Michael Todd - A Collision with Vision
All right, so I wore all black today because I’m ready to fight, and I think for the whole series, I might be in all black. I’m in business; I have come on assignment to deliver people from themselves. If you thought half of what God thinks of you, you would not be in the position you’re in today. But you have allowed the many layers of lies to become the covering of the true purpose of who you were created to be. Today, I’m on assignment to unleash and unlock you from yourself. I have been given a mandate and assignment. You can tell how I’m talking; I am on a whole other level today. There’s an authority that I’m standing here with that is not something of speculation; it’s proven. Today, I have to talk to you not from what I’m hoping for, but from what I know. The reason I was born was to help people find out God’s purpose for their lives. That’s the reason I was born.
Even tomorrow, as we celebrate Dr. King’s birthday and all the things he did for this world, I feel like Martin this morning. Okay, let me explain. I know that for some of you, it might sound strange; how could I say that? Because he wasn’t the only one who was made to impact the world in a significant way. Do I have any world changers in the room right now? I said, do I have any world changers in the room right now? You may not know who you are yet, but I’m on my Martin swag this morning.
Why am I saying that? Because on the inside of me, I know God put something in me that’s supposed to spark something in you, and I didn’t put it there myself; He put it there. And when God puts something inside of you, and you hide it from the world, you are robbing everyone of God. If God put something in you and you never share it with the world, you are robbing everybody—not just of you, but of God. And I’m sick of us using excuses—our family backgrounds, generational habits, our own mistakes—to disqualify us from unleashing in faith what God put on the inside of us.
So today, I have been tasked with the assignment to stir you up. The Bible says to stir up the gifts. I pray that every word I speak reverberates in your heart, that it gets down on the inside, and you’re going to be watching a football game, feeling those «bubble guts,» and it won’t be the tacos you ate; it’s going to be that thing on the inside of you yelling, «Let me out! Let me out! I’ve been locked up in here too long! I’ve let too many things become excuses; let me out!» God put—oh my God—let me out! This is the year that we are going to let out what God has put on the inside of us. Charles, they better come get me! Let me out! That book has been saying, «Let me out!» That ministry has been saying, «Let me out!» That song has been saying, «Let me out!» That adoption ministry has been saying, «Let me out!» That curriculum has been saying, «Let me out!» It’s been saying, «Let me out!» And we have allowed the lies to cloud our vision.
But today, I’m believing through the word that God has given me that this year, 2023, is going to be the year that you let it out. Somebody just say it by faith: «Let it out!» Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! There are things coming out of you that you don’t even know are there. Do you know the greatest version of me is the stuff that I don’t even know is there, but God put it on the inside of me? And I just had to be obedient and disciplined enough to allow myself to cultivate it and develop it until it got out. Somebody shout at me: «Let it out!» Some of you better just pause your Instagram for a little bit because you’re going to have to reintroduce yourself. People around you don’t even know you yet because you don’t even know you yet. But the thing that’s about to come up from the inside of you is about to change all your conversations, your family, your finances, and your day-to-day work. Somebody say, «Let me out!»
It’s Vision Sunday, and for anybody who’s here and thinks this is hype, you haven’t been here. For anyone who thinks I’m just up here sweating for a hooray, I believe this with every fiber in my being. I can’t even stand still right now because if I could impart to you what’s on the inside of me, you would no longer have any excuses about what you could and could not do because of who is on your side. It would be different if you made up a plan by yourself and were trying to get God to co-sign it, but there are things that God has placed on the inside of you. That’s how you know it’s Him, because you don’t even want to do it.
Oh, come on! Anyone that’s ever had a real vision knows it’s not something you actively pursue. Being up here was a prerequisite for the purpose; He had to give me a platform for the purpose. This year, we stopped praying for platforms unless they have a purpose. I told the team, «I don’t want any more Instagram followers unless I’m supposed to impact a life. I don’t want any more speaking engagements unless I’m supposed to make an impact there.» Stop praying for a platform if it does not have a divine purpose.
You see, I haven’t even looked at my notes yet because something has risen on the inside of me that wants to help you have clear vision. Everybody shout at me: «Vision!» If I don’t do anything else right—if I’ve failed at everything else—the one thing I can stand here and say since 2015 that I have made an intentional effort for and have not stood on this stage without, is a clear vision.
Now, the reason this is so important is that everything that comes out of life has been a result of somebody’s vision. The shirts you have on were somebody’s vision. The chair you sit in was somebody’s vision. The screens you are watching this on were somebody’s vision. You are now experiencing the reality that was not there but showed up in one person’s heart, and now it has been duplicated, replicated, and become the normalcy for everybody because one person had a vision. What are you holding that we all need? What has been on the inside of you that you’ve let a career and a college diploma keep you in a field, never releasing what God put in you in faith? You are working on a retirement plan while God has been trying to release revelation into your life.
This is the season where we seek God for clear vision. I want that word to haunt you; I want you to become like me—a victim of vision. I’m a victim of it! I can’t go a week without doing something, not because I’m trying to avoid anything but because I’m laying in bed, and that vision will start. I’ll get random ideas at four o’clock in the morning, and I’ll start praying about them. I’ll be watching a movie that has nothing to do with it, and God shows me a revelation about what He called me to do.
How do we get that out of the truth? How is it that Max goes over the crowd? Some of you know what I’m talking about. How is he getting on the string and going over the crowd and becoming something that he saw? How did that speak? I’m a victim of vision. God has shown me something and given me glimpses of the future—of me, of you, and of this church. The one thing I’m praying for everyone under the sound of my voice is this: This is my first message in 2023, and I pray you have a collision with vision. I’ll say it again: I’m praying for every person under the sound of my voice that this year you will not be able to skate by all the things that you’ve been doing.
I’m praying you run smack-dab in the middle of vision! I pray you have a collision with vision; I pray it knocks you off your feet. I pray that God gives you something so clear it scares you. I pray you have a Saul-to-Paul moment that is so bright it blinds you; it’s going to take somebody laying hands on you and saying, «Yeah, yeah,» and then the scales will fall from your eyes. Some of you are going in directions that you won’t even be in 12 months from now. I’m prophesying to you right now: you will not be doing what you’re doing 12 months from now.
The only way you do that with assurance is by getting a vision from God. And today, that’s why I’m so excited—we’re in day seven of 21 days of prayer and fasting. I’m so proud of you, church! Every night, we’re here at six o’clock. We’re pushing away social media, and we’re pushing away plates because why? We want to hear from God. See, God gives us a template we can use to get fresh vision all the time. If you’ve never known how to get vision, I’m going to tell you real quick in ten seconds: you pray and you talk to God; you hear—that’s the awareness of God—and then you listen.
Oh, you thought you already heard that one? I said hearing and listening are two different things. Hearing is the awareness; there are all types of sounds I hear in my house—something goes off, kids screaming, somebody pooping—there are all kinds of sounds. But there’s a difference between hearing and listening. And we don’t just want to pray; we want to pray, then hear, and then listen. That’s intentionally focusing and even quieting ourselves.
What was that? Is that—hold on, God. Are you telling me to forgive them? No, no, last year 60% of my time was spent being mad at them! I have so many comebacks, and if we want to get petty, I can be Petty McPherson! But God, hold on! You’re taking away my purpose at this moment. He said exactly! Hear me!
Hey! Crazy Faith offerings are over; now go give! No, no, no, no, no! Remember December? December was when they did that! Yeah, yeah! Now I’m telling you the nuance of hearing God and then listening to Him. It’s the difference between obeying and being confused about what God said. The Bible says the steps of a good man and a good woman are ordered by the Lord.
The only way someone can accurately process and deliver your order at the drive-through is that they are listening, not just hearing. And what I’m telling you right now is this! This is the season that God is requiring you to not just pray, not just hear, but for you to—everybody say—listen! But then you have to have faith to do the next thing: receive! Receiving vision from God is more important than anything else you’ll ever do. A vision from God can change why you do what you do and what you do when you do it. A lot of us are doing things without knowing if they’re part of the purpose we were sent here for.
So they end up doing it for a paycheck instead of for purpose. «Well, at least I’m not going to be broke while I do this!» or «At least I’m going to have a diploma.» We’re doing it for pieces of paper instead of purpose. And today, I’m coming to shake you up! I don’t care! And I even feel led by the Spirit to say this: even if you’re older—yes, there are some people aged 60 and above who have written this thing off as, «Well, I guess I’m just going to try to enjoy the rest of my life.»
God said, «No! He said I put you here for a purpose!» I feel this thing! Some stuff—your latter— I prophesy to you is going to be greater than your former! You’re going to accomplish more in the next 30 years of your life—oh, somebody should get excited right now—than you have in the previous 59. God is about to use you! You will be known for what is to come, not for what has been done.
Once you receive vision from God, it changes everything. This is the last thing: you can do all these things, but if you receive it and don’t believe it, it’s dead! So you pray, you hear, you listen, you receive, and then you believe. This is what I’m asking everyone to do over these next 14 days while we’re in prayer and fasting. Today, I’m starting a vision series that I’m going to continue until the Lord tells me to stop, because this prophetic word that God has given me today changes everything!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no—this is how I feel on the inside about it. It changes everything! I may be in this series for two years—I’m not lying—this is going to reshape how we live, how we think, how we move, how we give, how we serve, because it’s that important to the core of what God called us to Earth to do. So, I’m asking everyone to mark my words. If you don’t believe in this stuff, all I’m asking you to do is hear what I say.
Today, come check back with us in a year, because for the last nine years, when God has said something, Bishop, it has come to pass. We don’t understand it when He says it, but as we start walking through the years, we say, «Dang, God told us this was going to happen!» God told us it held as an anchor for us; it gave us vision to see when everything was blurry. This year will be no different; this is proven, and I believe that this comes to us because we have crazy faith to believe God.
Go to Luke chapter 18, verse 8. Do you all know that God doesn’t want you to figure life out? I know this is a different concept than you’ve been told. He wants to tell you what to do, and He wants you to go in the steps He’s already laid out for you. Most people are just stubborn, disobedient, and have to learn the hard way, but that was not God’s intent for you, and I need everybody to know that. It’s like, «Oh, you just have to have the hard-knock life if you want to,» but, you know, all things can just work. Okay, I don’t like that we say these things in preparation for disobedience: «I’m going to miss God, but you know all things work together.»
I’m strung out on crack, but all things work together. I’m going to have babies with everybody, but all things—yes—but if He’s giving me directions and I’m stepping where He tells me to step, and I have accountability in the community, then no, I won’t be perfect; I will be progressing. But all things can just work. We’ve been conditioned to believe that we have to make so many mistakes that it turns into this messy testimony. Okay, I’m not saying that we aren’t going to go through our crap; I’m just saying, like, stop planning for it, okay? I just have to keep going. I have faith to believe that God can speak, I can obey, and it will be the preferred future for my life. Somebody say «preferred future!»
Do you know that God has a preferred future for you? Like, there’s His perfect will, and there’s His permissible will. Like, there is a will that God says, «This chart is going to give them the course of their life, and if they run this, just run the play.» Just run this play at work every time! But then the one thing He gave us is His will. So He said, «Go right.» But God, I like left! Leave them alone! But they look so good! «Don’t eat that!» But bread, You said in Your Word, «Bread of life.» He’s like telling you, «Okay, let’s be honest; we’re a humble, open, and transparent church.»
How many people do you know that God nudged you, told you specifically, or encouraged you not to do something, and you still did it? Oh, I love my church because the one thing we’re going to be is real. Okay, well, what if we would have obeyed that? What if we had faith, even when we didn’t understand, to do the things that God says even though it doesn’t make sense? This is why in Luke 18:8, this scripture has really impacted me, because Luke is telling what God wants to see on the earth, that it seems like He may not find. Look at it: «I tell you, He will grant justice to them quickly. But when the Son of Man returns, how many will He find on the earth who have faith?» Who will be here saying, «God, I believe You?» No, no, no, no, no. They left, but I’m right here, ten toes down: «I believe You!»
The truth of the matter is I can come into church, and I can find fun, I can find facts, I can find fear, but will we be a people of faith? It takes faith to believe a vision that’s not here for me to see what is currently invisible and start acting like it is real now. That takes faith! You cannot have a vision with facts; you have to have a vision with faith. And I know this is going over some people’s heads, but I’m going to keep pounding it in until something clicks! Because you were formed with faith; it’s in your DNA. There are things that everybody uses faith for every day. When you go out to your car, you’re using faith, but it’s so dependable that you don’t even think about it anymore.
Now, some of you have to use crazy faith to start your car! You’re anointed with four quarts of oil every day! Now think about it: when you go to sit down at a restaurant, you don’t say, «In the name of Jesus, Father, before I sit down, I thank You that this chair has been constructed and crafted to hold up the weight of my glory.» No, no, no! You’re so used to it doing what it has always done, even if you haven’t sat in that exact chair. You just put your weight on it! God is asking us at the beginning of 2023, «Would you please put your weight on the words that I speak to you?» Oh my God! If I tell you it’s going to happen, put your weight on it! If I speak that your family will be healed, put your weight on it! Somebody better drop it like it’s hot and put your weight on what God has said about you! Somebody shout, «Put your weight on it!»
Do you believe your employer more than you believe God? They can cancel you tomorrow, but you wake up ready to serve them, ready to use your gifts for them, ready to abandon your family and all others. God said, «I spoke things over your life,» and you still haven’t put your weight on it. How long will you make me wait for you to believe My Word? This is why I’m praying for a collision of vision for you. I’m praying that something slaps you so hard that you will not be able to continue to do the mundane things you’ve been doing and using the weak excuses you’ve been using. «Well, I’m just a mom. I just have to make sure my kids get out of the house.» God made you more than just a mom! Yes, you are supposed to nurture those children, but there’s a vision He gave you: the idea to nurture children, to nurture other things. Anything you touch, anything you get around, anything that you care for grows.
Stop letting the label limit you! Vision has to be valuable! And I think one of the things that I don’t know where it came from, but I thank God for it, that was innate on the inside of me, is I’ve always been able to see what wasn’t there. I can go back in my childhood and think of things that I believed could happen when there was really—like as I look as an adult, there was no reason it should have actually happened in my life, but I believed it! As I sit here with my parents in the audience right now, I remember believing God. I played drums growing up, and I remember believing God for a custom drum set at the age of 15 that cost nine thousand dollars.
Now, if your 15-year-old is believing for something, it’s usually a car or something like that. I wanted something to do with my purpose! I knew that music was a part of my purpose, and I began to believe God for something that was out of my reach. Can I tell you about the time I was 16 and had that drum set? Now, Mom, am I telling the truth? I still have it to this day. It was such good quality that I’ve kept it for decades because I saw a vision. And let me tell you what I did first: I drew that drum set and put it on my Trapper Keeper. Y’all remember Trapper Keepers? Y’all know nothing about the folder that you could put something in. Okay, can I draw? No! Y’all missed it! Are you an artist? Uh-uh! But all I knew was the Word said, «Write the vision down and make it plain.»
And the greatest offering I had at that moment was not money; it was my time. And watch this: somebody’s greatest offering to see what God has for them is not treasure, and it’s not time; it’s a try! We have been at the starting line afraid to try, and if you won’t try, the supernatural power of God cannot come in and expand what He’s given you to do! Faith without works is… let me say it a different way: faith without trying is dead! You’re so afraid of failing and looking stupid to your friends; they already think you’re stupid! Like let’s be honest, they already think you’re stupid, and they talk about you because they see how much potential you have and how little you have planned for what God has for you.
Write this down: vision is most valuable! I do not know how to make this more important to you, but vision is more important than money. I want to say a lot of other things, but whatever you think is important, vision is more valuable than that. Proverbs 29:18: «Where there is no vision, the people perish.» Something dies where there’s no vision. Another translation says, «Where there is no prophetic revelation of the future, people cast off restraints.» Another translation says, «They stop caring.» A lot of your apathy in your life is because you don’t have a vision. Where there’s apathy, depression comes in. I want to give you a clinic right now: many of your anxiety and depression are coming from not having a clear vision, and because you do not have a clear vision, you don’t feel like your life is amounting to anything.
So you allow the lies of the enemy to convince you that it would be better for you to stay in this low place and not try, than to do the things that God birthed on the inside of you. If you get a vision, everything changes! Vision is—everybody say—most valuable! Vision takes a man to the moon. Vision builds airplanes in a bicycle shop. Vision makes you take off from the free throw line. Vision makes you build a car with no motor. Vision makes you build an ark when there’s no rain. Vision makes you put a baby in a basket when they’re coming to kill all the young men, and you still get to raise him. Vision! Somebody shout, «Vision!» Vision makes you leave your thriving business and follow Jesus. Ask the disciples! 7 A.M. in your daughter’s room and write down outlandish things that you would be in an arena 37 days after you became the pastor! Vision will make you go to the cross and die for people who may not accept you.
Somebody shout, «Vision!» Vision is valuable, but the question is: has vision become a value? Look at what I just said: vision is valuable, but it hasn’t become a personal value. Valuable is talking about the price of something; value is talking about the priority of something. Where does vision fit in your priorities? Okay, we’re not talking about just worth; I’m talking about how does it impact your daily life? Okay, practical example: everyone knows that health is valuable, but health is not everybody’s value. Everybody knows, «Yeah, I should be running, I should be drinking water, I should be doing this, and I should be doing that,» but health is not a value to everybody. It proves about what we eat; it proves about what we drink.
Some of y’all pee, and it’s orange! Y’all flush the toilet! Because when I go into public places and I see that your urine is the color of this church’s logo—y’all nasty! Having money is valuable, but has financial stewardship become a value? We know money, but it’s not a priority yet! That’s why your kids got all the J’s but you don’t have heat! How do you have a PlayStation 5 and no hot water? Okay, y’all don’t want to talk real right now; y’all want to act like… okay. People know that marriage is valuable, but they don’t value honoring their spouse like God wants! Vision is to be not just valuable; He wants it to be your value! Somebody say, «Vision is my top value!»
Now, some of you just had to say that by faith. But if you get a vision for your prayer life, vision for your family, a vision for your home, a vision for your health, a vision for working out, a vision for having healthy relationships—yes, all your relationships are toxic now! But why don’t you close your eyes and see it before you see it? See yourself actually calling people for their birthdays and giving them a gift without the toxic underbelly of, «They owe me something back!» Why can’t you just give? Just get a vision! Could you see yourself being the one to say, «I’m sorry» first? Can you get a vision?
When you get a vision of how God created things to be and who He’s created you to be, it changes everything! Vision must be a value! Put that in a point; I’m going to put it in a point so you can write it down: Vision must be a value! Okay? And once vision becomes a valuable value, this is what I’ve seen in my life: it’s the most powerful force on earth! Vision is the most powerful force on earth! That’s why you’re making a lot of wild claims; I’m telling you, vision is the most powerful force on earth! You can see things that are not here yet! The Tesla is normal now, but do y’all know a car driving with no motor in it was not a thing? That was somebody’s vision that came to life! What has God hidden in you that is supposed to be on earth but cannot be released until you say yes? That’s my boy! You coming so heavy! I don’t have another year to waste; I don’t have another moment to play around with why God put me on this earth, and neither do you!
Write this down, oh my God! Okay, vision is the ability to see the invisible in order to make it possible. That was too good, and you didn’t get it. Vision is the ability to see the invisible. It’s not here yet, but in order to make it possible, let me give you a practical example. Sixty-eight years ago, there was this record that nobody could break at running the mile; nobody could run the mile in less than four minutes. But sixty-eight years ago, Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile. This hadn’t been done in years. One man does it, and everybody sees what was impossible become possible. Do you know how long Mr. Bannister held that record? Forty-six days. As soon as people saw that the impossible was possible, something on the inside of them said, «Hold on, he can’t be the only one that has the ability to produce something that was impossible.»
Fifty days later and in forty-six days, people began to break it. Since then, in one year, four men broke it, and now over a thousand people have broken that four-minute mile. Why? Because somebody had a vision that it could be done. The thing about vision is that it is what God allows to come to life so that you can break barriers for others. The reason it’s got to come out of you is that I had to start Transformation Church, and I had to be the way I am. I had to wear Jordans and have braids and do it this way because there’s some pastor who’s going to eclipse me 15 years from now, someone who needed to see that somebody could be themselves, that they can write blogs, and they can make YouTube posts. People who don’t have a life can say whatever they want; they can point to my flaws, but you don’t have the faith to believe God to do anything. No, no, no, no, no. God had to see somebody.
The reason I’m talking so strongly about vision is that this may not be for anybody in the room; there’s somebody watching me who is trying to bring forth the thing that you can’t see right now and see if it is possible. I’m here to tell you I’m a living witness that God can take the things that are not, the things that do not feel possible. They told me a multi-ethnic church in Tulsa would never work, but they messed up because I was born into higher dimensions, and Bishop Pearson, I got to be born into a church where I saw what was possible. All I did was take what people said couldn’t be done, submitted to the vision that God gave me, and said, «You’ve got to do this.»
I took crazy steps of faith to see the vision come to pass. Now, when you look at this church, you can’t tell if it’s a white church, a black church, a Hispanic church; you can’t tell if it’s a church for skinny people or fat people. You don’t know what kind of church this is. This is a church that looks like heaven. Oh, y’all missed it. He said, «As it is in heaven, let it be done.» I said, «As it is in heaven, what are we going to do? We’re going to worship. We’re going to praise. We’re going to share. We’re going to love.» But what was not here is what God allowed to be possible. I hope something is stirring inside you right now. This is the biggest thing I want to deposit into you right now: vision is not out there; it’s in here. Let me put it in a point: vision is hidden within you. This is where the enemy wants you to shut off your ears because you’re looking for something out there to spark you. God said before you were in your mother’s womb, I put it in you so you wouldn’t lose it.
So I lead you to discover it; I need you to uncover it. There’s a reason why you get frustrated at certain things. That’s that vision on the inside of you. There’s a reason why certain things catch your attention, and you’re like, «Did y’all see that?» And they’ll be like, «What?» And you’ll be like, «Y’all didn’t see that?» It’s like, «Nah, bro. I didn’t see it» because there’s something inside of you that’s trying to get a heartbeat and a pulse. You’re going to have to excavate the excuses, the things your parents told you you couldn’t do, the things that society said you would never do. You’ve got to discover what’s hidden on the inside. Okay, let me give you a scripture you’ve never seen as a vision scripture: Ephesians 3:20. Now, we know this, but listen to the language that is used: «Now unto Him who is able.» Everybody say «able.»
That’s talking about His power to do immeasurably. That means you can’t measure it more than all we ask, think, or imagine according to His power that is at work within us. He’s not using any ingredients that you already don’t have on the inside. The ingredients come in the box. Oh, shoot! Don’t give me a present or a gift that doesn’t come with all the pieces. At Christmas, the one thing I can’t stand is when they give you the toys for your kids, and now some of y’all who aren’t parents yet, I pay people to put stuff together now; I even give you an extra hundred just because there’s nothing worse than looking at the picture and seeing that they require four double-A batteries. I paid $129 for this Barbie crap, and y’all couldn’t include that? And don’t let it be the toys that ask for those exotic batteries. Y’all know what I’m talking about.
Can I get a C minus plus battery? You’ve got to go to Radio Shack, and there are no more Radio Shacks. Now you’ve got to order from Amazon, and your kids look at you like you’re a failure. «My toy doesn’t work,» and you’re like, «I didn’t know that it wasn’t included.» God said, «I’m never going to give you a picture that doesn’t have everything you need included.» Somebody needs to shout right there! If you’re supposed to be on the platform, everything’s included. If you’re supposed to be a CEO, everything’s included. If you’re supposed to be a teacher, everything’s included. All right, He said, «I’m going to do the work that I placed on the inside of you.»
If you would stop thinking that you’re disqualified, you would begin to discover this is the year of discovery for what’s on the inside of you. Stop saying what you don’t do because you don’t even know me. Right out of high school, I would have told you I didn’t do public speaking. If you had found me, I would have told you all the things I didn’t do. When we tell God what we don’t do, He usually laughs. I can sense you don’t— I don’t know how you’re doing all of that. Get ready. Get ready. Get ready! This is the year we stop telling God what we don’t do and discover if there’s something in me that I need to cultivate. Is there something in me I need to submit to authority? Is there something in me that I need training on? Is there something in me that I need to say, «I don’t understand this, but I know there’s something there»?
Vision is hidden within you, and that’s why I need to let everybody know that when God puts a vision in you, it’s not just good ideas. Right now, as I’ve been talking, some of you have been thinking of good schemes and ideas to get to your version of success. Many are the plans of a man, but it’s God’s purpose that will prevail. I would hate for you to spend the next 15 years giving everything to something that will never fulfill you. When it’s God’s vision, it’s connected to purpose. When it’s connected to purpose, it’s going to help you fulfill your destiny. When you fulfill your destiny, you are fulfilled. There are people right now that only make $10,000 a year and who are fulfilled. You said there’s no way. You said $10,000? There’s no fulfillment. Fulfillment is more valuable than zeros in the bank.
There are people with millions of dollars with no peace, no contentment, always on the go. The Bible says, «The blessings of the Lord make rich and add no sorrow.» If there’s sorrow with it, it might not have been a blessing from the Lord. The enemy gives blessings, too. Okay, let me pause because that was too deep for somebody because you’ve been driving around a blessing from the devil, stressed every month, lying to people telling them you’re going to pay them back. You’re never going to pay them back. You’re losing equity with the people you’re supposed to reach because you got approved for something when you had a 540 credit score, and you called it a miracle. God said, «That was a test. I wanted you to learn discipline. I wanted you to know that everything good is not God.»
Because as I elevate you, you’re going to have to know that there are going to be more and more opportunities that come, but everything that comes is not Me. Some stuff comes just because you’re good. The better you get at mastering what God has given you, the more opportunities will come because you’re just good. And every good opportunity, okay, we’re not talking about pride. How many people have worked at something and become good at it? Hands up! I need this false humility in the body of Christ to shut up. We’ve got to be good at stuff. That makes it more dangerous when opportunities come, though, because when you’re good at stuff, it means that you get opportunities that can seem very close to being from God.
But that’s why we have to go back to the source. We’ve got to hear; we’ve got to listen; we’ve got to receive. Why? Because we want to do what God has for us—that is the vision for our lives so we can fulfill our purpose and actually walk in destiny. Okay, Colossians 1:16: «For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created—watch this—through Him and for Him.» Everybody say «through Him» and «for Him.» If your vision is not coming through Him, and when you do it, it doesn’t give glory to Him, it’s not a vision from God. These are the filters.
I want you to understand that you can transform your life. When you create a song called «Pop That Popsicle, Stay With Me,» and it reaches number one on every chart, you see TikTok videos of little girls enjoying popsicles. Then, when you win an award, you stand up and say, «I want to give all glory to God because without Him…» You know what I mean. I also want to give a shout-out to little man-man, little GT, and little ZZ. That wasn’t a vision from God because I promise you it wasn’t given through Him, and it didn’t give glory to Him. I’m trying to help someone understand that a blessing comes with sorrow. You better stop envying what others have because you don’t know what sorrow lies on the other side of their success. This is the equation you need to pray and believe God for: His vision through you for His glory; His vision through me for His glory.
Everybody say it: His vision through me for His glory. Give me a vision for education; do it through me. Let me gather the team; let me see the pieces I don’t have. And God, whenever this is said and done, let it be for Your glory. Let me enter the entertainment industry and work with the people who made «Pop That Popsicle.» See, it’s not about saying, «Oh my God,» about the popsicle people. That’s who I’m called to, but I’m going to conduct my business in such a way that when they come around me, the atmosphere changes. This feels different from any production company I’ve ever worked with; this is unique. When it’s all over, let it be for His glory. If you can’t filter your business through that perspective, you might be chasing the wrong vision. I’m submitting to you humbly that God is not blessing anything that He does not author. Many people blame God and feel frustrated about visions He never promised to fulfill. Today, I want us to all go back to Him and say, «God, give me a fresh vision.»
Come on, lift your hands right now. «Ah, God, give me a fresh vision!» Come on, say it to Him: «God, give me a fresh vision! Clarify the vision for my life. Give me a vision that wakes me up. Give me a vision that prepares me. Ah, give me a vision that propels me for Your glory.» This is what we should write down; this is what we should pray for. The crazy thing is, God does nothing on this Earth without us. Now, if I were God, I would skip you all. No, Jessica, I’m just being honest—if I were God, I would blow on them and the vision would be done. But He desires for others who don’t believe to see His glory through you. So He says, «I’m not going to execute the vision I have and could provide for—I’m well able to do more than that—unless I have a vessel.» Vision needs a vehicle, and my question to you is: will you be that vessel? God has been searching for people who will do what He has asked them to do.
Will you stop wandering, trying to figure out what God sent you here for? He said, «Would you just let Me in and be a vessel for Me to use?» What I found is that God is a good investor, and He’s looking for a good investment. About ten years ago, I told God, «I’m a good investment. If you give it to me, you will see a return.» Any good investor knows this. I know some of you haven’t started investing yet, but I’m believing that as we go through some things I’m about to teach you, your mindset is about to change. God is an investor. You can look at the parable of the servants He entrusted with one, two, and five talents. The master went away and asked them to manage what he had given them. When he returned, one had doubled his amount, another had doubled his, but one of them buried his talent. They took what God gave them, protected it, and refused to push it forward.
I’m asking the church: would you please open your lives to be places where God can invest His vision so what is in Heaven can come to you? Through your works, your obedience, and your prayers, it can come to life and actually become real for people. Stop praying, «As it is in Heaven, let it be on Earth,» if you’re not going to be a vessel because He can’t do it without you. You want His kingdom to come but expect Him to do it through another group? «What? Let Your glory be known!» He said, «I’m not filling an arena; I’m filling a person with My full expression, and now I need them to do what I ask them on Earth.» This is why vision—write this down—is God’s investment in you, and I believe God is going to invest fresh vision in everybody under the sound of my voice.
This is a message you need to watch back, hear, and study because the keys I’m giving you about vision right now took me from us having 300 people on the north side of Tulsa to me standing up in 2015, telling people, «God’s going to do something powerful in this church,» while people looked at me skeptically. I remember a gentleman in the front row, literally nodding, and it was incredibly distracting, so I acted like he was agreeing with me. «Isn’t that right? God’s going to do it!» I remember not having anything to feed our volunteers while people brought snacks from their homes to thank them. I remember it, but God gave me a vision. I need to tell someone that all you have is all you need—vision is the key to your future.
That word «vision» in Greek is «optica,» meaning coming into view. What are the things God’s showing you that are coming into view this year? They haven’t been there yet, but my family is coming into view, my health is coming into view. I’m seeing something different than I ever saw before. You see, seeing beyond your sight—many of you think I’ve been talking about sight, what you see with open eyes. «I don’t have the money for that. They denied me for school; nobody in my family has ever done that.»
Close your eyes, everyone. Right now, close your eyes and see what you need. You don’t need anything except faith to see. See yourself happy; see yourself whole; see yourself serving. See you in your new house; see you giving away cars; see you being a blessing to everyone around you. See yourself obeying God without hesitation. Come on, see it! I’m asking you to envision what is not yet reality. See it before you see it. Picture your kids talking to you with respect. See yourself free from that addiction. Get a vision! Oh, I feel the presence of God. Some of you are going to spend more time with your eyes closed over the next month than with them open. See your body responding in health. See it! Envision falling in love with the word of God. See yourself being an aide, not a hindrance to those around you. Meditate on what God has said about you, even when your situation seems entirely opposite. Vision is an internalized, clear picture that is worthy of pursuit.
The vision you see in your mind right now, which God is placing in your heart, is an internalized, clear picture nobody else can see, yet it is worthy of pursuit. This is the year you will pursue what you cannot show everybody but what you see clearly inside. I will say it again: this is the vision. This is the thing you will pursue—what you can’t show everybody yet, but it is clear inside you! This is the thing I found out about vision: it should be out of reach but not out of sight. If the vision isn’t bigger than you, it’s not truly a vision; it’s just something you need to plan for. Some of you don’t need a vision for getting out of debt; you just need to make a budget. But to help others escape financial struggles and become an investment for them, now you need God’s assistance. It should be out of reach but not out of sight.
Oh, I’m telling you, I’m giving you keys right now! It’s important to pursue those things that are… watch this: vision should not be easy. It should be something you could not achieve alone. A vision should be difficult to pursue and demand the assistance of God. I’m trying to tell you, just acquiring the house is not a vision; building community is! I’m afraid to share some things because it might make you think I’m crazy; well, I am! So, I have plans to build a community! I’m saying it right here. I have plans—not for the church, but for my family—to create a community that people can’t even fathom because they don’t know anyone who has ever done it. When my kids graduate high school, I don’t plan for them to buy their first home; I intend to give them their first one. It’s only crazy until it happens. I plan for it. You already know I’ve bought land, see? I’m not just talking about it; I’m living it!
I bought 40 acres last year. I got my truck, and I will put the title in a meal. I bought my 40 acres! Am I telling the truth? I bought 40 acres last year and there’s nothing on it. I go out there every week: «There goes Bella’s house. Hey, baby! Oh yeah, there goes MJ’s house. Hey, bud!» I could have bought a house with that money, but I had to give my vision room to grow. I almost want to walk off the stage right now—boy, you’re preaching! I know you’re doing your thing! Have you given your vision a place to grow? Are you so comfortable relying on government assistance? There’s nothing wrong with it if you need it, but if that’s where you have settled, you have settled below where God has called you to live. I’m trying to break your ceiling today!
What do you need to do to prepare a place for your vision to grow? It may not be 40 acres; it may just be forty dollars in a savings account. You could name that account «Blessed to Be a Blessing,» and every month, just contribute forty dollars. As God increases you, put even more in there. Look, I did this! Ten years ago, my wife Natalie and I created an account just to bless people. It had less than a hundred dollars in it! Now, that account makes a difference in people’s lives—not on a stage or a platform—but it literally impacts my life. «Are you sure that wasn’t at Taco Bell? Alright, you run to Target; I’m going across the street to a car dealership to buy my car.»
The reason I share this, seven years ago, it felt impossible, but I still had the vision. I could not do it, but I could see it. What I’m telling you right now is that God is not limited by what you have seen; He’s only limited by what you can see. I remember the fear I felt declaring my vision, and I know many of you feel that way. I’m almost done, everyone, but someone’s life depends on this. I recall being anxious about people thinking I was not just crazy but proud and arrogant if I declared what God said. I didn’t want anyone to perceive me that way. God said, «Do you care about how they see you or how I see you?» God encouraged me: «Never devalue the vision I give you; never step back from the light produced by the vision I provide.»
If you produce the vision and it’s just a good idea, get away from it quickly. But if I tell you, «This is what you will do,» I need you to believe in it, proclaim it, and be certain about it. I said, «Okay, God, but could you tell a couple people?» He said, «No.» It would really be nice if some others had the same direction. God told me, «Vision is given to an individual but is always fulfilled by a group. God never gives a vision to a group but He never allows a vision to be fulfilled without a group.» So, there are things that other people depend on you to release so they can step into their visions. Had I not obeyed God and started Transformation Church, do you know how many people would not have moved to Tulsa? How many people… oh my God, it goes back further than that, if Bishop Pearson had not come and Bishop Gary and my parents had not obeyed God with the vision of a church that did not exist, I would never be here. This goes back even further than that.
My godfather passed away this past week, George Finnett, and I began to think before I spoke this message. He was like John the Baptist for this whole group. He came to Tulsa with Bishop Pearson, my dad’s best friend, and all these different people, and he was always saying, «Y’all come to Tulsa. God has shown me something.» Destiny, our worship leader, is his daughter. It’s my God; I’ve known him my whole life. As I began to listen to the stories, I realized it was the vision that he saw—God showed him that Tulsa would be a gathering place for all these great men and women of God coming together. I would not be in Tulsa today if it were not for George Finnett. You’ve never seen him on the platform, but the vision of one man ran throughout the lives of so many people and has brought me to this platform today.
The last time I saw him alive was the day after Christmas. He came over to my house to get some mac and cheese—it’s good! As he sat at my island, I came out, and he started to weep. In his older age, he began to cry all the time; if you saw him, he would just begin to cry and say how proud he was. He said, «This is what I saw.» He came to the Vision One conference and just cried, «This is what God showed me: the worship, the praise, the people—this is what I saw.» If God could give one person a vision, it takes a people for it to be fulfilled. What could God do with us? It is limitless. What could happen if all of us got behind the vision of what God has said for this church? If we just believed it, lived it, served it, and gave to it, it would honestly bring every vision we’ve ever had together because all things work together for the good of those who love Him and are called.
When I think about God giving vision to a man or a woman, I remember Moses was given a vision, but God had to go to get the people out of slavery. He delivered the people so they could fulfill the vision. Paul had a vision to reach the Gentiles, and he had to gather a team of people—Silas, Timothy, Barnabas, and a group of women—so that they could carry out the vision. Me? I have a vision for this church: representing God to the lost and bound for the transformation of Christ. God is gathering people from all over the world, a people to start a revolution to do something that has never been done. Jesus was given the vision to establish His kingdom here on Earth, but He had to do it with 12 disciples. This is what I’m praying for everyone: that you would have a collision with vision.
The one warning I will give before I share the word of the year is that when God gives vision—write this down—vision demands discipline. This is why many of the things that God said we don’t see; because if He said it, we want Him to do a magic trick. He said, «But this thing is so great you’re going to have to be disciplined, you’re going to have to be consistent, and you’re going to have to do it when nobody else is doing it.» Proverbs 29:18 says, «Where there is no vision, the people perish.» In Hebrew, that means they throw off restraint or lose self-control, or it means they throw off self-discipline. When there is no vision, there is no self-discipline. If a person doesn’t have a vision for their lives, they lose self-discipline.
Let me state it this way: vision makes you organize your life. When you get a «show enough» vision from God, it doesn’t have to be big; it just has to be «I know this is it.» A true vision, a collision with vision, is dangerous. When God gave me this vision, I became dangerous, and I’m praying that you get a clear one. If you ever find a vision for your life, you might lose some friends. If you ever find a vision for your life, you might lose some excuses. If you find a real vision for your life, you might lose some weight. Let me be real—God came to me two years ago. No, let me go back before that. I’m trying to show you my real life; I’m not preaching something that I haven’t lived.
What happened was, God told me five years ago, «Michael, I can only bless the ministry to the level your body can take it.» I was like, «My preaching?» He said, «No, your body. You are unhealthy, and you do not look like I’ve been good to you. You make yourself want to eat in secret.» I said, «Hold on, God.» But for two and a half years, I ignored the word of the Lord. I went in to get some tests. I was trying to get insurance for my family, and they were like, «Yeah, buddy, no.» I was like, «What are you talking about?» They said, «This is what’s going on. This is what’s going on. This is what’s going on.» I said, «What’s the cause?» They said, «That’s a direct reflection of your weight.» I said, «God…» He said, «I told you!»
Two years ago, in prayer and fasting, I was 264 pounds overweight—just the weight of His glory was right here, all right here. You can go back and watch all the videos; my face was just full of Chinese food, full of Krispy Kreme donuts, full of Blue Bell cookies and cream with root beer—oh, y’all gonna be fake with whipped cream and cherries! God said, «Michael, I wasn’t motivated. I’ve seen fat preachers all my life.» Y’all gonna be fake like that? I’ve seen people do unhealthy things their whole lives. He said, «I didn’t ask you what I allowed them to do. I gave you an assignment.» Then He gave me a vision. He said, «Michael, the thing I haven’t told you because I was trying to see if you would obey me just on My word is that there are tons of athletes who need salvation, and you have the package spiritually, but you don’t have the packaging. They won’t hear anything you say because they can see how you live. That’s so disrespectful.» Yeah, it’s true. He said, «I’ve held back a piece of your influence because you won’t obey Me.»
I got a vision of me sitting down and praying with LeBron. I got a vision of me counseling these guys through marital problems. I got a vision of my brother Brent and me flying into a city, nobody knowing, baptizing a whole team of people. Y’all, I’m just telling you what I got a vision for. When I got that vision, it organized my life. I told my trainer, «Meet me every day, wake me up at 6 am.» I put the gym in my garage, and I took the excuses away. We would take better care of a vehicle that depreciates as soon as we drive it off the lot instead of taking care of the one vehicle we get to fulfill this purpose. No, put the Tesla outside and take care of this temple! The vision organized my life: eat, meal prep, one cheat meal with date night, no ice cream for eight months. Yes, Lord, I’m Your humble servant—I did it! But you gonna do it?
Whatever God has given you a vision for, you can organize your life to live it out. Vision becomes the source of self-discipline; it’s the source. And that’s why I came to tell you that the greatest weapon of our adversary, the devil, against your life is to get you involved in good things that are not the right things for your life. I’m gonna say that one more time, okay? The greatest weapon of Satan is not to get you to do bad things; he knows you’re too good for that. You know you’re not gonna go off and do bad things; he just gets you preoccupied with a lot of good things so that you never do the right thing. This is the year we stop doing good things. This is the year we get clear vision and do the right thing. Life gives you what’s good, but vision tells you what’s right.
As we move into this, what I’m asking everybody to do is Habakkuk 2:2. We have 14 more days of prayer and fasting. If you have not joined us in this time, you need to start. Eat your last piece of meat today, and at midnight start with us. Do something, give up something, and begin to pray and fast for a clear vision from God. We’ll be here praying tomorrow night; I’m gonna lead us in prayer. I want you here at six o’clock if you can. Fill this building; get in here. The vision is more valuable than anything; if we get it right right now, we’re gonna get it right for the rest of this year. Then I’m asking you to do what Habakkuk 2:2 says: «Then the Lord answered me and said, 'Write the vision.'» It’s not a vision if it’s in your head; it only becomes a vision when it’s written down. «Make it plain on tablets so that he may run who reads it.» Another translation says, «And God answered: Write what you see; write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run.»
What are you saying Pastor Mike? Vision must be visible, and vision must be vocal. If it’s not visible and you’re not saying anything about it, it’s not a vision; it’s a dream. A lot of us have been daydreaming, and God wants a vision to actually come to Earth. Can I show you just a quick video from 2017 where I was speaking things that weren’t happening and they’re happening right now? I want you to see it before you see it. Take a look at this, and then we’re going to close. When I talk about vision, I’m not just talking about this church; I’m talking about your life. He wants you to see something with your eyes closed. You have sight; you only regurgitate what you actually see.
When I look out at this audience, I don’t see y’all—y’all are beautiful, y’all are wonderful, but I don’t see this. I close my eyes and I see the auditorium—10,000 people per service coming into this experience. I see it, and so that’s why I give everything—I don’t see what I see. If you could open your eyes of faith, not to be limited by sight but to be able to get a vision and see! I am standing in a place that I did not have sight for, but that God gave me vision—for only God can do this! Somebody shout «vision, vision, vision!» I’m nobody from nowhere that God spoke a clear vision to, and all of this has happened because I had faith to believe. He is no respecter of persons.
This is the year we get clear vision from God. I gotta say this because I’ve recognized some people are so down right now, hurting, frustrated, and so damaged by the last loss they don’t feel like God can use them. But what I’ve found is every time I’ve gotten vision, vision came in the valley. God trusts people with vision in the valley, when you don’t feel like anybody sees you—when you’re not on top, when everything is going wrong and everything doesn’t seem profitable, when you should be blowing up, but everything seems really normal or nobody sees your true gifting and that prophetic gift—nobody’s calling on.
God says, «I’m giving you vision for the future in the valley.» You need this moment to prepare you for what you’re actually going to do. If you feel like you’re in the vision in the valley, I want to let you know that when God gives you this vision, even when your bank account seems negative and you’ve got five credit cards that you still owe people on and your family is not together—whenever God gives vision, vision is for victory. God never gives you a vision that He intends not to come to pass. He never told somebody to do something and then said, «Wait till this fails.»
Vision! What God is about to show His church is a vision that is going to come to pass! Somebody say, «Vision is for victory!» Every year, God has given this church a word as a model to let you know that He will speak to you, and every year, He has done exactly what He said. And church, I have the word of the year for this year! I can’t—I’m so excited about this! But let me let you know that God proves Himself.
In 2015, we took over the church, and literally, I was just praying that God did not kill me as the pastor of the church. And God literally gave us this word: survive. There are some seasons in which you just have to simply survive. It’s not a forever season, but it is a season. People were coming, people were going voting individuals were saying he was too young; they expressed their discontent. God said, «I need you to stay clear of the vision even through adversity. Survive this.» Then in 2016, God asked, «All right, give me another word.» The Lord said, «Maintain.» See, not all the words God gives you are glamorous; some of them are just instructions. I need you to maintain this. I need you to stay focused on me. It was in 2016 that we experienced a breakthrough, and God took us forward.
Now I want you to see this: this was our entire volunteer leadership team. No one in this picture was paid. You need to understand that my parents, the Peas, Pastor Barbara, Tammy, Warren, Francine, and Scott were involved; they were committed. Demario and others you still see around today believed in the vision. I told them what I saw, and somehow they believed in what they could not yet see. In 2016, God declared we could go beyond. That year, the budget grew by four hundred thousand dollars, and four hundred families joined the church. Nothing could deter me in 2016. I proclaimed that God had done what He said He would do. He revealed it to me in 2016, and He acted in 2017.
As we moved beyond that year, the next word was «stride.» He said, «You’ve grown; find the pace of grace. Stop using all your effort and energy to make this happen, and rest in my grace.» We cut back on certain activities and said, «God, okay, we’re going to take a step back.» God responded, «Alright, watch me work.» That’s when the little series we did, «Relationship Goals,» went viral. Literally, once that happened, we had no social media team, no video editors, nothing. We were posting those sermons on YouTube and getting only 24 views every week. I want to clarify how it all really began. But God instructed us to maintain; He said, «Be consistent; put the videos up.»
My mom, in her little prayer group, began watching the videos. Nobody else was watching, but I appreciated her support—thanks, Mom! She’s been my cheerleader ever since. But God said, «Now watch me work.» That two-minute clip with the little orange balls went viral on Twitter; two million people watched it in 48 hours. It was just a two-minute clip, yet people started searching for the rest of the sermon. We went from 1,800 YouTube subscribers to over 250,000 in just 30 days, and it hasn’t stopped since then. He said, «When you do less…» I thought, «Wow, this vision thing is working.»
Then God spoke clearly to us in 2019: «This is the year of release.» He said, «Michael, stop holding everything and let it go so I can give you what you’re meant to have.» In 2019, I personally released itinerant ministry for six months. Many people don’t know this, but once «Relationship Goals» exploded and I preached at Elevation Church, I went from four speaking engagement requests the previous year to over 3,000 requests in just 12 months. In the midst of that whirlwind, my wife was slipping into depression because MJ had autism and I was often away. God said, «Michael, I need you to release something.» I was like, «God, whatever you want.» This mountain you think you’re on—I’m asking you to give up every speaking engagement.» I responded, «Hold on, God, this is what will get me out of debt, and this will help build your platform! Come on, I thought you called me to this.» But He said, «I called you to be a husband to your wife.» I realized He didn’t care about any of that. My picture of the family on Earth is that man, that woman, and those children. He said, «I need you to choose in private what will affirm you publicly.»
Remember, Brent? We were sitting there, and Natalie almost punched Brent in the face because he wanted to travel; he was my assistant. Natalie shot him a look, and he backed off. It was real. I took a big red marker and crossed out every month on the calendar from July to December. God said, «Release it to me.» I’m not speaking from an idea; this is what I lived. He said it was the year of release. I didn’t know He would ask for what I thought I wanted. I released it, and then God blessed us with this building. I didn’t realize my release of personal desire would produce the vision He gave me. Just 37 days after I became the lead pastor, He said, «Yeah, you would have been on the road and missed leading the charge to get the building they told you was unavailable.» We got the building, we came in here, we celebrated, and we had a conference here. Then the Lord declared, «You can’t go back.» We remained here, and God did so many amazing things in that year.
Then we entered 2020, and God said, «This is the year I’m going to make you stronger.» I was excited. I stood before the board; I was animated, yelling and sweating. Then we cut the ribbon for the grand opening only for it to become a «grand closing» due to the pandemic. I can’t make this up; it was like a grand opening followed by «see you in three years.» His ways are not our ways; His thoughts are not our thoughts. In 2020, we got stronger because He stripped everything conventional away from us and made us rely on Him. When we reached 2021, He said, «This is the year you must be anchored. You have to drop anchor on what I said. You cannot be distracted by who opens back up or the climate of who comes and goes.» He commanded me, «Drop your anchor on me, Michael.» The church dropped their anchor and committed to being faithful to God’s word.
In 2022, while we were back in our old building, God said, «Alright, are you ready for the word for 2022?» I hesitated, knowing that when God stops speaking, it’s significant. He said, «Michael, here is holy.» I didn’t fully understand at the time. He told me everything you walk into this year, no matter how it feels, was meant for you. Then the chaos hit; the first Sunday a year ago today, the wheels fell off. He told me «here is holy,» and I wondered if this is what He wanted. He explained that this is the year of intentional limitation. I had to do something that wouldn’t discredit your character, but I needed to remove distractions.
He expressed, «I need to clear out the fans and raise an army.» He had to filter out those who wouldn’t contribute. That’s why everyone here is essential; you’re committed to helping me see the vision God placed in my heart come to pass. He needed to weed out those unwilling to participate. The people who are present want to be here; they were truly transformed. Can we give it up for Transformation Nation, who have been with us from Alaska to California, Hawaii to the Bahamas, Africa, New York, and Texas? God said He’s clearing out fans and raising an army. Not everyone wants to undergo the necessary training. Thus, He declared, «Michael, now you’re ready for the work.» He could not have delivered this word any other year. This word will change the trajectory of Transformation Church.
The word for 2023? God specifically told me this is the year of the kingdom. Oh, 2023, it’s the year of the kingdom! His kingdom comes and His will be done here on Earth. We are about to transform this place. God’s kingdom is rising up within us! Now, let me explain. God told me the reason I had to raise up an army is that this year signifies the rise of a holy rebellion. We are about to rebel against culture and social norms. They claim the church has no power? Wait until you come here; the blind will see, the lame will walk, and people will be healed of traumas. You must envision this before it happens! People will experience financial turnarounds, change will break off from them. This is the year of the kingdom!
I want to share this graphic with you. The next six weeks will feature revolutionary, life-transforming messages you’ve never heard before. I’m filled with this kingdom message right now; it’s the only message Jesus preached upon his arrival when He began His earthly ministry. Do you know what His words were? «Repent, for the kingdom of God is here.» We may not fully grasp it yet, but I plan to elaborate on it throughout this upcoming season and over the next two years. This marks the end of an era and the beginning of something new. Our church will be a kingdom church; this isn’t a cliché—it’s a mandate. We will give more than we ever have, setting up our influence in culture as we help people see Jesus.
Someone shout «Kingdom!» The «K» is backward because everything in the kingdom is counter to culture. The «ing» is emphasized because everything in the kingdom is active—we are moving, we are giving, we are loving, and we are learning. There will be a lot of learning going on! The «Dome» serves as the conjunction, referring to domain. This is the first instruction we received in the garden: to rule, subdue, and dominate on this Earth. The body of Christ has been begging because we lost our power to dominate things on this earth. Oh, but God is about to grant us access to new domains! We’re stepping into new territories. God is the center of everything we’re doing, and He holds it all together.
If you’re ready to embark in faith on the vision of living in the kingdom, would you give God one big shout of praise? By faith! By faith! By faith! Kingdom families, kingdom relationships, kingdom businesses, kingdom lifestyle—by faith, we believe in Your word, God. I want to preach now, but I can’t. I’ve spoken for over an hour. I feel like I’ve emptied my soul to share that we’re about to experience a collision. With hands lifted all over this place, God, I thank You that what You’re birthing in these people is a rise of a holy rebellion—from the camera people to the guitarists and everyone in between. I thank You that we will raise kingdom kids, we will have kingdom relationships, and we will manage our finances the kingdom way. Something is rising within us that will change every domain we walk into.
God, let this church see vision like never before. Speak to us clearly. Thank You for being a man of Your word, even when we weren’t. Thank You for doing everything You promised. Today, we honor You, we praise You, and we believe. Somebody say, «I believe by faith!» Say it one more time: «I believe by faith!» The vision You’ve given me today—that’s the cry of Your church. The vision is for victory. You grant us vision for Your glory so that others can see that You are God.
Father, even in this atmosphere, if there’s anyone watching or listening, or in this room, who knows they are far from You, but today they see a vision of themselves close to You—walking with You, surrendering those things that have been substitutes—giving up weeds, giving up alcohol, letting go of people-pleasing relationships, and relinquishing their will today. Father, I thank You that in this atmosphere, there’s an environment of grace and love. I thank You that no one listening feels less than; instead, they feel worthy, that you would send your son Jesus over 2,000 years ago just for a maybe. You would sacrifice His life so that we could have eternal life with You. That was the vision that You started with. Today, I thank You that we are recipients of that vision.
If you’re in this room and you’re listening, and you want to make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior, I’m telling you, you’ve never seen a vision of yourself like the one you’re going to see with Him walking side by side with you. It took me from being a liar, a manipulator, someone who was addicted to pornography, to having a lot of really dark, bad things in my heart, and acting on many of those things. It took me from that to being not a perfect man, but a progressing man. Today, I want to offer you the gift, a life-changing gift, of Jesus Christ. That’s why I’m up here. I want you to see the vision of your life being different—not without Him, but only through Him.
Today, if you’ve been far from God, if you’ve been wandering, and you’re tired of doing it on your own, in just a moment, on the count of three, I’m going to ask you to slip your hand up. I just want you to identify, «Pastor, that’s me. Include me in that prayer.» I have made money, I’ve lost money, I’ve been on the top; I feel like I’m at the bottom, but today I want to do something that changes my life forever.
Today, I want to give my life to Christ. I’m telling you, it’s the best decision you will ever make, and generations from now your children’s children will stand up and call you blessed because of your connection to the King. If that’s you, and you say, «Pastor Mike, I want to be included in that prayer,» I want you to raise your hand. One, you’re making the greatest decision of your life. Two, it doesn’t matter if you’re watching online, if you’re at the gym, or if you’re at your job right now; God says today is the day of salvation. If that’s you, three, just shoot your hand up all over this building, all in this room. Y’all, their hands are going up everywhere—in the chat, you can just raise your hand. Foreign today, Church, you already know this is a Kingdom Church, so nobody prays alone here. We’re going to all pray this prayer together for the benefit of those who are coming to Christ. Somebody say:
God, thank You for sending Jesus just for me. Today I’m submitting my life to Your vision for me. I surrender. I believe You lived, You died, and You rose again with all power just so I could live. And today, I’m asking You to take control of my life, give me Your vision for me, change me, renew me, and transform me. I’m Yours. I’ll serve You all the days of my life. In Jesus' name, amen.