Transcription
Numbers 13:30. I feel like this scripture succinctly summarizes where God has a lot of us. I'm going to say this, and only three of you are going to catch it. I'm going to go get it. I don't know if you heard what I just said. Notice that's a paradigm shift, 'cause some of you are waiting on God to give it to you. You clean. Then some of us are saying, "We're getting ready to go get it." And I am in a season of my life, my faith is on point. My focus is on point. My fights are now sanctioned. You missed what I just said, because there are two types of fighters. You got street fighters, and you got prize fighters. Street fighters fight in alleys and in people's backyards and don't win nothing. Prize fighters get rewards for fighting. I'm not fighting any more battles that I'mma walk away from empty-handed. Am I preaching to anybody? Folks going to think you crazy this year 'cause they going to be fussing at you, and your reply going to be, "Okay, 'cause I am going. It's two places I'm not going in 2025." That's above and beyond for people who don't understand my calling and my assignment. Sit down. It's too early. Don't start that. Don't start that.
So, look at this. Numbers 13:30. "But Caleb tried to quiet the people." Uh-oh. "Can we go possess the land? It's giants over there. We don't know if we can do it." Caleb. We never talk about Caleb. We always talk about Joshua. Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. Look what Caleb says. "Let's go at once. Take the land." See, y'all don't even know when to shout. They said, "It's ours. We're going to take the land." He said, "We can certainly conquer it." Look at verse 31. "But the other men who explored the land with him disagreed. 'We can't go up against them. They are stronger than we are.'" I want to sit in verse 32. As far as I want to get today. Verse 32. "So they spread this bad report." That's all I want to talk about. They spread this bad report. People are ready to take the next step. But a few people start spreading bad reports that made the whole nation overcome with fear. If you're not too mean, look at your neighbor and say, "Neighbor, neighbor, if you want it, if you want it, go get it. Go get it."
But I got to ask you a question. You scared for what? Scared. I I want to talk today from the topic, "Scared for What?" I I want to start today by asking you a question. What do you see when you look in the mirror? Not the mirror in your restroom, but the mirror in your mind. Because for some of us, the biggest bully in our life isn't a person. It's the voice in our head that's telling us we are not enough. And here's the truth nobody talks about. You can be gifted, anointed, talented, favored, and even chosen by God and still feel like you're not worthy of the assignment He's giving you. So then, PMJ, today's lesson isn't about just fear. Please put this in your notes. It's about comparison. It's about, and it's on the screen, insecurity and how it distorts your vision, shrinks your identity, and causes you to forfeit opportunities you were graced for. That's heavy right there. Today's message is about insecurity and how it distorts your vision, shrinks your identity, and causes you to forfeit opportunities you were graced for. We're going to talk about this silent saboteur, the inner critic that keeps you playing small in rooms God called you to lead in. I'm going to make an announcement that only seven of y'all are going to receive. This is my last year hiding my favor. See, everybody don't understand that some of us play down in rooms because we don't want to offend people. And the truth of the matter is, we tend to offend people without even trying. It's because there's just something on our life that everybody can sense when we walk in a room. Am I preaching to anybody?
So hear me when I say this. Insecurity distorts your vision, shrinks your identity, and causes you to forfeit. Can you put that definition on the screen? I want to really, I want you to really get this. So what does insecurity do? It distorts your vision. Have you ever met somebody, uh, who said they look like somebody? Then they used to be like, "You got to squint your eyes to see it." If I got to do all that, you don't look like it. That's why many of you aren't walking into your promise. Insecurity distorts your vision. It makes you see stuff that ain't even there. It shrinks your identity and causes you, this is the line that messed me up, to forfeit opportunities. This line that you were graced for. I'mma say this. Only three of y'all going to catch it. I know what you're believing God is lofty. I know what you're believing God for. It's big. It's magnanimous. But can I free you real quickly? You were graced for it. Hear me. I I I didn't go to school for what I'm doing right now. Yes, I studied at Yale Divinity for a season, and I studied behind a lot of pastors. But hear me when I say this. There is no class you can go to at 27 when you don't know who you are as a man, let alone somebody's pastor, and try to lead people. I was graced. There is no sermon you can write to put 12,000 people in an arena and still try to manage being a good daddy and how do I preach on Sundays but don't miss a single football practice and be what that little girl needs me to be? There's no class for that. So I realize the only seasons of my life that I feel overwhelmed is when I'm trying to do it out of my own strength. See, you only feel overwhelmed when you're trying to make moves under your own power. But when you flow in your grace, I'm not going to start. It's grace. I want to speak over your life in this room, online, overflow. You are graced for this. If don't nobody help you raise them kids, I speak a grace over your life. If don't nobody pour into your business and you got to do it, get it out the mud, I speak, "You are graced for this." How do I know I'm graced? Because I made it this far and didn't even think I would get to this point. And if I made it to this point and I was half trying, half focused, half committed, what the devil going to do with me now that I am locked in?
So look at this. Put this in your notes. What you believe about you determines what you'll do with what God gave you. What you believe about you determines what you'll do with what God gave you. I want to jump into it because when He sends them to the promised land, Moses says, "Go scout the promised land." This is critical. Why? He isn't just giving them asking for a scouting report. You may want to write this. It's a faith test in disguise. Caleb spoke from conviction, but the others spoke from comparison. Caleb says, "Oh, no. We're going to go get this." The other folks spoke from comparison. Caleb spoke from a promise. Everybody else spoke from the problem. Oo. Moses says, "Can we go take the land?" "Hey, we need to stay where we at." "Why we need to stay where we at? It's giants over there and they going to kill us. We look like grasshoppers in our own eyes." Caleb said, "Hey, yay. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Shut up. Y'all over here talking about the problem when you got a promise." Can you dream on another level? "Well, I ain't got enough money to do XYZ." That ain't what I asked you. "Can you go back to school?" "Well, I want to, but I still owe loans from the L." That ain't what I asked you. "Can your family bounce back from generational curses where we tried before?" But don't, that ain't what I asked you. Too many of you spend too much time telling God about your problems instead of telling your problems about your God. And hear me when I say this. Hear me when I say this. Caleb spoke from conviction while everybody else spoke from comparison. And that's what I'm trying to break off of us. Notice I said us. I never preach from a mindset that I'm somewhere you're not. I got those same convictions. That's what I try to break off of us. This spirit of comparison. "Well, surely if they only did five, I can't do no more than five." So, I'mma use what they did as the barometer for what God can do in me. "Well, I would start a business, but everybody I know's business didn't work and I ain't got time for failure." So, you going to live your life based off of comparison? You may have something they don't have. Yeah. And God is telling you it's already yours.
Why is that important? PMJ, put this in your notes. Fear will always exaggerate the obstacle to make you forget the opportunity. [Laughter] Fear. That's the F word I want to talk about today. That's a cuss word in my life right now. Fear. I'll pop you in the mouth for saying fear. Fear. Afraid. Scared. Wow. Real quick. Why PMJ? Because fear will always exaggerate the obstacle to make you forget the opportunity. Fear takes something real and stretches it beyond reason until it looks impossible. I'mma read it again. Fear takes something that is real, but it stretches it beyond reason until it looks impossible, not because it is, but because your faith lens has been fogged by fear fiction. That's a heavy statement, and you missed it. Why is that important, PMJ? Let me make that make sense. Make it make it make sense for you. Fear doesn't just lie. It magnifies. It don't just lie. It magnifies. It stretches what is real and it makes it look impossible, not because it is, but because your faith lens has been fogged by fear fiction. Fear isn't just a feeling. This might be worth writing. It's a strategy. That's what fear does to every dreamer in this room. How much does it cost? That price is real. So what we not going to do is over-spiritualize the price. "Well, they want this much, but I know my God shall supply." Yes, He will. But we not going to run from the fact that at the end of the day, you going to need that dollar amount. So what fear does is it stretches it. It stretches that reality based off of parameters. I want to say that better. It stretches that reality based off of proximity. So what you do is say, "It's a million dollars." So then you look to your right. Can't none of them do it with a million. You look to your left. Ain't none of them ever had enough faith for a million. And because you ain't seen it, you deem it impossible. When you don't even realize the business next to it did it, which means if they did it. So please put this in your notes. Fear is a strategy. This is what flipped my life, Rock City, when I realized fear isn't just a feeling. It's a strategy. Make that make sense. If you're not careful, you'll let the sides of the obstacle make you forget the weight of your calling. So listen to your pastor. Fear is not just an emotion. It's a spiritual strategy. Pastor Mike, why you've been giving us so many notes lately? 'Cause we getting ready to go to war. You getting ready to possess some stuff in 2025. This summer ain't going to be a silly summer for you where you end up in something you shouldn't be in. This going to be one of them summers that you look back and say, "It was that summer right there that flipped everything for me." So, please write this. It's not just strategy. Fear is not just an emotion. It's a spiritual strategy used. Look at the definition: to paralyze your purpose, delay your destiny, and disconnect you from divine confidence. Did you get that? Fear is a spiritual strategy.
So, I want to see if you're smart. Let's see if you're smart like me. Okay, here it is. If it's a strategy, the next logical question you should ask is what? Whose strategy is it? So, if it's a strategy, the question now becomes, whose strategy is it? Fear is the enemy's playbook. If he can't destroy you, he'll distract you. If he can't block you, he'll blind you. So what the devil or the enemy does is he pulls out his playbook called fear. And fear is right there on your screen: is the strategy of the enemy. Fear is not random. You didn't just get scared 'cause something in you was worried. The devil sent it. That's heavy, and you missed it. Y'all relationship was good. Y'all were actually getting along. Y'all were in a good place, and out of nowhere, you just start getting scared. "I don't want to get hurt again. I don't want to put myself out." The devil sent that. You have been coming to church, reading your Bible. You on devo energy. You praying more than you ever pray. You getting comfortable not talking to people who take you backwards. Then out of nowhere, you get this feeling that, "I don't want to be by myself. I don't want to be alone. Who I'mma go on vacate?" That's the devil is slick. The devil know he can't stop you. So what he does is he sends something to make you stop you. I'm talking heavy if you receive it. Fear just ain't a feeling. It's a strategy. That's what he do to you. Fear is a strategy. And the devil is slick. Why is the devil slick? PMJ, I need you to catch this. Why the devil is slick? Here it is. Put this in your notes. You ready? Put this in your notes. What's his strategy? Here it is. Here it is. Here it is. Here it is. It's a strategy. It's the devil's strategy, but you don't know who he is. I'm going to free you. Please don't leave my church. The devil don't wear a red suit and got a long tail and a pitchfork and these horns. That see, that's why you keep falling. You keep expecting him to look up, look like something you were told as a child. Who is the devil? PMJ, John 8:44 calls him the father of lies. Revelation 12:10 calls him the accuser of the brethren. Peter 5:8 says he's like a roaring lion. So fear is his strategy.
So I I want to free you. So what does that mean, PMJ? If you don't write nothing else, I want you to write this and underline it and put like five exclamation points next to it and circle it. Okay? The devil has no real power. I'm not even going to get loud when I say that. I'm not even going to get emotional and try to preach it. I want to look. I want to stand flat-footed and look in your eyes. Listen to me. The devil has no power. What does he have, PMJ? He has permission and persuasion. He can't touch you unless he gets permission. Hey, hey, hey. Jesus. God says, "Have you considered my servant Job?" What does the devil say back to Him? "I would have been killed him, but you got to hedge your protection. So I tell you what, if you'll give me permission, I'll go get him." So the devil don't have power. He got permission and persuasion. He uses fear to talk you out of what God already gave you. Y'all missed it. He uses fear to talk you out of what God already gave you. Look at John 8:44. He says right here, "You belong to your father, the devil." Well, let's pause and parenthetically, parenthetically digress and build a bridge of contemporization for the original audience to doubt what's happening to this particular text. In this particular text, they are trying to trap Jesus. The Pharisees think they got Him cornered. Yeah, who do you think you are? You can't do XYZ. You so-and-so, so-and-so, you are a witch. You are a sinner. You are a demon. You know what, Jesus? You demon-possessed. Jesus looks back at them and says, "You know what? You belong to your daddy, the devil. And you want to carry out your daddy's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding the truth. And for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language. For he is a liar and the father of lies." So what does that mean, PMJ? This may be worth writing. The enemy's native tongue is deception. The way you speak English, or they speak Latin, Spanish, or you speak French, his native language is deception. Which means whenever the devil comes into your life, he only knows how to speak lies. Y'all ain't gonna shout today, but it's cool, right? So, he says, look, if you don't mind, put put that on. It says verse 44. He says, "For when he speaks, he speaks lies, for he is a liar, and he is the father of lies." All right. All right. Y'all ready? Take good notes. The devil just doesn't lie. He is a lie. That That's crazy. Listen to me. He's not just a liar. I know that sounds cute. We say that in church. "The devil is a liar." No. No. But I want to be very clear. He's not just a liar. He is a liar. Everything about him. See, see, when Jesus calls him a liar, He's speaking to his character. You want to know my problem with the church? We tend to make people what they did. So just because you slept with this person, now you now now that's who you are. If you mess up one time, now that's who you are. If you lie once, you a liar. No, I lied. I'm not a liar. I sinned. I'm not a sinner. Did you catch what I just said? He says, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I want to make this very clear. Not only is he lying to you, the essence of who he is, this is good, is a liar." Why is that important, PMJ? 'Cause every time fear, doubt, and shame speaks, it's echoing the voice of the devil. You want to know why? You want to know why I'm going as hard as I am right now? I want you to really think about this. To go from Easter to three straight nights back Sunday, another night. Um, devote energy five times a week, seekers on Saturday, baptizing after church today. Pastor Mike, why why y'all going so hard right now? I need you to catch this. 'Cause what the Holy Spirit said to me was, it is so easy to mess them up 'cause they actually think the doubt they hear is the Spirit warning them. Ain't this crazy? See, when you when you're not tapped in, you can't discern if the Holy Spirit is telling you to wait or doubt is telling you to wait. And to a person who ain't tapped in, you start leaning on what you feel and don't realize what you feel was sent by him. It was sent by him. Y'all missed that. See, I was trying to apply for that job, but something in me said, "What was the something?" You don't pray enough to know if it was the Holy Spirit. You don't tithe enough to know it was the Holy Spirit. You ain't fasted for real in 10 years. So, I would almost argue everything you think you feel ain't nothing but the devil playing and manipulating your emotions. See, 'cause you think the devil going to be like, "Don't do it." That ain't how the devil work. The devil don't do that. The devil is subtle. "I'm going to step out on faith and apply for this job." "You sure? You sure you want to get your hopes up again? I just don't want you hurt." And so what do you do? You are now conversing with a liar. And when you converse with a liar, you want to know what I discovered about liars? They quick. Liars don't care who tell it. Liars will look at you and be like, "You know, that ceiling's black, right?" "No, no, that ceiling's white." "No, it's black." "No, no, no, that ceiling's white." See, it looks white to you because you don't understand that paint, when it was originally formed, was found and it's coated. So in order to get white, they had to put all black. So I'm not telling you it looks white. At the core, it's black. Now your stupid self sitting there like, "Oh, wow, that's crazy." And then what do you do? Soon as you get home, "Hey, you know that, you know that still in black, right?" So-and-so was tell. And now you perpetuating the lie, passing like that's stupid right there. Ain't nobody in your family had no money. Ain't nobody's marriage in your family good. So you shouldn't even try to do all that, you know, 'cause you don't want to be hurt. Like, look how miserable they are. That's what you want. You right. "Hey, baby girl, don't trust no man. All you going to do is get this man to pay your bill." All you doing is perpetuate lies. Pastor Mike, why is my life so off? Put this in your notes. Don't let a liar shape your life. [Applause]
So, I want you to get so much. I want you aligned. I'm not preaching for my health. I want you aligned. I don't mind sitting here every Wednesday to talk to the world. I want you aligned. I don't mind making sure somebody's teaching at 7:21 every day 'cause I want you aligned. Why, Pastor Mike? Because there's some doors getting ready to open for you. And some of them doors you ain't going to walk through. See, you ain't see that part coming. You was ready to shout like an average church person 'cause you think every time God opens a door, it's for you to enter. Sometimes God opens doors so you can see ain't nothing back there. Now get back to work. I just need you to reach over that neighbor and high-five another neighbor and shout, "I'm tapped in now. I want what God got for me. And if it's for me, it ain't a devil in hell that could be against me. Give me my joy back. Give me my peace back. Give me my favor back. Give me my focus back." Touch three people. It's that the devil is a liar. [Applause] Yeah, he is a liar. He don't just lie. He is a liar. He don't have no power. Devil can do nothing. Hear me. There is nothing the devil can do to you. Combo that God ain't gave him permission for. I want to ask you a question. Okay. These new parents, we soft. Parents, we soft. All right. Old school parents, old school daddies. Oh, they ain't play. Old school mamas didn't play. Okay. Old school mamas, if you got in a fight and you walked in the house crying, what new school mama do? "Come here. Come here." No. I know they lying. I know they lying. No. No. No. No. No. Your mama didn't even go back with you. Your mom and dad look at us. I tell you what, go back outside. Don't come back in this house 'til you whoop him. Then your cousin would be in the corner. "What you was doing while he was fighting? It was a one, ain't no one-on-one if you there." So I tell you what, both of y'all matter of fact, then they walk you down there and say what? "Do something." See, see, they will go. See, but we ain't like that no more. God ain't like the old school mama with y'all. God is that ratchet crazy mama who take you back to the fight and be like, "Hey, now fight." And you don't want to fight, do you? "Mama, you better fight them or you going to have to fight me." So what you [Applause] do, and you go in there and you start fighting. You want to know why I like that ratchet mama? 'Cause that ratchet mama standing there and all she doing is talking. Yep. Yep. Yep. Then the moment you start nu-kicking you and making you roll, and God is saying, "You scared of a devil that couldn't stop you if he wanted to." So even the stuff he doing in your life. I'm standing there right here like, "All right, all right, okay, cool. You can make their children bad. It's cool. I Hold on. Oh, they going to be a lawyer in 12 years. It's cool. They need this season. Let's go. Hey. Hey. Hey. I didn't say you can. Hey, I didn't say you can touch them, but you so scary. The liar. The liar has convinced you to not even come to the [Applause] fight. When you know the difference in voice and character, you'll know who's speaking. You don't think I wanted to go on tour? I wanted to. I wanted to. Not even 'cause I wanted to sing. It was just so much money. I don't even want to fake lie. It was so much money. That's how y'all do it now. It was so much money. I don't know what this means, but y'all be doing it while I be preaching. I'd be like, "God, give it." I'll be like, "I don't know if they straight like it was it was so much money." Oh my God. Hear me. I I don't come from nothing. I ain't going to even try to act bougie with y'all. I'm from Ensley, 1501 51st Street. We ain't never had nothing. The N we on the phone and we on speaker, and I got Tiffany and my lawyers there, and they talking. "Well, we want to give you so-and-so, so-and-so." I'm like, "Okay, okay, okay." I'm pressing mute like, "Do you know? I would have been on that joint. I gotten it. It would have been big. I would have been open up every dance move I could figure out. I wanted it." I got two boys who going to be in college next year. Mace right after him. That's three. In 24 months, I got three tuitions if God don't bless them with scholarships. Three. Hear me. Hear me. I got a godson going to Alabama State. I'm like, 'Cause in my head, I'm like, "Look at God." Oh, you ain't never did that. You needed something out of nowhere. Look, look at God. You go to a restaurant, they give you some stuff you ain't pay for. That's stealing. God done messing around and gave me some extra hash browns. No, he didn't. That's stealing. You should have got out your car, came back. "Hey, y'all gave me an extra hash brown." I'm being serious. Who going to go back in the store next time? I need to go to the other part of the sermon. Y'all like, "No, God, it ain't that deep." That's overflow in Jesus' name. No, I wanted to do it. I know the Holy Spirit told me not to. And let me be clear, because I want I want the story to end happy. And I didn't recoup what I lost. See, 'cause that's what you tend to do sometimes. See, the devil, while I'm preaching, the devil is talking. "Well, he can walk away from it 'cause he got it." No, I don't. I keep trying to tell you I'm not rich yet. When I get rich, you going to know. I'm going to be very clear. You going to know, and it's not even going to be on no stunt type of stuff. You going to be hearing stuff in the shop that just blow your mind. "Hey, you know some food? I went downtown and bought everybody Travis sandwiches." You're going to be watching the news. Birmingham City School, all schools now have. See, I just want to put on for God. So don't let the devil make you think, "Well, he can walk away from it 'cause he got it." No, I don't. I have to believe God just like you. No. "Well, he took." But I already know God going to give him back to him, though. He ain't yet. I'll be praying just like you like, "All right, now." No, but I heard His voice. And I told you it's right there in my notes. When you know the difference in voice and character, the devil knew what I needed. He knew it. He knew my head was starting to hurt. He knew I got a private school that I don't like getting government funding for 'cause I don't ever want them to be able to tell me I can't talk about Jesus. So he knows that out of all those schools over there, I'm personally at times paying half of tuition and making sure he knew it. And just when I'm sitting in the room like, "I might have to close the school and I got to figure out, man, now my boys gonna be in college and I got to figure out." And out of nowhere, out of nowhere, potential to make half a million in 30 days. You can't tell. I'm sitting there like, "That's like God." Look at look at God. I would have left three weeks before Easter. The Sunday just Jesus would have happened. I would have been gone. Wouldn't have been able to come to Easter. They was going to try to reroute it to where we could have did Easter in the concert that night. I would have been missing for all access. Mace would have hurt his knee, and I would had to talk to him over the phone versus being in the doctor's office and stay calm, stay calm, stay calm, stay calm. Xander going through his breakups and relationship stuff now at 18, and it's hard for me. And if he would have been at home, that I like being able to sit on the floor 'til he go to sleep 'cause I realize I don't have to trip over resources when I got the source. Am I preaching to anybody? There's not a dollar amount I would trade not to be standing here right now looking you in your face saying, "If God did it for them, He'll do it for you, too." But you so busy chasing stuff that you don't know who voice you listening to. Let that my soul here. I got mad. Hear me. So no, whose voice is it that's real? Whose voice is it? Whose voice is? And you can tell the voice based off the character. If it leads to freedom, it's Jesus. Yeah. If it leads to fear, confusion, or condemnation, it's the enemy. If it, if it leads to freedom, it's Jesus. If it leads to fear, confusion, or condemnation, it's the enemy. That's how I operate. Now, hear me when I say this. That's biblical.
Let's talk about character. Put this chart on the screen if you don't mind. Put it on the screen. Even if you have to take me off so they can see it, I don't mind because I want Overflow to see this. Just listen to my voice. If you're watching online, listen to my voice. I want you to screenshot this right here. The attribute and whose it is, the source, Son of God. Look what Jesus calls Himself. I want you to pay attention. What does Jesus call Himself? Son of God. What is the devil? Father of lies. All right. What's His character? Truth, love, grace. What's the devil's character? Deception, hate, pride. What's Jesus' mission? His mission is what? To save, give life, and restore. The devil, steal, kill, destroy. Jesus, a truth-teller, according to John 8:32. The devil, liar by nature. 8:44. Motivation, redemption. The devil, rebellion. What's His works? Heals, delivers, forgiveness. That's enough right there. What did Jesus do while He was here? Heal, deliver, forgive. What does the devil still do to this day? Tempts, accuses, demeans. What's His kingdom? The kingdom of light. What's the devil's kingdom? Kingdom of darkness. What's His response to sin? Offers grace and truth. What does the devil do? Exploits guilt and shame. Come back to me, Dre. Look at this now. What's the endgame for Jesus? Eternal life. What's the endgame for the devil? Come back to me, Tony, so they can see this. I want them to catch this now because look at this. The response to sin is grace. What's Jesus' response to sin? Grace. What's the devil's response? He exploits guilt and shame. I'm going to show you how trifling he is. I'm Oh Lord, is that a bad word? Okay. Oh my God, it kind of is. I repent. I repent for that before I be on be on the blog today. Pastor says, like, "I'm sorry it came out wrong." Okay. Let me show you how messed up the devil is. The devil, look at, look at his mission: to steal, kill, destroy. Look at his character. He deceives. Come all the way down to his response. He will deceive you into sinning. Look at when he comes down to response and then exploits the guilt that comes with it. "How you make me do wrong?" So the devil says, "I mean, you done had a long week. If I was you, I'll get lit today. I mean, your body need to feel good anyway, right? So just, you know, who you can call. Just go and get right. If I was you, I would do blank." You do it. And what's the first thing the devil do? Look at you. He exploits it. So, so let me show you how he exploits it. You ready for this? I know you ain't going to go to church after what you just did. So, one mess up, one sin got you missing two months. The games he played. Think about it. Jesus says, "Hey, y'all do whatever y'all want." God says, "Do whatever you want to do in the garden." The snake, the serpent, the enemy comes to him. Think about it. The devil uses the snake in the garden. In the book of Genesis, the snake is walking upright. After he turns on God, he's now cursed to slither. So think about in the book of Genesis, the snake could walk. [Applause] In the book of Genesis, the snake walks. After he convinces Eve to convince Adam, God curses the snake. Now he has to slither. I'm going to free you real quickly. And nowhere does the devil give him his feet back. You cost me my ability to stand and then left me broken. The devil's sin will never fix itself. That That was heavy. Hear me. This is critical. And what I'm trying to get you to realize, the Son of God sets you free. The father of lies keeps you bound. Don't let the enemy, this is powerful, narrate what only God authored. I want to help you right here. Don't let the enemy narrate what God authored. What that mean, PMJ? Okay. What's your name, bro? Michael. M. Oh, that's a great name. Wow. Michael. What's up, Michael? So, so hear me. This what the go, this what this what the devil does for you. I'm God, right? "Hey, Michael, this is going to be the most blessed season of your life. Doors are opening. Overflow financially. Get ready to be everything God called you to be." Okay. So then what the devil does is he go picks up the script and he narrates it. I'm going to free you real quickly. Okay, watch this. "Mike, doors are opening and you going to have everything." Let's be real now. Doors are opening. I watched them doors. And now he didn't change what God told you. He just narrated it differently. Who done never had to check somebody 'cause you sent a text and they read it in the voice that you didn't send it? "Hey, we should go do so-and-so, so-and-so, so-and-so." You text back, "I don't feel like it." They text back, "What you mean you don't feel like? You don't never want to do nothing. I'm tired of you getting smart with me." Then you call back and like, "Hey, I wasn't saying I don't feel like it. What I'm saying is, I don't had a long week. I just don't feel like it." "Well, you should have said that." I did. How you actually feel about me showed up and how you narrated what I sent. [Applause] This is heavy. And so what I'm trying to show you is you don't even realize you're not even reading the Bible in His voice. You read this like it possibly happened. Not like He stands on it. "Give and it's coming back." Where they do that at? So now you don't give. "Turn the other cheek." "Turn the other cheek." "Be kind to those who despitefully use you." It's called voice inflection. "Be I'm going to show you." All right. Here it is. "Be kind to those who despitefully use you." That's authority. "Be kind to those who despitefully use you." See how I changed the tone of it? That's called voice inflection. "Hey, be kind." "Hey, you got to be kind to those who despitefully use you." So now that just suggests that you should be kind just not to. I love my pastor, but he a man just like me. I'm praying for my pastor 'cause I love him. He's a man just like me. Hey, I love you. I love you. I love you. Why does the devil use fear? Please put this in your notes. Number one, it questions God's voice. So what the devil does is, I'm give you four things why fear works as a strategy. Mama, this good. Okay, here it is. It causes you to forget God's. Question God's voice. Forget God's track record. It elevates what if over what God said. And it causes you to crave safety over obedience. This a good lesson today. I know I'm not shutting it down like y'all want me to. And we ain't shouting, but it's heavy. It makes you question God's voice. All right, so let's be honest. Overflow online, hands up in the chat and in the room. Who lately has been trying to figure out, okay, was that actually God? It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. Was that actually God? Was that okay? I heard something about a week and a half ago. I heard something in the spirit. I ain't gonna say publicly yet. I heard it and I went riding. But people who've been with me for a while, I went riding and I walked it and I walked around it and and I was [Music] like, but you want to know what? I'm not sure if it was God yet. I'm gonna mess you up. Because some of us are so instinctive that we can start planning before God affirms it. Some of y'all are brilliant. No, I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to do XYZ, XYZ, XYZ, XYZ. And it's like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Yes, that can work." All right, this old school talk and ain't nobody going to say amen, but I still need Him to breathe on it. [Music] Jesus Christ, y'all. That's So look at me. So look at me. So what does fear cause us? It makes you question God's voice. Fear makes you forget God's track record. It makes you elevate what if over what God said. Number four, it craves safety over obedience. So that's why you don't step out on faith. You rather play safe. So that's what fear does. It makes you crave safety. So I want to give you an example of fear strategy before I let you go. Number one, insecurity before opportunity. Insecurity before opportunity. Diabetes is crazy because what happens is, I'm give you a scenario. You're offered a platform or a leadership role. What does the enemy whisper? "You're not ready." What's the strategy? Make you focus on your flaws instead of God's favor. See, I want to give you examples. I want to give you examples. All right. Here he is. I never forget my son Mason was playing ball, and he was in the 10th grade last year. They start putting him on varsity, and so he killing JV. I'm talking about it was like a creative player on JV. So they say, "Daddy, they gonna get me some on Friday." They told me the ball coming to me Friday. Like, "Woo!" I'm like, "You're a dog. Just kill it. Do what you doing on JV." "Yeah, Dad. But you know I'm just sophomore. Them grown men now." And I was like, like, "Do you hear what you're saying? Do you do you hear?" Watch this. How you're making a truthful statement, but the devil's using it to take something from you. I walk into rooms now, and in my head, I be like, "Oh, they better than me." And they are. They sing better. I I be in a room now, I be sitting there waiting, waiting on my turn to go, and they be doing all this stuff, and I be sitting there like, "Oh my God." And they like, "All right, it's your turn." Like, "Woo!" But guess what? I don't let it shake me. I don't even play. I don't even play this game, man. They ain't better than me. No, they are. They got something I don't have. That don't mean I ain't got what I got. Y'all, are you seeing this? So, so hear me. Number two, overthinking after a word from God. I'm giving you examples. I want to give you practical examples. Watch this scenario. God tells you to start a business or release a project. All right. What does the enemy whisper? "What if it fails?" What's the strategy? He uses fear of failure to make you stay in a false safety. Let me free you. If you don't at least try and you stay safe, in six years when you see somebody else do it, you're going to be depressed anyway. Number three, another example, comparison at the door of destiny scenario. You're about to step into your calling, but you see other people doing it. You're at the door of destiny. God tells you to do something. You're about to step into your calling, but you see other people doing it. What does the enemy risk? Ah, what does the enemy whisper? "You'll never measure up." What's the strategy? Immediate. I'm sorry. Intimidated with someone else's success so you won't walk in your own assignment. "Well, I can't. They got enough people doing X, but the world is waiting on you." Let me give you one more. Number four, delay in the name of discernment. Did you hear what I said? Delay in the name of discernment. What are you talking about, PMJ? God says move, but fear says pray more. Did you catch that? God told you to do something. So what does fear do? 'Cause y'all forget the devil comes from heaven. So he know your lingo. So fear says, "You might want to pray about that." So what, what's what's the, what does the enemy whisper? "You don't have time." He's not listening. Strategy: make you spiritualize your own hesitation. Fear masquerades as wisdom to keep you stuck in cycles of delay. "Hey, I thought you said you're going to." "I'm praying about it." "I just don't want to make them." "What? What we, what we praying about? How many more signs God got to show you?" So, I want to say this. I got five minutes. Fear, can you put this in your notes? Is hell's marketing department. I'm trying to make it as practical as possible. Fear is heaven's, I'm sorry. Fear is hell's marketing department. It can't change your future, so it tries to convince you to abandon it. So every lie you hear is a marketing strategy. Every piece of doubt you see is a marketing strategy. You ever been on, you ever been talking to somebody about something, then you go on social media and the commercial pops up? You ain't never did that. I just, I did. I was like, "Man, I got, got to find a way to get some waves or something. I ain't used to not having hair. I cut my twist out. Now I'm out here. I ain't got no kind of motion in my hair. I got to give me some waves." I go on Instagram. "Do you want waves?" I was like, "Dang." I'm clicking it. I go on TikTok. "Hey man, this how you do it. You shampoo it. If you get this cream and it be." I'm like, so I done ordered 75 wave kits, five wave caps. And it hit me. Siri listening. So is the devil. Hey man, I I got to tighten up, man. I I've been in a good place since Easter, you know? I've been going to All Access. I've been listening to my word. So now like my Wednesdays, I go to work. I cook while I'm cooking. I got discernment on the TV. Yada yada yada yada. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. What's old buddy? Um, no, no, no, no, no. Old girl. Old girl from 20 2022. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Hold on. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Right now. Press the button. Press the button. Boom. Boom. Soon as you get on social, boom. "Hey, stranger. For some reason, you've been on my mind." He's slick. Faith. Put this in your notes. Is heaven's strategy. It only works if you move when it doesn't make sense. This is heavy. This is heavy. So, what am I seeing? PMJ, you can play softly. I'm gonna need two things in this season. You might want to write them. I'm gonna have to be consistent and persistent. Consistent and persistent. What's the difference, PMJ? Persistence is being consistent in the face of resistance. Say it again. Persistence is being consistent in the face of resistance. Consistent is waking up doing the same thing every day. So what am I telling my church? In this season of your life, you're going to have to be consistent. Wake up, pray.
Get in your word, handle your business. Be consistent about your prayer life. Be consistent about your giving. Be consistent about how you talk to God. Be consistent about how you do XYZ.
Here's the problem. We aren't persistent. What does persistence mean? It means being consistent in the face of resistance. Persistence is waking up doing the same thing every day through difficulty. I'm going through a breakup. I don't know if I could get up and pray. Be persistent. I got all this weight mounting up on me. I just don't feel like being nice today. Be persistent.
I'm having to practice what I preach on a whole another level now. Hear me. Thursday almost took me out. When I tell you Thursday almost took me out. Wednesday night was all access, leave all access. We trying to finish this album up till 1:2 in the morning trying to finish the album. Get home, sit on the couch. Before I know it, the boys hit me. "All right, Dad. We head to practice." They had 6:30 a.m. practice. All right. So, boom. I lay there and I'm like, "They, it'll be okay. I, I ain't got to go today. They going to be straight." My spirit was like, "Be persistent." I get right back up. I'm the only dad in the whole stadium at 6:30 in the morning watching them go through drills. Okay? Watching them go through drills. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Get a haircut at 8:00. At 9:00, we get on a plane, go to Ohio. By 11, I am preaching, teaching. By 4, we are weather delayed. Now we trying to get through the air. Then we finally get back. Don't have nothing left. And I'm just sitting there like, "God, surely my kids would have understood if I just stayed in the bed. Or should I be persistent?"
I don't need nobody who going to love me consistently without being persistent. Did you catch that? If I had time, I would have kept teaching today. I run out of time. We would have got to Numbers chapter 13. And the Lord said to Moses, "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan." And they tell him they can't do it. I want to submit a suggest to you: trusting the wrong people who walk in fear. You can trust the wrong people with the right plan. God tells Moses to go search the land. Moses tells the wrong people to do it. Some of you are going to be successful this year and your past failure wasn't even your failure.
What's the problem, PMJ? You will never make good decisions with bad information. You will never make good decisions with bad information. Some of you didn't step out on faith and it wasn't just because you had fear. You had people you trusted who was feeding you fear. Jesus.
So, what am I saying? PMJ, put this in your notes. I'm going really fast. Communication with the wrong information is contamination. Communication with the wrong information is contamination. So you want to know what happened when they came to you being messy, when they came to you making you doubt, when they came to you in fear, they contaminated your spirit. It's almost the same way you catch a flu, catch the flu or a bug, your faith got sick.
So what did they notice when they got to the land? And they noticed giants. What did they say? "PMJ, the giants are there. They're going to kill us." Giants represent resistance to your faith. Giants aren't sent to kill. They're sent to reveal. Why does God send giants in your life? And giants represents big obstacles. He's trying to reveal something. Giants are the tool God uses to separate the faithful from the fearful. Look at numbers 13-33. He says, "We seem like grasshoppers in our own eyes." And look at how crazy this is. We look the same to them. Y'all never noticed that, did you? We look like grasshoppers in our own lives eyes. And we Where in the scripture do they ever ask the giants what they look like? Because fear makes you project.
Look at this right here. So what does fear do, PMJ? Put this in your notes. I'm going fast. It distorts your identity, which means you have a defeated mentality. They said we seem like grasshoppers in our own eyes. It distorts your identity. Number two, they didn't lose the battle in Canaan. They lost the battle in their mind. When I see my brother state, when I see my brother become syndicated all over the world and radio and different things he's doing right now and I'm so proud of him, I'm so grateful he didn't lose the battle in his mind. My brother DJ Incognito getting baptized today. And I think about me and him come from cities where you don't be successful. You know this when you in Birmingham, the first thing they tell you to do is go to Atlanta, go to Nashville. when you Ohio they like you got bust move. Oh, you're in a small party, George. You got to go to this party. Hey, hear me. And now when I see it all over the world, people don't realize how hard it is sometimes to not lose the battle on the ground, but to win the battle in your mind.
Why do you think I almost I tried to give big away? I I inboxed big to every gospel artist, you know. I didn't think I would be a gospel. I didn't I didn't I never thought I was good enough ever. I'm just now getting to the point I want you to really think about when you listen to Big, when you listen to Amazing, when you listen to I Got It, when you listen to So Good. The majority of the voices you hear are the backgrounds. I never thought my voice was good enough. So, I would write these cadences. If you only knew, then I'm like, "No, no, let the girl sing that part." Cuz in my head, too much of my voice would make it bad. This project I'm working on now is probably the first project where it's predominantly me singing cuz for the first time I'm like, "This is me." And Pastor Mike, why do you share your insecurities with us? Cuz I want to show you you can be successful and still afraid.
[Music] So hear me. So what does it do? Put this in your notes. Fear shrinks your self-perception. It makes you think small of yourself. My mama blessed me. I don't know if she was hating on me or blessing me. You know your own folk will be done. Your folks will throw a shot at you and you don't realize there's a shot till two years later. My mama told me about 6 months. She said, "Mike, you need to sing." She said, "When you work on this project, they need to hear you sing." I said, "Thank you, Mom." She said, "Yeah, you sound like the average person in the car. We like that." Like, what? She like, "You just sound like us. Anybody can sing your song." I forget you. You 60 in college. I had to go I had to crack back at her. You in college at 60. No, but watch this. I want to show you this. She hurt my feelings. I had to I had to I had to I had to clap back.
So, look at this. I'm I'm trying to wrap up. They said God called them giant slayers. Where in the Bible, scholars, does God call them a giant slayer? Nowhere. What did God tell him? It's yours. The moment he said it was yours, what'sever there becomes unto me. If it's giants, if it's mine, I'm a giant killer. If it was no housing, I'm a contractor. See, because the ability to accomplish what he called you is found in the calling itself. The danger of letting fear interpret your identity. It reduces what God enlarged.
So here it is. Insecurity becomes a projection. They never ask the giants. They assume. And when you feel small, you start believing everybody sees you small. Three things we must overcome. Number one, insecurity. That's the that represents how we see. Insecurity isn't about what you see when you look out. It's about what you see when you look in. Insecurity is not a reflection of your surroundings. It's a revelation of your self-perception. I didn't feel good enough. I didn't feel like I was good enough. Had nothing to do with my church telling me how cool I was. Nothing to do with my boys telling me, "Dad, you're true." I never felt good enough ever in life. 2025 is the first year of my life where I actually feel like something. That's a strong statement. I have I don't mind saying this publicly. I have operated my whole life in insecurity. And and and one could argue maybe that was a good thing because I pastored as hard as I did. I felt like I wasn't a good enough preacher or pastor. I don't miss nothing with my kids. I felt like I was never going to be a good dad. try to be the best husband, try to be the best pastor, try to be the best artist. So, what I do is I can't sing well, so I'm going to try my best to just create the the best I I've never in my life felt good enough. Ever. Ever. Ever. Pastor Mike, you can't say that you're the pastor. I don't want to follow nobody. No, no. Maybe if I if I show you that I got issues, you'll start beating yourself up. So, hear me. 2025 is the first year of my life where I'll be like, "You know what? You all right. You know, like you all right. You know, you know." And but insecurity is an internal misalignment that creates external hesitation. You know, and somebody listening to me right now, I'm here to just share with you, man. Okay. Until we address not the devil, he ain't like I'm so tired of us making him so bigger than he what he is. Like bro ain't like that. He not. He's so smallminded that he got kicked out of heaven, came to earth. How dumb he is? Ain't nobody here. And he calls himself the prince of the air. If it ain't no king, why you just won't take it? He knew here. He still couldn't run nothing. Why? Cuz he made you in Genesis and said have dominion. But until we see ourselves right, we will always elevate him higher than us. Grandmama tried to tell you he's under my feet. So I pray for you today. Why, PMJ? Because the enemy attacks your identity to weaken your activity. That's what he's trying to do. To weaken your identity. So I pray against insecurity. I know I'm preaching long, but I just did not want to leave you. had I stopped and left you laughing like the devil could have crept in in places.
Number two, your immaturity. Listen to your pastor. If if insecurity represents what they saw, immaturity represents what they thought. Take your mind back today. Amen. Spiritual maturity is the ability to trust that things are never too bad for God to do something good. That's spiritual maturity. Come on. Spiritual maturity. We overcome immaturity when we learn to make good decisions even in bad situations. So number one, insecurity. Number two, immaturity. The last one.
Number three, impulsiveness. This represents what they said. Insecurity. Look at them giants. Immaturity. Man, we look like how we going to do. But then look what it led to. Impulsiveness. We look like grasshoppers speaking off the cuff. Impulsiveness is when you immediately react with your feelings, not your faith. Impulsiveness is when we consistently rush into quick decisions over quality decisions. "I need to go ahead and do this." Why? "I want nobody else to beat me to it." Then let them beat you. The goal ain't to get there first all the time. Sometimes get there healthy. I was 27 years old. Church was blowing up. All my friends were on national TV and my pastor my pastor kept telling me I couldn't do it. "No, you ain't ready for that, sir. I ain't trying to be funny, but you don't see my church. I can preach. You ain't ready for that." For 10 years, love God, love your family, love your city, the world will come looking for you. So, for 10 years, I did nothing but Rock City Church. I was a myth in certain circles. You know, it's this young dude in Birmingham who like in an arena, but don't nobody know about him. I'm so grateful I was obedient. So grateful I was trying to get somewhere fast that would have crashed me.
Father, I pray over their life that fear is no longer an option. They walk in faith. They walk in boldness. They walk in truth. That you are the lifter of their heads. I speak by faith that we will take dominion over every territory you've given us. I speak by faith insecurity, impulsiveness, and immaturity has no authority in our lives. God, some of them are questioning what's next for them. They at that intersection in life where the next decision determines a lot. Do I move to another city? Do I take this job? Do I marry this person? Do I go back home? Do I downsize? Do I take a leap of faith and start this business? Do I close on this house? Do I change careers? There's something in the air right now, God, that I pray by faith. We won't move unless we get confirmation from you. I speak by faith the ability to discern fear, doubt, and the voice of the Lord. Because God, you said in the book of Proverbs that we trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding and all our ways acknowledge you. you would direct our path. So God, if it's for me, open the door. If it's not, let me hit that door every time I try to go through it. If it's for me, send favor, finances, and resources. If it's not, don't let nothing I do work to make it happen. God, in this season, if you got to protect me from me, I give you permission. We honor you. We love you. We give you praise and glory. It's in Jesus name. And everybody say it. Come on, jump on your feet. Clap your hands. Was that all right today, y'all? Come on, one more time. Clap your hands.
Church, I want to say this. I love you from the bottom of my heart. Here's a good place to clap. After our 11:30 service, we got over 300 people getting baptized today, man. I'm so excited. And hear me. People are coming from far and wide to be baptized. It means the world to us. If you leave 9:00, go get some breakfast. If you want to see some people get baptized, come back up here around 3:00 and celebrate that life. Baptism represents the death, the burial, and the resurrection. When they go in the water, they're leaving the old man in the water. And when they come out that water, all things are made new. So, I'm so excited about that. Maybe you don't know Jesus. You want to give your life to Christ. You're watching online, watch it in this room. All you got to do is number one, text home to 28950. I don't want you to come up in front of everybody. My son uh has Asperers. So, one of the things that the Lord blessed me with is um my son's on the spectrum of autism. He helps me pastor who holy. Everybody doesn't like crowds. Everybody doesn't like being put on the spots. And I had to put biblical text to it. If Nicodemus could sneak in the woods and talk to Jesus, you can give your life via text message, man. And so, if you're in this room and you want to give your life to Christ, you can text home to 28950. If you're in the room, you can just repeat after me and say, "Lord, come into my heart. Make me over again. I confess with my mouth. I believe with my heart you're raised from the dead with all power in your hands. And right now, by faith, I'm saved." Clap your hands for him.
Man, before you leave, listen to your pastor. If you've graduated, make sure you let us know. We want to honor you uh on graduation Sunday. you'll hear more about that. We love you guys so much. I am praying for you. If you're giving today, you know how to give. That's irock with the amount you wish to give to 28950. I love you. I am praying for you. Meet me Wednesday. If you're anywhere in Birmingham and you want to come, I'm calling it all access, but it's really called Bible study. If you want to come to Old School Bible study, ain't no praise and worship. We walk out here. We walk the scripture every Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. Just come right here. It's open to anybody. There's no greeters, no ushers. Just come sit down, sit yourself, and we'll be on live. We'll be teaching Bible study. I love you so, so much. I want to pray a simple prayer over your life, and it's this. Lord, your will. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. It's in Jesus name. And everybody said it. I'll see y'all next Sunday. We are.
[Music] Wow. What an incredible sermon. So amazing. I loved it. Scared for what? You know, and in a time where we're talking about giving God more territory, a lot of time fear is something that'll hold us back from doing that. And we have to learn what the tools are that can push us to really step out on faith and trust in God. Yeah. Like I love that. And if you are somebody who maybe knows of a person who wanted to be here today, but could not make it for whatever reason, make sure that you send them this message. It will be posted on YouTube. Go ahead and subscribe to Rock City TV on YouTube. And also, we don't want you to miss the opportunity to give your life to Christ. Maybe you're saying, "Hey, now is the time." Make sure you go ahead and text home to 28950. Again, that is home to 28950. Yes. And if you would like to give, you know, here we always say we you do not give to your church, you give through your church. You can text I rock with the dollar sign amount to 28950. We are excited for following service. We'll be baptizing more than 300 people, y'all. Good. More than 300 people. So, definitely looking forward to that. Um, another thing we're looking forward to is youth group nights. So, all middle schoolers and high schoolers, go ahead and text NextGen to 28950 and meet us here at the church this Wednesday at 700 p.m. Yeah. And you know, we got divo energy. That's going to be 7:21 a.m. Central Standard Time, Monday through Friday. So, it is our opportunity to get with the people, listen to what they learn from Pastor Mike. It's our daily digital disciplehip, and we love it. We know you love it. So, again, meet us here tomorrow, 7:21 a.m. online for DVO Energy. Yes. Well, listen, that's all that we have. We hope you enjoy your Sunday. Once again, thank you for rocking with us. We'll see you back next week. Peace. All right. Peace. You need peace.