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good evening transformation church
it is a joy and a privilege to see each
and every one of you I’m so it’s up wait
wait don’t sit yet while you’re on your
feet can you help me give a great big
round of applause to your pastors Pastor
Mike and Natalie ty
give them amazing love and i would be
remissed bishop gary is here be all
y’all mean love I’ll disagree
Alleluia now you can take your seats
very excited to see you all and we’ve
made it through three services today I’m
excited for live at five and I’ve been
told anything can happen at 5 p.m. so
I’m very excited for whatever we’re
about to walk into over these next few
moments all right if you would grab
somebody’s hand close by you real quick
we’re gonna pray and we’re gonna go into
the Word of God and I’m hoping in these
next few moments I give you enough to
make you know that God is calling your
life into a place of decision let’s pray
father we thank you and honor you for
who you are what you’ve done in our
lives what you’re continuing to make a
reality in us and through us and I pray
in these next few moments you speak to
our hearts and our minds and you open us
up to everything your spirit is doing
through us I pray for the type of
understanding and revelation that brings
us in to closer proximity with you we
love you and thank you for it in Jesus
name Amen all right not ready to work
all right let’s go to Joshua 24 Joshua
24 I’m gonna read verses 14 through 15
in your hearing and then we’re just
gonna do and go with however Spirit of
God goes with us today I’m reading from
the amplified version I was gonna read
from the slimline King James that Bree
brought up and I realized we already had
everything pre-loaded here so we’re
going to do it here here’s what Joshua
says and he’s very well address to the
children of Israel now therefore fear
the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and
in truth remove the gods which your
father’s served on the other side of the
Euphrates River and in Egypt and serve
the Lord and if it is unacceptable in
your sight to serve the Lord choose for
yourselves this day whom you will serve
whether the gods which your father’s
served
on the other side of the river or the
gods of the amorite sin whose land you
live but as for me and my house we will
serve the Lord this afternoon I’m
preaching to you from a topic I’m
calling decided everybody shall decide
it and I’ve started this message out
with a with the story that is a very
near and dear to my heart my wife and I
have been in relationship now for about
17 years I’ve known her all of my adult
life as long as I’ve been on what they
would called legal she’s been a part of
my life she threw me my 21st birthday
party it was a bob to build a party
don’t judge me I still love Bob the
Builder Thursday
he owns a very dear place in my heart um
before I was making my transition or
preparing to make my transition to Tulsa
Oklahoma to attend Oral Roberts
University my wife came with me to do a
tour of the campus just got to feel
everything out and and to see if this
was really a god move and I can remember
her telling me on our journey back to
Alabama that she felt like this was the
Lord telling me to come and move here
the catch was my my wife now at the time
was just my best friend we’ve been best
friends for about four or five years and
the reason why we always had to stay
best friends was because she was always
booed up she she there was never a
juncture or an intersection where there
was not somebody in her life and every
time I would get ready to shoot my shot
I feel like somebody would steal the
ball and run to the other end of the
court and do what they had to do so this
one juncture the Lord I think it had to
be God a window opened a door if you
would and this was a season where she
had went like two weeks and nobody was
in her life I was like god I feel like
this is you I’ve never seen this happen
for this length of time this has to be
the Lord and we journey back to Alabama
and July before I was repairing to leave
to come to Tulsa
I decided I was gonna take a chance I
made a decision that the woman that had
always been my best friend knew enough
about me to now be my wife
so without dating her without going
through any long discourses of all that
rigmarole I proposed to my best friend
and asked her to be my wife
here was why I knew if I didn’t make a
decision then before I moved by the time
I came home for fall break there’s gonna
be somebody else in her life she was she
was not going to wait for me and I knew
as amazing and I thought I was she
wasn’t gonna wait for me so I just went
ahead made a decision shot my shot and
thankfully eleven and a half years later
it’s still paying off for me I intro in
that way to segue here it is impossible
for you to live the totality of
everything God has called you to do and
do it without ever having to make
difficult decisions it is impossible for
you to walk in the fullness of your call
and the fullness of the creative purpose
of God put you here for and always find
yourself staying on the shores or on the
edge of safety and never launching out
into the deep to actually see what it
looks like if God asked me to make a
decision that I’m not comfortable with
there will be moments and we can call
them defining moments where you’ll feel
your back is against the wall and now
I’ve got to make a decision if I’m going
to go with God or if I’m gonna do it my
way my hope is to bring you to a place
of resolved by the time we in this
message that opens your eyes to see this
if you give God all of you today it will
change the context of your current life
and the context of your future your life
and your hands will only amount to what
you already got but your life in his
hands has the ability to change the
world what I’m looking for today is a
church full of people that are willing
to say I’m willing to take a chance and
give God all of me and not just the
parts of me I’m
comfortable with all right so here’s the
how we’re going to start this journey
Joshua the twenty-fourth chapter it
really opens up with Joshua calling in
all the elders and he begins to remind
them of everything that God has done he
tells them that God was the god of their
forefather Abraham’s father Tetra he
says he was the father of Abraham is the
God of Abraham the god of Isaac he was
the out of Jacob he was the guy that saw
them when they were in bondage in Egypt
he was the God that brought them out
through the Red Sea he was the god that
when their enemies came against them in
the desert he fought every battle for
them he was the god when Balak wanted to
destroy them and sit in Balaam to curse
them that when Balaam got ready to speak
blessings came out of his mouth because
God was just that good he was the God
that allowed them to cross over the
Jordan walk around the walls of Jericho
defeat the amorite and the garish shines
and the Hittites every other type of
ight that was in the land he said all
this to set the framework for what I’m
calling my first point your history
helped you okay I want you to understand
that everything you survived you did not
survive by mere happenstance and to take
it a step further everything you’ve been
through you did not go through it just
for going through it sake God has an
uncanny ability to use what you thought
were the worst seasons of your life and
show you in the midst of hardship I can
prove to you that I’m the God that’ll
bless you even in the heart ceases it’s
it’s what David said yes
though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death I will fear no evil why
because the Lord is with me now I’m
saying all this because very often we
use our experiences as reasons to
disqualify ourselves from God actually
doing something great in our lives and
because we had were born in this family
or because we made this level of mistake
or because we have this type of
addiction or because this happened or
that happened that is the means for why
God cannot use us greatly but I want
to reframe your focus and help you to
see that God will use what you thought
was your absolute worst as an
opportunity to propel you into a best
that you have not seen yet even further
God is not scared of your ugliest days
he is not afraid of how bad you thought
it was and how challenging you thought
it was and how insignificant you felt in
the midst of it the truth is you needed
everything you went through and if God
wasn’t gonna use it he wouldn’t have let
you survive it maybe that part is good
to me but if I came out of it and I came
out of it I may have a couple scars I
may have a couple walls but I came out
of and I still had breath in my body it
means that God is going to use what I
went through for my good I understand
what Paul would say now that all things
work together for the good of them to
love the Lord and I called according to
his purpose it simply means that there
has never been a storm there’s never
been a situation there’s never been a
challenge that was bigger than your God
your God is big enough he your God is
strong enough your God is wise enough to
see everything you survived and still
say I’m glad they saw they can make you
through it so I can prove through them I
get it for the strength of their
testimony there is no testimony I’m
sorry unless you have survived at least
one or two tests there is nothing for me
to talk about unless I have a story of
being a survivor and I believe I’m in
the room with a few people that know
you’ve survived some shipwrecks you
survived so snakebites you survived some
seasons that other people thought you
were dying in God brought you out of it
glory be to God for being bad enough to
bring you out of what you thought was
yours so it’s the reason why your
history is important you never want to
disqualify what God saw you through you
never want to forget on a very often you
don’t realize how much God was there
you look back on it like when you’re in
the thick of it you’re like no God where
are you
god I don’t feel you I don’t sense you I
walked in churches I didn’t get didn’t
get goosebumps this week God are you
still with me but then six months down
the line when you look back on it you
realize the fact that you made it out
was your proof enough that God was with
you and I’m gonna take it a step further
it was necessary for some people to walk
out on you and they did have they not
walked out they may have taken credit
for something only God could do so God
had to allow some dismissals you did not
want he had to allow some people to
leave you that you thought would be
you’d being covenant with forever just
so they could not take credit for what
he was doing in your life oh it may have
hurt but there is a good in goodbye
there is a blessing listen there is a
blessing and being able to say I didn’t
want you to leave but I thank God you
did when you did I’m grateful for my
history my history helped me I needed
everything you needed
everything you survived you needed
everything you’ve come through Joshua
takes time to tell the children of
Israel look God has done a whole lot for
you and a little bit of time he’s
brought you through it seems like it’s
been a long time but he’s brought you
through a whole lot you’ve got history
with God but then the next point is
equally important don’t let your history
hold you up and this is a two-sided
calling from my perspective because it’s
very possible for you to be so hung up
on your losses that you don’t move
forward but it’s also very possible for
you to be so hung up on your wins that
you don’t move forward it is dangerous
to have a win and get locked into that
win so much so that you don’t realize
God was trying to move you into your
next and you celebrate a moment that God
was just trying to use
a moment to get you to your next you
pitch a tent in a place God was calling
you to pass through you get comfortable
in a context that God was not creating
you to stay in forever so it’s very
possible for you to allow your history
to hold you up in two different ways in
your losses or your wins what what
Joshua does with the children of Israel
after he recounts everything that
they’ve done he says so here’s your
choice choose this day whom you don’t
serve either the God that your fathers
worshiped on the other side of the river
or the God has done all of these amazing
things for you now here is where I make
it a couple stones thrown at me and I’m
ready I’ve had to duck all day now here
it is I am an adamant University of
Alabama Crimson Tide football fan where
every boo I just heard we’re gonna open
up the altar at the end of this message
salvation and deliverance are both
available to you today you know
understand Alabama it is the Crimson
Tide you do know the blood that flowed
off of the cross it was crimson you know
this God is all in the University of
Alabama’s Christmas but then I’m also a
very strong fan of America’s team the
Dallas Cowboys
I love the Cowboys from Troy Aikman and
Emmitt Smith’s days my color I mean a
bit cowboy saying Deion Sanders yeah I
mean just all the way back what I’ve
learned is the difference between
Alabama and Dallas is this Alabama won
their last national championship in 2017
about a year ago clemson beat us one
year but two years ago Dan Hills okay
two years ago clemson did get us last
year can’t win them all but the last
time I saw the silver and blue
in a Super Bowl was 1996 I was working
on my learner’s permit the likes of
Dallas was in a Super Bowl but much like
me when Dallas fans talk about Dallas
you would think they just wanted all two
years ago I mean you would think that
they had just won a Super Bowl in you
know the 21st century um the challenge
is when you get so hung up on your
history you don’t try to continue to
evolve so you can still have a future
and so you’ll find yourself talking
about what was when God is no longer in
what was he’s trying to take you into
what will be the danger is when the
pillar of cloud is moving on to the next
but you’re comfortable in the last place
you saw him not allowing God to do the
totality of what he wants to do in your
life because you’re not moving with him
so don’t let your history hold you up
now there’s three gods he talks about
and we’re about to illustrate it out I
love illustrations I’m about to show it
to you the best way I can he talks about
the god of the amorite s’ the God on the
other side of the Jordan and the God on
the other side of the Red Sea there are
three types of idols that he deals with
the God the idol of your history or your
heritage the idol of your upbringing and
the idol of your culture if at any point
you start worshipping where you came
from who you came from and what you live
in more than you worship the crisis over
them all you will misappropriate that
God should be in the middle of them all
not on the outside of it culture can
never truck Christ if we keep him
focused where he’s supposed to be right
in the middle of it he is the God over
our culture but if we don’t put them in
culture becomes an idol so here’s the
best way I can show you I want to show
you by way of illustration I want my
guys
come on out here and be ready to help me
boom here we go
Oh y’all ready are these strong men okay
about all these strong men okay um do
you know all of these men you do
brenton can you tell me who all these
men are so pro Joe yes Joe has been
saving lives all day so bro Joe Rahim
okay so you know them all yeah great
brington what I want you to do it’s very
simple
you’re strong football player you’ve
been carrying men and knocking men over
all your life all I want you to do is
come to me okay
with everything you got with everything
you got
come on keep coming keep coming
here’s what I want you to see this is
where most people’s life in Christ ends
up a constant strive to try to get where
God is while trying to maintain
familiarity with what you used to have
and here is the tough part Wrentham had
the ability not only get too close to
name every single person by name that
was holding him what if I told you that
some of what has been your biggest
distractions are the ones you can name
by name they were your day ones but now
they’re the ones that are blocking the
type of progress God is trying to bring
you into the truth is just because you
were there when I started didn’t mean
God’s gonna use you for the rest of my
story God may have needed you for one
chapter he did not say you were going to
close the book but when we don’t know
how to transition seasons and
relationships we end up keeping things
longer than we’re supposed to keep them
and anything you hold longer than
necessary you make an idol anything that
God has given you the ability to cut off
and you say God if I keep it I can save
it you tell god I am stronger than you
and I have the ability to do with them
what you say I can’t you make it an idol
what has God challenged you to cut that
you’ve been so comfortable with that you
didn’t want to let it go
what has God been knocking at the door
of your heart about and saying hey I
want you to release this and if you
release it it may not make sense today
but you’re not gonna have to fight so
hard but you keep saying god I need this
more than you know the truth is
your life in Christ should not be a
constant struggle trying to work your
way to him through the deficiencies of
other people get ready
yeah keep coming brother
now now here’s the thing everybody in
the audience is shouting for them to let
him go but the truth is you know what
it’s like just see what other people
need to do but they not be willing to
make the changes ah I don’t want you to
think that God has given you enough
power to make somebody change that’s not
ready to change yet the change that
actually last is to change the
transpires when you make up your mind I
don’t need this nearly as bad so so what
I don’t want you to do I don’t want you
y’all I’m sorry I’ll try not to flip off
the stage I don’t want you to fall so in
love with somebody’s potential that you
try to drag them into something God did
not call them to I don’t want you to see
what they have the opportunity to become
that you try to take them to a place
that they really don’t want to go I
don’t want your progress to be stagnated
because you see greatness in them but
they don’t see greatness in themselves
just yet
on the other side of that come on
parental here is what I don’t want you
to see in God either I don’t want you to
think God is the type of God who has
turned his back on you and it’s waiting
for you to deal with all your issues and
all your struggles and all your
shortcomings by yourself I don’t want
you to think that God wants you to work
to get to here when in totality God has
never called you to work to get there
the truth of the gospel is this you will
never be strong enough and you’ll never
be able to work enough to embrace the
grace that comes from a God the
sacrifice to son on a hill called
Golgotha allowed his word to be shared
just for you the truth of the gospel is
God has not turned his back on you even
with all of your issues and dysfunctions
God has not turned his back on you even
though you don’t see yourself as
wonderful as he sees you right now God
is so much God that he’s not going to
let you struggle in his back is turned
he’s the trip of God just going to
embrace you in the middle of your
struggle here is what I want you to be
excited about he’s the God that will
meet you in your struggle not the God
that will leave you in it he’s the God
that loves you enough to see you right
where you are and knowing that you want
him will meet you right where you are no
here’s the beauty of ready wait before
we can make a step there’s some
forgiveness you’ve been eating deal with
I think we dealing with your forgiveness
it might be a little bit yeah it might
be a little bit easier
you still got some family issues you
didn’t wanted to talk about but we’re
gonna we’re gonna deal with them yeah
yeah
yeah you just stop now and take the
season that’s a little bit tougher but
it’s okay you know it’ll come off if you
if you
on and off yeah yeah yeah it’s okay yeah
by any means necessary yeah by any means
necessary yeah this is this is a little
bit uh yeah but there’s alright let’s go
let’s go take a few steps now stop
you’re working too hard when you’re with
me you don’t have to work to stay with
you you just have to make a decision
that I’m the one you want so here’s how
we’re gonna do it I want you to take
your right foot take one step forward
now I want you to take your left foot
and make another step and I want you
take your right foot and make another
one now once you take your left foot and
make it nothing what I’m trying to show
you is God doesn’t wait for you to deal
with everything before he’s ready to
walk with you God dog it’s not trying to
get everything out your system tomorrow
that make you good enough so you can
walk the till God is a guy that I love
you so much else you can steal a half
step attached to you but as long as we
make it steps together now look there’s
some stuff on your feet but but just
don’t just take your shoes off and yeah
kick it off yep yep yeah great great
great does not see what you’re willing
to lose to stay with him God will ask
are you more attached to what you had
then you are to the God that can give
you everything you’d ever want dream or
desire left foot yep you still working
too hard what would I need you to do
there’s one last soul time they didn’t
wanted to let you go
but you’ve made enough progress to where
I think you’re ready to drop it right
now
[Applause]
he stored it all the way back there I
met him in the middle and when I met him
in the middle I didn’t change him
instantaneously because God is not the
god that’s trying to clean you up as
soon as you say Lord I want you he’s the
God that will grab your hand and say I
know stuff don’t look right but let’s
just keep walking together if you draw
close to God God will draw close to you
and in drawing close he’ll deal with the
things he’ll deal with the idols that
you created in your own processes God is
not trying to make you do a 360 tonight
what he’s trying to make you do it’s put
your hand wholeheartedly in his he’s not
trying to get everything out your
bloodline overnight he’s just trying to
give you enough courage to say if I
touch his hand he has the ability to
change my life thank y’all
because here is the last and what I
think is probably the most important
part of this entire text here it is
Joshua essentially tells them this point
3 your best days are one decision away
what if I told you a decision you made
right now would have the ability to
change the entire narrative about what
your future would be that making one
decision to give God not just pieces or
parts or things you’ve been comfortable
with but giving him all of you has the
ability to change the narrative of what
the rest of your life will look like
here’s here’s what Joshua says now
listen y’all can do whatever the heck
y’all want to do but as for me and for
my house we’ve made the decision we I’ve
made the decision we’re going to serve
the Lord now Joshua says this and he’s
not just talking about the people that
are currently living in his house he’s
literally talking about everything that
will be born out of him so he’s speaking
a generational declaration that has more
to do with less to do with today and
more to do with the future here’s how
I’ve shared it all day there for me I
was born into a family that we’re
divorce was rented every every man on my
father’s out of the family has been
divorced at least once some twice some
three times there’s a narrative of
divorce when when I proposed to my wife
I made the decision then that no matter
what happens we are going to be in this
for the rest of our lives
there’ll never be this part of a
narrative written in my bloodline again
I’m gonna break it for every child I’ll
ever have and I’m gonna be sure my
family sees healthy and wholeness as it
should be
now I made that declaration and within
the first I don’t know sixty days of our
covenant together with all of my
awesomeness my wife got mad at me at
least once now and I didn’t tell this
part of the story when I first when I
first started this morning
I want to tell you all the totality of
the story in we moved to Tucson Arizona
and in Tucson Arizona I was a senior
pastor of a Baptist Church for five
years while we were there is the old one
of the oldest Baptist churches in Tucson
while we were there we we had we have
three children already and in my first
year I was working 60 to 70 hour weeks
at this church I was alone at the church
I would wake up I would go to the church
I would not leave until the doors were
about to close in the evening mean it’d
be eight nine o’clock and I just be
going home and this was fine for the
first couple weeks and turn months but
at the end of the first year my wife was
was fed up now when we got married my
wife’s father bought her car maybe two
years before we got married and when we
got married I’ll never forget on our
wedding day he told her now I love you
and I’m glad y’all are happy but if he
ever don’t do you right you just hop in
that car then I paid for pack your
little raft and you can come on home
well one day in Tucson I came home from
work and my wife hid all of her
suitcases packed at the door and she
said I’m not doing this anymore I didn’t
move all the way to Tucson Arizona to be
a single parent and if you think that
you can work all these hours and not
ever be home and be present to be a
husband and to be a father I would just
rather go home where my family is and do
it by myself and then I did what every
man would do I’m sorry
I apologize I’ll do better and I gave
enough crocodile tears for the stain the
other side of that is this two weeks
later a man came to the house my wife
did not know that he was coming and this
man came and said I want to test drive
the car that I saw on Craigslist
I put her car up for sale I didn’t just
put her car for sale actually sold her
car I signed the title and they probably
wouldn’t have been legal for me to do it
here’s why my thing was your daddy gave
you an exit plan but ain’t no exit
strategy here this is this is there’s
nowhere else for you to go so I sold the
car I did and I didn’t bother had no
remorse about it whatsoever I gave her
half the proceeds I didn’t even feel bad
about it I never had I we’re married
half half is yours halves – is fair
don’t like it’s a fair thing to do so
but I did this because an exit strategy
had been created for her within the
context of our relationship that went
against what I declared what our family
was going to be I said we would never
leave one another and so I had to get
rid of everything that would make
somebody else want to leave and now even
today when we’re in the middle of of
heated fellowship and she may may walk
out and say she just needs to look get a
little bit of air or something I can
track her on her iPhone and I’ll just
say hey kid can you bring me back an icy
from Target whenever you leave and like
you stalk her what are you doing here
you just bring me back something from
top floor but whenever you come back
because you know here’s the thing
we made a decision to do this forever
and I’m I am confident that we’re going
to do this forever together but it’s
because I made a decision to make her my
life and declared what we would be I
made the decision that I believe is
going to change the narrative for
everything in my bloodline what decision
do you have the capability to make that
will be a blessing not just for you but
for family members you have been seen
yet but can live on the other side of
your yes what decision is God calling
you to make today that has the ability
to change the context of your future in
your tomorrow what what Joshua’s
Joshua’s was simple he said for me in my
house we don’t serve the Lord now y’all
gonna worship whatever gosh I want to
worship y’all can go do whatever head
y’all want to do I can’t force you all
to do anything but for everything to
live with me they will serve God they
ain’t no other options what is the space
that God is calling you to a realm of
decision-making today what is the thing
that maybe you’ve been on the Border’s
or on the edge of making a decision
about but you keep vacillating in and
out better yet what’s the thing that God
has been knocking at the door of your
heart to let go off did you said you
know what god I still need this what’s
the thing that God has been beckoning
you to come closer about but every time
you feel like you’re gonna take a step
closer you still feel very strongly
connected to everything that has been
where’s the place that God can deal with
you wholeheartedly give you his heart
and show you why you didn’t need what
you thought you needed as bad as you can
can God
challenge you to drop something you
thought you needed your best days are
one decision away it starts with the
decision for salvation but even beyond
that when I give God my whole heart God
will bring me to critical crossroads
where he calls me to do stuff that’s
very uncomfortable here’s my question
how many y’all that God has called to do
something uncomfortable this year maybe
y’all in the midst of discomfort have
found yourself wrestling with God you
know and when I say wrestling with God I
don’t mean like literally trying to
fistfight him I mean like 3 o’clock in
the morning ruling in your bed saying
you know what
I just don’t know you know in the middle
of your workday you’re dreaming about
what he said and can’t even focus on
what it is you’re supposed to be doing
for somebody else
Donnell bring you to a critical
crossroad a decision-making moment to
see if he really has your whole heart
the way you say he does you don’t know
if you’ve given him everything until he
tries to take something you thought you
needed the real moment of Revelation
comes when God asked for something
you’ve been comfortable with and he says
that right there
that’s what I want are you willing to
give it to me today I believe your best
days what would your life look like a
year from today if you gave God and all
50 yes different what the narrative of
your family and your future and your
education and your profession and your
business be if you surrendered it all
completely to the God that already knows
it all and let him do what he wanted to
do with your days so I want you to do I
want you to grab someone’s hand
and for 30 seconds can you whisper a
prayer for their complete surrender to
the will of God it’s real quick I’m
gonna pray for you I want you to pray
for them for one
pablor today we thank you that you are
the Potter and we are the clay and clay
does not get many options as it pertains
to what they was created to be today
we’re asking you on the other side of
our yes to mold us into everything you
created us to be we apologize for the
days we kicked against your will
the days we fought what we wanted versus
what you desire and when we miss you
simply because we had in our own way but
today our resolve our resolution is a
very simple one we are does a decided
people who want you to do your best to
work in the totality of our hearts so
today we give you a brand new yes we
give you a yes that does not look like
the yes we gave five years ago we renew
and update our surrender to your will
and we say we are a decided people and
for me and us and our houses we will
serve the Lord today father thank you
for another chance to get it right with
you in Jesus name if you believe that
can you give God the greatest hand clap
afraid again hey guys thanks for
watching today’s message and don’t
forget transformation conference is
coming up September the 10th through the
12 guys we believe that all you have is
all you need so go check out our website
and get registered now
[Music]