Michael Todd - Show Me The Receipts
All right, take your seats. Well, welcome to Transformation Church. All we need is a memory. Now, what you’re going to see here that you may not see in a lot of places is that there are all different ethnicities and age groups. There was a 19-year-old down here jumping with a 91-year-old. You understand what I’m saying? When people try to put language to it, what we tell them is it looks like heaven. We prayed that God would make this a diverse church that would look like heaven, and the fact that not one single row looks like one person group—that on the same row, there could be somebody that owns a business and somebody who needs a job—y’all should talk. I’m just grateful to be back in the house. I love you.
What an honor and privilege it is to pastor this house. I will never take this place for granted. God has done so much transformation in my life here, and it wasn’t on this platform. It was when most of y’all didn’t know who we were. I wasn’t Mike Todd; I was Michael, and my wife called me Alex—that’s my middle name, Alexander. My mama called me Mookie, and if you call me Mookie, I got people to handle you. No, I just play. But I’m just grateful for the dark room that God developed me in, because today I get the privilege to stand before you and hopefully bring you just a little closer to Jesus. So today, I’m going to get right into the Word. I want to let you know that I’m full as a tick.
Now, some of y’all aren’t country enough to know what that is, but my family is from Louisiana and Alabama. Sometimes a tick could get on a dog or something like that, and then you kill it, and it would just burst because it had sucked so much out of a moment. On my sabbatical, God gave me time to just extract and rest my soul. The most dangerous thing for me is to rest, because in the chaos of life, sometimes you start to think that you got to do all of this. I know some of y’all don’t have pressures on you. You don’t have kids to raise, and you ain’t got wives who have expectations of you; you’re just trying to live pure and all the other stuff.
As for me, sometimes you think you got to do all of this. Sometimes, when you take a step back and just sit at the feet of Jesus as a son, when you cast your crown, when you’re not a pastor or whatever you are, God reveals to you it’s been Him the whole time. Some of y’all just need a reality check; it’s been Him the whole time. You ain’t that good. He sees you before you put that makeup on; He knows what you look like, soothing yourself. He knows how you are in the car right before the presentation, still making the presentation up on Canva. He knows you.
Sometimes, we get it twisted, thinking that we did something, but it’s been—somebody say it—it’s been Him the whole time. I’m grateful for this opportunity, and I know I have an assignment here. I heard a preacher once say, «I’m wearing a suit because I mean business,» and I’m going to stand on business today. I want you to get your Bible out and get your notepads out. Today, I’m going to wipe this sweat off as if I just didn’t shout, and thank God for His presence.
Holy Spirit, here I am in front of all these people, asking You to empower me to do Your will. You are the one who gives both the desire and the power to do what pleases You. Today, Father, I have so many flaws standing up here in front of these people, but I will not shrink back from what You called me to do. So today, anoint me. And Father, don’t just use me; dwell in me. Father, I want something on me after this. I don’t want to be used so that they can just be blessed; I want to walk away with something. God, would You just supersede all of our expectations? Would You start something in this church that would change the trajectory of our lives forever? Holy Spirit, tag team back again; let’s do this thing and may You get all the glory, honor, and praise. And everybody that agrees, say Amen. Amen.
Well, today we are starting a brand new series called «Receipts.» Somebody shout at me: receipts! Now, this is a cultural term for all of us because we know that any time we buy something, we get a receipt. In the last three to five years, people have been using it a lot in relationships and business, really kind of disappointingly. It’s like people who keep tabs on other people’s faults, and they’re like, «No, you’re a liar, and I got receipts.» And they’re like, «No, no, no, no, no, show me the receipt!» It’s almost giving people a license to check others or hold them accountable because they do something and don’t remember how it really went or the facts or the actual intention around it. But somebody was recording the whole time!
Oh, come on, y’all; we know a few stories in the news right now that «woo,» wish video cameras didn’t exist, wish that somebody wasn’t watching or seeing. Because no matter what you say in front of people, if there is something proving otherwise, it’s what people go with and believe. As I was coming into this series, I was on sabbatical, asking the Holy Spirit how to finish the assignment You gave us for this year. Because at Transformation Church, the word of the year is «fruit.» Can we give it up for Transformation Worship real quick? Y’all can do better than that! We have a world-class worship department. When y’all did, «Look at my fruit today,» I started thinking, «Oh, we have a song that goes with a series.» Thank y’all, man!
They just released an album called «Thy Kingdom Come» last week, and I’m just super excited. When I started to think about that song and look at my fruit and say, «We’re not just talking about it; we’re going to live it,» I started to think, «Oh, that whole concept is about having proof.» Right when I thought about the word of the year being fruit this year at Transformation Church, my wife sent me to the store. One of your primary jobs as a husband is not just to bring home the bacon—not just to provide and all that. One of your primary responsibilities is to go do what your wife doesn’t want to do. I should hear more amens than that in this building! If she doesn’t want to go to the store, guess who gets to go to the store?
My wife sends me to all kinds of stores. I mean, when you’ve been in the game as long as we have—about to come up on 15 years of being married—when we came in, that means I can go anywhere! Victoria’s Secret? Ain’t no question; she done sent me in there several times. The Spanx store? I buy Spanx all the time! See, some of y’all ain’t graduated; you still care about what goes across the counter. I don’t care no more—boom, pads, 50-pack! No, I’m just playing, I’m just playing! Kind of. See, some of y’all are too churchy; the pastor’s back! Okay, here we go. I’m just saying, she sends me to this one store I don’t like that much. The only reason I don’t like it is not that the service is bad or they don’t have stuff; it’s that every time I finish purchasing whatever it is, I try to leave, and it does not matter what I have on. It doesn’t matter how much I smile.
I can have watched 14 people go in front of me with no problem, straight out the door, but some sweet older person steps in front of the exit and asks for my receipt. What is it about me that says «stop me»? Is it my age? Is it because I’m a Black man? Is it my braids? What is it? No! I used to get so frustrated about it because I just saw four people with six carts connected to each other, and I got a bag with gum and deodorant, and then they’re like, «Sir, can I see your…?» I started to think about it; the power of a receipt actually is proof of purchase.
So when you have the receipt, you ain’t got to worry, because I can prove that I purchased this. But in the off chance that you left it at the self-checkout, or right when you did it, you ran back into the store and dropped it somewhere—I don’t know if you’ve ever been caught without a receipt—but then all kinds of things start flooding your mind. Automatically, you think they think you’re a thief. One time that happened to me, and the Holy Spirit said, «Wouldn’t it be sad if you got caught at the White Throne judgment in front of Me when I asked you, 'What did you do with this life? '» And all the people in church, believing and tongue-talking, «Hold on, hold on, God! I know it’s here somewhere!»
If every believer in Jesus Christ does not have proof of a relationship with Him, you’re actually out here counterfeiting what God has asked all of us to walk around ready to show. When I understood that those people were going to stop me every time, I stopped putting my receipt in my pocket! When I start walking out the door, before you even question me, you want to see my receipt? Do the people at your job know you have a relationship with God? Is there any proof that He purchased you? Oh, God! Okay, because the Bible says in Matthew 7:16: «You can identify the people who are Mine by their fruit.» He clarifies that you can identify the real ones, the ones who have a relationship with Him, by their fruit. Well, what is fruit? Because technically, fruit could be so many different things.
Is it intrinsic? And He knew all of us would go deep and heady and all that other stuff. He said, «You can identify them by the way they act.» How you act is your fruit—not how you pray, not how you believe, not how you worship! How you act is your fruit! So, you cuss people out when you’re mad? That’s your fruit. You cut people off when you feel disrespected? That’s your fruit! «I just need more grace. I just need more grace!» But how you acted was your fruit. And I know this is heavy because most of us want to be able to act any way, ask God for forgiveness, and not bear the consequences of what we already produced. After I bit your bitter fruit, it doesn’t mean that I’m going to go away from you forever, but I remember what nasty fruit tastes like. So when you try to come put your stanky hands on me to pray, I remember how you treated me when we were on that serve team together. Uh-oh!
See, the problem is many times, the same people we need to invite to church, we were short with a week earlier. The same person that we need to correct in integrity is the same person we made advances at a year ago. Uh-oh! I’m in your business now! You sure look good in them tights; you sure look good in that little outfit. I like to see that outfit! And you’re saying those little perverted, crazy things with your married self and four kids? Okay, y’all are going to have to ease me back in. Nasty self over here talking to this 22-year-old while you’re 50 years old! And Cat Williams told y’all in 2024, everybody’s getting exposed! Hear me! Hear what I’m saying to you: the Holy Spirit is done with people claiming Him in public while their actions do not line up. There is no fruit! Or I can say it another way: there’s no proof!
So in this series today, all I can do is set it up. You don’t want to miss one week of this because I gave myself a strict timeline to help everybody understand that fruit is important in your life. It’s the only thing that God counts at the end of the day. And write this point down: most believers have no receipts for their relationship with God! All-night prayers are not a receipt for a relationship with God! I know that offended some religious people right there, but I’m not done; we’ll talk about it a little bit later. But He said, «But you don’t have love.» He said so, «You can prophesy; you can speak; you can bring visions down.» But the fruit of the Spirit is love! So if you don’t have love, He said, «You sound like a gong to Me; you’re annoying to Me.» Y’all are not ready for this series!
You think you giving money is a fruit of the Spirit, but because churches have maximized the actions instead of the being, the doing instead of the— the fruit of the Spirit is not something you can just do; it has to come from your being. Who are you? That’s why you don’t pay for the fruit of the Spirit; you have to let the Holy Spirit work in you. You’ve got to let Him do the work. It might take 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 years to actually gain patience, and we want microwave patience. Uh, six weeks? Okay, who should have patience in three weeks? That’s why God gave you that wife. You’re screaming too loud over there. What’s the matter? There will be prayer for you at the end of the service. Do you hear what I’m saying? To be able to truly work out your self-control doesn’t happen in two weeks. Okay, you all are being fake.
So many people have sold you the idea that your full transformation happens at an altar. The altar is usually the start of your transformation. No matter how much you cry, no matter how many open visions you have, no matter how many prophetic words you receive, you’ve got to go out and act differently. Oh my God, you thought I was going to come back and just give you a hug? We’ve got to grow, baby! I’m telling you right now, if we’re going to see fruit in our lives—I’m getting happy! —we’ve got to make a decision to do something different than we’ve been doing. All I want you to know is that the proof is in the fruit. Stop talking to me; show me your fruit! Somebody say, «The proof is in the fruit.»
Pastor Mike, why do we need to show receipts? Why do we need proof of purchase? Because Jesus, our example, had proof of purchase for us, and He carried multiple receipts. You can look at the cross; that’s a receipt. His blood was shed on that cross for every one of our sins, even when we weren’t thinking about Him. The Bible says it like this: while we were yet sinners, Christ died. But then you can use the stone. When the stone was rolled away, and He resurrected, that stone sitting on the side—when nobody pushed it—that’s another receipt. So when the two women came, they said, «Where is He?» He was like, «Well, none of us could move this stone. He left the receipt to say, 'I purchased you! '» Oh my God! I can take you to one more that makes me really happy. Remember when Thomas missed Jesus coming back? Thomas was like, «I don’t believe it. I don’t know.» And Jesus said, «Come here, Thomas! Here’s a receipt—the nail pierced. Put your hand here!» Jesus had multiple receipts to prove that He purchased us.
Now the question is, on this Earth, what are your receipts? Okay, you’re starting to hear me. Ephesians 2:8-9: God saved you by grace when you believed, and you can’t take credit for this; it is a—everyone say—gift! It is a gift from God. Salvation is not, watch this, a reward for the good things we have done. I could preach that for a year. Well, I served yesterday with the team, so God should do something good for me. Sorry for the church you came from that told you this was a chores system: do your chores, get a treat. That’s not what this is. He said, «I already gave you the ultimate gift before you did anything for me because I’m God like that.» And He literally said the reason I did this—verse 9—He said, «Salvation is not a reward for good things that we have done so none of y’all can boast about it.» Because if it were about how good we are and how much we’ve done, we would all have ranking systems. He said, «No, no, no.»
And that’s when I started to follow this analogy: salvation—I need to say something that you’re going to have to think critically about. Salvation is not a receipt; salvation is a gift. Because some say, «Well, I’m saved. You know, keep praying for me because God ain’t done with me yet, but I’m saved.» Yes, it is a gift from God. What have you done with that gift? It’s almost like the transaction of grace when you’re standing at the self-checkout and you’re like, «Beep! I do receive!"—oh my goodness! Yes! Something is made new in me! I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about it, but when you scan whatever you scan, there’s a system at work behind that whole thing that goes into the clouds and the Ethernet and all the different things, and somehow it’s already made transactions known in other places. I’m not God, so when I’m down here on Earth and I give my life to Jesus, it’s already done in heaven: the transaction!
My name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, my sins are forgiven; He throws them as far as the east is from the west! It’s done in heaven, but I still look like this on Earth. So what the Bible says is when you get this gift, you need some receipts that are given by the Holy Spirit because that then will be proof on Earth. It’s done in heaven! Somebody say, «It’s done in heaven!» But we ain’t got no proof on Earth. So how do you get proof on Earth? You receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and you let Him work out in you everything that’s not like God until you start to look like God. Let me just help you: could you bring me that gift real quick? Because some of y’all don’t understand this—salvation is simply receiving a gift, and today, some of y’all just need to receive this gift. And some of y’all do this: «Oh my goodness, look at my salvation!»
Oh, and the angels cry. Oh, and we do this whole thing around salvation. «Hey y’all! Y’all see my salvation? 20 years? And never opened it up!» I’m talking to you. 15 years? You’ve built a whole YouTube channel off of having this but never opened it up. This comes with the Holy Spirit. He said it’s better if I leave because when I leave, I’m going to send you the Comforter—the one, the teacher—the one that’s going to show you what to do. And He’s going to give you, according to Galatians 5:22, He’s going to work in you these things called the fruits of the Spirit. Somebody say, «Open it up! Open it up!» For the rest of this year, I want you to open up what the Holy Spirit can do in your life. If you would just open up that it’s not weird and crazy, and you’re about to just be having convulsions, people that do that want to do that—that is not what the Holy Spirit is. He’s a gentleman; He’s wise. He understands what’s going on; He knows what needs to happen.
What some of us need to do is open Him up, because if you let Him do the work, what comes out naturally—this is not forced, this is not me trying to make something happen, this is not me trying to prove to you that it’s a blessed grape—wow! I don’t even know what this is! What is it? Holy Spirit got stuff you don’t know about. I see y’all don’t hear me. What is this? A pomegranate? You study fruit? You’re a fruitologist? We only had oranges, apples, grapes, and bananas! I didn’t know. What if, what if, what if there are things that the Holy Spirit wants to reveal in you, through you, with you, to you, for others—for you first—that you haven’t even opened up the gift? And what the church will many times try to do is—uh-uh, we don’t do all that. We got 35 minutes on Sunday—uh-uh, no. No, you can give 8 hours a day to that job but don’t give any time to the Holy Spirit—uh-uh.
We can spend 16 hours in kids' sports activities on a Friday and a Saturday but we’re not going to make anybody uncomfortable with the Holy Spirit—uh-uh! No, no, no, no, no! Let’s just, let’s just no! No! Holy Spirit, just in case you do something crazy, but I’m saved, walking with Him, doing good things, doing good works, and you’re missing out on the nourishment. Some of you are like, «Dang, I’m hungry!» Thirsty for relationship, thirsty for accolades. Every time you talk, we know you’re thirsty for a compliment. Okay, y’all know the people I’m talking about, and if you don’t know, it’s you. You see, the receipt clears up confusion on Earth. Whenever there’s a conflict on Earth, it’s like, «No, no, no! I have a receipt of love! I have proof of joy!»
And what I found out about those beautiful people at that store that I have not named and that actually has a logo of blue and yellow and it kind of rhymes with Hallmark—I’m not calling any names—but the truth of the matter is those people are actually doing their job because it should be okay for you to have to prove that you purchased it. Let me say it a different way: it should be okay that non-believers need to know if there’s fruit in your life. You see them golf claps. Like, «Well, I’m offended! Why do you claim to be a Christian but we have no proof through your Instagram, Facebook, Twitter? We have no proof through your relationships, how you talk to your kids, how you treat people that do you wrong. We have no proof in your activity in your church and the way you talk about the pastor.» We have no proof!
Somebody say, «Show me the receipt!» Show the receipt! Before you get in business with somebody, you better ask them to show you the receipts. Show me what you did with that last business. I know we’re hyped about this business, but why did that one fail? Because of a lack of integrity? Show me. Somebody shout at me, «Show me the receipts! Show me the receipts!» One more time, somebody say, «Show me the receipts! Receipts!» Because people who do not have receipts are proof that they’re in a relationship with God. I found out something, and I just want to tell you this may be you; it may not be you, but I just want to let you know because that’s my job—to inform you—you’re being led by the flesh.
The Bible is clear: those who are led by the Spirit are actually sons of God. If you’re led by your flesh, something else is about to be produced in you because everybody got fruit; everybody got proof; everybody got receipts! It just depends on what type of proof, fruit, and receipts you actually have. That’s why I want to give you that reference for some of y’all that are going to go back and study this afterward. Romans 8:14: «For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God!»
These are my sons and daughters; these are the people that rock with me; these are the people—because there will be plenty that say, «Oh God! But I prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, did business in your name. God, I always wore my Jesus Loves You shirt!» Why were you taking it off to lay down with her? Oh gosh! Y’all gave me too much time off! You continue to use Christianity as a lure: «I want a good godly man! I’m a good godly man until 11 p.m.» Okay, I need to get off somebody’s case, but somebody’s pulling me. Stop falling for that foolishness! Ask him why he’s 29 years old and hasn’t ever had a prospect. It’s 'cause he didn’t want one! Show me! You’re just so naïve! You’re about to get bought up, used, crumpled up, and taken! I’m just trying to say if we’re not asking people to show me that you walk in joy, I know you’re cynical and you’ve been hurt and you’re jaded. I’m just not—I’m just not going to let nobody play me like that no more.
That’s miserable! You look miserable! You wake up. Does your face look like that? Does it not hurt? Doesn’t it hurt to walk into every room like that? Don’t you get any spasms, any muscle spasms? Tell me you walk in gentleness and then show me you’re walking gently! Show me the—okay, Galatians 5:22; let’s read it—"But the Holy Spirit, the gift we get at salvation for free"—no extra things you have to do to get the Holy Spirit! Let me clear this up! The church has tried to create levels to how you have access to the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit is a person, not a tongue. You’ve been saved, filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues—don’t say that no more! 'Cause speaking in tongues is not evidence according to the Word; it’s a benefit according to the Word. Evidence of the Holy Spirit is what we’re about to read: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control. These are fruits!
Mama Chloe said this is Sunday school, and I love it! A lot of us have believed the lie that the Holy Spirit is not with us because maybe we have not accessed the benefit of speaking in our heavenly language yet. That is a lie! Now why in the world would you not want the maximum benefit of this Christian life? I don’t know—you want to stay on the second floor when you could stay on the 52nd floor in the penthouse? You do you, but as for me and my house, we’re going up! Like, all day! I’m like Paul: I speak in tongues more than y’all! I be like, «What’s up?» Like, that’s me! I was raised for this! You understand? Sometimes we say hello in tongues! SK! Like, what’s that? No, I’m just playing, I’m just playing! I’m just playing, Mom! I want breakfast! No, I just play! But I love this shirt! Okay, so what I’m saying to you, though, is that at the at the end of the day, it is a benefit, but it’s not proof. It’s not a receipt, because people can speak in tongues that aren’t kind; people can speak in tongues who are not faithful.
There are some individuals getting up and walking out; they’re mad at me. It’s okay; it’s the truth, anyhow. So, those nine things, what I’m believing through this series is that by the time we get to the end of the year, you will develop a value system around carrying these receipts. Watch this daily. This is not a, «Oh, I used love that one time in 1964 when I really had to forgive white people for doing that to black people.» If 1964 was the last time you walked in love, you have denied the very power of the Holy Spirit. So, I want you to see the receipts, and here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to put all the receipts on the screen. I’m going to show all the fruits of the Spirit, all the proof that the Holy Spirit wants us to have, and as they come up, I believe something significant is going to happen.
I want you to identify—or allow the Holy Spirit, who is inside of every believer, anyone who’s accepted Jesus—to focus your life. We need all of them, but let me not bite off more than I can chew; there may be one that the Holy Spirit is saying, «This is the one.» If you get that, if you have that inkling, if you’re watching online or sitting in the rows, I just want you to write it down. Some of you are going to write all nine down, and I know some of you feel like you need all of them. But at the end of the day, I believe the Holy Spirit is going to allow us to start on a journey of progression and not perfection. Many of us need love, many of us need joy, and many of us need—what? —peace, patience. We need patience.
How many people need patience? We hate waiting. We hate waiting on people, hate waiting on God, hate waiting for our food. We went to a place to celebrate my baby Ava’s birthday—shout out to Ava; she turned seven this week. We went to one of her favorite places; I’m not naming names, but they really should open another location in Tulsa because it’s ridiculous. That woman had the nerve to tell me it was a two-and-a-half-hour wait! I said I could go kill a chicken, pluck that thing—no, two-and-a-half hours to wait to eat! Something in me works against waiting at all times. Yeah, I mean right now, if my Wi-Fi doesn’t seamlessly connect, whatever I’m doing to wherever it’s connected—you don’t even know where it’s connected, but you’d be ready to throw away the system. You’d be ready to hit the restart button.
Why is it so hard for us to wait? I heard it said like this: what the enemy can’t get in front of and stop, he gets behind and rushes us. That’s nasty. Some of you can’t wait to get married, can’t wait to start the business, can’t wait to do this, and the enemy is literally pushing you because he knows you’ll make a mistake if you will not wait on God. You won’t develop the fruit; open it up and receive the fruit of the Spirit of patience. And some of us may have gotten patience, but we actually need kindness and goodness. Most people don’t understand that one. I cannot wait to preach on goodness, because everybody says, «Just be good.» God, we’re in the dark. Faithfulness, gentleness—and y’all know gentleness does not have a gender.
Women aren’t the only ones supposed to be gentle. I know they’re going to clip that up and try to make it look like I’m saying something else. All I’m saying is that men of God should be able to walk around with the power and intentionality to protect while still having a soft hand and soft words. Uh-oh, that’s where we get messed up. I ain’t never hit her; you hit her every day with your words. She walks in with headgear on as soon as you wake up. Okay, this series is going to be real good. Good, good. Here we go. And everybody in the room needs this last receipt: self-control.
Somebody say, «The proof is in the fruit.» Write it down, «The proof is in the fruit.» We’re almost done, because today is just a setup. I can’t even like—when I tell you I told the team in the back, «I’m going to just do the intro and leave,» so if I abruptly say, «That’s it,» that’s because I’m watching the time. I have to be done, because if you let me, I will unleash on you for three hours and not even think about it. But I’m not going to do that today, because the proof of self-control for me is in my fruit. I want to do something that my team and God have asked me not to do, and the only person who can stop me from doing that is the Holy Spirit in me, who says, «Michael, you gave those people your word. You told them you were going to be done in 50 minutes. You sat at the wheel, you set in the car, you told Natalie you were going to be done in 50 minutes.»
So if I just walk off the stage, it’s because I’m trying to be a man of my word, because I’m attempting to reel in my flesh. Oh, you know your flesh can raise up for good things, huh? Well, I’m helping people, and I’m trying to get them the message, and I’m—no, you’re being prideful and doing too much. Let the Holy Spirit do the rest of the work. They’ve got—oh, y’all don’t hear me—they’ve got enough Word to chew on this. Just preach; they don’t study the scripture anyway, so you can’t do what the Holy Spirit can. Alright, somebody say, «The proof is in the fruit.» Okay, so at the end of the day, I want you to realize we know the receipts we need to have. Put those receipts back up there. Okay, these are the receipts that we need. Everybody say, «Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-control.»
I’m believing that your appetite would change, because when I read Galatians 5:22, it starts with a word I wasn’t expecting. You know, sometimes when you just click on Google and look up a certain scripture, you have to read the whole chapter. Yeah, so you can get—everybody say «context.» Because Galatians 5:22 starts with the word «but.» Everybody say «but.» So that means it was contrasting something. I ran it back, and it said there are some other receipts that people are actually showing to others, and I’m just going to read the list. It says the fruit, or the proof, or the receipts of living a life led by the flesh is sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, disunity, factions or cliques, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like. So if you look at these nine fruits of the Spirit and then listen to that list, which one do you have more receipts of? Which one can you say, «Oh no, I—oh yeah, I got that. I mean, I’m kind, but hating witchcraft. I’m into astrology and the signs and the rocks, and I’m a Sagittarius.»
Sagittarius season—can’t spell Sagittarius; couldn’t spell it if your life depended on it! The end of that scripture says, «I warn you, as I did before,» this is Paul writing, «that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.» That’s why our receipts are proof of a relationship with Christ and what moves us forward in our relationship, so we don’t live this mediocre life with God. Is maturity today? I’m asking everybody, for the rest of this year, could we all together—this room is full of people with so much purpose. Maybe the only thing keeping us from the next open door is our ability to see this moment of maturity that God has given us to allow the Holy Spirit to work out of us the things that are not like Him and work in us the things that He wants to see in our lives. Somebody say, «The proof is in the fruit.»
The proof is in the—see, write it down in this point: receipts are a requirement for the next open door. Hear what I just said? The receipts of love, joy, peace, patience—could I submit to you that maybe the reason why the next thing that you know God told you to do hasn’t worked is because He can’t send you into the open door? Those doors cannot open until you have proof that you walk in love, because if you get into that door with no love, you make Him look bad. When I’m at that one store that has all the price cuts and the smiley face as the logo, they don’t catch me at the register; they step in front of me at the point of an open door. They want to see the receipt at the place where the atmosphere changes. They want to see the receipt at the place that the climate changes, at the place where I walk into something—it’s automatic.
If I get close to it, I don’t have to open it; I can just walk through it. But they stop me to see if I have proof before the door opens. Can I submit to you that your kindness, your gentleness, your faithfulness, the lack of having a receipt for that may be the reason why God will not let the next door open? Alright, how much time do I have? I can’t see; I can’t see it. Okay, here we go. Last point: receipts, watch this, allow for returns without repercussions. So, I don’t know if this has ever happened to you, but in the off chance that you accidentally picked up something that wasn’t supposed to go with you—I have kids, and my kids don’t understand the purchasing process yet. They see it; they want it; they got it. They’re like, «What’s the boy? Keith Lee? You know what I’m saying? Like, I see it; I got it. Let’s try it!»
And I’ve ended up in the car with things that I did not purchase, that maybe even somebody else put into my cart. Trauma that wasn’t mine. Ways of thinking that did not originate with me that were passed on. Somebody else’s hands were on them, and they were given to me. A lot of people—I’m not talking about who—but a lot of people think that everything you get for free is a blessing. «Oh my God! How did it just end up in my cart?» That’s a test of your fruit. Every $100 bill, $20 bill, $10 bill you find on the ground, that ain’t always a blessing. A lot of times it’s a test. Y’all missed it! God is trying to test and see if you are a person of integrity. Will you be faithful enough and patient enough to get out of your car, walk back to the desk, tell them you found it in the parking lot, leave it when you need $20? It’s quiet in here, because y’all have picked up other people’s stuff, saying God blessed you.
«Oh my God! I just got out of—let me tell y’all a story about how God blessed me,» and God said, «You failed. You failed horribly. Take that $20, take that stanky $20. I was about to give you a promotion that would have given you $20,000, but I can’t open that next door because you will—» Y’all stand all over the building. Some of you, through this series, are going to take back things that were not legitimately given to you by God. When you step up to that service counter and you say, «Hey, this anger didn’t come from me; this was passed down,» you’re going to be able to go back and return things and not feel guilty about it, because this wasn’t part of what Jesus gave me. I’ve got to give this back.
This anxiety, this fear of everything, I’ve got to give this back. Today, if you’re in this building, I want to let you know that you need the receipts so that you can give them to other people. But everybody listen to me; you have to receive these receipts first. It’s hard to give what you don’t have, and so many people are so obsessed—especially in church—with trying to produce fruit that they don’t eat it first.
So, at the end of this sermon today, what if we made a decision that not only are we going to produce fruit so that we can give it to the world, but what if we start with producing the fruit so that we can give it to ourselves? When’s the last time you gave yourself love? Because the Bible is clear: you can only love others to the measure at which you love. Uh-oh, you might need to bite this fruit. My wife knows it’s a thing between us since we were kids. If she bites a good orange or a good apple, her first thing is, «You need to try this.» The only way she can do that is if she tasted it first. The reason we don’t have patience with other people is because we don’t got patience with ourselves.
The reason we can’t be kind to others is because we won’t be kind. I found out in my own life that the way you show the fruits of the Spirit is you fight less and produce more. Do you hear what I just said? So many times I’m ready to fight and defend, and God said, «Fight less, produce more.» They won’t be able to deny what God has done in your life today. If that’s you and you’ve been fighting to make sure that everything comes together, ensuring that nobody misunderstands you, and making sure your name is what you want it to be, stop fighting. I’ve got to get my time is coming, I need to do this, I need to do that. God’s not rushing you; the enemy is. He said, «I need you to fight less and produce more.»
I want to give you the fruits of the Spirit, the proof that you’re in a relationship with me. If you’re in this room and you know there’s an area of your life where you need the Holy Spirit to help you develop ripe, juicy, sweet, good fruit in one of those nine areas, lift your hands all over this place. Online, would you lift your hands? I’m just going to pray that you would fight God less and let Him, through the Holy Spirit, build fruit in you more.
Father, here we all are. There’s not one single hand down in this place because we need your help. Holy Spirit, if we could do it on our own, we would have done it. But today, for us to actually love without condition, to have peace that passes all understanding, to be able to walk in joy that is unspeakable, we need your help. Today, forgive us for producing fruit that doesn’t look like you, even after the gift of salvation. Today we’re asking for a fresh, full faith to believe you can do something new on the inside of us. Father, the things that were passed down that were not given by you, today, Father God, we are returning them at this moment. All the pain, all the resentment, all the offense, all of the frustration—we give that back today, God. We thank you that today we’re going to start to produce fruit as the Holy Spirit begins a purification process in all of us. Father, for those in the room, I thank you that it’s getting better. For the person who is jaded, I thank you that you’re giving them joy. For the person, Father God, who tried before, I thank you for a fresh wind to try again, new things springing up on the inside of us so that the world will know that we are yours. Let them know us by our fruit, not just our posts, not just what we say, but how we live. Do a new thing on the inside of me, God!
Come on, somebody, make it personal. Ask Him to do a new thing in you; do something new in me. We trust you and believe you. In that same posture, if you’re in this room, I need you all to be praying just for a second; we’re gone in three minutes. If you’re in this room and you’ve never accepted the gift of salvation, I believe today is your day. See, there’s so much waiting for you, but some of you have been with your arms folded, like, «I don’t need all that.» But what I’m telling you is this whole life thing is real, and this 80 years we get is a small piece of eternity. God says, «I’ve already paid the debt so you can live free,» but you have to—everybody say—"receive.»
I know church and religion will try to make you jump through all these hoops and become a different person—no, no, no, no. God says, «Bring all of your crazy to me. Bring all your drama, bring all your not knowing; bring it all to me.» He can handle all of that; He has the receipts in His nail-pierced hands and He’s saying, «Would you just come and allow me to do something inside you?» But I can’t do it unless you receive. If you’re in this room and you are watching online and you want to receive salvation, which comes with a gift called the Holy Spirit, on the count of three, I just want you to shoot your hand up in the air. I want you to be bold, I want you to be proud, I want you to be excited because your life is about to transform. It’s the thing that took me from being a liar, a manipulator, addicted to pornography, someone who had all kinds of dark things in my heart and my mind and was acting on them. I was being led by the desires of my flesh and receiving receipts of broken promises.
I almost lost my wife; I almost became a person I hated. But God, He saw me in my sin and said, «If you surrender everything to me right now, I’ll use you in a way you can’t even imagine.» I said, «God, with all of this?» He said, «Well, with all of that, I’ll actually allow you to turn it around and take your testimony and change the entire world, but you have to surrender to me.»
Today you have the same opportunity because He’s no respecter of persons. One: you’re making the greatest decision of your life. Two: if you make this decision, your name will be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life and your eternity is secure. Three: if you want to give Jesus your life, I want you to raise your hand all over this building. I see you; I see you, sister. I see you, brother, all the way in the back. Online, over here, Transformation Church, how do we celebrate what God is doing? Hallelujah! So proud of you, so proud of you, young man. But more than me being proud of you, God has all of heaven standing up and cheering right now because you gave your life to Christ at Transformation Church. Nobody prays alone. If somebody’s around you who raised their hand, would you just gently stretch your hands toward them? We’re going to pray together. Would you say:
God, thank you for sending Jesus just for me. Today, I admit that I need a Savior. I choose you and I receive the free gift of salvation. I believe you lived, you died, and you rose again, with all power to defeat anything I would ever go through. So today, I give you my life. Change me, renew me, transform me. I’m yours. In Jesus' name, amen.