Michael Todd - kNOw Limits
And today we are in week five of a series we’re calling «Help Me Here Is Holy,» and I feel like I have an assignment to bring some clarity to what we’ve been discussing over these past five weeks. We only have one more week in the series after this, but all year we will be talking about this anytime God gives us a word. The one thing you need to know is that we will grab a hold of that vision and find a way to incorporate it into everything we do. So in every series, you will be hearing «Here Is Holy.» I’ve already seen six people get tattoos of «Here Is Holy.»
Now I’m not saying that’s powerful or not, so don’t send me any scriptures about tattoos. God bless you; that’s between them and God. But it’s impacted them enough that they felt the need to remember. I’ve been moving so fast, embracing the culture’s idea of success, that I’ve missed the fact that right here—everybody say «right here"—is holy. When you go too fast, you miss the miracles of right here. I can give you example after example in the Word of God where Jesus moved at a steady pace, where others could follow Him and where He could be touched. You remember the woman with the issue of blood?
If Jesus had been running to His next appointment—there was a very important person waiting for Him, as you read the story of a man whose daughter was dying and who asked Jesus to come—how do we know that a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years was able to catch up to Him and touch the hem of His garment? If He had been in a hurry, she wouldn’t have been healed. What in your life has been in a hurry that is begging you to stop here so that you can get healed? Today, I need to help us really metabolize this message, digest it, and let it sit in us a little bit so that we don’t just move on to the next series or to the next thing that makes us feel good. We need to stay right here and allow God to finish the work.
So today, as I began praying about what God wanted to do in this service, I always ask Him to give me a little hint—like, God, just give me a little Easter egg, show me a nugget of something early in the week, like Monday and Tuesday. You all don’t know—I wrestle every week up until the moment I come out here with the message that God gives me. I’m making edits; my team—God bless them—I know they are sick of me because at the end of the day, I have a fear of God. I don’t ever want to get up here and just say what sounds good; I want to say what I know I feel is from God. There are some weeks when He gives me a little nudge, and there are some weeks He doesn’t. This week, He did.
I was talking to someone I love a lot, and she said, «Michael, I’ve heard the sermon 'Here Is Holy' for four weeks—worshiping, crying, taking off your shoes—all of that’s great, but in my situation, it’s hurting me to stay here.» Now, I don’t know if this is anybody’s situation right now, but some of the places we find ourselves standing currently, every moment I remain there, it hurts me; it hinders me, and it makes me feel like I don’t want to live anymore if I have to remain here. It made me begin to pray, «God, what are You saying? What is the revelation for people who are in relationships, situationships, and literally physically abusive relationships?» When you’re saying, «Here is holy, Michael,» He said to me, «Tell them to come talk to Me.» I said, «What?» He said, «You don’t have the answer to where their 'here' is; only I do. Nobody’s 'here' is the same.» Uh-oh.
So when someone says, «Stay here,» you have to ask, «Stay where?» If this production team tells me to stay here, I have a frame of reference for what they mean—stay here on the stage. But if my wife calls me and says, «Stay here,» and she’s on the other side of town, where does she want me to stay? At the church? On this side of town? And God said exactly: when I say «Here Is Holy,» you have to ask Me for parameters. «Here» is not a phrase of paralyzation; it’s a phrase that should allow you to question parameters.
Let me help you: If somebody says, «Stay here,» everybody say, «Where?» Stay in this spot. Because if I were to remain in this exact spot, that would literally be right here. But if someone tells me to stay in this space—that’s this entire church—they can say, «Stay here,» but where in this space? So that’s 30,000 square feet of space that I can roam and have liberty and authority while still being here. Some of you, God is saying, «Don’t leave the job, just leave that department.» He said, «You’re in a spot that I’m saying is not where you’re supposed to be, but you may need to take a demotion because your character isn’t ready for that level of leadership. But I didn’t tell you to leave the space.» Uh-oh.
Many people confuse spots and spaces. God said, «Stay here,» and you need to go to Him and ask for clarity: Does that mean stay here in this spot or stay in this space? But then someone can say, «Michael, stay here,» like I told you, «Natalie’s in South Tulsa right now while we’re at 1519 in North Tulsa.» «Here» could mean «stay on this side of town.» I’m coming to meet you; we’re going to eat after church. If I listen to her to stay here and ask, «What do you mean, just stay on that side of town?» there are so many places I can go, so many houses I can visit, so many legal jurisdictions I have the authority to go to while still obeying.
So many times when people hear a word from God, they don’t go back for clarity, and they feel trapped in a place where they actually have freedom. He’s saying, «Please come back and pray; what does 'here' mean for you?» Because what «here» means for Pastor Mike does not mean the same thing it means for Pastor Amberley, and «here» for Pastor Amberley is not the same thing «here» means for Pastor Brenda. «Here» for Pastor Brenda is not the same thing it means for Demario. «Here» has to be defined by heaven.
Let me put it in a point: You have to hear (H-E-A-R) where here (H-E-R-E) is from heaven. If you don’t hear where «here» is from heaven, you will be frustrated in a season that’s supposed to bring you great joy. Some of you got out of the marriage and are more miserable now because God was telling you to get out of the «spot» of savior, but stay in the «space» of that marriage because that’s where I’m going to heal you. I even feel right now that somebody’s going back to apologize—it’s been years. I’m prophetically saying this: you’ve been away from your partner, and God, through this message, is going to tell you that’s why it hasn’t been working. You need to go back and apologize, get it right, get into marriage counseling, and try again because I didn’t tell you to leave that place. You interpreted it wrong.
So where do I need to go, God? What do I need to do? What are the parameters to this prophetic word? Here, and only heaven can define it for you. So «here» is either a spot, a space, a side. Watch this: if my friend called me and said, «Hey, I’m coming to see you,» and I say, «But I’m about to leave,» and he says, «No, stay there,» and he lives in Atlanta and I live in Oklahoma, he’s not telling me to stay on the stage; he’s saying «stay in the state that you’re in.» Stay in Oklahoma. And for some of you, it’s not a geographical location; it’s «stay in that state of mind.» Stay in that state of generosity. I know they did not acknowledge what you did last time, but stay in that state of leadership.
So «here» could be a spot, «here» could be a space, «here» could be a side, «here» could be a state, and «here» could be a sphere. I could literally be talking to one of my friends overseas, and they say, «I’m coming to visit you,» and I respond, «You want me to stay here?» «Yeah, stay on the western hemisphere.» That means I can go to Mexico, Brazil, Canada, anywhere. Do you see how much authority I have to move if I understand the parameters of the same word «here»? And many of us, God is saying, «I need you not to just stay in this sphere of the globe; I need you to stay in this atmosphere of prayer.» It’s a sphere, an atmosphere of worship.
So many of you have literally had whiplash from taking your spirit in and out of the presence of God. You go into the atmosphere of worship and then snap out into the atmosphere of something else entirely. What I’m telling you is, maybe you need to just stay in that sphere—stay in an attitude of worship all week. When you go to the office, what’s the soundtrack? What’s the playback? When you get in the car and the kids want to hear something to get them hyped, find something that uplifts their spirit on the way to school as well—not just the most popular song out there. All I’m saying is you’ve got to hear where «here» is for yourself because you’ll get to the end of this year and say, «God, I stayed here,» and He’ll be like, «I wanted you to move, though. I just wanted you to stay within the parameters that I set for you.»
Some people are staying in a relationship that God said, «No, you got to get out of that,» but I don’t want you to leave the «state» because your insecurities tell you that breaking up with them means how everybody’s going to know you. You don’t want to face that around your friend group anymore, so you stay put. God said, «Your blessing is still here, but you just are not supposed to be in that spot with them anymore.» You’ve got to hear where «here» is from heaven.
I think a lot of people, as they listen to this series, are feeling the effects. This series started out really strong with a whole bunch of people attending the messages and services, and it has dwindled off a bit. My team started asking me why, and I said, «Because God is not committed to anybody’s comfort this year; He’s committed to you being prepared for your calling.» Anytime God starts preparing you for your calling, it’s going to get uncomfortable. There’s not one time anyone eases their way into a calling—it’s never happened, and it never will. Why? Because for the brilliance of what God has called you to do, there must be cultivation, and in this process, we’ve got to hear God. So I wanted to title this message—write it down in your notes—"No Limits.»
Somebody shout at me, «No Limits!» I want you to shout it like you’re in a Black church in 1994—like, «No Limits!» Now there are only two images I have in my mind. One is Israel Houghton with a guitar singing, «No limits—what’s the next words? No boundaries; I see increase all around me.» Or I envision my ratchet church with a bunch of camouflage, Master P, and the No Limit Soldiers saying, «We’re soldiers; we don’t die, we keep rolling!» Not all y’all are saved; y’all ain’t safe! Bishop Gary’s like, «What in the world?» For the 99 and 2000s, Master P had his moment. Do you remember Mystical? We still don’t know what he was saying!
But when I think about both of those instances in my life, when God told me the title of this message—He said, «No Limits"—I was like, «Let’s go!» I started shaking my head like I had dreads, but I didn’t have any dreads. That’s when you don’t have dreads and put a towel on your head. Some of y’all know exactly what I’m talking about. But not just any towel; you need the slightly larger towel—the one that really makes it feel like you’ve got a full head of hair. But I thought I knew what God wanted me to preach through this message when He said, «No Limits.»
Because «no limits» only has two contexts for me, and both of them involve breaking boundaries. Both of them are about breaking through barriers. «No limits, no boundaries!» In church, we’ve done a great job of indoctrinating people into what I call the theology of «there.» Has you trapped? Break out of it because there’s no limit, and God said, «Uh, this message is not called 'No Limits'.» He said, «I need you to bring the K in, and I need you to bring the W in, and I need you to say it with me: No limits! Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh!» Because God told us that this year is holy, and the subtitle is «It’s the Year of Intentional Limitations.»
Nobody wants this word unless you want to see the promises of God. Because limits—watch this—limits and limitation is a foundational principle of God. It is literally how God formed everything: limitations. Now, I know we don’t think about this in this way; we think about it as creation and innovation, but it honestly is God setting limitations. This year, as God says, «This is a year of intentional limitation,» I want to give you a definition of that: intentional means done with intention or on purpose; limitation means the final, utmost, or furthest boundary. So, what is an intentional limitation? I want you to write this definition down: An intentional limitation is a boundary set for a greater purpose and protection. When there is an intentional limitation, I’m doing that for a reason. This is not just to see what happens; it’s to protect something and give something a greater purpose.
So, when God told me «No limits, K-N-O-W,» I had to rethink everything that I had been indoctrinated with because I don’t like limits. Uh-oh! Can I get real with about 5,000 people right here? I always want to know where the limit is! I think Salt-N-Pepa said, «Push it!» I’m trying to push the limit; I’m trying to figure out how since I was a kid. Huh! Always been pushing! Yeah, that’s all my family on the front row—pushing the limits! And God said, «That’s not bad for you to know limits,» but the truth of the matter is that the limitations God is setting up in our lives will not be comfortable; they will produce your calling. Okay, and I need to be very clear about this as we walk in.
Can I tell you how amazing God is for giving us examples of limitation? Look at Genesis! Genesis chapter 1, verse 6: Creation is a story of limitations. It said, «Then God said, 'Let there be space between the waters to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.'» And this is what happened: He said, «I gotta limit you, heaven, and I gotta put a limit on the water on the earth because I need to create distinction right here. So, I’m going to tell the seas how far they can go, and I’m going to tell the land where to stop! Moon, keep the sea gravitationally pulled back; I’m setting a limit!» Do y’all know that’s what the moon does? It doesn’t just sit there; it controls the tide!
I gotta put regulations in so that the limitations I set can stand unto this day. He spoke it once; He set one limit, and to this day, the ocean, the sky, the sea, they’re obeying the limitation. What if you took your family to the beach and the ocean decided to go past its limitation? You’re just sitting there, everybody playing, and the ocean’s like, «You know what? No limits, no boundaries; I see increase all around me.»
The reason why we can enjoy things is because we know limitations. The reason why we can predict things; the reason why we can plan things! Every time you get in your car, you know that when you start that car up and you push that gas, and you can push it all the way to the floor, that when that meter goes all the way over to here—which nobody should be driving at that speed— it sets a limitation! And because they know some of y’all are reckless and not going to obey that, they give police officers radars that will literally track your speed! And they put these little crazy things all around all streets and highways— they’re like speed limit signs! It’s called a speed limit because what they’re saying is if you actually obey this, it produces safety, not just for you; it produces protection and safety for everybody!
If you don’t know the limitations, you can knowingly and unknowingly be causing damage because you don’t know what limits are! Somebody shot at me: «No limits!» Genesis 1:14 says, «Then God said, 'Let lights appear in the sky, separating the day from the night! '» Limits! «Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years!» That proves what I just said—our planning, our calendar; everything is formed off of God setting limits. Can I even tell all my creatives something—and this is hard for me to say—God puts limitations on innovation! No, I just gotta be able to express myself fully and get the idea out and do the thing!
Hold on! What if God created 13 days instead of 6? We still have not been able to figure out all of the species of animals that are in the ocean right now! He said, «I gotta quit at 6 because I’m going to overwhelm them!» He put a limitation on His own innovation. The reason why none of your ideas have come out is because you keep working on new ones, and you’ve never limited yourself to finish an old one. The blessing that you’re praying for, God already gave it to you, but if you would limit yourself to complete, oh, then you would be able to see the blessing of what God’s already… But no, no! I got a fresh idea, new idea! And so you’ll die with it all in you—not because you didn’t have innovation; it’s because you didn’t have limitations!
I am preaching, Ron, do you hear me? This is the stuff that people don’t tell you because they don’t want to crush you. God doesn’t want to crush you; He wants you to answer your full calling! How can you say yes to everybody and you haven’t limited yourself to know who you need to say yes to in this season? I’m talking to people-pleasers right here! You have so many appointments and dates, so many lunches and coffees that you cannot obey God and even hear Him because you have not set any limitations! I’m in your business today—do you need that pair of shoes too?
Uh-oh! No, I know they’re coming out—Jordan’s going to put those shoes out again, I promise you! He’s going to do it again! And God really wanted to give whatever it is to you on sale, but because you have such a disposition to instant gratification, you won’t limit yourself! When God told you to get out of debt, He told you to get your credit in order; you got a Macy’s card with three thousand dollars racked up on it. Somebody said, «Not Macy’s!» Put whatever name you want: Target, H&M, Zara, J.C. Penney! Some of y’all be J.C. Penney—be using those coupons! They’re 15%! They’re like, «If you sign up today…» No! Because I know if you give me more of a limit, I don’t know limits! More limits is bad for people who don’t know limits! Yeah, that is a bar!
If you give somebody who doesn’t know limits more money, they’re just going to become more of who they actually are! And I can think of a thousand examples! But God is saying limits are foundational to how He created everything. Let me give you another example of limits in the Bible: the garden! He literally says, «I made this entire paradise for you. One limitation: don’t eat from this one tree!» And see, this is the crazy thing about limitations: we feel like it’s God keeping something from us! Now, I don’t know how many trees were in the garden, but it seemed like our abundant God made a bunch of trees! And literally, they could’ve turned any other direction—trees, trees, trees, trees, trees, trees, trees, trees, trees, trees! But the one that He limited them from got their attention!
Honey, I don’t even know! I don’t even know why I keep looking at him! I know she ain’t my wife, but why—why she could—why she keep putting them yams on Instagram like that? Uh, y’all want to be fake? If she should—she didn’t want us to see them! And literally all around you—trees, trees, trees, trees, trees, trees, trees! But that promotion! When I got that in front of my name, then my family gonna respect me! Then they gonna know I make six figures—trees, trees, trees, trees, trees, trees, trees! I got to be the youth pastor at their church because that’s the way they’re going to see me! And that’s the way the culture—and God said, «I’ll just ask you to…»
And this is the crazy thing! See, this is how I think about the Bible! What if God was only limiting them from that tree for a season? That’s just how I think! What if God knew that the fruit on that tree wasn’t ripe yet? They weren’t ready to understand what God understood, but He never said that He wouldn’t eventually allow them to mature into the place… we don’t know! But they weren’t going to find out because they fixed their eyes on the one limit that God gave them! And I know you can be like, «Darn Adam and Eve!» But how many things has God told you? That He said, «This is the limitation: eat healthy this year!» Buddy, where’s my birthday? You know, on my birthday, Great Aunt Laureen makes the double trouble chocolate chip red velvet pound cake! And ever since I was six years old, she told me! But God told you something too because He sees your arteries clogging! And He knows you’re going to be praying for a miracle in March that you could avoid in January if you would just follow the limits!
No limits! Okay, even the children of Israel—God limited them from getting to the promised land the easy way. The Bible literally tells us in Exodus 13:7, «He said, 'I could have taken them the easy way, ' but I limited that because I needed them to get what was in them out of them!» He limited their access to easy! What if this year when God’s saying «Here is holy,» I’m literally not giving you access to easy because there’s something in this wilderness that’s going to produce what you need for the promised land? Okay? And some of y’all have been complaining, and this is the training! You’ve been complaining the whole way, and God’s like, «This is prerequisite for what you’ve been asking me for! I’m trying to do what you asked me to do! But if you don’t go through this training, if you won’t embrace limitations, then you will never be prepared for what I have for you!»
And if none of those examples are good enough for you, our chief apostle, our one and only example, Jesus, was limiting Himself all the time! Just think about putting God into a body! Talk about a limit! This! You took all of you and limited down to this dirt suit and became human! And then He was exuding meekness all the time—that strength under control! When the Pharisees came to talk about Him and spread lies and tell Him He couldn’t heal on the Sabbath, if it was me and I had the power—leprosy, syphilis—now I would just be like, «What did you say? Huh?» Let’s be honest!
But everywhere He went, He was limiting Himself! «Bless you in the name of Jesus!» I almost hit him with that double pneumonia! «Bless you!» Think about it! We never hear about God retaliating! Why? Because He embraced knowing limitations! He embraced limitations by not letting people make Him king! Every time He did a miracle, they were like, «Crown Him!» And do you know what Jesus would do? The Bible said He would slip away and get with God! He limited what people wanted to give Him! Have you ever turned down a promotion? This is the example of our Savior! Have you ever turned down an upgrade? Because every upgrade is not a part of your purpose! This is just like in the day being king would have been the people’s king! Y’all know the Rock, like the Rock is the people’s champ? That would have been the same thing! Like, as many Instagram followers as you can want, controlling the government of everybody, even church people would tell you to take that so you could influence more people for the Kingdom of God! And Jesus was like, «I don’t want that!»
Limitations! He didn’t fight back on the cross when legions and scores of angels could’ve come and saved Him! His literal act of love towards humanity was not to beat anybody up; it was to limit His power and stay there! What if the most powerful thing you can do is limit yourself and stay there? When Jesus did that for us, He proved His love! Can I say it like this? Limits equal love! I know we don’t think about it like this because of the warped thinking that we have! But anytime somebody limits something in you, it’s out of love! When my daughter, Ava, as she’s learning to ride her bike wants to now ride in the street and I tell her, «No baby! The limit is the driveway!»
It’s not because I don’t want her to explore and learn how to ride her bike well! It’s because I know that there are cars that come down our street! And the limit I set is actually love for my daughter! Could it be that when you know limits, it’s actually knowing the love of God? I know this is preaching that people don’t want to hear because you want to hear that God is going to take you to the next level! You’re going to bust everything. What if God says, «Stay there and shut up,» and then he says, «I’ll fight your battles and I’ll allow your enemy to see that I am God»?
What if he tells you to do that? He knows that if you pop off at the mouth, you’re not just messing it up here. There’s somebody watching in the wings who’s going to be the boss up there, and God said, «I’m trying to protect and preserve the future.» Love equals limits, and limits equal love. Say that with me: Love equals limits, and limits equal love.
Philippians chapter 2, verse 6: Let me give you scripture—though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges, limited himself, took the humble position of a slave, and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death. He didn’t even do it, but he stayed there and limited himself. He allowed them to give him a label and put a limit on him, and he stayed there so that we could experience his love. What are you trying to say to us, Pastor Mike? To limit yourself, you’re going to have to humble yourself. In this scripture, two times—it’s the only way Jesus, the Savior of the world, was able to walk in this level of obedience to God and his calling: he humbled himself; he took a humble position. When you find out where «here» is for you, then God’s going to say, «Now humble yourself and stay there.»
«Well, God, I could be…» and he said, «But…» «I want to start a new internet course.» «I told you where to be at this moment.» «Well, God, I told all my friends this was going to be a live Valentine’s Day.» «I would even pay somebody to be with me.» This is the inner vows people make, even if they don’t say it out loud. And God said, «No, no, no, no, no! I need you.» Everybody say, «Humble yourself.» This is where we find ourselves as God is bringing us to a close of this series. He’s saying, «I’m telling you here is holy, but will you be humble enough to obey whatever the next instruction is?»
See, when we find Moses on his journey, God is about to give him some instructions that are bigger than anything he’s ever done; but Moses was fighting himself to humble himself to do what God called him to do. And he’s not the only one. God’s called you to do something, and you’re thinking about why you can’t do it. And God’s saying, «I need you to participate with me and humble yourself.» I don’t even want to know what would have happened if Moses hadn’t finally gotten it together. But many of us are missing out on the greatest things God wants to do in our lives because we will not do what Jesus did and humble ourselves.
Look what it says in verse 9 of that scripture: «Therefore God elevated him.» This is Jesus, who humbled himself, limited himself, and took on intentional limitations to love us. He is now seated at the highest place of honor, and God gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth. I like this one: «and under the earth,» and every tongue would declare that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father. Don’t miss this; this is so important. The reason you have to humble yourself is that your legacy is tied to your limits. The only reason we talk about Jesus 2,022 years later is that he limited himself. Now he was elevated, and it became his legacy. The limits you set right now are going to be what your children’s children know you for.
My dad was a very devout worker, and he limited his emotional attachment to us, but he provided really well for us. So, because you limited your availability to your children, you gave them things but not enough of you. When you’re dead and gone, they’re going to think, «Pop-pop always gave us the best things,» but they won’t have anything in them to carry them through the storms of life because you did not limit your success. I’m just trying to challenge some of the things. Let me be honest; I’m literally the worst person to be preaching this message because my entire 35 years have been about breaking limits, not seeing the boundaries—going past them. And now, God, at 35, wants to click me, and he’s saying, «Michael, now that you can go anywhere and do anything and be wherever with whoever, I want to teach you a principle that’s foundational to the Christian walk: limitations here are holy.»
What does that mean, Pastor Mike? This year, don’t go speak more than five times outside of Transformation Church. Huh! But God, there are so many opportunities right now! You don’t know who called me. Yeah, I told them to call you; it was a test, not a blessing. Most people call the thing that they thought would never come a blessing, and many times it’s a test. «But, God, you know I prayed that if you would ever make a way for me to have influence enough to speak there.» And God said, «Yeah, and they called you this year, and I’ll call you four years from now, but here, here— I need you to learn these limitations.»
Being there to get your son’s Valentine’s Day artwork was more important than you speaking at that conference. Now, you didn’t know that was happening, but you had to trust me to obey the limitations. Everybody say, «Here.» Oh, I’m preaching to you today! My legacy is not going to be tied to my language; it’s going to be tied to my limits. They will say he loved one woman well.
Men have appetites and desires, and if God wanted… No, no, no! What my legacy will be known for is the limitation to put all the energy that I could give to multiple people into focusing it on one woman, and her name is Natalie Diane Todd. I am going to give her my all. She’s not a first lady; she’s the only lady. I’m telling you because that limitation will produce the legacy that I want my son, my daughters, and the kingdom to be known for. Most of us have the wrong view of limits.
Let me say it like this: Many people read the word of God and the promises of God through the lens of legalism instead of through the lens of love. So, when you hear the Bible and you put on the lens of love, it’s clear. Like when I put these on, I can see everything exactly as it’s supposed to be seen because I know that the lens here is a lens of love. But most people take off the lens of love and hear limits. «Why would God give us limits? He’s a God that’s not… No, that’s not a God I want to serve. So, I’m going to pray to the universe because the universe lets my feelings be forefront.»
What I want to do is everything because I can’t see God as good if he gives me limits. That’s legalism. If you could, for one second, take off the lens of legalism and see the limits of God as love, you’ll start to know, «Oh, God didn’t want me to have sex outside of marriage because it would break my heart. Oh, he wanted me to learn how to steward finances so he could trust me with more. Oh, I’m supposed to serve people because without humbling myself, pride will take over my life and make me think I’m the greatest.» But most of us never submit ourselves to the plan and purpose of God because we see everything through the lens of legalism.
You come into the church tinted: «No, I’m not serving here. It looks like you all have enough money. It looks like only four or five people get to serve on the platform. „Huh? Small group? Nah, I got my… We’ve been together since '04, and yeah, he’s divorced three times, and yeah, they do drugs on the side, and yeah, he lied to his wife.“ „We help him hang with the guys, but I ain’t leading no small group. I don’t even like talking because the one time I did, I messed up a word, and they laughed at me.“
So, I’m like, „I ain’t going! I ain’t leading!“ „Yeah, I got five sons, and I’m showing them to disengage with God,“ but I can’t see anything different because I’m looking at limits as legalism. If you can’t see anything else, I want you to know that limits from God are love from God because he’s trying to protect you from the things that you can’t see clearly. Today, it would be a huge win if you would not even put on the glasses of love, but just take off the lens of legalism.
Because once you do, it changes how you see God. And what if we started to… I’m just hypothetically thinking, you know what I’m saying? What if we keep going through this series, „Here is Holy,“ and we read our word and we start embracing limits? What if we start to love limits? Yeah! Like, I can’t believe I just said that!
This is how I know transformation is happening in my heart. What if I start embracing the limits that God says, „Hey, don’t do that anymore; don’t go there anymore; don’t hang with them anymore.“ „But God, we love it.“ „Cancel the membership; it’s not worth your purpose.“ And if we started to love the limits? What if we started to love discipline? Now I’m just saying some things that I want you to jump on. I ain’t coming at nobody today because the Lord has been whipping my tail all week with this one message right here.
But what if we started to love limits to the place where we started appreciating discipline? All discipline is, watch this, is being committed to limits. My security guard, Scott, is 58 years old, and he goes to the gym with me. It’s very discouraging. Scott used to be a Tulsa police officer, and then he’s done all these trainings: black belt in taekwondo and kung fu. He’s got all the degrees, and what ends up happening is Scott tells me to do things with my body that he can do with his, but I have never trained to do those things. Ever.
And when Scott… I’m gonna show you… Scott, come here! Take your jacket off! Now I’m going to show you this because I’m going to… I’m going to… I’m going to show you! He’s married; I just want everybody to know that, okay? Okay, where’s Scott? Come here, Scott! Come on! You wore your Jesus t-shirt today! Come here! Okay, now Scott, look at all the crosses on it. Okay, Scott, you knew he was coming up here today! Scott, you didn’t? Okay! Now, me and Scott worked out this morning. Didn’t we, Scott? Yeah, I did a good job. Thank you, Scott!
Okay, now right when I finished my workout today, I was like, „Guess what this fool did?“ He did the little push-up thing that you do with one hand—yeah, that thing! He did one of those, came to the middle, then came back, switched hands, and then did that again to end his workout. He had worked out for thirty minutes before I got there, worked out with me, and then did that foolishness. What I’m trying to say to you—oh God, help me—he has been more committed to limits than I have. It’s not that I can’t do what he’s done; I just haven’t been committed to a limit long enough to develop the discipline to be able to do it. I’m preaching right now! Now Scott, a year and some change ago when I started, I couldn’t do—now hold on! Be careful, Scott! Be careful!
When I started, I could barely do five push-ups. I’m doing great! But what Scott has done is pushed me to no limits. So now when I see Scott doing that, I think, „You gotta know your limits! You gotta know your limits!“ Oh, that’s gonna hurt tomorrow. Something went wrong, Scott; I’m gonna need a massager! Adrenaline! Okay, what I’m saying to you, I’m trying to bring some laughter to something that’s really hindering your life. Write this down: discipline is in the core definition of disciple. If you call yourself a disciple of Jesus, that means a disciplined one. And if you do not embrace the limits and stay committed to those limitations, you will never develop the discipline to fulfill your destiny.
So can I say it like this? True disciples are committed to limits. Point-blank period! If you’re going to do what God’s called you to do… A lady who taught me a lot about prayer—her name is Mary—used to say, „Michael, because of the call of God on your life, many can, but you cannot.“ I hated when she said that, but it proved to be true! Like, everybody else could be doing crazy stuff, and I would get caught—how is it nine of us and you only saw me? That was God’s protection! When you pray a hedge of protection around your children, a lot of times what that looks like is them getting caught. A lot of times, that looks like them getting exposed. The kids that are not loved are the kids that do not have limits. And the reason they usually didn’t have limits is that they did not have care at home.
So all the kids that got in trouble and their parents would go, „Don’t tell Daddy,“ and all that other stuff—there was another level of love behind that because they knew: „Don’t bring no D’s here. Don’t come into this house with no C’s!“ My dad and him used to tell me that stuff, and I was like, „Why? There’s still a whole other letter!“ But they used to say, „No C’s.“ They didn’t even say D’s; they said, „No C’s in my house.“ I remember getting my first D in ninth grade and the level of manipulation that I displayed to hide my progress. It wasn’t even a report card; it was just a progress report. And somehow, the Holy Spirit would be telling my mom at random moments, „Check his backpack!“ What? That’s an invasion of privacy!
I can’t tell you how many times she’d be praying, coming into my room, and going to exact spaces where I know—there’s no way! I’ve been alive for 16 years; she’s never looked there for anything! „What’s this? Just beat me!“ Now I know I’m in trouble. But what I found out is that because of the call of God on my life, many could, but I had limitations around me. Oh, and that means the enemy knows those limitations too because he’s tried to throw weapons at you, but all of those weapons didn’t prosper. Why? Because there was a limit! Okay, let me stop and be very practical. The monogamy in your relationship is a limit of love. The healthy eating that they’ve been trying to get you to do for three years but you cannot let go of that ice cream—I’m not talking to y’all, I’m talking to me.
Like, God’s trying to set a limit of love. The amount of time you spend on social media, and there’s a moment where it starts feeling nasty and gossipy—that’s God trying to give you a limitation! The iPhone even wants to help with it; they have a feature that shows you how much time you spend, and it’ll lock you out of your own phone. It literally says „limit“ on it. Because there are things that God wants to give you, and He has to give them to you in the margin, in the white space—where you haven’t stuffed your schedule full of soccer practice, PTA meetings, coffee with the girls, hair appointments, nail appointments, and everything else. You’re so scheduled out that you’ve scheduled Him out!
I’m telling you right now, God’s trying to set limits of love. How much you go out with your golf buddies? I hear golf is a really fun sport, especially as you get older because you can be really good at it even in old age. The reason I have not started golfing is that all of my children are under the age of seven, and if I really start liking golf, I’m going to be torn. I’m giving you real talk—this is real! Business deals are made on golf courses; people do all kinds of things. I’ve been invited by very high-profile people to go golfing, and God told me in this season, „One day you’re gonna be able to golf, but not right now.“ And it’s not a steep trade-off; I want my kids to know me. I just don’t want them looking at some other guy and thinking, „I wish that was my dad!“
So I’ve intentionally set limitations so that I can be available for what God has for me to do. Can I say one more thing to y’all? Y’all not gonna get mad at me? Can I say one more thing to y’all? Okay, okay, okay! The budget may be a limit of love. I know so many of us—there are two things that most people come for prayer requests for at Transformation Church: relationships and finances. So in two weeks, we’re starting a brand new series called „Mo Money, Mo Problems,“ and I’m going to preach to you for six weeks about the limits that we have to set so that we can live a life of generosity and stewardship. I promise you this series is going to teach you how to live the blessed life, and it’s going to change you forever.
But this is the thing I need you to understand: a disciple without limits is destructive! Ask Peter—somebody lost an ear because he didn’t know the limits! Jesus was standing there; He said, „You coming with us?“ Peter was like, „No! You won’t squat—“ *whoosh! *— „ear on the ground!“ Just like that! „My bad!“ He picks up his ear, puts it back on him, looks at Peter, and I bet Peter was confused at that moment because it was like, „I told you I’d ride or die for you, bro! I told you it was on site! If they want to knock, we go back.“ But he didn’t know he didn’t need to fight then because Jesus was intentionally limiting Himself to finish the purpose He had come to Earth for.
How do we know? He healed what the destructive disciple broke! When God has to fix what you destroyed because you didn’t know limits, it’s a sign you were never supposed to actually do it in the first place! Oh my God! Okay, but everybody say „flip!“ I gotta flip this real quick so you get to understand this. I’ve been talking to you about „know limits“ (k-N-O-W), but there’s a difference! There’s a difference between „know limits“ (k-n-o-w) that we need to know and then „no limits“ for God! And let me say it to you like this: write this point down—my job and our job this year is to know the difference between God setting intentional limitations and you setting internal limitations. Intentional limitations from God are not the same as those internal limitations that you set because of insecurity.
You have to know limits, and there’s a difference between intentional limits that God says, „Stay at the shop; be right here,“ and then God saying, „I want you, though, at that job to go up to the boss and make that presentation,“ but then you start telling God why you can’t because of your internal limits. Okay, let me just preach it because this is where we find Moses after the burning bush moment. God literally says, „I’m gonna use you in great ways.“ Exodus 3:5—He’s about to invite him outside of his spot, his space, his side, and his state. And his fear! He’s about to invite him into the greatest calling he’s ever had. God gave Moses instructions, but Moses gave God internal limitations.
When God gives you instructions, are you telling Him why it can’t happen or are you saying, „Yes, Lord“? Exodus 3:5—"Don’t come any closer,» the Lord warned. «Take off your sandals; take off your protection. Get sensitive! You’re standing on holy ground.» Here is holy! «I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob»! That’s what we preached last year! I’m still here! But right here, verse 7, then the Lord told him, «I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering! So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt.» Moses was like, «Yes!» Verse 10—"Now, Moses, you go for I’m sending you to Pharaoh!» «Whoa, my bad, bro! I was agreeing with what you were doing!»
Oh! That’s why you were talking to me! That’s why you did the burning bush! That’s why you told me to stop here so I could hear the instructions clearly! «Yeah, you must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.» Can I tell you something I found out through this man’s story? God talks to solutions, never to problems! The children of Israel have a problem; God does not speak back to them. He finds Moses, 80 years old in the desert with some sheep, and He starts trying to convince the solution to answer the call to fix the problem. I’m telling you right now there are people praying, and God’s not speaking back! You’re delaying their deliverance because you will not take up the call that God has placed on your life! And you’re telling Him all these internal limitations that you have. He chose you! He knows you! And He said, «That’s not a problem if you say yes!»
Because I don’t talk to problems—I only talk to solutions! The school system has a problem; who’s the solution? The government has a problem; are you the solution? The entertainment industry has a problem; God ain’t talking to them; He’s talking to you! And it’s the voice of the internal limitation: «My family never…I don’t have enough money to… I ain’t even go to school for that, and I’ve been in this career this long. Well, this is how people know me.» And God said, «Would you walk in crazy faith and step into something bigger than you ever thought was possible for you?» The children of Israel are praying, and I just feel prophetically to say this to somebody: write this down: your next assignment is to be the answer! We are not going to pray for an answer! When people start coming and talking to me about, «So, what are we going to do to rebuild Black Wall Street in the North Side?»
The reason why God chose this little church with green chairs and green carpet is that He knew we would be faithful in limitations in a season that would allow us to be prepared mentally, emotionally, and fiscally to be a distribution center for the community, the body of Christ, and the world. You know the series I told you about—the «Mo Money, Mo Problems» that we’re going to do in two weeks? During that series, we’re giving away a million dollars! Now, okay, let me tell you something. You see them golf claps right there? I stood on this stage the first time we did that series and asked our entire church to gather their faith because we were going to be a generous church and we were going to give money away.
And we raised $8,300 that day. And that limit that I told our church—that every dollar of this money is going to other churches—I listened to the limit that God had set, even though we needed that $8,300—didn’t we, Tammy? We needed all of it! The sense that went with it as well! But God said, «Oh, you’ll listen to the limitation! You’ll obey me when it’s more convenient for you to do your own thing! You’ll answer the call!» And now, seven years removed from that, we can literally fund and bless and generously give—with, hear the key, with no strings attached! You don’t have to call me! You don’t have to say thank you! When it left my hand, heaven saw it! And when heaven saw it, it qualified us for another level of distribution so that we can do it again. We won’t be a reservoir; we’ll be a river! But that comes with embracing right now and becoming the answer.
Exodus 3:11—look at Moses, like all of us—don’t act like you’re not Moses! Don’t act like you just believe: «Yes, God! Yes, God! Yes, God!» He’s God! Because some things He’s called you to do what you’ve never done before so your humanity can feel a little overwhelmed. You just cannot let your internal limitations overtake you, and Moses is about to do that. Look at verse 11; Moses starts protesting to God—how crazy are you, Moses? But Moses protested, «God, how am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?» Then God says, «Boy, I called you to do this; you can do this.»
Exodus 3:13. But Moses protested, «If I go to the people of Israel and tell them the God of your ancestors has sent me to you, then they will ask me, 'What is His name? ' What should I tell them?» God says, «Boy, tell them 'I AM' sent you. I am that I am. Just tell them that I am doing this.» Okay, but in chapter four, verse one, he literally goes into another chapter of the Bible still protesting what God is asking him to do. He protested again, «But what if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, 'Check this one out: The Lord never appeared to you? '» I know God was like, «Lord,"—he didn’t say 'Lord'; he said 'me.' What ended up happening in that moment is Moses, because of what he had been through, had to face what I call the three limits—the three limitations that restrict your calling. Before we leave, I need to give you these three, as you may be experiencing them right now.
In verse 10, Moses pleaded with the Lord—not that God would use him, but that God would not choose him. Not because he wasn’t capable, but because of his own inner limitations. Watch it—he pleaded with the Lord, «Oh Lord, I’m not very good with my words.» And God said, «I didn’t ask you all that.» The first limit is the limit of language. Many times, when God calls us to another level, there’s a different level of language at that level that we don’t know. So we try to tell God that we can’t do it because we don’t know what to say. And we all know the right thing; they’re high-powered people, and they’re in Hollywood, and they’re in government, and they’re in finance, and I don’t know the lingo. God says, «You did not interview for this position; I chose you. This was not a pick of the best candidates; I called Moses. You didn’t know; ain’t nobody else out here; it’s just you and the sheep. Burned up the bush; let everybody know, 'Moses, Moses! ' That was me. I know your language is a little rough, but if you would allow me, I’ll use that.»
Many of us have gripped so tightly to the limit of language. How do you know, Pastor Mike? Because it almost made me not be a pastor. When Bishop told me that he was going to transition the church to me, he said it would be a five-year process. So in my mind, I was thinking, «Okay, great! I can go back to school; I can learn. I don’t know hermeneutics; I don’t know the right disposition of the dialect.» There was so much stuff I did not know. At the time I was listening to him, I thought, «Alright, now I can get qualified,» and I became the leader of this church one year later with no more education—six months of TCC. High-quality Tulsa Community College should put me on the wall up there. I failed nutrition, and I’m still failing nutrition. But what I’m saying to you is that I didn’t have the language. I don’t know who in here has been limiting what God wants to do in you because you feel like you don’t have the language, but it’s time to strip off the limit of language.
Look what Psalm 81:10 says; I had to remind myself every day, Mom, when I got up here. It says, «For it was I, the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.» Any door you walk into and you don’t know what to say, God says, «By faith, open your mouth, and I’ll fill it with what you are supposed to say.» I can’t tell you how many boardrooms I’ve been in, how many meetings with bank presidents, celebrities, athletes, schoolteachers, and people considering suicide. I had no clue of the language of what to say, but as I stepped in there, I just gave God one filler word: «Really.» After whatever word I would say, when I opened my mouth in faith, it was like something took over. God’s saying, «Do not limit what I can do because of your limit of language.»
Look at him: he says, «Lord, I’m not very good with words.» Then watch this—he says, «I never have been, and I’m not now.» The second limit is the limit of last time. We often use what happened to us in the past as a limit on what God wants to do with us right now. «Well, the last time I applied for the loan…» «And the last time I tried to present my song…» «And the last time I tried to start the fashion company…» «And the last time I tried to get my book off the ground…» «And the last time I tried to start the podcast.» God says, «Do not let last time limit you.»
I don’t know who this is for, but God is saying right here, «You have a new license to try again. You are now authorized to do it as long as you got directions from me and it’s within the parameters you’re supposed to do here. Try again! There’s a fresh anointing, a new wind; there are going to be fresh ideas. There is going to be ease as you let go of limitations based on last time.» And Moses is believing this crap… Isaiah 43. If you have come on, let’s be honest—how many of you have maybe on the top of your heart but way deep down inside a limit of last time that tries to come and stop you? Come on, hands in the chat right now. Let’s be honest; we’re a humble, open, transparent church.
This is your scripture: Isaiah 43:18. «But forget all that; it’s nothing compared to what I’m about to do.» Somebody say, «But forget all that.» Last time does not matter here. The last failure, the last relationship, the last pain, the last hurt, the last loss does not matter here. «But forget all that; it’s nothing compared to what I’m going to do, for I’m about to do something new. See, I’ve already begun it; do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness, and I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.» Strip off the limit of last time.
The last one, Exodus 3:10, where Moses is literally invited by God to do something nobody’s ever done, he has his own internal limits. Internally, he acknowledges that it was God who spoke to him. Half of my battle is just knowing, «Did God actually speak to me?» Oh, y’all gonna be fake like, «Was that God, or was that burritos?» Okay, maybe that was God—let me go back to prayer. But I did have some cereal… This man said, «Even though I know you’ve spoken to me, I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.» The last limit he believed was the limit of lies—the limit of lies.
The crazy thing about many of us is that all of us have an area of our life where we’ve believed what the lie says about us as opposed to what God says about us. It’s the space between, «I know God spoke,» and «I get tongue-tied.» It’s a small space. He literally says, «Even though I know you talked to me, when what you said gets ready to come out, I believe the lie.» From here to here, there was a lie implanted somewhere, often since childhood. We can no longer let the enemy, whose native tongue is lying, hinder us. God is the God of truth and light, so the only thing the enemy can speak is the opposite of what God is saying.
So when God says something, the way you know it’s not Him is it’s the opposite of what He’s saying. When He tells you you’re going to be on platforms, the lie is, «You’re shy.» You may not have walked in that level of confidence yet, but the truth is you’re called to the platform. The lie is, «I’m shy.» And parents, please do not reinforce the lies because of your own internal limitations. Just because you didn’t answer God’s call in your life and just because you didn’t have the faith to step out and go to the college you knew you were supposed to go to, but it cost $20,000 more—you are going to get a scholarship to go there—but you believed the limit without knowing who God was. Don’t reinforce this!
Most of the people I counsel today are not dealing with things that happened to them in the last decade; they’re dealing with the stuff that happened in their first decade of life. It was people who had not given their internal limits to God—limiting them—and now they believe the lies about themselves. Poverty is not about color; it’s passed down. Yes, there are systemic issues, but what reinforces it is what we tell, say, and talk about the man like he’s greater than our God. I’m telling you it’s limitations that we’re reinforcing in generations. When is someone going to say, «I’m not going to allow my internal limitations to pass to another generation?» That’s not in my notes, but it was worth the whole thing!
It is time for us to take a stand and say, «I gotta try. I gotta step out. I gotta step toward it. If this burning bush seems like God, I gotta go. If I’m 51% sure, I gotta try it.» Because I will no longer let the internal limitations and the limits of lies keep me here, and then I get to pass this to another generation. So today, I need you to know something about all of your limitations. See, because Moses, he believed a lie. Then in verse 11, look what he said to God. The Lord asked Moses, «Who makes a person’s mouth?» He literally didn’t even answer his question. He went above him and said, «You’re talking about speaking, right? Who made your mouth? Did you make it? Did you give yourself that job? Did you get yourself through high school, college? Did you come out of that traumatizing situation and still have joy? You did that by yourself? Who saved you, protected you, kept you, loved you?» God’s trying to let him know, «It was me. So if I’m calling you to do something, I’ll also equip you to do it. Whatever I call you to, I’ll equip you for.»
Somebody needs to write that down right now. Whatever God has called me to—me standing here preaching to you today—is me answering God’s call, and then Him equipping me. Oh, and haters were everywhere saying, «He’s too young; he doesn’t know the Bible.» But God would rather take a moldable vessel who doesn’t know everything. What I’m trying to tell you is to recognize the limitations that are intentionally set by God, but then divorce all of the internal limitations that keep you paralyzed. No limits! Whichever way that folds for you, no limits. He literally says, «Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go.» He doesn’t allow his internal limitations to be an excuse.
He lets Moses tell Him all the reasons why he can’t, and then gives him instruction again: «Go.» It’s like most parents: «You can tell me why you can’t go to school today, but guess what? We’re going now. Go!» But these are the two things that you need to know: This is our confidence; this is our anchor; this is why we can be okay; this is why we can say, «Because I am here, God is here. Here is holy.» He said, «Go; I will be with you as you speak.» That means I’m not taking the assignment away from you. Even though later we know that He tells Aaron, his brother-in-law—was it his brother? He tells Aaron, «See, I don’t know everything. Right now I’m getting help from the audience, but I’m still up here doing what God called me to do.»
This is what I’m saying to you: He says, «Aaron, he’s good at speaking; he’ll go with you.» But this says, «As you speak,» so He did not take away the assignment. God just sent him community to encourage him, and maybe sometimes Aaron spoke, but Moses didn’t get out of speaking. God is okay with you having help to finish your calling, but He will not excuse you unless you resign from what He’s calling you to do. He said, «I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you on what to say.» Look at verse 13; can you put it on the screen, please? This one really trips me out. But Moses again pleaded, «Lord, please send anyone else.» And the crazy thing is we’re laughing at Moses. But it’s been five years that God has been calling your name. You’ve had the limit of language, the limit of last time, and the limit of lies, and God’s saying, «Um, I want you to be okay with your limits.»
Why? Write this point down—last point: our limitations are an invitation for God’s intervention. I can be honest that I’m limited in this area. It’s an invitation for God to come stand here, and when He comes to stand, He stands with me. Then He gets to intervene when I preach, and it goes to hundreds of thousands of people. They told me this week that 1.2 million people listened to our podcast this past month—that’s just one month, four weeks! I thought, «Oh no,» because when I start thinking about it, it overwhelms me. But when I do it, it fits me. I just said something; when I think about what God has called me to do, it overwhelms me. But when I step into it and do it, it fits me.
This is the thing about your calling: don’t just sit and look at it—embrace it, put it on, wear it, and watch God intervene. Every moment you feel limited, look at what the Bible says about our limitations, our boundaries, and our weaknesses in 2 Corinthians 12:9. You know the scripture, but I hope you internalize it differently each time. Paul said, «Please take this away from me.» God’s response is, «My grace is all you need; it’s sufficient. My power works best.» Do you want to see the maximum capacity of God in your life? It works best in your limitations. Invite me into your limitations and watch me work in your weaknesses.
Now, Paul changed his tone. Look at what he said: «Well, if that’s the case, I’m glad to boast. I’m weak here; I’m limited here. Just call me Mr. Lemonade because I am limited.» Now I boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ can work through me. Moses didn’t have to do anything alone; God just needed a vessel to work through. God isn’t trying to get you to change the entertainment industry; He wants to change it through you. He’s not trying to get you to change the baking industry; He wants to change it through you. It’s not you; it’s through you. This ain’t me; it’s through me. This ain’t you; it’s through you. So, I have two statements we’re going to end this service differently than I have ever ended any service.
I’m going to give you two statements to wrestle with all week because I don’t know where «here» is for you; I don’t know the spot, the place, the sphere. You have to go back to God. If you listen to this message and think, «I got my fill for this week,» you’re going to miss it. Now you need to set aside some prayer time, some journaling time, some meditation time with God, some time to worship, because He is the only one who can actually give you the answers for «here.» That’s why God said, «I’m taking the hustle out of my house,» and you need to invite God to take the hustle out of your house. Some of you are thinking, «When would I do that? Would it be between my third and fourth coffee?» and God’s saying, «Yeah, I need you to make some space for me this week. They can wait because I can’t.»
Two statements for what God wants to do with me here: okay, write this down—ask God, «What are your intentional limitations for me this year?» and actually listen for a response. Don’t just start writing things down because some of us might think, «Oh, I know what I need to limit.» You may not! God may want to do a heart work. You thought it was just about what you eat; He wants to address that too. But what if He said, «Hey, this year I want you to go serve that ministry on Wednesday nights, and I want you to get back in touch with what it felt like to serve at a low level»? Well, that takes time and energy. You don’t even go to that church, and they’ve been praying for help that they don’t need to pay for. They have a problem, and I’m talking to the solution. Stay there for a year.
«Well, God, I don’t know.» Okay, but when you ask for vision next year, I’m not telling you anything different. Wrestle with God—what are the intentional limitations for me this year? And this is the second one I want you to wrestle with for what God wants to do with me here: what internal limitations do I need to give to God? The code word for internal limitations is insecurities. What insecurities do I have? «I have never,» «I don’t have,» «I’m not enough,» «I can’t,» «Nobody in my family has ever,» «We don’t even think like that,» «We don’t even act like that.»
I am out here leading you in a space that is so vulnerable and uncomfortable, but I know here it’s holy. God is telling me it’s like Michael—things that were so comfortable last year, so easy for you to do, I’m going to give you intentional limitations so that you can have the stillness and allow me to point out, work on, and heal those internal limitations, that drive in you, that ambition in you that wants more, more, and more. That’s what we have to deal with right now. I know it’s what got you here, but it won’t take you there, and it won’t sustain you there. You won’t be happy or whole there on that same «over.» God told me, «It’s time to change your engine, Michael,» and I was like, «With this engine?» He said, «You never need to go that fast ever again. I’m going to take the V12 out, and I’m going to give you a V6. That’s half the power, but you’ll have more effectiveness because you’re going to drive the speed limit. You will never be in a hurry to get anywhere that fast ever again.»
So I’m trying to give you the engine that will get you there safely, whole, with your family, and with your church. Can I give you a practical example of that? I used to have a Chevy Impala; that baby was bad. It had the big engine, everything. We had four kids; we decided to have four kids, but I never thought it would impact what I had to drive. We traded in my custom black-on-black Impala with the orange interior that could go fast, and we got a minivan, a black Honda Odyssey. And that was the first time I realized my preference was not as important as protection. The minivan had higher safety ratings. It didn’t go nearly as fast; it had cameras everywhere; it had all these features that were unconsidered. But it wasn’t carrying just me anymore; it was carrying everything I was living for—my legacy.
God’s saying your legacy is tied to these limits, and you’ve got to know where «here» is to embrace the limitation. But then we need to let go of the internal limitations. This is all I’m going to ask you: if you know there’s an area of your life where you have been internally limited, believing the lies of language, the lies of the enemy, and even the lies of the last time, I want to pray for you as we end the service. But I’m going to ask you to make a statement of faith, wherever you are—in your apartment, in this room, all around the world watching live or on rebroadcast. I want you to take this moment and make a step of faith. If that’s you and you know there are some internal limitations that can’t go with you where God’s taking you, I want you to stand up wherever you are—in your living room, wherever. I want you to stand up.
Yes, it’s going to take a second for us to be real. Yep. And could you do me a favor? Right there, you’ve already stood up—lift your hands; I want to pray for you. God, I’m praying right now—whoa, I feel the presence of God—for every person that has been believing the internal limitations that have disqualified them from the great calling You’ve placed on their life.
Today, in the name of Jesus, we snatch back the lies and infuse the truth that You called them by name before they were in their mother’s womb; You chose them; You knew them. Father God, I thank You that You are the God that gives language; You’re the God that redeems the last time; and You’re the God that speaks truth, not lies. So today, Father God, I thank You that there would be a generation of people that would embrace the limitations that You set for where we’re supposed to be, but would divorce every internal limitation that has kept us bound. God, I’m asking that like an onion, You peel back the layers, yep. It’s taken years to get here for some of us, and God said, «Like an onion, all this week, all the rest of this series, all year, I’m about to start peeling back the layers until it gets down to the core, until it gets down to the foundation.»
Father, help us to be here as You called us to be. God, I’m thanking You that as You reveal our limits to us, that we would be humble enough, like Jesus, to accept those limits and declare that «here» is holy. God, do what no amount of money, no job title, and no one saying «I’m sorry» can do. Do what only You can do—give us heart surgery, God. Change our lenses; help us to see limits not as legalism, but let us see the limits You set for us as love. God, I thank You that this year we’re going to become real disciples, that we are going to be consistent with limits and become disciplined followers of You. Speak to us because we need a word from the Lord, a word from the Lord, just one word from the Lord—it’ll remove all doubt, cause the sun to shine, and give me peace of mind. Speak, Lord; that’s what I’m praying You do for this church. God, speak.
Father, help us to be here as You called us to be. God, I’m thanking You that as You reveal our limits to us, that we would be humble enough, like Jesus, to accept those limits and declare that «here» is holy. God, do what no amount of money, no job title, and no one saying «I’m sorry» can do. Do what only You can do—give us heart surgery, God. Change our lenses; help us to see limits not as legalism, but let us see the limits You set for us as love. God, I thank You that this year we’re going to become real disciples, that we are going to be consistent with limits and become disciplined followers of You. Speak to us because we need a word from the Lord, a word from the Lord, just one word from the Lord—it’ll remove all doubt, cause the sun to shine, and give me peace of mind. Speak, Lord; that’s what I’m praying You do for this church. God, speak.
Come on, just lift your hands and say, «I need a word from You, Lord—one word from the Lord to cause the sun to bring light to our situation and give me peace of mind.» We say, «Speak, Lord!» That’s it—wrestle with that this week. God, show me my limits, and then God, take all these limits—show me—and take them. No limits! That’s what we’re believing. But the way you get there is by letting Jesus take over. If you’re watching this and you’ve never accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, I want to give you a chance to experience the love of God. His love was shed for you by Him showing limits. He allowed Himself to be crucified in my place and in your place so that you and I could experience a real relationship with God that truly has no limits. He can take you from being, like me, a liar, a manipulator, someone who was addicted to pornography, someone with felony cases against him, and turn you not into a perfect man, but a progressing man—a man that spends time with God, a man whom God can change their priorities and allow them to embrace purpose.
That’s what God wants for you! I’m not the poster child; I’m just one of His children. But there are thousands of other people that had to make this decision, and God’s saying for you, today is the day of salvation. I don’t care what you did last night; I don’t care what you did last week; I don’t care what you smell like right now, or what you’re planning to do tomorrow. God is saying, right now, I want to show you my love, and I want to take the bondage, the chains, and the limits of sin that have been on you, and I want to break them off your life. But that takes you accepting what my Son already did for you.
So in just a moment, we’re going to pray. According to Romans 10:9, it literally says if you believe and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and you repent and turn from your sins, you are saved. Religious people try to make you think you need to stop smoking; you need to stop drinking; you need to get rid of your tattoos. That’s all their own religion. God will take you just as you are. And yeah, there’ll be people who will talk about you; they talked about Jesus. You’re in good company! But I want to let you know, as someone who has experienced the love, the mercy, and the grace of God, it’s the one best decision I ever made—to give God control of my life.
Today, I want to give you that opportunity. One: if you’re saying, «Pastor, include me in that prayer,» I want you to lift your hands. Two: I am so proud of you, but more than that, your name is going to be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life for all eternity, and your future is secure. Three: shoot your hand up wherever you are all over the world. I believe there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people right now. Hey, can I tell you a fun fact? Every week when we do that, we just believe in faith, through these cameras, that somebody’s going to make that decision. Over 7,100 people have made this same decision—oh, y’all better praise God with me! In 2022, it’s only been like six or seven weeks. The reason we celebrate that is that this is why this church exists—to represent God to the lost and found for one reason: transformation in Christ. And today you get to walk in that. At TC, we’re a family; nobody prays alone. So I want everybody to pray this prayer all over the world for the benefit of those coming to Christ. Somebody say:
God, thank You for embracing Your limits. Thank You for dying on the cross for me. I believe You lived, You died, and You rose again just for me. I repent from my old ways and turn toward Your way of living, and I embrace with love new limits that will produce freedom. Today, I give you my life; change me, renew me, use me, and transform me. Yours, in Jesus' name, amen.