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 these powerful
sermons from leaders in our fellowship. Praise
God. It's been a great privilege to be with you
this morning. I thank Pastor Greg for this opportunity
to minister. Let's turn to Genesis chapter 12.
I'm just kidding. Praise God. You know, there's
been a unique attack upon our fellowship the
last six months or so, and I feel by the Spirit
of God that is against gifts of the Holy Spirit.
And there's been a peculiar attack against men
of God that have been stepping out. What begins
to happen is that there are these thoughts that
come to your mind about hearing from God, if
it's God, if it's your flesh, or if you are just
imagining something. But I declare that's an
attack from the enemy. And I'm talking about
a severe assault where you feel like you should
quit, back away from the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
And this has been targeting many men in this
auditorium today. And I declare that's from the
enemy. That's straight from hell. What we need
in these last days is the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
We need a move of God's Spirit like never before.
And the only way that we're going to break through
is if we had the heavy artillery of the kingdom
of God. And I don't pray for men here today.
You've been under a unique attack in your ministry.
I'm not talking about only a pastoral ministry
that you may have, even ministry in the church.
And you've been attacked in your mind. I want
you to stand very quickly. I want to pray for
you right now. And I've heard there are a number
of men here today that's been happening in your
ministry, in your mind. And even as you begin
to step out, you've done it before, but as you
do it again, you begin to waver like, ah. Is
this me or is this God? That's demonic and straight
from hell. We're going to pray. God, we thank
you right now for all that you're going to do.
We thank you for a releasing of the Holy Ghost
that's going to move and work through these lives.
Not only just these men, but others that would
contend for gifts of the Holy Ghost. God, we
thank you for a dynamic dimension of God. That's
going to be released through these men this morning
and through these workers here today. And we
thank you right now for victory that is ours.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Praise God. Let's
turn to Psalms chapter 23, verse 5. Frank Algretti
was 64 years old. He was a meticulous pilot with
more than 20 years of experience, which makes
it all the more shocking to hear that he crashed
his plane while he was piloting. In Iowa, cornfield,
because it ran out of gas. And sadly, he died
in that crash. But they begin to interview his
wife after this happened. And she made the remark,
like everybody has told me, he was the most cautious,
safe pilot they ever knew. Sadly, his story is
fairly common among pilots. The National Transportation
Safety Board officials said pilots run out of
gas with a freezing frequency. In the past five
years, fuel exhaustion, was the cause or contributing
factor in 238 plane crashes in the U .S., killing
29 people. It's surprising to me, said the director
of aviation safety, that there is a group of
pilots who will knowingly push it, thinking I
can make it the last couple of miles, and they
come up short. I want to preach on this morning,
emptied in the battle, out of Psalms chapter
23, beginning in verse 5. He says, you prepare
a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over
God. We're asking for your word to come alive
today. Let it be more than just words. Let there
be a spirit behind this message today that would
stir hearts. We thank you for all that you're
going to do. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. First
of all, look at empty. Because we have to understand.
Just like in the physical realm, there is a spiritual
temptation to keep going when we are depleted.
We refuse to admit this. We come to conference.
We have the look that everything's okay, that
we're doing just fine. But there's a longing
inside of us that desires to be filled with God's
presence. We want more of him. And that's why
we come, because we want to enter in. We want
everything that God has for us. But this spiritual
longing, remember that it only signifies that
it's time for a refilling. At the same time,
there exists within our nature the desire to
push things to the limit, to go as far as we
can go on empty, and we begin to cover up our
emptiness and act like everything is just fine.
Consider Naomi. The Bible tells us that she left
the house of God full. Her tank was full when
she journeyed into Moab, and the Bible says that
she did not come back home again until she was
empty. It was a broken and destitute Naomi who
finally began to limp back into the house of
God. Surely there were times during her trip
in Moab that she recognized that she needed to
go home, where she thought, I need to get back
into the presence of God. My spirit is getting
depleted. My soul is running empty and I need
a refilling. But somehow she pushes it off. The
Bible says that her husband dies. Her heart is
pulled down now into sorrow and there came a
longing to return home. But somehow in that moment,
knowing she needed to do this, she begins to
ignore it. As she stayed in Moab, she continued
to run on empty. And I'm sure she's believing
things are going to get better. It's going to
turn around. Finally, there's going to be some
favor in my life and things are going to change
for the better. But let me tell you this morning,
it's dangerous to run on empty. It's a dangerous
thing to ignore that longing in your soul. The
Bible says that when Moab was finished with Naomi,
she would go limping back into the house of God
broken. She made the proclamation, I went out
full, but I came home empty. Again, there was
a story about a man who made this remark. My
dad used to tell me that it costs more to drive
on empty than it does to keep your tank full.
For the longest time, I struggled to understand
the concept. I would drive until I was almost
empty, then put $5 in my tank and run again until
I was almost empty. The problem was I had this
old truck that had a faulty fuel gauge. It would
stuck at a quarter of a tank and just stay there.
If I wasn't careful, I'd run myself empty thinking
I still had gas in the tank. It was during one
of those strolls that it dawned on me. It doesn't
cost me any more money to keep the tank full,
but it will save me a lot of time and effort.
And I've come to end the notion this morning.
That it doesn't cost you anything to run on empty.
That you can go through another conference just
fine as you are. You can make the statement that
I'm okay, I'm doing well. That you're okay, I'm
okay, we're all okay. And the enemy would like
to convince you that it's perfectly acceptable
to conduct your life in a perpetual state of
nearly empty. And in fact, we wear it like a
badge of honor. Yeah, brother, I'm just grinding
it out. But the question is, are you on empty?
I'm here to tell you it will cost you more than
you can ever imagine. The Bible records a story
when King Saul sent his army into battle with
a foolish vow. He declared that any man who eats
anything today will pay for it with his life.
And as you read on that in this battle, his son
Jonathan led a victory over their foes. And as
the battle begins to progress, Saul's weary army
finds itself in a grove where there was honey
on the ground. And as they moved through the
grove, honey fell from the trees. It was a war
-weary Jonathan that dipped the end of his rod
in the honey and refreshed himself. And the Bible
says the soldiers around him were faint. They
were weary from the fighting, but they advised
Jonathan of his father's command and they rebuked
him for eating the honey. On hearing of his father's
decree, Jonathan lamented. He said, if the people
had eaten freely, there would have been a much
greater victory. You see, running on empty is
a dangerous place to be this morning. And I wonder
if it could be heard in heaven, the sound of
lamenting. Imagine God lamenting. If my people
were not running on empty, there would be a much
greater revival in the land. It's not what we
think it is. It's not that the enemy is greater.
It's not because we're on a losing side. We know
the truth this morning that we are on the winning
side, that God is with us, that we have the Holy
Spirit, and we have the promise that we can take
the land. And if that is so this morning, the
issue can be that we're running on empty. And
I believe only eternity can reveal the true cost
of running on empty. How many spiritual opportunities
are missed because we're too spiritually depleted
to recognize them or we're too weary to act upon
them? I've seen certain situations in the ministry
to realize later that there was a great missed
opportunity because they were empty, tired, and
spiritually deficient. You see, when we run on
empty, we keep ourselves in a perpetual state
where we are destitute of spiritual power and
authority. And if we lack power and authority,
we're only making noise and we're not making
real impact. We come and we toot the fellowship
horn. But are we making impact? When the disciples
failed to cast out the demon from a child, Jesus
did not rebuke them for their loss of faith.
He reminded them, you guys are running on empty.
He told them, if you want to cast out these kinds
of demons, they can only come out by prayer and
by fasting. And I wonder this morning what kind
of revival there would be if the church was not
running on empty. So secondly, I'll look at the
danger. In our text, David said, you prepare
a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
To be in the presence of your enemies, implies
that you are right in the middle of the battle
this is where we can be this morning we're fighting
to do what's right we're fighting to advance
we're fighting to build the work for God when
a soldier is in the presence of his enemies if
he eats anything at all he grabs a quick meal
and he goes back to fighting so maybe this is
where the problem can be found We tend to get
so engaged in the fight that we fail to maintain
our walk with God. And I still believe this morning
many failures that happen in the ministry can
be traced back to not maintaining our personal
walk with God. We come this morning, yes, we
know that. Yeah, preaching in the choir. But
are you doing it? It's not an issue of standards
or theology. It's an issue of having fresh life
that comes from a fresh relationship with God.
Like Martha, we're so busy in the kitchen that
we neglect the better thing. That's to be in
the presence of Jesus. What's the point of coming
to conference if we're not in the presence of
Jesus? It's not just a fellowship here. It's
not just a talk. But we have come because we
are engaging the spirit of God. We're engaging
the spirit of our fellowship. And we want to
take that back with us. There's so much that
needs to be done. But how can we reach the world
when we're depleted? If we're not careful, we
can leave the most important thing undone, and
that is our daily walk with God. Listen to what
David says. He says, in the presence of my enemy,
right in the middle of the battle, you prepare
a table. Keep in mind that this is not a rushed
event. This isn't fast food. This isn't in and
out. This isn't an on -the -go remedy. He says,
you prepare. This is like a server that's unfolding
a tablecloth and preparing a feast on a large
banquet table. Nothing is left undone. Nothing
is hurried. There is no confusion. There is no
disturbances. The imagery that comes to mind,
the enemy's at the door. God prepares a table
for his people to take of his blessings. As if
they are in perfect peace in that moment. David
implies there's a banquet feast to be had in
the middle of the battle. So maybe this is why
the scripture speaks of a peace that surpasses
all understanding. Because in our natural state
of mind, this does not make sense. How can this
be? That right in the middle of my struggle,
right in the heat of battle, there's refreshing
and it's reserved for those. that will but seek
it. We know this morning that taking breaks,
they're necessary and important. This can come
by vacations or breaks away from the ministry,
but this account this morning gives us some important
clues. What is that? The Spirit of God within
you is renewable. Romans chapter 12 verse 2.
Be not conformed to this world but be transformed
by the renewing of our mind. It tells us very
clearly how this can be done. We have to change
the way that we think and that can only happen
by the Spirit of God coming into our life day
after day after day only as we choose to engage
the Holy Spirit and seek Him out every day. This
world will drain you. We know that living for
God is an uphill battle in this generation. The
struggles and the battles of life, it will suck
your soul dry. Yes, it's important to take breaks.
What's even more crucial is that we find our
way into the presence of God and to make sure
that our mind is renewed. You know this morning
that your walk with God, it requires a regular
daily renewal. Thank God that you were saved
in 1980, 1970, 1990. But what about today? If
all we do is talk about what God did yesterday
and we're depleted today, where are we going
to go? Right in the middle of our battle, we
need to keep contending. A lot of our struggles
are not what we think they are. We can get up
and preach a really sound sermon, but could it
be theology that's based on something that is
really not true? I'm just burned out. Yeah, you're
probably burned out on yourself. Too much of
you and not enough of God. The question is, are
we maintaining an intimate daily relationship
with God? When was the last time you prayed without
playing with your phone? Can we be honest? When
was the last time that we sat before God in his
presence? We cannot afford to go extended periods
of time without allowing the Holy Spirit to work
in our lives. And thank God for the Holy Ghost
because all that we do today cannot be accomplished,
nor can we advance without the Spirit of God
working through our lives. Let's be honest. We
know what we are. I do. I know what I am. I'm
nothing without the Holy Spirit. Don't fool yourself
that everything will get better on its own. You
know, I'm just struggling a little bit, but it'll
come through eventually. If you don't get refilling
somewhere along the way, you are going to run
out of fuel. The last thing a police officer
trying to chase down a suspect needs to see is
a warning that the patrol car is running low
on gas or on battery juice. But that's how it
went down one night in Fremont, California. There
was a police officer pursuing a suspect while
driving. department's tesla sorry about that
tesla model s patrol car he noticed it was running
out of battery the pursuit of a felony vehicle
started in fremont and reached peak speeds of
120 miles per hour on the highway the officer
driving the tesla radioed in that he might not
be able to continue the chase the officer said
i'm down to six miles of battery so i may lose
it here in a sec however shortly after he called
the person the police were chasing began to drive
on the shoulder of the highway as traffic began
to thicken. This prompted police to call up the
chase at the moment for safety. The vehicle being
chased was found a short time later after it
crashed into bushes. But the driver had fled
the scene and was not found. Officers eventually
found, the officer rather found a charger in
San Jose to juice up his car. A police department
spokesperson said, we have no rent policy. regarding
charging, but the general guideline is that it
should at least be half full at the beginning
of the shift. Apparently the Tesla had not been
recharged at the previous shift, but Hartman
took it out so the battery level was lower than
it should have been. A spokesperson couldn't
provide details on why it wasn't charged. You
see, we need to know running on empty could possibly
do irreparable damage to our life. We need a
refilling here this morning. It's been too long
since you got immersed in the Holy Spirit. It's
been too long since your heart was under the
influence of the presence of God. It's been too
long since you allowed God to search your heart
and to quench the thirsting in your soul. And
I declare this morning that God has prepared
a table for you in the presence of your enemies,
right in the thick of the battle, right in the
heat of what you're engaging, because God wants
to refresh us here today. So David doesn't stop
there. He goes on to say, You anoint my head
with oil and my cup, it runs over. So in this
culture, the people would anoint their special
visitors with a fragrant perfume. Then give them
a cup of precious water, which they were careful
to fill until it began to run over. First, it
was designated to show their love and respect.
It was a statement of their love. So David is
saying, it is the Lord who anoints my head with
oil. What he is stating, God lets the one who
sits at the Lord's table know that he loves them.
God doesn't want to lose you in the battle. He
doesn't want you to lose sight of his love for
your life. Right in the heat of the battle, while
you're fighting the fury of hell, God says, let
me show how much I love you. I'm going to prepare
a table and I'm going to anoint your head with
oil. God desires to step into your circumstance
and anoint you afresh. Think of this. If we keep
battling without his anointing, our efforts are
fruitless anyway. You ever think about that?
Why? We're not going to accomplish anything.
So God says, let me anoint you. It's the anointing
that makes all the difference in your situation.
It's the anointing that destroys all yokes of
bondage. I want to look at an abundant supply
lastly this morning because David went on to
say, my cup runs over. So the host in this culture
would fill the visitor's cup with water until
it was literally running over. It would pour
over and onto the ground. And they did this to
imply as long as their guest was at their table,
they would have an abundance of everything that
they needed. So in this region of the world,
there was no resource more precious than water.
We know that. But here the host would purposely
begin to waste precious water. They were showing
that I've got more than enough to meet your every
need. Has it ever occurred to us this morning?
While we're so busy going here and going there
and being on empty, just getting by, there's
one that watches over us this morning that has
an abundant supply that's ours for the asking.
And this is the vision that David gives us in
our text. The warrior has feasted. He has been
anointed. And all his needs have been abundantly
met. And now he's ready to return to the battle.
God wants to step into your life and refill your
spirit this morning. He wants to give you a fresh
touch of his anointing. He wants to bless you
with his abundance. He desires to equip you for
the battle. He's wanting to keep you in the fight.
He wants you to break through and succeed in
what God has called you to do. So that comes
down to the question. The question is, isn't
the willingness of God to give. The question
is your willingness to receive. You know that
you could come to conference and get nothing?
You see some old friends, get some hugs in, maybe
back, and that's all you get. The question is,
will you receive? Will you let God refill you?
Will you let God replenish your spirit? Perhaps
the most pivotal time in the life of Elijah.
is contained in 1 Kings chapter 17 through 19.
His deepest valleys and his greatest victories.
You have to understand they're contained in these
chapters. However you push past the victories
and the valleys, you begin to find the miraculous
provision of God by three different avenues.
God works miracles in Elijah's life to ensure
he's not empty in his most crucial hour. First,
the ravens brought him bread by the brook. Secondly,
we know that the widow fed him from the never
-ending supply of meal. And finally, in chapter
19, an angel prepared him a meal not once but
twice as he rested in the middle of his battle.
Now, I've come to tell you today, you're struggling.
Yes, we all are in some way. We're all bleeding
in some way if you're in the ministry. You know
what I'm talking about. But God has established
a place of refreshing for your weary soul. On
January 25th, 1990, Flight 52 had been in a holding
pattern over New York for one hour due to fog,
limiting arrivals and departures into JFK Airport.
But 77 minutes after entering the holding pattern,
the air traffic controller asked the crew if
they had enough fuel to continue to hold. The
first officer replied in the affirmative after
89 minutes. The controller cleared the aircraft
for approach to the runway. As flight 52 made
the approach, they encountered wind shear at
an altitude less of 500 feet. As the plane descended
below the glide slope, almost crashing into the
ground short of the runway. As a result, a missed
approach was initiated. As the plane began to
gain altitude, An emergency message was broadcast,
we're running out of fuel. The controller asked
the crew to climb for a second approach, to which
the officer replied, no, sir, we're running out
of fuel. Moments later, the number four engine
flamed out, shortly followed by the three other.
Within seconds, the aircraft lost its thrust
from its four engines, causing it to plunge into
the small village of Kovnek, 15 miles from the
airport. The follow -up investigation contained
the statement, there's no doubt that the pilot,
a 17 -year veteran, knew he had a fuel problem,
but it's likely he never fully realized just
how serious it was. And I wonder this morning
how many have realized they have a problem, but
yet they haven't fully realized yet just how
serious that problem is. Let me say it plainly
this morning. If we do not take on our fresh
supply of fuel, we're going to crash. Matthew
chapter 25 contains a familiar story of the ten
virgins. And one of the greatest tragedies of
scripture is that the five foolish virgins, they
fell short in the crucial hour when the bridegroom
returned. Have you ever stopped and thought about
that? What went horribly wrong to keep the five
virgins from the wedding feast? Remember, they're
still clean. They're still virgins. They kept
themselves unspotted from the world. They're
still separated. What could possibly be their
sin? Matthew chapter 25, verse 3. They that were
foolish took their lamps and took no oil with
them. Their biggest flaw, the one thing that
kept them from heaven's open door, was the simple
fact that they were empty. When the shout came,
When the bridegroom had returned in that moment,
they hurried to trim their wigs and to light
their fire. And in that critical moment, they
discovered that they were empty at the wrong
time. So think about that. They've been living
for this day. They've been waiting for a long
time. It was the moment they had prepared their
lives for. And when it finally arrived, they
discovered. They didn't have enough fuel for
the journey. What a tragedy to give your entire
life for that special moment and then lose out
at the end. We don't want to do that at the end,
that you can give your entire life to ministry,
calling destiny to the fellowship, and then at
the very end lose out because you are empty.
If the question is, how far can I run on empty?
I've got an answer. It's simple. You've already
gone too far. If you're asking this morning,
how can I make it on empty? It's already been
too long. And I can hear the Lord calling today.
Come and drink from the springs of living water.
Come and take of the fountains of refreshing
because it can be had right here in this conference
body, at this altar every night, every service,
that God's presence and power can be found right
here. While you're too busy dissecting the sermon,
his presence is right here. Trying to decide
if it's for you or not. God's presence is right
here. The Lord wants to restore your soul. He
wants to raise up those that have fallen. To
refresh those that have grown weary. He wants
to renew those who have fully spent themselves
doing what is right in the kingdom of God. We
must allow it. One of the prayers I always pray,
God have your way in my life. You know, whip
me, correct me, slap me around if you want to.
I just want to hear from you. I want to be in
the will of God. I want my life to be replenished
continually because I am an empty vessel. We
know that the spirit of God within us this morning
can be renewed. I want to pray for this conference
body. If you want to stand with me this morning,
we need the Holy Spirit. We need God to touch
us. It's not an issue of doctrine. It's not an
issue of theology. It's an issue of allowing
the Spirit of God to move through us. We need
the Holy Ghost this morning. I want us to lift
our hands for just a moment. Let's pray in tongues.
God, we thank you. Be sure to follow us on Instagram
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