Michael Todd - Don't Stop The Flow (Flood Sunday 2022)
Today, I have a word for you. Um, man, I’m excited to be in the house of God today. Um, today is a special day in our church because we have decided to take the word of God seriously, and a lot of churches, um, um, in this season, um, are on the fence about what we should do concerning what the word says. It’s a scary time, honestly, for a lot of people, because many individuals are just making stuff up to attract people to the church. The one thing we will never do is fabricate anything to appease people. We must stick to the plan that God gave us, and He provided us with instructions in His word, in the word of God. So today, I think we’ve done Flood Sunday for four years now. This is our fourth year, um, doing Flood Sunday, a time when people have decided that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior, but I don’t want to have a side-chick Savior. Y’all know what I’m talking about, a side-chick Savior.
Okay, let me just start with the first word: a side chick. Like, some of you are like, uh-oh, some people’s booties just got tight because I’ve come down your street. A side chick is the girl you’re talking to and claiming in the dark but won’t make any public statements about. You call them after 10, 11, or 12, saying, «What are you doing? You should be asleep.» But it’s a relationship with benefits, but no association. Most people treat Jesus like that—save me, but I won’t claim you. Uh-oh! Be my Lord in times of need, but when I’m confronted about you, I always say, «I just let people think whatever they think.»
You know, I just let—I mean, there are so many different ways. No, my Bible says there’s only one way to the Father, and that’s through Jesus. What we’re suffering from as a society is people who love Jesus as a side-chick Savior, and today, I want you to have the opportunity to go public with your faith and your decision to follow Jesus—not just as Savior, but everybody say 'Lord.' When Jesus becomes your Lord, it’s a different situation. That means He has ownership; it means He can direct and tell you and give you the way, the play, the timing, all of those different things. Most of us have made Jesus our Savior but have not allowed Him to be our Lord.
Today, through baptism, there are hundreds of people who’ve said, «I am no longer going my own way; I’m going to publicly confess and declare Jesus as my Lord and Savior.» I’m so excited about it that I’m going to do it in front of thousands of people. No matter what my weave has been doing, whether I got a haircut or I don’t even like water because I can’t swim, I’ll go down in the water because it’s an ordinance in the word of God, and I’m going to come up brand new. This is why we celebrate Flood Sunday, and there are about 400 people in the back right now. Oh, they’re so excited! Transformation Church, can we give God praise? Everybody in the back has already made the decision. And check this out: so many people signed up to be baptized today that we had to add a service to accommodate everyone!
Some of y’all are like, «Alright, Pastor Mike, so what does that mean for me?» It means if you’ve never been baptized before, today’s your day. It’s Flood Sunday! Transformation Church, um, Pastor Mike, I did not come prepared. We, we can prepare with everything you would need! And for those of you watching at home, it’s like, «Dang, I wish I could be at Transformation Church to get baptized.» You can get baptized in your bathtub! Last year, we saw over 30,000 people get baptized when the church building was closed. I’m talking about the most beautiful pictures of mothers baptizing sons and daughters baptizing fathers, and some of y’all are like, «That’s not biblical! Doesn’t it need to be a pastor?» No, no, no, no, no, no! Just find a believer.
«Jen, my hair, T, aren’t you a believer? Could you come over to the neighborhood pool?» In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit! I’m telling you, today thousands of people are going to take this step of faith, but I want you to do it with everybody saying, 'understanding.' Many of us got baptized when we were young, with no understanding, and the Bible tells us, «With all your getting, get an understanding.» So today, I’m going to walk you through the Bible to show why baptism is so powerful and why I would encourage everybody under the sound of my voice, whether you’re watching live or on rebroadcast, to make what Jesus said a priority in your life. So, um, we’ve been talking about this concept of overflow. Somebody shout at me, «overflow!» Overflow!
This is the season we’re in as a church, um, but most people, as I thought about it—it’s cool to just say 'overflow, ' but the truth is we only want certain things to overflow. The concept of overflow really isn’t what we like when we’re in the kitchen. For example, if we’re pouring something, like pouring milk in a bowl—my kids, for some reason, want to pour their own milk right now. You have a servant in your father. Why do you want to pour your milk? But they want to pour, and they don’t know how to pour. I’m trying to give them independence, but they don’t know when to stop. Especially, it’s like every time we’re in a hurry—they’re like, «No! Let me pour my own orange juice!» like, «No!» And they get it, and it’s like they don’t know that there’s a certain angle you have to be at to get the right flow. They just turn it over, and it starts to fill up quickly. It’s wild! And because they like watching it go up—are there any parents in the house who understand? Okay, because they like watching it go up.
Now, they’ve forgotten they were holding it, and what happens? It overflows. Most times, we don’t celebrate when it overflows. When something overflows, when you’re at the gas pump, you know, girl, uh-uh; he doesn’t even have a job, but you’re holding it because you want to fill it all the way up, and you didn’t want to put it on the thing. I’m in some of y’all’s business. So you’re holding it, waiting to get a $20, but you get distracted, hello, and then that thing overflows. Now you’re mad because you’re losing money while it’s overflowing! You’re like, «Ain’t this thing supposed to—» Now you’re in your car, rolling all your windows down because you’re getting high on gasoline. Some of y’all have had this experience before. We don’t like it when things overflow. What we usually do is we want things to stop at the top, like a water hose.
This is connected to a source that has a flow, and when I get it in the right container, it’s good. Like, «Oh, that looks beautiful! That looks good enough to drink!» How many people, when they were kids, drank water like this? Some of y’all bougie kids want the Fiji and Smart water. Boy, we had hose water, but we wanted it to stop at the top! «That’s enough, drop, drop, drop, perfect!» Everything was just how I wanted it to be. Nothing around; I got it good. What happens is, for most of our Christian lives, this is what we pray for: just to be filled up to the top. Can I break it down? We just want salvation, right? Get me out of hell! Yeah, no, my relationship with God is straight. I did a prayer; my eternity is secure—salvation; me and God, the big man up here, we’re cool.
And God said that was the first step to fill your life up, but I have an unlimited supply. I have an unlimited resource that I want to give you, but you keep stopping Me at the top. What we do is then we go to people, and we pour out a little bit, and pour out a little bit, and then we come over here and, «Oh, I’m going to give a lot to them,» and then we spend decades trying to give out of not enough. This is why we come to church every day but won’t serve. This is why we still have an attitude and won’t deal with our trauma because we’re like, «I’m saved, right? Like, I’m already saved.» Then you might have an encounter with God where He starts filling you up again, and you get in a small group, and people can see you, and you start being transparent. You’re like, «You know what? That’s enough!»
That is enough! God did it! I think this should be enough for me to fake like I really live for God! It’s more than my family! God, I’m more saved than all of them! I’m not—it could be way worse. 'Way worse' is not the standard! Like, who wants food, and every time they eat it, they don’t say it’s good? They just say it could be worse! I’m not going to that restaurant! God’s saying: stop settling for a salvation that is the beginning of the overflow! God said: don’t stop Me at the top! I want you to let Me fill you up, and then I want you to let it overflow!
Now, the crazy thing about when it starts to overflow—stop it for a second—anything that now touches this causes it to overflow. When people come into your life, they should be able to touch you. You should be so full of love, full of peace, full of joy, and full of understanding that when they touch you, and then we go back to the obscure place and say, «God, here I am again, mercy is new every morning! Fill me up, God! Fill me up, God!» This is what overflow looks like. Now let me help you. Too many people—you can stop it—have stopped God at the top. You know how they do it? Not by God stopping the flow—put it back on—what they do is say, «Alright, God, that’s enough! Now that’s enough!»
They quench the Spirit! Uh-uh! I ain’t going to be no pastor! Uh-uh! I don’t share my business with people! I ain’t never going to let nobody get that close to me! And what we do is invite people to keep stopping us. Dad, come here real fast! Grab it down here, and you clench it too. Yes, we’ll have family members—uh-oh! It can become generational! The father stopped the flow! And now all I saw were men who didn’t get vulnerable and show their emotions and deal with their issues. God wanted to use us to actually break those generational habits, but all I’ve seen are people stop the flow! BR, come here! What happens is—Charles, come here! What happens is we start this chain reaction. Grab it! So even when I decide, «You know what? I really want God to use me now,» and I let mine go, what happened to the flow? What was once flowing is now a drip because of who I’m connecting to.
Uh-huh! Some of y’all have been letting the flow stop because of who’s around you. We have stopped allowing God to flow in our lives, 'cause it’s not cool, 'cause nobody else is doing it, 'cause this is not what men do; this is not what women do. God said, «I wanted you to live a life that was overflowing!» Today, by this word, I’m praying that prophetically, there would be a chain reaction—let it go, Dad! I’m letting go of generational habits! Let it go, Brent! My friends and my family, it’s going to start to flow again—just that easy! Uh-oh! Somebody needs to praise! This is a prophetic symbol of how your life is about to look—just that easy! Somebody say: it’s about to flow! Thank you! The title of my message today is: Don’t Stop the Flow!
If God wants to do something big in your life, why would you stop the flow? There’s power in this thing we call baptism, and it’s the flow of the spiritual journey of a believer. God wants you to be saved, then He wants you to get baptized, and then He’s got some powerful stuff for you that I’m going to tell you about in just a second that will empower you to live your life in a brand new way. That’s why, at Transformation Church, we don’t just follow the message of the Bible; we follow the method.
Most people like the message but won’t follow the method. Today, when we see hundreds, if not thousands, of people get water baptized, they’re not just following the message; they’re following the method. Because there really is, and this is for all the people to understand—there are three baptisms! Everybody say: there are three baptisms! Not just this one. There’s the baptism into salvation, then there’s the baptism in water (what we’re going to experience today), and then there’s the baptism in the Holy Spirit! And we need all three! Somebody say: I need all three! Why would you just settle for the first version of God’s blessing for your life? How many—People like upgrades, okay? Like, listen to me. I’m the guy who travels, and when I get to a hotel, even if I don’t have status, they don’t know me from anybody. I walk up to the person and say, «Excuse me, ma’am, are there any upgrades available today?»
You would be surprised by what you can get just by asking for an upgrade. I have walked into places, and literally, they say, «I like your smile,» and, «I’m really not supposed to do this, but you’re just so nice to me,» and they upgrade me to the presidential suite because of it! I like when somebody shouts at me, «The upgrade, the upgrade, the upgrade!» The upgrade is always more expensive, it always offers a better experience, and it’s the next level above basic. If Jesus created an upgrade for you, why would you leave it on the table? If you would take an upgrade in your car, an upgrade at your house, and an upgrade at a hotel, why wouldn’t you accept the upgrade in God? You’re settling for being saved when you can undergo water baptism and identify with Him. Then, you can get the upgrade of having the power of the Holy Spirit living inside you. Today, I’m challenging you not to settle for just being saved when there’s so much more available.
Some of you may be thinking, «That’s a good message for new Christians,» but hold on! The Bible says we will know you by your fruit. If you’re mean, you need to get baptized again; it didn’t take the first time! Let me stop— it didn’t take because there should be fruit, there should be evidence. I’m filled with the Holy Spirit. Well, speaking in tongues is not evidence that you have the Holy Spirit. Speaking in tongues is the benefit of the Holy Spirit, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness… Just go back and study the fruit. We don’t see the fruit, and until you stop settling for just the basic version, you won’t get the overflow. Everybody shout, «Overflow! Overflow!»
So, look at what Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 28:19: «Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.» This is not weird, y’all; this is the Word! And teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the very end of the age. What is baptism? Very simply, it’s an outward sign of an inward decision. I’m just showing you on the outside what I’ve already decided on the inside. It’s like my wedding ring. This wedding ring does not make me and Natalie married; it symbolizes my commitment to her, my words to her, and my decision. But this wedding ring is an outward sign to all the other women. I had a lot of things go through my head in that moment, but I’ll keep it clean today; I don’t want any DMs! I’ve seen people come up and not see my right hand, and they say hello. I’m like, «Hey!» and they’re like— they don’t recognize me because there’s something different about me.
I can’t sit down and tell you everything we’ve been through and how much counseling we’ve had, but I have an outward sign of an inward decision. God is saying, «Why won’t you claim Me?» When you get baptized, you’re saying «yes, we’re together.» No matter what happens, I’m holding you down. There are so many people that God has gone above and beyond for, and He’s just asking, «Why won’t you claim Me? Why wouldn’t you let everybody know that we’re together and that we talk regularly, that I love you?» Today, I want you to know this very clearly: write this point down—baptism isn’t an obligation; it’s an opportunity for overflow!
I love being balanced when I teach the Word of God because some people drive a point home by just going on and on about something. I like to show the whole spectrum. You can go to heaven without being baptized; that’s not a requirement. People often ask, «What happens? Do I go to hell?» No, you don’t go to hell if you don’t get baptized. You just didn’t obey what the person you love asked you to do.
It’s like me and Natalie; she’s not going to stop being my wife and let me in the house if I don’t take her on date night. But if I love her, and her love language is quality time, and she asks me to spend time with her, what does it say about me if I refuse to do something that would show her where I stand in this relationship? It would show other people how much this relationship matters. What would that look like if I just didn’t do it because I think, «It don’t take all that. We’re married. Look at these kids; they look like both of us!» The bills have both our names on them, and I could simply do what she asks, not out of obligation or fear, but out of love.
Pastor Bree spoke eloquently at the conference about living out of the overflow of God’s love and it made me think—if God loved us so much that He sent His only Son to die in my place for every sin I would commit, how many people have committed sins? We’re not going to talk about them today, but there are some ugly ones that you’ve committed. And God said, «I’m not going to make them pay for that. I’m going to send my Son because I love them. If they just believe in Him…» After all that, are you going to sit up here and say, «Uh-uh, no. Nobody is going to make me do anything. I’m a grown man; I’m a grown woman. I can’t—uh-uh. I got baptized when I was two; that counts. Look, I have a picture right here!»
What I’m saying to you is, let me be very clear: it’s not an obligation; it’s an opportunity. It’s an opportunity for overflow. What if your one act inspired someone in your family who is far from God to say, «Hold on! My uncle went down into that water and came up cheering. I’ve never seen Uncle Bubba so excited about anything! What is that about?» When you post pictures of your baptism on your Facebook, and your co-workers, who only follow you on social media to gather intel to hate on you when you’re not around—oh y’all know some of you! —but what if they came looking for information and then found inspiration? What if you became God’s witnesses, and this is an opportunity for it not just to hit your life? Everybody shout «Overflow! Overflow!»
So, my question is: if we know baptism is something that God asked us to do in His Word, and we know it’s an opportunity for us to overflow in our communities and to our families, what’s your excuse? Let’s be real; just between you and me, why not? «I don’t like water.» Okay, fine, we can work with that. You’re definitely afraid of drowning. I want to talk about how you don’t like your body, and when you go down, that shirt is going to cling to you! Come on, y’all, don’t be fake today. When the water’s in motion, it’s going to situate; we can see it! It’s okay; we love you regardless. Let’s really ask: what’s the excuse?
If we don’t deal with it right now, it’s going to keep us from doing something that God wants to use as a witness to the world that you are actually alive. I understand this, so today I just came for everyone with an excuse to find another man in the Bible in Acts 8:26, who had a bunch of excuses, and I want us to see from his life what we can learn to not stop the flow. Somebody shout, «Don’t stop the flow! Stop the flow!»
Acts 8:26 says, «Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, 'Get up and go to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.'» So he started out, and on his way, he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship. I want you to understand that he went to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home, he was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, «Go to that chariot and stay near it.» Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet; he asked, «Hey, excuse me, my brother, do you understand what you are reading?»
Philip asked. He said, «How can I unless someone explains it to me?» So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Today, I want to be Philip for you, and I want to explain this so you can get it. Verse 32: «This is the passage of scripture the eunuch was reading: 'He was led like a sheep to the slaughter and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth.'» This is referring to Jesus and how He went to the cross for us: «In his humiliation, he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.»
The eunuch asked Philip, «Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?» Then Philip began with that very passage of scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. This is salvation; this is getting filled up! This man gets saved in his chariot on the side of the highway—not in a church, not in a synagogue! This gets me excited because God will meet you right where you’re at! He has someone pull up beside you on the side of the highway and say, «Bro, what’s up? What are you reading?» Think about how real this is.
As they traveled along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, «Look, here’s some water! What can stand in the way of me being baptized?» Let me say it another way: «Here’s some water! I’m not going to stop the flow! If God made all of this happen, I’m on the side of the road, I’m reading the scriptures, you just sent this random dude to explain the gospel to me. I accept Jesus—why am I going to wait for another time when the flow is already moving in a direction that benefits me? I’m not going to let anything stand in my way!»
Look what it says: «And he gave orders to stop the chariot.» Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. Now this doesn’t have much context until you understand what’s really going on in the scripture. Right now, let me talk about this Ethiopian eunuch just for a second. This isn’t someone who is obviously at the end of his rope; an Ethiopian eunuch. This specific man was a man of wealth; this was a man who had stuff, okay? He was important! He had clout, and he worked closely with the queen of Ethiopia. He was in charge of the treasury of the country, as the Bible tells us. But yet, he was missing something.
The reason I bring this up is that in today’s society, especially when it comes to God and church, we think that material things equal significance. Having a house in a gated neighborhood, being able to have two cars, going on vacations—doing all this stuff—makes us significant. But let me say this to you: write this point down—opulence isn’t overflow! Don’t settle for a lot when it actually means nothing. The Bible is very clear, and many of us, because we have not been filled up to overflowing, try to fill the empty areas with things that cannot last. This man had everything you could want but was still looking for something else. I hear the cries of people who know that what they are turning to fill up is not working; everything without the King is nothing.
This is what we have to understand: there’s nothing good about being grand without God. I’m going to say it again: there is nothing good about being grand and having everything if you do not have God in the middle of that. So, this is what I need you to know because I did some historical research on this Ethiopian eunuch: where he traveled from was 800 miles away! No airplane, no car! This man was in the back of a chariot for 800 miles.
What would compel you to be so desperate that you would travel 800 miles? You’ve got money; you’ve got everything; you live in the palace. Why would you go that far trying to find your faith? This man traveled that far to worship, but what history tells us is that the Bible says he went to worship—it didn’t say he actually did, because history tells us he would have been turned away. He would have gone all the way to Jerusalem to go to the temple but would have been turned away. Why? Because he was a eunuch, and he was a gentile!
According to Deuteronomy 23, it says, «No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the Lord.» That means a eunuch was someone who, usually in a PG version of the story, was made impotent as a youth so that while working closely with the queen, he would be no threat to the kingdom. If they had intercourse, it could interrupt the bloodline, so when someone was to work that closely with the queen, the king would ensure all eunuchs were unable to have children. This man was emasculated, and according to the laws of the time, if you were emasculated, you could not even enter the house of the Lord. I want you to understand this: he was forcefully sterilized as a youth; he was not able to bear fruit. Something was stolen from him that took away his ability to multiply and have a legacy. We’re diving deep into the word this morning, and this man is so desperate for a future that he travels 800 miles to learn about something that he heard could potentially change his life.
Now, watch this: no family, no legacy, no hope, no future, but God sends a divine interruption. Philip is minding his own business, and God makes this moment—everybody say a moment! —and this is a beautiful picture of what God will do in your life. He will divinely interrupt everything going on to show you how much He loves you. What exposes him in this moment is his exposure to the Word. Look at verse 36: as they traveled along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, «Look, here is some water! What can stand in the way of me being baptized?» This man is reading the Word; Philip comes up, explains to him the Gospel, and he gets so filled with faith that he says, «Let’s do it right now! Let’s go!»
Has anybody ever come up to you excited about an idea that wasn’t on your radar, and you hadn’t planned to do it, but it was such a good idea that you said, «Let’s go!»? All the ones and planners in the room are like, «That does not make any sense! I need a plan! I need four days to figure this out!» How many spontaneous people do I have in the room right now? All the people, okay; online, okay. How many planners? Just give me a shout-out. We need each other! I want you to see Philip was interrupted by God and given a plan: go over to that chariot, wait there, listen to him, and then act.
This Ethiopian eunuch gets so filled that he sees the water and thinks, «Oh, there’s some right there! Let’s make it happen right now!» Philip could have said, «No, you know what? It’d probably be better if we gathered a crowd and did this tomorrow morning at sunrise when the sun is shining down on everything you’ve decided. Let’s just wait a night to ensure you really, really desire this!» But instead, they were in the present, and I’m telling someone this right now because you might be looking around and thinking, «I’m not getting baptized today.» I hear what I’m saying to you right now: today, God is inviting you into another level of overflow, and the only one who can stop the flow is you.
You’re going to look back and say, «Hold on! God, you made a moment for me to go down in that water, to identify with the death and burial of what you did on the cross, and come up resurrected as new.» My life can be made new, and the things I used to do no longer affect how I live today. I can have a fresh start, and I can get up and say, «It’s different now! I’m not the same person I was back then.» There is a line drawn in the sand. I can do that, or I can make excuses. Today I’m just asking you, very simply, don’t stop the flow.
Can I make this easy point for you real quick? Where you are going is not as important as what God is doing. We don’t fully know where this Ethiopian eunuch was heading, but God interrupted him and said, «I want to do something in your life.» I know there are people listening right now, watching, and in this room who are going a different way today. It wasn’t even on your radar; you just got invited, and you’re sitting here like, «Oh, that was cool.» You think there’s a coincidence with God? Someone’s been praying for this moment for you. This is a divine intersection of God’s grace and His favor, and your willingness to see something change. God doesn’t care where you’re going; He cares about what He’s trying to do in your life.
And I’m telling you that after a moment like this, everything can change. How do you know? I’m coming to a close. This is easy because this isn’t about convincing you. At the end of the day, I’m not trying to convince you to do what God has already commanded. I’m just trying to give you understanding so that if you decide not to, you will be fully aware. You can’t say, «Yeah, God, I know that’s what you said, but I’m going the other way.»
Baptism is a divine interruption of anything going on in your life. Write that down: baptism is a divine interruption. If you’ve been stuck in an addiction, get baptized! It’s your way of saying, «I’m severing that lifestyle! I’m interrupting it!» Want to know how to break a generational cycle or a habit? Get baptized and interrupt the thing that keeps going on and on and on. If you want it, God is giving everyone in this room and watching online an opportunity to start the flow again. Every area in your life that has been stopped up—God is saying, «Let it flow!»
Uh-oh, there’s a power that can come that’s stronger than hold on. It turned up so hard that the pressure is building. Why would I fight what wants to come out? This thing wants to flow! Keep it going; this thing wants to flow. Why would I fight any longer? God is saying you don’t have to. Every knot, everything that’s been tied up, everything that’s tried generationally—I want you all to hear this. I want you to hear the sound of God trying to flow in your life.
He’s trying to rush; He’s trying to clean; He’s trying to clear it out. But all you have to do is let go! As soon as you let go and let God overflow, as soon as you let go of what you may look like to others and what people will say—everybody shout with me, «Overflow! Overflow!» This eunuch experienced overflow in his life because he allowed God to make a divine interruption.
To those making a decision today for baptism, I’m so proud of you because you are choosing to be interrupted! Yes, we can give God praise for that! Oh, you can do better than that! I’m so proud of you because you are making the mark and drawing a line in the sand. Y’all can keep thanking God for that right now. This is a divine interruption to every lie of the enemy, to everything that you thought you would never be.
Do you want to know what the craziest thing about this short little power-packed story is? This Ethiopian eunuch actually goes on to change the world, but it took someone being obedient. I want to talk to all the Philips in the room. Everybody who has already been baptized—who is God asking you to chase the chariot for? Oh, you thought some of y’all checked out a long time ago: «I’ve been baptized! I’m saved! Thank you, Pastor Mike! When is he going to be done?» But you haven’t chased the chariot in years. The Holy Spirit has been asking you to talk to people, invite them to church, go share the good news of the Gospel with them, and you’re sitting on the sidelines watching chariots go by every day on Facebook.
If Philip does not obey God and chase the chariot, what does that mean, Pastor Mike? It’s going to take effort! Eternity takes effort, and most people want people to be saved on their own with no problems, with nobody around. «Hopefully God, the Holy Spirit, is everywhere!» Ain’t He omnipresent? What you said—omnipresent? For some reason, He chooses to partner with us, and He says, «How will they know unless someone tells them?» Philip, I’m asking you to have the faith to chase a chariot.
Have the faith to speak to someone this week at work. Have the faith to send this link to somebody. Have the faith to bring someone back tonight at 6 p.m. Text them right now. «Hey, I was thinking about going to Transformation Church tonight. You want to go? I heard there’s plenty of room because they added a service! It isn’t going to be crazy like they said on the internet. It won’t have long lines. It’s free! It’s kind of like the concert; I heard it was crazy!» Don’t even tell them! Just let them sit in here and let the Holy Spirit do the work.
But if you don’t chase the chariot, this Ethiopian eunuch never has an opportunity for overflow. Who’s missing overflow because of your disobedience? Let me say it in a nicer way for everyone who was offended by that. Overflow starts with obedience. Philip’s obedience creates overflow for someone else. The truth is, the Ethiopian eunuch could have stopped the flow, but Philip could have too. If Philip hadn’t obeyed, he would have stopped the flow for someone else. I’m asking every believer, every Philip, every faith-filled Philip out there, or Philip—how would you say that for a girl? Philip? Philipa? Philipa? That sounds like a disease! I don’t want Philipa! Okay, you Phyllis! There we go!
Every Philip and Phyllis filled with faith—just obey! If you don’t need this, you know someone who does. Let me ask—how many people know someone right now that needs a fresh start? Come on, hands in the chat; someone needs a fresh start in God! Why wouldn’t you be somebody to help them flow again?
Alright, let’s wrap this up. This eunuch gets saved because Philip doesn’t stop the flow. As they’re going, he sees some water and asks, «Isn’t the next step for me to get baptized?» He says, «Yeah, there’s some water right there! I don’t have the clothes; I don’t have the attire.» It doesn’t matter! Let’s go get baptized! He doesn’t stop the flow because there was an opportunity.
Then this man—watch this historical fact—goes back to Africa and is historically called the father of faith in Africa. This one man, having an experience with overflow, goes back as a witness to the life of Jesus Christ, goes to Africa, tells Africa about Jesus, and historically, that’s how the message of the Gospel gets to Europe. The message of the Gospel goes from Europe to America. It could be said that none of us are in this room today experiencing the overflow of God in this worship assembly if this Ethiopian eunuch doesn’t get baptized and experience overflow. Think about it: one person experiencing overflow has rippled throughout the world for generations!
What could this one decision produce in your life? What am I saying, Pastor Mike? Remember, he was barren. In that time, people weren’t excited like they are today about not having kids. Back then, family was everything. Your name, your lineage going forward—having children, especially if you were a male, was how you were considered of status. That was taken away from him. But look at our Redeemer: He takes a barren man and blesses the world. They begin to call him a father of faith, all because of baptism.
Write it down in a point: God can take what’s barren and bless it through baptism. If you’re feeling impotent in any area of your life, if you feel like you don’t have any ability to produce fruit, allow God to give you a divine interruption today. Let Him change the narrative and the story of your life with your act of obedience. When people get baptized, I believe it’s going to ripple throughout history because of your decision to give God everything you have.
2 Corinthians 5:17: «That means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone, and a new life has begun!» Today I’m telling you a new life is available. Don’t stop the flow! We’re here now; we’ve got 10 baptism tubs! You have a shower at your house, a tub at your house; we’ve got clothes for you in the room. We have a 6 p.m. service tonight! What would be your excuse not to go ahead and allow God to take you to the next level of overflow?
It’s special for me because my daughter, Isabella, came to me three weeks ago when we were talking about flood Sunday. She said, «Daddy, I want to get baptized.» Bella is a genius—a really smart child; she’s super advanced. She asked me last year if she could get baptized, and I asked her if she knew what it meant, and she didn’t. So this time when she came to me, I said, «Bella, we take baptism seriously! I want you to know what it means. Do you know what it means?» She said, «Yes, Daddy, I know what it means.» I said, «What does it mean?»
She said, «When you get baptized, you’re telling everybody that Jesus has washed away your sins and all the old stuff you used to do no longer affects you. You come up, and it’s kind of like you’re washed clean.» I said, «What?» She replied, «Yeah, Daddy,» and added, «It’s just like a decision that makes sense. God loves me, I love Him, and I want to let everybody know.» She kept telling me, so I said, «This is why.» I informed her, «Me and your mommy are going to talk to you together, and we’re going to make sure this is what you want to do because there’s no pressure. I want my kids to love God for themselves; I don’t want them to love God just because I’m a pastor. All of this can go away. I want them to have a real relationship with God that can hold them when we disagree, you know what I’m saying?»
All week during the conference, Bella kept asking, «Dad, when are we going to talk?» I would respond, «Bella, we’re going to talk every day.» Then she would ask, «Dad, when are we going to talk?» I said, «Bella, the conference is going on.» Again, she pressed, «Dad, when are we going to talk? I want to get baptized.» At just 9 years old, she has seen enough of God’s faithfulness to decide, «I want everybody to know.» She hasn’t even faced any real problems yet, unlike some of us here who are 39 years old and have seen God’s faithfulness over and over again. If a 9-year-old can sense God’s faithfulness and love for her, I would ask you to think back and see if it’s worth stopping the flow of God in your life.
We’re about to pray, and in a moment, hundreds of people here are going to be baptized. But I honestly believe more are in this room—thousands of you watching online right now. Do not let distance stop you! That Eunuch was like, «Where’s some water?» There’s some! Go find your neighborhood pool, go to a friend’s house with a jacuzzi, or go to your bathtub. Some of you are too big for the little kid’s bathtub, so maybe go to the YMCA or get in the lake—go to the beach. Invite one other believer; it could be your son or your daughter. I want you to make a public declaration this week that you are not going to stop the flow. Somebody say, «Don’t stop the flow!»
I’m going to be baptized in water, and this is the exciting part: once you do this, you might as well hit a triple this week—you might as well get filled with the Holy Spirit too! I can’t teach it all right now, but there’s a great series I did for about 10 weeks called «The Upgrade.» Go to YouTube and type in «The Upgrade» and watch that this week. Why couldn’t we come out of this week—not next week, not the beginning of the year, not with a new year, not in 2023—everybody say, «This week!» This week, with the overflow of what God wants for us as believers.
If you’re in this room and you want to be baptized—if you’re saying, «Alright, Pastor Mike, I’m ready. I’m going to represent God,» I want you to know that in just a moment, we all will stand to pray. And when we stand to pray, I know that’s an excuse for someone saying, «I’m in row six, seat eight; I’m not about to…» Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me—excuse, that’s just too much for me, Pastor Mike. «I’ll do it another day.» We are all going to stand up and make it easy; we’re going to clap and shout. All you have to do is get up and people will move for you, and you’re going to come down, and you’ll get everything you need.
Take all your stuff and go to the back doors—if you’re on this side, go back here; if you’re on this side, go back here—and we’ll help you get prepared. The worship team will come back out, and we will sing worship songs and talk about the overflow of God, and then we will start baptizing people. If you have to go, and the game is on or whatever, goodbye! But for everyone else in here, I want us to celebrate because people are divorcing and death is coming to their own lives. Oh yes, this is why we exist, and we’re going to see people raised to life through water baptism. We’re going to throw a party in here!
So, here’s what I need to do: remember the first thing. Hold on, hold on, hold on! This is not for everybody to move. If you need to make Jesus your personal Lord and Savior right now, I want to pray with you. If you’re saying, «Pastor Mike, I want to be filled up, just fill me up,» and you want to be saved, we’re about to pray. Salvation is the greatest thing you could ever receive. I didn’t say work for it; I said receive it. It’s a free gift from God, not by works, so all you have to do is receive it today.
If you want to be saved; if you want to give God your life; if you want your eternity secure today, according to Romans 10:9, all you have to do is believe in your heart and confess with your mouth. We are repenting from the old way where we went to get filled up and turning to Jesus. Why is this so important to me? It’s the greatest decision I ever made. It took me from being a liar, a manipulator, and someone addicted to pornography—someone who had a lot of bad stuff in their heart—and it didn’t make me perfect; it introduced me to the perfect One. When I got connected with Him, out of His love, I began to change and transform. The man you see today would not be here unless I put my faith, my hope, and my life into not just an idea, but into the only one who can save you: Jesus.
And today, I want to give you that opportunity. So, if that’s you—everyone around the world watching in the room—if you want to make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior, on the count of three, all I want you to do is slip your hand up in the air. I know that at many churches, they like you to come down to the front and tell them what you did last week—how much weed did you smoke? Nobody cares about that! At some point, we would pray for you to get into community and share with someone so that you could truly heal. But today is just about you confessing, «I need Jesus.» This is me chasing your chariot, sharing the good news of the Gospel—that Jesus wants a relationship with you.
If that’s you, I want you to raise your hand on the count of three: one, you’re making the greatest decision of your entire life; two, your name is going to be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and your eternity is secure; three, just shoot your hand up all over the auditorium or online. I see you, I see you! I’m so proud of you. I see you, I see you, I see you. Glory to God!
Now listen, at Transformation Church, we’re a family. Nobody prays alone. All of this was worth it for one person. Everybody wants to see 50,000 hands go up, but if one hand goes up, everything was worth it. Heaven is rejoicing, and so are we. Can we say this prayer all together for the benefit of those coming to Christ? Everybody say:
Lord, thank You for sending Jesus just for me. For today, I want You to flow in my life; come into my heart and change me. I believe You lived, You died, and You rose again with all power so I can have life and life to the full. I’m Yours. Be the Lord of my life; change me, renew me, transform me. I’m Yours. In Jesus' name, amen.