Michael Todd - Faith for Miracles
Okay, so today I’m going to preach to you with a title called «Faith for Miracles.» Faith for miracles. You thought we were going to sing the song first, and then I would give you three points and a poem to let you go live a powerless life. Today, I feel like I’m on assignment from God to remind every believer that miracles are the promises of God to a believer. They are not reserved for a select group of people or a secret society that God performs miracles for. It’s not limited to people who are on platforms. You don’t have to follow anyone around the country, pay $1,000, and get miracle water. Okay, I serve a God of—somebody shout at me—miracles! Shout it with faith: say «miracles!»
Today, I need to sow this seed, as we’re talking about mustard seed faith. I must tell you that your belief in things may be too low. What if I told you that part of the package deal of salvation includes a level of authority and audacity you can walk into that allows you to live—watch this—at the frequency of miracles? I know people don’t talk like this because they actually don’t believe, but as we were in this writing session this week, we were about to move on to something completely different, and the Holy Spirit arrested me. He said, «You know that chorus that you sing, 'I have faith to believe You have all.' " He said, «There’s a revision I need to make to that song, and I need you to sing about miracles.»
We spent about two hours writing words that we could sing in the valley. Now, I know everybody wants to sing about the mountaintop, but do I have at least 500 people who will be honest and admit that sometimes we find ourselves in a valley? Okay, I need to know where the people are who have seen victory out of a valley before. Okay, and if we’re honest, some of us are in a valley right now. Today, I came to help your faith, because if you’re going to have faith, you might as well use it for miracles. I’m going to say it one more time: if you’re going to have faith, somebody say, «You might as well use it for miracles.» Today, I want to stir the faith inside you to the point where you’re going to see everything differently from this moment on.
Go to Mark 16:17; this is going to be our anchor scripture today. Mark 16:17: «These miraculous signs"—another translation says «miracles"—"will accompany those who believe.» How many believers do I have in Jesus Christ in this room or online right now? And if you’re not a believer yet, we’re so glad you’re here. We hope, through our love and our proclamation of God’s word in a way that you can understand, that one day you will come into a loving relationship with Him. Today, I feel it’s my job to let you know there’s no better way to live than to believe in God. That’s right! Okay, but once you cross that threshold, then what do you do? This past week, Natalie and I decided to really start teaching the Todd tradition of winning in games. To do that, we had to start beating our children in board games.
This past week, we introduced Monopoly to the Todd household. I don’t know if you’ve ever played Monopoly with your children, but there’s a very nice tension that comes with teaching them while winning at the same time—in the game, of course. As we were playing, there’s one card in Chance called the «Get Out of Jail Free» card. What happens with this card is that if you have it, you can hold it just in case you ever go to jail; it’s your saving grace. One of my daughters had a «Get Out of Jail Free» card and forgot about it. She was paying the penalty and not getting to take her turn because she didn’t understand that she had access to get out of jail. I couldn’t help but think about how many believers come into a relationship with Jesus Christ. They have access to Heaven, but they miss their opportunities in life because they actually do not use all that is available to them. They are just happy to not go to jail, right? And some of you are just happy not to go to hell.
But if God sent Jesus to John 10:10 so that we might have life and have it to the full—an abundant life—what does an abundant life look like? Ask yourself this question: does an abundant life, the one Jesus describes in His word, look like your life? Would you be a prototype for an abundant life? I’m not talking about money; I need everybody to hear me. Jesus talks to us about the fruits of the Spirit, the proof that you are His: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness. Would you be full and abundant in fruit? The truth is, most believers do not look like what God has—watch this—promised. When God promises something, if it doesn’t happen, it’s not Him. I’m going to say it one more time: if God promises something and it doesn’t happen, you have to check the user. Have you ever called to get something fixed, and it wasn’t the device, it was user error? You were hitting the wrong button the whole time; you were doing it the wrong way.
I had to come to the conclusion that when I look at the promises of God, when He says in Mark 16:16 that miracles, signs, and wonders will accompany every believer—accompany, look at that word! That means come alongside every person who believes. If I’m going to a concert and someone accompanies me, they’re with me. That’s right: miracles, signs, and wonders should be with me at the gym. Okay? Miracles, signs, and wonders should follow me when I’m at Disney World. Oh God! Miracles, signs, and wonders should walk with me as I’m looking for houses for my family to move into. They come; I don’t have to call them; they already come. So why would miracles, signs, and wonders not show up? It might be because we don’t understand how they are supposed to be an intricate part of our everyday life.
Look at this scripture: «These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe. They will cast out demons in my name; they will speak in new languages or tongues; they will be able to handle snakes with safety; and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick and they will be healed.» Let me break this down to let you know why you’re supposed to believe that miracles can happen in you, with you, and through you. This scripture says if you are a believer—somebody say, «I’m a believer!» I’m a believer! Come on, say it with faith: «I’m a believer!» I’m a believer! If you are a believer, the first thing it says you can do is evict evil spirits.
Did y’all see that? You can cast out demons. High school believers, you can evict evil spirits! Oh God! You do not have to walk into a place and think, «The vibe is off,» or «The aura isn’t one of anointing.» You can walk into an atmosphere and say, «Hold on, I command the spirit of depression to leave this room, right now. I declare the peace of God to be in this room. I thank You, Lord, that You are good and goodness is showing up in this atmosphere right now.» You can evict evil spirits. If you’re a believer, this is not something extra you have to work for. There is not a doctorate program that comes with getting these gifts; this is baked in, built in, comes with it.
Somebody say, «I’m a believer!» I’m a believer! I believe for miracles. I believe, and the first thing you can do is evict evil spirits. Oh God! When you evict evil spirits, that means you’re authorized by God. Has anyone ever been evicted? Don’t raise your hand, but if you’ve ever been evicted, the person who comes to serve an eviction notice is not just someone going up to random doors; it’s someone who is authorized. Many times, the property manager doesn’t even live in the same state. Many times, they’ve never even been on that property. They have other people who work for them that are authorized to say, «Hey, you haven’t done what you were supposed to do.
This is not the environment you can be in anymore; get out.» When was the last time as a believer in Jesus Christ that you walked in the authority God has given you and authorized you to be in? I don’t care if you are an introvert or an extrovert. I don’t care if you have a soft personality or a loud personality; you have been authorized with a personality and the DNA God has given you to be able to walk into any situation. The demons have to listen to your whisper, okay? I need to tell somebody right now: you can whisper, «Get out of here in the name of Jesus,» and they have to flee. You have been—somebody say, «authorized!» If you’re a believer! He said, «You can tell whatever spirit has been lingering around your family for decades to leave. The only reason it stays is because you let it. You let poverty stay in that house. You and your family joke about that spirit. Y’all know we’re broke. Where do they think they’re going on vacation? You know they ain’t got any money.»
You have patronized that spirit of poverty so much that it sits down in every place you find yourself. You can be in a mansion and still be broke in your mind because that spirit has never been evicted. That victim mentality you’ve been walking in your whole life—people can be saying, «You can do it! You can do it! We are here for you!"—and you hear, «There’s nothing you can do to make this happen.» You have allowed the spirit of victimhood to be all over you, and God is saying you can tell it to leave! Oh God! You have been given authority to evict evil spirits. The second thing it tells us is that—somebody say, «I’m a believer!» I’m a believer! A believer can speak in heavenly languages. If you’ve never been filled with the Holy Spirit with the benefit of speaking in tongues—not merely the evidence—because in old-school church they say, «Have you been filled with the Holy Spirit?» And the evidence of speaking in tongues—evidence, according to the word of God—that you have been filled with the Spirit is the fruit of the Spirit. I’ve seen a lot of people who can «shanda» and «bada» but don’t have love.
«Okay, all right,» he said. «You can do a whole bunch of that, but you’re not kind. It’s a clanging cymbal.» But he does say there is a benefit to speaking in a heavenly language. If you’ve never been open to that, I know we have people watching who were raised in different denominations—people who transferred from Catholic to Christian and all the different things that are happening. What I’m telling you is to open your heart to a secret weapon of the Kingdom. Paul, who writes most of your favorite scriptures, tells us that he prays in tongues more than anyone. He said, «The way that I stay fortified is that I walk around my house.» He said, «I pray in tongues while I’m cooking, while I’m outside with the kids.» I don’t know what to pray or how to keep them safe in this school system, so as they’re praying, I’m giving you an example of what you have access to. And guess what? The enemy can’t interpret it.
Okay, I’m trying to give you a strategy right now. You know why Morse code was developed? Because Morse code was a language that you could use to communicate with someone who knew the language, but your enemy could not intercept that language. Our heavenly language is a language that the enemy has no ability to intercept, and the reason he wants it to seem weird is so that you don’t use your weapons of warfare. I feel my help coming on today. What you need to understand is that when God gives you a weapon, it’s not to harm you; it’s to protect you. I want to say that if you are a believer, part of the miraculous gift you receive at salvation is the ability to communicate with your Creator. A believer can speak in other tongues, so a believer can evict evil spirits. They can speak in a heavenly language. Watch this: the third thing a believer can do.
Remember when it says they’ll be able to handle snakes safely? Now, people have taken this to the extreme, and you’ve seen crazy people in the name of Jesus with a rattlesnake. I don’t think this was meant to be literal; I think it was a metaphor. It’s a metaphor to let you know that all believers can have victory over venom. Hear what I just said: he said you’ll be able to walk around snakes. The only reason a snake is dangerous is because of the venom within it. And I don’t know if you’ve ever been around snakes—the slithery kind or the ones that talk to you at your job—but all snakes come with venom. Venom is meant to paralyze, to stop mobility. How many words have been spoken over you that have tried to paralyze you from purpose?
How many times were you not chosen, and it tried to paralyze you from doing what God told you to do? What the Bible is telling us is that if you’re a believer, you have victory over venom. You have the antibody; you have the Holy Spirit. Whenever someone tries to sink their teeth into you, that venom gets purified by what God has said about you: «I am the righteousness of Christ; I have everything that I need; I am fearfully and wonderfully made; God chose me.» Do y’all hear what I’m saying? Somebody say, «I have victory over venom.» That means you can’t keep being the victim. I just have to say this because some people have been so comfortable being the victim that when God gives them victory, they revert to victimhood. You hear me? Yes, your childhood was crazy. Yes, your twenties were jacked up. Yes, your thirties and forties were chaotic. But God last month started doing a work in you. It doesn’t have to take a long time. You’re waiting for the bottom to fall out, but He started yesterday.
Today is your first day of sobriety. Today is your—y’all better hear me—today is your first day not looking at pornography. Today is the first day you’re going to eat healthy. The miracle starts. Somebody say, «Today!» That means you can’t be the victim anymore. I have victory over every venom that comes into my life. Oh my goodness, write this down next to it: I’m an overcomer. That means sometimes God allows certain things to be in my way so I can intentionally step over them. Oh God, if I’m an overcomer, that means there are certain things in my life that happen for me to purposely rise above them. You’re mad because it’s there, and God said, «Why are you still complaining about it?»
Some of y’all need to stretch and kick your leg over it. Okay, so a believer can evict evil spirits; a believer can speak in a heavenly language; a believer has victory over venom; and then look what it says: «They will be able to handle snakes safely, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them.» What this means is a believer can filter filth. If anything poisonous tries to come into your system, you have been given discernment by the Holy Spirit to say, «Uh-uh, that ain’t for me.» Y’all might be able to watch that movie; y’all might be able to listen to that song; y’all might be able to go to that party. But as for me and my house, I have the ability to filter filth. He said, «When poisonous things come to me on Instagram and TikTok and Facebook, I have the ability to discern that this ain’t necessarily sin, but this ain’t good for me. I need to filter.»
And that’s where the Holy Spirit comes in with discernment. It says, «Then they will be able—watch this—to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.» When I read this, this is the only one of all my thirty-some years being in church that people talk аbout: that miracles, signs, and wonders will follow you, and you will be able to lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. I need to be able to evict spirits too, speak to my God in a heavenly language, have victory over venom, be able to filter the filth, and then a believer knows transformation is tangible through agreement. Every time I get around another believer, you should be able to grab hands, put elbows together, get on each other’s shoulders—because some of y’all are different about the hands and stuff like that. It doesn’t matter as long as we touch and agree. He said you will be able to lay hands on the sick.
That doesn’t mean every time it’s like, «Oh my God!» Laying hands could be linking pinkies. I’m just trying to let your mind shift from how you’ve seen things done. What the scripture says is you’ll be able to lay hands on sick people—on your son, on your daughter, on your wife, on your husband, on your girlfriend, or on a stranger—and as a believer, you can believe that they can recover. Now, as I’m saying that right now, it’s fighting what is in your control. This is why people don’t believe in miracles, because you can’t make them happen. If it were about you making them happen, you would be cool with miracles, because you’d know, «Oh, I can do that miracle; I can’t do that miracle.»
This is why you need—somebody shout at me: faith! Faith! Shout at me: faith! Faith! You need faith because you have to believe even if it doesn’t happen. This is where the believer gets into a quandary of whether you really believe or not, because everybody believes when they see it happen. The Bible says Jesus said, «Blessed are those who believe and have never seen.» They’ve never even seen what I could do. Today, I’m asking you to believe God for miracles. As a believer, that means you have to walk in your authority—not Pastor Mike walking in authority or Jim Bob walking in your authority—Sarah Beth, walk in your authority. Daekwon, walk in your authority. Steven with a PH, walk in your authority. The reason most people don’t walk in their authority is that they don’t have the same definition of a miracle. So let me give you a definition: a miracle is a supernatural event where God sovereignly circumvents the natural order to do something extraordinary, show His love, and bring His name glory.
A miracle is a supernatural event that happened at the car wash, that happened at Albertson’s, that happened at the track, that happened at the gym, that happened while I was on the phone with the bill collector, that happened while I was in high school in Home Ec. It’s a supernatural event where God sovereignly circumvents the natural order of things to do something extraordinary, show His love to one of His children, and bring His name glory. Luke 18 says it like this: «What is impossible for people is possible with God.»
The reason I have to say this is because I’m building your faith through the Word right now, because life—watch this—has made the losses, the hurt, and the disappointment make you feel that somehow God lost power. The problem with the fallen world we live in is that our experience many times tries to inform His existence. And because our experience isn’t always, «God did it every time,» we somehow equate His inconsistency with our inconsistent experience in life. And I get it, because how many of us have prayed and it didn’t happen several times? How many of us tried and it felt like failure several times? How many of us lost a loved one who was better than us and thought, «Why them? It should have been me!»?
This is where you have to embrace—we don’t talk about this in church a lot—the mystery of God in a world full of information and explanation where you can chat GPT everything. The one thing you cannot GPT is the creator of the universe. You cannot pinpoint Him or make Him do what you want Him to do, try to quantify it. Well, He did it last time like this, so 1 + 1 should equal 2. Sometimes 1 + 5 equals 98, and you’re sitting there trying to figure it out. Show your work. He said, «I don’t have to, because I created the hairs on your head.» And I need you to know that your ways are not my ways and your thoughts are not my thoughts. Even your greatest thought is not even at my lowest thought. Until you trust Me with you, Jesus, you won’t be able to embrace the beauty of not knowing. It’s the original sin that God said, «There are some things I don’t want you to know.»
Adam and Eve, stay in the place where you have faith like a child. Just stay in the place where you believe me. You’re gullible. If God said He’ll do it, you should be like, «Man, God said He’s going to do it. I don’t know how He’s going to do it, but I believe He’s going to do it.» You know what I’m saying? It should be like, if you don’t come to God with childlike faith—the Bible says you won’t enter the kingdom. There has to be a level of embrace. My daughters, when I tell them things, they don’t try to figure out how it’s going to happen; they just start proclaiming that it’s going to happen. You missed it! Dad, are we going to Disney World for Gia’s fifth birthday? Why would you even ask me that? This was yesterday. I said, «Yeah, Bella, we’re going.» She begins to proclaim around my house. She went, «You’ve got to get it!»
She has no idea how much money I have in the bank; she has no idea how much a flight from Tulsa to Orlando costs; she has no idea how much the Disney-themed Airbnb costs; she has no idea about the park prices. But as soon as she asked, «Are we going to Disney World for Gia’s fifth birthday?» she went and told her sister, «Ava, guess what?» She believed it so much that she had to tell somebody! And some of y’all are in a place where God has promised you things, and you don’t believe it, so you don’t say anything about it. But I dare about fifty people who have received a promise from God to begin believing in this moment that my daddy said something, and He’s going to do everything that He said. All right, don’t start with that organ back there, doc, because I got a suit on and my roach stompers on today. You know how he gets in the corner! Huh? Get it in! Today, I believe God is asking us—watch this. These are the trades.
Somebody say, «I need to make a trade.» I need to make a trade. You’re going to have to trade to see the miracles God wants to do in your life. You need to make a trade. You need to trade explanation for expectation. Today, I feel like an oracle of God. He arrested me on Friday after we wrote that song «Miracles,» and He said, «Michael, I need you to tell my people to believe me again, because I feel handcuffed by their lack of faith.» He said, «My ability has nothing to do with the economy right now.» And some of y’all have believed that you can’t do what God has called you to do because of something you have no control over. «Well, the Dow is down.» Well, the Dow has been down. That doesn’t affect you; your Dow doesn’t even exist yet! You allow somebody else’s fear, where their trust is, to affect you stepping out. «This is not a good time to start a business.» Says who? Did God tell you to start the business?
It was a bad time for Noah to build a boat, but it was not until it wasn’t. It started raining, and everybody was like, «Oh Noah, do you remember me?» I’m just saying don’t borrow fear; do not borrow somebody else’s fear when God has called us to live by faith. I’m not saying that you won’t have fear or doubt; I’m simply saying please don’t borrow somebody else’s doubt. I can’t deal with mine and theirs, so that’s why I have to trade explanation for expectation. If you resolve right now, you will not know how or why God does everything He does. Just say, «But I expect something else is going to happen out of this situation.» Either I’m going to get a different perspective, or God’s going to change the situation. He’s going to use this situation to encourage someone else’s faith. Somebody else is going to see me suffering well.
Okay, y’all don’t want to talk about that. Somebody else is going to see me suffering well, and God, I hate this. For the record, let me just say I hate it. Put that on the roll. But I will be faithful. I’m not walking away from this; I’m not going to curse You. I may have questions, I may ask You why. We talked about that a couple of weeks ago; God is not offended by your «why.» «Why has this not happened? Why haven’t I been able to do this?» But all I’m telling you is to expect. What are you going to expect? I said, «What are you going to expect?» Somebody’s getting it. If it’s just for you, baby girl, if only one person gets it, okay. So God is asking us to trade explanation for expectation. What are you believing God for? Even if you have no sign that it’s going to happen—no sign. Some of y’all need to pick out your ring.
See, okay, I’m just saying you have no expectation. You have no expectation. If God brought the man of God into your life ready to rock and roll tomorrow, you wouldn’t know what to do. Oh my God, you’d be so stressed and overwhelmed right now. You’ve got all the time in the world; go find your dress. Y’all think I’m joking. Okay, somebody’s hearing me, and right now, the reason why you wouldn’t is because you don’t want to be disappointed. But why would I do all this work and go find a dress, and maybe I won’t? But maybe you will! Where is your expectation? Some of y’all need to go get a box and start getting ready to move. No, no, no; there are practical steps that go with it. Some of y’all need to give a bunch of stuff away. Some of y’all don’t even need to take that stuff to the new house. God is going to bless you too much to bring the trash.
Don’t bring the trash! But maybe it’s a stewardship thing—maybe God’s asking you, «Yeah, your move is two years away, but it’s going to take you that long to go through all that.» You’re a hoarder; you still got your tracksuit from 1919. I’m just saying, where is your expectation? Watch this: prove your expectation by your action. There has never been an expectation that did not actually have action attached to it. It’s just an idea until there’s action; then it becomes expectation. When you do something—I don’t have any clients, but I got a business card. I created it on Canva last night, and probably 17,000 other people have this exact card! But it doesn’t say their name at the bottom of it. I’m trying to give somebody faith to go do something. Get your expectation up, but you got to trade it for the explanation. «How’s it going to happen?»
God, I don’t have to know that! God is asking us, watch this, to trade information for an invitation into a miracle. So if you need information, God is saying, «Don’t worry about the details of this; I’m inviting you on a journey that’s going to give Me glory and bring you proof that I’m good! Come on, you’re invited into this journey of crazy faith.» And there will be people who look at you and say, «You are crazy.» And you’ll say, «Until it happens.» The very thing that people mocked me for is the very thing that God has used to transform millions of lives. Because it’s only crazy until it happens. The car was crazy until somebody was driving on the street, right? The plane was crazy—commercial flights to space were crazy until a year ago! Now Gayle King is up in space for three minutes. I’m just saying, do y’all understand? It’s only crazy.
God is asking us, watch this, to trade explanation for expectation, trade information for an invitation into a miracle, and He’s asking us to trade control for contentment. You will never see a miracle if you have to be in control of it. If you have to control the miracle—do it on this day, do it at this time—then it’s not a miracle; it’s your plan. Remember, a miracle is a supernatural event where God sovereignly circumvents the natural order of things and does something extraordinary to show you His love and bring glory to His name. You can’t be in control and get all of that, which is why I believe God is asking each of us, if we’re going to see miracles in our lives, to trade our old doubt for a new declaration. Some of us have old doubt that we don’t even speak on. God’s saying, «Get something new in your mouth.» Life and death are in the power of the tongue. You need to start declaring out of your mouth what God has said about you. «I will see the goodness of God in the land of the living.»
Your life has been jacked up, and daily you need to start singing and declaring, «Good morning, God! I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.» When something bad happens, say, «Thank you, God, for another day for me to see Your goodness in the land of the living today! Father, I thank You that everywhere I go, I am favored by You. Thank You, Father God, that Your word and promises are true. Father, I thank you that with long life You will satisfy me.» And so as I get on this stairmaster, don’t let me die because with long life You, what is in your mouth shows up in your life. Some of us have not chosen a new declaration because the truth of the matter is all of these are summed up in this last one: God is asking us to trade passivity for audacity when it comes to miracles.
Alright, God, I’m saying if You want to, You know what I’m saying—You could do something here. It’s your right as a believer to lay hands on the sick and they recover; it’s a part of the deal for you to have victory over venomous situations. Stop being so passive around what God has promised! This is how we’re going to end: four things you must disconnect from to see a miracle. Just four. And I really feel strongly about this because I believe a miracle is on the way for so many of you right now. I’m going to say it again: I believe a miracle is on the way for so many of you right now! Somebody’s faith is building; I believe a miracle is on the way for so many of you, and somebody’s faith is being stirred to actually believe it right now. Your confession is changing; your thoughts are changing. It’s like, «Why did I stop believing for that?»
You’re going to get back your belief in what God said in your life. This may not be for everybody, but I promise you it’s for me. See, let me be honest with you: as my son approaches 10 years old in October, God has given me some promises about my son. And let me be honest with you: when you see slow progress, sometimes it feels like maybe God forgot what He said. Then you start to give—let me say—I start to give God excuses and be like, «Oh, God, it’s okay. I just thank God that he’s living, and I just thank God for this and that.» And God was like, «Hold on! Wait! You don’t remember what I said?» Or you don’t think I… Well, God, I mean I’m just grateful that this is good… You stop! You don’t want to believe. You don’t want to believe that anymore. You don’t believe that I can!
And y’all, something shifted in me; it shifted in me so strongly! My belief for what God told me for my son—and I’ve never spoken it out loud—only my wife and a few close friends know what I believe God is going to do. And it’s not what everybody would think it would be; it’s what God told me He was going to do. I’m not in a pipe dream, but I hear from God. I stand with Him and spend time with Him, and I felt like God told me some specific things, and I am going to believe God no matter what happens. When my wife’s faith is withering because she’s always thinking, «I can’t die, because if I die, who’s going to take care of my baby?"—that’s a recurring thought that my wife and I have to battle with! I’m being too honest right now; it’s how we walk this thing out for real. And I said, «God, I will be found believing You even if You don’t.»
That’s what the three Hebrew boys said when they told them they should bow. They said, «We believe God will save us! But even if He doesn’t.» I don’t know if there are about a hundred people that can get with me on this, but you must believe God, even if what you’re believing for doesn’t happen like you think it’s going to happen. Even if He doesn’t do it how I thought He was going to do it, I will believe God. My wife has that tattooed on her that says «Even if.» That was her faith talking; she couldn’t say it. She’s not going to stand up and jump and shout, but she said, «I got to remind myself.» So when I talk about miracles, it’s too real for me. I know everybody’s life is perfect with roses and stuff, but for me, every day I’m reminded that I’m in need of God. So if you’re going to see this miracle, I’m going to give you the four things the Holy Spirit showed me I had to disconnect from. And I know if you have to leave, go, but I promise you this is going to deliver somebody and give them the ability to stay the course. The first thing that you have to disconnect from—somebody say, «Disconnect!» Disconnect! This is what you have to let go of if you want to see a miracle the way He does. You have to disconnect from the way He does miracles.
I’ve got too many examples to show y’all, but I have proof in the Word of God that in Matthew 9:27, when Jesus wanted to heal two blind men, He simply touched them, and their eyes were opened. But then in Matthew 8:1, He touched and cleansed some lepers. So, okay, the blind man—You touch them. The leper—You touch them. And people were trying to get a formula. In John 9:7, this is the one nobody liked. He spit in mud. I’m just letting you know what Jesus did. Okay? He took some spit and some mud, blended them, and then he put the mixture on the man’s eyes. He told that man to walk away and wash, and when he washed, that man received his sight! Now, I know people were grossed out, but everybody was grossed out except him, because he got a miracle that nobody else got. Some of y’all are so worried about what the miracle looks like that you would rather stay blind than allow God to do what He wants to do in your life. But, uh, I digress. And y’all know that was the first time He did a spit miracle. Just saying.
I don’t know if y’all read your Bible because Mark 8:23 is the one I got in trouble for. In Mark 8:23, He didn’t use any mud. You can check it. He just said, «Bring the blind man here.» No, I’m just kidding! What I’m saying is—some of y’all will get it. I’m an overcomer, you hear me? I’ll take whatever the enema; I’ll jump through that mug for the glory of God. Okay, let me stop. I love my church. Okay, watch this. So what I’m saying is if you try to pinpoint the way God does the miracle, you will be disappointed and devastated because His M.O. is to keep you guessing. So if He healed through finances last time, don’t look for a six-figure check to solve the issue; it might be a counseling session! Do y’all hear what I’m saying?
It was an environment, it was a move last time where God did the miracle. And now you’re feeling unsettled again; you’re like, «Now I need to go to L.A., now I need to go to Atlanta.» God said, «No, no, no, right now it’s not a move; it’s a surrender.» And when you try to get God to do the miracle the same way, you end up putting yourself in a position to be disappointed. Disappointment has taken out more believers than the devil. Hear what I just said: disappointment has made more people walk away from the faith than the devil has because hope deferred makes the heart grow sick. And so what you need to disconnect from is the way He did the miracles. Even in Luke 7, He told some people, «Go. Healed.»
And as they went, every step they took away from Jesus, they were healed. So today, I’m asking you if you want to see a miracle. Disconnect from how He does the miracle. The second thing you need to disconnect from is where He does the miracle. Can I tell you that most of the miracles Jesus did did not happen at the synagogue? There are 42 recorded miracles in the Bible, and it tells us that if all the miracles Jesus performed were recorded, it would fill up every book ever known to man. But the 42 we have in the New Testament, the majority of them were done in the streets. See, I like this! I like this because Jesus was for the streets. He was in the streets; He was at people’s houses, eating at homes He shouldn’t have been at. He was at parties and places where nobody wanted Him to be. His own disciples were like, «Why are you talking to that woman over there?»
That’s what He did with the woman at the well. They came back from getting something to eat and were like, «Why are you talking to her? It was a racial issue.» Okay, y’all don’t want to be real. All I’m saying is if Jesus does a miracle at the gym, is it less holy than if He does it at this altar? Church people are the ones who always have a problem with where God decides to do the miracle. Oh God, y’all go study Matthew 13:54! Jesus returns to Nazareth, His hometown. Where does He go? He goes back to His own neighborhood where people knew Him. He hadn’t done miracles everywhere around the world, but then He came back to people who knew Him. He taught there in the synagogue, and everyone was amazed, saying, «Dang, Mary’s boy is going at it! Where did he get this wisdom and power to do miracles?»
But as soon as they recognized His wisdom, verse 55 says they scoffed at Him. «Look at Him; He’s just a carpenter’s son. We know Mary, His mother, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas; all His sisters live right here among us. He’s regular! Where did He learn all these things?» This is Jesus’s response: they were deeply offended because they knew Him. They got offended because He had a «come up.» I mean, let’s just say He was not that smart as a child, but He went away, spent time with some rabbis, and came to another level of education. He goes back home, they recognize His wisdom, and they’re deeply offended by His ascension in understanding and communication. This tells us that if Jesus had people who couldn’t handle His «come up,» so will you.
Please don’t be delayed when people who have been around you in a season try to hold you to that season because they don’t like where you position them in the new season. Okay, I can’t stay here, but because they were deeply offended, look at the chain reaction: they refused to believe in Him. It’s hard to believe in someone you’re offended by. Okay, I can’t even touch that. So watch Jesus’s response: then Jesus told them, «A prophet is honored everywhere! I can do miracles everywhere! I can help everywhere! I can heal blind eyes everywhere! I can bring an atmosphere of joy everywhere! I can change the atmosphere everywhere except where people are familiar with me.» And it said, «And so He did.»
Watch this: this is the miracle! Even in a place of unbelief, He did a few miracles because it was a place of unbelief. Golly, if we saw a few miracles, there would be a revival! Two people grow their arms back, one person’s blind eyes open, we wouldn’t leave this church for nine days! This lets me know God’s ability was much larger than their capacity. I just want to let you know, wherever your capacity is, God’s ability is bigger than that. Many times, we’re trying to measure our abilities by His capacity. You’ll never be able to get there. He’s always got more; and that’s why I need you to write this down. Familiarity can fracture faith. For all those people who have somebody special around them, I’m not saying special because they’re on a platform, but you know God’s hand is on their life for something special, whether it’s a gift, their ability to talk, or something they haven’t fully recognized, their ability to encourage.
Whatever it is, you recognize it, protect and honor the things you know are special about people. You never know, they may be the key to a miracle you need in a different season. And because you saw them being late or spilling their coffee or having a bad relationship, you stop believing in what God put in them. Okay, I’m trying to help y’all see a miracle. Here we go! The third thing you need to disconnect from: it’s not just the way He does the miracle or where He does the miracle. You need to disconnect from when He does the miracle. This is probably the hardest one because all of us want it now! «JG Wentworth, I got a structured settlement, and I need cash now! Call JG Wentworth 877-CASH-NOW!»
How do we know that? Maybe the best marketing in history—everybody wants it! And do you know anytime you get something now, they never tell you what you’re forfeiting? Do y’all hear what I’m saying? Anytime a payday loan tells you they give you $750 before you get your paycheck, let me tell you what they’re not telling you: they’re going to take some more of your money. There’s always a cost to not being flexible on the timeline. It may cost you peace; it may cost you relationships. But when you allow the timing of God to be in His hands and not yours, it changes the way you interact with the miracle. I can’t even go through it—Mark 3, just go watch it! But church people got mad because Jesus made a man’s hand grow back on the wrong day! Can we think about it? Seven days have gone by that none of them made, but one was the Sabbath when they weren’t supposed to do any work. My man couldn’t do any work.
See, y’all don’t think he didn’t have a hand. I go to the practical stuff. Jesus comes and is like, «Do you want to be healed?» My man was like, «I would love to have a hand.» The Bible said, «Go read it,» that the church people—the Sadducees and the Pharisees—were watching Jesus to ensure He didn’t heal anyone on the Sabbath. Jesus was like, «What’s easier for me to do? Say, 'This man is cleansed' or to bring his hand back?» Nobody said anything. He was like, «Boop!» The man’s hand was like—it’s just how it happens! In my mind, it says He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened. Jesus was like, «Y’all don’t want this man to be healed because it’s the wrong time for you! Tomorrow would have been okay, but not today.»
That’s why I can’t stand when people try to keep people from church. Somebody comes in here with a mini skirt, just came from the club, and you’re going to talk to them about their dress? «Look at her!» You’re so distracted! Where were you? Do you forget what God delivered us from? «Well, I never would have…» But you ain’t been through what they’ve been through! How dare us? This is God’s house; this is a hospital for humanity! He didn’t come to heal the whole! That’s like telling somebody who’s been shot nine times, «Clean yourself up before you come to the hospital!» What? Yeah, we tell people to present their best in the house of God. This is where you bleed out and let God heal you from the inside. I’m sorry, y’all; I just—this is where we’re going to see a miracle! So you have to disconnect from when He does the miracle.
Last one: if you want to see God do some miracles, I can’t tell you when they’re going to happen, where they’re going to happen, or how He’s going to do it. There are some things I wish I knew, but I don’t because I have to embrace the mystery of God. But there are some things I need to disconnect from to actually see a miracle. This is the big one right here: who He uses to do the miracle. There are more people who miss the miracle God wants to do because they don’t like the person He partners with. Oh God, what if God’s going to use somebody you don’t like to bring a miracle that you desperately need? Oh, some of y’all take it back! You don’t want it.
One thing you’re never going to do is mess over me. You’re sitting there with one hand! I’m just saying. All I’m saying is what if God partners with somebody you don’t know? Your favorite pastor may not be in the equation of your miracle. The prophet you listen to or the woman of God in your small group—what if they are there as encouragement but are not an intricate part of the process of the miracle you need? Will you accept the miracle even if the vessel you have not approved in your life? Y’all remember Saul, who turns into Paul? I want y’all to understand the gravity of who that man was before he became the dude who wrote three-fourths of the New Testament. He was a terrorist. No, y’all don’t understand. My man would wake up in the morning, make a kill list of Christians, and be like, «Who are we killing today?» He would go outside, kill them, come home, eat dinner, and do it again the next day. He had a reputation.
You know how some people know, «Oh, that’s the funny guy,» or «Oh, that’s the guy who plays sports»? They would have said of Saul, «That’s the guy who kills Christians.» And you can go read it on your own, but in Acts, the Bible tells us in Acts 9:10 that he has an encounter with God on the road to Damascus, and it’s such a powerful encounter that he goes blind for days; he can’t see. Now this man is in a God moment, and then watch this: verse 13, the Lord tells this dude named Ananias, «What, Lord? I’ve got an assignment for you.» «Anything for you, Lord.» It’s so funny how we say we’ll do anything for God till He tells us what we’re going to do! For Your glory, I would do—shut up! No, you ain’t heard what it is yet! The Lord called to him in a vision and told him, «Ananias.» He said, «Yes, Lord.» He answered. The Lord told him, «Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He’s praying right now.»
In a vision, he has seen a man named Ananias—uh-oh! That’s me! —come and place his hands on him and restore his sight. Lord, Ananias answered in verse 13, «I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I’ve heard many reports about the man from Tarsus you are now referring to, and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem, which would include me. He has come here with authority from the chief priest to arrest all who call on your name!» But the Lord said to Ananias one word: what did He say to him? «Go!»
I’m not talking. I’m not going back and forth with you. This is not a debate or a discussion. I need you to participate in this man’s miracle. Now, again, I want to just take this a little deeper. This would be the equivalent of during the 911 time, God speaking to somebody to go pray for Osama bin Laden in person—not from afar. Not, «Lord touch him!» No! He said, «Go to where he’s at and put your hands on him and believe for the scales to fall from his eyes!» Do you know how much faith it took for Ananias to leave his room? You’re talking about crazy faith. This is delusional! But the Lord said to Ananias, «Go! This man—oh, my God, look how God loves us—is my chosen instrument!»
Even in his state of totally walking against Me, I still chose him! He is My chosen instrument who will proclaim My name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I had an international plan for this man! He said, «I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.» Then Ananias went to the house and entered it—"Uh, hello? Hello? Is Saul here?» Placing his hands on Saul, he said—watch the language, brother! I want you to see that somewhere from his house to laying his hands, he had embraced that God was about to do a miracle! He embraced it so much that he relabeled him, calling him brother, which is customary for people who believe the same.
He said, «Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here, He sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.» Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food to regain his strength, that man went out proclaiming the gospel, writing it down. So we have scriptures today like, «I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!» Like, what would have happened if Ananias had said no to partnering with God? Or Saul would have said, «Don’t put your hands on me!»
Worship team, would you come up here? And everybody that’s here today, today, I believe God is going to begin doing miracles in your life. I don’t care what it is; it could be a healing you need in your body; it could be something that must happen for your mental health, your family, or your finances. But these are the three things God told me as I was praying. He said, «Michael, tell my people to make new declarations.» He said, «Tell them to declare, 'I see the miracle.'» Somebody say, «I see the miracle.» I see the miracle. God said, «I need you to start declaring it before you see it. I see the miracle that’s going to happen in my family. I see the miracle that’s going to happen for me and my fiancé. I see the miracle that God’s going to do in my heart. I will be able to love again. I am a cold-hearted, beautiful person right now, but one day I’m going to be able to love again. I can see the miracle.»
The second thing He told me to tell you is, «Tell them I speak miracles.» I can speak over people, over situations, and things can begin to change. The last thing He told me is that I will sing about miracles. When I started to think about the greatest miracle, the greatest miracle is salvation. Yes, I mean the fact that a God can change my heart. A limb growing back is way easier than changing a heart, especially how stubborn some of us are, how set in our ways. But God is literally saying that the greatest miracle is starting from the top down of salvation. He said, «Built into that, I will give you all these other miracles, but maybe you need to see it differently. Maybe you need to confess something different.» Maybe this message wasn’t for everybody, but I believe it was for a group of people that are a remnant about to see miracles in everyday life.
I’m not talking about once in a decade that God does something; I’m talking about literally. Do you know that the same disciples I talked about a week ago, who tried to heal a young boy and failed, allowed their faith to grow through it? These are the same guys that later on, the Bible says, some of the disciples' shadows would heal people. In one season, they didn’t have faith enough to see a miracle, and then they walked in their authority so much. I know for some of you this seems like a fairy tale; you think this is Disney. Well, that’s good for them; this is for you and for every believer. We were in that writing session, I believe it was Thursday or Friday. Was it Thursday? Yeah, it was Thursday. We had written some amazing songs for Transformation Worship that are going to come out later this year, and we were about to move into a whole other vein.
The Holy Spirit—I was just going to let it happen because Pastor Ron had plans and stuff was happening, and the Holy Spirit—I mean, I was sitting on the couch, and it dropped on me. He said, «You need to open up space to rewrite an anthem, a declaration of faith for miracles.» We’ve sung for years that I have faith to believe, part of that song, but the rest of the song wasn’t as corporate for everybody to just sing. I’m telling you, the Holy Spirit met us in that little Airbnb, and the song you heard them sing just a minute ago was given to us. I believe it’s for the miracle that must start in you first, of your faith being built up to believe that my miracle is on the way, whether God decides to do it today, tomorrow, or on the other side of heaven. I know that He’s good enough to perform the miracle.
So, to end this service, I’m going to ask that we worship—watch this—the God of miracles, not the miracle. This is where people get messed up: they begin to think that the hand growing back or the eyes being healed or the person that does the miracle is the one that should be praised and worshipped. But we serve the God of miracles. So today, all over this place, if you’re watching online, I believe that God is about to start doing—and this is what I honestly believe and I’ve been praying for all morning. I’ve played this song probably a hundred times since Friday. I believe that God is about to do creative miracles. There are things missing in your body, things missing in your chemical imbalance, things missing in your heart that God is about to create. It’s not there right now, but you’re going to begin to believe.
I’m telling you, we have proof of this; we have seen God do this before. He is going to do creative miracles. God is going to do restoration miracles where things that have deteriorated—I’m talking about from knee cartilage all the way to eardrums being healed, all the way to hearts. You don’t have to believe, but I believe that there are seasons that God is asking His people to just believe Him. I believe God is about to restore marriages; He’s about to restore relationships with fathers and mothers that have been breached and even toxic. God’s about to supernaturally start repairing through forgiveness and admission. I’m talking about stuff you’ve stopped praying for. God is saying, «Just believe me—not the way I’m going to do it, not when I’m going to do it, not how I’m going to do it, and not where I’m going to do it, but that I’m the God of miracles.»
Men say it’s impossible, but have you heard about Jesus? Some of you have been grieving that has been going on in your heart because you miss somebody. God is going to supernaturally allow you to remember with honor what He placed in your life, but not allow you to be stuck. Because the truth of the matter is, God gave you them for a season so that it would do something on the inside of you that would make you know His love even more. I believe God is going to get glory out of every loss; even though it hurts, there’s a miracle of joy that’s coming back to you. It will be a miracle for you to be happy again, but your miracle is on the way.
Father, in this place today, thank you for the miracle of salvation, the miracle of restoration, the miracle of healing. Father, as we sing this song again in obedience to what you told me as I was praying, I can’t do any miracles, God; I can just believe you for them. I thank you that the spirit of faith would rise on the inside of every believer under the sound of my voice—whether they’re watching in prison right now, if they’re watching Father God on the rebroadcast, or if they’re hearing me in the lobby right now. God, I pray for a supernatural intervention where you literally supersede the order of how things are supposed to go and work on behalf of your sons and daughters. We will have faith for miracles today. Do what only you can in Jesus' name.
Would you stand all over this place, and let’s worship God together? It’s all the way. Men say it cannot be done, but I heard about Jesus. There is power in His blood, and it works without reason. It’s Jesus. They say it’s impossible. Can I tell you about Jesus? There is nothing diagnosed that’s too hard for my Jesus. Oh Jesus! Come on, church, lift this up. See, in the land of the living, I see a miracle. This praise is what I’m giving before the miracle. You will make a way; it won’t be in vain. My faith won’t break; my miracle’s on the way. Come on, let’s sing it out. You are with me in the way; you are with me in the way, Jesus. So I know, I know this won’t last. Time is in Jesus. Jesus, you be to Jesus, glory. That’s the story of Jesus. This praise is what I’m—see! Heat, heat, heat, I know it is there. It won’t be long; if you’ve got faith, throw your hands up in the room as we say, «I have faith to believe you have all that I need. Miracles, signs, and wonders follow me, follow me.»
Come on, say, «I have faith to believe.» You have all I need. I’m ready to see, Lord. Miracles, we say, «I have visible to…» Yeah, heat. All the days of my life. I know it will be a miracle. Every praise that I’m giving, a miracle—heat, heat. Yes, all the way, we say in the land of the living, I see a miracle. This praise is what I’m giving, for the miracle. You will make a way; it won’t be in vain. My faith won’t break; my miracle’s on the way. One more time, one more time. Say in the land of the living, in the land of the living, the devil is a liar. I see. This praise is what I’m giving, for the miracle. It will make a way; it won’t be late. My faith won’t break; my miracle’s on the way. Yes, see, this praise is what I’m giving before the miracle. You will make a way; it won’t be late. My faith won’t break; my miracle’s on the way.
If you want to receive Jesus, which is the greatest miracle, today I’m going to say a prayer. If you want to make Jesus your personal Lord and Savior, I want you to say that prayer with me now. At TC, everybody says the prayer for the benefit of those who are coming to Christ, but this is all about you believing. The miracle that some of you have been believing for is life transformation. The Bible says, «Any man who be in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, a new life has come.» So if you want to make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior, I just want you to, whether you’re in this room or online, repeat this prayer after me. Say:
God, thank you for sending Jesus just for me. Today, I admit I’m a sinner, and I need a Savior. I choose you today. I repent and I turn to you. Change me, renew me, transform me. I’m yours. In Jesus' name, amen.