2 Corinthians chapter 12 let's go to verses 7 and n 2 Corinthians chapter 12 vers 7 and nine once you got it shout I got it if you need a little time shout Lord help me if you got everything but a Bible say put it on the screen see that look at you look at you y'all don't even look for y'all scripture second Corinthians chapter 12 all right because of the surpass and greatness of the revelations for this reason to keep me from exalting myself there was given me a thorn in my flesh a messenger of Satan to torment me to keep me that's the second time they said it from exalting myself I'mma start over because of the surpassing greatness of the Revelation for this reason to keep me there it is again from exalting myself what did God do he gave him a thorn in his flesh a messenger of Satan to torment me to Keep Me From exalting Myself concerning this I implored I like the other translations I beg the Lord three times to take it away from me and he said to me this is old school right here my grace Michael my grace is sufficient for you look at your neighbor and say his grace is sufficient is sufficient for you now find another neighbor and say neighbor neighbor the new GW the new G word at Rock City at rock city is Grace is Grace the GW the G word is Grace is Grace now look at them and say if you want to know if you want how I'm Still Here It Ain't Nothing But a G thing a g Grace did this It Ain't Nothing But a G thing Grace did this it was St Augustine who said and I quote God had one son on Earth without sin but never one without suffering God had one son on Earth without sin but never one without suffering in other words if you live your life at some point in your life you going to have to go through something and not just go through something go through something that feels like it's gonna break you down see your neighbor don't want to say Amen cuz they in the witness protection program and they got to keep up the facade like they ain't never had a bad day never had a hater never been brok and never had a heartbreak but for the rest of us who done been through some stuff and survived some stuff but we live to tell the tell now that I'm 40 plus I I understand why Grandmama would shout on certain songs I was raised old school Baptist I thank God for these screens and these lights and all the production I was raised in a Baptist Church the lights didn't go off till church was over the choir didn't have nice seats and didn't nobody have no microphone everybody stood in the quiet stand Sopranos on this side tenners in the middle alos over there you didn't wear what you wanted to wear to the church I grew up in you had to put on some church clothes and if you sung in the choir you had to wear what you didn't get in the choir by going through the choir staying what would you do you would March down the aisle I we had deacons who sat on the first three rows they would turn and say let Church the [Applause] h i [Applause] [Laughter] [Applause] then it would get good they would [Applause] say that's the type of church I was raised in right there we didn't have all this stuff y'all had all this high tech stuff that y'all God it was a old school church and you live and they taught you about trials they taught you about tribulations at times I have to check myself to make sure I'm not just a motivational speaker or inspirational speaker but I'm a preacher which means I have to afflict the comfortable and comfort The Afflicted did you catch what I just said I have to afflict the comfortable and comfort The Afflicted so those you who are Comfort because please put this in your notes God is expects you to grow please write that everybody put that in your notes God expects growth from you I've said it once and I'll say it again there is no neutrality in Christianity there is no neutrality in Christianity for all of my drivers my boys are driving now I love to see them driving I roll behind Xander for the first time the other day and he can drive drive man just seeing him in his little car he had to understand when we first sat in the car the car has certain gears it has part it has reverse it has Drive what you cannot do in life is think you in neutral and God is satisfied part means you stubborn you ain't going nowhere reverse means you're going backwards Drive means you're going forward but neutral is determined by what you're on if you're on a hill and you're in neutral you're going to go backwards if you're downhill and and you in neutral you going to go forward the problem I have with children of God right now is that all of your movement is determined by Your Atmosphere oo if you got a bad Circle and you in neutral they going to take you backwards if you around people who hungry they going to take you forward but my testimony is in this season of my life if I got to drive by myself I'm shifting gears this year my job is to comfort be afflicted if you Hur and I want to give you a word that's going to lift you up if you're hurting I want to give you a word to let you know God has not forgotten about you but if you're comfortable I want you to leave church like no I got to tighten up I got to be better I was raised in one of them churches where they preach uh hell fire and brimstone they would say see in our church we say stuff like this is your season God got a blessing with your name on it in Old School Church they would say stuff like I've never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed beg they would say scriptures like no man knows the day nor the hour you would leave You' be sitting in church like God forgive me just in case I die when not leave out of here but you knew there was a God and you know it was real and I want you to understand that in this life you will not be without suffering in our text today we see one of the most powerful stories in the Bible at least in my opinion and that is the story of Paul and his Thorn do me a favor if you're taking notes today you're putting it in your phone I want you to type or write Thorn equals issue that's critical we see the story of Paul and his Thorn this is good and his issue and let me pause and parenthetically digress and submit to you this morning that although you're sitting in here watching online looking good everybody in here got an issue oh don't sit in here like you got yourself together don't make me start prophesying everybody in here is a ex something ex liar ex cheater ex Thief ex Pop Lock drer whatever it was you did in the past everybody in here is the ex something but ain't it just like God to look beyond your faults and still meet you at the place of your need Paul has an issue now to give you some context so you can respect the content this is the chapter where Paul relives being caught up in the third heaven Paul in chapter 12 is thinking back and talking to people about how was caught up rabis to the third heaven now you do know this occurred 14 years earlier than when the scripture happens this is some time between the year ad. 42 and 44 before Paul's missionary Journeys in Acts this is Paul before acts right I need you to catch this it's critical Paul this is heavy was raptured that's a strong statement young people he was rapture we don't talk about Rapture and stuff like that anymore my brother and I and Dr Leslie I keep call calling her doctor she'll be soon finished with her dissertation soon Dr Leslie we're getting ready to do a eschatology Series where we're going to talk about the end time christology we're g to talk about Jesus where did Christianity evolve from I'm going take a Monday Tuesday and a Wednesday I'm G spend an hour and a half two hours just teaching and talking about it we're G to set the series up sort of like Netflix so you can binge watch christology and eschatology it's the end times I want you to know that what's happening in Israel impacts what's happening with you that matches up with prophecy I want you to see that no you are not a part of a religion that was manipulated to break you that this comes from a certain place that God is real and Jesus is real this is critical Paul was raptured that's critical Paul was raptured we say this at every funeral I've ever had I get to the graveside and the family is crying and everybody's frustrated because death equals separation death is nothing more than separation the moment they die you were separated from communication separated from participation separated from their presence and that's why it hurts and when we get to the gravide I have to stand there and I say seeing that it is pleased the almighty God to call this brother sister on home we now commit their body to the back to the Earth Ash to Ash dust to dust Earth to Earth looking forward to that great day when the dead in Christ shall rise first and those that remain will be called up to be with him in the air that's called the rapture we don't talk about that because that won't F churches you can't preach about the Rapture cuz people will start logging off the stream and go find somebody who going to tell them they going to have a million dollars by Friday but here's a message that nobody's going to say Amen to but my Millennials and my genas who are tired of fluff and want the truth you need to hear your boy when I say this he's coming back y'all Miss what I just said right there I know you got a little money in the bank now and you want to go to Vegas and you want to go to Jamaica and you and your friends talking about y'all going to Dubai and you want to go to Gatlinburg and what we going to do for Thanksgiving please forgive me I want to go to heaven not no time soon but you get what I'm saying do you get me I want to go to heaven I want to hear Let see if this is popular well done my good and faithful servant now pause put this in your notes I want to hear well done my good and faithful servant you've been faithful over a few things let's put that in your notes Faithful over a few things cuz we use that out of context when you see somebody in they driving a car you say stuff you be faithful over your car one day he gonna give you a Mercedes yeah that's true in essence it's a principle but when that scripture was written it was talking about going to heaven you've been Faithful over your little life now I'm getting ready to make you rule over many that's critical Paul has been raptured think about this you Rapture God takes him to the third heaven first Heaven is when you look up and see the stars you look up and see the sky that's called the atmospheric Heaven you can talk theology theology is just the word Theos thoughts about God theology thoughts about God you can talk theology today walk outside and say that's a beautiful son you're talking about the first Heaven second heaven is outer space that's the galactic Heaven that's when you have to put the suit on Boom you go above the star out of space but the third heaven is where God is yeah the third heaven Beyond be beyond the skies beyond the cloud beyond all of that the third heaven is where God is and that place please put this in your notes is called Paradise Michael it is called Paradise we believe as Christians that when we die if we confess with our mouth believe with our heart that Jesus rose from the dead with all power in his hand at that moment I'm saved which means I have booked me a one-way flight that when I leave this place of pain Grandmama said it like this I go to a land of no more suffering no more Struggle No More hardship I go to paradise God this is crazy right here takes Paul to Paradise now some of y'all are thinking what I'm thinking and if you're not thinking what I'm thinking I'm G help you think it with us in order to get to Paradise you got to die God takes Paul to Paradise but he don't kill him verses 1- six Paul says I don't know if he took my body I don't know if he took my mind I don't know if he took my soul and left my body all I know is when I open my eyes I was in Paradise With God catch this then God brings him from Paradise back to Earth so Paul got to go to paradise but he didn't have to pay the price of death That's Heavy and you missed it Paul got to go to paradise but the fee for going to Paradise is death God says I'm not going to make you die but I want you to experience what other people will experience and that's why folk don't know what to do with you because you doing what they do but they have to go through what they went through that's what we call favor I don't know who I'm preaching to early in message of M God if you don't do nothing else for me you ain't got to give me another Penny this year just give me favor cuz favor will give me what my bank account can't get me favor will open doors my connections can't open favor will keep me safe from danger seen and unseen I know it's old school and it may not be popular but God just grant me he takes Paul to the third heaven right he takes Paul to the third heaven and this is crazy because he takes him to Paradise y'all don't mind taking a couple notes do you put this in your notes there can be no Paradise without pain Michael there can be no Paradise without pain that that's critical right there that's critical right there God says no no no no no no no no no no no no no no I'mma take you to Paradise now you get the you get the feel you get the context of verse seven God takes Paul from Earth all the way to heaven brings him back to Earth you would think in verse 7 if 1-6 is Paul telling you he been with God in heaven what would you say when you got back you didn't know how to act when you came back from Atlanta what you did this weekend man we went to Atlanta we went so and so so and so we went to vegan all of them we got so and so so and so then we went out that night I got cute put on so and so so and so and I killed her I walked in we went so and so we woke up the next morning you wouldn't know how to act can you imagine how arrogant Paul would have been in the group text when he got back to Earth what y'all did this weekend went to IHOP what you did this weekend sat on the couch and watch the game what you did this weekend chilling with God in heaven up there walking around streets paid with gold fool I had on a whole White Road glistening and glowing all of it was good the air was different the air was so different you would have went to your cousin them house I can't walk on these streets y'all streets ain't go y'all ain't got no angel saying holy holy holy I ain't got no white Rob here God says I'mma do this for you but look at verse 7 because of the surpassing greatness of the Revelation bro was given to me ah a form in my flesh God said I'mma take you to Paradise but it's going to cost you something stop acting like you want to elevate but don't want to be irritated stop W the prize with no pain stop acting like you want an anointing with no Affliction stop acting like you want favor with no fights stop acting like you want to be blessed but don't want no burdens if you going to get the crown you got to carry a cross oh don't nobody want to have church with me today huh if I told you a million dollars was coming you would have tow your whole row up and knacked her quick weave loose but now that I'm telling you that million going to cost you something yes you going to be favored yes your business going to grow but it may cost you your cousins and your friendship yes your marriage going to be healthy and whole but you may not be able to go around your girlfriends no more yes you getting ready to get your dream house but you may be in a neighborhood that you ain't comfortable in cuz they don't relate to what you relate in what I'm trying to get you to realize is stop asking God to bless you on this side then crying when he test you on this side for we know that God causes all things to work [Applause] to hey hey all right so I couldn't change the TV last night right and I'm getting mad I can't eat if the TV ain't on something good right so I get my CH I get my get my food get my Zach be Zach be short commercial got these little chicken finger tacos I don't know if you tried them yet you got to get them take them home get extra sauce put some pickles on them it's going to change your life back to the sermon okay so look I get my zby you you know what I'm talking about you shout that's the first time you shouted today brother so look at me so you get your zasp right I put my pickle on it I put my L Mayo sauce on it boom I get to the couch but I have to I can't eat if the the TV ain't right I I search for the remote get the remote they don't that the batteries fall all over the floor put the batteries in and I'm over here I go all the way over there now I have to get some new batteries we ain't got no new batteries something in my spirit said check the batteries you have to put the batteries in a certain way you can't put the Plus on the plus you got to put the Plus on on the minus and then the minus on the plus one battery got to be this way other battery got to be this way they may not be in the same direction but they are both working together which mean there will be some days that's like this and some days that's like this but if God just do his thing all things I'm preaching the seven of y'all will work together see this is why I got to separate the real from the fake cuz half of y'all on his sh for your good days but I wish I had five folk in your sh for your bad days and say God is working it's working together for my I feel God in here already so look at what he says he says I'mma give you a thorn I'm going to give you a thorn look at me online I'mma to give you a thorn in my flesh watch this please put this in your notes put this in your notes online overflow put this in your notes pain and prize is a part of the process oh my God that's pain this is good this is really good and prize is a part of the process okay make that make sense if God want to get your attention he'll send you a blessing if he want to get you attention he'll send you some pain both of them are sent to get you to come back to him he's like if I give you a blessing you'll run to me and say thank you Jesus but if the blessing don't make you come home the whooping will make you come home now you ain't going to say Amen it's cool I'm good I promise you I'm good y'all ain't got to shout with me today I'm good trust me I am good I learned more in my whooping than I did in my praises y'all don't got to like me today hear me when I say this and I've discovered that there are certain times in my life where when God wanted to help me he hurt me hear me late lady lady got mad at me this week uh because McKinley left her lunch she keeps leaving her lunch at home but evidently it's a whole lot of kids in the grade leaving their lunch so the teacher sent a message out to the parents hey if your child leaves their lunch we're teach teaching them a lesson let their lunch get left they going to have to get some out the lunchroom they need to know what it's like to leave their lunch the consequences of not getting their lunch okay I walk in there she said uhuh McKinley left her lunch she going to learn today I said she sure is she text me and said I can't find you in the house where you at I said I'm in my truck she said where you headed to the school to do what take her her lunch she said Mike she ain't going to learn nothing she said she ain't my child ain't F to be the only child in my head my baby girl I got four boys one girl if they leave their lunch they can eat whatever they want they can eat that rectangle pizza that we used to get on Friday if McKinley leave her lunch I am moving Earth to make sure in my head some little boy in fourth grade looked at and said oh you want my pizza now they in a relationship she depending on him for the pizza the Devil is a Lie I took every grape every pineapple every orange every fruit Lop nine lers three juices why because as her father there are certain Seasons where I step back and say she going to have to learn that but then there are also certain Seasons where I step in what I've discovered is you only tend to like the god that steps in you don't like the god that steps out yes sir and what I'm trying to get you to realize is Paul has been blessed so much God says to him God says Hey because of the surpassing greatness of the Revelation I'm going to give you a Thor and this th is a part of your process now let's Define process process are y'all watching me online y'all watch me in the room y'all good process is a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end Michael it's the process all right let's break down that definition let's leave that up online in the comments you be my virtual secretary y'all take good notes for yourself in here all right so process okay y'all stop when we get to an important word process a series of actions or steps y y'all missed it already Jesus Christ what's the first one series series means what continual so a process is continual actions that must be taken in order to achieve what's the next word particular that's good a particular God does not have for you regular if you want regular you won't have to go through a process but if you want something that's particular I'm preaching If you're receiving and pray for me ain't nothing about me regular and ain't nothing about my dream regular and ain't nothing about what I'm believing God for regular so if my dream name ain't regular neither will my pain be if my future ain't regular neither will my fight be so when God has something particular for you he has to take you through a process put this in your notes put this in your phone put this in the comments and the process equals preparation Michael I'm doing a really good job today the process equals revelation I'm sorry preparation oh also Revelation but I come back to that preparation preparation watch this watch this answer this question do spiders catch flies no the web does the spider is not skilled enough to reach in the sky and grab a fly so he prepares he prepares a web and he waits fly flies by and he waits fly flies by and he waits then out of nowhere once the fly gets caught in his preparation he now jumps in and does what he has to do can I ask you a question how you going to catch what God's sending if you ain't prepared before he throw it y'all Miss what I just said y'all Miss what I just said y'all Miss what I just said Paul says because of the surpassing greatness of the revelation God You' shown me so much you've been so good to me because of all God's done for me to keep me Michael from exalting myself that can preach to keep me from exalting myself was given me look at the scripture a thorn that's critical in my flesh was given to me aor Thorn In My Flesh was given to me a thorn in my flesh why did God give him that thorn cuz God wanted to make sure that his close encounter with his sovereignty didn't make Paul abandon his humility Michael God wanted to make sure that Paul's close encounter with his sovereignty did make Paul abandon his humility make that make sense God wanted to make sure because Paul saw so much and experienced so much he didn't walk away from it feeling like he deserved it and it was because of him he say so I'm going put something in your life that make you remember it was me Michael and not you am I preaching to anybody in here and that's why you got to be careful because you sitting in here this why I don't like judgmental people always trying to tell you what's wrong with your life how you looking at my thorn when you got Thorns I'm preaching the three of y'all if y'all receive what I'm talking about right here so why does God send Thorns please put this in your notes I got about 7 minutes look at what he says God sends Thorns to rejuvenate your faith and regulate your flesh rejuvenate your faith regulate your flesh God says whenever your faith Get Low I got you I'mma push you back to prayer but whenever your flesh get out a hand I got you I'mma push you back to prayer that's he says because of the surpassing revelation God gave me a thorn in my flesh Scholars to this day argue about what that thorn was when I was at Yale Divinity we were in class all day one Saturday arguing about what his Thorn was one scholar said it was malaria another scholar said he had a sort of type of leprosy another scholar said it was ancestrial Activity one scholar said he had eye pains I need you to catch this look at what he says throw it on the screen says because of the surpassing greatness of the Revelation was given to me a thorn in my flesh this is cold blooded a messenger of Satan that tried to Buffet me he said I didn't want it but look at what the scripture says three times Michael three times that I might leave I implored the Lord three times that I might leave I love how the other translation said I begged three different times for the Lord Michael to take it away y'all miss y'all shout right there I love the fact that said I beg three different times had he said I beg three times that would have been indicative of the fact that Paul said take it away take it away take it away but Paul said no one time I asked him to take it away and I walked away and I felt better but it came back the second time I asked him to take it away and I walked away feeling worse the third time I said take it away and it didn't get no better he's trying to show you that one prayer won't always change your life sometimes you got to keep coming back I'm not preaching to everybody only three of y'all up top and a thousand of you watching me all over the world who can say ain't no shame in my game I've been praying the same prayer for the last 5 years and I won't stop because I know any day now God will do exceeding and abundant above all I could act think dream or imagine your neighbor going through some stuff and they need an encouraging word just look at him and say keep on praying that's the wrong neighbor reach over that hater and H by a real neighbor and tell him keep on praying if he don't do it by August he G to do it in September if he don't do it in September he going to do it in October if he don't do it in October he going to do it by Thanksgiving if he don't do it by Thanksgiving he going to do it by Christmas that mean he didn't do it this year then he going to do it next I'mma give you 15 seconds anybody can shout about what God is doing but you ought to shout for what God's getting ready I felt that right [Applause] there oh it's critical cor Cory Paul is tripping Cory Paul is tripping God says boom Paul Cory go back to your seat Paul Cory Cory come back Cory he looks around the world and says I got to bring somebody to Heaven I got to bring somebody to Heaven you oh you missed that I got to bring somebody to Heaven you you want to know what frustrates me with so many of y'all you mad cuz you ain't got the Breakthrough and never stop to realize that he picked you y'all y'all Miss what I just said anybody in the earth could have went to heaven it's only two people who went to heaven without dying technically three if you count Jesus in the Bible there are only two people who got to go to heaven and didn't die the first one is Enoch Enoch went with God and he vanished but Enoch never came back [Applause] Paul goes to heaven and comes back this is critical God says I got to bless somebody I got to bless somebody what do I speak over your life over the next 90 days that God going to be on your job like one of them need some blessings I need God that if don't nobody in my circle like me I just need God this sh to pick me y'all Miss what I just said right there he said say hey Paul come here I'mma take you to the third heaven he takes him to the third heaven he says look at that yeah look at it and Paul is blown away he's like yeah look at that look at that that's what God got for you right there boy what would you do if God started showing you what your future look like yeah bro look that's your business right there boy you going to have more trucks than you ever seen in your life you going to have overflow look at what your son going to become right there look at ain't you grateful look how blessed your daughter going to be oh look how blessed wife going to be right there oh my God and don't you know that pain that you felt think about ooh think about this he's not hurting I'mma free you I'mma free you I didn't say this at nine this just hit me on the spot Paul has no pain preh Heaven I got to say that better I won't be able to sleep Paul has no pain pre Paradise before he goes to heaven Noah in the Bible is Paul hurting when he comes back God said says I got to hurt you cuz I don't want you to remember this moment and smile I want you to remember that in order to get back it's going to cost you something I don't know who I'm preaching to but I'm so sick and tired of people wantan to be you but don't want to pay the price that you paid to be you I know you don't want to say Amen but I'm going let you say it I'mma say it for you I am so tired of your cousing them acting like you regular I'm not regular if you had to go through a week of being me you would give me back last week I paid a price for this I wish I had three folk who knew you was favored five people who knew you was anointed and say I'm not being arrogant I'm not being stuck up I'm not being sedid but I am expensive I paid a price to be who I he me look he says no he say look at this no look at this he says no give me my message version I want them to see this he tells him he says Leslie in the message version he tells throw it on the screen I want them to see this because of the extravagance of those Revelations that's critical because of the extravagance of those Revelations what's a revelation that which is revealed so watch this God gave him Revelations extravagant Revelations or in other words when he went to the third heaven his eyes got open he starts seeing stuff for what it was going to be and for what it was because of the extravagance of the revelations so I wouldn't get the big head Michael I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me Michael in constant touch with my limitations Saints Angels did their best I I got to stop right there I got to stop right there I told you you ain't going to like this message but you need it God says I'mma give you a thorn you would think God gave him a thorn and he left him but the scripture says was given to me a thorn in my flesh buffeted a messenger from Satan so not only did God afflict him he told the devil where else to hit him imagine if God gave you pain then he gave the devil the coordinates to your pain y'all Miss what I just said right there y'all Miss so look at this the messenger of Satan God says I'mma poke him boom then he tells the Devil he's all yours now look at the scripture Satan's Angel did his best to get me down y'all y'all missed that Satan's Angel cuz what the devil does was I hope you catch this the devil doesn't have the authority to hit you when he want to he has to go through your God to get to you so since the devil knew his sweet spot every time he would start feeling better he would inflict them this is what the scripture looks like it is a pain that won't go away and the devil sneaky the devil would probably sit there and look at him and say oh he had a good Monday didn't he had a good Tuesday and then boom hit him again and look at what the scripture says it's on the screen leave that scripture up there so they can see it it says because of the Revelation Saint's angel did his best to get me down what he in fact did was push me to my knees I I'm in the wrong church I'm I'm in the wrong church I'm in the wrong Church Satan did his best to push me down but he had no clue he was pushing me to Y y' y'all y'all missed it my debt did its best my ex did their best my haters did their best my dumb decisions did their best my past did its best to knock me down but it only knock me down to my knees I wish I had a thousand people listening to me who would praise God that your pain put you in prayer the [Music] devil the devil don't realize what he did y'all don't y'all got to realize patterns the devil always does the wrong thing Jesus on the cross and he's being crucified they got him on the ground they nail his hands they nail his feet put a crown of thorns on his head they should have left him on the ground and let him bleed out but to mock him they lifted him and had no clue that the scripture says when I if I be lifted up I'll draw Michael what the devil meant for evil God is working it I I don't know who you sitting next to tell them I'm going to irritate you for the last time today I just need you to shake them and say it's working together for your good tell them I don't know how I don't know when I don't know what's next but I do know that God has something big with your name on it tell them eyes have not seen ears have not heard neither has it entered the hearts of men the great things God got in store for you shake your neighbor and tell them it's working Daniel Daniel it's working and somebody is going through a trial somebody is going through a trial stop sustaining somebody's going through pain and your life is driving you crazy and and part of you is wondering why won't nobody help you cuz to people who don't know your God this looks like failure and when they look at you they're saying Kurt I don't want to fall off I fall down and'll fall off ain't the same [Applause] thing can I argue that some of y'all got more money than you ever had and them fell off some of y'all got the best relationship it's being in the last three years and them fell off happiness is not the indication that you're in his will just because you ain't going through nothing don't mean you in a good place the devil don't mess with people who he like y'all Miss what I just said if I'm playing football and me and you on the same team and I get an interception you not going to tackle me cuz we on the same side but if he get the ball you going to knock his head off cuz he ain't on our team some of y'all might need to stop and figure out who team you [Applause] want this is for your friends who keep trying to figure out watch what's wrong with you have you ever asked yourself what's wrong with me it's like I'm the only one in the click who always going through stuff it's because the devil know if I can break you I'm in the wrong church already look what he says he says it knocked me to my knees no danger of walking around high and mighty at first I didn't think of it as a gift and I Begg God to remove it three times I did that and he told me I'm F to run my grace [Applause] I'm in the wrong church is enough I don't know who I'm preaching to my grace Michael is enough look at this statement it's all you need I don't know who I'm preaching to I know you want God to take you out of it can I free you God don't have to take you out of it if he plan on getting in it with you have you ever took your child swimming and your child can't swim but it requires you to get in in the water so you holding them and they splashing thinking they swimming then you ready to get out and your child can't figure out why they can't stay in the water and then they think you mean cuz you make them get out cuz in their head they've been swimming they don't realize the only reason they didn't drown is because your hole was enough Michael I came to testify I would have drowned 6 months ago I would have drowned 3 years ago but his grace somebody shout Grace is Enough what he says my grace can you say that for me say my grace my gra don't make that personal who's talking in the text God so look what God tells Paul my grace is enough my grace Michael is enough my grace I messed around messed around with my family and put all of them on my accounts right so what happens a lot of times is if they swipe for something or get something that ain't enough money in their account the bank automatically takes it from me every time they order something on Playstation Every Time Miles gets some BBU or some robu every time he get some on Minecraft my account get alerted miles $150 for roblo I had to convince miles these ain't play money it's real he thinks because it's in the game it's just game money I said miles it's coming out my account he said but Dad it's not real I said miles it's real this is why so many of you keep playing with the devil it's because you didn't realize the cost you should have paid six years ago God took and you think because you got off Scot free you can just keep Michael he says no my grace is all you need look what the scripture says keep going Watch what it says my strength comes into its own in your weakness he says my strength comes into its own in its weakness what does that mean Pastor Mike he says there's something in you rabbis that comes from me as strong long as you are there's a limitation to your strength I've watched you play Friday they could not tackle you one onone every time you got tackled it was five people I'm sitting there look like that's crazy what God is saying is just like how you are on the field that's how all of us are all of us are strong you wouldn't be here if you weren't strong but what God wants you to realize is you're not strong enough and I want to say something to you that nobody's going to say you not going to make it that's I'm M no I ain't come here for that I'm going to tell you the truth what you're currently going through if you keep trying to do it on your own look at me you're not going to make it Pastor Mike don't be negative I don't receive that you ain't got to receive it you don't have enough patience to deal with that level of betrayal you don't have enough patience to deal with that type of heartbreak you ain't got enough patience to deal with that type of pain what does this mean Pastor Mike look at the scripture my strength whose strength God comes into his own in your weakness go to practice my strength comes into your own in his weakness that's critical I need you to catch this right so what does that mean Pastor Mike I need you to catch this there's another level of strength in you somewhere that's waiting a tag in when you say God I can't take it oo let me free you this been one of the craziest years of my life yeah I had a bomb 4year run hear me when I say this church growing killing music I'm like one of the dopest pastors and artists like hear me I'mma say this with y'all I never say this publicly or nothing like that but let look I could possibly be the next TD Jake over here and the next Kurt Franklin over here it's like crazy Church blowing up music going crazy but this year right here it took a lot out of me I ain't take a six week break cuz I was tired I took one cuz I was broken see that's the type of talk see this is career suicide as a pastor I'm supposed to stand on this stage and act like I got it all together and I'm perfect what good does that do to people who are hurting no this year took something from me I saw people True Colors this year yeah did a 30 cities tour and was scammed out of all of it never receiv received one dime really people ran off with the money don't know what was going on I felt responsible to keep it alive so I emptied my savings account every dime I had trying to make sure the tour is going and was still being talked about by people I was helping every night I walked on the stage I would have to pray and speak in tongues say God give me strength didn't sleep not one night every night being tormented because I'm constantly seeing every dime I got dwindle and dwindle and dwindle now my peace is running out my P my peace is running low every day and the reason I would go to meet and greet every day was cuz every hug I got was just giving me a little bit more strength and a little bit more strength hear me by the end of it I'm being blogged about and stuff going crazy and God saying be quiet now I'm just sitting in the house just miserable my mind running my anxiety running everything I work for dwindled I'm like God what I'm going to do but I got to I got to come in here hey how y'all doing God bless you cuz I got to be on I got to be on what happens when the person you depend on don't have nothing left I'm sitting there and I'm like God I ain't got nothing left I ain't got nothing left one Su deter I didn't plan to be gone that long that wasn't the plan one Sunday turned into two and two turned into three and three turned into four four turned into five around the fourth I start feeling my joy come back I start feeling my mind come back I stop feeling sorry for myself cuz I start saying stuff like God why me I'm over here trying my best to bless people but like Paul three times I said God take it then one morning I woke up and say God I thank you oh y'all don't hear me in here look what Paul says is on the screen Paul says look at me Paul says once I heard that I was glad to let it happen I quit focusing on my handicap and began appreciating the gift I stopped saying stuff like God they got me for every dime I had and start saying God thank you for having me in a position to hold it up in the first place it may have took everything I had but you gave it to me so I can do it oh my God and you got to get to a point in your life where you pick yourself up and you realize this divorce ain't going to break you family trauma ain't going to change you your insecurity and your anxiety ain't going to take you out he says watch this it was a case of Christ strength moving in my weakness look what Paul says now I take limitations and stride and with good cheer these limitations that cut me down the sides abuse accidents opposition bad breaks I just let [Music] Christ and somebody watching me in this room they just told me it's close to 9,000 people online right now somebody watching me from all over the world listen to me I would challenge you to let God take over I'm so tired of hearing people say stuff like God's my co-pilot no he's not I'm in the backseat God my Uber y'all Miss what I just I'mma make my request known I'mma get in that back seat I'mma turn on talk cuz if you want to talk I'm ready and I'mma let God take over I want to free you you're not strong enough bro no matter how strong you think you are you can't carry this by yourself all my brothers listening to me from the moment you started showing emotion as a little boy they beat it out of you you start crying stop crying like a little girl you tell your mama you ain't like something be tough your whole life they've been telling you to be tough you grow up now you fall in love and now you got a woman telling you to emote so now you trying to figure out how to be emotional after they've been telling you for 18 years to not be emotional then the first time y'all get into it and God forbid she throw the emotion in your face you shut back down but then you can't be real with your friends cuz you don't want them to think you weak so now you just sitting there and it's weighting on you sister you've been strong so long you everybody rock you everybody Fortress you got secrets in you because everybody can come to you and tell you everything and know it ain't going to go nowhere yet the moment you whisper one thing you do it's all over the city and you've been trying and you're tired you like God like God hear me got good news my strength is made perfect in your weakness just God God is telling you and I'm going to stop right here his grace is like a generator fellas you know what I'm talking about when the power go out the generator just boom and God is saying the moment your strength here come my grace the moment that pain here come my grace he says thank you Jesus my grace is sufficient you know sufficient every loss I've taken in my life he had enough Grace for it think about this the very thing you said last year was going to in you where you at now father I ask that we stay right here whether we win on our knes for you God and if we lose God on our knees thank you you God I pray right now in jesus' name that you would help us understand being strong is a toxic label that the culture gives us to make us not ask for help and God I'm not saying that we should ask people around us for help cuz some times they can't do nothing to help us anyway I'm trying to push us back to you God they may be a lot like me there were times in my life where I tried to figure it out and once I couldn't figure it out I came running to God I don't do that no more the first stop in my life is to talk to you God somebody's watching me right now and just a weights being lifted somebody listening to me right now in this room in overflow online something in their spirit is saying thank you God move us to a place where we stop complaining about the thorn and start thanking you for it God I ask that you cover our minds cover our hearts give us everything we need to be what you called us to be so now I stop worrying worrying how the story ends when I let go and I let go I let God have his way that's when it up when I sto looking at back then when I let go and I let [Music] go church we going to be all right ain't we we going to be all right ain't we yeah man