You've been working hard. Praying harder. Fasting. Reading your Word. But if you're honest, nothing's really changed. And the question God is asking you today isn't whether you're trying. It's whether you're listening.

In this powerful message, Dr. Eric Thomas uses Haggai 1:5–7, the story of Nehemiah, and a revelation from a 12-year-old wrestler to expose why so many believers are stuck in cycles they were never meant to repeat. It's not because you're not working. It's not because you're not praying. It's because you're asking God to bless your decisions instead of asking Him to make the decision.

God wants the exact same thing you want. He just doesn't want you to leave Him out.

Using Haggai 1, God confronts His people with a hard truth: You have sown much, but bring in little. You eat, but have not enough. You drink, but are not filled. You clothe yourselves, but there is no warmth. And he that earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes.

God isn't saying this to condemn you. He's saying it because you're not where you're supposed to be, and something has to change. He's not asking you to consider His ways. He's asking you to consider YOUR ways. Look at what you're doing on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Look at how you're spending your money. Look at who you're attracting yourself to. Look at what you're doing. And ask yourself: is this working?

Through a revelation from his 12-year-old god-son Trey, Pastor ET breaks down the difference between basketball coaching and wrestling coaching. In basketball and football, you talk to your coach between plays. But in wrestling, your coach is actively talking to you while you're wrestling. In the middle of a move, your coach is saying, "Don't do that, do this instead."

That's how God wants to coach you. Not after you've already made the decision. Not after you've already spent the money. Not after you've already entered the relationship. He wants to speak to you WHILE you're in the middle of it. But most of us don't want coaching from God. We want relief. We want access. We want income. We want results. And we're okay getting all of it without Him.

God is saying: I want to give you everything you're asking for. I just don't want to lose when you get blessed.

Before Nehemiah rebuilt the wall in 52 days, God spent four months building Nehemiah. Because God builds the heart before He builds the wall. You cannot build something new with an old heart. And you cannot attract what you pray for. You only attract what you are.

This message introduces the winning formula God gave through a 12-year-old: Ask Before. Listen During. Review After.

Don't ask God to bless your decision. Ask God to make the decision, and it's already blessed. Don't come to God after you've done what you wanted to do. Let Him yoke you up and coach you in real time. And when it's over, review it. Ask yourself: Where did I listen today? And where did I ignore Him?

IN THIS MESSAGE YOU'LL DISCOVER:
→ Why you're working hard but still not progressing
→ The coaching problem: why we want relief, access, income, and results without God
→ How a 12-year-old wrestler revealed the secret to breakthrough
→ The difference between basketball coaching and wrestling coaching
→ Why God is just as hurt as you are when you're stuck
→ How to stop asking God to bless your decision and start asking Him to make the decision
→ The winning formula: Ask Before, Listen During, Review After
→ Why you only attract what you are, not what you pray for
→ Why repeating the strongest behaviors brings the best results

📖 KEY SCRIPTURES
Haggai 1:5–7
Nehemiah 1:4
Nehemiah 6:15
Proverbs 3:5–6
Isaiah 30:21
Jeremiah 29:11
Psalm 51:10
Matthew 7:7–8
Malachi 3:10–11
Ephesians 2:10

CHAPTERS:

🔥 IF THIS HIT YOU
Share it with someone who's been working hard but still not getting the breakthrough God has for them.
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📲 CONNECT WITH APOC
📱 Download the App → Search "APOC Ministry" in your app store
🙏 Submit a Prayer Request → Tap "Prayer" in the app
💸 Partner With Us → apocministry.org/give
📅 Join Us LIVE: Saturdays @ 11AM EST

🎤 ABOUT ERIC THOMAS — ET THE HIP HOP PREACHER
Dr. Eric Thomas is a world-renowned motivational speaker, pastor, author, and educator. From homeless high school dropout to PhD, ET's story has inspired millions across the globe. Known as ET The Hip Hop Preacher, he has spoken to the NFL, NBA, Fortune 500 companies, and now leads A Place of Change Ministry in Grand Ledge, Michigan alongside his wife, Dede Thomas, and Associate Pastor TJ Tyus. With over 2.1M Instagram followers, 1.5M YouTube subscribers, and millions of podcast downloads, ET's message of faith, sacrifice, and accountability continues to transform lives worldwide. He is also the recipient of the President's Lifetime...

You were born to win. You were chosen to win. So why do you keep returning to the same patterns God already freed you from?

In this powerful message, Dr. Eric Thomas uses Galatians 5:1, Proverbs 26:11, and the story of Nehemiah to reveal why we repeat destructive cycles and how to finally break them.

It is not because you do not have what it takes. It is not because God has not blessed you. The problem is that many of us refuse to do three essential things:

REVIEW. OWN. ADJUST.

Before Nehemiah rebuilt the wall in 52 days, he spent four months praying, fasting, mourning, thinking, and preparing. God did not begin with the wall. He began with Nehemiah’s heart.

If you want to stop losing and start winning, you must allow God to coach you. Let Him examine your attitude, decisions, character, systems, and patterns.

Using Haggai 1:5–7, Pastor ET explains what happens when we work hard without examining how we are living:

You plant much but harvest little.
You eat but are not satisfied.
You drink but remain thirsty.
You earn money, but it disappears like wages placed into pockets filled with holes.

The issue may not be that you are not working. You may simply be repeating a system that cannot produce the result you want.

This message challenges you to stop blaming the season, the people around you, or your circumstances. Review the pattern. Own your decisions. Adjust the system. Then allow God to lead you forward.

IN THIS MESSAGE, YOU WILL DISCOVER:

• Why you were born and chosen to win
• The winning formula: Review, Own, Adjust
• Why we return to things God already freed us from
• What happened during the four months before Nehemiah’s 52-day rebuild
• How to let God search and examine your heart
• Why refusing correction keeps people stuck
• How your attitude, choices, and character affect your results
• Why ownership is necessary for transformation
• How to stop blaming others and start coaching yourself
• Why you cannot change your finances, relationships, or future without changing yourself

KEY SCRIPTURES:

Galatians 5:1
Proverbs 26:11
Psalm 139:23–24
Nehemiah 1:4
Haggai 1:5–7
Isaiah 43:1–4
Jeremiah 29:11
Ephesians 2:10
Galatians 6:4
Proverbs 4:23

CHAPTERS:

• 00:00:00 Welcome: The Gift of Being Chosen to Win
• 00:00:39 You Were Born to Win: God's Design From Day One
• 00:04:34 Don't Go Back: Stand Fast in Your Freedom
• 00:08:56 As a Dog Returns to His Vomit: Breaking the Cycle
• 00:10:44 The Four Months Before the 52 Days: Heart Surgery First
• 00:12:49 The Winning Formula: Review, Own, Adjust
• 00:19:23 Search Me, O God: Letting Coach Examine You
• 00:32:19 Look at What's Happening to You: Haggai's Mirror
• 00:37:09 Ownership and Accountability: Stop Blaming Others
• 00:43:46 Kenneth Walker III: The Power of Not Being a Victim
• 00:48:01 Speed and Kai Cenat: Taking the Internet Seriously
• 00:50:04 The Mirror Exercise: Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself
• 00:59:09 Altar Call: Four Months of Coaching with God
• 01:02:35 Next Steps: Lock In and Don't Miss What's Next

If this message challenged you, share it with someone who is ready to stop returning to old patterns.

Subscribe and turn on notifications:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLRzMQFmplNd4-H1X5bj1jA?sub_confirmation=1

📲 CONNECT WITH APOC
📱 Download the App → Search "APOC Ministry" in your app store
🙏 Prayer Requests → Tap "Prayer" in the app
💸 Partner With Us → apocministry.org/give
📅 LIVE: Saturdays @ 11AM EST

🎤 ABOUT ERIC THOMAS
Dr. Eric Thomas is a world-renowned speaker, pastor, author, and educator. From homeless high school dropout to PhD, ET's story has inspired millions across the globe. He has spoken to the NFL, NBA, and Fortune 500 companies, and leads A Place of Change Ministry in Grand Ledge, Michigan alongside his wife Dede Thomas and Associate Pastor TJ Tyus.

🏛️ ABOUT A PLACE OF CHANGE MINISTRY (APOC)
APOC exists to help people experience real transformation through the Word of God, not just hear it, but live it. Built on a culture of Love, Serve, and Grow.

📍 Grand Ledge, MI
🌐 apocministry.org
📧 [email protected]

Can you see?

You've been hearing the Word. You've been receiving the information. You've even believed it. But nothing's changed. And the question God is asking you today isn't whether you heard it. It's whether you can see it. Because meaning determines seeing. Change the meaning, you change what you see. Change what you see, you change what you do.

In this powerful message, Pastor TJ Tyus delivers one of the most transparent, convicting sermons of the year using a simple but profound demonstration: broken reflectors can still reflect perfect light. Through raw personal testimony about the death of his nephew, losing his daughter Aries, kidney disease, and the pain of feeling like a loser when God says you're a winner, Pastor TJ exposes the real reason you're still stuck. It's not because you don't have the information. It's because you're giving it the wrong meaning.

Winning is greater than or equal to you getting what you want.

Most of us believe winning equals getting what we want. But God says winning is greater than or equal to your way. So if you don't get your way, that means God has something greater for you, and you're still winning. It's all about the meaning you give everything.

Using the story of Peter, Pastor TJ breaks down how Peter kept making the same mistakes over and over again: rebuking Jesus, drawing a sword, denying Jesus three times. And every time, it came down to one thing: the meaning Peter gave to what was happening. Peter expected Jesus to come as a ruler who would overthrow Rome. But Jesus came as a servant who gave up His life. Peter had the right person, but the wrong picture.

Through a live demonstration with broken glass and light, Pastor TJ reveals how broken people can still reflect God's perfect light. Even in your brokenness, if you stay in alignment with God, His glory will shine through you. In fact, broken reflectors create more angles, more shapes, more ways for God to use you.

IN THIS MESSAGE YOU'LL DISCOVER:
→ Why winning is greater than or equal to you getting what you want
→ The formula: Event, Meaning, Emotion, Behavior
→ How the meaning you give things creates your emotional state
→ Why broken people can still reflect God's perfect light
→ The difference between a choice and a decision
→ Why Peter kept making the same mistakes and how he finally shifted
→ What courtyard decisions are and how to make the right one
→ Why you need the helmet of salvation to protect the meaning you give things
→ How to stop denying God when He doesn't give you what you want
→ Why crying is healthy and how to encourage yourself in the Lord

📖 KEY SCRIPTURES
2 Corinthians 3:16–18
Matthew 16:21–23
Matthew 26:47–54
Acts 2:14–24
Ephesians 6:17
Jeremiah 29:11
Proverbs 4:23

CHAPTERS:

• 00:00:00 Welcome: The Gift of Winning When You Don't Get Your Way
• 00:00:39 When Life Doesn't Feel Like Winning
• 00:04:21 The Real Formula for Winning
• 00:05:26 The Fire That Refines: Burning Off Impurities
• 00:06:52 Broken Things Still Reflect Perfect Light
• 00:12:03 Shine Bright Like a Divine: Aries' Story
• 00:15:50 Peter's Pattern: Rebuking Jesus and Drawing the Sword
• 00:28:37 The Courtyard Decision: When God Lets You Down
• 00:36:47 The Shift: From Denial to Declaration
• 00:40:28 The MEAN Formula: Controlling What You Can Control
• 00:40:55 The Helmet of Salvation: Protecting Your Mind
• 00:47:29 Unconditional Love: Do You Agape Me?

🔥 IF THIS HIT YOU
Share it with someone who's been hearing the Word but not seeing the change.
Subscribe and turn on notifications → https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLRzMQFmplNd4-H1X5bj1jA?sub_confirmation=1

📲 CONNECT WITH APOC
📱 Download the App → Search "APOC Ministry" in your app store
🙏 Submit a Prayer Request → Tap "Prayer" in the app
💸 Partner With Us → apocministry.org/give
📅 Join Us LIVE: Saturdays @ 11AM EST

🎤 ABOUT PASTOR TJ TYUS
TJ Tyus is Associate Pastor of A Place of Change Ministry in Grand Ledge, Michigan. His story, from being accused of murder in 2005 to becoming a coach, counselor, and pastor, is living proof that transformation is possible. With raw transparency and unshakable faith, Pastor TJ brings a message of hope, healing, and accountability that challenges believers to move from information to transformation.

🏛️ ABOUT A PLACE OF CHANGE MINISTRY (APOC)
A Place of Change Ministry is a Saturday Sabbath church in Grand Ledge, Michigan, led by Pastor Eric Thomas and Associate Pastor TJ Tyus. APOC exists to help people experience real transformation through the Word of God, not just hear it, but live it. We believe the church is not just a place you attend, it's a community you belong to, built on a culture of Love, Serve, and Grow.

📍 Grand Ledge, MI
🌐 apocministry.org
📧 [email protected]

You were born a winner. But if that's true, why aren't you living like one?

In this powerful message, Dr. Eric Thomas delivers one of the most convicting sermons of the year using Ephesians 2:10, Psalm 34, and the story of Nehemiah to expose the real reason you're stuck. It's not that you don't have what it takes. It's that you're asking God to make you something He already made you. You're holding a winning lottery ticket, but you refuse to scratch it off.

Stop asking God to make you a winner and start scratching off everything He already put inside of you.

You were not randomly made. You were intentionally designed for an assignment. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. Before your mother knew you were in her womb, God designed you to win. But you're letting the world tell you who you are instead of letting God remind you whose you are.

Before Nehemiah rebuilt the wall in 52 days, God spent four months searching his heart. Four months of sitting, weeping, mourning, fasting, and praying. Because God doesn't start with the bricks. He starts with the heart. You can't build something new on the outside until God builds something new on the inside.

This message is a divine wake up call. You're comparing yourself to others, asking them if you're a winner, when God already gave you a winning ticket. You're walking into rooms dressed in someone else's anointing, wearing someone else's spirit, trying to be someone else's version of success. Demons recognize demons. And when you walk in your authentic self, anointed by God, people don't just hear your words. They feel your authority.

God is calling you to do three things: Search your heart. Try your ways. Turn again to God. Stop examining everyone else and start examining yourself.

IN THIS MESSAGE YOU'LL DISCOVER:
→ Why you're asking God to make you a winner when He already made you one
→ The lottery ticket revelation: stop waiting for validation and scratch off what God gave you
→ How God rebuked the devourer on ET's birthday during a traffic stop
→ Why the four months before the 52 days is where the real work happens
→ What it means to be God's workmanship, intentionally designed for an assignment
→ The most expensive loss in college football history and what it teaches us about wasted potential
→ Why demons recognize demons and how to walk in your authentic anointing
→ The three things God told Nehemiah: search your heart, try your ways, turn again to God
→ Why you can't build something new on the outside until God builds something new on the inside
→ How to stop doing the right things in the wrong spirit

📖 KEY SCRIPTURES
Ephesians 2:10
Psalm 34:1
Nehemiah 1:4
Nehemiah 6:15
Isaiah 43:1–4
Philippians 2:3–4
John 3:16–17
Malachi 3:10–11
Lamentations 3:40
Matthew 6:33

CHAPTERS:

• 00:00:00 Welcome: The Gift of Being God's Workmanship
• 00:01:35 Bless the Lord at All Times: Levels of Praise
• 00:06:37 The Benefits of Putting God First
• 00:13:02 The Birthday Traffic Stop: When God Rebukes the Devourer
• 00:18:19 The Lottery Ticket Lesson: You Are His Workmanship
• 00:22:19 Stop Asking God to Make You a Winner
• 00:22:41 The Four Months Before the 52 Days
• 00:33:58 You Were Not Randomly Made: Intentional Design
• 00:44:08 The Most Expensive Loss in College Football History
• 00:47:18 Demons Recognize Demons: Walking in Your Authentic Self
• 00:51:48 Search Your Heart: The First of Three Things
• 00:58:37 Wrestling With God: When You Won't Accept Who You Are
• 01:04:36 The Spirit You Wear: Doing Right Things the Wrong Way
• 01:07:36 Altar Call: Search, Try, and Turn Again to God
• 01:11:19 Prayer Over the Book, Mason, and Dallas

🔥 IF THIS HIT YOU
Share it with someone who's been standing in the rubble too long.
Subscribe and turn on notifications → https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLRzMQFmplNd4-H1X5bj1jA?sub_confirmation=1

📲 CONNECT WITH APOC
📱 Download the App → Search "APOC Ministry" in your app store
🙏 Submit a Prayer Request → Tap "Prayer" in the app
💸 Partner With Us → apocministry.org/give
📅 Join Us LIVE: Saturdays @ 11AM EST

ABOUT ERIC THOMAS — ET THE HIP HOP PREACHER
Dr. Eric Thomas is a world-renowned motivational speaker, pastor, author, and educator. From homeless high school dropout to PhD, ET's story has inspired millions across the globe. He has spoken to the NFL, NBA, Fortune 500 companies, and now leads A Place of Change Ministry in Grand Ledge, Michigan alongside his wife, Dede Thomas, and Associate Pastor TJ Tyus. ET's message of faith, sacrifice, and accountability continues to transform lives worldwide. He is also the recipient of the President's Lifetime Achievement Award.

ABOUT APOC MINISTRY
A Place of Change Ministry is a Saturday Sabbath church in Grand Ledge, Michigan, led by Pastor Eric Thomas and Associate Pastor TJ Tyus. APOC exists to help people experience real transformation through the Word of God, not just hear it, but live it.

You've been praying for change. Asking God to rebuild what's broken. But nothing seems to be moving. And if you're honest, you're starting to wonder why.

In this powerful message, Dr. Eric Thomas delivers one of the most convicting sermons of the year using Psalm 139, Jeremiah 17, and the story of Nehemiah to expose the real reason your breakthrough hasn't come yet. It's not that God isn't ready. It's that your heart isn't.

Before Nehemiah rebuilt the wall in 52 days, God spent four months searching his heart. Four months of sitting, weeping, mourning, fasting, and praying. Because God doesn't start with the fruit. He starts with the root. God doesn't start with the wall. He starts with the heart.

God builds the heart before He builds the wall.

You can move to a new city, start a new job, enter a new relationship, but if you take the same heart with you, the same patterns will return. You cannot build something new with an old heart. God has to do something IN you before He can do something THROUGH you.

Through raw personal testimony and transparent teaching, ET reveals why so many believers stay stuck in cycles they were never meant to repeat. It's not because they lack gifts. You can prophesy and never change. You can speak in tongues and stay the same. You can get goosebumps and walk out unbothered. A gift is not a guarantee.

David understood this. After he sinned, he didn't ask God to change his circumstances. He cried out: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

God is not interested in tweaking your behavior. He wants a cataclysmic shift. A sudden, violent, upheaval that brings total, permanent change. Not just for a season. Not just until the next trigger. But a different world on the other side of it.

This message is a divine strategy. Before you take out another loan, before you start another business, before you have another conversation with your spouse, let God search your heart. Let Him cleanse you, heal you, and make you new. Because when the heart is changed, the situation is totally changed.

In this message you'll discover:
→ Why God builds the heart before He builds the wall
→ What a cataclysmic shift is and why you need one
→ How to stop being like a dog returned to his vomit
→ Why you can have gifts and still go to hell
→ The difference between being moved and being changed
→ How four months of heart surgery turns into 52 days of rebuilding
→ Why you keep having the same conversations in your marriage
→ What it means to let God search your heart and try your reins
→ How to stop fixing the fruit and start healing the root

📖 KEY SCRIPTURES
Psalm 139:23–24
Jeremiah 17:9–10
Nehemiah 1:4
Psalm 51:10
Proverbs 4:23
Matthew 7:21–23
1 Corinthians 13:1–3
Revelation 12:11

CHAPTERS:

• 00:00:00 Welcome: The Gift of Being Searched by God
• 00:01:29 Praise as a Weapon: Tearing Down Your Walls
• 00:06:43 Before the 52 Days: The Four Months of Heart Surgery
• 00:07:30 God Starts With Roots, Not Fruit
• 00:09:28 Search Me, O God: Psalms 139 and the Divine Strategy
• 00:10:27 The Cataclysmic Shift: What Heart Surgery Produces
• 00:17:09 Create In Me A Clean Heart: David's Prayer After Failure
• 00:17:45 Total Permanent Change: Stop Being a Dog Returned to Vomit
• 00:18:29 Gifts Without Heart Change Lead to Hell
• 00:20:46 You Can Be Moved and Still Be the Same

🔥 IF THIS HIT YOU
Share it with someone who's been trying to change without letting God change their heart.
Subscribe and turn on notifications → https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLRzMQFmplNd4-H1X5bj1jA?sub_confirmation=1

📲 CONNECT WITH APOC
📱 Download the App → Search "APOC Ministry" in your app store
🙏 Submit a Prayer Request → Tap "Prayer" in the app
💸 Partner With Us → apocministry.org/give
📅 Join Us LIVE: Saturdays @ 11AM EST

🎤 ABOUT ERIC THOMAS — ET THE HIP HOP PREACHER
Dr. Eric Thomas is a world-renowned motivational speaker, pastor, author, and educator. From homeless high school dropout to PhD, ET's story has inspired millions across the globe. Known as ET The Hip Hop Preacher, he has spoken to the NFL, NBA, Fortune 500 companies, and now leads A Place of Change Ministry in Grand Ledge, Michigan alongside his wife, Dede Thomas, and Associate Pastor TJ Tyus. With over 2.1M Instagram followers, 1.39M YouTube subscribers, and millions of podcast downloads, ET's message of faith, sacrifice, and accountability continues to transform lives worldwide. He is also the recipient of the President's Lifetime Achievement Award.

🏛️ ABOUT A PLACE OF CHANGE MINISTRY (APOC)
A Place of Change Ministry is a Saturday Sabbath church in Grand Ledge, Michigan, led by Pastor Eric Thomas and Associate Pastor TJ Tyus. APOC exists to help people experience real transformation through the Word of God, not just hear it, but live it. We believe the church is not just a place you attend, it's a community you belong to, built on a culture of Love, Serve, and Grow.

📍 Grand Ledge, MI
🌐 apocministry.org
📧 [email protected]

Search Me, O God

You’ve been praying for a breakthrough and asking God to rebuild what’s broken, but nothing seems to be changing. If you’re honest, you’re beginning to wonder why God is making you wait.

In this powerful message, Dr. Eric Thomas takes us deeper into the 52 Day Challenge to reveal what must happen before the breakthrough. God is not waiting for your circumstances to line up. He is waiting for you to stop hiding.

Before Nehemiah rebuilt the wall in 52 days, he spent four months sitting, weeping, mourning, fasting, praying, and seeking God. During those four months, God was not only preparing the plan. He was preparing the man.

God builds the heart before He builds the wall.

You can move to a new city, begin a new relationship, or start a new job, but if you carry the same heart into a new environment, the same patterns will eventually return. You cannot build something new with an old heart.

Through personal testimony about learning to affirm his son, grieving what needed to die within him, and finally giving God complete access, ET reveals why many people are still waiting for change. It is not because they are not praying. It is because they are still hiding.

In Genesis 3, after Adam sinned, he hid from God. God never stopped walking through the garden, but humanity stopped allowing Him complete access.

David understood this when he prayed:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Psalm 139:23–24

God must do something in you before He can do something through you. That begins when you permit Him to examine the real you: your motives, thoughts, fears, desires, habits, wounds, pride, intentions, and blind spots.

Using the story of Allen Iverson and championship coach Larry Brown, ET explains how two people can love the same game but never win together because they approach it with different hearts. God is saying the same thing to us: You want My results, but you still want to play your way.

You want the 52 days, but you will not give God the four months. You want the breakthrough, but you will not stop hiding.

Let God search you. Let Him see how you are playing so He can coach you. Give Him full access so He can cleanse you, heal you, lead you, and make you new.

IN THIS MESSAGE:

→ Why God builds the heart before He builds the wall
→ The four months of prayer, fasting, grieving, and seeking
→ Why lasting external change requires internal transformation
→ How to stop covering, concealing, and disguising what needs healing
→ Why God must search your heart before rebuilding your life
→ How to stop playing your way and surrender to God’s way

KEY SCRIPTURES

Psalm 139:23–24
Nehemiah 1:4
Genesis 3:10
Psalm 51:10
Proverbs 4:23
Revelation 12:11
Philippians 4:13

What part of your heart have you been afraid to let God examine?

CHAPTERS:

• 00:00:00 Welcome: The Gift of Being Searched
• 00:00:39 52 Days: God Rebuilds What Culture Destroyed
• 00:02:16 The Four Months Before the 52 Days
• 00:04:11 Internal Construction Before External Building
• 00:05:46 The Day I Started Crying: Grieving What Must Die
• 00:09:49 The Father's Affirmation: Learning to Validate My Son
• 00:14:12 Search Me, O God: Psalms 139 and Stopping the Hiding
• 00:21:18 Genesis 3: When Man Started Hiding From God
• 00:23:54 God Never Changed, We Did: The Truth About Sin and Hiding
• 00:27:44 Give God Full Access: No More Covering or Concealing
• 00:38:08 Allen Iverson vs Larry Brown: Two Different Hearts
• 00:46:12 Practice: We Don't Play the Game the Same Way
• 00:52:15 The Altar Call: Stop Playing Your Way, Play God's Way
• 00:52:41 Closing Prayer: Cleanse Us and Make Us New
• 00:55:10 Next Steps: Connect, Give, and Share

📲 CONNECT WITH APOC
📱 Download the App → Search "APOC Ministry" in your app store
🙏 Submit a Prayer Request → Tap "Prayer" in the app
💸 Partner With Us → apocministry.org/give
📅 Join Us LIVE: Saturdays @ 11AM EST

🎤 ABOUT ERIC THOMAS — ET THE HIP HOP PREACHER
Dr. Eric Thomas is a world-renowned motivational speaker, pastor, author, and educator. From homeless high school dropout to PhD, ET's story has inspired millions across the globe. Known as ET The Hip Hop Preacher, he has spoken to the NFL, NBA, F

You've been praying for change. You've been asking God to move. But nothing's happening. And if you're honest, you're starting to wonder why God is making you wait.

In this powerful message, Dr. Eric Thomas takes us deep into the story of Nehemiah to reveal the real reason God makes you wait before He rebuilds your life. It's not what you think. It's not punishment. It's not delay. It's preparation.

Before Nehemiah rebuilt the wall in 52 days, he spent four months with God. Four months of sitting, weeping, mourning, fasting, and praying. And in those four months, God wasn't just preparing the plan. He was preparing the man.

God builds the heart before He builds the wall.

You can't build something new with an old heart. You can move to a new city, get a new relationship, start a new job, but if you take the same heart with you, the same thing is going to keep happening. God is not trying to change your circumstances. He's trying to change your heart.

Through raw personal testimony about growing up in Chicago, being homeless in Detroit, and the poison that entered his heart as a child, ET exposes how a poisoned heart destroys opportunities, sabotages relationships, and keeps you stuck in cycles you were never meant to repeat.

A poisoned heart makes you defiant, rebellious, aggressive, indifferent, and self-sabotaging. It makes you reject authority, reject correction, and reject help. It makes you underperform on purpose, hurt yourself to hurt others, and use your potential as a weapon.

But when God heals your heart, everything changes. You start forgiving. You become teachable. You accept correction. You take personal responsibility. You develop humility, accountability, vulnerability, and self-control. And the results you've been praying for finally start showing up.

David knew this. After he killed a man and took his wife, he didn't ask God to change his circumstances. He cried out: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

God spent four months correcting Nehemiah before He spent 52 days constructing the wall. Because God has to do something IN you before He can do something THROUGH you.

In this message you'll discover:
→ Why God builds the heart before He builds the wall
→ How a poisoned heart sabotages every opportunity God gives you
→ Why you can't build something new with an old heart
→ What Nehemiah did in the four months before the 52 day rebuild
→ The difference between changing circumstances and changing your heart
→ How David's prayer for a clean heart unlocked his redemption
→ Why correction is not rejection, it's production on another level
→ How to stop self-sabotaging and start receiving what God has for you
→ What happens when you sit, weep, mourn, fast, and pray before you build

📖 KEY SCRIPTURES
Nehemiah 1:4 — I sat down and wept and mourned certain days and fasted and prayed
Psalm 51:10 — Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me
Proverbs 4:23 — Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life
Jeremiah 17:9 — The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?
Proverbs 9:10 — The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
Psalm 1:1-3 — Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly

CHAPTERS:

• 00:00:00 Welcome: The Gift of Being Tested
• 00:00:41 This Is The Day: Staying Present in God's Moment
• 00:03:01 Tests Are Not Punishment: They're Measurements
• 00:05:30 Jada's Story: Retaking the Test Until You Pass
• 00:14:26 Why God Makes You Wait: Building the Heart Before the Wall
• 00:19:13 The Poison Heart: When Satan's Greatest Weapon Is Your Heart
• 00:21:00 Create In Me A Clean Heart: David's Prayer After Failure
• 00:26:39 From GED to PhD: What a Healed Heart Can Build
• 00:28:23 The Homeless Season: When God Strips Everything to Build You
• 00:49:52 What Changed When The Heart Changed
• 00:58:09 Back to School Blessing: Praying Over Our Children and Youth
• 01:02:33 Final Prayer and Benediction: The Seed of the Righteous

🔥 IF THIS HIT YOU
Share it with someone who's been waiting on God to move but won't let God move in their heart.
Subscribe and turn on notifications → https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLRzMQFmplNd4-H1X5bj1jA?sub_confirmation=1

📲 CONNECT WITH APOC
📱 Download the App → Search "APOC Ministry" in your app store
🙏 Submit a Prayer Request → Tap "Prayer" in the app
💸 Partner With Us → apocministry.org/give
📅 Join Us LIVE: Saturdays @ 11AM EST

🎤 ABOUT ERIC THOMAS — ET THE HIP HOP PREACHER
Dr. Eric Thomas is a world-renowned motivational speaker, pastor, author, and educator. From homeless high school dropout to PhD, ET's story has inspired millions across the globe. Known as ET The Hip Hop Preacher, he has spoken to the NFL, NBA, Fortune 500 companies, and now leads A Place of Change Ministry in Grand Ledge, Michigan alongside his wife, Dede Thomas, and Associate Pastor TJ Tyus. With over 2.1M Instagram followers, 1.39M YouTube sub

You’ve been praying. Reading your Word. Going to church. But if you’re honest, you still feel disconnected.

In this message, Pastor TJ Tyus uses John 15 and the story of Nehemiah to expose why so many believers struggle to hear God clearly. It’s not that God stopped speaking. It’s that we stopped staying connected.

Pastor TJ compares our relationship with God to wireless vs. wired connection. Wireless can mean dropped calls, static, and interference. Wired connection brings clarity, consistency, and stability.

Jesus repeats one word throughout John 15:

REMAIN.

Remain in me.
Remain in my love.
Remain in my Word.

No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain connected to the vine. Fruit is the evidence of connection. Whatever fruit you’re producing reveals what you’re connected to.

Pastor TJ breaks down the REMAIN framework:

Retreat — remove competing inputs
Engage — connect with God consistently, not just in crisis
Monitor — pay attention to what God is doing around you
Align — bring your decisions into agreement with God
Internalize — get God’s Word so deep in you that your response becomes automatic
Navigate — choose obedience over emotional impulse

Through personal stories about a difficult Delta flight, losing his AirPods, and the pain of losing his daughter Aries, Pastor TJ reveals the cost of disconnection and the power of staying plugged in.

God spent four months correcting Nehemiah before He spent 52 days constructing the wall.

Because God often has to do something IN you before He can do something THROUGH you.

In this message you’ll discover:
→ Why “remain” is repeated throughout John 15
→ The REMAIN framework: Retreat, Engage, Monitor, Align, Internalize, Navigate
→ Why fruit is the evidence of connection
→ What wired vs. wireless connection teaches us spiritually
→ Why intimacy must come before activity
→ How God prepared Nehemiah before the 52-day rebuild
→ The 3C Formula: Connection, Correction, Construction
→ How to turn pain into purpose
→ Why God must be your primary connection, not your backup plan

📖 KEY SCRIPTURES
John 15:1–11
Nehemiah 1:1–4
Nehemiah 2:4
Nehemiah 6:15
Proverbs 4:23
Romans 10:17
Ephesians 6:12
Philippians 2:10

CHAPTERS:

• 00:00:00 Welcome: The Gift of Connection
• 00:00:39 Can You Hear Me Now? John 15 and the Power of Remaining
• 00:04:29 REMAIN: The Acronym That Changes Everything
• 00:05:00 Retreat: Remove Competing Inputs Like Jesus Did
• 00:05:37 Engage with God: Praying Consistently, Not Just in Crisis
• 00:06:43 Monitor What God Is Doing: The Burning Bush Moment
• 00:08:06 Align Your Decisions and Internalize God's Word
• 00:10:20 Navigate: Choose Obedience Over Emotional Impulse
• 00:10:40 Fruit Is the Evidence of Connection
• 00:11:24 The Delta Flight Disaster: A Lesson in Patience and Testing
• 00:18:20 Wired Connection vs Wireless: The Cost of Disconnection
• 00:24:43 The 3C Formula: Connection, Correction, Construction
• 00:25:55 Nehemiah's Four Months: God Built the Builder First
• 00:26:21 Intimacy Before Activity: Nehemiah's First Response Was Prayer
• 00:29:07 Then I Prayed to the God of Heaven: Connection Never Stops
• 00:30:22 Prayer Didn't Delay the Plan, It Developed the Plan
• 00:32:32 God's Gracious Hand: Permission, Protection, Provision
• 00:34:39 The Gospel Music That Shifted the Atmosphere
• 00:39:36 Walking Through the Pain: When You Just Keep Moving
• 00:40:34 Lift Up Your Head: Physiology Impacts Your Mind
• 00:42:05 Turn Your Pain to Purpose: God Didn't Take Your Praise
• 00:42:54 Connection Doesn't Mean It Won't Hurt
• 00:47:12 Is God Your Backup Plan or Your Primary Connection?
• 00:47:23 Connection Over Convenience: The Final Altar Call
• 00:48:57 Closing Prayer: Heal Their Heart, Carry Them, Build the Builder
• 00:52:18 Next Steps: Connect, Give, and Stay Locked In

🔥 IF THIS HIT YOU
Share it with someone who needs to reconnect with God.

Subscribe and turn on notifications:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLRzMQFmplNd4-H1X5bj1jA?sub_confirmation=1

📲 CONNECT WITH APOC
📱 Download the App → Search “APOC Ministry” in your app store
🙏 Prayer Request → Tap “Prayer” in the app
💸 Partner With Us → apocministry.org/give
📅 Join Us LIVE → Saturdays @ 11AM EST

🎤 ABOUT ERIC THOMAS — ET THE HIP HOP PREACHER
Dr. Eric Thomas is a world-renowned motivational speaker, pastor, author, and educator whose story has inspired millions. He leads A Place of Change Ministry in Grand Ledge, Michigan alongside his wife, Dede Thomas, and Associate Pastor TJ Tyus.

🏛️ ABOUT A PLACE OF CHANGE MINISTRY
APOC is a church in Grand Ledge, Michigan, committed to helping people experience real transformation through the Word of God — not just hearing it, but living it. Our culture is built on Love, Serve, and Grow.

📍 Grand Ledge, MI
🌐 apocministry.org
📧 [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

What Makes Someone a Proven Winner?

You were born to win — but there's a difference between being born to win and being a proven winner. A proven winner doesn't just win once. They consistently respond to challenges in a way that produces victories and glorifies God. Not just for a season, decade after decade. And when this life is over, they keep winning throughout eternity.

In this message, Dr. Eric Thomas takes us deep into Nehemiah 2 to expose what makes someone a proven winner — and the one thing most of us are getting wrong. Using Isaiah 43 and Philippians 2, ET breaks down the character, formation, and mindset that let Nehemiah the cupbearer rebuild a 140-year-broken wall in just 52 days. It wasn't just faith. It wasn't just favor. It was who Nehemiah was before he ever touched the wall.

Nehemiah was all in. As cupbearer, his job was to drink the king's wine first in case of poison, every day, he could die. He wasn't doing five or six things at once. He was all in on one. And when the king saw sadness on his face, it wasn't for himself — his heart was broken for his people. He wasn't asking God to bless him and his family; he was asking God to rebuild what had been broken for generations.

That's the missing piece. Most of us want the reward but not the character that comes with it. We want God to bless us, but we only care about us and ours. Nehemiah did nothing out of selfish ambition — he valued others above himself. And because of that, when he asked the king for time, safe passage, timber, and a place to stay, the king gave him everything — plus an army and a cavalry. When your interest is the same as God's, you have unlimited access.

IN THIS MESSAGE YOU'LL DISCOVER:

→ Why you're not just born to win, you are a proven winner

→ What makes a proven winner: consistency through challenges, not just one season of success

→ Why Nehemiah was all in on one thing, and how it allowed him to rebuild in 52 days

→ The cupbearer revelation: how being willing to die daily positioned Nehemiah for favor

→ Why sadness of heart is different than selfish ambition, and what it means to carry a burden for others

→ How to stop making everything about you and yours, and start moving like you're precious in God's sight

→ Why you must pray to God before you speak to man, and how Nehemiah did it in real time

→ The four fruits of a proven winner: all in, burden for others, praying first, and bold asking

→ How to ask like you're the child of God and expect the army and the cavalry

📖 KEY SCRIPTURES:

Isaiah 43:1-4 - You are precious in My sight, honorable, and I have loved you

Nehemiah 2:1-9 - The king notices Nehemiah's sadness and grants his requests

Philippians 2:3-4 - Do nothing out of selfish ambition; value others above yourself

Matthew 6:33 - Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness

Matthew 7:7-8 - Ask and it shall be given; seek and ye shall find

John 10:10 - I have come that you may have life, and have it more abundantly

CHAPTERS:

• 00:00:00 Welcome: The Gift of Being Precious in God's Sight
• 00:00:40 Isaiah 43: Since Thou Art Precious in My Sight
• 00:01:47 Moving Like You're Precious: Relationships and Resources
• 00:05:20 Not Just Born to Win: You Are a Proven Winner
• 00:09:25 What Makes a Proven Winner: Consistency Through Challenges
• 00:16:41 Nehemiah Chapter 2: The King Notices Something is Wrong
• 00:22:31 The Cupbearer: All In on One Thing
• 00:24:53 Sadness of Heart: When Your Burden is for Others
• 00:28:41 Philippians 2: Do Nothing Out of Selfish Ambition
• 00:43:04 Then I Prayed to the God of Heaven
• 00:51:17 Ask and It Shall Be Given: Nehemiah's Bold Requests
• 00:54:44 The Army and the Cavalry: God's Full Protection
• 00:56:25 The Four Fruits of a Proven Winner
• 01:00:03 Altar Call: Coming All In for What God Has Called You To
• 01:02:25 Prayer for Dallas: Declaring Healing and God's Provision

🔥 IF THIS HIT YOU

Share it with someone doing five things at once instead of going all in on what God called them to.

Subscribe and turn on notifications → https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLRzMQFmplNd4-H1X5bj1jA?sub_confirmation=1

📲 CONNECT WITH APOC

📱 Download the App → search "APOC Ministry" in your app store

🙏 Prayer Request → tap "Prayer" in the app

💸 Partner With Us → apocministry.org/give

📅 LIVE: Saturdays @ 11AM EST

🎤 ABOUT ERIC THOMAS — ET THE HIP HOP PREACHER

Dr. Eric Thomas is a world-renowned motivational speaker, pastor, author, and educator. From homeless high school dropout to PhD, ET's story has inspired millions. He has spoken to the NFL, NBA, and Fortune 500 companies, and leads APOC Ministry in Grand Ledge, Michigan with his wife, Dede Thomas, and Associate Pastor TJ Tyus. With over 2.1M Instagram followers, 1.39M YouTube subscribers, and millions of podcast downloads, ET's message of faith, sacrifice, and accountability continues to transform lives worldwide. He is also a recipient of the President's Lifetime Achievement Award.

You were born to win. But if that's true, why aren't you winning?

In this powerful message from the 52 Days of Rebuilding series, Dr. Thomas delivers one of the most convicting sermons of the year using John 3:16 and 17, Isaiah 43, and the story of Nehemiah to expose the real reason you're not living the life God designed for you. It's not because you don't have what it takes. It's not because God hasn't blessed you. It's because you've been losing for so long, you've started to talk like a loser, think like a loser, and accept what God never intended for you.

God didn't send Jesus to condemn you. He sent Him to rescue you. You don't rescue something that's not valuable. And the first move God made when we sinned wasn't hell. It wasn't shame. It was salvation. Jesus didn't come looking for people to write off or embarrass. He came to save, heal, restore, and transform. He came that you might have life, and have it more abundantly.

The 140 year broken wall in Nehemiah wasn't supposed to happen. But when it did, God didn't leave it broken. He rebuilt it in 52 days. Not 52 months. Not 52 years. 52 days. Because God doesn't just want to bless you. He wants to do it quickly so you can get back to the abundant life He created you for. You didn't knock your own walls down. You didn't ask for the trauma. But God is asking you one question: when are you going to rebuild?

In this message you'll discover:
→ Why you were born to win and designed to win, and how losing became your identity
→ The difference between John 3:16 and John 3:17, and why God's first move wasn't condemnation
→ How God rescues what's valuable, and why you're too precious to stay stuck
→ Why God can heal you quickly when you pass through deep waters and fire
→ What it means to be precious in God's sight, and why human validation isn't enough
→ How to stop comparing yourself to others and get back into the Word
→ Why 52 days is all it takes when you stop making excuses and start building with God
→ The declaration: I was born to win, I was designed to win, and God is in the process

📖 KEY SCRIPTURES:
John 3:16-17 — For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son
Isaiah 43:1-4 — Since you are precious in My sight, you have been honorable, and I have loved you
Nehemiah 6:15 — So the wall was finished in 52 days
John 10:10 — I have come that you may have life, and have it more abundantly
Isaiah 43:2 — When you pass through the waters, I will be with you
Jeremiah 29:11 — For I know the plans I have for you
Philippians 3:13-14 — Forgetting what is behind and pressing toward the mark

CHAPTERS:

• 00:00:00 Welcome: The Gift of Being Born to Win
• 00:02:11 You Were Born to Win: God's Design From Day One
• 00:06:31 John 3:16 and the Forgotten John 3:17
• 00:07:53 I Was Born to Win: The Declaration
• 00:11:46 God's Heart Is to Save, Heal, Restore, and Transform
• 00:18:38 The Pool Party: What Abundant Life Looks Like
• 00:22:53 The Cross Proves God's Greatest Desire
• 00:24:43 The 52-Day Quick Work: God Wants to Rebuild Fast
• 00:28:39 Stop Listening to the Serpent, Hear What God Says
• 00:31:18 Isaiah 43: Through the Waters and Through the Fire
• 00:37:58 You Are Precious in His Sight
• 00:45:28 Remember Not the Former Things: God Is Doing a New Thing
• 00:48:13 The Altar Call: Accepting Your Preciousness
• 00:51:47 Next Steps: Stay Connected to the Ministry

🔥 IF THIS HIT YOU
Share it with someone who's been losing for so long they forgot they were born to win.
Subscribe and turn on notifications → https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLRzMQFmplNd4-H1X5bj1jA?sub_confirmation=1

📲 CONNECT WITH APOC
📱 Download the App → Search "APOC Ministry" in your app store
🙏 Submit a Prayer Request → Tap "Prayer" in the app
💸 Partner With Us → apocministry.org/give
📅 Join Us LIVE: Saturdays @ 11AM EST

🎤 ABOUT ERIC THOMAS — ET THE HIP HOP PREACHER
Dr. Eric Thomas is a world-renowned motivational speaker, pastor, author, and educator. From homeless high school dropout to PhD, ET's story has inspired millions across the globe. Known as ET The Hip Hop Preacher, he has spoken to the NFL, NBA, Fortune 500 companies, and now leads A Place of Change Ministry in Grand Ledge, Michigan alongside his wife, Dede Thomas, and Associate Pastor TJ Tyus. With over 2.1M Instagram followers, 1.39M YouTube subscribers, and millions of podcast downloads, ET's message of faith, sacrifice, and accountability continues to transform lives worldwide. He is also the recipient of the President's Lifetime Achievement Award.

🏛️ ABOUT A PLACE OF CHANGE MINISTRY (APOC)
APOC is a church in Grand Ledge, Michigan, led by Pastor Eric Thomas and Associate Pastor TJ Tyus. APOC exists to help people experience real transformation through the Word of God, not just hear it, but live it. We believe the church is not just a place you attend, it's a community you belong to, built on a culture of Love, Serve, and Grow.

📍 Grand Ledge, MI
🌐 apocministry.org
📧 [email protected]