WEBVTT 00:00:04.139 --> 00:00:05.780 Hello and welcome back to the Potter's House 00:00:05.780 --> 00:00:08.560 Seminar Podcast. This is a special series from 00:00:08.560 --> 00:00:10.900 our Prescott Conference that just recently occurred. 00:00:11.119 --> 00:00:13.599 The theme of the conference was Into the Unknown 00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:17.100 and the scripture for the theme was Romans 15, 00:00:17.339 --> 00:00:21.120 20 -21. I have made it my aim to preach the gospel 00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:26.320 to whom he was not announced. So this is a powerful 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:29.829 series of... sermons from leaders in our fellowship 00:00:29.829 --> 00:00:32.429 to include Greg Mitchell, Joe Campbell, Richard 00:00:32.429 --> 00:00:36.369 Ruby, Sergei Golubev, and others along with that. 00:00:36.450 --> 00:00:39.710 So please enjoy and listen along to these powerful 00:00:39.710 --> 00:00:42.210 sermons from leaders in our fellowship. What 00:00:42.210 --> 00:00:45.890 an honor, privilege to be here this morning. 00:00:46.109 --> 00:00:49.750 The grace of God, we serve an incredible God. 00:00:50.109 --> 00:00:56.530 I was thinking it's a shame that there wasn't 00:00:56.530 --> 00:00:59.909 altar calls after each of those morning sessions. 00:01:01.149 --> 00:01:08.390 In all seriousness, you don't want to lose what 00:01:08.390 --> 00:01:12.290 was preached. That first session, second session, 00:01:12.569 --> 00:01:17.530 whether that sense of entitlement, you say, God, 00:01:17.569 --> 00:01:21.310 when we have an altar call after this message, 00:01:21.810 --> 00:01:27.430 make sure that you include. your prayers, because 00:01:27.430 --> 00:01:33.170 if you let God help you, it'll change your whole 00:01:33.170 --> 00:01:37.709 life. Pastor Heimberg, the inspiration to be 00:01:37.709 --> 00:01:41.250 a missionary, the weight of that, the potential 00:01:41.250 --> 00:01:44.730 of that, you don't want to let that just hear 00:01:44.730 --> 00:01:48.969 it and get lost. So this altar call, I would 00:01:48.969 --> 00:01:51.950 include that in your prayers. Ephesians chapter 00:01:51.950 --> 00:01:57.620 3, verse 14. To 19 is what I want to preach from. 00:01:58.159 --> 00:02:04.519 I have a niece whose body has betrayed her. She 00:02:04.519 --> 00:02:08.280 had a stroke at a very young age. She's a real 00:02:08.280 --> 00:02:12.080 trooper. She's now a young lady, a budding artist, 00:02:12.439 --> 00:02:17.680 but has to deal often with pain. She has many 00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:20.280 physical challenges, has gone from operation 00:02:20.280 --> 00:02:24.960 to operation, some good, some botched. She was 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:27.400 talking to Carol just the other day. I was in 00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:29.360 the car. There's a little bit of an echo here, 00:02:29.419 --> 00:02:34.020 brother. I was in the car and Carol was talking 00:02:34.020 --> 00:02:39.939 to her and I asked to pray for her and I prayed 00:02:39.939 --> 00:02:44.979 the words that I had read that morning that she 00:02:44.979 --> 00:02:50.400 would be strengthened in her inner man. That 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:53.340 while her body was working against her, frustrating, 00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:57.800 impeding, that her inner being would become massive, 00:02:57.860 --> 00:03:02.139 victorious, strong, resolute, free, unstoppable, 00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:06.979 filled with life and revelation that she would 00:03:06.979 --> 00:03:13.500 be full of God. The Apostle Paul has prayed the 00:03:13.500 --> 00:03:18.960 same prayer for you, for me. For every minister, 00:03:19.180 --> 00:03:23.500 every pastor, every child of God, he is so passionate 00:03:23.500 --> 00:03:28.419 about this prayer, we find him bowing, the once 00:03:28.419 --> 00:03:33.479 proud Jew, kneeling, understanding that if we, 00:03:33.599 --> 00:03:36.800 that you, me, if we're to carry out what God 00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:41.599 has for us, your ministry, your marriage, your 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:48.090 life, your home, your future, you must, be strengthened 00:03:48.090 --> 00:03:53.969 in your inner man. Now this passage, when I was 00:03:53.969 --> 00:03:59.449 drawn to it, began to, it's deeper than I first 00:03:59.449 --> 00:04:03.669 thought. It has blessed me, this message, putting 00:04:03.669 --> 00:04:07.590 it together has done a work in me and I hope 00:04:07.590 --> 00:04:10.729 that as I, well not I hope, I know that as I 00:04:10.729 --> 00:04:14.990 minister it, God would minister to you because 00:04:14.990 --> 00:04:18.019 our text says, that you will be strengthened 00:04:18.019 --> 00:04:24.019 in your inner man, that Christ may dwell, that 00:04:24.019 --> 00:04:27.439 you may be filled with the fullness of God. That's 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:32.220 absolutely transforming of anything that we would 00:04:32.220 --> 00:04:36.180 do or touch or be. Ephesians chapter three, let's 00:04:36.180 --> 00:04:40.040 read the apostles' prayer together. Verse 14, 00:04:40.220 --> 00:04:43.439 for this reason I bow my knees to the Father 00:04:43.439 --> 00:04:46.560 of our Lord Jesus Christ. from whom the whole 00:04:46.560 --> 00:04:49.699 family in heaven and earth is named, that he 00:04:49.699 --> 00:04:52.439 would grant you, according to the riches of his 00:04:52.439 --> 00:04:55.459 glory, to be strengthened with might through 00:04:55.459 --> 00:04:58.699 his Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may 00:04:58.699 --> 00:05:01.500 dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, 00:05:01.620 --> 00:05:05.279 being rooted and grounded in love, may be able 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:07.620 to comprehend with all the saints what is the 00:05:07.620 --> 00:05:10.519 width, the length, the depth, the height, to 00:05:10.519 --> 00:05:13.279 know the love of Christ, which passes all knowledge. 00:05:14.009 --> 00:05:16.529 which passes knowledge that you may be filled 00:05:16.529 --> 00:05:21.930 with all the fullness of God. Let's consider 00:05:21.930 --> 00:05:27.449 the inner man firstly this morning. Now we understand 00:05:27.449 --> 00:05:30.430 our makeup. We know this from 1 Thessalonians 00:05:30.430 --> 00:05:33.949 5 .23. May the God of peace himself sanctify 00:05:33.949 --> 00:05:38.689 you completely and may your whole spirit, soul, 00:05:39.110 --> 00:05:44.480 and body be preserved blameless. in our text 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:50.579 is focusing in on your soul, you, your inner 00:05:50.579 --> 00:05:52.959 being. I delight in the law of God according 00:05:52.959 --> 00:05:57.079 to the inward man, Romans 7 .22, 2 Corinthians 00:05:57.079 --> 00:06:01.339 4 .16. We do not lose heart even though our outward 00:06:01.339 --> 00:06:05.079 man is perishing, yet the inward man is being 00:06:05.079 --> 00:06:08.680 renewed day by day. We're focusing this morning 00:06:08.680 --> 00:06:13.850 on the hidden person of your heart. Our inner 00:06:13.850 --> 00:06:18.670 self. And Paul is suggesting that it needs to 00:06:18.670 --> 00:06:24.569 be strengthened in order that Christ could dwell 00:06:24.569 --> 00:06:28.970 and ultimately we would be filled with the fullness 00:06:28.970 --> 00:06:34.230 of God. That you may be filled with the fullness 00:06:34.230 --> 00:06:38.149 of God. What a thought. What an incredible thought, 00:06:38.209 --> 00:06:45.879 if only. How different life is. would be to be 00:06:45.879 --> 00:06:50.699 filled with his strength, to see how he sees, 00:06:51.180 --> 00:06:55.199 to know the power of your words, to bring change 00:06:55.199 --> 00:07:00.199 like his words, his wisdom, direction to know 00:07:00.199 --> 00:07:03.639 what to do in situations, situations, people, 00:07:03.959 --> 00:07:08.240 to have a right heart. A good attitude. We're 00:07:08.240 --> 00:07:11.860 talking about reacting to the world around you, 00:07:11.920 --> 00:07:15.600 to people around you, life around you, like Christ 00:07:15.600 --> 00:07:20.279 would. What a thought. That it is possible to 00:07:20.279 --> 00:07:23.019 be filled with the fullness of God and you respond 00:07:23.019 --> 00:07:26.759 to life. To say our inner man needs strengthening 00:07:26.759 --> 00:07:32.680 is therefore to imply in its natural state, it's 00:07:32.680 --> 00:07:37.000 weak. Now the root word there of strengthening 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:41.040 is the word kratos. It literally means braced. 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:43.500 So when it's talking about being strengthened, 00:07:43.579 --> 00:07:48.740 it's not talking about being made stronger like 00:07:48.740 --> 00:07:52.759 physical training perhaps, but to be reinforced, 00:07:53.160 --> 00:07:58.399 to be fortified. Now my, Carol and myself, we're 00:07:58.399 --> 00:08:01.139 having our house. We're doing renovations in 00:08:01.139 --> 00:08:03.079 our house. It's quite a big job. We're putting 00:08:03.079 --> 00:08:05.779 on a bit of an extension on the back of our house. 00:08:06.459 --> 00:08:10.160 And so we've actually moved out. We've been living 00:08:10.160 --> 00:08:14.259 with my daughter and my son -in -law. They've 00:08:14.259 --> 00:08:16.100 been very gracious and will shout out to you. 00:08:16.120 --> 00:08:20.120 Thank you very much for your Christianity and 00:08:20.120 --> 00:08:23.990 your mercy. But we moved out. We've been living 00:08:23.990 --> 00:08:25.730 with them for a little while because it's a reasonably 00:08:25.730 --> 00:08:28.709 big job. Now, what they did is they... Houses 00:08:28.709 --> 00:08:31.790 in England, our house at least, is built probably 00:08:31.790 --> 00:08:36.950 the early 1900s, 1920. And so when the builder 00:08:36.950 --> 00:08:41.009 came in and he took down the wall to then obviously 00:08:41.009 --> 00:08:43.409 clear out the inside and then build the extension... 00:08:46.119 --> 00:08:48.799 I can't remember if I got a call or what it was, 00:08:48.840 --> 00:08:51.419 a picture, but he was absolutely, he freaked 00:08:51.419 --> 00:08:53.480 out because they obviously removed the bricks 00:08:53.480 --> 00:08:57.080 and holding up the upper part of my house, whereas 00:08:57.080 --> 00:08:59.320 if we were there, we would have been living, 00:08:59.460 --> 00:09:05.799 was on a wooden beam that was on this tiny little, 00:09:05.899 --> 00:09:07.539 I don't know what the building term is, little 00:09:07.539 --> 00:09:10.100 bits of concrete, and this wooden beam is perched 00:09:10.100 --> 00:09:12.879 on it, holding up the top of the house, and it's 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:16.750 bending. And so they've removed the bricks. Obviously, 00:09:16.809 --> 00:09:18.690 we would never have known because it's all underneath. 00:09:18.909 --> 00:09:20.789 So we removed the bricks and all of a sudden, 00:09:20.830 --> 00:09:29.610 it's like, it's my house. And he was absolutely 00:09:29.610 --> 00:09:34.250 freaked out and they got, I don't know what the 00:09:34.250 --> 00:09:36.490 technical term in building is, and I should have 00:09:36.490 --> 00:09:39.309 brought a picture, but they jacked it up. They 00:09:39.309 --> 00:09:42.149 put underneath. and put up these things that 00:09:42.149 --> 00:09:44.690 held up the wooden beam, these metal posts to 00:09:44.690 --> 00:09:48.190 put it up there until they could eventually put 00:09:48.190 --> 00:09:53.830 a steel beam in it and we could move on. That's 00:09:53.830 --> 00:09:58.970 strengthening. That's bracing. That's reinforcing. 00:09:59.289 --> 00:10:04.289 The context of our text is for Christ to move 00:10:04.289 --> 00:10:08.820 in. that he may dwell. Now, I know he's already 00:10:08.820 --> 00:10:12.399 in you because you have first believed, but there 00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:16.240 are, the Apostle Paul is alluding, there are 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:21.019 rooms in your heart that are unsafe to enter 00:10:21.019 --> 00:10:27.100 into. They're unlivable. They're not the place 00:10:27.100 --> 00:10:32.419 for a king. Now, it's not about cleansing. It's 00:10:32.419 --> 00:10:36.240 not about our souls need to be clean enough for 00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:39.600 him to move in and that's perhaps another message. 00:10:39.799 --> 00:10:44.000 But Paul is talking about there are parts of 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:50.659 your inner man that need bracing up, that need 00:10:50.659 --> 00:10:54.399 strengthening. There are beams, if you like, 00:10:54.500 --> 00:11:00.679 in your soul that are bending because of the 00:11:00.679 --> 00:11:05.549 weights that you're carrying. You are carrying 00:11:05.549 --> 00:11:10.309 things you should not be carrying in your inner 00:11:10.309 --> 00:11:18.750 man. And your heart, there are places in your 00:11:18.750 --> 00:11:23.710 heart that are unlivable. The apostle Paul is 00:11:23.710 --> 00:11:28.230 saying the stronger your inner man. The more 00:11:28.230 --> 00:11:32.269 rooms, if you like, of your soul that are braced 00:11:32.269 --> 00:11:36.750 and strengthened with might, the more access 00:11:36.750 --> 00:11:41.490 Jesus has, the more he fills the house with his 00:11:41.490 --> 00:11:45.350 presence. What potential, what hope? Alistair 00:11:45.350 --> 00:11:49.129 McLaren in his commentator said this, and he 00:11:49.129 --> 00:11:54.350 will come into that feeble, vacillating, wayward 00:11:54.350 --> 00:11:58.100 will of yours. that is only obstinate in its 00:11:58.100 --> 00:12:01.500 adherence to evil. And he will make it strong 00:12:01.500 --> 00:12:05.039 to do good. He will come into that troubled, 00:12:05.159 --> 00:12:08.940 anxious, agitated heart of yours and will bring 00:12:08.940 --> 00:12:12.539 his own peace, which will hush it into a calm 00:12:12.539 --> 00:12:15.269 and establish it upon the foundation. of his 00:12:15.269 --> 00:12:18.029 own steadfastness. He will come into the innermost 00:12:18.029 --> 00:12:20.929 spirit of your spirit and there in the depth 00:12:20.929 --> 00:12:23.870 of your being will wield his mighty influence 00:12:23.870 --> 00:12:27.950 so this divine spirit will go searching every 00:12:27.950 --> 00:12:33.289 corner of the inner man, illuminating and invigorating 00:12:33.289 --> 00:12:36.590 it all. I want to tell you it is so easy. to 00:12:36.590 --> 00:12:40.149 be caught up in the outward. It is so easy to 00:12:40.149 --> 00:12:43.809 be concerned with life on the outward. There's 00:12:43.809 --> 00:12:46.570 an old book that most of us have read, Ordering 00:12:46.570 --> 00:12:49.490 Your Private World. Gordon MacDonald, a young 00:12:49.490 --> 00:12:51.750 pastor, read that the other day, called me. He 00:12:51.750 --> 00:12:54.529 said, Pastor, I have no idea, just getting caught 00:12:54.529 --> 00:13:00.309 up in life, how much I've stopped focusing on 00:13:00.309 --> 00:13:05.250 my inner man. Paul wants to... wants to give 00:13:05.250 --> 00:13:08.250 you words to transform your life. You want to 00:13:08.250 --> 00:13:11.090 transform your life? I mean, seriously, you want 00:13:11.090 --> 00:13:14.649 to transform your walk, your marriage, your ministry? 00:13:14.710 --> 00:13:19.070 Then Paul says you need to ask God to strengthen 00:13:19.070 --> 00:13:24.570 the inward. We're talking about God's influence. 00:13:25.149 --> 00:13:29.129 Our text says, secondly, it is through his spirit. 00:13:29.269 --> 00:13:33.929 This building project of our soul. is gonna be 00:13:33.929 --> 00:13:37.509 done through his spirit. Now to understand what 00:13:37.509 --> 00:13:39.450 we're looking at, we've gotta go to the beginning 00:13:39.450 --> 00:13:43.450 when God created man. The Bible says, and the 00:13:43.450 --> 00:13:45.929 Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground 00:13:45.929 --> 00:13:48.850 and breathed into his nostrils the breath of 00:13:48.850 --> 00:13:53.250 life, Genesis 2, 7, and man became a living being. 00:13:54.429 --> 00:13:59.049 God created us in his image, mankind in his image, 00:13:59.070 --> 00:14:03.200 a spiritual being. We're not a body with a spirit. 00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:08.840 We are a spirit with a body. He breathed the 00:14:08.840 --> 00:14:13.340 spirit of life. Thus our spirit, Adam's spirit, 00:14:13.500 --> 00:14:17.639 came from God. And as the spirit quickened the 00:14:17.639 --> 00:14:21.120 body, filled the body, the Bible says man was 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:25.480 now made a living soul. Now he became conscious 00:14:25.480 --> 00:14:31.580 of himself. Now he has the power of self -determination, 00:14:31.720 --> 00:14:36.139 choosing or refusing. He now has the ability 00:14:36.139 --> 00:14:40.580 to relate to what it is around him, to interact 00:14:40.580 --> 00:14:44.460 with the world that he lives, his thought processes, 00:14:44.740 --> 00:14:49.960 his emotions, his will, the soul. Man became 00:14:49.960 --> 00:14:53.840 a living soul is the central power and yet with 00:14:53.840 --> 00:14:58.690 the intent of creation, His soul was to be governed, 00:14:58.730 --> 00:15:02.649 you can use the word led, by the Spirit of God. 00:15:02.730 --> 00:15:08.570 God, through man's spirit, was going to fill 00:15:08.570 --> 00:15:12.409 his spirit. Man is a spiritual being, contact 00:15:12.409 --> 00:15:16.710 with God, spiritual, a spiritual being. Through 00:15:16.710 --> 00:15:20.509 his spirit, God was going to influence, fellowship 00:15:20.509 --> 00:15:26.480 with, inspire. direct control. He was going to 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:33.200 move on him and influence how he related to the 00:15:33.200 --> 00:15:38.120 world through his body. His decisions, his attitude, 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:40.779 his actions, his thinking. We're talking about 00:15:40.779 --> 00:15:44.740 man walking in perfect interaction with the world 00:15:44.740 --> 00:15:49.120 around him, his soul. mind, emotions, will, his 00:15:49.120 --> 00:15:53.340 inner being, God filling his spirit, influencing 00:15:53.340 --> 00:15:57.720 now through his body, interacting with the world 00:15:57.720 --> 00:16:01.480 and making decisions. When man sinned by eating 00:16:01.480 --> 00:16:04.820 the fruit, they came upon him the knowledge of 00:16:04.820 --> 00:16:08.759 good and evil. He was now going to decide for 00:16:08.759 --> 00:16:15.309 himself right and wrong. And he died. God was 00:16:15.309 --> 00:16:20.190 no longer in his spirit. His spirit is dead, 00:16:20.409 --> 00:16:27.629 fallen. He's now become a mortal being. His soul, 00:16:27.649 --> 00:16:32.370 his inner man is now influenced by a base nature, 00:16:32.529 --> 00:16:36.490 a fallen nature, his natural senses. This is 00:16:36.490 --> 00:16:39.610 now going to be his way of relating to the world. 00:16:40.200 --> 00:16:44.360 His urges often based dark against God, decisions 00:16:44.360 --> 00:16:47.340 influenced by what he's seeing and feeling, conclusions 00:16:47.340 --> 00:16:52.120 embraced, emotions inflamed. And Paul is writing 00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:56.519 and he's saying to the Christian, God wants to 00:16:56.519 --> 00:17:01.500 have influence again. Think about who Adam was 00:17:01.500 --> 00:17:05.160 before the fall. What incredible, what an incredible 00:17:05.160 --> 00:17:09.680 soul he had. What incredible man, what incredible 00:17:09.680 --> 00:17:14.460 power. He was given a task to have dominion, 00:17:14.460 --> 00:17:19.980 to subdue the whole earth, to name all of creation. 00:17:20.660 --> 00:17:25.859 What capacity. He's naming animals and insects, 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:29.640 he's naming birds and remembering them. Some 00:17:29.640 --> 00:17:36.789 of us can hardly remember our own children. What 00:17:36.789 --> 00:17:47.230 a mind. What ability. God, Adam. Walking in dominion. 00:17:47.410 --> 00:17:52.890 His spirit filled with God's spirit. Adam, this 00:17:52.890 --> 00:18:01.309 way. His soul empowered by God. And now I'm thinking 00:18:01.309 --> 00:18:05.589 of our tasks. I'm thinking about our ministry. 00:18:05.710 --> 00:18:08.910 I'm thinking about how easily we face life and 00:18:08.910 --> 00:18:13.789 we're so easily overwhelmed. Financial problems, 00:18:14.089 --> 00:18:17.569 people problems, crises. We question ourselves 00:18:17.569 --> 00:18:22.150 on the ability to disciple men decisions. But 00:18:22.150 --> 00:18:26.490 yet Paul is saying it is possible that your spirit 00:18:26.490 --> 00:18:31.430 again can be filled with God and with that nothing 00:18:31.430 --> 00:18:35.440 will be impossible. What God has called you to 00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:41.740 do. My brother, my sister, God. And I understand 00:18:41.740 --> 00:18:45.220 when Adam was to rule the world, his soul was 00:18:45.220 --> 00:18:49.119 not having to deal with the fall of flesh. And 00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:51.900 I understand whilst we will always have this 00:18:51.900 --> 00:18:54.259 battle. Oh, wretched man that I am, Paul said 00:18:54.259 --> 00:18:57.140 in Romans 7, who will deliver me from this body 00:18:57.140 --> 00:19:00.450 of death. I thank God through Jesus Christ, our 00:19:00.450 --> 00:19:03.829 Lord. So then with the mind, I myself serve the 00:19:03.829 --> 00:19:06.049 law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin. 00:19:06.150 --> 00:19:08.650 He said, I understand there's always gonna be 00:19:08.650 --> 00:19:11.970 a battle, but listen, I'm talking about Paul's 00:19:11.970 --> 00:19:15.789 optimism here. I'm talking about Paul bowing, 00:19:15.789 --> 00:19:21.250 so moved because he prays that you would be so 00:19:21.250 --> 00:19:27.630 strengthened, Christ would move in. I don't know, 00:19:27.650 --> 00:19:32.470 I thought that was quite good. That's all right. 00:19:32.589 --> 00:19:38.569 Amen, that's all right. That Christ would move 00:19:38.569 --> 00:19:43.789 in. Amen. That's powerful. That's life changing. 00:19:45.710 --> 00:19:50.049 You know, there was a kid that fell into a big 00:19:50.049 --> 00:19:53.690 barrel of chocolate. Huge barrel. He began to 00:19:53.690 --> 00:19:58.259 pray. He said, oh Lord. make my capacity equal 00:19:58.259 --> 00:20:04.339 to this opportunity? That's what we're praying. 00:20:05.359 --> 00:20:12.259 Oh God, oh God, strengthen my inner man. Enter 00:20:12.259 --> 00:20:20.980 into the rooms of my heart that are unsafe, that 00:20:20.980 --> 00:20:25.259 have been weakened over time or circumstance. 00:20:26.410 --> 00:20:32.869 or life. Strengthen my soul, Lord. There's a 00:20:32.869 --> 00:20:35.250 book I just read, a very small book, Why God 00:20:35.250 --> 00:20:39.670 Used D .L. Moody by R .A. Torrey, and I was drawn 00:20:39.670 --> 00:20:42.690 to a quote that describes Moody, one of the greatest 00:20:42.690 --> 00:20:44.990 preachers of all time, walking down Wall Street 00:20:44.990 --> 00:20:47.410 in New York City when he was suddenly overwhelmed 00:20:47.410 --> 00:20:49.869 by the presence of God. He was so overwhelmed, 00:20:50.109 --> 00:20:53.200 he had to hurry to a friend's house. and ask 00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:56.099 for a private room where he describes it as, 00:20:56.339 --> 00:21:00.039 the Holy Spirit came upon me, filling my soul 00:21:00.039 --> 00:21:04.240 with such joy that at last I had to ask God to 00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:09.460 withhold his hand lest I die on the spot from 00:21:09.460 --> 00:21:15.299 very joy. Paul said, oh, that Christ may dwell. 00:21:16.029 --> 00:21:18.730 In your hearts through faith. The subject of 00:21:18.730 --> 00:21:21.750 the prayer is not, is he in you? Because he's 00:21:21.750 --> 00:21:26.089 in you if you're born again. But is he at home? 00:21:28.509 --> 00:21:32.769 A worst paraphrase says that Christ may finally 00:21:32.769 --> 00:21:36.910 settle down and feel completely at home in your 00:21:36.910 --> 00:21:40.349 hearts. Now, I don't know about you. How do you 00:21:40.349 --> 00:21:45.890 feel about that? Christ, would you feel at home 00:21:45.890 --> 00:21:52.970 in my heart? I don't know about you, but perhaps 00:21:52.970 --> 00:21:57.009 that makes us, me, you, you, because I'm preaching 00:21:57.009 --> 00:22:02.730 to you, just a little uneasy. I suspect that 00:22:02.730 --> 00:22:05.230 if this is done properly, it's a little harder. 00:22:06.349 --> 00:22:09.230 I'm aware of certain things. I'm probably unaware 00:22:09.230 --> 00:22:14.269 of much that he might walk into. So why am I 00:22:14.269 --> 00:22:18.509 uneasy? Why are you uneasy if you really grasp 00:22:18.509 --> 00:22:22.369 the thought of Christ filling your heart? Because 00:22:22.369 --> 00:22:27.490 perhaps 1 John 4, 18, we're not yet made perfect 00:22:27.490 --> 00:22:32.210 in love. You know, we've all been to various 00:22:32.210 --> 00:22:35.789 homes. You walk into a home and you can feel 00:22:35.789 --> 00:22:39.869 in some homes it's warm. There's a joy. It's 00:22:39.869 --> 00:22:42.710 easy to be there. There's others you walk in 00:22:42.710 --> 00:22:47.049 and there's an undercurrent of tension. And now 00:22:47.049 --> 00:22:51.450 we're coming to the crutch, whatever the word 00:22:51.450 --> 00:22:53.849 is. I knew I was going to muck that up. Now we're 00:22:53.849 --> 00:22:59.289 coming to the real issue of the matter. This 00:22:59.289 --> 00:23:01.029 is what Paul's talking about. He's talking about 00:23:01.029 --> 00:23:07.890 love. We were created to love and be loved. So 00:23:07.890 --> 00:23:13.390 these rooms in your soul, we're talking the damaged 00:23:13.390 --> 00:23:17.910 ones that we're looking at. We're asking you 00:23:17.910 --> 00:23:22.329 the question, how are you in your inner being 00:23:22.329 --> 00:23:29.549 with love? How do you relate to love? How do 00:23:29.549 --> 00:23:32.730 you give it? How do you receive? Are you uneasy 00:23:32.730 --> 00:23:40.890 with it? Is there a tension when it comes to 00:23:40.890 --> 00:23:45.630 relationships? Conflict? Sister, are you always 00:23:45.630 --> 00:23:49.529 in conflict? Arms length? You just keep people 00:23:49.529 --> 00:23:53.970 at arm's length. You're not a bad man. You're 00:23:53.970 --> 00:24:00.190 not a wicked. You're just uncomfortable. You've 00:24:00.190 --> 00:24:04.029 got some smashed up rooms in there. You've got 00:24:04.029 --> 00:24:08.720 some punch holes in the wall. where you've been 00:24:08.720 --> 00:24:13.859 hurt and you've been frustrated. There's a lot 00:24:13.859 --> 00:24:17.660 of anger in some places, bitterness, pride, smoldering 00:24:17.660 --> 00:24:22.500 fear. You have a fear of people, fear of getting 00:24:22.500 --> 00:24:26.220 hurt again. How is your inner man with love? 00:24:27.579 --> 00:24:30.380 How is your inner being? That's what Paul's talking 00:24:30.380 --> 00:24:34.059 about. I'm closing because what God's intent 00:24:34.059 --> 00:24:38.539 is, is that we would become comfortable with 00:24:38.539 --> 00:24:48.079 love. I'll tell you, that's not easy. It's not 00:24:48.079 --> 00:24:51.000 an accident that the Apostle Paul begins this 00:24:51.000 --> 00:24:56.079 text bowing to the Father. From whom the whole 00:24:56.079 --> 00:24:59.599 family is named. The context of everything that 00:24:59.599 --> 00:25:03.220 we've just read starts off with God being a father 00:25:03.220 --> 00:25:08.779 to a family. The setting of our text is a father 00:25:08.779 --> 00:25:13.359 to a family. We know the challenge. How can you 00:25:13.359 --> 00:25:18.460 love God and not your brethren? We understand 00:25:18.460 --> 00:25:21.339 the challenge. We understand that actually love 00:25:21.339 --> 00:25:25.859 is expressed in reality. Oh, Pastor, I love people. 00:25:25.960 --> 00:25:29.180 Okay, well, that's good. But in reality, it plays 00:25:29.180 --> 00:25:33.140 out in our churches. It plays out in the nursery. 00:25:33.160 --> 00:25:36.480 It plays out in the ministry team. It plays out 00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:38.960 in your relationship with your pastor. It plays 00:25:38.960 --> 00:25:41.559 out with pastor's wife, with other pastor's wives. 00:25:42.140 --> 00:25:44.579 It plays out with brothers and sisters, in your 00:25:44.579 --> 00:25:47.359 marriage to your children. And Paul the Apostle 00:25:47.359 --> 00:25:50.880 is starting off with a father's sacrificial love 00:25:50.880 --> 00:25:55.900 is being expressed. I was talking to a pastor 00:25:55.900 --> 00:26:00.500 in the UK and Michael Murphy, and he was speaking 00:26:00.500 --> 00:26:03.460 to me. And he said to me, he said, Pastor, he 00:26:03.460 --> 00:26:05.200 said, well, I came to church. I know this is 00:26:05.200 --> 00:26:08.940 not uncommon, but he said, I had no idea what 00:26:08.940 --> 00:26:14.900 a father's love looked like. I didn't know what 00:26:14.900 --> 00:26:19.599 a father's love even looked like. had it. I'd 00:26:19.599 --> 00:26:22.740 never felt it. I didn't know what it meant. When 00:26:22.740 --> 00:26:25.299 he was smaller, his mum would send him to the 00:26:25.299 --> 00:26:27.839 shop with a small amount of money and with a 00:26:27.839 --> 00:26:31.019 long list and he was expected to steal what he 00:26:31.019 --> 00:26:33.740 couldn't pay for. He was raised in dysfunction. 00:26:36.299 --> 00:26:38.440 He said, we were having dinner together, he said, 00:26:38.460 --> 00:26:40.140 I remember, Pastor, the first thing, you just 00:26:40.140 --> 00:26:44.079 put your arm around me. And he said, I froze. 00:26:45.519 --> 00:26:51.420 I didn't know what to do. He had no file in his 00:26:51.420 --> 00:26:56.799 head for a father's affection. And it's not just 00:26:56.799 --> 00:27:02.380 the fatherless. Many have been affected. Grown 00:27:02.380 --> 00:27:09.660 up with a lack of touch. Not embraced as a child. 00:27:09.779 --> 00:27:15.779 We grew up too quick. Grew up with harshness. 00:27:16.559 --> 00:27:20.289 I was in an airport. A little while ago in Jamaica 00:27:20.289 --> 00:27:23.869 and I'm sitting there and I'm watching a father 00:27:23.869 --> 00:27:26.130 and he's got his young boy there and they're 00:27:26.130 --> 00:27:27.869 getting some chicken and so forth and so on. 00:27:27.869 --> 00:27:29.950 And just the way he spoke to his son, I said, 00:27:29.970 --> 00:27:34.470 I've heard that before. If you ask the father, 00:27:34.529 --> 00:27:36.690 do you love your son? I'm sure he'd say, of course 00:27:36.690 --> 00:27:41.089 I do. But had no idea how to express it apart 00:27:41.089 --> 00:27:45.349 from being harsh. Apart from words that just 00:27:45.349 --> 00:27:50.819 cut. It makes someone feel stupid. There are 00:27:50.819 --> 00:27:53.619 others that have grown up with huge expectations 00:27:53.619 --> 00:27:57.240 upon you as a young child to be a carer for someone 00:27:57.240 --> 00:28:00.079 that was sick, to carry a family with education. 00:28:00.900 --> 00:28:03.740 You were sent to be educated so you would carry 00:28:03.740 --> 00:28:08.039 the financial burden and load of your extended 00:28:08.039 --> 00:28:14.519 family. There are huge wounds to the soul. That 00:28:14.519 --> 00:28:17.119 many live with a feeling and a sense of failure, 00:28:17.240 --> 00:28:20.640 often bitterness. There are rooms in your soul 00:28:20.640 --> 00:28:25.200 that are messed up. You've got beams that are 00:28:25.200 --> 00:28:33.480 hanging down. And it's all to do, and it's possible, 00:28:33.660 --> 00:28:39.259 to not have an easy relationship with love. You 00:28:39.259 --> 00:28:41.420 ever seen a young lady struggle with motherhood? 00:28:43.140 --> 00:28:47.180 Something that should be so natural, but yet 00:28:47.180 --> 00:28:51.200 to her it's not. Oh, she wants it, she knows 00:28:51.200 --> 00:28:57.759 it, she just can't feel it. This bond, a deep 00:28:57.759 --> 00:29:00.359 affection, a connection. Somewhere the room is 00:29:00.359 --> 00:29:05.140 closed down. Somewhere there's a beam hanging. 00:29:06.579 --> 00:29:11.779 Can't function here. Ever seen a husband? He's 00:29:11.779 --> 00:29:15.839 a good man. He sacrifices for his family. He's 00:29:15.839 --> 00:29:19.140 a good man. But yet when you watch him with his 00:29:19.140 --> 00:29:28.819 wife, there is no warmth. He leads. He leads 00:29:28.819 --> 00:29:31.720 by the head. He leads with authority, maybe even 00:29:31.720 --> 00:29:36.700 a bit of harshness. But it's like he's detached. 00:29:36.980 --> 00:29:40.819 It's like he can't feel empathy, kindness, gentleness. 00:29:42.600 --> 00:29:49.019 He's struggling with love. Pastors, God has raised 00:29:49.019 --> 00:29:53.859 us up. We're not evil. We're doing our best. 00:29:55.859 --> 00:29:59.579 But at home, the children are never good enough. 00:30:02.339 --> 00:30:07.079 The wife is left alone. When we disciple men 00:30:07.079 --> 00:30:11.150 and work with men, we're kind of distant. Everything 00:30:11.150 --> 00:30:14.890 is about business. Everything's a little awkward. 00:30:15.490 --> 00:30:18.650 It's easier to correct and instruct than enjoy. 00:30:20.690 --> 00:30:27.190 It's easier to teach than to laugh with. Put 00:30:27.190 --> 00:30:29.750 an arm around a shoulder. It's a weakened area 00:30:29.750 --> 00:30:33.089 in our soul. You know, England needs your prayers. 00:30:33.269 --> 00:30:36.390 The UK needs your prayers. We are going to have 00:30:36.390 --> 00:30:41.529 a revival. where God raised up men, women, centuries 00:30:41.529 --> 00:30:44.869 ago that touched the world. God, we need you 00:30:44.869 --> 00:30:47.509 to remember that and have mercy upon our nation. 00:30:47.970 --> 00:30:58.170 We have a prime minister, not good, and recently 00:30:58.170 --> 00:31:02.190 one of our bases, the RAF base, was breached 00:31:02.190 --> 00:31:04.849 by protesters, a group called Palestine Action. 00:31:05.369 --> 00:31:07.410 I mean, they jumped over a little wooden fence. 00:31:07.509 --> 00:31:11.910 My goodness, Lord have mercy. Sprayed and ruined 00:31:11.910 --> 00:31:16.089 a few of the planes there. But it brought up 00:31:16.089 --> 00:31:18.250 the fact that Keir Starmer, our Prime Minister 00:31:18.250 --> 00:31:20.970 years ago, used to be a lawyer and a solicitor, 00:31:21.009 --> 00:31:24.869 and he defended a man who had sabotaged US bombers 00:31:24.869 --> 00:31:28.789 in a protest. Now, his defence, and Keir Starmer 00:31:28.789 --> 00:31:32.470 defended him, was that he was stopping planes 00:31:32.470 --> 00:31:37.589 from committing war crimes. Now, the article 00:31:37.589 --> 00:31:39.849 that I read went on to say this, because you 00:31:39.849 --> 00:31:41.910 don't judge a surgeon. So in other words, they're 00:31:41.910 --> 00:31:45.369 defending Keir Starmer. Listen, okay, he defended 00:31:45.369 --> 00:31:47.650 this guy for what he did, but you don't judge 00:31:47.650 --> 00:31:52.849 a surgeon by their patience. You don't judge 00:31:52.849 --> 00:31:56.710 a journalist by who they interview or a lawyer 00:31:56.710 --> 00:31:59.609 by their clients. In other words, it's not Keir 00:31:59.609 --> 00:32:02.769 Starmer's fault that he defended such a man. 00:32:03.259 --> 00:32:11.380 And I think that is true. We lift our churches 00:32:11.380 --> 00:32:16.359 up. We lift our successes up to validate our 00:32:16.359 --> 00:32:20.079 lives. But as one man said, God does not look 00:32:20.079 --> 00:32:23.259 at the greatness of our works, but at the love 00:32:23.259 --> 00:32:27.500 with which they were done. You cannot separate 00:32:27.500 --> 00:32:31.259 the great commission from the great commandment. 00:32:32.750 --> 00:32:35.230 In my Bible, I've written a quote from an author. 00:32:35.289 --> 00:32:37.990 I was driven by my fear of failure and by cruel 00:32:37.990 --> 00:32:41.049 ambition that left no room for compassion for 00:32:41.049 --> 00:32:45.849 anyone. Paul the Apostle is giving us, he's giving 00:32:45.849 --> 00:32:48.910 us an understanding, an aim, a progression that 00:32:48.910 --> 00:32:52.809 is so powerful, so transforming that your life 00:32:52.809 --> 00:32:55.970 and your ministry may never be the same. Your 00:32:55.970 --> 00:32:59.190 family, your marriage, your church, our fellowship. 00:32:59.430 --> 00:33:02.269 He says to be strengthened. We've looked at that. 00:33:02.720 --> 00:33:05.680 with might through his spirit in the inner man, 00:33:05.779 --> 00:33:08.839 that you would be strengthened, that Christ may 00:33:08.839 --> 00:33:12.920 dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, 00:33:13.119 --> 00:33:18.039 now Christ is in, the aim of Christ in is that 00:33:18.039 --> 00:33:23.039 you being rooted and grounded in love, like a 00:33:23.039 --> 00:33:26.920 tree with deep roots in a storm, like a house 00:33:26.920 --> 00:33:31.519 with a proper foundation. Christ will come into 00:33:31.519 --> 00:33:38.579 your heart to make you secure in love. Christ 00:33:38.579 --> 00:33:43.380 wants to brace your soul. He wants to enter into 00:33:43.380 --> 00:33:47.720 those rooms. He wants to heal them, fix them, 00:33:47.880 --> 00:33:52.519 repair them, strengthen them so that you would 00:33:52.519 --> 00:33:57.559 be comfortable with intimacy. You would be comfortable. 00:33:58.359 --> 00:34:03.519 in relationships. You'd be comfortable with closeness, 00:34:03.519 --> 00:34:08.079 empathy, patience. That the aim of your life 00:34:08.079 --> 00:34:11.760 would be to love others, friends, family, church, 00:34:12.059 --> 00:34:16.159 pastors, others, the lost. And as we give of 00:34:16.159 --> 00:34:20.079 ourselves, realizing that there are wounds and 00:34:20.079 --> 00:34:22.599 there are things that are broken within us, and 00:34:22.599 --> 00:34:26.699 we will say, no, Lord, I'm not going to run from 00:34:26.699 --> 00:34:31.289 love. I'm not going to cover over it with business. 00:34:32.030 --> 00:34:35.670 I'm not going to excuse myself, my attitude. 00:34:36.889 --> 00:34:39.949 I'm going to learn it. I'm going to improve it. 00:34:39.989 --> 00:34:43.610 I'm going to let you, Christ, I want to make 00:34:43.610 --> 00:34:48.030 love the great foundation of my life. Then it 00:34:48.030 --> 00:34:51.349 says, if you do that, that Christ may dwell. 00:34:52.199 --> 00:34:54.860 In your hearts through faith that you being rooted 00:34:54.860 --> 00:34:58.179 and grounded in love may be able to comprehend 00:34:58.179 --> 00:35:01.079 with all the saints what is the width and the 00:35:01.079 --> 00:35:03.360 length and the depth and the height to know the 00:35:03.360 --> 00:35:06.280 love of Christ which passes knowledge. Listen, 00:35:06.460 --> 00:35:10.900 as you let Christ enter into your soul, you go 00:35:10.900 --> 00:35:14.920 to those areas and you say, Lord Jesus, fix it, 00:35:15.079 --> 00:35:20.340 heal it. Brace it, strengthen it. He says he 00:35:20.340 --> 00:35:25.000 will begin to dwell and fill those traumas and 00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:28.900 begin to fill. And then he says it is possible 00:35:28.900 --> 00:35:32.500 once you're comfortable with love to begin to 00:35:32.500 --> 00:35:37.360 experience and learn of and grow in a love so 00:35:37.360 --> 00:35:41.420 powerful that when it fills your soul. You ever 00:35:41.420 --> 00:35:44.360 had those moments when God does fill you with 00:35:44.360 --> 00:35:47.159 his love? Isn't it unbelievable? You just love 00:35:47.159 --> 00:35:50.079 everybody. I mean, you want to hug everybody. 00:35:51.079 --> 00:35:53.980 People that you, normally you just see problems. 00:35:55.860 --> 00:35:58.179 Now you just see, normally you just see issues 00:35:58.179 --> 00:36:00.139 and this and that. I want to tell you, when you 00:36:00.139 --> 00:36:02.260 get filled with God's love, when you have those 00:36:02.260 --> 00:36:06.280 moments, you love everybody. The church man is 00:36:06.280 --> 00:36:11.420 the great, you just, and it doesn't end there. 00:36:12.099 --> 00:36:15.199 He says that you. that you would be filled to 00:36:15.199 --> 00:36:17.760 know the love of Christ, which passes all knowledge, 00:36:17.880 --> 00:36:20.900 that you may be filled with the fullness of God. 00:36:21.000 --> 00:36:25.219 All that he is working within you. No wonder 00:36:25.219 --> 00:36:28.000 greater is he who is in you than is in the world. 00:36:28.079 --> 00:36:30.480 You feel overwhelmed by ministry, brother. You've 00:36:30.480 --> 00:36:33.420 lost your heart for ministry, sister. Amen. You're 00:36:33.420 --> 00:36:36.920 overwhelmed. Adam was to conquer the world. What 00:36:36.920 --> 00:36:40.460 is your calling? Pastor, ministry, pillar. It 00:36:40.460 --> 00:36:45.570 seems so big. And yet the nature of the power, 00:36:45.670 --> 00:36:50.190 one man said, I'm convinced is love. It's unconquerable. 00:36:50.789 --> 00:36:53.590 One man said this, I tried to learn how to love, 00:36:53.690 --> 00:36:56.570 but love can't flow by the letter. Love is to 00:36:56.570 --> 00:36:59.829 flow forth from our spirit. I'm talking about 00:36:59.829 --> 00:37:02.269 this. Another word for that word strengthen, 00:37:02.309 --> 00:37:06.949 I'm closing now, is the word fortify. Christians 00:37:06.949 --> 00:37:13.340 in love are like a fort. You're strong on the 00:37:13.340 --> 00:37:19.599 inside. You're impregnable. Pastor Mitchell used 00:37:19.599 --> 00:37:21.840 to say, you can have as much of God as you want. 00:37:22.599 --> 00:37:27.699 And it starts with strengthen my inner man. I'm 00:37:27.699 --> 00:37:31.679 not going to make excuses for my bad attitude 00:37:31.679 --> 00:37:35.960 anymore, God. Why I'm always fighting. Why I'm 00:37:35.960 --> 00:37:39.599 always sharp with my words. Why I'm always quick 00:37:39.599 --> 00:37:42.360 to... cut someone down, why I'm always filled 00:37:42.360 --> 00:37:47.400 with everyone else's negativity. I'm not going 00:37:47.400 --> 00:37:49.539 to just say this is the way I am. I don't know 00:37:49.539 --> 00:37:53.960 how to be close to people without fear. It's 00:37:53.960 --> 00:37:55.599 the way I've always been. I'm not going to live 00:37:55.599 --> 00:37:57.360 like this anymore, God. I'm going to make it 00:37:57.360 --> 00:38:01.199 my aim to have you come in, Lord. and strengthen 00:38:01.199 --> 00:38:04.099 my inner man and dwell within me, that I would 00:38:04.099 --> 00:38:08.260 learn to become secure in love, that I would 00:38:08.260 --> 00:38:11.500 grow then in a revelation of the love of God 00:38:11.500 --> 00:38:15.820 and thus be filled with the Spirit of God. It'll 00:38:15.820 --> 00:38:18.480 change our ministry. It'll change our lives. 00:38:18.699 --> 00:38:22.480 It'll empower you to do the will of God. The 00:38:22.480 --> 00:38:24.940 secret of the Lord is with those who fear him, 00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:28.360 and he will show them his covenant. God wants 00:38:28.360 --> 00:38:31.679 you to be secure in him. Let's bow our heads 00:38:31.679 --> 00:38:34.420 together. Heads are bowed, our eyes are closed, 00:38:34.500 --> 00:38:38.260 waiting in the presence of God. I pray, Holy 00:38:38.260 --> 00:38:43.099 Spirit, confirm the word. I said in the very 00:38:43.099 --> 00:38:50.239 beginning. to the PHSAA Potter's House Salmon 00:38:50.239 --> 00:38:52.400 Arm podcast. Be sure to follow us on Instagram 00:38:52.400 --> 00:38:55.179 at pottershouse underscore salmon arm to keep 00:38:55.179 --> 00:38:57.519 up to date on what we are doing. Join the conversation 00:38:57.519 --> 00:39:00.579 and discover how Jesus Christ can revolutionize 00:39:00.579 --> 00:39:01.199 your life.