Michael Todd - Distraction By The Details
The reason I brought this six-foot cutout of the book is that I got the little one over there. I wanted it to be this big because this is a big deal. I have watched Charles labor for a generation to give them language, courage, and encouragement to believe that what God placed inside of you is something that you can do—not because of what you have by yourself, but because before you were formed in your mother’s womb, He chose you. Charles, today, as a church family in this room and all over the world, we want to tell you how proud we are of you. Oh, come on, church! We want to tell you that we believe in this vision, we believe in this message, and this book is going to ignite people all over the world to believe. Help me believe that God chose me! Somebody give God a shout of praise right now! Hey, listen, the one thing we’ve said at this church is that this ministry is going to multiply.
Today, I have no greater honor than to use this platform to sow a seed of influence into somebody who has sown so much into this ministry, both behind the scenes and in front of the scenes. As your pastor, I wrote the foreword to this book, and I have read this content and, more importantly, seen him live it out. This book is going to transform people’s lives. So, I want you to do two things: we are going to take that big six-foot cutout outside today, and I want everyone who believes that God will use that book to transform lives to take a Sharpie and sign it. We will give that to Pastor Charles to let him know we are with him. Amen!
Then, I want you to do one other thing: I want you to go to your favorite store’s website. Yeah, because you’ve been there; it’s already up! You don’t even have to scroll back—just check Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Walmart, and I want you to pre-order this book today. Some of you at home right now, watching online, can do it right now. I’m giving you permission! The reason I want to do this is that I want to make sure the world knows that Transformation Church is not built around one person. Everybody thinks it’s about one person, but what we are raising up is an army. God doesn’t give me everything; He gives us what we need. I pray one day to open a publishing company. Y’all don’t hear me; I’m speaking it out right now! I’m praying that your story—and what God gave you—while we are doing this first movie continues to come forth until the kingdom takes territory. We are always at the mercy of somebody who doesn’t know our God. Today, Charles, we support you as a church, and we love you! God chose you! Y’all give it up one more time! Glory to God!
Alright, I did all my announcements right; I said everything I’m supposed to say. Am I good to go? Alright, it’s time to preach! Get out your notepads, phones, and iPads. This one you’re going to want to take a lot of notes on because I only have two more weeks left in this series. I have this week and next week, making a total of eight weeks where we’ve talked about eliminating distractions. It’s going to be eight weeks of God specifically talking to us through His word and telling us to do one thing: focus. Help me say it: Focus! How many people, since we started this series, have found areas in your life where it’s been hard to focus? Come on, multiple areas—let me see those hands! Uh-huh, she said two hands! Anytime God gives a prophetic word for you to do something, it’s because He sees the future. Yes, He does! Some of us are entering new seasons where God is requiring another level of devotion from us. What that means is we are going to have to eliminate distractions and focus on Him.
Today, I’m going to read Hebrews 12:1-2, which is our scripture of the year. I pray that every time I read this scripture, something illuminates in your heart and becomes revelation for you. As I begin to unfold what God is saying to us today, I want to pray that the eyes of your understanding be enlightened. I want to pray that you don’t just hear me; you hear Him. I want to pray that you don’t think this is just a sermon for 35 to 40 minutes, but rather a blueprint for how you are supposed to live this week. Can we pray?
Father, I thank you that you are here in this place and with every person listening, whether they’re on rebroadcast, podcast, or in the room. Today, Father, we ask you to speak. It is my words audibly, but your words spiritually, and I thank you for reaching the souls of your people. Speak, Lord; your sons and daughters are listening. I thank you for the Holy Spirit in this room, giving cliff notes to each person’s life individually. I thank you that it’s not just me speaking; you are speaking to them right now. So, illuminate, correct, encourage, comfort, and be who you’ve always been. Tag team back again, in Jesus' name we agree. Amen!
Hebrews 12:1-2 says, «Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders us or slows us down, especially the sin that so easily entangles us.» I want to stop here. Weights can trip you up, and sin can trip you up. I want to be very clear that the only reason you’re tripping is not always sin. Sometimes you’re tripping over things that were not meant for you to carry in this season. So, I just want to be clear: not everything is the devil’s doing; some of it is your willingness—or unwillingness—to let go of old baggage. The weight you are under may be manufactured; you might have picked it up thinking it was fashionable for your next season, but it’s the very thing that will keep you from what God has for you. I don’t know who needed to hear that, but some of you need to drop these bags off! It says, «And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.»
Somebody say, «I got a race, and I’m going to run it!» How are you going to run it? Fixing our eyes—somebody say, «Focus!"—focus on Jesus! Fix your eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of my faith. For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Write this point down: fixing your eyes on Jesus gives you the faith to focus. What does Jesus say about money? What does Jesus say about relationships? What does Jesus say about anger? What does Jesus say about forgiveness? Not what did your great uncle Bobo say about forgiveness. There are so many times we use our cultural teaching as a blueprint, our family line, or the way we were raised, and we substitute it for what God’s word says.
Today, I’m asking everyone to elevate the words of Jesus above whatever you have believed, been taught, or have said. This is just me, because until you do that, there will be something in your life that is very easily distracted. Okay? So today, I was torn about what to call this message because I wanted to call it «Distracted by the Detour.» How many people have ever been on a detour in your life? One that you chose? Come on, somebody’s like, «I didn’t choose it!» And one that was presented to you? How many people in this room like detours? What happens to your attitude when detours become your reality? Come on! Does anybody say, «Oh my God, a detour, feels great! Excited about it!»
Don’t worry; I’ll be 30 minutes late; I caught a detour! Most of us let the detour eat us alive because you just got out of the house in just enough time to catch two green lights. Y’all know you be praying: if I catch that 51st light, and then I’ll turn around to the coffee shop and go the back way. You have planned precisely, but the moment there’s a detour, something happens to our attitude. When we hit a detour, many times, the detour becomes the distraction to our destination. Think about it: how many times have we been going somewhere, and by the time you get there, you’re mad and don’t even want to be there? Okay, y’all are going to leave me out here by myself! Headed somewhere took you the wrong way—the long way. If you miss one turn in DFW, just go home! Whoever designed Dallas and Fort Worth was just—has anyone been here? You know what I’m talking about! Where are we going?
What ends up happening is the detour exposes something inside of us, usually leading us to a distraction that makes us forfeit something at our destiny. So, you went to meet somebody, but now your attitude’s all out of whack, so the meeting that was supposed to be about collaboration is messed up because the detour took away your joy. What I’ve found about God, through reading scriptures, is that God likes detours. I have too many examples in the Word where God straight-up tells people, «This isn’t the easiest way to go.» Yeah, I’m purposely taking you on a detour. I’ll let you know them, but that won’t be the connection that gets you there. Yeah, you grew up with them, but that isn’t the source because if I do it like that, you won’t even be ready to handle what’s over there, and you’ll think that it was your association that got you there instead of the anointing.
So, what I’m going to do is take you on a detour. Now, how does your attitude look when God takes you on a detour? For most of us, it looks frustrated, pouting, mad, and complaining. Come on, let’s be honest here! «I was supposed to be married by now! I was supposed to be living in that neighborhood!» And every time you pass that neighborhood, you’re looking at those people in the gated community like—come on! You can’t even celebrate when other people are winning because the detour has sent you into a place of doubt. Maybe God forgot about you; maybe He didn’t speak to you, didn’t deliver you, and didn’t bring you into it. «Why am I still on this road when I can’t even see where I’m supposed to be?» You ever been on one of those service roads where they are doing construction? «I was supposed to be over there today.»
I would like to introduce you to the concept that the detour might be designed. I would like you to consider taking a different perspective on how you approach a detour—not one that was given by your foolishness. Yeah, all detours aren’t made the same. Some of your detours are simply because you acted foolishly. Y’all ever been in a relationship you knew was foolish from the start? You knew when you typed out his name in your phone this was a detour; you should have labeled him as «Detour.» Have you ever started a business or accepted a job you knew wasn’t right? Not all detours are the same, but I am saying there are some detours in which you’re following God, listening to His voice, and He still decides to lead you on a journey outside of what you thought you deserved. See, the problem is that you don’t think you deserve the detour.
Somehow, you thought because you give, because you tithe, and because you read your Word, God’s always going to take you the easy route. But when He takes you the easy route, you end up at the place—that’s underdeveloped. The reason most Christians are deconstructing their faith, and why they can fall for anyone who bats their eyes at them, is because they were underdeveloped. Most of the things that distract us are not because they are available, but because our character is not strong enough to withstand them. So, God often takes us on detours to develop us. Okay, y’all are looking at me crazy—write it down! Many times, the detour is part of God’s divine design. I’m going to prove it to you with an Old Testament story of the children of Israel, God’s chosen people. You’re talking about the first people God chose. God said, «This is going to be my people.» But because of their disobedience, they were put into 400 years of slavery because they were being foolish.
Now, I just want to let you know that God sometimes allows your ignorance to be the thing that puts you in captivity. Nobody wants to hear this, but you keep playing with the things He told you were distractions. What He does is say, «All right, I’ve had My hand protecting you this whole time. You don’t want Me to be your God; you don’t want to listen to what’s happening. I’m not making it happen to you; I’ve been holding it back the whole time. But if this is what you want, I’m still here. I never leave you or forsake you; you can still call out to Me and I will hear you, but I’m not blocking consequences when you continue to make that your God.»
Okay, Exodus 13, verse 17: these people were slaves for 400 years. Moses comes as a deliverer when Pharaoh finally lets the people go. God—who did it? I said, who did it? God! God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, «Watch this, this is the reason. If the people went the shortest route, the easiest route, the route with the least resistance, and they faced a battle, they might change their minds and return back to what I delivered them from.» The reason why God is taking you the unconventional way is to build something in you that will be concrete. He said, «Because if I don’t do it this way, you’re going to return to the thing that you prayed for deliverance from.»
So, write this point down: when God’s not in it, the shortcut is short-lived. I want you to realize that these people were led by God—by who? Come on, y’all need to talk back to me—by who? They were led by God a long way. When God is not leading you, the shortcut is short-lived. Pastor Mike, what are you saying? There was a battle either way; it was either going to be mental and emotional following God’s way, or it was going to be with the Philistines. If you take the short way, you’re probably going to die; take the long way, you’re going to have to kill your flesh. Okay, I’ll say it again because some of y’all missed it. If I take you the short way, that route is probably going to kill you. If I take you the long way, you’re going to have to continue to kill your flesh.
God’s in one route, and God’s not in the other one. Choose! The truth of the matter is, if we really look at it, the long way was protection. I just want you to think about your situation right now. «Well, I’ve been doing this for 14 years, and by now, somebody should be recognizing my greatness. I know God told me to do this and that, and I know He said it, but maybe He didn’t. By my calculations, He should’ve…» What you don’t know is that six years ago, if you had taken the short way, something would have happened to rob you of your confidence. This is the thing about walking by faith: you know what you get to see, but you don’t know what you avoid. If we could all see what we avoided by trusting God, most of us would have a different attitude about this journey. But this is why it’s called walking by faith, because He says go this way, and you’re complaining about something you don’t know. It’s World War crazy over here! Okay, verse 18: so God led them, oh my God, the roundabout way. He did the Dallas-Fort Worth highway on these people.
So God led them the George W. Bush way through the Wilderness toward the Red Sea. Why would You even lead me toward something I can’t even cross? You’re leading me toward something by my own standards. Why are You doing these loop-de-loops with me, God? Why was I the manager, then the worker, then the supervisor, and then unemployed? Now You want me to be an entrepreneur, but then You want me to give my time away, and then You want me to serve the church. What’s this loop-de-loop You keep doing to me? He said, thus the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle. Write this point down; this really resonated in my heart as God gave it to me: God’s love takes us the long way. It’s His love that takes us the long way. It’s His love for us that makes us actually have to go to counseling and talk about the things that happened to us when we were four years old.
«Well, I’m 40; it doesn’t matter anymore!» That four-year-old still comes out every day, right? The one that wasn’t heard; that’s why your kids can’t get a word in, because you never got to talk. So you’re going to make sure you use up all the words, which is now perpetuating a generational pattern. They’re going to be somewhere saying, «My mama never let me talk,» and then it’s going to be the same thing. And God is saying, «Let Me take you the long way. Come on over here; let Me help you go back and grab some things, deal with some things, and take some things away.» Would one of y’all couples try to go on a honeymoon after this? I know, I know. Oh really? Everybody’s trying to go on a honeymoon after this? What are y’all’s names right there in the back? Yeah, what are y’all’s names? Kevin and Mary? K and Kevin? Okay, y’all stand up for me.
All right, listen. I want you to come to the stage, but I just need you to trust me and listen to what I’m saying, okay? So, I want you to come this way, and the stairs to the stage are over here, but actually, I want you to go right here, and yeah, come on, yeah, walk with some urgency. Your shoes are nice. Then hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, wait, wait. I know it would be easy to go this way, but could you just go up the stairs right there? Could you just, yeah, just go up the stairs now? Help her up. Now, she’s in a beautiful dress; help her up. Okay, yeah, just go up the stairs. Everybody’s watching you too.
All right, y’all, stop, y’all stop, stop, stop. Will y’all come back down the stairs? Yeah, that didn’t make sense. Does somebody have something for them right there? Does no one have something for them? Oh, you have something for them right there? Yeah, what does that say? That says $100? Okay, cool, cool, cool, cool. Yeah, keep walking down here. I want you to come to the platform. What I desire for you to do is come to the platform, but I just need you to trust me. Come back toward your seat; come back towards your seat. I know everybody’s looking at y’all; y’all know that, right? Hey, hey, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop! Don’t go back to your seat. Look at him; he said, «Woman, stop!» Y’all got to see a good man. He said, «Woman, stop.»
I think there’s a point to this message. Would y’all just kind of walk this way and walk close to these people right here? Yeah, and yeah, yeah, now just go. Go towards the back. Go, woman! Hey, hey, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop! I think somebody has something for you right there. Yeah, now walk. What does that say? Another $100? Okay, now walk, walk, walk down there by the robotic camera over there. I just want to inform y’all, everybody’s watching y’all. Make a left at the woman with the jean jacket. Yeah, just make a left. Come on. Yeah, the goal is to get to the promised land of this platform, and it doesn’t make sense that they’re way back there. Hey, y’all, stop! Could y’all grab each other and do a little dance right there? Hey, hey, hey, hey, that’s beautiful. All right, stop, stop. I think somebody has something for you right there. You got something for them real quick?
Yeah, see, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on! At every stop, yeah, yeah, yeah, there’s provision at every moment you obey God. There’s something you didn’t even know was there, waiting. Would y’all come back the way y’all already came? And some of y’all are like, «Dang, this is a long example.» Your life is long too. We’re three minutes in and you’re 35 years in not obeying God. Yeah, come on, they’re ready! Hey, listen, they’re ready to stop anytime they like. They’re prancing up here. Come this way, come this way, come this way, come this way. I want you to come to the platform. The reason I did this whole thing is because I needed them to be an example of what I believe God wants to do in our life. He wants us to trust Him! Yeah, yeah, come on up here. He wants us to trust Him, and when you trust Him, He blesses you on the way. But then there’s a promise that’s worth everything you went through that He’s ready to give to you. But this is the thing: what did you have to do?
Listen, all you had to do was obey. Listen and obey. There was no other requirement of them than to listen and obey. Yes, it was roundabout. Yes, I could have gone from there to there, but what would have happened is they wouldn’t have gained the faith to trust that at every stop, God was going to provide. I’m just believing that this was a prophetic sign for y’all’s life, y’all’s marriage, what God’s going to do in you and through you. Church, I need you to give God some praise right now! Every stop of the way—listen and obey! I love y’all so much; God bless you! All right, all right, all right! That’s a beautiful example! Will you live it? 'Cause it was God’s love that took the children of Israel the long way.
And see, many of us, we want full disclosure; we want to know all the things we need to do and should do, and God wants—watch this—full devotion. You want full disclosure; God wants full devotion. I want to know all the details; God says I want you to trust me! I need to know what happens next; God says I need you to keep stepping without instructions. I’m trying to give y’all the formula, because the Christian life becomes a disaster for people who have to have all of the details. And that’s why I couldn’t name the message, «The Distraction of the Detour.» God said, «The problem, Michael, is the details.» Very good! He said, «'Cause when God takes you the long way, it frustrates you, so you start asking questions. And when you start asking questions, you start asking about details that you don’t even need to know.
And because you start asking questions about details you don’t need to know, you think you have the right to stop obeying, or stop moving, or stop moving forward because you haven’t got the answers you wanted yet.» And this is where many people under the sound of my voice are today: they are distracted by the details. This is what happened to the children of Israel. God delivers them from 400 years of slavery. Their great-great-great-greats were in the same position. God sends Moses and Aaron; they get delivered. He literally walks two million people through dry land of an ocean. This mug split open—whales on this side, octopuses on this side—and they’re walking through, two by two. And then they get out of this place—it’s the long way.
And instead of rejoicing, «Oh my goodness! I don’t have to be in slavery anymore! I’m not addicted to that anymore! I’m not chained by that anymore!» what did they start doing? «I mean, if God was going to deliver us, couldn’t He have done it a different way? If God was going to, you know what I’m saying, take us out of where we were, it could have felt like an upgrade.» You know, like, «Is this what y’all were expecting? Was this what y’all were expecting? 'Cause I was expecting!» He had already promised them the Promised Land, but He was trying to get something out of them and get something into them. I’m not talking about a fictional story; I’m saying that anybody that’s in a detour right now, the reason God puts you in a detour is so that He can develop something and delete something. And many of us are fighting what God wants to develop and delete.
The reason He does this is because He knows the version of you that you are right now cannot sustain in the promised land. So He said, «I got to develop this in you; I got to delete this.» And how does God always start that? With a disruption! Many of you are praying that your life stays comfortable, and when God disrupts you, you act like everything’s going wrong. Some of y’all should start shouting when disruptions happen because it’s like, «Oh shoot! God is about to take away something I don’t need for the Promised Land, and He’s about to give me something I do need for the Promised Land!»
That breakup, oh shoot! He disrupted my plan; that means that God’s going to take away these negative thoughts and habits that I have and give me the people that I do need! Y’all missed it! I’m going to start calling y’all the children of Israel! For the children of Israel, He was trying to disrupt the depression that they were in; He was trying to develop their dependence on God, and He was trying to delete the mindset of depravity and despair. What do you look like going into a land flowing with milk and honey but still having a poverty mindset? God said, «Y’all would turn the blessing into a reason to kill each other, so I got to develop this poor, broken mentality out of you, 'cause I’m sending you to a land that flows, and I need you to develop generosity, and I need you to develop character, and I need you to learn how to tell the truth, and I need you to know how to follow my instructions.»
That’s why God took us the long way, but what happened to the children of Israel? They got caught up in the details! And I wish I could have just gone and told all of them before the Promised Land: there’s always a process! Whatever you’re believing God for, there will always be a process before the Promised Land! And some of y’all are like, «Okay, I know that; hear what I’m saying to you.» So why are you so distracted by the details? Why did you stop writing the book? Because you don’t have a publisher? He told you to write the book; He didn’t tell you how it was going to come out! Okay, He didn’t tell you who was going to fund it; He told you to write it! We don’t have nothing to fund yet! Come on! Some of y’all be so bent on how it’s going to happen, and you ain’t even done the thing you can do! «Well, I know I’m supposed to open a restaurant.»
You don’t even cook for your kids! What I’m telling you—okay, let me, let me… All I’m saying, all I’m saying, is you don’t even practice no more! Y’all get what I’m saying? Like, they’re going to judge me when I’m a fitness influencer? Baby, we got some years to go! Did you… okay, let me stay on. But how many times has God said something, and then we—watch this—use a detail as an excuse to disobey? We use a detail—not that He just delivered us, not that we just walked through a sea, not that Granny Momo made it to… we didn’t know she could walk that far, she made it! Y’all, all the things we could focus on, you know what they focused on? «It’s dry out here! Why so dry? Is anybody else thirsty? Anybody parched?»
My question to everybody, I want you to write this down; I really want you to think about it: how many details do you need to obey God? The truth of the matter is when I research this in my own heart—and I’m not saying this about you—but there is no amount of details that God would give me that would change my position! It would just give me more reasons to focus on more details! If God would have told me when Bishop handed me the keys to this church that there would be a year that people would make up stories about me and use the intention of me just trying to help people to turn me into somebody that people said I wasn’t even fit to be a father, and people writing all these other things, and now I’m a false prophet, now I just found out I’m a part of the Illuminati! I like, I… y’all dare some wild stuff out here! Like, I missed that email!
But all I’m saying is, if God would have given me the detail of the roundabout way He was going to work out some of my vain ambition, the movie couldn’t have come before the wilderness! Yo, I don’t—I’m talking about real life right now! He had to do that so that I understood the weight of the moment that I was standing in! When everybody’s saying, «Oh my gosh, you get to do this!» I said, «I know what that means, and I know what that costs! I know how many times I had to pray! I know that I’ve been leaning…»
The old folks would have said, «Leaning on the everlasting love!» It was His love that took me the long way! It was the preservation of my marriage! It was what I needed for my kids! He took me the long way 'cause He loved me! Somebody’s got to hear me! He took me that; He didn’t give it to me when I thought I needed it and I wanted it because He loved me! And it’s only in hindsight that you can see the love of God when He doesn’t give you what you want when you ask for it. Good! The truth is many of us are disobedient because of a detail! What are you waiting on God to tell you He’s going to do when He’s already given you promised land? He’s already given you promised land instructions, and you’re still waiting on the detail!
The reason why this is important is because it cost the children of Israel their literal lives! 'Cause they would not get past complaining about the details! I’m going to just show you a few of them because many of us, um, we’re distracted by the detail of—watch this—drought! You might be in this room under the sound of my voice, and you are distracted by the detail of drought! What do you mean, Pastor Mike? «It ain’t flowing like I thought it was going to be flowing!» Oh, I don’t know about you, but there are seasons you walk—in this going to be the best year of my life—and you’re like, «Hold on! Where is everything? Where is everybody? Where’s the money? Where’s the love? Where’s common sense? Where is anything? Where is it?»
And I found out that seasons of drought expose where you point and focus as the source! Okay? The children of Israel were thirsty; they were parched, and there was a drought. God had already delivered them. Exodus 15:22 says, «Then Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea, and they moved out into the desert of Shur.» They traveled in the desert for three days without finding any water, so it’s been three days of no water. When they came to the oasis of Mara, the water was too bitter to drink. They found water, but it wasn’t good enough for them to drink, so they called the place Mara, which means bitter. They named the place for what they had experienced, so they were already summing up what God was going to do there. Be careful not to label what God is still working on. I need you to hear me say this: «This is where I’ll never be.»
I can’t get it in Tulsa. I’m moving from this seat. I’m in this, and we start labeling seasons that are still in process. Verse 24: Then, because they labeled the season, their words had to follow. After you label a season, your words don’t get positive about that season. Look what they started doing: Then the people complained and turned against Moses, the very person who delivered them from Pharaoh, because they were thirsty during a drought. They started turning away from leaders who had saved them in different seasons. «What are we going to drink?» they demanded. So Moses cried out to the Lord for help: «Help, Lord! These people are thirsty; their breath stinks, they’re complaining.»
The Lord showed Moses a piece of wood, and Moses threw it into the water, which made the water good to drink. Be careful that you don’t turn against your leaders during the time when you still need them to lead, because Moses is better than many of us. I just want to say there are times when you might think, «Well, I guess we’re all about to starve, and we’re not going to have any water, and we’re all going to die thirsty.» But he still had the presence of mind. Listen to me, leaders: even when people turn against you, even when your kids turn against you, even when your family or team turns against you, go to God on their behalf, because there’s an instruction God can give you that may seem crazy but will provide a quenching thirst for those who follow you.
Those people got so happy and started drinking, but it didn’t stop the fact that they were complaining. The detail is that they didn’t know how they were going to get water. Now it didn’t just stop there; they also got distracted, like we get distracted. Watch this: by the detail of desire. Now, science tells us that we need water, but the truth is you can go a long time without eating and still live. These people right here started getting hungry for the things they used to have; their desires were starting to take over.
Look at Exodus 16:2: «The whole community of Israel complained about Moses and Aaron.» Can I just stop and say this? When you are distracted by the details, the dialogue is always complaining. This is a way for you to reverse-engineer an area in your life where you’ve been overly concerned about the details. How much do you complain about it? Okay, I’mma leave it alone, but some of y’all complain all the time about situations that God has sent his grace to sustain you through. Maybe we need to shift our focus to something we can be grateful for, because complaining is the language of people obsessed with details they can’t control, which will lead to their ultimate demise.
Oh God, it says, «If only the Lord would have killed us back in Egypt.» Whoa, hold on, wait a minute! Now you think that your desire for this, or your hunger, or your appetite for this being fulfilled is worth more than living? They moaned and groaned, «There we sat around pots filled with meat. We were slaves and ate all the bread.» You’re a slave, we want it. You’re a slave! But now you have brought us into freedom, into the wilderness, in freedom to starve us to death. Who said that? Do you see how many stories we make up when our desires become our distractions? God left us; we should have died back there. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And this is the crazy thing about it: your desires will have you romanticizing a bad past. Did y’all see how these people started to romanticize? «At least back then, I know we were beaten every day, and I know our hands were calloused, and I know our children were taken and raped and all this other stuff, but at least we had pots of meat.»
Or don’t act like you’ve never done that in a relationship: «I know he was abusive and I know he didn’t talk to me right, but at least I had somebody who cared about me.» God moves you into a brand-new season. «I mean, I know they weren’t the best friends; I know they weren’t the best people to be around, but at least they were around.» No, no, no! «I know he was there when I cheated on my wife, and he covered it up for me, and I know that we—» You know what I’m saying, but at least… Stop romanticizing seasons that kept you in bondage. This little detail that you don’t know right now has you romanticizing wanting to go back to being dead. You’ve got to give up the details! Then God provided for them. He said, «I’m going to provide quail and manna every day.»
Verse 4, I’ll just read it to you: «Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. I’m going to bring food from a place that you’ve never seen it come from before. I’m going to provide sustenance from a place you’ve never seen it before. He said, „Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day.“ Isn’t it like God that when he could give you the portion for the week, he still only gives you the portion for the day? That’s why in the Lord’s Prayer it says, „Give us this day our daily bread.“ Why? Because he’s trying to develop devotion! He wants them to come to him daily, the same way God wants you to come to him daily.
That’s why he gives you the answers you need today, but he says don’t worry about tomorrow 'cause we’re going to talk tomorrow! Right? No, no, no! This is not just for today, for the month, or for the week, or the year. We’re going to talk tomorrow! Right? My wife doesn’t have to give me the plan for the whole week, as long as we keep talking. He says, „Get as much as you need today.“ I will test them—oh, in this—to see whether or not, oh, God’s a tester. I thought it said in the Bible he will not test or tempt you more than you can—Y’all need to read the Bible! That’s talking about temptation. And he said those things come from the inside anyway. He said, „I will test you. I will see if you will obey my instructions.“
That’s the detail you should be worried about. He’s testing them to see whether they will follow my instruction on the sixth day. 'Cause the Lord honored the Sabbath, they will gather food; and when they prepare— I love that God never violates any of his laws to provide for us, 'cause he didn’t work on the Sabbath. So he said on the sixth day, „I will make twice as much so they can have for the next day.“ But that’s the only day I’mma add the extra provision, 'cause I’m a God of details. The reason you don’t have to worry about the details is because God is a God of details. How many places in the Word does God say, „I know the number of hairs on your head“? You’re trying to hold on to 46 of them right here, and God says it’s 43. You understand what I’m saying?
Like, he’s the God, so why, as children, are we worried about details? Watch this: We can’t change. If he told them, „I’mma feed you every day,“ they would be like, „Well, what are you feeding us?“ How do you know? 'Cause if you read in there, they named it manna. They had a very real problem with naming their stuff based on their attitude. Do you know what manna means? „What is it?“ God rained down provision from heaven, and their response was not, „Thank you.“ „What is this?“ Have you ever had God provide, and you didn’t really like the way he did it, so then you were like, „What is this?“ But the truth is most of us are worried about the wrong details.
Ava, come here real quick. Come here, my baby. This is my daughter Ava, and I asked her to do this before service. I asked her if she had a couple of questions for her daddy, and so I need Ava to come up here, and she’s going to ask me some questions. Y’all give it up for Ava as she comes real quick. Okay, come here, my baby. Okay, all right, baby! Now, Ava had a few questions for her daddy, and I want you to just say them into the mic. Yeah, you can read the card. I hope that I can answer your questions just right here, babe. „Dad, what—“ Hold on, just really—turn her up. „Dad, what is the interest rate on your house?“ You ask me, „What’s the interest rate on our house?“
Now, I love the question, and I thank God you’re inquisitive, but that’s a detail that is not for my daughter. That’s a detail that me and her mother have already taken care of. What does it look like for my seven-year-old to be asking me about the interest rate on our home when there’s nothing that she can do? Do you understand what I’m saying? „Don’t worry about it; I got it.“ Just ask me the next question! „Dad, Dad, have you factored in gratuity for our family vacation?“ Have I factored in gratuity for our family vacation? What an intelligent question that has nothing to do with your satisfaction on our vacation! She would be robbed of the joy of the experience that me and her mother provided for her if she is worried about the detail of the gratuity for our family vacation. Some of y’all—it’s the tip! Y’all looking up right now: „Gratuity—how do I—is it an R?“ Or you—it’s the tip!
Ask me your last question, baby. „When it is time for me to get married, will you have enough money to pay for my wedding dress?“ That’s a valid question. Depending on how this movie does, we’ll see! No, just play. Hear me! Watch this, though: She’s never dated before. Why is she worried about the detail of a dress when she has a father that has provided everything she’s ever needed up until this point? What I’m trying to get you to understand—can we give it up for Ava right now? You did a great job, baby! What I’m trying to get someone to understand is that it doesn’t make sense for us to be worried about details. Our Father, who is detailed, has already prepared and worked it out. How do you know this, Pastor Mike? Because God told him, „I’m taking you the long way so I can get you to the promised land.“ He’s so good that he gave them the end!
And that’s why we have to look at Matthew 7:25. Everybody go here—Matthew 7:25. It literally says: „That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life, whether you have enough food and drink or enough clothes to wear.“ Isn’t life more than food? For some of y’all, y’all can’t even answer that question. And your body more than clothing? Let me give you an eternal side: Look up in the air and look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Somebody’s spirit needs to hear this: Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for— I like to say, his masterpiece, his workmanship.
Why do you have so little faith? Why do you think God doesn’t care about the details of your life? Why do you think that he’s skipping you over instead of refining you? He said, „So don’t worry about all these things, saying, 'What will I eat? What will I drink? What will I wear? '“ And y’all know these are just examples of details! I don’t want you to be like, „Eat, drink!“ No, no, no! It’s like, „Where will I work? What city will I live in? Am I going on vacation? How do I look today?“ Who’s going to like my post? He said, „Don’t worry about these.“ Why? Because as believers, these things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers. But your heavenly Father, he’s detailed and already knows what you need today. Guys, I just felt that. There were so many of us who have been waiting for God to do something else before we obey Him because we want more details.
„If you just tell me, I’ll do it,“ but God said, „If you just do it, I’ll tell you.“ I’m telling you, who do you think is going to win this? Some of you have been at a stalemate for decades. „God, if you just confirm it again that I’m called.“ I already told you! You want a prophet or an apostle—somebody who doesn’t know you—to come and say, „Thus says the Lord, I have called you from the foundation.“ Yes, that could happen, but then when I did it, you still didn’t obey. You’ve received prophetic words, and you’ve had prophets tell you, „Man, there’s something different about you. I don’t know what it is, but when I hear you talk, there’s a glow.“ What other detail do you need? The children of Israel were distracted by the detail of drought; they were distracted by the detail of their desires. And this is a big one, y’all: they were distracted by the detail of the date. They thought God was going to do it quickly, and it was supposed to be 11 days, but because of their disobedience, their disobedience kept dragging out the deliverance.
That’s what disobedience does—it drags out the deliverance. Have you ever been somewhere where you know it takes a certain amount of time to do something, and then you get distracted or have to pause it? You told someone you were going to be there at a certain time, but this thing takes a certain amount of time. You can’t rush how much time it takes. They were so disobedient that when Moses went up to the mountain to get divine instructions, he said, „All right, everybody, time out. Y’all just take a break. I’m going to hear from God and figure out what we are supposed to do to get into the Promised Land.“ Yes, you all did the water thing and complained twice, and then God brought water from rocks. He did all kinds of miracles, huh? Miracles! Yet you’re still complaining. Then He sent quail and manna from heaven, and you complained about that.
I was wondering, „What is this?“ But He was still good. I had to pray a few times that He wouldn’t go off on you. But I’m going up here now. You have to read the whole thing. I’m going to go up here now and hear from God. I’m going to get, watch this, divine details. I don’t want you to think God is against details. He will give you divine details, watch this, when you need them. The only reason you need a detail is that God thinks it’s important for you to get to your destiny. So He said, „I’m going to give you these Ten Commandments. Come up here with me, and I’m going to talk to them. Everybody chill out.“ Watch what happens! Exodus 32:1—the title of this is „The Golden Calf.“
When the people, watch this, saw how long it was taking Moses to talk to God and come back down the mountain… I don’t know how many of you trek up mountains and come down them; that might take some time. They gathered around Aaron and said, „Come on, make us some gods who can lead us, because we’re tired of waiting. We don’t know what happened to that fellow Moses.“ The fellow Moses? I mean, y’all literally took him from the leader to saying, „We don’t know what happened to that fellow Moses.“ But that’s what happens when you allow the date to become a distraction; you start looking at people who helped lead you through seasons and who gave you wisdom at the moment you needed it. But now, because they haven’t been as close—maybe they were doing something to get a word from God or trying to do what God told them to do—now when they come back in, it’s like, „Who are you?“
I’m the same one who helped you! So what did these people do? They were so distracted by the date that they started building other gods. And some of us have done that; we got distracted by the detail of a date. We thought God wasn’t coming to do anything in our lives, so we started making other things our focus. We built them; we used all our resources, gifts, and talents, and we built gods. Some of your businesses are gods you’ve built. I’m not saying they’re not lucrative; I’m just asking if that’s what God told you to build. Some of our families have become idols—not that God didn’t want you to have family; it’s His plan for humanity—but you won’t even honor God and tell your kids about Jesus. Some of us won’t even make our kids come to church.
„Well, Billy didn’t want to come.“ Oh, excuse me! I know we all parent differently, but you wouldn’t say that to them about school! I’ll witness that most things I learned from the sixth grade to my six months at TCC, I don’t use. But the things that I learned about who God was, what He’s trying to do in my life, and His plan for humanity are important. These people were distracted, and ultimately, the last one is they were distracted by the detail of delivery. They didn’t like how God was delivering them to the Promised Land, so they decided to complain about every detail they could not control and curated their own demise. The reason I felt it was important to say this is that in the year that God’s telling us all to focus, it would be very easy for us to take a position of entitlement and be mad at God for the way He chooses to deliver us.
„Why did He bring me to Tulsa? Why did I have to give up… I mean, we do have five kids together, but what I’m saying is deeper than the paper.“ No, I’m just saying, I really have to give up this substance I hidden so well nobody even knows. I can function, and this hasn’t changed my relationship with God, but sometimes I just need a little escape. God is saying, „I’m choosing to deliver you in a way that will take you to the Promised Land.“ Ready? And these people, unfortunately, never get to see what God had already prepared for them because they were distracted by the details. Numbers 14:23—this is God speaking: „They shall not see the land which I swore to their fathers; neither shall any of those who rejected me see it.“
What are you seeing, Pastor Mike? When you are distracted by the details, God has to find another generation. I’m telling everybody here today that there are instructions God has given you that you do not need to know all the details to obey. Today, I feel like this is your launching pad into destiny. You have an example of a group of people that God loved but would not change their ways, so that you can see that it’s not your detail to worry about. So, Pastor Mike, what do I do? I want you to trade all of your need, your desire for details, for three things. What can I trade my desire for details for?
Number one: devotion. What would have happened if every time they started complaining, they’d said, „Never mind! He just delivered us through a whole bunch of water!“ „Well, I don’t like it.“ You know what? Never mind! This time last week I was getting beat upside the head. No, I’m just being practical. You know what? Never mind; I’m taking my vote away. If He got me this far, He must have a plan for where I’m going.
Number two: What can I trade my desire for details for? Discipline. Sometimes the greatest thing you can do is keep stepping. I don’t know what He’s doing, but I’m going to keep walking. The discipline to stay on the path, the discipline to keep going. „Where’s the money coming from?“ I don’t know, but I’m going to work today, and I’m going to have a good attitude. I’m not going to take it out on everybody else. I’m going to represent Jesus today and keep walking. I don’t know where the team is coming from; I don’t know how it’s going to happen. I have no clue who’s going to be with me at the end of this, but I’m disciplined to keep doing the same things that have gotten me to this point. I don’t have to have details to keep walking.
I would love to know if I’m going up a mountain or going into a valley, but you know what? If I keep stepping, I’m going to have to step down, and I’ll step up. At the end of the day, if I just keep doing the same thing—the word disciple means „disciplined one.“ The last thing you can do—and I want you to see yourself doing this all this week if you have a desire to have all the details—is trade it for delight. I don’t need the details because I have a God handling them. Oh man, how good does it feel to want to know but not have to? God, thank you for helping me just trust you! Right now, I could be worried, but God, I thank you that I can delight in you, that You’ll stand with me, You’ll stand for me, and You have my best and highest purpose in mind. Psalms 34:4— this is where we end: „Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.“
Standing all over this room, the beautiful thing about this scripture and these scriptures—and I need everybody to listen to this last part—is that all of the things you have a desire for, all the things the children of Israel wanted—they wanted to know the details in the drought, and they really just wanted water. See, this was a type and shadow of Jesus coming to the Earth and answering all of our questions. I remember there was another woman who was thirsty, and she was at a well. Jesus said, „If you take a drink of Me, I will give you water, and it will never run dry.“ He saw those people in the children of Israel just like all of us. Their desires would lead them; they had an appetite. And Jesus tells us in the New Testament, „Don’t worry about that because I am the bread of life.“ To people who were worried about the date, He said, „Don’t worry about that because when I come back, nobody will know the time or the hour.“ He said, „I’m standing outside all of this.“
People wanted to know how He was going to deliver them, and He said, „Listen, I’ll send Jesus, and I’ll even make Him relate to you,“ because when He was in the garden, He didn’t like the way He was being delivered either. This is why we praise Jesus, because He is the one who has identified with all of our human emotions. He literally says to the Father, „If there’s any other way, let this cup pass. I don’t want to do it like this, but nevertheless, not my will, but Yours be done.“ Today, the answer is for us to focus on Jesus. If you’re in this room and know there have been things God is calling you to do, but you’ve allowed the details to be excuses or you’ve allowed the details to make you disobedient, I just need you to lift your hand today. I feel like I’ve got to pray for you.
Yeah, okay, I’m in the right room. Put your hands down because I’m about to pray for you. And then, there’s another group of people in here who have been in a place where the details have crippled your belief. Because God’s given you some details, it overwhelmed you too much. You said, „I know who I really am, and I can’t do that. If they find out that I think these thoughts…“ He gave you a detail, and that detail of what God did crippled you. He said, „You’re going to be on a stage like that.“ „Not me, God. I still look at… I still have… I can’t.“ Today, I believe God’s going to do an extreme transformation in your heart posture. If you’re in either one of those groups, could you just lift your hands as a way of identifying and surrendering right now—online, right now, in the penitentiary? God is going to do it.
Father, in the name of Jesus, today we come before you, Father humble, at a point of desperation. Father God, we need you; we do not want to miss the Promised Land, whatever that means for us. Father, we do not want to miss it because we are obsessed with and distracted by the details. Today, Father God, I thank You that You would divinely focus on the only one who lights our path, which is Jesus. God, I thank You, Father God, for everything we’ve put above You. Today, Father, I surrender. I lay down the weight. Father God, I give it to You, and under the sound of my voice, every person under the sound of my voice, God, I thank You, Holy Spirit, that You would divinely direct us, Father, to be able to be focused on the gratefulness of the season you have us in, Father, and on obedience to what our next instruction is. God, I thank You, Father, that we will not be worried about tomorrow because tomorrow has enough troubles of its own. Today, You’re giving us our daily bread; You’re giving us everything we need to make it through today. And, Father, when tomorrow shows up, You are the God who cares about us more than the birds and the lilies, and they don’t worry, so we won’t either. Today, God, I thank You that people will divinely move forward in what You’ve called them to be, and they will not be distracted by the detours and the details. Today, Father, we will obey. Today, Father God, we choose to obey. I speak against everybody’s purpose that has been paralyzed; they haven’t been able to share the gospel or walk in their gifting. Father God, I pull down every negative word that has been spoken against their life and their future; those words are no longer able to produce fruit in their lives. I thank You, Father God, that they will no longer be held by what somebody pointed out as a detail or a flaw in their life. Any man or woman who is in Christ is a new creature. Today, God, give us the ability to focus on You. I don’t have to worry about the details because You’ve already handled them. If you’re in this room and you’ve never accepted Jesus, this is your moment.
I feel the presence of God in this place; there are people moving forward after this message. There are no more excuses because God’s got all the details already worked out, just like that couple. Listen and obey; if you’ve never accepted Jesus, this is your moment to listen and obey. This whole service has been a drawing for you. If you’re watching online, the Holy Spirit’s right there with you. Today, the distractions are being removed so you can make a decision, and the only decision to make is for Jesus. Yes, He’s the one who came into my life, healed me, redeemed me, and transformed me. I can’t tell you what He’s done for everybody personally, but I know there are thousands of people under the sound of my voice that He has done this for as well. But I’m telling you my story: He took me from being a liar, a manipulator, and someone who was addicted to pornography, with very dark stuff in my heart, going nowhere. But He took me the long route because of His love, and He changed me; He transformed me; He renewed me.
And today God wants to offer you that same thing, and all it takes is a decision. There are people in this room and watching online who are saying, „I don’t know if I’m worth it.“ You are so worth it because God literally sent His only Son—not one of many, His only Son—because He thought that if He could send a sacrifice, maybe you would receive the free gift of salvation. Today is your day, and at Transformation Church, we celebrate this. It’s the reason why this church is here: to let everybody know about the good news and to celebrate their new life in Christ.
If you’re in this room or watching online, and you want to make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior, on the count of three, I want you to throw your hand up with energy and enthusiasm, knowing that your life is about to transform because heaven is rejoicing along with us. I already see a hand. One, you’re making the greatest decision of your life. Two, I see you up there, brother; your name is about to be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Three, just shoot your hand up all over this place if you’re here. I see you; come on. If someone’s around you, celebrate right now. God bless you! God bless you, brother! Come on; on your wedding day, let’s do this thing—a fresh commitment, new life! No matter if I see you; God sees you. And at Transformation Church, we are a family; nobody prays alone. Could you just lift your hands like this and say:
God, thank You. Thank You for sending Jesus just for me. Today, I surrender, and I give You my life. I believe You lived, You died, and You rose again so that I can live in freedom. Today, I give You everything. Use me; transform me; renew me. I’m Yours. I’m Yours in Jesus' name. Amen.