Hi, my name is Amberlee and I have the privilege of serving as one of our executive pastors here at Transformation Church. We just want to say thank you so much for tuning in from wherever you are watching from. And if you haven't already, be sure to like and subscribe. We believe that God has a word for you. So let's jump into this amazing message.
I'm about to get into the message because I think it's going to heighten our revelation of how good God is. But before I get into the message today, I want to just say thank you again for being a part of something that God is doing. Every morning that we get up, we have choices to make.
And the fact that you choose to come worship. at this place with this crazy bunch of people um that are unashamed about the message of jesus christ and no matter what anybody writes or blogs or makes youtube videos about there's only one name to be praised at this church and his name is jesus somebody shout his name real quick say jesus And the fact that thousands of you would come and watch and be a part of this move of God, I just came to declare that the best days of this church are in front of us. And I don't need 45,000 people to agree with me. just need 50 strong people.
I said that the best days of this church, the impact we're going to make in this city, the ripples we're going to see around the world, I just need 50 people. Some of y'all too bougie. You ain't never been a part of a move of God. a God, but I need 50 people to believe that the rest of this year is going to be the best of this year, that 2025 we're coming into something brand new, that God is about to take us from glory to glory and strength from strength.
Yes. Sometimes you got to look at giants and speak to them. Y'all scary. But David said, who is this uncircumcised Philistine that comes against?
Okay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm tired of weak Christians that look at adversity as an opportunity to back up.
I look at adversity as an opportunity to show you how big my God is. Oh, the God that we serve is bigger than the economy. The God that we serve is bigger than the election.
Y'all don't hear me. The God we serve is bigger than cancer, bigger than war, bigger than perversion. Somebody shout at me bigger.
Y'all don't hear me. I didn't come to play today. And the reason I'm saying this to you right now is because some of your faith needs to be shaken.
You're looking at stuff thinking that God is weaker than your situation. And the truth is somebody shot at me. He's bigger.
Yeah. Charles, I just had to declare some things. I did this before, but I felt inclined this morning to do it again. When I was at 1519, I stood when there was empty seats everywhere, and I told everybody, I said, y'all better get ready. I said record this because we're going to come back and I feel the unction to do it again right now.
This is the smallest this church has ever going to be. Y'all don't hear me. You better get ready because there's going to be multiple services coming in here. People, you don't like is gonna be sitting on the road with you cuz the Holy Spirit is about to pour out of this place through the fruit that is being worked in our lives and they're gonna be like where can I find what you got I'm telling you right now if you don't like the parking situation now you might want to find somewhere else because they're coming from the north the south to each job better help me and the West we call them for the drunks the liars The addicted, the broken, the hurting, the frustrated, the angry, the upset. Y'all don't hear me?
If you thought this was a country club for believers who want to keep their hands dirty or hands clean, you might want to roll. Because this place will represent God to the lost and found for transformation in Christ. And if you're with me, make some noise to our God. Amen.
I just had to let you know in case you forgot We was bout it bout it when nobody was coming We were sacrificing in canvassing streets Listen, I believe that God is about to raise up a remnant in this house. Let me prophetically say that it will irritate you to not be in the game from this Sunday on. Hear what I just said to you.
Being a part of this, God brought you here in this moment for the great revival that's about to come out of this church. Oh God. And I'm telling you right now, consuming is going to become agitating. If all you do is consume and you're not actually putting anything out, it's going to become, the Lord is not going to let what's in you be comfortable in just consuming. So some of y'all need to go to family dinner tonight because this was your last Sunday.
to be sitting down. What are you saying, Pastor Mike? God has need of your gift.
He has need of your smile. He has need of your expertise. Well, I give 40 hours to that job every week, but I'm trying to call you into purpose is what God says. said to you and he's trying to use us beyond what we've been used before sometimes i think it was prophet kendrick that said sometimes you just gotta pop out and today i needed to pop out and let you know what type of church this is we not in the we we not tucked back in this cul-de-sac that god gave us the entire complex to be quiet he didn't give us a piece of this city so that we could sit here and do church.
He wanted us to rescue people who are going to hell, that are lost, that are broken, that are religious and cannot find him. And I heard the Holy Spirit say to me this morning, I have need of you. Somebody say, God has need of me. Say it one more time.
God has need of me. People see this church and they think that we don't need anything Many people don't give many people won't serve many people won't do things many people won't invite because if I invite then I mean My parking spot may be gone. God has need of you He is asking will you be the one to go tell him the table is ready I prepared a meal and some were too busy with their cars and their vehicles and some were busy with YouTubing and blogging and gaming and others were busy with makeup and tutorials and becoming an entrepreneur, but the meal is ready. So go out to the highways and byways.
Y'all don't know the Bible. Go out to the places where they don't want people to come. Go to the gyms in the school. Come on, somebody.
The police officer that gave you a ticket, give him. him an invite. Do you hear what I'm...
Y'all don't hear me. Somebody shout at me, represent. No, shout at me, represent.
I'm going to have to do a whole culture series because some people think that we just got here by shouting hallelujah loud. We were called here to represent, represent, and represent God. Same word.
We got to show God differently, give God differently, and promote him differently. How do we promote him? With the fruit of our lives.
So that's why we're in this series. I just had to pop out today. This is not a part, but I felt the constricting nature of people's opinions. And today I just wanted to flex and tell you we're going to do everything God called us to do. If you believe it, will you give him a shout of praise in this house?
I need y'all to help me. I don't need everybody, but I need you to help. Some of y'all don't know the spiritual warfare it is to stand up here every Sunday. Can I be honest? There is attacks coming at me from Friday night until when I pray on the side of this stage.
Because if the enemy could take away what God wants to do through this house, there is a group of people that are left uncovered. because we're out of position and so what i just did there for everybody's like is he always this intense no it's usually a welcome when i come in okay welcome to transformation church and i still feel that in my soul but i hate the devil and i will not allow what God caught what I know he's called us to do be threatened because of intimidation Here, I'm trying to teach you how to contend for what God says is yours. There is no place in the Bible, when he said, I'm giving you a land flowing with milk and honey, there were a whole generation of people that did not enter the promised land because they didn't want to fight for what God told them was already theirs.
So an entire generation of people, except Joshua and Caleb, They literally forfeited their promise because they thought it was too much to actually go contend when God said, I'm giving it to you. And God told us that we would have an impact in this city, an impact in this. y'all gonna have to give me five extra minutes okay for my message i i gotta do sometimes you just gotta like this is me being an under shepherd and i see the sheep right here and i see sheep scattering i see more sheep at the mall and at target and i see people broken and i see people that were once plugged into god and serving in the house and in community and i see the enemy trying to pick people off in isolation and today i'm coming with as a shepherd you And I'm asking everybody, get in the fold.
I don't know how else to say this. Stay with the other sheep. I don't know how else to say this.
Don't wander off trying to do your own thing so that the enemy can pick you off. in isolation. This is if you're in transformation nation, stay plugged in, watch the messages. I understand you got to work, but be here, give, serve, do whatever.
I'm telling you right now, the body of Christ is about to get stronger than ever. If I was telling you I was going to give you a million dollars, somebody be shouting right now. But if I say God's bride, the body of Christ is going to get stronger. He's not coming back till we actually do this thing.
All right. I love us too much. to allow us to come in here any Sunday and play church.
Either we're going to live this word out or we're not. Either we're going to love people or we're not. Either we're going to represent God when people are looking and when they're not, or we're just not going to do this whole thing. And today I just, I want to call us all, somebody say higher. There's a maturing happening this last quarter of the year.
Did you hear what I just said? Some of the fruit that has not grown in your life for a long time is about to grow a whole bunch. And I'm grateful for what we're about to see.
to see happen in this place. Amen. All right.
Well, today I got a message, but I got to make an announcement real quick. This will be a good transition. Just played a video and then that'll let me be able to get into the message week three.
Let's go. I'm undefeated champion. Now, I told you we had more music on the way. Our brand new album, Undefeated Champion, drops November 15th.
Okay, now the reason why people are excited and they're like screaming and stuff is because a few people in here have heard a little bit of where we're going. And I'm telling y'all right now, part of the way that we're going after a generation is we're going to get into their spirits through music. And I need Transformation Church, Transformation Nation to support this. November 15th is actually my birthday, like my actual birthday, so that's cool how that worked out.
And it will be the completion of me obeying God to release these four albums. and I'm just going to lay out in the spirit and be done and be like, God, I did it. So, so I want to tell you a couple of things.
The album will be available November 15th, November 17th, Transformation Nation. You want a good Sunday to come in? It's album Sunday on November 17th. And you never know who might pop out. Okay.
And this is what, this is what I want to do. And I need everybody to listen to me. I want to release the single Undefeated Champion before the album comes out. Y'all, you need this for your workout. You need this to pump you up, to get them kids up in the morning.
You need this to brush your teeth. You need it to do... It's one of them. It's gonna make God bigger and make you feel energy to be able to do what God's called you to do. I want to release it before the album comes out.
The people that are trying to tell us the things said that if we don't have a certain number of people that pre-order the album, we probably shouldn't do it. I said, you don't know Transformation Church and you don't know Transformation Nation. We'd improved it three albums in a row.
Watch this. So if we get 2,000 pre-orders, it's $5.99. If we get 2,000 and there's thousands, tens of thousands of people watching right now and in this room, we can release it.
Watch this on October 25th. So that's two weeks, two weeks away. All I'm asking you is so that we can be in the car like undefeated champion. I I'm asking you do what you do. And, um, we're going to see God.
You can text a champion to eight, two, eight, two, eight, two. You can get it right now, or you can go to represent store.com and you can order it and it's going to be all good. Um, I'm excited for what God is going to do. The reason I'm so excited about this song is because, and this whole album is because the chorus is very strong.
And, um, Zach, give me the key real quick. I'm not. supposed to do this okay but this is gonna get I can't wait till November 17th and y'all have had this for like three weeks playing it in your car and then everything in here is gonna be talking about how good and big and awesome God is and then and then the chorus goes like this It's just so simple.
It's like, he's the undefeated champion. The king is here. Undefeated champion.
Make room. Make room. The king is here, undefeated, undefeated champion.
Oh. The king is, the king is here, undefeated, undefeated champion. Make room, make room. The king is here, undefeated champion. Undefeated champion.
Like, imagine hell in one corner. And imagine our God in the other corner. Undefeated champion.
Imagine God coming out for a heavyweight fight. Hey, and we screaming. We say, undefeated champion.
When cancer's in the other corner and depression's in the other corner, we yell. Undefeated champion. Okay, say undefeated.
Undefeated champion. Make room, the king is here Undefeated, undefeated champion Hood and holy I just need to make that announcement right now. I mean there's some songs that I can't fight the devil to you know what I'm saying it's like like I need some undefeated champion.
Am I the only one that sometimes need to be like I got a whole section of people looking at me like wow this is ridiculous undefeated Alright Uh uh, y'all better quit! You're champion! I'm the freedom champion We talking about our God We talking about our God We talking about our God we say I'm the freedom champion Alright, alright. I love this shirt Alright All right Spoke the world with his words of heaven and earth for generations he's shown he'll never leave you alone he took off his royalty to walk just like you and me went out on a limb defeated sin so we can have victory whoa okay all right all right all right all right it just came out of me undefeated champion no matter where i go hey no matter who's there say he's an undefeated champion Well, we might need to work this into worship.
Yes, sir. Okay. This only for the hood and holy people. Okay. Just that God got that.
You got the Lord. I lift your name on high and you got knock. If you bucking, you just, that's not everybody.
Okay. All right. Sit down so I can speak to you from the word of God. Yeah Mama Chloe that's gonna be good when you and your thing you like I like that mama Chloe.
I like that I Hey, he's the undefeated. You better walk with it. Talk with it. Walk. Oh my God.
I love my shirt. All right, here we go. Undefeated.
Escort her back to her seat, Charles. She gonna act up. We done gave her a little spotlight.
She about to take that all the way. Yes! Oh, I love our church! All right, we ask God to allow the joy of the Lord to be our strength. And I know for some people in this room, you've been in a church that have sucked the joy out of it.
Hear what I just said to you. if you if you allow the enemy and religion to suck the joy out of your experience with God you get no strength because the bible says the joy of the lord will be our smile again laugh again mama chloe is a seasoned saint And the fact that she just got up here and with joy begin to dance. This is multi-generational, multi-ethnic, multiplying.
It's going to be multi-campus. This is what God is doing here. And so grateful for it. Today is week three of a series that we have been talking about called show me the receipts. And I don't know about you, but God has been calling for some receipts in my life.
He's been asking me, where is the fruit that you actually spend time? with me. And the truth of the matter is people can clock their hours in church, but not their time spent with God.
Did you hear what I just said? People can list off a bunch of things that they've done out of duty, but they haven't walked in the cool of the day with God. Going back to what Adam and Eve did.
A lot of people know a lot of scripture. They don't have any fragrance of being with God. The beautiful thing about my daughters is I wear a lot of cologne.
And it's one of the things that I didn't realize until people started to tell me, like, when I'm not there, they can smell me. Like, if I walk into a room and I touch something, people will come in after I came in and be like, that's Mike here. And I didn't understand it until I experienced it.
And one time I was gone and my daughter Bella came up to me and she said, Daddy, could you spray your cologne on my pillow? And I said, why? She said, because it reminds me of being with you.
that there was a fragrance of us being together that there should be something that comes off of me because we were close to each other my question is do you smell like you've been with god Does it register at all when you walk out of the room can somebody say God's been here Because they came in contact with you and if they cannot good news We're doing a whole series on how to have proof that you are in relationship with God. And that's why we have to show the receipts here on earth and in heaven of how we actually have relationship. And beautiful thing, Galatians 5.22, the Lord gives us nine fruits of the Spirit that are receipts or proof that we have relationship with him.
And it's so simple. It says, but the fruit of the Spirit. is love. Somebody say love. Say them with me.
Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. So today I want to talk to you about a fruit that honestly, if I can be honest with you, I was trying to avoid.
Somebody said long-suffering. That was last week. Different word.
Patience. Okay. but go back let them cook okay but this week i was avoiding this one honestly if i can be hot humble open and transparent because anytime i've heard it talked about it was so bland y'all know when y'all like hear messages about stuff and it'd be like It's kind of like, I don't know what church you grew up in, but for some reason at my church when we did communion, they said this was a cracker, but it was not a cracker, it was a styrofoam plate. And I don't know, y'all know what I'm talking about, y'all was raised in the same church, and they thought it was communion. Convenient because like it came on the cup, but it was like styrofoam.
Is that healthy for us? This is not food. Like, where is this? And what is this? But the thing, the thing that happened when I would eat that, it would just be bland.
it tasted like nothing. And many times when I heard people preach on this fruit of spirit, or I even tried to study it in my own life, it was very bland until this week. This is why you got to ask the Holy Spirit, give me a new revelation. Like when I open your word, say something different to me. So the title of today, y'all know what, y'all know what fruit I'm speaking on today.
Come on. Today I'm talking. about goodness.
And I want you to write down my sermon title and say it just like this. Oh my goodness. Come on. Somebody say it with me. Oh my good.
I found myself saying this over and over and over again as I was discovering how good goodness is. How good God is. I was reading the Bible and I was like oh my goodness. Okay let's see if we grew up in the same church.
People in church would say something like this. God is good and all the time. Now replace God's name with your name. Would the statement still be true? Michael is good.
All the time? And all the time, Michael, I'm lying. Do you understand what I'm saying?
At this point, I'm lying. What if God desired for that statement to be true about every believer? that Paul is good and people could echo all the time and all the time Paul is good just let's practice say your name and let's say that phrase one two three Michael is good all the time and all the time Michael is good what if that was the goal No, come on. What if goodness was the goal?
And what I found is that to be and do good, you need God. And people are trying to get good without God. Did y'all hear what I just said?
I've tried to do it for years. I'm just gonna be a good person. I'm just gonna do good. I'm just gonna be gooder than my brothers.
I'm gonna be y'all saw that gooder. I'm my goal is just to be a good person. But the problem with me trying to be good without God is that it can't be defined by me.
Okay, write this point down. Goodness must be produced in us in order for it to flow from us. You can't give goodness to anybody because you have not let it be produced in your life. This is why we're short with people, that we see people in need and easily can turn and focus on how busy our schedule is. It's quiet in here this morning, but if I live at my own life and I'm supposed to be the representative on earth of what goodness looks like, would I be a good representative for God?
based on my actual actions. When I look this word up in the Greek, the original word means, write this down, to do good. How much good do you do?
Not how much good do you do that benefits you and which makes sense for you to do good so you put yourself in a better position. I'm saying just good for the sake, that's a good thing to do. It's good for me to hold the door open for this young lady coming in.
It's good for me to actually not lie to my parents. It's so quiet in here. I can feel your angst. It's good for me to spend time with God.
It's good for me to take care of my temple. Does your goodness reflect God's goodness? I'm starting slow because I want this this concept to start to get mundane enough to drop deeper.
Like I want you to think like what is he talking about? Is he talking about just being good? Is he talking about doing good? Like what is it?
Okay let's go. My whole life I have to make a confession. I've defined what was good. Now most people won't admit this, but like somebody will come like, oh I love that restaurant. I'll be like, that wasn't good.
Or somebody will be like, yo I love that movie. And under my breath it's like, I'm not gonna tell them, but that movie was not that good. I love your outfit.
Could be better. That outfit is not good. Secretly and sometimes honestly, most of us are defining good all day for ourselves.
Where you live, I want to make sure I live in a good neighborhood. Yet God might have called you to one that's at risk because that's where you're needed. They miss it.
If you are the definer of good in your life, is it really good? Because I know a lot of people that were with a good man until they turned into a bad man. Oh, seven months ago they were good.
ain't nobody better than him can't nobody do they better than him your family your friends your mama the everybody told you get away from him but no no no he's a good man my man my man my man yeah i know but how did something watch that you define good Turn bad is because if you're the one, if I'm the one, if we're the ones defining good, it might not be good to begin with. How many people have ate something that was good to you but not good for you? Oh, come on.
And so they say, how was that? Oh my God, it was good. They don't see you on the toilet at 4 a.m.
You in there like what you're in full warfare battling for your life. Was it good or not? I'm trying to make a very big concept come very small for you to understand that if it starts with us it might not end good if the good starts with us it might not end good maybe rather should we look at the Creator who actually defines good and go off of his standard of good Because life can give you the illusion that you get to grade what is good.
Write this point down, but only God can set the standard of good. I'm going to say it one more time. Only God can set the standard of good. God tells us in his word what a good man is.
So if he's fine and got a six-pack and got everything that you think he paid and all that other stuff But he's not a man that will be honest. He's not a man that will pray for his wife. He's not a man Okay He's not a man that will protect this home. He's not like he's already given us a definite, a standard of what good is.
So when we go outside of God to find what is good, it don't ever end good. Oh, my gosh. That's why we need more of his goodness.
We need to understand it. And so when I went on a deep dive to understand what God's goodness is, I had to make a decision in my mind. And I need you to make this decision that God's standard is good.
I don't know how you were introduced to the faith. I don't know if this was just a bunch of rules and can't do's and God don't want this. But if you were introduced to God like that, it messes up your view of him. And if you don't see God as good, it is his.
nature and that his standard is good and it's for our protection and our prosperity, then you will never approach God's standard as a good thing. But let's do a hard reset in this place today. Let's let's y'all know how your computer, you just got to. to hold it down and right now we're just going to hold it down and reset. God's standard is good.
Say it with me. God's standard is good. One more time by faith.
God's standard is good. We'll reset. We're going to believe that by faith that when God says don't have sex until you get married, it's a good standard. When God says to honor God with your wealth, it's a good, it's, he knows what's up.
He's trying to work. out of you. It's a good standard.
When he says to love your enemies, when he says to, it's a, it's hard. I didn't say it had to be easy, but it's a good standard. I need three people who need some money.
I'm going to give three people some money. I'm going to give you a hundred dollars. Okay. Come here right here. My man, you come here right here.
Hold on real quick. I need somebody of the Caucasian persuasion. Come here.
Come here. Yeah. Come on.
Y'all come up to the stage. Come up real fast. Okay.
All right. Come, come, come, come real quick. All right.
So, so, um, before you guys came up here, I want y'all to stand right. right here, just stand right here, just in a line. One, two, right here, right here, three, but facing me, facing me right there, right there, right there, right there. What's your name?
Kayla. Cedric. Tanner. Okay. Perfect.
All I want you to do is I want you to go 21 feet and 21.5 feet. Okay, and whoever gets 21.5 feet, look at him trying to measure his shoes, huh? You got, okay, whoever gets, you got 10 seconds, so I don't, I'm not telling you how long this stage is, but I want you to go 21.5 feet.
Y'all go back. to the corner though, because I want you to go from the corner because I don't want you to think I'm cheating at the end of it. Okay.
From this corner, how long is 20? And I need y'all to help them. If you think it's too far, too little, I want you to have, you got 10 seconds. Ready, set, go.
21.5 feet and stop wherever you think it is. Five, four. three two okay here we go just hold it right there hold it right there now my sister i need come come here cameraman this is 21.5 feet Now right here, now listen to me, I didn't make up inches, I didn't make up feet, I didn't set the standard, I'm just trying to hit it.
So they're not bad people, they just didn't know where the standard was. They weren't able to receive what was available at the standard. Now watch, I had enough for all of them because my plan was that they would all But it's only now again, I didn't make up the standard.
I was I didn't say centimeters inches. I didn't say anything but the goal was For us to go and this is the problem. They went where they thought the standard was That's 20 that's 21 feet in his mind That's 21 feet and her and it doesn't matter they could stand there all day and be like, but this is 21 and a half feet but because There's a standard already.
Do y'all hear what I'm saying? I'm giving y'all three seconds to get to the standard. This is called the grace of God that even when we don't hit the standard. Somebody needs to shout about the grace of God, because even when we don't hit the standard, he will give us an opportunity to repent. Both of them turned.
Can we give it up for these amazing people? Amen. Y'all go have good lunch somewhere.
Now watch, if I said, I want 10 more people to hit the standard. Hold on, no, everybody sit down, stop, stop. It would be much easier to actually find the standard if somebody was standing at it.
If there was a church that would hold the standard. If there was a couple that would hold the standard. If there was a small group that would hold the standard.
I wouldn't have to get up here and go searching for myself. Oh, there's a group of people that I know that walk in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and goodness. This is the standard. But this standard was not defined by me or you. the standard is defined by God so so if we then go to Genesis chapter 1 verse 3 let's see if we can find the standard of God on day one in the beginning he created light and he called it day two He created the sky and he called it.
Now, this is before anybody's opinion. This is before anybody's ideas. This is like God could have called it anything. Extravagant, extraordinary, amazing, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
He could have called it. But the third day, dry land, seas, plants and trees. And he called it the sun and the moon and the stars on the fourth day. And he called it on the fifth day. He made fish and birds and he called it.
And on the sixth day, he made land, animals and humans. He called us. So if the standard is that when God breathes his life into a human, the expectation is goodness. What happened to us? What what what what is happening that we are fighting against the goodness of God watch this not to just experience it Because God his goodness never runs out.
We just sang it But what if the whole goal? Is not just to experience goodness. What if it's to give goodness away?
Okay And this is why We have to allow the fruit of goodness to be worked in our lives through the Holy Spirit because if I was defining the fruits of the Spirit, it would have been love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, greatness. Most of us want the goodness to be greatness. Most of us want to be successful and people to know our name and for God to get glory kind of through the expertise and the excellence of me and then I'll throw it back to him. We would so love for a fruit of the spirit to be greatness, but he decided that I don't want great.
I want what? Uh-oh. because greatness write this down is already reserved for God greatness is reserved only for God that's why psalms 145 says great is the and greatly to be praised I thought about it differently great is the Lord like that that area of greatness is the lord you can't handle the glory that comes with greatness that's why you see people fold turn to addiction turn into somebody else you were not meant to hold the glory of greatness so that's why he said this is reserved greatness is the lord's but goodness is yours And some of us need to divorce the idea of being great and become familiar with the consistency of being good.
See, because the difference between greatness and goodness is, watch this, greatness enlarges people's view of you. And goodness enlarges people's view of God. Think about it.
If I'm being great, they're like, Mike Todd is great. But if I'm walking in goodness, they say, my God, how does God do that through that? I know him. I seen him.
I'm like, how, how is God's goodness being seen in their marriage? How is God's good man? They make me want to go to counseling because I remember how they cussed each other out in front of Chipotle. I was acting like I wasn't listening, but I was recording it.
Y'all know y'all messy. And now to see them leading a tribe with other married couples. How did the goodness of God change their situation into this other situation? Okay. I need everybody to write this down.
And I'm submitting this to you as a thought. What if the goal is no longer greatness? but only goodness. I know this is going to rack some of y'all's brain because you've been running from an insecurity since you were eight.
And you know the only way that you got mommy and daddy's attention anytime that anybody said anything good about you is that you had to be great. Pastor Mike, how do you know this? Because it's my story.
I've told it so many different times. Like I, I made a decision at 12 years old. Good was not good enough. And I put my standard above God's standard and it almost killed me. Today I want to bring value to the fruit of the spirit of goodness.
See goodness can do more in your life than you actually think it can. Watch this Exodus 33 18 there's this beautiful story of Moses spending time with God being in the presence of God and it said and this is what Moses asked for he asked for something great look it said then show me Lord Your glorious presence. And the Lord replied, you can't handle all that.
I will make all my goodness pass by you. He wanted the great thing. God, show me your glory.
And literally God was like, I'll just let my goodness pass by you. You want this big thing? Goodness is enough.
If I let you experience my goodness, you will have no choice but to transform into something different. So when I looked at this and I studied to study all of the different things that went before him, Moses would spend time on the mountain with God. His goodness would pass when he would come off the mountain and get back with the people. The people was like, whoa, Moses, whoa, bro, put a cloak on dog.
You shining too much. We know you've been with, oh my, oh my goodness. They literally couldn't take the radiation because of their relationship. Oh my, could you walk into that job and because you spent time with God in his goodness, not in his greatness, but in his goodness, could you walk into that job and they'd be like, man, you just got too many answers for the prop.
Man, you seem to always walk in peace. And this is a stressful situation, man. When I think about the goodness of God, I think about me having to actually adjust my focus because this is so important that the Bible tells us in Matthew that it will be the standard by which we are judged when we stand before Jesus.
Everybody say goodness. Can I say it just real plain? Our goodness is what's going to define our life. Not how many all-night prayers you did.
No, hear me. Not how many millions you gave to non-profits. If those things are disattached from the goodness of God and you're doing them for pride and selfish reasons and motives that aren't edified by God, he's going to say, depart from me, I never knew you. And some of us right now are doing good things for the wrong reasons. It's called manipulation, not goodness.
Okay. But this is what Matthew 25, 21. I'm just trying to raise your value. Somebody said, Oh my goodness.
I'm telling you this revelation got deep for me. It said the master was full of praise and the statement he said to the good servant was well done. My My good and faithful servant, you have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together.
Why in the world would he say my good and faithful servant? It could have said my dedicated and faithful servant. It could have said my, my, my zealous and faithful servant.
But I think goodness is a bigger part of our Christian walk and the fruit that we must bear because it, watch this, reflects God. God's been good to you for no reason. It says stuff like this in the Bible. Before we were, while we were yet sinners, when's the last time you was good to somebody for no reason?
That's goodness. You pull into the parking spot and you saw somebody about to come and your old nature rose up and you was like, I beat you. When the last time you backed up, rolled the window down.
No, no, no. You can have it. No, you can have it and go to the furthest spot. That's goodness. Now if you did that if you saw Pastor Mike coming that would be manipulation.
You missed it. I think that's Pastor Mike. Hold on let me see. Pastor! Pastor!
Pastor! No no no no man of God you take my parking space. If you did maybe if I give him the parking space he'll give me a parking space. I'm talking about good doing good for no foreseeable gain.
If we're honest and we take inventory of our goodness, most of our good is attached to what we can gain. The Holy Spirit been whipping me all week. He said, why did you do it? So they can see you better or so they can know me better.
Why did you do it? And I think a lot of us got to check our motives because watch this, goodness is not our nature. Let's be honest. It's not our nature, but it's necessary. And that's why our goodness is the receipt of a relationship with God through the Holy Spirit.
Paul says it real clear. I'm going to read a little bit of Bible real quick, and then we're going to get out of here because I need somebody to leave this week. and make a decision that I'm going to be a reflection of God by showing goodness to somebody that can't do nothing for me, just so that I can be a reflection that I spend time with him. Did you hear what I just said? Well, what's in it for me?
Nothing. Will you still do it? Well, I should get paid for that.
Yes. You should get paid for that, but what if God is asking you to do it for no pay? No, no, no, no, no, no.
They not gonna use my idea and not give me credit for it. I'm holding. What if God said that was the seed for the thing I'm about to do, but you won't even sow it out of the goodness of your heart?
Oh gosh. Romans 7 15 this is Paul I do not understand what I do god dog it for what I want to do I do not do but what I hate I do I I can yo this some cold bible right here I relate with this real real nice verse 16 and if I do what I do not want to do I agreed that the law is good as it is it is no longer I myself who do it but it is sin living in me who made me do it for i know that good itself does not dwell in me that is my sinful nature for i have the desire to do what is good how many people got the desire to do what is good like you like if i really be wanting to like i really i really do he said i i desire to do what is good but i cannot carry it out for i do not do the good i want to do But the evil I do, not want to do, this I keep doing. This is some of the realest Bible. I be trying not to do what I be doing because I don't really want to do it, but every time I want to do it, I do it. That's what this is saying.
Verse 20, now I do what I do not want to do. It is, he just keep going with the do-do-do-do-do-do. That baby said do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do. Okay, now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it.
Watch, but it's the sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work, although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being, I delight in God's law, but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.
What a wretched man I am. I hate this. I can't stand when I say I'm not going to sleep with him. Why do I keep doing this?
I was done with that drink and that alcohol and I was done with my and I was why do I keep going to this? Can we be real? Why do I keep letting rage inform my words?
I want to be loving. I want to be kind, but I just I can't. Seem to do what I want to do.
I made a decision. I wrote it down I said affirmations this morning and I still ended up said it's the sin in me Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death and then he switches it to thanksgiving because he'd experienced god's goodness Thanks be to god who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord. Hey, hear what I'm saying to you. If you're wrestling and warring right now, there's an answer and his name is Jesus.
And when you get Jesus, he gives you a gift of the Holy Spirit. And when you get the Holy Spirit and you stay close to him and let him walk with you and you surrender to him, then he works in you the fruit of the spirit of goodness. Somebody say, oh my goodness.
So not doing bad, listen to me, we're almost done. Not doing bad is not the same thing as doing good. Oh my gosh. Most people are okay with living a life where they say, I didn't do nothing bad.
Avoiding. hiding abdicating responsibility is not doing good just playing defense God said I want you to play offense I need you to actually go out with the I need you to pull money out of your account with the intention of giving it away if every time God asks you to give it's a surprise you're disobedient No, hear me, because God says in his word, he says, I want you to give what you've already decided in your heart. That means he would have a pre-conversation with you somewhere else. You putting on them shoes. He's like, they make your shoes no more.
Give those away. Oh, not the J's. lord asked me for something else not those only worn them twice no creases not giving them away and then when your brother comes over and asks for some shoes for his outfit and he puts them on and the holy spirit says again those aren't your shoes they're his why does it seem so personal and I'm still ignoring and then I'm getting mad because they ain't brought my shoes back hey bro I let you wear my shoes the other day and the holy spirit said boy if you don't stop he tried to deal with me three times that out of the goodness of my heart I was supposed to give them away but every time it felt like a surprise it felt like God was taking something from me because I hadn't decided that I was gonna do good works okay So what must we do to actually do good? Somebody say, I'm going to do good.
Galatians 6.10. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are in the household of faith. At every opportunity we get, we're supposed to do good. And especially when I come into this church and to my small group at the family dinner, I should be looking for somebody to show God's goodness to.
When the last time you came to church ready to give away goodness? When the last time you showed up at the park ready to give away goodness? Pastor Mike, that's beautiful. What does that mean?
Three things that's going to help you walk this out. Goodness is an action. That means you got to make a move.
Somebody say make a move. If goodness doesn't have an action attached to it, you didn't do anything. You might have thought about it, but God literally says to us, be my hands and feet.
If I was in flesh, what would I do? If you would say, if Jesus were here, you know what would Jesus do? You're his representative. What would Jesus do?
Show me. Well, somebody should go over there and do something. Do it.
I mean, if Jesus were here, he would go over and pray for them. Do it. If Jesus were here, he would get a campaign together and raise money for this family who doesn't have anything right now. Do it.
But we relegate our responsibilities as believers to an organization or a group of people that are never coming Because we are his goodness on this earth And once you experience his goodness, you got to give it away. I hear that red hot chili pepper song. Give it away.
Give it away. Give it away. Now I know someone's y'all too saved for that.
It's like, you know, if I did it, like I really wanted to do it, I would go crazy. But if God is how many people in this room and watching online, how many of you have experienced the goodness of God? So now I have a message for you.
Give it away. Give it away. Give it away. Give it away. Okay.
So goodness is action. It needs to move. Goodness is an attitude. That means you got to check the motive. So, so, so I'm just saying, like you ever met somebody and they was just a good, good person.
Like, let me be very honest with you. I don't want Bella to bring home a great guy. I want him to be a good guy.
Because a lot of times the great guys is hiding stuff. Can I be honest? Like, oh, he's great at sports, and he's great at this, and he's great at that.
I want him to be good at talking to you. I want him to be like, because if it's a spirit, if it's an attitude, at the end of my life, I don't want to be like Michael Todd was the greatest. That man was a good husband.
He was a good pastor. He was a good brother. He was a good friend. Because at the end of the day, the well done, my good and faithful servant. I'm not telling you to set a low bar because we serve a God of excellence.
But maybe you're expending energy on something you can't even obtain. So maybe we need to ask God to let goodness be an attitude in us. So goodness is an action. It's the move we got to make. Goodness is an attitude.
It's the motive we have to have. And last one, goodness is an attribute. It becomes our MO.
It becomes our, anybody ever heard that word? That's their MO. That's the modus operandi.
It's a Latin term that describes an individual or a group that that habitual way of operating is now consistent, which represents a discernible pattern. What would happen when the church's MO was, they're just good people. Oh yeah, it started off as an action to give waters to people who were marching at a parade for something we don't even believe in. And we just went out to give waters and tell them God loves them. And it was like, well, I was hurt by the church and I was broken by the church and I was, I'm so sorry, but here's some water.
And it's an attitude that we're not going on there so that all of them can come to church today. Maybe I'll show up at your coffee shop and pay for a coffee or give you a word of encouragement or actually, hey, hey, your mom, your mom's coming. I just saw her come in and I'm, I'm, yeah, you should probably just stay right here.
I just, just look out for somebody else's kid. Oh y'all don't hear me. It's just goodness.
We would all agree stopping a child from running in the street is just a good thing to do. Someone like that ain't my kid. Come here junior come on uh-uh don't even look back there.
What? And that seems extreme but a lot of us live like that. If it's outside of our jurisdiction of control we won't even check in to see if There's a way we can show God's goodness.
What if it becomes the way that at least Transformation Church operates? We see somebody stopped on the side of the road and they can't, you don't see no tow truck in sight, stop. Well, that's gonna make me late for worship. That's your worship today.
You missed it. That you missed it. That was your worship today.
It's to show God's goodness to somebody. Stand up everywhere, please. Psalms 23 6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me.
Oh, y'all know that one. All the days of my life. I found real revelation in this scripture because until this week I always imagined goodness and mercy following me as an extension of God's love chasing me and I think it is that but think about it differently for one second surely goodness and mercy shall follow me that means if I drop off goodness and I drop off mercy and I drop off goodness and I drop off mercy and I drop off goodness and I drop off mercy what's following me is a trail See, you thought the goodness and mercy was just about you. But God said, what would it look like if every day you was dropping off goodness and dropping off mercy and dropping off goodness and dropping?
People would say, surely goodness and mercy has been following them all the days of their life. That's why the Bible tells us in Galatians 6 9 don't grow weary in doing He said don't let your goodness wear out and many of us haven't done enough good to get tired Your goodness is on full strength battery at a hundred because you haven't done anything to extend beyond if we receive his goodness we should be giving away how is this developed through spending time with the holy spirit i want everybody to close your eyes please and i want you to think about what the holy spirit is trying to say to you through this message When I think about it, I think about Jesus who took off greatness to put on goodness. He took off glory to put on this flesh to come down here as an act of goodness for all of us. And today, if the Holy Spirit is speaking to you, I felt led to pray for people. who haven't really experienced the goodness of God in their life in a way that's changed them.
I'm not saying the little churchy cliche is like, oh, God is good. But if you really want to hear me experience a fresh revelation of the goodness of God, you're saying this is what I desire because I can't give away what I don't have. Because I'm talking to you about giving it away. But if you ain't experienced it and it's not real to you. you won't give it away today i don't want a churchy expression today i want desperate people hungry people if you're watching online you're in this room i'm gonna ask you to do something if you know that you need a deeper revelation watch this not just in your head but in your heart of the goodness of god today i'm going to invite you to the altar And I don't care who you are and where you're from and how much money you make.
But at this moment right now, if you want a fresh revelation today, I'm going to pray something specific, but it's going to take you moving by faith. And this is the moment. If you're in this room and you want this prayer, I want you to come to the altar right now.
If you're at your home right now, I just want you to stay and lift your hands. I want you to take a posture right now. And I know some of you right now, just moving. Remember what I said in there? There's a, there's some action that has to go along with some of the things that God is about to ask you.
This is just an exercise right now. This is a place of surrender. This won't be the place where all the the work happens. But today there are people that are moving and some of y'all like, this is my time to leave.
That's fine. But this is somebody else's time to get transformed. If you need a fresh revelation of the goodness of God, I want you to get to this altar.
We sang that song earlier. All my life you have been faithful. All my life you have been so, so good.
With every breath that I am able, I will sing up the goodness of God. I need y'all to come up. There's a lot more people coming, y'all. Y'all scoot up. Come on.
I see that floodgates. Business people, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, please don't let this moment and your insecurity and your fear keep you at your seat. Something is going to happen by faith as you move to this altar. I'm telling you right now. Today, many of you are going to experience the goodness of God and this week is going to be the first time that you move and giving it away brand new.
It's going to be like clockwork. It's going to be so easy because you're going to be like, oh my God, thank you. Thank you for getting me out of that situation and bringing me here.
Thank you for giving me breath another day. Thank you. Because goodness, watch this, is activated by gratitude. When you actually allow the great things that God has done in your heart to actually take root. Great things begin to come out.
Come on y'all. I want y'all to get them all in here. Come on y'all bring them in.
Come on I'm telling you there's something powerful that's about to happen all through the aisles all through the roads I'm telling you this is somebody's moment You're gonna be able to mark this as a shift in your life And I'm giving just about 10 more seconds because somebody's wrestling there's a war going on on the inside Church, if you're still at your seat, I need you to be praying right now. This is this is what this whole moment is about Today there's going to be a fresh revelation of God's goodness. No, it hasn't been fair. No, everything didn't work out how you thought it was, but God's still been good.
And when you live from that revelation, it will change the way that you have relationship with everything, and everybody. If you're at this altar and if you want to receive this, would you lift your hands all over this place right now? I'm going to pray for you by faith. Today is a change and a transformation in your life.
Father, in the name of Jesus. Today, Father. Father God, there is no question that you have been good to us, but some of us have been desensitized to feel and recognize your goodness. Maybe because of life circumstances, hurts, frustrations, pain, sin. Today, God, we are asking.
You can still come. Come on. Today, God, we are asking that we would get a fresh. Revelation of your goodness.
Father, you're not mad at us, waiting for us to fail again. You're not holding us to the past as some of our family, friends, and co-workers would. Father, today you are giving us a fresh start.
You are giving us the opportunity to repent, to turn, and come back to the standard of goodness. Not greatness, God, but to your standard of good. Thank you today that those who have been wallowing in depression and wrong decisions and mistakes today father they're coming out of that quicksand and they're going to find their footing again. Oh, I feel this. I hear the Holy Spirit saying, today you're going to find your footing again.
Yeah. The thing that's been feeling like you've been going under, you can't go. God said, you're going to hit something stable. And he's a rock that the builders rejected.
And his name is Jesus. He said, you're about to hit something stable and you're going to be able to pull up again. I hear the Holy Spirit saying this, whoa, thank you Jesus, that the fresh beginning that you need does not happen at the new year.
It's not coming at the turn of a date. It's coming today because of a decision. It's not gonna be 2025, it's today. It's not gonna be when everybody shouts and he said it's today. He said a decision for me, a decision to hear my voice, a decision to surrender.
It changes every... year today. It's a new year today. It's a new life today.
I feel this thing. It's a new day today. It's a new way today.
So I speak to every lie that you've believed. I speak to every lie that you've believed. I speak to every lie that you believe. Come down.
Every idol and idea that has tried to crush God's people. I feel the presence of God. Today, this situation is no longer the place of power. God, we pray like Moses now. Would you let your goodness pass by us, son?
Would you let your goodness pass by us? Would you let your goodness pass by our household? Would you let your goodness pass by, Father God, our families, our marriages? Would you allow your goodness, Father God, to take over our conversations?
Would you allow our goodness, Father, to help us make decisions to do better when we want to do something else? God, let your goodness overtake us. because i will sing of the goodness of god yes i will sing of the goodness of god because it's actually being lived out in my life yes i will sing of the goodness of god Just one more time, say, I will sing of the goodness of God.
Sometimes you have to remind yourself, because all my life you have been faithful. And all my life you have been so, so good. With every breath that I am able. Yes, I will sing of the goodness of God. Your goodness is running after me.
Your goodness is running after. It's running after me. Watch this with my life.
With my life laid down, I surrender now. I give you everything. I feel the presence of God.
Your goodness is running out. It's running out to me. Believe this.
Because your love never fails. It never gives up. It never runs out on me. Receive the goodness of God. Your love never fails.
It never gives up. He's not mad at you. It never runs out on me. This is His goodness today.
Say, your love never fails. It never gives up, never runs out on me. Your love. Listen, if you're under the sound of my voice, there is a sweet presence in this house and I know it's happening online.
God's restoring. No, not just restoring, he's resetting. He's resetting the standard in your life Some of y'all the stress you've been experiencing.
I Just see like this this huge 400 500 pound weight on you every day you wake up Trying to get yourself out of debt and trying to get yourself in like it's like not just one thing you focused on it's like seven things that just And God said, you've been out here trying to be great, to prove to a coach or a teacher or a parent something I'm not requiring of you. Tonight you're going to sleep because you know the standard is good. And you know he called you before you were even formed in your mother's womb. Somebody just say, I'm good. You can be great, but I'm going to be good.
yeah if you really want to be good and you've never accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior You have an opportunity today to actually make sure your eternity is good. There are many of you that are up here. Maybe you've made a decision before, but you didn't really mean it. Today's going to be the day you mean it.
Maybe you're watching online. Maybe you're in the balconies and maybe you're out here watching this on rebroadcast today on the count of three. If you want to make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior, if you want to experience his goodness towards you today, I want you to receive him. And all it is is a decision. I know religion tells you to clean up, change yourself, get done with that.
If you could have done it, you would have already done it by yourself. But the Holy Spirit is the only one that allows you to come to him with all your mess. And he says, if you give me your heart, I'll help you change your habits.
Today, I want to give you the opportunity to receive Jesus. Whether you're in this room or you're watching online, I feel the presence of God in this place. Somebody's goodness is being restored.
I'm telling you, we're going to worship here in a second. And something is going to come back to you that was stolen. There's going to be action. Right motives.
It's going to become your MO. I feel God saying this, but today some people are trying to do good without God. And today I want to give you the engine to doing good. Somebody say his name is God. This is the thing that took me from being a liar, a manipulator, addicted to pornography, a bad person, and it didn't make me perfect.
It transformed me, and every day I'm being transformed into the image of our Lord. But today I want to give you that opportunity. If you're listening, listening to me.
If you hear me anywhere right now, you know that you need to do good, but you need God to do it. On the count of three, I want you to lift your hand strong, bold with faith. One, hands already going up. Two, three. I need, thank you, Lord.
Can we celebrate what God is doing? I see you. I see you.
I see you. I'm not just going to do good. I'm going to do good with God.
I see you. Hey, Transformation Church, would you lift your hands too? We're a family here. everybody prays for the benefit of those who are coming to Christ nobody prays alone somebody say God thank you for being good to me thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sins Today, I need you as my Lord and Savior. I repent for everything that I've done that's not like you, and I commit my life.
A new and a fresh. To you only. Change me.
Renew me. Transform me. I'm yours.
In Jesus name. Amen. rejoicing, and so are we.
Can we give God a shout of praise? Thank you so much for watching this message. We pray that it encouraged you. Our vision is to represent God to the lost and found for transformation in Christ.
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