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The Tragedy Of Trying // Mustard: The Seed That Can Change Everything (Part 4) // Michael Todd
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WEEK 4: MUSTARD: The Seed That Can Change Everything // The Tragedy of Trying - What to Do When Your Faith is Fatigued Have you ever stopped using your faith because it didn’t work the last time you tried? Maybe you felt embarrassed, disappointed, or...
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Welcome to Transformation Church podcast, where we represent God to the lost and found for transformation in Christ. We're so glad you're here. And wherever you're listening from, we believe God will transform your life through today's message. Today I feel like I have a unique assignment because I've realized as I was praying, there's a lot of people who, their faith has been fatigued, that right now you hear us talking about another miracle and all you hear is another chance for failure. We're saying another one is on the way. And you'd be like, I don't really feel like doing all the extra it takes to believe God again. And this is not something everybody's gonna come out and say because we wanna present like we really do believe God. But the truth of the matter is, and a lot of our situation, once it don't work out one time how we thought it was, we wanna apply our faith in other areas, never in the same one again. And today I wanna encourage you that God may want to heal you from your faith fatigue. Today I want to encourage people who have stopped trying to use their faith. Some of you, the honest truth is you've stopped trying. And today, write down the title of my message. The Tragedy of Trying. The Tragedy of trying. Matthew 17, verse 14 through 20. I'm going to read a lot of scripture and I'm going to read it out of the amplified version, but I think this is gonna really help you. And I'm excited for what God is about to say. When they approached the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, kneeling before him and saying, now put yourself in this story. It's happening right in front of you. Lord have mercy on my son. He's a lunatic. Some of y' all say that about y' all kids right now. He suffers terribly, for he often falls into the fire. He be trying to burn himself up, and then he tries to drown himself in the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they were not able to heal him. And Jesus answered you unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? The guy's talking to him, but he talks to the disciples. The guy is saying, I need a miracle. And his first response is, to the ones who did not perform the miracle. I just want you to watch this. He said, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring that boy here. Verse 18. Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him. And the boy was healed at once, immediately. Verse 19. A little later, Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, hey, J.C. just a little question. Why couldn't we drive the demon out? He answered, because of your little faith, your lack of trust. Watch this. And confidence in the power of God. The reason you weren't able to do it is because you lack trust and confidence not in yourself, but. But in the power of God. For I assure you and most solemnly say to you, if you have. Watch this. Living faith, not just faith, if you have somebody say living, living faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this, what's the biggest thing I can find? The mountain be moved from here to there. And if it is in God's will. Ooh wee. And if it is in God's will, it will move and nothing will be impossible for you. And then he gives this caveat. But this kind that we dealt with this morning does not come out except by prayer and fasting. Well, this scripture is a little confusing because the truth of the matter is the disciples actually trying to do what they were taught to do and when they actually believed and tried to do, didn't work. And what happens when you do what God showed you how to do, what he told you to do, but what you did didn't get you the results that you was looking for, and then he rebukes you for it. This don't seem fair. How in the world is the response to me doing what you said for me to do and it not working? Be like, get your faith up, huh? My faith was up. That's why I did it. That's why I gave. That's why I believed. That's why I went there. That's why I sold. That's why I moved. That's why I did it, and it didn't work. Where are the real people that will tell me today and be honest that you've done some things in God, in faith, and it did not work? All right, I'm in the right room today. What do you do when you tried to do what God said to do and it doesn't work? The truth of the matter is most of us stop trying. And today I just want to give the disciples a little more credit, because the demonic boy with the daddy, they were faced with the solution, and they didn't run from it. They actually tried. It's more than I can say for a lot of believers. When you're faced with a situation that's bigger than what you've ever handled before, most of us be like, hold on one second, let me go and figure out who can help you. This is over my pay grade. Let me go get the manager. Hey. I ain't never dealt with no situation. Like, I've never run a business by myself. I've never actually been pure. I've actually never actually kept my word. I've actually. This is bigger than me. Let me go find somebody who can really help you. But what I found out is that most people stop trying to because they're trying to avoid a tragedy. And today I need to confront the part of you that's trying to save you from some future moment that is not even guaranteed to come, but probably will come if you stay in Christ long enough. You will fail in your faith. And I know nobody wants to hear that, but the truth of the matter is, I would rather you walk in truth and honesty, actually know what's coming so that you can prepare yourself and calibrate your mind to walk in this crazy faith and know that sometimes you gonna have crazy faith and it fails. They're not ready for the real of this message today, but today I'm gonna help somebody. Because you've stopped trying altogether because you thought the failure was finally you stop trying. You don't believe God. When somebody's sick, you automatically reach for the medicine and you don't pray for them no more. When the Bible clearly says, we can lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. And we're not even talking about a terminal disease. We talking about a headache. And as soon as a headache comes, you looking for bear and aspirin and everything. And you won't even lay your hands on the sick. Okay, I'm getting too personal. Because most people. You tried it one time, you tried it on yourself, it didn't work. It's like, I know aspirin works. My trust is more in aspirin than the anointing. And because I tried it once and it failed, I ain't doing it. That's why some of y' all don't invite people to church no more. It's because you tried once, they came. And because they didn't have a conversion, it made you feel some type of way about yourself. And now they, in a whole nother religion, trying to convert you to being a Muslim. And you like, hold on, wait. This. Hold on. And one person who did not believe, which was none of your fault, made you afraid to try again. Okay. All right, here we go. Today I need to confront what keeps you from trying to use your faith. And today I'm gonna give you a few principles. Because the Tragedy you're trying to avoid may be the reason why your faith has stunted. Most of us have stunted growth in our faith because we're trying to avoid something. And I just wanted to ask you real questions through this story. What are you trying to avoid? What are you trying not to experience? And so you won't step out in faith and look a little crazy for the sake of God, because I don't want to experience nothing. Let's see what happens. Verse 16, and it says, and I brought him to your disciples, and they were not able to heal him. Let's just set the scene. Jesus disciples are going out two by two, doing what Jesus told them to do. They go to perform the miracle, and the little boy is like, I mean, just think about it. In the name of Jesus, come out and be like, ah, I'm coming after you. And it's like. And the dad's like, I think it's getting worse. You know what I'm saying? It's like, oh, he ain't never done this before. And he's like. And the dad's like, all right, y' all quit. Y' all. Come here, boy. Come on. Uh, just think about it. How would you feel as the disciple? And like, okay, yeah, y' all go in peace. And you and they talking to each other like, yo, bro, that was crazy, man. Like, hopefully, man, I don't know. It worked yesterday. But did you pray this morning? Like, everything good. You. You need something to confess something, bro? I don't know. Let's shrug that off. Hoping you would never see that man and his son again. Oh, y' all come on right now. Have you ever done anything embarrassing and you praying to people who saw it, you never see them again? Imagine 45 minutes later, you with Jesus. You ain't told him what happened. You come back, and everybody like, how was the ministry time, man? Wow. Powerful. Powerful. Solve some things we've never seen before. And then. And then. And then the man comes up, and it's like, jesus. Jesus, can I get a minute with you and the disciples? Oh, shoot, there you go. And he was like, yeah, yeah. Had an encounter with your people earlier today. And my son, he's full of demons. And I think they gave him some more. He's worse than he was before. And they tried to do it, but they couldn't. But can you? How do you think the disciples felt in that moment? Embarrassed. And the first thing, I need you to write down the first thing. And the first reason why you don't try is because you're trying to avoid embarrassment. Most of us are trying to save face to people who we don't even live our life for, trying to make sure they think about us in a way that we think about ourselves, but we don't even know what they think to change the way we think about ourselves. And the truth of the matter is, if I'm going to be embarrassed in front of anybody and for any cause, why wouldn't I be embarrassed for the cause of Christ? Why wouldn't I stick my neck out there and look a little crazy and a little unconventional for the only one who stuck their life out there for me when I was yet a sinner? He said, I don't know if they will accept me, but I'm willing to stick. Stick my neck out there and put my life on the line and be embarrassed in front of all of heaven to allow them to have an opportunity to have relationship with me. And most of us will not step across the line and use our faith because we're trying to avoid the tragedy of being embarrassed. How many times have you stopped doing what God told you to do because you don't want to look weak, Start the business with only three people coming. He didn't ask you to be the one who controls the outcome. He asked you to be faithful over the instruction. And now you posting. Well, only three people coming to your class, three people coming to your talk, three people coming to your presentation. And now you stop posting about it because you don't want to be embarrassed. You stopped sharing what God is telling you in private because the last time you shared, you said, God told me I was going to lose £30 in the next six months. And the first three days, you were strong in the gym. The water was flowing, the walking was going, and then somehow life hit. And now you stop posting about the journey. You stop talking to your friends. You stop telling them about the business plan. It's because I'm trying to save myself from being embarrassed. And today, the reason I have to confront this is because the disciples are in an embarrassing situation that did not stop them from the process of allowing their faith to grow. They get embarrassed. That is embarrassing. But they keep staying in the process. And most of us, at the moment of embarrassment, I'm done with that. The one thing you ain't never gonna do is make me look a fool. Come on. Some of y' all got this. The one thing I ain't gonna do is look stupid. And my question is, who are you doing this for? Who in the world are you trying to save face for when the God of the universe is asking you to do something. Don't forget he gave the disciples the instruction to go out and heal. He didn't say, every time you lay hands, somebody gonna fall out and get healed. He said, you have the power to do this if you lay hands and get healed. And at the moment of failure, at the moment of their try and it didn't work out, they had a tragedy. I'm embarrassed. But it didn't stop them from watch. Engaging. Write it down. Embarrassment should never stop your faith from engaging. Because so many of us, at the moment of embarrassment, I stop engaging. But let's see what else these disciples found out in verse 17. Because all of us are trying to avoid a tragedy. But I'm telling you, when you try, there might be a tragedy. The next one is. And Jesus answered you unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to me. Hold on. Dang, Jesus, we messed up, but you didn't have to blast us like that in front of the man, like he talking to you. Just heal the boy. Talk to us later. Come on, y'. All. Y' all know there's another level of being like. Like. Like told what to do, but told what to do in front of everybody. This is where many other people, if they don't check out embarrassment, they check out. Watch this at correction. Okay? See, most believers right now only want to be corrected by God himself. And what you're walking in is pride and ego. Because God always uses men and women on Earth to actually bring correction. And he will show Himself in His Word. But the thing is, you cannot have correction without submission. And most people in this world do not have anybody that has the same sit down and shut up card in their life. And because you run your own situation, and nobody can speak for God except God. And his word will tell me. And sometimes your cousin been telling you the whole time, leave him alone. Lead them alone. Lead them alone. They don't know me. They don't know my situation. They don't know how my money flow. They don't know how my heart was built. Leave them alone. And because you're not under submission, you cannot accept correction. Hear what I'm saying? Correction is a sign of love. Oh, God. And most of us have viewed correction not punishment. Because I need to heal some of the childhood trauma. There are some people that have confused correction with punishment. Punishment has emotion involved. That's why some of us, as Children, we got punished. Not disciplined. We got punished. Your mama was mad that you embarrassed her by not getting the grades, so she whooped you because you made her look bad, not because she wanted to help correct the situation. And so I need you to differentiate, because God doesn't punish you because he loves you. He corrects you because he loves you. And some of us need to delineate and forgive and go to counseling to be able to help you turn that around. Because what you're doing now is doing the same thing that happened to you with no understanding. And some of your kids are getting punished because it's emotional backlash involved in the reason why you're doing what you're doing to them. Because now you're going to waste my time. And I got to come up here and I got to do this. And, hey, you're training them in the way that they should go so when they get older, they won't depart. That's why that may be a generational pattern that some of you need to break. And I'm going to leave it right there because some of y' all need counseling. Let me go to another camera. That camera too hot? So the disciples get embarrassed after their try, and then they get openly corrected after their try, but they don't disengage from the process. You don't ever hear about the disciples leaving this moment, going away. And I just want to ask you if you tried to use your faith and it did not work and you were embarrassed, and then God corrected you on how you did what you did, who you told what you would, you try again. Because the tragedy of trying is there might be a moment where it don't work. And what do you do when everything you said and you believed was going to happen doesn't happen like that. These disciples. I love the word of God because it was divinely inspired and put together by a whole bunch of people in different places, in different seasons, and put together and used by God and divinely works together. And if I was writing my own story, I would only put the highlights in. This story wouldn't have made the Bible if I was a disciple writing it. But God uses their failure to teach all of us something about continuing to use our faith. So please extract from their disappointment the faith and the courage to try again. So what keeps us from trying? The first thing, embarrassment. The second thing that keeps us from trying is correction. Watch this. The third thing that keeps us from trying we find in verse 19. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, why could we not drive it out. I love this. Because the truth of the matter is, after I was embarrassed and corrected, I ain't bringing it up no more. Come on, let's just be honest. Why would we ever go back to that moment? Unless you want to bring it up to give us some pep talk and encouragement. I'm done with it. Some of y' all had stuff happen to you in 1979. Ain't nobody ever talked about it again. And you ain't gonna bring it up till the next side of heaven.
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Just leave it alone. But these disciples show us something. They want to know why they're actually intrigued beyond their embarrassment and the correction to actually go back to Jesus when it didn't work and ask the question, why didn't this work? Why didn't the relationship go the way I thought? Why didn't I get that job, God? Why after I fasted and prayed and moved to that city, did it feel like all hell broke loose against me? Why didn't that business actually make me financially free? Why did that move put me in more debt? Why when I prayed for my family member, they still died? Why? And today I have to correct this theology because many of you been taught not to ask God why. Don't question God. Just because your bishop don't have the answer don't mean God don't have it. Okay, let me stop. Just because your group leader don't have the answer, they're not supposed to. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. God is not offended. This tells us you can ask him why. Some of y' all would be able to try again if you just was honest with God and say, why? Why did I have. Why did it end in divorce? Why don't none of my kids serve God? Why do I feel so lonely? Why is not wicked. Why just exposes that it's past your understanding. And faith begins where understanding ends. So the question why many times is the invitation into an understanding of faith that you did not have before. The reason you couldn't get it before is because you acted like you knew it before. But when you get to the end of yourself, that's when God shows up. When you get to the end of how I thought it was going to happen, that's when God shows up. When you get to the end of your money, that's when God shows up as Jehovah Jireh, my provider. The question why may be an indicator of the level of faith you're about to walk into. And the thing that almost Kept these disciples from asking why is because when you ask why. Watch this. It exposes your insufficiencies. Whenever you say why, that means you couldn't figure it out. Whenever you say why, it means, uh, oh, I don't know. And so many believers are trying to look like they're in control instead of giving over that control and living a life of surrender and dependence. I don't know why God called me into this. I don't know why people make up stories about me. I found out last week I'm, like, in the top third of the Illuminati. Nah, I'm, like, at the. Like, I'm at the top tier. I was like, dang, y' all put me. I mean, whole graph and chart and everything. I screenshot it. I thought it was cool. Like, wow, we made it the Illuminati. I don't even know how to spell that. But. But why God? Why would. Why would people make up stuff? Why? I'm just. You asked me to read people. I don't even want to. Okay? I can't. I can't be honest. What. Why did this. Why did my son have to have autism? Why is he in therapy four times a week? Why we have to hire somebody to go to school with him? Why? Why? Why did my wife go through depression? Why? Why did. Why do we have to do counseling three times a month in five days? Why do we have. Why? Why can't this just work? Why? Why? I believe you. I did what you said. I prayed, I gave. I didn't do what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a producer. I wanted to be on the Renaissance Tour right now. I wanted to be playing drums for Beyonce, but I disobeyed my will and obeyed your soul. Okay, Y' all don't want to be real with me, but this is where your faith comes to a point where it makes you stop trying. Because if you don't think you can ask God why, then you walk away. Hear what I just said? Wherever you can't ask why, you usually walk away. That's why many parents don't have a good relationship with their kids in old age, because they were never able to ask their parents why. I'm giving y' all some real advice right now. If you create a situation with your children where they never can question. Not that they grown and big and bad, but why? I gotta do it right now? Because this is what I'm asking you to. If you don't have the patience to explain to them. I know some of the black parents is like, oh, what? What? You gonna ask me why? Boy, I brought you into this world. I'll take you out. Hold on, wait. Murder is the answer. But I'm just saying, that's why when they form their own lives, they don't have a connection because they were never able to ask you, why did dad leave? Oh, God, why did we live with that family for three weeks? You didn't tell me what was happening. I know I got popsicles every day, but why? Oh, come on. Y' all know what we try to. But why do we live with that family? Why did our car just disappear? Okay, let me stop. But you stop. You walk away from everything. You can't ask why to. And so many people have walked away from using their faith because they have felt like asking God why was disrespectful, dishonoring. But God can handle your why. Jeez, that's power right there. They take a position. Watch this. Of humility. And they say, hey, I'm insufficient to understand and put the blues clues together for myself. So, God, I'm coming straight to you. Why couldn't we do what we've seen you do a hundred times? And because of their question, he answers, oh, I love Jesus. That he didn't offer the answer before the question, but when he got the question, the next word in verse 20 was, he answered, some of you, the enemy has tried to be. Has tried to keep you from just asking the question. Because as soon as you ask it, he'll answer. As soon as you ask him, what do I need to do to actually be successful? He'll answer. And if you get the faith to try again, to approach God again, to use your mustard seed faith again, I'm telling you, there's another answer on the way. It said, he answered, let me be honest with y'. All. The reason it didn't work for you is because of your little faith, your lack of trust and confidence in my power. You might have been trusting in the action. You might have been trusting in the words that you said, he said, but you should have been trusting in my power to act in that situation. He said, for I assure you and most solemnly say to you, if you had living faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mountain. He literally looked at the biggest thing he could find around. He said, the mountain would be no match for just a little living faith. You would be able to tell it to move from here to there. And watch this. If it was God's will, this is the one that people struggle with. You can speak to a mountain, but if you speak to it with faith, and it's not God's will, it ain't moving. Oh, God. And this is where you have to reconcile the sovereignty of God. That there's some things I want that he won't allow. Oh, God. There's some things I desire that he's saying. It ain't happening. No matter how much you fast, no matter how much you pray, no matter how. That's not my will for this situation. Why can't it happen? Because I'm not gonna let it happen. And I can't even explain to you why it's not gonna happen. And most people say, fine, then I'm taking my ball and I won't play no more. That's what you try to do with God. I'm taking my faith and I won't use it no more. I'm taking my belief and I won't use it no more. He said, that was just one thing. That was just one thing you believed for. And I said, no, it need to stay right there because you don't know what's going to happen six years from now. And that mountain is going to need to be there for you. But keep believing for this. No, I'm not trusting you anymore. Come on. We don't say it like that, but that's what we do. I'm going to put my faith in Bitcoin. I'm going to put my faith in the economy. I'm going to put my faith in this person. I'm going to put my faith in you didn't let that mountain move you. Didn't move me from there. I should be rich by now. I should not have these problems. I should be out of the. And the disciples are faced with this, with Jesus talking to them, the next thing that we try to avoid beyond embarrassment, correction, our efficiencies being exposed is watch this. The requirement for growth. Basically, he said, why can't this happen? Why weren't we able to do this? Because you got to grow more. And most of us have lost the spirit of teachability. Most believers, after they mastered the fundamentals in their mind, they stop being teachable. And I have found that this is the quickest way to cut off your growth, is to think that you already know. I can't tell you how many rooms I walk into and intentionally act like I don't know just so I can get new information. Oh, y' all don't hear what I'm saying. Everybody has something to Teach me. They can teach me by their ignorance or, or their intelligence. Do you hear me? I'll never say that. Or, man, that's great language. And many of us as believers come into everything knowing. That's why I respect so much the senior saints and those who are older than me that call me their pastor. It's because you walk in a different level of humility. You're still teachable. You're able to say, I don't care how old this young man is, if God's speaking through him and if it's in align with his word, and if it checks out in my will, I can follow him through. It's Joshua, it's David, it's young people that God said, don't let them look at you because you're young. Timothy, walk in what I've called you to walk into. So many people in this room are scared to try because I don't think they'll follow me. I'm too young. I don't have enough experience. The truth of the matter is, as you're sitting here, you're fighting the requirement that God's going to put on you to grow. Some of you, the level of faith that you have now is not enough for what you're praying for. I'm going to say it again because that was so nasty for some of you, the level of faith that you're on right now is not enough for what you are praying for. He gives the disciples the key at the very end. I'm just gonna skip to it. He said, y' all should have prayed and fasted before you tried to encounter that. He said you couldn't recognize, you weren't able to delineate what type of spirit that was. So you tried to approach it with regular tactics. When you needed to tell that man, meet me right back here tomorrow. They could have. They could have got the miracle, but they were not able to perceive what they were dealing with because they were at a level of immaturity that their faith had not grown. Jesus was able to delineate, and I promise you that's why Jesus was always withdrawing to go pray and fast, so that whenever he met and encountered something, he said, the reason y' all couldn't do that, because y' all was eating last night, your appetite was for something else that was not going to be ready for what you were going to encounter today. That's why you can't watch everything. That's why you can't listen to everything. Because I'm going to have something that I Encounter tomorrow that needs my faith and my mind to be sober enough to walk in the power and the authority that God has given me. That show is not going to equip you for the demon you beat tomorrow. Oh, God. That conversation, that gossip is not going to prepare you. I know it's appetizing to your flesh, but watching everything that's happening in the Diddy case is not going to give you the strength you need to face that demon tomorrow. Okay, excuse me for a second. He said, some of y' all need to withdraw. If you would have had the spiritual maturity, you could have got that demon out, but you weren't able to recognize what you were dealing with. So you approach something irregular regularly. Some of y' all trying to put in the name of Jesus, change this, Lord, on something you need to be in the closet praying and fasting for. Okay, let me stop. So Jesus was confronting the disciples and telling them, you're going to have to grow. And this is the beautiful thing. All of us can grow in our faith. Everybody say, I can grow in my faith. How do you grow in your faith? You got to try. I'm gonna tell you an embarrassing story. It was about four and a half years ago where I decided to take my health journey seriously and to the point where I was gonna invest in it. And God told me a long time ago that he would only bless the ministry to the level my body could take it. And that's not everybody's rule. But I know the Holy Spirit gave me a conviction on my unhealth, my eating mob, everything. And so I was like, all right, I'm gonna start working out. And let me just say this out loud to let everybody know and to maybe have a Runway into your own journey. It was 32 years of my life that I had never actually worked out. Like, I just need everybody to hear what I'm saying. 32 years old, I had never been in a gym session for what? I mean, in your 20s, you could just get through on adrenaline and, like. And strength. Like, it's just to come from nowhere. As soon as 30 hit, it was like everything I ate just was like, I'll sit right here. I'll sit right here. I'll go right here. They were building pyramids on me. It was like playing Tetris. And even people who look healthy, many of them aren't. Okay, let's just be skinny. Doesn't mean healthy. So I went to the gym with my trainer, Coach Vic, and I was real with him. I was like, hey, bro, I Ain't never worked out before a day in my life. I trust you, but I don't know what I'm doing. So just kind of help me through this whole process. He said, I got you, big dog. And as he said that, it made me scared because he called me a dog right off the bat. He was like, big dog. And he was saying all these aggressive words. I remember vividly going to the gym one day and Coach picks up 15 pound weights. When he first started training me, Gia was just born, and he would come to the house, and he would only bring 10 pound weights. And I was excited because I was like, no matter what, I can pick up ten pounds. And I remember we was in the gym for the first time this after, like, six months of training. He picks up 15 pounds and I go to the 15s, and he puts me on the bench, and he says, all right, big dog, give me 10. And I was like, okay. And I ain't never. I've never held the 15s up until this point, y' all laughing. But up until this point, my measure was tens. I didn't care about 15s. I didn't want to care about 15s. I wasn't looking forward to 15s. My faith was to be able to do 10 reps of 10 pounds in each hand. So when he handed me the 15s, he knew I had the ability to do it, but I had never tried. So when he handed me the 15s and I went down, he had his hands on my hands, and he said, let's do it. And he walked away to prepare the next exercise. And I said, where you going? Where are you going? And he busted out laughing because he was like, bro, it's only 15. I said, only 15. This the 15. This the first time I'm doing 15. And so he stood there with me, laughing the whole time while I tried to increase my measure. Now, when I did 15s, we stayed at 15s for a while. Tens and fifteens. I wasn't caring about 20s because I didn't watch this, care about growth yet. I was, in my process, caring about comfort. I wanted to change, but I wanted to be comfortable, too. I wanted to get stronger, but I did want to be able to not be embarrassed, not be corrected, not show my insufficiencies. And so he would try to make me go up, and I'd be like, coach, let's go back to the 15s. Until one day, I discovered the process of growth. Do you know what the process of growth is when you're building Muscle. It's to train to failure. What? So I'm looking for the moment where it doesn't work. The point of growth is at the moment it doesn't work. So I remember one day, I said, you know what, Coach? I want to try to go up today. He said, big dog, what you feeling? I said, I'm doing 30s today. And he was like, 30. He said, you got that easy money. That's what he would tell me. Easy money. And so I remember getting ready, took off my jacket. I said, I'm gonna pick up the 30. I'm going to the. I'm going to another rack. I'm going to another level. The 30s aren't on the level I've been on. I'm gonna have to try. And this is what he said to me that I'll never forget. You gotta feel it. Just. Even if you can't lift it, feel it. So I picked up them 30s. Y' all know when it's heavy, you start walking different. Picked up them 30s, trying to figure out your positioning. Yo, you. You know, you trying to just. And I got back. I was like. And I did that, and I did it 10 times.
- [44:39]
B
You're like, yeah, yeah, big dog.
- [44:42]
A
Did coach start saying. And do you know what it did? It gave me confidence. See, some of you won't even find a triumph because you won't try. Some of y' all just need to go to the place where your faith can be tested and try to believe again. Well, earlier this year, I told my coach, I really want to be a big dog. I embraced it. He said, so what you want to do? I said, I want to go up. I need to start at 50s. He said, you want to start at 50s? Said, I'm starting at 50s. And I said, all right, Cool. I'm a show coach. Because he don't believe in me, because there was a point where he didn't know if I was biting off more than I could chew. But what he didn't know is when he wasn't there training me, I was going to the gym, and I was feeling the 50s. Y', all. Y', all, y'. All. I was being embarrassed in the dark. I was trying until one day, I don't know what happened, but I got in the gym by myself, and it was in the dark when nobody could see, and I said, oh. And I went back and I started hitting the 50s. And as I started hitting the 50s, I said, I can do this. Some of y' all need to hear what I'm saying. Some Of y' all need to go into your prayer closet in the dark and start praying for stuff that feels heavy. You need to start believing that every one of those children will serve the Lord. You need to believe that everybody that has been in poverty in your family is going to walk in abundance. You need to start believing that the whole earth is groaning and waiting for you to come into your new. Y' all gotta hear me. But the triumph of using the 50s would have never happened if I did not try. Once you get to 50s, it's what is 60s? Once you get to 60, what is 70? So the end of my rack stopped at 75. So when I went and I saw the end of my rack was 75, I said, you know, I'm a good steward. I'm not about to buy no heavier weights if I can't lift the last one. So I remember it was this summer. I said, coach, I'm going to the end of the rack. He said, you ready for this, big dog? I said, easy money. Some of y' all gonna get some audacity here in a minute. He said, you need a spot? I say, yes, Coach, come up here. I need a spot. Yes. Now watch, watch, watch, watch. Some of you, some of you watch this. Are too prideful to ask for a spot. You're too prideful to ask for help. This could be too heavy for me. Believing for this by myself could be too much. I could hurt myself if I tried to do this by myself. But if I have somebody that got my back here, if I just had two or three friends, I don't need a lot of y'. All. If I just had one or two people, who would pray no matter what would happen, who would stay no matter what, would hope. If I just had a few people, I feel like I could get up some weight I never thought was possible. Now, remember, I was scared at 15. So the fact that I'm even holding 75. Oh, God. Some of y' all need to stop and praise God for the fact that you even holding this type of way. You need to praise God that he gave you a family. You need to praise God that he saved you out of that addiction. You need to praise God that you even have the ability to touch this type of way. I stayed pure enough to be trusted with somebody. This is a miracle. But I need a spot, cuz this might be too heavy. And coach, what you say? Easy money. Easy money. Yeah. All right, here we go. And we going for five. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Easy money. Some of y' all you about to start lifting stuff you've never lifted before. You about to start carrying in faith what you've never carried before. I'm just trying to help that this helps you remember that you can grow in your faith. I was at 15 in my faith. This summer. I got to 75 in my faith. I grew in the measure of faith because I was willing to fail. You're going to have to try again. Because there was a level that wasn't on my rack that I had to come to. I remember the day that I just had a wild thought. Could I ever lift over 75 pounds? And I said, yes. And then automatically told myself, no. Come on, y' all gotta be honest. Sometimes you'll be like, maybe God could use me. No, nevermind. And for me to feel the weight, I had to go purchase it. I had to go invest in what I couldn't lift. Me and Will went to the weight store and I asked them, and if you can see up here, all the heavyweights don't look like all these other weights. All the heavyweights couldn't fit on my rack. All the heavyweights had different titles. And I went and bought them. And they were expensive because they charge you per pound. To whom much is given. Some of y' all are praying for stuff that you don't know how much it costs. You want this position. You don't know it costs sleepless nights. You don't know how many times you gotta turn the other cheek. You don't know how many times you gotta love people you know are talking about you. You don't know how many times that you have to actually ask God to purify your heart and wring out what's on the inside of you. You don't know how many times you have to make it right with your wife before you get on a platform so you can actually speak in purity. You do not know what it costs. It's a sacrifice. There's a requirement. And I went and paid for it before I could ever lift it. And so I told Coach, I said, we gonna get to the hundreds. And he said, all right, this is what we gonna do. We gonna go 90. We gonna go a hundred. He said. Cause if you could do 90, you could do a hundred. I said, all right, Coach. If you believe, I believe. And I remember them weights sitting there for a few days, looking at me, looking at them, looking at me while I'm looking at them. Cause sometimes, let's be honest, sometimes, you know, you need to use your faith. And it's just intimidating. Golly. It's right there for me to believe in, but I gotta. I gotta do it. The reason I don't want to believe. Watch. This is my last point. The thing that keeps us from trying is I don't want to be disappointed. What keeps us from trying is disappointment. What if I bought these weights and I can't lift it? What if I try and nobody comes? What if I put the book out and nobody buys it but my mom? Come on. He said you could move a mountain. But what if it don't happen? You gotta try. Today. I'm just asking every believer who has tried not to be embarrassed, who didn't want to be corrected, who didn't want their insufficiencies to be exposed, who didn't want to submit to the requirement of growth, who was trying to avoid disappointment. I want you to know that maybe all of those things are prerequisites to you actually growing in your faith. Jesus would not have taken all this time to correct them if he didn't see a future for them. The next statement is, y', all, I'm about to leave, and I'm gonna put all of this in yalls hands. The reason I'm correcting you here is because I see you walking in it up there. If you don't take this as a final failure, you're gonna realize I have a beautiful future for you. But the enemy makes us think embarrassment and correction and insufficiencies and disappointment is the place to say, ah, I can't do it no more. Some of us need to try again. You need to try again. Let me say it like this. The hardest way to relate to faith is. Is to fabricate a future in your subconscious that glorifies the idea that one day walking by faith won't be hard. I'm gonna say it again. Cause I need you to get this. The hardest way to relate to a life of faith is to fabricate this idea. One day I won't have to pray like this. One day I won't have to fast like this. One day I won't have to actually be accountable. One day I won't have to be in no groups. One day I won't have to let the word refine my heart. One day it won't take all of this and you glorify the idea that one day walking by faith will somehow be easy. Today, church. I just needed to be honest with you. Every time you start walking by faith, it's going to be a challenge. And the sooner you Embrace that. The sooner you're not scared to walk up to the weight. I remember it like it was yesterday. It's about five months ago. I said, I am about to lift 100 pounds, and the only thing I need to do to qualify it as a lift is get it up once. Oh, y' all trippin'. I said, I don't gotta do 10. I don't gotta do six. I don't gotta do seven. Just one. Just one time. I remember, I said, hold on, let me get my gloves on. I put my gloves on, I can take my ring off to put my gloves on. I said, coach, I'm about to lift it. I'm going to a new level today. I'm not gonna let those hundreds intimidate me no more. I'm not gonna pass them in my garage every day and know that I have never watched this, not lifted them, never tried to. I never tried to. If I fail, I started at 15. I need you to hear me say this. The triumph is if I fail, I don't starting at 15. So even today, I had trepidation about coming out here and trying hundreds, because I thought, what if my strength leaves me in this moment to embarrass me in front of the whole world? No, I'm just serious. Like, y' all get the analogy. Like, lift the hundreds. But I can't go out like that. I gotta try again. Oh, y', all, I got somebody say try. All right. Oh, that's heavy. I'mma put one here. Coach, could you bring me the other one? Okay. Easy money. All right. Oh, you know, I gotta lift it at least once when my church is behind me. All right, let's go, Mike. Easy money. Let's go. One. I got it, coach. Two. Three. Four. Come on. Five. Count it for me. Six. Come on, come on, come on, come on. One more. Let's go. I started at 15. Oh, but hear what I'm saying. Standing all over this place, what was in me the whole time would have never been realized if I didn't try. I prophesy over you that this next season, you're going to lift to what was impossible. Hear me? Because you are going to have the audacity to try again. The only tragedy of the disciples would have been all the lessons they missed. If they didn't try, if they didn't try to cast out that demon out of that boy, they would have missed. All of this correction, which is love, all of this insecurity building, which is confidence, all of the things that they actually did that was not found in a success. It was found in a failure. And I don't know how you've defined some of the seasons of your life, but today it's time to redefine some things. Every spot that was a failure in your life, I dare you to go back and revisit that thing and extract the wisdom that the Holy Spirit wants to give to you. Because failure is an invitation to a new level of faith. Reframe it. Failure, every one of my failures is an invitation from God to a new level of faith. I'm gonna do something today that we have not done in a while just because of the sheer number of people, But I feel the presence of God. I need all my pastors and altar workers. I need all y' all to come to the front right now. If you're not designated and you don't know, do not come. Glory to God. But I feel like today there are people whose faith has been in this place, paralyzed, and you haven't wanted to try anymore because your faith has been fatigued. If that's you in this room, the Bible says clearly, he said, I will allow my believers to lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. I'm gonna read it out of Mark 16. And these signs will follow those who believe in my name. They will cast out demons. They will speak with new tongues. They will take up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will not might. They will recover. And today, you may have a physical sickness, but some of y', all, you just may be sick living the life you living. I'm sick of this depression. I'm sick of this insatiable desire to have my sexual needs met in an illegitimate way. I'm sick of having to always go to that bottle or to that person to try to find peace. And if there's anything in you that's been sick today, we're about to lay hands on you. And I'm believing there's about to be a supernatural transaction not in my touch, but in the awareness, obedience of the word of God that he said, we can believe and people shall recover. And for everybody watching online, here, in a moment, I'm gonna get in the back with you and I'm gonna pray over you. And if you're sick, if there's anything going on in your life, I want you to stay on this online by faith. And I believe God is going to do something, but I'm gonna ask you to do something Both. I want to even ask you to do something that might seem embarrassing. If you have had faith fatigue and you know the enemy's been trying to trick you and to stop you from trying, and you want your faith to go to another level. I want you to get down here to this altar right now. I don't care who you are. I don't care where you're from. I don't care what's going on right now. I need you to come. I'm going to ask the worship team to come back up. And what we're going to do for the next 10, 15 minutes is we're going to begin to pray. We're going to lay hands on every person that is coming to this altar. Altar. And if you want to stay engaged from your seat, I'm telling you, the Holy Spirit will begin to work on you. And altar workers, we're not going through doing all the things. Come on. Bring the people all over here. Come on. I don't care. Oh, it's going to take time. It's squished up there. What would you do for your miracle? And I'm telling you, there's something coming to y'. All. Come on up. Just get up here and y'. All. Y' all gonna go through. Y' all start touching and agreeing. Y' all don't need long prayers. All we're doing is touching and agreeing with you right now. And right now, we're going to ask God to reign over and take over and to do something. If you're watching online, I need you to lift your hands. Come on in this room, in this building, ask God right now, Father, whatever you want to show me. Whatever you want to do in me. Come on. He's doing it. I will not succumb to the lie that I can't try again. My faith will be active. My faith will be used. Workers, y' all, begin to go to them. Go to them. Don't just stay in one place. I want you to begin to pray. And if you need help, there's people all and up and down the aisles, but I want you to begin to pray. Pastor Ro, I need you to just lead us in just a moment of worship, and let's worship God right now all over this building.
- [64:01]
B
Take over, have your way in my life. Yahweh.
- [64:10]
A
Yahweh.
- [64:13]
B
Reign over in my life, Jesus. Take over. Do whatever you wanna do, whatever you wanna do. Have your way, you can have.
- [64:37]
A
Do.
- [64:37]
B
Whatever you wanna do, whatever you wanna do. Have your way, you can have your way Jesus, have your way in my life. Your way the only way Reign over. You can have your way in my life Yahweh, Yahweh. Reign over. You can take over yeah, oh, y over I need you to take over Great Jehovah you can your way oh, always reign over and take over Jehovah you can have your way he keeps his word he keeps his word yeah, I know he keeps his word.
- [66:10]
A
He.
- [66:10]
B
Keeps his word he is Yahweh, Yahweh.
- [66:19]
A
Reign over.
- [66:22]
B
Take over.
- [66:26]
C
Hallelujah. We're so grateful for what God is doing in this place today. I wanted to. I felt the tug of the Lord to come up and just share something. If you know anything about our story, you know that last year we lost our son at two weeks and we were believing in faith for God to heal him. And we had prayer warriors around the world praying with us for our son and for the healing. And we didn't see the healing happen the way that we wanted to see it happen. But what I know is I'm a living testimony of proof that even when it's not seems like your faith has failed, that God can repair your faith and give you a try again. And so in this place right now, watching online, I just want to encourage somebody because I know all too well what it's like to expect God to do something a certain way and it not happen that way. And I want you to know, keep trying because God knows how to repair your faith. God knows how to put your. Your faith back together and to believe him again. And in our situation, it didn't turn out the way we wanted it to. But we have not stopped believing God in faith. We have not stopped believing God that he is a healer, that he can continue to expand our family, that we are not, we are not afraid to believe God again. So what I wanted to do is just pray for God to repair faith in this place. Lord God, we thank you right now, every person that has fatigued faith right now. I thank you, Jesus, that you are a repairer of faith, that you know how to give us faith where maybe we felt weak. That Lord God, in this place. I thank you for every person that has been honest enough to say, God, I don't know if I can trust you again. And God, I thank you right now for a renewed strength, a renewed faith in the name of Jesus. I thank you, Lord Jesus, that there are people that has seen you do things and they will believe that you can do it again. In the name of Jesus, God, every person, every person that is feeling weak in their faith. I thank you for strength in their faith. Again, I thank you, Lord God, that our faith is not built off of intended ends or what we want to see. But God, our faith is built off on who you are. So we believe you're a provider. We believe that you are a healer. We believe that you are a redeemer and the lover of our souls. We believe, Lord God, that you are Jehovah Jireh, our provider. That you are Jehovah Rapha, our healer. We believe that you are Jehovah Shiloh, our peace. And Lord God, we will believe again. We will believe you again, Lord Jesus. For every person that has felt like their faith has failed, we speak healing in the name of Jesus. And we thank you for repairing our hearts. And not just repairing our hearts, but repairing our hope that we will hope again, we will believe again, and we will see you continue to perform miracles in our life in the name of of Jesus. And we give you all the glory, all the honor, and all of the praise. Hallelujah.