Michael Todd - The Value of Vision
Let’s do this well! This is a weak one of a brand-new series we are calling, «You’ll Find Out at the End of the Sermon». Every year, God gives me a word and gives our church a word to gather around that literally prophesies into the future of our church. This year, I’m so pumped to tell you what the Lord has revealed to me, because when He sets it for this house, it is supposed to be a reflection in your house. Every year, as we gather around these words, God begins to change people’s lives, their marriages, their families, and their businesses. We gather in faith around this, but I want you to know that it’s all about vision. Everybody say «vision.» No, say it like you mean it; say «vision!» Today, on the first Sunday of the decade—does that sound good? We only get one of these, right here at the beginning. We need to make sure we get our vision right. Some of you are confused because I’m not talking about sight. What you want is your sight to be right. Sight is what you can see with your eyes open; vision is what you see with your eyes closed. There are things that God wants to show you that nothing around you looks like right now.
Because vision is so important, I think the enemy tries to come and devalue vision in your personal life. He tries to devalue the vision for your ministry, or your business, or your family. Somebody else started out with a really strong vision for your marriage. What happened to yours? The vision got out of focus. Today, I want to bring value to vision, and I believe God has given me a word that’s going to help us as a church navigate through the vision that God is going to give us in the next 21 days. Now, some of you have a lifetime vision; some of you have a vision that God is giving you, like this is what you will ultimately do. But what I’ve found is that it is very powerful for you to come back to God every year. Somebody say «every year» and ask Him, «Are you still doing this?» Because some of us got a word in 1986, and we’ve been holding on to that word since 1986. God says, «That was for '86 and '87; in '88 I gave a new word, but you wouldn’t even open your heart to anything new.»
Every year, as a church, we go back for 21 days of praying and fasting, and I’m pumped up. Tomorrow, we’re starting 21 days of prayer. In fact, is anybody excited with me? What that means—some of y’all are like, «Fasting? Oh, Suzanne, I don’t fast! I eat!» What we’ve found is that this is a biblical principle that really changes the game. We give up something that we like. If you don’t like it, it isn’t a fast! Somebody again says, «I’m gonna fast. I’m gonna fast stuff I don’t like.» No, baby, it’s giving up things that you desire, so that you can gain something that you desire more. This is not a fad diet; we’re not just trying to lose weight. That is a side effect. If I don’t lose a pound but I gain clarity on what God wants to do in my life this year, it will be enough! Somebody shout at me, «Vision!»
Let me let you know this: my first point is, vision is most valuable. Vision is most valuable, and the reason why vision is most valuable is because without a vision, people perish. Now, you may not believe that the same way I do, but there’s this movie that really impacted my life, and this may date me and tell you how unsaved I am or how spiritual I am, 'cause I can pull a message out of anything. There was this movie called «The Mighty Ducks» that came out; some of y’all are in here. There was this play that they ran from the Mighty Ducks called—does anybody know what it was called? The Flying V. I watched this movie and saw this, and the Holy Spirit began to talk to me through «The Mighty Ducks.» I want you to check out this play as they’re in a championship game, and the coach calls this play. Turn your attention to the screen and watch this play come to pass! I want you to remember what we learned: Ducks stick together, right? Yeah, let’s see it! Show me the Flying V, Jake!
Now, there are some Black people in this room who are like, «What sport is that?» That’s called hockey. Actually, my big brother Gabe and I played hockey, so mama did play hockey. Yes, I did! But this movie really impacted me. When I saw it as an adult and was preparing for this series, I saw something crucial: the player of the Flying V was called by the coach, who’s the visionary. And when a visionary calls the play, he needs willing vessels. The coach could not get on the ice and run the play; it took people who did not make a provision to actually get in the game and do what the visionary said. Because the visionary gave a vision to willing vessels, it produced victory. I bet y’all don’t hear me in this place today!
I believe that’s what 2020 is supposed to look like for you. The problem is you think you’re the coach, so you’re running plays that you made up, and you get depressed when you lose. I think what God wants us to do at the beginning of this year is to get the play from the visionary. All we have to do, as we sang that song, «Lord, I’m available to you,» is to be willing. Everybody say, «vessels.» If we would run the play that God has for us, we would see the victory!
I’m going to help you understand this. Go to Proverbs 29:18, and I want you to never forget this scripture. I’ve read it probably a hundred times every year: «Where there is no vision, the people perish.» Now, I want you to understand that a lot of times, I’ll reverse-engineer scripture. I want you to see what it doesn’t say. It doesn’t say, «Where there is no money, the people perish.» It doesn’t say, «Where there is no sign or influence, the people perish.» God can do more with a little bit than He can do with nothing. Everybody shout at me, «Vision!» You don’t hear me, and that’s why many of you let life happen to you; you don’t happen to life. It’s because you will not get in the place long enough to talk to God to get the vision. «Is this the business I’m supposed to start this year? Is this what I’m supposed to focus on this year?» I have all of these abilities, but where do I need to be specific?
It’s time for us to get clear vision. Another translation of the scripture says, «Where there is no prophetic revelation, where there is no revealed truth, the people cast off restraint.» The NLT version says, «People stop caring when there’s no vision.» That’s why when you first got married, there was a vision to get married. So, in the courting stage, you were super intentional. My man, you bought gifts; you remembered what they said because there was a vision that you were going to marry her, that you were gonna get new sheets. Okay, y’all are too saved! I’m still the same in 2020! Amen? We were going to touch and agree! Amen?
So, because there was a vision, before you were intentional, you stuck to that vision. You were saving money, doing things; you were telling parents. You were planning stuff. You weren’t buying stuff to be able to ensure you did stuff, and then you reached the vision and didn’t revisit it. I don’t mean to be a marriage counselor today, but the reason why so many marriages and relationships are failing is because there’s no vision. Where there is no vision, people perish. Now it goes back to, like, you don’t even treat me how you used to treat me! You would at least have done some chocolate for our anniversary! You know my heart this for you, baby; that’s why I got this tattoo! Nothing quite like the other silly, but we try to rely on past things. The truth is, we stopped caring because we lost vision.
The thing you need to know is, vision leaks! You can’t tell somebody something one time and believe it! You have to keep reiterating and reevaluating the vision that is there. This year, for Transformation Church, the word that God has given me, the word that we’re going to walk out, the word for our families, is going to keep the vision right in front of us, because we have to not stop caring. We have to care about what God says; we have to do what God says!
So, I’m going to give you a few points that will help you value vision. Write this first point down: Vision needs a vessel. My question is, if God is going to get a vision into the earth, why not you? Let’s be honest, many of you, if God really told you what He wanted to do with your life, you would back up and be like, «Oh man, my bad! I really did say I wanted to be used by You, but I wasn’t really talking about all of this! I just kind of wanted to have enough money to pay for a house. I kind of just wanted to get married, and I kind of wanted one of my kids to graduate from school, the other one really doesn’t even have to graduate!»
What ends up happening is we’re not willing vessels. Anytime God wants to do something in the earth, He doesn’t choose to do it without one of His kids. My question to you is: in 2020, will God have to find another vessel? If God is going to give us vision, do you have enough room to carry it? Because you have so many other things in the vessel right now, so many other things that I dare say God didn’t put there, but maybe you put there. Somebody will have this idea: «I want to retire by the age of 50.» Where did you get it from? No, I’m coming for your throat this year! Where did you get that idea from? Because there’s nobody in the Bible that retired at age 50. There was nobody! Abraham was 75 and still getting promises from God.
I came to shake somebody! Somebody’s offended right now, and they’re like, «I knew I shouldn’t have come to this church!» But what if the plan of God for your life was bigger than a pension plan? What if the plan of God for your life was to make a difference that people would feel when you’re gone? Now, I didn’t say you had to be punching a nine-to-five clock when you’re 55, but if you think you’re gonna sit on a yacht and not be about the plan and purpose of God in your life, where there is no vision, people perish.
Do you all know they tell us that statistically when people lose passion for a job in their older age, they’re quicker to die? Because where there’s no reason to get up in the morning, there’s nothing that you need to pray about to happen. People perish! When I get 55, 60, 65, whenever God calls me from being in a place where I have to do something every day to make ends meet, I’m not gonna retire; I’m gonna refire! Now I have more time to figure out: «What are You saying, God? No, please don’t call me between the time of 6:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., because me and God are talking!»
Vision needs a vessel. I just got one question for everybody who’s watching online and everybody in this room. In 2020, what if you’re going to be God’s vessel? Can I just see your hand right now if you’re deciding to get there? Hands are going up all over the building! Okay, I just need to make sure you know, and look, this is where crazy faith actually comes in. We did a 20-week series on crazy faith. Crazy faith was not so that things could come; it was so that the Kingdom could come! What happens when you get the house, you get the car, you get the marriage? You’re done! You don’t believe in God; you’re done seeing the miracles that He can do!
So many of us have been just praying for necessities that we can’t see. God wants to do something past that, that touches other people. That’s why God says in Luke 18:8, it says, «But when the Son of Man returns, when I come back to this thing, when I crack the sky, how many will I find on the earth who have faith?» Not who have all these other things that we make valuable. He’s looking for faith! That’s why He’s saying, «Yeah, I’m gonna give you a vision, and I need you to be my vessel!» Fear. And when I give you this vision and I put it inside of you, you’re gonna have to have faith, 'cause it’s gonna look way different, and way bigger, and way more than what you think you can handle! But I know what I put inside of you, and so I’m gonna put this vision in a vessel and make it come to pass. Somebody shout at me, «Vision!»
Point number two: Let me help you bring value to vision. Vision must be visible. It’s not a vision if it’s in your thoughts; it’s not a vision if nobody can see it on paper. Let me prove it to you. Go to Habakkuk 2:2. It says, «Then the Lord replied and said, 'Write the vision and do what? ' And make it plain.» Make it plain on tablets: back then paper, right now iPhones!
If you take it, write it down and make it plain. I love this part: that he who runs can read it. Another translation says it this way: «Write this; write what you see. Write it out in big black letters so that it can be read on the run.» See, a vision is never supposed to be something that you get in your vessel and then wait for God to make happen. A vision is supposed to cause you to start moving into a place where people can see, «Okay, that’s what you’re saying, God. We’re going to keep moving with that.» «Oh, that’s what you’re saying, God. But I gotta hire some more team!»
Look at the vision, see what God has said, look at what He’s done in the past, and now we’ve got to keep moving with the vision. That’s why I’m here to challenge some of you right now: you’ve lost sight of what God has said or you’ve never taken the time to find out what He’s saying. But vision has to be visible! I’m challenging you, as we start this 21 days of prayer and fasting, to get a journal or a notebook right now where you just put on a page a vision from God. Vision doesn’t have to make sense to anybody else. Vision does not have to check out with your bank account. Vision does not have to take into consideration your past. All vision has to do is come from God. When God gives a vision, all you have to do to make it valid is write it down. Yet, so many of us are getting these visions from God and acting like it’s a maybe if—like maybe if everything lines up, God would do that.
«What if somebody with money would recognize me?» Or, «What if God changed it?» God is saying, «Do you know who I am? I’m the God who makes ways out of no way. I’m the God who sees you in your brokenness and says, 'Yeah, I can use that.' I can turn that. Oh, that was ugly, but I’ll put it right there, smooth it out, put a little makeup on that. I could make this thing work for your good.» But my question is: if someone were to come to fund your vision, could they know what your vision is without you saying a word? I’m going to say it again: could you hand somebody a document that tells them how much debt you need to be paid off, what you would do with it, what you could do, could you? Is the vision plain?
Some of you need to take it a step further. You got a vision to lose weight; you need to take a picture of yourself and put it on somebody else’s body. Do you hear what I’m saying to you? You want to be fit? Well, I don’t really think that you need to get a vision of yourself in a different place and a different space because it’s not what you see with your eyes open; it’s what you see with your mind. And I can already tell how some of you are responding and thinking and looking right now that you don’t know how valuable vision is. Do you all remember in the beginning? I don’t know how we got here, but in the beginning, God said to Himself in three different persons, «Let us make something; let’s make man.»
That means there was a blueprint they were working from to bring everything into existence. What I’m telling you is: if the vision is not written down in the next 30 days, don’t expect it to come to pass this year. They don’t like that one; they don’t like that one; they don’t like that one. But God does not recognize vision until you have, watch this, the crazy faith to write it down. You’re looking for the faith to make it come to pass, and God’s only requiring the faith to write it down. You want the faith to walk into it? God says, «I need you to have the faith to write it.» You want the faith to show it off? God says, «I need you to have the faith to print it off.»
Vision has to be visible! Go down the neighborhood street where you want your kids to go to school and take a picture. Don’t take a lot of kids in it, because we don’t want any cases here, you hear me? Don’t be out there creeping, taking pictures—don’t do that! Better yet, just get a Google image of the school. Let me roll that all the way back. Get a picture of the house, get a picture of your family where they all are smiling, and declare it real because vision needs a vessel, but vision has to be visible. Okay, let me tell you another thing: vision has to be vast. It’s got to be bigger than what you think is possible. If you can do it without God, it’s not a vision; it’s a project.
See, the problem is, because we don’t have our priorities in order, a lot of times we think we need God to do this. No, we don’t need God to do this. We just need to make it a priority, and we need to actually execute and stop procrastinating. A vision is something you could not do without God, and I’m challenging you not to allow your circumstances, your situation, and your past to narrow the vast vision that God has given you. I tell Charles, my wife, and Bree all the time there are things that God has shown me that I can only share with a few people because if I shared it with all of you, you would think I was absolutely loony! You’d be like, «I can’t follow him; he is crazy!»
The problem is you’re sitting in what used to be crazy. There was a time, not that long ago, when if I had stood up in my church and said, «We are going to own the only available arena in Oklahoma in the next 24 months,» y’all would have thought your pastor had lost it. But we’re here! Now watch; it’s because of that vision God gave me, and I got proof. Oh, y’all know I wrote it down! See, on March 9, 2015, God called me away at a moment when I was saying, «God, I’m your vessel.» I’m not preaching to you something that I haven’t lived. I can’t talk to you about something that I don’t have proof of. When I told God I was going to be His vessel, that was Him waking me up early in the morning with my daughter Isabella in her room, and God said, «Write this down. I’m going to give you the vessel of vision, but it’s gotta be visible.»
So I took a Google image of the Spirit Bank Event Center and in a Pages document, put Transformation Church on the building. I spelled it wrong; it says «Trent» because I forgot the «T» in Transformation Church. It’s like «Translation Church» or something like that, and I left it all like that because God was not looking for the vision to be perfect; He was just looking for me to progress to what He was calling me to do. I made it visible, and He gave me a vision that was vast. As I sit in this room and see us packed to capacity, with people in overflow, can’t nobody tell me what my God will not do! If you get efficient fire, you can’t tell me! Oh, but you thought it was just an arena? He said it would be multi-ethnic!
There would be Black people, and White people, and all people, and young people. Look around, look around, look around; the vision is working! But remember the key elements: vision has to have a vessel, vision has to be visible, so you’ve got to write it down, and vision has to be valid. Let me prove it to you. Abraham, the father of our faith, in Genesis 15:5, I love this: «Then the Lord took Abraham outside.» I love this because usually vision is going to be outside of where you’re comfortable. He was in a tent, and God said, «Abram, come here! Come outside of what your family did. Come outside of what’s comfortable.»
For young African American males in the South, if I were to listen to Black people, none of the White people would be here. I’m just telling it how it is: being scary! We all have the blood of Jesus running through us. Don’t let this melanin fool you! You like pumpkin pie? We like sweet potato pie! I’m acting a fool, I’m acting a fool! They’re both orange! What I’m trying to tell you is that the vision God’s given you, and is going to give you, is usually outside of what’s comfortable. Okay? So He says, «Abram, come outside,» and then look how He gave him a vast vision. «Look up into the sky and do something that’s impossible: count all the stars if you can.» I love how God is; He’s funny. If you really read it, He’s like, «Look up there and count the stars if you can!»
You can’t! That’s how vast this vision is, and that’s how many descendants you will have! What happens when the vision is even unbelievable for you? That requires an element of faith and trust: that I can’t make this happen. There’s no way I could have made this happen—there’s no way that I could do what I’m believing God to do right now for my son. There’s no way, there’s no way I can make it happen! But the vision is vast! It will not be said that I didn’t have enough faith to believe the big vision that God gave me. I will not dumb it down!
Now, be careful who you tell it to; a vast vision doesn’t always have to be shared. Joseph had this problem; you remember Joseph and the coat of many colors? He was like, «Y’all, all my brothers, how y’all had this dream last night? Y’all were bowing to me! Felt like I was ruling and owning you guys!» People who don’t understand the position they play in your vision will try to kill it before it comes to pass. The problem with many of you is you’re sharing vision for validation, and they’re not the ones who gave it, so they can’t give you the validation for it.
Some of you need to write it down, you need to pray about it, and then you need to ask God for wisdom about when to share the vision. Even when it came to this place, the day God shared it with me, I told my wife, I told my mom, I told Bishop, and I told Bree. That’s all who knew about it from the beginning until God started unfolding it. This is the thing that I’m asking everybody: when God gives you a vision, don’t kill it in seed form. You know the greatest time to kill something powerful is when it’s a baby? That’s what they tried to do to Jesus. That’s what they tried to do to Moses; they said, «Kill every male child under the age of two!» They were willing to take out everything to try to kill a king when he was a kid. Your vision is big, but it has to live.
This is a bonus point because vision must be vast, but check this bonus point: vision has to remember the vow that God gave you. See, the thing about Abram is God’s going to give him a vision that’s vast, but it’s 25 plus years before it comes to pass! What happens when your vision is so strong, but you aren’t seeing anything, and it’s been so long? You have to remember the vow that God has given you! Let me give you another one: vision is a verb. If your vision doesn’t have any action behind it, don’t wait for God to do what you’re supposed to do. I hear so many believers talk about just waiting on God, just waiting on God.
«What house? Did you know your bear? Just waiting on God…» and they’re not like this little evil part of me on the inside—God’s still working it out—always thinks like, «But have you really done everything you were supposed to do? Have you really? Is God holding something back to give you an opportunity to obey something He already told you to do?» He could release it, but that changes the dynamic of your life and your relationships, and now you’ve got to have kids! He’s been really telling you to write this book, and you’ve been really telling you to write this book!
Instead of writing the book, you’re crying that you don’t have what He has in the future for you. You’re wasting time, and He’s still trying to hold it back so you can obey what He said. I’m telling you, you’ve got to have action with what God says to do! Abraham only gets to see what God has for him because when He said get up from this place and go to the land I will show you, He called him to take action and use that verb before he even had a visual of where he was going. My question to you is: what action do you need to take?
One of the things that God challenged me to do when I was broke—I’m talking like broke broke—I’m talking like couldn’t afford to pay attention broke! He said, «Go to the bank and open up accounts.» «Well, why? Why would I do that?» He said, «Put the minimum in the account and I want you to label the account what this will be for!» I need you to, every time you open up your mobile app, to see a fund that says «give away money.» I want you to see the storehouse! I want you to see an account that says «mamasita money!» Some of y’all… for my husbands that think about your wife like that, I want my wife to be okay.
Let me stop; this ain’t got to be your blessing, but it’s hers. Over seven years ago, before I became the pastor of the church, I managed accounts that had $5 in them, and for years they remained at $5. But that was the verb; that was the action required to keep it visible to me. One day, I know you’re in overdraft right now, three hundred and thirty-three dollars, but one day, one day, I’m going to pay off somebody else’s overdraft. It helps you get faith in moments where it’s waning. I’m not saying that you have to do this, but I’m telling you, if you’re going to get a vision, there has to be a verb that goes along with it. Everybody say «action»! You need action. Let me give you the word that this really culminates in: obedience. God’s going to give you a vision, and then He’s going to require obedience. Some of you are in the wrong city. I told you I’m coming for your throats today. Some of you are in the wrong relationship.
Now, if you’re married, we’ll have to work that out. But some of y’all are just playing because you’re lonely. Some of us are doing things from the wrong value system, and that’s why I’m trying to let everybody get a shot at vision. Say it like you mean it: «vision.» Okay, watch this. The last one, and the most important one, when we talk about getting vision, is this: I’m so excited because even tomorrow, when we all meet here and online at noon, we go live with our 21 days of prayer and fasting, because prayer is our secret sauce over here. Y’all think it’s lights, cameras, and Instagram posts—baby, we pray! Last night, my mom called me. She said, «I felt you in the spirit. What’s going on?» She said, «I’m calling you at 6 a.m., and we’re going to pray.» And she prayed me into a tizzy.
The reason I’m so «gangster» in here today—y’all don’t hear me—is because when we get that juice of prayer in us, we’re saying we’re not going to worry about anything; we’re going to pray about everything. Prayer is not going to be our last resort; it’s going to be our first response. Oh, y’all don’t hear me! When they call us with bad news, we’re going to say, «Father, You’re in control of it all, and I thank You that You’re working on it.» Somebody say, «Pray first!» Prayer is our secret sauce here. So as we go into this, in prayer, in the presence of God is where vision becomes clear. I need you to know this about vision: vision must be valid. The only way you know something is valid is that it came from the One who made it.
What am I saying, Pastor Mike? There have been seasons of my life when I wrote things down, ready to act on them; they were big, verbal, visible, and all the things, but they didn’t come from God. What happens when you work on a vision that’s not valid from God is that it becomes void in front of man. That’s how so many people say, «I’m just tired. I’ve been working to get this business off the ground.» And I’ve been doing this, and I’ve been doing that. My question is, did that vision come from a valid source? I’ve watched people spend their whole lives working on a vision that at the end of the day was not from God, so it was void. They lost their family over it; they got money, but they don’t have anybody to share it with. Their Instagram followers are up there. Their kids think they’re powerful, but they missed it because they never took time to make sure: «God, is this what You’re saying? Is this how You’re saying it? Do I need to change this?»
I’m praying for everyone who’s watching and everyone who’s in this room right now. I would hate for us to lose an entire year of our lives working on something that will not count. I don’t want a vision that’s void. I don’t want to play. I thought I was going to be a music producer, going everywhere producing for Beyoncé or Justin Bieber, everyone like that. I had made plans to do that. There have been several times—let me be very transparent on this journey of following God—where I thought there were moments where God was giving me space to go and do that again. I was like, «Yeah, this makes sense.» I even told team members, «Here’s the vision for 2017: I’m not going to be here because I’m going to be producing for these people, and I’m going to bring the money back to the church!»
Every one of those steps I planned ended up being void. If I didn’t have the wisdom to go back into the presence of God, in moments like this during the 21 days of prayer, there were nights I came in feeling like, «Dang, is this even working? Oh, I’m hungry. Is that a coffee?» Come on! The enemy will try to tempt you as you put away things. You don’t even need to go back to things that give you comfort for a second when God’s trying to download into your vision. I would come in, and it would be the 20th day of the fast, and I’d think, «Lord, couldn’t you have given me something a little bit in week one, a little bit in week two, a little bit in week three to keep me going?» He said, «No, no! I needed the discipline to turn into desire.»
See, the problem is we want everything; we want to desire it. I want to fast. Let me tell you, your pastor never wants to fast. Let me be very clear: I like meat; I like sugar; I like bread. Proof? Right here! I love ice cream. Cookies and cream are at the top! If y’all have tried the Bluebell two-step, I’ve got to get one more bite of that before tomorrow, okay? Can I be real? Y’all want me to be fake up in here? I am going to eat a Bluebell two-step float tonight! And then for 21 days, the reason I’m telling you this is because what’s more powerful than feeding my cravings is getting a vision from God. When you get a vision from God, that’ll wake you up in the morning! When you get a vision from God, when you’re sick of doing it, and you don’t want to do it anymore, you keep pressing because you know what God said. You’ve seen it; you’ve written it down; you’ve looked at it. It’s vast, and it’s a valid vision, so now you’re going to walk this thing out.
Can I tell you that in this house, vision is more important than anything else we do? I did not know what God was going to do to get us all here, except every year He would give me a word. In 2015 and 2016, He gave us a word, and He gave it to me privately because I took over the church. He said, «Michael, all I want you to do is maintain.» Maintain what? «What I’ve done; just pray, believe, try to help people, and just try to keep it going.» Do you know what God did when we changed leadership of a church with leaders who had two totally different styles? If y’all have never met Bishop, he is a very well-put-together older gentleman who dots all his i’s and crosses all his t’s. His motto is, «To be early is to be on time.»
That’s our Bishop. Then there’s me. When this transition happened, nobody knew what was going to happen, but God allowed us for two years to maintain. He gave us a vision. So when people were leaving, it was almost as if, as people left because they didn’t like that I was 27 years old and leading a church, God was simultaneously replacing those people with others who even sometimes kind of looked like the people who left. I am not even joking. If an older, stable family left the church, like an older, stable family, it was as if God said, «If you believe what the word I’ve given you, you will see it happen in your life.» For two years, we maintained. Then in 2016, God said, «Michael, are you ready to go?» I was like, «Ready to go where?» He said, «Beyond!» He said, «This is the year that you’re going to go.» Everybody say it with me: «Beyond!»
When I took over the church, we had about 350 people; we had one service. God said, «This is the year you’re going to go beyond.» So I got up looking at those same people and said, «This is the year that we’re going!» I didn’t even know where to put my emphasis at that time; I was just green. He was like, «We are going to go beyond.» We made t-shirts about it, and we talked about it. It was crazy that it didn’t look like we were going beyond the entire time we were in that year. Because sometimes vision doesn’t look like the outcome while you’re walking through it. It doesn’t look like it. But when we looked back and paused for what God was going to do that year, the church grew by 400 members and $400,000 in the budget!
Now, if you’ve never led anything and you’ve been maintaining for years, and 400 more people come and $400,000 comes in, I was in the back like doing the stanky leg! I was like, «That 2016 was about to tire me out!» Do you hear me? Because God stayed true to His vision. I’m just trying to give vision value. Then God switched it up on us, and in 2018 He said, «The word is 'stride.'» Now, hold on, Lord, last year’s word was «beyond,» so I thought this year’s word was going to be «explosion,» «dynamite,» or «takeover.» He said, «Stride.» I literally had to look the word up. This is how you know you’re getting a vision from God when it doesn’t even come into your radius of what you know.
God took me outside of what I knew and said, «Look up this word, stride,» and it means to walk in long, decisive steps in an intentional direction. Jesus said to me, «Michael, you’ve been running; it’s time to walk.» I said, «That’s dumb!» Come on, can I be real? I was like, «That’s dumb! How are we going to continue to do all these things You’ve told us to do, and now You’re saying to walk?» He said, «You need to find the pace of grace. Less is more. If you do less and obey Me, I’ll do more.» And y’all, we sat in a room, December 5th or 6th of 2017, right before the new year. We canceled Christmas that year. We were supposed to do this huge production, and I said, «Y’all, I don’t know why God’s telling me to do this, but we need to cancel this and we’re going to strive.»
I told the whole team that, and we canceled some other things we were supposed to do. In 2018, when it was supposed to be the year we did less, God did abundantly! Literally December 22nd or 23rd of that year, as we were twiddling our thumbs, some random girl posted a clip of a series we did in August called «Relationship Goals.» That series went viral! We didn’t hire a marketing team; we didn’t have a PR firm; we had nothing! We still don’t have any of that stuff. When it happened, God said, «Watch what I’m going to do while you sleep.» I’m coming to tell somebody in this room. If you would just obey whatever God tells you to do, watch what He will do! The vision has value.
So we were asleep, and I’m looking at my wife thinking, «I had 4,000 Instagram followers,» and I’m literally watching my follower count grow by 10,000 every day! I was like, «What is going on? I thought they thought I was Michael B. Jordan! Black Panther had just come out!» I thought they were confused, but I didn’t know what was happening. I wasn’t going to report it. It kept growing and growing, and what we found out was that it had gone viral on Twitter; 2 million people watched that clip in 48 hours! We went from literally having 1,800 YouTube subscribers to over a hundred thousand in one month.
This is the crazy thing about it: when God told us in the first year of maintaining to buy new cameras, there was a group of people, after all the people had left, who thought that was an irresponsible use of money because they didn’t see the vision. I’m just trying to encourage somebody: you won’t have full support while you’re… Oh my God! Everybody’s not going to clap until it’s everyone who left the church has seen this now, and they’re like, «I knew it the whole time! He was going great!» You like your mama can be honest? But some people don’t know how to see the design of a house when there are only studs. They want to come in at the end, put up the pictures, and do the decoration, but they can’t see it when it’s not fully there.
What God said is, «I’m going to blow your mind!» He exceeded our expectations! We went from one service to five services in that year; the budget increased tremendously. God said, «How much more are you doing than you did last year?» I was like, «Not that much.» He said, «See, when you do less… I do more», and then last year he gave us a word. What was the word last year? «Release.» And God said, «I’m going to release you into some things; I’m going to release you from some things, and I need you to let me be free in everything.» Can I tell you that in 2019, God released us to the world in a brand-new way? God released this building we’re sitting in right here to us, and God released influence that will literally have us preaching all around the world at every moment of every day.
Okay, can I help you understand this? Vision is valuable. What’s your vision? Is it plain? Is it vast? Is it something that people can see? If you don’t have a vision for this year, or if your vision is blurry, I’m challenging everybody to join us in 21 days of prayer or fasting. I’m not asking you to do it for any other reason; vision is so valuable. For the people who only understand numbers and money, let me show you what following vision will produce.
Can you put the financial graphics up? In 2015, when he said that in 2014, the budget was 1.2 million dollars, God said, «Maintain it.» It was 1.2 million dollars that came in—everything that came in, everything that everybody gave into the year-end offering, what the cat gave, what the dog gave, what everybody gave. The next year was the same thing because those two years were maintained. He said, «Go beyond.» In 2017, it went up by $400,000 to 1.6 million. This is for all of those people—we’re transparent, we’re a hot church: humble, open, and transparent. We tell you everything. We’re not hiding anything, but some people won’t get it until I start talking like this.
In 2018, he said, «Strike.» That’s how I know people don’t know money: a nearly 300 percent increase. When God said, «You do that; I’ll do more.» Are you all ready for what happened in 2019? Put it on the screen! Oh yeah, when God said he was going to release… even the feedback had to give God praise. You can praise him with me, sound man! Come on now!
Transformation Church, the vision has value. So, if you want to be a part of something that’s just going with the flow and doing all this other stuff, go do that. But when God gives us a word, we’re going to gather our faith, our resources, our hearts around that word. In Transformation Church, the word that God has given me for 2020 is not like any other word in here. He said, «Michael, I don’t want this church bigger; I want the church stronger.»
The word for 2020—oh, y’all better hear me—is, «Is somebody shouting with me?» Sure, say it one more time: «Listen to me.» God told me this so clearly; he said, «Michael, if another person doesn’t come to the church this year, it doesn’t matter. I want the people who are there to be stronger—financially, relationally, spiritually. I want them to be able to withstand whatever the enemy throws at them.»
Come here, let me show you. What happens is what many of us want to do, and I feel the presence of God, I’m going to preach this next week. Okay, so I really want to preach it right now. Just stand right here: this is how strong our life is right now, emotionally, spiritually. God wants to do something really big in our life. Oh God, let’s do something great! Glory to God!
Vision that we have, emotionally we can’t handle anything, because spiritually, if the enemy throws one call, we don’t know how to say, «Hold on, ask for me in my house.» We don’t have any strength! But what we think is, «Well, maybe if we had more of this, then bigger is better.» Oh, I’ll spread them out. Yeah, biggest fan! Now we got more—we got five of them now! Oh, glory!
What most of us settle for is more instead of strong. Bigger is not always better; stronger is. I declare that your marriage is getting stronger. I declare that your family is too. I declare that your business is getting stronger; your prayer life is getting stronger; your ability to communicate under adversity is getting stronger.
But Pastor Mike, I gave in the year-end offering, I’m doing great things for you God, so I must be strong enough! Oh no, oh no. See, some of us think that what we got last year is strong enough to hold up what God wants to do this year. But the Bible says in, um, what is it, Ephesians? Where he tells us to forget all that. He said, «Children of Israel, you thought I did something by making a way out of the sea, and you thought I did something by calling all them.»
He said, «Forget all that; it’s not worth being compared to the great things that I have for you.» But the next part messes me up and tells me there’s vision involved in it. It says, «Do you not see it? Do you not see how you handled your relationships last year won’t work this year? Do you not see that you’re going to have to pray more, read more, and stand firm? You gotta help everybody get stronger!»
So this is what I want for you by the end of 2020. Come on, bring it on up here—let them see. What I want for you is that this is your marriage, this is our church, this is Transformation Nation, this is your business. When God says, «I’m about to hold something up on you,» this is what you will look like at the end of 2020! It’s strong enough to hold me up. I believe it! Somebody give God praise in this place! We’re getting stronger; we’re going to be stronger; our families are stronger.
So for the next four weeks, really for the whole year, every series is coming back: how do we make you stronger? But it starts with getting a vision from God and being a willing vessel. How many vessels do I have in the building?
Father, I pray over everybody whose hands are raised all over this place and those who are watching online. You have given us a word, and you declared for Transformation Church and everybody who would attach their faith that this year is the year that we get stronger. So I’m declaring, and I’m believing that emotional strength is coming, that physical strength is coming. Father God, in their relationships, in their businesses, and in their families, strength is coming.
I stand, Father God, even as I hold my daughter’s hand. I thank you that relationships for people all over this world are being mended right now. Things are being strengthened in the name of Jesus. And Father, this is your vision so that your kingdom can be done. You want to do it in your people, and today we say we’re available to you. Come on, somebody say: «I’m available!»
So what do you want to do in my life, God? We declare that we will be stronger. If you believe it on the first Sunday of 2020, will you give God praise? I said, will you give God praise? I want to keep preaching to you right now, but I have to go. If you miss these next four weeks, I think it would be a grave mistake because God’s already been giving me a playbook to help us get stronger, and I believe it, I see it, and I declare it over your life.
I stand, Father God, even as I hold my daughter’s hand. I thank you that relationships for people all over this world are being mended right now. Things are being strengthened in the name of Jesus. And Father, this is your vision so that your kingdom can be done. You want to do it in your people, and today we say we’re available to you. Come on, somebody say: «I’m available!»
So what do you want to do in my life, God? We declare that we will be stronger. If you believe it on the first Sunday of 2020, will you give God praise? I said, will you give God praise? I want to keep preaching to you right now, but I have to go. If you miss these next four weeks, I think it would be a grave mistake because God’s already been giving me a playbook to help us get stronger, and I believe it, I see it, and I declare it over your life.
If you’re in this room and you’ve never accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, this is the time when I ask anybody that does not have an emergency to stop because I don’t want you to distract anybody who’s about to make the greatest decision of their life. The thing that strengthens all of us—if you’re in here and you’ve never accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, whether you’re watching online or in this room, I want to tell you, it’s the greatest decision I ever made. It changed me from being a liar, a cheater, and someone who was addicted to pornography. It’s crazy! There’s a difference in sitting here with my daughter. Thank you for your grace, Tae-Woo. Thank you for your grace, God.
The thing you gotta realize is God’s not just trying to do this for you; he’s trying to make sure that, like the generations after us, are also impacted. If you’re in this room and want to make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior, I’m about to pray in a minute. Transformation Church, there’s no shame in this; we believe in progression, not perfection. We expect that if you’re trying to change, you might mess up a couple of times, but the grace of God is so good, it’s new every morning.
So today, if you want to hand over control of your life to the God who created you, if everybody would bow your heads and close your eyes, on the count of three, I’m going to ask you to raise your hand. You’re saying, «I no longer want to live my life visionless, but I want the vision God has for me.» His first vision was to see my eternal salvation secure. If that’s you, on the count of three, I want you to lift your hand. Say, «Pastor, I want to be included in that prayer.» Watching online, in this room: one, you’re making the greatest decision of your life. Two, God is proud of you and so are we! I see hands going up right now! Three, if that’s you, lift your hands all over this building!
I see you, sir. I see you, ma’am. I see you, sir. I see you, men! There are people all over here—dozens of people! Glory to God! What better way to start off the decade. You can put your hands down. I see you, I see you, my brother. More importantly, God sees you. Transformation Church, we’re family; nobody prays alone. So, everybody’s going to pray this prayer. Everybody say:
God, thank you for sending your Son just for me. Today, I give you control of my life. I believe you lived, and you died just for me. Today, take over. Give me a vision for my life. Change me, renew me, transform me. I’m yours. In Jesus' name!