If you’d like to know more about our ministry please visit us at http://transformchurch.us. And if you have a testimony of the amazing things that God is doing in your life through our ministry, please email it to [email protected].
well our mission at the church why we
exist is representing God to the
lost-and-found for transformation in
Christ and in that that first word
represent watch others the music that
first word represent is really why we
exist it’s what we do it’s how we see
transformation in Christ and represent
what that means is we’re gonna show God
differently and that’s really the reason
we do fun month and have all these
themed Sundays it’s hopefully that maybe
you would see God a little bit
differently than you did before and I’m
excited today that through our message
today you’re not just gonna hear from
one communicator and I’m gonna start
quoting the old LeBron James not one not
two not three not four not five not six
but seven people are gonna preach today
and yeah yeah you can give it up some of
you are so confused you know what is
happening just calm down it’s gonna be
okay
we have seven different people who are
in our church a part of our staff or
attend here that really have an amazing
amazing message from God here’s that’s
gonna work it’s called seven in seven
everybody say seven in seven we have
seven people and they have seven minutes
each to preach the paint off the walls
so here’s what’s gonna happen when they
say something good that you like you say
oh come on now or they to get an amen
you can say preach it white boy I don’t
know what you want to say but when it
gets good you gotta let them know so
we’re gonna go into our introductions
for the 707 DJ can I get some intro
music
yes we’re gonna start it off here now if
you want to get connected at TC there’s
only one person to talk to and that is
Miss Ashley Osborne
coming up next
she’s one of our prayer pastors and she
had a lot to do with the fact of our
pastor being born it is pastor brynne
d’etat
coming up next he’s seven foot three in
his heart and he’s he’s really glad to
be here can you give it up for Chris
Harvey coming up next
he’s wisdom he’s funny he s all had a
part to play in pastor Michael being
born it is our very own pastor Tommy Tom
[Music]
coming up next you can catch her
crossing ankles tonight in the old
school new school basketball game it is
pastor Julia
[Applause]
[Music]
coming up next he’s an angel
and he’s also an angel give it up for
Caleb angel
oh and last but not least when I grow up
I hope my arms are this big it is our
very own pastor de Mario Tucker
oh hi well this is gonna be super super
exciting like I said they’re gonna have
seven minutes each to preach a message
and I want to give you some context of
what’s gonna happen really they’re all
gonna preach different messages talking
about one thing and that’s a choice and
they’re all gonna be preaching a message
they’re gonna be filling in this blank
it’s I choose to enjoy fill in the blank
I tell you it’s gonna be amazing so can
we give it up for our very first pastor
Demario Tucker hey good morning good
morning guys
well I choose to enjoy correction and
the reason that I choose to enjoy it is
because by its very nature it is not
enjoyable the Bible says so Hebrews
chapter 12 verse 11 it says for no
chastening seems good at the moment but
it’s painful and you know I think we’ve
got to get over this notion that at some
point you know you’ll get used to it
it’ll feel okay
correction never has and it never will
feel good because it doesn’t feel good
for someone to point out your weaknesses
what you didn’t do right your
shortcomings it just doesn’t feel good
and but guys here’s the thing if we
learn how to receive correction properly
it has some powerful benefits and so I’m
gonna take the next few minutes and talk
through what some of those are first of
all when we receive correction it will
cause whatever we do to become better
you know in this room we’ve got a lot of
people you know we’ve got teachers we
got athletes we’ve got public speakers
and all of you you know you’ve can’t you
do something and when you’re able to
receive correction it will cause
whatever you do to improve and to go to
the next level you know before I was
here pastoring full-time I was doing
software development and I had a mentor
guy that that I really looked up to
excuse me and then I really looked it
you know he was kind of like the guy
that approved and affirmed me and kind
of helped me to gain confidence and that
kind of thing and every time I would do
a project I would take it and I would I
would get you know take it to
kind of have him look over it what I
really wanted was him to say man you did
awesome you got an A+ this time you did
really good and it never happened 10
years 10 years it never happened he
would always start off the same way
though he would say tomorrow that’s
really good you you did a good job this
time what if I were you I would take
this out I would add this I would update
this and by the time he was done with my
code I had like 10 or 12 changes that I
needed to make and I would be so mad
like why did I do it again why did I
take it to him I know what he’s gonna do
he’s always gonna correct me and so but
here’s the thing guys whenever I would
take that correction when I whenever I
would apply it it would always make what
I my product better you know it would
always take it to the next level on the
other hand when I didn’t take it
you know it wouldn’t be a month later
that the customer would come back and
say hey you know we need this change and
basically it was everything that my
mentor told me and if I had just done at
that time then it would have been great
and so anyway correction will always
cause you to do better
the other thing is that correction will
cause you to become better as a person
you know one of the big things that
correction works on in all of us is
pride and when I was in college I met my
beautiful girlfriend now my wife of 10
years and four days come on and that you
know my wife she was at health and
exercise science major she was a d1
athlete and so one of the things that we
would do together is that we would work
out and so my goal and working out was
to lift more than her you know whatever
she was doing like hey you add two more
plates on and so in doing that I would
you know I would sacrifice my form in
order to lift heavier and so I would be
man I’d be rolling my shoulders and
bending my back doing all this stuff and
she just come up and say D come on
you’re gonna hurt yourself you know
plant your feet put your elbows in use
your cord I mean all this stuff and in
those moments I had the choice to either
respond with pride you know and you know
what pride does pride it looks for any
reason that it can do not take
correction and so I could have said well
she’s a girl she doesn’t know I’m a man
so I’m just gonna do this my way or I
could have responded in humility not
only does that improve the quality of
what I do but that was working on my
heart and my inner me and so so you know
correction will always work on who you
are the other thing is that correction
will cause us to grow the scripture says
in Proverbs 22 verse 15 that foolishness
is bound up in the heart of a child but
the rod of Correction will drive it out
and so in that scripture you see
foolishness and childhood tied to this
you know that they’re one in the same
but on the other hand correction and
maturity that they’re tied together and
so when we choose to receive God’s
correction it’s us choosing to grow it’s
us choosing to advance and in the end
you know to mature in who we are you
know my son is 19 months right now and
it’s cute for him to take his
SpaghettiOs and dump it on his head and
we laugh and but it’s not cute when he’s
35 and does that you know they’re coming
with a straitjacket like what is wrong
with this kid you know and so so so so
correctional like I said it’s a part of
the process of maturing in the process
of development now if you don’t get
anything else I want you to get this
point right here because a lot of times
when we receive correction we receive it
not the right way and so one of the
things is that correction is evidence
that you and I are loved it’s evidence
that we are loved Hebrews chapter 12
verse 6 says it like this it says for
whom the Lord loves he disciplines and
it says that he chases those that he
receives his sons a few weeks ago you
know I was doing some cleaning you know
I walked in my bathroom and like I said
my 19 year old son he’s like a little
ninja a little shadow right behind me
and and he and I opened my thing I’m
doing my cleaner and I you know I hear a
rustle behind and I look back and there
goes my baby and he’s got a license or
bottle and you know of course as a
parent I don’t have time to explain what
ammonia can do to his eyes and and how
it can poison them all I had time was
for Nathan know and at that moment you
know he dropped the bottle and he kind
of you know his lips started trembling
he starts crying I know I was like oh
man and so I had to come and I had to
get on set baby look no no I’m not mad
at you
see he thought that I was angry at him
and and that was the reason for me
yelling no no I was
yelling because I was angry at him I was
actually yelling because I love them I
was yelling because your son there’s
something that you have in your hand
right now that can harm you and because
I love you so much I can’t just sit by
and lasted asically
let you work with that thing and so
family I just want you to know the day
that if God is you feel like God is
picking on you you feel like everything
you do he’s pointing it out he’s got his
finger on you don’t don’t take that as
an annoyance don’t take that as
something that God is messing with you
I’ll take that as God loves me God is
saying to me that you are my son you are
my daughter you’re the one that I love
and because I love you so much I can’t
allow you to go that way I know that all
your other friends got away with it but
I’m not gonna let you get away with it
guys I want you to take the standard of
God as him loving you and it’s because
of this that I choose to enjoy
correction wow man that was good man
today I choose to enjoy the unknown now
some of you in this room might remember
the greatest TV show of all time
the a-team came out in the 80s and such
a great show one of the amazing things
about it is this particular team just
seemed to always know exactly what to do
no matter what situation they were in or
what enemy they were facing and in fact
one of the characters named Hannibal
would always say at the end of every
episode I love it when a plan comes
together and I feel like somewhere along
the way I made that my life motto I
really like plans I like having one year
plan five year plan ten year plans
y’all know sometimes plans don’t work
out the way we thought they would we
oftentimes call those New Year’s
resolutions okay we all know what that’s
like but I imagine even if you don’t
like plans as much as me you probably
have plans for something plans for your
family for your education maybe for your
career or health but sometimes plans
just don’t work out the way we thought
that they would and I think what happens
in that time is what’s unknown to us
suddenly we don’t have knowledge or
experience
and we just don’t know what to do
because life just went off-script and
there’s a story in the Bible in Luke
chapter 8 that I feel like perfectly
represents this Jesus is with his
followers and he tells them that he
wants them to cross over to the other
side of a lake so a few of his followers
if he didn’t know were fishermen and
sailors so they decide to get into a
boat and travel across this lake this is
very routine for them they knew exactly
what to do but what they did not plan
for was the most extreme fear storm that
they had ever encountered before and I
know that it’s that they didn’t know to
expect it because of their reaction they
start to become afraid for their lives
and believe that they’re going to drown
even though Jesus was with them and I
think this happens to all of us we have
situations in our lives storms in our
lives life just throws a curveball at us
and we didn’t know to be prepared for it
we didn’t know to plan for it these
setbacks that that come at us you know
if you’re a parent in the room you’ve
probably experienced you know one of
those days where you had the perfect
plan for the day but you had to bring
your newborn along with you and you did
everything to be prepared for those
appointments have everything packed but
you were not ready for the poop storm
you know the one when it’s flooding down
their legs it’s filling up their car
seat and you’re doing everything you can
to scoop them up and clean them and not
ruin your clothes because you didn’t
bring a change of clothes and you still
go to the appointment with poop on your
shoe but we all have real-life issues
and problems that happen storms that we
feel are like gonna take us out you know
maybe you wanted to go to your favorite
school you always planned on doing that
but you didn’t factor in that you would
get rejected multiple times you had a
business idea or an adventure that you
wanted to go on and you saw yourself
becoming an entrepreneur that was very
successful but you never knew that along
the way you might have to file for
bankruptcy
you planned a routine doctor’s
appointment just to get a check-up and
you had no idea you were gonna walk out
with a death sentence
man doesn’t live treat us terrible
sometimes it’s unfair and I think like
the disciples that Jesus’s followers
they look over in the boat while this
storm is about to take him out and they
see Jesus just sleeping and taking a nap
and many of us we react to these
situations we just fall down on our
knees and we look up to heaven and we
say God why are you sleeping while life
takes me out it’s how we feel and it’s
valid to feel that way
but I want to encourage you do not let
the presence of a storm cause you to
doubt the presence of God Jesus is in
the boat with you he is right there in
the storm and what we often mistake as
God abandoning us and failing us it’s
just him being at peace because he’s not
afraid of the thing that trembled that
causes you to tremble you know something
that’s powerful about that passage as
Jesus actually gets up from the nap and
then speaks to the storm and talk calls
it to stop and be calm and immediately
it happens and I think a lot of times
the missing part of our plans is we
don’t factor in Jesus we only think
about what we can do and we forget about
the part that only God can do I want to
encourage you that no matter if you know
what to do or you don’t you only need to
know who is with you
God will take care of you and sustain
you through the storm but something I
look at in that passage in Luke chapter
8 Jesus actually looks at his disciples
and he says where is your faith he’s a
little disappointed and recently I came
face-to-face with that question in my
own life I had a plan of how I thought
some events were gonna play out this
year and finances didn’t work out the
way I thought they would you know some
career things weren’t happening the way
I thought they would and I started
getting stressed and overwhelmed by my
plan not working out so I went to our
very
pastor Tommy and I expressed the stress
that I was feeling and with so much
wisdom after listening to me he just
says you trust your plans more than you
trust God can I tell you I did not want
to hear that but I know in my head to
trust God but for some reason I was in a
pattern of doing the opposite and I had
to wake up to the fact that I needed to
fix my faith on Jesus he was unchanging
and he would never fail me and so I came
today to ask you this question where is
your faith
are you putting it in another person or
in a plan that you had because it needs
to be fixed on Jesus I think often times
we know that but we don’t know how to do
it and there’s this game called poker
that I’m reminded of there’s this moment
when somebody makes a decision to go
all-in and I think it’s so powerful
they’re so confident in the hand that
they’ve been dealt that they would risk
everything on the fact that they believe
they’ll win I felt like God sent me to
tell you today stop counting the cards
stop trying to figure out if the enemy
is bluffing your life God is the dealer
he already stacked the deck in your
favor
he dealt the promise for your life and
the outcome is fixed and if you can take
that to heart you can stand in faith
like David and say whether I walk
through the valley of the shadow of
death I will not fear because God is
close beside me and that’s why I choose
to enjoy the unknown
[Applause]
[Music]
hallelujah well I choose to enjoy the
process now how many people in here have
dreams oh there’s just a few just a few
people have dreams what I think about on
here is oftentimes we hear chase after
your dreams pursue purpose set a goal if
you believe you can achieve but nobody
tells you the 1 2 3 or the ABCs to get
there oftentimes our attention is
focused on the end result and forgetting
that there’s a route to get there now
when I started thinking about this
message I started thinking like how many
times do we work to circumvent the
process there’s a show called married at
first sight there’s no engagement
there’s no courting families don’t meet
it’s just thousands of people who are
answering a bunch of questions for two
people to sit in a room to pick them to
go get married
sit down on the aisle dressing your best
wedding attire to come say I do to live
happily ever after all because they
don’t want to go through the process but
everything requires a process now as a
little girl my dream or my desire was to
play d1 basketball so everything that I
did revolved around becoming a d1
athlete from training and all of that my
junior year I had a opportunity to where
I would get major exposure to play major
colleges coming in all that well I blew
out my knee cool go have surgery do the
rehab come back your senior year you
still got an opportunity so part way
through that here I go back out and I’m
playing and everything and it’s time for
all the colleges to come I’m trying to
get a scholarship Kazan when the paper
school and so they’re coming through but
all of a sudden I blow out my knee again
now I’m disappointed I’m hurt I’m
frustrated but opposition doesn’t mean
that it means to stop and oftentimes
what you and I do is like well maybe God
is saying no no that was an opportunity
for me to grow so I pushed forward and
I’m going off to college to a place
where I believe God has called me to go
and it’s a d1 so
it must be God and so I go out talk with
the coaches send in some videotape they
said come back this summer we’ll go
ahead and look and see how you play so I
come back this summer and I mean I’m in
the best shape of my life and I’m
killing the game like I’m crossing them
up shooting trees all of that we’re
about two months away from tryouts you
know I’m saying guess what happens I
blow out my knee again now there was
hurt there was disappointment there’s
frustration because here is this dream
that I’ve been trying to go to and it’s
been completely obliterated shattered
everything that I have put this work
into now I cannot have it now if I stop
right there
I could say that these times that I put
in were wasted time often times do we
say hey God you told me to do this but I
feel like that was time wasted he said
no that was time for me to develop you
here’s the thing at the end of this I
ended up playing d1 basketball
it just didn’t happened the way that I
thought it was going to happen so
sometimes we have our preconceived
expectations of what it should be and we
get disappointed and we never engage
with God any longer what I didn’t
realize at the time was that God had me
in a process he said baby girl this is
what I need you to know you have locked
your identity in your gifting of playing
basketball y’all mess me up
penny said okay you’re good but you’re
arrogant and you’re prideful and you’re
cocky I need you to be confident I can’t
send you places that I want to send you
then he says this I’m gonna reveal to
you basketball is not your purpose but
you live in like basketball is your
purpose I’ve called you to do much more
than be a basketball player God begins
to just wreck me over and here’s the
thing Isaiah 55 8 and 9 it says my
thoughts are nothing like your thoughts
and my ways are far far beyond anything
you can imagine
so what is he saying to me you don’t
know everything you don’t know what I
have to hold you don’t know what the
process is gonna be like because there’s
always going to be a process the
question is what is the final product
gonna look like are you gonna be
defective are you gonna be that
masterpiece it says on here we excuse me
it says we don’t have to always
stand his ways to submit to them we just
have to know him we don’t we don’t have
to sit up there and ask everybody else
all the question we need to engage their
king oftentimes what we do is follow the
dream and I’m telling you today you
gotta follow the king if you want to get
to where God has called you to go that’s
the decision you have to make today
proverbs 3 and 5 says trust in the Lord
with all your heart and do not depend on
your own understanding seek His will
seek his way and all that you do and he
will show you which path to take we can
enjoy the process because we know that
we are not alone we know that God is
with us there’s a relationship thing
that happens here like when you’re at
the worst time of your life that’s when
you like Jesus I need you like we pray
like never before when we have fallen
into a place of discontentment our
disappointment like God where the heck
are you you read your Bible going I mean
I’ve done it being a worship like you
got to hear me but here’s the thing
about that it shows me how I need to
keep my relationship with them so that I
can hear his voice God is saying I God
says this oftentimes we like we like to
be used by God right so my question is
how many times do we use people and have
no relationship with them your banker
your co-worker God is saying I want you
to love me more than you love the
thought of me using you we love him to
say hey God I want you to use me yeah
but we don’t want to spend time with him
the process allows us to spend time with
him
the process allows him allows us to get
to know his will in his way now contrary
to popular belief we did not wake up
like this your breast is ringing your
pit instinct okay
but here’s what I’m saying with that
it’s right now we’re in seed form and
what happens in seed form is that we
have to be planted but we get planted
and crap
it takes manure to access to see to
allow that thing to grow so the
opposition’s and the things that we’re
facing are intended to unlock you in a
cause you to grow so yes we might be
disappointed we might be fun
Shadid but we enjoyed the process and
will be submit to the process we know
that there’s a promise on the other side
of that we know that there’s purpose on
the other side of that so what I’m
saying to you today is that you’re not
alone but Jesus is with us Jesus showed
us even when he didn’t like the way he
said listen God if there’s any other way
take this cup from me but he said this
not my will but your will not my will
but your will
whatever you say for me to do I’ll do so
yes sometimes in your process you’re
frustrated sometimes in your process you
don’t want to do what God has told you
to do but guess what baby hey not my
will but your will cuz you know better
than I know so today I choose to enjoy
the process give it up give it up the
process hallelujah well I choose to
enjoy life I choose to enjoy life you
know a lot of us we don’t even know what
life is
we just exist or we just maintain or we
just walk through the world disappointed
at what we call our life our life was
never intended to be anything less than
magnificent God said in his word the
thief came to steal kill and to destroy
but I came that you might have life and
life more abundantly I came that you
might enjoy life and enjoy it to the
food til it’s running over and I always
like to say it like this the devil came
to steal kill and to destroy
but Jesus came so that I could give live
and enjoy he said God has a plan should
I drop them well you know
but uh you know the Word of God is true
God has a plan for us this life is not
supposed to be some mere existence we’re
supposed to be representing the king of
kings this is just like Julia said this
is the process this is a part of the
process but at the end of the process we
get the reward we get eternal life we
don’t just stop here most people think
that life is just like going through
problems having sickness going to work
doing stuff like that no life is meant
for you to represent represent God to
the lost and the found for
transformation in Christ it’s all about
him jesus said I am the way the truth
and the life so if he is the way we
should be walking there in that way if
he is the truth then we should be
believing what he says how many y’all
want to follow a lot everybody wants to
follow or seek after truth but the enemy
he is the father of our lives he comes
to deceive us and let us think that we
aren’t who Christ said we are and we
can’t have what God said that we could
have he said we can have it all the
scripture and proverbs says that God
well not in Proverbs but it isn’t about
someone but he said he said that God we
should trust in God who has given us all
things to enjoy all things to enjoy so
if you never go on a cruise that’s not
God’s fault he gave you the opportunity
to enjoy it if you don’t go nowhere but
around the corner that’s not God’s fault
he said this world the earth he said
heavens of the laws but the earth he has
given to the sons of men we’re supposed
to enjoy this life so what I’m telling
you right now is change your life and
how do you change your life I change the
way you’re thinking but first of all you
got to understand what life is you know
the dictionary says life is the
universal condition of man’s existence
or it’s the course or the sum of
experiences and actions that constitute
a person’s life so what has been your
experience
what’s been your journey there’s been
heartache there’s been paying there’s
been sickness there’s been death all of
that is a part of it but you got to
understand that but that is not what
life is remember the scripture says
Jesus said I am the way the truth and
the life Jesus is the life the life is
found in him it’s not in none of these X
extra things that we think that life is
built around
it’s found in him and we have to make a
choice to enjoy what he’s given us so
how do you enjoy what does enjoy me let
me tell you what the dictionary says
enjoy me enjoy means this to have or to
use with satisfaction such as food money
or things we all like to use food for
satisfaction money and things it says
this define or experience pleasure we
experience things in pleasure when it’s
like sporting events like tonight when
we win the old school basketball game
we’re gonna we’re gonna enjoy that you
know shopping and there’s another
definition that I know that you didn’t
think about but it’s a powerful
definition it says to enjoy means to
have intercourse really you didn’t know
that did you
but I bet you enjoyed it you John but
see you enjoy it in marriage see if if
you ain’t married you only need to be
enjoying nothing find enjoyment in
something else okay but if you marry
enjoy all you can because he has given
us all things to enjoy amen all right so
the last thing I want to say there’s a
scripture we have to make a choice and a
choice means to make a selection or to
prefer something now there’s a scripture
in Deuteronomy now this is what I want
to leave you with I want you to end to
really meditate on this Deuteronomy 30
verse 15 says this it says now listen
today I am giving you a choice between
life and
between prosperity and disaster for I
command you this day to love the Lord
your God and to keep his commands his
decrees and regulations by walking in
his ways if you do this you will live
and multiply and the Lord your God will
bless you and the land that you are
about to enter and occupy but if your
hearts turn away and you refuse to
listen and if you do not and if you were
drawn away to serve and worship other
gods then I warn you now that you will
certainly be destroyed you will not live
a long good life in the land you across
in the Jordan to occupy today I have
given you the choice between life and
death between blessing and cursing now I
call on heaven and earth to witness the
choice you made oh that you would choose
life so that you and your descendants
might live you can make this choice by
loving the Lord your God obeying him and
committing yourself firmly to him this
is the key to your life and if you love
and obey the Lord you will live long in
the land the Lord swore to your
ancestors Abraham so that’s the reason
you have to understand life jesus said I
am the way the truth and the life is
only found in him so that’s why today I
choose to enjoy life
[Applause]
Wow what’s going on TC man today I have
the awesome opportunity of sharing why I
choose to enjoy the weight now how many
of us in here actually enjoy a wedding
or something I didn’t think so
so we naturally don’t like way to know
anything we don’t like we’re waiting on
my uber to arrive like waiting on our
food to come at the restaurant and some
of y’all get ugly when the food arrived
on time I’ll see you we don’t we want
everything now we want next relationship
now who our next job now we want
everything now we want everything and
Thanksgiving dinner for man ramen noodle
timing and today I didn’t want to talk
around the subject on help me truly need
to learn how to wait on God and I know
you’re pro at this but I’m still
progressing in fact this time last year
I had a 1998 ford f150 pay for a cache
in high school and y’all was pushing it
had no AC but I was pushing it always
something wrong with it
but I was pushing it in fact I was
pushing it to the wheels fell off in
y’all they fell off and I was frustrated
I told my dad you can have it free
indeed I don’t want it I don’t wanna
look at it I’m tired of driving no a/c
and track there’s something wrong with
it you can have it
what month or so goes by I’m good of
course it’s not as accessible as having
a car but I’m straight I catch errata
uber I’m walking everywhere in sigh oh
like I’m good and then a month another
months begin to go by and not beginning
of frustrated again in fact I was
driving the church one Sunday morning
one of my parents car and I just had a
real conversation with God I don’t live
in the church all my life see he heard
about miracles all these great things
but I was like I’ve never experienced
one for myself like I’ve heard messages
on how we line our faith with
expectations we’ll see a miracle but I
haven’t I haven’t high experience on
sunset guy in this moment I’m aligning
my faith up with you who you are
with my expectation that you can’t do
something I’m expecting you to pursue
the car it was a great moment y’all was
crying worship al by God but I’m
expecting you expect it was brain and a
mother so girls buying yeah I’m good
go ahead peace about it like it’s the
first time our truly
felt like God you got this but another
month begin to go by and I got
frustrated again in fact I found myself
ik car Lots in fact at land rover car
Lots but about $500 in my bank account
and the credit score so bad the number
didn’t even pop up it was a sad face
it’s just it is that bad
but God begin to check to me that next
month that’s we gonna start a new series
here our church costs tribe as we not
strive for things badly walk in the pace
of grace the guy would begin to line
things up in our life and what’s funny
is tell me out here best that promo
video that you saw the guy walking in
the street your boy that was me the TC
magazine is something y’all have your
boy is on the front cover
what what’s funny is I felt like I was
intentionally making fun of your boy for
striving for things but at the same
token making me a landmark for you and I
do remember back so we shot not strive
for things and he will make a way so a
month goes by yeah I’m for the first
time truly good like I had peace about
God he’s gonna do this another month
goes by there’s no car and another month
goes by is no Christ about 8 months have
passed hey there’s no car again and when
I think about my story I think about a
specific story in the Bible is really
similar it’s a group of people called
the children of Israel a guy had just
promised him something great I promise
land food everything their heart want
and desire so what you thinking I’m on
right now everything that’s your heart
with want and desire maybe your dream
job your dream car chick-fil-a on a
Sunday I don’t know what choice is that
maybe that might be my I don’t know but
God just promised them this great place
but he said in order to get to that
place you got the wilderness detour a
few tests might you might hit in order
to get to that place well God said was I
chose to send them to around there bad
way not the to the main road and the
reason why he did that because if they
would have went through the main road
they would have faced the battle and
then face the battle they would have
went back to Egypt now why it’s either
significant because Egypt is the way
that came in slavery each is where they
came out of bondage so what God is
saying the reason why I didn’t send them
main road cuz if they were down the main
road they were face the battle went back
to Egypt way back to what’s comfortable
it doesn’t that sound like us God
promises something great but we get
frustrated in the waiting process so we
go back to what’s comfortable we get
frustrated because another dr. bill
comes our way so we get frustrated and
stop trusting God we get frustrated and
find ourselves with car lights trying to
purchase cars that we don’t have money
for we are frustrating a singleness
process so we find ourselves in the old
relationships unlike you a perfect so
I’m talking about myself this morning
but I really want you to think about
this like what do you been waiting on
God for like what are what are the tests
that been coming into your life that
you’ve been waiting and praying God and
tears crying your face and nobody sees
what do you been praying for God for but
I love about this this story
it’s truly shines light on what tests
really are we’ve been looking at tests
wrong our whole life tests are only
there to ensure we can endure the
promise think about you in school this
test at the end of the school semester
they’re there to ensure that you’re
gonna do the next level of education but
we’ve been looking at tests wrong a
whole like we hate tents in fact we hate
waiting just like the children of Israel
nature was intended to be eleven-day
journey into 40 years because they
couldn’t wait so that simply shows us
that how you wait for something
determines how long you wait for it
but I really want us to really get this
because of what you don’t know is as the
end of the eighth month been getting to
roll around for me
guy had intentionally placed my name on
the specific couple head of the church
to bless somebody with a car so as I
begin to walk as I begin the strides
tries after God got hit intentionally
and all of the people they know guy had
intentionally placed my name on their
heart and told me y’all were here as I
stood in his acts same spot with tears
flowing down my eyes and for the first
time truly experienced the power of God
a hand on my life and the even more so
truly experience how powerful it is when
you truly wait on God so I don’t know
what you’re waiting on God for but I’m
here to tell you today as you wait on
God for your marriage to be come home as
you’re waiting on God for your son to
find God as you wait on hold for your
schooling as you win don’t go for your
situation God has not forgotten about
you and he will watch you until your
promise Oh will you wait somebody give
God a breath praise in this place will
you wait on God he has not forgotten
about you he has a plan for your life
just because you are delayed does not
mean you are denied this is why I choose
to draw the way
[Applause]
glory to God
I choose to change at the beginning of
the year I heard God at 1:30 in the
morning say come here ran to see what he
was talking about the fact that we have
five sons I didn’t know if I was getting
ready to go and travail and praying and
fasting or whatever the case might be
especially a lot of prayer because at
1:30 in the mornings no telling what
some of them might be doing and I was a
little anxious guys about what was
happening and when I calmed down to hear
what God was saying it was all about me
it wasn’t about the children and what
about the grandkids wasn’t about my
husband it was about me sometimes when
we always you know a looking for ok I’ve
got a pray for that person I got a pray
for know God so I need you to come here
I choose to change and see when we talk
about change change from me and new from
me mid change many times we don’t want
to change come on because we think that
we are granted various things that’s
been going on in our lives and all of
that and I was like okay you want to do
something new and immediately I thought
about scripture in Isaiah 43 getting
with verse 18 and 19 it says do not
remember the form of things and the one
thing I want to let you know is many
times when we think about where we have
been what we’ve done because I’ve done a
lot in life he said don’t even
remembering here’s an or consider the
old don’t even consider the old he said
behold I will do a new thing
somebody shall a new thing God wants to
do something new and he was telling me
brinda with all you’ve experienced you
haven’t even seen nothing yet
your eyes haven’t seen
your ears haven’t heard it is not even
in it in your heart what I got going on
for your girl
behold I would do a new thing
now it shall spring forth show you not
knowing somebody Sena God wants to do
something in your life right now we’ve
been putting it off too long so I was
like okay dot you want to do something
new again new means change and we don’t
always like that so let me show you
something here I want you to turn to
general you can just look at it in John
the third chapter there was something
that was going on with the man of God
called Nicodemus who needed some change
and so he went to God at night hello he
went to him at night
and began to say hey look I know you are
awesome because you’re awesome but I
need the come on girl he was talking to
Jesus – what it says in verse 2 it says
this man came to Jesus by night his one
30ml hello and said to him rabbi we know
that you a teacher come from God for no
one can do these things that you do
unless God is with him jesus answered
and said to him most assuredly I say to
you unless one is born again he cannot
see the kingdom of God
Nicodemus said to him how can a man be
born again when he is old can he enter a
second time into his mother’s womb and
be born had nothing to do with that
come on here at 60 years old and I don’t
mind saying that hello God you said you
don’t want me to remember the old you
want to do something new in me many of
us I age we use it as an excuse not to
change hey my car today hey God wants to
do something in you for many of you he
spoke to you years ago and you still
haven’t done it
and now your
too old to do it but God comes even this
day to literally challenge you in your
life to say to you right now in Jesus
name you need to obey what I told you
there is so much more to you glory to
God somebody say hallelujah merely I
began to think about a process in
biology it is called metamorphosis in
other words in their metamorphosis it
means that I’m gonna change you there is
a process to the change or y’all in the
house today and I know that you are
glory to God you will move from one step
to the other to the other until you get
like I want you to be in other words
it’s the name called transformation look
at somebody say God wants to transform
you and that’s what he wanted to do in
me and it was about a higher call we’ll
see what happens is in that process
hello of newness and change and egg is
laid go from being late to then going
into a caterpillar caterpillar is a long
slow moving situation hello glory to God
sometimes the process looks slow my car
today I’m but you keep on being that
caterpillar and you’re moved from the
caterpillar to the point glory to God
hallelujah you’re moved from being in
the caterpillar so going into the cocoon
nobody likes the cocoon because at that
time I’m saying that process because at
that time you by yourself is at that
time hallelujah hi hi hi hi you
always like being by yourself but God
said come here I need you to go deeper I
need you to see what I’m saying to you
[Applause]
when you come into the cocoon state it
may be fasting it may be praying or
y’all in this awesome glory to God he’ll
do something so deep in you is it come
out the shoreline I need you to come in
here deeper I need to show you the plan
that I got for your life move from that
cocoon state until you break up God say
if you allow me to do new thing in you
you go to take time to break up when you
break out you came right out too soon
you’re gonna do it at the right time in
the name of Jesus and when you break out
you begin to soar in the name of Jesus
because you become that beautiful
butterfly you forget those things which
are behind and you begin to reach for
those things which are I hate it the
whole idea of all of it was God
separating regardless of how long I’ve
used you regardless of the anointing
that’s on your life the fullness of what
I got for you and the people that you
shall touch you haven’t seen absolutely
nothing yet it’s about the souls you
were touch it’s about the people that
will be changed it’s about the people
that will be healed delivered and set
free and so my conclusion is
I choose making a choice chloral a god
the new thing I choose to change that is
my choice because I want the greater the
higher in Jesus name if there’s you give
God some glory up in this house I saw
[Applause]
glory hallelujah well I want to be like
pastor Brenda when I grow up I choose to
enjoy the unexpected so for my story it
starts about five years ago and we were
expecting our second child Charlie we
had Lucy first and then five and a half
years later came Charlie and when he
came he was tiny and he was perfect and
he was really cute just like I expected
but what I didn’t expect over the next
few years is that he would be so sick on
and off we would almost lose him and we
would find out that he had a rare
immunodeficiency that only affected one
in a million boys my son my baby it was
us and that was really unexpected and
and I know in a room this size you’ve
probably experienced unexpected things
in your life maybe you’re going through
it right now – maybe it’s been your own
medical diagnosis maybe a failed
marriage a relationship that you didn’t
see coming to an end maybe it was a job
you thought you would always have
whatever the unexpected is we’ve all
experienced those things
and so I want to encourage you I heard
pastor Eugene showed say something a few
weeks ago at a conference I was
attending he said God doesn’t tell us
the future because He loves us so much I
mean that really resonated with me
I remember Jesus talking to the
disciples before he went to be crucified
and you know what he said he said you’re
gonna experience trials of many but take
heart but but there’s a line in there
that I feel like often gets missed in
that story it’s from John 16:12 and he
says there’s so much more I want to tell
you but you can’t bear it yet and I’ve
heard other translations say you can’t
handle it I thought man that’s so true
for example anybody in the room married
anybody in the room eight would you have
done it had you known some of the things
that you were gonna go through I’m he’s
just an honest question I don’t know if
I would have done it if I knew about
year two this is one fight where the
keys just went down the hallway right
into the sheetrock I didn’t see that
coming but you know that’s the thing
about the unexpected is that it causes
us to struggle and in this story for me
I really struggled with the goodness of
God when we got this diagnosis I’m like
God how could you do this why us I mean
God I serve you in your church I mean
come on and then it turned to me and I
started blaming myself and I said god
what did I do
what’s sin in my life caused this I mean
was it the dr. pepper and the Lucky
Charms I mean the doctor told me I could
be monitoring with those things and I
know you laugh and it’s kind of funny
but I don’t really thought stuff like
that because the enemy will turn you on
yourself during the unexpected it’ll
cause you to want to doubt yourself
the unexpected will cause you to
struggle and that’s because typically
when you’re in it you’re not able to see
all the blessings that are gonna come
from it so for us it was our community
that rallied around us at church and at
school and at work they prayed for us
they hold they held her hands up it was
the Johnson family you know we had to go
to Cincinnati for my son to get a
bone-marrow transplant it was his only
chance of survival and the Johnson
family didn’t even know us they took us
in and maybe
came our family away from home we needed
them I think about the nurses that took
care of my son and we became such good
friends with some of them one of them
two years into treatment her husband
just ups and leaves her and her
unexpected intersected with my
unexpected and we were able to love on
each other and encourage each other and
I thought to myself only God could do
that only God could weave our paths
together in that way and I thought God
okay this is a moment you have a plan in
all of this
what is your plan and I would pray over
Charlie at night he’d go to sleep and
I’d sit by his bed I pray Jeremiah 29:11
with his name God you know the plans you
have for charlie plans to prosper him
and not to harm him declares the Lord to
bring him a hope and a future and I
would just pray it over and over again
I’d say God I know that you can heal his
body but will you because I’m keenly
aware that there are many parents in
this hospital right now that will not
leave with their child and God has spoke
to me and challenged me because that’s
what the unexpected will do it’ll
challenge you he said Ashley will you
pray for the spiritual healing of your
son like you’re praying for the physical
healing of him because it doesn’t matter
it doesn’t matter if I heal his physical
body if he never comes to know me and
that’s when I began to say God would you
make this a testimony to his life I’m
gonna give you the punchline the
transplant was successful we’re so
grateful for that in order to have a
bone-marrow transplant you have to have
a donor who’s a perfect match and many
people don’t find them and so I’ll never
forget the day our representative called
us and she said mr. and mrs. Osborne we
have found a perfect match for your son
he’s of the top tier of help he’s a
young man in his early 30s and he’s
gonna drop everything right now to go
and you know he had the transplant and
it was successful and one of the things
that happens after you have a transplant
is that because your old blood has been
eradicated from your body by chemo the
new blood is able to start to develop
and it’s crazy because now his disease
blood is gone and it’s our donor Cory
it’s his blood that runs through
Charlie’s veins today not crazy man and
as all of this was playing out of that
pan pan this is the story this sounds so
familiar you know it’s not just
Charlie’s story this is my story you see
because I was deficient and I was in
need of a savior and a young man in his
early 30s saw me that I had a need and
he came to save me and to redeem me and
now it’s his blood that flows through my
veins and it’s the Spirit of God that
lives inside of me and because of that I
don’t have to worry about the unexpected
because of the unexpected I can trust
because of the unexpected I can have a
halt because in the unexpected I can
have determination I can walk by faith
and not by sight and this you know it
has truly allowed me to enjoy the
unexpected
come on now come on can we give it up
for speakers tonight