APOC Ministry

You think you have a reason to complain. So did TJ Tyus. He faced criminal charges and the threat of prison. He lost his own dream of playing in the NFL. He gave his life to God and served for years without a paycheck, driving three hours round trip to teach Bible study and helping raise more than a hundred kids and send them to college. He poured that lost dream into his sons. One of them has been working toward the NFL since he was six years old, and he did everything right: the discipline, the degree, the prayer. He finally signed. He started a game and played well. Two days later he was cut. Then signed again, and cut again. Team after team, the same phone call keeps coming. And TJ adopted a little girl out of foster care, fought cancer beside her, and buried her. If anybody had the right to act wild, it was him. He told God the truth: you never failed me, but you disappointed me. Then he made a decision. If I cannot praise, I will not complain. I will praise God or I will be quiet. This message is for you if life just hit you with something you cannot control and you are one bad moment away from losing it. You did not have a bad day. You had a bad moment, and you kept adding "and" to it. Here is how you stop. IN THIS EPISODE • Why you keep asking God to end the challenge that is supposed to change you • Why your half squat does not count • What "David encouraged himself" really means: take courage • How to stop stacking "and... and... and..." and put a "but" in your spirit • The FOCUS reset: Find your feet, Observe your focus, Check the meaning, Select one next step • How to make your valley a valley of praise SCRIPTURES • 1 Samuel 30:6 • Matthew 4:1-3 • Luke 2:49 • 2 Chronicles 20:12 • 2 Chronicles 20:21-22 • Hebrews 11:6 CHAPTERS: Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome: The Gift of Being Coached Through Challenges 00:00:52 Without Challenge, There Is No Change 00:03:49 The Squat Lesson: Going All the Way Down 00:06:18 The Aries Story: God's Plan in Foster Care and Adoption 00:09:36 Cancer, Diabetes, and Learning to Encourage Yourself 00:11:29 When in the Wild, Don't Act Wild 00:15:37 Mission Over Mood: The Day After Aries Passed 00:15:55 David Was Distressed, But He Encouraged Himself 00:19:40 If You Can't Praise, Be Quiet 00:24:19 The Sword of the Spirit: Building Strength to Wield the Word 00:31:16 Education and Experience: What Makes You Confident in the Wild 00:33:32 I Must Be About My Father's Business 00:34:37 Jesus in the Wilderness: Led by the Spirit to Be Tested 00:38:43 The FOCUS Reset Formula 00:41:23 The Valley of Praise: 2 Chronicles 20 00:44:47 What Will Your Valley Be Called? 00:46:41 My Mother's Dementia and the Spirit She Prayed Over Me 00:48:15 Altar Call: Make Your Valley a Valley of Praise 🔥 IF THIS HIT YOU Share it with someone who is in the middle of a hard season and needs to hear this. 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, 1.5M YouTube subscribers, and millions of podcast downloads, ET's message of faith, sacrifice, and accountability continues to transform lives worldwide.

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 to what you're saying. In this powerful message, Dr. Eric Thomas uses the story of David in 1 Samuel 30 to expose why 322 million people are living with depression and why so many believers are stuck in cycles they were never meant to repeat. 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 using your mouth to curse what God is trying to bless. Your words are not neutral. Life and death are in the power of your tongue. This message introduces the winning formula God gave through David: Wake Up. Rejoice. Encourage Yourself. Keep Moving. IN THIS MESSAGE YOU'LL DISCOVER: → Why 322 million people are living with depression and how to break free → The four disasters that happened to David before he encouraged himself in the Lord → Why murmuring and complaining are not harmless → How your words create an atmosphere and shape your reality → The winning formula: Wake Up, Rejoice, Encourage Yourself, Keep Moving → How to overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony 📖 KEY SCRIPTURES 1 Samuel 30:1–6 Psalm 34:1 Psalm 118:24 Proverbs 18:21 James 3:10–11 Revelation 12:11 CHAPTERS: Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome: The Gift of Being Commanded to Rejoice 00:01:13 The Tension Between Religion and Truth 00:04:28 Four Things You Must Pay Attention To 00:08:23 Encourage Yourself in the Lord: The Context You're Missing 00:17:00 Disaster Number One: Everything You Worked For Is Gone 00:22:11 Disaster Number Two: His Family Was Taken Captive 00:25:04 Disaster Number Three: His Own Men Threatened to Kill Him 00:30:21 But David Strengthened Himself in the Lord 00:32:16 Your Words Are Not Harmless: They Create Your Reality 00:36:03 Grown Folk Talk: You're Creating What You're Complaining About 00:50:24 Stop Cursing What You Didn't Build 00:56:08 The Formula: Wake Up, Rejoice, Get Hit, Encourage Yourself, Keep Moving 01:03:13 Take Your Next Steps: Connect, Pray, Give, Share 🔥 IF THIS HIT YOU Share it with someone who's been talking themselves into depression instead of encouraging themselves in the Lord. 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, 1.5M YouTube subscribers, and millions of podcast downloads, ET's message of faith, sacrifice, and accountability continues to transform lives worldwide.

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. 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, 1.5M 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: 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: 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]