The Value of Vision

0:06 This is our first message in the brand new decade. And Transformation Nation, I just want to say thank you for rocking with us. There's so many exciting things that are happening around here. And this is about to be a message that tells you how much vision has value in your life. And the word that we're gathering our faith around this year at Transformation Church is, you're about to find out in a second. But I got to give you an important announcement. Many of you have been calling and planning to be here with us for our grand opening service where we're celebrating 21 years of ministry, five years of me and Pastor Natalie being the pastors of this amazing church and our grand opening of our building. And some of y'all heard it was February 2nd, but we had to shift that to February 9th because the Super Bowl is February 2nd. So this is what I want to do is call an audible and I want you and everybody you're planning to come with to come on February 9th.

1:00 And I believe if you've already planned it, you have favor to get those things changed because we are going to celebrate. A little birdie told me there's a worship night going to happen. Somebody else told me that we're having special guests and ministers come from all over the country. And you want to be here for this momentous Sunday where we celebrate this crazy faith miracle that I'm standing in right now and all the lives that have been transformed and that will be transformed. So I cannot wait to see you on grand opening weekend here at Transformation Church. Enjoy this message. Let's do this. Well, this is week one. of a brand new series we are calling you'll find out at the end of the sermon because every year God gives me a word and gives our church a word to gather around that literally prophesies into the future of our church and this year I'm so pumped to tell you what the Lord has told me. Because when he sets it for this house, it's supposed to be a reflection in your house.

2:12 Every year that we gather around these words, God begins to change people's lives, their marriages, their families, their businesses. And we gather in faith around this. But I want you to know that it's all about vision. Everybody say vision. No, say it like you mean it. Say vision. see today on the first sunday of the decade that sound good we only get one of these like like right here at the beginning we need to make sure we get our vision right and some of you are confused because i'm not talking about sight what you want is your sight to be right. Sight is what you can see with your eyes open. Vision is what you see with your eyes closed. There are things that God wants to show you that nothing around you looks like it right now. And because vision is so important, I think the enemy tries to come and devalue vision in your personal life. He tries to come devalue the vision for your ministry or your business or your family. Some of y'all started out with a real strong vision for your marriage. What happened 10 years in? The vision got out of focus. And today I want to bring value to vision. And I believe God has given me a word that's going to help us as a church be able to navigate through the vision that God's going to give us in the next 21 days. Now, some of you have a lifetime vision. Some of you have a vision that God has given you, like this is what you will ultimately do. But what I found is that it is very powerful for you to come back to God every year. Somebody say every year.

4:00 And ask him, are you still doing this? Because some of us have gotten a word in 1986, and we've been holding on to that word since 1986, that God says that was for 86 and 87. 88, I gave a new word, but you wouldn't open your heart to anything new. And so every year as a church, we go back for 21 days of praying and fasting. And I'm pumped up. Tomorrow we starting 21 days of prayer and fasting. Is anybody excited with me? And what that means, some of y'all like fasting. Suzanne, I don't fast. I eat. What we found is that this is a biblical principle that really changes the game. We give up something that we like. if you don't like it it ain't a fast some of y'all like yeah I'm a fast I'm a fast stuff I don't like no baby it's giving up things that you do desire so that you can get something that you desire more and the thing this is not a fad diet we're not just trying to lose weight that is a side product if I don't lose a pound but I get clarity of what God wants to do in my life this year, it will be enough.

5:17 Somebody shout at me, vision. So I got to let you know this. My first point is vision is most valuable. Vision is most valuable. And the reason why vision is most valuable is because without a vision, people perish. now you may not believe that in the same way that I do but there's this movie that that has really impacted my life and this may date me and tell you how how unsaved I am or how spiritual I am because I can pull a message out of anything but um there was this movie called the mighty ducks that came out some of y'all are in here and there was this play that they ran from the mighty ducks called does anybody know what it was called the flying V and I watched this movie and I saw this and the Holy Spirit began to talk to me through mighty ducks I want you to check out this play as they're in a championship game and the coach calls this play turn your attention to the screen and watch this play come to pass Oreo line.

6:29 I want you to remember what we learned. Ducks stick together, right? Yeah! So let's see it. Show me the flying V. All right. Let's get a line change. Let's go. Here we go. Come on, y'all. All right, all right! All right, all right! All right!

6:55 Flying V! Oh, behind his own head. Joined by the Raptors. Here they come from behind the head. It's a flying V! Come on! Come on! Harry Hall with a hot. Harry Hall holds the pocket. Here's your brother, Jesse. They stay outside of the pool. Jesse Hall with a try to come down. He's doing it. Pulls down the ringside. Down for a man. Here's the score.

7:30 Now, there's some black people in this room like, what sport is that? That's called hockey. and um I actually me and my big brother Gabe actually played hockey and so mama didn't I play hockey yes I did play hockey yes I did um but but this movie really impacted me but when I saw it as an adult and I was preparing for this series I saw something very crucial that the player of the flying V was called by the coach who's the visionary and when a visionary calls a play he needed willing vessels the coach could not get on the ice and run the play it took people who did not make up the vision to actually get in the game and do what the visionary said and because a visionary gave a vision to willing vessels it produced victory and I believe y'all don't hear me in this place today I believe that's what 2020 is supposed to look like for you the problem is You think you're the coach.

8:36 so you're running plays that you made up and you get depressed when you lose and I think that what God wants us to do at the beginning of this year is get the play from the visionary and all we have to do as we sang that song Lord I'm available to you we have to be willing everybody say vessels and if we would run the play that God has for us we would see the victory. So I'm going to help you understand this. Go to Proverbs again, 29, 18. And I want you to never forget this scripture. I read it probably a hundred times every year, but where there is no vision, the people parrot. Now I want you to understand a lot of times I reverse engineer scripture, I want you to see what it doesn't say. It doesn't say where there is no money, the people perish. It doesn't say where there is no cosign or influence, the people perish.

9:44 God can do more with a little bit, but he can do nothing without, everybody shout at me, vision. You don't hear me. And that's why for many of you, life happens to you. You don't happen to life. It's because you will not get in the place long enough to talk to god to get the vision Is this the business i'm supposed to start this year? Is this the thing that i'm supposed to focus on this year? I have all of these abilities, but where do I need to be specific?

10:12 It's time for us to get clear vision another translation of the scripture says where there is no prophetic revelation Where there's no revealed truth it says that people cast off restraint mlt version michael living translation. People stop caring when there's no vision. That's why when you first got married, there was a vision to get married. So in the courting stage, you were super intentional, my man. You bought gifts. You remembered what they said because there was a vision that I was going to marry her and I was going to get in them sheets, okay? Y'all two saved. I'm still the same in 2020. Amen.

10:56 We were going to touch and agree. Amen. So because there was a vision before, you were intentional and you stuck to that vision. You were saving money. You were doing things. You were telling parents. You was planning stuff. You weren't buying stuff to be able to make sure you did stuff. And then you reached the vision. And you didn't revision. And I don't mean to be a marriage counselor today, but the reason why so many marriages and relationships are failing is because there's no vision. And where there is no vision, people... And so now it goes back to like, you don't even treat me how you used to treat me. You at least would have done some chocolate or something. It's our anniversary. You know my heart. this for you baby that's why i got this tattoo no like deoda said like but we try to rely on past things and really the truth is we stopped caring because we lost vision the the thing you need to know is vision leaks you can't tell somebody something one time and believe it you have to keep reiterating and re-looking at and re-evaluating the vision that is there.

12:17 And this year for Transformation Church, the word that God has given me, the word that we're going to walk out, the word for our families, it is going to keep the vision right in front of us because we have to not stop caring. We have to care about what God says. We have to do what God says. So I'm going to give you a few points that will help you value vision. Write this first point down. Vision needs a vessel.

12:45 And my question is, if God is going to get a vision into the earth, why not you? let's be let's be honest many of you if God really told you what he wanted to do with your life you would back up and be like oh man my bad like I really I did say I wanted to be used by you but I wasn't really talking about all of this like I just kind of wanted to have enough money to pay for a house and I kind of just wanted to be married and I kind of wanted one of my kids to graduate from school. The other one really don't even have to graduate. Like I just... because what ends up happening is we're not willing vessels and anytime God wants to do something in the earth he doesn't look to do it without one of his kids and my question to you is in 2020 will God have to find another vessel if God is going to give us vision will you have enough room to carry it because you have so many other things in the vessel right now so many other things that may I dare say that God didn't put there but maybe you put there some of y'all have this idea I want to retire by the age of 50 where did you get it from Thank you.

14:08 no I'm I'm coming for your throat this year where did you get that idea from because there's nobody in the bible that retired at age 50 there was nobody Abraham was 75 and still getting promises from God I came to shake somebody somebody's offended right now and they're like I knew I shouldn't have come to this church but what if the plan of God for your life was bigger than a pension plan what if the plan of God for your life was to make a difference that people would feel when you're gone now I didn't say you had to be punching a nine to five clock when you 55 but if you think you're gonna sit on a yacht and not be about the plan and the purpose of God in your life where there is no vision people do y'all know they tell us that statistically when people lose passion and a job in their older age they're quicker to actually die because where there's no reason for getting up in the morning where there's nothing that you need to pray about to happen people perish when I get 55 60 65 whenever the guy calls me from being um in a place where I have to do something every day to be able to make ends meet. I'm not going to retire. I'm going to refire. Now I got more time to figure out like, what are you saying, God? No, please don't call me between the time of 6 a.m. and 12 p.m. because me and God are talking.

15:43 but vision needs a vessel. And, and I just got one question for everybody who's watching online and everybody in this room in 2020. If you're going to be God's vessel, can I just see your hand right now? If you're going to, if you're deciding, yeah, their hands going up all over the building. Okay. I just need to make sure, you know, and, and, and look, this is where crazy faith actually comes in. We did a 20-week series on crazy faith. Crazy faith was not so that things could come. It was so that kingdom could come. What happens when you get the house, you get the car, you get the marriage? You done? You done believing God? You're done seeing the miracles that He can do? And so many of us have been just praying for necessities that we cannot see that God wants to do something past that that touches other people. And that's why God says in Luke 18 8, it says, but when the Son of Man returns, when I come back to this thing, when I crack the sky, how many will I find on the earth who have faith?

16:54 Not who have all these other things that we make valuable. He's looking for faith. And that's why he's saying, yeah, I'm going to give you a vision and I need you to be my vessel this here. And when I give you this vision and I put it inside of you, you're going to have to have faith because it's going to look way different and way bigger and way more than what you think you can handle. But I know what I put inside of you. And so I'm going to put this vision in a vessel and I'm going to make it come to pass. Somebody shout at me, vision! Point number two, let me help you bring value to vision. Vision must be visible. It's not a vision if it's in your thoughts. it's not a vision if nobody can see it on paper let me prove it to you go to Habakkuk 2.2 it says then the Lord replied and he said write the vision and do what and make it make it plain make it plain on tablets back then paper right now iPhones if you techie write it down and make it plain i love this part that it may that he that runs can read it another translation says it like this it says write this write what you see write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run see a vision is never supposed to be something that you get in your vessel and then you wait for God to make happen. A vision is supposed to cause you to start moving into a place where people, okay, that's what you're saying, God. We're going to keep moving with that. Oh, that's what you're saying, God. Hold on. I got to hire some more team. Look at the vision. See what God has said. Look at what he's done in the past. And now we got to keep moving with the vision.

18:49 And that's why I'm coming to challenge some of you right now is that you've lost sight of what God has said, or you've never taken the time to find out what he's saying, but vision has to be visible. I'm challenging you as we start this 21 days of prayer and fasting to get a journal or a notebook right now where you just put on a page vision from God. Vision don't have to make sense to nobody else. Vision does not have to check out with your bank account. Vision does not have to take into consideration your past. All vision has to do is come from God. And when God gives a vision, all you have to do to make it valid is write it down but so many of us are getting these visions from God and we're acting like it's a maybe if or like maybe if everything lines up God would do that well if somebody with money would recognize me I could or if God changed it and God said do you know who I am I'm the God who makes ways out of no ways I'm the God who sees you in your brokenness and says, yeah, and I can use that and I can turn that. Oh, that was ugly, but I'll put it right there. Smooth it out. Put a little makeup on that. I can make this thing work for your good.

20:00 but my question is if somebody was to come to fund your vision could they know what your vision is and you not say a word I'm gonna say it again could you hand somebody a document that tells them how much debt you need to be paid off what you would do with the accounting what you would do. It's the vision plane. Some of y'all need to take it a step further. You got a vision to lose weight. You need to take a picture of yourself and put it on somebody else's body. Do you hear what I'm saying to you? No, y'all want to be fake. Well, I don't really think that. You need to get a vision of yourself in a different place and a different space because it's not what you see with your eyes open. It's what you see with your eyes closed.

20:53 And until I can already tell how some of y'all are responding and thinking and looking right now that you don't know how valuable vision is. Do y'all remember in the beginning? Do y'all know how we got here? In the beginning, God said to himself in three different persons, let us, let's make something. let's make man in our that means there was a blueprint that they were working from to bring everything into existence what I'm telling you is if the vision is not written down in the next 30 days don't expect it to come to pass this year but they don't like that one they don't like that one they don't like that one but God does not recognize vision until you have watch this the crazy faith to write it down you're looking for the faith to make it come to pass and God's only requiring the faith to write it down you want the faith to walk into it God says I need you to have the faith to write it you want the faith to show it off God says I need you to have the faith to print it off Thank you.

22:13 vision has to be visible go down the neighborhood street you want your kids to go to school at and take a picture don't take a while the kids is there because we don't want no cases for nobody here you hear me don't be out there creeping taking no don't do that better yet just go get a google image of the school let me Let me roll that all the way back.

22:44 Get a picture of the house. Get a picture of your family where they're all smiling and declare real on it. because vision needs a vessel but vision has to be visible okay let me tell you another thing vision has to be i love this vision must be vast it's got to be bigger than what you think is possible if you can do it without god it's not a vision it's a project Thank you. See, the problem is because we don't have our priorities in order, a lot of times we need God to do this. No, we don't need God to do this. We just need to make it a priority and we need to actually execute and stop procrastinating. But a vision is something you could not do without God. And I'm challenging you not to allow your circumstance, your situation, and your past to narrow the vast vision that God has given you.

23:49 I tell Charles and my wife and Bree all the time, there's things that God has shown me that I only can share with a few people. Because if I shared it with all y'all, y'all would think I was absolutely loony. You'd be like, I can't follow him. He is crazy. The problem is you're sitting in what used to be crazy. There was a time not that long ago where if I would have stood up in my church and said, we are going to own the only available arena in Oklahoma in the next 24 months. Y'all passed it and lost it. but we here though now watch it's because that vision God gave me and I got proof oh y'all didn't know I wrote it down see see on March 9th 2015 God called me away in a moment where I was saying God I'm your vessel I'm not preaching you something that I haven't lived I can't talk to you about something that I don't have proof of. When I told God I was going to be his vessel, that was him waking me up early in the morning with my daughter Isabella in her room. And God said, write this down. I'm going to give you the vessel of vision, but it got to be visible. So I took a Google image of the Spirit Bank Event Center and in Paige's document, put Transformation Church on the building. And I spelled it wrong. It says, I forgot the T in Transformation Church. It's like Translation church or something like that. And I left it all like that because God was not looking for the vision to be perfect. He was just looking for me to progress to what he was calling me to do.

25:38 And I made it visible. And he gave me a vision that was vast. and as I sit in this room and I and I see us packed to capacity people in overflow can't nobody tell me what my god will not do if you get a vision you can't tell me oh but you thought it was just an arena he said it would be multi-ethnic there would be black people and white people and old people and young people and it would Look around. Look around. Look around. The vision is working. but remember the key elements vision has to have a vessel vision has to be visible so you got to write it down and vision has to be vast let me prove it to you abraham the father of our faith in genesis 15 5 i love this it says then the lord took abraham outside and i love this because usually vision is going to be outside of where you're comfortable he was in a tent and and god said abram come here come outside of what your family did come outside of what's comfortable for young african-american males in the south if i were to listen to black people none of the white people would be here I'm going to just tell you how it is.

27:23 Oh, you can't let y'all talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. Stop being scary. We all got the blood of Jesus running through us. What are you talking about? Don't let this melanin fool you. You like pumpkin pie? We like sweet potato pie. It's still pie. I'm acting a fool, I'm acting a fool. I'm acting a fool. They both orange, what? what I'm trying to tell you is that the vision God's given you and is going to give you is usually outside of what's comfortable okay so so so he says Abram come outside and then look how he gave him a vast vision look up into the sky and do something that's impossible count all the stars if you can. I love how God is, he's funny if you really read it. Like, look out, look up there and count the stars if you can. You can, can you? That's how vast this vision is.

28:33 And that's how many descendants you will have. What happens when the vision is even unbelievable for you. that requires an element of faith and trust that I can't make this happen there's no way I could have made this happen there's no way that I could do what I'm believing God to do right now for my son there's no way there's no way I can make it happen but the vision is vast it will not be said that I didn't have enough faith to believe the big vision that God gave me I will not dumb it down I will not now be careful who you tell it to a vast vision doesn't always have to be shared you you joseph had this problem you remember joseph the coat of many colors he was like y'all all my brothers how y'all had this dream last night you all were bowing to me felt like i was ruling and owning you guys and don't even know what because people who don't understand the position they play in your vision will try to kill it before it comes to pass and the problem with many of y'all is you're sharing vision for validation and they're not the ones who gave it so they can't give you the validation for and some of you need to write it down you need to pray about it and then you need to ask God for wisdom of when to share the vision even when it came to this place the day God shared it with me I told my wife I told my mom I told Bishop and I told uh Bree that's all who knew about it from the beginning until God started unfolding it.

30:29 And this is the thing that I'm asking everybody. When God gives you a vision, don't kill it in seed form. You know, the greatest time to kill something powerful is when it's a baby. That's what they tried to do to Jesus. That's what they tried to do to Moses. They said, kill every male child under the age of two. They were willing to take out everything to try to kill a king when it's a kid.

30:58 And your vision is big, but it's got to live. And this is a bonus point because vision must be vast, but check this bonus point. Vision has to remember the vow that God gave you. See, the thing about Abram is God's going to give him a vision that's vast, but it's 25 plus years before it comes to pass. What happens when your vision is so strong, but you ain't seeing nothing and it's been so long? You have to remember the vow that God has given you. Let me give you another one. Vision is a verb. If your vision don't have no action behind it don't wait for God to do what you supposed to do I hear so many believers talking about just waiting on God just waiting on God which house is your new year man just here just waiting on God and my husband just waiting on God and and then I like this little evil part of me on the inside that God's still working out always thinks like but have you really done everything you're supposed to do have you really is God holding something back to give you an opportunity obey something he already told you to do like he could release it but then that changes the dynamic of your life and your relationships and now you better have kids and he's been really telling you to write this book and he's been really telling you to write this book and instead of writing a book you crying that you don't have what he has in the future for you and so you're wasting time and he's still trying to hold it back so that you can obey what he said I'm telling you you gotta have action with what God says to do. Abraham only gets to see what God has for him because when he said, get up from this place and go to the land I will show you, he called him to have action and to use that verb before he even had a visual of where he was going. My question to you is what action do you need to take? One of the things that God challenged me to do when I was broke, and I'm

33:07 talking about like broke broke I'm talking like couldn't afford to pay attention Broke, broke. He said, go to the bank and open up accounts. Well, why would I do that? He said, put the minimum in the account, and I want you to label the account what this will be for. I need you to every time you open up your mobile app to see a fund that says giveaway money. I want you to see the storehouse. I want you to see an account that says mamacita money. some of y'all don't want husbands that think about you like that I want my wife to just be okay let me stop this ain't gotta be your blessing but it's hers over seven years ago before I was the pastor of the church I went and named accounts that had five dollars in them and for years they had five dollars in them No, let me...

34:25 But that was the verb. That was the action that was required to keep it visible to me. One day, I know you in overdraft right now. $333. But one day... one day I'm gonna pay off somebody else's overdraft.

34:45 See, it helps you get faith in the moment where it's waning. Like one day, and I'm not saying that's what you have to do, but I'm telling you that if you're gonna get a vision, there has to be a verb that goes along with it. Everybody say action. You need action. Let me give you the word that this really culminates in, obedience. God's gonna give you a vision and then he was gonna require obedience some of you are in the wrong city I told you I'm coming for your throats today. Some of you are in the wrong relationship. Now, if you're married, we're about to have to work that out. But some of y'all over here playing because you're lonely,

35:33 some of us are doing things from the wrong value system. And that's why I'm trying to let everybody get a, somebody shout at me, vision! Say it like you mean it, vision. Okay, watch this. The last one and the most important one when we talk about getting vision, and I'm so excited because even tomorrow when we all meet here and online tomorrow at noon when we go live with our 21 days of prayer and fasting because prayer is our secret sauce over here. Y'all think it's lights and cameras and Instagram posts, baby? We pray. Last night my mama called me. She said, I felt you in the spirit. What's going on? and she said, I'm calling you at 6 a.m. and we're going to pray. And she prayed me into a tizzy. The reason I'm so gangster in here today, y'all don't hear me, is because when we get that juice in us of prayer, what we're saying, we're not going to worry about anything.

36:27 We're going to pray about everything. Prayer is not going to be our last result. It's going to be our first response. Oh, y'all don't hear me. When they call us with bad news, we're going to say, Father, you're in control of it all. And I thank you that you're working on it. Somebody say pray first. Prayer is our secret sauce here. So as we go into this, in prayer, in the presence of God is where vision becomes clear. So I need you to know this about vision. Vision must be valid.

36:59 The only way you know something is valid is that it came from the one who made it. What are you saying, Pastor Mike? there have been seasons of my life where I wrote it down I was ready to act on it it was big it was verbal it was visible it was all the things but it didn't come from God And what happens when you work a vision that's not valid from God is it becomes void in front of man. that's how so many people's like i'm just tired and i've been working to get this this business off the ground and i've been doing this and i've been doing this my question is did did that vision come from a valid source and i've watched people spend their whole life working on a vision that at the end of the day was not from god so it was void they lost their family over it they got money but they don't got nobody to share it with.

38:08 Their Instagram followers are up. Their kids think they're powerful but they missed it because they never would take the time to make sure, God, is this what you're saying? Is this how you're saying it? Do I need to change this up? And all I'm praying for everybody who's watching and everybody who's in this room right now, I would hate for us to lose an entire year of our life working on something that will not count. I don't want a vision that's void. I don't want the plan. Like, I thought I was going to be a music producer going everywhere producing for Beyonce, Usher, Justin Bieber, everybody like that. And I had made plans to do that. And there have been several times, let me be very transparent, on this journey of following God where I thought there were moments where God was giving me space to go and do that again. and I was like yeah this makes sense I've even told team members and stuff two and three years ago here is the vision for 2017 I ain't gonna be here because I'm gonna be producing for these people and I'm gonna bring the money back to the church and I'm gonna preach like I it was every one of those steps that I say it except it was void and if I didn't have the wisdom to go back to the presence of God it was in moments like this in 21 days of prayer where I would come every night and be like dang is this even working oh I'm hungry is that a coffee headache like I like come on because the enemy will try to tempt you as you put away things you don't even need to go back to things that give you comfort for a second when God's trying to download into you a vision.

39:58 And I would be coming and it would be the 20th day of the fast. Lord, couldn't you have given me something a little bit in week one, a little bit in week two, a little bit in week three to keep me going? He said, no, no, no. I needed the discipline to turn into desire. See, the problem is we want everything, we want to desire it. I want to fast. Let me tell you, your pastor never wants to fast.

40:24 Let me be very clear. I like meat. I like sugar. I like bread. Proof. I like it. I love ice cream. Cookies and cream. Two-step. Have y'all tried the Blue Bell two-step? I got to get one more bite of that before tomorrow, okay? Can I be real? Y'all want me to be fake up in here. I am going to eat a Blue Bell two-step float tonight.

40:58 And then for 21 days. The reason I'm telling you this Is because what's more powerful Than feeding my cravings It's getting a vision from God When you get a vision from God that'll wake you up in the morning When you get a vision from God when you're sick of doing it And you don't want to do it anymore You keep pressing because I know what god said i've seen it i've written it down. I've looked at it It's vast and it's a valid vision So now i'm gonna walk this thing out Can I tell you? That in this house vision is more important than anything else that we do Because I did not know what god was going to do to get us all here except every year he would give me a word 2015 2016 team. He gave us a word. And he gave me a word privately because I took over the church and he said, Michael, all I want you to do is maintain. Maintain what I've done. Just pray, believe, try to help people, and just try to keep it. Do you know what God did when we changed leadership of a church of leaders who had two totally different styles? If y'all never met Bishop, Bishop is a very, very put-together, white, older gentleman that dots all of his I's and crosses all of his T's.

42:40 His motto is to be early or to be—what is it? I don't even know it. See, that's bad. To be early is to be on time. That's our bishop. And then there's me. and when when this transition happened didn't nobody know what was gonna happen but God allowed us for two years to maintain he gave us a vision so when people were leaving it was almost as if as people left because they didn't like that I was 27 years old and leading a church and all this other stuff it was like he almost replaced those people simultaneously with other people who even sometimes kind of look like the people who left. I am not even joking. If an older stable family left the church, like an older stable family came. Like it was like, God said, if you believe what the word I've given you, I must see it happen in your life. And for two years, we maintained. And then in 2016, God said, Michael, you ready to go? I was like, ready to go where? He said, beyond. He said, this is the year that you're going to go. Everybody say it with me. Beyond. When I took over the church, we had about 350 people. We had one service and God said, this is the year you're going to go beyond. So I got up looking at them same people and I said, this is the year that God said that we, everybody say we, we. Like I didn't even know where to put my emphasis at the time. I was just green. And he was like, we are going to go beyond. And we made t-shirts about it and we talked about it. And it was crazy that it didn't look like we were going beyond the whole time we were in the year. Because sometimes vision doesn't look like the outcome.

44:26 While you're walking through it, it doesn't look like it. But when we looked back and we stopped and paused for what God was going to do, that year the church grew 400 members and $400,000 in the budget. Now, if you've never led anything and you've been maintaining for two years and 400 more people come and $400,000 came, I was in the back like, do the stanky leg, do the stanky leg. Like I was like that 2016, that was about the time. My leg was broke over there. Do you hear me? because God stayed true to his vision.

45:07 I'm just trying to give vision value. And then God switched it up on us. And in 2018, he said, the word is stride. Now, hold on, Lord. Last year's word was beyond. So I was sure this year's word was going to be explosion, dynamite, takeover. he said stride I literally had to look the word up this is how you know you're getting a vision from God when it doesn't even um come into your um radius of what you know God took me outside of what I knew and he said look up this word stride and it means to walk in long decisive steps in an intentional direction and Jesus said to me he said Michael you've been running it's time to walk. I said, that's dumb. Come on, can I be real? I was like, that's dumb. Like, how are we going to continue to do all these things you've told us to do? And now you're saying walk. He said, you need to find the pace of grace. He said that less is more. He said, if you do less and obey me, I'll do more and clown you. And y'all, we sat in a room December 5th or 6th of 2017, right before the year, And we canceled Christmas that year.

46:24 We're supposed to do this huge production. And I said, y'all, I don't know why God's telling me to do this, but we're supposed to cancel this and we're going to stride. And I told the whole team that. And we canceled some other things that we were supposed to do. And y'all, in the year 2018, when it was the year we were supposed to do less, God did abundantly more. literally december 22nd 23rd of that year as we're twiddling our thumbs some random girl post a clip of a series we did in august called relationship goals and and relationship goals went viral we didn't hire a marketing team we didn't have a pr firm we had nothing we still don't have none of that stuff when it happened god said watch what i'm gonna do while you sleep I'm coming to tell somebody in this room if you would just obey whatever god tells you to do Watch what he'll do to make the vision come to pass the vision has value And so we would sleep and i'm looking at my wife and I had 4 000 instagram followers And i'm literally looking at my thing and i'm growing 10 000 instagram followers every day And i'm like what is going on? I thought they thought I was michael b jordan Black panther hat just came out. I thought it was confused. You know what I'm saying?

47:44 But I didn't know what was happening, but I wasn't going to report it. So it's growing and growing and growing. And what we found out is that that went viral on Twitter. And 2 million people watched that clip in 48 hours. We went from literally having 1,800 YouTube subscribers to over 100,000 in one month.

48:11 And this is the crazy thing about it. when God told us in the first year of maintaining to buy new cameras there was a group of people after all the people had left who thought that was an irresponsible use of money because they didn't see the vision I'm just trying to encourage somebody that you won't have full support while you obey God everybody's not going to clap until it's everybody who left the church has seen this now and they're like I knew it the whole time he was going to be fucking great you're like your mom or son can I be honest but some people don't know how to see the design of a house when there's only studs they want to come in at the end and put the pictures up and put the decorations but they can't see it when it when it's not fully there and what God said is I'm gonna clown you and I mean he exceeded our expectation we went from one service to five services in that year the budget increased tremendously and God said how much more are you doing than you did last year I was like not that much he said see when you do less I do more and then last year he gave us a word what was the word last year release and God said I'm gonna release you into some things I'm gonna release you from some things and I need you to let me free in everything and y'all can I tell you that in 2019 God released us to the world in a brand new way God released this building we're sitting in right here to us And God released influence that will literally have us preaching all around the world at every moment of every day Okay. Can I help you understand this? Vision is valuable.

50:10 What's your vision? Is it plain? Is it vast? Is it something that people can see? if you don't have a vision for this year or your vision is blurry i'm challenging everybody flat-footed standing here to join us in 21 days of prayer and fasting i'm not asking you to do it for any other reason that vision is so valuable for the people who only understand like numbers and money like the nerds in here let me show you what following vision will produce can you put the money graphics up 2015 when he said maintain 2014 the budget was 1.2 million dollars god said maintain it it was 1.2 million dollars that came in everything that came in everything that everybody gave end of the year offering the cat what the cat gave what the dog gave what everybody gave the next year, same thing, because those two years were maintained. He said, go beyond 2017. It went up $400,000, 1.6. This is for all of those people. We're transparent. We're a hot church, humble, open, and transparent. We tell you everything. We're not hiding anything. We're not keeping, but some people won't get it until I start talking like this. 2018, he said, stride.

51:38 that's how i know people don't know money a almost 300 percent increase when god said you do less i'll do more are y'all ready for what happened in 2019 put it on the screen Oh, y'all better When God said he was gonna release Yo Even the feedback, even the feedback had to give God praise right there. Woo. Woo. You can praise him with me, sound man. Come on.

52:30 Now. At Transformation Church, the vision has value. So if you want to be a part of something that's just going with the flow and doing all this other stuff and all this other stuff, go do that. but when God gives us a word we're going to gather our faith our resources our hearts around that word and Transformation Church the word that God has given me for 2020 it ain't like any other word in here he said Michael I don't want this church bigger I want the church stronger the word for 2020 oh y'all better hear me is somebody shout it with me strong say it one more time listen to me god told me this so clearly he said michael if another person doesn't come to the church this year it doesn't matter he says i want the people who are there to be stronger financially relationally spiritually i want them to be able to withstand whatever the enemy throws at them come here let me show see what happens is what many of us want to do and i feel the presence of god i'm gonna preach this next week okay so so i really want to preach it right now just stand right here. This is how strong our life is right now. Emotionally, spiritually, and God wants to do something really big in our life. Oh, God wants to do something great. Glory to God.

54:19 And this weak vision that we have, because emotionally we can't handle nothing, because spiritually if the enemy throws one cog in the machine we don't know how to say hold on ask it for me in my house we don't have no strength but what we think is well maybe if we had more of these so bigger is better spread them out yeah bigger is better and we got more we got five of them now. We got five of them. Oh, glory. Oh, God. And what most of us settle for is more instead of strong.

55:00 Bigger is not always better. Stronger is. I declare that your marriage is getting stronger. I declare that your family is getting... Oh, I feel this thing. I declare that your business is getting stronger. Your prayer life is getting stronger. Ah, your ability to communicate under adversity is getting stronger. But Pastor Mike, I gave him the end of the year offering.

55:27 I'm doing great things for you, God. So I must be strong enough. Oh, no. Oh, no. See, some of us think that what we got to last year is strong enough to hold up what God wants to do this year. but what the bible says in in in in um what is it is it ephesians where he tells us to forget all that he said children of israel you thought i did something by making a way out of the sea and you thought i did something by calling all them and he said forget all that it's not worth being compared to the great things that i have for you but the next part messes me up and tells me there's vision involved in it. It says, do you not see it? Do you not see how you handled your relationships last year won't work this year? Do you not see that you're going to have to pray more and read more and stand in? You've got to get everybody yelling at me stronger. So this is what I want for the end of your 2020. This is what I want for you. Come on, bring it on up here. Let them see it.

56:36 what I want for you is that this is your marriage. This is our church. This is Transformation Nation. This is your business. And when God says I'm about to hold something up on you, this is what you're going to look like at the end of 2020. It's strong enough to hold me up. I believe it. Somebody give God praise in this place. We're getting stronger. We're going to be stronger. Our families are stronger. So for the next four weeks really for the whole year every series is coming back how do we make you stronger but it starts with getting a vision from God and being a willing vessel how many vessels do I have in the building Father I pray over everybody whose hands are raised all over this place and those who are watching online you have given us a word and you declared for Transformation Church and everybody who would attach their faith that this year is the year that we get stronger.

57:53 So I'm declaring and I'm believing that emotionally strength is coming, that physically strength is coming, that Father God in their relationships, in their businesses, in their families, strength is coming. I stand, Father God, even as I hold my daughter's hand, I thank you that relationships for people all over this world are being mended right now. Things are being strengthened in the name of Jesus. And Father, this is your vision so that your kingdom can be done. You want to do it in your people. And today we say we're available to you. Come on, somebody say, I'm available to what you want to do in my life, God. We declare that we will be stronger. If you believe it, on the first Sunday of 2020, will you give God praise? Oh, I said, will you give God praise?

58:49 I want to keep preaching to you right now, but I have to go. But if you miss these next four weeks, I think it would be a grave mistake because God's already been giving me playbook to help us get stronger. And I believe it, I see it, and I declare it over your life. if you're in this room you've never accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior this is the time where I ask anybody that does not have an emergency to stop because I don't want you to distract anybody who's about to make the greatest decision of their life the thing that strengthens all of us if you're in here and you've never accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and you're watching online you're in this room I want to tell you it's the greatest one decision I ever made it changed me from being a liar a cheater somebody who was addicted to pornography it's crazy that hits different sitting here with my daughter Thank you for your grace, God.

1:00:03 Thank you for your grace, God. See the thing you gotta realize is God's not just trying to do this for you. He's trying to make sure that like the generations after us like. If you're in this room and you want to make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior, I'm about to pray in a minute. And at Transformation Church, there's no shame in this. Like, there's not, like, we believe in progression, not perfection. So, like, we expect, like, if you're trying to change up, you might mess up a couple times. But the grace of God is so good, it's new every morning. Like so today if you want to hand over controls of your life To the god who created you If everybody would bow your heads and close your eyes On the count of three i'm going to ask you to raise your hand You're saying I no longer want to live my life visionless But I want the vision god has for me and his first vision Was to see me and my eternal salvation secure If that's you on the count of three, I want you to lift your hand say pastor I want to be included in that prayer.

1:01:18 Watching online in this room. One, you're making the greatest decision of your life. Two, God is proud of you and so are we. I see hands going up right now. Three, if that's you, lift your hands all over this building. I see you, sir. I see you, ma'am. I see you, sir. I see you, ma'am. There are people all over here, dozens of people. Glory to God. What better way to start off the decade?

1:01:40 You can put your hands down. I see you. I see you, my brother. More importantly, God sees you. At Transformation Church, we're a family. Nobody prays alone. So everybody's going to pray this prayer. Everybody say, God, thank you for sending your son just for me. Today, I give you control of my life. I believe you lived and you died just for me. Today, take over. Give me a vision for my life. Change me. Renew me. Transform me. I'm yours. In Jesus' name. Can we celebrate with the dozens? Oh, oh, come on. Can we get, that's what this church is about. Hallelujah. Thank you so much for watching Transformation Church's YouTube.

1:02:37 And I just want you to take another step. If this is feeding you, join Transformation Nation. That's everybody that doesn't live here in Tulsa watching live with us on Sunday mornings. Gather your family. Let's make this thing an every week situation. And please share. Share if it has impacted your life. There is somebody that is waiting for you to share this with them. And transformation is only a click away. And there's one more thing I would ask you to do pray about giving if you want to help us take this message All around the world and represent god to lost and found people for one reason transformation in christ You can do that right now by clicking the give button. I cannot wait to see you the next time we're here live a trans