you know idly to you know hey if 236 00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:37,320 there is a god help me in my storm maybe that help is this right here i pray by the spirit that that 237 00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:45,000 it is because if salvation is knocking at your door you shouldn't shouldn't you open it shouldn't 238 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:51,960 you answer the door but jesus christ is a perfect gentleman he's not going to bust the door down 239 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:57,960 you have to open the door so if that's you right now and you know that you're you're not you're 240 00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:02,440 not saved you're not following the word of god you haven't given your life to jesus christ signify 241 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:08,520 that with an uplifted hand wherever you are i can't see it i'm just on the video or in the audio 242 00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:17,480 rather but god sees it so signify that with the uplifted hand and then it's just a simple prayer 243 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:23,160 where you just admit your wrongdoing and you accept jesus your savior and it's just something 244 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:28,040 simple like dear lord god so you can repeat it after me dear lord god i know that i'm a sinner 245 00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:35,880 i know that i'm not perfect and that i have failed i repent of my sin i turn away from my sin and i 246 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:44,360 accept you lord as my savior lord jesus i ask you to enter my heart in jesus name i pray amen 247 00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:51,400 simple prayer simple invitation a dramatic life-changing event 248 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:59,160 life-changing event that simple thing i i pray that if you did you you you said that prayer and 249 00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:07,160 you meant it you'll let me know you'll reach out because it's it's the whole purpose of what we're 250 00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:12,840 doing here is to spread the gospel is to evangelize whether it's on the street here in salmon arm 251 00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:17,800 whether it's in in the church on sunday or at our bible study that we hold on wednesday 252 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:22,280 the whole point of everything we do is to see people turn to turn to jesus christ in salvation 253 00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:30,760 i truly pray that this message has impacted someone and i i have faith that the that it has 254 00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:34,840 because we do know from the word of god that the the word does not go out and return void we read 255 00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:43,240 that because there it's a supernatural power and i pray that this message has impacted you today 256 00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:51,320 i thank you and can't wait for you to come back again next time thank you for listening to the 257 00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:56,760 p.hsa potter's house salmon arm podcast be sure to follow us on instagram at potter's house 258 00:27:56,760 --> 00:28:00,840 underscore salmon arm to keep up to date on what we are doing join the conversation and 259 00:28:00,840 --> 00:28:14,360 discover how jesus christ can revolutionize your life