2 Corinthians chapter 12, let's go to verses 7 and 9. 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 7 and 9. 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's scripture.
2 Corinthians chapter 12. All right, because of the surpassing 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'm gonna start over. Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelation, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, I'm gonna start over.
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 begged 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 for you. Now find another neighbor and say, neighbor.
new G word at Rock City is grace. The G word is grace. Now look at them and say, if you want to know how I'm still here, it ain't nothing but a G word. G thing. 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 as something point in your life you're gonna 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 because they in the witness protection program and they got to keep up the facade like they never had a bad day never had a hater never been broken 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 the tail. Now that I'm 40 plus, 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 choir stand. Sopranos on this side, tenors in the middle, altos over there.
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 stand. What would you do? You would march down the aisle. We had deacons who sat on the first three rows. They would turn and say, let church start.
H-R-T-O-R-K. I heard Then it would get good, they would 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 got. It was an old-school church and you lived 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. To those of you who are comfort, because please put this in your notes, God expects you to be a preacher. 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 rode 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 park. It has reverse.
It has drive. What you cannot do in life is think you in neutral, and God is satisfied. Park 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 you're in neutral, you're 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. Ooh, if you got a bad circle and you in neutral, they gonna take you backwards. If you around people who hungry, they gonna take you forward.
But my testimony is, in this season of my life, if I gotta drive by myself, I'm shifting gears this year. My job is to comfort the afflicted if you're hurting I want to give you a word that's gonna 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 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'd be sitting in church like, God, forgive me, just in case I die. When I 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. 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.
make me start prophesying. Everybody in here is an ex-something, ex-liar, ex-cheater, ex-thief, ex-pop-lock-dropper, whatever it was you did in the past. Everybody in here is an 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 he was caught up, Bravis, to the third heaven. Now, you do know this occurred 14 years earlier than when the scripture happens. This is sometime 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 raptured.
we don't talk about rapture and stuff like that anymore my brother and I and dr. Leslie I keep calling her doctor she'll be soon finished with a dissertation so dr. Leslie would get ready to do an eschatology series where we're gonna talk about the end time Christology we're gonna talk about Jesus where the Christianity evolved from I'm gonna take a Monday Tuesday and a Wednesday I'm gonna spend an hour and a half two hours just teaching and talking about it we're gonna set the series up sort of like Netflix so you can binge watch Christology 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 are separated from communication, separated from participation, separated from their presence.
And that's why it hurts. And when we get to the graveside, I have to stand there. And I say, seeing that it has pleased the Almighty God to call this brother or sister on home, we now commit their body to the earth, 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 caught up to be with them in the end. That's called the rapture. We don't talk about that because that won't fill churches. You can't preach about the rapture because people are to start logging off the stream and go find somebody who's going to tell them they're 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 Gen Zers 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're 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's see if this is popular.
Well done. My good and faithful servant. Now pause, put this in your nose.
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 nose. Faithful over a few things because we use that out of context. you see somebody in there driving a car, you say something, will you be faithful over your car?
One day he's going to 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 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 Sun. You're talking about the first heaven. Second heaven is outer space.
That's the galactic heaven. That's where you have to put the suit on. You go above the star, out of space.
But the third heaven is where God is. The third heaven 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 going to 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 through 6, 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. my eyes I was in paradise with God catch this but 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 gonna 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're 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 this message of mine God if you don't do nothing else for me you ain't got gotta give me another penny this year just give me favor cuz favor will get 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.
hmm michael there can be no paradise without pain that's critical right there that's critical right there god says no no no no no no no no no no no i'm gonna take you to paradise now you get the you get the feel you get the content of verse 7. God takes Paul from earth all the way to heaven, brings him back to earth. You would think in verse 7, if 1 through 6 is Paul telling you he'd 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 to so-and-so, so-and-so. We went to Slutty 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 with the IHOP what you did this weekend sit on the couch and watch the game what you did this weekend chilling with God in heaven Up there walking around streets paved with gold. Fool I had on a whole white robe. Glistening and glowing.
All of it was good. The air was different. The air was so different.
You would have went to your cousin's house. Well, I can't walk on these streets. Y'all streets ain't gold. Y'all ain't got no angels saying, holy, holy, holy. I ain't got no white robe here.
God said, I'm going to do this for you. But look at verse 7. Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelation, bro, was given to me. Ah, a phone.
in my flesh God said I'm gonna take you to paradise but it's gonna cost you something stop acting like you want to elevate but don't want to be irritated stop on the prize with no pain stop acting like you want an anointing with no affliction stop acting like you won't favor with no fights stop acting like you want to be blessed but don't want no burdens if you won't 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 towed your whole row up and knacked her quick weave loose. But now that I'm telling you that million gonna cost you something.
Yes, you're gonna be favored. Yes, your business gonna grow. But it may cost you your c- and your friendships yes your marriage gonna be healthy and whole but you may not be able to go around your girlfriends no more yes you get ready to get your dream house but you may be in a neighborhood that you ain't comfortable in because 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 tests you on this side for we know that God causes all things to work together Hey, hey, alright, 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 some good, right? So I get my food, get my Zaxby's, Zaxby's short commercial, got these little chicken thing of tacos, I don't know if you tried them yet. 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 Zaxby's. 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 Zaxby's, right? I put my pickle on it. I put my little mayo sauce on it. Boom. Boom, I get to the couch, but I can't eat it.
The TV ain't right. I search for the remote, get the remote. They don't have the remote.
Batteries fall all over the floor. Put the batteries in. 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 gotta put the plus on the minus. And then the minus on the plus. One battery gotta be this way.
Other battery gotta be... this way they may not be in the same direction but they are both working together that's me 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 to seven of y'all, will work together. See, this is why I gotta separate the real from the fake, because half of y'all can only shout for your good days. But I wish I had five folks that can shout for your bad days and say, God, it's working. It's working together for my...
I feel God in here already. So look at what he says. He said, I'm gonna give you a thorn. I'm going to give you a thorn. Look at me online.
I'm gonna 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... I'm gonna give you a thorn. And prize is a part of the process.
Oh my God. Pain, this is good. This is really good. And prize is a part of the process. Okay?
that make sense if God want to get your attention he'll send you a blessing if he want to get your 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 gonna 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 whoopings that I did in my praises. Y'all ain'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, lady got mad at me this week 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 taking them home.
Teaching them a lesson. Let their lunch get left. They're 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, uh-uh, McKinley left her lunch. She's going to learn today. I said, she sure is.
She texted 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 finna 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 moved. earth to make sure in my head some little boy in fourth grade looked at it said oh you want my pizza not in a relationship she's depending on him for the peace of the devil is alive I took every grape every pineapple every orange every fruit loop nine laters three juices why because as her father there are certain seasons where I step back and say she gonna 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.
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 thorn. And this thorn 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 step.
Y'all missed it already. Jesus Christ. What's the first one? Series. Series means what?
Continuity. 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 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. Gotcha.
Michael. I'm doing a really good job today. The process equals revelation.
I'm sorry, preparation. Ooh, I also have 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 are 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've 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. A thorn in my flesh was given to me.
A thorn in my flesh. Why did God give him that thorn? Because God wanted to make sure that his close encounter with his sovereignty didn't make Paul abandon his humility.
Why did God give him that thorn? Michael. God wanted to make sure that Paul's close encounter with his sovereignty didn't 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 says I'm gonna 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 Be careful because you sitting here, this is 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 to three of y'all if y'all ever see what I'm talking about right here. So why does God send thorns?
Please put this in your notes. I got about seven 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'm gonna push you back to prayer. But whenever your flesh get out of hand, I got you. I'm gonna push you back to prayer.
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 ancestral activity.
One scholar said he had eye pains. I need you to catch this. Look at what he says.
Throw it on the screen. He 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 says, I didn't want it. But look 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 he said I begged three different times had he said I begged 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 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 will always change your life Sometimes you gotta 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 five 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 high-five a real neighbor and tell him keep on praying If he don't do it by August he gonna do it in September If he don't do it in September, he gonna do it in October If he don't do it in October, he gonna do it by Thanksgiving. If he don't do it by Thanksgiving, he gonna do it by Christmas.
That mean he didn't do it this year, then he gonna do it next. I'ma give you 15 seconds. Anybody can shout about what God is doing.
But you oughta shout for what God's getting ready. I felt that right there. Oh. It's critical.
Corey, Paul is tripping. Corey, Paul is tripping. God says, boom, Paul, Corey, go back to your seat.
Paul, Corey, Corey, come back. Corey, he looks around the world and says, I got to bring somebody to heaven. I got to bring somebody to heaven.
heaven you who 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 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.
Paul goes to heaven and comes back. This is critical. God said I gotta bless somebody I gotta bless somebody what do I speak over your life over the next 90 days that God gonna 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 year to pick me y'all miss what I just said right there he said hey Paul come here I'm gonna take you to the third heaven he takes them 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're going to have more trucks than you've ever seen in your life. You're going to have overflow. Look at what your son is going to become right there. Look at that.
Isn't he grateful? Look how blessed your daughter is going to be. Oh, look how blessed your wife is 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'm gonna free you I'm gonna free you I didn't say this at nine this just hit me on the spot Paul has no pain pre-heaven I gotta 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 says I gotta hurt you you 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 wanting 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 to let you say it. I'm going to say it for you. I am so tired of your closing 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.
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 sadiddy but I am expensive I paid a price to be who Look, he says no, he says look at this, 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 her, 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 started 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. Satan's angels did their best. 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'm going to 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'm a poker.
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 miss. missed that saints angel because what the devil does was i hope you catch this the devil doesn't have the authority to hit you when he wants 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 him 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'm in the wrong church. 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. Y'all missed it. My dad did his 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 knocked me down to my knees I wish I had a thousand people listening to me who would praise God that your pain puts you in prayer the devil The devil don't realize what he did. Y'all gotta realize patterns. The devil always does the wrong thing.
Jesus on the cross and he's being crucified. They got him on the cross. ground they nailed his hands they nailed 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 It's working.
I don't know who you're 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 a part of you is wondering why won't nobody help you?
Because to people who don't know your God, this looks like failure. And when they look at you, they're saying, Kirk, I don't want to fall off. I'll fall down and I'll fall off.
I'll fake the same 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 been 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're not going to tackle me because we're on the same side. But if he gets the ball, you're going to knock his head off because he ain't on our team. Some of y'all might need to stop and figure out who team you on.
This is for your friends who keep trying to figure out 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 clique who's always going through stuff.
It's because the devil knows 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 begged God to remove it. Three times I did. that and he told me I'm finna run my grace 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 planned 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 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 didn't they think you mean cuz you make them get out cuz in they head they've been swimming they don't realize the only reason they didn't drown is we because your home was enough Michael I came to testify I would have drowned six months ago I would have drowned three years ago but his grace somebody shout grace is enough he says my grace can you say that for me say my grace 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, there ain't enough money in their account.
The bank automatically takes it from me. Every time they order some on PlayStation, every time Miles gets some V-Bucks or some Robux, every time he gets some on Minecraft, my account get alerted. Miles. $150 for Robux. 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 No, my grace is all you need. The way 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 Bravis that comes from me. As strong as you are there's a limitation to your strength. I watched you play Friday.
They could not tackle you one-on-one. Every time you got tackled, it was five people. I'm sitting there 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 gonna say.
You're not gonna make it. Pastor Mike, no, I didn't come here for that. I'm gonna 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 gonna make it. Pastor Mike, don't be negative. I don't receive that. 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 to tag in.
When you say, God, I can't take it. Ooh! Let me free you. This has been one of the craziest years of my life.
Yeah. I done had a bomb four-year 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'm going to say this with y'all. I never say this publicly or nothing like that.
But look, I could possibly be the next T.D. Jakes over here and the next Kirk 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 didn't take a six-week break because I was tired.
I took one because 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 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, like, God, give me strength. Didn't sleep not one night, every night being tormented because I'm constantly seeing every...
dime I got dwindling dwindling dwindle now my peace is running out my pace my peace is running low every day and the reason I would go to meet and greet every day was because 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's saying be quiet I'm just sitting in the house, just miserable. My mind running, my anxiety running. Everything I worked for dwindled.
I'm like, God, what am I going to do? But I got to come in here. Hey, how y'all doing? God bless you. Because I got to be on.
I got to be on. 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 Sunday turned, 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 start feeling sorry for myself because 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 said, God, I thank you.
Oh, y'all don't hear me in here. Look what Paul says, it's 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's strength moving in my weakness. Look what Paul says, now I take limitations and strive. And with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size. Abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let 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 said. I'm going to make my request known. I'm going to get in that backseat.
I'm going to turn on talk, because if he want to talk, I'm ready. And I'm going to 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's mean life 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 because you don't want them to think you weak. So now... you just sitting there and it's weighing on you.
Sister, you've been strong so long. You everybody rock. You everybody fortress.
You got most secrets in you because everybody can come to you and tell you everything and know it ain't gonna 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're like, God, like God. hear me got good news my strength is made perfect in your weakness just god is telling you and i'm gonna 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 God is saying the moment your strength become my grace the moment that it come my grace he says thank you Jesus my grace every loss I've taken in my life he had enough grace for Think about this, the very thing you said last year was going to end you. Where you at now? Father, I ask that we stay right here.
Whether we win, on our knees for you God. And if we lose, God, on our knees thanking 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, but sometimes they can't. He didn'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 weight's 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. Soon as I stop worrying...
Worrying how the story ends when I let go and I let God. Let God have his way, that's when things are gonna happen, yeah. When I stop looking at my thing, yeah. When I let go, and I let God be.
Church, we're gonna be alright, ain't we? Yeah! We gonna be all right, eh? Yeah, man.