Transcription
I've been in the midst of a series for the last 3 weeks, and titled it "It's On." "It's On." One person asked me, "Why do I preach in series format when my desire is for our church to be a well-learned, edified congregation?" For years, I felt like the church, especially in the African-American context, have become a slave to emotion and become starved of substance. We become a slave to emotion. We have good church. Now, now all we got to do is hit one chord right now. It's certain stuff that triggers people, especially in the black church. It just triggers you. Like, "Give me that right there." Look at you. I ain't say nothing. You ready to have church right there. They just make see, look, watch this right. I could literally look at you and say, "Ham and cheese, bacon and grits." And something about the emotion of the chords just make you want to have some church, don't it? But as a consequence, we become a slave to emotionalism, but we become starved of substance. What does that mean, PMJ? That we've been coming to church on Sundays, eating, but nothing's been sticking. So although you come to church on Sunday, by Tuesday, you feel starved. And when you are starved, you'll eat what you can, not what you need. Am I preaching to anybody? Early in this message, your mind. Oh, I want us to have some good food, some good word, the bread of life. I want to get something good. So I preach in series format. Why is that, PMJ? I didn't learn how to tie my shoes in one tie. I didn't learn how to, uh, math in one time. I didn't learn history in one, uh, sitting. It took repetition. I've said it once, and I'll say it again, and I don't mind repeating myself because I'm not afraid of you. Repetition breeds revelation. Who's heard me say that before? Repetition breeds revelation. What does that mean? The more you read it, the more you see. The more you read it, the more you see. The longer you stay in His presence, the more it's revealed. So what do I try to do? Yes, I can open up the Bible and get a different scripture each week and just preach a different scripture. But no, I want to show you how we've been sitting in one story for four weeks now because it's so pregnant with principles that we can take and make applicable to our everyday life. Woo! I told you it's on. Somebody say, "It's on." "It's on." Now, when I say "It's on," that is not just a statement, but a commitment to taking your life from expectation to I got to preach it two more weeks. You didn't say it bold enough. It is a commitment to taking your life from expectation to what? Execution. From expectation to execution. The average person sitting in this room and watching online is filled with expectation. Oh, I got great expectation. I could tell the whole church up right there. I expect God to do something special in my life. I expect to go to another level. I expect 2024 going to be my year. But let's just flip over that and just say, "But who's going to execute some stuff?" Put this in your phone if you don't mind. Put this in your notes. I love my note-takers who still use pen and pad. That just means so much to me. Those are they that will go to heaven. Not those of you who put it in your phone. You'll get in, but you'll be in the back of the line. But the people who write your notes down, VIP in heaven. There you go right there. Amen. Look at all these saved people. Look at all these saved people. In Jesus' name, put this in your notes. The, the, the E between expectation and execution is effort. The distance between expectation and execution is effort. The difference between expectation and execution is effort. Stop saying what you want if you're not willing to put the effort in to get it done. Oh, I'm not touching and agreeing with nobody for a new house in 2024 who ain't going to put the effort in at saving in 2023. No. Some of us have become miracle junkies. That we think God is a genie in a bottle. That all we got to do is come to church, put $3 in a bucket, and say, "I want this," and He is now obligated to do it. No, faith without works is dead. I, I don't know who I'm preaching to, but in 2024, you're gonna see effort from me. Yeah, you're going to see effort from me. I'm going to do my part so that God can do His part. Have you ever stopped to consider that most of the miracles that take place in the New Testament required effort from the person who got the miracle? Rarely do you see Jesus do it all. There was a brother who was blind, he had to holler. There was a sister who was bent over, she had to walk. There was another sister who was bleeding, she had to crawl. There was another beggar who had to shout. What do I see? I see participation is always sometimes required in your deliverance. And there are two types of people sitting on your row. One of y'all going to cry about what God ain't did. But then one of y'all going to say, "You know what? I've already prayed about it. Now I'm about to put for feet effort." Somebody shout, "Effort! Effort! Effort!" So what does that mean, PMJ? It's okay. It's okay to have expectation. But I want to drop this in your spirit. Be very clear that expectation breeds disappointment. Expectation breeds disappointment. Disappointment. This is why certain people disappoint you and certain people don't. It's because I... Did you catch that? More from you. This is why sometimes your walk with God is so disappointing because you have an expectation of God. You have no expectation of the devil. Yeah. You have an expectation of, of God. You expect God to deliver. You expect God to make a way. You expect God to open doors. You expect God to protect you. You have no expectation of the enemy. So what happens whenever God does not do what you expect? You then turn your whole walk with God about disappointment. And it's okay. But I want to free you. Disappointment is fine. Can you put this in your notes? Disappointment bothers your head, but discouragement bothers your heart. Oh my God. It's okay to be disappointed. Just don't be discouraged. Oh, it's okay to be disappointed. Just don't be discouraged. Why, Pastor Mike? Because I've discovered when I'm disappointed, that is a human feeling that I can then process into becoming a better person. When I become discouraged, it makes my heart hard. If I'm disappointed, I have an opportunity to be better. If I'm discouraged, I can become bitter. Michael, can I actually your question? Which one of you in life are you disappointed or are you discouraged? I experienced disappointment. I had, I had a disappointing week this week, y'all. I was so excited. The Grammy nominations came out this week. And all the talk been, "It's Pastor Mike Jr.'s year. This Pastor Mike Jr.'s year. The album was this. He did that. He did that." And I had a whole little thing. Put my TV on. Had all my kids sitting in there watching it. I got Mason with the camera. Mason got his phone out filming me as I sit there because I was going to watch. They were going to say, "Impossible, Pastor Mike Jr." And I was going to jump. I want to make sure Mason was in the right space to get the right camera shot. And they did. They start announcing all the gospel albums that came out. And I was like, [Music] "Ooh." And Mason go say, "Dad, when are they going to say your name?" "Shut up, shut up, be quiet. Don't do it. Don't do it." And I'm sitting there and I ain't get it this year. And so my boys was asking me, "Dad, how you feel?" I'm like, "Dad, disappointed." I said, "But I'm not discouraged." Michael, I'm disappointed. Why? Because discouragement is a period. Disappointment is a comma. Y'all missed what I just said. When you become discouraged, you place a period there. You say, "No, I quit." Period. "It's over." Period. "I can't come back." Period. But when you understand disappointment, disappointment is what I feel. I'm going to bless three of y'all. What you do with it, Michael, determines what happens next in your life. And that's what really separated you from everybody else in your life. Is that everybody on your row's been through some stuff. Everybody on your row has been disappointed. Everybody on your row has been let down. The difference is, one of y'all took it and allowed it to make you bitter. But then one of y'all said, "No, baby, this is just the beginning." Because what God got for me, it is for me. Am I preaching to you right there? That no, I understand that if I'm breathing, then I still have a chance. That God is not through with me. So what am I trying to get you to do? I'm trying to get you to shift from just expectation to execution. That's critical. Why? I, I've been in the midst of this series, "It's On," and we've been dealing with this brother by the name of Gideon. I like Gideon. Why do I like Gideon? Because Gideon is a perfect picture of what God wants to do in and through us if we submit and be obedient. This incredible. Why? Because in this text, for the past few weeks, we've learned about a man by the name of Gideon, who is the selected leader that God wants to use to deliver Israel out of oppression from a nation called Midian. That's critical. He wants to deliver them from a nation called Midian. What's important about that, PMJ? Because the children of Israel are in bondage right now. Here's what's crazy. The children of Israel are in a season of correction, but they believe it's coincidental. They're in a season of correction, but in their mind, they think that it's coincidental. They think that life is lifing. When in actuality, God is goding. Michael, no. The children of Israel are catching hell. They've been in bondage for seven years. And the children of Israel believe this is by coincidence. When we read the scripture, we discover that the reason they are in bondage is because they did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the children of Israel think that their hell is coincidental. You ain't going to like this, but I got to say it to you. If you looked at your life right now, and you may be going through, can I ask you a question? Is it coincidental or is it correction? That if you look over your situation right now, is life lifing or is God goding? See, life lifing means that I'm just going through stuff that comes with being alive. But I've discovered if life is lifing, God can get me out of that foolishness. But if God is goding, I can't call God to get me out of what God has just put me. I'm preaching. Three of y'all see. How do you know you've matured in God? You have matured in God when you know how to thank God for when He's given, and we can also thank God for when He's taken away. Because the scripture says, "The Lord gave it, but the Lord also takes." Woo! Life ain't lifing. God, Michael, is goding. And can I preach and submit to somebody in this room right now that what if you are sitting in here thinking that it's the devil bothering you? Can I pause and parenthetically digress? And if I don't have a church next week, I apologize, but I can't lie to you. I got to ask you a question. Why do we make everything negative the devil? And we make everything positive? You know, when you got the job, you say, "Oh, I got a promotion." When you got the car, "I got a new car." But, but, but when you get laid off, "It's the devil messing with me on my job." No, sometimes it ain't life lifing. Sometimes it's God goding. Why are they in trouble right now? This is critical. God delivered them into the hands of the Midianites because they kept doing evil in the sight of God. Now, I'm, I'm a wordsmith. I love wordsmith. My professors at Yale Divinity taught me that the text can never mean what it's never meant. That messed me up. So whenever I see words in the Bible, I have to see the voice of the words. Biblical words come in voice. You got active and you got passive voices. So when I saw that the Lord delivered them, I had to discover which voice it was in. It is not in active voice. That's good. It's in passive voice. Voice. When the scripture says, "The Lord delivered them," that is not active. It is passive. What does that mean? Had it been active, that means God tapped on the Midianite shoulder and told them, "If I was you, I would go get them." Pastor Mike, that ain't biblical. You remember when, when He told Pharaoh to let my people go, right? And then he let his people go. Then the scripture says God hardened the heart of Pharaoh and made Pharaoh go chase the children of Israel. That's active. But in this particular scripture, God is not active. Michael, He is passive. What does that mean, PMJ? God didn't suggest to the Midianites to go attack the children of Israel. But rather, God had always been protecting the children of Israel. He just stepped back because if you're not going to be obedient, I'm going to remove my protection. Y'all, y'all, y'all missed. Y'all got to catch this. This is the children of Israel. Okay? This is the children of Israel and the Midianites had always been around them. The Midianites had always been plotting on them. The Midianites had always been jealous of them. Why didn't they attack them? Because the children of Israel thought the reason the Midianites did not attack them is because they were so good. They had no idea that without them knowing, God was protecting them. Watch this. Because there is something called, can you put this in your notes? There is something called inactive enemies. Oh my God. Inactive enemies. The children of Israel thought they had no enemies because the enemies were dormant. Just because the enemy is dormant doesn't mean the enemy is not present. Come here, Michael. They were inactive. You remember Job? Remember Job? Remember God? The devil is roaming to and fro, seeing who he can devour. And God tells the devil, "Have you considered my servant Job?" The devil says something that you miss. The devil says to God, "I would try Job, but you got a hedge of protection around him, and I can't get my hands on them." You missed your first shout of the Sunday. What's your first shout? Pastor Mike, can I ask you a question? Who brought up the hedge first? Was it God or was it the devil? God didn't bring up the hedge. The devil brought up the hedge. Which means, how did the devil know it was a hedge around Job unless he was already trying to get to him, but he couldn't reach them? That's why Grandma said, "I thank you for keeping me from danger seen." I, I don't know who I'm preaching to, but this next praise is the "I don't know" praise. Anybody can shout over what you know God did. But who can praise God for the stuff you didn't even see God do, but God was keeping you in the midst of? You ought to look at your neighbor and say, "It was a hedge around me." Y'all missed what I just said. "It was a hedge around me." You sat next to a hater. Reach over that neighbor and high-five another neighbor and tell him, "It was a hedge around me." I was driving on 65, and it was a drunk car next to me, and I never knew it, but God had a hedge around me. People at my job been plotting on me, but God had a hedge around me. Cancer could have took my body, but God had a hedge around me. I'm sorry. You can sit here and be cute all you want to, but if you know it was nothing but the grace of God, you ought to jump up and shout, "It was a [Applause] hedge!" Do me a favor. Take that hand and just wave it over your neighbor's head and say, "Whoosh." That's the wrong neighbor. Find another neighbor. Say, "Whoosh." That's the sound of trouble missing you. "Whoosh." That's the sound of pain missing you. "Whoosh." That's the sound of heartache missing you. "Whoosh." That's the sound of low self-esteem missing you. "Whoosh." Why am I here right now? Because God had a hand of protection. Y'all missed that. The devil said, "I would touch Job." But you, Michael, have a hedge. Michael, you, Michael, have a hedge. Michael, you, Michael, have a hedge. Now, I know what the hedge means metaphorically. But technically, a hedge ain't really protection. Metaphorically, a hedge is protection. But in my backyard, I got some hedges, yet I still got deer who come through my hedges. I still got the neighbor's dog who comes through my hedges. I still got squirrels who come through my hedges. He's not saying I placed something around you physically. He said, "I done placed something around you spiritually." Now, okay. Oh my God. I got too many millennials. I can't even say this next point because y'all young, okay? Oh, Lord. 20-somethings, make some noise. 20-somethings. Oh, okay. Y'all just sit here and be quiet. Y'all ain't going to have a clue what I'm talking about. All my grown folk. Grown folk, hear me. Hear me. When I was growing up, we didn't have reality TV, okay? I didn't know about no housewives. I didn't know about no hip-hop. We ain't have none of that. We had real TV shows like Star Trek, okay? Look, you don't even know how to shout. We feel old talking about it, okay? Star Trek, the Next Generation. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. And this is how you know you saved. This can preach. "To boldly go where no one has gone before." All right. So they're out of nowhere. Captain Bard would be in his chair or he would be in the lunchroom, and they would come and get him. "Captain, we need you on the deck." And Captain would walk on the deck, and Spock would be in his decision, and the Klingons would be in his decision. He like, "Tell me what we got." "Oh, we have an enemy approaching at third sector, third sector, and he's armed and dangerous." And then, then Captain would say, "Put the cloak up." All right. You don't know what the cloak is, right? That means the whole ship would become invisible. All right. So they would literally be flying next to the enemy, but the enemy could not see them. This is why people on your job got laid off, but it skipped over you. This is why your whole family crazy, but it skipped over you. Because God has something. The children of Israel, am I doing all right? The children of Israel had God's hand on them, but because of their disobedience, God had to step back. Children of Israel, was it? They are him. But God said, "You got it." My, my boys. All right. My, my baby boy, Miles, he's six. Fellas, he a dog. Yeah, my fellas know what I'm saying. He a dog. Dog. He a dog. When I say he a dog, we just won first-grade championship. He scored the touchdown and kind of sealed the deal. He got through. He did. Gave me a little hair shake like, "I'm like, 'Ooh.'" But he got three big brothers. Right? They beat him up all day. You know when you the baby boy? But that's going to make him see. Look at the mama like, "Uh." But all the daddy's like, "What?" Yeah, yeah. All day. They upstairs playing football. If he walk down the hall, they bump him. So he's tough. Like my little, he tough, right? He mean, but he also a crybaby. But he tough. You know, it's weird, but he tough, but he a crybaby. But, but lately, he been feeling his. Okay. He been challenging Mason. Now, what's crazy is Mason is the baby of the big three. Which means the big two did the same thing to Mason. So he telling Miles, "I come in there, you don't want this. You don't want this. You don't want the smoke. You don't want the smoke." I head tap you. Mason. If Mason's sitting on the couch, Miles just walk by, throw the ball, catch it on his head, and be like, "Oh, you don't want this smoke. You don't want smoke." So then Mason's looking at him. And have you ever been able to tell somebody's about to go crazy? But then they saw you sitting there. Mason said, "All right, Miles, stop." And Miles like, "No, what you want to do? What you want to do?" And Miles will throw the ball. He'll push him. And I'm sitting there weak, right? But Mason is getting irritated. And in my heart, the moment they get upstairs and they, I can't see him, he going to child abuse. Miles, I already know it. Miles going to come downstairs with a bruise somewhere. Hey, but that's part of life. That's the circle of life. You saw that in Lion King. That's the circle of life. So all of a sudden, Miles just talking reckless. And yesterday, it almost got there. He like, "No, what you going to do?" And he kept walking up to him, putting his forehead on my May. Miles is six, Mason is 14, right? He like, "Miles, I'm telling you to just stop." And I'm sitting there weak. And then Miles say, "You just going to laugh at it?" I said, "Ma, I'm not laughing at what he doing. I'm laughing because he remind me of us." He said, "What you mean, Daddy?" I said, "This boy walking around the house clearly thinking he the toughest person in this house, but has no clue the only reason you ain't put hands on him is because your father told you in secret, 'Just let him think he tough right now.'" And Mason like, "Dad, because I swear I will pick Miles. I will pick Miles up and choke you know you, Mom, when you start planning out what you do." "Dad, I will choke slam him, I promise. And just start pounding his chest. I won't hurt him, but I'll just do enough." I'm like, "I know, Mace. I know, Mace." But then Mace messed around and talked to Miles. He said, "But, but, but the only reason I ain't put me hands on you is because Dad." So then Miles looking like, "What you mean?" He was like, "Dad, Dad, Dad can't help you." I was like, "But, but I told him not to do it." He said, "No, tell him not to." I said, "All right, handle your business." I go to the restroom. By the time I get back, I get a call from Lady. "You need to talk to M. He just too rough." I said, "No, he didn't want my [Applause] protection." I wonder who sitting in here and watching online been walking around all 2023 like you all that? You think your degree did that? You think your Masters did that? You, you think your 790 credit score did that? Had God not been God, you wouldn't be where you are right now. And instead of shouting for a house or a car, when is the last time you shouted that God's been good to you? That's why Praises was worshiping the way he's been worshiping. Because some of y'all only shout for stuff. But some of us know God's been good. No. God said, "I got you." Running out of time. God says, "I got you. I'mma just step back. I'mma be passive." That's crazy. I'mma be passive. An active God is dangerous. A passive God scares me. Woo! God said, "All right, there you go. Do your thing." And the Midianites took them. Now, you have to do your research to understand that in the Book of Judges, it tells us that the Midianites did it. But what it doesn't tell you all the time is the Midianites joined forces. Come here. The Midianites joined forces with other nations that didn't like Israel. I'm about to run. I'm sorry. I, I miss my small church. This church too big. I'll be trying to preach to all sides of y'all. My legs be hurting. I got gout right here. I be in the back. My gout be acting up. So I be trying to just do all this to everybody, but I'm tired. It takes a lot. So I'm going to just stand right here and preach to everybody, okay? Midianites couldn't take Israel by themselves. I'm going to preach. So they hooked up with some people who didn't like Israel. This going to mess you up, okay? Taco. They didn't like each other, but what they had in common was they both didn't like them. Have you ever met some people who didn't like each other, but their hate for you made them get a... I, I, I got, I, I got to go. If you want to take notes, that's what we call comrades. That's what we call comrades who don't necessarily like each other, but they have a vested interest in not liking you. They get together and they say, "Let's go attack them." I'm, I'm, I'm trying to be dignified. I promise, bro. I'm trying to be dignified. But this the part that told 9:00 up, okay? Now, you got to understand, 9:00's a little more seasoned. That's when my older saints come. So they get the word at a quicker pace. Sometimes 11:30, I have to tell a story, story. I have to tell a joke. I have to walk all the way over here and do all this. 9:00, I can just stand right here and just stand flat-footed and preach. This going to mess you up. The Midianites didn't come year-round. They only showed up at harvest time. See, see, y'all see only the middle section caught it. All the young people like, "What is harvest time?" Like, "We ain't no farmers. What is harvest time?" Okay, okay, okay. Harvest time. Time. Okay, how can I, how can I modernize, contemporize, and Mize that text? How can I bring that particular statement from antiquity to modernity properly? Building a bridge of contemporizing contextual. That's called harvest time. Okay, contemporarily, it's called paycheck. Oh, there you go. You caught it. D. They only showed up when they got something. Now, bro, this is what's crazy. They showed up at harvest time, but didn't take the harvest. They would step on it, break it, ruin it, or burn it. They didn't want it. They just didn't want them to have it. Hear me. Hear me. And can you imagine working all year? Can you imagine, bro, waking up in the morning and it's freezing cold and you out there applying the field? Come on, y'all. Get out here. Help me. And you get there in the springtime, roll around. Okay, okay, let's go. And year one, you come outside and your kids say, "Dad, you've seen the field and the wheat this tall and corn everywhere, and you can see everything you've grown." You like, "Oh, baby, the harvest came. All my work paid off." Hey, y'all, this is what we going to do tomorrow. We going to go out there as a family and we going to pick the harvest. Only to wake up that morning and it's on fire. And you like, "Okay, okay, it's cool, it's cool, it's cool." But then year two roll around and it happened again. And now you like, "This ain't a coincidence." Then year three roll around and y'all start having meetings. "What, what we going?" "Hey, what we going to do?" Year four roll around. Year five. Let's just say around year six, you get smart and you say, "You know what? At the first sight of growth, y'all got to pick it." But you want to know the problem with that is, you are now becoming comfortable with less than what it could be. So whereas the crop should have been this big, now you picking it when it's this big. And what would have fed everybody can only now feed a. And now you're like, "Uh, like I'm getting tired now, man. What, what?" And I know this ain't y'all because y'all successful. I know this ain't y'all because you got all figured out. But can I just preach about myself? I know what it's like to go hard as you can possibly go and then you look up and feel like you ain't got nothing to show for it. I know that's like. You can, you can sit in here and be, I know you got it together. I ain't preaching to y'all. Y'all rich at this service. God bless you. But I am preaching to three of y'all who done loved people and took care of folk and you gave people your last when you didn't even have nothing. And you convinced yourself that if I ever need something, I know they going to come through for me. Then you finally mustered up the strength to ask. And what's crazy is, you ain't even a type that will ask for nothing. And then the very people you gave your last to now ghosting you. Are you sitting there like, "Man, what I'm going to do? What am I?" Know what it's like to be a man and you trying to figure out what you going to do for your family. And you sitting there trying your best to figure it out. And, and she don't know because you telling her, "You got it all. We good. We good. We good." So now you fussing, and now kids acting ungrateful. And now you sitting in your car contemplating doing something crazy because the man in you want to provide. But the reality is, you don't know where it's going to come from. And now you start thinking back in your head, all the stuff you could have did. And all the stuff. Sisters, you know what it's like to be sitting there and you like, "God, here I go again. I made myself a promise. I would not do XYZ and XYZ." And I'm sitting here having done all the work, but no harvest. John 10:10 says, "The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy." Now, let's just stop right there. The thief comes only to kill, steal, and destroy. If you look at that scripture, you want to know the problem with the 21st-century Christian? We have sensationalized surviving. We have not just in church, but in life. We have sensationalized surviving. Well, so and so walked out your life, but you made it. So and so, you went through this, and you went through cancer, and you went through this, but you survived. And we have sensationalized surviving. But what we don't realize is John 10:10 doesn't just say he kills and destroys. It says he steals. Put this in your notes. Just because you survived doesn't mean you won. I'm going to say this, and three of y'all going to catch it. It's some stuff I survived that I was bragging about because I was taught to. If you make it, you need to tell people. "I still make." "But I'm still here." But I didn't realize the devil didn't kill me. He didn't destroy me, but he did steal some stuff. And the crazy thing is, I didn't know it was stolen till I reached for it and it was gone. [Music] Michael, that's for five of y'all who survived a crazy relationship and you trying your best to move on. But now that you're in a new relationship, you can tell yourself you survived the last one. But now that you think about it, the new person is asking you for trust. But you didn't realize that you survived that relationship, but it stole. I'm preaching. Three of y'all see. Everybody can't say amen to that because we want people to think we so bad because we survived. "Yeah, I went to so and so, but I survived." No, your peace didn't. "I survived." Uh-huh. But your joy didn't. "I survived." Yeah, yeah. But your heart didn't. That's why you mean as you are now. You used to be kind. You used to be nice. You used to be so compassionate and caring. But so many people started using you, and you kept surviving the use. You kept surviving the abuse. Then it messed around there with your family, and now your family taking you for granted and taking advantage of you. So yes, you survived, but now you don't trust nobody. You don't want to be around nobody. Just because you survived doesn't mean you won. The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and he said, "Mighty warrior." Oh, I got to get out of here. He said, "Mighty warrior." Oh, that's enough to tell the church. We had church last week. He said, "Mighty warrior." I see a principle that we can take and make applicable to our life. In the book, in, in, in, in, in the Old Testament, he calls Jacob Israel. He rose up on Jacob and says, "And from this day forth, Jacob wrestled with the angel, and he said, 'I'm going to call you Israel.'" In the New Testament, he rose up on Simon and says, "Who do men say that I am?" Simon says, "You are Peter." He says, "Upon this flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, and upon this rock I will build my church." He changed Simon's name to Peter. Y'all missed it. He changed Jacob's name to Israel. He changed Simon's name to Peter. He does not change Gideon's name. He tells Simon, "You know what, brother? I'm going to change your name." He tells Jacob, "I'm going to change your name." I'm about to run. He tells Gideon, "I'm going to let you keep the same name. I'm going to give you a new adjective." Michael, Michael. Because there's a difference between a noun and an adjective. A noun is a person, place, or thing. An adjective describes the person, place, or thing. Have you ever stopped to consider the reason they got an attitude with you is not because of you, but your adjective triggers them? I'm, I'm preaching. I'm preaching. Three of y'all. It ain't you. They can't take it's your adjective. Because y'all work on the same job, but you walk around blessed. It's the adjective that irritates. I, I, I, I don't know who I'm preaching to, but you ought to just lay hands on your own head and say, "I got a new adjective, baby. I am not just a woman. I'm a blessed woman. I am not just a man. I'm a wealthy man. I am not just a mother. I'm a mother who provides." You ought to just shout, "I got a new adjective. I got a new adjective. I got a new adjective. I got a new adjective." You've been missing it. You've been missing it. You've been missing it. You've been missing it. You've been missing it. You've been missing it. Head, not the tail. Lender, not the borrower. Above, not bless. Coming in, bless going out. I don't know what you're going through right now, but I dare you to praise God like you already the. If He called you to. Look at your neighbor, say, "Neighbor, I'm not shouting over who I am. I'm shouting over what I'm about to become." And the last shall be first, and the first shall be last. God's getting ready to do something new in my life. I dare to touch five people and say, "I feel a name change. I got a new adjective." My praise, my Michael, my praise is not predicated on my noun. My praise is predicated on my adjective. Because my adjective is prophetic. God only calls you something. He calls Gideon a warrior while Gideon is still hiding. He does not call Gideon who he is. He calls Gideon who he's [Applause] about. If you going to be in my life this year, you need to call me something. If you going to be in my circle this year, you got to call me something. If you going to walk with me this year, you got to have the ability to see in me what I can't see in myself. I just dare you to look down your row and shout, "This is a blessed row." Matter of fact, everybody on your row ain't got to give God glory. I brought enough praise for everybody in my session. Let me. I got to go. He tells Gideon, "Let's go home." Y'all tired of me. I got to get you home, okay? So watch this. I'm going to go fast. He tells Gideon, "You're a mighty warrior." He said, "But you don't see yourself, right?" Gideon says in the Bible, "How am I going to be a warrior when I'm the least in my family and the weakest in my tribe?" Throughout the Bible, I'm going fast as I can. We see where God calls people something, but they come up with an excuse. He tells Abram, "You're going to be Abraham." Abram says, "I'm too old to have a baby." He tells Moses, "Go tell Pharaoh, let my people go." Moses tells God, "I got a stutter. I can't speak." He tells Jeremiah, "I want you to be a prophet." Jeremiah says, "I'm too young." Can I ask you a question? What's your excuse? There was a man at the pool of Bethesda. And they believed at the pool of Bethesda, they had magical powers. They believed that when the water stirred, if they just got in the water, they would be healed. Jesus rose up on the man and says, "Hey, what are you doing?" He says, "I have no one." He looks at the man and says, "Do you wish?" I'm going to scream. "Do you wish to be made whole?" That man looks at Jesus and says, "I don't have nobody who will put me in the pool. I'm paralyzed." And the problem with that man is the same problem many of y'all have. The same problem that Moses had. The same problem that Jeremiah had. The same problem that Jacob had. The same problem that Gideon had. You keep telling God your excuse. When the book of Jeremiah gives us a principle, "When you were in your mother's womb, I knew you." If He's the Alpha and the Omega, that means He called you knowing what you were going to say before you ever. He says, "Gideon, I got to get you to see yourself right." Your issue ain't the devil. Your issue ain't the Midianites. Your issue is you don't see you right. Your issue is you let people treat you based off of how they see you, not based off of how you see you. And if you saw you the way I see you, you would tell them, "See you later." I'm preaching better than y'all receiving that. Do I need to run that thing back? I'm better to be strapped in. Do I need to run that thing back? Your problem is, if you would see you the way God sees you, you would tell them. Who sees you? Seek. May the Lord watch between me and he says, "No, I need you to see yourself better." And what does He tell him now that you see yourself better? He says, "I need you to pick a team." God shifts from working on Gideon's sight to working on Gideon's selection. I got to go fast. He shifts working on Gideon's sight to working on Gideon's selection. Because if you going to win, not only do you need to see right, you got to pick [Applause] right. Because you cannot accomplish a God dream while staying committed to a wrong team. Michael, you cannot accomplish a God dream while staying committed to a wrong team. Okay, I want to free you. I want to bind something. I'm going to bind something, and you ain't never heard a preacher say this, okay? What I'm going to tell you, they probably going to say it's blasphemous. They ain't never heard a preacher say it. I'll take the L. I'll take hate. I'll take the shots. Okay, here it is right now, in the name of Jesus, I bind up false loyalty. Whoa, whoa, whoa. No, my last pastor told me I had to be loyal. Yeah, he did. But he didn't put an adjective on it. He gave you a blanket statement of loyalty. Now you think removing yourself from toxic people makes you disloyal? Can I ask you a question? All my M, give me a what, what, what, what? All my M, who still got, uh, big children, give me a what, what? All my M who got children who still got the umbilical cord, give me a what, what? So y'all walking around with the umbilical cord still on the baby? So look at me. So look at this. So you got the, you got you, and you got this umbilical cord. And so what would it look like right now if the umbilical cord was still connected? What would it look like for your baby if you were still loyal to an old season? See, the umbilical cord was critical for the past season, but the moment you gave birth to it, it was no longer necessary. And some of us are remaining loyal to stuff that don't even apply to this. I'm moving from expectation to ex. Put this in your notes. But execution may require elimination. I'm going fast as I can. Give me six minutes, and I'm going to get you out, okay? Because God doesn't always add by adding. Sometimes He adds by subtracting. Oh my God. I got, I need a better church. I want an old-school church. This young church just don't be getting it. I want a grandma church where I have to wear suits every Sunday because they get it. Sometimes God don't add by adding. Sometimes He adds by. Gideon. Gideon. He tells Gideon, "You're going to be a warrior." Gideon finally gets to get to the point to to where he believes, and he gets 30,000 soldiers. Who Gideon feeling good about itself, right? He says, "Yeah, got 30,000 soldiers. What they want to do?" And God rose up on him and says, "You have, Michael, too many, Michael, warriors with you." Michael, you trying to do with a whole lot what I called you to do with few. You think that the success in your life is tied to the quantity of people in your life when it's really tied to the quality of people in your life. You think you need a whole lot of yeses. You don't need a whole lot of yeses. You just need one good. The Lord said to Gideon, "You have too many warriors with you." If I let all you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength. If I had time, Taco, I would run. If I had time, I would tear the church up because what God tells them is, y'all missed it. Y'all going to win, but they missed it. He says, "I want to be very clear. It's 30,000 of y'all, and y'all going to win." The issue ain't the win. It's the way. Yes, you up all night stressing on if you going to win. God is more concerned with the way you going to win. And you at home frustrated. That's why won't nobody help me? Because God don't want nobody to get His glory. If they help you, when you tell the story five years from now, you going to have to say, "Hey, you know, man, Kea came through. Noah, man, you know, Mike came through." Noah, you going to be able to say it was nobody. Am I preacher? I'm trying to be dignified. It was nobody. That's for five of y'all who going to go to another level mentally that this year, when folk don't help you, instead of getting mad, you going to be like, "Thank you. I shouldn't even ask you in the first place because what God got for me, it..." Look at this. Look at this. He said, "I tell you what, you got too many people." I tell, I tell you what. I tell you what. This is what we going to do. Let everybody. It's right there on your screen. Next scripture. He says, "Let everyone who is timid or afraid, they may leave and go home." And 22,000 of them went home. You missed it. You see stuff at 40. I'm 40 now, y'all. I embrace it. I was going to lie and tell you I was 37. Uh, I got five kids and a mortgage and deacons. I'm 40. Forget y'all. I'm 40. I'm 40. All right. So I see stuff now at 40. I ain't seeing my 20s and I ain't seeing my 30s, okay? I ain't see it, okay? In my 20s, when I read this scripture, you know what I saw? "I don't need everybody. I can do bad all by myself." Yeah, that was immature. But then in my 30s, I was like, "You know what? I need a good team. Some of y'all can get out my life." No. Now at 40, I see stuff differently. This is how you know you're maturing. When somebody start talking to you, and you hear what they don't say. Yeah, women got this trick. You can be like, "Pray for me, babe. Pray for me, babe. I was on I-65, and my car flipped seven times. I'm in the emergency room, you know, and Kea had to call the police and had to do so and so, so and so. I had to have seven surgeries." She be like, "Yeah, now who, who was Kea?" No, she hears stuff differently. Am I preaching to anybody? She, she hears. Forget your leg hanging over here and your arm. No, no, no. Run, run.
That back run that back. You now, you got a fake. A all. So, so hear me. At 40, I see different. Watch this. I'mma see if you catch it. Therefore, tell the people, whoever is timid and afraid may leave this mountain and go home. So, 22,000 went home. Did you see it? What you saw? 22,000. What you saw? Afraid. What you saw? They were scary. You want to know what I see? At 40, he never told him to leave. The word says if they are timid and afraid, they may. He never told them to leave. He just gave them an option. And scary people going to do what scary people going to do.
Go next slide, Leslie. They, they missed what I said. So, so who do I need to let go of? I got to let go of people who lack aspiration. 22,000 people left 'cause they were scared. They lack aspiration. What's the definition of aspiration? Aspiration is a hope or ambition of achieving something. 22,000 people were comfortable where they were. All they needed was an option to leave. And you want to know what I discovered? You don't know who's with you until they have the option not to be. I'm teaching today. You don't know who's with you until they have the option not to be. 22,000 people said, "Nah, you can have this. I'd rather lose my harvest every year." 22,000 people said, "Nah, I ain't going to dream on that level. I just rather stay where I am." 22,000 people said, "Nah, you got to think deeper. I'd rather my kids grow up in the same cycle like me. I'm going to go home."
Y'all tired of me, but before I leave, I want it. I know everybody in here and everybody watching me online don't want it, but I just want to be very clear. I want it. Y'all, I'm not in this to be normal. I'm not in this to be average. And church has tricked us into believing that if you're saved, you can't have ambition. There is nothing wrong with ambition, but there is something wrong with unchecked ambition. Yeah, no, no. I want it. See, when you know who you are and what God called you to be. No, I want it. No, I, I, I want to smoke. No, I want to be responsible for saving young lives all over this city. I want to be responsible for helping change the economic impact of people who are in struggling positions. I want to smoke. No, I want it. I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid. No, ain't nothing scary about me. I'll be walking around here talking bold and don't be having none of what I be saying. I got it. I'll be sitting and me. Hey, how you doing? Yeah, I was calling inquiring about those 30 acres you had over there. Oh, man. Yeah, man. We want 2.7 million. Oh, wow. That's it, man. Wow, wow, wow. I'll tell you what, let me call my CFO real quick and figure out how we're going to do this. We're going to do cash or financing, man. Wow, man. Have you already done a property spec of it? All right, let me call you back. Hang. 2.7 million. I ain't scared. Ain't scared. If you don't inquire how you, Michael, if you don't inquire about it, how you know what to pray about? Let's, let's go. They tired of me. I'm not even going to play. 22,000 left 'cause they were scared. I wonder what would happen if you gave your circle options. Hey, y'all, I'm just giving y'all the heads up. In January, you know, Pastor Mike Rock City going to do a 21-day fast. So I'm asking everybody in my circle to do this 21-day fast with me. And we're not going to do something like social media. We're going to do a hard one. We're going to do like, just let it. We're going to do a Daniel Fast. We're going to do something hard. If they look at you like, "Oh, that's good for you. I'm so proud of you." What they really saying is, "Okay, hold on, hold on. Let me, let me free you. Let me free you."
22,000 left because they were scared. Then God says, "You still got too many." 10,000 too many. He said, "This what we going to do." Then he said, "This is what we going to do." I need you to catch this. He says, "Take them down to the brook and get some water." This how we going to test them. Everybody who puts the water in their hand and drinks it out their hand, we going to keep them. But everybody who gets on their knees to drink the water out the lake, we going to send them home. Only 300 men drank from their hands. What does that mean, Pastor Mike? It's hard to win with thirsty people. He says, "We going to separate the next group by thirst." Y'all don't like me. Y'all don't like me, but it's cool in the game. Let me show you what he says. He says, "Sometimes execution requires elimination." So the first thing we need to do is let go of everybody who lack aspiration. Secondly, we got to let go of everybody who lack alignment. Alignment. He says, "No, I can't. I can't do this." Why, PMJ? I need you to catch this because they were too thirsty. Why, why is that important, Pastor Mike? That's important because I need you to understand God is not just concerned with your win. He's concerned with the way you win. All right, alignment. Alignment. Who need a front-end alignment? Anybody? All right. Okay. All right. Need a front-end alignment. I had a girl at the first service. I said, "Who needed?" She said, "She threw a hand up." I told her, "I'm going to get your front-end alignment." All right. So we're going to take her car this week, get her front-end alignment. But she had me weak. 'Cause here, if you need alignment, I want you to answer this question. If you take your hand off the steering wheel, which way your car going? Whose car going left? Throw your hand up. Right there. You go right there. Whose car going right? Anybody. Ain't it crazy? 'Cause you be driving and if you just take your hand off the steering wheel for a second, what that thing do? It's like, it's like your car just be like, and you be sitting there like, uh, but your car is not in alignment. Four tires. Let's, let's play devil's advocate. Four tires equal four people. Your core four. Can I ask you a question? Are y'all drifting? And if so, which tire needs to be changed or what needs to be realigned? 'Cause what we value determines what we do. He tells him, he says, "Get rid of them." He's left with 300 people. You want to know something? I never paid attention to. And I didn't say this at the 9:00. I'm going to say it to you guys. If you look at verse eight, it's on the screen. I want you to catch this. So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home, but kept the 300 who took over the provisions and the trumpets of the others. Y'all missed it. So because he had the right 300, the 300 kept all the stuff the 30,000 had. So instead of 30,000 getting one, 300 got 10. And look at what happens. The story goes on to say that the 300 blew their horns. In verse 22, when the 300 blew their ram's horn, I want you to listen very carefully. The Lord caused the warriors in the camp to fight against each other with their swords. I don't think you caught that. When they blew the horn, because they were in agreement, 300 sounded like 30,000. Watch this. And the sound of the trumpet, and the Lord caused their enemies to turn and fight each other. And those that were not killed ran far away. I'm going to send you home. I'm sending you home. I'm sending you home. Four weeks ago, I told you God called Gideon a what? Warrior. Four weeks ago, I told you God called Gideon a what? This ain't a trick question. What do warriors do? Can I ask you a question? If they blew a trumpet and the people killed each other and the other people ran, when did Gideon ever fight? I'll tell you, he fought through insecurity when God called him. He fought through fear when God was taking people away. See, you keep thinking God going to anoint you to fight physically. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities. Gideon's a warrior 'cause he understood in retrospect that the greatest fight you will ever fight takes place in your mind. I don't mind sharing my story. I wrestle so bad sometimes with anxiety. I do. I've gotten so much better, bro. So much better. The more mature I come, the more grateful I become. I found out for me, my anxiety was not tied to what I didn't have. It was tied to what I felt I wasn't yet accomplishing. You know, it was the fear of rejection. You know, because you help so many people. I used to sit with my team and like, man, just what if everybody just walk away from me? Like, how long can I keep this? And I would just sit up sometimes and just be thinking about problems that didn't even exist. You know, night I won Artist of the Year for the second night. That was probably my lowest night. I went downstairs in the lobby and I just sat in there and I was almost in tears 'cause I was trying to figure out what I, how I got there. Then I'm dealing with the pressure of, how do you do it again? It's okay. I got to figure this. I got to figure this. Come, come, come, come. I got to figure this. Buy this building. Devil tried me, boy. I told y'all. I thought my fear would be, we had enough to get the building, but not enough to fix it. Hey, whatever happened to this anxiety? My boys big now. 16, 15, 14. They're in locker rooms. They're hearing about stuff. They're dating. They're going places. I had to call and tell my mom, "Sorry," 'cause I realized now if Xander's out, it's hard to sleep. It's like, you made it in yet. You where you at? Hey, how y'all doing? Where you at? Where you at? You know how I got better? I adopted a spirit of gratefulness. I had to start winning that war in my mind, saying, "Hey, God loves you, Michael. That God, God has an assignment for you." Pastor Mike, why are you telling me that? You're my pastor. You're supposed to have it all together. I'm you with a microphone. And I don't want to be a superstar. I don't want you to look. I'm not Jesus. You come limp to me. You might have to limp back. I don't, I don't, I don't know if I got those powers. I don't know. We're going to have to figure it out as we go. Boy, in Jesus name. Ah, it didn't work. Ah, I tried. That's all right. All right. But I tell you something. I'm not, I'm not afraid to trust God, even with reservations, even with fear. Father, I stretch my hands to every person in this room and every person online. I ask that their faith be renewed. God, I pray right now for that mother who's doing it all by herself. God, she's a superhero, literally making sure that that baby misses nothing in life. I ask that you restore her strength and restore her joy. And God, I pray that she will never run out. No lack. That God, that provision is already in place just for her. I thank you right now, God, for that wife who's holding that family together. That wife who's the glue, who puts that family before all that they do. And they're constantly saying, "You know what, God? I'm going to make sure my house is right. I'm going to make sure my baby's good. I'm going to make sure he's good." And sometimes, God, she goes overlooked. So right now, God, I ask that you would give her strength. Truth of the matter is, she's strong, but she's also tired. So God, I ask that you'll give her another portion of favor, another portion of grace, another portion of strength. God, I thank you for that lady who's successful, who's walking in her winning season, who's seeing God do things she never thought he would do. God, make sure she keeps a spirit of humility, understanding that she's not winning just to show out, but she's winning to be an example of what God can do if you remain faithful. I thank you for that brother in the room, God, right now, who feels like he's in the best place of his life. Still has challenges, but for the first time, his spirit's just in a good place, his heart in a good place, his mind in a good place. He's not hanging with certain people like he used to as much, but God, he's slowly transitioning and becoming what you called him. Give him grace, God. God, if you don't mind, show him a sign this week that he's in the right direction. God, I thank you for that husband. God, I thank you for that father who goes above and beyond. I ask, God, that you'll continue to give him everything he needs so he can be the man that you called him to be. Now, God, I want to say publicly, if you don't do nothing, you've already done enough. God, I just want to thank you for what you've already done. Sometimes we can get so caught up on waiting on the next that we never thank you for the now. So God, I just thank you for what you've done. Now, I thank you, God, that if this is it, I can say thank you. God, I want to thank you for our children. Thank you for our life. Thank you for health. God, I pray for healing for those dealing with medical issues. I pray for those dealing with mental challenges. I pray for those dealing with spiritual deficits. I pray for those dealing with financial impoverishment. God, I speak right now, you are still Jehovah Jireh. You are still able to do exceeding and abundant above all we could ask or think. God, I just thank you for being God. It's in Jesus name we pray, and everybody say it. Come on, stand to your feet. Clap your hands. I love you so much. Did you get anything out of the word today? Anybody? Let me say this before you leave. Uh, Pray My Strength today. I'm jumping on as soon as we get out of here. Um, um, I have the minister in Kansas City. It's a church in Kansas City. God, I felt God laid on my heart to go speak at. Uh, we're going there at Kansas City to play Pray My Strength. But I have something I'm really excited about. Immediately following service downstairs, we're doing something called Pathway to Purpose. For those of you who just want to go deeper in God and you want to discover purpose and find out more about what God's doing here at Rock City Church. Immediately following the service, if you want to be a part of that, that would be great. Hey, Pastor Mike, I have my kids with me. It's okay. We have childcare providers for that as well. I'm super duper excited about it. Uh, maybe you're in the room and you don't know Jesus. And I want to say this, man, the greatest number that God has given us in 2023 is over 4,000. What is that? Over 4,000 people this year have said, "I want to give my life to God." That's a good place to clap, man. What's really special about that is six months out of this year, we were virtual. So that just showed you what God is doing. So if you're in this room and you don't know Jesus, maybe you want to give your life to Christ. Bro, I can tell you the truth, falling in love with God is the best thing I ever did, man. It saved my life from the depths of my heart. I wouldn't be where I am in life without God. If you're in this room and you want to give your life to Christ, I don't want to call you to the front. I don't want you to come up in front of everybody. This is between you and God. You can just right where you are, just bow your head, just say with me, "Lord, come into my heart. Make me over again. I confess with my mouth, I believe with my heart that you rose from the grave with all power in your hands. Right now, I am saved." Clap your hands right there, man. Hear me, if you're looking for a great church home, you can simply text HOME to 28950. You can text HOME to 28950. We would love for you to be a part of our church. I'm a little biased. I think it's the best church in the world. We have people who hug you 35 times when you get here. Cool people in the parking lot tell you at a park. Uh, the guy who sings, he sings really, really well. The band's great. I'm pretty cool. It's like a great church. I would, I would join it if I were you. Um, so man, if you want to do that, you can text HOME to 28950. I love you from the depths of my heart. If you're giving today, you know how to give your tithing. You can text IRock with the amount you wish to give to 28950. That's how I give. I'm a texted giver. I text IRock with my number to 28950. Or if you want to give on your way out, there's somebody at the door. I love you guys so much. Were you blessed today? Hey, can you clap your hands for that? Father God, our answer will forever be yes. Yes to your will. Yes to your word. Yes to your way. And God, I leave them today. I actually bless their week. I ask that you cover them this week. God, I pray for favor, that doors are going to open that they didn't even knock on. That blessings will overtake them. I pray a very simple prayer over their life, God. God, that's your will. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. It's in Jesus name we pray, and everybody say it. Amen. I love you guys. I'll be right here next Sunday. We are. I love you. God bless you. God bless.
Listen, it just gets better and better. My God. We go from faith to faith, glory to glory. Amen. High, y'all. Absolutely. We thank God for our senior pastor, um, Lady Jay, the first family. I tell you, there is a special anointing and just an anointing that rests on this house. And there truly is no place like Rock City. Um, and speaking of there being no place like Rock City, maybe you're ready to come home. You are ready to make your next move your best move. We talked about it earlier. Just over 4,000 souls recommitted to God, and we're excited now to get those folks engaged and locked in and plugged in so that they can now be all that God has called them to be. So text HOME to 28950. Don't delay. Do not. Best decision that you ever made. Amen. Amen. And of course, you know, you don't want to hear a word like that and not get seed in the ground. The Bible says that he gives seed to the sower. There it is. So you are sower. Yeah. And we want you to text IRock and the amount you wish to give to 28950. This is good ground. And we're just so glad that you're giving to someone. We're going to reach out to other ministries, reach out to other people. And it's, it's good ground. Absolutely. We always say that you don't give to it, you give through it. Yes. Absolutely. And something I appreciate about P2P, which is happening right after this, is that they talk about the importance of giving, of serving, of loving people, living out our mission, loving God, loving people, and making a difference. So maybe you're here and you're interested in participating in Pathway to Purpose, that's P2P. You can actually join us immediately after service. Or maybe you're one of our faithful members, right? And you want to be able to fully engage. You can also do so. Text P2P to 28950. You'll receive the virtual link and you can log in and be in the room. In the room. Yes. We're still in the room. And we're just ready to grow, right? It's all about growing. Amen. So speaking of growing, one great way to do that is Monday through Friday with Deo Energy. Yes. At 7:21. Standard. Stand. Stand. Yeah. Central Standard. Okay. There it is. Yeah. Central Standard. Amen. Praise God. Praise God. Yeah. Mhm. But we want you there, right? You don't want to miss it. Be consistent. Wake up and spend that time with God in the morning on Deo Energy because it's powerful each and every day. Amen. Listen, we are out of time, but we're definitely not out of message. Definitely. Because we will see you bright and early in the morning. Uh, from Pastor Mike, Lady Jay, and all of us here at Rock City, we love you. God bless. We'll see you soon. Peace.