The Potter's House Podcast
Episode: Walk It Out Wednesday: The Power to Change | Touré Roberts
Date: September 18, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of The Potter’s House Podcast features Pastor Touré Roberts in a post-sermon "Walk It Out Wednesday" session, expanding on the message, "The Power to Change." The conversation is rooted in Proverbs (“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life”) and centers on personal transformation, the health of the heart, practical spiritual disciplines (especially fasting), and how to walk out God’s promises amid disappointment, delay, and spiritual fatigue.

Roberts fields audience questions, unpacks the realities of hope and healing, and issues a prophetic call to rest in God’s faithfulness. The episode is encouraging, practical, and deeply pastoral in tone, blending biblical wisdom with candid personal stories and spiritual insight.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power to Change & The Importance of a Healthy Heart

(00:56–08:45)

• Summary of Sunday’s Message:
  • Roberts recaps the foundational text (Proverbs: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick...”) and shares a prophetic sense that major spiritual breakthroughs are on the horizon, despite the surrounding global difficulties.
  • Key Insight: God’s movement often unfolds in the midst of chaos; what happens in the world doesn’t determine God’s agenda or restrict spiritual breakthroughs.
  • A "sick heart" comes when hope and expectation have been worn down by delays or disappointment. If left unhealed, it prevents us from being the best version of ourselves and walking in faith.
  • “God has given us ability to change things. We are literally God’s change agents in the earth.” (03:22)
  • The goal is to “walk out” the word—not just hear it—ensuring God’s words bear fruit in our everyday lives.

2. Fasting: Biblical Principles and Practical Applications

(08:45–15:50)

• Different Forms of Fasting:
  • Biblical fasts vary—3-day, 40-day, Daniel fast (fruits and vegetables), and others. The essence of fasting is sacrifice (“If you never eat breakfast, you can’t fast breakfast.”).
  • “My take on a fast is you truly realizing what is a sacrifice for you.” (11:12)
  • Consecration (e.g., abstaining from social media or TV) is valuable but not the same as a biblical (food-based) fast.
• Purpose of Fasting:
  • Fasting is not just about denial, but replacing what’s given up with spiritual nourishment: “If you give up that food and you get hungry, you say, ‘you know what, I’m going to eat the word.’” (13:25)
  • The fast should challenge you; if there’s no temptation, it’s not a true sacrifice.
• On Over-Technicality:
  • “If you want to chatgpt the various types of fast… do your thing. You go online… You don’t need me for that.” (14:50)

3. Keeping and Healing a Healthy Heart

(15:50–38:00)

A. Living for a Pure Heart

• “One of the greatest tools that keeps me flowing in God is literally daily living for a pure heart.” (16:11)
• Scripture warnings:
  • The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? (Jeremiah 17)
  • “Without God, I can be thinking that I’m good ...and be wrong. That scares me.” (18:12)
• Discipline 1: Ask God for a clean heart (“Create within me a clean heart”) with deep humility; recognize your capacity for self-deception.
  • “I trust myself because I suspect myself.” (20:13)
• Discipline 2: Desire what God wants for you more than what you want for yourself; surrender your desires.
• Personal Story: Roberts narrates how he “broke up” in his heart with Sarah Jakes Roberts before their relationship began, requiring God’s clear confirmation before moving forward.

B. What to Do When Your Heart Is Sick

• Question from Pamela: “What do you do when you have a sick heart?” (38:13)
• Dissecting Disappointment:
  • The sick heart usually comes from disappointment, long-delayed hopes, and deferred seasons.
  • “Your faith is the substance of your expectation; if you lose the faith, you lose the thing.” (45:01)
• How to Heal:
  • Re-anchor hope in God’s character rather than circumstances; refocus on the Promise Maker, not unfulfilled outcomes.
  • “A sick heart is just a tough season... All of us have had them.” (56:03)
  • Roberts testifies from personal seasons of depression and near-quitting: “But I had a history with God… God, I may not know how You’re going to do it, but the fact that I’m breathing right now is evidence…” (58:01)
  • Healing is slow, like life unfolding—trust that your “future is just folded for now.”

C. Keys for Keeping a Pure, Healthy Heart

• Honesty about heart’s condition: quickly address envy, lust, etc. “A dirty heart will keep me from seeing God and could compromise my anointing. Ain't nothing worth that. My oil. Ain't nothing worth my oil.” (36:12)
• Surround yourself with environments and people of faith—“Faith is contagious.”

4. Hearing God’s Voice & Discovering Your Purpose

(61:23–70:59)

• How to Tap Into God’s Direction:
  • God’s guidance is a flow (the word Torah means flowing water); you need a relationship through Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
  • Stillness is essential: “Be still and know that I am God.” (63:15)
  • God confirms His word, often repeatedly (“God had to tell me about moving to Dallas more than once…”). Seek confirmation but remain truly surrendered, not manufacturing “signs” due to personal desire.
  • “God delights in confirming Himself… that means you’re interested. Half the people aren’t even interested.” (67:21)
• On Platform and Calling:
  • “You are the platform.” Start where you are; if you’re faithful with little, God will enlarge your territory. “On Easter, we had a whopping 30 people… but I preached like there were 30,000.” (69:32)
  • Avoid obsessing over status or visibility—God uses whatever you offer.

5. The Prophetic Word: REST

(71:10–78:00)

• Prophetic Moment:
  • Roberts delivers a strong call to rest in God’s finished work:
    • “God has already worked out what you’re trying to figure out.”
    • Breakthrough doesn’t come through striving or cognitive overload, but from a posture of rest: “Doing that doesn’t flow out of being is religion. Doing that flows out of being is divine.” (75:14)
    • Every major breakthrough came “when I wrestled myself to peace… when I stopped striving.”
    • “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit”—stop trying to force what God brings through rest and surrender. (77:08)

6. Closing Moments: Invitation & Affirmation

(78:00–81:00)

• Invitation to accept Christ, step into deeper surrender, and join the church.
• Moving testimony of God’s call, grace, and desire for His people—“We are [God's] agenda.”
• Corporate prayer of salvation and dedication, blessing the community and calling for spiritual family.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “God has given us ability to change things. We are literally God’s change agents in the earth.” (03:22)
• “I trust myself because I suspect myself.” (20:13)
• “If you are on a fast and you haven’t been tempted a little bit, it’s not a hard enough fast.” (15:02)
• “A dirty heart will keep me from seeing God and could compromise my anointing. Ain't nothing worth that. My oil.” (36:12)
• “Your faith is the substance of your expectation; if you lose the faith, you lose the thing.” (45:01)
• “Everything you see was created by a word… All you need is a word from God.” (47:28)
• “Every significant breakthrough… happened when I wrestled myself to peace.” (75:42)
• “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit… So breathe. That’s how your breakthrough is going to come.” (77:08)
• “Doing that doesn’t flow out of being is religion. Doing that flows out of being is divine.” (75:14)
• “When He calls you ‘beloved’ it’s a command, not just a title. Be loved. Receive it. I got you. It’s already worked out.” (79:39)

Important Timestamps

• 00:56–08:45 — Recap of “The Power to Change” message, heart health, God’s agency for change
• 08:45–15:50 — Biblical fasting and practical spirituality
• 16:11–38:00 — Keys to pure and healthy heart, honesty, self-examination, personal stories
• 38:13–61:23 — How to heal a sick heart, holding onto faith, heart surgery, testimony
• 61:23–70:59 — Hearing God’s voice, discerning personal calling, practical steps
• 71:10–78:00 — Prophetic call to rest, breakthrough from rest not striving
• 78:00–81:00 — Invitation, response, prayer, blessing

Final Takeaway

This episode is a profound practical guide to lasting change and spiritual health. Roberts drills deep into the challenge and necessity of maintaining a pure heart, discerning God’s voice, and holding onto hope in long seasons of waiting or disappointment. His prophetic encouragement is to posture yourself with honesty, humility, and rest—letting God do the heavy lifting as you align with His will, walk in faith, and live as a “change agent” in the earth.

Listeners are left with this charge:
Rest, walk in trust, be relentless for a pure heart, and expect God’s promise to unfold—even when you cannot see it yet.