Michael Todd - The Upgrade - Part 1
Hey, friends. I am so glad you're joining us today. And I got one question for you, does your life need an upgrade? Yeah, I can think of a few areas that I want to be upgraded so I need you to stay tuned because I want to tell you how you can download God's amazing upgrade directly into your life. See, when Jesus left, he gave us the ultimate helper or the ultimate upgrade, and his name is Holy Spirit. He is not extra. He is essential to living a victorious life, and today you need to receive the upgrade.
I've been burdened with the task of representing a topic at a person of God that honestly is taboo in the church. Most people feel like the person of the Holy Spirit is not a person at all. It's a feeling. It's goose bumps. I went in there and what did the pastor preach? I don't know, but the spirit was there. And it's this ethereal mystical I don't really know what it is, and he got a bad pr spin because he was called the Holy Ghost. Y'all know I don't mess with no ghosts. And there's like this idea around it. As I walked on my Christian journey, I have found there is no greater resource to my everyday life than the person of, just say it with me, say Holy Spirit. Say it one more time. Say "Holy Spirit". And for everybody that came from a different background or you were raised around crazy people, it wasn't the Holy Spirit who was crazy. This was those people who were crazy.
Some of us have been indoctrinated with different things. My job for the next 7 weeks is to represent to you who, what, and why God sent us Holy Spirit. Now, I know this may be different for some people because you've never even experienced it. Some of y'all come from Holy Spirit and backgrounds that don't even talk about the Holy Spirit. He in the Bible but we just like ignore him like you know that cousin or that uncle that comes to the family reunion but nobody talks to? Y'all all know we got that one family member that be there but, I ain't talking to uncle Jimmy. That's what we do with the Holy Spirit. And today I'm coming to normalize the Holy Spirit. And for everybody who thinks it's something that's supposed to be on the back shelf and not really put on display for the world to see, I got something for you.
I'm asking you for the next 7 weeks, buckle up. I have way more revelation than I have time. I have been oozing. I didn't sleep much last night. I literally told Charles, I said I woke up and thought it had already happened because it had already played out in my mind but I'm telling you God is about to revolutionize your life through the person of the say it with me, say Holy Spirit. Say it with your chest, Holy Spirit! Okay. So I'm going to bring it back all the way down and I'm going to walk you through this. I am a teacher in this sermon series. Okay. So I need you to get something to write with because there's so much information that you're going to have to understand what God is saying. Take it on your phone and I want to welcome you to week one of a series we're calling the upgrade. Somebody say: "The upgrade"!
Now, let me just ask you a question, how many of you like upgrades? Hands lifted in the chat, in the building. If I'm going to buy a new car, the way that person knows they can really make me come back is if I say yeah, for the price, I want the basic model or just give me a little extra if you can. And they come back to me and say well, sir, because we're having a special today you are going to get the deluxe package with all leather seats and all the trim and all the different things. You're going to get the upgrade. The first thing I say is hold on, hold on, hold on. I told you I only had this much to spend. When they come back and say to me, sir, this is no charge to you, this is a free upgrade, everything in my spirit begins to leap for joy because I get to experience the highest level of the model that I have. But I did not have to pay any extra or anything be taken away from me.
When it comes to this life with Christ, I want to submit to you that there is an upgrade that is free of charge, that has been paid for in the nail prints that Jesus took. Two weeks ago we celebrated Easter, and everybody shouted that he got up, but we don't talk about what he left. He got up! And he's gone now. And we shout about something that happened while something is still available to happen. Okay. I'm getting ahead of myself. What Jesus did is give us an upgrade. And I'm gonna prove it to you in scripture, but it came alive to me because I believe Charles, it was in December when I called you. It was bath time, and I like to give y'all behind the scenes of how God really speaks to me so you don't think it's just something he does to me, like we're in a white stage and stuff but I'm not special.
Like this is God doing this. It was path time, I was giving Bella a bath and it was in December, and I call it the December download. I'd been praying God, what are we going to do with this next series and da dada da, and literally in that moment God gave me the messages for anchored, in that moment as I'm scrubbing my son's Tushy. I'm just being very honest of how that happened. He gave me the entire series of anchored. He told me the name paper chaser for the financial stewardship series, and he gave me this series called the upgrade. And then he told me that pastor Charles is supposed to speak 4 weeks in june. He's supposed to do the entire series. Oh, it's about to be nasty. But Charles, I called you on face time. He's like what's up pm? I said, I got it! I got it! And I was saying I can't, I can't write it down because I'm wiping booty but I need you to take this down. Is that how it happened?
And from that moment the Holy Spirit said to me, he said to me Michael, he said this year we're going to get anchored and they can't be anchored without me. Write down the first unofficial point. You can't be anchored without the Holy Spirit. He is the only God that is active on earth today, and I know, I know it's Messing with some of y'all minds right now but I'm going to walk you through this entire thing, but it got to me because I in my personal life had an upgrade available and hadn't taken it. I want to empathize with all the people who may have gotten saved 15 years ago and you've ignored the Holy Spirit for 15 years. I want to be able to sympathize because I don't want to be somebody that comes from a self-righteous position of like you ain't got the Holy Spirit. No, no, no.
That's what religion tells you and that you don't speak in tongues, you don't got the evidence. It's not evidence. It's benefits. We'll talk about that later, but I'm telling you that there are some things that we have to walk through and I need to come from a very humble position because back in October I paid for 2 iPhone 12's. I bought for my wife and me. I was completely out of storage, but I was still using my phone. October came and went. November came and went. December, I had a break. You know what? This is when I'm going to transfer all my pictures. It's very simple. They made it just put the phones next to each other. Just put the phones next to each other, Mike, and download all your stuff. Get all your apps back.
December came and went. January came and went. February came and went. And my wife looked at me and she said Michael, my phone no longer charges. She said I need a new phone. I said, I bought you a phone. And I've been holding it for 4 months. She said, why in the world would you spend our money and not let me experience what was paid for? I said I don't know. I've just been... March came and went. And then she got indignant. She started talking about me to people. If she would miss a call, she'd say my phone was dead but Michael upgraded me and has not allowed me to receive my upgrade. Today I have a confess to make. Natalie has an upgraded I phone 12, my I phone 12 is still in the box. This is my real phone. This has been sitting in the front of my backpack for almost six months.
The thing that people wait in lines for, that people have gone into debt for, all the power and connectivity in the world, better reception, ability to know where I'm at no matter where I'm at, sitting, waiting, and available. Yet I have not received my upgrade. And may that be a depiction of the body of Christ today, that you're sitting here wearing the name Christ on your back, you got the necklace, you served on the team, you're walking around representing, representing and representing God but you still have not received the Holy Spirit. That is about to change for both of us. This week that phone is going to be upgraded, and in this series you're life is about to be upgraded. If you believe it in faith, why don't you give God a shout of praise? Okay.
So the title of my message today is what my wife said to me and I'm going to say to you: why wouldn't you accept the upgrade? Like why wouldn't you accept the Holy Spirit? If it's already paid for, if it's already given, if it gives you perks and advantages that you don't have now, why? Why? And this is an introspective question. This is not for your neighbor. This is not for your husband. This is not for your wife. This has is not for the group. I'm asking you, why haven't you accepted the power and the person of the Holy Spirit? And some of you are like I just can't get with it. I got Jesus. I got God, but the Holy Spirit...
Let me tell you how important the Holy Spirit is and let me tell you who said he was important. Jesus. At the end of his ministry when you go through John 14, 15, and 16, Jesus is basically trying to convince his disciples it's going to be okay. I'm leaving, but it's going to be okay. I ain't gonna be here no more but it's gonna be okay. I'm not pulling and making fish into enough to feed everybody no more. But it's gonna be okay because I'm about to send somebody whose your upgrade. Can I prove it to you. John 14 verse 16. This is Jesus, this is titled Jesus promises another helper. He said, and I will pray to the Father. In Hebrew that word pray means ask. So read it like that. And I will ask the Father and he will give you another, everybody say helper. Underline, circle that, highlight that. He will give you another helper so that implies that Jesus was a helper but Jesus helped us in salvation. That was his piece of the puzzle.
I'm gonna mess with y'all's theology in this whole thing but you're gonna get it. Just stick with me. Jesus was an example to help us no know how to walk on this earth with all the crazy that was going on. He helped give us the picture, by ed said but I'm going to send another helper that he, realize in your Bible that is a capital h, that is not an it. That is a God. He may abide with you forever. That's on heaven and in earth. The Spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him, but you know him for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. Write down my first point, the Holy Spirit is not just a power. He's not just a presence. The Holy Spirit, watch this, is a person.
Michael Todd is a person. Gary Macintosh our founding pastor who happens to be 70 today... can we give it up for our founding pastor? I love you man of God. 70 years old, we wouldn't be here without you. But the reason I can celebrate him is because he is a person. The person that you like and you've been crushing on, the only reason you like and crushing on, you're be liking and crushing on trees or maybe some of all are and we have prayer for that later. But you're liking and crushing on them because they are a person. Why are you going so hard on this? It's because the Bible never refers to the Holy Spirit as an it, so why do we? It's not an it. He is everybody say person. Why is this important?
Come close. Because you will never develop a personal relationship with somebody you don't see as a person. The Holy Spirit wants a personal relationship with you so Jesus talking to his disciples acted like it was a guy named Gary. Gary is gonna come to you and help you, and when Gary comes to help you, receive him because when he comes he's gonna lead you into all truth. I really wish that the Holy Spirit had a different name because if he had a different name, many of you would accept him. But when for some reason when it's Holy Spirit, we think it's mystical. He said no, he's a person. And if you realize that he is a person, then you will develop a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. And the problem that most people have is our teaching. We just been taught wrong.
The only reason I'm here is to teach you right and hopefully represent this thing. God is 3 persons in one. It's God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We say that but we don't think about it like that. We don't live like that. See, even in our communications we're like man, I need God? I've been struggling so... I need God! You can get the person that's from somebody whose struggling with addiction all the way to the person in the penthouse, like I just want to give honor to God as I accept this award for making girls twerk on the floor. Like at every awards show, I just want to thank God. See, people have an idea of who God is so they thank God, but they don't understand when they say God, that's 3 in one.
There is God the Father, God the Son and God, who? I'm gonna help you. Walk with me on this. And let me help bust your bubble. God the Father is not more powerful than God the Holy Spirit. God the Son, "You came from heaven to earth... To show..." God, I worship you at your cross at your feet. He's not more powerful than the Holy Spirit. I know all of our children teachings talk about God. We think some of the people that are on earth know a Moses or David more powerful than the Holy Spirit. You talk more about being a David to a Goliath. Let me stop. Help me, Holy Spirit. You have a better view of Abraham than you do of the person of Holy Spirit. You've just been taught wrong. It's one God. Everybody say "One God". Say it like you mean it, "One God, three expressions".
What is this? It's water. That's what we say, but if you want to be very scientific, this is h20. Okay. This is h20. I'm thirsty. That's good. Let me ask you a give question, hold on real quick, we established this is what? This is h20. What is this? You say ice? If we go down to itself basic form, this is h20. Now, it's in a different form than the liquid version but this still is...Uh-huh, this is a different expression. So when your drink is too warm, you don't put more water in it. It's h20 but you put a different expression of h20 into your drink. And we call it ice. What is this? This is h20, too. It's dry ice, and it's a different expression.
So if that was God the Father, God the Son, this is God the Holy Spirit. Still h20, but it takes on a completely different form. Oh. And this is what God is about to do in your life. You're about to see evidence of the power of the Holy Spirit. Still God. God the Father, God the Son, and God help me, the Holy Spirit. Hear what I'm saying. The power resides in all 3 of them. And if you want to sum up your Christian life, and God the Father, the big man upstairs and what Jesus did at the cross which was powerful, then you will leave out the most influential part of effecting your life today. Can I help you? God's done doing. 7 days. He did everything he was gonna do in 7 days. Think about it. Genesis, in the beginning, he said let, who? Us. Who was he talking about?