God Is - Part 4

But I, as always, felt to go in prayer for this service today. I'm going to preach something I've never preached before, from a portion of text I've never preached from before. And that always kind of makes me a little nervous. But I'd rather be nervous and obedient than be comfortable and disobedient. So I asked the Lord. I said, "Lord, what is it that You would have me to tell Your people today?" And He gave me this line, and He wants me to tell it to you right now. And it is this: that He's not done with you yet. He's not done with you yet. He also wanted me to tell you, emphatically, that the devil is still a liar. And just because the devil said it's over, does not mean it's over. I've come to tell somebody today, and to encourage somebody: it ain't over until He says it's over. And He's not done with you yet. He's not done with you yet. Amen.

I feel the Holy Ghost in this room. I feel the presence of God so strong in this place. I feel like I ought to just go ahead and warn the devil right now: he's going to have a bad day. I feel like there's something inside of me that's just ready to jump over a wall, and run through some troops, and go ahead and take back what the devil stole from me. I believe that today we all have some people prevail, and have victory, in the house. I wish today that somebody would get with me, and say, "I'm tired of losing. I'm tired of struggling. I'm tired of walking around with my tail between my legs. I'm going to have victory. I'm going to have victory today, in Jesus." I believe there is a victory in the house that's already been won. We just need to be intentional about getting it. Amen.

Today, like I said, it is Super Bowl Sunday, and there is a great group of people that are just so excited to get after church, and get that bean dip in their belly, and see who gets their names etched into the Lombardi Trophy. I woke up this morning with a different feeling. I woke up this morning thinking to myself, "Today is going to be the day of salvation for somebody." Today, instead of getting a name etched into the Lombardi Trophy, I feel like today somebody's going to get their name etched in the Book lamb Book of Life. I believe that today somebody can have their life changed, and have their soul saved, because Jesus is in the room. You know, heavenly host will not be dancing today when a touchdown scor, but they will celebrate when one person — when one person comes to an altar, when one person repents of their sins, when one person is buried in the name of Jesus and baptis, when one person receive the Holy Ghost. That's when heaven rejoices.

So, God, today — He's not done with you. He's not done. Bump your neighbor, and tell them, "God's not done with you." Bump your other neighbor, and say, "You're not dead, so God's not done." Hopefully they were alive.

Jeremiah, the 18th chapter, verse number one. I'm going to get in the Word here. says, in Jeremiah 18: "The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 'Arise and go to the potter's house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.' Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was making something at the will. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred and the hand of the potter. So he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, oh house of Israel, can I not do for you as this potter?' says the Lord. 'Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, Oh house of Israel.'"

The prophet Isaiah said, in Isaiah 64:8: "But now, Oh Lord, You are our Father, and we are the clay, and You are Potter, and all we are the work of Your hand."

God's not done with you yet. God's not done with you yet.

The prophet Jeremiah — he received a visual from the Lord about how God is still working in our lives. The weeping prophet, that we call him — Jeremiah was born just a few miles north of Jerusalem, in a city called Anoth. And his dad was a priest, and he was called to be a prophet, and that's just what he became. His purpose was to minister to the house of Israel. And he was deemed the weeping prophet, because it seemed like every word that God gave to him, to give to the people of Israel, was an unpleasant word — a word that would cause opposition, and cause challenges amongst the people. And the people didn't want to hear from Jeremiah. They were exhausted when Jeremiah would come around. They would ask questions like, "Why do you have to be this way, Jeremiah?" But Jeremiah, he was a true prophet — more concerned with obeying the Lord than his popularity amongst the Israelites. He was obedient to God, and surrendered to Him.

Yet, despite his willingness to pursue what God had called him to do, there were moments and seasons of Jeremiah's life where he would be so fatigued with carrying the burden, and carrying the heavy word that God had put on his heart, that there would be moments in time where he would say, "God, I'm ready to quit. I'm ready to throw in the towel. This has gone on — You have not given me a pleasant word in some season, and I'm tired of telling Your people all the things that's wrong with them." In fact, in one season, he had gotten so frustrated with God that he went into a cave, and he basically, then and there, declared, "God, I'm turning in my prophetic credentials. I'm not going to prophesy anymore." It was in that cave, in Jeremiah 20, when he was saying, "God, I'm done. I'm forfeiting. I'm quitting. I'm going to do — I'm finding another career." It's there that the Bible says that Jeremiah had this unction, that he could not quit. Because the Bible says, in Jeremiah 20, that the Word of God was in his heart. And that Word was in his heart like a fire, that it was burning. It was like shut up in his bones. He could not help but to go ahead and share what God had told him to share with the people, because God's Word was in his heart.

Now, I've come to remind somebody today the importance of hiding God's Word in your heart. "Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against you." Storms will come. Trials will come. Circumstances that are difficult will come knocking at your door. But if you've hidden the Word of God in your heart — if you've hidden the Word of God so deep — and even on the days you feel like quitting, and even on the days you feel like giving up, and even on the days where you say, "Surely the grass is greener on the other side" — His Word, that's alive, and hidden in your heart, will begin to convict you, and, like a fire, it will convince you to say, "I'm not going to quit. I can't quit. His words are true. His words are forever settled. His words are truly the thing that's guiding my life."

Jeremiah, he had the Word of God in his heart. But God would have — He would have let him quit, if he wanted to. We had this thing called free will, right? He could have quit. But God said, "Bob, you can quit, but you'll be miserable." It's miserable, running from God's will in your life. It's miserable trying to chase something that isn't what God has called you to be, or to do. He said, "Hey, hey, Jeremiah — you can quit. But I called you to be a prophet, before you ever accepted this kingdom assignment. I had called you, before you ever felt that first anointing as a prophet. I knew you. I called you. I called you. I knew you, before your mom knew you. I knew you, and I called you, before you even knew who you were." And He said, "Not only did I call you, not only did I know you, but Jeremiah, I ordained you. I ordained — you to be a prophet." He's telling Jeremiah: "Jeremiah, you — before you were even born, I placed purpose on you."

Some of you in this room, you're waiting on a promise from God that's not been birthed yet, that no one has seen yet, that no one even knows exist yet. There's something deep inside of you that God's placed, and no one even knows that there is a hope of it one day being alive. But what I read here in Jeremiah is: if God says it, then that finishes it. If God says it, we're going to see it. If God says it, we're going to experience it. He said, "Jeremiah, before you were even born, before you even took your first breath, I had already ordained you to be a prophet to My people."

Today, you and I, we should not be giving up on anything God has promised us. I don't care how big the promise is. I don't care how long it's been since God gave you that word, and you haven't seen it come to fruition yet. Mom and Dad, keep praying for that backslid child. I don't care how long it's been since they darkened the hallways of a church — you keep praying. You keep believing. Husband and wife — I don't care, this sounds weird, but I don't care how long your marriage has been on rocks. If God's giv you the word that it's going to be restored, then it's going to be restored, in Jesus' name. My God's doing the restoration business. If God's called you to minister, you're going to walk in that ministry. If God said that there's a job coming, there's a job coming. If God said that there's going to be a Mr. or Mrs. Perfect that you're going to marry one day, and you haven't found them yet — God willing, you're going to find that person. I got excited right there, and I'm married. I'm excited for y'all.

Just because you have not received your healing yet — oh, just because you're tired of taking that shot, and tired of taking that pill — the devil's lied to you, and told you it's always going to be this way. I rebuke that, in Jesus' name. He is a Healer. Through His stripes, we shall be healed.

Some of y'all focus so long on your enemy. You focus so much on what the devil's telling you. You're focused too much on what the haters are hating on you for, and people are saying behind your back, and the difficulties are rising up against you. I want you to hear what Paul told the church in Rome. He said, "If God be for you" — if God be for you — I don't care about the storms that come against you, if God be for you. I don't care about the diagnosis that the doctor gave you, if God be for you. I don't care what your kids are doing right now, if God be for you. "Who can be against you?"

I'm not trying to be rude right now, but I wish some of you would act like He's working all things for good. I wish some of y'all would start behaving like it's not just some things, or it's not just most of the things, but it is all — it is all the things — He's working for your good.

You're here today, because God's ordained you to be here. You know you're ordained. You know your family's ordained. Do you know that your future's ordained? Do you know that you have ministry, and your ministry has been ordained by God Himself? I feel like preaching here, just a little bit. Some of youall are like, "I'll just let the pastoral team handle that ministry." If God's called you to do it — again, this is no spectator sport. You need to get out there, and start doing, and putting head to plow, and pursuing the things that — whatever He's called you to do. You are ordained by God, to do that.

"Well, Brother Wes, you don't understand. You don't get my past. You don't get my failures. You don't get my dilemmas. You don't understand — I've tried this before, and I messed up. I failed." The devil's derailed some of y'all, and he's derailed y'all for too long. Your — oh, I feel a little push back right here. But I want somebody to hear: your failure is not final. Just because you stepped out one time in that ministry, and it didn't work out, doesn't mean that the next time you step out, it's going to be doomed. The devil — he has no authority in your life. He's got no ultimate say-so. He's a liar. He's the father of lies. He doesn't know how to tell the truth. Like, even if the truth came in knocked him on the side of the face, he wouldn't know it. He wouldn't be able to acknowledge it. So why are you listening to him? Why are you why is his word supersede the Word of God in your life? The devil doesn't have authority. If he had authority, you wouldn't be here today. If he had authority, you wouldn't be alive today. But it looks like you're okay out there. It looks like you're still breathing. It looks like you're still alive. And if you're not dead, God's not done. I don't care what the devil's told you — if you're still breathing, He's still working. Jesus is still working. Jesus is still on the throne.

You've been ordained to prosper. You've been ordained to be blessed. You've been ordained to have victory, in Jesus' name. God called Jeremiah, before Jeremiah even knew who Jeremiah was. God's called you, before you even knew who you were. God called you. God ordained you, before your mom and dad even knew each other — before they ever took that first date to Shony. God knew you. God knew you. God called you. God ordained you. He called you. He created you. He planted purpose in your life, and He ordained you.

I feel a little bit of resistance right here. Somebody in this room, you need to know: you're not an accident. Someone in this room needs to know: you — maybe your parents did not expect you, but God knew. He called you. He had purposed you. And before you even got into your mother's womb — somebody needs to hear this today — you're not an accident. You're not a happen stance you're. You're not a fluke. You were ordained by Jesus Christ. I pray that today, we all would leave this place knowing, and having settled the issue: I'm called of God. I'm known by God. And I'm ordained by God. When God knew me, He ordained me. He called me. He knew me, before I knew me. He knew me, when I was the worst me.

That's why, sometimes, I don't even need music to prompt me. I start thinking: "What is men, that Thou are mindful of him?" Who was I, that You would even go to a cross? That You would even be born in a m? Who am I, that You would shed every ounce of blood? God, You knew me at my worst, when I had no hope for myself. You knew me whenever I was hopeless, when I was a wreck, when I was a mess. And even then, God, You decided to love me. You decided to go to Calvary for me. Hallah before. Before you ever knew your worst mistake, Jesus said, "You're worth Calvary. You're worth the cross. You're worth every pain and every agony that came with the crucifixion."

That's why I don't need — I love the choir today. Brother Hall, man — that was fantastic. As far as I'm concerned, you can come back more often. It's pretty good. But I don't need music to worship. I don't even need to be a Sunday to worship. I don't even need to be in this sanctuary to worship. Let me tell you how to have personal revival in your life: always have a mind of where you used to be, before He rescued you. Remember what that pit felt like, that you were in, before He ever called out your name, and you got the opportunity to run out of that mess that you were in. If you don't remember where you were, before He called you, and you think that somehow you established yourself here — you won't worship. But if you remember, just for a second, where you were when He found you, there's going — to be something inside of you that rises up and says, "I've got to exalt Him. I've got to praise Him. I've got to magnify Him. I've got to lift up His name, because He did something for me that I could never do for myself."

We used to sing this song: "When I think about the Lord — how He saved me, how He raised me, how He filled me with the Holy Ghost, how He healed me to the uttermost. When I think about the Lord, and how He picked me up, and He turned me around, and He place my feet on solid ground" — that it makes me want to shout.

Some of you have lost your shout, but today you're going to get it back, cuz you're going to remember all the things He's done for you. You would not be here today, if it was not for Jesus. You would not know who He was, if it was not for the fact that He died for you. Some of you, it's been a minute since you shot it. I know you're trying to find it right now. And I'm not trying to make fun of you. I know, sometimes it's easy — especially, you've been in church for a while — it's easy to get out of sight, out of mind, as far as what He did for you. And I'm not suggesting today that you go back to those days, and you fantasize over them, and say, "Man, those are the best days." I'm not suggesting that at all. What I am suggesting is that you recall that day you came to an altar. You remember that day, that you came to an altar, and you were chained, and you were carrying weights that you never had a pick up. And He met you at an altar, and said, "All is forgiving. I'm washing it all away. I'm removing it, as far as the east is from the west." Some of you, you remember when you were bound by an addiction, but you're no longer bound by that addiction, because we serve a faithful and forgiving God.

God told Jeremiah — He said, "Jeremiah, I've ordained you. I've purposed you." And Jeremiah — He wanted to give Jeremiah this Word, and He said, "Jeremiah, for Me to give you this Word, you're going to have to go on a field trip. Have to take you to a place you've never been before." So He took them to the potter's house. potter's house, in my mind, was just that prototypical hole in the wall. Nothing fancy. Maybe a little bit of a she shed, I don't know. Walked in — there was nothing elaborate about the room. He saw things, but nothing was a shock. It was just the potter's house.

First thing he would see, when he walked in the room: he would see the Potter. The Potter, who was an artisan, who had the ability to take something that no one else saw, and no one else believed in, and, because of his skill set, could create something, and make something — something that no I had ever envisioned. He was not intimidated by the lump of clay. He did not look at that lump of clay, and say, "You have very little value." But he saw it for the purpose, for the thing that it could become. Hallelujah.

The Potter, he would look at the clay, and he would say, "I know no one else in this probably city values you. But I do. I can make something out of you. I can do something with you."

In this room today, I feel like the Potter is wanting to get His hands on some of y'all's lives. He's wanting to mold some things, and change some things. Well — I feel this in the Holy Ghost right now. Some of you, you've let this world get its fingerprints on you for too long. The world has defined who you are, for too long. What I feel in the Holy Ghost, to tells somebody, is that God's about to move in this place. And when He moves in this place, He's going to remove fingerprints of old, and He's going to get His hands on you, and He's going to change you for the rest of your life. You may see yourself today as just that lump of clay, with little value. But once the Potter gets a hold of you, and He starts changing you, and He starts molding you into who He wants you to be, you're going to have eternal value.

The Potter was there. He was ready to work with the clay. The other thing that they would see is, they would see the clay. Jeremiah saw the clay. Now, their clay was a little different than today's clay, in the sense that they didn't just go to Hobby Lobby or Michaels and buy it. You know, nowadays we got it pretty easy. Go down to the Walmart, go to the craft section, get your clay. Now, let me just say this right now. I have to be honest: I am not a potter. That probably shocks all of you in this room right now. I feel the shock. I'm not a potter. I've never made one thing — in my mind, or my memory, I was thinking back: have I ever made a pot before, or have I ever made a bowl? I don't think I have.

But what they would do, in order to get the pottery clay, is they would go to a field. And the potter would find a certain type of dirt, a certain type of composition, and he would pull that clay from the ground, and he would have to haul it back to the potter's house. But here's the deal: when he brought that clay home, that clay was a hard clay. A hard clay is not a useful clay. A hard clay has very, very little value. And so what they would do is, they would take this hard clay, and they would spread it out on the floor, and they would do this thing called treading the clay — where they would start stomping on the clay. They would stomp, and stomp, and stomp, until they can start to soften the clay. Yes. Some of you are like, "Why is that important?" Here's why it's important: some of you in this room — and I on your hard clay.

Well, I thought it might get quiet here. But God loves you too much to leave you as hard clay. So He's like, "I'm going to get some pressure on them. I'm going to throw some obstacles on their back. I'm going to put some weights on them, that they weren't expecting." And what He's doing, by doing that, is He's starting to tread the clay. He's saying, "Hey, I have some value here. I see some great purpose. I feel like, if I just stomp on it a little bit, and I just start softening it up a little bit, this hard clay is going to get to where it's softened, and where I can use it." God can't use hard clay. He can't use a proud person. He can't use an arrogant. I think today somebody is going to be reminded: you can't do it all by yourself. You've been buying that lie too long, that you can do it all by yourself, that you have it all figured out. If you have that halty attitude — I hate to say this way, but God's going to humble you. He's going to put some weights on you. He's going to put some frustrations on you. And it's not because He's angry, and it's not because He's mad at you, and it's not because He's giving up on you. What He's doing — He's treading the clay. He's shreding the clay. Because you have too much potential in you, to stay at hard clay. Hard clay has no future. Hard clay, left alone, is no benefit to the Potter. But when God begins to tread on the clay, He will begin to make you into a person, into a vessel, that He can use. He wants to use you today.

So he would see the Potter. He would see the clay. And then he'd see the will. And nobody likes the will. Nobody likes the will will. It's at the will where God gets His hands on your life. And He don't just touch the surface of it. That's when He gets in there, touches every corner. He searches every part of your heart — the hidden parts that no one — else in this room knows about. That's when He starts getting in there. And when you're on the wheel, and you're spinning around, and God's trying to figure out what's right and what's wrong, it gets unpleasant. Conviction starts setting in. God starts telling you: "I don't like it when you watch that. I don't like it when you say that. I don't like it when you go there. I don't like it when you prioritize this over Me." It's when He gets His hands on you at the will that that He starts really examining you, and searching you out. You know, you can fool man — you can't fool God. You can convince man that you're okay, but you can't fool God into thinking that —

Jeremiah 17:10 says: "I, the Lord, search the heart. I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doing." 1st Samuel 16:7 says: "But the Lord said unto Samuel, 'Look not on his countenance, or on his height of his stature, because I refused him. For the Lord seeth not as man seeth. For man lookth on the outward appearance, but the Lord lookth on the heart.'"

It's when your life is on the will that the Potter can touch every side of the vessel, and He can recognize there what's going to be useful for His kingdom, and what things need to be corrected.

In prayer this week, I felt — I could just see it in my mind's eye. I could see people who have been walking in circles for some time. You've been walking on circles. You've allowed yourself to get on the will, and you've been walking in circles. Walking in circles, praying things like, "God, when is this ever going to change? When are You ever going to step in, and do something about this situation? I've been on this wheel. I've been trying to do what's right, and I'm just going in circles. I'm getting a little dizzy. I'm getting a little frustrated. I'm getting a little tired of just going in circles. God, I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere new with You."

I felt like the Lord was telling me that some of you, you're tired of the same old routine. You're sick and tired of the same old grind. You feel like doing the right things — the things that are mundane — aren't getting you anywhere in the kingdom. You feel like your prayer life, while it's healthy, it's not changing anything. Or you're getting into the Word, but the Word really isn't showing you something new. It's not illuminating something that you should take a part of. You're getting frustrated, because you're fasting, and you're not seeing the fruits from the fast. And so you're just going around in this circle. You're just going around the circle, saying, "Here goes another day. I'm trying to do what's right. I'm trying to do what God's called me to do. I'm willing to get on the will. But God, I don't see any change. I don't see anything different. I don't see how I'm getting anywhere new in this situation."

Human logic says, if you just go in circles, you're not getting anywhere new. But God doesn't work that way. He says, if you will do the faithful things, if you will do the insignificant, if you will do the things that's not going to earn you a pat on your back — and you stay faithful, and you stay consistent in your spiritual disciplines, and you will do the things that you know you ought to do — if you stay faithful in those things, you may not see it yet, because you're on the will. But what I'm doing is, I'm taking everything out of you that's not useful. I'm fixing everything inside of you that needs to be repaired, so that one day, when you get to where I'm calling you, you won't fail in that ministry. You won't be disappointed there, because you will be ready for what I have for you.

Yeah, the Will's not fun. The will is not exciting. But it's something we have to do. We have to get on the will.

He says, in verse three: "I went down to the potter's house, and there was something — he was making something at the will. Making something." If I'm Jeremiah, I'm like, "God, what You making over there, Mr. Potter? What You doing? I see the clay. I see the will. I see you, Mr. Potter. What's going on, exactly?" He said, "I'm making something."

This is where I'm going to lose a lot of you today. If God doesn't tell you exactly what He's doing in your life, you'll give up and walk away. "Well, God, I'm willing to sacrifice, but I need to know what I'm sacrificing for. I'm willing to go to the altar and die. I'm willing to go to the altar and be a sacrifice. But God, I need to know exactly what's in it for me. How are You going to bless me, for doing this? God, God, God — I'm willing to go wherever. I would just like to know exactly where You're taking me, where You're leading me."

I have some bad news for y'all today: if that's your mindset, God's not going to show you the whole picture. He's not going to tell you everything there is. He's not going to call you, and give you every turn, and every twist, and every bit of direction. He will order your steps, but He's not going to tell you what those steps are, at the beginning. Some people get frustrated with God, because you want to know, "All right, I'm paying a cost. But what's it get me, in the long run? What's it getting me, God?"

You know, when God called Abram, He said, "Go to a land that I'm going to give you." But he did not know the land. He did not know where he was going. God didn't tell him even the full picture. Abram just went. Now, I believe that if God had told Abram everything, when He asked him to leave, he wouldn't have gone. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, God — You're telling me that I've got to go to Egypt? I've got to pretend like my wife is my sister, so that I can keep her? You're telling me I got to take Isaac to the mountain top I? I see the knife. That's my promise. I don't like this, God. I think I know an easier way to do this."

Let me tell you why God doesn't tell you all the things you're going to do for the kingdom of God: because you would start seeing the pain, and the frustration, and the hurts, that would be required to get you there. And the second you see those pain points, you're going to say, "Nope, not for me. I'm just going to sit over here on this couch, and watch everybody else do it." If you've got faith in God, you've got to just get up and go. You just got to get up, and believe that He is going to order every step, just the way it needs to be ordered. And you may not always be happy — I feel the Holy Ghost right here — you may not always be happy. But when did God call you to be happy? When has He desired your happiness, over His kingdom assignment?

You know what I learned a long time ago in ministry, is: ministry was not a vacation. Ministry was not me getting to play more golf. It was less golf, actually. There have been pain — moments of pain. There have been moments of frustration. There's been leadership pains. There's been all kinds of things during my tenure in ministry. But I'll tell you this right now: I wouldn't trade it for anything. I would not trade where God is taking me, for anything — any convenience, any comfort that's in this world. I am full in. I want to see that which God has for me. Only God knows exactly what He has for you, too. If someone else is telling you — why, God — listen, if God's not telling you those things, don't even be listening to it. If God told you everything, you wouldn't go. You wouldn't do it.

You know, my daughter Hazel — she's eight years old. We let her watch, you know, obviously appropriate movies. And what I've discovered is, even in the appropriate movies, there's moments where — she gets terrified. You know what she does? She does two things: one, she runs out of the room, or two, she fast-forwards it. Let me tell you why God doesn't give you everything in your life, up front: cuz you'd run out of the room, or you try to fast-forward it. "Well, I'll just skip this part." But it's when you're on that will, and it's when God's pulling — and again, He uses sometimes pain and frustrations to do that. There's purpose in pain. And He's pulling those things out of you. He's getting you ready for what He has for your life.

God just wants you to trust Him. He just wants you to trust Him. He wants you to say: "No matter the pain, no matter the suffering, no matter the heartache, no matter the frustration, no matter the times where you just want to quit" — He wants you to be persuaded. He wants you to be persuaded, and to know, like Paul told the Romans, in Romans 8:28: "And we know that all things work together for good, to those who love God, and to those who are called according to His purpose." You may not have it all yet. But if you're called of God, He'll give you strength. He'll give you the ability. He'll give you the anointing. You just got to walk in the journey that God has called you to do.

Jeremiah is watching the Potter work. And in verse four, it says, "The vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the Potter." That word "marred" there — it means that it was blemished, and flawed. There were cracks in it. There were dings in it. There were things on the outside that maybe made it look useful. But on the inside, the expert craftsman — the expert artisan that the Potter was — he knew that it was far from what it needed to be. And so he would notice the imperfection, and he would start applying water to the vessel, so that he can start working on it again. Without the water, you can't get the clay to work the way you want it to work. Saying to God — I want you to hear this: without the Holy Ghost, you'll never be who God wants you to be. Unless the Spirit of God is actively moving and operating in your life, you'll never get to where God wants you to be. The clay needs the water. But the saint of God needs the Holy Ghost. And I'm talking about more than just a one-time experience, where you feel goosebumps, and you speak in tongues. I'm talking about a daily interaction with the Spirit of God. I'm talking about every single day, you say, "Jesus, where are You leading me? Jesus, where are You guiding me? Jesus, what Your Spirit trying to do today, in my life? Spirit — Holy Ghost — what inside of me is not acceptable today? What inside of me is not right today? What part of me, God, would You have me change?" That's what it looks like, saying to God: we need the Holy Ghost. I thought, in an Apostolic church, I'd get a few more amens than that. S of God, we need the Holy Ghost. We need the Holy Ghost, each and every day. But we don't just need some of it. We need it overflowing. We need it bubbling out. We need to be like that living water that just spews out, so that no matter where we're going, and who we interact with, a little bit of Holy Ghost just spills out on them.

Let me tell you what Murphy's Boro needs. Murphy borl needs the truth that's in this church: that the Spirit, that the Holy Ghost, is a promise. And it's for them. And it's for their children. And it's for whoever the Lord our God calls.

The Potter, he needed the water. He needed the Holy Ghost. Somebody asked me one time, "Do you — are you the kind of preacher that believes that you have to have the Holy Ghost to make it to heaven?" Like, "Yeah, I am. I guess I am that kind of preacher." Because my Bible tells me, in John 3: "Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." So yeah, I'm the kind of preacher that believes you got to have the Holy Ghost to make it to heaven. But I told him, I said, "I'll go a step further. I'm also the person that thinks I got to have the Holy Ghost just to make it from one side of Murphy's Bor to the other side. If I need the Holy Ghost to get from here to New Salem, I need the Holy Ghost to get me from here to eternity — from here to heaven."

The Potter — I'm going to try to come to close here, in just a few minutes, I promise. But the Potter, he would work on the clay. He would work on the vessel. He would notice that it was marred, that it was blemished, that it had its imperfections on the outside. A novice, an amateur, would look at the vessel, and say, "It looks good to me. Looks all right to me." But the expert artisan that the Potter would — he would look at it, and he would say, "Ah, it's going to miss its purpose. It's not going to be as functional as I wanted to. It's not going to be as usable as I needed to. It's not going to be as serviceable as I believe its potential had."

I want you to hear this today, in the Holy Ghost: God does not want any of your potential to be wasted, because you rushed the process, when you were on the way. "Well, on the front side, I look like I got it all figured out." Yeah, but the backside it's — it's wrecked. It's jacked up. "Oh, if you look at me at this angle, I look like I'm doing good. But if you look at me at this angly it's, it's clear I got a lot of flaws in me." What God has been raking me over with lately is this idea, that God is not going to look at me, and Grave me on a curve. He's not just wanting most of my life to be good, or the majority, or 99% of my life, to be acceptable to Him. He's looking for every aspect of my life to line up with Him. Hallelujah. Every aspect. Every command. Every fruit of the Spirit. Every commandment. He's expecting me to pursue it all. Sometimes I think we're guilty, because we look at ourselves, and say, "Well, we're better than they are. Well, I'm probably in the top five percentile of holy, or righteous, or sanctified." What if you've got cracks in you? If you're marred? If there are things about you that are not good in His sight? Come on — He's going to say, "It's time to get your tail back on the wheel. Let Me get My hands on you one more time. Let Me work out some things, that I know aren't right right now, in your life."

When God created the heavens and the earth, it took Him how many days to do it? Six days. Seventh day, rest. That was a test question right there. That's was for my Bible quizz was in the room. Took Him six days. You know what He said, at the end of each of those days, when He looked at what He had created? "It is good. It is good."

Put verse four up on the screen for me. At the end of verse four — we got that up on the screen? Jeremiah 18. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. You may be guessing which verse four — there's a lot of them in the Bible. It says: "And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the Potter. So he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good — " Good. God is not okay with you having an okay life. God is not okay with you being a halfway decent vessel. God is not okay with you doing above average, when it comes to living life. When He looks at your life, He wants to see good. Good, on His turn standard. Good, through His eyes. Good, through His ways.

Today, I'm reaching for somebody that — you've been in church a long time, and you — think, because the majority of your life is good, then you're good. But God saying, "No, no, no, no, no. There's still a crack you can't see."

I don't know why — maybe cuz my friend Forest, over here — we do Bible studies on Friday morning. We were talking about when we see Jesus face to face, on the day of judgment. Ever since he mentioned to me, all I can think about is: I don't want there to be one crack that keeps me out of heaven. I don't want there to be one thing that I said, because I refuse to get back on the will, that keeps me — prevents me — from hearing, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." I've been looking even at Word — the Word — differently, and saying: "If there is anything — if there is anything in here that is not lining up with my life — God, fix it in my life. Search my heart. Search my mind. Keep me where You want me to be."

Today, God is an expert artisan. In our God Is series, He is an expert Artis. He is the Potter, and you are the clay. God — He can take a lump of clay, and when it's not perfect, He doesn't throw it away. Aren't you glad that God didn't throw you away? He doesn't throw you away. He doesn't go find a new lump of clay, and put it back on the wheel. No. He says, "It's time for you to get back on the will." He puts His hands on you, as you are the clay. And that will spins you. And the water hits you. And He keeps working, over and over and over again, and again, and again, until He can look at you, and say, "That's something that I will call good."

Today, in this place, I'm reaching for two types of people. A type of person that says, "I've done too much. I've gone too far. I'm not good enough to work in the kingdom of God." I want you to hear this: He is the Potter, and He's not done with you yet. But s of God, who's been in church their whole life, and you think you've got it all figured out, and you think you've arrived already — I want you to hear this preacher right now, when I say that you are still a piece of clay. Job said, "I am just flesh. I am just clay." And as long as you're just clay, you need the will. And you need the Potter. And you need, every once in a while, to get to an altar, and say, "God, here am I. Search me. Search my heart. Search my mind."

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Psalm 19:14: "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable unto You" — be good to You, God. Today, if you've decided to get off the whe, it's time to get back on the will. If you decide that it's time for you to get off — that you've already — it's time to get back on the will. It's time for you to let God look at you, and examine you again, and see what He can do in your life. Don't sit there, and act like you aren't potentially marred. You may have a crack in you. And if you're a person in this room, and you say, "I am mared" — it's okay. The Potter's in the house. The Craftsman who can fix you, and mold you — He's here today.

God told Jeremiah — and I'm coming to a close; musicians can come — God told Jeremiah, in Jeremiah vers 18 orap 18:6: "Oh house of Israel, can I not do with you as the Potter has done with his clay? Can I not do with you as this Potter has done with its clay?" I feel the Lord is pushing somebody to make this personal today. For you to look at it, and say, "All right — if God can do this for the house of Israel, can He not do this for the house of Smith? Can He not do this for the house of Johnson? Can He not do this for the house of Jones? Can you not do this for For su's house, or Tommy's house, or Jim's house, or Jame? If the Potter could do it for Israel, can He do it for me? If the Potter could do it to that piece of clay, can He do it for me?"

Today, I want us all to examine our lives. Come before the Potter, and say, "God, here am I. Search me. Examine me. Do, God, whatever You need to do, to make sure that I am good in Your eyes."

This is what I know: is that if you will decide today to get back on the will, and let Him work in your life — He's a faithful God. He's not just the Author of your faith; He's the Finisher of your faith. He's not just the One that starts it; He's the One that will see it through. He's not going to just know you, or call you, or ordain you, just to leave you high and dry. He's that faithful Potter, that says, "Get back on the will. We've tried this before. But you messed it up again. I can see that. It's all right. I'm here. I'm longsuffering. I'm patient. I don't want anyone to miss out on eternal life. I'm here for you today. Let Me work on you again."

Philippians chap 1:6 says: "And then I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished, on the day when Christ Jesus returns." He's not done with you yet. If you're here today, and you're breathing, and you're alive — He's not done with you yet. Until He makes His glorious return, and raptures the church — He's not done with you yet. He's not finished with the work that He started. That thing He started, when you came to an altar for the first time, and said, "Jesus, forgive me of my sins" — when He started that work, by washing those sins away, He made a commitment to you, that He would see you through to the end. Paul was persuaded: "He who has started this good work in me — He will continue. He will continue, until it is finally finished."

Prophet Isaiah said: "But now, Oh Lord, You are our Father, and we are the clay. You are our Potter, and all we are the work of Your hand."

Today, I felt like God wanted to remind somebody that God is the Potter, and He's here to do a work in our life. Could you stand to your feet today, with me? Hey, it doesn't matter who you are in the room — the Potter's here for you. It doesn't matter even what you did yesterday — the Potter is in the room for you. It doesn't matter how long that crack's been there, or that blemish has been there, or how long ago that mistake was, and you haven't owned up to it yet — the Potter is in the room. He's in the room. He's got the will ready. The water — the Holy Ghost — it will move in your life. If you've never received the Holy Ghost, today you can receive it, for the first time. The Potter's here. He just wants to know: are you willing to come again to the will, and open up yourselves to what He has for you?

Let's bow our heads right now. Let's pray. Jesus, God, I pray right now, Lord Jesus, for each and every person that's in this building. God, Lord, I pray, Lord Jesus, for the person that this is their first service here. And God, I also pray for the person that has been a member here for some time. God, Lord, I pray that today, there would not be a single person that would just make an assumption that we're good with You. But God, that we would truly allow You — the Perfect One, the Righteous One, the only One without sin — to look at our lives, to examine our hearts, to examine our minds. God, and for You to — for us to give You full permission to change anything inside of us. God, I pray right now, Lord Jesus, that Your Spirit, God, would begin to minister. That You would begin to recall to our minds Your faithfulness, and Your goodness, and Your longsuffering. God, I pray that right now, Your convi would begin to move in this room, God. And that You would begin to stir hearts. And that You would begin to stir minds, God. And that You would begin to operate, God, and only the way You can. God, we give You glory for what You're about to do in this service. In Jesus' name. Amen.

I want to open this altar, and I would ask for every single person — no matter who you are, no matter your background — I want you to come forward. I want you to lift up your hands. I want it to be symbolic, that you're surrendering right now to God. I want you to lift up both hands, and I want you to say, "God, here am I. Search me. Search my heart. Search the hidden parts, God. Search the parts that nobody can see, God. Examine me today, God. Begin to do a work in my life today."

Come on, right now, s of God. Begin to make that way forward to the altar. Get to the will. Get up on the will, and say, "Here am I, Potter. You can do the work only You can do. Work it — for — " Hallelujah, Jesus.