Inner Man

Men’s breakfast

Men’s Breakfast 2/14/2026

How do we build the inner man?  Recently there has been a lot of focus on how God builds men in preparation for ministry.  I recently saw an interesting rheel where a man was speaking about how God answers prayer backwards, he stated, “I asked God for wisdom, and He gave me problems to solve.  I asked God for peace, and He tested me with chaos to cultivate peace.  It seems that God is extremely interested in building our inner man for the purpose of His glory.  Before God gives us the promises He’s gotta build the character that can sustain the promises.  God doesn’t necessarily change our circumstances He changes us.  God prepares us before He promotes us.

I wanted to share a little bit of my journey with you all today.  I didn’t decide that I wanted to get into ministry until I was about 31 years old, the Lord was poking and prodding me to take a leap of faith.  The worldly things that I thought would bring purpose and satisfaction were being stripped away from me.  My job was not very stimulating, the more I grew spiritually the hungrier my appetite became for mature Christian conversation and fellowship.  I was struggling to find a help mate that I longed for, I knew that my life was going to change, I didn’t know how challenging it would be, but I knew that old comforts of life had to pass away and so that God could make room for what He wanted to accomplish in my life. 

I decided that I was going to go to seminary and learn as much as I can about working in full-time ministry.  Now I thought that getting into ministry was similar to getting into a secular job.  If I go and get a degree to learn how to preach then I could easily find a ministry job.  That wasn’t exactly the case for me, what I didn’t understand is that I could have all the knowledge in the world but if I didn’t have the Christ like character to be a servant for Christ than I was not going to be successful.  I remember speaking to a mentor of mine Dr. Yamamoto and he said Sam, God wants to do ministry with you.  It’s not just about your abilities, your charisma, or your giftings.  God has to be in it.  Those words stuck with me because I began to realize what a calling on my life meant.  It wasn’t just about me, it was about the ministry that the Lord was preparing me to do. 

Now I have not fully figured out where I am supposed to serve, but the Lord has given me a help mate, He has helped me significantly in my character and He has developed a tremendous amount of patience in me.  It has been one of the most inner man developing processes I have ever encountered, and it has come through pain.  It has come with learning how to humble myself and ask for help.  I have learned how to say no to the works of the flesh and learn how to say yes to the fruit of the spirit as mentioned in Galatians 5:22-25, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

How many of you in here today have thought about the importance of developing your character?  How many of you have noticed that having bad character will severely limit your ability to open doors?  I remember when I moved to Butte and starting a job as a delivery driver here.  I remember what the workforce was like and seeing where people were at in life.  I remember working with some rough characters and thinking this is not easy.  I remember asking the Lord to cultivate kindness and compassion for these rough neck types. I didn’t think it was going to be as difficult as it was, but God gave me a compassionate heart for my co-workers.  I saw a lot of addiction.  I remember asking one of my co-workers what vaping did for him?  Did it give him greater focus, more energy?  What did it do for him?  He clearly stated, it’s an addiction.  I was pleasantly surprised how easily he admitted it.

When I first stepped into ministry I came in with a lot of knowledge, a lot of ambition to get good at ministry, and a lot of ego.  I fell flat on my face multiple times, and I began to ask the Lord why do I keep on running into these obstacles?  What is it that I am missing?  One night the Holy Spirit woke me up in the middle of the night with a word, “He said Sam you have invested a lot into your education, your hobbies, but how much have you invested in your character?”  I thought about that for a good while and the Lord led me to the book of Galatians and the passage on the fruit of the Spirit.  It seemed that the Lord was putting pressure on me to see what was inside, He allowed me to experience the pain of failure, the loss of relationships, opportunities, and a lot of money.  I realized I needed to build the inner man in order to be successful in this calling that the Lord has put on my life. 

Not too much longer I met my lovely wife Katie, and she has been one of the best blessings that the Lord has given me.  She is ministry minded and has a heart of compassion for people.  When I met her, it was like I had met my partner in ministry.  Had I not gone through that deep heart work of experiencing heartbreak and seeking the Lord’s face I don’t believe the Lord would have blessed me with Katie. 

Many of you in here today may be going through some tough trials, with your health, your finances, loss of relationships, or just feeling stuck.  I want to encourage you brothers that God see’s you and He cares about your pain.  C.S. Lewis famously wrote in his book The Problem of Pain: “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world”. This quote highlights his view that pain acts as a divine tool to shatter the illusion that all is well and to draw humanity to God.

I think so many of us want to be comfortable, me included.  We don’t want to experience pain or heartbreak.  We want life to be easy and all of the things that come with an easy life.  For me it has felt like God has answered my prayers backwards, I asked Him for love and gave me heartbreak so I could learn to love myself first.  Now I did find love, and I am ever so grateful for that, but more than that God has given me purpose and satisfaction. 

Speaking here today and sharing my story with you all is a blessing.  Seeing God’s fingerprints on my life and now having a new perspective on where the Lord is taking me has allowed me to live life to the fullest.  It has given me a drive and a purpose to minister to others in ways I never could have imagined. I am not in tremendous hurry, I am seeking the Lord’s face on how to do ministry with Him and how to do life with Him.  Katie and I do life with Christ at the center, and I am so excited for what He has in store for us. 

Brothers if you are here today and feeling stuck let me challenge you to seek the Lord’s face with all your heart, ask Him Lord what are You wanting me to learn, where are You wanting me to serve?  What person are You wanting me to minister to? 

I remember a great friend of mine gave me one of the best pieces of advice I could have ever asked for, he said Sam you need a ministry to serve in, something that builds God’s kingdom and gives you a sense of meaning! 

Today I offer the same advice to you.  What ministry does the Lord have for you?  God bless you all for being here today.  Let’s close in a word of prayer.