Exchange The Stain // What Are You Stained With? // Easter 2021 – Pastor Mike Todd – Transformation Church

Mike Todd’s Introduction

• Today is the day we celebrate our Lord and Savior rising again with all power!
• Today, we celebrate and praise a risen savior!!
• We’ve been praying that something in your life would align and that you can know about our risen savior
• Jesus has already won victory for your life

 Revelation 1:17-18 New Living Translation (NLT)

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.

Everybody born into this world is stained.

Many people are trying to hide their stains. Heart, soul, mind, or even phones. You can care more about people seeing it, but God is there right now.

He was there when the stain was made. He was there when you doubled down on the business because you thought being successful would allow you to hide the deep stains of being overlooked as a family. The same goes for makeup/beating your face to hide your insecurity. It will stain another generation because you’ve been hiding them with stains and neglecting the ones God called you to raise.

All of us have stains.

Mike is coming to us from a place of humility. He knows his stains even if you don’t know them. He knows the things he watches to long, the things in his mind, the deep roots of the things that he does to be seen and to be loved. He knows the places he’s gone not because he was accepted, but just because he wanted to feel something. Stained.

Anecdote: You might not know this, but Pastor Mike is a messy eater. Pastor Natalie would say things like, “don’t eat there because you’re going to mess up the carpet.” Mike knows where his mouth is, but the problem is that he likes sauces. He considers himself somewhat of a “sauceologist”. What’s your favorite sauce? When Mike eats, it’s messy because he dips it in a bunch of sauce before taking bites. While enjoying it, many times, there’s so much there that a little bit drips. One time, he had the audacity to wear all white to an event. He was clean. Period pooh. 😊 They had the audacity to have steak there. When there’s steak, Mike needs A1, Barbeque Sauce, Siracha, and he was dipping excessively. He made it through his whole meal without getting dirty, until the last bite. On the last bite, he did a little extra, then the sauce dripped, almost in slow motion to his clothes. It was literally at the beginning of the event. The rest of the night, Mike looked at their faces, and they looked at his stain.

What was once very clean, was very damaged by something they didn’t experience, but could see the residue of. Your attitude, how you medicate yourself, all of these different things, we all see the stains – the proof is on you even though we didn’t witness it.

Message Title: Stained

1. We All Have Stains 

“I have stains.” Declare it.

You might not see the stain the way others saw. It’s evident when you look down, but it’s evident to them when they look at you at all.

Many times, people see your stains. Know that your stains are not better than their stains.

The little while lie is not different from homosexuality. You can be in church lying and talking about people, or living an alternate lifestyle, but you’re still stained.

You’re still stained.

Some of you have been stained by secrets. Secrets in your family, secrets touching your heart right now, stains from conversations with people, from the mother not validating you when you were molested so that other people wouldn’t know – she kept it a secret.

Many of us are hugging people – secret relationships – secret relationships with people. Secrets in the DM with people. The secret left a mark on you. Every time you connect with that secret, the longer it stays alive, the longer you try to only do it when you really need it, it will find itself a part of you.

Now you’re raising kids, on the praise team. The secrets are nowhere to be found. The secrets go away in your action, but there is still proof that it impacted your life.

We all have stains.

The secrets have given birth to trauma.

You thought you’d be okay if you had just left.

You thought you left your 13-year-old trauma behind you. You thought leaving people and leaving your country would take it away. The drama left, but the trauma is still on you.

Now every thanksgiving, it walks away for 11 months, but comes back every Christmas. We act like everything is cool even though it’s heavy and it’s a weight.

Now the pains of communication with your high school sweetheart don’t allow you to communicate with your wife. These stains have marked you.

We all have stains. Maybe your stain didn’t come from secrets or trauma.

Maybe your stains are coming from addiction. Maybe it’s only “every once in a while.” Thank you for supporting me, or lifting me up.

Your stains can be a substance or a person.

You might only connect every summer – thanks for being my peace. Thanks for giving me that high again.

Addiction goes away, but you can go back to it – even if it doesn’t come back to you. You just need another hit – to be touched one more time, to feel connection one more time – and it’s a cycle that many are trapped in right now.

The secrets and trauma have turned into addictions that have left you stained.

It may have not been an addiction but all of us have idols. Idols can be anything that exalts itself above God.

Take a picture of our family, take a picture of our relationship, take a picture of us in front of our new house.
Your relationship, your family, your success – whatever you make bigger than God has become your idol.

Idols stain you.

If you thought your degrees would make you better – you could value education over your existence – over God. You lost relationships. It left you stained.

It could’ve been the secrets, the trauma, the addiction, the idols – but it’s on you.

The saddest part about it is that none of us asked to be here. Regardless of how our parents came together, we didn’t ask to be here, but we’re learning from other people with stains.

They did the best they could but didn’t have much anyway.

You could be stained by neglect.

“Why weren’t you there Dad? Why didn’t you come? You didn’t know I needed you? My coach was supposed to look out for me, but then molested me? You hugged me, but then abused me and took advantage of me? Pastor, you saw how I was in the world, but all you wanted was my money and to use me to make my ministry big? You just wanted a volunteer on your team? You neglected me. Now I’m done with church, with my dad. F you! I’m sick of this. You should have been there like…”

People that should have been there for you, and been like other dads, leaders, or pastors – now you’re walking away and left with the stains of neglect.

These thoughts may be buried. You may have not thought about it in year, but this is a physical picture of what your soul looks like. Your mind, will, and emotions have been stained. We didn’t ask for it, but the biggest stain of them all, the stain that would stain us forever was sin.

“Maybe what God has for me isn’t as good as what culture has for me. Maybe I can do it that way instead of His way.”

Sin comes out in every form. It comes out in your career, relationship – sin violates you.

It pats you down and tells you to spread um. Sin comes to rob you of everything that God came to give you. Sin reminds you of your faults, and your pain, and your vulnerability and promises you everything that it will never be able to give you. The world is suffering from being stained by sin.

We continue to dap it up with sin.

We get so used to it that we start to put it on ourselves. We think it’s the way to live our lives – then encourage other people to be stained.

“It’s only one night. It’s your birthday. Let’s Netflix and stain. Let’s have children out of our brokenness and stain them.” This is the plight of humanity. We have been stained.

We have been stained.

Pastor Mike is saying that this is him. This is what sin did to his life. He doesn’t know why he saw that at their house when he was 5-years-old. It stained him though. It was a secret, that caused him trauma, and then an addiction of pornography followed him into his marriage, it became an idol, and caused him to neglect the people that he loves. He is stained.

For anyone who doesn’t see themselves up there, be careful if you think you’ve earned this purity position.

All of us got stained when we were born.

2. Sin Stained Humanity

When sin entered this world, sin has affected, influenced, and stained all of us.   

Romans 5:12 New Living Translation (NLT)

Adam and Christ Contrasted

12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.

Romans 3:23 New Living Translation (NLT)

23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

God decided to send someone to clean us up. God sent sanitizer, and his name was Jesus.

The greatest sanitizer in history. The only one that was poured out one time and be able to clean the sins and stains of men forever. God sent Him for everything you have done and will do. His name is above every name, His name is Jesus.

A sanitizer is a cleaner that alters something regarded as less acceptable to make so as to make it more acceptable.

When we came into this world, and sin got on us, God sent Jesus. What’s not acceptable is this sin. If we’re ever touched, changed, and transformed by the sanitizer, Jesus, it gives us the ability to come back in relationship with God. That’s all He wants for us.

Some may feel too dirty and as though their stains go back too far – and while Mike might not know – God knows. Before the foundations of the Earth, God made this plan so that we could all be clean.

For all of us that woke up and tried to cover stains, if you’re going to work tomorrow, raising kids with stains all over you, you can’t go on like this. You don’t have to. When God put the plan of salvation in play, He didn’t just send a sanitizer but cleaned us all the way up.

2 Corinthians 5:21 New Living Translation (NLT)

21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

He made Him take on everyone’s stain so that we could be clean.

Picture your life completely clear and clean. Picture yourself coming into this world. Picture what you look like after sin comes into your life.

Many of us run to religion and want to be cleaned up by religion. All that does is make everything dirty. What was a few spots became your identity. We decide to come back up, get self-help, light candles, manifest everything, and read all the books.

Then you try relationship to clean yourself up. God was sending Jesus though.

It looked regular, but Jesus wasn’t a regular man. He lived a regular life, but had the power of God residing within Him.

When they thought it was finished, all they did was give a platform for Jesus to prove that He was God.

At the cross, Jesus took every one of our stains and said this is the thing that I can do, “I can take what hurt you as a kid, what happened to you illegitimately, what the devil tried to use to take you out, and I could use it as a testimony of me making something new.”

This transformation is a sign of what God is going to do for you. He would clean everything that has been damaged around you. Your family, your friends, your coworkers.

Jesus has come to clean your life up.

You’re not too far, not too broken, not too jacked up, you haven’t done enough. You are the only one Jesus came back for.

It wasn’t for them; it was for you.

At the cross, at the tomb, and when the tomb was rolled away, Jesus took all of the stains, and took and traded the brokenness you would have. Even though there might be a little bit left, that’s your testimony. Your garment is clean, but you know where you came from, to know, and never forget you were once broken, hurting, addicted, but the blood of Jesus set you free.

What happened at resurrection is that Jesus stole our stains.

3. Jesus Stole Our Stains

He took everything we would be guilty for.

Nobody talked about how long Saturday was. Saturday was dark. Friday wasn’t good for Him. The disciples didn’t have a guaranteed that Jesus was coming back on Saturday. When they looked for Him, he was gone, He traded the stains of humanity for you to walk in freedom.

Why are you still living in shame? Why are you still living in pain? Why do you keep reclaiming the stains? Why do you keep going and romanticizing the years that stained you? If I was 20 again, if I was in college again, if I could do the marriage again…Why do you keep reclaiming the stains that He already paid for?

Jesus has already done His part. All you have to do is receive what He’s done for you.

That’s it; that’s the good news.

The stains all over you making you uncomfortable, Jesus says exchange it. What better day?

2 Corinthians 5:17 New Living Translation (NLT)

17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

This is the truth. You’ve become brand new. The truth is that the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead is the same spirit that will enable you to live.

The plan wasn’t just to get you from a place of being stained to being clean, but he took that pain so that you could be sustained.

He takes whatever you had and adds his super to your natural, and took your stain, cleansed you, turned it into your testimony, and it’s the thing that will sustain you.

We overcome him by the blood of the lamb and the words of my own stain. I was a hoe, I was addicted to porn, I was a bad person. He needed someone to accept what they were, but aren’t anymore. He will sustain you.

Anecdote: Even though 6 years ago, Will was in jail, today he leads the internship program. HE didn’t forget that it was Jesus and only Jesus who took his stains and he can now lead other people.

God doesn’t care what stained you before. Today, God wants to sustain you.

Allow God to reveal to you the stains that He wants you to exchange today.

His promises for your life are about to come true. It’s not dependent on what you did, but on what He’s already done.

God wants to sustain you.

“You Sustain” – Worship Song

Altar Call and Prayer: This is an opportunity to receive Jesus. He’s the only one who can take people as stained as Pastor Mike, He will throw your sins as far as the East is from the West and choose not to remember them anymore. Today is the day of salvation. On the count of 3, lift your hand. Behold the lamb who takes away the sins, or the stains, of the world. 1. This will be the greatest decision you’ve ever made. 2. I know religion tells you to jump through all these hoops and change everything, but God wants a relationship with you. If he has your hearts, He will help you change your habits. If you want to receive Jesus, 3. Shoot your hand up in the air.

Heaven is beginning to rejoice right now.

This is your moment. Transformation Church, you know we’re called to represent God for transformation in Christ. This is your moment, everything changes right now. You might have problems but you’ll never walk alone again. You’re inviting the sanitizer into your life.

Let us pray…lift your hands right there. That’s the international sign of surrender. Anything you’ve been holding, you’re releasing it and surrendering it. God, thank you for sending Jesus, to take away my stains. Today, I believe that you lived, and you died, just for me, I commit my life to you, change me, renew me, transform me, I’m yours, from this day forward, in Jesus mighty name, Amen.

Today, you start your new life. Your name has been written in the lambs book of life for all eternity. Here’s a guarantee: if you just accepted Christ, if you’re one of those people who only come to church on Easter, if you made a decision, this will be the best year of your life if it’s your best year spiritually. In business, family, finances, and soul care, if it’s your best year spiritually. I challenge you to get into a good Bible based church. You can keep coming back here. Text saved to 828282 and we’ll send you information and walk with you on this journey. You need community, people to walk with you, and be that church to help you to grow and mature. Today, we’re so excited for what God has done in you. This is the time to make a commitment, not for today, but for your lifetime. We just want you to continue to grow.

Go back and watch Grace Like a Flood, Marked, Forgiveness University, Planted Not Buried, Relationship Goals – go back and watch them and meet Mike here every week. You’ll get stronger, grow, and stay anchored. Jesus is the only thing that can take away your stains.

Happy Easter, Happy Resurrection Sunday, go out and live a transformed life.

You can still get “Relationship Goals” the book and study guide today for additional support:

Latest Arrivals in BIM Merch

Bold Insider Marketing (BIM) is not authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with any other company, agency or government agency. All products and company names are trademarks™ or registered® trademarks of their respective holders.

SUMMARY NOTES

1. We All Have Stains
2. Sin Stained Humanity
3. Jesus Stole Our Stains

Link to full Video (share this message💕): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snh5cphF22k

Join TC for prayer every Monday night at 6PM (CST). 

Text SUSTAIN to 828282 to join the sustain challenge to show your creative expression of this powerful song. 

Text SHARE to 828282 to share your story via the TC video booth.

Transformation Church would love to hear how God is touching your life through this ministry!  Tell us your story by emailing mystory@transformchurch.us!

If you would like to support TC financially you can give through the TC app, or online through the website by clicking here https://transformchurch.us/give/.  You can also Text ‘TCGIVE’ to 77977.

If you need prayer, email prayer@transformchurch.us!

For more information about Transformation Church, visit https://transformchurch.us/.

To join a Belong Group, visit https://transformchurch.us/BELONG/ or text BELONG to 828282

The D.I.G. stands for Deeper In God and it is a conversation where we dive deeper in God. Join us this Wednesday at 7pm (CST)! — https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYv-siSKd3Gn9IsliO95gIw