Michael Todd - Overflow From Obscurity: Are You Hidden or Hiding?
Thank you all for being here today. I have a word from God that I think is going to challenge all of us because it’s challenged me. I have made a commitment to every person under the sound of my voice that I will never get up here and preach something that God has not either worked out in my life or is currently working on in my life. The one thing you will not hear me do is get up here and fake, okay? So you never have to worry about that because I have learned the power of actually letting God transform you from the inside out. There is nothing more powerful than your own testimony, and some of us have been quiet about our testimony. What I want to do is empower you to share what God is doing in your life.
That’s what I want to do today as we start week 10 of a series called «Living in the Overflow.» If you have not watched every one of these sermons, you are missing keys to your present and your future. When you come to the house of God, He is trying to show you something, direct you, and give you a path. A lot of times, when I’m asking God for something, He gives it to me in a way that I did not ask for it. When you come to the house of God, when we watch these messages, when we open our Bible, when we do not just sit here but actually take notes, when we are engaged, when we lean in, it allows us to hear things, see things, digest things, and then use and apply them differently.
What I want for our church is to be an active church. Go home if you do not want to actually be in what God has asked you to be in. Hear what I’m saying to you: there is a difference between going to the movie theater and being there while being on your phone the whole time and being at the theater with your phone down, turned on silent, actually watching the movie. One requires presence; the other requires attention. I’m concerned that for many of us, when we come to church, it’s just our presence, not our attention. The only thing that can get our attention, watch this, is tragedy. Some of you may never change if God just says to change. You have to lose everything. «Oh God, I’m ready to change,» He says. «I’ve been trying to tell you to change for 13 years! It’s been 13 years!» Every Monday, I say it’s time to change. «God, do I have to lose everything: lose the house, lose the business, 401k gone, addicted to drugs, child gone?»
Now it’s like I did a 360 because God did a miracle in my life after that. That is not His plan. His plan is: He speaks, you are attentive, you obey, and then you are protected. I am talking to some hardheaded people right now because some of you are hardheaded, and I don’t even know why people are like that. All of us have the same skull density, but for some reason, it’s not getting through. When God says, «Don’t date them,» He keeps telling you not to give your time to them, and it’s not until you get a sexually transmitted disease that you realize it. I see the prayer requests; come on, let’s talk. God told you, «I told you to serve that community.» «But God, I don’t live in that community. I think I should serve in the community where I live.» «I told you to serve in that community.»
It’s not until we lose the house, get in a car accident, and have to move in with our cousin, whom we only saw 14 years out of our lives because they live on that side of town, that God says, «I was trying to get you to serve here, not move here.» Because you won’t listen to me, today I want your attention, not just your presence, because I believe that God wants to speak to you. Last week, we started talking about having the overflow from obscurity, and I have to bring this into our modern-day context because most of us are looking for the blow-up, the thing that God does in our life, even if it’s not in front of a bunch of people but in front of the right people. We want God to do something amazing that is platformed so people can see.
What I’ve found in my journey with God is that the most powerful things that have ever happened in my life came in a place where nobody was there. The word He spoke to me that told me that Natalie was my wife was not a committee decision; that was God speaking to me in an obscure place. I had people around me that led me and told me she wasn’t the one, dummy. Fourteen years later, we are still together, strong, excited, and passionate about what God has called us to do. But hear what I’m saying to you: it wasn’t a word to y’all; it was a word to me that I only got in obscurity. What I’m asking everyone that claims to have a relationship with God is: where is your secret place? Where’s the place of intimacy with just you and God?
I stated this last week: obscurity is an opportunity from God. I remixed it this week, saying that obscurity is an invitation to intimacy with God. When God takes you out of the crowd, He is inviting you to be close to Him. All He wants to do is be able to tell you, speak to you, and give you unique instructions. It’s an invitation to intimacy. The people who invite you into their personal space actually really know you. For a lot of you, if I showed up at your house, you would open the door and be like, «Oh my God, Pastor Mike!» slam the door, and then go start trying to make your house look like you think it should look when your pastor comes by. But if your homeboy comes by, you’re like, «Oh, step over the laundry; you know what it is in here.»
It’s when people actually know you. A telltale sign of whether you know God or God knows you is: what do you try to clean up when He gets close? If you start hiding and putting things away, saying, «God, I don’t want to talk to you about those desires, and I don’t want to bring my financial situation to you,» it means you’re not close with Him. There’s no intimacy, no «in me.» I’m scared for us that there are certain things that are only exposed when someone can get close enough to see the real you. What I’m saying is, «Pastor Mike, why are we going into the summer, and you’re talking about obscurity? I thought you should be discussing being outside because it’s summer; we’re about to be outside.»
No, you are about to be in obscurity while everybody else is outside. You might need to go ahead and mute their Instagrams because comparison will make you come outside when God wants intimate time with you at the barbecue, at the poolside. You need to be in prayer. I see some of you; someone flipped me off in the back. I’m telling you the truth because many of us are not preparing for the season God is about to take us into. This whole series is prophetic for you because you’re trying to be in a place that you may one day be in, but God is saying many of us aren’t ready for all that yet. If I gave you what you’ve seen and what you’ve drawn out, it would destroy you because you have not built the character in obscurity that allows you to last.
That’s why I’ve found that obscurity is a place of development, a place of design, a place of detox, a place of deliverance, a place of detailing destiny—a place, watch this, where God many times denies your wants. Oh gosh, I thought I would just come and be real with you. When you get close to God, He says no a lot. Y’all want a gospel that lets you do everything that comes to your heart. Well, the Bible says God will give you the desires of your heart. You misinterpret that scripture. He will give you the things to desire. Oh my God, He’ll give you the desires your heart should want, not the desires my heart already wants. It’s easier to take correction behind closed doors when God says, «No, no, no, no, no.» You’ll never be able to do that. But God, I really wanted to move to that city. God will let you throw a tantrum and still keep your calling and anointing intact. Oh, y’all missed it!
The reason you need a place of obscurity is because everyone can’t handle your tantrum and still listen to you. If they see how you really act when God says no, they’ll say you are unstable; you do not have a word for me. God says, «I’m not going to allow your emotions to disqualify what I’ve called you to, so come over here to this dark place. Throw your tantrum that you’re not moving to LA. Go ahead—three years of a tantrum; okay, now you’re okay with Tulsa; now I’ll use you.» Oh God, okay, I’m going to need security out of here. What I’m telling you is I’m trying to help us be molded to be more like Jesus because obscurity was the place Jesus went all the time. Miracle after miracle, He went to an obscure place to be intimate with the Father. Crowds wanted to make Him king, but He would bless y’all and go to the restroom real quick, and then He would go away to an obscure place to get close to the Father.
Can I tell you about how He endured the cross? The only reason God could endure the cross is because of a little garden of obscurity called Gethsemane. He had thousands of people following; He had about 500 disciples that were wearing the tag; He had 12 that were His ride or dies—well, 11—but then He had three that could see Him in the obscure place. Where are the friends that can see you in the obscure place, in the darkness, while you’re sweating blood, trying to figure out how in the world you’re going to do what God called you to do? You’re scared and frustrated, you know it’s not fair, but they will stay with you in that place. These friends were sorry because they fell asleep, but people give them a hard time. They were at least there.
Well, they fell asleep, but at least they were there. I think a lot of times, people get really messed up because when you go into an obscure place, whether you’re obeying God or you fell into that place, you look around, and nobody is there. What I’m saying is some of you are getting on your high horse right now: «Yeah, I don’t have any obscure friends. I don’t have any friends built for obscurity. You weak! You weak! You weak! You weak! You weak!» You’re going down the list. My question is: are you that type of friend? No, no, no, hear me for real. If the Bible is true, you reap what you sow. Some of you need to sow being a friend that’s there before you can expect that. Okay, you’re not ready for me today, but listen to me.
Write this point down: the power to endure the cross comes from the consecration in private. The only way Jesus is able to sit there and say, «Forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing,» is because He was crying out in a place where none of those people were at. What I’m saying is your power to endure is not going to be found on a platform; your power to endure that hard situation, endure that season of loss, endure that season of grief, endure that season where nobody knows your name, but it actually is your work, the only way you can do that is by having a private place where God can speak, encourage, and correct you. Some of y’all are stuck on the word obscurity, so let me define it: obscurity is the state of being unknown, inconspicuous.
Watch this one: unimportant. Are you okay with being unimportant? For some of you right now, the thought of that? You have star quality; you have only child energy. Y’all know what I’m talking about—"Ta-da!» Now, if you’re an only child, calm down. But you have «ta-da» main character energy—that’s what they call it. She said, «Yes, that’s me.» What if the next decade God says, «I’m going to allow you to overflow, but you will be unknown»? See, God’s not counting out the overflow; He’s just not always adding the known. God, the title is «Overflow from Obscurity,» which means I’m overflowing; just everybody might not be able to high-five me for it. The crazy thing about it is, someone commented this past week that it was my and Nat’s anniversary.
Anything I’m proud of, I post about. I was going on a roll, posting about my wife; I have 50 million pictures of that girl, experiences we’ve made it through—don’t you dare get off my timeline! Talk about, «So much about your…» But the crazy thing is this: if I shut Instagram down, our relationship is still good. What I’m trying to do is model for somebody. Some of y’all are too inconspicuous with your marriage; nobody knows you’re married. Okay, let me be clear: we know about your business, we know about your dog, we know about your boat. You’re trying to 10x me, and okay, let me stop well, some things… should it be private? Okay, all I’m saying is, is it still good if it’s unimportant and unknown? My relationship with God would still be good if I didn’t preach. Like my quiet time, my discipline, my prayer—what I’m asking you is, if there’s no end result for people to see, where is the consistency?
Okay, see, the reason I’m asking that is because when you get in obscurity, some of y’all are like, «Yes, Pastor Mike, I’m going to embrace obscurity. I’m going to go in here.» But be careful though, because when you step out of the spotlight, obscurity presents options. Because there’s no optics, what are you saying, Pastor Mike? A lot of times when you’re not in the spotlight, you think what you do doesn’t matter because nobody’s watching. Do y’all hear what I’m saying? Some of y’all have been listening to this message and thinking, «That ain’t me, that ain’t me, that ain’t me.» But the truth of the matter is, in the dark, you actually don’t obey God because you think that nobody sees you. You’re not over anybody, you’re not leading anything; you’re just over here. God has forgotten about you. The truth is, no, people are watching, but God is, and you can’t hide anything from God.
Pastor Mike, why are you so persistent about this point? Because I want to teach you the benefits of being out of the spotlight, being in obscurity, having closeness with God, or intimacy, and developing what God has placed on the inside of you so you can go out and reach people for Him. Why is this so important? Watch; obscurity is the birthplace of integrity. You will not gain integrity on a platform; your integrity will be exposed on a platform, but where integrity is birthed is in obscurity.
When I have options to do the opposite, when nobody would see it, so when you’re in the apartment by yourself before you’re married, what are you watching? You paid the cable bill; nobody has access to it. You’re by yourself. The integrity to be a man of purity and virtue does not start when your wife is next to you in bed. Now you’re watching Airbender every night to go to bed, but you were watching something else when it was just you. I’m coming for you today. Come on; y’all better stop being fake in here and realize that integrity is not what you do when people are around; integrity is what you do when nobody will find out.
You find $100 on the ground, and you automatically say it’s a blessing. You’re in a public place; you find $100. «Oh, God blessed me.» You didn’t even try to find out who it belonged to; that could have been a single mother’s last dollar. But then you want God to come through when you lose your wallet, saying, «Oh God, what’s going on?» What I’m saying is, many times, what we think is a blessing is a test of integrity. Oh God, I can’t tell you how many times God would do something like that, and my natural instinct would be to say, «Don’t even try. God has shined on you; pick it up and leave.»
I was coming in there to get something; I just thought never mind, I don’t need anything. This is what I came to get. And God said, «Go to the manager, tell them where you found it, tell them who was around, who you talked to before.» God knew that one day there would be people that would be a part of a local church, and He would make me the chief inspector of how we deal with integrity and resources. He knew that if I wouldn’t be faithful with that $100 found in Best Buy, there’s no way that I could steward properly over people giving to God and expect it to actually go out and make a difference. It was a test, and my question to you is: are you using obscurity to make excuses, or are you using obscurity to build integrity?
Well, it doesn’t matter; nobody sees. It’s not harming anybody except your future. It doesn’t affect the present, but with the one who holds the future, it messes up your future. So when you say you’re going to be on time for something, did you see how quiet it just got? When you say, do y’all hear what I’m saying? I am not perfect at it at all, but I am convicted around it. There are things that God is continually working out of me and into me that have to do with who I am going to be.
I was telling my guys that I work out with on Sunday morning about where my family is going on a little family trip—not a vacation. If all my kids are going, it is a family trip. Don’t you dare call it a vacation, no matter where I am. If there’s a palm tree, that’s the only thing I’m holding onto, do you hear me? It’s a family trip. But one of my guys was like, «Are you going to work out on your family trip?» I said, «Every day.» He said, «Man, that’s dedication.» I said, «I’m trying to make myself believe me again. I keep my word to everybody else, but I’ve lied to myself more times than I’ve lied to anybody else.»
I told myself I was going to work out for 75 days straight. It does not matter if it’s a family trip; I almost said vacation. It doesn’t matter if I have to go somewhere; if I have to do it at night, I want my yes to be yes and my no to be no. Where do you build your integrity? In obscurity. Why are you saying this? Because I’m scared that too many people don’t have accountability, and you can’t be accountable if there’s not integrity.
Okay, Bishop could come to me today and say, «Mike, how are you doing?» and I could be doing bad. I could say good, and he could say, «How’s your marriage?» and we could have just fought and talked about divorce, and I could say, «Never been better.» He can ask me how I’m doing in my purity or how I’m doing with finances, and I could say, «You know, I could always have more money. I’m about to be foreclosed on my house,» but without integrity, accountability means nothing. A lot of people have people around them that they continue to lie to, and then when everything goes bad, what they do is blame the people around them that they weren’t honest with.
Obscurity allows you to build integrity, which then gives you the ability to be accountable. It’s quiet in here today, but I’m talking about lasting; I’m talking about living, not just visiting the overflow. I’m talking about living in the overflow. What I’ve found is obscurity is protection for your future. When you get in a place where God can build, refine, and correct things where everybody can’t see, it’s actually a gift from Him. Can I tell you I’m so glad that all my messages when I was learning to preach in solely are nowhere to be found? Y’all think I say wild stuff today?
I am so grateful. I was giving three-hour sermons; I’m not even playing. I was saying stuff that I know was heretical. I was trying to figure it out, you understand what I’m saying? He gave me a place of obscurity to actually build something that was actually transferable to other people. Stop wanting to blow up on YouTube. Stop wanting to go viral. I’m not saying if it happens, that’s fine. Stop hitting the lottery; some of y’all Christians in here right now still play the lottery every week, hoping that you can back pay your tithes for the last 38 years once you hit the $137 billion. Come on, let’s be honest; sneaking into a gas station nobody goes to, you don’t even get gas there. You just say, «What’s up, Trevor? Yeah.»
All I’m saying to you is, embrace—everybody say, «I will, I will embrace, embrace obscurity.» If God puts me there, God puts me there. I don’t want you to embrace isolation; two totally different things. Being in an obscure place with Him is different from being away from everybody alone. The enemy would try to make some people think, «Oh yeah, Pastor Mike, that’s what I’m saying. That’s why I don’t mess with nobody. That’s why I don’t go outside, don’t mess with anybody; it’s me, myself and I, care for myself, selfish.» The whole thing about this Bible is it’s not even for us; it’s for somebody else. Let me flip it on everybody that’s been like, «This word is for y’all.» There’s a difference between being hidden and hiding.
Where is the camera? Let me look at you. Some of y’all have been calling obscurity being hidden by God, and the truth is you’ve been hiding. This is the whole reason that Samuel had to come and even look for David. He comes and looks for David because the last king is losing his job. If you read about five chapters earlier, Saul was the king and God came to him in a secret, obscure place and said, «You’re going to be the next king» through Samuel. The day they go to do the coronation, when they go to tell it in front of everybody what he already knew in private, «You’re the next king; you’re about to take this spot,» when they go to look for him—guess what King Saul is doing? Hiding!
You don’t believe me? Y’all think I’m making this up? 1 Samuel chapter 10: «So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel before the Lord, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot. Then he brought each family of the tribe of Benjamin before the Lord, and the family of the Matrites was chosen. Finally, Saul, son of Kish, was chosen from among them. When they looked for him, he had disappeared.» So they asked the Lord, «Where is he?» Is there anybody asking the Lord where you are because you disappeared from the post God had for you?
People are like, «Where’s the help? Where are the people you promised? Where’s the…» and the Lord replied to them, «He’s hiding; he’s hiding among the baggage.» They found him and brought him out, and he stood head and shoulders above everybody else. He was qualified, but he was still hiding, and he was hiding in his baggage. I could do a whole other message, but my question to you is, when they’re calling for you, excuse me, when God calls for you, and He has qualified you to do it, you stand head and shoulders above everybody else. He called for that position, yet because of your own insecurity, you are hiding among baggage. Well, they never picked me and I never had the training for this and I never had that. But God called you.
The only reason we ever meet David is because, from the beginning of Saul having to watch this, he was dragged into position. Oh God, because he didn’t embrace what God wanted to do in him, they literally said he was hiding among the baggage. So they found him and brought him out. When they called for David, he came. Okay, don’t call it divine obscurity when it’s really insecurity. Well, the only reason I’m not doing that is because, you know, it’s not my time. It’s been your time for that. It’s been your time for that, but you’re scared; you don’t know what to do.
Sometimes God does not give you instruction until you step. Prove it to me: Abraham, go to the land that I will show you. That means I’ve got to pack my bags with no directions? Yes, because sometimes you have to walk by faith and not by sight. Some of us are waiting for the whole MapQuest directions before we start. Y’all remember MapQuest? We’re waiting for the whole turn-by-turn, and God’s saying, «I’m not giving it to you until you get in the car, start down the street. You know you’ve got to leave your neighborhood.»
Pastor Mike, how do I know the difference between hiding and hidden? You know, I’m really having trouble discerning the fine line. I believe God has me in obscurity right now, but I don’t know if I’m hiding or if I’m hidden. I heard you. You’re hidden when God calls you and you come. You’re hiding when God calls you and you cover up. That simple. Let’s go all the way back to the Garden: when Adam and Eve messed up and God said, «Where are you?» they were becoming Louis Vuitton fashion designers with leaves because they were naked, and they decided to design clothes to cover up. And what was God’s first question to them? «Who told you you were naked?» If you want God to do something, when He calls, come! «I’m not qualified.» Come! «I don’t have all of the credentials.» Come! «I don’t even know who’s up there.» Come!
David, when they said, «David,» he wasn’t like, «What, Dad? Why does he want me?» «There’s a guy here; where’s he from?» Like, why do we need so many answers before we trust when the Father calls? Okay, I’m just asking everybody to embrace the obscure place. When David comes, he’s like, «What’s up, y’all? What’s up? What’s up?» All his brothers are there. «What did I miss? Did somebody die? What’s happening?» No, Samuel’s here to anoint you as king. Hold on—today I’m not bending down, and Samuel, with no explanation, begins to pour oil on him for an assignment he’s not even been given yet. He does not know what he’s about to face. He doesn’t know about Goliath. All he knows is he’s been in the pasture, in obscurity, fighting bears and lions, protecting these sheep. He’s already got the skill set for the mountain he’s going to take down that he doesn’t even know is a part of his future. But he kneeled down and had oil poured on him for the future.
What I’m saying to you is, are you in an obscure place where somebody can anoint you, where God can put His approval on you? Watch this: overflow demands oil. If you’re going to actually overflow, you need something that doesn’t come from you. You need instructions that are higher than you, a why that has nothing to do with money. Okay, if all your goals are attached to balling, getting out of the hood, giving my kids a better life—those are all earthly things. That’s why we have to attach our lives to something heavenly, because it literally tells us that this life is like a vapor. It’s so quick! I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a vapor and how you can see it and then it’s gone, but that’s what this life is. And so God is telling us to get the oil for the assignment.
And then, in 1 Samuel 16:13, the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Watch this: then Samuel left, and guess where David went? Not with Samuel—he went back to obscurity. How would you handle being anointed as king and then going back to the spot you were with the sheep? Most of us would act a fool right there. No, this oil isn’t dripping down. Uh-uh! This oil is about to be used. Where are we going? What are we doing, Samuel? I’m coming with you; I need to figure this thing out. David said, «I’m anointed, but I haven’t been given the assignment yet.»
So, because I’m anointed, I’m going to take that and walk in it. The Holy Spirit came on him with power from that day on, and he was okay using that power to protect the sheep. What if the power doesn’t come with promotion immediately? Oh my gosh! He gives him power and sends him back to the sheep. All I’m saying is, just because you get applause doesn’t mean that you don’t have God’s approval. There was no parade for David, but God said he’s anointed; he’s approved by me. I need to encourage somebody right now who’s not getting the applause for actually being sober all these years. You’ve been sober so many years; you walked away, you defeated that, you’re still checking in, and nobody’s applauding you.
But God has anointed you! I want to encourage you: you did the hard thing and walked away from that abusive situation, or you sold that lucrative business to follow what God said to do, or you moved. I want to let you know the applause of men does not mean you’re not anointed by God. David found contentment in obscurity, and today I just need to ask you, are you okay with it? Because David is unknown to everyone else, but he is known by God. He’s unimportant to everybody else, but he’s known by God. That’s why I need to let you know this one thing: write this down—overflow starts off the platform. I’m going to show you as we end this service where the overflow of this church started for me.
When we got this building, the Holy Spirit would not let me come in here to pray. I used to want to come into this room, touch all the seats, and do all this stuff. He would not let me. He said, «This is the place where I’m going to shine forth what I’ve placed on the inside of you.» But today I want to show you the obscure place that God built this church from and gave me the integrity to stand on this platform. Because if you’re going to overflow, it’s not going to be on a platform; it’s going to be in obscurity. I need the cameraman to follow me real quick; this is going to be a little awkward, but I need y’all to go with me. I’m going to show you that God wants to do something in your life that has nothing to do with people seeing it. I’m going to go faster than this; y’all just watch me because this is going to take a long time if I don’t run.
Come on! Yeah, what’s up fam? Y’all good today? God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you. I’m going to show you the place that God said to me, «Mike, all I want you to do is pray for the people. I want you to pray for multi-ethnic people. I want you to pray for young and old. I want you to pray for the addict. I want you to pray for this person who’s going to smoke weed in the parking lot and then come into church. I want you to pray for the person that is hurting and has not seen God come through for them in a long time.»
I want you to come to an obscure place. Come on, y’all follow me! Yup, I’m about to hit a little jog. All right, here we go. Y’all pray for y’all pastor’s strength right now. What I’m telling you is that God wanted me away from everybody else. He wanted me to come to a place where I could get on my face. He wanted me to come to a place that was not about lights, cameras, or action. He wanted me to come to a place that nobody would see me. If you’re in the room, you can look up—look back here. This—hey! For six months, this is where I prayed for you. This is where I prayed that God would make people who were not fertile able to have children. This is where I would get on my knees, and God wouldn’t let me come down there. And I would say, «God, please bring people who actually want to change.»
Father God, I thank you that I have no power to actually get people to come to this church, but Father, by Your Spirit, would you draw them from the north, south, east, and west? God, You have given me a vision to represent You. God, would You bring people in here who are confused in their identity? Would You bring people in here, Father God, who are hurt from past pastors? Father, would You bring people in here?
I would cry out for this church from obscurity. God changed my heart in this room. God corrected me in this room. God told me many times to go say sorry to my wife from right here. He gave me vision. I remember when God told me, «Don’t take your foot off the gas; continue to believe for more than this building.» I came to this room and prayed, «God, if You want us to buy this entire complex, even the land that Chick-fil-A sits on, Father, will You confirm it?» It was in this room, in obscurity, that God said, «I’m going to give you the keys to this entire area.» People see me on the platform, but where my power comes from is this place that nobody sees. And it’s so crazy right now; some of y’all have never seen this room back here before. Y’all are looking like, «Dang, that’s been here the whole time.»
And the truth of the matter is you never needed to see this room, right? The only reason I’m showing it to you is because there should be some place in your life that only people would know about if you showed them. Today I’m asking you, if God’s will for you is to overflow from obscurity, would you let Him do the work on the inside of you? Here’s the altar call: I’m not at the altar, because I want this altar call to be just about you and Jesus. Would everybody stand all over this building? If you’re watching online, if you’re in the room, I’m going to ask everybody to just take the next minute, and I’m going to ask the team—they’re going to pan to a wide shot, and nobody’s going to be the focus. Because that’s what we want—we want somebody to be the focus. The only focus is Jesus.
I want you to ask God. See, at Transformation Church, we say this simple thing: «Holy Spirit, what are You trying to say to me through this message?» For some of you, it’s a lot of different things. I’m going to have the worship team bring up a pad, bring up a worship thing, and we’re just going to have a moment for a second where I just want you to ask God when we’re supposed to have intimate time. For others, you need to repent for being too busy for the only one who can actually transform your life. And I know this is a little awkward for some people, but I want you to close your eyes. Everybody close your eyes right now, and I just want you to say, «Holy Spirit, what are You trying to say to me through this message?» And just let Him speak.
Sixty seconds, y’all. So take my heart and mold it. Take my mind, transform it, and take my will and conform it to Yours, O Lord. Just you and God. Just your prayer. So take my heart, take my heart and mold it. Take my mind, take my mind, transform it, transform it. Take my will, take my will, conform it, conform it to Yours, to Yours, O Lord. Just one more time—hands lifted! So take my heart, take my heart. Come on, you and God! He wants to do it in a secret place. And take my mind, take my mind. Thank You for doing the work in me, God! Transform it. And take my will, take my will, conform it to Yours, to Yours, to Yours, O Lord. So this is what I want to do today: if I were to make an altar call for you to come down, everybody would be down. Because the truth of the matter is all of us need to make a fresh commitment to having a secret place with God.
Okay, let me just take it out of the room. We’re a hot church—humble, open, and transparent. How many people know that your time, your intimate time, your closeness with God needs to go to another level? Hands all over! Okay, alright—no shame in here, no guilt, no condemnation. Not what we did last week or yesterday; what are we going to do today? Today I’m asking every person under the sound of my voice not to make a commitment to me, but to make a commitment to God that we’re going to meet every day. He’s like, «Every day?» What if He doesn’t meet you one day? Every time you take a breath, that’s a reminder that He met you. I’m asking us, church, not to be around God; let’s be close to Him. «How do I get close to Him?»
God wrote a love letter with 66 chapters in it—get in His Word! «How do I get close to Him?» Come to church! Come to Wednesday night where we have prayer and Bible study—we’ll teach you! «I don’t have time.» It’s hockey season, it’s basketball season, it’s football season—it’s going to be every season except your season! There’s always a season, but when will it be your season to dedicate and consecrate and have that place with God? Today I’m going to pray a prayer that somebody prayed over me: that I would have the ability to make important what’s actually important. Can I pray for you? Hands lifted.
Father, I thank You for this beautiful congregation that has received this word. Father God, for some of us, it’s convicting, but for others, it’s a reminder. And today, God, as we’re making a fresh commitment to overflow from obscurity, to get a place with You, I thank You that You would give all of us the ability to make important and prioritize what’s really important, which is a relationship with You. Because out of that flows everything else—how we treat our kids, how we interact with our spouse, how we show up in the world. Father God, let our relationship with You be deeper, be more real and authentic, and actually more joyful than it’s ever been in our whole Christian walk. I’m thanking You for a renewed desire to be with You, God, in Your Word, in prayer. Father God, today do the work that no man can do; do the surgery. And we won’t rush You; have Your way in us is our prayer.
If you’re in this room and you’ve never received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, we’re about to go, but I need y’all to focus in. The only way I can get up here and talk about these things is because of what God’s done in my life. He took me from being a liar, a manipulator, addicted to pornography—somebody that had a lot of bad things in his heart, was headed on the wrong road of life. And God didn’t make me perfect, but when I accepted Jesus, He gave me a road map to be able to transform my life. Today, I want to give every person under the sound of my voice that opportunity. This ain’t for everybody, because today some people are going to listen to guilt, shame, and condemnation.
But today I want to talk to somebody who’s saying, «I’m tired of this, and I want to change.» Today is the day of salvation. Today our church is praying for you because we know what it is to step across that line to make a decision to make Jesus Christ not just our Savior but our Lord: if that’s you, if you’re watching online or you’re in this room right now, I’m telling you this is the whole reason I get up here and preach. It is because one day my life completely turned around when I gave my life to Christ. I messed up afterward, but I had the plan to get back in right relationship with Him, and this is what I want for every person under the sound of my voice.
I want your eternity to be secure so you can live holy in His presence. I know Christianity and religion would tell you to clean up before you come, but not my God. He says if you come just as you are, He’ll help you clean it up; He won’t leave you like that. If you’re in this room and you’re tired of trying to be the lord of your own life and want to surrender control to allow God to do the deep work on the inside of you, today on the count of three, I just want you to slip your hand in the air.
I’m so excited for you because everything’s about to turn around! I already see a hand. One, you’re making the greatest decision of your life. Two, I’m proud of you, but more than that, your name will be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Three, shoot your hand up if that’s you! I see you, my brother. I see you, my sister. Come on! Shoot your hand up! I see you, my sister. I see you. Come on, y’all! Transformation Church, let’s give God praise. I see you! I see you! But more than me seeing you, God sees you. And at TC, we’re a family. Nobody prays alone, so would you just lift your hands and say:
God, thank you for sending Jesus just for me. Today, I give you my life. I believe you lived, you died, and you rose again with all power just for me. Change me, transform me, renew me. I’m yours. In Jesus' name, amen.