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what’s up transformation
family i am so
grateful that i have the opportunity to
be with you all
serving this weekend as we start a
brand new series called the generals
this is are you all ready i mean this is
going to be
something that i believe is going to
allow us to see
ourselves no matter what generation
you’re in
you’re going to be able to see the vital
role that we
all play in lifting up the name of jesus
this series is about honor yeah this
series about
is a is about letting those know that
have come before us
that we see you that we feel you
and that if it had not been for you
doing what you did
in your generation we could not be doing
what we are doing in our generation and
so i want to go to the word of god
the book of exodus chapter number three
the book of exodus chapter number three
and i’m only reading one verse
when i tell y’all i’m about to read this
verse
and then the holy spirit is going to
speak to us through these verses
and i think at the end of this we are
going to understand
what god wants to say to generations in
a way that we have
never seen it before you all ready
they’re like for real are you already
though are y’all ready though
exodus chapter number three verse number
15. i i know that i’m
jumping right into what seems like the
middle of a movie
have you ever walked in a room your
family started watching a movie
and you just walked in on it but you got
interested as soon as you saw it like
what did i miss
i’ll give you a little bit of context to
what is going on here but i just want to
read
this verse and then i’ll go back and get
some context to it
in a minute exodus chapter number 3
verse number 15. here’s what it says
god also said to moses now see right
there the fact that i just said also
means that there was something that he
said before that i’ll explain that in a
minute okay
exodus 3 15 god also said to moses
say this to the people of israel
yahweh the god of your ancestors
the god of abraham the god of isaac
and the god of jacob has sent
me to you
this is my eternal name
my name to remember
for all generations i i need just to pay
close attention to that last sentence
this is my eternal name my name
to remember for all
generations so it is my assignment to
sermonize the subject today
on the first day the first
week of this series remember my name
that simple yeah that’s good remember
my name
about your hands let’s pray before we
get into the word shall we holy spirit
help us to remember
god’s name
amen y’all know i pray quick so we just
jumping right into it
have you ever been hanging out
with some friends and some family
somebody that you
had just met maybe a week or two ago
walks into the house or walks into the
office and
they greet you they say hi to you
but then you pop quiz them and say
what’s my name
anybody beside me ever done that you you
you were hanging out with people that
you were familiar with
and you had just met somebody uh maybe a
week or two before and then they just
have the nerve to pop quiz you
or you pop quiz them and ask them what’s
my name
and if the person has a really good
memory they’ll say don’t test me
i know your name but if they don’t have
a good memory have you seen the ways
people will front
[Applause]
the way people will get uncomfortable
when they know they don’t remember your
name but they do it anyway they start
saying stuff like haha
you know you know i know your name fool
don’t be trying to act like i don’t know
your name you know i know your name and
they like well just say my name then
and then they’re like you already know i
know your name i don’t even need to be
saying your name
and then this is what i’d be doing if i
don’t know somebody’s name
and they’ve tested me and asked would
you please say my name
i will like delay until my wife or
somebody else comes
and then i’ll be like oh my goodness
y’all need to introduce yourselves
i just gave somebody a tip right there
y’all introduce yourselves to each other
and then the one person would say oh
well my name is this and the other
person would say that their name is dad
and i’d be like shirley see i knew it
was
i knew it was shirley the reason why i
bring this up is because
um there’s a lot of people
that don’t know god’s name
they know about god but they don’t
actually know
his name let me tell you one of the
reasons why we don’t have
a good concept on what it is to know
god’s name
is because we haven’t been around people
that have used
his name we haven’t been around the type
of people
that have stood with his name we haven’t
been around the type of people
that have that have labored with his
name that have literally
been saved by his name that have been
delivered by his name that have been
changed by his name
and this is why we’re starting this
series on being
generals what it is
to have people in your life that are
actual generals
in the faith now here’s the thing that
you need to know up front
i am not a general i’m too young to be a
general
okay i’m still generally doing some
stuff
i’m not at general status yet i don’t
know if i’ll ever get to general status
that’s what somebody else would say
but i do know some generals i do know
some people that
have labored with god and have put their
faith in god
in a way that has caused other people’s
lives
to be changed and here at transformation
church we
honor those that have come before us
here at transformation church
we honor those that have labored in the
faith
so that we can step into the purpose and
the plan of god that we have
right now we are not here by ourselves
none of us that are doing anything for
the lord right now got here
by ourselves
[Music]
it was because of people that remembered
the name of god
and decided to give that name to us
that allow us to proclaim the name of
god with conviction
to proclaim the name of god with with
with
vigor with strength with life the only
reason why we’re doing it like we’re
doing it right now
is because somebody else came before us
and they
did it like god told them to do it back
then they remembered
his name in this passage of scripture
that i decided to read
uh we find moses
moses a man who had
seen pain and suffering
all around him growing up while he lived
in a palace
he saw the pain of his own people in the
land of egypt
and when he got of age where he could do
something about it
he saw the tension that he had between
the palace
and the people that he was actually born
from
bred from related to by blood
and he rose up one day when he saw one
of his people being oppressed
and he killed an egyptian for the sake
of a hebrew he flees
as a fugitive into captivity hides off
in the desert for about 40 years
but how many of you all know that even
if you try to run away from god god can
still come and find you
aren’t you glad that church is not the
only place that god can show up
and deliver himself to you in a way that
allows you to change your life
you don’t have to just come to church
for god to have an encounter with you
god will come to your house to have an
encounter with you
it doesn’t matter if you’re watching us
right now drinking a 40 ounce it doesn’t
matter if you’re smoking a blunt
watching us right now god can have an
encounter with you
right where you are and it doesn’t
matter what you’re into
at the time moses is a straight-up
fugitive
from justice from egypt
and on the back side of the desert he
has an encounter with god that literally
changes his life
he protests back and forth with god on
whether or not he was going to do the
thing that god called him to do when
mose when moses is called by god
and told to go back to egypt and to say
to pharaoh let my people go
moses literally says no i’m not going to
do it
you’re not going to make me do it
anybody beside me ever told god no
i mean straight up god tells you to do
something and you like no i’m good
i would do it but the way my whole life
is set up
right now i’m in the season of
disobedience so i’m not gonna be doing
that for you
lord not not right now if you call me
like in a month after revival hits then
maybe i’ll do it but not
right now god is patient
[Music]
i’ve i’ve always been enamored by god’s
patience
that he can he can he can just uh well
let me put it this way he has way more
time than we do
being that god is the author of time
standing outside of time breathing into
time
he has way more time
than we do and so your no
is nothing more than a yes that hasn’t
manifested yet
you thought you were saying no to god
but really you were saying yes the
timing just hadn’t lined up yet
as a matter of fact for everybody that
has ever said i’ve been
running from my calling you actually
haven’t ran from your calling
you ran into your calling because the
one who calls you stands outside of time
speaking into time and because he is
alpha and omega the beginning and the
end the first and the last
who breathes and lives in the middle
whenever you come
is the right time you were supposed to
come because he knew that that time
would be when you would get there so for
anybody that just needs to know that
you’re not running from him you are
running
to him moses says no
i’m not going and you can’t make me
until god convinces him of such
and the last thing that he needed to
know is who
should i say sent me
they’re going to ask me who is coming
and who
sent me and i can’t just say it’s me god
who am i going to say
sent me and god says i’m gonna say
me tell them i sent you but don’t just
tell them i sent you
i want you to say it this way tell them
i am
that i am sent me to you
now that should make 100 people happy
because
i am that i am is a different name than
any other name that had been given to
god
based on an experience jehovah jireh
means my provider jehovah shalom means
that he is the god of my peace
all of these different names give a
different attribute of god
but when you get ready to deliver over a
million people at the same time
these are a million different needs
and so you need a name big enough to
deal with
all the needs that are going to pop up
at the same time
so he says i can’t just be provision
because somebody might need peace and i
can’t be peace
because somebody might be deliverance
and i can’t be deliverance
because somebody might need healing so
tell him i
am that i am is coming
to you i don’t know who that’s for
i am that i am is coming
to you it’s the it’s the blank check
name
it’s the only name that’s really a blank
check
whatever you need me to be i’ll be that
no matter what you need when you get
ready to call me i will
become that so whether you need me to
split a red sea i will become
that if you need manna to come from
heaven
i will be that if you need
a cloud by day i will become that if you
need a pillar
of fire by night i will become that if
you need water out of a rock i will
become
that i am that
i am it’s a kind of a saucy name
if you slow it down it starts to get a
little saucy you know what i’m saying
who sent you i am
that i am
what’s his name again his name is i am
that what’s his name
his name is i am that
what you pointing to right now yes he is
that
[Applause]
i just got healed he is that
i just got delivered he is that i just
had a breakthrough he
is that he just gave me a supernatural
peace he
is that he just broke a generational
curse he is
that i am that i am he goes
he goes um tell them i am that i am sent
them
yes i’m sending you to them it’s i am
that i am that’s going
but then in verse 15 it says something
else and we read it already
god also said to moses it’s you god
thank you holy spirit
you have to listen for the alsos
you have to listen for what scripture
also
says scripture says uh uh in deuteronomy
and it’s quoted by jesus in matthew
chapter number four uh that man shall
not live by bread alone but by every
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of
god
it’s not just the word that’s given it’s
the word that’s given after the word
that’s given it’s not just what he says
it’s what he follows up to say with
it’s not just that he’s saying one thing
he’s saying multiple things and if you
only hear the first thing and don’t
listen for the second thing
you can wind up doing something that
will ruin your life
because the first thing was supposed to
get you up
the also sometimes gets you out
[Music]
god also said to moses say this to the
people of israel
yahweh i am that i am
the god of your ancestors the god of
abraham the god of isaac and the god of
jacob has sent me
to you he has sent
me to you he has sent
me to you god
remembered the names
of the people that he had gone into
covenant with
god remembered the names
of the people that have found themselves
faithful to follow him
god remembered the names
long after they had died god was still
calling on the names
of the people that he had gone into
covenant with
because you do know that even though
they had died here on earth
they were still alive with him in heaven
so he’s calling their names
in present tense the god of abraham
the god of isaac and the god of jacob
i’m calling on the names of the people
that are in my presence right now
the god of abraham the god of isaac and
the god of jacob
they are dead on your side but they are
still alive on my side
and my covenant cannot die because
they’re not dead
the god of abraham the god of isaac
and the god of jacob god remembers the
names
of the people he had been in covenant
with and he calls them out like a roll
call
generationally the god of abraham the
god of isaac
and the god of jacob i i did something
in the life of abraham that i did
something in the life of his son isaac
and i did something in the life of his
son jacob i’ve also done something in
the life
of joseph i’ve done something in the
life of ephraim i’ve done
something in the life of naphtali i’ve
done something in the life of gad i’ve
done
something in the life of tina i’ve done
something in the life of marcus i’ve
done
something in the life of michael i’ve
done something
in the life of christina
he remembers the names
of the people that he’s in covenant with
this is why we’re talking about generals
in this series is because we have to
honor the people
that god honors if god
won’t forget their names we cannot
forget their names
he’s honoring the people that came
before him
he’s telling moses i’m about to do
something for the children of israel
not because of the children of israel
has nothing to do with the children of
israel and everything to do
with abraham
[Applause]
with isaac and with jacob
his biggest implication that he’s
telling moses is my memory
is not short i haven’t got i haven’t
forgot the prayers of your grandmother
i have not forgot the prayers of your
father i still remember
your sister getting on her knees praying
for your salvation
i still remember your ancestors crying
out to me
and saying lord will you deliver my
family and i’m coming to get you
come on not because of anything you’ve
done
but something your grandmama did
something your great-grandfather did i’m
coming because i remember the names
of the people that have said yes to me
abraham is the first one he calls he
says
i am the god of abraham
and if you know anything about abraham
abraham is known for one thing and one
thing only
he left
that’s what he’s known for he’s known
for leaving
everything that he knew to follow jesus
it’s not a big deal in the real
parameter of things it wasn’t like he
had killed goliath and
all he did was say yes
and walk away and god says that’s enough
for me wow
there’s some people that god is honoring
your faith simply because
you left what you knew to follow
his voice he leaves
just walks away where we going lord
just follow me go give me any indication
nope we just gonna walk
abraham has this promised child
isaac i can’t even get to isaac yet
i’ma skip isaac for right now because
isaac has a part to play
in this generational thing that is
actually more important than both
abraham’s and jacobs so let me skip over
isaac and go straight to jacob okay so
so so
so so so abraham says yes
and he goes but it’s with
jacob that he grows
there’s multiplication with jacob
abraham has one child isaac
isaac has two children jacob and esau
eat and then jacob has 12 kids
now it was through four different women
i’m not preaching on that today
but rachel leah zilpah and bill her
if your name is zilpah or bill
i’m not talking about your name i’m
talking about your parents
[Music]
he has 12 children
through four different women leah gives
him six kids
rachel gives him two zilpah gives him
two bilhah
gives him two and the promise that was
given to abraham
is multiplied in jacob
he says i am the god of abraham i’m the
god of isaac and i’m not god of
jacob he grows he goes with
abraham but he grows with jacob
and we love talking about the the
wonderful things of
of abraham and and the and the growth
that happens with jacob but
but but we don’t talk about isaac enough
we don’t talk about the the the the
bridge between these two
great men that are talked about in
scripture
the one that had the faith to go and the
one that had the faith to grow
is pinned together held together bridged
together
by isaac the one who
simply continued
in the faith
see we’re talking about generals this
month
and you’re going to hear from generals
that you’ve never heard of
you’re going to hear from people that
have been have made such an
impact in the lives of michael and
natalie todd the pastors here
they have made impact in the lives of
everybody that’s on staff they’ve made
an impact on my life as well
and y’all don’t even know about them you
have probably never heard of them
outside of what we say but trust and
believe that if it was not for the
faith that they had we would not be here
where we are right now
isaac doesn’t get the credit of going
he doesn’t get the credit of growing
he just gets the credit of keeping
[Music]
we think all generals have to do
something big
look where they went look how big they
blew up
look how many people they led look how
much they did look
look look look look
but have you listened
for all the looking that we’re doing in
this culture
has anybody been listening have you been
listening for the honor that’s given to
the
generation that came before to say if it
wasn’t for this person
yeah i wouldn’t even be here right now
when you hear
the testimony of bishop gary mcintosh
and you hear what this man said yes to
and you
hear the testimony of what he did in his
life to be where he
is do you not know that transformation
church would not be where it is right
now
if that man did not hear from god and
decide
to plant a church
it’s it’s amazing to me that we only
look for big
we only look for those that go and we
only look for those that grow but we
don’t look for those that keep
the ones that are faithful enough steady
enough
committed enough what did they do they
just kept praying
what did they do they just kept giving
what did they do they just kept
discipling
what did they do they just kept
mentoring what did they do they just
kept showing up
what did they do they just kept on
praying for the kids
in the youth group what did they do they
just kept on studying
those people and learning from them
until they grew up and decided who god
was going to call them to be
we don’t talk about the keepers enough
but god did not forget the keeper he
said i am the god of not just the one
that
goes and not just the one that grows i
am the god of the one who keeps
and i know their names i know abraham’s
name i know jacob’s name
i know isaac by name
i know you only own oh no isaac because
he was the one
that was about to be sacrificed by
abraham but i know him
because he just kept his covenant with
me
he wasn’t lying too much like his daddy
and he wasn’t tricking too much like his
son
he was just steady in the middle
keeping the covenant alive we need some
people that can just keep the covenant
alive
not everybody in your family is going to
be a preacher not everybody in your
family is going to be a worship leader
not everybody in your family
is going to be this big world changer
but you can change
the world around you
if you just stay committed to what he’s
calling you to do
everybody at this point
for some reason knows my name
i don’t like it that much because i am
an introvert
and i’d rather keep my privacy but
here’s who you don’t know
charles and maxine ross my parents
my mama who was faithful enough
to say yes to the lord to start a church
in her living room
we got a pulpit from my godmother’s
church in compton california and we
wheeled it into our living room we took
all of that beautiful
living room furniture pushed it into
storage and we went to
ace hardware and bought 30 brown chairs
and lined them up
and the first two members at god’s way
holding this fellowship church
in valencia california were timothy and
miles ross
my daddy wasn’t even in that service
because he had one more service at the
other church
because he was a deacon he had to count
the money so he didn’t show up to the
church to the next weekend and my mama
was preaching in that church
like it was 80 000 people in there me
and myles was sinking in that seat like
please
mama the neighbor’s gonna hear us mama
didn’t care
she said yes to the lord and it’s in
that church that i gave my life to jesus
christ
so when we talk about generals don’t
just start looking for the names you all
know
there are some generals in the church of
god
that you have never heard of but heaven
has kept a clear record that they are
the ones
that pushed people into the next season
their next destiny the next momentum
that god wanted to do in the earth my
mother maxine
hardy ross has two surgically repaired
knees
as a direct result of preying on them
doctor confirmed
my mama went to the to the doctor about
15 years ago
and she was having trouble with her
knees and they did x-rays and they said
mrs ross you have uh you have no
cartilage in your knees
it’s bone on bone that’s why it’s
hurting so bad were you an athlete
did you run a lot did you do do you if
she goes no
i don’t i don’t run a lot and they go
well you you
this type of this type of cartilage wear
down we only see in athletes
and she said well i do pray a lot
i do pray on my knees a lot
the doctor said like hours
she said well yeah i’ve i pray on my
knees for hours
he said that’s how you lost that
cartilage in your knees
but those same prayers are the reason
why a gunman could put a gun in me
and miles’s face and could not pull the
trigger
it’s the same reason why when i fell
asleep at the at the wheel of a car
trying to get home from a club i ran
into a center divider and then run off
into a ditch
it’s the same prayers that kept me from
the time i
i was a baby all the way up into this
moment right now
you want to know who a real general is
they may not be the ones that show up in
your book
but i promise you some of them keepers
are the ones that got us
over to the ones that did the growing
they got us over
to the ones that did exploits i know you
know who billy graham is but do you know
the person that led billy graham
that’s the general wow
so we’re gonna honor this month
those that have come before us
who said i will not let you live in my
house
[Laughter]
i will not let you go in this church
and not remember god’s name
here’s what it says the last verse this
is my eternal name
my name to be remembered for all
generations somebody say all generations
again all generations
one more time real loud all generations
do you know what that means
what that means is that there’s no
situation you’re going through right now
that ends with you
i don’t know who i don’t know who needs
to hear this
but whatever you’re going through right
now god’s trying to give you a testimony
for
it so you can tell the next generation
when it’s time
if his name is to be remembered for all
generations
then they can’t stop with you
i’m gonna let this marinate right here
because there’s some people right now in
the body christ that think that they
have
the end all be all anointing
that after you there will be no more
you think that god gave you the
revelation
you think that your church is doing the
best thing
i promise you church was going on before
you
and it will be going on after you you
play
a moment in this movie you are not
the movie
if it’s supposed to be for all
generations it can’t stop with me
if it it’s supposed to be for all
generations it can’t stop with pastor
mike
if it’s supposed to be for all
generations then we have a moment
in time to remind people of god’s name
not ours i needed to say that
right there my assignment is not to
leave a mark so
everybody remembers my name our
assignment is to leave a mark so that
everybody remembers
his name every other knee is going to
bow every tongue is going to confess
not at the name of tim not at the name
of mike not at the name of gary not at
the name of charles
at the name of jesus
every knee is going to bow and every
tongue is going to confess that jesus
christ is lord to the glory of god
that only happens if you remind
people of who he is
so remember his name
i need everybody to remember
his name
that those that came before us gave us
the reminder
of who god’s name is and what it means
to our life right now
and it’s not just those that go and it’s
not just those that grow
but it is those that keep i wish
here’s what i had hoped my life was
going to be i hoped i had become a cop
i wanted to be in law enforcement want
to be a homicide detective
in los angeles that wasn’t just like
passion and pursuit that was also about
job security
l.a homicides i’m gonna keep my job
i could have sat on the back row of the
church
with my city salary
paying my tithes being in a life group
enjoying my life with jesus
and perhaps my sons nathan and noah
could have been the next preachers
that would have made me no less of a
faithful believer
in god because i didn’t preach around
the world
see i want us to get understand that
when we turn
when we talk about lessons that we
are learning from their legacy
that a lot of the stuff that these
people have done
are the only reasons why we are here
right now
all the things are behind the scenes all
the prayers
that nobody heard but god the sacrifices
that were made that no one else
could see except god the decisions that
were made
to give up certain privileges so that
the next generation can be boosted up
and do some incredible things that’s
what makes us
honor those that have come before us
because um
it’s one thing to plant a church
it’s one thing to see it grow it’s
another thing to see it start to
diminish and god say
i need you to i need you to point to the
next person
fully empower them to go and i need you
to take a step back
and watch me work through them it’s one
thing
to shine in your moment it’s another
thing to show up to see somebody shine
in theirs
[Applause]
i’m telling you you’re going to hear
from some people this
month that are going to give you a
context
to what it means to have faith like
you’ve never heard
they remembered god’s name and it’s a
name that they’ve shared with us
they’ve told us their stories they’ve
told us what they’ve learned they showed
us their scars
they gave us their pain they
cried tears and they dripped sweat
to allow us to do what we do right now
and i’m telling you
our lives are never going to be what
they are supposed to be
if we don’t remember those that came
before us
we only proclaim the name of god
because they remembered to remind us
of god’s name
i don’t know who you are i don’t know
what you do
i don’t know why you tuned in i don’t
know why you kept watching i ain’t mike
i know y’all i know how y’all get y’all
get real possessive with pastor mike
you’re all like hugging me in here i
don’t like this guy
he had hair last time now he doesn’t
he keeps confusing us
i want you to know and i don’t know who
this is for
but i need to talk to you your
grandmother prayed for you
your grandmother prayed for you to have
a relationship
with jesus
and those prayers are not going to go
unanswered
you will never enjoy the life you’ve
chosen for yourself
because god has a plan that’s better
than the life
that you’ve chosen and the reason why he
keeps coming after you
is not just because you’re special
because you are
but he remembers your grandma
he remembers your grandmother praying
for you
believing god for you on days that you
were so drunk out of your mind you
couldn’t remember
what you did the night before she was
praying for you
she’s a general because of it
she’s remembered the name of god
until you proclaim the name of god
i don’t know why i can’t get off this
but i’m telling you
you are part of a spiritual legacy
that god will not let go of
because he remembers the prayers of your
parents and your grandparents
and your ancestors
life is never going to be as fulfilling
as it will be when you say yes
to who your mama said yes to yeah and
your daddy said yes to
your grandparents said yes to well
nobody in my family is a believer tim
so you ain’t talking to me psych yes i
am
because there’s some people that have
been praying for you that you don’t even
know about
and you are the one to break the
generational curse in your family
and step into a revelation that nobody
else in the family has
so would you bow your heads and close
your eyes because i feel like praying i
don’t know why this is a holy moment
that i feel
and i don’t know why i’m feeling it but
i am feeling it so i just want to dig
into it
god i pray right now for every single
person
who is watching there is an anointing
that you have placed
on every single person watching right
now and you want them in a relationship
with you
you want them to call on the i am that i
am god you want them to have an
experience
with the god of their salvation the god
that their grandparents knew the god
that their parents knew
the god that their youth pastor knew the
god that their teacher knew the god
that that their neighbor knew that their
friend knows you want them to have
a relationship with them you want to see
them
come into an encounter with god
so that they can have the testimony
like abraham isaac and jacob
i i want there to be a generational uh
blessing on your life like the god of
abraham
isaac and jacob i want i want god to say
about your family i am the god
of michael deborah and frankie
i am the god of susan
martha and gabrielle i
am the god of chris
thomas and earl i’m the god
of this family
[Music]
generals are made and legacies are made
because
somebody will go because somebody will
keep
because somebody will grow
the name of god
until all generations know
that jesus christ is lord
god i pray that you would seal this
message
and this moment in a posture
that allows us to grow in jesus name
amen listen if you want to give your
life to jesus christ
if you want to be the first in your
family you might be the abraham of your
family
you might be the one to say yes that
goes and you leave
everything you know to follow this god
this will be a perfect opportunity
for you to give your life to jesus and
see him transform not only your life
but the life of your kids and your
grandkids your family and your friends
and so
if you want to give your life to jesus
christ text
saved to 8 2 8
2 8 2. god is going to do something in
your life
that is forever going to change the
landscape of the world around you
listen i love you
transformation church loves you next
week you’re going to hear from bishop
gary
and he’s going to tell you about the god
that he decided to walk with that we are
now
walking in it’s gonna blow your mind
i love you guys your legacy is about to
grow
and you might be the next general to go
[Applause]
peace