Winning In Weakness · Stronger (Part 2)

1:01 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. 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 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. As I begin to think about how do we set the stage for becoming stronger, I went to Ephesians 6.10 and I want you to go there right now because Ephesians 6.10 is basically the anchor scripture for this entire series. And when I went away to asked God what the word for the year is, and he told me stronger. He then led me to all these scriptures in the Bible that talk about being stronger, and this is the one he kept literally replaying in my head and in my heart, and this is going to be an anchor for us all of 2020. So you're going to hear this scripture somewhere in every series, no matter if we're talking about relationship, finances, spiritual warfare, whatever we talk about, you're going to hear this scripture, and look what it says, Ephesians chapter 6 verse 10. It says a final word, be strong. Now I want you to see that this is the final thing that Paul is saying right here, and it's such a declarative statement. He says, help me, be what? Strong. But then it tells us that our strength is not found in what we can do on our own, it tells us where to place our hope or our security for our strength. What does it say?

3:10 Be strong in the, oh snap. So that means I can't be strong in my business plan alone. That means I can't be strong in my education alone. That means I can't be strong in my know-how or my abilities alone. It says, be strong in the Lord. And then watch, and in his mighty power. So put on all God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all the strategies of the devil. So there's opposition coming, but God is saying, be strong in him and you'll be able to withstand understand everything that would be coming your way. Everybody shout at me, be strong. Now, when I kept reading that and going over that in my mind and in my heart, be strong, be strong, be strong, be strong, be strong, it hit me. God was not asking any of us to act strong. he wanted us to be strong and the crazy thing about our generation and the the the place we live in today is that most people confuse acting strong and being strong as the same thing so we can post a picture and act like our marriage is strong and at that moment you're sitting in the bed with your husband and wife posting a throwback Thursday but y'all haven't talked all day so you're acting strong but you're not actually being strong okay let me take the glasses off see because what we can do is post our our little bible scripture reading plan but we didn't actually read it You don't even know what you posted to everybody else.

4:58 You don't even know what it says. And so we would rather act strong instead of be. We spend all of this time getting money so that we can take our children on a vacation they don't even want to go on. So that we can pose in front of a castle with a mouse. and we paint this picture of a family that is acting strong but when your child is in need you don't pray for them when when when they're actually needing guidance you don't have time for that you would rather punish your kid than discipline them let me explain the difference punishment has emotion involved don't you embarrass me like that in front of other people Don't you do this where discipline actually takes time to sit with the person and explain to them I'm in some of y'all business right now, but So you would rather act strong than be strong.

6:08 So I said, God, okay, how are we going to break this down? He said, Michael, if my people are going to get stronger, they're going to have to stop acting strong. They're going to actually have to be. You know when somebody is something, there's an authenticity that comes along with it. Like when somebody just is what they are, they don't got to act like they is what they ain't.

6:37 I know that ain't right. That's Ebonics. He's like, Cheryl, help me. Is that? But do you understand what I'm saying to you? Like, if somebody was like, Mike's black, I don't gotta act black. I just am what I is. Like, do you understand what I'm saying? And there's an authenticity to who I am, how I look, and I don't have to try to do anything because I am being. And most of us have been caught up in doing. God called us human, not human doings, not human actings. And what I'm trying to convey to you, if we're going to be strong, it's not going to come from what we are doing.

7:39 It's not going to come from how we are acting. It's going to have to come from our being. So, okay, Pastor Mike, help me. How do I get strong? In whatever area you are in in your life, whatever area you are dealing with, I think we have to start this whole stronger series by talking about weakness.

8:06 I would want to pump everybody up this first week like, you're getting stronger. Everything's getting stronger. Your marriage is going to be stronger. but I found that the only way we can get stronger is acknowledging where we are weak. Uh-oh. And I know some of y'all didn't come for this because some of y'all just came to check this off your box, but there's no way we can get stronger if you don't admit you're weak in an area. And some of y'all are so prideful that you've been dealing with an area of your life of weakness for decades. And if anybody even starts to get around that area, you shut down, you walk away, you run away. but the only way that you can get stronger is if you allow God to sit in your weakness. Uh-huh. All right. I know I'm in the right building today.

8:51 It says be strong. And then the funny thing about this scripture is revelation comes when you read between the words in the Bible. Like revelation is revealed truth. You've seen me do this, but I do it all the time to help you. Revelation is there, but there's a cover over it. So when you read the Bible, you read it with the cover on it. And what I encourage everybody to do, even on this 21 days of prayer and fasting, every time you get in the word, ask God to, Lord, reveal truth to me, not just in the words I'm reading, but between the words, around the words, pull something back that's there already, but I need you to reveal it to me. And when I was reading this scripture, I found some revealed truth. Look what it says, Ephesians 6 in 10. It says, and find a word, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on, another translation says, the full armor of God. Now, I begin to think about it. He says, be strong, but then he tells you to put on armor. Be strong, but put on your armor now, don't.

9:55 Like, walk out there, be strong, but don't forget your armor now. Now, I'm just picturing in my mind some rock type of Dwayne Johnson person, like stepping out. Like if you think of strong, like the rock has like muscles in his veins and stuff like that. And so I'm thinking like spiritually, I'm looking like the rock. But then God says, but still put on your armor. why am if I'm strong I gotta put on armor it's because that no matter how strong you are you still have a weakness and the only reason why somebody puts on armor is to cover weaknesses that's why if you ever see anybody back in the day going to armor they had a breastplate around them. They had things to guard all of the internal or major internal organs because no matter how strong you present yourself, there is always still a weak area in your life. What are you trying to say, Pastor Mike? I don't care how much money you've made. I do not care how great your family looks. I do not care what you've overcome to this point. If you are a live and a human being, you still have a weakness.

11:11 And so this message today is for everybody. Because some of your weakness is more detectable than others. Some of us have a substance abuse problem that's a weakness for us that everybody can smell and see in our actions. But do you know pride is just as intoxicating? Uh-oh. Did you know greed and gluttony is just as harmful? But I can't see that weakness on everybody I come in contact with. And it's funny how Christians, believers, and people are very quick to point out weaknesses that are visible.

11:56 But many times we don't acknowledge the weaknesses in ourselves that nobody can see. So today I want to teach you something because this revelation that I got out of the scripture is that you got to go to war even with a weakness. How many people in this room have a weakness now that I've said it? And if you don't raise your hand, you're a liar in the house of God. You're a big, fat liar. The crazy thing about our weakness is usually when we have a weakness, we want to rest. like I did because of how I've been feeling. I wanted to just rest today. I was just like, Lord, just put a video on. but he said Mike I'm gonna make you a living example today he said I need you to get ready to go to war with your weakness and see the problem is most of us have been taught all of our life that our weakness is why we cannot do something but when I read this scripture I'm finding out that he says, be strong. I want you to be strong. But every warrior is going to have to get up and fight something with armor on because you will be weak going to war.

13:28 And I think about single mothers who, if you focus too much on what you don't have, you won't get up to be the mother that you could be. And you got to get up every morning. Shout out to all the single mothers that got to get up and you got to go to war with the weakness. Y'all don't hear me. I think about all of the people in here who had come from financially hard times and you didn't have anything given to you. And you look at your disadvantage and God's still requiring of you what you're not even prepared to do. And he's like, I need you to go to war with your weakness. we went down the row and we were on a real honest conversation all of us have a weakness that we don't like to talk about that God's not saying sit on the sideline for this next year he's like yeah yeah yeah I knew you were addicted to that when I called you we gotta go to war with the weakness Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

14:34 You've thought you ugly all your life. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, no, no, no. I know. I know you're insecure about that. And I know you're insecure about not knowing who your father is. And I know you're at a, but, but no, no, no, no, no. You can come to war with your weakness. Oh, you thought I wasn't going to use you because they used you up in them relationships.

14:55 Oh, you thought, no, no, no, no. I factored in your weakness. and we got to go to war somebody say we got to go to war with the weakness tell your neighbor they didn't believe it say we got to go to war with the weakness this is about to set somebody free because somebody's been sitting on the sideline of life looking at everything that hasn't happened everything that you were never picked for everything that seemed to pass you over. And God says, here it is. Your time has come. We're going to war with the weakness.

17:14 So the title of my message today is Winning in Weakness. I believe 2020 is going to be the year that we will still be winning, even with our weaknesses. Somebody needs to believe that right now. I don't know who you are and what you came in here with, but this year we're going to win in weakness. Ah, feel this thing. I want to look today at a story of a young man whose weakness, people tried to define him by his weakness. And I want you to see how what seemed to be weak in one season was really the reason why he started winning in another season. 2 Samuel chapter 9 verse 1, it said, One day David asked, is anyone in Saul's family still alive? Anyone to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan's sake?

18:12 he summoned a man named Ziba who had been one of Saul's servants are you Ziba the king asked yes sir I'm at your service then the king asked him is anyone still alive from Saul's family if so I want to show God's kindness to them Ziba replied yes one of Jonathan's sons is still alive but he's crippled in both of his feet. He has a weakness. He's lame. Where is he? The king asked. He's in Lodabar, the place that literally means a place with no communication, a place with no word, a place where there is no word that has come forth out of there. Ziba told him, at the home of Maker, son of Amiel. So David sent for him at once and brought him from Maker's home. his name was Mephibosheth he was Jonathan's son and Saul's grandson when he came to David he bowed low to the ground in deep respect David says greetings Mephibosheth and Mephibosheth said oh shoot I'm your servant bro I don't even want nothing just you know what I'm saying whatever you want to do I'm here for you baby Thank you.

19:20 don't be afraid David said I intend not to harm you I intend to show you kindness because of the promise I made to your father Jonathan I will give you all the property that once belonged to your grandfather Saul and you will eat with me at the king's table Mephibosheth bowed respectfully and exclaimed what the heck is happening that's not in the Bible, but that's how I feel like he fell. Who is your servant that you should sow such kindness? Look at how he looked at himself. Who am I that you would show such kindness to a dead dog like me? Then the king summoned Saul's servant Zimba and said, I have given your master's grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. You and your sons and servants are to farm the land for him to produce food for your master's household.

20:19 But Mephibosheth, your master's grandson, will eat here at my table. Verse 11, Zimba replied, Yes, Lord, my king, I'm your servant, and I will do all that you have commanded. And from that time on, Mephibosheth ate regularly at David's table like one of the king's own sons. Mephibosheth had a young son named Micah. From then on, all the members of Ziba's household were Mephibosheth's servants. So he got built-in servants that were generational. And he said, and Mephibosheth, who was crippled in both feet, lived in Jerusalem and ate regularly at the king's table. now I looked at this story and I want everybody to see what happened to Mephibosheth run the story back Saul was the king Jonathan was Saul's son and they died on the same day Jonathan's son now Mephibosheth is in a position where his granddad and his father left him uncovered.

21:33 Okay? Word comes back that both of them are dead. And then the people who were supposed to take care of this young king, because that's who he was. They did something that produced weakness in his life. Let's look at it back up. And I'm giving you a lot of scriptural context so you can be able to see this thing. 2 Samuel chapter 4, verse 4. It says, Saul's son Jonathan had a son named Mephibosheth who was crippled as a child. Oh, he was crippled as a child. He was born that way. No. He was five years old when the report came from Jezreel that Saul and Jonathan had been killed in battle. When the child's nurse heard the news, she picked him up and fled. But as she hurried away, she dropped him and he became crippled.

22:28 What happens when the weakness you're experiencing right now was not warranted? What happens when the weakness of communication you have with your husband and wife or the communication that you're having with a boss and a coworker or the perverted images that you are seeing right now was not your fault, but it was something that happened to you. And the thing that you have to understand about weakness is weakness is all around us in different areas. But many times the people who are supposed to care for us are contributing factors to why we're weak in an area right now. What if your problem with finances right now was not because of how you want to do finances, but it's how you saw your family do finances all your life. What if the perverted images that are in your head, it was introduced to you at a family member's house when you just went to use the restroom.

23:27 You were looking for toilet tissue and you found Playboys. see the thing that you have to understand and I'm trying to take away people's excuses right now because many of us have valid reasons of why we are weak in an area but it no longer just because it's valid it no longer can be your excuse I'm gonna say this again just because it's valid and you didn't want Mephibosheth didn't want to be crippled five years old running around the palace not knowing anything that's happening. Word comes back, your daddy and your granddad is dead. And back then, once the king was dead, people came in to pillage the whole kingdom. And so the act of trying to protect Mephibosheth was really the thing that crippled him.

24:14 They were trying to keep him from being killed, keep him from being hurt. And when somebody made a misstep and dropped him, the same way some of y'all basketball coaches spoke a word over you, you'll never be able to play like them and that word crippled you that teacher that told you you're dumb and you won't ever be able to do that it crippled you to this point you're 48 years old and still feel like you don't have the capacity to do the things that God called you to do a brother or a sister or a cousin says look at your face look at them lips this that and the third and somebody who was supposed to be protecting you and love you they tripped that one moment and you fail and now you have a place in your life that you are weak. The weakness was not wanted. It wasn't warranted, but it's real. What I came to do at the beginning of this message, if you're going to win in weakness, you have to know that your weakness is real. And some of us are in this room acting like we are strong, but you're acting. That's exactly what you're doing.

25:22 There is an area of the reason why you're so successful in business. It's because y'all had to eat commodity cheese all your life and you made a decision I ain't never gonna do and you made this whole thing and built up all of this stuff and now God's asking hey I want you to put that business to the side and I want you to come serve me but you can't even obey the God who's formed all of your days because you got this strength to everybody else that's actually fueled by a weakness of not being able to trust anybody because your parents who you were supposed to trust didn't do right with their finances and that made y'all embarrassed as you're standing in a commodity line getting milk and cheese and goats with literally cows on it and a thing of cheese on it and now you're embarrassed and you've built up this world where you provide for yourself and no longer does anybody else have a say-so in who you're gonna be and what you're going to do not even the God who created you I just went on a rant and you can plug and play your own situation, but if you don't admit that your weakness is real, you never can become strong in that area. Y'all see how quiet it is in here? Yeah, everybody wants to get strong. Nobody wants to admit weak. Everybody wants to be buff, but nobody wants to be weak. Mephibosheth had no choice. From that moment on, when he was dropped, he now finds him in a space, in a place where he's hiding for the rest of his life.

26:57 And this is the crazy thing about this story. I could go into so much in-depth look into Mephibosheth's life, but the Bible tells us a couple of things. He ends up in Lodabar. And Lodabar literally means the place where there is no word, the place where there's no communication.

28:38 He was royalty. And now because of shame, Mephibosheth literally means breathing shame. So because of the shame that he experienced, because of the weakness that he has, he now goes to a place of no word. The same way that in the area that you are weak, you don't want God to speak a word in that area I was molested when I was young, don't talk about that Uh-huh I Have plastic surgery to make myself feel better don't talk about that I really tried to fit in with this crowd so I slept with a couple people that I shouldn't have but I don't want to talk about that and we get into shame to the place where we go to a place where we don't want any word about what's happening and we start insulating ourselves and backing up and when God really wants you can use all of me except that you can have my whole life except don't talk about when I was a hoe you hear me like I left that in 94 spring break 94 in Atlanta I don't I only remember six of the 12 day like no if you're saying God you're gonna use all of me he's got to use the weakness too and I don't know who I'm talking to in this place but you have been trying to protect your weakness and God's trying to use it.

30:10 what I want you to know is what David the king understood look at it point number two is weakness is allowed some of you need to hear this in the room because when David the king was looking for somebody to bless he didn't put stipulations on who he was about to bless the people that knew Mephibosheth tried to put stipulations on who the king was going to bless. Let me prove it to you. 2 Samuel chapter 9 verse 3. Then the king asked, is there anyone still alive from Saul's family? If so, I want to show God's kindness to them. Ziba, the hater, replied, yes, one of Jonathan's sons is still alive, but I mean, he crippled though. That was unnecessary. they asked was I alive not what my weakness was and many times when we come up in people's mouth they want to define us by our weakness they want to define us by a season of our life they want to define us by a low moment instead of just saying who we are this is his first introduction to the king. Yeah, Mephibosheth. But he crippled. Yeah, Sally. But she's a gossiper. Yeah, yeah, Joe. But he's not that smart.

31:41 what happens when God wants to bless you and you have an obvious weakness nothing because the king didn't care that he had a weakness

32:03 I'm trying to set somebody free who's claiming stronger this year but if you keep focusing on your weakness you'll talk yourself out of what God's picked you for no y'all don't hear me he picked you for it he called you for it well I don't have this and I don't have that he literally said go get him at once see the thing that makes me excited is when others try to disqualify you it becomes one of those things that God's like yeah that just makes the story better yeah that's just gonna that's just gonna give me more glory at the end of this situation oh yeah they used to be a liar oh yeah they used to do this oh yeah they're coming from their second marriage I can use all of that weakness is allowed pastor mike why did you make that one of the points because somewhere in this culture especially for men there's been this whole masculine macho thing that's like you ain't no don't let them see you cry you're a man son why don't you okay can i be on all the men in the house? How many people have heard or experienced or even feel that there is something that has been put over you and cast over you about having to have a very masculine approach to everything that you do? Come on, hands in the room, okay? Do y'all know that's exact opposite of what our Savior did?

33:29 Do y'all know that is the exact antithesis of what Jesus modeled for us on earth? Jesus wept. He was moved by compassion. I want you to think about like, and he ain't no punk because he took 39 latin. Y'all don't hear me. He ain't no punk. Because he took 39 lashes and said, is that all you got? Death, hell, and the grave. What up? please don't play my savior he could sit in a room with people who would betray him and be meek you want to talk about real strength it's power under control he gave Judas a job when he knew that he was going to betray him you can't stand somebody saying anything about you in your comments you want to talk about Yeah.

34:34 okay so what I'm saying to you is that even with the weakness men God's saying I need that.

34:58 I need you. I know it's hard to provide for your whole family. That's why that burden you're feeling, you're not supposed to carry it alone. That's why I ask you to tie. Well, my family, they got to be provided for. I'm the man of the house. And if everything don't go right, that's on me. That's on me. come on honestly we don't express it like that but that's how we feel on the inside but God says when you cut me into the deal and you honor me with 10 at the beginning not at the end but at the beginning then we become partners and I say you care about your family I care about your family and guess what I own everything so when when you partner with me he's like I'll rebuke the devourer for your sake I'll open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that you don't have room enough to receive. But God's asking for you to be dependent on him. That means you're going to have to expose some of your weakness. And this is something I'm learning. I don't know, like for my whole life, I didn't intentionally like build up this thing to be strong. But the thing is that God will have ways of breaking you down. He sent me two daughters.

36:09 And I don't know how else to describe it, but I became softer. When Isabella and Ava came into my life and they just started asking, Daddy, will you put on makeup with me? No, and sitting there with a full face. Mmm.

36:30 post daddy like like how did this happen I'm telling you. My daughter came up to me the other day and she said, come here daddy. And I said, what? She said, give me your forehead. I said, okay. And she kissed me on my forehead before I went to work. She said, you're valuable. like ah like and what has happened is that through through through the gift of my daughters God has been showing me he's like Michael your real strength is in your weakness and I want you to know in my prayer time, he keeps telling me your weakness is allowed here.

37:30 Your weakness is allowed here. You cannot have it together here. I'm gonna keep you up. I'm gonna protect you and I want you to know for everybody that goes to Transformation Church and is a part of Transformation Nation at Transformation Church, your weakness is allowed here. The thing that you're, no, y'all need to hear me say this because there's too many people that stay away from this place because they're trying to protect their weakness but your weakness is allowed here. You're addicted to pills, you're allowed here. You're still struggling with fornication, you're allowed here. You still have pride. Y'all need to get in a place of agreeing with this. If you're still struggling, you're allowed here. Your weakness is allowed. Somebody give God praise right there. Why is that so important? Because you can't become stronger in something you do not admit you're weak in. And if you don't think your weakness is allowed, you'll never be able to progress.

38:27 So your weakness is allowed here. And the thing I love about this story is that even though Ziba tried to define Mephibosheth by his crippleness, the king has the authority to do what's not normally allowed. So Ziba was like, yeah, but he crippled. He's not allowed here. Sent for him at once. And the king overrided whatever Ziba thought. And it makes me think when he said he sent for him at once, it made me think, was the king attracted to his weakness?

39:02 Was it something that when he heard, like, oh, he's crippled, then he was like, oh, this is going to make this even better. Hold on, I can really, now that his weakness is exposed, I can really take him from a place where he thought this would never happen for him, where it would be an amazing, amazing showing of my power. The thing about God is that when he sees your weakness, I believe he's attracted to it. Matter of fact, make that a point.

40:55 Weakness is attractive. when God looks at your deficiencies when God looks at the things that you'll be willing to show him when you're not trying to put on and act strong but being strong is admitting where you're weak God says oh I'm attracted to that oh I can do something with that um can I prove it to you that that this concept of God being attracted to your weakness Abraham was old Elijah was suicidal Joseph was abusive. Job went bankrupt. Moses had a speech impediment. Gideon was afraid. Samson was a womanizer. Rahab was a prostitute. The Samaritan woman was divorced. Noah was a drunk. Jeremiah was young. Jacob was a cheater. David was a murderer. Jonah ran from God. Naomi was a widow. Peter denied Christ three times. They had weakness. Martha worried about everything. Zacchaeus was short and money hungry.

41:49 The disciples fell asleep while praying with Jesus. Paul was a Pharisee who persecuted Christians before coming one. And Michael was addicted to pornography, a liar and a manipulator. God is attracted to your weakness. If anybody knows that you can still win with the weakness, you might as well give God praise right now. You acted like you forgot who you were, but the grace of God covered you. Somebody give God praise. It seems like God is attracted to people who have weaknesses in their life. So maybe you should stop trying to cover them up.

42:44 And maybe you should offer them up. I don't want nobody to know that I'm still on them sites at night. I don't want nobody to know that I'm tithing, but I'm still playing the lotto. come on because just in case God doesn't provide I believe he's Jehovah Jireh somewhat and if we say stuff like Lord if I win I promise I'm gonna die I'll give an offer Lord I'm gonna bless the church I promise I'm gonna bless He doesn't care about you winning a lotto. He cares about who do you trust.

43:33 I know I'm in people's business right now. But if my worry, if my fear, if my shortcomings are attractive to God, I'm, I don't want to say this. I honestly think it's a step up from weakness is attractive. I honestly think that weakness is an advantage. Yeah, like, I honestly think that Mephibosheth's weakness became his advantage. Like, I want you to get the picture of this, okay? Get a picture.

44:12 Mephibosheth is in a place where there's not been any word since he was five years old. The Bible doesn't tell us how old he is right now, but it implies that he's a young man. these guards show up and they're like y'all know where Mephibosheth is? Where Mephibosheth?

44:33 That's a horrible name by the way. They could have given him something else but Mephibosheth, don't name your kid Mephibosheth. And he probably is in the place where he always was laying in his weakness. content in his weakness see i don't want you to get this twisted i'm not saying you need to stay where you've been i'm not saying it's like i'm weak i struggle in this area i'm gonna get i'm gonna get lit up every friday night because i'm tired of life and i'm just like that's What I am saying is if that's the only way you feel like you can find peace, and you've tried everything else, and you've become content in your weakness, this is where the grace of God comes in.

45:30 David sends word. He says, go get him from Lodabar. Go get him. And they're like, where's Mephibosheth? And probably some of his boys was like, oh, bro, you about to die. because the king has sent his boys to confine you, and they look serious. And it was nice knowing you, bro, with fibs. I'm getting attacked. I'm a fib of shaft. Well, I'm just going to probably put fibs on it because that's too long. It would take up my whole arm. R.I.P. Thug-like, okay.

46:09 And they sinned for him. and the guards come up to him and say, are you Mephibosheth? He's like, I think so. And they say, all right, the king wants to see you. I don't want to go. I said, the king wants to see you. Do I have to get out of the comfortability of my dysfunction? it's almost better for me to stay in the known than to trust God in the unknown the king is sending for me he called me he he wants me even with my weakness but I'd rather stay here he's like no no no you gotta come he says all right Get under.

47:08 Okay, thanks. and probably the journey to the palace was one of those things where he was like, I don't actually know why all this happened to me. If my dad was still here, if my grandfather was still here, if I would have got accepted to that school, maybe I wouldn't be.

47:43 About to go through this. But he gets in front of the king. The same way that I believe that God is calling many of us to get in front of the king. And look what he does when he gets in front of the king. He bows. Now I don't know how he actually did it. See, y'all don't read the Bible how I read the Bible. It literally says when he came into the presence of the king, he bowed. I want to help you.

48:35 Some of us would be embarrassed to come to the king and bow while weak. I don't know how I'm getting up from this place because sometimes when you give it all to God, you don't know what's going to happen after it. I don't have an idea of what this is going to actually produce in my life, but when I bring it in front of the king, he could not hide his weakness in front of the king. The king said, boy, get up. how God says your weakness is allowed here.

49:18 Okay, I thought you was going to kill me. I didn't come to kill you. I came to show you kindness because of not your doings, because of a promise that was established before you got here. Oh, I'm preaching a word right now. He said from now on, With your Do y'all know that the king never addressed his weakness? he said from now on you're going to sit at my table can everybody that's supposed to sit at the king's table come because this is what many of you don't don't know that every person who looks like they have everything together and every person who's supposed supposedly is perfect for the king to use, they have a weakness as well. But what the king, our God, is so gracious to do is he says, yeah, I want you to come sit at the table, and I want you to eat at the place I've designed for you, and I want you to no longer think about all of the things that have happened before.

50:38 I want you to pull up a spot under my grace where your weakness is covered. so oh y'all don't hear me so when anybody sees me at this table walking in purpose doing what God's called me to do I look the same as everybody else sitting at the table baby you might have known me in a different season but when I pull up to the grace of God when I pull up to my purpose I'm still winning in weakness somebody needs to give God some praise right there.

52:43 At this place, I'm covered. Charles, that's why I don't think people understand how huge of a testimony Transformation Church is. Because I'm weak as a man.

53:05 Like, I'm the least qualified to do, there's 4,000 people here. And 25,000 watching online, Charles. and 150,000 a watch during the next seven days. And I'm a dude that seven years ago had a potential felony case. for car insurance fraud because I was a liar, a manipulator, addicted to pornography. Y'all know my testimony.

53:42 And God said, oh. he's really weak. I mean, unusually, like he's unusually extravagantly weak. He keeps lying when he doesn't have to. He decides to not be pure in this way and keep going to those websites. Wow. I wonder would he be willing to give it to me? Come on. That's it. That's it. I'm wondering would he be willing to submit his weakness to my grace? yeah Mike in the hotel room when you decided to give it all to me your weakness is allowed here and as a matter of fact if you'll let me I'll have you tell your testimony every Sunday and your weakness will become your advantage do you know the number one thing people say about my speaking and about us ministering is man you're so real you're authentic so when God says be strong I'm not acting strong.

54:47 I have to be this way because I'm aware of my weakness. And he says, it'll become your advantage. And your weakness will then become the thing that you can pull up to any table. And they'll be like, yeah, Lakewood ain't never had nobody say ho on Joel Osteen's stage before.

55:14 Oh, I did it though. I said, you used to be a hoe, and I know Joe Osteen was in the back like, oh my God. Wowzers. But I couldn't come to the table not... I couldn't come to the table acting like I still wasn't weak. But I was covered by... I don't... I feel this thing. I was covered by the grace of God.

55:45 What I'm trying to do is give everybody permission in this room. Y'all stay right there. I'm giving you permission to be weak. because you can win in your weakness. Do you know why all of this happened from Mephibosheth? It's because right this point now, weakness can't change your association. remember why he asked for him is there anybody from the house of Saul who I can bless for Jonathan's sake what you don't know is Jonathan and David though they weren't supposed to be they were boys and Jonathan protected David when Saul his daddy was trying to kill him And there was a covenant, a blood covenant made between, there was a blood covenant made between Jonathan and David that he said, when it comes time for me to rule, I will make sure the people of your household are taken care of. Now David is in rulership and he remembers the promise that was made.

56:56 And he says, even though I shouldn't be showing any kindness to the family who tried to kill me, I made a blood covenant with my boy Jonathan. So Mephibosheth with his weakness now gets blessed because of his association. Let me tell you how this applies to you. because you are weak in 2020 when you call upon the name of Jesus there is a blood covenant that was formed when you believe on what Jesus Christ did for you on the cross and God says with your weakness when I see you I don't see you I see the covenant I made with the one that you believe in and your weakness is no match for my commitment to what Jesus did on the cross for you. And so when God sees my weakness, he actually sees Jesus' blood.

57:58 every time David looked at Mephibosheth he didn't see Mephibosheth he saw his promise to Jonathan what are you saying pastor Mike every person in this room whatever your weakness is right now God is prophetically speaking over your life when you put your faith in Jesus Christ that weakness no longer disqualifies you from the promises of God when I see your weakness when I see your addictions when I see your problems when I see your issues I don't see you I see the promise that I made with Jesus and in this room I can take you with your weakness with your low budgeting, with your messed up mentality.

58:52 And I can weave all of that in to give me glory. Because my last point is that your weakness is a witness. When God sees you and you begin to be blessed even with the weakness, it becomes a witness to everybody else that is dealing with that same thing. When God brings your marriage like the woman who we heard in that story, brings it out of decay and brings it back one year later and restores it that's a witness that god can do that for anybody when you see somebody who has a six month degree to tcc and god allows me to be able to lead a multi-million dollar organization god says with your weakness you can still win i need everybody to hear me say this your weakness becomes a witness Thank you.

59:45 Service ain't over. I don't know where y'all going. I don't want you to miss this moment. that I'm trying to let you know that your weakness doesn't disqualify you at the moment you're at right now. When I was preparing for this sermon, I wanted to go stronger. I wanted to just max out on stronger, just stronger.

1:00:17 But God said people are going to wait till the end of 2020 because they know that becoming stronger takes a process. and so they think that the blessing will be delayed till they actually get stronger and I wanted to come to tell you on this second Sunday of the year that you can still win in weakness I came to tell somebody yeah the marriage is not where it's going to be but we can win and have the best year of our marriage right now I know I'm a student that doesn't have everything together but God will take what everybody else counts as my weakness and he will make a seat for me at the table. and from that point on I want you to understand what happened to Mephibosheth he got all the land that his grandfather the king was supposed to have he got it paid for he got it tended to he got generations of people to work for him he got upgraded and he did not have to leave the king's table.

1:01:35 the Bible never tells us that Mephibosheth weakness goes away huh I mean any a healer yeah he can but what if your weakness stays And it's not a miracle, it's management. what if the miracle is management what if what if you always still have a desire to do that thing but something greater comes in To manage what your weakness was. We'll talk about Paul next week who asked God three times to take his thorn, his weakness away. And what did Jesus say to him?

1:02:29 My grace is all you need. No, I want it gone. He said, I want to manage it. because if I take this away, you might not be dependent on me anymore. You might not pray no more without this crisis. You would stop giving. You would stop serving. You would stop being empathetic to anybody else. What if the miracle is not in a magic, oh, I'm at peace because everybody's gone now.

1:04:31 today as we close this second week of stronger I feel the presence of God somebody needs to make a decision that I will win in my weakness somebody say it I'm I will win in my weakness say it again I will win in my weakness with the pain with the frustration with everything not going my way. God is declaring over my life, I will win in weakness. If you're making that decision right now and you're saying, I want to win in weakness, I want you to stand all over this place. I want to pray for you.

1:05:15 Yeah, if you're watching online, this is just the start of what God's about to do. I feel this thing. But some of you are going to go through your day and go through your week and you're going to feel that weakness coming up again and the enemy's going to try to disqualify you see god will never use that no baby i'm still going to win even though i'm fighting this thing every day i'm fighting comparison every day i'm fighting depression every day but i'm i know that's a weakness of mine i know it is but that doesn't mean i'm not going to show up for this war hands lifted all over this place i feel the presence of god father i pray right now for every person that is under the sound of my voice watching live father or watching by rebroadcast father I thank you that in the name of Jesus that your children would know father God that their weakness is allowed here in the house of God that you want to be the God that touches their weakness that brings them to a new place father God you want to heal us you want to help us and you want to bring hope to us in the name of Jesus father God I thank you that in this place right now father God that weakness father God would become our advantage. Father God, that every area that we are weak, you would become strong in, Father God. I thank you that even in this place right now, Father, the marriages, the relationships, the hurts, the hangups, Father God, that have been disqualifying people, no longer will they keep people in the place of Lodabar. No longer will they be in a place of shame. But Father, you're bringing them out of the place of not a word, and you're bringing them to a place of a sure word, that you can still allow them to win in weakness.

1:06:53 I speak against anxiety and depression and perversion that has been tried to make people back up off of who you called them to be. Nothing in our weakness can keep us from our association with Jesus. And in through the blood of Jesus, I declare that we are chosen, that we are a child of God, that we are the righteousness of Christ Jesus, that we are strong and we are royalty. and every lie of the enemy that has tried to keep us stuck in a desert place. I declare that we make a decision on the second Sunday of 2020 that no matter what comes and who leads, we will be winning in weakness. Father, the first moment of our weakness is the first sign of strength in our life. And we submit to you, we honor you, and we bless you. in Jesus name. If you're going to win in weakness, why don't you give God?

1:07:52 Oh, come on. Give God a shout of praise. Come on. Give him praise that you're here, that his grace is covering you. Listen, listen. If you're in this room and you need to be covered by the grace of God, if you need to pull up to the table of grace your weakness is allowed here please I would ask everybody I know you're trying to get out of the parking lot but this is the point where people are about to make a decision for Jesus and if everybody could tune in up here if you want to accept the grace of Jesus Christ right now we're about to pray and there's some of you in here that have felt disqualified like you couldn't you couldn't even be wanted in Lodabar people have defined you by your weakness and God says I knew that when I called you do y'all know the funny thing about it is that he said he's crippled in both legs and the king still sent for him knowing his weakness today is God sending for you knowing your weakness he knows what you struggle with he knows what's happening he knows you deal with pride he knows you've been questioned if he's real or not and he still says you you you you you if today you want to bow and say no longer will i try to do my own thing but i'm going to give it all to you on the count of three i want you to say pastor include me in this prayer that you're about to pray for salvation i want to make that decision i want to burn for you one you're making the greatest decision of your life. Two, it's the thing that took me from being a liar and a manipulator, not to a perfect man, but a progressing man. Three, if you want to be added in that prayer, why don't you lift your hands? I see you, my brother. I see you, my sister. I see, oh, come on.

1:09:46 I see you all over the place. Dozens of hands. Oh, I see you, my brother. Online, we see you. Back in the back, we see you. At TC, we're a family. I feel the presence of God. I see you, my brother. You can put your hands down. Nobody prays alone at TC, so I'm asking everybody to Close your eyes and bow your head and pray this prayer with me. Everybody say, God, thank you for being so strong when I'm so weak. I believe you sent Jesus to die for me, to live for me, and to save me. I'm giving you my life. Change me. Renew me. Transform me. I'm yours. I will win in weakness. in Jesus name. Amen. Can we join heaven right now? And thank, oh y'all come on and thank God with the dozens of people that gave that they're going to win in weakness.

1:10:46 Thank you so much for watching Transformation Church's YouTube. 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 transformed life.