Michael Todd - Bandwagon Believer
Y’all, I am pumped up! Anytime God does this, I get excited because I don’t quite know what He’s going to do, but I know He’s trying to accomplish something. Anytime He interrupts the plan, it’s on purpose. That’s what we celebrated last week on Easter—God interrupting the enemy’s plan. Today, I just thought it was funny that right after I got off the platform last week, I told Charles, «Yo bro, we’re switching it up! I want to move on, but God ain’t done yet. He wants us to be the ministers in our homes.»
I’m excited about what God has shared with me, but I really need to tell Transformation Nation how proud I am of you. They all know last week, because of your faithfulness, your invitations to others, and your role as ministers right where you are—with your family, friends, and your sphere of influence, including FaceTime and Facebook—because of that, last week’s viewing live saw a hundred and twenty-two thousand six hundred and sixty unique devices! Y’all, those were different devices. You better put some praise hands in the comments right now! Do you understand that this building could not have contained the move of God that He wanted to do last week? We would have had to have services every hour for three weeks to fit all the people in this room. But God is not confined to a building; He’s not limited by our ideas. He’s trying to do something—everybody say, «more than we could imagine.» Because of that, all those hundreds of thousands of people—this is the number that really matters—we saw one thousand six hundred and seventy-six people transformed in Christ! That’s why we exist!
I want to say what’s up to everybody who gave their life to Christ last week and you’re back this week. I love you; you’re our family! We’re so proud of you, and we believe that the best days of your life are right in front of you. If you walk this journey with us, it won’t be perfect, but it will be progressive. We know God has a huge plan for your life. Y’all, this is the church, and the church is alive! These numbers honestly made me super excited and super scared because every time we talk about it, there’s an upgrade in responsibility. Anytime there’s a promotion, everything has to change with it. The Holy Spirit said to me, «Michael, that’s why you need one more week of 'Who’s the Minister Here? '»
Because if I’m going to trust you with the influence of hundreds of thousands and I’m going to entrust you to lead thousands of people back to Me, I need you to make this call to be the minister a new way of living; it can’t be something you do seasonally. It can’t just be around Easter and Christmas or when it’s convenient. I need you to be the minister everywhere you are, everywhere you go! It took me to Acts 2:42, and I want you to go there. If anyone wants to know if I’ve started my message, yes, I have—right here in Acts 2:42. I want you to see how the church started and where the church is right now. It says, «All the believers devoted themselves.»
Come on, write that down in the comments—they devoted themselves! I like that—I’m about to talk about it. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, what we’re doing right now, and to fellowship, to sharing in meals, and to prayer. Those four things—they devoted themselves to teaching, fellowship, sharing meals, and prayer. And guess what happened after the church did that? A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. I’m telling you, this is the season of miracles! Things you thought couldn’t happen are about to start happening—in the middle of a pandemic, in the middle of a dry season. God says, «I’m the God that brings water out of rocks.»
Somebody needs to believe that right now! I’m the God that makes a way when there is no way! They started performing miracles and wonders, and all the believers met together in one place, sharing everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared their money with those in need. They worshiped together at the temple each day and met in homes—that’s where we all are right now—for the Lord’s Supper and shared their meals with great joy and generosity. All the while, they praised God and enjoyed the goodwill of all people.
Each day—everybody say, «each day"—the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. I got stuck on the first part of that verse because all of it is amazing, but if we’re going to actually see ourselves being the ministers in our areas of influence—in government, in education, in the music industry, in Hollywood, and in every area where we already are—there’s something that He said all of them did. It says right there in verse 42 that all the believers devoted themselves, and that’s what I want to talk about today in the last installment of «Who’s the Minister Here.»
And I may start this series back up sometime because I love equipping you to not need me. I love equipping you to be the one who has the answer: to go to God in prayer, to be able to touch someone else who is struggling, and to be able to pray for them and see deliverance come. I want you to be equipped to be everything that God has called you to be. When I started thinking about that word «devoted,» I began to think about sports, and let’s be honest, I miss sports. Okay? I don’t know if you miss sports, but I miss sports a whole bunch—no basketball, no football, no college sports, no March Madness.
Some of y’all are like, «Yes, I am so glad that I don’t even have to watch sports right now!» But for the rest of us, we’re stressed. The one thing that I thought about with sports is that it takes another level of devotion. To actually play the sport, you have to be super devoted to eating right, working out, and doing all this other stuff. But then I realized there’s another level of devotion that may be on par with what the athletes do and might even be a little more extreme, and that’s the devotion of the fans. Have you ever seen fans who are devoted to their team? Some of y’all are sitting next to them right now. Now, some of y’all are so quiet in church, but let your team play, and let somebody wearing your college alma mater’s colors around you, and you’ll go crazy. You’re devoted to it.
I started to think about the Cowboys of the '90s, the Lakers in the 2000s, the Red Sox in 2004, the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, and the Bulls in the '90s. I began to consider all these teams and realized there was something they all had in common: during their winning seasons, they experienced an influx of fans. At the height of their success, they had tons of supporters who had never shown interest before, but when they began to lose, the situation changed. They all faced the same issue—they lost the fair-weather fans who were there for the wins, and they were left with the devoted ones. They remained with those who would cheer, buy tickets, and participate whether the team was on top of the world or struggling through a rebuilding season.
I began to think about how it must feel for a player to be cheered on by everyone one year and then return the next year to see fans wearing paper bags over their heads. It made me wonder: Is this how God feels in the midst of a pandemic when Christianity seems to be winning? There is indeed a difference between the devoted and the bandwagon fans, and that’s what I want to title my message today: «Bandwagon Believers.» I believe there is an epidemic occurring simultaneously with the pandemic—that Christianity and faith have become convenient right now. In this moment, Christianity seems to be winning; it’s cool and socially accepted amongst those who explore various beliefs.
Now, culture is saying, «Oh yes, we love faith,» but don’t be too loud about it. Kanye’s a Christian, and we have top clothing brands that literally say «Fear of God.» Christianity is convenient right now; it’s winning. There are a lot of bandwagon believers here at this moment. Now, I’m not talking to anyone who just gave their life to Christ yesterday. Welcome! We’re so proud of you. We know that God has a plan for you. However, there are some people watching who may be next to you or viewing from a different stream in the house next door. They’ve been Christians for five years and have yet to step out of the convenience of Christianity. Uh-huh. They like the bandwagon; they love celebrating; they love cheering for it. But when it’s not convenient, my question is: will you be anywhere around when they open up the stakes? When your job calls you back? When you get more money than you’ve ever had? Will you still be around?
My fear is that, because Christianity is convenient at this moment, it helps me go to sleep. I can do my scriptures, and it serves as a sedative rather than a lifestyle. It becomes something you rely on, just like someone who drinks to fall asleep but uses scriptures instead. It’s merely something that helps you at this moment; it is convenient in this time. But God asks: will you be around when there is persecution for what you believe? Will you be there when your baby daddy doesn’t want anything to do with you because you want to pray? Will you be around when your family turns their back on you because you stepped out in faith?
Today, I need to talk to all the bandwagon believers. The reason I can speak on this is that I used to be one. I’m not coming at anyone for something that God has not already addressed in my life. It is very easy to be around the things of God and not be truly in them. It’s easy to play in the band, give your little money, and go to church on Sundays. That’s what all the fans do when they’re in a winning season; they pay their tithes and offerings—that’s like ticket prices. They wear jerseys and say, «Oh, I’m repping my team!» They cheer when the players are performing. But when everyone leaves, when it’s been 42 years since the Chicago Cubs won a championship, and when it looks like all the star players are on another team, will you still be a devoted disciple?
That’s my challenge to you today. I know it’s straightforward, but I need to get this off my chest. This past week, I have a lot to say in a little bit of time, so I want to go straight to the point. I’m presenting you with a choice: convenience or commitment. Those are your choices, and it’s the same choice God gave Adam and Eve in the garden. The whole point was, «Hey, I’m giving you the opportunity to stay in Eden, paradise, for the rest of your life. I want you to be committed to obeying me, walking with me, and living with me with everything provided.» Or do you want what’s convenient, the one tree that’s close to you in the middle of the garden? When you listen to the deception of the enemy because it looks better for you at that moment, you give up the commitment to God for the convenience of taking a bite of fruit.
My question is: are we giving up the commitment that we could have to be good husbands, loving fathers, and have families and businesses that have integrity, honor God, and make a difference in our communities for a couple of Instagram followers? Are we giving up our commitment to being devoted to the Word of God for the convenience of being accepted by people?
Today, I want to challenge you. I’m challenging everyone right now because I have been challenged. God said to me, «Michael, it’s not just about being a bandwagon fan in sports; there are people who are bandwagon fans in music.» You know those people who never listened to a certain type of music, but when it becomes popular, they say, «Yeah, I’ve been listening to this!» You’re a liar; you haven’t been listening. Some people jump on whatever dress code or clothing brand becomes popular. How many times has Tommy Hilfiger become popular, then faded, only to come back again? It’s because people jump on the bandwagon. They see something that used to be cool and then try to be the first ones to wear it—only to find that people who hadn’t given it a thought in a different season come back, and they jump on board.
This can apply to everything else, but there’s a problem when you apply being a bandwagon fan to your faith, because the issue is a heart issue. I want to address that plainly: God doesn’t want bandwagon believers; He wants devoted disciples. Let me help you with the heart issue: the heart of a bandwagon believer is convenience, but the heart of a devoted disciple is commitment. I’ve said it over and over, but I need you to grasp this. Devotion means taking away your vote.
Let me give you an example. When I told Natalie that I was going to be committed to her, I devoted my life to her. That means I took away my vote: am I going to love her when she makes me mad and doesn’t get me the sausage I want when we go to Chick-fil-A? Because that does make me mad, to be honest. When she doesn’t get me enough Chick-fil-A sauces, I’m tempted to let her have it. But in that moment of real emotions, I have voted. It doesn’t matter what pretty face or figure comes by me. When they do, I say, «Natalie looks amazing; that’s God’s creation!» But I have devoted myself to her. They won’t get any of my time or attention. Why? Because when I made my decision, I devoted myself to her.
Someone needs to realize that you have been so committed to convenience that you have not committed to anything. God is saying to you today that your next level, your next breakthrough, is going to require you to be devoted. Someone needs to take your vote away right now. You need to make a decision: «For God I live, and for God I die!» No matter what happens, I am devoted. Somebody needs to put that in the comments: «I don’t have a vote anymore!» When I decided for Jesus, when I chose to be faithful to this marriage, when I decided to have kids, I was devoting myself to those commitments.
The problem is that everyone wants a vote, and our vote is usually informed by our feelings. That’s where we get in trouble. God asks us to make decisions that outlast how we feel. I need you to make a decision that lasts beyond your circumstances. I think right now, I’m calling for the ministers to be devoted. I hate working out. Let me be very clear—I hate it. But last year, when I saw myself during the Crazy Faith series, I looked like a piece of candy in a big pink Holy Spirit hoodie. I was the heaviest I’ve ever been, weighing 256 pounds. At that moment, I said to myself, «I will not be trapped like this ever again.»
I’m not saying this to anyone else; this was just my conviction. I felt bad, I was slow, and I was delaying my purpose because of my preference at that time. My preference was to come home and eat ice cream every night. My preference was to go to fast-food restaurants. At that moment, I had to decide to become devoted to working out. Every single morning when I wake up, I do not want to work out. But I made a decision in a different season that my feelings had to submit. Some of us have not made that decision.
Here’s a crucial point: when you devote yourself, your present preference submits to your predetermined decision. I’ll say it again: when you devote yourself, when you take away your vote and stop consulting your opinion, your present preference submits to your predetermined decision. So why do I get up and read the Word every morning? Not because I’m holy and want to, but because when I decided to follow God, the Bible says, «Seek me and you will find me.» Where I have to seek Him is in His presence. How do I do that? I get into His Word and pray. What happens is that when I become devoted, every morning I wake up tempted to just go back to sleep. But every time I turn over, I remind myself, «I cannot let my predetermined decision be overruled by my current preference.»
I’m asking you: how much in your life is suffering right now because you are not devoted? Seriously, let’s talk—how bad is your marriage right now because you’re not devoted to it? How bad is your health because you’re not committed? How much better could your relationships be if you became devoted? As we come off the most impactful Easter we’ve ever had in church history, I want to remind you that I’m devoted to what God has called me to do. He has called me to equip you so that you are not just a casual fan of what’s happening or a bandwagon believer.
He said, «I want you to raise up devoted disciples who will grow in their faith even if the world shuts down the internet.» You don’t need Pastor Mike. You didn’t hear me. You don’t need Pastor Mike! I’m here to equip and encourage you, but if push comes to shove and the signal goes down and I’m cut off from everyone, give me Jesus, give me my Bible! I am unashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ! I will not be a bandwagon believer; I am a devoted disciple.
The reason this burdens me deeply is that I fear when we come out of this pandemic, everything will go back to normal. I worry that people will start striving and working hard to prove their worth when God has already called them valuable. You thought your value was tied to finances, and He said, «When you didn’t have any money coming in, I still called you valuable.» People will return to placing their faith in things that are winning at the moment. Do you understand what I’m saying? Bandwagon believers can jump onto whatever is winning at the time.
So if your relationship is thriving at the moment, you believe in that. If your marriage is thriving, you believe in that. If your church is thriving, you believe in that. If your stocks are doing well, you believe in that. God is saying, «Make a decision that it doesn’t matter if it’s winning or losing—you will be devoted!» Come on, someone shout at me: «I will be devoted!» And the problem with convenience is that it always conforms. When we always chase convenience, it conforms to how culture is feeling. It conforms to comfort, and that is wrong. Romans 12:2 tells us to do the exact opposite.
I want you to understand why we have the name Transformation Church. It’s found in this scripture: «Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is, His good, pleasing, and perfect will for your life.» We cannot conform to convenience and jump on bandwagons when they are winning; we have to become devoted and be transformed.
That’s easier said than done, because let’s be real: all of us love what is convenient. I love being able to order food and have it delivered without leaving the house. But the real, nutritious meals—the meals you think about and enjoy—require someone who is devoted in the kitchen. It takes someone who will get the real ingredients, cut everything up, let it marinate, put it in the oven, and check to see if it’s good. Real meals require devotion. God is saying He wants your life not to be half-baked; He wants your purpose to be fully realized.
I don’t want you to settle for convenience, like instant mashed potatoes that you just microwave. Real and hearty meals require peeling the potatoes and more effort. It doesn’t get the praise that others seek, but that’s the level of devotion God is calling every minister to right now. I found an example of this in the Bible: in Matthew 19:16, we see the story of the rich young ruler. Someone came to Jesus with this question. He was a bandwagon fan of Jesus; he followed Him and knew Him. He was excited and asked, «Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?»
«Why do you ask Me about what is good?» Jesus replied. «There is only one who is good. To answer your question, if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.» «Which one?» he asked. And Jesus replied, «You must not murder. Don’t kill anybody. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.»
«Hey, I got that! I’ve obeyed all of these commands! Put me in, Coach!» the young man replied. «What else must I do? 'Cause I’m ready! I’m ready to be on your team! I’m ready to follow you! I’m ready to wear the jersey!»
He said, «Umm, if you want to be perfect,» which lets us know that God—Jesus was testing him because Jesus didn’t believe in perfection. He is perfection; He only believes in progression. But this young man thought he had to be perfect to walk with Jesus. And for everybody who is here and thinks you have to be perfect to walk with Jesus, that is not the truth at all. God just requires that you take a step beyond where you are today.
And so that’s how we know he was being tested. The young man said, «Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.» But this is where it switched. He was about to go from being a bandwagon fan who thought he was devoted—he thought he was devoted—but he’s about to prove he was a bandwagon fan.
He said, «I asked for something from you; I asked you for a sacrifice.» When the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. I can just picture it right here. Jesus is like, «Yo, bet! I want you to be a part of this 'cause you’re devoted, you’re down! Go sell everything you’ve got and follow me!» And he was like, «No, no. Everything? You want me to sell it all? Alright, I’ll be back.» In my mind, that man ran away, and he ran further, and we never hear about that young man coming back.
That’s funny to me. I just saw him like running and running at speeds! Anyway, he ran away, and he never comes back. And we never hear about this young man again. Why? Because at the moment that it wasn’t convenient to be devoted, he went back to being a bandwagon fan, a bandwagon believer, and he walked away. Because watch this: he thought that being devoted to Jesus somehow took away from his value.
He just told him to sell his possessions, and he thought, «Possessions? Jesus? My friends and family who think I’m great? Jesus? That business that’s doing really well, but I have to compromise to stay ahead of the game? Jesus?» And this is the problem that many of us have: we think somehow being devoted to Jesus will lessen our value. But this is why you have to understand this simple truth. Write this point down: **Being devoted never devalues a disciple.** When you decide to be devoted, I’m telling you from my own life, man, I thought I was going to be a music producer. I was out here producing for everybody and their mama! I had the skills, I had the talents, I had the favor, and I thought I was gonna be on one of the verses right now.
They’re doing these things where producers are having their catalogs compared to other people’s. Everybody, just stretch your hands towards Teddy Riley and his production team at this current moment. Anyway, just love having fun in church. Somebody’s like, «Susan, Teddy Riley? What is happening?» That went over a lot of people’s heads—anyway, look it up! I thought I was gonna be producing music, and when God told me, «Shut the studio down and get in your Bible,» this was my rich young ruler moment.
And all of you are going to have a moment like this, where God says, «You can go with what you think is going to make you successful, or you can be devoted, take your vote away, and follow me.» And this was my moment. I was about 24 years old, and the Holy Spirit said, «Shut the music down.» I had just built the studio! I had stuff that was about to come out with HBO and Jill Scott and all this other stuff! And God said, «Shut it down.»
At that moment, I battled because I wanted to be a bandwagon believer who supported the church, gave money to the church, and attended church when it was convenient, instead of being a devoted disciple who says, «God, whatever you want from my life, you can have it! If it’s music, you can have it! If it’s my family, you can have it! If it’s money—I was going to go this way!» Thank God for His Holy Spirit that helped me decide, «No, no, go devoted. You don’t lose anything this way. Matter of fact, you gain everything!»
He was trying to give this young rich ruler the Matthew 6:33 test: «Seek first the kingdom of God! Seek first what God wants for me! Seek first that He wants to heal my marriage and He wants to deliver me from pornography! Seek first that He wants to heal my heart, and then all these things will be added.» I would not be sitting here talking to you today with all that God has done if I had decided to be a bandwagon believer.
Can I say it to you very straight? You are forfeiting your purpose if you don’t become devoted to God. You cannot do God’s plan without God. And so many of us want to get up at award shows and thank God for what He didn’t have a part in. We want to get up in front of people and say, «It was God who got me here,» knowing it was our plan that got us there. And we never consulted with God unless we got in trouble or we were in the middle of a pandemic or it was popular to be a Christian!
But God is saying, «Who will stand up for me and say, no matter what comes and what goes, I’m going to be devoted? I gotta pray whether everything’s good or if anything’s going wrong! I gotta love my neighbors, even when they do me right or when they do me wrong! I am devoted!» Not knowing nobody’s preaching like this because they’re scared you won’t come back or not. But I ain’t, because I’m not devoted to you; I’m devoted to God.
So when He dropped the sermon series that we were about to go into, it was a lot sexier than this one. It was a lot more user-friendly. This would have been a lot more hooray, exciting, and we’re gonna get there next week. But God said, «Before we get into the candy and get into the things that people want to hear, can I just raise up a few more soldiers that will understand that it ain’t always gonna be easy and it ain’t gonna always be good? It ain’t always gonna be a mountaintop, and yeah, you might lose your job. But out of that loss of your job, I’m birthing something new. Out of that loss of a loved one, I’m giving you a deeper conviction to love. Out of that loss, God is trying to teach us a lesson.» And He’s saying, «That’s what happens when you’re a devoted disciple.»
And today I just think if that scripture says, «Don’t conform to the patterns of this world,» then there has to be a pattern we have to conform to, a pattern that God is setting. And I think that I found the pattern of the devoted. In the last few minutes that I have, I want to give you this. If you’re going to be devoted, you got to have a few ingredients.
The first thing you have to have is a desire. If you’re gonna be devoted, you have to have—everybody say—a desire! And this is the thing that a lot of people get messed up, especially for everybody who just came to Christ. And this is your first week, and you’re like, «Dang! 'Cause I’m like coming hard, and I just, you know, I’m trying to stop smoking weed and spooning everybody!» Last week was a lot!
Listen, listen to me. Okay, I got you right now. You get to skip all of the preliminary foolishness that most believers go through. You’re getting an advanced class right now! This is what God is giving you! He’s so good to you! I wish I would have gotten this! He’s so good to you that the cycle that people usually get in after they give their life to Christ and they go through this cycle for the next two to three or four years—you get to skip all of this and make a decision today that you know what? I’m gonna be devoted!
If you’re gonna be devoted, I need to see the comments! Somebody say, «I’m gonna be devoted! I’m devoted!» Somebody needs to say it right now! I see you! Travis said, «I’m gonna be devoted.» Come on, somebody else is saying that! Cheryl said, «I’m gonna be devoted!»
Hey, listen! Everybody doesn’t have to be on this, but there are some people saying, «I’m going to be devoted! My family’s gonna be devoted!» As for me and my house, we are gonna serve the Lord!»
And somebody needs to get that type of desire! And this is the thing; I gotta encourage you: desire doesn’t have to be this big, overwhelming thing. Because a lot of people are like, «I really want to passionately desire to be more! I really want God to do it!» You don’t even have to feel that! All you have to do is turn your heart towards God! «God, I want to stop cursing these people out and I want to love them, but I want to slap them!» What you just did was take your heart from being turned away from it, and you just showed a little bit of desire!
Some of you just need to make a decision today that you know what? «I desire to be better to my spouse! I desire to forgive my father!» You don’t have to do it to desire it! Somebody needs to hear this: you don’t actually have to make an action on it yet to desire it! And so many people stop desiring because they don’t know how to do what they’re desiring. But you can desire to get in shape even if you’re eating some ice cream while watching this right now!
But desire it! I’m coming in here to help somebody desire again! Like, stop believing the lies of the enemy that you can’t even desire it! If you are in Christ, He tells you, «I want you to get your mind and your perspective fixed on the right thing!» Some of you need to change your desires! Some of you—your family has gone so far away from God—but today, in this moment, you’re desiring, «My family will eat around the table!»
I’m desiring that my children will be safe! They’re so far away right now, but you can have a desire even if you don’t know how it’s gonna happen! Get your desire back! Some of you have stopped desiring to be in a relationship because the last one broke you so bad! But God said today, «I’m giving somebody their desire back!»
I feel that thing! Somebody’s getting their desire back right now! Some of you stopped desiring to be in ministry because the last ministry didn’t recognize your gifting! But God said, «I didn’t call you to be affirmed by that ministry; I called you to be the minister!» And now I need you to get a desire back! Some of you have a gifting to sing! I feel this—somebody’s pulling on me! Somebody has a gifting to sing, but because it didn’t work out in another season, God’s saying, «Desire again! Desire again!»
Because if you’re going to be devoted, you got to get a desire! You got to get a desire! Let me tell you a couple of things you need: a desire! You need to have a desire to be used by God. And that could be your prayer this week: «God, give me a desire that pleases You! Just give me a desire that pleases You! Give me a desire that brings You back to the center of my life!»
And once you get that desire, it doesn’t have to be big. Let me help you! The Bible says in Zechariah 4:10, «Do not despise the small beginnings.» It says, «For the Lord rejoices to see the work begin!» He just wants to see you begin to desire! He just wants to see it happen!
And this is the beautiful thing about desire. Philippians 2:13 says, «For God is working in you.» That’s what He’s doing right now! As you’re hearing this message, I know somebody’s faith is being stirred right now! Somebody, your flesh wants to go away and click away, but your spirit is like, «No! We need this! We got to hear this thing!»
Because you’re gonna be devoted! It’s saying, «God is working in you right now, giving you the desire.» And this is so good about our God—that He will never give you a desire for something that He won’t give you the power to do! It says He is working in you, giving you the desire!
This is my favorite scripture because it has guided me as I’ve walked into being the CEO of a company leading a multi-ethnic church, standing on platforms for which I don’t have any degrees. And God says, «Because you desired Me, I gave you My desires for you! And when you have My desires for you, I’ll give you the power to do what I desire!»
The reason some of y’all are so broken and so tired is because you’ve been using your power for your desires! I dare you to jump over into being devoted! You find out his desires, and you gain his power. I just said a mouthful right there. His desires, his power—your desires draw power. If it is his desire for your marriage to be healed, tap into his power to forgive; tap into his power to love. The first thing we have to do is get a desire. Let me tell you the second thing we need to do: if we’re going to be devoted, we have to eliminate. Oh yeah, we get a desire from God, but then we have to eliminate all of the foolishness. Some of you have been trying to hold onto what is keeping you from moving forward, and God says those two do not coincide; comfort and growth are arch enemies; they cannot coexist. You can’t take all your friends with you and be the leader of what God has called you to be.
He said you’re going to have to eliminate some things. I’m coming to step on some toes because some of the things you need to eliminate are sitting right next to you. Some of you are in relationships, and some situationships, and some things that are not helping you reach your purpose right now. We’re going to talk about that in «Relationship Goals Reloaded» next week. I’m telling you all, we’re starting anew series, «Relationship Goals Reloaded,» and I am reloaded; the clip is ready and full, and I’m coming for everybody. But what I’m telling you right now is that there are things you need to eliminate in your life that are preventing you from being devoted. There are certain people who, when you tell them you’ve made a decision to do something different, will encourage you to go back to the old you.
Now let’s be honest: are they really your friends if, when you tell them, «I’m going to stop trying to do this,» they respond, «You for real? That’s everything we’ve been through. Okay, never mind—let’s just do it one more time»? You have some «one more time» friends, some «one more time» associates, and some «one more time» business partners, and what they’re doing is trying to make you a bandwagon believer—"I’ll do it when it’s convenient.» Some of you need to make a decision: I don’t just want the desire that God has for me, but I need to eliminate stuff.
This is the thing: God won’t do what He’s given you the power to do. Some of you have been praying away your problems, but you will actually have to invite them out of your life. God’s not going to do it. He won’t do anything; He gave you the power to do it. Some of you need to turn your phone off after this message and not turn it back on until you get a new number. I need you to see this because there are so many things you’ve been devoted to that are taking you back to where you’ve been, and God is saying, «I have a purpose for you; I have a plan for you that’s bigger than anything you’ve ever seen.»
But you have to eliminate all of them. Guess what I’ve found through elimination: anything we give up for God comes back in a way that we actually need. Anything that we think we’re giving up—"I’m giving up my community"—God will surround you with a godly community that will sharpen you and make you better. «Well, I’m giving up my status—think about me being a music producer,» and He says, «Yeah, give that up, and then I’ll bring people to you who won’t even know you do music; I will raise you up in something completely different for my glory.» He said anything that you give up for Me will come back in a different way that will be healthy for you and be a part of My plan for your life. But you only get that when you’re devoted, so it’s time for people to start cutting things off.
There are some things you have to cut off. Somebody needs to put in the chat, «Cut it off.» Some of them have names, some are habits, and some are websites you need to cut off. You need accountability when you get here because eliminating things is hard to do when you’re the only one who knows you’re doing it. It’s hard to eliminate something because some of you know you’ve already eliminated it for three hours, and then you were back at it in the fourth hour because nobody even knew, and you feel good about yourself because, at least, you tried. But God is saying to you, if you’re going to be devoted, if you’re going to take your vote away, you have to take a stance on some things. And there are certain things that have to get cut off.
I could stay there for the rest of this message, but I’m just going to leave you with the scripture: Hebrews 12:1 says, «Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, to the life of people who have been devoted for the people who said, 'No matter what happens, I’m taking my vote away, and I’m trusting God, ' he said to let us strip off every weight.» Let me put it another way: let us eliminate every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. The thing I love about this scripture is that most people think it reads, «Let us eliminate every sin,» but it does not start with sin. It says, «Let us eliminate every weight that slows us down.»
It may not be a sin, but it may slow you down. «Well, it ain’t no sin to spend time with her—oh, I’m just trying to build with her.» She’s a slowdown. «It’s not a sin to be in this business right now.» That’s a slowdown. «It’s not a sin to watch this TV show.» That is a slowdown for you. And God says eliminate everything that’s slowing you down and the sin in your life. I’m just saying that if you’re going to be devoted, you got to take your vote away; you have to commit to your decision more than your preferences at the time. You got to get a desire; you got to eliminate things that are slowing you down; and then you got to get vision. I love the Word of God because it tells us that without a vision, people run wild. One translation says they cast off restraint; another translation says they stop caring.
See, the problem with most of us is that because we have not had a desire for the things God wants for us, we don’t eliminate the right or wrong situations out of our lives, and it blurs our vision. And what God is saying to all of us today is that we need to revise everything. Some of you are still in denial: «No, no, no, all of this is going to happen.» Let me tell you what you need to do at this moment. You need to sit in your house and do a revision. You need to ask God, «What is the vision for the rest of the year? What is the vision for my life?» Because when I get a vision, I don’t cast off restraint; I get focused. Where there is vision or prophetic insight, the Bible says there is flourishing that happens.
That’s why He tells us to write the vision down and make it plain so it can be read on the run, and people can understand that vision. All I’m saying is that if you’re going to be devoted, you need a desire, you need to eliminate everything slowing you down, and you need to get fresh vision. Everybody say, «Vision.» Father, I pray that you’re giving people vision right now. I think you’re giving them not what they see in their circumstances, what is around them, but for every business owner, I’m praying for somebody right now. For every student, for every person in this place who is lacking, Father God, I thank you right now that they would close their eyes, and you would give them fresh vision. I declare it, I believe it, and I trust you for it in Jesus' name.
Somebody shout at me, «Vision!» Turn the keys off, I’m not done; I’m not done—y’all ain’t got nowhere to go. I don’t know what y’all have to do right now. I got a few more points because somebody needs this right now. You need to be devoted. God is saying, «Take away the vote.» I want you to be a devoted disciple. So, you need a desire; you need to eliminate all distractions; you need to get fresh vision; and then you’re going to have to do what some people call a cuss word: obey. It’s one thing to find out what God has for you, to eliminate all distractions, and to see what God has prepared for you, but if you don’t obey what He tells you to do, it’s all void.
I’m asking some of you who have been in a season of slow obedience to consider this, because a lot of people will say, «If it’s anything that I ain’t gonna do, I ain’t gonna do it.» But you know what slow obedience is? It’s disobedience. Some of you, I just gave you a revelation right there. God told you to start writing that book last month, and we are a month and a half into the quarantine, and the pages are empty. You say, «Well, they said the quarantine is going to last another month, so I got time.»
Slow obedience is disobedience. I need you to write that in the comments right now. And I’m sorry, I’m sorry, but if you’re going to be devoted, you have to obey at that moment. If God says, «Go up to that person and pray,» you gotta go. At that moment, when God says, «I need you to give,» even though you lost your job, you gotta obey. But you don’t know what the seeds you’re putting in the ground are for; you don’t know when they’re about to blossom. And God is saying, on the other side of your obedience is upgrade, but on the other side of your disobedience is disappointment. Until you start obeying without knowing what affects you, just think about it. If my child comes to me—and I’m getting a little heated just thinking about it—if my child comes to me, and I say, «Bella, put that down because it may be dangerous,» we had this happen this week; she had some scissors, and Bella’s getting smart; she knows what to do with stuff.
But she was running with the scissors, and she doesn’t understand the implications of running with scissors. So I looked at her and said, «Bella, put those down.» Then I turned around, because sometimes as a parent, you have that tone—you know they heard you. I know they did the wrong thing, because that was a strong tone. I addressed her with a strong tone, and that baby still had the scissors. When I turned around and saw her running with the scissors, she actually upgraded her position; she got on her little hoverboard and was riding the hoverboard with the scissors.
Now, I need every parent who understands this point: if my wife had seen this, I would have gotten in trouble. Y’all already know that’s what would have happened. But I was doing it for her safety, and what I told her in that moment was that because you’re not listening and you’re not obeying me, I have to take away the scissors and the hoverboard. I have to take away what is harming you and what you were having fun with until you learn the lesson that when I speak, when I tell you something, you need to follow it. The whole reason I did that was for her good, but her slow obedience was disobedience. And what God is saying is if you’re going to be devoted, you got to get quicker on obeying Me. You gotta do it when I say it; you gotta anticipate My instructions so you can be one that is trusted. I gotta get a desire from God; I gotta eliminate all the distractions; I gotta get a vision; I have to obey.
That’s why 1 Samuel tells us that obedience is better than any sacrifice we could ever make. Everybody’s trying to say, «God, I’m giving You my life; I’m sacrificing my time.» But He says, «Just obey.» A lot of us are sacrificing things we wouldn’t have to give up if we would obey. You missed it. «The church just needs me to do this and that,» or «My family needs me to do this…» No, those are all things you made up; God said if you would obey Me, you would have to sacrifice less, and you would be walking under My divine instructions. And that’s why we have to—everybody shout at me—"Obey!» Okay, let me give you these last ones. The next thing you need to do if you’re going to be devoted is trust. You’re going to have to trust that God’s got everything under control.
See, it’s very hard… Let’s go back to the analogy; let’s just use the Lakers for an example. Before these last couple of years, before LeBron got to L.A., the Lakers had a very tumultuous few seasons. What I know about the Lakers is that if they don’t have any fans—my older brother, Gabriel, is a devoted Lakers fan. He can vouch for it. When I tell you this man has jerseys on jerseys on jerseys, I mean it. When I tell you that as a grown man, he has cried over them, it’s true. I have lost championships; he will fight with anybody. No, I like, and when I say this, on an even playing field—like, I have video recordings of him arguing and about to swing on people over a team that doesn’t even know he exists. He’s devoted; he’s unashamed of the gospel of the Lakers.
Now you’re laughing, but at this moment, you wouldn’t have that much passion for the God who saved you. You wouldn’t have that much fight in you for the God who delivered you and brought your family back. As I was thinking about this, I asked Gabe, «What’s happening?» Because he never stopped repping the Lakers, even when they were trash. He would literally come out in a Kobe Bryant jersey, and Kobe didn’t play anymore. He would literally come out in a Shaq jersey, and Shaq was nowhere to be found. I said, «Gabe, what are you doing?» He said, «I’m just trusting the management.» I said, «What?» He said, «Don’t worry; there’s stuff they’re not talking to us about. The management’s working, even while we’re losing. Even while we’re in a losing season, I’m trusting the management.»
I came to tell somebody today, if you’re going to be devoted, even when it looks like you’re in a losing season, you need to trust the management. Even when I don’t see it, He’s working; even when I don’t feel it, He’s working. The song says He never stops working, and I need somebody to understand that when you’re devoted, when it looks like everything’s going down, when it looks like everything’s burning up, when it looks like we’re losing, you still gotta trust the manager. Our manager has a great reputation; His name is Jehovah Jireh, the God that will provide. He is the one that is at the beginning and the end—they call Him Alpha and Omega. He’s the one that sees you in the middle, and He’s the one that has charted your course. Trust the management.
That’s why the Bible tells us in Proverbs 3:5, «Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Don’t depend on what ESPN shows you. Don’t depend on what you see on the scoreboard. Don’t depend on what CNN, Fox News, or MSNBC has said. He said, don’t depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.»
So we gotta get a designer; we gotta eliminate all distractions; we gotta get a new vision. We gotta obey God. And this is my first one—this is my favorite one—you gotta get an expectation. So when you get an expectation after you devote your life to God, after you devote your life, you should have an expectation that God is about to do some crazy stuff in your life. Hold on, I gave up that; I actually wrote down the vision for that; I actually obeyed when He told me to give Him that end-of-the-year offering. Now I’m entrusting God the whole time. God’s about to do something in my life. Like, I don’t know about y’all, but in the middle of the pandemic, I’m looking for blessings. I don’t know about y’all, but jobs dried up for everybody else; I’m looking for the best season of my life while everybody else is in panic. I’m in praise! There is a praise on the inside of me that cannot be quieted because I’m expecting.
Because when you’re devoted, you get to last through the losing seasons, but you get to celebrate in the winning seasons. And there are so many people—I think about all of the people who’ve been faithful for years. Think about all the people who’ve been overlooked, but you kept doing what God told you to do. I’m thinking about all the people who are even on the front lines right now, when you are afraid for your own family but you kept showing up to work, meeting the needs of other people—police officers making house calls, and people delivering groceries. Even in that, I want you to know that God never requires anything from you that He’s not expecting you to live your life without. He said, «I need you to get an expectation that I’m about to do something in your life that doesn’t make sense.»
I think the scripture says it like this in 1 Corinthians 2:9: «That eyes haven’t seen, nor ears have heard, nor has it even entered the mind of your imagination what God has prepared.» I love that because it means that it was already prepared before you decided to be devoted. There are things waiting on you right now. God said, «If you would jump in the stream, I’ve taken your vote away and serve Me, and read your word, and love others"—and be devoted. He said, «I’ve already got something with your name on it; it was already prepared for you.» Look what it says, «Oh, your qualification is to love Me.» And the reason I put that in there is that He’s already got it prepared for those who love Him. Love is a term of devotion. You can’t love anybody; if you read 1 Corinthians 13: «Love is patient, love is kind; love keeps no record of wrongs.»
Hold up! You don’t mess over me four times; you know you’ve done it all this time! Think about it; you can only love somebody you have devoted to. A lot of people say they love their spouse, but their opinion is louder in their relationship than their submission. So they’re not devoted. I have to say it as strongly as I feel it right now: God is asking some of you to take your vote away. «I’m gonna serve God; I’m gonna love my spouse; I’m gonna finish my schoolwork; I’m gonna honor my parents; I’m gonna do…» I’m taking my vote away, and that’s gonna prove who you really love. Because anytime you love something, you take your vote away. There are tons of things that I do for my wife not because I want to, it’s because I committed my life to her. And when I committed my life to her, I gave her my vote. When I commit my life to Christ and I’m really in the ministry, I give Him my vote.
So if it’s not Easter and you tell me to keep inviting people every week, and don’t just invite ten people for the intentional challenge—you’re at home all day. Invite twenty people! «Am I committed to it because Transformation Church told me to do it, or am I committed to it? Am I devoting because I know this is part of God’s plan for my life?»
If we’re in this room and we’re honest, most of us have gotten off of this continuum at some point. Our desire—we got it for a second—but then, «Dang! I didn’t eliminate the things I needed to eliminate, and now it’s giving me blurry vision, and I don’t really want to obey and I really don’t trust God.» That’s why I’m looking to all these other sources right now, and I don’t really have an expectation. But if you reverse that and you get just a little desire, eliminate those distractions and those weights and you get a new vision and you obey God and you trust Him and you expect—do you know what it equals? It equals discipline.
Some of y’all wanted to equal something else, but what God is calling for us to be is devoted. What does discipleship mean? That word actually means discipline. All God is looking for is people He can count on that will do the same thing over and over and over again. I need you to be disciplined. Discipline is just being the same thing—doing the same thing. I’m committed to it. I don’t have to get off of it if something new comes. If something new goes, if something old comes, if something old goes, I’m disciplined.
And this is the beautiful thing: I need everybody to understand, because people ask me all the time, «Does this Christian walk get easier, Pastor Mike?» No! You get stronger. It doesn’t get easier; you get stronger. And what happens is the desire turns into discipline. I don’t ever wake up desiring to go to the gym, but after I get disciplined to do it for a long time, on the days that I miss the gym, I start desiring it. It’s like they—"Ya know, I gotta go work out! I’m not gonna let this thing…»
What I’m telling you is if God could just get a few devoted people to get in this process, the discipline that He’s trying to build in your life is gonna produce what He wants to see and what you want to see in your life. And that’s why this last scripture, Hebrews 12:11, says, «No discipline is enjoyable while it’s happening.» Can I give you the truth? It’s a tough thing. But afterwards—everybody say, «afterwards"—I love this: «There will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.» So take a new grip with your tired hands. And this is the part where I want somebody who’s feeling tired. God’s saying this whole message of bandwagon believers was for you to make a decision: that’s not how you’re gonna live your life.
You’re gonna take a new grip today with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. He said, «Mark out a straight path for your feet so those who are weak and lame will not fall but will become strong.» And the word for this year that God gave us in our vision series was stronger. I just had to obey God. God’s desire for us is to get the discipline to the point where we’re stronger, and I speak that over your life right now—that this is not the year where you’re going backward. Even in the middle of a pandemic, you’re going forward. God is giving you the desire to do what pleases Him. We’re eliminating all distractions; our vision is getting clearer; we will obey what God says to do; we will trust Him, and in our trust, we will expect that good things are on the way.
What does that spell when you put it all together? Oh, we’re devoted! I’m trying to give you a pattern to live your life by. You can do this for your marriage; you can do this for your family; you can be devoted at your job; with your body, you can be— but it’s gonna take all of these things. And today God said, «Could you just be My devoted disciple?»
If I could distill this all the way down, I love my dad. He told me this example and he said, «Michael, at breakfast on a farm, there’s a cow, a chicken, and a pig.» I was like, «Where in the world are you going with this story? Is this spiritual? I have no idea.» My dad always has these little deep sayings. He said, «Michael, bandwagon believers are like cows and chickens at breakfast. They give a piece of themselves: the cow gives the milk, and the chicken gives the egg. But for the pig to be at the breakfast, he has to sacrifice his life.» And when he said it, it hit me—the pig was devoted to that meal! And the cow and the chicken only had to give a piece of them when it was convenient.
And today, I’m thinking that God wants all of us not to give a piece of us. He wants us to give Him our whole life. That’s what devotion is! And this is the beautiful thing about our God: He never asks you to give something that He didn’t give first. So that’s what we celebrated last weekend—Jesus being the sacrifice and devoting Himself to us even before we devoted ourselves to Him! And today He’s saying, «Hey, I know it’s popular right now to be a Christian, but there may come a different time where it’s not. Are you still gonna ride for this? Are you still gonna pray for people? Are you still gonna give? Are you still gonna sew? Are you still gonna invite?
Will you be what Romans 1:16 says: 'I am unashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God that saved me? ' Oh, will you jump off the bandwagon when it’s not as convenient?» Today I want to pray over you—every person that’s watching—that something deep on the inside of you would not be just convinced but convicted that in light of everything that Christ has done for us, there is no way I can walk around and not be devoted to Him. If you’re watching this and you feel something in your heart stirring and you want to be devoted, just raise your hands. I’m gonna pray for you.
Father, in the name of Jesus, I declare and believe, Father God, that what you have done in this place today has painted a clearer picture of your desire for us. You want us, Father God, to embody your desires; you want us to eliminate those things that are not like you. Father, you wish to give us a clear vision; you want us, Father God, to obey you. You desire us to trust you, Father God, even in this moment. I just hear that there are people right now saying, «I was devoted in one season, but it seemed like it didn’t work.» Today, God is saying, «I am coming to restore your trust in me.» I thank you that we will trust again. God, I thank you, Father God, that people are going to begin to move from the places that have kept them down. I thank you, Father God, that everyone is going to receive a new expectation, that, Father God, we would be disciplined, and, Father, we would stand up no matter what anyone does, no matter what culture does. We say, Father, we will not be bandwagon believers, but we will be devoted disciples. Today, I pray this over everyone listening, and I thank you again that it’s not just something I have to be convinced of; it’s my new conviction. I obeyed you today in delivering this Word of God because I’m devoted to you. God, I thank you that people would stand, whether in front of two people or two hundred thousand, and they would obey you wherever they are. God, we trust you, we believe you, and we thank you for it in Jesus' name.
Come on, if you’re a devoted believer right now and a devoted disciple, why don’t you give God praise right there in your house? I feel the presence of God; something is rising up inside of you. If you are in this place and have never given your life to Christ, over 1,600 people gave it to Him last week, and God says today is your day. Make the decision to become devoted. If you give your life to Christ today, I promise you one thing: God will never leave you or forsake you. You’re talking to someone who knows because I messed up a ton of times. I was addicted to pornography, a liar, a manipulator, someone with a lot of bad things in my heart. When I gave my life to Christ and devoted myself, I said, «I’m not going to listen to money lord over me. I’m not going to allow people, fame, and all that to lord over me.» I devoted myself, and He took my broken pieces and gave me a desire. He placed me on this wheel, and my desire has turned into discipline, and I am devoted.
Today, I want to offer you that same gift. If you’re watching this right now, live or on playback, God said today is the day of salvation, and I want to pray with you. If that’s you, right now, on the count of three, wherever you are—at your table, at home, in your car, or running on the track outside—I want you to lift your hand. On the count of three: one, you’re making the greatest decision you’ve ever made; two, don’t care about who’s in the room—God is in the room with you; three, come on, just shoot your hand up in the air. If you’re watching in the chat right now, just press the button that says, «I’m raising my hand,» or simply type, «I want to be saved,» right there. Hey, listen, I’m about to pray with you, and at Transformation Church, we’re a family—we don’t pray alone. So, I want everybody to pray this prayer together for the benefit of those coming to Christ. It’s happening all over the world right now, and I’m so excited! Somebody say:
God, thank you for sending Jesus just for me. Thank you for being devoted to me when I wasn’t devoted to you. Today, I surrender my life and give you everything. Change me, renew me, transform me. I’m yours from this day forward. In Jesus' name, Amen.