Michael Todd - Future Unlimited (Who Do You Need to Forgive?)
What’s going on, Transformation Church? I just wanted to let you know how excited I am that we are in a season of generosity and giving. I am so grateful that you are a part of what God is doing to spread the gospel all around the world, so people can be transformed in Christ. You know, every year—even this year, even 2020—we’ve decided that we are going to walk by faith. At the end of each year, we ask God, «God, is there something that You want us to give above our normal tithe and offering to expand the vision of Transformation Church?»
Year after year, people just like you stand up and say, «God, I’m going to trust You. I’m going to hear You, and I’m going to give.» And this is what we’re going to do again! Despite the pandemic, despite all that is going on, we are not going to back down or back up; we are going to advance as a church. I am asking you and your family to pray and ask God how you are supposed to participate this year. Every year, we give in faith, but this year, God told me, «Michael, it’s time to give in crazy faith again,» and that’s what I’m challenging you to do. I want you to ask God: when circumstances look probably unfavorable, «God, what would You have me do in crazy faith?»
As a church, on December 6th, we are going to give. You can honestly give from right now all the way through December 6th and even after. But we’re going to join our faith together, and we’re going to come together to expand this vision. God told us that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. While everything seems like it’s shutting down, God’s church is going to move forward. You and I have a part to play in that. The thing I want everybody to understand is that this is not about amounts; this is not about what we can or cannot do. This is about everybody doing what God asks them to do. And when we do that, there is so much that can happen with everyone doing exactly what God has called them to do.
This is the time when I ask you: if this ministry has been a blessing to you at all, we have tons of people watching, tons of people getting fed, and not really participating. This is your time to jump into the game and participate over your tithe and offering. We want to give something to expand this vision. We want to take it even a step further because we know that this is a sacred moment for many. And right now, while many people are on lockdown or can’t travel, there are some people right here in Tulsa and in surrounding areas who want to come and give. We’ve created sacred spaces for you to come safely and securely give. This is a place where you can listen to worship music, write down your crazy faith belief, and really be able to say, «God, I’m going to end this year trusting You and believing in You so that I can start next year trusting You and believing.»
We know that every time we have an opportunity to grow our faith, God blows our minds. So, from November 30th to December 6th, you can come and give and see what God will do with our crazy faith. I love you; I’m proud of you, and I cannot wait to see the miracles that happen as we walk by faith. I found that so many people have an education in things they never really need to use. Come on, let’s be honest: how many of you don’t use half the stuff you learned in high school? Come on, hands lifted all over; I want to see you in the chat. You don’t use Pythagorean theories, or chemistry—what else do we not use? What is it they said? Everything? Okay, so we barely used anything. How many of you don’t use half the stuff you learned in college?
Come on, let’s be honest right now. Okay, like you don’t use it at all. Calculus—what? 1, 2, 3, 4? What I found is that the education system is not responsible for your emotional and spiritual development. What affects us more in our lives is not whether we can solve an algebraic equation; it’s whether we can learn how to let go of or subtract the things in our lives that keep us stuck. One of the things that holds people down is this thing called unforgiveness. The crazy thing about it is that you can be raised in church; a lot of people are like, «Well, I wasn’t raised in church.» It’s okay; I was, and they still didn’t teach us about forgiving people. We knew we should do it, but nobody taught us how to do it. For the last nine weeks, we’ve been on a journey trying to get a master’s degree—like God—our Master. Get a master’s degree in something that will change our destiny. Hear me when I say this: if you forgive, it can transform your entire life.
Now I know people right now are trying to figure out when everyone is going to come back and apologize to them. We’re going to have to dig up Uncle Reginald because you know what he did to me, and I’m not forgiving him until he says from the grave, «I’m sorry.» One of the things that we in our culture think is that if we hold unforgiveness, we’re somehow punishing the other person, which is the exact opposite. When we do not forgive, it is like drinking poison and waiting for somebody else to die.
Today, through this series, God wants you free, and I keep telling people this over and over. That’s why I said we go in for ten weeks, and honestly, I have so much to say that I’m vacillating, if we don’t take this one more week, it might be «Forget You Until Christmas.» I might wear that on a shirt: «Forget You Until Christmas.» The reason I’m saying that is because what if the greatest thing you did in 2020 was walk free because you forgave? Okay, because some of you are like, «I don’t need that.» Think about the person that, if they walked into the room right now, would change your whole attitude. Oh, you know them! Some of you can smell them. Some of you can hear their nasty laugh.
Some of you can just see them. You work with them; some of you are sitting right next to them. Uh-oh, don’t look. Look straight ahead. What happens if you really forgave them for what they said—not just forget about it until another argument comes up and you pull that out like a Uzi? But if you remember… Y’all know how we do. We wait for a more opportune time to bring up people’s failures and how they hurt us. We’re living guarded and gated by offense. There are so many people that you have blocked and unfollowed and all that other stuff, and I’m not saying that’s bad. But what if God calls you to minister to them in real life, and you’re so offended by them through social media that, at the moment God brings them into your sphere, you have nothing to say to them? All I’m asking is, could you enroll in something that God would produce freedom in your life and forgive?
Everybody say, «I will forgive.» This may be a faith statement for somebody right now, but I want you to say it again: «I will forgive.» And that’s why it’s been nine weeks. We talked about the gift of forgiveness in week one. Week two was «Offense Under Construction.» Then, we went to «Forgiven,» ultimately «Forgiveness Understood.» Start with forgiving you, then framing unforgiveness and forgiving the unfair, and then we went to «Father’s Unaware.»
And then last week my friend Lisa Turkhurst came in and so transparently shared about failure being useful. I still had somebody email me this week, after watching all of the series, and they asked me one question that I’m going to answer for everyone in the service. They said, «I heard all the messages, Pastor Mike, but they literally said, 'Why do I need to forgive? '» I was like, «We just spent nine weeks, and you still don’t know?» The person said, «It just seems like opening up an old can that I’ve already closed, and it just feels like too much energy. Some things don’t need to be bothered.» And I said, «Okay.» So I asked, «Did you eat Thanksgiving dinner?» They said, «Yeah.» I said, «Did you have any leftovers?» They said, «Yeah.» I asked, «How many days is it legal for your leftovers to stay in the refrigerator?»
Now, this is a debate of the century right now because some of you keep your leftovers in there for two weeks. Some of you—okay, let’s just have a hand-raising moment. How many days, in the chat right now, do leftovers stay before they are thrown away? Two days? Three days? What about you in the room? Four days? How long will you let them stay in there? I see five, I see six, I see one week. Somebody said ten. Somebody said a month—your stomach must be made of steel, okay? But I started asking them how long, and the person said about three days—like three days. I said, «What if you left that Thanksgiving dinner in your refrigerator forever?»
What once was something you felt you had contained will begin to fester, lighten, and spread—not only to the dish it was in but will begin to take over the entire refrigerator, seeping out of the cracks of the refrigerator and taking over the kitchen. It will spill out of the kitchen and seep into the living room. It will go from the living room to your bedroom. It will spread from your entire house to the neighbor’s house. That one thing that you let sit there that you thought you had contained will end up contaminating your entire household because you never dealt with what was there just sitting. I’m sad to say that I feel like many of our lives are reeking of unforgiveness.
I want to help you, and that’s why I’m going to answer that question for you: Why do I need to forgive? Write this down: Because unforgiveness always limits your future. If you do not forgive, you are automatically putting a limit on your future. What are you saying, Pastor Mike? Now God cannot use you in every door He wants to take you through because there are people that you are so offended by, and there are things you will not share with anybody. There are places you won’t go because they remind you of the hurt you never healed from, and God says now you have put limits on what I can do and where I can take you. Unforgiveness always limits your future. Yeah, I found this out firsthand, especially being a pastor.
What happens when people you had bad business deals with walked out on you, left you, talked badly about you, and you know it? Then God says, «Do business with them again. Go pray for their kids. Give to their nonprofit organization.» «What? Because you didn’t forgive, you’ve limited me.» Oh, I can’t take you into that career because what you don’t know is the boyfriend that offended you when you were 22 and you never forgave is now an executive at that company, and I want to bring you there to represent me. But as soon as he walks into the boardroom, because you didn’t resolve what needed to be resolved and released him of the debt a decade ago, now you are no longer sober-minded to be used by me in wisdom in that room. You’re thinking about how you feel. You’ve limited me.
Wow, I’m telling you that there are more people than God would say, «I want to get glory. I’ll use the foolish things to confound the wise. I’ll take you into positions and places that nobody thought you could be. I’ve prepared a table for you in the presence of your enemies.» The problem is you have a seat, but you get up because of offense. Whoa, I’m preaching! Because of the people at the table you have not forgiven, you have not released them. God has prepared an entire table for you to go in there free of the offense, free of all the shame, free of all the guilt, and it’ll have your name on it. You’ll sit down, look around the table, be offended, and get up from the table that was prepared for you because you did not forgive. Why do I need to forgive? Because I want my—this is the title of my message—"Future Unlimited.»
I want their future unlimited. How many people want to be able to do whatever God says for them to do? Give to whoever God says to give to? Be able to interact with anybody God says? If you do not forgive, now you are putting handcuffs on your future and their future. I know it’s hard to think about because we don’t think long term. We think about right now, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week. But God is a generational God! What if your offense toward that person passes to your children and limits them? «We don’t mess with the Johnsons.» Why? «I don’t know; just my daddy didn’t mess with the Johnsons, so I don’t mess with the Johnsons.» What do you mean? «Like, why don’t you mess with the Johnsons?» «It’s just them Johnsons; something’s wrong with them. They lie; they do this; they do that.»
You literally don’t have a problem with them, but you transferred offense. And now God called for you and the Johnson family to create something that would give Him glory while carrying borrowed offense. Y’all know how we praise in culture; friends who will just jump on with whatever a friend is doing, whether they’re right or wrong, and we call them ride or die. It’s like, it doesn’t even matter if she’s wrong; if you come up here, I’m going to fight you like I don’t even know you. That’s dumb because there are people in this world who don’t like others, not because of their own experience, but because of the skewed view of somebody else’s experience with them. And God said it isn’t worth picking up that offense because it’s going to limit your future.
Okay, I’m going to have to walk through this. It’s so important to God that when the disciples asked Jesus how they should pray because he had a different way of praying than they did, literally in the Lord’s Prayer, this is what Jesus thought. Out of everything in the world to put in there, he puts this in Matthew 6:9. He said, «Pray in this manner: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Your kingdom come; your will be done, yes, on earth as it is in heaven.» This is where the church likes to focus: «Give us this day our daily bread.» Provide for us, God; give us our daily bread.
But then look at what it says in verse 12: «And forgive us our debts, thank you for grace,» as we actively forgive the people who have wronged us. It’s so important that you walk free of unforgiveness; God says, «I want you to pray this in my prayer: 'Forgive us our debts as we'"—somebody say «as we"—that means you have to actively forgive others. It is not a one-time thing; you must actively forgive those who have made debts against you. What are you trying to say, Pastor Mike? Write this point down: forgiveness is releasing people from the debt they owe you, and you’re going to say, «You don’t have to pay me back.»
Now, that is the most un-American thought process we have probably discussed in this series. But can I tell you that when you become a believer and put your faith in Jesus Christ, you are no longer a citizen of America first; you are a citizen of the kingdom of God. And everything done in the kingdom of God is done differently. God says, «I don’t have a shortage of grace for you.» So when people do you wrong, and I know someone is tuning out right now because you don’t know how to do this in your life, I’m going to help you; stay with me. When you don’t have it to do, God supplies his grace. Don’t play me like I didn’t just set you free. Don’t play me like I didn’t see everything you did and still blessed you, still gave you a position, and still called you my child. And then you go talk to them and treat them like I didn’t treat you. You better look like me if you want the grace that I have for you; you better extend it to someone else.
This is where the church wants all the grace for themselves but just wants to give a little bit to those who have wronged them. And Jesus is saying, «No, forgiveness"—the real bottom line of it is forgiving and releasing people from their debt. And that’s why I’m saying, when you release people from the debt, your future becomes unlimited. There are people right now that I should hate, but I feel bad for, given the way they hurt me, the way they played me, and the way they talked about me in the ministry of my family. It let me know that there was something really broken inside of them. And God said, «Are you going to stoop down outside of my grace to that level, or are you going to release them from the debt?»
And this is a beautiful picture because you need to know this: forgiveness always affects the future. I’m saying the same thing in different ways because I’m hoping it dawns on you. Forgiveness, when you do it, always affects the future. The Bible says in Matthew 18:21, and I like this because the disciples are a lot like us; they’re just trying to figure things out. «All right, Jesus, you said it, but help me understand.» Because this is where Peter says, «Jesus, how many times should we forgive? Seven?» All the stuff you’ve been doing, cutting people’s ears off and all this other stuff? «No, no, no, no! Seventy times seven.» And the disciples are like, «No, that’s too much!»
And Jesus knows that the seventy times seven, when you’re forgiving somebody, isn’t about trying to keep a count; it’s about losing count of what’s happening. A lot of people are right here holding onto everything, and God says, «Let me just tell you a story so you can understand.» Everybody say «the kingdom.» Say it again, «the kingdom.» Okay, it says in Matthew 18:21, «Then Peter came to him and asked, 'Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? ' No, not seven times,» Jesus replied, «but seventy times seven.» Because forgiveness is not about keeping score; it’s about losing count. Okay, Matthew 18:23: «Therefore, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with his servants who had borrowed money from him.» Okay, one of his debtors—somebody who owed the king—was brought to him. He owed him millions of dollars.
Verse 25: he couldn’t pay. So his master ordered that he be sold, along with his wife, his kids, and everything he owned, to pay the debt. Now, this actually encourages me because Jesus allows the king to show an emotion; that’s how I would be! You owe me millions of dollars and you can’t pay me back? Sell everything! Sell Jerome, sell Tricia, sell the ugly little kids and the dog; sell them all! He’s able to have this emotion, which many of us do when people do us wrong. But watch this; he must have heard the «F You» series somewhere because he has a heart transformation in one verse. Listen to it: he said he couldn’t pay, «Sell everybody.» Verse 26: «But the man fell down before his master and begged him, 'Please be patient with me, and I will pay it all.'»
So he had the audacity to know he had no money, but he was going to work until it was paid. Then his master was filled with pity for him. Another translation I love says he was moved with compassion. And he released him and forgave him of the debt. Oh my goodness! Like, hold on! If it were me, I would have to reverse-engineer this scripture. If he said, «Be patient with me; I need some more time, I’ll pay it,» most of us would be like, «Okay, I’ll give you two more months, but you still owe me. I don’t care about what’s going on; I’ll give you some more time because I had compassion, but I promise you, you’re going to pay me.»
What this king did, which is the same thing that Jesus is comparing the kingdom to, is he didn’t say he owes you; he released the entire debt. Can we do that for our coworkers? Can we do that for our fathers who are unaware? Can we do that for ourselves? Can we release ourselves from the debt? That is the most kingdom thing you can do. This guy’s future, in one moment, becomes unlimited. He went from being in jail with his entire family to being forgiven, and now he has a future to live out. He has a future to be able to bless other people. He has a future to stand and declare how good the king has been. He has a future to come up with more business. He has a future to do more.
But look at what happens; this is so many times what happens to us and why we need to be able to forgive. The thing you find out through the king’s actions is forgiveness is not about what they deserve; it is about what God desires. Nobody will ever deserve your forgiveness. God desires for us to forgive the same way we did not deserve his forgiveness, but he desired to make a way through Jesus so we could be forgiven. This will not be fair; it will be faith. You missed it. Everybody wants crazy faith for things, and God says the strongest thing you can have is the faith to actually forgive them. To know that letting them go doesn’t mean they were right or justified; it means you are justified—that you are blood-bought and God has transformed your life.
It’s not about what they deserve; it’s about what he desires. And this is where most people won’t get it because they want someone to deserve their forgiveness. But you’ve never deserved anything that God has done for you. Excuse me; I’ll talk not for you but for me. I’ve never deserved the grace of God. How God took me from being manipulative, so perverted in my thoughts toward women, and so messed up on the inside regarding success. I can never repay God. So my attempt is giving Him my whole life.
Whatever you want from me, however you want it. You want me to lay down music for 12 years and become a pastor? It is my only reasonable response for the forgiveness you’ve produced for me. You want me to stop sleeping around? You want me to give up pornography? Because of the grace and the forgiveness you’ve extended to me, it is only my reasonable response to give you everything of my life. You blessed me with this job, and you want me to give how much in a crazy faith offering? You know what? It doesn’t even matter because of the forgiveness you have given me. When I had a case six years ago and could have been in jail for car insurance fraud, and you saw fit to let me get out of that with community service, oh, I’m not talking about somebody else; I’m talking about your pastor. In light of the mercy and the forgiveness of God, my only response is to do that for somebody else.
Now, too many of you have forgotten what God has brought you from. You’ve started to think that somehow you got here on your own—that somehow it was your education; somehow, it was your networking. And God is saying, «Will you please remember that I forgave you? That I found you in the trap house, that I found you in the White House, that I found you wherever you were, and I let my grace, my mercy, and my forgiveness extend to you? Will you live like it?» But what happens in Matthew 18:23 verse 28? It says, «But when the man left with a future that was unlimited, he just had his debt canceled.»
Picture him walking out of the palace, you know what I’m saying? Like, he had just been literally forgiven of all his debt, and then he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. Uh-oh! He owed millions, but he found someone who owed him a few thousand. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. This is the Bible, and the Bible is good! It’s like better than any Netflix series you can ever watch because I can see the whole thing like a movie. His fellow servant fell down, kind of like Nate Robinson last night in the fight, and said, «Please, just give me a little more time.»
It’s so funny he uses the exact words he said to the king. They were now said to him because many times the people you need to forgive, you need to forgive them for some of the same heart postures and attitudes you had in a different situation. He said, «Be patient with me, and I will pay it,» he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested, put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened.
The king called in the man he had forgiven and said, «You are an evil servant! I forgave you of the tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. I had compassion on you; I showed my grace and mercy to you. Shouldn’t you have the mercy, the grace, the forgiveness for your fellow servant just as I had mercy on you?» And remember, this is Jesus comparing this to the kingdom of God. Okay? He says, «Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he paid the entire debt.» And then Jesus comes back to present day and says to us, and this is strong—get ready for it. «That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart. I will allow your future to be unlimited, but if you don’t extend it to somebody else, he said you’re going to get the same thing that was prepared for you at first.»
I said, «God, help me to get your people to understand this.» He gave me this very simple phrase that I hope you will remember forever: releasing the debt releases your future. It’s not worth it to be mad at her anymore. It’s not worth it, «Well she cheated; my husband cheated with her, and I hate her guts,» and all that other stuff. Listen, it’s not worth your future. It probably hurts; it’s probably disgusting, but it’s not worth your future. Release the debt, release your future. «But, Pastor Mike, it’s not that easy; they violated me!»
I understand. Listen to me. I need you to hear me say this so clearly. I need you to be awake at this moment and hear what I’m saying to you. It may not be your fault, but it is now your responsibility: You can’t be held hostage another day waiting for their freedom. They may never receive it. They may never reach the point where they’re emotionally aware enough to understand what they did. They may never change; their pride may never allow it. But God is saying, «I’m giving you a key today to unlock your future.»
Releasing the debt releases your future. Yes, it’s too simple. It’s too simple, and you’re going to need the Holy Spirit’s help to do it. Because releasing debt is not hard when they owe you, like they owe me. They should at least say sorry. They should at least recognize they weren’t good parents. They should at least come back and apologize for not picking me for the team. They exposed me to that too early. They did this; they did that. I did this; I did that. And God is saying you can’t control any of them, but you can give me all of you. You can’t control any of them—your dad, your uncle, that coworker, that friend. You cannot control any of them, but you can right now give God all of you. I know it’s hard for people to understand it like that.
I have a practical example to help you understand what releasing debt means. Okay, so that’s all forgiveness is. Forgiveness is releasing the debt, and then it releases your future. Let me give you a financial example that may parallel something that can happen for you emotionally and spiritually. Back in 2014, the Bishop came to me and said, «You’re going to be the pastor of Transformation Church.» I was like, «Heck, no!» And he said, «It’s going to happen, but there’s a burden I have. I need to ensure that our 33,000 square feet converted grocery store is paid off. It needs to be paid off. I need the debt to be released; I need the debt to be canceled in this whole situation.»
I was like, «Bishop, why? It’s not that serious; we can make something happen.» He replied, «No, no, I need the debt to be released.» In 2014, I remember watching Bishop believe in God with crazy faith, along with Pastor Debbie, as they rallied our church to begin believing, and people started giving. They believed that releasing the debt would change something. In July 2014, here’s a picture of our old building; God allowed the debt to be retired on this building. Then in February, I became the lead pastor. It was as if he ensured that the debt was released, which released our future. When I became the pastor of the church, I’m just trying to make this very practical because Bishop went ahead and made sure it was paid in full. He released us from the debt, so I, as a young pastor, could hear God’s voice without the pressure on me. What did God tell me to do? He told me to spend $80,000 on cameras.
Now, everybody watching me right now probably wouldn’t be watching me if it weren’t for relationship goals, finding purpose, or crazy faith. You wouldn’t have gotten any of those series if Bishop hadn’t had the faith to release the debt from our situation. Releasing the debt releases the future. We were able to stand, and as people were about to give in the crazy faith offering, they began to give. We raised that $80,000. It didn’t come without opposition; people left the church, claiming it was foolish. They said there was no way God told us to do this. But sometimes when you’re standing in crazy faith, you’ve got to stand alone.
Sometimes you need to know that you know God asked you to do something. I rallied the 300 people in our church, and we raised that money. We began to believe God. Then we went through a season of being faithful and consistent, challenging our faith day after day. We went from one service to two services to three services, all the way to five services, and I was clearly worn out. But God was blessing our ministry. I had prayed, and He told me He was going to release a building to us. He gave me a vision of the place we are in right now, and this was 37 days after I became the lead pastor of the church. I’m getting excited right now because I can feel somebody’s faith rising: all you have is all you need. God is not looking for anything else—just obey. That’s why releasing the debt is so important.
We moved into this place of being debt-free. We started to save; we began to bless other ministries. We partnered with nonprofits to end sex trafficking and help people get out of jail, and we helped meet food needs in our community. We started saving in crazy faith for the next building that God would give us. It hasn’t even been a long time, but I stand in a building we acquired just a year ago in August. God allowed us to acquire this building, and I stood in crazy faith on the first day I announced it. You can go back and watch the video where I said God had given me a burden: this place needed to be paid off in the next six months; it needed to be paid in full. That was $105 million. I don’t know what I was thinking, except that God was giving me a burden and showing me a blueprint: if the debt is released, it releases the future.
So we stood there in crazy faith, and some dedicated people I know, y’all are watching right now, stood with us, and we gave. You don’t understand how crazy this is: we bought this building in August and paid it off in February. Come on, somebody needs to get excited with me in crazy faith because anything God does for this house, He’s trying to give you a pattern to display in your house. Literally, not even six months later, the bankers said we couldn’t do it. People said it wasn’t possible; they said nobody would ever give to that. We walked into this place, and the building we stand in now is paid in full.
Now, here’s the thing I want you to understand: it was the faith of people obeying God that gave us the ability to release the debt on this building. It gave us freedom for the future and made our future unlimited. You may be asking, «Mike, what’s the future?» The future is that we always live in crazy faith. Because of what happened in 2014 and what happened in February this year, our future is now unlimited. When you release the debt, I want to be very practical in this Christmas season: you don’t need to go get into a bunch of debt, because what you’re doing is tying up your future. You’re allowing yourself to limit what God can do in the future. Bree can tell you right now that we have an amazing investment opportunity as a church coming into this area. The day before we said yes, I prayed, and the Holy Spirit said, «No, I need you to be available for the future of what I’m about to do.»
I asked God, «What are you about to do?» and He took me back. I thank God because some of you need a vision for forgiveness. You need to get a vision for forgiveness. You might say, «I got a vision for my life; I have a vision board.» But no, you need to get a vision for who you need to forgive and for what. The Bible says, «Where there is no vision, the people perish.» God began to tell me very practically, «Michael, you need to tell the people today why they need to forgive. When they release the debt, it releases their future, and their future becomes unlimited. I can do anything with them when they’re not bound by what happened to them.» Forgiveness needs a vision. Proverbs 29:18: «Where there is no vision, the people perish.»
I literally went back and watched the first series we preached because the word for Transformation Church this year is «Stronger.» We said we would get stronger in the middle of a pandemic. How are we going to get stronger in the midst of all this racial tension? God said, «I didn’t change because things started. I’m the same yesterday, today, and forever.» My faith is being jacked up right now because I came to tell somebody that 2020 is not over; God still has about 30 days left. Yes, I know you’re sitting there, but He can do incredible things in 30 days. He can conquer death, hell, and the grave in three days, so just think of what He can do in thirty! But it requires the right posture to release the debt to bring freedom to the future.
God began to tell me as I watched the first sermon that the first three points of 2020 were that vision needs a vessel. That’s why God literally told me to make sure you get a vision for forgiveness. Write down the names of the people you need to forgive. Don’t forgive them just yet; at least write it down and make it plain. I want to be very practical: «I need to forgive Joe; I need to forgive Trisha; I need to forgive this person.» They might not even know, but you need to write the vision down and make it clear. «I need to forgive my father; I need to forgive my auntie; I need to forgive that person with the Trump flag on the back of their F-150 who flipped me off. I don’t care; you don’t have to know them. It still affected you. I need to forgive them for writing 'Black Lives Matter' on our sidewalk.»
I don’t care what side you’re on; you’re stopping your future. What God wants to do in you is hindered if you still hold onto unforgiveness. He said that the vision of forgiveness needs a vision, and vision needs a vessel. That’s why, in Luke 18:8, it says, «But when the Son of Man returns, how many will He find on the earth who have faith?» Who will believe me? It takes faith to forgive. Let them go, and I’ll take care of you. Release them. I’ve got you. I’m the Lord, your shelter, your refuge, the one you run to for safety. Let them go. He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty. Let them go; let me handle you. It takes faith to do that.
Vision must be visible; that’s why I’m telling you to write these things down. The crazy thing that I can say to you today is when I think back to this practical example of what Bishop did to release the debt in 2014, combined with what we as a church did last year in crazy faith, God told me as I was driving to this place every day, «Don’t let your foot off the gas.» I said, «What?» He said, «Crazy faith was not an event; it’s a lifestyle. I didn’t ask you if you could believe me again for something bigger; I am the God of everything. I’m just looking for somebody to believe me.» So I went back to this sheet that many of you have seen before. Let me call your attention to the date: March 9, 2015, 37 days after I became the lead pastor of Transformation Church.
A lot of people weren’t coming to church; nobody was giving. I wrote this at 7:29 a.m. in Bella’s room, feeling insecure and uncertain if God would ever use me. The first thing I wrote was, «The Spirit Bank Event Center will be Transformation Church.» It doesn’t even matter that I misspelled it; God can use your imperfections because He saw me write it down. The vision had a vessel; the vision was clear. I wrote, «The Spirit Bank Event Center will be Transformation Church,» so we shouted, we believed, and every day as I drove up here, He asked, «Are you believing me?» I said, «God, for what?» He told me to go back to the vision He gave me.
I highlighted that the first thing I wrote was: «We will have as a church, as a kingdom organization, excellent relationships with all the existing businesses and all the major businesses to come.» Now, you may not know this, but our church is located behind a business complex that contains over 35 commercial businesses, ranging from chiropractic firms to technology companies to a college. They all look the same, but we’re situated at the back. He said, «In this area, you will have excellent relationships with existing businesses and all the major businesses to come.» Then it says, «We will subdue, rule, and dominate in this area.» At that time, we hadn’t even had a staff of over 10 people! God was saying, «All I needed was a vision and a vessel, and someone positioned for the future.» He said, «Many business people, their friends, and their families will come to Christ because we represented God to them for transformation in Christ.»
God said, «Don’t take your foot off the gas.» I asked, «What do you want me to do, God?» He replied, «I want you to believe in crazy faith that in the middle of everything going on, I’m going to give you the entire complex where your church is located"—And I said, «God, that would be crazy.» And He said, «Until it happens.» He said it would be crazy until it happens. Well, a few months ago, after I prayed and we turned down that business deal, two weeks later, I thought, «Ah, that’s why you have to spend time with God.» Two weeks later, because we had released the debt, we had now made our future unlimited. They called us from Post Rock and said, «We want to sell the entire complex because of some things happening due to COVID.»
They told us the price, and I said, «We’re not paying that for that. Tell them, 'Sorry, not sorry. It’s not happening.'» They came back two million dollars cheaper, updated the roofs on the building, and secured tenant leases for the next two and a half years—totally rented out, with 35-plus commercial spaces. Even the land that Chick-fil-A sits on outside, they said, «If we drop it to this—» This is Transformation Church in a position. Are you in that position? This is what I need everybody to understand: if you don’t let those people go, you won’t be in a position for God to trust you with that. If you don’t let the physical debt go, if you don’t release those credit cards and stop trying to keep up with the Joneses, if you don’t let it go, you are not in position.
We can have all the faith in the world, but if we’re not in the right position, the miracle gets stopped. But I have good news for you, Transformation Church! We had released the debt, which made our future unlimited. On Tuesday, I went and signed on our behalf for the keys to the entire Post Rock business complex. I came to tell you—I got the keys! I love you! I got the keys, keys, keys! I got the keys, keys, keys! I got the keys, keys, keys! We got the glory! Gonna bleed the field! I know the judge; I’m gonna shoot him some chips! I got the keys, keys, keys! I got the keys, keys, keys! Transformation Church! You don’t—No! Y’all don’t hear me! Only God could do this!
Only crazy faith could do this! Only releasing the debt and being in position does this. What you don’t understand is that this piece of property, this acquisition that the church was able to make, positions us to do kingdom work. I don’t have to ask for an offering to do certain things now because the wealth of people who were not in the kingdom is laid up for those who are righteous and in the kingdom. This building, what it will bring in—this entire complex, over 35-plus businesses—what they will bring in after everything is done will be over $15 million. And for the next three years, every cent of that will be given away in missions. You missed it! That’s not to keep the lights on; that’s to end sex trafficking!
That’s to get the Bible all over the world! That’s to help plant churches! That’s to feed people in the middle of a pandemic! That’s to—ah! It’s representing! We get to take every dollar from that investment and put it back into the community. Somebody said, «Y’all forgot about North Tulsa!» No, no, no, no, no! We just went to get some resources so that we could put it back into the schools. Y’all don’t hear me! So that we could change the trajectory. I’m celebrating the crazy faith miracle because I believe this is what God wants to do in your life. There are keys to things with your name on it! There are keys to your freedom, keys to your peace, keys to your sanity, keys to the miracle you need. But remember where this came from—not just crazy faith; it came from releasing the debt for a future to be unlimited.
Why do we forgive? Not because they deserve it, but because God desires it. And when we release them, our future is unlimited. Pastor Mike, what—what are we doing? Like, I’m declaring today in front of you that within one year, the entire property costs $205 million! Oh my God! Why are we talking about that in the middle of a pandemic? Because God’s not done positioning His children for when we’re out of the pandemic to be in a kingdom position. You missed it! Every time there’s a crash or distress or anything, somebody’s getting positioned to be in a place of authority when all of it’s over, and God is trying to position the church. If we would stop arguing, stop getting distracted, and actually forgive—stop picking up offense!
If you would get in the face of God and hear Him, He’s trying to position His kids in crazy faith to be in a position of authority when all of this is over. $6 million down cash because of your generosity and faithfulness! This is not about Pastor Mike; I can’t buy that building. We did that! Everybody, even Transformation Church, Transformation Nation, all over the world! We are taking territory for the kingdom! That complex has seven addresses attached to it—almost nine or ten properties in Tulsa—and there’s more coming. Why? It’s because we want to have something to pass on to the next generation. We don’t just want to give them prayers; we don’t just want to hand them debts and notes; we want to hand them kingdom property!
We want to hand them a future! We want to hand them something that’s not limited! Bishop handed me a future unlimited, and that’s why we’re able to do this. It is my vow, and everyone that’s here, that when it’s time for Bella and Nathan and Arlo and your children to step into the kingdom of God, people will be able to say, «My parents stood in faith. They showed my brothers, sisters, cousins, and that man down the street, that scientist, and that computer technician—they showed in crazy faith when it didn’t make any sense, and they released the debt so that our future could be unlimited.»
Church, why do you need to forgive? Forgive for your future! Is it that simple? Forgive for your future! Why are we going to give next week? We’re going to give for the future! This will be paid off in one year by the grace of God! I want you to play this video back because we’re gonna stand in crazy faith! And then after He does that, what’s next? Is it a campus on a different continent? Oh, see, y’all are thinking low! Y’all are thinking low! Like, what continent should we go to next? Is it buying the BOK Center because we need more space? When God starts doing, see, I’m trying to stretch you; I’m trying to take you. Is it going and partnering with churches and paying for their salaries for the first two years of ministry so they don’t have to worry about raising money? Just do what God said to do!
Is it going and partnering with Convoy of Hope or the Dream Center or churches that are just getting started? Is it—what can we do? It doesn’t matter because when the debt is released, our future is unlimited! Before God wants this for the organization, He wants it for the organism. What are you saying, Pastor Mike? Forgive them and release your future! Today, I want to pray for you. Come on, hands lifted all over the world! It takes crazy faith to believe for that building and for it to be paid off in a year, but it takes more crazy faith to trust God to forgive. And today I’m going to pray that as you release the debt, somebody’s going to naturally feel their future being released, unlocked, and unlimited.
Father, in the name of Jesus, we cannot do this without You. And that’s why You sent Jesus to release us of our debt so that we could release others. God, there are people right now whose emotions are all over the place because they want to obey You. They want to do it. They don’t want to be called wicked and evil servants who experienced the grace and forgiveness of God but can’t extend it. But God, it’s hard. We don’t know how to erase the moments and memories, the lines that have been crossed, the hurt, and the words. But by Your Holy Spirit, I thank You right now that, Father, all across the world, You’re doing a miracle—that You are coming into places where we don’t even get how this is going to happen.
And, Father, we’re saying we’re available; we want it. Father God, in Your Word, you tell us that You are the God that gives us the desire and the will to do and the power to do what pleases You. Father God, right now, through this message, many people are getting the desire to forgive; they want to try, Father God. But right now, we need You to do the heart work so we have the power to do it. Father, not in our own strength, not with good intentions, but by the power of the Holy Spirit—the one that You call Comforter, the Paraclete, the one that walks alongside us to help. God, I thank You that You’re going to give us the ability to even take the first practical step and write down who we need to forgive.
Father, with tears in our eyes, with tears dropping on the paper, let us sketch down the names of the people; let us get pictures of them. Father God, and say we desire to forgive. Father God, and as we desire to forgive, I thank You that we make it visible and we are the vessels that are going to do Your kingdom work on earth. Father God, and I thank You for doing a miracle that no amount of money could do, that no building could do, that no person can do. Father, heal and transform our hearts. Father, we’ve been in this series for ten weeks and some people are just starting to crack and be open to this. But You said this year for transformation, we would get stronger. And God, I thank You that right now, in crazy faith, I think the strongest thing we could do is forgive so that our future can be unlimited. We want to do whatever You want us to do, God! And I thank You that unforgiveness will not hold us back another day.
And, Father, we’re saying we’re available; we want it. Father God, in Your Word, you tell us that You are the God that gives us the desire and the will to do and the power to do what pleases You. Father God, right now, through this message, many people are getting the desire to forgive; they want to try, Father God. But right now, we need You to do the heart work so we have the power to do it. Father, not in our own strength, not with good intentions, but by the power of the Holy Spirit—the one that You call Comforter, the Paraclete, the one that walks alongside us to help. God, I thank You that You’re going to give us the ability to even take the first practical step and write down who we need to forgive.
Father, with tears in our eyes, with tears dropping on the paper, let us sketch down the names of the people; let us get pictures of them. Father God, and say we desire to forgive. Father God, and as we desire to forgive, I thank You that we make it visible and we are the vessels that are going to do Your kingdom work on earth. Father God, and I thank You for doing a miracle that no amount of money could do, that no building could do, that no person can do. Father, heal and transform our hearts. Father, we’ve been in this series for ten weeks and some people are just starting to crack and be open to this. But You said this year for transformation, we would get stronger. And God, I thank You that right now, in crazy faith, I think the strongest thing we could do is forgive so that our future can be unlimited. We want to do whatever You want us to do, God! And I thank You that unforgiveness will not hold us back another day.
And that same attitude right there—because people, God’s doing surgery right now on your heart—I want to give you the opportunity to receive Jesus. Because some of you this whole time have been intellectually trying to figure out how you’re going to forgive these people. And God said, «This is the greatest deal of all time—that because you wouldn’t be able to, I sent My Son to forgive you of everything that you would ever do.» All you have to do is receive it according to Romans 10:9. If you put your faith in Jesus that He lived and died just for you, then what happens from that point is that God does not hold your sins, your faults, your pain, your trash against you. He only sees His Son, and all He asks in return is that you would extend that same love to somebody else. Some of you are trying to extend that love and grace and forgiveness to somebody else, but you’ve never first received it.
Today is the perfect day for you to receive the forgiveness of God. I know you need to clean up; that you need to change. I know some of you right now are planning to do things after this service that would not bring God glory, and some of you did them last night and some of you smell like where you’ve been and you smell like who you’ve been with. And I’m telling you that religion would tell you to change all of that, but relationship says, «Come as you are.» God is the only one you can come to Him broken, jacked up, messed up, still with the habit. «Well, stop smoking, stop drinking, stop this, stop that!» God says, «No, just come to Me. If you give Me your heart, I’ll help you change your habits.»
And today, that’s what I’m offering you! What better way to go into the last month of this new year than by receiving forgiveness and salvation and walking free so your future can be unlimited? If you want to be a part of this prayer—it’s the prayer that changed my life. It took me from being somebody who was addicted to pornography, a manipulator—somebody who was doing all kinds of bad stuff—and now I’m not a perfect person, but I’m a progressing person because of the love of Jesus Christ. Today, I want you to receive that! I don’t care if you’re in a different lifestyle; I don’t care who you’ve broken; I don’t care what’s happened to you. God loves you! He cares for you! And He wants to help you!
If you’re saying, «Pastor, I want to be included in that prayer,» I don’t care who’s sitting next to you; I don’t care who’s around you. Right now is the moment of salvation! If you want to receive that level of freedom, grace, and forgiveness, just throw your hand in the air on the count of three! One! It’s the greatest decision you could ever make! Two! I’m so proud of you, but more than that, God is proud of you! Three! Come on, shoot your hand up in the air! I believe there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people whose hands are going up all over the world! Even if you’re watching this on rebroadcast, there’s no distance; God sees you right there! You can put your hands down right now. We’re going to pray together. You said, «God, I want You to come in and release me so my future can be unlimited.» And right now, at Transformation Church, we are family—we all pray together! So for the benefit of those who are coming to Christ all over the world, wherever you are, I want you to pray this prayer with me. Everybody say:
God, thank You for sending Jesus to release me from the dead. I believe that You are the Son of God, and You lived, You died, and You rose again just for me. Today, I receive Your forgiveness. Today, I receive Your grace. Today, I receive Your love. Renew me, transform me; I’m Yours. In Jesus' name, Amen.