Michael Todd - What A Time To Be Alive - Part 2
Hey, what's going on everybody, I am so glad that you friends have joined us here. And honestly, you're more than friends, your family now. We have been in a series called, "Anchored", where we are deciding that we are going to live our life in Christ in the deep but we're not going to drown because we have an anchor and his name is Jesus. Now one of the things about being a parent, I have three beautiful kids and one on the way, one of the things that I have to do is I have to tell my kids something sometimes, and they're not sure if what I'm saying is actually going to happen. And sometimes my daughter Isbella will, "Okay, daddy, if you say so". And one of the things that I found in this Christian walk is there will be times that God calls you to the deep, and you're not going to be able to understand it, you're not going to be able to reason with it. You're not even going to have full context but your faith statement is going to be okay, God, if you say so. Today, I'm telling you, the message is going to encourage you, to trust God in the middle of every storm and be able to drop your anchor on God's word. Let's go into today's message.
Tammy's sitting right here. Tammy was the only person that worked for this ministry that God saw five years later would be this. But he took me through the dark season at one year. Everybody gone. Graphic designer, you're looking at it, band director, right here. marketing director, pastor, yep. Literally in that season, I did everything. And I would walk into the office on Monday after preaching and just trying to figure out, did anybody get anything and God are you using me at all and this sucks and I just, I'm just done, I don't, why it's dark. How are you going to give me this big vision. And I can't see none of it. And I walk into the back offices with this if you say so attitude. But you told me we'd be multi ethnic, multi generational, multi prime, multi, you said, so if you say so.
Hey, Tim, hey Tim, Jane, Sally. Bobby, how are your kids? And Tammy would be the only person in the office dying laughing. Am I telling the truth Tammy? That I am, I be like, oh I Dequan, what's up bro? I see you Dawg, those are some fly shoes. On completely dark. But I had a if you say so mentality. And slowly but surely, I don't even know everybody on our staff today. Like, like, I'd be walking to my office and people were like, "Hey, pastor," I be like, who is that? Not because I did something special. It's because I kept preparing my nets. And I don't know who this is for, but somebody, you threw your net aside, and God said, I'm going to need that. I'm going to need that, like, I know you don't see it now, but I'm going to need that. Write this down, "The disappointment in the darkness is always for development".
What God was teaching me in that dark season, in the deep, is that I was called to ministry besides anybody else. That's what he was specifically teaching me, he was developing in me. Do you know it prepared me for this season? Do you know how hard it is to preach to no people. But I was prepared in this season to preach to no people. Because I had been leading no people in the first year. No, I'm dead serious. I would give leadership talks and have things prepared and PowerPoints just for Tammy. I was prepared. I was using what I had, at the moment that I had it. And God was preparing me in this season, what I'm telling you is the disappointing darkness that you're in right now is for your development.
Can I show you this example, real quick, somebody this is going to help you and we're going to get out of here. This is what culture wants us to do. Culture tells us that we should take pictures with the most instant apparatus that we can use. So right now, if I wanted to take a picture, what I would do here is I would come in here, and then I would just go, I didn't like that one. Let me do one more. Let me, a serious face, serious face. Smile. That's what I would do. What ends up happening when you have a leader, or somebody that's trying to mentor you, they know that the instant is not the most productive way for you to get the full quality. So people will come in, and they'll bring something like this. Because we don't really want it to take that long. But we'll just, come on. How do you turn this thing on? Is it on? It's on, here we go. Oh, there it is.
And what happens is, this is how we want people in our church to come out. We took a, hold on, let me give one more. They weren't as good, okay. You all need to see something immediately. Like, I can't fully see it. But if we just give them a little time, they should be able to, and while we're doing that we'll start something else. But if we take them too long, we're going to throw them back. So we got Instagram is what culture tells us. And so many times in the church, we want instant people, we want somebody to come out the club on Friday, to get saved on Sunday to be serving on the team by Wednesday and to be speaking in tongues and I know I mean, that would be great. But if I look at the word, God chooses to pick up something that has to be developed.
So if you take a picture with this some of you don't even know what this is. But what you have to do, right here is a process. Take one more, get your smile right because we can just delete it. The flash didn't work. Do the process again. Where are the pictures? Let me see them. I need to post it. I need the world to see it now. The thing about the device God chooses to use is it has to go to the darkroom. And anybody that knows I would have to take the film out of this and it would be taken to a process in the dark. And literally there's no light that can come into it, or it over exposes what God was trying to do. The reason you only know about me now is because for the past 10 years, I was in the darkroom. Bishop knows it, Natalie knows it, mom and dad knows it, mama Danna knows it. We were in the darkroom.
I'm so glad you didn't see me when I was preaching to you. Because I was saying all kinds of stuff a pastor shouldn't say, but God kept me in the dark room for development. And I don't know who I'm talking to right now but the dark season, the night of nothing is not for nothing, the night of nothing. The dark season is for development. And the crazy thing about it is, I can see this picture now. And it looks, it looks like it's the best quality. And I can see this picture now. But for some reason, the photographer of our lives, the God who wants to display us, chooses not to use either one of these methods. He wants something that is developed. What are you saying Pastor Mike? I need some people to come to the deep with me. Who want to be developed?
Today I didn't want to shout about we made it because I honestly feel like this is just the beginning. But what God is asking all of us is will we let the deep develop us? Will your character change by this time next month. That thing you're about to argue about as soon as the services of over, God said, can I have that? Can I take a picture of you? And say, this is where you were today. But next year, this time, I can take another picture. And it'll show how much you've grown. Church, if you're going to be a part of transformation nation, I'm asking you to go with me and dive deep. The world does not need another cookie cutter Christian church. The world doesn't need another church that's riddled with scandal and falling leaders and we're all susceptible, even me if we don't take a hold of our anchor. And I just decided, six years in, God's done everything that I ever asked plus more. So why would I start catering to the crowd at the moment that it's inconvenient, I've decided we're going to dwell in the what? Deep
Look what happens. Luke chapter five, verse six, when they did what Jesus said, and this time, if you say so, if you say so, if you say so. And this time, their nets were so full of fish, that they begin to tear, and shout, yo, get over here, a shout, for help brought their partners in their boats. And soon, both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking. I had this thought, what if we were sinking for the right reasons? What would it look like if there was so much blessing coming to our life and our family, that we had to be more generous because the blessing, we couldn't contain it ourselves? What would happen if we walked in such an anchored obedience that when, you all know that's the story of our church, right? How we gave away millions of dollars?
That was the overflow of obedience, bless 20 other churches with $100,000 because I've done too much for you to carry on your boat. What does it look like? And my prayer for you is that you would start sinking for the right reasons, that God would bless you with so many connections that you would have to give some business to somebody else, that God would give you so much wisdom and insight that you would have to give your idea, I don't even need to get paid for that, you all go use that. You all go do that. I got so much right here that I can't hold it all. This is what happens in the day. They shouted. Because in my Bible, what I read, write this down, the deep doubles it. They left with nothing in the boat. At this moment, two boats are filled to sinking.
Which tells me if I allow God to develop me in the deep he can bless us at a level where it was not just enough for us, it was double what we ever thought it was. Pastor Mike, what are you saying? I'm standing and double everything me and bishop ever talked about, every idea, every desire, everything we say one day it would be great that God would do this. And God doubled everything. Because we were obedient and anchored in the deep. Pastor Mike give me another point? No, I'm trying to give you a principle. Obey God. Just obey him. But, what about my family? It doesn't matter. Obey God. But, what about the money? It doesn't matter, obey God. I stand here today like the disciples with the only qualification that we're here today is God said so and I was like if you say so and cast your net on the other side, I obeyed any he doubled it.
Look at the rest of the story though because I want you to see this is the part, I intentionally we could be shouting all over this place right now, like, he doubled it and I could like all of that. I just wanted that six years for us to mature just a little bit to see what the real purpose of this was. When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell on his knees, repentance before Jesus. Oh, Lord please leave me I'm such a sinful man. God's blessing can expose how deep and dark you are. And God is not opposed to your mess. Look at it. He says, "For he was awestruck by the number of fish that he had caught as were the others with him, his partners James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed".
Jesus replied to Simon, "Don't be afraid. I did all of this for a reason there was a design to this. From now on, I just wanted to do something natural so that you could see who I really was from now on. Mike the only reason I gave you this building. The only reason that there's 20,000, 30,000 people watching, I'm going to make you fish for people from now on". Huh, this was all a big experiment to show me what really mattered. You blessing my home and my business, and my health. You bringing my kids, all that other stuff was so that, oh, I could actually follow you, look at the last part of the verse. I love this. Go up just a little bit. It says to the disciples right there, it says, "And as soon as they landed, they left everything, and followed Jesus".
The biggest successful day in history of their business they caught 153 fish. And when they got to the land, they didn't take selfies of the fish, they didn't have a fish fry, they didn't go to market and make the money, they left everything and followed Jesus. Could the most successful thing about your life be the smallest thing in comparison to the life God has planned for you to live? I am standing here and I keep saying that because I'm in awe of God right now. I'm standing here, ready to give everything I ever wanted up, to follow Jesus. And win more people to him.
Last point. The deep makes disciples and changes destinies. I'm in a room full of people whose destinies have changed. Because bishop decided that he was going to go to the deep. I was 13 years old when he and pastor Debbie decided to start greenwood Christian center. And while I was probably trying to get on AOL and look at pornography, can we be real? While I was trying to prove myself and be this and all this other stuff going through what teenagers go through God spoke to a man and woman to push off the shore and go to the deep. And for 16 years, they dwelled in the deep and they saw me and they were one of those when the boats was breaking, they say hey, come here. And we got to experience a miracle together and God said now leave all of that.
Leave the music, leave all this stuff and I'm going to make you represent me to the lost and found, for transformation in Christ. It's time to go fishing. And God gave me this vision and today I'm honored to stand here knowing that I went through this process, can you put that whole process back up on the screen for me real quick. I was distant from God. Then I let him step on my boat and we started dwelling together. But it took a real anchor to obedience to let him direct me and once he directed me he took me to the deep and once he took me to the deep I had a decision to make and now I can stand here six years in and you can stand there at your home right now. And you can say boldly, "I'm a cheered disciple".
This is where I want everybody to get to the place that you can follow God in no matter the situation. What a time to be alive. The only reason I can say that, is because now I'm convinced that my yes has made me a disciple and changed other people's destinies. Who's connected to you? Pastor Mike, start the confetti, no. I want you to be consecrated. I want you to live a life, that at the end of it, if I die before I get old, I don't want it to be said that, oh, he almost reached his potential. God really was about to use him. And I don't want it to be said about you.