Michael Todd - Check Your Settings
Today, on day 14 of 21 days of prayer and fasting, I have more of a template than a sermon because in my life, I like people to tell me, «Forget all the fluff; tell me what works.» You know how some people could have texted you instead of bringing you to a meeting? I don’t know about you, but if it could have been bullet points instead of me getting dressed, looking at you, and having to hug you and smell your breath, it would have worked better. If it could have just been a thorough email, then let me know what I’m supposed to do so we can keep moving. In church, we often spend a lot of time trying to prove that we’re smart enough to communicate what we’re trying to say, and sometimes that can cloud the real message. So today, I just want to give you a template of what transformed my life. You hear me tell my testimony every Sunday during the time for people to receive salvation. I tell you I was a liar.
What else do I say? Addicted to pornography. See, y’all know it. I was a manipulator. I had bad things held in my heart. It’s so beautiful; some of my friends make fun of me. Do your friends know your testimony? Because when I read my Bible, it tells me that the way I overcome is by the blood of the Lamb—that’s what He did—and by the words of my own testimony. It makes me question, are you overcoming? Because nobody knows your testimony. You’re married to people who don’t know your testimony. So for me, I share my testimony all the time, but a lot of people think I just arrived here. They feel like one day I woke up transformed. I wish there was a—watch this—word: process. Shout that word at me: process! You cussed in church!
If we do not embrace the process of transformation this year, we will end up very frustrated, because we’ll be watching the same rerun with a different date over and over again. I don’t want your life to be a syndicated series—wow! —no more new episodes of «Family Matters,» no more new episodes of «Friends.» If you ever see those, it’s what’s already happened. You act as if it’s new; no, you just missed it last time, but it’s still old. So many of us are playing reruns of the same thing because we will not embrace the—everybody say the word—process! One more time: process! So today I want to give you a template of the process that transformed my life, that took me from being a liar to a man who lives in integrity, that took me from being somebody who was greedy to a man who will give you everything. I’m so generous to the point where God sometimes says, «I didn’t tell you to give that; that wasn’t me.» I say, «God, I thought You said.» He replies, «I didn’t say you needed that one, but that’s my nature now.»
So when I look at this, I wanted to simply tell you a story and then give you the title of my message. How many people get updates on their phones? Okay, if you don’t get updates on your phone, you should have a flip phone—God bless you, we’re praying for you. But the iPhone has done some new little things, and it’s so funny that I don’t really keep up with when the updates happen. I just find out there’s an update when my stuff stops working. I don’t know if anybody else is like that, but I’m a creature of habit. Once I figure out how to do it, I just keep doing it like that. Stop switching my stuff; I don’t have time for the switch-ups.
You already switched my plug twice, and I have all these first-generation iPhone chargers. I need to make a necklace out of them. I got so many I’m acting like they’re going to come back with the first one again. They’re not. Now my laptop and my phone have to charge on different cords; am I just complaining? What’s the point? Oh yeah, my phone started acting up a while back, but my little brother— I’ve been blessed to have older brothers and younger brothers—comes in with a phone that is not as good as mine, but it’s doing stuff my phone can’t do. I’m looking at him as he’s tapping things on my phone, and my phone is doing this! Y’all know what I’m talking about, right? He tapped my phone. My phone said, «Ah!» I said, «What are you doing to my phone? Are you some kind of wizard?» All the Android users are like, «It’s time for the upgrade!» I’m just playing.
So I’m going through this whole thing, and he said two things: «Mike, there’s an update available. You didn’t know the update was available. It had been weeks since the update was available, and you just had to—watch this—accept the terms.» I don’t really like all of the reading that goes on with the accept terms. Some of y’all know what I’m talking about. They could say, «I’m going to eat your hair. I’m going to take away…» and you just go, «Boop! Accept! Accept! Accept!» so my phone can work! He said, «You’ve got to check your settings.» Because what happens when you do the upgrade? Yeah, but it still didn’t show up like yours showed up! Great! Great. He said, «Michael, you didn’t check your settings.»
Today, we’re in week three of a series we’re calling «Start Sharp.» How do you stay sharp? We said last week we have to strengthen our strengths, and then the Holy Spirit told me to prophetically come and tell you to check your settings. Check them! What settings are you planted in? Oh, you thought I was just saying to go through and tell us your preferences? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! I said check your settings! Who are you sitting with? Who are you talking to? What has your attention? Check your settings! If you get your edge back, if you strengthen your strength, and if you check your settings, you will be in for the best year of your life! Pastor Mike, how do you know these things? They transformed my life! And again, I want to clarify. I’m not talking about your preferences; I’m talking about your places. What settings do you constantly find yourself in? Are they websites? Are they social chat rooms? Are they break rooms? Are they gossip threads? Check your—great—your spirit! Your spirit can be filled with the Word and not flourish because of your—I can change the settings! I’m a thermostat, not a thermometer! I’ll turn it up when I come in!
Okay, well, you must be greater than Jesus, because when He was going throughout the towns doing miracles, He went back to His familiar setting—His hometown! Yeah, He was ready to heal all His homeboys. He was ready to change everything and He said, «Oh, we got to get up out of here. This is the wrong setting for miracles! It’s familiar, but it doesn’t have faith!» There are people that want this; they’re calling me Mary’s Boy, not Jesus. We got to get out of here! And the Bible literally says He could not do many miracles there because of the way the people saw Him in that setting. I’m just asking you: are the things that God is strengthening in you powerless because of the setting? My God, He’s made you a leader, but every time you walk into that environment, insecurity overtakes you. God is saying, «I need you to check your settings.»
This bottle of water right here is going to preach to you, because I’ve found out in my years of travel that it greatly increases in value depending on the setting. At the gas station, this bottle right here is $2.50, but when I get on an airplane and go through the airport, and I want this same bottle of water, it’s $8! Sir! The content didn’t change! They didn’t even put a name on it; you got to know it’s water! $2 at the gas station, $8 at the airport. When I take my kids to Disney World, this bottle of water is $1! What changed? Could you be more valuable? Could you be worth so much more? Could you actually be garnishing and gaining the attention, affluence, and influence you are truly worth if you were in the right setting?
According to Acts 2:42, this is going to be my anchor, and I’ll whip it back around at the end. There are three settings that every believer should be in. The first one: you need a setting of faith! Now, a lot of people have different thoughts that come to their mind when I say this. I’m going to make it very clear: everybody needs a church. I think the construct of church is outdated. That is why I am not constructing; I’m deconstructing this ability. Yes, every church has problems, because people are there. If you find a perfect church, when you show up, it won’t be perfect anymore. But you don’t throw away the thing that God says is the answer to humanity’s problem and the thing that’s going to create in you who you’re supposed to be because somebody’s done it wrong. I’m so proud of Transformation Church because we’re a church that truly believes in gathering together. But there are a lot of people the statistics tell us come to church once every two months and feel really entitled—like, «Give me coffee! Roll out the red carpet! Let me know I’m special! Give me a t-shirt! I’ll be back in two months!»
I just have to believe that that’s not what God intended for us. He wanted us all to have a consistent setting of faith. My question to you is: how often are you in this setting of faith? We’re talking about starting sharp and staying sharp. If you’re here because you’re doing a fast and we don’t see you again until Easter, come on; you’re not a bad person, and you’re going to heaven still if you’ve accepted Jesus Christ. You just might not be in the setting that’s going to keep you sharp. And I want to say to everybody, you need a church! Let me be clear: it doesn’t have to be this one.
I’m very self-aware. Not everyone’s cup of tea is my style, and I’m cool with that. We have to love each other, brothers and sisters in Christ. We’ve got to high-five each other; we’ve got to pray for our enemies, all that other stuff. But I’m going to be loud! I’m going to be expressive! We’re going to make up songs, and I’m going to sing them even if I don’t know the words! I’m going to wear pants that are big with SPL paint splatter on them that I bought like this! I’m going to wear glasses with no lenses in them because I want to look smart, but I don’t want it to fog up! By now, if the lenses were in here, this thing would be completely fogged up! I’m going to keep it hot, humble, open, and transparent until I need glasses.
On camera, somebody’s like, «Oh my gosh!» I’m not everybody’s cup of tea! My mama’s going to get up here and be like, «This is you! You never know what Charles’s haircut is going to be,» and it may look… it’s okay. What I’m saying is find a place where you feel free to be who God’s called you to be. What we do, our brand of church, is based on the Bible and Jesus; it just has our seasoning on it. If you want bland chicken, there are tons of other places. Oh, I said too much! But how come you want your movies a certain way, but you want your church not to emotionally move you? All I’m saying is find you a consistent setting of faith! There are tons of people who were here for a season that helped us build this, and they’re right up the street worshiping at another place. I see those people; our kids go to school together! I hug those people; I thank them for their investment here! But if the season changes and they need a setting of faith they can be consistent at, we are one body with many members! That means I’m not hating on somebody because they’re hanging out at the thumb, and you want to go to the foot, as long as you’re still connected to the body.
Does it hurt sometimes? Yes, because we love you! But if we’re acting like we’re the only church, come on! That’s demonic, and it’s manipulation! You can grow spiritually at tons of places. The problem is we’ve made where to go a bigger deal than if we grow. I’m stepping on the tip—I’m on the edge right now! Do you hear what I’m saying to you? «Well, I don’t go there because they don’t sing my favorite song.» «I don’t go there because the pastor, you know, he’s a celebrity pastor.» «I don’t go there because it’s too small.» «I don’t go anywhere.» And the truth is you’re only hurting yourself, because according to Acts 2:42, these people saw the value in the setting of faith. Look what Psalms 92:12 says: «The righteous will flourish like a palm tree; they will grow like the cedar of Lebanon.»
Those who are planted in the house of the Lord will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit when they are old; hallelujah. They will stay fresh and green. Let me break it down: You consistently plant yourself in the house of God. This year, you will be like a palm tree and a cedar of Lebanon. Now we are in Oklahoma, so both of those trees escape us. A palm tree is one of the most beautiful trees. A palm tree ministers to me every time I see it; it blesses me. The powerful thing about a palm tree is that palm trees are meant to withstand storms. What a palm tree will do in the midst of a storm is bend. I feel like I need to be a dancer today; I’m wild! It bends, but it doesn’t break. When you’re planted in the house of God, the storms come, and you’ll bend, but you won’t break.
Then it gives another example: the cedar of Lebanon. I have been to Lebanon; it was my one random mission trip that I went on with some other pastors, and for the first time in my life, I saw the biggest tree I have ever seen. You couldn’t see the top of it, and you couldn’t get your hands around it. It was immense; you could drive cars through it. What God is saying is that you will be able to provide shade, rest, and shelter when you’re planted. You can’t give away what you have not been planted in long enough to grow into. The only way a tree can be used as wood for a house is that it stayed planted long enough to grow to the point where it had anything to give away.
My greatest concern for the body of Christ is that so many people don’t have a setting of faith where they stay long enough to grow big enough to be useful for anything. You’re cutting down the tree at plant form. Yeah, yeah, yeah, what are you going to build out of it? What are you going to do? For a tree to become big enough to be useful for a table, chair, or something that we actually put our weight on, it has to grow for years. Every person that gets offended, frustrated, or doesn’t like what’s happening in 2024 in church, what they do is become a potted plant. They put themselves in an isolated place so they can only grow to the level that the container will allow them. That’s why you can put them on your windowsill and in your apartment. Many of those trees were meant to be so large that they couldn’t fit in there. When you take them out of their right setting, we call what they do in our house beautiful, but it wasn’t their original intention.
Could it be that many believers are getting handclaps for being beautiful in a small area when if they stayed planted somewhere, they would grow into something truly useful? Okay, TC Nation, I want to tell you this: living like this, planted in the house—some of you have been more faithful to show up and be a part of what God is doing in this place from thousands of miles away than people who live right up the street! They don’t even know if they can clap or not because they don’t know if it’s a dig at them. But I need to acknowledge your commitment.
There are people here that I meet in airports who say, «Oh yeah, last week when you talked about that,» they know the messages, the titles—they made their own T-shirts! Stop bootlegging the T-shirts; we’ll send you one! You represent is off. All I’m saying is that I love you, buddy. Thank you for your dedication and intentionality about being planted. I’m saying to you that there may be a church that God’s calling you to not just consume like a timely tick because you are a part of Transformation Church. Part of being in the church is that you’ve got to give it away! You can watch this Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 5. You can watch this, but maybe this is supplemental content. Maybe this is something that God’s calling you to, and I’m not saying it’s for everybody, but I am saying it’s probably for somebody. Because if the whole church is online, how does the person that’s hurting and has been through your testimony ever get healed?
Is He building up His church or tearing it down? There are enough people in this world for this building to be filled 13 times over. But there are other people who are waiting on you to take your place in a setting of faith. I want to show you this. Could y’all bring my church up here real quick? I’m going to show you what a setting of faith is. Write this down: I am at my best when I’m in church—sitting, serving, sharing, sewing, sacrificing, and saving.
I am at my best when I’m in church—sitting, serving, sharing, sewing, sacrificing, and saving. Let me show you what this looks like. Everybody should have a place that they sit in, in a setting with other people who are jacked up like them. I don’t know what she is going through; she’s cute, but I know there are some things in her that don’t make her better than me. When I focus on Jesus and look to Him through the person who God has called to speak, that’s why it doesn’t matter who’s on that platform; God can use anybody. If He’s speaking from the Bible, there is a word in that place for me.
Do y’all see just the difference in style on the stage? Mama’s got on the pink; she came ready to kill them today. She didn’t know she was going to be on stage, but you see that youth in her right now! I don’t even know where you get a pink stocking cap from, but you look good! Man of God, what’s your name? Robert? Robert, how old are you? Seventy-six! What made you come to Transformation Church today?
«I love being in a church that believes in Jesus Christ only.» He loves being in a church that believes in Jesus Christ only. What ethnicity are you? «I’m Italian.» He said, «I’m Italian.» Now, I want you to see that most people, if you put it on paper, would say he would never be in the church that I’m leading! He’s Black with braids. We might not vote the same way; we might not have come from the same background. The thing that connects everybody on this platform is Jesus.
Now, the last piece of that little thing that I wrote out said that everybody should be sharing, sewing, and all that stuff, but the last part said they should be saving. I’m not saying saving somebody from sin; you can’t do that, but you should be saving a seat for somebody that you’re inviting! Because if this thing actually transformed your life, why would you keep it to yourself?
The truth of the matter is that God brings people into your life every single day, and He’s saying, «Tell them, bring them!» But you can’t even bring them because you don’t know if you’re coming. The very answer they need is wrapped up in your connection with them, but you have not committed to a setting of faith yet. I’m asking every person under the sound of my voice that in 2024, I want you to flourish. How are you going to flourish? According to Psalms, you’re going to check your setting, and you’re going to have a consistent setting of faith.
I’m not going to show up every other week; I’m here every time! You don’t do that at your job. It seems like we’re more committed to things that we hate. Date night is optional for you, but that’s the person you decided to marry for the rest of your life. Church is optional for you, but this relationship always brings you back to center. I just want us to flip it for a second this year, and I want you to commit to being in a setting of faith. Somebody say, «I will!»
I will commit to being in a setting of faith. Let me tell you why: Write it down. The setting of faith will make you flourish; it makes you flourish! I was telling Charles earlier that I can’t imagine a different setting that allowed me to go from the sound man to a lead pastor, to a New York Times bestselling author, to a music producer, to a graphics designer. This church allowed me to become the man of God that I was supposed to be—not because I’m on the platform, but it gave me something to be accountable to. It made me connect with people that are around, and I’m just telling you, everybody else is trying to build a master class for you to go to, and the Master has already given us a class.
Make sure you have a setting of faith. Number two, here we go, the other setting you need to have is a setting, watch this—of friends. I like this one because most church people don’t have friends; they have faith. They don’t have friends; they have prayer partners. No friend can prophesy, «Next year, I see you transformed!» It’s like, «Yeah, and next year, I see you with nobody else around you. You have no friends!» But when I look at the model of Acts 2:42, these people had friends. I think we’ve made it too deep in church. Friends don’t mean I walk up to you and say, «What did God give you in Romans 6 this week?»
No, I feel like you have a word right now. Romans 6—if revelation comes out of me naturally because of what I’m walking through, that’s cool! But stop being weird. Some of y’all are just weird. This is not a dig at anybody; I’ve just found that most people who are strong in their faith still need friends. If you don’t have them, nobody’s in your life with you for a season or a lifetime. It’s how the enemy can allow you to become self-righteous. Faith without friends turns into self-righteousness because you’re disconnected from the people God’s actually called you to help.
So, does it seem weird that all the people with the most scriptures are the ones who act like that? The elders of the church—not known for being nice, but come on! I’m talking about churches all over America. Are the elders of the church known for love? Many times, that happens because they do the right things, but they’re not sharing it with enough people. When you do the right things and don’t share them with anybody, you become self-righteous.
For me, I’ll just put it in the word: Ecclesiastes 4:9. «Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other. But pity any faith-filled person who falls alone and has no one to help them. Also, if two lie down together, they can keep each other warm, but how can one keep warm alone? One may be overpowered; two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly or easily broken.»
I’ve got some guys that I hang out with—y’all come to the stage real quick. I want everybody to understand that it’s not enough just to be committed to this setting; this setting is not enough. Being at church every time the doors open is not enough. My friends know where I be at. What’s up, dog? Y’all good? It’s good to see you! No matter where they’re at in their life, they’re not changing my commitment to where I put myself, right? Because I’ve got to be in a setting of faith, but I have to leave this setting.
It’s nice to meet you, my man! God bless you; you look beautiful! I love that represent hat, baby; you’re killing that! What’s up? Let’s go get some pizza! I know where to take you—do you know where to take me? Is Tony going to be there? Okay. But I need to be able to fluently move from this atmosphere to this one and not become a different person.
This is what the church has done a bad job at. We say, «Hallelujah over here; glory to the most high! I will forgive!» Then we say, «What’s up?» Why y’all acting shocked? This is the truth of the matter: If you come into the right setting, I could be like that, and this setting would change me, right? See, the truth is I should be able to sit in a setting like this and be myself. If myself doesn’t line up with the Word of God, it should challenge me. Too many of us are in settings. That don’t challenge us, and so what ends up happening is we think that it’s okay to stay where we are, and that leads us to feel powerless to change the living room. Either nobody’s here, or the people here are so weak in their convictions that I never feel like I need to do anything better.
I just want you to know the title of the sermon: «Check Your Friends.» If all your boys are cool with you cheating on your wife, the reason they’re cool with it is because they’re doing it too. You might need to check yourself. You can literally come in and tell them, «Bro, I figured out a hack—we don’t have to pay taxes anymore! I was on YouTube, and I saw this TikTok.» And all you have to do is find one person who’s under four feet, make them a part of your family on paper, and then claim a disability. Your friends will really be leaning in, taking notes, trying to see who’s under four feet. I’m literally making this up, but there’s wild stuff like that that happens in real life.
So what I’m saying to you this year is to check your settings of friends. Real story: I was with some people on this platform that I will leave nameless. We were talking the other day, and many of my brothers here—Vic is my trainer, I work out with him every day; Aaron’s been my best friend, and today is Aaron’s birthday—y’all, it’s Aaron’s 39th birthday! We love you, baby! Don’t leave me hanging; I’ll slap you, okay? John styles me, and he has been my friend for years. These are the brothers that help push this vision forward, and when we get together, we talk about everything—real stuff. We talk about our wives, we talk about keeping it real, and we talk about when that «punctuation» comes every month. Look at them—they’re all blushing! You just have to sit there and pray and trust as God does His work on the inside.
So we talk about where we’re winning and where we’re failing. Hear me, hear me, hear me! The other day, I know that a couple of my brothers were dealing with the same testimony I have of being faithful in regards to pornography and everything else because we share our testimonies. There’s nobody in here who’s hiding; we know the unedited version of each other’s testimonies. Does everybody know the edited version of your testimony, or do they know the names of the people involved?
There was this one time with a girl who is sitting right there. Hey, bro, go the other way, don’t come. I have to text people in this room: don’t come here! «Why, bro? I’m outside.» Go home, bro. Why? Because there’s accountability and safety when you actually have real friends.
Okay, remember what it says: two are better than one. If I get backed up against something, I have somebody seeing something else. A real story happened last week: I was telling some of my friends that I don’t really trust people who have privacy screens on their phones. A lot of my friends had privacy screens on their phones. One of my friends asked, «Bro, you don’t trust me?» I said, «To an extent. I know you don’t work for the CIA, and I know this stuff on your phone isn’t governmentally important.»
I said, «Bro, I come from a life of hiding. So anytime I’m around somebody, I want to be transparent, and if I can’t see what’s on their phone when they’re trying to show it to me…» One of my boys was trying to show me what was on his phone, and I couldn’t see it. I was standing this close to him, and I had to ask him to turn it to me because he had a privacy screen on his phone, and I was like, «Why do you have that?» He said, «Oh, bro, I just don’t.»
In that moment, because we have a real relationship, he was like, «Bro, I don’t need this privacy screen,» and took it off his phone. Then I realized he had a second phone! He took it off of both phones and handed them to me. In that moment, wow—what I learned about having the right people in my life was proven through action. This proves that it works! Yes, sir! Show me proof that you’re full of love! Give me proof that you walk in grace! Give me proof that you turn the other cheek and pray for your enemies. That is only truly proven in a context without a pastor.
Check your settings! If you don’t have friends in 2024, I want to give you a secret for getting friends—it has worked every time. Proverbs 18:24: «A man who has friends must himself be friendly.» If you are not friendly, change your resting face! Why are you walking into places like you’re getting ready for a fight? Can I get a smoothie acai bowl? How are you ordering an acai bowl mad?
Come on, y’all! The final setting you need—and this one gets skipped over a lot, but this year God has told me to illuminate it—is that every person according to Acts 2:42 needs a setting of spiritual formation. You need a place outside of your faith where you are growing spiritually. What am I supposed to do? All I’m saying is that the transformation that happened to me in the setting of faith and in the setting of friends was exponentially accelerated when I started wanting to eat for myself.
You know the saying in church where people say, «I don’t get fed there.» The only people in my life who say they didn’t get fed are those who can’t cook. My kids are the only ones who say, «I didn’t get fed tonight» because they can’t cook! So when a believer comes to me as an adult and says, «I don’t get fed there,» my response is, «What the world?»
My question to you is: Do you know how to take the ingredients we’re giving, chop them up, and put a little sauce on it? And the truth of the matter is we’ve been putting so much emphasis on what the church provides, as opposed to what God provides. But when God provides it, it requires your decision. So what happens if God is requiring you to learn some things we don’t teach here? When are we going to do a series on relationships? The series is on YouTube! Okay, but what if God wants you to read some things, go to some counseling, and become a student again? It’s not just what God instructed me to share with you in the setting of faith. Your friends don’t even know what God is trying to make you a leader in! So where is the place that you are spiritually forming?
Acts 2:42: «All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching.» Hold on! No, no, no, that’s not how I got taught in America! You’re supposed to devote yourself to making sure I get taught. «The pastor’s word wasn’t good today.» It’d be funny for me to hear people’s comments after I preach: «He was killing today!» No, you were listening today! I’m killing every Sunday—sorry, sometimes I have to encourage myself in the Lord.
Now, depending on where you’re at and what you’ve been listening to, and the diet you had before you got here, it might impair how you’re hearing what’s being said. Do y’all see what I’m saying? That’s why I believe God is saying you need a setting of spiritual formation. Everybody’s got a desk for podcasting now—do you have a desk for study? You’re giving away information you just got from somebody else’s page. What I’m asking is: Are you studying? Is God giving you a fresh revelation of anything? Before you get a mic to say something, know something!
And the believers—everybody say, «devoted themselves.» This is the beautiful thing: nobody can devote you; you’ve got to devote yourself. What does devoting mean? I have a vote. «I don’t want to read that.» You’re devoting yourself by taking your vote away. «I’m going to read it.» I am devoting where I would usually say, «My opinion.» «God, I don’t feel like getting up.» It’s the only time you have!
«I’ll be devoted.» I’m not a morning person, but you’ve got four kids. Devote yourself! You asked me for the kids, and you asked me for revelation. I’m sick of firing these people and working with these people. I’m sick of this business! You prayed for it! So I need you to be devoted to learning so you can lead them. Ain’t nobody ever helped me. I’m trying to make you better than what you experienced. So you’ve got to have a place where I can speak to you that has nothing to do with where you’re sitting, serving, or sharing. Like I said, I’ll speak to you there, and I’ll speak to you here. Watch this!
I did this series called «Who’s the Minister Here» a few years ago, and I want you to know that I’m not the minister here. Everybody look at your neighbor and say, «You’re the minister here!» Come on! You—look at you with your ministering self! The Bible tells us that my job is to equip you for the works of ministry. So I’m just asking everyone this year: could you get a setting where you are no longer the most successful person in the room? A setting where you go back to being a student? Romans 12:2—I know this one! Shhh! The reason I say that is because just because you know something doesn’t mean you’ve had a new revelation on it. Students are quiet while the teacher is talking, but being a student takes humility.
Do you know how many things I’ve enrolled in and how many classes I have that nobody asked me to take? How many things I read, studied, and listened to? I even got a tape player so I could go back and listen to pastors whose words weren’t on CDs or YouTube, but they had revelation, and I had to go find a tape player. Where do you buy a tape player? Thank God for Amazon! I got a tape player, and I’m listening to these things because I need to be a student. So that means I have to see things differently. I brought Amber Lee up here because I want you to understand that anybody can teach you!
The white man isn’t trying to keep me down; the white woman is my teacher! So would you rather forfeit your growth because of the package it comes in, or would you rather be everything that God created you to be? «No woman can tell me anything.» A bunch of white women have told me a lot of things. All of my counselors—look at my brothers: «I don’t even know! She hasn’t been through my plight.» She doesn’t know my experience!
What I’m saying is God does, and maybe some things you need come in packages you didn’t expect. When my wife and I went through counseling, I had middle-aged or older white women counsel me through some of the toughest places in my life. They are my aunties now, and it has literally changed my life because of the information they had! But my ability to be humble enough— They know I’m a pastor, they know all of you come to me— and they literally don’t care. If you are not in a setting that does not care about your accolades, does not care about how many businesses and boats you have, you will never be able to be everything God has called you to be.
And my question to you is: If I came up to you right now, one on one, could you tell me where this setting is? The sad truth is most believers can’t. They think that the first setting is this setting. «Well, I go to church.» No, no, no! I’m talking about reading books about the name of God so when you worship, it’s not just what the worship leader said. Call Him something different! Look up other things that you can find! This is where I don’t need anybody to feed me. You can read books on finances! Relationships! God will speak through all of that. But you’re saying, «God, what are You trying to say to me?»
And the greatest thing you can read is this word outside of Sunday. This is what will spiritually form you! If you don’t have a setting for spiritual formation, it’s going to cause you not to be able to see everything. That God has called you to see what you are saying, Pastor Mike. This year, I’m challenging our church greatly—not by the end of the year, but by the end of this quarter, January, February, March. By March, I need you to be able to tell somebody, both on paper and out of your mouth, what all of these settings are. You want the best year of your life? Check your settings! Because I’ve been faithful in all of these settings, it has transformed my life.
The way Pastor Charles and I actually got together is that we went to a setting of spiritual formation. I called him after he told me he didn’t want to join with me to become the Golden State Warriors for Jesus—another story for another time. The Holy Spirit told me to invite him to Pastor School in Dallas, Texas, led by Robert Morris. We attended a spiritual formation class, and one of the guys there began to talk and said, «Some of y’all are spiritual orphans. You’re out here trying to do your own thing because there’s a deep wound there, and God is telling you not to do that and to follow His voice.» I thought, «Wow, that’s crazy.» I looked over at Charles; at the time, I was still working on empathy and getting in touch with emotions, so I was just like, «Dang, bro.»
I’ll never forget it! We went to lunch; my man looked like a lobster, he was red everywhere from crying. We were standing in what was the store? Uh, West—what’s the name? Not 9 West, but some West—not Kanye West but one of them. We were standing in the shoe section, and Charles said, «I know God told me I’m supposed to give up my church.» I was like, «Wow,» and honestly didn’t know what to say. I said, «Well, if He’s saying it, you know God is going to do it, and His word is fine.» I was just awkward, but we were together. We stayed in the same hotel room, had to go to another day of sessions, and I had to drive all the way back to Tulsa to drop him off at a church service. Wow! He was in the valley of decision about whether or not to do this. I found him a week and a half later, and he said, «Yep, I’m shutting down my church, and God told me that I’m supposed to come and serve and protect you.» Amen!
I was like, «I don’t have a job for you.» No, this is real! I heard God. «You don’t have to pay me,» he said. I said, «Great, 'cause we have nothing to pay!» Hear me! A lot of people think Charles just came up and was like, «Oh, he didn’t.» Please don’t judge anybody from where you meet them in the story, right? For six months, Abby, he came to Transformation Church in North Tulsa every day, on time, for no money, had a family, had a wife, but just planted himself. They had attended TC one time before they shut their church down to come. I know Abby was sitting there like, «Oh my God!» But what I’m saying is it doesn’t have to make sense, 'cause God saw the plan up ahead, but he was looking. Would you put yourself in the right setting? He has come to me several times over.
Abby has come to me several times over and said, «Thank you, 'cause if we had done that by ourselves, we would have been successful, but we might not be married.» I’m so grateful that God put me in the right setting. Why? 'Cause when you’re in the right setting, you flourish. Would everybody stand, please? I’m going to read Acts 2:42 to let you see. Thank you all! Can y’all give it up for all my people who have been so gracious? What I’m challenging everybody to do this week—hold on, the service is not over! Don’t leave yet; you’re going to miss the moment. You’re going to miss the moment. The moment hasn’t happened yet! Acts 2:42—this is Jesus’s plan to build His church. It says, «And all the believers—somebody say, 'I’m a believer! '—devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and, watch this, to fellowship.»
It didn’t say teaching that then turns into preaching to you, and we call it fellowship. They were two separate things. It was the apostles' teaching, their faith being inspired, and then it was just fellowship. «What’s up, dog? What you doing, baby? You feeling good? I like that chain, bro! Those glasses, if you poke the lenses off 'em, I could rock with 'em. How was the game? What’s going on with you and your wife? Let’s pray about that.» It wasn’t weird. It was the apostles' teaching where we were in a place of faith, but then we were just fellowshipping. What does it take to fellowship? Three simple things: it takes us being together, it takes transparency, and it takes talking. We’ve made it too deep in church!
We get together, and we gather around Acts 6, and I’m saying that’s cool, but I’ve seen people gather around Acts 6 and be dealing with suicide. «How did you try to overdose last week? We were just together! What happened?» They weren’t talking about what was really going on. Do y’all get what I’m saying? It says, «And they shared meals together.» You don’t have to be spiritual to eat. Right now, our church is hungry for the things of God and other things. Do you hear me? Wingstop has never sounded so good. Get behind me, Satan! Children really are a distraction on a fast. That’s not part of my message, but man, I wish I could fast without kids! That was just for me! But sharing a meal, that’s not weird; that’s just fellowshipping and eating.
You know, you can do that with people who don’t believe like you. Let me give you a very weird concept: you can eat and fellowship with somebody who loves the same sex. I know they’re going to clip it up; have fun! I hope your finger gets carpal tunnel! No, I’m just playing! What I’m saying is, where would Jesus have been? Yeah, we talk about Zacchaeus like he was an upstanding man; he was despicable! He was manipulating and stealing from people right in front of their faces, and Jesus was like, «Yo, the person everybody hates? I’m eating at your house tonight. Can you cook?» Yeah, it doesn’t matter. We’ll talk when I get there. How come the church is so far away from the people that need Jesus? I’m not saying to bring those people into your friend group immediately, but what I am saying is fellowship and eating. He’s given us the blueprint of transformation right here. He said they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship and the sharing of meals, including the Lord’s Supper.
A lot of people say it’s just the Lord’s Supper. It says «including the Lord’s Supper,» so we can eat chicken, and we can remember what Jesus Christ did by breaking the body and shedding His blood. Everybody say prayer! That’s why this thing is rumbling in our church right now. I want everybody to get here tomorrow for Miracle Monday. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I just feel God say to get everybody here on Monday; as many people as can, get right after work, come here, join us online; we’re going to pray together. This is the blueprint. It says, «Watch this. This is what I’m praying for our church this year: a deep sense of awe came over all of them, and the apostles performed many miracles, signs, and wonders.» Why? 'Cause it was the right setting! «And all the believers met together in one place and shared—whoa! Hold on! Everything they had; they sold their property and possessions.»
Not my house, not my car, not my Gucci, not my Louis. It says they sold all their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. «They worshiped together at the temple each day, and then they met from home to home for the Lord’s Supper, and they shared in meals with great joy and generosity.» All the while, through every one of these settings, they were praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. God, everybody’s win was everybody’s win! And each day, watch how the church grew! Each day, the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved! I just wonder how many people were on their way to the church party and met somebody and were like, «Hey, what’s your name?» «James!» «Oh, hey, bro! I’m about to go with some of my people, and we’re just gonna eat and talk. You want to come?»
How could they magically have been added daily, thousands, if people weren’t so transformed by having the right setting that they were inviting people to it? But you can’t invite somebody to something you haven’t committed to. What I wrote down after I read this is something I want to leave us with: don’t desire the fruit of the early church if you won’t commit to the formula of the early church. God checked me as a leader, and he said, «Michael, I need you to simplify this whole thing, and I want you to create an easy formula based on Acts 2:42 that gives every person that you are a leader over the ability to have a place to strengthen their faith, find friends, and spiritually form.»
Sunday morning, every time you come here, this is the place of faith. It’s the place of crazy faith. You’re standing in it; you’re sitting in it! We’re going to inspire you every week to get closer to Jesus and to do what’s uncomfortable, but that will yield the greatest results for your life. And if we’re not your cup of tea, there’s Victory Life Church, there’s Metropolitan, there’s Fellowship Church. I’ll list them on my Instagram this week, and I’m gonna have cards, 'cause I don’t care that it’s this place; I care that you have a place! Amen? I said Amen, Amen! And I’m about to tell y’all this: for anybody who has been a part of Transformation, these two squares right here, in the next three months, I’m about to roll out a plan for our church that is going to transform how we make friends and how we spiritually form.
I cannot tell you the details today because my team won’t let me! I am submitted. What I’m telling you is when I roll it out, just do it! This will be the greatest year of your life. We have prayed, we have labored, we have worked, we have asked God, «What are you trying to do?» and He said, «Go back to what I did in the beginning.» I’m telling you, our first commitment is to get here every Sunday! Now we’re not legalists, like, «Where were you today?» Stop! Nobody has time for that! We’re growing up in here. Nobody has time for all that! But what I’m saying is if we don’t see you in a month, we’re going to assume something’s wrong because we love being together. They were doing it every day!
Imagine going to church every day! That’s what they were doing. It said they met in the temple daily. We just meet once a week! But when we get here, let me be very clear: it’s going to be normal that if somebody doesn’t know you here, they’re going to ask you your name. Let me normalize this right now: you will not be able to be a stranger here for months! «I ain’t never seen you before!» «I’ve been here for six years!» «I know it’s a big church; what’s your name?» A big church becomes small when you know somebody’s name. You can walk into an arena of millions of people, and if somebody says, «Mike!» I’m like, «Oh, I’m home now!» Lord, be that for somebody! Small groups and this little thing over here is coming, but I can’t roll it out until you desire it. Lift your hands!
Thank you, Lord, for giving us the playbook to transformation today, that our faith will be strengthened, that we would have genuine friends who would lead us, help us, correct us, and care for us. Father, may we devote ourselves enough to actually grow and learn in the things that will make us who we’re supposed to be. Today, God, I thank you that there is value in doing what your Word says. I thank you that this church is coming to a place of maturity, yes, Lord, not based on how much we know, but on what we do. God, please unify our church like never before, from Transformation Nation to everyone in this room. Let there be something inside of us that says we want to flourish, so we will be planted. We need people with us, so we will have friends. Father God, we need to grow, so we will continue to spiritually form. Have your way inside each one of us, as is our prayer. God, I just thank you for the lost person invited by someone who took the Great Commission seriously, saving a seat for them. They told them today; I thank you that today is their day of salvation. Thank you for transformation for all of us. I thank you that this is a holy moment because our minds are changing. This is not emotional; this is a decision, and I thank you that this decision will impact how we live and ultimately, Lord, make us look more like you. We trust you, believe you, and thank you for your Word.
If you’re in this room and you’ve never accepted Jesus, today is your day. This is the whole reason we meet; this is what we’ve been praying for. For those who have been here, we’ve gone through and prayed for every seat in this place. If you’ve been going your own way, lost and frustrated with what is going on in your life, and you want a fresh start today, I don’t just want to give you a fresh start—I want to offer you eternal life through the work of Jesus Christ. What are you saying, Pastor Mike? I’m saying that everything can change because of what Jesus did. He took someone like me, a liar, a manipulator; you all know the next one—addicted to pornography—I share my testimony. He didn’t make me a perfect man but a progressing man. All I’m asking you to do right now is give your Creator a chance to transform your life. If you’re in this room, I see you up there.
If you’re in this room and today is the day of salvation for you, on the count of three, I want you to lift your hands. There is no embarrassment; nobody is going to shine a light on you and start interrogating you—none of that will happen. I need my church to start praying because you know this is where hell starts telling people, «Oh no, you can’t change, you can’t give that up.»
This is the only faith where, if you give God your heart, He’ll help you change your habits—the things you’re scared to show Him; He already knows them and wants to walk with you through them. He walked with me through pornography. He walked with me through lying and manipulation. He walked with me through that stuff, and He wants to walk with you. Not just alone—He wants to place you in a house of faith, give you friends, and allow you to develop an appetite for spiritual formation. I’m just saying to you today, you’ve got to make the decision for Him. If you’re in this place and you want to make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior, or you’re watching online or in rebroadcast, on the count of three, just boldly raise your hand. One, you’re making the greatest decision of your life; two, your name will be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life forever; three, come on, raise your hand. I see you right there; I see you, young people; I see you, my man. Come on, I see you. Glory to God! I see you; I see you, sir. More than I see you, God sees you. At Transformation Church, we’re family; nobody prays alone. Everybody lift your hands and say:
God, thank you for sending Jesus just for me. Today, I admit I need a Savior, and I choose You. Change me, transform me. I believe You lived, You died, and You rose again just for me. I’m Yours. In Jesus' name, amen.