God Still Speaks How Does God Speak To Us Anchored

0:04 Thank God we are here. My question is, what are you doing to prepare for this year? At Transformation Church, we do 21 days of prayer and fasting every year. Not just years in the middle of a pandemic, but every year because we want to hear what God has to say about our lives, our families, and our purpose. And I'm asking you to join me. Yeah, I know what you're thinking, like fasting, like giving up something. I promise you, anytime you give up something pleasurable and deny your flesh, you are doing it to get closer to God spiritually. And you never give up something for God that he doesn't return to you in the way that you need it most. So I'm telling you, we're going to help you. We're going to resource you. We even teamed up with the YouVersion Bible app, and we have a plan that's going to walk you through every day that you can do. We have noonday prayer. We're going to be meeting on YouTube every night at six.

1:01 I'm telling you, you can make this year the best year, but it will only be the best year if it's your best year spiritually. Join us in 21 days of prayer and fasting. Oh, come on. Wherever you are, can we give God a big shout of praise? He's worthy. Oh, y'all not saying that and you're looking at me right now, but let's give God a huge shout of praise. Glory to God. Is anybody excited to be in your house of the Lord today? Y'all missed it. house of the Lord because wherever the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom and I don't know who needs to hear this right now but right where you are God is there somebody say here is holy you missed it see because some of you are in a situation right now that does not seem like it's a good thing but God says if I am there with you right in that moment you might be going through a divorce but here is holy you might be on the verge of making some decisions that change your entire friend group but right here is holy somebody say here is holy and I need you to hear that because all of this year I've just really been asking God to take me from events that bring you glory we're missing the worship nights and the and and and the big conferences and i said god take me from the events that bring you glory and give me a life that brings you glory and what his response to me was is every step that you take is holy like in the frustration holy in the pain is still it's still God's sovereignty he's still good and I just want somebody to know that's watching that the fact that you're in this moment right now watching this this is a holy

3:11 moment because God through something is going to speak to you he might speak through something I say he's going to definitely speak through his word he may speak through the person that's sitting next to you and makes a side comment while you were going open up your ears to hear that God is still speaking and so today we just want to give God an opportunity to do what nothing has been able to do all week satisfy your job didn't satisfy you this week you might have got a paycheck but it didn't satisfy you it didn't seal you up your marriage some of y'all think is going to satisfy you but they are just to help be a conduit to point you towards God but the only thing that can satisfy is God and today that's what we want to do we want to give you the word so I don't know where you're watching from right now but I'm excited to hear is anybody excited to be in the actual building and is anybody excited to be in the virtual building right now hey I need to know where you're watching from if you're if you're watching from somewhere I need you to type it in the chat. Come on, I need you to do that as you get your Bibles. Everybody may be seated in the room. I need to get right into preaching because I got a bunch to say. And I see people watching from Florida and there's people that are watching from overseas. There's people watching from Maryland and Minnesota and there's people watching from Chicago and New York. I am so glad that our church in the middle of a pandemic has grown. Anytime the enemy tries to suppress something, It spreads out and God does a lot of amazing work.

4:47 And I'm just grateful that you would allow me and my wife to pastor you through one of the hardest seasons in human history. I don't take it lightly and I count it as a privilege that you tune in every Sunday, that many of you partner financially, that many of you share and send this to your friends and evangelize your family. and really are the ministers in the area that you are, I believe 2021 as a church is going to be our best year ever. And I believe that's because we are going to be aware of what God wants to do through our lives. Somebody say, my life is his. Now, for some of you, you just lied because your life is committed to your preference and not his purpose. But I heard God say, if you're going to commit to my purpose this year, then you're going to have to become, everybody shout at me, anchored.

5:42 Shout it like you mean it. Say it with your chest. This year we will be anchored. And I do believe that the prophetic word that God gives us every year in a vision type of way is something that marks our lives and is able to refine us. So today I thought what I would do as I come into week two of this series about being anchored, and y'all, I'm so excited to preach this message right now. I thought I would walk us through how I got here. Okay, so we are officially starting. Get your notepads ready. Get your smartphones and your dumb phones. Get everything that you got ready because we are in week two of a series. We're calling Help Me Anchor. All right. Now, this is going to be a series that shapes your whole year. So I want you to plan right now on coming back to this series every month. how many notebooks do you have filled the notes and how many things do you have on your phone and emails that you have of notes that you never use god's saying if you're going to be anchored you got to remember my words mark my words that's what we talked about last week he's saying remember them so that in a season that you didn't know you needed it i already gave you the answer i dare say to some people right now the very answer you're looking for god already gave you just forgot. This is one of the things that God is challenging us to do is not just be consumers, be studiers of his word. And in this series, I think it is my position to not just come as the man of God and God gave me this word. You know how people do when they act like they the only one here from God and they don't sleep on an actual bed and don't use the actual toilet.

7:28 somehow it just comes out of them and they're purified and like it's just all of these things and that's the furthest thing from the truth i want you to know i am a human human that is submitted to god and anything that happens in my life can happen in your life if you make the same type of type of sacrifices and dedications and devote yourself take your vote away god i don't want to do that but i'm devoted i don't have a vote no more i don't want to do prayer and fasting but I'm devoted. I'm going to take my vote away and you can see these outcomes in your life. And so today I wanted to start this whole thing by telling you how I got to the word anchored. I don't like the word anchored. Let's start there. Let's start that when God gives you a word, he does not consult your feelings. When God speaks prophetically, he doesn't look at what you want. He looks at what you need. And God somehow stepped outside of eternity and saw Transformation Church in this year and said the word they need to center around, gather their faith around, give around is the word anchor. And so let me start off by saying this is not my favorite word. I would have preferred tons of other words. Explosion, the blow up, the next level, any of those could have worked God. And I pray about it because when God starts to show me something or hear something and the reason I'm walking us through this because I saw a couple comments and I got a few emails that raised my pastor up this this week that said God don't be speaking to people like that whoa you see he's just over here talking about how God talks to him there's nowhere in the Bible that it talks about God speaking to people really so I thought today that I'm not just going to give you fish I'm going to teach you how to fish and let you know that God is still speaking and he wants to do something so special in your life so every summer if you've been around transformation church there's about a a month and a half that me and pastor natalie disappear from the scene and i go on sabbatical from the very first year of me being in ministry

9:38 we take this time and on that sabbatical i intentionally like intentionally make a space for god to speak to me so i literally go to a random hotel where only my security and my wife know where I'm at and I sit there and I just pray and ask God what I'm supposed to do and pace around the room and admit I don't know nothing and I ask God like why did you choose me there's a whole nother year that people are gonna come every Sunday and you know the funny thing about Sundays they come every Sunday and I don't know what to do and I just lay before God and I ask him for vision and direction. Every year when I make this space, God meets me in these times. And what ends up happening is out of that time, I bring the word to the year to our staff first. And I usually share it with them in September or October at Staff Advance because it's hard to lead somebody a place you've never gone before. And so this team, we pray and we fast and we talk about the word of the year. So this staff and this team, the reason why Anchored is coming off so smooth to us because we've been walking this thing out for about four or five months and then at the beginning of the year I share it with our church because it's not just for this house the organization it's for somebody say my house God does not speak anything in this house that he does not want duplicated in your house he doesn't want this church blessed and your marriage not blessed he doesn't want this church to be influential and you not be influential God uses this church as an example of what he wants to do.

11:14 Everybody say through me. And so when I went on sabbatical, the main thing that I write down in my journal is God, I want to hear you. I want to hear you and God, I will listen. And when I said that to somebody this week, talking to them through like God still speaks, God told me, he said, Michael, people are deceived. Hearing me, hearing God's voice is normal for the believer. he said if you don't hear me who are you hearing if you're not hearing me somebody's speaking to you can i prove it to you because in john 10 4 and 5 he said that my sheep follow me they know my voice and a stranger they will not follow but they will flee from him for they know not the voice of a stranger who's ever talking to you if it ain't god who is it and i really begin to think about that because god said i'm still speaking but culture speaking to finances are speaking to your favorite motivational speaker is speaking to and you've confused their good idea with my voice and the problem that's happening right now is because it takes a sacrifice to get into the presence of God a sacrifice to live a life that's holy enough a sacrifice so many of y'all would rather take a cheap counterfeit than actually have the authentic voice of God speaking in your life. I'm already doing too much right now, Michael Wussau, but 2021 will not be the year that you will be able to blame God for not speaking to you. 2021 will not be the year that you talk about, he's just so far away from me. No, no, no, no.

13:02 Your ears are closed and you're walking around like la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la. And God says, I'm speaking, but you can't hear me because you're listening to the stranger's voice. We talk about stranger things. Let me tell you about stranger things. Stranger things is hearing from people who do not have the heaven's mind for your life. Stranger things is listening to a friend group that feels like they're more successful than you. So maybe I should listen to them. They don't know the purpose of God for your life. They don't know the plan that God has for your marriage. They do not know what God has already ordained for you. You better stop listening to the stranger's voice.

13:44 I have small children right now that love answering the door. They love bing bong. They knock, knock, knock. They love answering the door. But the one thing that I've had to teach my daughters and my son is when somebody's at the door, the first thing they ask is what? Who is it? and the problem is so much stuff has been showing up at the door of your life and you've stopped asking who is it you're just opening the door some of y'all took the door off the hinge and they can come in and go as they please but today it's time oh i feel this thing it's time to put a barrier back up and when you hear something you need to ask who is it so And the only way I know who it is is if they speak their voice authenticates who it is.

14:55 And very, very easily now my daughter says, who is it? And I say, it's your daddy. She's, daddy, her reaction. Who is it? It's Charles. Uncle Charles, who is it? It's Auntie Bree. She knows how to give access to people she's familiar with their voice.

15:16 But when she says, who is it? And it's a stranger's voice. She doesn't respond audibly. She... Daddy. Somebody's at the door and I'm unfamiliar with their voice. Daddy, are you expecting somebody? Are you expecting this relationship? Are you expecting this business deal? See, daddy should be talked to either way. It's either him at the door or I'm running to him because the stranger. This ain't even my message. but all i'm saying to you today is that god is speaking and many of us are missing him because we've been we've been conned by the stranger and i don't know what the strange voice is that has been speaking to you the strange voice of insecurity the strange voice of comparison the strange voice of depression and anxiety and perversion they've been speaking to you And God's saying, hey, hey, hey, my sheep know my voice.

16:28 And a stranger, they will not adhere. They won't listen. They will not submit to. And God's saying, I'm speaking. Somebody say, God speaks. I want you to say it like you mean it. God speaks. And now make it personal. God will speak to me. I'm declaring that over your life. If you've never, ever thought. So, well, my old denomination didn't believe that. Welcome, baby, to the full gospel of Jesus Christ. Somebody needs to know that God will speak to me. He'll give you direction about the business. He'll give you direction about. Let me stop. I think I just need to do it, Charles. Can I just tell him how God speaks? The first thing I need to let you know that Malachi 3.6 tells us the character of God. It shows that he's an anchor. It shows that he's reliable and dependable.

17:21 and it says, for I am the Lord and I don't change. So the first thing you got to understand is that God is an anchor that does not change. He is something that is going to be the same and he has been the same and he will be the same. So if God spoke in the Bible days and he said he don't change, he's still speaking today. So let me tell you 11 ways I just got to flow through this. I'm gonna have to maybe do an Instagram live or do something on this later because I really feel that people need to hear this, but God speaks. Somebody shout at me, God speaks. God speaks in an audible voice. Now this is getting more and more rare, but this is how God has spoken. And I do believe how God still speaks to some people in certain situations from Adam and Eve to Moses in the burning bush. The reason that God speaks in an audible voice is to get somebody's full attention.

18:16 And this has never happened to me, But I'm not saying because it hasn't happened to me that it hasn't happened. And some of us are so prideful to think that because you've not experienced something, somehow that limits God. He's God if you believe or not. He's God. There's a word in the Bible, and it's a cuss word for some, but this is the thing that really gives God an unexplainable title. He's sovereign. He does what he wants when he wants to. and I know that's not sexy language in 2021 because we want everything to make sense and have a reason and be able to logically understand it and God says you can want all that but I ain't got to do all that I'm sovereign and I believe that God still speaks in an audible voice that's why Hebrews 13 8 says Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever so that's one way that God speaks. Let me give you a second way that God speaks through angelic visitations.

19:20 Now, I know this is way above a lot of y'all's pay grade, but the way that Mary knew that she was pregnant with Jesus is an angel came to her. This is the thing that I really do believe that angelic hosts, what we talk about, we believe they can sing holy, holy, holy all around the throne, but we don't believe they can fight for us. But I look at, there are different types of angels. There are ministering angels, there are guardian angels, and there are warring angels. And some of you have put your angels at bay because you don't believe that these things are real. But God speaks through angelic visitation. I can't even go. Number three, he speaks through dreams and visions. This is the one that we want all the time, but this is not all the times how he comes. But this is a way that he speaks. He speaks through signs and miracles. God will speak to somebody who does not believe. He will speak to them.

20:12 That's what he says. The miracles are for the unbelievers. When somebody who was this way is standing there watching skeptical and God touches them and they get healed, they'd be like, hold on. Now, tell me again how that happened. God said that the reason miracles have to come into 2021 is because the world is getting dimmer and dimmer and they can't believe. But when they see my light, when they see cancer dry up on the inside of somebody, when they see somebody who was addicted and couldn't function without pills and alcohol, I feel my health coming on. It is a miracle for the unbeliever. And God speaks through signs and miracles. I believe that God speaks through coincidences. I'm hype. God speaks through coincidences. I heard Albert Einstein say coincidences are God's way of remaining anonymous.

21:04 It was a coincidence I ran into you at the, that was God. Oh, it's such a coincidence. I had a dream about this. And then somebody started singing the song in office that happened this week. Coincidence? Somebody say, that's God. He's speaking. when you thought it was have you ever been somewhere and said something told me stop dumbing down the something the something has a name his name is jesus and oh okay i don't know why i feel so preachy today i whoa it must be this lime green strip i don't know which one i like okay so god speaks through coincidence he speaks through his written word this is in the greek called the logos the bible it is the main way listen to what i'm saying this is the main way that god speaks to us the problem is ish if you do not open up the bible you are void of the main way that God speaks to people.

22:20 There has been time after time that I needed an answer for something that was happening in my everyday life. And I opened up my Bible for devotion, man, not wanting to read. Can I be honest with you? The pastor don't always want to read his Bible. I don't want to. ah matthew mark booker john yeah but as i open up the living word god starts reading me see because the bible is the only book that you read it but it reads you back my attitude is off and god says yeah right there that's where i'm gonna get you and this is where i want you to understand that in 2021 for you to be anchored you cannot be anchored without the word of God. Your Instagram post scripture is not studying the word of God. Nobody's going to say it. So I think I just have to say, yes, you posted it with lilies and flowers and it works with your aesthetic, but it did not go to your heart. It went on your page, but it missed your heart.

23:27 And what God is saying to you right now is you got to hide yourself in my word because I'll speak to you. Somebody say, God speaks. That's six ways. The other way he speaks is through the living word. Jesus says in John 6, 63, the words or the rhema, that's the right now word that I speak to you are spirit. There's something that's in them and they are life. See, this is the thing that you got to understand. I don't understand how people live without the Holy Spirit functioning in their life because that is the living word. Jesus literally says it's better disciples because they was tripping if you if you if you let me go because if I go and do my father's business I'm going to send you the Holy Spirit and when I send you the Holy Spirit he's going to be your comforter he's going to walk with you he's going to talk with you and he's going to lead you into all truth everybody say truth and the fact is that there's a lot of lies going on right now and we need truth and God's saying that when I give my word through the Holy Spirit, it's a specific word for a specific time for a specific need. And when you live like this, God speaks. Everybody say God speaks. This is the one y'all not going to like.

24:41 God speaks through other people. Dang. See, because we wish we could judge the type of people that God allows us to speak through. But the person you don't like, God can speak through them. the person who been on your nerves at your job the problem is some of your enemies have been speaking the most truth to you but because you won't even listen and see is there anything that god has to say in the midst of that you have now shut off the answer to the very thing you've been praying for somebody shout at me god speaks i could go all day on all of this one on this one God speaks through media. God literally will speak. The Bible talks about him declaring things to all nations. And how does things get to all nations right now? Through media, through social media, through television, through all of this stuff. God is using media right now to speak.

25:38 okay some of y'all got real religious I don't know not the media not the how would you be hearing the word of God right now unless God was using technology and media I honestly believe and I say this that we have never been fully positioned as the body of Christ to do the great commission go into all the world and make disciples of every nation how can I do that and still keep up what God says about being the man of the house and being stewarding in first Timothy and being a leader and having a, how can I do that and take care of my home? Unless there's a vehicle that God divinely uses to spread the gospel. And I can give my babies baths at night. How can I still be? And God saying, I'm giving you a tool that I speak through. Somebody say, God speaks. God speaks through creation and nature you want to know is God real go outside just go outside and look up go outside if you near an ocean we landlocked in Tulsa we only got ponds that don't have full water in them but if you buy an ocean go look at the ocean and tell me that God does not speak through creation when I tell you when we watch every season no matter the economic downfall or the economic rise. In every season, the flowers still bloom.

27:05 No matter who's in office or who's out of office, the birds and the bees still pollinate. No matter what is going on through every age and every kingdom rise and every empire fall, bears still hibernate. God is speaking. And the last way I'm going to talk about that God speaks is through our conscience. There are things that my body's about to do that my conscience says, no, don't do it. Now, I'm already in the act.

27:42 My flesh has already decided. And then the Holy Spirit just invades my conscience and say, this is going to delay you. There are setbacks. Have you ever walked in a place about to put the money down and say, that's bad? This ain't your house. that ain't your mate at the engagement party you ain't getting that money back but you'll have your life i'm telling you right now god is trying to help somebody do not ignore when the holy spirit jumps in your conscience he's trying to speak somebody say god speaks and and the key is we have to learn how to recognize his voice because sometimes the bible tells us he talks in a still small voice and some of us are too busy to hear the small voice of god i want to normalize silence I need you to you don't always have to have something going I want to unnormalize meditation not in no weird like like the bible all these other religions are biting the bible this is not new he says meditate on my word day and night this is this is what I need you to do and some of us are so busy setting atmospheres that we don't hear answers. The candle's right. The mood's right. I have my mood music and the vibe is right. And I've done this. And God's saying, like, just sit down. Just spend that extra five minutes in the car. Turn the radio off. Turn Instagram off.

29:35 One of the most spiritual things you may do is turn your notifications off of your phone. I had to do this three years ago. I'm trying to be very practical. I don't get a ding every time somebody hits my social medias. Because it was my invitation for interruption. God could be speaking to me. You don't think the enemy will help somebody text me? You don't think he'll help somebody? Like, yeah, yeah, don't send it right now. And at the moment, God's about to give a word. I don't know what all your sounds are, but they start happening. And even if I ignore them, they have now taken up space. I didn't answer it, but now it's taking up room.

30:25 If you're going to be anchored this year, you've got to make space for God to speak. And I believe there's puzzle pieces to this. This is the one thing of how I got to the word anchored this year. And I just feel like teaching. I feel like being your pastor this morning. I feel like just giving you like just practical things that will help you be anchored. If you want to be anchored in your life, anchored in your spiritual life. I told you all a few weeks ago, this will be your best year ever. If it is your best year spiritually, that was not for likes or comments. That is a true statement that is going to take you having to sacrifice some things to get the best thing. And the best thing you can get is a word from God. Somebody shout at me, God speaks. And this is how you get those puzzle pieces to come together. The first thing that happens when I go to get vision, and this is how we got to Anchored, is I get in God's presence. You never get a word from God without him actually being there.

31:27 His presence. It's not a gift he sends in the mail. It's a gift he gives as he's there with you. It is his presence. My wife loves gifts that I get her, but she would take back every purse and every piece of shoe and every gift I would ever for my actual presence. And I feel like the church has been so enamored with gifts.

31:53 Oh, they sing good. The gifts, they preach good. That they have settled for gifts instead of his presence. if the note is off and he's there it's all good you see they don't want that one because at the minute we might sacrifice excellence but we get his presence do you know some of the most amazing times i've had with god had no led screens attached to it had no good sound the times when god checked me and changed me and transformed me i wasn't in a ritz call and i was at a best western $79.99. I'm just trying to say that if you do not put value on his presence, you're missing a piece of the puzzle. And for you to be anchored this year, you're going to have to get in his presence. That's why we're spending 21 days praying and fasting. And I'm encouraging everybody that's still tuned in because some of people tuned off because the appetite went up. We just went from McDonald's into Roof Crist. And some of y'all have had an appetite spiritually for fast food.

33:00 And what God is saying is I'm about to change your palate. I'm about to bring you up to steak, potatoes, shrimp, and lobster. And some people can't eat that all the time because they've been used to eating things that are processed. But I'm coming to give you the actual organic word of God. And what God has for you will not come without his presence. And honestly, you should be ignorant enough to say I'm not good enough without his presence. So if your presence is not with me, I won't go. Let me stop. I'm encouraging somebody. These last seven days of praying, fasting, get on this. Join us. 170,000 plus people have downloaded this YouVersion Bible app, but 170,000 people haven't done it. I can bet that. I'll bet my own life on it. Because we would rather have the appearance of God doing something in our life than actually his power moving in our life. And the only way that changes is through his, everybody say presence.

34:02 And so when I went away and I got in God's presence, this has been a number two thing you need to the puzzle piece is a pattern. See, I want to be super practical right now as a lot of people get in his presence, but they have not made it a pattern yet. So it's so sporadic that God's trying to get on your calendar. Like, can I get? Okay, no, I blessed him too much. He ain't got time for me. Okay. um so can i oh no they just got in a relationship okay so i was going to okay and if you do not make it a pattern to make time to spend with god then you miss the nuances of the pattern that god wants to give you the reason that my staff and my team know that we're gonna have a word every year is since 2015 it has been a pattern why has pastor mike gotta go for a month and a half two months Because he has a pattern with God that the rest of our year is different because he keeps to the pattern.

35:03 Some of you in your marriage need to have a pattern of a date night. Your children are suffering because the love in your house is sucked out because you only are business partners now. And God says it's because you do it without my presence and you lost the pattern. and I'm just asking you practically where are the areas in your life that you have drifted away from the pattern remember 2020 is the year of the anti-drift and I'm gonna talk about that next week but I gotta lay this foundation that we need his presence but we need a pattern and as I go away for that week and just ask God what he's trying to say I do another pattern that's under my pattern of going away, I always ask God for wisdom. This is one of the things that I don't care who you are and if you just joined the faith today, that God says that as you are one of his children, you can ask for wisdom. James 1, 5 and 6 says, if anyone of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, not google wrong g some of y'all are so quick to ask the wrong g about your situation it says ask god watch this who is faster than a search engine and gives it generously to all without reproach he doesn't factor in your past he doesn't factor in the last time you didn't listen to him. He doesn't factor in any of that. He says he'll give it willingly without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask, there's a caveat, with faith, with no doubting.

36:51 For the one who doubts is like a wave. Ooh, sounds like they need an anchor. The one who asks that doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. God's saying, if you're going to ask me, drop your anchor in faith and know that if you ask me for wisdom, I'll give you wisdom for your marriage. I'll give you wisdom for the business. I'll give you wisdom for what house and neighborhood to live in. Yeah, it looks depreciated right now, but you don't know the city's talking about redoing this area. And the reason I told you to buy the house now and it seems cheaper than what you want, because it'll be three times that two years from now. If you would just listen, I'm telling you, I'll give you wisdom. But wisdom comes from his presence and a pattern. So as I went to that hotel this year and I asked God for wisdom, then I want to give you the third puzzle piece to really getting a word from God, a vision from God, getting anchored in your own life is it will be practical.

37:52 God does not live up in this ethereal realm. He says that I work in the details of my children's life. So his presence creates a pattern that will come out practically. And I know this is not the teaching because every pastor wants you to feel like they smarter than you. Let me tell you very clearly, I'm not smarter than y'all. I don't have many of you have more actual knowledge, more things in your head than I ever will. The one thing most people can't mess with me on is that I am practically looking for God everywhere You might know about him I know him I can see him at IHOP I can see him I can see him as i'm walking down the street. I can see him and a homeless person I can see him in a beat. I can see him in a movie. I can see him in a camera I can see him. The whole earth is the Lord's. And most of y'all look for him on Sunday.

39:02 And I see him in everything. So when God gave me his presence and I had a pattern, God spoke to me and he said, Michael, open your eyes and look. I'm going to speak something in your conscience. And I want to show y'all, I thought it would be better today to show you how we're here and what God wants to do than just to talk to you about it. It was in August, August 7th. I woke up and I pulled out my phone and I just typed this down. I'd never seen this before, but God spoke to me because I had made room in his presence. I had a pattern and then he made it real practical. This is all he said. The word for 2021 21 is anchored. August 8th, 2020 at 152. This is on my real phone. I literally, practical, I need everybody to understand this is not mystical or spooky or, oh yeah, no, no, no, practical. I hit the word anchored and there's a thing on the iPhone that says look up word.

40:08 And I looked up the definition of anchor and this would have said a person or a thing that provides stability and confidence in an otherwise unpredictable situation. And God said, he whispered this one sentence to me, and I marked his word. What you are tied to is more important than where, and then this is how I left it up here, just like this, because I was supposed to say where you are. But it was unfinished, because I got distracted. What you are tied to is more important than where my God.

40:49 That's Pastor Natalie. What you are tied to is more important than where daddy. And I left this up here to let you know that even the people that are supposed to be the closest to God. Have the opportunity to be distracted. but what God had me do is go back to his presence and I had a pattern and he finished this word of me and that's why I can finish it for you what you are tied to is more important than where you currently are and that was a practical thing and I said okay God so so so so what are you telling me he said Michael anytime you do anything get in my presence get the pattern I'll make it practical Proverbs 3 5 and 6 is trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, I did not understand why he wanted it to be anchored. I did not understand what 2021 hold because I didn't have God's view on it, but he did. So he said, anchored. And he said, in all your ways, acknowledge this is me. That's why I had the audacity to put it in my phone because I acknowledged this wasn't me. This was God. And he said, if you will do that, I will direct your path. And I don't know who I'm talking to right now, but I'm giving you practical ways that you can hear for your family and your God how to be anchored in this year.

42:04 You got to get the puzzle piece of his presence and his pattern and it has to be practical. And this is the thing that I love about God is that when God speaks something, he will be persistent. Do y'all know how many times I tried to change the word? Tried to maybe like, well, maybe this was what God was saying. And God's saying is, I'm the same. I gave it to you. And if you don't like it, it don't matter. The truth is not affected by the opinion. Your opinion of what God is doing has nothing to do with the truth of what he's doing. And he said whether you tell the church or not 2021 you need to be anchored and he said and I'll give you confirmation And this is the beautiful thing with walking and talking and knowing that god speaks is that you will begin to get confident that god Will give confirmation. I expect confirmation. My life is too in the balance to not hear god say This is definitely it and let me give somebody freedom right now. God is not offended by you asking for confirmation go.

43:09 Can you go to Judges chapter 6, verse 36? I want to show you this small story about Gideon. Gideon was the least of the least, the worst tribe. Nobody knew anything about him. He was scary. He was, I mean, Gideon was the weakest person you can think of. And God, through an angel, spoke to him and said, mighty man of valor. And Gideon was like, who are you talking to? And then in a further passage, then Gideon is like, all right, he's experienced the presence. And now it's coming to be practical. You want me to save Israel? And look, and Gideon said to God, hey, God, this is, hey, man, this has been great. All the signs that you've done. But if you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel, as you promised now, I didn't really want this. Like this wasn't part of my plan.

44:04 I just wanted some bread. And that's why I was doing this at the bottom of the threshing floor. But if you want me to rescue them, as you promised, I don't know how to say this, but prove it to me. And then, okay, he might smite me, but I mean, I'm going to die either way. I need to really know. Could you not just prove it to me? But prove it to me in this specific way. So, so this is what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight. And if the fleece is wet with dew in the morning, but the ground around it is dry, then I will know that's that. Yeah, that'll be it. I'll know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised. He already said it.

44:56 But Gideon was bold enough to ask for confirmation. And I think that sometimes we play God like he's intimidated by our request. And he literally asked him, can you prove it to me in this specific way? And look what it said. It says that 38 and that is just what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out a whole bowl full of water. Then Gideon said to God, God, you know what? That was great. Wow. I mean, did y'all see? Whoa, only God can do that. But just one more thing, just real quick.

45:40 Please don't be angry with me, but my life is in the balance. Like, I can't, this deciding who I marry, even if we get divorced, they take a piece of me. Like, there's children in the balance. There's generational wealth in the balance. There's my heart in the back. God, don't be angry with me. But let me make just one more request. Let me use the fleece in one more test. This time, let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet with dew. So that night God did as Gideon asked and the fleece was dry in the morning, but the ground was covered with doom. Do you know how big our God is? That when he speaks it to you and believe it in faith, then he'll confirm it. He'll confirm it over and over and over and over again. And what ended up happening in me figuring out that this was the word for this year, I was like, God anchored. I don't even know. Okay. Like that's what you want to do. And he said, yeah, I'll prove it to you. So me and my wife and a couple of our friends went on a vacation in August. And August 25th, we're going to this, I'm, I'm, I am one of those people that when you go on a vacation, especially in a different country, the first place I want to go is to the grocery store. Cause I want to know how American is this place. I want to know, can I find Doritos? Can I find Oreos? And can I find some Sprite? Cause if anything goes wrong, I'll be able to survive on those. I don't know, judge me if you want, but this is how I do when I go to other countries. And so we're on our way walking from this nice hotel to like the hood corner store. And as I'm watching over my back to see if I'm going to have to shank somebody, I walk up on this picture that I want to show you right here, that God said that he would confirm his word to me. I'm walking and out of nowhere comes this 12 foot anchor. And I literally

47:50 look at this anchor and I'm like what in the world is that you just told me that the word is anchored and now I don't even think it was 19 days later he presents to me an anchor when I saw this it stopped me in my tracks because it was God practically confirming what he told me privately I want to let you know that God will confirm publicly and practically what he told you everybody say privately and I know some of y'all are like well I've already got everything figured out and all this other stuff but God literally put a 12-foot anchor in my view and said I'm speaking I'm speaking and my question to you is what has God put in your view that you thought was just scenery. God's speaking. He's trying to show you. He's trying to develop you. He's trying to engage you right now. Somebody say, God speaks. I see this 12 foot anchor, August 25th, 2020. Here it is.

49:04 And my wife is like, what are you doing? I said, I got to go take a picture of this. I hadn't even told Natalie yet. And I just take a picture of the anchor and I'm like, all right, God, But you remember that story in Judges when Gideon asked twice, don't be mad at me. But if I'm about to tell hundreds of thousands of people that we're supposed to anchor, this can't be cute because I'm going to have people telling me I'm a false prophet and I'm going to have people disconnected from the church and I'm going to have people. God, I don't want the problems. I just want to hear from you. And God said, I'll confirm it. So later on, we get on a boat and go to this little private beach area. And we had been there like two or three days in a row. Little flamingos walking around. When I want to hear God, I go to the beach. Y'all hear me? And I just be looking, just letting all my cellulite hang out and everything. I just, I just, we working on it. We about to get anchored in the name of Jesus.

49:58 But I was sitting there and we're on our way to catch the boat back. And God said, he whispered, look to your right. And I looked to my right. I was like, ain't nothing to the right. And God said, yes, it is. This is what was to my right. Could you please put it on the screen? A 30-foot anchor. I said, oh, like you really, now this is the funny thing. I asked my wife and my sister who went on the trip with us. I said, did y'all see this anchor every day? They said, we haven't seen it in one day, but we passed it over and over. It was there the whole time. But when I looked, when God whispered to my heart, I then saw a confirmation to what God had already told me privately. He wanted me to know that he was with me publicly.

51:04 So I took a picture next to this big anchor. And I said, God, I'm going to teach anchored this year. That was back in August. You know, when time goes by from when God says something to you, you get a little... it can be a little shaky like i don't i don't seen a lot of things god's done something maybe the word for year is forgive because we did the whole fu series and god was like i didn't change i didn't i didn't lose my spot i gave you what i wanted you to do then i gave it to you there and i need you to obey me now I'm just trying to help somebody anchor so I went back to him one more time hey Lord it's the end of the year I just could you please just confirm I've been in your presence I got a pattern you made it really practical and and you've been persistent in telling me this is exactly what you want me to do But I just want to know you're still with me.

52:17 And I don't think that God looks at that as a bad thing when you ask him in faith. Because my concern is I just don't want to do nothing without you. Like, I don't want to cross this line if you're not over the line. And God said, I got you, son. Me and Natalie go to a restaurant to have breakfast. This has never happened to me ever. And this is what happened on December 30th. Take a look at your screen. Look, I can't make this stuff up. At the bottom of my cup, look at that, is a what? Ooh, they need to clean this cup. But it's a what? It's an anchor at the bottom of my cup.

53:05 Ooh, God is speaking, TC. He's speaking. and you look good. Glory to God. Glory to God. I go to take a sip and I look at, I don't never look at the bottom of my cup and God placed an anchor at the bottom of my cup. So if anybody has a question about the what the word of the year is for TC Go find another church Go find a dip But the one thing I know Is that when God spoke that we were supposed to be anchored? Because I got in his presence I found a pattern It was practical He was persistent the thing that I get to stand here next year at this time and do is I get to prove it see the last part of God doing what he does is it's proven the reason I stand in confidence today is because I don't have to make this word come to pass I just have to obey it every step of the way and it's proven it was proven when God told us to maintain and to sustain it was proven when he said go beyond. It was proven when he said the stride. It was proven when he said it was the year of release. It was proven last year when he said we would get stronger.

54:33 And now it will be proven. Because me and you are going to get what? Anchor. I thought it was important to demystify how God speaks. Luke 7 35 it says yet wisdom is proven right by its results. Stop calling people wise because they know stuff call people wise when they can prove stuff everybody's a pastor everybody's a prophet with Instagram Facebook and all that other stuff say it if you want to show me the proof because wisdom is proven by its results and so our word this year is to be anchored let me give you the definition and then we're gonna close because I got too much more to preach and I think somebody this week needed to practically be able to be anchored in knowing God speaks because I'm not gonna do all of the things that God has called me to do I'm not gonna sign the record contract and I don't know that God spoke to me oh I forgot you're into opportunities instead of assignments oh Oh, I forgot. That's what culture sells us on. Oh, if they call, I never thought they would call.

55:57 Okay, they did. Did God say to do it? If your dream job called and God said no, would you obey? If the person that you want to date said they want to date you and God says that he don't want you to be in that relationship at this time, would you obey?

56:27 If you got the money for the house and God says no house this whole year. well my credit is approved and I have the down payment and I know this is the neighborhood I want to live in and God says not yet would you obey no I forgot you're about opportunity and not assignment the thing about God's kingdom is when you start walking in the favor and the blessing of God there will be opportunity around you all day the thing that you have to delineate is what did God say and what do I want? And whenever you figure out, you know what? What I want doesn't line up with what God says. You have to divorce it. But there is a beautiful place that God can align your desires with his desires.

57:21 And what you want and what he wants is the same thing. And it begins to make this beautiful harmony. See, harmony is when two separate things are working together to make something very beautiful. And what God wants to do with you in 2021 is he wants you and his will for your life to be in harmony. He wants you to walk with people that when you talk about stuff, the notes aren't clashing. They're not making different sounds and different ideas and different things. He wants it to be in harmony. And the only way it's in harmony is if you hear from him.

57:56 Today, you being anchored to God's word is more important than anybody else's word. Thank you. I have so much more to preach. Like Charles is looking at my notes right now. I'm on page one. But I just feel like there's a holy moment right here. God speaks. And if you've ever doubted, maybe your prayer from now on, the rest of these seven days of prayer and fasting, God speak to me.

58:34 God, will you speak to me? Just say it out loud. God, speak to me. Now, don't look for him to speak in the way you desire it. Look for him to speak. I gave you 11 ways that God speaks. Some of you, he's speaking to you right now. Some of them, he used the person to just speak to you. And now this is the most beautiful thing. Any way that God speaks, he wants to clarify it for you too. But what do you got to do? Go back to his presence.

59:04 Do you have a pattern of getting in his presence? Do you have a pattern of being with God? is it such a pattern that it can happen in practical places like the shower and your car and as you're talking to your husband or your wife or while you're making some vegan tacos like like that's how practical it is and more than anything i desire you not to be connected to a ministry or a man i desire for you to be connected to the god who speaks and some of you this year you've been tossed to and fro because you didn't have an anchor of God's word what he said what he said in the bible what he said through your pastor or your leader what he said through your friends in your community you need an anchor and today I'm going to pray for the entire congregation of Transformation Nation that this week God would speak.

1:00:06 I mean, like that's exactly what I feel here. Like I had a plan, but God literally interrupted my plan to let you know he wants to speak to you. Speak to my heart, Lord. Give me your holy word. If I can't hear from you Then I'll know what to do Said I won't go on I'm not stepping without you I'll never go on my own Just let your spirit He's speaking And let your word abide Say that Speak to my heart Come on lift your hands everywhere Say give me your holy word If I can't hear, oh, I feel that thing. Say, then I know what to do. Say, I won't go.

1:01:01 I'm not going into this job. I'm not going into this relationship. Because I can't go on my own. Just as your spirit, God. We're going to sing that one more time. Will you stand up and just say, speak to my heart, Lord. Somebody say, give me your holy word. God, we need to hear from you. If I can't hear you Then I don't know Say I won't God, we need you. We don't want to make a step without you.

1:01:35 Just let your spirit guide and let your word. Say, speak to my heart. Woo! Somebody say, speak. Speak to my heart. That's what God wants to do. That's what he wants to do in every area. Speak. for my career, for my business, speak directly for my feelings. I feel that God wants to speak to you. Not Pastor Mike. Like, let me divorce that I am just a servant of somebody who's way better than me. And there's so many people, I like the way Pastor Mike dressed, I like the way he talks.

1:02:30 Let me help you. tomorrow I might not have all my faculties this may shut down but the thing that has lasted in every season every age the Bible says it like this the grass withers and the flower fades but the word of God stands everybody say forever today if you want God to speak to you I feel this so strongly if you want God to speak to you would you just lift your hands all over this is just God, I just want it. I need clarity. I need you to do it for everything. There's situations. I don't need them in one or two situations. I need God in every situation of my life. And I'm going to pray for you right now. I'm going to pray for you not doubting in faith that the God of the universe is so omnipresent that he can speak to me and speak to Amberlee and speak to Will and speak to Dylan and speak to every person that is under the sound of my voice. And we're declaring it this week. Father, I praise you because you're a good father. And you say, Father, if we need wisdom for anything, we can boldly come and ask. Father God, you gave our church a word to be anchored, but you are a living word. That means you are continuing to speak for whatever we need, whenever we need it, at what time we need it. So Holy Spirit, I'm asking you, I'm putting your reputation on the line and I'm asking you to be a big God and speak to your children.

1:03:58 Father I'm I'm praying for the skeptic and the doubter I'm praying for the person Who was raised steeped in religion And they use God speaking as manipulation I tear that down in the name of Jesus And I declare and I believe Father God That there is about to be a revival A resurgent of people hearing your voice And a stranger they will not listen to. Father, how will we be anchored if we don't have a word that withstands? Speak to our hearts, Lord. And I'm asking you right now that the testimonies, I hear it, will start ringing out. That God will begin to confirm his word. He's gonna be persistent. I even hear God saying the old things, the things that you thought were dead. He said, I'm gonna speak to you again.

1:04:52 I'm gonna speak to you again. I'm gonna show you. I'm so good, I'll confirm it. Look for me, God says. And God, today we are honored to remember that you aren't just a God who did it. You're a God who does it. Somebody say God speaks. He's not just a God who did it. He's a God who does it. Speak to us.

1:05:21 Speak to my heart. I feel that thing. God, I need you. God, I need you. Woo!

1:05:43 I can't lead this church without Him. I can't be a husband without Him. Just one more time. I'm sitting in this moment. You're in His presence right now. You better ask him right now to give me about my marriage, about my fiance, about my kids, about their schooling, about my future, about my, about my retirement. God, I need you to speak.

1:06:07 I'll never go on my own. God, I need your spirit to guide. And that's your word, God. You're welcome here, Lord. You're welcome here. You're welcome here. You're welcome here. You're welcome here. You're welcome here. Huh. Oh, I feel his presence.

1:06:57 Speak to us, God. Just one more. Father, you're welcome in my heart. You're welcome in my mind. You're welcome in my business. You're welcome in this church. You're welcome in my marriage. You're welcome in my friendship. You're welcome in everybody, everywhere. Anchor me, God. I want it for your glory. Breathe in. Oh, for your glory, God. To be your man. Go. Come on. Let us become our way. Say. Let us become our way. Let us see you, God. In everything, God. Let us experience our way. We want to see you, God. You are still speaking, God. Anchor up. Not the words of men, not the words of others. But in your word, God.

1:07:56 Just one more time. Let us become. Sing that again. Let us become. Let us become. God make us aware Let us see what's already there Let us see what you're trying to do Holy Spirit Come right here God Come flood We need you God We need you Your glory Our glory, God, is what our hearts long for, to be overcome by your presence, Lord. Our Lord, give me your holy word.

1:09:02 If I can't hear from you, then I know what to do. I won't. I won't go alone. Somebody's making a decision to be anchored with God this year. I want to talk to everybody that needs to tie your anchor to Jesus. See, I'll talk about it more next week, but an anchor is not about something that's sexy. It's about something that saves you. in a storm the reason you need an anchor is because in the midst of the storm it saves you and a lot of people want something sexy from God they want a blessing I want a miracle I want you in a large my territory yeah all that's good but the first thing that an anchor is to do is to save you and today there's somebody that's watching that your anchor has not been tied to something that is steady. And the rock of our salvation is Jesus. And today I want to give you the opportunity to tie your life to someone who will never fail. Your anchor has a name and his name is Jesus. And it's so crazy. I got to show you this. As I was looking at a picture of an anchor this week.

1:10:34 I was just studying this picture and God said, I am your anchor, Michael. I sent Jesus to be your anchor and I kept looking at this cross and I said, God, what are you trying to show me? And just out of the blue, it popped up and I saw that the anchor is the very symbol of what our Savior stretched out his arms on. The cross is an anchor because Jesus is our anchor.

1:11:13 And today, if Jesus is not your anchor, I don't want you to go another day. I don't want you to go alone. I don't want you to work this week without Jesus being your anchor. I don't want you to try to be nice to people because in yourself, you can't do it. I need you to have Jesus as your anchor. And it's so simple according to Romans 10, 9. And some of y'all on the third Sunday of 2021 are about to dedicate your life and anchor to Jesus. And I'm telling you, all heaven is sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for this moment to happen. Everything in your life has led to this moment. I don't know who I'm talking to, but you watching this on accident. And God said, ain't nothing on accident. This is me. I've been planning this moment for your whole life. And today you're going to receive me. And I know religion tells you, you need to change this and do this and become that. And Jesus says, that ain't what I'm asking you to do. All I need you to do is believe that Jesus, my son, came to die for you.

1:12:08 And he rose again with all power so that you could be redeemed. And in this moment right now, I'm telling you, the power of God is coming to your household, to you on the track, to you on the car right now. And somebody is even going to rededicate their life and say, I want to be anchored not to my business, not to my career, not to this relationship. But I want to be anchored to Jesus. And today I'm telling you, in just a moment, we're going to pray that this will be the greatest decision you ever make. It's the decision that took me from being a liar. Somebody who was addicted to pornography. Somebody who was manipulative in everything that I did. and it brought light into my heart and it didn't make me a perfect man, but it made me a progressing man. And today, God, because of what he did as our anchor on a cross, I'm never going to forget this picture that allows me to see my anchor. My hope is in Jesus. And today I want to offer that to you. I got good news that everything that has happened in your life, Jesus came to redeem, restore and revive but all you have to do is accept him and if that's you whether you're in this building you're watching online or you're watching on rebroadcast today is the day of salvation and God is saying you don't have to go alone I'll speak to you if that's you on the count of three I just want you to boldly raise your hand in the air I don't care who's around you I don't care who you came with I don't care if your girlfriend or boyfriend or what y'all did lesson. I don't care nothing about that. Today, right now, this moment is your moment of salvation.

1:13:44 One, you're making the greatest decision of your life. Two, I'm proud of you, but forget that God is so proud of you. Three, just slip your hand up in the air right now. Come on, there are hundreds, if not thousands of hands going up all over the world. You can put your hand down. And I'm not going to ask you to confess to me because God was there when it happened. you don't have to jump through some hoops to prove you deserve this said all have sinned and fallen short of the glory but today you're making a decision to make jesus your anchor you will be saved transformation church you know how we do this we all about to pray together because eternity is turning around right now and we're praying for the benefit of those who are coming to christ all together can we say out loud god thank you for sending Jesus as our anchor. Today, I believe he lived, he died, and he rose again with all power just for me.

1:14:48 Today, I repent. I surrender my life. Change me. Renew me. Transform me. I'm yours in Jesus' name. Amen. Can I tell you that everybody who just decided that Jesus would be that Lord heaven and this room and people all over the world are turning up. Hear me. Yo, that's why our church exists. This is all I'm asking you to do is I want you to text the number on the screen because we want to help you. We want you to get in a good Bible based church. Listen, Transformation Church is always going to be here to help feed you spiritually. But if you need something where somebody can see you right now as we're not able to meet go find a church in your area Get in community get around other believers Get away from people who are going to take you down or distract you from getting in his presence and developing a pattern and understanding what he wants to do in your life Practically i'm telling you god is about to do something so crazy in your life because think about it now you're anchored tc See you next week.

1:15:57 I'm promising you this year, I'm not going to preach anything to make you feel happy. And if you need to go somewhere else and get teaching from somewhere else, that's cool. I'm promising to teach you so that when the storm comes, you'll be anchored. We don't need another Instagram follower. We don't need anybody else to give. God has been more than good to us, but I will be judged on what I did to equip you. Not how many views on YouTube this had. It's to equip you to be able to live a life that's anchored. So this week, guess what's going to happen? He's going to speak to your heart. I'm promising you if you desire you'll speak to your heart I feel that thing I'm feeling 92 in here speak to my heart God we want to hear from you I declare that this will be the best week of your life.

1:17:14 This last seven days of prayer and fasting, God, you're going to speak. There is strength coming from on high. God, we will listen and obey. Father, our relationships are getting better. Our mind is being renewed. Our changing, we are changing from the inside out. And today we give you glory, we give you honor, and we give you praise. In Jesus' name, everybody say we agree.