XO Series | Pastor Mike Todd

the worship now listen man I'm so fired up that each and every one of you guys are here my name is Jeremy and along with my wife Jennifer we get the opportunity and the honor of being able to pastor here hang on he boy got to catch his breath I've been running down the hall trying to seat people it's crazy out there y'all we have people standing in the halls and summation in fact I think I think pastor Josh probably already mentioned here at Memorial Campus if you're on a dream team and you'd be willing to give up your seat go ahead and stand up and walk towards the lobby so that we can accommodate as many people as possible I think we have three seats open right here down front so y'all can go ahead and bring folk down and I'm so excited about what God is doing at our church we've got folks on the stage and it's just crazy man I'm excited we got people standing in the hall if you can hear me thank you for being here I do want everybody to know we're not just welcoming in our Memorial campus we also have a Katy campus and a Cypress campus and God is doing amazing things at all of our campuses additional seating so thank you for for being so awesome about helping us accommodate the crowds we are working on launching another campus actually close to here that's gonna help us bring some of the pressure off of our Memorial Campus and I'm fired up about what God's doing have you guys have you guys enjoyed the EXO relationship series that we've been doing if you enjoyed that we've had a blast as I was as we were launching the series I'd been praying about it like God give me some direction I want some fresh stuff to bring to this series and I feel like I brought you some fresh things to the series right there right there right there just sitting that one right there boom front row yeah just take it if it ain't full sit right there girl look at you brought your coffee now I'll be an usher and the pastor I ain't scared I don't bother me none but when we started this series I said God I need some fresh things I want some fresh manna to bring to the people to use a churchy word and I feel like I did but we also brought in some amazing speakers wasn't bianca amazing she was awesome why are they crazy my favorite line of hers was the Bible's not boring boo boo you are um it was the best and then last weekend I thought my wife did a phenomenal job so brave if you haven't watched those sermons go back on the podcast and this weekend dealing with a a serious topic I've invited a friend of mine to come in who is a powerhouse man of God doing an amazing work of God in Tulsa Oklahoma I'll tell you this let me tell you some of you guys already know let me tell you this if they call us one of the fastest growing churches in America then these guys are Lightspeed last year this time their church was around 600 today there are over 3,000 at their church today and the global and international influence that this man has is unparalleled it's it started for literally eight months ago ten months ago and millions of views on youtubes because his word is sound it's biblical it's straightforward it's funny and it's powerful today is no different in all campuses I want to encourage you if you brought your kids in here especially those who are older elementary middle school high school thank you keep them in here this is going to be one of the most powerful words that they hear now if it's crying babies and stuff for the love of God to pick them up and take them out for us if you don't mind thank you that helps us but I'm excited to hear this today this is one of the most powerful messages you will ever hear in your life will you stand with me across all campuses put your hands together from transformation Church Pastor Mike Todd [Applause] [Applause] [Music] do y'all feel that the presence of God is here and there's an expectation in this house and I am so excited to be here thank you for everybody who's making a sacrifice to be here I want you to find somebody high-five them and say we're talking about sex today you ain't never done that would you can sit down after that you ain't never half I've known somebody and said that you ain't never done that oh I'm excited y'all this is my first time preaching in Houston and I'm at home City h-town I'm excited about it hey whoever you Instagram it hey [Applause] I bring you greetings from Tulsa Oklahoma on transformation church now this is a crazy thing I don't leave home unless I'm on assignment like I have an amazing church at home and and when I met your pastors it was a god thing and this is a god thing and so before I go on or do anything else I just want us to give God glory for the two amazing leaders that you guys have here Pastor Jennifer Patrick Jeremy oh they're not regular people can we thank God for them and then I met pastor Jeremy a few months back at a men's conference and I was like I don't know who this is but he why he act black and he wear cowboy boots I love he'll this is my people and I call him uncle Jeremy and he's been phenomenal and I'm just like your young nephew okay so they told me that I could be and act like I'm at home today and so i'ma do it how I do it like like if you don't like it I'll leave tomorrow [Applause] but I want to approach a subject that the church is very quiet about I see somebody I thought you was about to get out of this series without us touching your issue but I'm here boo boo ha ha and and and and we gotta talk about the thing that all of us are affected by dealing with have dealt with dealing with the ramifications of have thoughts in our mind thoughts in our heart been abused things have happened and and the church has not talked about how the biblical standard of that is supposed to affect your life and I'm talking about sex and and and at the end of the day a lot of people are dealing with things and God is over here and anything that has to do with sex and stuff is over here and we try to keep the two separate because we were introduced to it in a bad way we may have had a wrong experience or been introduced to it prematurely or wrong or by the wrong people and I just believe that the Word of God is very clear on on this topic but we have to live in spirit and truth and I know some of y'all are talking about who has given this young man the authority to talk to me about sex what are your qualifications well I want to go to the screen this is my family and that's my wife Natalie that's my daughter Isabella she's five she runs my life that's my son he has a ponytail but that is a boy and that's my daughter Isabella and I mean my daughter Ava she's 10 months old and she just might think I'm nothing like them and and that's my family I've been with my wife since we were 15 years old that is too young to be in a relationship now that I have a daughter and the only reason I showed you this is because I have some experience on the topic that we're talking about today glory to God why are you saying that Pastor Mike because today we need to talk because some of you need freedom like like like in the area of sex sexuality impure thoughts pure thoughts like like you need freedom and I know we haven't made a space in church for you to really talk about this because then it would allow people to start judging you because you're human and you have real issues and so you can't deal with it and so it becomes a secret part of your life that God can use me and everything over here but please don't touch this because if they really find out what I struggle with in the midnight hour if they really find out what's on my heart or what I text somebody or who's them I slid into I don't act like you ain't sleeping this line some of y'all is out here who at the office I'm in an emotional affair with I'm coming to your house because the enemy is here to try to take what God is called good and make it bad and we have to be believers who do not shy away from the issues that people are dealing with but step towards them and get what the Word of God says on it so I every campus for the next 40 minutes can we just act like the Kardashians are not our standard of relationships and can we put the Word of God I know you got it Tebow right now and you ready to see the next juicy thing but could we just act like the Word of God was the standard for biblical relationships and sex and can we step into this thing because I saw the title of the message was love sex in marriage and I heard people talk about love and I heard people talk about marriage but I hear nobody talk about sex and when we do not step into this thing we allow the world to define what God made and whenever the world defines it it will be a perverted version of what God called it to be and if we're honest I was raised in church parents love God could pray prophesy speak do all of that other stuff but we never talked about sex and when we get into youth group they had one rule don't have sex before you're married that was the I went to the same church daddy that was the only instruction they gave you that's it like like that's that's the only thing you can tell me about this don't do it well what happens if you've already done it what happens if you were introduced to something prema surely or there was abuse in Europe in your childhood what happens if you were watching a TV show and something came on that you didn't know was coming on and those images get imprinted on your head what if you went to an uncle's house and you were using the restroom and you were looking for toilet paper under the magazine to the cabinet and you found a magazine like what what happens when the perversion gets in and seed form what do you do with that and the church is quiet yet half of the issues people are coming to the altar getting prayer for our sexual issues things that they start you know when people need prayer but they use code words could you just pray for me I'm going through some things there were some issues that happen late last night on a bed that I can't tell you we're not done like but but even in a moment where we're trying to get free we can't be real and so I came I'm on assignment so that we could get free in this place today and that we could see what God says about this and this is the first thing I want you to understand that sex is not bad a man that woman said I'm on a man she had an accent Oh amen I'm on sex is not bad and let why are you saying that Pastor Mike because it's the title of my message today sex was God's idea that this was not something that some nasty little perverted person came up with in a backroom in fact like nobody sex was God's idea come on say that at every campus sex was God's idea but some of y'all didn't even say no you tight booty just sitting there sick you can't even guys but this is this is the problem because it has been defined by the world we're in church and we can't even say - in a place that is gods we can't even say that he is good and he created it and until we get the power back and redeem this concept in this amazing institution that God has put in place for married people until we get that power back we do not allow ourselves to be able to experience the greatness and the glory of God's God's idea look at it in Genesis chapter 1 verse 28 it says then God blessed him this is talking about Adam and Eve and he said be fruitful and multiply this was not an agricultural assignment y'all hear me he was telling them hey I'm a bless y'all I made y'all y'all naked it under same Adam go put it down boy do your thing bro worship worship Russia like he this is what God said like he wanted them to connect intimately he wanted them to procreate he wanted them to populate it he wanted them to connect on the deepest level and that was through sex and see when you understand that this was God's idea then scriptures like like Mark chapter 10 verse 6 starts to make sense but God made who made who made it God made them male and female that means he knows our parts our desires our urges our appetites God made them from the beginning of creation this explains why a man leaves his father and mother to be in marriage and are joined everybody say joined when I begin to study this word out in the Greek in the Hebrew it means so much more than what we think in our Western term check this out this word joined means they were joined physically through the act of sex they were joined emotionally through intimacy or closeness and they were joined spiritually in covenant this messes me up because what God is saying here is every time you have sex with somebody there is a three-fold cord being banded and bonded to that person you thought it was just a one-night stand yet at one time when I was in Orlando and it was my birthday and I don't know what happened I got a little chair see and then he was there and it's just having but it didn't mean nothing yes it did what you don't know is that you connected to that person not just physically but emotionally and spiritually and what happens is you get these things called soul ties and these soul ties are things that tie you to other people some of y'all right now are sitting in that chair and it's about to break because you're tied to so many people you're sitting there don't point at nobody don't you don't you do it but so many of us are trying to figure out why when we try to go forward there's something pulling us back you had an interaction a sexual interaction with that person that was full of rage and you never were angry before but somehow now you just go off on people it's because there was an emotional transfer this thing is oh y'all hear me it's thing is bigger than a feeling of pleasure this thing was meant to connect two people into one so much so my question is how many people are you connected to today how many things have we allowed to become a tie that holds us back from our destiny and what God has for us and this is the thing the aggressive that verse goes on to say and the two are united into one since they are no longer two but one I love how God says things cuz we're remedial and we like what do you mean God to like you you mean the two become one he says and yes you her nighted from two into one let no one split apart what God has joined together see God meant for our joining the emotional the physical and the spiritual to happen with one person so that we could be connected to that person in the most intimate way you know the crazy thing about it as I studied marriage in the Bible the dress and the groomsmen and all the pictures and all that stuff God don't get glory from that I mean you were bridezilla and and all of the struggles and we paid all the money but God doesn't get glory from that do you know back in the day when God recognized a marriage is when the husband and the wife consummated the marriage they came together and they had sex if I had time to go on and tell you about how there was a blood covenant and how things were shed and how all of that meant there was a sign of being together I could go through all of that but but what it means is this is when God recognized that you were married the crazy thing about it is every time you have sex outside of marriage you're marrying the person without the Covenant oh you didn't know you didn't know that you were saying I do and you really didn't and that's why the culture has desensitized this thing to a release or a pleasure that that that we used no no what you're doing is you're taking pieces of you and you're giving them to people when something is meant to come together and be joined forever and then you rip it apart it never leaves with what it came with it takes a piece of you with it and my question is how many pieces of you are spread out and robbing you from purpose you used to be so secure and who God called you to be and then you got into a sexual relationship with somebody and you just now you don't even believe in yourself it's cuz they took a piece of you I mean yo I'm in your mailbox here why are you saying this Pastor Mike because most of us were never taught we never knew that this whole thing with sex was like why is God keeping this for me I'm IRA member praying this prayer if God didn't want me to feel this why wouldn't he just keep this away from me until I was married because the greatest thing I gave you was choice and it can't be love if you can't choose it and you can't choose God to help you in this area of purity if you don't make the decision and so today I hope City I want us to reclaim this thing and realize that sex is good but brings me to my my second point is sex has been perverted and until we realize this we get in a place where where we don't really see how God wants this to happen in our life and this is not the first time this has been this has happened see because we don't deal with the truth like the truth is I want everybody understand this 80% of adolescents find out about sex through entertainment media and through their friends this is what the health journal says do you know that means 80% of people are not finding out about sex through teachers through educators and through people who know the Word of God it tells the statistics tell us that 50% of all high school students 17 and under by the time they graduate high school they will have a sexual encounter 50% the sad fact is is 70 to 72 percent for african-americans 7 out of 10 African Americans will have a sexual experience before they leave high school it's 52 percent for Hispanics and it's 47 percent for white people yay white people all I'm saying is it's an epidemic and if we don't if we don't consult the Word of God and teach our kids and teach ourselves what God says about this then we stay in a cycle of darkness that the enemy is able to pass down from generation to generation and a lot of your issues right now that you're dealing with is because nobody stood up and handled it but I believe that hope City today there's some people who are gonna say God I need you in this area of my life look how soft and flats are like or I don't even want them to know the crazy thing is you can trick me and you can trick the person sitting next to you but you got to go home and deal with it and so I would rather us be real because God doesn't bless who you pretend to be he blesses who you really are and so if we realize this thing with sex has been perverted and this is not a new thing then we can go to the word and study it Paul was dealing with this in 1st Corinthians chapter 6 I want you to turn there and he was dealing with the people in Corinth who are kind of like us today at Hope City at all the campuses that are literally trying to figure out how to live saved how to live pure lives but there's so much temptation around I mean you can't scroll on Instagram without seeing somebody half-naked somebody further all the older people Facebook you can't squirrel do you work at places where people are intentionally putting out God how do I live safe how do I stay faithful to this marriage how do I not slip up and go into these things with all of this temptation around and these people in Corinth we're dealing with this same issue and Paul says something about it and I want you to get the idea because if you don't get God's picture of one this doesn't make sense like like let me tell you God's plan of one real quick write this down this is gonna help you God's plan of one was one God one man one woman one marriage one sex partner one flesh one lifetime one picture he's trying to make in us the reflection of how the church and Jesus Christ are supposed to look every marriage is supposed to look like that it's a picture it's a copy of it and he wants that picture on the earth but what we have done is settled for cheap counterfeit duplicates at poor quality and what God is asking us could I give you the original can I show through your life what it looks like to take somebody who submits their sexuality to me and I can allow them to be a picture that their community can see that their brothers and sisters can see that their cousins and family members and co-workers can see God needs somebody to do this but it's hard I'm not gonna sit up here and act like this is a magic trick and a prayer and when you're not lonely and you want to be able to satisfy your urge or you're married you know the biggest trick is that all of those things go away when you get married that's a lie your eyes still work once you marry all these different things happen because we haven't dealt with the root issue so Paul help us help us Paul like give us some some tips okay first Corinthians 6:9 don't you realize that those who do wrong will not everybody say will not they will not inherit the kingdom of God I like this part don't fool yourself like Paul's telling these people don't fool yourself you cannot get everything God has for you in your life and go after the purpose the same way and you keep this area of sex off-limits to God don't fool yourself that you can be used by God and see masses coming to save and just walk in your purpose and I don't know why we do that when we're really trying to go after God but walk in your purpose and you can do all of that but still keep God out of the thoughts that you have in your mind and Pastor Mike you don't really understand like I'm not really doing anything but you're thinking it and there's an area in your heart that is so empty that you keep filling it with shows and pictures and images of things that are going against the thing you don't want in your life but it crate the craving cause your flesh to a place where you're watching stuff where people sleeping with people and it's the office and this and that and power I want to watch power Lord I just need power no you need some real power you need to get the power of God on the inside of you to help you withstand the urges and the desires that are going on in your life and I know I know cuz some of y'all so stiff-necked right now you haven't moved the whole service you haven't because what the enemy can keep in the dark he can keep chained around you he don't care if you get to another level and you raise up and go to a place he's just waiting cuz he know there's the area that's still in the dark and if you ain't told nobody that's why it's so important that you get in these freedom groups that's why it's so important that you begin to become clean do you know the difference between honesty and transparency honesty is telling the truth when somebody asked but do you know that most people won't ask you the questions you need to be actually truthful about and so you'd be like I'm not lying I'm not lying but you ain't being transparent transparency is offering it up transparency is saying this is what I struggled with last night transparency is saying I took his number and I been sexting him and I need a new phone no no but see the enemy keeps us trapped cuz we'll be honest but we won't be transparent and that thing that has been perverted in our hearts in our mind we gotta come clean with it and these guys he's talking to all of these people and they're like okay so those who you know do wrong won't inherit the kingdom of God Paul could you please define for us cuz we don't really know what's wrong like what's wrong and don't that sound like us we always on the line like is this sin is this sin I mean is the ro is the masturbation is like Laura what is it and he said let me be very clear on it look what it says he said those who indulge in sexual sin or worship idols or commit adultery or our male prostitutes or practice homosexuality or are thieves or greedy people I like that one because some of y'all was prideful it's like that ami pass through that ami pass through that ami passer and then it said greedy and he was like cuz you selfish you wanted to share your fries greedy but those who are drunkards and those who are abusive and those who cheat people none of these will inherit the kingdom of God what are you trying to say pass the mic God cannot use you to the fullest ability that he wants to and provide for you in the way if you don't allow him into those areas of your sexual thoughts your sexual abuse your sexual ideas and your sex life Pastor Mike I've never heard this in a series that's why you struggling so hard because you have not allowed the power of God to come in the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead it's the same power that wants to come into your situation but he can't force him way his way in you have to let everybody say let you gotta let him in and see that's the crazy thing about it most of us want God to come in and be the SWAT team to our life but the Bible says he stands at the door and hey it's me it's about 11:30 and I know this is the time the cycle starts and Reggie texts you if your name is Reggie this is not about you but maybe it is hey turn your phone off Holy Spirit but what if something turn your phone off I'm standing at the door and I'm not I'm trying to save you from that thing that's gonna cause him what we want God to do is boom it is me the Holy One of Israel I am here to heal deliver purify sanctified he's about to do it because the greatest thing he gave you was choice and if you don't choose to invite him in he stands on the sidelines do you know the crazy thing about that he's there the whole time and you tie his hands when you're texting he's watching when you lay down in the bed he's there weeping cuz another piece of your purpose is being tied to somebody who doesn't even care about you that's the mic you goin hard today why are you going so hard I mean this is a lot it's because I'm passionate about this cuz this was my life like I almost got taken out by this thing of sexual perversion I almost I literally almost you wouldn't know pastor Michael Todd I wouldn't be at Hope City today if I wouldn't have surrendered my sexuality I was jacked up all in my mind in my head all kinds of things images I saw things that happen to me things I did to other people and the enemy he didn't care that I was on stages playing drums and worshipping and showing up for youth group and serving the homeless he knew he had a hold on me and nobody in my youth group was talking about it the leaders weren't talking about cuz they was dealing with it oh I'm sorry I got pastor D right there and it's hard to talk about something that you've never dealt with and so these men are trying to figure it out and they're like okay Paul like okay so if we do those things we can't inherit the kingdom of God and then Paul throws in the grace of God and he says I want you not to forget verse 11 some of you were once like that but you were cleansed and you were made holy and you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the spirit of God can we take a five-minute praise break and thank God for His grace ya know some of y'all know who you used to be but for the grace of God do not where you wanna be but you not where you used to be because of Jesus you have come so far thank you God come on every campus give God a shout of praise thank you Father I remember getting in and out of windows I remember not being able to sleep trying to watch pornography on dial-up internet I mean you're gonna get caught because the beginning II like all the night just cuz I was trapped I was burdened I was in a cycle I was in bondage and nobody they would talk about faith they would talk about giving they would talk about purpose but nobody was hitting the issue and Paul is walking with these dudes and he said remember the grace of God remember what God did for you but look at verse 12 it says he tells him don't I know y'all thinking crazy stuff right now don't even talk cuz I know he said you say I'm allowed to do anything cuz I've been saved by grace God's good if I mess up he'll forgive me and but then Paul oh I love it Paul ups the ante he said you are saved by grace like you're going to heaven but heaven is the lowest level of this Christian law like the whole goal is not just to get into heaven like and so many of us is just worried about making it in we we want to sin on the right days to make sure that that that God don't come back on the day we jacked up do you understand I don't know if I'm the only one but there was some day like Lord will you come back next Thursday because this weekend I'm like I know I ain't the only one that prayed that prayer not today Lord not today but the thing is when you put your faith in Jesus Christ your eternity your destiny is secure but God wants to affect your history he wants your life to make a difference and so many of us again are worried about the line so we can make it into heaven and pause ups the ante because they're like I know that we you know we were saved by grace I mean I can do anything God's with us and he said but everything look at this scripture I want you to see it says but everything is not good for you I cannot wait till the church matures to the place where it's about is it sin or not is not the criteria of why we do it like we step up to a level of maturity where we say it doesn't matter if it's a sin or not is this good for me it's just gonna produce the type of person that I want to be is this the pattern that I want my children I'm not appear on the line I'm back here to evaluate it is this gonna create the man of Valor the learning of virtue that I wanna be and even though I'm allowed to do anything I must not become a slave to anything my question to you hope city is what are you a slave to huh see so many of us we don't recognize what has the ability to control us we don't know what's controlling us and God wants us to have self-control it's a fruit of the Spirit you can read it in Galatians but I was thinking about self-control self-control is that us controlling ourselves no I found out that self-control it's just the opportunity for you to choose who you will let control you and this is one of the things that God told me I used little acrostic to help me understand what this is so either you can live a spirit-empowered life of faith itself or you can live a sin empowered life of the flesh self and who whatever self you allow control you that's the way you're gonna go and so every day you got to work up wake up and say you know what I'm gonna live ace I'm gonna live a spirit empowered god I can't do this on my own father Here I am again today I'm going to that job with all these thirsty women and Lord I'm asking Oh y'all think I'm playing and Lord I'm asking you today to shield my eyes to allow me to stay focused on what you've given me father God when thirsty Julie is that the water cooler wearing that miniskirt that I like Lord y'all want to be fake at home city that's wearing the thing that I like father give me the boldness to be able to turn away and walk away and go to my cubicle and call my wife and tell her she too bad and stable Wow Oh y'all don't hear me that is living a spirit empowered life of faith you got to have God's help but most of us because we have the framework that sex is bad we won't ask God for the thing that we really need so sex is good sex has been perverted because sex was created by God and the crazy thing about this is we have to talk about sexual impurity because it's one of those really really deceptive sins cuz when you have sexual impurity in your life it always brings friends you can't be sexually impure and not lie so when you're living in that lifestyle you don't just tell everybody what you about to do I remember being a young kid and my mom is like what's y'all about to do I wasn't honest I was like we're going bowling you know spares and strikes like boom but what would it look what would it have looked like hot water and she's like what you doing tonight I'm gonna have sex in the movies no there's always a deceptive spirit and when and some of y'all don't realize that some of the issues that you're dealing with is because you started at a very young age opening up the desires and and and the issues of sex or maybe you are violated and things like deception manipulation control fear doubt unbelief all come with sexual impurity and you look up and you're like I never was this person but you look at them and you see yourself there but it's time to give our sexuality to God that's Mike why do I have these appetites and these desires and all these other things and like why can't God just take them away from me something I found out that really freed me is that many of you aren't even dealing with your own sexual appetites and your own problems and issue it's your mother and your grandmother this stuff has been passed down from generation to generation I'm gonna teach you two words that really changed my life and made me really dig back into to what has happened before me the words are transgression and iniquity write them down please I know they sound kind of churchy and you maybe never heard them before but transgressions and iniquity a transgression is is like trespassing like if you go past the line on somebody's property and you go past it and you sin but you come back like so the transgression is crossing the line it's the outward expression and so I like committing adultery that's what transgression ah I did it I didn't mean to do it oops I did it again oh my god it was my birthday like like and you know we make all kinds of excuses to why we sin and why we go over the line and then iniquities are the inward heart motivation it's the thing on the inside that generates the transgression so if the transgression the crossing of the line is adultery the iniquity or the inward heart posture would be lust and what happens is the church so many times only deals with the transgression oh I messed up Lord forgive me I'm back Lord come on let me go I'm done with this and we just deal with the transgression or the action but we never pull up the iniquity from the root and so what happens in cycles and that's why you can go two years three years four years ten years but it keeps happening the action keeps happening because the center of it is on the inside and we've never given that to God and do you know the crazy thing about it if you're not gonna get sexually pure for yourself if you're not gonna do it for you you think it's too long for God's sake please do it for your kids do it for your children's children because the problem is many of us are dealing with what was not dealt with by our parents look what Deuteronomy five nine says it says the iniquities of the Father will pass upon the children to the third and fourth generation and so what's happening is because there won't be people of God to talk about it enough to allow the hearts to be open about it for us to be able to say God I need you to work in this area we end up dealing with the same thing it runs rampant in your family and your Grandmamma then it turns to your mama and then it turns to you and then you're passing it on and you're like custom like I don't even understand your last name is Rory and your mama's last name Smith and your sister's last name it's Cortes what do you think happened and there's so many secrets and lies stuff you don't even know I found out last year some stuff about my family that I did not know during me doing this series because there's so many secrets and so many things that nobody dealt with it even hit me so much in my own life because I dealt with pornography very heavy addicted messed up jacked up almost forfeited my wife I'm arming everything but I found out about these two words and so I went ahead a conversation with my dad and almost like pastor man of God Great Father but we never talked about this and what happened is he told me that he struggled with the same addiction in the same age group that I did and never fully dealt with he told me he said Mike I used to go to New York with my college and he said I would walk down the street with a pocketful of quarters I said daddy why you have a pocketful of quarters he says cuz back then there were streets where they had peep shows and you put a quarter in and the curtains would move and there would be a naked woman and that was his days version of pornography or letting images come into his head and he said I didn't deal with it I just moved on from it and he didn't stand up and stop the generational curse and guess what he had five boys five and and three of us dealt with pornography heavily and two of my brothers had babies out of wedlock it did what it wanted to do with my daddy and then it skipped to the next generation and as I look at my son and I say hold on if I don't deal with this if I don't stand up and surrender my sexuality then this has the opportunity to pass to him it stops with me I can't let it keep going Pastor Jeremy and so I had to realize that if God invented sex not trey songz come on yeah here lion I am gonna do live no you didn't in Justin Timberlake thinks that sex got lost and he bringing sexy back and Marvin gayed thinks that he has sexual healing no no no no no no God created this thing and if he created it that means he knows how it's supposed to work and do you know that the same fire that heats your home and that starts your car and that gives you the ability to have hot food is the same fire that can burn your house down if that fire is not put in the right container it will cause destruction that's why God created a container for sex called marriage third point sex has a container and it's marriage and when you put sex in container it's a spirit but outside of it it takes from you it robs you of your purpose and it burns down things that were supposed to stand forever so pass on my gold I'm supposed to do well I mean I'm already here you don't understand I was abused I started habit so it's been so hard there's a place in me that only feels good when I'm in a relationship you gotta let God feel there you gotta get into small groups and confess it not when it happens when it's happening like you got to tell people like this is my struggle if you even feel that I might be struggling with this call me out pray for me see we think come in to the altar and get in the pastor to pray for us heals us the Bible says in James you confess your sins one to another pray for each other you can be a mechanic named Joe and-and-and-and a person that works in a grocery store and come together and God says that's where healing happens and what did I have to do I had to surrender my sexuality and that's what I'm asking everybody to do my last point surrender your sexuality today at Hope City at every campus I'm hoping somebody was free enough by the way we talked about this to say you know what this is not a bad thing but I got some issues I got some hurts I got some perversion I got some desires I got some things that have not been set in my life right God can you uproot those seeds that pain that hurt those habits and God can you plant something pure like like your the god that's so good that you can take our transgressions and iniquities and do something with it look how congruent the Word of God is I want you to turn to Isaiah chapter 58 this is uh good look what the word says it says to us but he this is Jesus was wounded for our transgressions so every time we stepped over the line he took a beating for them and it says and he was bruised for our iniquities can you see how dope this is is that remember what I told you a tree aggression is the outward expression what you do where do you get wounded out on the outside if somebody cuts you that's a wound and so he took the wound for our transgressions but look what he did for our iniquities it says he was bruised remember the iniquities is the inward thing and when you get bruised it comes from the inside out God said I have done something that will heal every mistake you made and I'll heal the root when he was on the cross and he let them beat them in the scourging he said no no no no I could call angels right now to save me but Michaels gonna need me a few more let's take a few more strikes for the people at Hope City because you don't have to live in bondage to sexual sin look what it says it says the chastisement for our peace this was for me this was for your peace so you don't have to live in the bunch he said it was upon him and by His stripes when you see the stripes on pictures those were not just because Jesus went through a bad day he took those stripes for our healing and you can walk free from every sexual perversion everything that happened and be able to be a pure vessel in your thoughts in your mind in your life and that will pass on to somebody else my last analogy that you can see is that I think about water and and how powerful water is and water in the right container can produce life and light for millions of people these are millions of gallons of water rushing and it's producing life and light for an entire city but that same water outside of the container and Houston probably knows about this more than anybody can cause damage to things people and places that will be irreparable and even when the water recedes the mildew of what happened will still be there and even when you get a new relationship and cut out the drywall that was damaged there'll still be pieces that you never can replace that were lost in the damage today I'm asking everybody at Hope City let's just surrender everything that's happened every image we've seen everything we've done yeah I did it I was on hope but now I'm holy Oh y'all better help me in here God doesn't care that you did it he wants you to submit it I don't want you to miss that God doesn't care that you did it he wants you to submit it and today there's husbands and wives they need to apologize to each other and start afresh and get in marriage counseling and join a group there are people in this room that have been struggling in your sexuality and your up on them web sites that night by yourself or on your cell phone and you're struggling and you need to tell somebody and you need to come clean God is just saying could you please give it to me because this greatest scripture that I found in this is at the end of that first Corinthians 6 verse 14 it says and God will raise us from the dead by his power by whose power history just as he raised our Lord from the dead and you know sometimes I used to read scriptures and just oh that is so good that is so good and I didn't get nothing out of it I didn't know anything but that's just the right thing to say I stopped doing that and I said God you're gonna have to give me revelation on this so I kept right reading it and kept reading it and this is what God said to me and I think it's gonna set somebody free anybody who's dealing with sexual perversion or sexual impurity or sexual thoughts or being chained to different things of God is good he said Michael I raised Jesus Christ from the dead he said and when you die I'm gonna raise you from the dead and you're gonna be with me he said if I can raise a dead body what makes you think I can't manage you're living on hmm and today I want somebody to hear me say this that whatever you've been struggling with god is powerful enough to handle it if you surrender it to him so Romans 613 don't let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin give instead everybody say instead you have a different option instead give yourselves completely to God for you are dead yeah you were but now you have new life so use your whole body your legs your eyes your thighs your texting thumbs use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God today hope city we're gonna surrender our sexuality cuz sex is not a bad thing sex was God's idea when it's put in the right container of marriage and if you are not there God will help you sustain into the place of purity you need to be can we give God some praise music come on standing all over the building standing all over the building Pastor Mike Wow what what did you come so hard for me to do it's because somebody needs freedom like I did and like I said you don't have to like what I said I came on an assignment and somebody's heart is open now to let God Hannes lifted all over this place the international sign of surrender father God we thank you right now that we are really going to give you all of us Father every area of our life that we have not surrendered every area that we activ didn't exist everything father God that we've experienced and thought father God that has been perverted we submit it to you today god I thank you right now that hearts that have been torn by perversion are turning into purity I thank you that marriage is father that have been defiled by thoughts and images of others father are coming into a place father God of unity and having thoughts of you God I'm thanking you that the person who is struggling in isolation right now gets accountability healing and freedom hope City will be a place father where your standard can be lifted up we will experience the kingdom of God not just an eternity but in history and I declare father anybody's heart who has been bound by abuse and hurt father that you're coming in to lift them up thank you for your son thank you for grace thank you for your love and thank you for this message that is turning us back to a biblical view of sex love in marriage have your way in our lives God and we will be careful to give you all the glory honor and praise come on let's give God a shout of praise oh come on city lotion our God I don't want anybody to go anywhere right now unless it's an absolute emergency because it's in this moment that you will make a decision whether this will become an imprint on your heart or whether it'll just be another good sermon that you heard made you a little uncomfortable but you got to laugh a little bit two things you have to do how do i how do I surrender my sexuality two things number one you got to be intimate with God what is intimacy with God intimacy is to know and to be fully known intimacy with God here's a way I like to look at it intimacy God into me see nothing hidden everything open I want to be intimate with you God how do I get intimate with God you got to pray you got to talk to him I don't know how to pray go to Hub City calm down load the prayer guide it's awesome how to pray how to talk to God it's important for you to do every day when you're intimate with God you won't be doing this you'll be doing this god I know me I know I know how I think so I got to start this morning oh my face I got to start this morning on my knees and at lunchtime God over here at lunchtime I know me so I got it I got it I got to do lunchtime on my knees and I know me God so at bedtime I got to be on my knees I've got to be intimate with God here here's why you desire intimacy and if you don't have intimacy with God you will desire it in a perverted way you have to be intimate with God and number two Bible says very clearly confess your sins one to another not just to Jesus one to another that you may be healed because some of us are dealing with iniquity we've never talked about we have a perfect capsule for that and it's called it's called groups and I'm asking every person in our church to sign up for a freedom group you've got to go through freedom I'm telling you it changed my life I told my wife after our first freedom conference I said I realize now why we started this church now so we could have just a bunch of people come so that we could get everybody in our church to go through freedom groups so they could be set free and become disciples of Jesus Christ and see incredible things happen in their lives here's where it starts listen Jesus said in any man would come after me so first there's got to be a desire I want to come after you God let him deny himself but it's what I want it's what I need is what I have to deny yourself take up your cross follow him and I'm telling you the freedom that you experience will blow your mind I want to ask a question if you're in here and you know for some reason Jesus has not been the center of your life maybe you've lived for God for a long time maybe you've never given your life to Jesus but you know somewhere in your life he's just not the center of your life and today you want to say today I'm putting a stake in the ground I'm making a moment I'm acknowledging Jesus the Bible says when you acknowledge him he will acknowledge you so with heads up eyes open if you're saying today is my day boldly put your hand in the air that's me today's my day hands hands hands hands hands hands hands hands hands hands come on bless every campus pray this prayer with me pray this prayer with me Jesus I'm a sinner you're the only one who can save me so right now in this moment i'm giving you my whole life forgive me of my sins i give it all to you be the Lord of my life in Jesus name Amen listen if you prayed that prayer listen if you prayed that prayer I'm gonna give you a real practical step and then I'm gonna dismiss you at all campuses and you're gonna use all the exits because we need you to exit quickly and gladly but if you said that prayer this is very important you got a next step I want you to text hope 2 7 7 4 5 3 it's very practical but we're gonna send you 3 things we're gonna send you information about our connect groups that you could be a part of information about our growth tract and then we're gonna give you a free Bible based video program where you can start studying the Word of God at your own at your own time on your own level it's important this stuff is important you got to go you got to go you got to go further and God's calling us as a church to go further all of that informations on hope City com are you excited about what God's done how about Pastor Mike Todd come on y'all let him know that was amazing here's my prayer pray the Lord blesses you I pray that he keeps you I pray that he makes his face to shine upon you I pray that he turns his countenance towards you that's his favor and I pray that God gives you peace do you receive that if you need prayer prayer partners to be a down at the front of every auditorium god bless you you're dismissed use all the exits have a great week [Music]

Channel: Hope City

Views: 220,779

Rating: 4.9416738 out of 5

Keywords: Jeremy Foster, Houston, Hope City, Hope, Christianity, Jesus, HILLSONG, hillsong worship, hillsong united, elevation, elevation worship, transformation church, mike todd, carl lentz, kanye west, sunday service, hillsong nyc, who is jesus, how to understand God

Id: jUAUxGrxvuU

Length: 57min 11sec (3431 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 20 2018