Michael Todd - Reset: Stop Tripping
Today I feel like I have an assignment to help some people get ready for what God is going to do. It’s a prophetic assignment as well as a pastoral assignment because I believe that many of us dragged ourselves into this year. I believe there was a drag into 2025. Many of us did not come into this year with expectation; we came into this year actually with trepidation, fear, and anxiety, hoping it wouldn’t go like it did last time. And today, you came to the house of hope so that I could prophetically and through Scripture encourage you into a new season.
Today, I’m not going to placate or speak directly to your pessimism. I’m not trying to convince anybody who’s already convinced to not believe God. Today, I’m coming for the people on the fringes who know that deep down inside, there is an expectation that God hasn’t done everything He promised you yet. I don’t know where y’all are right now, but if it’s three of you who know that this movie is not over, there are more scenes to this thing. You know that you have not read the final chapter of the book that God wrote for you, and there’s something that God wants to do inside of you.
Where are the five people that need to actually believe that there is more for you? Yes, that this marriage is not over, that my kids are not how they’re going to be, that there is still salvation coming to my household. Yes, that the addictions I still struggle with right now will no longer be the stronghold that I’m carrying next year. I need at least 10 people to believe with me that the grief I’m sitting in will not be a chain but will become a medallion that I can testify to the goodness of God. I need six people to acknowledge that God is not done with us yet! I feel that.
For all the people who are just screaming, hear me. Let me hear what you’re saying, and then you hear what I’m saying. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. This overwhelming joy and expectation doesn’t mean that I don’t have things that I’m looking at and saying, «God, what is up with this?» Come on, can we be real? How many people have some things they’re questioning? Lord, excuse me, all of us have those things. But the Bible tells us that we do not react to what we see; we react to what we believe.
You might have missed me, and I know some of you are deconstructing and think you’re too sophisticated for that. But there are some people who are desperate in this room right now, and there are some people who know how good God has been. I just need to find a hundred of you who will help me on the first Sunday of this year give God a praise that is not indicative of the situation I’m in right now. I need at least 50 of you to praise God with me based on what we believe God is about to do.
We’re looking at His record; we’re looking at His character. I’m going to give you five seconds to give God the greatest praise you have. Give Him glory right now. Yes! Hallelujah! You said He’s worthy of it all; give it to Him! Hold on, hold on, let me help some young people in here. Cool is not going to get the miracle. I’m trying to tell you; I’m trying to give you a secret to the heart of God. Who you’re trying to impress cannot change your situation. Who you’re trying to stay cool for cannot change your heart.
I’ve spent too many times in church services trying to impress somebody who didn’t even care that I was there when God was putting me in a position requiring something different from me. If you want to grow in your relationship with God, stop being ashamed of Him in front of people. Today, you need to come out and say, «For God, I live, and for God, I’ll die.» Y’all don’t want to play with me on this first Sunday of 2025. If you’re unashamed of your relationship with Jesus, why don’t you give Him praise in this place right now?
Uh-oh! We came to see God do a miracle! Hallelujah! All right, all right, all right, all right. I had to find the faith in the room! I told my staff earlier last year, I said, «I’m not dragging anybody into 2025.» I’m telling our church we’re not dragging anybody; you’re going to have to get up and walk. Let me tell you a little bit of this story: my daughter Ava loves being with her daddy, and she carries that into places she’s not supposed to stay, like my bed. She’s not supposed to sleep in my bed; that bed is for me and Natalie. What she realizes is that many times, if she gets in my bed and falls asleep, she has a better chance.
Some of you are parents in this room. At the end of the day, you’re tired, and you’re looking at this dead weight, thinking, «Just don’t touch me, but stay right there.» But I’ve made a decision that she’s at an age right now where she has to get up and walk. I felt the Holy Spirit tell me, «Some of you want me to end this year, and at your big age,» you know what I’m talking about, «you want me to pick you up and drop you off at Destiny.»
This is the year that I don’t care if you’re sleepy and drowsy; get up! Some of you, I love you, but get up and walk! This is the year your steps are about to be ordered by God, and what used to deter you from walking in the thing that God told you, you’re about to get up. Somebody take a step for me! You’re about to get up, and you’re going to walk! Yes, yes, yes! Somebody say, «Get up! Get up and walk!»
All right, all right, let’s get into it! Someone said we’re already into it. Just wait on me; it’s reset Sunday, and I believe the Holy Spirit is requiring us to do something new. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. I’m going to say it again: the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result.
So there are a couple of things that we are going to decide as believers to do differently this year. As your pastor, it’s part of my job to lead you into that—not to make you do it, but to show you the path through the Word of God, of what we can do. I’m letting everybody know that part of us getting up and walking is actually taking our spiritual journey seriously this year. Our relationship with God is not an addition to everything else we have going on in our lives.
I want you to hear me say this very clearly: for many years, I tried to add God to what I had already planned. I know most people won’t say that, but it’s like, «God, bless this relationship. Bless this little sin I’m doing. Bless me in spite of this issue.» Come on, let’s be honest! This year, let’s try something different. Let’s put God at the center of everything we’re doing and work everything else around what God says.
I’m telling you, this is the thing that has caused the most transformation in my life, in my family, in my marriage, and in this church. It’s when I said, «All right, God, I know I have some plans, and I think they could work out if you just sprinkle a little anointing on them.» But they always seem to fail because many are the plans of a man, but it’s God’s purposes that prevail.
So I’m asking everybody for a spiritual step. Everybody say, «Step, step,» because this year we’re going to do a lot of walking. You will not be in the same place spiritually at the end of this year that you are right now! I’m declaring that by faith for every person who has ears to hear.
I’m talking about God is going to show you a different you that is anchored in Him. But the only way that we can do that is not by magically becoming something different; we have to take steps. One of the steps I’m asking everybody who calls Transformation Church their home, or God is allowing you to hear this today, I’m asking you to take the spiritual step of going on a 21-day fast with us. I’m not trying to sugarcoat it; I’m not trying to bait and switch you.
I’m asking you right now to do something that will be hard. I’m so sick of the church acting like some of the things God is asking us to do are easy. You prepare yourself to be weak in the field if you never train hard behind closed doors. And that’s why the enemy has been successful with so many of us, because when we’re supposed to be in training for what God has called us to do, training for reigning, we don’t actually do the work.
Today, I’m asking everybody to go on a Biblical fast with your church. It’s easier to do stuff in community. Yes, I said it’s going to be hard, but it’s easier when you do it with your friends. I’m asking every one of you to do this, and I know some of you—the enemy has your belly on lock right now—your attitude has already changed. That’s a stronghold!
I did a series called «Cuffing Season,» and there was one message in there called «Cuff the Cake.» You should go back and listen to that because some of your demons are coming up right now. I just want to help you understand that there are a few things in the Bible that Jesus commanded, and He had the disciples do that grew them in their spiritual journey.
I’m asking you, if you’ve never done it— I know people in this church who have been a part of this 21 days of prayer and fasting every year, and they lie about doing it every year. Oh no, no, no! I see you! I know you! What I’m asking you to do is not to fool anybody but to make a commitment to set aside these first 21 days, starting tomorrow, and go to God more than you go to anything else.
What I just said is crucial! A lot of people make it legal: «Well, I’m not eating this, and I eat this at 7:00,» and «I only drink water,» and you’re trying to do something that makes your flesh a little uncomfortable. But then you can still wiggle your way out of it. I’m asking you to go to God more than you go to anything. Go to God more than you go to food; go to God more than you go to TV; go to God more than you go to Instagram; go to God more than you go to them.
For the next 21 days, your first response should be, «God, what am I supposed to do in this situation?» I’m telling you, if you take this step—everybody say «step"—I promise you there’s going to be clarity, there’s going to be direction, yes, and there’s going to be vision. Everybody say «vision.» I don’t want to go through 2025 without knowing what God wants. I hate going places and not knowing where I’m going. Is there anybody else who feels the same? At least tell me where we’re going! Let me give you one of the greatest things I found out: God wants to tell you where you’re going, but you have to make time to hear the directions.
When we start this 21 days of prayer and fasting tomorrow, I want you to do this one word right now: prepare. Tonight, some of you are going to have to empty out, give away, or throw away the temptation that is in your face at all moments. Y’all see how quiet it just got in this whole sanctuary? Some of us are going to have to change how we do things to be able to honor God in this way.
This is not about guilt and condemnation; I’m trying to teach you. Nothing has transformed me more than prayer and fasting. Even Jesus said when the disciples went to cast out a certain devil and it didn’t work, when they came back saying, «Jesus, we did the thing, and we did everything, and it didn’t come out,» He said, «These certain kind, certain things only get transformed by prayer and fasting.»
So today, I’m inviting you. This is an invitation into another step, another journey of transformation for you. We will take this together! The 21 days of prayer and fasting starts tomorrow. We will have scriptures every day, and even look at this: we’re a family church. So if your kids are in TC Kids, we made a 21-day prayer and fasting journal for them that breaks this down in their language and gives them stuff to color and different Bible devotions.
If reading the big Bible is too much for you, no, no, no! Stop it! The kid version helps! Day one: «Put God First.» It feels like what we need to be doing. Day two: «God is Good.» Something like that is what we need to recognize. I’m just saying, whatever works! Yes, sir! But I promise you this will be the best year of your life, will be the best year spiritually. I’m going to say it one more time: this will be the best year of your life if it is your best year spiritually. As we walk into this, I’m excited to see all the things God does as we continue to push away our plates and get closer to who God is, what God is, and what He wants to do in our lives. Amen. Even if you don’t like it, clap your hands right there.
Come on, just come on. Yeah, um, today I have clear instructions to preach to you on the topic of reset because I believe God wants to do something. Next week is a monumental week in our church every year because it is Vision Sunday. If you’ve not been around here for a long time, you might be thinking, «Oh, okay, you’re going to tell us what God’s saying.» Well, there are a couple of things you have to know about this church: this church is led by God. I don’t just come up with stuff; I step away and ask God what He wants to do in His church for this calendar year. Usually, He gives me a word to gather our faith around, and literally, those words have guided us, brought us into new seasons, and been a prophetic forecast of what God was going to do even when we didn’t know He was going to do it.
Next Sunday, God has given me the word for 2025, and y’all, this one’s going to shift everything that’s happening right now. I just want you to see how important vision is. Take a look at this real quick: vision is more valuable than anything. You can write that down in your home, you can write it down, or you can tattoo it. Vision is more valuable than anything. But has vision shaped your personal reality? If it has not shaped your personal reality, it may be because you don’t know how valuable vision is. In 2015, God gave us a word when Bishop and Pastor Debbie handed us the baton: «Survive.» In 2016, the prophetic word was «Maintain,» and the word for 2017 was «Beyond.» In 2018, I want you to strive. In 2019, God said this is the year of release.
In 2020, He said «Stronger.» In 2021, guess what? The word was «Anchored,» and I said, «Okay, Lord, we’re anchored; what’s the word for the next year?» Here it is: «Holy.» In 2023, He gave us a word about the entire kingdom. When we came to 2024, God said simply this would be the year we didn’t have to talk about it; this would be a year of fruit; this would be our faith repeating until it was transformed. I don’t want you to think that all of these words go away when the new one comes; they build on top of each other. The word of the year for 2025 is very simple: one word. Next Sunday I will reveal the word of the year. Yes! Yeah, you thought I was—no. Next Sunday, y’all were like, «What is it?» Ooh, suspense! Ooh, the birds sound! Ooh!
Next Sunday, get your Bibles out. I’m going to do this with precision and quickness because I feel like this message is surgery, and I don’t want you to move much. I need your attention to stay focused. I need you to hear what I believe God told me almost three months ago when I told the team, «Hey, the first Sunday of the year I’m preaching, and I’m going to speak about resetting.» I was like, «Alright.» I’ve never told them that early what I was speaking on, but God spoke to me very clearly. He said, «The first Sunday of 2025 is Reset Sunday,» and I began to pray and ask God what He wanted to do, and He told me this little phrase that I put in a point: «If you don’t reset, you will repeat.» I need you to hear me say it right now: if you do not reset right now, you will repeat. I don’t know what area of your life that impacts and what just came to your mind, but the one you said, «Ooh, no,» that’s the one!
If you don’t like what’s happening in your relational life, if you do not reset with God in your relationships, you will repeat the same thing. I don’t know if it’s in your finances where it’s barely just enough, and everything’s crumbling around you. If you do not reset with God, you will repeat. I’m not telling you this to scare you; I’m telling you this to prepare you. He really wants you to hit reset on everything that was established without Him. Think about the areas of your life that are just common practice for you because you’ve been doing it that way. Some of y’all curse just because you’ve been cursing. I’m just going to use a real practical example: you grew up hearing your mama curse. God says to take account of all the words that come out of your mouth. You use them to emphasize your feelings.
You know, when I get past my line, there’s only a couple: I only use the D and the S words. Y’all ever heard those people justify the words they say? That ain’t even a couple; it’s in the Bible! Okay, but when the scripture says, «Let everything that comes out of your mouth be edifying to the hearer,» I’m using a very small example because we all have issues. I know some of y’all are thinking, «He’s just going to come off the cuff like that.» Just calm down. I’m just saying it’s been a habit that God said, «I could reset your speech. I could reset it if you would allow me.» If you would allow me to reset some things in your life, if you would be available, or watch this word: surrender it! See what I could do with it.
See what I could do with your gift. If you reset your life and gave me your gift, that business has held your gift hostage. You’ll do anything for the money, but what would happen if you reset? God said to me so clearly that I have to tell you: if you do not reset, you will repeat. So then I began to look up scriptures that just hit me in the chest, and I’m going to give you about three that let me know I don’t want to repeat this. Proverbs 26:11 says, «As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats its foolishness.» Now, I don’t want to get too graphic, and I told them to take down the picture that I found, but I just want you to picture your cute little puppy throwing up and then licking you in the face.
Some of y’all are nasty like that. Some of y’all are like, «Come here, Snuffy!» No, that’s nasty! It’s nasty going to the vomit and then coming back to you. God says people who do the same thing are like a puppy that goes to the throw-up. If you don’t reset, you will do what? Okay, look at this other one: Hebrews 12:12 says, «So take a new grip.» Somebody say, «Take a new grip!» Some of y’all have been tired, and God says, «Hey, don’t give up; reset!» Some of us have been playing tug-of-war in situations, and if you’ve ever played tug-of-war, some of the greatest moments of momentum happen when someone gets a new grip. You and some of you don’t need to give up; you need to get a new grip! «So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become stronger.»
This year, God is saying, «New grip!» Get a new grip! Get a new grip on what God is saying for your life, a new grip on planting yourself in the house of God, a new grip on what community looks like for you, a new grip on doing what God has asked you to do today! Somebody shout at me, «New grip! New grip!» It’s time to reset! Matthew 10:14: «If any household…» This is Jesus, and I love this because He sent them on an almost impossible journey to spread the gospel to people who probably didn’t want anything to do with them. And some of y’all have tried the things that God said, and you’ve been rejected. You’ve been denied, and things didn’t work out the way you wanted them to work out.
God had something to say to you as He said to the disciples: «If any household or town refuses to welcome you or listen to your message, shake its dust from your feet as you leave.» What He said is, «If they don’t get it, reset! Go to another town!» If that group didn’t accept what I called you to do, I think it was Prophet JC that said, «Get that dirt off your shoulder.» All I’m saying to you is the discouragement of yesterday will keep you from resetting today. Many of you are trying to figure out a way to escape the call of God on your life. You’re trying to figure out a way to say, «God, maybe not that. Maybe not me. Maybe not.» And God said this is not a time, watch this, to retreat. This is a time to reset. So I said, «Alright, God, some people are going to be scared when I say it’s time to reset. Some people are going to be intimidated when I say it’s time to reset. Some people are going to be afraid of what that means and what it’s going to take for them.»
When it says that it’s time to reset, I began to think of an easy illustration that many of us would know in this room that would help you understand the power of a reset, and I thought about the first game system my dad bought for me and my oldest brother Gabe. It was a Nintendo—the original gray Nintendo. Y’all know what I’m talking about? It had the duck hunt gun. It was gray and orange. Some of y’all are too young for this, but it was beautiful! Mario Brothers was the game, and then you had the extender series where you could get Mario, and then you had Duck Hunt, and then there was some sports game on it that we never played. Many times, as I was beating Gabe in so many of the games, somehow mysteriously, there were two buttons on the front. If you remember, could you put a picture of this system up? Because some people don’t understand what I’m talking about.
How many ever played the original Nintendo right here? Okay, there are two buttons on the front, and does anybody know what the two buttons say? One says «Power,» and the other one says «Reset.» Now, the power button, everybody understood why you had to have the power button because that was the one that gave it energy. The game came on, and all that other stuff. But if you were ever losing, some of y’all know there was one way to quickly change the tide of everything that was happening. All you had to do—and it was so responsive too! I don’t know if anybody remembers how fast it would do it, but if you barely touched the reset button, the whole game would start over. If you were winning, you’d be like, «Oh shoot! What happened? I never made it to that level before!»
And the person who was losing would be like, «Oh my God, that’s so unfortunate!» But what ended up happening is that reset gave two different people two different reactions. One, the reset was a new chance; now, the other one, the reset exposed that they were very attached to the progress they had made. Many times God hits reset not because you did something wrong; many times God hits reset because He wants to ensure what’s in you. Okay, here we go! Isaiah 43:18: «Reset! Forget all that!» Forget everything He did in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, or 2025—forget it! Just forget it! Forget it! Because it’s nothing compared to what I’m going to do! Somebody better hear this prophetically. Hallelujah! I’m calling a reset, for I’m about to do something new. Shout at me, «New!» I’ve already begun it! You don’t see it! The reset that God is doing today is going to be something that He’s doing not on accident.
This is not something that God didn’t already plan before you were formed in your mother’s womb. He saw this day, and He said, «Today I am going to give them the opportunity to, with my help, go into places that they thought this thing was on autopilot. To go to places that they thought I was no longer looking at.» I’m causing a reset in your emotions. I’m causing a reset in your unforgiveness. I’m calling for a reset in the perversion that has been… y’all don’t hear what I’m saying! I’m calling a reset in your appetite. I’m calling a reset on what feeds you. Shout at me, «Reset! Reset!» I want to do something new, but it’s not going to happen from this level, I need us to start over and watch this set something new. The only reason you need a reset is that it wasn’t set many times the way that we go. The things that we’ve done and the ways that we’ve lived are calling for a reset because what was set wasn’t godly.
Let me just explain to you what the actual definition of a reset is. A reset button is included on devices to allow users to quickly restore the system to its original state, essentially rebooting it in case there have been malfunctions, freezes, or errors, effectively giving the user a way to regain control by clearing any temporary glitches that have been in the way of God or anything that has been in an incorrect setting. Y’all, I felt the Holy Spirit tell me, He said, «Tell my people today is the day of reset.» Where there have been glitches in your service, glitches in your attitude, yes, glitches in your self-esteem, there have been incorrect systems downloaded into your brain of insecurity.
There is stuff you picked up from that soul tie, the laying down with that person one time, that’s been on you for ten years. God said today, spiritually, we’re hitting somebody; shout at me, «Reset! Reset!» Generational poverty has been flowing through your mindset of a scarcity mentality. God said today we’re hitting reset; we are not going to stay in the place that has produced all these glitches in our lives. Some of y’all are still trying to get it, so I’mma keep going, 'cause I’ve found out in my own house—I’m a homeowner; a lot of people are praying to be a homeowner, but it’s a lot of work; people don’t tell you this. I’m believing God for a house; believe Him for some extra hands too, 'cause when I became a homeowner, a lot of stuff became… um, I became aware of that I had no clue of before.
So I found out that in most houses, there’s one panel of electricity, 200 amps for most large houses. And, um, you know, we moved in, and we had this little patio area, and I really wanted this to be like indoor-outdoor. This would be great if it feels like outside, like it feels inside. And, me being a good husband, I’m trying to figure out how do we accommodate this. I found these heaters that you can turn on outside, and I found these little phantom shades that keep in the heat. So we got them, hooked them up, paid the electrician to come do it. Mo had a cousin that was going to do it for half off, but I said no; we got to get somebody legitimate in here. We’re a multiethnic church. Don’t worry about it.
And so we got it done right. And what ended up happening is, as soon as we turned those things on, it shut down the power to the whole house. I said, «What happened? Did somebody hook it up incorrectly?» So we went to the breaker, and the breaker tripped. We had to reset the breaker so that we could receive power again. And I was like, «Hey, everybody in the house, unplug everything.» Y’all know sometimes you take, «Ah, that iPhone, get that out of here!» And we unplugged everything and turned on the heaters again—boom, power out! I said, «Mo, what’s going on, brother? What’s happening?» He said, «There’s not enough power coming to the house to run what’s in the house.» Y’all, this was the prophetic picture God showed me. He said, «You’re praying, you’re fasting, you’re declaring things, you’re claiming things, but there’s not enough power coming to the house to run what I’ve said in the house.»
And there are some of y’all that God is saying, «Stop tripping! Stop tripping! You’ve been praying for things you don’t even have the connection to the power source to run in your life. You cannot handle a relationship right now 'cause if that level of energy was having to come off of your house right now, you don’t pray enough to actually be there for that person.» Oh, the CEO mentality that you’re believing God for? There’s not enough power being drawn into the house, sir, to run what He’s commanded in the house. So I said, «Mo, how do we solve this, 'cause I’ve paid too much money for these heaters and the winters are coming?» He said, «The only option is not just to reset the breaker; yeah, that’s great! He said we need to reset the power system.»
I said, «Okay, I don’t know what that means.» He says, «You have 200 amps running to the house, but we have to call the city, right? And we’ve got to ask the city to go to the line where the electricity comes from, dig up the ground.» «I just got my grass done!» He said, «There’s going to be a sacrifice.» «Yes, sir!» Y’all don’t hear me. You want more power? You want to be able to do everything that God has called you to do? You want to be able to lead that family, and you want to be able to hear from God and speak accurately? You’re going to need more power. He said, «You’re going to have to dig up this ground. He said, „We’re going to have to cut a hole in the wall; we’re going to have to pay for an entirely new panel.“ „Yes, sir. We’re going to be shut down in the house for at least two to three days.“
He said, „And we’re going to have to rerun all the power in this house to separate breakers, and it’s going to take four months before they’re ready to do it.“ He said, „Give me the yes or no.“ At that moment, I’m trying to figure out if it’s worth it. At that moment, I’m trying to figure out, like, „I mean, maybe we’ll get some space heaters out there?“ Maybe? And I almost forced fed the comfortability of a new space in my life running with it. We did it, and it worked so well that at Christmas time, Pastor Brenda, as a witness, said, „What’s the setting out here?“ „Hell!“ She was so hot! It was cold on Christmas in Tulsa. Yes, sir! But the shades were up, and outside was there, but we were in a place where you could not even feel the season that was happening all around us. Uh-oh, because we had power coming, oh God, from a place that had plenty!
Somebody shout at me, „Reset! Reset!“ You need more power to be in that marriage. You need more power to raise those kids. You need more power to say no to that temptation. You need more power to actually represent God on that campus. You need more power to not steal that money when it’s been your habit. You need more power! And so today, I just wanted to come to tell you, this is the day we’re going to reset and stop tripping. Look at your neighbor and say, „Stop tripping.“ Tell your other neighbor, „Stop tripping,“ 'cause a reset is the only way to restore power. Hear me say this: a reset is the only way to restore God’s power to a situation. And today, there are many things that I really want to say, but I got to make sure all four of the people that are in this room dealing with different seasons of their life know why we reset.
I believe that God has given us indications of things, shown us certain things, and given us clues to how, why, and when we need to reset. Number one, you may need to reset if you’re in a season of frustration. Frustration is not a bad thing; it’s an indicator! The thing that you are frustrated about may be the exact area that God is saying, „I want to reset you in that area, so it’s no longer a frustration; it’s something that you’re actually called to confront.“ Most people, when they encounter frustration, are trying to figure out how to get out, but I’m asking all of the frustrated people, can we be humble, open, and transparent? How many people have an area of their life that if it was just you and God, and you were being for real, for real honest, humble, open, and transparent, you’d say, „I’m frustrated about that“?
Come on, hands in the air! Okay, come on! We’re in the right place today. You may need a reset in that area. Write on your paper, „I’m frustrated in…“ and fill in the blanks. See, you won’t be able to do all this here today, but I’m giving you practical applications that you can walk away with. „I’m frustrated in communication with my kids.“ „I’m frustrated in my job situation.“ All of it! „I’m frustrated in the way that I’m still single.“ I need you to be honest, because God may want to reset your mindset, perspective, ideas, even your prayer life around it. Let me talk to another person. You may need to reset if you’re in a season, watch this, of desperation.
So many times, God uses frustration and desperation to reveal there needs to be a reset, and some of us aren’t just frustrated; we’re desperate. And desperation is a dangerous thing because desperation can either lead us to the right thing or to anything! Oh my God, hear what I just said to you: desperation is very dangerous, 'cause when you’re desperate, it might lead you to the right thing or may lead you to anything. You ever seen somebody, like, „How did they get with them? How in the world did they—?“ I mean, dang! Desperation will make you drink dirty water; do you hear what I’m saying?
Okay, let me get off of this, 'cause some of y’all, uh-huh… Watch this: you may need to reset if you’re in a season of frustration, a season of desperation, or watch this, this one is the one that I wish everybody under the age of 25 would hear me say for real: you can reset out of preparation! Everybody talks about repair, not prepare, and I want to raise up a body of believers in this church who are more concerned with prepare than repair. What if you could reset right now that it would prepare you for the level of money you want to have? It would prepare you for the level of relationships you need to manage. It would prepare you to not give up when it’s hard. So today, some of your resets are not out of frustration or desperation, but out of preparation.
And this last one is my favorite, 'cause this one has transformed my life almost more than any of the others. And let me be clear—I’ve been in all of the categories, and let me be honest, I’m in all the categories right now! Can I be honest? There are some things I’m frustrated about; I need to reset. There are some things that I’m desperate for that I need to reset. There are some things I’m preparing for, but this is the one: sometimes you reset because you’re in a season of revelation. I believe that God wants to reset some of you because you’re here today, and you had no clue what God was going to say on the first year, but you’re getting revealed truth right now! Oh, the thing I’ve been sleeping on—God’s trying to wake me up right now, and He’s trying to give me a key to what I’m about to do! Hear the word of the Lord: it is time for you to shout at me, „Reset!“
All right, here we go. Luke chapter 15: many of us know this story, but this is where God gave me one of the greatest revelations I’ve ever received. Jesus is trying to explain to people who are haters just what they are, why He hangs out with sinners, and why He does what He does. He begins to tell some stories, some parables—they contain truths mixed with stories. Then He gets to this one called the Prodigal Son. Most people hear this story and only think about salvation and how good the father is for accepting him back, but they miss the actual reset of the prodigal.
Today, I want you to visualize with me the power of the reset for the one who was doing the wrong thing. It wasn’t just the father doing what he did; something happened to the son in the middle that made him remember who he was. Y’all remember the story, right? You could go read the whole thing, but there was a man who had wealth and prepared it for his sons. One son said, „Give me what you got now,“ and Pops was like, „Hold on, son; stay close to me.“ But the son insisted, „I’m going to the club, I want to party, and I want to do my thing. Get off me, Daddy; you’re not my daddy anymore! Give me my money.“
And he just went off, like young people do. He took it, and at the time he went to spend all his father had prepared for him—he didn’t work for it; it was by grace that he had it anyway. He then goes away, and the season mixes with his silliness because the Bible says that during a season of his silliness, the whole place fell under a famine. Sometimes, God allows your silliness to meet a bad season. This man spends all his money on wild living, as the Bible states, so just imagine what that was. He comes to the place where he was royalty in one environment and then… Let’s look at verse 13: „A few days later, the younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land.“
He went away from the father, and there he wasted all his money on wild living. About that time, when his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began—watch this—to starve. He persuaded a local farmer, far away from his father, to hire him, and the man sent him into the fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. Write this down as a point: the further you get from the father, the worse your appetite gets. This man, far from his father, begins to starve; he gets so far away that he literally starts to look at what the pigs eat and thinks, „Man, that looks good.“ But here’s the funny part about the Bible—nobody gave him anything; the pigs were like, „Uh-uh.“ But watch this—look at the point of reset in verse 17: „When he finally came to his senses“ (another translation says „when he finally came to himself“), he said to himself, „At home, even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger.“
Between verses 17 and 18 is where the war is won or lost—in your mind—because he has this moment where he decides to reset, but he needs the courage to take a step back home. That’s it. I just wonder how many layers of lies the enemy tried to attack him with after he decided, „I’m going to go home, I’m going to reset, I’m going to go back to home base, I’m going to forgive, I’m going to ask for forgiveness, I’m going to say I’m sorry. I’m actually going back.“ The enemy probably said, „You don’t deserve to go back,“ with all of the lies. Can you bring that cake for me real quick? I saw this thing in my head called the layer of lies. Over this break, there were a lot of cakes around me, and I rebuked the devil several times. I saw this one cake that had layers, and it reminded me that for us to find the value in certain things in our lives, we might have to cut through the layers of lies we’ve believed.
Here’s what I’m saying to you: What if I told you I don’t know what this is—a Tilly cake from Whole Foods? I don’t know if you know anything about this, but this is a blessing! Okay, holler—somebody say hallelujah! I want you to know that there is value in this cake. No, no, no; I’m not talking about the taste of the cake; there’s $200 in this cake. In the middle of this cake, there’s $200 buried in it. There’s value in it. How do I get it? Somebody said just snatch it. How do I get it? I’m going to have to be very careful, and I’m going to have to cut out certain things that used to define how I look. Oh no, the cake is so beautiful! I can’t see it yet. That’s one, two, three, four, five, six—those are six layers of lies I’ve believed.
Those are layers of people telling me who I am, what I’m not, and that how God can’t use me, and my testimony is too bad, and maybe I’ve messed up too much. God said, „Would it be okay if it gets a little messy and I peel back?“ Somebody’s saying, „You’re wasting the cake; this cost $30!“ What’s in here is more valuable than the whole thing. I still don’t see it. I still don’t see it! Somebody said, „Keep going; keep going!“ But most people would say, „That’s enough,“ because the layers of lies they believed have defined who they are. This looks nothing like the cake that came up here. This doesn’t even look appetizing anymore! The very people who would have taken several slices of this don’t want it anymore.
What happens when God’s trying to reveal a value that takes you actually transforming? Dang, where is the value? I know He put it in here; I know it’s somewhere. It almost feels like there’s nothing left. It almost feels like I’ve given everything. I mean, why would He hide it so deep in me? Why? Why would He put the treasure under all of the house hours I was raised in, the experiences I’ve endured, and the people I’ve lost? Why would He put this so deep? Yeah, God, why didn’t you? And He said, „Just let me keep taking off the areas.“ Uh-oh, I feel like I see something! Cameraman, come in close! In the middle of everything, in the middle of all the pain, in the middle of all the disappointment, in the middle of all my failures, there was something rolled up. Now it’s a little dirty, but who would still take a messy $100 bill and go find somebody else and bless them with that?
Now, watch! Come on, she said, „Give it to her right there.“ Give it to her right there! Now, watch! Okay, they’ve got stuff on their hands right now—residue of my past—but it’s still more valuable. Yes, sir! Yes, sir! And what happened to this beautiful picture of my life? He reset it, and it doesn’t look like what I thought it would look like. Today, church, I need somebody to look at this person in the mirror. I need you to come to yourself. It said when this prodigal came to himself he said, „I got to reset! This is what my life actually looks like, and God wants the value out of me.“ So today, I’m going to reset. This young man takes his life and he resets it, and verse 18 says, „I will go home to my father and say, 'I’ve sinned.'“ He repented; he said, „I’ve sinned both against you and against heaven, and now I’m no longer worthy to be called your son.“
There goes that crazy lie—the layers of lies talking, right? He’s trying to put words in the father’s mouth, right? He said, „I’m no longer worthy to be called your son; please take me on as one of your hired servants.“ So when he returned, his father ran out with a robe, a ring, some sandals, and a cake, and he threw a party! A party! He threw a party for the son who said, „I’m going to hit reset.“ Good, good! Today, daughter, son—yes! It’s the day that God says, „I don’t care where wild living ended you up! I don’t care where the pigpen has had you thinking about things that are below what a father has for his child.“ Today, through grace, I’m offering you the opportunity to reset.
Pastor Mike, practically, how do I reset? Write this down, and we’re going home. When you reset, you have to make a decision. This year, we’re going to talk a lot about the power of a decision because nobody can make you do what you won’t do. Hear what I just said to you: I’m actually going to stop praying for people who aren’t actually going to obey. Some of y’all are saying, „Pastor, I just need to know what God wants.“ If I told you right now what God wants, you’re not going to do it! What I’m saying to you—please understand this—is that there’s no power if you don’t walk in obedience. Some of y’all just need to decide you’re going to obey God this year. Everything’s not a debate; everything’s not an option. I know we live in a country where everybody thinks your opinion matters. When it comes to God, He said, „It’s either my way or do it your way.“
Go ahead! So, this is where I want you to know: the power of a decision. Watch this: new decisions lead to deliverance. This prodigal made a decision that led to his deliverance. Some of the things God wants to deliver you from won’t come because you just sit here and do all of these things. Some of y’all decide, and God’s going to begin to deliver you every single day. Now, watch this— that leads me to my second point: daily decisions lead to devotion. Today is not the day you say, „God, I’m going to do it,“ and then tomorrow live a different way; it’s the daily decision. Why are we doing 21 days of prayer and fasting? There are several biblical reasons we’re doing it, but scientifically, to start a brand-new habit (to reset), they say it takes 21 days. Some of y’all, 21 days is going to be the start of it. Last year, I went 40 days vegan; the Holy Spirit said 21 days!
Boy, the stuff I’m working out of you—keep going! Don’t look at nobody else; do what I ask you to do. Why am I saying that? Because God was trying to develop something daily on the inside of me that culminated in this word: devotion. What does that mean, Pastor Mike? If you do it daily, every day you do it, it takes away your vote. That’s good! Devote! So every morning, am I going to work out? Do it daily, and you’ll stop voting about it. Am I going to forgive these people? If you do it daily—He even gives specifics in the Bible: 70 times 7 a day! If you forgive daily, you’ll stop voting about it. Too many of us, every time God tells us to do something, we’re voting. Yes, sir, do it daily, and you stop debating. This is your reset! Lasting, godly decisions lead to your destiny.
At some point, you’ve got to stop lying to yourself! Today, God told me, „Reset, Michael! Tell the church this is not a time to think that this is some spiritual activity or religious ritual; this is a moment that is prophetically and spiritually about to reset everything in your household, your mindset, and your perspective.“ I began to think about sounds that help me think about reset, and I thought this would be cool, because there are so many of them. I began to think about—well, I want you to tell me—we’ll play a little game to end. I want you to tell me what’s being reset when you hear this sound, okay? I’m going to play a sound, and then I need y’all to yell at me what this sound represents, what it’s resetting.
All right, play the first sound. What is it? School! Some of y’all just got scared because you were always late, but that sound reset the school day! That sound reset the class period. Okay, tell me what this sound is. I just want to talk about the sound of a reset. Play the next sound, anybody? Some of y’all are too young for this—Microsoft Windows XP! This was the dial-up internet and everything! You know when you heard that it was going to be beautiful. Some of y’all got in trouble after what you looked at when that came on, but all I’m saying is it was the sound of a reset! Play the next one—a sound of a reset! PlayStation! Somebody said PlayStation. That wasn’t PlayStation; what is it? That’s a Mac computer! Somebody was like, „No, I was on Windows. I was on PC!“
I couldn’t get the Mac okay, but if your Mac restarted, that would be the sound of a reset. I think everybody will get this one. Play that last one for me; that’s some of y’all’s favorite sound. What was that one? What was that—Netflix? Yeah, y’all resetting it every night. It asks you in the middle of the night, „Are you still watching?“ Do you know the sound that resets a believer? The sound that resets a believer is prayer. This is what Jesus said: if you want to reset, you pray. Matthew 6:9, Jesus said, „Pray like this: Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be your name. May your kingdom come, and your will be done here on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us, watch this, this day.“
Your prayer life is not a weekly prayer life; He said, „Give us this,“ that means you have to reset in prayer daily. „No, I pray for my food.“ No, no, no, you’re missing it. „No, I prayed for the beginning of the year.“ You’re missing it. He said, „Pray like this: Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us this day for the sins that I’m going to commit. Lead us not into temptation on this day.“ The believer’s sound of a reset is prayer. Why are we doing 21 days of prayer and fasting? Because we’re about to make a sound of a reset in our homes, in this house, and most importantly, in our hearts. All I’m telling you is that when Jesus came, it was the ultimate reset from God. Remember, Adam and Eve messed it up, and God said, „I’m going to have to reset this whole thing.“
Can we just thank God for grace right now? No, no, no, no, y’all don’t know why I’m clapping because God reset it a couple of times without Jesus. Yeah, y’all remember Noah’s Ark and the flood—that was God’s first attempt at a reset. He said, „Kill them all! Wipe them out! Where’s the one man that trusts me?“ He was like, „That didn’t work as well as I thought it would.“ He said, „I’m going to give you the rainbow to let you know I’m never going to reset like that again, but I still have to reset them because sin is separating us, and it’s in secret areas—not the stuff they post on Instagram and Facebook.“
So what am I going to do to reset them? I got it—I’m going to send the ultimate reset; His name is Jesus. If they would receive Jesus at any moment, they can ask, repent, and return to the Father’s house. Some of you today have found yourself in a pigpen in an area of your life, and God’s saying, „You are not too far to reset and come back to the Father’s house.“ I’m not just talking to new believers, and I need everyone to hear me say this: you can be saved and still be in the pigpen in your thinking. You can have walked with God for years and still feel that level of insecurity that got you so hungry for man’s attention, and you’re not obeying God. Today, I’m asking every person under the sound of my voice, whether you work at Transformation Church, are watching online, or are in the app, I want you to ask God, „Reveal to me right now what areas of my life I need to reset with You.“
Most of us have been living our lives on a preset given to us by culture. Living on a preset—if you know anything about games, the worst players are the preset ones, the ones that aren’t custom; they’re the ones they just give you. And God’s saying, „Will you allow me to customize your life so well and bring something that I set just for you?“ The reason I thank God for Jesus is that with one reset, Jesus took a reset from an outdated ritual that included 400 laws to an intimate, real relationship. The reset you need today is not based on what you can bring to God; it’s based on receiving what God has already done for you. Would you stand all over this building? I believe that God is about to take many of us into a place and a season of calling out what He no longer will allow to be a part of our lives.
Listen to me right now; hear me say this: do not fight for what God wants you to get rid of. Hear me say this to you: I need you to listen—do not fight for what God wants you to get rid of. This is not the season to hold on to something that cannot go into the next season. It’s time for a reset. Somebody say, „Reset!“ Hands lifted all over this place.
Father, I pray for my brothers and sisters right now that something that was said in this atmosphere by a man who is obeying Your word will reset so many different areas. I thank You that they didn’t just hear me; they heard You. God, would You begin to illuminate in their hearts and minds the areas, Father God, that You are doing a full reset? All the things that have been glitching and all the things that got downloaded illegitimately, and all the things that we’ve received from the layers of life, Father God, would You give us the power and the strength to actually reset with You? Not just reset because it’s a new year. God, give us the ability to obey You at whatever the cost because Your way is better, and Your plan is sure. You are a strong foundation, and we can build our lives on You. Father, I’m praying for those who have been stuck. Yes, in this atmosphere, in these 21 days of prayer and fasting, in this fresh commitment to reset with You, I thank You, Father, that there will be forward movement in their lives, that You are bringing us from a stuck place to momentum. I declare, Father God, that every area that has been malfunctioning because of spiritual neglect or wrong decisions or just us running off the preset—God, we thank You that You’re transforming it right now. Father, help us take a new grip and be able to be fit for what You have called us to do. Lord, I pray for every person that is discouraged, frustrated, desperate, or even hears Your voice in this revelation. I thank You, Father, that the reset will not be a one-time thing. Give us the stamina to reset daily. Yes, Lord, I’m praying for every person who’s going on this fast with us in the name of Jesus. I thank You, Father God, that right now there is power coming from on high to help us stick to our commitment, Father God, and hear You more than anything else. Thank You for strength, wisdom, power, and I declare, Father God, as many are making a decision to honor You in this way, I thank You that it’s going to lead to honoring You in many other ways. I thank You that transformation is happening in Transformation Church. We won’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but we’re going to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. As we do something different today, God, reset me. Come on, you say that: God, reset me. Come on, this is your prayer: God, reset me. Reset my speech, reset my attitude, reset my eyes—what I allow myself to see. Reset my heart; reset me, Father God, and remind me of my calling. Reset my standards. Reset my seeking, Father, in the areas of my life where I won’t seek You anymore. Today, God, I’m asking You to reset my seeking. I will not go through this year wandering; I’m returning to You, Father.
If you’re in this room right now and you’re one of those people—same attitude, nobody moving—we’re about to go home, but there’s something holy happening right now. If you’re in this room and you feel like the prodigal, you’ve gone away from the Father, and you’re hitting reset on your soul today, you’re saying, „You know what? I’ve been playing out in these streets, doing my thing behind the scenes, and trying to live for myself, but today I want to go back to the Father’s house. I’m sick of this pig slop. I’m sick of having to go to that addiction or that website or that place or that person to get a moment of relief. Today, I want to go to the only well that doesn’t run dry.“
If that’s you and you want to receive Jesus as your reset and personal Lord and Savior—if you’re watching online, incarcerated, or in this room—today is your moment. On the count of three, all I want you to do is lift your hands. I believe there are going to be hundreds of people making a decision for Jesus in a fresh and new way. If you need to rededicate your life—you used to be with the Father, but you’ve walked away from Him, and you’re saying, „On the first Sunday of 2025, I’m going to give You my life for real. I’m going to lay down the things that have been low and that have actually been idols in my life, and I’m putting all of those things under You, God.“
If that’s you, on the count of three, I want you to raise your hand too. One, you’re making the greatest decision of your life. Two, I’m proud of you, but more than that, I see you, my brother; your name is about to be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Hands are going up already. Three! If you shoot your hand up in the air, I see you, I see you, my brother; I see you, my sister. Transformation Church, I see you in the balcony, in the front—no matter the age or ethnicity. Oh, come on, y’all, let’s give God praise for that! There are tons online; there are tons watching on rebroadcast. Listen, at Transformation Church, I want to let you know something—at the beginning of this year, we’re a family; nobody prays alone. We’re going to pray this prayer together for the benefit of those coming to Christ. Would everybody just say:
Lord, thank You for sending Jesus as my reset. Today, I give You my life. I repent from everything I’ve done back there. I say goodbye to yesterday; today is a new day. Use me, renew me, transform me; I’m Yours. In Jesus' name, amen.