The Spirit Is Willing
Eric Ludy

Eric Winston Ludy (1970–present). Born on December 17, 1970, in the United States, Eric Ludy is a pastor, author, and speaker serving as president of Ellerslie Mission Society and senior pastor at the Church at Ellerslie in Windsor, Colorado. Raised in a Christian family, he committed to Christ at age five but experienced a transformative encounter with God in 1990 at Whitworth College, inspired by Keith Green’s biography, No Compromise. Since 2009, he has led Ellerslie, a discipleship training center, where he also directs its programs. Ludy’s preaching emphasizes biblical sexuality, manhood, prayer, and a deeper Christian life, drawing from figures like Charles Spurgeon and Leonard Ravenhill. He has authored over 20 books, many co-written with his wife, Leslie, including When God Writes Your Love Story (1998), The Bravehearted Gospel (2008), and Wrestling Prayer (2009), selling over a million copies globally. Married to Leslie since 1994, their love story, detailed in When Dreams Come True (2000), gained attention for their commitment to purity, notably saving their first kiss for their wedding. They have six children, four adopted, reflecting their advocacy for adoption. Ludy’s Daily Thunder podcast and sermons reach thousands weekly, though his bold style has sparked debate among some evangelicals. He said, “The Christian life is about being all in for Jesus Christ.”
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Sermon Summary
This sermon emphasizes the need for individuals to surrender themselves to God, acknowledging their own sinful nature and selfish desires that hinder their relationship with Him. It challenges the audience to let go of control, pride, and doubts, and to fully trust in God's power to transform their lives. Salvation is portrayed as a continuous process of being rescued and delivered by God, requiring a daily reliance on His strength and grace.
Sermon Transcription
You know that you have a thousand moments in every day when you need to be rescued and delivered from what? You! From the problem of you. You have a desire. You have an esteem for that throne in your life. You want to be in control. You want it to be your way. You are a problem. You are a rebel against the kingdom agenda. You need to be saved. We have a tendency to undermine the very fabric of the gospel, which is a living, vibrant, abiding relationship. And that's where the fire comes in. If you are not living in the life of Jesus Christ, if you are not abiding in the light of holiness, then you are living a false existence under the banner of all these things that are true. May we dare not live out such a Christianity. Our world is wanting to flush Christianity down the toilet because of this very thing. Christians that speak grand thoughts and live horrible lives. We're so used to hearing the futility. We're so used to hearing about the failure and we know the failure in our own life that we don't believe in victory anymore. We have more faith in the power of Satan over our life than we do in the power of Jesus Christ to deliver us in our life. What has happened to the church where we have faith in Satan? We have faith in the power of darkness. We have faith in the power of sin. What has happened to us when we've lost the faith in the power of God? How often do we do that in our life? It's like, well, my sin is special. My problem is special. Sure, God did this for that person over there. Oh, yes, He did this for me in the past, but that was different. God can do things like that, but this is different. I need, I would need something bigger than God for this. Such is my lot in life, to allow this sin to control me because God can't deal with it. Woe is me. Selfishness at the core is to think that you have a special problem. A problem that God cannot deal with, that God didn't deal with at the cross. You do not have anything special that's been dealt out to you. You have sin, you have rebellion, you have selfishness, and God is an expert at dealing with it. He will deal with every vice in your existence. You simply must believe it. God wants to purge us of everything that stands against His agenda in our life, which is a life of faith. It's a life of absolute confidence. When He says it, when He promises it, we esteem it, and we say He will perform it, and our life matches up, and we take a step forward. I will stand in this exact point and say He will do it until I die. Why do I have such a confidence? Because He's done it in me. Not speaking about things that are just theoretical. The reason I speak with passion on this exact point is because I allow no shadow in my life. I detest shadow. We're in the midst of a war. Shadow is constantly trying to cover our life. We must not let it. That even as I speak tonight, you're saying, God, shine your light into the shadow. Please do not allow anything to remain. There's a part of you that rises up, and there's another part that says, whoa, be careful. If that shadow is exposed, if God gets into that, who knows what will happen to you. Why? Why would we hesitate? The God of the universe has literally given us, laid out for us, a banquet for the soul. To partake and to feast upon His very person. To know Him, the King of the universe, intimately. To discover the inheritance of heaven, all the power, all the grace, all the glory. It's there waiting to be had, and we hesitate. Why would we hesitate? Why are there things in life that we don't hesitate at all to partake of? To participate in? Because we know there isn't a cost associated with those. We know that it won't demand us to give up our life as we now know it, but the gospel is after your life. The gospel wants you. The gospel is about a purchase, and that purchase is of you. You are not your own, but God has already laid out the stakes. It's either Him, or it's destruction. He's made His pattern. He's given you the means of salvation. He's given it all. He gave up His life. Do not reject it. Do not hold it with contempt and stand back as if it's your decision, and you are testing the waters to see if God is worthy of you. He has purchased you with His blood. Why in the world are we hesitating? Everything we have done is absolutely empty if it doesn't capture your soul and change your life. This is nothing. In fact, it will harm you, because now you will have actually heard the truth, esteemed it, and think you have it, because you've heard it. But the fact that you have heard these things does not mean you have it, and tonight we must grapple with the difference between hearing and having. We love each of you so much that we do not want that shadowy side to continue. However, if it's there, it means you need the gospel. It means you need the power of God into salvation. Salvation is not merely the beginning point, where yes, I was saved, and now I get to experience eternity with Jesus Christ. Salvation is not a one-time thing. In fact, salvation is daily, moment by moment. It simply means to be rescued, to be delivered. The Spirit of God is willing. In other words, you're like, God, I'm willing, but I'm weak, and God's like, and I'm willing to help you. I'm willing. I have everything you need in your weakness to carry you into the full frontier, the endless frontier of my grace. Don't think this relies on you. I know how weak you are. Just call out to me. Ask for my assistance, and I will give you everything you need. As Oswald Chambers says, when obedience is in the ascendance, in other words, God has called you, and you know what it is. Simple obedience. He says, just obey. Step out. He says, he will tax the remotest star in the last grain of sand to assist you with all his almighty power.
The Spirit Is Willing
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Eric Winston Ludy (1970–present). Born on December 17, 1970, in the United States, Eric Ludy is a pastor, author, and speaker serving as president of Ellerslie Mission Society and senior pastor at the Church at Ellerslie in Windsor, Colorado. Raised in a Christian family, he committed to Christ at age five but experienced a transformative encounter with God in 1990 at Whitworth College, inspired by Keith Green’s biography, No Compromise. Since 2009, he has led Ellerslie, a discipleship training center, where he also directs its programs. Ludy’s preaching emphasizes biblical sexuality, manhood, prayer, and a deeper Christian life, drawing from figures like Charles Spurgeon and Leonard Ravenhill. He has authored over 20 books, many co-written with his wife, Leslie, including When God Writes Your Love Story (1998), The Bravehearted Gospel (2008), and Wrestling Prayer (2009), selling over a million copies globally. Married to Leslie since 1994, their love story, detailed in When Dreams Come True (2000), gained attention for their commitment to purity, notably saving their first kiss for their wedding. They have six children, four adopted, reflecting their advocacy for adoption. Ludy’s Daily Thunder podcast and sermons reach thousands weekly, though his bold style has sparked debate among some evangelicals. He said, “The Christian life is about being all in for Jesus Christ.”