Michael Todd - Fit to Finish
I have a word today that I believe is going to change the trajectory of our church. I say that all the time because I believe it all the time. I’m not up here just saying things to help people feel better about themselves; I want us to actually live something. There are tons of churches that will tell you what you want to hear, but today, I’m not going to do that. I’m going to tell you what God told me to tell you and what He has already revealed to me.
There is nothing I can preach to you that the Holy Spirit has not already worked in me. It is a violation for me to come up here and act like I have it all together when the Holy Spirit has not actually done work in me. I’m not saying I’m going to stand up here and be perfect at anything, but I am saying I will have started the process of actually walking this out. The Holy Spirit literally shut my mouth on the topic I’m about to preach about for over seven years. For seven years, He told me to be quiet because I had no authority to talk about it while looking at my own life. I know every pastor acts like they are an expert on every subject and like they have a PhD in every area. Knowing information and living that out are two completely different things.
Today, I want to bring us into this message with a little illustration I thought about. Does anyone remember when little babies had shapes they needed to fit into? When I was a child, this game was very exciting for me because everything has been a competition since I was six months old. When I encountered this, I would always try to figure out how I could do it the fastest. Now that I have children, it’s not about speed; it’s just about getting it in there. When your children are still developing their cognitive skills, it can be frustrating as a parent to watch them try to put the triangle in the star. No baby, uh-uh, it’s the other one!
Many times, if you’ve been a parent, depending on where your kids are in their learning, it can take a while for them to figure it out. But once they get it, it’s a beautiful picture! I feel like sometimes in our lives with Jesus, we have something that we think is supposed to fit into a certain area, but everywhere we try to put it, it doesn’t fit. It doesn’t matter how much we say, «Oh, it’s a circle and the same color, so it must fit!» It doesn’t work that way. We might even try turning it, but for some reason, it still won’t fit. If we bought this toy from Target, we would simply return it, saying, «I’m so sorry; something must be defective. It doesn’t fit.»
In the same way, where’s my man Zion? Come here, buddy. I need you to come up here. Zion is one of my best friends in prayer; he’s been here every time. Y’all give it up for Zion; he’s been joining me in prayer. I decided to upgrade his clothing today, so I brought some clothes from my closet for him. Come on, put this on, Big Daddy! He said he’s ready for the miracle. Now, this jacket is expensive; it was crafted by a skilled artisan, but if you see Zion walking around in it, you would say it doesn’t fit. It looks fresh! Come on, baby, put on these Gucci shoes! He’s falling because he’s in something that doesn’t fit. Alright, come on, get that foot in there! What did you say? You can’t fit it? It feels like it should fit, but it doesn’t, and it doesn’t matter how much I try. This will become uncomfortable because it doesn’t fit. Alright, do some jumping jacks, Big Daddy. Yeah! Can you do a push-up? Oh, there it is! Oh, he’s creasing my shoes! Oh God, in the Name of Jesus, we believe you for a miracle. No matter what happens, this will eventually become uncomfortable because it doesn’t fit. Come here, let me take that from you. God bless you!
What if God desires to use someone for 25 years, but He looks at the person and realizes their body doesn’t fit the purpose? We’re talking about starting sharp and staying sharp; we’re talking about praying for miracles and about God changing things around in our lives. What if we are not fit to finish? In fact, that is the title of my message: «Fit to Finish.» Now I need everybody to take a deep breath and say «Yahweh» again. Today, I’m coming to you pastorally and lovingly, asking you not to pray for anything you’re not prepared for. Some of us, at the end of this 21 days of prayer and fasting, are going to say, «Oh man, it’s been so good! I don’t have headaches, and I feel better!» Part of it is spiritual, but the other part is that you haven’t been eating junk. For 21 days, your body has been adjusting to not having as much sugar. I’ve already amen’d myself, so I don’t need anyone’s amens unless they’re genuine. I came on assignment to help you get your life back. Many of our prayers are for miracles that could be avoided if we actually took our lives seriously. My question to you is: will you be fit to finish?
I can’t answer that question for you; I don’t eat with you and I don’t spend time with you. This is going to bother some people because you think it’s a vanity message, but it is not. This is about your actual value. Are you fit to finish what God has called you to do? Let me share a personal revelation that happened for me seven years ago. The Holy Spirit told me during a time of prayer, «Michael, I can only bless your ministry to the level your body can handle.» My response was, «That’s not fair.» I thought the blessing was based on the level my spirit man could take or what my marriage could handle. He said, «Yes, all of that is true, but I’m not going to bless your ministry beyond what your body can handle.» I ignored the word of God. For four years, your pastor stood up here, preaching crazy faith, sweating through my clothes. I’m going to be humble, open, and transparent today to hope that one person makes a distinction between what you’ve been living and what God desires for you to live.
He said, «I can only bless you to the level your body can take.» I’m not saying this revelation needs to be yours, but could it be true for you, too? Is God looking at how you treat your body as part of His decision about what He has called you to do? I challenge everyone under the sound of my voice because I feel everyone’s tension right now. Take a deep breath in and let it out. I challenge you not to deflect or defend for the next 45 minutes. Some of you might say, «You don’t know my story! You don’t know the thyroid issues I have!» Okay, stop. I know, but I challenge you not to make excuses because this message is about your destiny, not anyone else’s. Some of you are saying, «I know tons of people who are overweight and successful.» Yes, there are many, but my question is: what version of them are we getting? If they were healthy, how many more years could they fulfill what God asked them to do?
So, write this down: we’re talking about being healthy and holy, not just holy. I said healthy and holy. We talk about the spirit being purified, asking God to wash our minds, but we rarely talk about cleaning out our cupboards. We might be cutting off our influence, our purpose, and God’s design for us because of how we take care of our bodies. This is not about being fat or skinny; unhealthy habits exist regardless. Superficial desires are not the point; this is about supernatural discipline. This message is not about how you look or getting six-pack abs; it’s about the risk of diabetes taking you out like it did your mother and her mother.
It does not matter how much money you have in the bank when your heart stops. It does not matter how many homes you have if you end up in a nursing home. Just to even things out for everyone watching, I’m about to expose myself to show I’m not just talking to you; I’m talking about me. Here I am at my heaviest: 275 lbs. Yes, I took my shirt off in church! I want to show you what this really looked like—me yelling about crazy faith, believing for new buildings, and talking about relationship goals, while being insecure, overweight, emotionally eating, and drowning my sorrows in ice cream, Dr. Pepper, gummy bears, and whipped cream. I was trying to manage stress, wondering why families were leaving, while I stuffed myself with food every Sunday night.
Nobody ever approached me and said, «Pastor, that message was great, but you look unhealthy.» Not one mentor or spiritual covering ever said anything; it was as if they felt they could not say anything while watching me harm myself, yet if I had a knife to my wrist or a gun to my head, everyone would intervene. When I had a fork and knife, nobody said a word. In fact, they encouraged my behavior, saying, «Get whatever you want; order two.» I faced many challenges regarding my health, not just physically. I had to overcome hurdles like pornography, lying, and manipulation, but the hurdle of my physical health and nutrition was the one I wouldn’t address. I hope this has resonated with you. I just don’t understand. I just don’t think you should be in here talking about my body like that because this is my body. It’s the body that God gave me, and I’m just going to be me, and I’m going to do what God has told me to do, no matter what body I have.
All I’m saying is that I don’t want you to think this is an Instagram-type comparison thing. I want you to be fit. Everybody say the word fit! Fit! Let me give you the definition: a suitable quality, standard, or type to meet a required purpose. I just want you to be able to meet the required purpose God places on your life. So, if He tells you to go to a remote village in Africa to minister to kids, can your body handle it? Some of y’all, God will call you there, and you will be cursing the whole way, not for any other reason except your heart’s desire is there, but your body isn’t. Oh my God, you won’t even go swimming with your kids because you don’t like the way you look in a bathing suit, so you’re robbing your kids of an opportunity to connect with you because you don’t like how you look.
What I’m saying to you is being fit is not about a size; it’s about a standard. Does everybody hear what I’m saying? I don’t care what size you are; zero. Anorexia is unhealthy, too, right? Do y’all hear what I’m saying? There are so many people trying to convince you that just drinking water and Red Bulls is okay; it’s healthy. We don’t want the aesthetic; we want to actually be healthy! Everybody say the word to me: fit! So I said, «Holy Spirit, you’re going to have to give me some real revelation on this because I feel like either we’re going to gain a lot of people in the church getting healthy after this message or everybody’s going to flip me off and go eat a burger.» So I need some revelation.
I’m telling you, on Tuesday night at 3:50 in the morning, the Holy Spirit woke me up with 1 Samuel 16:7. This is where Saul was the king, but he disobeyed God, and Samuel had to find another. God told him to go to Jesse’s house, and he would be able to pick the next king of Israel. He tells Samuel, «But the Lord said to Samuel, do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.» And I said, «God, that’s powerful! Oh my God, you look at the heart! Oh, you look at the inside! Oh, you look at the motive! Oh, you look at the character! Oh, you look at the integrity!»
All my life in church, that’s all I’ve heard: that God does not look at the outside. Thank you, Jesus! He knows our heart, even when people mess up. I’ve said it: «Man, I messed up, but God knows my heart. He knows I love Him. I don’t obey Him, but I love Him. He knows my heart.» And I said, «Holy Spirit, where’s the revelation?» He said, «Read it again.» He said, «People look at the outward appearance, but when God goes to choose somebody for purpose, He looks at the heart.» I said, «Holy Spirit, you have to help me.» He said, «Read it again.» No, I wasn’t just talking about looking at it spiritually; I look at it physically, too. And I said, «People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.» Are you telling me that when God is calling people for purpose, He looks at their central thinking system, which is the heart of man, but He also considers whether your actual cardiovascular heart can take the mission He’s asking you to undertake?
And I said, «Holy Spirit, don’t be this cold.» He said, «I was being figurative, spiritual, and literal, because no good father would send their kid to die without considering their actual abilities.» Great! Now think about it: What is David about to do? Right? After he becomes anointed as the king of Israel, the next time we see a big story about David, he’s killing Goliath, the giant that nobody in the whole army wanted to face. So, He was looking at the man’s integrity, but He was also looking at his physical readiness. My question to you is: Can your heart handle it? Yes, because health is all about your heart.
So then I was like, «Okay, Holy Spirit, some people are going to say, 'Oh, he just took that out of context.'» I said, «Okay, Holy Spirit, I want to make sure that I give people practical handles to look at this.» And look, I cannot make this stuff up; this is what the Holy Spirit said to me. He said, «Look up the number one cause of death in America.» I just did a small Google search, and it turns out the number one cause of death in America—across all ages, genders, and races—is heart disease. I said, «What?» He said, «The enemy has taken out more people through a lack of discipline with their forks and health than anything else.» That’s true!
He said, «There are many things I want to get done on this Earth, but I can’t because I haven’t found anybody with the heart.» Come on! Can I talk to my brown and black people real quick? I got to talk to y’all because nobody says this. We’ve been ham-hocking it, mac-and-cheesing it, and eating sweet potato pie, upside-down cake, seven-up cake, and red velvet cake. Look at y’all! You ain’t said much all service, and I just start mentioning food, and your spirit just perks up! But the American Heart Association found that people were more likely to experience cardiovascular disease if they lived in neighborhoods with limited access to healthy foods, spaces to be physically active, or healthcare facilities. And I know a lot of the problems we face today are systemic, but this one is not: it’s your meal!
Nobody said this to me. Some of y’all are hearing the message I’m preaching right now, and you’re planning to tear down your temple after this fast in an epic way. You’ve been planning this meal for 21 days. As soon as we went on the fast, you were like, «When I break this fast, I’m going to tear the club down.» But what if part of God’s picking process has to do with your heart being right and your heart rate being okay?
God’s looking at David. I just want you to go with me. He’s looking at David, and he was like, «David doesn’t just have to be spiritually ready to face Goliath; he has to be physically ready to face Goliath.» Now I know we never thought about it like this because most pastors stay out of your personal business. But David had to walk from the palace back to Jesse’s house all the time. He had to literally! Just think about it with me. Y’all remember when we talked about how David faced the bear and faced the lion? Have you ever fought a bear? No! We say it so casually: «Yeah, he was just fighting a lion.» No! That’s not regular! Do you know what type of strength and endurance and intentionality you have to have to actually spar with a bear? And if the bear wasn’t good enough, then you do it with the lion, too!
Come on! We call that preparation for a giant. A lot of people are talking about how God knows my heart. We’re not called to reach God; He’s already reached us. We’re called to reach people. And most of us are not fit to actually do what God’s asked us to do when it comes to our health. This is a question I had to ask myself three years ago: Do people have a reason to follow me? When it comes to your health, could we copy and paste how you take care of yourself? Would you want to place that on the people you love? Eat what I eat, work out how I work out. What would your children look like? What would my children look like if they copied my habits?
See, every area of my life needs to be something worth following. As believers, when it says «follow me as I follow Christ,» in your health, are you worth following? I didn’t say in your prayer life because I know you can pray. I didn’t say in your worship leading because I know you can lead worship. But in your health, are you worth following? I started this journey over three years ago, and it was the most embarrassing, humbling thing I’ve ever done. I will post videos this week of me telling my trainer, «I cannot run!» The only thing that motivates me is competition, so we cannot just go running; we can’t just go jump roping; we can’t just lift weights. I have to trick my mind! So can we play basketball? I just need to start moving!
Oh, it was so hard. You know when you go one way and your body’s doing something different? I was like, «What is happening?» Okay, some of y’all don’t have these problems, but I’m talking about real problems! I paid him to come play basketball with me! I’m a grown man, yeah, with kids and a job! I should be able to do this! But I couldn’t. I believed so many lies about my situation that I needed somebody to come play a game with me to make me accountable and to start doing something. What I’m telling you is it doesn’t matter where you start because I know there are some people here who are saying, «Pastor Mike, that’s just too much! I’m 68 years old!» Do you want five more years or 15 more years? Do you want to live to see what you’ve been praying for?
Do you want to see your grandkids be able to do the things you never were able to do? But because of your faithfulness, you planted the seeds into them, and now they can walk into spaces that you were never able to. But is it retribution because you see them do it, or are they talking to your tombstone? «Nana, I did it! I graduated!» Because you wouldn’t go walk!
Come on! See, when I started this fitness journey, the Holy Spirit told me to shut up. He said, «This is an area you cannot encourage anybody in because you have not been consistent.» And me, I like sharing stuff. If I’m just two steps ahead, I’ll be like, «Y’all, come on!» That’s how I’ve always lived. But the Holy Spirit said, «Not in this area. I need the work to go deep, and I need it to be forever, because when I allow you to share it, it’s going to transform the world.»
I said, «God, why are you putting all of this on me?» He said, «Because I’ve tried to do it with several people, and nobody would answer the call publicly.» Wow! And when I started working out, people around me started working out. Pastor Charles is 145 pounds soaking wet any day; he’s got abs every day. It’s just because he’s skinny! Nobody cares; I’m just joking. He’s like, «Don’t play me, boy; stop!» But ever since I’ve known him, when I started working out, Charles said, «I need to start working out!»
My leader, yeah, is starting to work out for his health. I don’t have what he has, but I need to be healthy for all these kids Abby and I are having. And he started working out! Another person in here a year ago, Brother Will Heckenbach. Now, some of y’all don’t know, but when I met Will, he was going through a transition. He had been in prison; he tells his story. God drastically changed his life! He starts serving, and God brings him here. He does the internship and keeps going level to level. But as he was going up, so was his weight. I was watching him and talking to him. «Will, you good?» He said, «I’m great,» but he got up to 350 lbs.
Put him on the screen! This is my dog, full of the spirit! Are you going to show his belly hair like that? Yes, because I want you to see the real testimony. When I started working out—it was a year and a half ago—this is what I wish I could do with everybody. But Will has shown me that he can take actual leadership. The Bible says, «Better a cut from a friend than kisses from an enemy.» I came to Will and said, «Hey bro, you got to get your health in order.» He said, «I receive that, Pastor. I’ve been trying.» I said, «I’m going to pay for your first month of training.» He was like, «Pastor?» And I looked him in the face and said, «I have four kids; do not waste my money!» Am I telling you? I said, «Do not waste my money!» That’s all he needed! Will came here; keep the screen up!
140 lbs down! Oh, y’all can celebrate with us! Come on! So proud of you, bro! Now, the only bad thing about this? My man’s been in my closet now! Get out of here! Shout out to my man Trevor that helped him and Tanner at Tulsa Training. They really focused on him like, «Pastor Mike, why are you shouting out training facilities?» Because that might be your answer to prayer. Do you see what Will’s testimony just did? No, no, no! Will didn’t say a word. Come on, great church! People talk so much because your fruit is not evident. Great people, write this down; we’re almost done. I know everybody’s like, «When is this going to be over?» I’m talking to you with a passionate heart today because I was right where you are.
People should be able to look at every area of your life and see God. And I want you to hear me say this, and I’ve been saying this. I think this subconsciously became a phrase that emerged from my own insecurities, which God purified and used. When I was in a place where I couldn’t even see myself healthy, the Holy Spirit just said, «Progression, not perfection. Just progress; take a step. Do something you weren’t doing yesterday. Progression, not perfection.» I just want to let everybody know who’s struggling right now: we are not on this journey of health for acceptance; we are on this journey from acceptance. Jesus has already accepted you; He just wants to use you in such a way that means we’ve got to change the way we live. Okay? So don’t wait until it’s perfect. Let me give you a couple of scriptures. Romans 12:1: «Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.»
This is your true and proper—it’s not a what; it’s worship. Now, I need everybody to hear me say this: worship is not just the songs we sing; it’s the way we live. And I want you to see how many times «you» comes up in this. «Therefore, I urge you.» Nobody can do this for you! Right? In view of all that God has done for you, His mercy, to offer your body. That means nobody else can offer this; this is your offering to God. At the beginning of 2024, I am offering my body as a living sacrifice. Now, I would be cool if it just said «as a sacrifice,» because a sacrifice is a one-time event. Think about it; I’m going to the altar, and I’m sacrificing this one time. But why did you add the word «living»? Great, because that means it doesn’t fully die. Wow! Good!
So I’ve got to keep offering it as a sacrifice every day. So I want you to offer your body as a living sacrifice every single day—holy and acceptable. And then He says this: «That’s just reasonable.» Great! What this means is that this is like the least you could be doing in light of what God has done for you. Great! Keep your house clean; keep your temple tidy! «Lord, this is hard.» Well, this is the thing I want you to hear: God will never ask you to do something He hasn’t equipped you to do. Romans 12:1-2—I’m going to run through these. It says, «Do not conform to the patterns of this world.» Well, just love your body? No! We’re going to love our bodies, and we’re going to progress, too! Great! You can do both! You can be right here and love it, and you can say, «But this is not where I want to stay.» It says, «Don’t copy the patterns of this world; be transformed by the renewing of your mind.»
Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing, and perfect will. I want to submit to you: watch this—your body is borrowed. Some of y’all still tight, but it’s right! You have a borrowed body. 1 Corinthians 6:19—"Do you not know?» I love how this starts because it just assumes that we’re ignorant of it. «Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you’ve received as a gift from God? You are not your own; you’re borrowed. You were bought at a price; therefore, honor God with your body.»
Now, I heard this as a youth, for everybody trying to not burn with lustful desires, but we keep talking about purity. But this is actually a self-discipline scripture. Great! How do you treat something that’s borrowed? If somebody lent you their luxury car, how would you treat it? You usually treat it—watch this—better than you treat your own stuff! Water bottles in your car? Chick-fil-A wrappers in your car? Come on, y’all! Let’s be honest! Dirty clothes? «I’ve got to go to the gym.» Okay! I’ll get them later! Every time you walk into that car, you’re like, «Oh my God, what is that?!» But with somebody else’s car—it’s the temple of the Holy Spirit. How are you treating it? Y’all remember last week when I told you that we had three settings we needed to be in: a setting of faith, a setting of friends, and a setting of spiritual formation? I brought the setting of faith back here because this is the house of God—so this is a temple. Okay?
I’m going to move this out of the way because we don’t need these clothes anymore. I need everybody to see this. Yeah, if this is the temple, the house of God, I’m just going to start acting how we act with our bodies in the house. My favorite is Chinese food and ketchup! «Why are you so bothered? Who’s going to clean it?» Yeah, this is just the house of God! It’s just a house! Just a house! Who cares? «I lift my hands in the sanctuary. I lift my hands to give you the glory. I lift my hands to give praise!» And we will praise! You don’t care so much; it’s just a temple! Spill it all over the communion! Don’t care so much over the Bible, too! Y’all stop acting like you care about this!
Let me stop acting like this matters to you! «Picture on the picture!» I need to do some artwork on the picture! See? Uh-oh! Come on, come on, come on! Oh, come on! Oh! Woo! When I got into the mess, it affected the way I walked outside of it. This is a Subway sandwich; it’s a foot long! Dang! I hope I didn’t hit a band member! It’s just a temple! Stop acting bothered! You don’t care! We don’t care about this! What did you say? We get it! No, you don’t; it’s been 40 years! It’s been 50 years! It’s been 15 years of not caring about our temple! Why do you care about these eight chairs and these symbols of Christianity when it’s not even the place where the Holy Spirit is dwelling? I am the temple of the Holy Spirit!
There’s still a little bit on me! Huh? I didn’t even see it until I looked in the mirror! Ain’t no napkins up here. But I love pizza and egg rolls! A couple of sausages—anybody love Ninja Turtles? Ninja Turtles made me think—have y’all ever found a Ninja Turtle pizza? 'Cause I never! Like with the cheese! Somebody said, «Let me get a slice!» You’ve had plenty; it’s healthy! Why do y’all keep saying—oh! Y’all know what I’m about to do! Every time I do this, you act like it’s a new revelation! They told us we eat three meals a day, and every time we do this, nobody says anything! We get it! Now, I need eight volunteers to come sit in this—come on! Yeah! I need eight volunteers! Come here, big dog!
Alright, I got eight! Alright, y’all sit down! What’s your name, bro? Angel? Angel, yes! Mo, sir! What’s your name? Oh, hold on, just stay right here. What’s your name? Kendrick? Kendrick, come on! Come on, sister! What’s your name? Kelsey? Kelsey, so nice to meet you! Y’all come here! Come on, just stand right here! Y’all stand! What’s your name? Ariana? Ariana! And what’s your name? Brandy? Brandy! And what’s your name? Shereé? Shereé! And what’s your name? Everybody just stand, just stand so I can still see this! Okay? And now right there, that’s good! It would be inhumane of me to make these people—who actually got up, washed their faces, brushed their teeth, and looked cute—sit in that mess. Yet every single day, we make the Holy Spirit inhabit a place that we do not care about keeping clean!
The fact that these people even came up here is a testimony to how hard it would be! 'Cause I said, «I need eight; I need eight people to help me!» Everybody was like, «Ah! You thought you were getting something!» And I said, «I need you to come sit in this!» And everybody was like, «Oh, thank you for being the eight out of millions who would be willing to be a living sacrifice!» And this is—now, here’s what I’m saying: they could be up here just 'cause they want to be on TV! Okay? So I don’t know! But I just wanted to make a point; there are a lot fewer people willing to sit in the mess than the Holy Spirit sits with us every day! Thank you, you guys! Will y’all give it up for them? I’m not going to make y’all sit in it—oh, that woman said, «Thank You, Lord! Oh my God, I just bought this sweater, and it’s cute!»
We’re done! Great, great! What I’m trying to say is God is always more concerned about your body than any building. Great! If somebody did this to your church, if y’all saw somebody in the lobby doing this, y’all would physically fight them! Like, I already know y’all! But why would you be more concerned about trash they put in a building than the trash you put in your body? Do you know the one time God was really mad about how people were treating the temple? Y’all remember when He picked up the whip and started—why did He do that? It’s because people were doing things in the temple that weren’t supposed to be there! This message is not about body image; it’s about God’s image!
The scripture says you can’t love your neighbor until you evaluate how you love yourself. And the truth of the matter is, some of us, if we take off our clothes and we are bare in front of the mirror, we do not like what we see. We are insecure! We don’t! And then we project that onto other people. And what I’m saying is this is not something we need a miracle for; this is something we need to decide on. If we’re honest, some of us hate ourselves! And the crazy thing about it is we’ve been talking about damaged but not destroyed. But this is the thing I want everybody to know: what’s not transformed—wow! And now you’re trying to make your kids not eat, or you’re trying to give them what you didn’t have! You can do both spectrums! And God is saying, «Could you please be an example? If nobody else follows you, could you live in a way that at least the ones I told you to train up in the way they should go can follow you?»
Last thing I want to say to you is if you were going to embark on this journey of health, hear me when I say this: the biggest thing that hindered me is I wanted to transform my temple in 30 days, and it took three years. I need you to hear me say this today: where I am in my health, I feel like I can run through troops and leap over walls now! Like, that’s how I feel! I feel youthful! I feel younger! I feel ready to do whatever God’s called me to do! But it didn’t come in 30 days; it came out of consistency for three years. And this is what I want you to write down: it takes time to transform your temple. Hebrews 12:11: «No discipline is enjoyable while it’s happening; it’s painful! But afterward, there will be a peaceful harvest.»
Man, do y’all know that harvest is not a peaceful time? If anybody’s ever had a crop, and they have to pull it—harvest is stressful! Harvest is work! But God says, «If you would train yourself in discipline, you would have a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.» Great, great! The real reason that I started working out, y’all, is because of a little boy who has my name—MJ. And as most of you guys know, my son is special needs. He currently has autism, and we’re believing God for a miracle in his life. But I don’t deny facts to live in the future; I apply my faith now so that the future can be different. And so one of the only ways that I could connect with my son is he loves playing «Go Tickles,» where I chase him around, and then I catch him and throw him up in the air and tickle him. MJ can do this for hours!
No, no, no! This is not an exaggeration! It’s when he looks me in my eye; I mean, I just see my son, and he’s having so much fun! He’s laughing! «Go tickle, Daddy! Go tickle!» He uses his words: «One, two, three, go! Go tickle! Go tickle!» And MJ has been wanting to play «Go Tickles» for six years! And MJ would say, «Daddy! Daddy! Go tickle!» And I would come home from work, come home from ministry, come home from— and he would go! I could go one or two times, and I didn’t have the energy! Wow! And I saw the disappointment on my son’s face that he could not articulate with his words: «My daddy doesn’t want to play 'Go Tickles' with me!» It’s not that I didn’t want to; I didn’t have the heart for it—all because of what I was eating and because I wouldn’t take time to do the things that were hard. I couldn’t do the things that would make him happy. And he started wanting me to pick him up and he kept growing, and I didn’t have any muscle to do it; it went from throwing him up in the air to feeling like there was no air.
You know, trying to give sound effects to act like we had air, but I made a decision: if the only way I could connect with my son was by being physically strong enough to play with him and throw him up in the air, then Daddy was going to do the hard things to make him happy. I couldn’t think about him as five or six; I had to think about him as 18. People don’t know why I’m going so hard—it’s because I might have to throw an 18-year-old or wrestle a bear. Great, great, great, but I promise you one thing: I’ll have the heart to be able to do it. I know that depending on where you’re at right now, this may be a tough pill to swallow, but I swallowed it, and I swallow it every day. I have not reached perfection, but I was released by God to share this message because I believe God wanted people to know that this takes faith too. Yeah, faith in fitness is an act of faith, and I don’t care where you are or what lie you’ve believed. I think God has a huge plan for your life, and you need fitness to actually finish the plan.
1 Corinthians 9:24, last scripture, and we’ll be out of here: «Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize!» Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training; they do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it—somebody say, «we do it!"—say it with faith: we do it, we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore, I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body to make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. I will be fit for the finish. Will you stand all over this building, please?
This is what I’m going to do: I’m going to pray for you, and then I’m going to challenge you. The prayer is going to be the genuine prayer that I had to pray: God, I thank you that you will give me the desire and the power to do what pleases you. This is scripture, and I pray that almost every day. But then, I’m going to challenge you—don’t leave yet, hold on, hold on; wait a minute! I know you’re mad, but just hold on. Then, I’m challenging us to a 28-day walking challenge. I didn’t say lift or bench press; I said because we walk by, and we’re going to walk by steps too. I’m challenging everybody to do this on top of whatever you do. I want you to walk for at least 30 minutes every day for 28 days.
Now listen, some of you, this is going to be easy for you, and then the Holy Spirit’s going to tell you to take it up to something else. For others, you’re already in something, and this will take discipline to just submit and listen. I do push-ups, and you don’t listen; you do everything everybody tells you not to do, but just slow down for a season and listen. But we’re going to walk as a church, and I believe that one day this church will own a gym. I’m prophesying to us; it will become a central hub of outreach and in-reach.
Imagine a place where you can come every day, a gym where you’re actually serious about it more than you go to church. Imagine the music and atmosphere being charged with faith. Imagine you walking in and people greeting you with love. Imagine seeing a glass room with people meeting in small groups all over. Imagine your kids having volleyball and basketball practice three or four nights a week. I’m just painting a picture, and they’re recording it because it’s going to happen. Somebody say, «It’s going to happen!» Imagine inviting your friends to it and it being a place where they meet people that believe like you before they ever have to come into this arena. Imagine, alongside thousands saved in our year-end metrics, we have pounds lost. What is that doing, Pastor Mike? It’s adding years to our life so that we can go into all the world and make disciples. Hands lifted:
Father, I thank you for our church, for my family, for people who are just like me. Father, you’ve done a lot of miracles in different areas of my life, but health was a hurdle I needed your help with. God, I’m asking you that people would not hear any venom in this message, that they would see that they are valued. Yes, God, show them how you showed me that this was a conversation of love that really said you had so much more in me than I thought I had in myself. God, I thank you that you would give us both the desire and the power to do what pleases you because we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. I come against doubt, confusion, past patterns, and even the fear of failure, and I thank you, Father God, that by this time next year, everyone under the sound of my voice and everybody they send this to will have a testimony of progression—not to be compared with anybody, but to give you glory. Father God, we will be fit to finish the purpose you have called us to, and Father, you’ve placed us in a house called transformation. Let us live that out with a new level of decisiveness. God, we want to honor you with our bodies because it’s our reasonable worship. Now, whatever the next step is, God, you can tell us and you can show us, and we will be careful to obey. In Jesus' name, somebody say «we agree,» «we accept,» «we expect.» Amen.
Hey listen, real quick, I believe in you. No, look at me, look at me, look at me—I believe in you! This next step is going to be more spiritual than you’ve ever imagined because the Holy Spirit is going to help you every single day. If you believe it, let’s give God one shout of praise in this place! Oh, come on, for where we’re going, y’all! We are going to be fit to finish. Listen, next week we are celebrating 50 years of Bishop and Pastor Debbie, 25 years of our church, and I’m releasing the word of the year. I couldn’t do it until I taught this message. I need you to send this to 50 people, and I need you to bring 50 next week; we’re going to turn up and have a party!
Listen to me, if you’ve never accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, today is your opportunity. I know there are people moving because they’re so excited to get to the parking lot. But for you, the Holy Spirit has been knocking on your heart this whole message, and today is the day of salvation. If you want to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior right now, I want to give you the opportunity to make the greatest decision of your life. Don’t do this life without Him. It took me from being a liar, a manipulator, and somebody who was addicted to pornography. I was carrying around a bunch of weight—not just physical, but spiritual too—and the Holy Spirit said, «Give me your heart, and I’ll help you change your habits.»
If that’s you in this room, on the count of three, whether you’re watching online or on rebroadcast, I want you to lift your hands, and we’re going to pray the prayer of salvation. I’m telling you, your whole life is going to turn around. One, you’re making the greatest decision ever. Two, I’m proud of you, but more than that, your name is going to be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Three, shoot your hand up all over this building! I see you right there, all online—I see you! I see you, a whole family right there. Come on, Transformation Church, I see you, my brother! I see you, my brother! Come on, Transformation Church, let’s celebrate! Glory to God! I see you, but more than that, sister, God sees you. At Transformation Church, we’re family; nobody prays alone. Can we lift our hands one last time and say:
God, thank you for sending Jesus just for me. Today, I admit that I have messed up, and I need a Savior. I repent, and I turn to You. Change me, renew me, transform me. I’m Yours! In Jesus' name, amen.