Hello and welcome back to the Potter's House
Seminar Podcast. This is a special series from
our Prescott Conference that just recently occurred.
The theme of the conference was Into the Unknown
and the scripture for the theme was Romans 15,
20 -21. I have made it my aim to preach the gospel
to whom he was not announced. So this is a powerful
series of... sermons from leaders in our fellowship
to include Greg Mitchell, Joe Campbell, Richard
Ruby, Sergey Golubev, and others along with that.
So please enjoy and listen along to these powerful
sermons from leaders in our fellowship. Wonderful
to be here in a Bible conference. Listen, if
you venture for God, life's a wild ride. I just
throw that out there. You're bored. It's because,
well, you finished the story. Genesis chapter
12 this evening. The world has been changed by
those who would dare to adventure into the unknown.
Christopher Columbus. He sailed west from Spain
into the vast unknown, into a world that was
massive, larger than anyone imagined or believed.
He's searching for a shortcut to Asia and ran
into south. and North America, two massive continents.
He adventured. It opened a new world. When you
will dare to travel into the unknown, you not
only discover what you never knew existed, but
you open new worlds for others to follow you.
Experience and joy. Pastor Mitchell, many, many
decades ago, he forged into discipleship church
planting and world evangelism out of the local
church. That was totally unheard of and foreign
to the church world. Then, and even by and large
today, Bible school was their answer. But because
he made that decision and forged into that revelation,
look where we are today. Look at the impact upon
nations. This is just a small... demonstration,
this Bible conference, of the impact that decision
made. The nations that have been blessed, the
cities, the multitudes of people that have been
saved and transformed, delivered. People around
the world. of that some 4 ,000 churches because
he dared to adventure into the unknown. Ask you
a question tonight. Can you be called to the
unknown? Again tonight, Hebrews 12 verse 1. Now
the Lord had said to Abraham, Get out of your
country, from your family, from your father's
house, to a land that I will show you. God, we
come tonight by the Holy Ghost, power of your
Spirit, your Word. God, only you know all that's
sitting here. The potential, the possibilities.
The chapters that have not yet been written.
God, I'm asking you tonight. I'm asking you to
dig deep into the heart of this people. Shake
us, God, outside of ourself. Stir us, God, to
the unknown of kingdom living. I'm asking tonight,
Lord, you bind up those whose hearts have been
broken and they've come to this place. Open prison
doors to those who find themselves bound and
incarcerated. Set at liberty those that life
has bruised. God, move tonight in these people
for the glory of your name. We thank you. Amen.
I want you to think with me about Into the Unknown.
What are we talking about? What's involved? You
have no past personal experience here. It's the
unfamiliar. It's a place filled with unanswered
questions and uncertainty. The unknown can be
very intimidating. It's highly demanding. The
unknown is challenging. It can push your anxiety
buttons. The unknown exposes fears and insecurities.
Many times there's no map, there's no personal
map into this arena of life. There's these emotions
that are attached to it. There's a mental and
a spiritual intensity once you choose to walk
into this arena. What's out there? What's waiting
for me? What am I going to have to overcome?
What am I going to have to deal with that I've
never dealt with before? The unknown can be threatening.
It can look impossible. It can be filled with
shadows and darkness and sometimes look endless.
But the truth is no one escapes the unknown.
A child taking their first steps. A kid learning
to ride a bicycle. I learned to swim. My older
brothers, my cousins picked me up. Sugar Creek
bodily threw me in. And I have to admit, It was
terrifying, but it was thrilling. I learned to
swim. The unknown. Later, I was baptized in almost
that same spot. You heard me tell the story.
In the eighth grade, my family, we moved from
a hillbilly country town, Creel Springs, a few
hundred people to East Chicago, Indiana. I'm
now in a high school of some 2 ,000 people. The
culture is different. The accent, the language
is different. How they dress is different. Mannerisms.
I stepped in. I might as well stepped into the
moon. It was the unknown. The unknown is unexcapable.
No one escapes a mother with her first child.
You decide to get married even as a new convert.
We heard last night the Apostle Paul. Damascus
Road, this experience thrust him blinded into
a world really that he had no comprehension about.
The Bible is filled with accounts of the unknown.
Matthew 14, Peter, he has a history with the
Sea of Galilee. They're out in the very middle
in a boat. Jesus had made them get in the boat
and said, I want you to go to the other side.
They're in the perfect will of God. A storm has
caught them. The Bible said they're extremely,
they're putting everything into rowing. It's
dark. No doubt Peter's been in storms before
at sea. And he understands completely the boat
is the only place of safety. If I'm going to
survive this, it depends on my ability to navigate
and stay in the boat. If I'm going to make it
to the other side, my future depends on staying
in the boat. Jesus comes walking on the water.
The disciples are terrified, cry out in fear.
Jesus said, be not afraid. It's I. And Peter
makes this statement, Lord, if that's you, bid
me come. And Jesus said, come. Can he say come
to you tonight? Peter's never walked on water.
He's never seen anyone walk on water. Probably
never heard of anyone walking on water. Totally
unknown. And he hears that simple one word, come.
Can he say that to you tonight? Pastor, couple,
young man, young lady, grandparent. Can he say
that to you this evening? Come. Come. Place you've
never been before. You've never even thought
about perhaps before. My mind, Peter, had never
prayed about walking on water. It's unnatural.
It's never probably entered his mind to walk
on water. And yet at that one word, he gets out
of the boat. But the question is, will you? Tonight,
this week, can he call you and say, come to a
place you've never lived in? A nation perhaps
you've never seen. An unknown people. A city.
A ministry. In the church, you never planned
for it. You never expected it. You've heard me
tell the story. 1960, 1986 rather, God spoke
to me. About Malaysia. I got a great church.
I'm living a dream. Church at that time. Some
300 people. Mostly all young people. Military.
Hispanic by and large. Disciples everywhere.
And God. One morning. You've heard me tell the
story. It's still so. So potent. There on Washington
Street, a little tiny office, and I felt like
someone was out in the church. So I went out,
and I'll never forget, I felt God. And I went
over to the altar, and I fell down at the altar
and began to pray. And the presence of God, He
said, I'm going to put you in Malaysia. Can he
say that to you this week? Talk to Pastor Mitchell.
He launched Connie and I into Malaysia in 1987.
Peter got out of the boat and he walked on water.
You'll never know what's there until you get
out of the boat. But the question rests in your
heart tonight. Come. Get out of the boat. When
you step into the unknown, let me ask you, does
it qualify you for the future? Peter got out
of the boat, but I wonder later when you fast
forward in his life, and God wants to pour out
his spirit on the Gentiles. He's already dealing
with Cornelius. And I wonder, God says, listen,
this man got out of the boat. He stepped into
the unknown in the natural. I can trust him to
step into the unknown in the spiritual. Peter's
probably, perhaps he's never eaten with a Gentile.
Maybe never had a conversation with a Gentile.
He doesn't say that he's even praying about going
to the, he's not burdened for the Gentiles. And
yet God, the whole praying on the housetop, the
sheet. My point is, when you step into the unknown
today, it's not just about today. It's about
can God trust you with tomorrow? This great revival
that... Peter later testifies about. He's speaking.
The Holy Ghost falls. They're all saved, filled
with the Holy Ghost, and revival broke out in
the Gentiles. When he stepped out of the boat
into the unknown, did it qualify him for future
revival? Pastor Warner. He and Mona went to Tucson
in a wheelchair. I don't know anyone that's done
that. Talk about unknown. But again, was that
part of the process that made him the man of
God he is today? Did that position him and develop
him and qualify him for that great church today?
Pastor Richard Ruby told me one time, he said,
how could we complain? Pastor Warner's out there
in his chair on the streets praying, never misses
church. Can he speak to you tonight, this week?
Abraham's hallmark chapters of his life were
marked by the unknown. Think of this, the father
of our faith, the one whose faith we must follow.
He has these memorable moments that are recorded.
But much and many of them happened in the unknown.
It's where his story begins. We heard Pastor
Greg last night. Doesn't say he was praying about
it. Doesn't record that Abraham was this great
spiritual individual. It's like the Lord slammed
unknown right into his face. No real warning.
No real discussion. No conversations. Get out
of your country and from your family and from
your father's house. To land I will show you.
Going where? To do what? Can God do that to you
this evening? I'll show you. God has revelation.
He has insight and ministry that's reserved only.
For those who will venture into the unknown.
Listen, destiny lives in the unknown. Think about
Abraham, all of his future conversations with
God. The experiences he's going to personally
have with God. The miracle son Isaac. The land
geographic that Israel claims today. A nation,
the Jewish nation, the Jewish people, Jesus Christ,
the Son of God. Your Bible was written totally
by Jewish people. The church, all of that was
waiting behind the door of the unknown. What's
waiting for you? What's waiting for you, but
it's hidden and reserved behind this door called
the unknown. The only way you're going to experience
it, the only way you're going to discover it,
the only way you're going to live it is you have
to walk through that door. As Pastor Greg mentioned,
by faith. Get out. Go. Discover new places. If
it's ever beat in your heart, there has to be
more. Are you desperate for a place you've never
been before? Is that still burning you? An experience
I've never had before. Connie and I, it's like,
and I've talked to other guys going to the mission.
It's like our life, these last 50 years, it's
like before Malaysia and after Malaysia. It's
like BC and AD. It was a moment, and I, so many.
Have you become content to live in the valley
of the common? The comfortable, the familiar,
like the children of Israel. They came up to
Jericho, Jordan, a land, an inheritance. But
here's this unknown factor. You know the story.
They turned away. And wandered in the wilderness
for 40 years complaining. Fear. Giants, walled
cities. We'd be like grasshoppers. All of those
words. And they refused to cross over Jordan
into the unknown. What's your Jericho tonight,
sir, ma 'am? What's your Jordan? And so for 40
years, Joshua later, when he took the reins from
Moses, he said, we have not passed this way before.
What's your Jericho? Are you bored with your
walk with God? Listen, listen, if you'll jump
into the unknown, I guarantee you, you won't
be bored. You don't have time to complain. But
too many lose that hunger, I fear, that passion,
that heart for what's waiting out there. Does
your heart still burn? For what you've not yet
seen. Pastor Mitchell that statement. Willing
to go but planning to stay. If you're not careful
age. Time will rob you of that hunger for the
unknown. It's like the rich young ruler. He comes
running to Jesus. He's excited. He has all the
right words. What must I do to inherit eternal
life? And he rolls out the commandments. And
this man said, these I've kept from my youth
up. Think of what he's saying. And Jesus doesn't
rebuke him there and say, quit lying. What's
wrong with you? But Jesus challenged him into
the unknown. The Bible said he loved him. Go
your way. Sell what you have. Give to the poor.
Take up your cross and follow me. And he went
away sorrowful. Went away no doubt with regret.
I remember one time I was flying and it seemed
like it was over. It was in Asia. And they had
upgraded me. And so I'm in business class, and
I'm sitting by this man, and he's asking me,
what are you doing? I think I was on my way.
Seemed like it might have been even to Malaysia.
And I said, well, I'm pastoring. I'm a missionary
in Malaysia. I'm going to go there, the church,
and I'm preaching and this and that. And it was
so interesting, this man. He's probably maybe
in his 50s. And he looked at me, he said, you
know, when I was in the university, he said,
there was a time I had a real, I felt like God
really dealt with me, that I would like to do
what you're doing. And it was one of those intense
moments with a stranger. And he said, but my
father, he has this business. And he had this
conversation with me, son, I built this business
for you. And I remember saying, dad, you know,
I kind of feel like maybe I'd like to be a pastor
or preach or something. And he said, my dad pressed
me. And I said, I didn't want to disappoint him.
I said, okay, okay, dad. And my dad groomed me
and now I... I, by and large, have control of
the business. But he said there's times, like
he said, I'm feeling it right now. There's times
when I'm in a country, and it's evidently this
business. He went numerous times. He said, and
I'll be in a hotel room in the middle of the
night. And I'll think, I wonder what my life
would have been like. He's married. if my memory
is correct, had a couple of children, seemed
like they were girls. He said, I wonder what
my family would be like. And we didn't get into
detail if I'd have went for God. And you could
feel it, the intensity. Can I say, don't let
that be you. Don't one day look back on your
life. I wonder about this man. I wonder, it doesn't
give any record, but I wonder later what he thought
when he saw his life. And he remembers this conversation.
Take up your cross and follow me. I'll take you
to places you never knew existed. Who knows,
some scholars feel he might have been one of
the top disciples. Vision is a window into the
unknown. That's what vision is. Vision sees through
a window into the unknown. Pastor Mitchell had
a vision. We've all preached it for years. Discipleship,
conversions, discipleship, church planting, world
evangelism. He saw what others did not see. That
vision literally put a spotlight into the unknown.
Do you really have a vision? Or is it just rhetoric?
Is it just words? The unknown. And the Bible
again is filled. Think about Joseph. He's his
father's favorite. He's known nothing but favor
and blessing and love and acceptance and the
coat of many colors. And in a flash, he's a slave.
In chains, Psalm says, into Egypt. A place he's
never been. He never expected to go. Probably
never wanted to go. Never thought about going.
And you know the story, Potiphar's wife, prison,
all of this. Later he interprets the dreams.
Has this, he's prime minister. Saves a race of
people in a famine. But he makes these incredible
statement. Later, his brothers come before him.
Some say around 20 years has passed. They don't
recognize him. He's in authority now. They're
in a famine. They came. They're asking. There's
grain in Egypt. And when he reveals himself,
they're terrified. But he makes these incredible
statement. You meant evil against me, but God
meant it for good that I might save many people
alive. In other words, you thrust me into the
unknown. You had evil intention, but God used
that unknown to develop me. Can you imagine?
He's this teenager. Can you imagine if he had
went from there to prime minister? I mean, he's
full of ego and pride. All your sheaves are going
to bow down to me. Can you imagine some? Young
disciple getting up here. Yeah, all you folks,
you're going to bow down to me. I mean, he was,
but my point is the unknown was painful, but
so needed, so prepared, positioned you. See,
the test of the unknown. Somewhere God will test
you to prove you in the unknown. Bible says about
Abraham in Genesis 22, God tested him. Then God
said, take now your son, your only son Isaac,
whom you love, to the land of Moriah. Offer him
there as a burnt sacrifice. It seems so outrageous.
I mean, so unreasonable, shocking, irrational.
It makes no sense, God. This is Isaac. This is
the miracle boy. This is the key and the seed
to the promise. You're going to multiply me as
the sand to the seashore. God, this is insane.
Sometimes that's the nature of the unknown. Your
family won't understand you. Your friends think
you're crazy. I remember we went to Malaysia.
My dad, he'd gotten saved, got saved when Gail
died. And it was hilarious. He didn't have a
clue. I mean, you know, he's saved, but he...
And he gets spiritual on me. Son, aren't there
any sinners in America? I mean, they're everywhere,
you know. Taking my granddaughter, J -Rel, Malaysia.
And that's over there by Vietnam, isn't it? Different
times your family, they want to understand. I'll
never forget when God. dealt with me and I went
full time in the ministry on faith and $25 a
week. My dad, he was, I mean, he was glad I was
saved, but he was livid. Son, you got a good
job with the telephone industry. What are you
thinking? Can I just inject this? Listen, we're
so blessed. I was in the assemblies of God. They
didn't help you go anywhere or do anything financially.
I remember when Pastor Mitchell launched Connie
and I and my family to Phoenix. We're selling
everything. We had a yard sale going 24 -7. We're
trying to get enough money together to get to
Phoenix. And I got this check from Prescott.
I said, honey, look at this. Wow, baby. You get
to keep the silverware. Glory to God. We died
and went to heaven. That's unheard of in the
religious world. The unknown. The unknown. God
will test you with it. But that's where revelation
lives. Oh, it exposes who you really are. You
can talk a good game. You can parade your personality,
your talent, your gifting, your intellect, but
the unknown strips you down to reality. Now it's
you and God and a call. What do you do right
there? Do you excuse yourself? Build your case?
You can do that. You'll always believe the story
you tell yourself. Listen what God says to Abraham
though. After he offers Isaac, you know the revelation
Jehovah Jireh, the Lord himself will provide
a sacrifice. But God says these incredible words.
I know that you fear God. Since you've not withheld
your son, your only son from me. I know you now,
Abraham. What does God know about you? What does
he say about you? The unknown. Think about Job.
I mean, the scriptures feel with it. God is Satan
has come before God. He's making these. And God
said, have you observed my servant Job? There's
none like him in all the earth. He's an upright
man. He fears God and shuns evil. What's God
recording about us? About the life you're living.
I close with a thought. Revelation hides in the
unknown. See, the unknown is where it becomes
your story. And this is a game changer. Now,
Abraham may have known that God was a provider.
But once he stepped into the unknown with this
sacrifice, now it's his story. Jehovah Jireh,
the Lord himself will provide. When you step
into the unknown, now it's not just scripture.
It's not just a text that is true. It's not just
a Bible story, but now it's your story. I came
back from Malaysia, 1990. Pastor Mitchell had
me preach here in conference, and people came
to me. I didn't recognize it. They said, Pastor,
you're different. When you speak, it's different.
There's a difference, and they'd use these words,
dimension, and I didn't feel anything was different.
But they said there's something different in
your words when you speak. That happens in the
unknown. You've heard me tell these stories.
I feel embarrassed sometimes. When I take offerings
and preach on money, it's not just... It's my
story. God took care of me by faith. $25 a week
in faith. Went off support and pioneering the
church in seven months and another time in four
months. Why? How did that happen? I love this
one. I'm sitting in a restaurant one morning,
Marion, Illinois, pioneering, and I feel this
family looking at me, a couple teenagers and
mom and dad, and you know, and I'm saying, God,
I want no problems. I've been preaching at the
high school. Things are stirred up. I said, I
just want to drink this coffee, go home. Connie
loves me. Sure enough, he gets up and comes toward
me. And he's walking toward me and I can feel,
I said, God, no, no, no. He said, sir. I said,
yes. He said, my wife and my two sons, we're
on our way to New Orleans. We're on vacation.
We're Christians. And God spoke to me to give
you this. He reached in his pocket, pulled out
a watermelon, put it on the table. God whispered
to me, I can do that anytime I want to. I said,
you can. Me and you, God. Me and you. But you
see, now it's not just Jesus saying give and
it shall be given back to you. Good measure.
Press down. Shake together. I'll cause men to
give to you. It's not just quoting a scripture.
It's living an experience. Now it's your story.
And that happens. That happens. When you traffic
in the unknown, when you step into these arenas
where it's you and God and faith, hope, vision,
burden, agony. Listen to me, pastor. Listen to
me, preacher. Listen to me, man and woman of
God. This is where you go to another level. This
is where now it's not just theology. It's a life
lived. Can he say to you tonight, come. Come.
Come. Ask you to bow your head with me this evening.
You're here tonight. You're unsaved. You know,
sin. I was 29 years old when I got saved. Sin
was eating me alive. I was angry. I was violent.
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