Information, Inspiration and the Power of the Gospel

This transcript was generated automatically. Its accuracy may vary

Short Summary
The discourse emphasizes that true spiritual growth comes not from mere effort or external obedience but from God rewriting the human will by transforming our desires and aligning our hearts with His purpose. It highlights how Jesus respected human will, inspiring change through love and desire rather than coercion or shame, illustrating this with examples like Peter’s restoration and Saul’s conversion. Ultimately, lasting transformation occurs when God reshapes the inner motivations, leading to genuine alignment with righteousness that flows from the heart.

Long Summary
Detailed Summary of the Discourse: “How God Rewrites the Human Will”

Context and Audience Needs:
The speaker conducted an informal survey of friends regarding their expectations from the convention, identifying three main desires:
1. To receive information
2. To gain inspiration
3. To increase the power of the gospel in their homes
The speaker emphasizes that the goal is not mere talk but to bring gospel principles back home and live them out.

Central Theme:
The discourse is titled “How God Rewrites the Human Will.” The speaker challenges the common notion that spiritual growth is primarily about trying harder or exerting more willpower. Instead, the key work God does is rewriting or transforming the human will itself.

Common Christian Experience:
Many believers are taught to discipline themselves—to be more patient, forgiving, and consistent. Success is celebrated, but failure often leads to self-blame, thinking it is due to lack of effort or willpower.

Biblical Foundation – Romans 7:18:
The Apostle Paul states:
> “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing. For to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” (Romans 7:18, KJV)
Paul acknowledges the presence of will to do good but the inability to perform it through fleshly power. This highlights the distinction between desire (will) and ability (performance).

The Concept of God Rewriting the Will:
The speaker posits that God’s greatest work is not merely strengthening human will but actually rewriting it—transforming desires and motivations from within, which is essential for lasting spiritual growth.

Proverbs 20:24 and Divine Guidance:
> “Man’s goings are of the Lord: how can a man then understand his own way?” (Proverbs 20:24)
This verse underscores that God directs our paths at a deeper level than conscious choice, forming an inner compass (desire and will) before outward changes manifest.

Human Will and Behavior:
– The will is cognitive, a response to God’s love, but limited.
– People can externally obey or suppress desires temporarily (like being polite in uncomfortable situations), but inward inspiration may remain stagnant, causing spiritual dissonance.
– Jesus condemns such hypocrisy:
> “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” (Matthew 15:8, KJV)
– External obedience without internal alignment is insufficient; God desires transformation from within.

Jesus’ Approach to Righteousness:
– Jesus never argued or intimidated people into obedience.
– He respected human will, inviting reflection rather than coercion.
– After many disciples left (John 6:66-67), Jesus asked the Twelve if they would also go away, showing He did not force loyalty.
– Behavior follows desire, not mere instruction.

Practical Application in the Home:
– To influence family behavior, one must cultivate desire, not just lay down rules.
– The speaker’s wife’s visible faith and prayer inspire desire in their children more than commands.
– Desire fuels learning, inspiration, and living the gospel at home.

The Law vs. New Covenant:
– The Law was holy and good but could not save because it defined righteousness externally and could not create desire for righteousness (Romans 8:3).
– The New Covenant, however, rewrites the heart:
> “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.” (Jeremiah 31:33)
– This internal transformation rewires desire and will.

Love vs. External Pressure:
– Only love can reshape desire; outside pressure modifies behavior temporarily but does not transform the heart.
– The historical church’s use of fear and hellfire generated resistance but not true alignment to righteousness.
– God’s goal is alignment of head and heart toward righteousness.

Examples of Jesus’ Interactions:
– Peter: Restored after failure by renewing his desire, not shaming him.
– Saul of Tarsus: Not debated into submission but reoriented through experiencing Jesus as Messiah.
– Jesus often asked questions (e.g., Mark 10:51: “What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?”) to draw out desires, not to lecture.

The Power of Questions:
– Questions reveal true desires and open the door for transformation.
– Jesus’ method was gentle drawing, not coercion, in line with John 6:44:
> “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.”

Stages of Spiritual Calling:
The calling unfolds gradually through:
1. Knowledge
2. Understanding
3. Discernment
4. Desire

God’s Work in Believers:
– Philippians 1:6:
> “He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
– God initiates, continues, and completes the transformation; believers respond.

Peter’s Restoration Narrative:
– After denying Jesus thrice, Peter’s failure was deep and identity-shattering.
– Jesus meets Peter at the shore with a fire of coals, recalling the place where Peter warmed himself during his denial (John 18:18).
– Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” (John 21:15-17), restoring his desire and identity rather than condemning him.

Conclusion and Charge:
– Proverbs 4:23:
> “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
– The life’s direction flows from the heart (desire and will).
– God offers to write a new heart in us today.
– The speaker encourages prayer for God’s continued work in rewriting will and transforming hearts.

—

Key Bible Verses Referenced:

– Romans 7:18
– Proverbs 20:24
– Matthew 15:8
– John 6:66-67
– Romans 8:3
– Jeremiah 31:33
– Mark 10:51
– John 6:44
– Philippians 1:6
– Luke 22 (Peter’s denial and weeping)
– Proverbs 4:23
– John 21:15-17 (Jesus’ restoration of Peter)

—

Summary of Core Insights:

– Spiritual growth is not just about stronger willpower but a divine rewriting of the human will.
– God transforms desire and motivation internally, leading to authentic, lasting obedience.
– External rules and pressure are insufficient; love and internal alignment are essential.
– Jesus’ ministry exemplified respect for human will and a gentle invitation to transformation via desire.
– Parents and church leaders should focus on inspiring desire rather than enforcing mere behavior.
– God’s work is progressive and relational, restoring identity and desire even after failure.

Transcript

And I did an informal survey yesterday with some of my friends, and I asked them what they wanted to receive from this convention. I heard three things. Number one, information. They wanted to learn information. Number two, inspiration.

They wanted to be inspired, and number three, they wanted to be able to increase the power of the gospel in their home. You know, that’s what our job is to do. It’s not just here and bumping our gums. It’s to take this information back to our house and.

And make it part of our home and part of living. I’d like to share a concept with you. The title of my service today is How God Rewrite. Rewrites the Human Will, and most of us were taught.

I know I was. I grew up in a home. We read the Bible every night. Most of us were taught to think that spiritual growth was something that we must try harder to do, and in many ways that’s important.

But there’s a nuance I’d like to share with you. From early in our Christian walk, we are encouraged to discipline ourselves, to strengthen our resolve, and to press forward with determination. We’re taught to be more patient. We’re taught to be more forgiving. We’re taught to be more consistent.

And when we succeed, we are very encouraged. But when we fail, we kind of quietly conclude that it’s our problem is really a lack. Lack of our effort. It’s a lack of our discipline. It’s a lack of our willpower.

Now, the Apostle Paul writes something. In Romans, chapter 7, verse 18, he says this. For I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. For to will is present with me. In other words, he wills to do something.

He wants to do something, and that’s. That’s something that’s always with him. He always wants to do something. He says, for to will is present with me.

But how to perform that which is good, I find not so. I think the Apostle Paul distinguishes something here. He distinguishes between the presence of will inside of him and the power to perform.

Now, I think this scripture tells me that the desire to do good existed in the Apostle Paul. But his ability to perform on that was very difficult. The. The ability to sustain it. That performance did not come from his flesh.

And because over time this struggle can become exhausting if we don’t depend on our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. So I have a question for you. What if the greatest work that God does in us is not strengthening. Strengthening our will, but actually rewriting it? And that’s what I’D like to share with you today.

I would like to share that with you, that this is the very operation that God is performing in your life. He is rewriting your will. He is rewriting my will, and understanding this, I think has delivered on all three of these needs. Information, inspiration, and how to bring the gospel back to your home.

There’s an interesting proverb in Proverb chapter 20, verse 24. It says, Man’s goings are of the Lord. In other words, the Lord knows what we do. The Lord knows why we do it. The Lord knows the intent of our heart.

God knows everything. If he can count the hair on our head, he can understand our heart, and he knows it says Proverbs 20:24, Man’s goings are of the Lord. How can a man then understand his own way?

I believe that the direction of our life is shaped at a level that’s deeper than our own conscious decision making, and I think God works beneath the surface, and he forms an inner compass in our heart.

He forms his inner compass before our outward path changes, and we have to submit to that sanctifying power, and that’s what I’d like to share with you today. You know, the human will is a cognitive thing. It’s a result of God’s love.

Our will is a response to God. That’s a cognitive thing. It is very remarkable. But, you know, it has its limits.

For example, we can force our behavior for a season when we go to a family’s house that we’re not really excited about, or they’re not of the same persuasion. We can force our behavior and be nice. We can suppress our desire temporarily. We can actually obey outwardly, while our inward inspiration is actually stagnant. It’s not moving forward.

And this lack of inspiration, it kind of feels like resistance to God sometimes, and many people live this way for years. They try to perform on the outside. Their inner will is not in alignment with their outward performance, and they live this way for years, and when the children see this in our home, they call us hypocrites.

Sometimes we try to do the right thing while we on the inside, we are divided, and Jesus addressed this very condition when he quoted Isaiah, and this is what Jesus says in Matthew, chapter 5, verse 18. He says, this people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. We do not ever want to get to that point.

And when we do, we need to realize that our will needs to be rewritten, that we need to submit to the sanctifying power of God, and let our will, let him rewrite our will. You know why? Because external obedience without internal alignment, that was never God’s goal. You hear that, Perry?

Internal obed. External obedience without internal alignment was never God’s goal.

Pressure from the outside, it can modify our behavior for a time, but it really cannot produce lasting transformation, and that’s what God wants. He wants a lasting transformation, and I think this is why Jesus really never argued people into righteousness. You ever thought of that?

Jesus never argued people into righteousness. That’s a big idea.

It explains to me why he never intimidated hearts into obedience. He never tried to use worldly tactics to intimidate people into obedience. Sarcasm, Taking advantage of their relationships with other people to shame them, and I think that it explains why he never really seemed anxious when people turned away from him. He just spoke the truth and they turned away from him.

How about this? In John chapter 6, 66 and 67, it says this. It says, after many disciples walked away from him, Jesus, what did he do? He simply turned to the 12 and he asked them, will you also go away?

Jesus did not chase the crowds.

That’s a big idea, isn’t it? When Jesus did not chase them, he did not coerce loyalty.

I think Jesus respected the human will, and I think this is because he understood how God works with our human will.

And I think this, this is the big secret that changed everything for me. It was one of those big life changing events for me. Behavior follows desire, not instruction. In the home, we give instruction. We tell our children, do this, do that, do this, do that.

But what I think we need to think about is to follow Jesus’s method. Because Jesus knew that behavior follows desire, and desire is what leads us to information. Desire is what leads us to inspiration, and desire is what brings the engine to bring the.

Provides the engine to bring the gospel into our home. You know, our. The best testimony that my children have ever seen of my wife’s faith is when they see her kneeling in in prayer in the morning a on the bed that ignites desire in their heart. Because they see desire in my wife, Sister Marilyn.

Behavior follows desire, not instruction. If we want to change the behavior of our home, we need to encourage our family to desire. Isn’t that right, Sister Sylvia? I love that you got it. You work with children so you know what’s going on now.

The law covenant, it was holy and it was just and it was good. Jesus fulfilled it. But the law covenant could really never save Israel. Think of that. It could never save Israel.

Romans, chapter 8, verse 3. The apostle Paul bemoans this, and he says, for what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh. God sending his own Son condemned sin in the flesh. You know why the law could not save Israel? Because it defined righteousness.

And when we create laws in the home, we kind of define the rule. We lay down the law and we expect performance from our children, from our family members.

But the law defined righteousness. It could not make righteous desirable. It could not make righteousness desirable. The law could not make righteousness desirable to the fallen heart.

Remember, behavior follows desire, not instruction. I will never try to argue people into the gospel. Sister Marilyn had some really great witnessing opportunities on the plane here. Two plain legs. She had great witnessing opportunities.

And I noticed that she was very wise and she did not try to argue people into the gospel, and I think this is really important because God is not interested in producing well managed resistance to sin. That’s what the Pharisees were doing. God is not interested in that. He’s not interested in producing well managed resistance to sin.

He’s interested in producing alignment to righteousness, and that’s the whole objective of our faith. It’s to align our head and the heart towards righteousness, and that should be the whole objective of our witnessing.

He does not overpower human will. Jesus never did that. He never tried to argue people into the gospel. He transforms it with desire. Wow, that’s a secret tool, isn’t it?

We don’t really think of that. It’s kind of invisible. It’s kind of invisible in our life. But when we feel the power of God changing our will to. To do in his, in our life is good pleasure.

We feel at one with God and we feel the power of that faith. We feel the power of that sanctifying finger of God working with us, and I think this is the glorious promise of the new covenant in God’s kingdom on earth. What is going to happen? Well, we look to Jeremiah, chapter 31, verse 33, and this is our new covenant Scripture.

We love says, and the Lord declares, I will put my law into their inward parts and write it in their hearts. Now what if we could fully incorporate this concept today? What if we could really fully incorporate bringing that desire into our children’s lives and then write it in their hearts like God is going to do in God’s kingdom. Wow. That’s our love.

That’s our. That’s our objective. You know, our life begins with God shaping our will. It begins With God shaping our desire, and this momentum of desire comes to us through inspiration.

You know, Perry Perry, Brother Perry Lotta is one of the people that inspires me. I love the way he operates with his farm, with his plants, and with all of his techniques and processes, and it’s inspirational. Why? Because he begins with desire.

Every morning, he has a desire for his plants to grow, for his plants to produce the right, right fruit, and this is how we produce fruit in our life. It comes through that morning, desire, that desire every day. It’s a momentum that comes through our inspiration. Now notice in this Jeremiah, chapter 31, verse 33, that God does not merely command obedience.

He rewrites the place from which obedience flows. He rewrites the heart.

And for us, that’s the human will.

Outside pressure. It can shape behavior for a time. But only love can reshape desire. Kind of leads me to what Brother Obi was talking about. With the power that the church had over the people, with the burning hellfire and damnation, it created a lot of money for the coffers.

Let us not do that in our home. Let us inspire our children, let us inspire our grandchildren into the gospel. It’s not about the rules. It’s about the love. Rules are important.

Now let’s consider how Jesus worked with people throughout his ministry. How about Peter? Jesus did not shame Peter. After his failure, he restored his desire. Boom.

Isn’t that beautiful, sister? He. He restored Peter’s desire. He did not shame him. How about with Saul of Tarsus?

Jesus did not debate him into submission.

Jesus did not debate Saul of Tarsus into submission. On the way to Damascus, he just reoriented his entire sense of purpose. How? By fulfilling his Paul’s hope and desire for the Messiah, Jesus showed Saul of Tarsus that he was the Messiah with the power from heaven.

Come out with the crowds. Jesus did not command loyalty. The Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes is beautiful. He invited reflection. He inspired them.

He invited self examination, and he gave them choice.

Jesus asked a lot of questions. Not because he lacked the answers, but questions reach places that commands could never reach.

And in this experience, Jesus teaches us the power of a question. You know why? Because a question reveals what people want.

A question reveals what people want. That’s my favorite opening line. What do you want? And they’ll normally say, what do you mean, what do I want? And I said, I’m not going to qualify it.

I want to know what you want. Because if I can find what one per one somebody, what somebody wants, then I have A window into their need for the gospel. What do you want?

That’s what Jesus did in Mark, chapter 1051. He. He said, Jesus asked the blind man, what wilt thou that I should do unto thee? Now, Jesus already knew what that man’s need was, but the question drew the man’s desire out into the open. The question, what do you want?

Brought the man’s desire right out into the open for him to understand it, to feel its power, and then Jesus healed him, and I think this is a good example. You know, God in my life consistently works upstream of my behavior. God works at the level in me of motive, of value and a vision.

And I think this is why God’s drawing is often really quiet.

You know, we remember the Scripture. In John, chapter 6:44, it says, no man can come to me except the Father, which hath sent me draw him. Drawing the Father draws us not by dragging, not by arguing us into the Gospel, not by shaming us into the gospel time after time. In the Scriptures, It’s a gentle alignment of knowledge. It’s a gentle alignment of understanding, of discernment, and of desire.

And I think this is why our calling from God unfolds in stages rather than all at once. It unfolds in stages. Why? Because he appeals to our spiritual senses, and there are four stages of our calling.

Number one, knowledge, number two, understanding, number three, discernment, and number four, desire.

God rewrites our desire by drawing us to Him, and then once he do, once he draws us to him, he sends us our mentor, Jesus Christ.

A beautiful thing. The Apostle Paul In Philippians chapter 1, verse 6, says, he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Guess what? God will perform it. Performance comes from God.

All we have to do is respond to that performance. God begins it, he continues it. He completes the work, and often over a long time. You know that, don’t you, sister?

Now, to see this more clearly, let us consider a moment from Peter’s life. We love the apostle Peter, and after Peter denied Jesus three times, his failure was complete. Wow. I think that’s why he went out and wept bitterly because Peter’s failure was complete.

What did Peter do during Jesus’s ministry? Well, up until that point, he promised Jesus his loyalty. In fact, Peter even expressed his willingness to die with his Lord. Yet in the court heart, in the courtyard, Peter’s fear, Peter’s fear overcame his performance.

And Luke 22, the scripture says, when Jesus looked upon Peter, Peter remembered the word of the Lord, and Peter went out and wept bitterly. Now imagine Peter’s inner world at this moment.

Shame, self reproach. The memory of his own voice saying, I will die with you, Lord. The memory of his own voice saying, I do not know this man. Now, Peter had not really just main failured publicly. He failed inside at the point where his identity is formed.

He failed is in that place where his identity is formed. If Jesus wanted obedience, he could have commanded it from Peter. If Jesus wanted submission, he could have demanded it from Peter. But you know what Jesus wanted with Peter? Restoration.

Jesus wanted restoration. Another experience that’s really powerful to me. It speaks to me the time when we are told that Jesus prepared fire of coals on the shore. Remember that detail after Jesus resurrection, and he called Peter on the shore and he prepared a fire of coals.

And then what did he do? He asked Peter three questions. Now that fire of coals. The only other place in the Bible that fire of coals is mentioned is when Peter was warming his hand around the fire, and I think that this was a beautiful restorative parable that Jesus was teaching Peter right there in the shore.

And he gave the opportunity for Peter to say, to answer the question, do you love me, Peter? Three times to cover Peter and bring his identity back.

Well, brethren, Jesus met Peter in the sensory memory of his failure. Not to punish him, but to heal him, and this is the way God rewrites our desire. He brings us in that sensory memory of our failure that not to punish us, but to heal us. Not to lecture us, but and not to rehearse our failure, but simply to ask us a question.

Todd, do you love me? Todd, do you love me?

Closing scripture Proverbs 4:23. Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. Brethren, the direction of our life flows from our heart. It flows from a place of love in God’s kingdom on earth. He will install a new heart in the human frame.

But today we have the opportunity to give him our heart today. So let us pray that God will continue to give us a new heart and to continue to rewrite our will. God bless you.

Click Here for the PDF transcript.