Michael Todd - Oh My Goodness
I’m about to get into the message because I think it will heighten our revelation of how good God is. But before I begin, I want to say thank you again for being a part of what God is doing. Every morning we wake up, we have choices to make, and the fact that you choose to worship at this place with this crazy group of people who are unashamed about the message of Jesus Christ is incredible. No matter what anyone writes, blogs, or makes YouTube videos about, there is only one name to be praised at this church, and that name is Jesus. Somebody shout His name real quick—say Jesus! The fact that thousands of you would come and participate in this move of God is amazing. I just came to declare that the best days of this church are ahead of us, and I don’t need 45,000 people to agree with me; I just need 50 strong people.
I said that the best days of this church—the impact we’re going to make in this city, the ripples we’re going to see around the world—I need 50 people. Some of y’all are too new; you’ve never been a part of a move of God, but I need 50 people to believe that the rest of this year is going to be the best of this year, that in 2025, we’re coming into something brand new, that God is about to take us from glory to glory and strength to strength. Yeah, sometimes you’ve got to look at giants and speak to them. They might be scary, but David said, «Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that comes against us?»
Okay, I’m sorry; I’m tired of weak Christians who look at adversity as an opportunity to back down. I look at adversity as an opportunity to show you how big my God is. Oh, the God we serve is bigger than the economy; the God we serve is bigger than the election! Y’all don’t hear me. The God we serve is bigger than cancer, bigger than war, bigger than perversion! Somebody shout at me: bigger! Y’all don’t hear me; I didn’t come to play today. The reason I’m saying this is that some of your faith needs to be shaken. You’re looking at things thinking that God is weaker than your situation, and the truth is—somebody shout at me—He’s bigger! Yeah, Charles, I just had to declare some things. I did this before, but I felt inclined to do it again this morning.
When I was at 1519, I stood when there were empty seats everywhere and told everyone, «Y’all better get ready.» I said, «Record this because we’re going to come back.» I feel the unction to do it again right now: this is the smallest this church is ever going to be. Y’all don’t hear; you better get ready because there are going to be multiple services here, and people you don’t like are going to be sitting on the row with you because the Holy Spirit is about to pour out of this place through the fruit being worked in our lives, and they’ll be like, «Where can I find what you’ve got?» I’m telling you right now, if you don’t like the parking situation now, you might want to find somewhere else, because they are coming from the north, the south, the east—y’all better help me—and the west. We call them forth: the drunks, the liars, the addicted, the broken, the hurting, the frustrated, the angry, the upset.
Y’all don’t hear me! If you thought this was a country club for believers who want to keep their hands clean, you might want to roll out, because this place will represent God to the lost and be a vehicle for transformation in Christ. If you’re with me, make some noise to our God! I just had to let you know, in case you forgot, we were «about it» when nobody was coming. We were sacrificing in canvases and streets, and I believe God is about to raise up a remnant in this house. Let me prophetically say that it will irritate you to not be in the game from this Sunday on. Hear what I just said: being a part of this God brought you here in this moment for the great revival that is about to come out of this church.
Oh God, and I’m telling you right now, consuming is going to become a burden. If all you do is consume and you’re not actually putting anything out, it’s going to become uncomfortable. The Lord is not going to let what’s in you be comfortable in just consuming. Some of y’all need to go to family dinner tonight because this was your last Sunday sitting down. What are you saying, Pastor Mike? God has need of your gift; He has need of your smile; He has need of your expertise. Well, «I give 40 hours to that job every week.» But I’m trying to call you into purpose, is what God said, and He’s trying to use us beyond what we’ve been used for before. Sometimes I think it was Prophet Kendrick who said you just have to pop out, and today I needed to pop out and let you know what type of church this is.
We’re not tucked back in this cul-de-sac! God gave us the entire complex not to be quiet; He didn’t give us a piece of this city to sit here and do church. He wanted us to rescue people who are going to hell, who are lost, broken, and religious and cannot find Him. I heard the Holy Spirit say to me this morning, «I have need of you.» Somebody say, «God has need of me.» Say it one more time: God has need of me! People see this church and think we don’t need anything. Many won’t give; many won’t serve; many won’t do things; and many won’t invite, because if I invite, that means my parking spot may be gone. God has need of you! He is asking, will you be the one to go tell them the table is ready?
I prepared a meal, but some were too busy with their cars and vehicles; some were busy with YouTube, blogging, and gaming; and others were busy with makeup tutorials and becoming entrepreneurs. But the meal is ready, so go out to the highways and byways! Y’all don’t know the Bible! Go out to the places where they don’t want people to come. Go to the gyms, the schools—come on, somebody! The police officer that gave you a ticket? Give him an invite! Do you hear what I’m saying? Y’all don’t hear me; somebody shout at me: represent! No, shout at me: represent! I’m going to have to do a whole culture series because some people think we just got here by shouting «Hallelujah» loud, but we were called here to represent and show God differently, give God differently, and promote Him differently. How do we promote Him? With the fruit of our lives!
So that’s why we’re in this series. I just had to pop out today, and this is not a part, but I felt the constricting nature of people’s opinions. Today I wanted to clarify—we’re going to do everything God called us to do. If you believe it, will you give Him a shout of praise in this house? I need y’all to help me. I don’t need everybody, but I need you to help me. Some of y’all don’t know the spiritual warfare it is to stand up here every Sunday. Can I be honest? There is an attack coming at me from Friday night until I pray on the side of this stage, because if the enemy could take away what God wants to do through this house, there is a group of people that are left uncovered because we’re out of position.
What I just did was for everybody who asked, is he always this intense? No, it’s usually a welcome when I come in, okay? «Welcome to Transformation Church.» I still feel that in my soul, but I hate the devil, and I will not let what I know God has called us to do be threatened by intimidation. Here, I’m trying to teach you how to contend for what God says is yours. There is no place in the Bible where He said, «I’m giving you a land flowing with milk and honey.» An entire generation of people did not enter the promised land because they didn’t want to fight for what God told them was already theirs. So, except for Joshua and Caleb, an entire generation literally forfeited their promise because they thought it was too much to actually contend when God said, «I’m giving it to you.»
God told us we would have an impact in this city. An impact in this—y’all are going to have to give me five extra minutes for my message. Sometimes you just have to make this known. I’m looking at the sheep right here, and I see sheep scattering. I see more sheep at the mall and at Target than I see people broken. I see people who were once plugged into God, serving in the house and in community, and I see the enemy trying to pick people off in isolation. Today, I’m coming as a shepherd and asking everyone to get in the fold. I don’t know how else to say this: stay with the other sheep. I don’t know how else to say this: don’t wander off trying to do your own thing so the enemy can pick you off in isolation.
This is: if you’re in Transformation Nation, stay plugged in! Watch the messages; I understand you’ve got to work, but be here! Give, serve, do whatever! I’m telling you right now, the body of Christ is about to get stronger than ever. If I told you I was going to give you a million dollars, somebody would be shouting right now, but if I say God’s bride, the body of Christ is going to get stronger—somebody! He’s not coming back until we actually do this thing! Alright, I love us too much to allow us to come in here any Sunday and play church. Either we’re going to live this Word out or we’re not. Either we’re going to love people or we’re not. Either we’re going to represent God when people are looking and when they’re not, or we’re just not going to do this whole thing.
Today, I want to call us all—somebody say higher! There is a maturing happening this last quarter of the year. Did you hear what I just said? Some of the fruit that has not grown in your life for a long time is about to grow greatly, and I’m grateful for what we’re about to see happen in this place. Amen? Alright, well today I have a message, but I need to make an announcement: this will be a good transition. Just play the video, and that will allow me to get into the message. Week three, let’s go! Now I told you we had more music on the way; our brand new album, «Undefeated Champion,» drops November 15th. Now, the reason why people are excited and screaming is that a few people in here have heard a little bit of where we’re going.
I’m telling you right now, part of our strategy for going after a generation is to connect with their spirits through music. I need Transformation Church, Transformation Nation, to support this! November 15th is actually my birthday—my actual birthday, so that’s cool how that worked out. It will mark the completion of my obedience to God in releasing these four albums, and I’m just going to lay out in the spirit and be done: «God, I did it!» So I want to share a couple of things. The album will be available November 15th, and November 17th is Album Sunday, so you want to come in that day. You never know who might pop out! This is what I want to do, and I need everyone to listen to me.
I want to release the single «Undefeated Champion» before the album comes out. Y’all, you need this for your workout; you need this to pump you up to get the kids up in the morning; you need this to brush your teeth! It’s that kind of song—it’s going to make God bigger and give you the energy to do what God’s called you to do! I want to release it before the album comes out, but the people trying to guide us said that if we don’t have a certain number of pre-orders, we probably shouldn’t do it. I said, «You don’t know Transformation Church, and you don’t know Transformation Nation! We’ve proven this three albums in a row!» Watch this: if we get 2,000 pre-orders at $5.99, there are thousands—tens of thousands—of people watching right now, and in this room, we can release it on October 25th! So that’s just two weeks away. All I’m asking you is to support this!
So we can be in the car singing, «Undefeated Champion!» I’m asking you to do what you do, and we’re going to see God move! You can text «Champion» to 82828, or you can go to representstore.com to order it, and it’s going to be all good. I’m excited for what God is going to do through this song! The album is great because the chorus is very strong. Um, Zach, can you give me the key real quick? I’m not supposed to do this, but it’s going to be amazing! I can’t wait until November 17th. You’ve all had this for like three weeks, playing it in your car, and then everything in here will be talking about how good, big, and awesome God is.
And then the chorus goes like this—it’s just so simple: he’s the undefeated Champion! The King is here! Undefeated Champion! Make room! The King is here! Undefeated, undefeated Champion! Oh, the King is here! The King is here! Undefeated, undefeated Champion! Make room! Make room! The King is the undefeated Champion! Undefeated Champion! Like, imagine hell in one corner and imagine our God in the other corner—undefeated Champion! Picture God coming out for a heavyweight fight. Hey! And we scream! We say when cancer’s in the other corner and depression’s in the other corner, we yell, «Okay!» Say, «Undefeated! Undefeated!» Make room for the King! The King is the undefeated, undefeated Champion!
Oh yeah, oh yeah, I’m hood and holy. I just need to make that announcement right now. I mean, there are some songs that I can’t fight the devil to, you know what I’m saying? It’s like I need some undefeated. I need—okay. Am I the only one that sometimes needs to be like, «Okay, I got a whole section of people looking at me like, 'Wow, this is ridiculous? ' Undefeated!» All right, y’all better quit. Undefeated! Undefeated! Champion! I like it, I like it. Say, «We talk about our God; we talk about our God; we talk about our God.» We say, «All right, all right!»
I love this shirt! All right, all right! Spoke the world with His words, King of Heaven and Earth. For generations, He’s shown He’ll never leave you alone. He took off His royalty, just like you and me, went out on a limb of defeat so we can have victory! Okay, all right, all right, all right, all right! It just came out of me, undefeated Champion! Undefeated Champion! No matter where I go, no matter who’s there, say, «He’s an undefeated Champion! Undefeated Champion!» We might need to work this in the worship. Yes, sir! Okay, this is only for the hood and holy people. You got the Lord, «I Lift Your Name on High,» and you got «Knock If You Bucking.» That’s not for everybody! Okay, all right, sit down so I can speak to you from the Word of God.
Yeah, Mama Chloe, that’s going to be good. When you’re in your zone, you like, «I, I, I like that, Mama Chloe!» I like that! Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! He’s the undefeated! You better walk with it, talk with it! Oh my God, I love my— all right, here we go! Undefeated, escort her back to her seat, Charles—she’s going to act up! We done gave her a little spotlight, she about to take that all the way! Yes! Oh, I love our church! All right, we ask God to allow the joy of the Lord to be our strength, and I know for some people in this room, you’ve been in a church that has sucked the joy out of it. Hear what I just said: if you allow the enemy and religion to suck the joy out of your experience with God, you get no strength, 'cause the Bible says the joy of the Lord will be our strength. Smile again, laugh again! Mama Chloe is a seasoned saint, and the fact that she just got up here and with joy began to dance—this is multigenerational, multi-ethnic, multiplying; it’s going to be multi-campus. This is what God is doing here, and I’m so grateful for it.
Today is week three of a series we’ve been talking about called «Show Me the Receipts,» and I don’t know about you, but God has been calling for some receipts in my life. He’s been asking me, «Where is the fruit that shows you actually spend time with Me?» The truth of the matter is people can clock their hours in church but not their time spent with God. Did you hear what I just said? People can list off a bunch of things they’ve done out of duty, but they haven’t walked in the cool of the day with God, going back to what Adam and Eve did. A lot of people know a lot of scripture, but they don’t have any fragrance of being with God. The beautiful thing about my daughters is I wear a lot of cologne, and it’s one of the things that I didn’t realize until people started to tell me that when I’m not there, they can smell me.
If I walk into a room and I touch something, people will come in after I came in and be like, «That’s my smell!» I didn’t understand it until I experienced it. One time, I was gone, and my daughter Bella came up to me and said, «Daddy, could you spray your cologne on my pillow?» I said, «Why?» She said, «Because it reminds me of being with you!» There was a fragrance of us being together. There should be something that comes off of me because we were close to each other. My question is, do you smell like you’ve been with God? Does it register at all when you walk out of the room? Can somebody say, «God’s been here» because they came in contact with you? If they cannot, good news! We’re doing a whole series on how to have proof that you are in relationship with God, and that’s why we have to show the receipts here on Earth and in Heaven of how we actually have relationship.
The beautiful thing, Galatians 5:22, the Lord gives us nine fruits of the Spirit that are receipts or proof that we have relationship with Him. It’s so simple; it says, «But the fruit of the Spirit is love.» Somebody say love! Love! Say them with me: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law. So today, I want to talk to you about a fruit that, honestly, if I can be honest with you, I was trying to avoid. Somebody said 'longsuffering, ' but that was last week; a different word—patience.
Okay! But this week, I was avoiding this one! Honestly, if I can be humble, open, and transparent, because anytime I’ve heard it talked about, it was so bland. Yeah, y’all know when you hear messages about stuff and it’s kind of like, «I don’t know what church you grew up in, but for some reason, at my church when we did communion, they said that this was a cracker, but it was not a cracker. It was a styrofoam plate. And I don’t know, y’all know what I’m talking about! Y’all were raised in the same church! And they thought it was convenient because it came on the cup, but Styrofoam? Is that healthy for us? This is not food! Like, where is this? And what is this?» But the thing that happened when I would eat that was that it would just be bland; it tasted like nothing. Many times, when I heard people preach on this fruit of the Spirit or I even tried to study it in my own life, it was very bland. Until this week, this is why you’ve got to ask the Holy Spirit, «Give me a new revelation!» When I open your Word, say something different to me!
So the title of today? Y’all know what fruit I’m speaking on today! Come on! Today, I’m talking about goodness, and I want you to write down my sermon title and say it just like this: Oh my goodness! Come on, somebody, say it with me—oh my goodness! I found myself saying this over and over and over again as I was discovering how good goodness is! How good God is! I was reading the Bible, and I was like, «Oh my goodness!» Okay, let’s see if we grew up in the same church. People in church would say something like this: «God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good!» Now replace God’s name with your name. Would the statement still be true? «Michael is good all the time, and all the time, Michael is good?» I’m lying!
Do you understand what I’m saying? At this point, I’m lying. What if God desired for that statement to be true about every believer? That «Paul is good,» and people could echo, «All the time, and all the time, Paul is good.» Just let’s practice. Say your name, and let’s say that phrase: 1, 2, 3—Michael is good all the time, and all the time, Michael is good! What if that was the goal? No! Come on, what if goodness was the goal? And what I found is that to be and do good, you need God! Yes! People are trying to get good without God. Did y’all hear what I just said? I’ve tried to do it for years: «I’m just going to be a good person! I’m just going to do good! I’m just going to be good-er than my brothers!» I’mma be—y’all saw that?! Good-er! I’mma—my goal is just to be a good person! But the problem with me trying to be good without God is that it can’t be defined by me.
Okay, write this point down: goodness must be produced in us in order for it to flow from us. You can’t give goodness to anybody 'cause you have not let it be produced in your life. This is why we’re short with people; we see people in need and easily turn and focus on how busy our schedule is! It’s quiet in here this morning! But if I live in my own life and I’m supposed to be the representative on Earth of what goodness looks like, would I be a good representative for God based on my actual actions?
When I looked this word up in the Greek, the original word means—write this down—to do good! How much good do you do? Not how much good do you do that benefits you, which makes sense for you to do good so you put yourself in a better position! I’m saying just good for the sake—that’s a good thing to do! It’s good for me to hold the door open for this young lady coming in! It’s good for me to actually not lie to my parents! It’s so quiet in here, I can feel your angst! It’s good for me to spend time with God! It’s good for me to take care of my temple! Does your goodness reflect God’s goodness? I’m starting slow 'cause I want this concept to start to get mundane enough to drop deeper.
I want you to think: like, what is he talking about? Is he talking about just being good? Is he talking about doing good? Like, what is it? Okay, let’s go! My whole life, I have to make a confession. I’ve defined what was good. Now, most people won’t admit this, but like, somebody will come like, «Oh, I love that restaurant!» and I’ll be like, «That wasn’t good,» or somebody will be like, «Yo, I love that movie!» and under my breath, it’s like, «I’m not going to tell them, but that movie was not that good!» «I love your outfit!» «Could be better; that outfit is not good!» Secretly! And sometimes, honestly, most of us are defining good all day for ourselves. «Where you live? I want to make sure I live in a good neighborhood!»
Yet God might have called you to one that’s at risk, 'cause that’s where you’re needed. They missed it! If you are the definer of good in your life, is it really good? 'Cause I know a lot of people that were with a good man 'til he turned into a bad man. Oh, oh! Seven months ago, he was good! Ain’t nobody better than him! Can’t nobody do me better than him! Your family, your friends, your mama, everybody told you to get away from him! But no, no, no, no! He’s a good man! My man! My man! My man! Yeah, I know, but how did something—watch that—you define good? The term bad is because if you’re the one—if I’m the one—if we’re the ones defining good, it might not be good to begin with! How many people have eaten something that was good to you but not good for you?
Oh, come on! And so they say, «How was that?» «Oh my God, it was good!» They don’t see you on the toilet at 4 a.m. You’re in there like, «What?» You’re in full warfare, battling for your life! Was it good or not? I’m trying to make a very big concept very small so you can understand that if it starts with us, it might not end good! If the good starts with us, it might not end good! Maybe rather, should we look at the Creator who actually defines good? Yeah! And go off of His standard of good? 'Cause life can give you the illusion that you get to grade what is good!
Write this point down: but only God can set the standard of good. I’m gonna say it one more time: only God can set the standard of good! God tells us in His word what a good man is. So if he’s fine, got a six-pack, and has everything that you think he paid and all that other stuff, but he’s not a man that will be honest—yeah, yeah! He’s not a man that will pray for his wife! He’s not a man he’s not a man that will protect his home! He’s not—like, He’s already given us a definition, a standard of what good is! So when we go outside of God to find what is good, it doesn’t ever end good! Oh my gosh! That’s why we need more of His goodness! We need to understand it! And so when I went on a deep dive to understand what God’s goodness is, I had to make a decision in my mind and I need you to make this decision that God’s standard is good!
I don’t know how you were introduced to the faith. I don’t know if this was just a bunch of rules, and «can’ts» and «uh-uh, God don’t want this!» But if you were introduced to God like that, it messes up your view of Him. And if you don’t see God as good, it is His nature, and that His standard is good, and it’s for our protection and our prosperity, then you will never approach God’s standard as a good thing! But let’s do a hard reset in this place today! Let’s—y’all know how your computer, you just gotta hold it down? Right now, we’re just going to hold it down and reset! God’s standard is good! Say it with me: God’s standard is good! One more time by faith: God’s standard is good! We’re reset! We’re going to believe that by faith that when God says not to have sex until you get married; it’s a good standard.
My God! When God says to honor Him with your wealth, it’s good. He knows what’s up; He’s trying to work greed out of you. It’s a good standard when He says to love your enemies. When He says to, it’s hard. I didn’t say it had to be easy, but it’s a good standard. I need three people who need some money. I’m going to give three people some money; I’m going to give you $100, okay? Come here, right here. My man, you come here. Hold on real quick; I need somebody of the Caucasian persuasion. Come here, come here, yeah, come on, y’all come up to the stage. Come up real fast. Okay, all right, come, come, come real quick. All right, so before you guys came up here, I want y’all to stand right here. Just stand right here, just in a line—one, two, right here, right here, three—but facing me. Facing me, right there, right there, right there.
What’s your name? Kayla? Kayla. Cedric? Cedric. Tanner? Tanner. Okay, perfect. All I want you to do is go 21 feet and 21.5 feet, okay? And whoever gets to 21.5 feet—look at him trying to measure his shoes, huh? Big feet you got. Okay, you got 10 seconds. I’m not telling you how long the stage is, but I want you to go 21.5 feet. Y’all go back to the corner, though, 'cause I want you to go from the corner; I don’t want you to think I’m cheating at the end of it, okay? From this corner. How long is 20? I need y’all to help them if you think it’s too far, too little. I want you—got 10 seconds. Ready, set, go! 21.5 feet—and stop wherever you think it is! Five, four, three, two—okay, here we go, just hold it right there, hold it right there. Now, my sister, I need—come here, cameraman. This is 21.5 feet now. Now listen to me. I didn’t make up inches; I didn’t make up feet. I didn’t set the standard. I’m just trying to hit it. So they’re not bad people; they just didn’t know where the standard was. They weren’t able to receive what was available at the standard.
Now watch. I had enough for all of them 'cause my plan was that they would all, but it’s only now. Again, I didn’t make up the standard. I didn’t set the centimeters, inches—I didn’t say anything. But the goal was for us to go, and this is the problem. They went where they thought the standard was. That’s TW—that’s 21 feet in his mind, that’s 21 and her—and it doesn’t matter. They could stand there all day and be like, «but this is 21 and ½ feet.» But because there’s a standard already, do y’all hear what I’m saying? I’m giving y’all three seconds to get to the standard. This is called the grace of God that even when we don’t hit the standard, somebody needs to shout about the grace of God 'cause even when we don’t hit the standard, He will give us an opportunity to repent. Both of them turned; can we give it up for these amazing people? Amen! Y’all go have a good lunch somewhere.
Now, watch. If I said I want—wait, I want 10 more people to hit the standard—hold on—no, everybody sit. Now stop. It would be much easier to actually find a standard if somebody was standing at it, if there was a church that would hold the standard, if there was a couple that would hold the standard, if there was a small group that would hold the standard. I wouldn’t have to get up here and go searching for myself. Oh, there’s a group of people that I know walk in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and goodness. But this standard was not defined by me or you; the standard is defined by God. So if we then go to Genesis 1:3, let’s see if we can find the standard of God on day one. In the beginning, He created light, and He called it. On day two, He created the sky, and He called it.
Now, this is before anybody’s opinion; this is before anybody’s ideas. This is like God could have called it anything: extravagant, extraordinary, amazing, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, but the third day, dry land, seas, plants, and trees, and He called it. The sun and the moon and the stars, on the fourth day, and He called it. On the fifth day, He made fish and birds, and He called it. And on the sixth day, He made land animals and humans, and He called us. So if the standard is that when God breathes His life into a human, the expectation is goodness.
What happened to us? What is happening that we are fighting against the goodness of God? Watch this—not to just experience it because His goodness never runs out; we just sang it. But what if the whole goal is not just to experience goodness? What if it’s to give goodness away? Okay, and this is why we have to allow the fruit of goodness to be worked in our lives through the Holy Spirit, because if I was defining the fruits of the Spirit, it would have been love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, greatness. Most of us want the goodness to be greatness. Most of us want to be successful and for people to know our name and for God to get glory kind of through the expertise and the excellence of me, and then I’ll throw it back to Him.
We would so love for a fruit of the Spirit to be greatness, but He decided that He doesn’t want great; He wants goodness. Uh oh, 'cause greatness—write this down—is already reserved for God. Greatness is reserved only for God. That’s why Psalms 145 says, «Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.» I thought about it differently: great is the Lord—like that area of greatness is the Lord. You can’t handle the glory that comes with greatness; that’s why you see people fold, turn to addiction, turn into somebody else. You were not meant to hold the glory of greatness, so that’s why He said this is reserved. Greatness is the Lord’s, but goodness is yours, and some of us need to divorce the idea of being great and become familiar with the consistency of being good, sir.
See, because the difference between greatness and goodness is, watch this: greatness enlarges people’s view of you, and goodness enlarges people’s view of God. Think about it. If I’m being great, they’re like, «My Todd is great.» But if I’m walking in goodness, they say, «My God, how does God do that through that? I know him; I’ve seen him.» Like how is God’s goodness being seen in their marriage? How was God’s goodness—man, they make me want to go to counseling 'cause I remember how they cussed each other out in front of Chipotle. I was acting like I wasn’t listening, but I was recording it, and y’all know y’all messy. And now to see them leading a tribe with other married couples—yeah, how did the goodness of God change their situation into this other situation?
Okay, I need everybody to write this down, and I’m submitting this to you as a thought: what if the goal is no longer greatness but only goodness? I know this is going to rack some of y’all’s brains 'cause you’ve been running from an insecurity since you were eight, and you know the only way that you got Mommy and Daddy’s attention, anytime that anybody said anything good about you, is that you had to be great. Pastor Mike, how do you know this? Because it’s my story. I’ve told it so many different times. I made a decision at 12 years old: good was not good enough, and I put my standard above God’s standard, and it almost killed me. Today, I want to bring value to the fruit of the Spirit of goodness.
See, goodness can do more in your life than you actually think it can. Watch this: Exodus 33:18; there’s this beautiful story of Moses spending time with God, being in the presence of God. And he said, «Lord, show me your glorious presence.» And the Lord replied, «You can’t handle all that; I will make all my goodness pass by you.» He wanted the great thing—God, show me your glory—and literally, God was like, «I’ll just let my goodness pass by you.» You want this big thing? Good is enough. If I let you experience my goodness, you will have no choice but to transform into something different. So when I looked at this, and I studied all of the different things that went before him, Moses would spend time on the mountain with God. His goodness would pass, and when he would come off the mountain and get back with the people, the people were like, «Whoa, Moses, whoa, bro, put a cloak on, dog! You’re shining too much; we know you’ve been with—oh my goodness.»
They literally couldn’t take the radiation because of their relationship. Oh my, could you walk into that job, and because you spent time with God in His goodness—not in His greatness, but in His goodness—could you walk into that job and be like, «Man, you just got too many answers for the problem; man, you seem to always walk in peace, and this is a stressful situation.» Man, when I think about the goodness of God, I think about me having to actually adjust my focus because this is so important that the Bible tells us in Matthew that it will be the standard by which we are judged when we stand before Jesus. Everybody say goodness, goodness. Can I say it just real plainly?
Our goodness is what’s going to define our life—not how many late night prayers you did; no, hear me! Not how many millions you gave to nonprofits—if those things are detached from the goodness of God, and you’re doing them for pride and selfish reasons and motives that aren’t edified by God, He’s going to say, «Depart from me; I never knew you.» And some of us right now are doing good things for the wrong reasons! It’s called manipulation, not goodness. Okay, but this is what Matthew 25:21—I’m just trying to raise your value: somebody say, «Oh my goodness!» I’m telling you, this revelation got deep for me. It said, «The master was full of praise,» and the statement he said to the good servant was, «Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities; let’s celebrate together.»
Why in the world would he say «my good and faithful servant?» It could have said «my dedicated and faithful servant.» It could have said «my zealous and faithful servant.» But I think goodness is a bigger part of our Christian walk and the fruit that we must bear because it, watch this, reflects God. God’s been good to you for no reason. It says stuff like this in the Bible: «Before we were—while we were yet sinners…» When’s the last time you were good to somebody for no reason? That’s goodness! You pull into the parking spot, and you saw somebody about to come, and your old nature rose up in you. It’s like, «I beat you!» When’s the last time you backed up, rolled the window down? «No, no, you can have it. No, you can have it,» and went to the furthest spot? That’s goodness!
Now, if you did that if you saw Pastor Mike coming, that would be manipulation! You missed it. I think that’s Pastor Mike; hold on, let me—Pastor! Pastor, you—no, no, no! Man of God, you take my—maybe if I give him the parking space, he’ll give me a parking space. I’m talking about doing good for no foreseeable gain! If we’re honest and we take inventory of our goodness, most of our good is attached to what we can gain. The Holy Spirit has been whipping me all week; He said, «Why did you do it? So they can see you better, or so they can know me better?»
Why did you do it? And I think a lot of us got to check our motives because, watch this: goodness is not our nature! Let’s be honest; it’s not our nature, but it’s necessary. And that’s why our goodness is the receipt of a relationship with God through the Holy Spirit. Paul says it real clear; I’m going to read a little bit of Bible real quick, and then we’re going to get out of here. I need somebody to leave this week and make a decision that I’m going to be a reflection of God by showing goodness to somebody that can’t do nothing for me, just so that I can be a reflection that I spend time with Him, right? Did you hear what I just said? Well, what’s in it for me? Nothing.
Will you still do it? Well, I should get paid for that; yes, you should get paid for that. But what if God is asking you to do it for no pay? No, no, no, no, no, they’re not going to use my idea and not give me credit for it. I’m holding—what if God said that was the seed for the thing I’m about to do, but you won’t even sow it out of the goodness of your heart? Oh gosh, Romans 7:15, this is Paul: «I do not understand what I do, God dog it! For what I want to do, I do not do; but what I hate, I do.» I can—yo, this is some cold Bible right here! I relate to this real, real nice. Verse 16: «And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.» As it is longer I myself who do it but it is sin living in me that makes me do it for I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature for I have the desire to do what is good.
How many people have the desire to do what is good like you? If I really wanted to, I really would. He said, «I desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out, for I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep doing.» This is some of the realest Bible; I try not to do what I do because I don’t really want to do it, but every time I don’t want to do it, I do it. That’s what this is saying. Verse 20: «Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.»
So I find this law at work: although I want to do good, evil is right there with me, for in my inner being I delight in God’s law. But I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! I hate this! I can’t stand it when I say I’m not going to sleep with them, and then why do I keep doing this? I was done with that drink and with alcohol, and I think, why do I keep going to this? Can we be real? Why do I keep letting rage control my words? I want to be loving; I want to be kind, but I can’t seem to do what I want to do. I made a decision, I wrote it down, I said affirmations this morning, and I still ended up failing. It’s the sin in me.
Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? And then he switches to thanksgiving because he has experienced God’s goodness. Thanks be to God who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! Hey, hear what I’m saying to you: if you’re wrestling and warring right now, there’s an answer, and His name is Jesus. When you receive Jesus, He gives you the gift of the Holy Spirit, and when you get the Holy Spirit and stay close to Him, letting Him walk with you and surrendering to Him, then He works in you the fruit of the Spirit, which is goodness. Somebody say, «Oh my goodness!» Good! Not doing bad—listen to me; we’re almost done—not doing bad is not the same as doing good.
Oh my gosh, most people are okay with living a life where they say, «I didn’t do anything bad.» Avoiding, hiding, abdicating responsibility is not doing good; that’s just playing defense. God said, «I want you to play offense.» I need you to actually go out and pull money out of your account with the intention of giving it away. If every time God asks you to give, it’s a surprise, you’re being disobedient. No, hear me, because God says in His word, «I want you to give what you’ve already decided in your heart.» That means He would have had a pre-conversation with you somewhere else. You’re putting on those shoes and He’s like, «Give those away.» Oh, not the J’s, Lord! Ask me for something else—not those! I’ve only worn them twice; no creases! Not giving them away! And then when your brother comes over and asks for some shoes for his outfit, he puts them on and the Holy Spirit says again, «Those aren’t your shoes; they’re his.»
Why does it seem so personal, and I’m still ignoring it? Then I get mad because he hasn’t brought my shoes back. «Hey bro, I let you wear my shoes the other day,» and the Holy Spirit said, «Boy, if you don’t stop!» He tried to deal with me three times, and out of the goodness of my heart, I was supposed to give them away, but every time it felt like a surprise. It felt like God was taking something from me because I hadn’t decided that I was going to do good works. Okay, so what must we do to actually do good? Somebody say, «I’m going to do good!»
Galatians 6:10: «As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.» With every opportunity we get, we’re supposed to do good, and especially when I come into this church, into my small group, at the family dinner! I should be looking for somebody to show God’s goodness to. When was the last time you came to church ready to give away goodness? When was the last time you showed up at the park ready to give away goodness? Pastor Mike, that’s beautiful. What does that mean? Three things that will help you walk this out: goodness is an action, which means you have to make a move. Somebody say, «Make a move!»
If goodness doesn’t have an action attached to it, you didn’t do anything! You might have thought about it, but God literally says to us, «Be my hands and feet.» If I was in the flesh, what would I do? If you would say, «What would Jesus do?"—you’re His representative. What would Jesus do? Show me! Somebody should go over there and do something—do it! If Jesus were here, He would go over, pray for them—do it! If Jesus were here, He would get a campaign together and raise money for the family who doesn’t have anything right now—do it! But we relegate our responsibilities as believers to an organization or a group of people that are never coming. We are His goodness on this Earth, and once you experience His goodness, you have to give it away. Yeah, I hear that Red Hot Chili Peppers song: «Give it away, give it away, give it away now.»
I know some of y’all are too saved for that, thinking, «Give it away.» If I did it like I really wanted to, I would go crazy. But if God has—how many people in this room and watching online have experienced the goodness of God? So now I have a message for you: give it away! Give it away! Give it away now! Give it away! Okay, so goodness is action; it needs to move. Goodness is an attitude; that means you have to check the motive. I’m just saying, like, have you ever met somebody who was just a good person? Let me be very honest with you: I don’t want Bella to bring home a great guy; I want him to be a good guy, because a lot of times the great guys are hiding stuff.
Can I be honest? «Oh, he’s great at sports, and he’s great at this, and he’s great at that!» I want him to be good at talking to you! I want him to be like…because if it’s a spirit, if it’s an attitude, at the end of my life, I don’t want to be like, «Myard was the greatest.» I want to say, «That man was a good husband; he was a good pastor; he was a good brother; he was a good friend.» Because at the end of the day, the well done, my good and faithful servant… I’m not telling you to set a low bar, because we serve a God of excellence, but maybe you’re expending energy on something you can’t even obtain. So, maybe we need to ask God to let goodness be an attitude in us.
So goodness is an action; it’s the move we have to make. Goodness is an attitude; it’s the motive we need to have, and the last one: goodness is an attribute. It becomes our MO. Has anyone ever heard that word? «That’s their MO!» That’s the modus operandi. It’s a Latin term that describes an individual or a group whose habitual way of operating becomes consistent, which represents a discernible pattern. What would happen if the church’s MO were to just be good people? Oh yeah, it started off as an action to give waters to people who were marching out in a parade for something we don’t even believe in, and we just went out to give waters and tell them God loves them.
And it was like, «Well, I was hurt by the church, and I was broken by the church.» And I’m so sorry, but here’s some water. And it’s an attitude that we’re not going under there so that all of them can come to church today. Maybe I’ll show up at your coffee shop and pay for coffee or give you a word of encouragement. Or actually, «Hey, your mom’s coming; I just saw her come in, and yeah, you should probably just stay right here. Just look out for somebody else’s kid!» Oh, y’all don’t hear me; it’s just goodness! We would all agree that stopping a child from running into the street is just a good thing to do! Yeah, somebody is like, «That ain’t my kid.» «Hey, come here, junior! Come on—don’t even look back there!»
And that seems extreme, but a lot of us live like that: if it’s outside our jurisdiction of control, we won’t even check to see if there’s a way we can show God’s goodness. What if it became the way that Transformation Church operates? We see somebody stopped on the side of the road, and they can’t—you don’t see any tow truck in sight? Stop! «Well, that’s going to make me late for worship!» That’s your worship today. You missed it. You missed it! That was your worship today: to show God’s goodness to somebody. Stand up everywhere, please! Psalms 23:6: «Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me.»
Oh y’all know that one! All the days of my life! I found real revelation in this scripture, because until this week, I always imagined goodness and mercy following me as an extension of God’s love chasing me; and I think it is that. But think about it differently for one second. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me; that means if I drop off goodness and I drop off mercy, and I drop off goodness and I drop off mercy, what’s following me is a trail! See, you thought the goodness and mercy was just about you. But God said, «What would it look like if every day you were dropping off goodness and dropping off mercy, and dropping off goodness and dropping off mercy?»
People would say, «Surely goodness and mercy has been following them all the days of their life!» That’s why the Bible tells us in Galatians 6:9, «Don’t grow weary in doing.» He said, «Don’t let your goodness wear out,» and many of us haven’t done enough good to get tired. Your goodness is on full strength, battery at 100, 'cause you haven’t done anything to extend beyond! If we receive His goodness, we should be giving it away! How is this developed? Through spending time with the Holy Spirit! I want everybody to close your eyes, please, and I want you to think about what the Holy Spirit is trying to say to you through this message. When I think about it, I think about Jesus, who took off greatness to put on goodness. He took off glory to put on this flesh to come down here as an act of goodness for all of us.
And today, if the Holy Spirit is speaking to you, I felt led to pray for people who haven’t really experienced the goodness of God in their life in a way that’s changed them. I’m not saying the little churchy clichés, it’s like, «Oh, God is good.» But if you really want to experience a fresh revelation of the goodness of God, you’re saying, «This is what I desire,» 'cause I can’t give away what I don’t have. 'Cause I’m talking to you about giving it away, but if you haven’t experienced it and it’s not real to you, you won’t give it away.
Today, I don’t want a churchy expression; I want desperate people, hungry people! If you’re watching online, you’re in this room, I’m going to ask you to do something. If you know that you need a deeper revelation—watch this—not just in your head, but in your heart, of the goodness of God! Today, I’m going to invite you to the altar, and I don’t care who you are or where you’re from or how much money you make, but at this moment right now, if you want a fresh revelation today, I’m going to pray something specific, but it’s going to take you moving by faith, and this is the moment. If you’re in this room and you want this, I want you to come to the altar right now. If you’re at home right now, I just want you to lift your hands. I want you to take a posture right now, and I know some of you are moving.
Remember what I said? There’s some action that has to go along with some of the things that God is about to ask you. This is just an exercise right now; this is a place of surrender. This won’t be where all the work happens, but today there are people that are moving, and some of you are like, «This is my time to leave.» That’s fine! But this is somebody else’s time to get transformed! If you need a fresh revelation of the goodness of God, I want you to get to this altar! We sang that song earlier, «All my life you have been faithful, all my life you have been so good with every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God.»
I need y’all to come up; there are a lot more people coming. Y’all scoot up, come on. I see the floodgates—business people, mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters. Please don’t let this moment, your insecurity, or your fear keep you at your seat. Something is going to happen by faith as you move to this altar. I’m telling you right now, many of you are going to experience the goodness of God, and this week will be the first time that you move and give it away—brand new. It’s going to feel like clockwork; it’s going to be so easy because you’re going to be like, «Oh my God, thank you! Thank you for getting me out of that situation and bringing me here. Thank you for giving me breath another day.» Thank you because goodness, watch this, is activated by gratitude. When you actually allow the great things that God has done in your heart to take root, great things begin to come out.
Come on, y’all, I want y’all to get them all in here. Come on! I’m telling you, something powerful is about to happen all through the aisles, all through the rows. This is somebody’s moment; you’re going to be able to mark this as a shift in your life. I’ll give just about ten more seconds because somebody’s wrestling; there’s a war going on inside. Church, if you’re still at your seat, I need you to be praying right now. This is what this whole moment is about today. There’s going to be a fresh revelation of God’s goodness. Know it hasn’t been fair; know everything didn’t work out how you thought it would, but God’s still been good. When you live from that revelation, it will change the way you have a relationship with everything and everybody. If you’re at this altar and if you want to receive this, would you lift your hands all over this place right now? I’m going to pray for you by faith. Today is a change and a transformation in your life.
Father, in the name of Jesus, today, Father God, there is no question that you have been good to us. But some of us have been desensitized, unable to feel and recognize your goodness, maybe because of life circumstances, hurts, frustrations, pain, sin. Today, God, we are asking you to come, come on. Today, God, we are asking for a fresh revelation of your goodness—that, Father, you’re not mad at us, waiting for us to fail again. You’re not holding us to the past as some of our family, friends, and coworkers do. Father, today you are giving us a fresh start. You are giving us the opportunity to repent, to turn, and come back to the standard of goodness—not greatness, God, but to your standard of good. Thank you today that those who have been wallowing in depression and wrong decisions and mistakes will come out of that quicksand and find their footing again.
Oh, I feel this. I hear the Holy Spirit saying today you’re going to find your footing again. Yeah, the thing that’s been making you feel like you’re going under—you can’t go under! God said you’re going to hit something stable, and He’s the rock that the builders rejected, and His name is Jesus. He said you’re about to hit something stable, and you’re going to be able to pull up again. I hear the Holy Spirit saying this. Whoa! Thank you, Jesus, that the fresh beginning you need does not happen at the New Year. It’s not coming at the turn of a date; it’s coming today because of a decision. It’s not going to be 2025; it’s today! Wow! It’s not going to be when everybody shouts; He said it’s today. He said a decision for Me, a decision to hear My voice, a decision to surrender—it changes everything.
This is a new year today; it’s a new year today; it’s a new life today. I feel this thing; it’s a new day today; it’s a new way today. So I speak to every lie that you’ve believed. I speak to every lie that you’ve believed. I speak to every lie that you believe: come down! Every idol and idea that has tried to crush God’s people—woo! I feel the presence of God today. This situation is no longer the place of power.
God, we pray like Moses now: would you let your goodness pass by us, Son? Would you let your goodness pass by us? Would you let your goodness pass by our households? Would you let your goodness pass by, Father God, our families, our marriages? Would you allow your goodness, Father God, to take over our conversations? Would you allow your goodness, Father, to help us make decisions to do better when we want to do something else? God, let your goodness overtake us because I will sing of the goodness of God.
Yes, I will sing of the goodness of God because it’s actually being lived out in my life. Yes, I will sing of the goodness of God. Just one more time, say, «I will sing of the goodness of God!» Sometimes you have to remind yourself, 'cause all my life you have been faithful, and all my life you have been so, so good. With every breath that I am able, yes, I will sing of the goodness of God. Your goodness is running after, yes sir, it’s running after me. Your goodness is running after; it’s running after. Watch this: with my life laid down, I surrender now. I give you everything. Oh, I feel the presence of God! Your goodness is running; it’s running after me. Believe this, 'cause your love never fails, runs out. Receive the goodness of God.
Look up; He’s not mad at you. This is His goodness today. Say it: never fails, it never, never gives up, never runs out on me. Your love—listen, if you’re under the sound of my voice, there is a sweet presence in this house and I know it’s happening online. God’s restoring—no, not just restoring; He’s resetting. He’s resetting the standard in your life. Some of y’all, the stress you’ve been experiencing, I see this huge 400–500 lb weight on you. Every day you wake up trying to get yourself out of debt and trying to get yourself in the right place; it’s like not just one thing you’re focused on. It’s like seven things that just—God is saying you’ve been out here trying to be great to prove something to a coach, or a teacher, or a parent. I’m not requiring that of you. Tonight you’re going to sleep 'cause you know the standard is good, and you know He called you before you were even formed in your mother’s womb.
Somebody just say, «I’m good!» Woo! You can be great, but I’m going to be good! Yeah, if you really want to be good and you’ve never accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you have an opportunity today to make sure your eternity is good. There are many of you up here; maybe you’ve made a decision before, but you didn’t really mean it. Today is going to be the day you mean it. Maybe you’re watching online; maybe you’re in the balconies, and maybe you’re out here watching this on rebroadcast. Today, on the count of three, if you want to make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior, if you want to experience His goodness toward you today, I want you to receive Him. And all it is is a decision. I know religion tells you to clean up, change yourself—get done with that. If you could have done it, you would have already done it by yourself. But the Holy Spirit is the only one that allows you to come to Him with all your mess, and He says, «If you give me your heart, I’ll help you change your habits.»
Today I want to give you the opportunity to receive Jesus, whether you’re in this room or watching online. I feel the presence of God in this place. Somebody’s goodness is being restored, y’all. I’m telling you, we’re going to worship here in a second, and something is going to come back to you that was stolen. Yes, yes, yes! There’s going to be action, right motives; it’s going to become your norm. I feel God saying this, but today some people are trying to do good without God. Today, I want to give you the engine to doing good. Somebody say, «His name is God.» God!
This is the thing that took me from being a liar, a manipulator, addicted to pornography, a bad person. It didn’t make me perfect; it transformed me. And every day I’m being transformed into the image of our Lord. But today I want to give you that opportunity. If you’re listening to me, if you hear me anywhere right now and you know that you need to do good, but you need God to do it, on the count of three, I want you to lift your hand strong, bold, with faith. One! Hands are already going up. Two! Three! I need—thank you, Lord! Can we celebrate what God is doing? I see you; I see you; I see you. I’m not just going to do good; I’m going to do good with God! I see you! Hey, Transformation Church, would you lift your hands too? We’re a family here; everybody prays for the benefit of those who are coming to Christ. Nobody prays alone! Somebody say:
God! God! Thank you! Thank you for being good to me! For being good to me! Thank you! Thank you for sending Jesus! For sending Jesus to die for my sins! To die for my today! Today, I need you as my Lord and Savior, and I repent for everything that I’ve done that’s not like you. That’s not like you. I commit my life a new and a fresh to you, only to you. Only change me, change me, renew me, transform me! I’m yours! I’m yours! In Jesus' name, amen.