Michael Todd - Forgiving Unfair (Life is Unfair)
I’m just grateful for what God is doing here at Transformation Church in the midst of 2020, which has seemed to be one of the most challenging years in human history. I see God’s hand in it, and I want to make sure that at Transformation Church, we are not swayed by culture more than we are concrete and anchored in the kingdom. So today, no matter what happened for you emotionally this week, I want you to know that you are not a citizen first of the United States of America; you are a citizen of heaven. We have responsibilities in heaven’s system and kingdom that produce results on earth as it is in heaven. So when everything’s going crazy, we have the weapon of praise.
When everything’s going nuts, we have the tool of prayer. When everything is going haywire, we can lift a hallelujah. When you understand this, it affects what happens down here. I’m just encouraging you not to forget what you come stocked with as a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. Make sure it doesn’t just reflect during this time that we’re on this stream; make sure it reflects tomorrow when you’re at work and your racist friend starts talking about the past week. Where’s your citizenship? There is no greater time for the church to be the church than right now, and this series is going to help you. I’ve got a word today, and there are so many things I want to do right now. I feel like having a praise party at this exact moment. Yikes, mom, be quiet!
Mom, Pastor Brenda right there, she will just interrupt everything. But she’s been one of those who have seen the faithfulness of God over decades. After you see God do the same thing over and over again, there’s a praise that wells up on the inside of you. I don’t know about you, but some of you haven’t seen God come through over and over, and I know some of you are sitting there thinking it was you, but it was the grace of God. I’m standing here today because of the grace of God. Yikes, some of you are too bougie to remember that you prayed and asked God, «If you get me out of this, I’ll serve you. If you change this situation, I’ll love you forever. I’ll put that away if you would just give me one more opportunity,» and you’re still here. I don’t know if it’s the camo, but I’m ready to fight.
Okay, let me stop. Whoa, all right! Good morning! Welcome to Transformation Church, where we love God and are unapologetic about the praise He deserves. The reason I’m so excited is that every year I stand in this spot, reflecting on a year of being the pastor of Transformation Church. It’s coming up on my birthday season, and I get really reflective during this time. One of the things I reflect on is the grace of God for Transformation Church. When I started leading this church almost six years ago, we didn’t have much. We had a strong vision, a few people, and we had the Holy Spirit. That’s why you always hear me say: all you have is all you need. When I look at what God has done in these six short years of ministry, it’s not Pastor Mike’s preaching ability or good systems and marketing. All of that stuff is icing on the cake.
This is a group of people with faith. Everybody say «faith.» I said say «faith,» and I dare say «crazy faith» to believe in impossible moments. One of the things this culminates in is that people say they have faith, but we reach a point as a church where we have an opportunity to really exercise or stretch our faith or prove that we have faith because the Bible tells us faith without works is dead. Every year, we have what we call an end-of-the-year offering, and this year God told me, «Michael, this is going to be a crazy faith offering.»
Again, on December 6th, I just want to let you know I’m not taking an offering right now. On December 6th, we are going to engage in one of the most spiritual acts we do as a church every year: we’re going to pray and ask God, as a family, as a couple, individually, «God, if you want to stretch my faith in the area of generosity, what do you want me to give?» People always come up to Pastor Mike and me, asking what they should give, and I say, «I don’t know; that has nothing to do with me.» Many churches try to set amounts, numbers, and all that stuff. I hear a Psalms 133 blessing right now. If you have $133, or $1.33, or $1,300, they try to do all that stuff. I don’t believe in any of that. All I believe is that if you go to God and say, «God, what am I supposed to sow? What am I supposed to do?» He’ll tell you.
From experience, He usually challenges me with a sacrificial gift. It’s not like, «Oh yeah, that’s cool.» It’s something that requires a sacrifice, and all He’s looking for is obedience. Everybody say «obedience.» I can’t go into it because I have to preach, but there have been many times that Pastor Natalie and I, as leaders of this church, have stepped out and given what we did not have to give, and I have watched God honor His word over our lives and my staff’s and members'. The stories are incredible, but you never get what’s on the other side until you obey.
So, I’m asking everyone, on December 6th, we’re going to come to this place. It’s not just about coming here physically; we’re going to gather for a holy moment. We’re gathering to show our children how to honor the house of God. I was very passionate about this during COVID and all of this other stuff: this is a holy moment. I want people to have an experience of giving. What we’ve done is prepared for an offering from November 30th through December 5th. We’ve reconstructed our lobby. Since there’s nobody here, we built three rooms, which we’re calling «experience rooms,» that will have worship music playing and different amenities. You’re just going to have to come see it.
I’ll make sure they show you some videos of it. It’s going to be a moment. I’m telling you, some of you God will prompt to drive or fly to come and actually give this gift. It will be a journey of faith, a step of faith. This isn’t for everyone, but I want to make sure that for some of you, the sacrifice you’re going to give isn’t just a click away. You won’t just be saying, «Here, Lord, take it.» Why am I saying this, Pastor Mike? Because for some of you, this is going to be the thing that changes everything.
I remember the first time God challenged me to give a thousand dollars. I did not have it, but when I saw God change my heart—not that I had to give, but I get to give—it changed my world. I don’t care about the amounts; I just want you to stretch your faith. So, I’m going to pray for everybody who wants to participate and for those who don’t want to participate. Some of you just tuned this out; that’s all good. We’re not counting people or judging what you did or didn’t do; none of that is happening. This is an opportunity—a chance for your faith to grow. I really want to tell you about something that is almost done. There are some things that God is doing at Transformation Church that are expanding the borders of what He’s calling us to do, but He needs all of us to participate.
And so, in this season, I’m going to ask you, Father—right now, I’m asking you to just touch our hearts. Father God, you’re calling us into a season of walking in faith. Father God, forgiveness requires faith, and as we step into this crazy faith offering, I thank you for touching the hearts, the minds, and the resources of those people who are part of Transformation Church. Father, this ain’t no get-rich scheme; this ain’t no prosperity gospel where you give a little and God’s gonna give a little. This is all about the heart. God, there is no pressure or compulsion. Father, we’re six weeks away or seven weeks away; we’re not trying to convince anybody. I’m just asking that you would speak to your children. Father, those who desire to give—your Word says you will give seed to the sower. So, Father, our first job is to make it up in our hearts that we want to sow. And Father, I thank you for the miracles that will be produced for us to get the seed. God bless Transformation Church; we will always be a church that is generous and full of faith. I just thank you that it’s not just for this house; it’s for every one of their houses. We give you glory, we give you honor, and we give you praise. Father, I thank you in advance for the testimonies that are coming, Father God, to people’s households as they step out in faith. We trust you, we believe you, and we thank you in Jesus' name. Everybody say, «We agree, we expect.» Amen.
Hey, can you just clap your hands all over the building and all over the world? All right, y’all ready? Today we are in week seven of a series we’re calling «Help Me F U». Now some of y’all bring that in here for me, Joe. Now, some of y’all are new to this series, okay? And y’all haven’t learned the chant we do around here, so I need everybody in the auditorium to stand up. Come on, y’all help me, and all you’re going to do because F U stands for Forgiveness University. This is a higher education for everybody. So we’re gonna do this. Tony, I need you to help me over there. You ready? We’re gonna start the drum line. You ready? One, two, three—come on, help me! Let’s take it, as you come on, go to church for me! Let’s do it! Oh, y’all acting a fool over there! Okay, okay! I got a praise, I gotta praise, and I’m gonna let it out! Oh, I hear y’all, so fake! Y’all, if y’all were at HBCU right now, y’all would be… I told people I’m gonna have fun in this series! Let’s go!
Hey, listen, week seven of Forgiveness University. I honestly did that to wake some of y’all up right there, okay? I really do believe God has given me a word today, and I do believe that church should be enjoyed, not endured. And I’m out of breath. Okay, something happened to me this week that was kind of funny. This is football season for a lot of people—college football, high school football, NFL, all that other stuff. I had some family members go to a high school playoff game, and they were all excited about going to this game. When I came to them, my question to my family member was, «Hey, did the team win the game?» Their response to me was, «The referees were horrible.» That’s not what I asked you! I said, did the team win the game? And they said to me, «They didn’t call the game fair.» It hit me that the person never answered whether they won or lost; they were always trying to let me know that it was an unfair game. I started thinking about this topic of forgiveness. I began to look at champions who actually win games, and I want you to take down this point because it’s the premise of what we’re about to go through: A true champion must always overcome unfairness.
Anyone who is actually going to be a champion will face a game where they didn’t get all the calls right. There will be games where foul play goes unseen, and there will be plays where people do the wrong things, and nobody is held accountable for it. If you’re ever going to be a true champion, a true victor, a true overcomer, you have to overcome unfair situations. As I begin to go through this, the Lord spoke to me, saying, «Michael, when it comes to forgiveness, forgiveness is only needed when you’re in an unfair situation. You don’t need forgiveness if everything was fair.» If you understand what I’m saying, and you got the real thing, forgiveness is needed. If you need an example of a champion who overcame unfairness, look no further than your example in life: Jesus.
Think about why we call Him our champion. Everything that Jesus went through for us was unfair to Him. He was beaten, blamed, betrayed, taken from His home, and dogged by people who were cheering for Him one day. He was scourged, nailed to a cross—all of this happened to Him, and He died for us. And it was all—everybody say unfair—yup. I began to think about this because we always talk about triumph and victory. This is one of our favorite scriptures, and it is very true: 2 Corinthians 2:14. I’m gonna read it out of the Amplified: «But thanks be unto God who in Christ"—everybody say in Christ—"always leads us or causes us to triumph.» Because when we’re in Christ, we’re gonna win. When we’re in Christ, we’re gonna get the victory. We’re gonna triumph when we’re in Christ. He says, «When we triumph, we are as trophies of Christ’s victory.» That’s why He wants us to triumph over situations that are bad, unprofitable, and unfair. He wants us to win because these are the trophies—we and you are the trophies—of His goodness on the earth.
It says it spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere. How will the world know that He’s real? It’s that we can overcome unfair situations. But this is what I began to think: we always talk about triumph and going to our next victory. Write this down: triumph means victory. Victory—you may have never thought about this—means battle. We’re going from victory to victory, which means we’re going from battle to battle. God is taking me to another level, and I’m going to see a victory! That means He’s taking you to another battle, and you’re going to see a victory! I’m going to the next level in my company, and I’m going to see victory! I’m going to the next battle in my company, and I’m going to see a victory! I’m going to be successful in my marriage, and I’m going to battle in my marriage!
I want to frame this so that you can always see that triumph, which we have in Christ Jesus, means victory, but you never get a victory if you never have a battle. So, the battle is a prerequisite for the victory. I know nobody’s praying those prayers: «Thank you, Lord, that next week is going to be the greatest battle of my life.» What do we say? «Thank you, Lord, that next week is gonna be the greatest victory of my life.» I’m fine with you saying that as long as you know the victory’s on the other side of the battle.
Okay, now watch this last part: triumph means victory, victory means battle, and battles are always unfair. «All’s fair in love and war,» is that what they say? Love and war? Because when you’re going against somebody and you’re trying to win, you’ll do anything to beat them. That’s why some of the husbands and wives right now, when y’all get in a heated argument, you start bringing up things that you know are low blows. Yeah, I don’t cook that good, but that’s why your ear is little! I told you that one time I had insecurities about my ear. When you’re in a battle, you don’t fight fair! You’ve never been in a battle where it’s like, «Now everybody do the right thing and keep your hands to yourself.» No! In a battle, unfairness always happens.
What happens when there’s unfairness? You have offense. When somebody does something to you that is unjust, that lacks mercy, or does not consider you, I have a very high opportunity to be offended. Therefore, if I’m going from battle to battle, there’s always going to be a chance that someone’s going to do something to me that is unfair, that something is going to happen to me that is unwarranted. Now, what do I do with that offense? The reason that most people don’t forgive is that no one has acknowledged that what happened to them was unfair. I’ll say it again: the reason most people do not forgive is that no one in their life has ever acknowledged that what happened to you was unfair. So, you hold on to it, trying to protect yourself for dear life: «I’m never going to let my family forget what they did to me.» They don’t even know! But because no one in your life ever acknowledged that it was not fair, you feel like you have to protect yourself.
Today, I want to give you the title of my sermon, which I believe by the power of the Holy Spirit is about to free some people today: «Forgiving Unfair.» Yup! Because what happened to you was unfair. Today, I’m gonna be your dad, I’m gonna be your therapist, I’m gonna be your mom, I’m gonna be that first relationship. What they did to you was unfair; you didn’t deserve it. You didn’t do anything to qualify for it, but you still got it. The reason you’ve been holding on to it and trying to have some type of control is that nobody ever came and acknowledged that this was so wrong and unfair.
Can I give you my second point? It’s very simple, but I need you to think about it: unfair is never fair. You can never make fair out of an unfair situation, and that’s what we do to cope. Well, I know my daddy had some real issues, there was drug abuse and different things happening, so I know he couldn’t be there for me. I know he was doing the best he could. No! It was unfair that he had a child and was not there for it! You cannot make fair out of unfair. You didn’t ask to be born; you didn’t ask for this. You were born into a fallen world where people made decisions, and it was unfair that you had to go to all your graduations and nobody was there.
I’m coming to validate you today; it was unfair that your brother and sister got all the accolades because they did sports, and your family is a sports family. You were more about academics. You didn’t get the attention. They didn’t show up for your spelling bee because it was unfair. It was unfair that they didn’t give you an opportunity to use your gifts in that church because you’d been there all that time, and you were developing slowly, but they only put up the superstars. It’s unfair that they didn’t see the gifting that God was growing in you, and they were comparing your seed to a tree. It’s unfair what you went through. It’s unfair that you were treated how you were treated in your family. It’s unfair that the burden of being a single mother and caring for your child with special needs all by yourself—that’s unfair! It’s unfair that you trusted that leader and they took advantage of you because you were loyal. It’s unfair that the record company did not use and promote you the way you were supposed to be promoted. It’s unfair that that business passed you over for promotion because of your skin color! It’s unfair!
I’m just trying to connect with someone right now. It’s unfair that it took all these years to get a woman in the highest seat in our country! That’s unfair! But what do I do with it when it’s my reality? It’s my reality. I’m here. I’m hurt. I’m broken, and it’s unfair! The thing that I’m saying, and trying to get everybody to connect with, is because the only way to fix something is to validate it first. You can never fix anything if you don’t validate that it’s real! I ain’t got no daddy issues! Maybe you’re broke; you’ve been broke! You’re not working for success because you just want a comfortable life. You’re working to prove yourself to your father who’s dead! If you don’t acknowledge that and validate how you feel, you can’t fix it!
That’s all God’s trying to do—to illuminate the stuff in your life! And you’re like, «No, no, no, that ain’t it.» You’ve been from man to man to man to man, and you don’t have a problem with insecurity! «I’m confident! I’m a bad bleep! I can do whatever I want! I’ll step back in bags and daisy bags!» We see the little girl who didn’t get presents, so now you provide for yourself and flash all this stuff. But does it keep you warm at night? All I’m saying is, if you act like it’s not valid in your life, and we don’t validate it, it can’t be fixed.
That’s why John 16:33— I want to help somebody get peace. Jesus said, «I’ve told you all of this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you will have many unfair situations happen. You’re going to have so many battles, so many trials, and so many sorrows. It’s going to be unfair everywhere.» If you’re breathing, something’s gonna happen to you that is unfair! Let’s just take it. Has anybody had anything happen to them this year that you felt was unfair? Come on, hands! Just lift them up! Okay, so that’s everybody! The Word is true! But look what it tells you: «But take heart! Because I, Jesus, have already overcome the world.» That’s why we need to identify today if we’re really just going to talk about forgiving or if we’re actually going to do the things that it takes to identify the areas in our life where it’s been unfair and it’s hard to forgive.
Let me help you; it is hard to forgive when your wife walks out on you, when she cheats on you with somebody else, or your husband cheats on you with somebody else. That is unfair, and it’s hard to forgive! I’m not talking about no magic tricks. Y’all see some people—this is too deep for me! Do you want to be healed? I’m trying to give you life today! But that means we’re going to have to forgive the unfair. There are two teams playing; there’s a battle I talked about. You know we’re here at Forgiveness University. You and I found that there’s another university that most of y’all think you signed up for this university, but you signed up for Fake Forgiveness University. You didn’t sign up for Forgiveness University; you signed up for Fake Forgiveness University, and people have degrees in fake forgiveness.
Some of y’all think you have forgiven; you see the little posts on Instagram, and you think, «I did that three years ago.» But let me show you. People who are in fake forgiveness university are prideful. In contrast, those in forgiveness university understand their need for God and are humble. Okay, I want you to identify yourself. I’m not telling you where you are; I just need you to recognize your position. People in fake forgiveness university keep count of offenses. How many people have you tallied for how many times they’ve messed you over? Those in forgiveness university lose count of offenses. Remember that «70 times seven» that Jesus requires of us? That wasn’t to keep score; it was to lose count. People in fake forgiveness university believe that forgiveness is optional. «I’ll forgive when I get ready; I’ll forgive when they apologize; I’ll forgive when, blah, blah, blah.»
The thing you need to know about people in forgiveness university is they understand forgiveness is mandatory. People in fake forgiveness university give people what they deserve, but if you’re in forgiveness university, you give people grace they don’t deserve. If you’re in fake forgiveness university, you focus on the faults of others, but if you’re in forgiveness university, you concentrate on the forgiveness provided by our Father. One last thing: if you’re in fake forgiveness university, I want you to identify yourself. Forgiveness is only acceptable when circumstances are fair, but in forgiveness university, forgiveness comes when circumstances are unfair. I need to help you forgive despite unfairness. I asked the Holy Spirit, «How can I help people?» Because when I start to think about all the unfair situations in my own life, I begin to feel really upset; many emotions arise when I reflect on the injustices I faced. God gave me one of the most vivid, 3D versions of a Bible story I’ve ever encountered, and I hope it helps you today.
Today we’re going to look at the story of Joseph because he had to learn how to forgive despite unfairness. Now, y’all know Joseph’s story, right? Joseph, the young boy with the coat of many colors, his daddy gave him that Gucci jacket, and he was flaunting it. One day, he came to his brothers, who didn’t really like him anyway, particularly because their father favored Joseph due to him being born in his old age. He came flaunting his Gucci jacket and told his brothers about this dream he had, saying, «Yo, one day I saw y’all kind of bowing to me.» His brothers were like, «Fool, what’d you say? Don’t ever say that again, or I’m going to bust you in your face!» Joseph thought, «Oh snap!» But then he came back again because he had another dream from God and couldn’t help but tell them. He said, «Y’all were kind of bowing to me again.» Even his dad was like, «That’s a little interesting,» and the Bible says Joseph’s brothers harbored contempt, hate, and offense in their hearts against him. They had so much hatred that one day, when Joseph’s father sent him to check on them, they saw him from a distance and plotted to kill him. Now, that’s some real hate when you see your brother and think, «Should we slit his throat or what?» They literally made a plan to rob him unfairly of his future.
Now, I have to say this: some of you are sitting here right now, and there have been situations that have tried to rob you unfairly of your future. I know we don’t talk about that much, but those brothers planned to kill Joseph. So, what they did was throw him into a pit, basically. While he was down there, one brother suggested they should leave him to die, thinking, «we don’t want that blood on our hands.» Then another brother saw a caravan of people and said, «Let’s not just hurt him; let’s profit from this.» They pulled him out of the pit and sold him into slavery. Joseph had done nothing to them but share a dream; it doesn’t seem right, and he was sold into Egypt.
The thing about Joseph is that throughout his entire life, just like you, he had several opportunities to sit in the chair of unfairness. What he experienced from his brothers was betrayal. And what happens to all of us in unfair situations? The first chair of unfair you must avoid is the chair of betrayal. Your family members betrayed you. The reason I call it betrayal is that you can only betray someone if there’s already trust involved. Some people haven’t betrayed you; they’ve simply hurt or frustrated you. You can only be betrayed by those close enough to cut you deep. We don’t talk about this much because it really hurts, but many of us have been sitting in the chair of betrayal, feeling it was unfair because they didn’t tell us who our father was. It’s unfair that our siblings turned on us in a situation and revealed something we never told anyone else. It’s unfair that that co-worker exposed us during a moment of frustration. The enemy wants you to sit in the seat of betrayal, and some of you may be 30, 40, 50, or 60 years old, becoming so comfortable in this seat.
We think, «Do I have a plan for my life?» No, I’ve been betrayed! Don’t ask me about purpose because at the last church I was at, I was betrayed. I trusted that worship leader. I trusted that pastor. I trusted that kids' worker. You never gave me back because I’ve been betrayed! And people spend decades of their lives not fulfilling God’s purpose because they’d rather sit in the seat of betrayal than finish the call on their lives. What if Joseph, after his brothers sold him out on the way to Egypt, had said, «That’s it for me; God must not have a plan for my life. I’ve been betrayed by people I knew»? Do you understand that Joseph was only 17 years old when this happened? He could not fully process what he was going through, and literally, the most traumatic thing in his life happened to him. The brothers he had played and eaten with betrayed him so deeply.
But here’s something interesting: Joseph did not remain seated in betrayal. He somehow kept moving through his unfair situation. I’m trying to figure out if overcoming has to do with continuing to move forward even when it’s unfair. Let me help you with this: Joseph was in an unfair situation after being betrayed by his brothers. I have to go through this quickly because I need you to see it. Then he was sold into slavery by the caravan that took him to Egypt and sold to Potiphar.
Potiphar is one of the royal guards, and he starts to recognize the anointing on Joseph’s life, putting him in charge of many responsibilities. The Bible tells us in Genesis 39:7 that Joseph was a handsome man—a handsome Black man, perhaps. Maybe I just made that up, but he was indeed handsome. One day, while Joseph was working, Potiphar’s wife—a cougarlike older woman—developed an infatuation for younger men. Literally, every day, the Bible tells us that while Joseph was doing his work, she would implore him, «Come sleep with me!» This is how it plays out in my mind: every day she’d be like, «You want some of this? I’ve got what you want, what you need.» Joseph would respond, «Woman, do you not understand that in this unfair situation, I have found success? I’m not about to let anyone mess that up for me.» One day, Joseph found himself in a precarious situation and was pinned down by the cougar. He said, «Woman, get off of me!» Somehow, he managed to escape, but she held onto his coat and began screaming, «Ah! He’s trying to get my goodies!» The Bible says she screamed until Potiphar arrived, telling him to throw Joseph in jail, claiming he tried to rape her.
If I were Joseph, I would have been on the run, but I would have heard the accusations and thought, «This isn’t fair. I was betrayed by my brothers, and now I’m being falsely accused.» The enemy attempts to place you in the seat of blame to keep you from forgiving, saying, «Look how unfair this is!» Now I have been painted as the angry Black man, labeled for things I didn’t do. I won’t pursue what God has called me to because I’m going to take a seat in blame. My family betrayed me, and now I’m blamed. I’m not serving God or forgiving anyone. Blame feels somewhat good; I can avoid responsibility for my actions and shift the blame onto everyone else: my family, socioeconomic status, the white man, the Black man, the Republicans, the Democrats—everyone is at fault. I’ll stay here. I refuse to forgive. This is just too unfair—I ran away from it and still got blamed when I didn’t even smoke or touch anything, yet I still got blamed, and I thought, «Forget that, I’m not going to forgive.»
What I need you to understand is that God wants you to forgive unfairly. Some of us are forfeiting our ultimate plan, which is another way of saying «fu"—forfeiting what God wants to do because we choose to sit in the chair of unfairness. And you know the crazy thing about sitting in blame is that it becomes a cycle—it’s your fault, and your fault, and your fault. I’m not saying others bear no responsibility, but if you don’t move from this chair and find comfort here, what happens is that you replay the situation, and it begins to alter your character. If I were Joseph, I could have been one of those people thinking, «Damn, this is unfair! Maybe I should have done this or that,» and you start compromising your integrity. «Maybe I should have lashed out or taken revenge, since I’m going to get blamed anyway.»
This is a place of blame, and just like his brothers betrayed him, he was blamed by Potiphar’s wife. After that blame, he ended up in jail. It wasn’t like Potiphar said, «Hey bro, I understand. My wife can be wild, and this situation isn’t great; we’ve been working on it.» No, he suffered full consequences for something he didn’t do, and this is where the enemy tries to trip us up. I believe by the power of the Holy Spirit, He will help some people rise from these chairs—people who have been betrayed and blamed. Joseph was able to remain effective even in unfair situations. Now in jail, he’s not in the seat of blame; he’s still nimble and available to be used by God. When you don’t sit in that chair, you’re not confined by what it represents. If you remain close to blame, you want to stay there; you may complain a bit but won’t remain trapped in that position.
Joseph didn’t sit, and everyone would tell him he had every right to if he sought counsel from you. You might say, «Yeah, I’d do the same; I’d lash out or leave that church.» But Joseph didn’t do that. Similarly, when you’re betrayed, it’s easy to find others who’ve also been wronged. You can form connections based on dysfunction—"Come, sit with me because you understand.» We end up building friendships around our shared grievances. People discussing how they’d handle situations differently, but never actually being in those shoes. That’s how we find ourselves in relationships centered around dysfunction.
You can always find someone who agrees with your blame and dysfunction. I need you to hear me: What if Joseph had reacted differently when he was wronged, while sitting in jail with a cupbearer and a baker who had dreams needing interpretation? What if he said, «I don’t care about your dreams; I’m stuck here because I was wronged»? But because Joseph chose not to wallow in blame, he was open to being used by God. God still wants to use you, even in unfair situations. Joseph was in jail—these two men came with dreams, and he said, «Hey, if you share your dreams with me, I’ll tell you what God says.»
The cupbearer heard good news—he’d be restored to the palace, while the baker received bad news—he would be hanged. After interpreting their dreams, Joseph, having been deeply wronged, asked the cupbearer to remember him when he got out, hoping to escape his unjust circumstances. Yet, after getting out, the cupbearer completely forgot about Joseph for two years. Joseph was 17 when the unfair treatment began and found himself a decade into this trial, facing abandonment, betrayal, and blame.
Do you know what? Many people are living in the chair of being bypassed. While they may not have been betrayed or blamed, they feel overlooked. They say, «Why don’t they see me? My worth is overlooked,» and the enemy wants to keep you in that chair. For two years, Joseph sat in jail, probably feeling forgotten, as the cupbearer gave him «no other thought.» The unfairness of being ignored is painful: «It’s unfair they didn’t acknowledge me or celebrate my achievements, they forgot my birthday, or that they called me selfish when I helped them.» It is indeed unfair, but the question remains: are you going to sit in it? Are you going to remain trapped?
I understand it’s hard, but even these chairs can become lifelong prisons. Many people are still in these chairs because they never forgave, never moved past the offense, never allowed the transformative work of Christ to change them. They’re still sitting there, no matter their age. If you’ve been bypassed, if you’ve been overlooked due to age or race, come on in; just sit for a moment. I want everyone to see—it doesn’t matter who you are, where you’ve been, or what has happened, all people have faced betrayal, blame, or being bypassed.
Stay seated there, and the enemy will bring people to encourage you to hold on to that bitterness. «No, don’t let go! They don’t deserve you at Thanksgiving, they don’t deserve your relationships.» And that’s how it goes. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! Don’t, don’t, don’t let them go with that blame. I know God forgave you for everything that you’ve done, but please receive something that you won’t give away. No, no, no, no! They’re never going to see you, so don’t see anybody else. Start looking over people like they looked over you. Start comparing and competing, because if they don’t see you, prove to them! Make them see you! Overcompensate! Become something that you’re not so that people who bypassed you will never bypass you again.
Now your motivation is not purpose; it’s pain. Your motivation is no longer, «What is God trying to do? How is He trying to do it?» It’s the pain that I’ve experienced. Look at Joseph’s life: he’s betrayed by his brothers, he’s blamed by Potiphar for his wife, he’s bypassed by the one person who was supposed to remember him. And what happens is Joseph, in that moment, is sitting there, and he probably thinks, «Yo, this sucks!» Somehow, out of everything that happened to him, he still was able to stay usable by God.
My question to you is: are you still usable by God even though the situation is unfair? Can I tell you how I know he was usable by God? It’s because two years later, Pharaoh had a dream, and nobody could interpret the dream—the magicians, the soothsayers—nobody could interpret it. Then the cupbearer finally has an «aha!» moment. It’s like, «Bro, there is this guy named Joseph. When I was down there, he was the one who told me that everything was going to be okay.» My bad, I forgot about him, but he could probably help you. They called him up, they changed his clothes immediately, they put him in an upgraded situation, they brought him before the king, and the king said, «Can you tell me what this dream means?»
Most people, after all of the pain that happened to them, even when they get to the palace, are so jaded that they don’t even want to use their gifting anymore. «Oh, you know it! I’ve been betrayed, I’ve been blamed, I’ve been bypassed! I don’t care who you are! I don’t care if this is the opportunity that God’s been promising me! I don’t care! I will keep from you what God has given me because I won’t forgive—it was unfair what happened to me, so you’re not going to get what God gave to me!»
The crazy thing about it is that wasn’t Joseph’s response. Joseph had learned how to forgive unfairly to the point where he was still usable. God could speak to him, and it did not have all of his experiences on it. When God speaks to you, does it have your experiences on it? Is it pure, or is it defiled by all of the stuff inside you? Let me give you a real example. Because all of these things happened when I went to build my first home, Natalie and I were a young couple. We had a couple of dollars saved up. I was in the process—Bishop Gary’s here—I was in the process of becoming the lead pastor of the church, and I ran into a bad contractor. I ran into a contractor from hell! I ran into a situation that was the most horrible experience.
In that situation, I was betrayed because I trusted him. They went to the church. «Aren’t you a Christian, bro? Don’t you love God?» So I was betrayed because there was trust. I was blamed for things that didn’t happen, and literally, we went to have a meeting to work it out, and before we got to the meeting with Bishop—Bishop, am I telling the truth right now? Okay, you’re in here, you know what happened. He had already taken a lien out on my house before we talked. He said, «I’m going to bypass his character and what we talked about,» and I had a lien on my house for two and a half years while I was paying—if anybody knows anything about houses, it was a construction loan—and I was making interest payments only. So for a house that was supposed to cost me eight hundred dollars a month, we were paying almost three thousand dollars in interest every month.
Now, y’all, I was broke, broke! I wasn’t even—I wasn’t noble; I didn’t have anything! I had no book, no relationships; I was just trying to hold on to Natalie. Ramen noodles were like, «What are we eating tonight?» You know what I’m saying? The dollar menu was dinner, lunch, and breakfast, okay? And literally, watch this! The whole time I was there, I was preaching more than I’d ever preached in my life. I was on the platform every Sunday. What ended up happening is that after I got out of that situation, two weeks before I became the lead pastor of Transformation Church, my parents came into a little bit of money and loaned Natalie and me the money to get out of this lien situation that we had already wasted almost thirty thousand dollars on that we’ll never see again.
God did not come and smite him. I mean, I prayed that several times: «Father, just from on high, come down and smite him.» You know when you start using Bible words to kill people? «Smite them, Lord, thine!» Now I had to pay for it after I’d been betrayed, blamed, and bypassed. What I found out, y’all, is that God was trying to figure out in me, before I took this church, how much I could take without letting the bitterness come out through me to the people. I had to forgive unfairly, and the only reason Joseph was able to interpret the dream for Pharaoh is that all along the way, he was forgiving every unfair situation!
Now, can I tell you where it culminates? Remember who betrayed him? It was his brothers! A famine comes into the land, and that’s revealed in this dream that he has. Y’all, the reason why this is taking so long is that this is almost nine chapters of the Bible that I’m paraphrasing for you. You should go back and read it for yourself! But this is the thing that happened: there was a famine in the land, and God gave Joseph the insight to tell Pharaoh, «Hey, we need to save up for seven years because there’s going to be famine for seven years, and that’s when we’re going to be able to do stuff.» Because he was open—because he didn’t sit in any of these chairs and stay in them—he was able to be used by God.
Pharaoh was like, «Yo, is there anybody else as smart as him?» «Nope! You are now number two!» Now, watch this: from the prison to the palace! He was still usable by God! One night from prison to palace, because he did not sit and stay in any of these chairs! I’m telling somebody, your situation’s about to change. If you will not let the betrayal, the blame, and people bypassing you keep you there, you’re going for the upgrade! Somebody say, «The upgrade!» He got the ultimate upgrade. But the test wasn’t over. See, most people think success means you’ve won. He’s second in command over the entire land, but the test is really about to come because his brothers and his father fell into famine as well.
Now he’s sitting in the seat of power. Now you’re not helpless anymore; now you’ve got your stuff together! Now you’ve got a friend group; now you’re doing some things. He’s in a seat of power, and the people who betrayed him now need his blessing. What do you do when the people who betrayed you, blamed you, and bypassed you now need your blessing? This is where most believers forfeit it all! I don’t care what you say to me; this last chair of unfairness I’m sitting in—it’s the chair of bitterness! Because you betrayed me, you blamed me, and you bypassed me, and now I’m bitter. What do you need, huh? Are you talking to me? You remember the same person. Oh, y’all are going to act like you don’t know!
Oh, you mean the same person you passed up? Are you talking about the same person you didn’t want to pick for the team? You talk about the same person that you wouldn’t give a job? Now you need help, huh? Can you please make a presentation of why I should—y’all know how we be acting so prideful—could you please let me know why I should give you an opportunity after everything that you’ve done? After being—excuse me, I was trying to figure out if you deserve my forgiveness. Oh, y’all want to be for real? When we sit in the seat of bitterness, the ultimate plan of God for our life gets thwarted because they don’t deserve it. Come on, sit in the seat of bitterness with me!
Now he has people he pays that could be bitter with him. Come on, come on, sit in the seat of bitterness with me! Yeah, these are people I pay! You’re a mother; you could nurture! Oh, y’all know that’s what families do. It’s generational bitterness that we pass on from one generation to the next. So you were mad at them, and that’s why we don’t mess with Uncle such-and-such, and that’s why this happened. Now I start carrying the offense and the bitterness it passes on to another generation. And for many of us, the racism in your household is nurtured; this was nurtured; this was pacified. The financial poverty in your life was nurtured; the fears and the insecurities—no! You nurtured your children! You were nurtured to feel this way!
So now I’m just going to sit in bitterness. I’m going to let you prove to me! And Joseph somehow figured out how to navigate all these chairs. He figured out how to forgive unfairly! I’m not saying that it was easy; I’m not saying that he probably didn’t pop down in one of these chairs every once in a while. I’m not trying to act like this is—he was struggling in this bitterness season! He put them through a whole situation! He was like, «Go back and tell your brother to bring Benjamin; bring the other boy, and then bring him back! And then go get your daddy!» But he was probably asking himself, «Am I going to be bitter? Am I actually going to be used by God? Am I actually going to be a blessing? Am I actually going to reach my purpose, or am I going to sit in the seat of bitterness?»
Everybody understand what I’m trying to say? We have to navigate on our journey with God. People are going to mess you up, and you’re going to have opportunities to be betrayed. But I gotta move around it, and I wanna sit in this blame, but I gotta get up out of it! I gotta be able to navigate people who bypass me, and I gotta be able to sidestep bitterness so that I can reach my purpose. Okay, can I help you? I know I’m way over time, but somebody needs this! Somebody’s pulling on me right now! This was from this point 17 to this point 39: 22 years of forgiving unfairly—22! I want you to think about being thrown into the pit by the people you trusted. All the way now, you’re sitting here with their lives in your hands! You tried to control my life, and now I have control over yours.
Could God trust you with your offender? I’m not asking; I’m not saying it may never happen, but I’m just asking you: Could God trust you? Have you forgiven? All y’all self-righteous people acting like you don’t need this series? Okay, go, go! Could God trust you with the life of the person who betrayed you? Y’all know I can never talk to you about something that God’s not ever working in my heart. That man who did us wrong—when I tell you he played us, Mama said, «Yeah, he did!» Everything she said sounded spiritual, and I was just like, «Yeah, he played us.» I mean, played us so bad to the point where I’d paid for heat and air, and at that moment we prayed for a new furnace. It was the coldest winter Tulsa had seen in like a decade, and we had just brought Isabella home, our first baby. We went to turn on the heat, and it said, «Clunk!» He never put in the heat in our house!
For the first months of my daughter’s life—she was born in September—this was about January! The first few months of her life, we had seven or eight space heaters, and we slept in full clothing. Beanies, gloves, two pairs of socks. This was literally seven years ago! And then that man’s son showed up at my doorstep three years ago. Natalie was like, «Mike, Mike!» I was like, «What?» He was like, «Hey, um, I just needed some help.» Because he knew where we lived; he used to come for the job site. And when his son needed help after I’d been betrayed and there was still no resolve—"You got my money; you didn’t do the job; you didn’t"—now I had something that mattered to him. And what was going to come out? I said, «Hey bro, ride with me to the bank.» And I went to the bank and blessed the socks off of that little boy—not because I wanted to; it was because I remembered what God had done for me. And what I’m telling somebody right now, I know it’s hard to even think about, but if you’re ever going to walk in the blessing that God has called you to be, you’re gonna have to forgive people who have done things to you that were unfair! It’ll never be fair!
It’ll never be right; they may never apologize. But will you not just give him the moment? No, you give him the momentum God placed in your life. Don’t sit. Hebrews 12:15 says, «See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.» When you let bitterness be the root of your success, the root of where you move, or the root of the political party you support, if you let bitterness be the reason why you form friends—"I only mess with Black people because they get me"—hold on.
Was that formed in the root of bitterness? I’m not saying all your friends are Black, but is the reason they are all Black because somebody did your family wrong who was White? If the root of it is bitterness, destruction will follow. I need everybody to go back and identify the why and what you do, because if the root of it is bitter, if the root of why you’re so successful is bitterness because they never saw you, if the root of why you give so much is that nobody ever gave to you—I’m just telling you, you can be doing the right thing the wrong way. You can be serving God out of trying to do good and prove your salvation, but if the root of it is bitter… So, Pastor Mike, what do I do?
Okay, I’ve got to give this to you really fast—three things I found in Joseph’s life. If you’re going to forgive unfairly, the first thing you have to do is, no matter what’s going on, believe God is with you. Even in the unfair situations, look what it says in Genesis 39:2. It literally says it in every one; I can’t list them all, but it says, «The Lord was with Joseph.» So in the midst of betrayal, He was with Joseph. In the midst of them blaming him, He was with Joseph. When they bypassed him, God was sitting right there with him. When they tried to make him bitter, God was right there. Somebody needs to say, «God is with me.» Say it again, «God is with me.» No matter the blame, betrayal, bitterness, or the bypass, God is with you. And because God is with you, watch this: it says he succeeded in everything he did in an unfair situation. As he served in the home of the Egyptian master, Potiphar noticed. People will notice and realize that the Lord is with him, and it gave him success in everything he did.
Isaiah 41:10 says, «Fear not, for I am with you.» This is God prophetically speaking to somebody right now in an unfair situation. Fear not! They left you; they played you; they did you wrong. Fear not, I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. I just feel God telling somebody the situation is unfair, but God is with you. Somebody say it again: «God is with me.» I don’t care what seat you are tempted to stay in, God is saying, «I am with you.» The next thing I learned when I looked at Joseph’s story—watch this; this is important—being in an unfair situation doesn’t release you from your responsibility. When we’re in an unfair situation, we feel entitled to not produce. It’s unfair, so I don’t have to do anything. God said, «My plan for you didn’t change.»
Did you know that Joseph…see, this is where either you believe the scripture or you don’t. Romans 8 says all things—even the betrayal, all things—even the blame, all things—even the bypass of even the bitterness—are working together. God does not take off the… He didn’t relieve me from preaching when I was going through the betrayal. He didn’t allow me and Natalie to stop pursuing purpose in ministry when we found out MJ had autism. That is not fair that my son turned five last week and can’t speak a complete sentence to me. That’s not fair, but it didn’t take the responsibility God sent me here with off the plate. I could sit in blame; I could sit and blame God, blame the doctors, blame everybody else, and not be able to get up here and help you. I could, but I had to forgive unfairly. I sat in the seat for a while; I stayed in it for a minute.
Let me be clear with you: I tried to blame it. I don’t want to act like I was—oh no, I didn’t—no, I was pissed. I was mad at God; I was mad at the situation. I tried to blame everybody. Was it me? Was it Natalie? Was it the shots? Was it all this other stuff? And God said, «But while I’m working all of this out, I need you to be working. I know it’s unfair, but I didn’t take away what I put on you.» Some of y’all are sitting in stuff thinking that the responsibility God sent you here with is now excused because the season is hard. But God is saying, «The season is hard and I’m still good. The season is jacked up and I’m with you. I did not take my hand off of you just because the situation is unfair.»
And some of you have been sitting, trying to defer your responsibility, and God’s saying, «I still got work for you to do.» Every step of the way, Joseph had something to do when he was betrayed; he had something to do when he was blamed; he had something to do when he was bypassed. He had to interpret a dream even when he was bitter; he had to bless his brothers. I’ve got to move. James 1:12 says, «Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial.» Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial, because having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him. So hold on, man; what am I supposed to do? Believe that God is with me, keep moving in situations, and take my responsibility even though it sucks.
This is the last thing I found about Joseph. This one’s a little raw. If you’re going to forgive unfairly, you’re going to have to serve when it sucks. Serve when it sucks. He’s in prison. Prison! He did, watch this, nothing wrong. I would have been in prison because I might have touched Potiphar’s wife. Oh, y’all gonna be fake? I might! I mean, she’s there every day, so there could have been some fault. I want you to get this: Joseph did nothing wrong. He’s sitting in prison, and he still was asked by God to use his gifts. Will you sing when it sucks? Will you pray for people when it sucks? Oh, excuse me, I’ve got a good one: will you pray for the president when it sucks? It’s so crazy that a whole group of people is ready to pray for the president, but you didn’t pray for the one that’s there now. But then that group is ready to stop praying for the president because it’s not the one.
What? When it sucks, will you still serve? Will you still give? Will you still love? Will you still forgive unfairly? Joseph was able to serve even when it sucked, when it wasn’t fair, when they did him wrong. Colossians 3:23 says, «Work willingly.» I figured it out, Charles; he wasn’t serving the cupbearer; he wasn’t serving the baker; he wasn’t serving Potiphar or Potiphar’s wife; he wasn’t serving his brothers; he wasn’t serving any of them; he was serving the Lord. Work willingly at whatever you do as though you were working for the Lord rather than for the people who can betray you, blame you, bypass you, or make you feel bitter. I don’t know who you are, but you’ve been pulling on me all week; your next thing in moving in the progression of forgiveness is us validating that what happened to you was unfair. It’s unfair.
Somebody this week needs to write down every unfair thing that happened to you and let me say it—this was not supposed to happen to you. That was a breach of trust; that was wrong; it was unfair. But the thing I’m telling you now is you don’t have to sit there. You don’t have to stay there; you can forgive unfairly. One more thing—this is a bonus right here, because somebody needs this: Genesis 41:50. The reason I know that he was able to continue to forgive through this whole situation is that in the land, when he got the upgrade, he got a wife and then he had two kids. And the Bible, for some reason, you’ve got to see the details in Genesis 41:50, says that during this time before the first time of the famine years, two sons were born to Joseph and his wife.
And verse 51 says Joseph named his older son Manasseh; for he said—now watch, he hadn’t met his brothers yet. None of this happened, but this is how he’s able to keep his posture: he named his son, «God has made me forget all the troubles of everyone in my father’s family.» Huh? Hold on, I was so clear through the betrayal, the blame, and the bypass that what I named my next season was, «God has been faithful to make me forget what that was.» And he named a second son—I’m preaching right now—he named him Ephraim, which means «God has made me fruitful in the land of my grief.» God made me fruitful where you thought I was gonna die in the pit you threw me in. I was able to succeed when you tried to blame me for something I didn’t do. God made me fruitful in the place of my grief. What I want you to know is: don’t name out of your pain.
What if Joseph would have named what he was able to birth in a better season based on what he had been through? Don’t name it out of your pain. I know this is a jacked-up season, but name it preparation. Don’t name it the failure. I know they left you, but name it a practice round. Don’t put a name on it that sums up—why are you saying that? Because God can’t deliver if you’ve already decided this is the worst thing that ever happened to me and nothing is going to come out of it. I’m going to stay depressed, and I’m going to stay in anxiety. God says, «I’m a gentleman; I can only move if you let me come in.» But if you’ve already decided this is going to be that—Joseph never decided that God couldn’t use the unfair. Yeah, that’s it—he never decided. He never said, «I’m gonna hold on to this forever,» «I’m gonna never let this go.»
What are you trying to say, Pastor Mike? Don’t put a period where God has put a comma. After the betrayal, God said, «Next part of the story.» After the blame, comma, «Next part of the story.» After the bypass, comma—Nick, what if Joseph would have put a period there? This is it; we wouldn’t be talking about him today. So much to go through. I’ve got to stop. Thank you, Lord. Okay, so all I’m trying to get you to see is surrender your chair. I just think, like, if you’ve been sitting in this chair, what our Savior did on the cross is he sat in the chair of betrayal. He took up all the space in that chair so that you would never have to sit. He was blamed for what he didn’t do; he resolved every bit of blame so you wouldn’t have to say it. He was bypassed by even the ones he called disciples. Do you remember?
He forgave unfairly when he washed Judas’s feet. He’s the one who told him, «Hurry, go do what you’ve got to do,» because what you’re doing is a part of the plan that God has for me. It’s part of the purpose, so I’ll wash your feet and then let you go betray me. He tasted the cup of bitterness so that if you accept Jesus, you can get up out of the chair. Come on, get up! If you accept Jesus, you can get out of the chair. If you accept Jesus, you can get up out of the chair. If you accept Jesus, you can get out of the chair. And what happens when you forgive? Freedom happens! Now you can walk around; now you can move freely.
Now there are no limits to what God can do in your life when you’re able to forgive unfairly. I don’t know who I’m talking to right now, but you need to accept what Christ has done for you. Y’all just stay up here; we just—this is all just—stay right here. The most beautiful part about this story that I really want to work on, but I can’t right now, is that in Genesis 45, Joseph’s brothers come up to him and he says, «I can’t take it no more; it’s me! It’s the one you betrayed. It’s the one you thought you killed. It’s the one that you didn’t think much of back then; it’s me! And everything that culture says to me is I should hold it against you.» But look what Joseph does; look at it. Genesis 45, let’s go to verse 3. «I am Joseph,» he said to his brothers. «Is my father still alive?» I haven’t seen him in 22 years! But his brothers were speechless. Your offenders don’t know what to say when they get called out, speechless. They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in front of them.
Verse 5, this is where he says to them, «Forgive yourselves for selling me to this place, I have forgiven unfairly so much that now I have the perspective it was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives.» Every unfair situation was not a setback; it was a setup to be able to preserve generations. Verse 8: now his perspective is getting even better. It was good, and it was God who sent me here. And I do, baby, you don’t get to claim this victory. You might have been a part of this, but you don’t get to claim what God is doing. He is the one who made me the advisor, the manager of this entire place, and the governor of all Egypt.
Last point: your unfair situation surrendered to God is not a destination; it’s a direction. Every situation directed Joseph to his ultimate purpose. Every unfair situation was a part of that direction. How do I get Joseph from a different country all the way to being number two in charge over Egypt? I have to send some unfair situations; I have to allow people not to see exactly who they are. It’s not the devil because I’m with him every time. I didn’t leave him; I’m just going to go through it with him. If he doesn’t let his heart become bitter but can forgive the unfair, I’m going to use him in a mighty way. And the Lord was with Joseph.
Today, I need to pray for you. I don’t have a nice tidy ending to this. This is not a, «And now we all pray,» kind of message. My question to you is, have you sat down in one of these chairs and gotten comfortable? Today, if you’re sitting in the seat of betrayal, remember that it is unfair. Unfair is never fair; it shouldn’t have happened to you, but it is unfair. And now you’ve chosen to sit in the unfair chair of betrayal, blame, being bypassed, and bitterness.
Today, all I want to offer you by the power of Jesus Christ is an opportunity to get up. If you want to get up out of one of those chairs, all over the world, I want you to make a prophetic act. Stand up right now. All in this room, all over the world, if you’re saying, «God, I want to get up out of one of these chairs,» I don’t know which chair it is; I don’t know who you have the offense with, but if there’s a family member or a person you’ve been sitting in one of these chairs with, I want you to prophetically right now get up off your bike, get off the porch, and stand up. Don’t take all of that! All I’m telling you is something is about to happen right now. God is about to start healing and moving someone because you’re about to begin to forgive.
Come on, would you do me another favor and lift your hands? This is a sign of surrender. Remember what I said: if you surrender the unfair to God, it’s not going to be a destination; you won’t stay there. It’s going to be a direction. Hands lifted. Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray by your Spirit that every person who has been harboring unforgiveness for somebody, some situation, or something that has happened—Father God, that has been unfair—I’m asking you to do what you did for Joseph. Number one, be with them. God, I thank you that your word says you are an ever-present help in times of trouble. Father, in every place we’ve been in trouble—whether it’s been in betrayal, blame, being bypassed, or bitterness—I thank you that right now by your Spirit you would be with us.
God, I’m asking that people’s purpose will come alive again today in the name of Jesus. Where people have sat down in one of these chairs and taken off the responsibility, I thank you that a new fire would rise up inside of them. They will no longer be stagnant or stuck, but because of what you did on the cross, they can get up out of that situation. God, I thank you that even when the season is tough, you’re going to produce an ability to serve on the inside of them—serve their family, serve their husbands, serve their wives, serve that business. God, just take it today. Somebody is getting up. Somebody’s getting up!
You went down so we could get up. You went down and defeated death, hell, and the grave so that we could get up. We celebrate the resurrection, but we rarely talk about the battle. The reason why we call you champion, why you are the undefeated king, is because, Father God, you took the unfair situation of the world—sin—upon your shoulders. If we believe you went down so we could get up, I’m praying God today this message begins to change the trajectory of people’s futures. Do the work, Holy Spirit, that only you can do. I can’t talk them into it, Father; they’ve got to want this. Father God, I ask for your help. But you are so good that you said anyone who believes in me can come boldly to the throne of grace and ask for help. Father, here we are, saying help us. Help us get up out of the seats! Help us forgive the unfair!
If you’re under the sound of my voice right now, in that same heart posture, there’s somebody here who has never asked God to be the Lord of their life. I’m telling you this is the only thing that allowed me to get up out of the chair. I can go through situation after situation where one day I’m sitting in that chair, the next day I’m sitting in that chair with my family, or I’m sitting in this chair with the person up the street. God’s saying, «Hey, if you let me help you and be with you, we can work this thing out.» I’m standing here today not being perfect but progressing. I used to be comfortable in these chairs, and now I have a conviction not to let these chairs become my home.
Today, I want to offer that to you. If you’ve never accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, today I want to give you the greatest gift that you could ever have—not a perfect life but a progressing life. One that is brought to you by Jesus Christ himself, who leaves us a gift of the Holy Spirit, whom the Bible calls the Paraclete—the one who will walk alongside us in our everyday journey. I’m telling you, I do not know how people live their lives without God. I do not know how people made it through this election without God. I do not know how people live without all of the fear and anxiety while not having the tools of prayer, faith, and hope. I’m telling you right now—it’s the one thing that changes everything. It’ll take you from being a liar, addicted to pornography, a manipulator like me. It won’t make you perfect, but it’ll give you the perfect one who can change your whole life.
If you want to be included in this prayer I’m about to say, according to Romans 10:9, all you have to do is believe and confess that Jesus Christ died for you and that he rose again with all power, just so you could get up out of these chairs. If you believe that, I know religion tells you you need to confess everything you did today and tell people about your secret sins. What God says to you is if you give me all of your brokenness, I’ll help you change your habits. I’ll walk with you through that.
Today, I want to offer that to you. On the count of three, we’re about to pray, but if you want to be included in that prayer, I just want you to slip your hand in the air. One: you’re making the greatest decision of your life. Two: we are so proud of you, but more than that, God is proud of you. Three: if that’s you, I want you to put your hand up in the air all over this world. I know their hands are going up all over the world. Last week, 199 people gave their lives to Christ. This year, over 20,000 people—y’all better help me! This is why this church exists! Heaven is about to rejoice because you’re about to be added to that number.
I don’t care who’s around you. I don’t care what you did last week. I don’t care what you did last night or what you planned for tomorrow. The day and the moment of salvation is right now! Transformation Church is a family; nobody prays alone here. So we’re all going to pray this prayer for the benefit of those who are coming to God. Come on, just slip your hands up and say:
God, thank you. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for dying for me. Thank you for rising again for me. Today I believe in you and I put my faith in you. I believe you lived, you died, and you rose again so I could get up out of this chair. Change me, renew me, transform me. I’m yours! In Jesus' name, Amen.