Welcome To The Potter’s House | Associate Pastor Chad Erickson

love you senior pastor first lady my wife and I give you honor and um in my message today I'm going to I'm going to kind of just touch lightly on on some some wisdom that they have given I believe they've given all of us and definitely given my wife and I and our our family and uh just thank God for them but turn quickly with me it's 11:23 but I promise you I'm the only only thing that stands between you and this altar some of yall thought I was going to say food trucks we're going to go from there to Jeremiah chapter 18 verse 1-6 uh but start off with 2 Kings 7:3 and first of all let me just say you this wow it is such it is such an honor Amen to speak to preach to minister amen in front of such amazing family members there's nothing like the family of God do we realize that there's nothing like the family of God we are brothers and sisters through our faith and through the spirit of God that causes us to be family and nothing is stronger than the spirit of God blood is strong but the spir there nothing like the spirit of God and so today on family day amen welcome to all of you and I'm so thankful amen that we get the whole day to spend together 2 Kings 7 and 3 says and there were four leprous men at the entering into of the gate and they said one to another why sit we here until we die why sit we here until we die and then moving into Jeremiah 18 verse one I just want to read six verses in your hearing Bible says for the word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying arise and go down to The Potter's House and there I will cause thee to hear my words then I went down to The Potter's House and behold he wrought a work on the wheels and the vessel that he made of clay was marred everyone say marred that's disfigured in the hand of the Potter so he made it again another vessel as seemed good to the Potter to make it then the word of the Lord came to me saying this is Jeremiah oh House of Israel cannot I do with you as this Potter saith the Lord behold as a clay is in The Potter's hand so are ye in my hand and so on this family weekend my title is simply this Welcome to The Potter's House Welcome to The Potter's House I believe he's going to be in this place so strong their lives are going to be be changed forever come on give we just lift up our hands one more time before we seated come on let's pray of the word I need you to pray the anointing on my life right now father we love you father we need you father we're expecting you Lord God to do some mighty things in our lives and I'm thankful for my family that stands before me Lord I'm thankful for every guest that's in this house that's come a part of this family weekend Lord we're in The Potter's House Lord this is the place where change takes place this is the place where things that were old and things that were m and things Lord God that were disfigured Lord God can be molded and sculpted into a beautiful work for you Jesus let your will be done in our life I need your anointing and we need your anointed ears to hear in Jesus name we pray everyone said amen amen amen you may be seated in the house of the Lord amen this morning we we've been taught by our society I need you to lean leaning close and and I tell my classes on Wednesday night I I got enough material I got enough material to fill about an hour but I got about 30 minutes to fill it so you got to listen close you got to lean in close because I want you to end with me so you got to start with me if you're going to end with me so so so listen close and I I apologize to my Spanish translators and I apologize to my Mandarin translators I'm sorry um but we're going to we're going to kind of go in in like 1.5 speed if that's all right is that all right somebody's ready to get out of here is that all 2.0 speed h but our our society has taught us this is what our society is teaching us today that certain things just have to be accepted we've been taught by by Society to accept the fact that it might take two or three times the worth of our new home in interest I want you to think about this because when some of our Trends Setters were buying houses 30 40 some 50 years ago they weren't going to the bank and and and borrowing three times the amount they need to buy that house come on lean in with me I feel like I've already lost you Pastor Ericson I'm not preaching against mortgages I'm not I've got a mortgage on my house all right I'm not preaching against that I just want to bring something to our attention that when things are done in a certain way the society accepts it just makes us automatically assume that's just Brother Thompson that's just the norm it's the norm to build a $15 million campus and go to the bank and borrow on It come on some somebody talk back to me just a little bit I I got to figuring and I I asked I asked my pocket my AI my my pocket AI I said tell me just let's say let's just say brother amamos let's say 4% interest on a 30-year note let's just say let's just say we put a million dollars down on the campus I asked I said what were we looking at in 30 years of paying for this campus and it came out to be some $24 million it said your monthly payment would be $67,000 a month and and so let me let me kind of throw this out there because some of you that are guests here you're thinking yourself well how much did they borrow Pastor Carpenter I'm going to be very quick in this testimony but just to just to share with you this is this is senior pastor first lady day so let me share the wisdom that our pastor in first lady have the wisdom that says you know what we could go to the bank and borrow there there there might be enough coming in in ties and offerings we might I well I doubt we could have pulled off anywhere near 67,000 a month but let's just say we could have they they had the wisdom to understand you know what I would rather work now and play later than have now and have to pay later they said you know what if we can somehow begin to give to missions and this was this was straight from the word straight from the voice of God if we begin to give if we can begin to give to missions like we've never given to missions before if we start pl we gave more to missions during this building project than we had ever given before we gave more millions of dollars to missions in the in the some 10 years that it took us from the drawing of a napkin of this church on a napkin all the way until we walked into this front Sanctuary we gave more money to missions than we had ever given before and you say well how much did you owe when you walked in the sanctuary Well church family I believe we understand we didn't owe a single dime when we moved in here what does that mean I'll tell you what that means that means that there's some $60,000 a month that should have been going to a note and paying interest that we have missionaries we're building houses in Russia we're building Bible schools in Lebanon we're buying property in Mexico how is that happening how can we raise an $80,000 offering or a $200,000 offering at one time it's very simple because the wisdom of our senior pastor in our first lady said instead of giving it to the bank but I say all that to say this there's something about society that says you know what play today and pay later it's okay to to get so in debt it's okay to to to rack up credit cards and and we'll try to pay them off later on we'll consolidate debt later on and and and our society says you there's certain things you just got to accept because that's what everybody else is doing there's a popular belief I turn the pag as a popular belief or theory that scientists have have cures for for many diseases that ail us today however doctors and pharmaceuticals are are working hand in hand to keep to keep the Cure hidden and believe me this this might just be a theory however I know there's a lot of money in Pharmaceuticals and I know that doctors in pharmace and I'm not preaching I love doctors trust me I love I thank God for medicine I thank God for science I thank God for all of it but I'm sorry to say there might be a little more cure out there than we're aware of but what is it I'll tell you why because this new thing that they're trying to get us to accept is you got to learn how to manage your pain you've heard that manage your pain uh there there might be a cure but don't worry about the Cure because we've got a pill for you we've got some therapy for you it it's called managing your condition the medical industry by large treats symptoms which is a failing model in healing I I read the other day in a book that we currently possess the most advanced techniques for healing back pain in the history of humankind yet back pain has risen to become the number one cause for disability in the world the back pain problem has gotten worse not better because the industry has focused on treating pain and not on its cause true healing the book said true healing occurs when the cause of pain and disease is dissolved not by treating the structure and symptoms of the physical body lean in with me here I promise you I'm going somewhere eliminate the cause and you eliminate the suffering think about this but Society has taught us to settle for pain management it's taught us to settle for Stress Management rather than addressing the root cause of stress Society will offer us a pill that dulls the side effects of stress sobody just nod your head at me you know you know what I'm talking about what about Mental Health Management you you've heard this term instead of prioritizing mental well-being Society offers a quick medication to dull the side effects of the mental illness then there's relationship management rather than resolving conflict Society encourages people to merely you got to manage the problems left unresolved follow me one more time financial management we can all understand this one rather than addressing spending habits and budgeting right if you have if you have less at the end of the month you need to spend less but instead individuals and families are offered early paycheck cashing or high interest loans we've seen it we've seen it happen Time After Time people get so far into debt it's all about managing our conditions everyone say managing that's a new thing you don't fix it you just manage it so with that thought in mind and again I'm I'm moving in Fast Forward because I'm excited what I'm about to preach here but with the thought of managing your condition in mind I I want to go back to Second Kings chapter 6 where where we opened up in our text in in Syria The Story Goes that Syria has surrounded Samaria the army of Syria has surrounded Samaria and they've starved them out I'm talking about it was so easy to do because all of Samaria was a walled City but their farm land was outside the city which which produced their food and the the rivers and the waterways were outside the wall which more importantly gave them their water so all this syrians really had to do was keep them from coming outside the walls and they starve them out they they starve them out in a way and you you'll start to remember these stories as I tell them but they starved them out in a way that starvation began to set in and people started losing their minds because that's what happens when starvation begins to set in and as Assyrians are are winning the battle in the Conquering of the Samaritans there's certain things that start to happen because starvation causes things of value to no longer be valuable and it causes things that don't have much value all the sudden to start looking very valuable you can ask this kind of reminds me of the story of Esau Esau was so hungry starvation had set into Esau coming back from the hunt you remember oh Esau old Esau and Jacob man Jacob's making making a bowl of beans in somewhere in Esau's mind now we can look at him and we can judge we can go back and judge Esau and just say Esau man you you're a fool you sold your Birthright for a bowl of beans now let me stop right there now if they would have been the chili cookoff beans that I had yesterday there might be some brother Rog there might be some argument there however when you think about that he gave up his future for a bowl of chili we look at and think he's a fool except he was starving and people who are starving the things that are important don't seem as important and things that are not important all of the sudden they are viewed as important and here we have the very same thing happening in 2 Kings chap 6: 25 because the Bible says and there was a Great Famine in Samaria and behold they besieged it until a donkey's head was sold for four score pieces of silver a donkey's head was sold for 80 pieces of silver and a fourth part of a cab of doves dung Google that and see what that comes up that's like a I did it was like a chickpea size a chickpea size of doves dung you might have to lean over and tell your kid what that is of doves dung sold for five pieces of silver come on follow along with me there was no value woo no longer was their value found in silver the value was found in something that was so insignificant as a donkey's head how much meat can you get off a donkey's head how much nourishment can you get out of a a little small thimble of doves dung all of a sudden that became so valuable and the things that were valuable became invaluable however when starvation began to sit in now there was women who had babies who made deals with other mothers and said we'll eat my baby today and we'll eat your baby tomorrow I'm talking about when starvation begins to set in you do things you wouldn't normally do so now we come to chapter 7 of Second Kings and we're introduced to four lepos men four lepers are sitting in the gate of Samaria they're there they are they are the contagious disease victims of their day oh we know what lepers are all about they're the ones that their very skin is rotting and and their very body parts are are are are falling off their faces and their heads and everything about them is is deteriorating but here these four lepers they had enough sense the four of them to think to themselves you know what why are we going to sit here until we die and I looked in Second Kings 7:4 and if you if you'll get this on the screen with me the Bible says if we say we will enter into the city then the famine is in the city and we shall die there let's see their logic right here and if we sit still here we're going to die also now therefore come and let us fall unto the host of the syrians if they save us alive we shall live and if they kill us we shall but die come on we got three choices we're either going to die or we're going to die or we might die but the whole idea of might die sounds a whole lot better than die right brother Elijah i' rather there at least be a chance and these four guys now now listen they were hungry they were starving they had they had facial features falling off they had fingers and toes falling off but even they had enough sense to think to themselves why sit we here and die our choices are not good here and so the Bible tells us in 2 Kings 7 that they got up that's the first step you got to take you got to get up you got to realize that where you're sitting if you hadn't had life here and you have sure death here why are you still sitting here get up and find there has to be another option out there and like they said this you know the worst the worst case scenario is they're just going to kill us but I I got news for you I would rather be stabbed with a sword through my my belly than to starve from food so they got up and they headed into into Syria brother Nolan can you help me real quick on the drums and this story and and again when I read this story I thought of my father-in-law I thought of our senior pastor and I thought how much he loves subs and the Bible says this is biblical Pastor that God allowed as those lepers are struggling their way into the Syrian Camp God allowed the PA system Brother Andy to be turned up in heaven so loud that they heard the rumbling of Chariots oh give me some rumbling on your oh give me just a oh yeah come on bring it bring it they began to hear the stumbling of the chariot wheels as these four lepers were dragging themselves into the Syrian camp and the syrians thought to themselves it only makes sense that the Samaritans have hired the Egyptian armies they've hired every large army from all they're surrounding us with their chariots and so God turned up the sound system I don't know if they're angels I don't know if they're up there just stomping around I don't know what was happening but God allowed their sound system to get so loud that those syrians they were eating around their fires they were counting their gold in silver they were parting through their arraignments and their garments and they dropped everything and ran so when the four lepers come walking into Camp they looked around and there were there there were chickens still root hating on the fire now I'm adding a little bit rotisserie chicken there were enchiladas and burritos come on I feel I feel a holy ghost right around here little GLE house chicken and some woo little hot and sour I don't know I'm afraid I'm afraid that in America we don't even serve Mexican food or Chinese food do y'all realize that cuz when I travel it doesn't taste anything like what we make here but I just believe all that was happening around this fire and they said as they looked into these tent flaps that the tents were filled with this Babylonian the these the Syrian garments these beautiful garments were were laid out in the tents and and the the the meat and food was roasting on the fire this this is in the Bible it was roasting on the fire and they saw that there was gold and silver just laid out as if they had been counting their money and these lepers walk in look around I got think the first thing they did they were starving they started eating they started pulling flesh off there they started eating they started but the Bible says that they started picking up these garments and they started picking up this gold and silver and they began to find places to bury it but then they stopped and they came to themselves and they said however back in Samaria back inside the walls there's mothers that are eating their babies there's people that are eating stuff they ought not be eating there's horrible things taken place back inside the walls because they don't know what I know and so here we go here we go they head back in and they begin to tell they begin to testify of what's happening in the Syrian camp but I I want to stop right here because I just believe people are living kind of like these lepers were living they're they're kind of in between a rock and a hard place and and they're coming to themselves they're thinking to themselves what do I do it's family weekend well I I just got one statement to make to you don't die where you sit uh don't F don't settle for less than what God has planned for your life don't give up right before God shows up come on the last thing you want to do is throw in the towel the last thing you want to do is give up God the last thing you want to do is say you know what I guess I'm just going to die of this sickness I guess my marriage is just going to fall apart I guess my family just ain't going to love me like I want them to love me I guess my Ministry is over when God is saying if you would just get up if you would just check out what options you have and get up find listen you ought to find two or three people that are sitting next to you and say the four of us we can do it with one another all alone we may not be able to do it but with four of us uh we can get up and we can make a difference uh come on this family weaken you're my brother you're my sister so take me by the hand together we can work until he comes uh there is no fall that can defeat us uh if we're walking s side by side as long as there is love woo we're going to stand come on somebody give God praise if you're thankful for your family if you're thankful for your family you maybe see that I'm hurrying don't try to manage something that God is about to deliver you from oh I'm going to say it again don't try to be managing things that God's trying to deliver you from settling because Society settles oh no no Welcome to The Potter's House I'll say it again welcome to The Potter's House because here's an analogy that God gave to Jeremiah the prophet see God God likes illustrations too did y'all notice that when God preaches he uses illustrations he's like I got I got a little analogy because he said Jeremiah you're not kind of catching what I'm throwing out you're not picking up when I'm throwing down he said I need you to go up to The Potter's House and witness what I have for you to witness and so Jeremiah he comes up in The Potter's House there's a potter sitting at the wheel there's a Potter he has a piece of clay oh it's not a desired vessel it's a marred disfigured vessel oh but he doesn't just Throw the Clay Away thank God for that he didn't just discarded but he didn't just begin to use a fresh lump of clay but the Potter still saw value in the clay that was already on the wheel is anybody thankful that the Potter still sees value in the clay that's still on the wheel I went to Hobby Lobby last night yeah me and Dad went to Hobby Lobby I said hobby lob's going to have some good-look pottery and I found this beauty I thought man I said dad I don't know much about Pottery but it looks like something got started on the sides it didn't get finished on the sides it looks like somebody I Potter had a really really good thought I'm going to put some handles on the side of this thing and somebody's going to use this to I don't know carry creamer for their coffee I don't know for for family day I don't know what they're going to do with this thing but I began to look at it and as I began to look it over I thought it's not even it's not even equally the circumference of this thing is not even even it looks like maybe it kind of on the pot's wheel it might have just done this right here for a little bit and I think he just kind of got done with it dipped it in something I don't know that's that's an ugly that's an ugly piece then I found this one right here and I thought this might be what the Potter was trying to do right here I feel that I feel let me move this back here I feel that possibly this was what he was going for and did not quite achieve and so I bought that half price for about $5 but this right here I bought this half price cuz everything's half price on hobby lob y'all all the woman folks said amen half price Pottery night I don't that was Saturday I don't know what that was and this thing right here was half price was $20 brother F I thought now this is what some people think they look like but this might be what they really look like I don't remember who even said it there but but one of y'all came up with was it brother Zach if I could sell let's see who said that here it is if I could buy you for what you're worth and sell you for what you think you're worth I'll Be A Millionaire no but but let's let's let's let's just kind of can my little will pel work for a minute cuz this is hard you know I believe there some people with their Ministry with their marriage raising their kids with the company business they start I believe they start off with this in mind right but somehow this is kind of what ends up and I began as I was studying I was I was just kind of thinking thinking over I thought you know what the Potter the Potter that had the marred clay he had to think to himself you know what I've got two choices I can either put this in the fire I can either Heat this to a temperature to cause it to be pottery and settle for this or I can keep on working the clay until I get this right here and I begin again to go back and think about the whole idea of managing your life and managing your issues and managing the things that come at you in life and I got to thinking there's so many people that find themselves in a place oh God help us they find themselves in a place where they begin to settle for this right here it's not what God called you to be it's not what God called me to be but somewhere along the way it's easier just to say you know what I put enough time into this I I put 10 years into this I I've been at this ministry I've been teaching Sunday school I've been at Kids Quest I've been a youth worker I've been a fit team member I've been in a sanctuary choir for 10 years and you know what God this is just what I have to offer you it's a little marred it's a little messed up yeah it's a little disfigured it's not quite even and the opening is not quite a a sphere but I don't know God that's about all I have for you but then I got to think but then there's some people that are going to allow God to take them as God would take clay as God would be able to mold them because I'm so thankful listen if God gave up on me every time I made a mistake and every time I didn't come out like I should have came out y'all there would be there would be such a pile of of broken powdery and Clay on the ground but I'm thankful that God looked down oh he said if you will get up on the potter's wheel if you won't be satisfied with the norm if you won't be satisfied with what other people are doing what other people are trying to convince you is good enough if you'll get back up on the potter's wheel I'll be able to mold you into something great I'll be able to create in you what I designed you to be in the first place I know there's been mistakes I know there's Mars I know there's things in life that have messed you up so bad I know there's hurts I know people have offended you I know people have disappointed you and let you down and there's mors s of your clay but if you'll let the god of the universe if you'll let the great Creator begin to create in you a brand new heart if you'll let a spirit to just be deep down inside of you you'll begin to see as what was ugly what was deformed and disfigured all the sudden God says I will make something new out of you somebody shout amen he said I'll make something new out of you in Jeremiah 18 and5 the word of the Lord came to me saying oh House of Israel can I not do to you what this Potter is doing to the clay why do you fight me he was talking to his people why do you fight me and I can rephrase God's question to his children are you going to settle for the shape that you're in are you going to allow culture to convince you that your mistakes and Hang-Ups and issues are your new identity come on is that what you're going to do going to let culture say that's just who you are well that's just how God made you I'm so sick of hearing that I was talk when I was young God Don't Make No Junk as if God messed up God messed up and he wasn't sure what gender you're going to be are you going to are you going to read self-help books or or take a pill or or or maybe even get a new spouse or uh go to some professional counselor and try to manage your deficiencies or are you going to get back up on the wheel again and let me mold you and let me take you into a greater place than you've ever been before come on somebody come on let God be let God Be Your powder I said let God Be Your Potter don't settle for imperfections don't settle for addictions uh don't don't settle for sickness don't settle for disease uh don't settle for a dysfunctional marriage don't settle for Spiritual starvation God didn't mean for you to manage your life he said I want to be Lord over you I want to manage your life for you stand to your feet I I promise you I'm almost done God wants to make the decision he says I want to create in you I want to create in you Ezekiel the prophet said a new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you I will take away the Stony heart out of your flesh uh and I will give you a new heart of Flesh uh somebody said Thank You Jesus I'll bring you into the New Testament 2 Corinthians 5:17 uh therefore If any man be in Christ uh he's a new creature woo all things are passed away behold All Things become new it was in Romans 12:2 that says and be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God I got one more for you Colossians 3:10 and have put on the new man which is renewed Woo which is renewed to knowledge after the image of him that created him am one last passage before I open this altar I want to return to Prophet Jeremiah it wasn't at The Potter's House but in chapter 29: 11 he begins to speak the word of the Lord and he said this for I know the plans I have for you woo plans to prosper you not to harm you this is what the Lord's saying plans to give you hope in a future then you will call on me and come pray to me and I will listen to you you will seek me and find me and when you seek me with all your heart I will be found by you sayeth the Lord I don't know what that means to you today but I'll tell you what that means to me all throughout the Old Testament the people were crying oh that I might know him but today the Holy Ghost is in the church uh the spirit of God is in the church today and he's saying if you want to know me I'll make sure you get I have a way to know me I'll fill you with my spirit I'll give you something that's going to renew you and make you new it's called The Potter's House Welcome to The Potter's House woo God doesn't want to help manage your life he wants to fix it he doesn't want to help manage your life he wants to heal it he wants to deliver he wants to save I don't know we got about 2 minutes but I think we can have an Altra call I think we can go over just a little bit if that's okay I think we can go over just a little bit past the the the golden hour of noon if we could just join together in this Altar and just say to God God I'm sick of managing my life and trying to manage my issues and trying to manage my situations and my circumstances I'm sick of trying to manage my addictions I'm sick of trying to manage my sickness if you've got disease in your body come on right now once again faith has got to rise up in you you got to be like one of those lepos and says come on boys we got to get to the Syrian Camp come on boys we're going to die if we stay here come on I know all of Samaria is behind the wall crying uh they're pounding they're losing their minds but we are here in the gate and if we can just go into the enemy's Camp I believe God might do something for us God you told me there's people in this house today that needed to hear this message God you told me there's people in this house today day they were more concerned about their soul than a food truck you told me they're more concerned about their soul woo in the difficulties they're facing than a food truck God I pray right now they can get out of mind of lunch and they can put you front in Center in their mind I pray repentance begins to take place uh I believe there's going to be a change of mind uh there's going to be a decision to let the Lord Lord over your life uh come on somebody begin to repent and say God I refuse to stay here any longer uh woo God I refuse to be who I've always been come on somebody right here reach out and let the Lord speak into your heart say God I want your spirit to make me free Holy Ghost is in this place right now if you would receive him if you would open up your heart he might just fill you with the spirit uh if you would lift up your hands and begin to pray and say God I've never f felt you like I feel you right now God I've never felt the power that I feel right now you might be surprised to realize that he wants to live inside of you he wants his Spirit to be enthroned in your heart uh the Holy Ghost wants to fill somebody today but will you let him come on that's my question will you let him come on reach over and grab somebody next to you come on I need four lepers I need four lepers that aren't ashamed of who they are I need four lepers that AR ashamed that they're marred and they're messed up a little bit I need four that'll just join together with a person next to them and say come on we can't stay here we can't stay here come on we can't do this like we've always done this if we keep on doing what we've always done we're going to get the same results we've always gotten come on I like this I see families praying together I like that woo come on moms and dads pray life over your children come on moms and dads pray life over your children over your sons and your daughters come on this family weend come on we can do this together woo we can do this together God can just step right into our home we can have the best year we've ever had God can step into our home he can renew marriages uh he can renew relationships between children and parents uh he can renew relationships between brothers and sisters he can renew come on he's not just wanting to manage them he's wanting to fix them he's wanting to heal them come on the Holy Ghost is here the Holy Ghost is in the house come on you're in The Potter's House come on you got to cry out you got to believe you got to have enough faith that says God even on a Sunday morning when I'm not wearing a tie you can still bless me even on a Sunday morning when I'm not dressed all up you can still walk into my life you can still fix and change and rearrange you can still do it oh God come on come on come on come on come on come on hallelujah hallelujah come on keep on you got to break through we got to breakr we got a break through come on we got a breakr come on the four lepers were in a gate a gate is a passage way it's a passageway from one compartment to another compartment from one area to a new area it's from one portal to another it's the way to get from point A to point B but you can't stay in the gate because you can't be saved in the gate that's a that's a valley of decision in the gate uh you got to move uh you got to step out of that gate woo there ought to be desperation in this house there ought to be a spirit of desperation that says God if you don't help me God if you don't move through me God if you don't change me God if you don't tell me Lord what I need to hear this morning I don't know if I'm going to make it to tomorrow you got to have desperation inside of you oh desperation oh give me a Desperate Heart woo A desperate mind desperate desperate desperate I want to be desperate for you I want to be desperate for you I want to be desperate for you come on singers I want to be desperate for you I want to be desperate for you