Magic Johnson preaches sermon to kick off new year; wants to surround himself with men of God
Five-time NBA champion Magic Johnson preached a New Year's Eve message at West Angeles Church of God in Christ.
The Hall-of-Fame former point guard, who is now the Lakers' president, shared a hopeful message, titled “Getting Ready for Your Miracle,” for the new year with those in attendance.
Before getting into his sermon, Johnson honored Bishop Charles Blake, the leader of the Los Angeles, Calif. based church. The 59-year-old athlete turned businessman then read from 2 Kings 4:8-17, which is the story about the Shunammite’s son who was restored to life, and shared about his own life.
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“So here I am president of the Lakers and I had to make some trades and some moves to put us in the position to be a better team. But I am also the president of my life,” Johnson explained to the congregation. “And I’m seeing all of these thousands of presidents sitting in here today. Sometimes to get your miracle and to get you ready for your miracle you got to trade out some friends.”
“You’ve got to sometimes draft a new girlfriend,” he added. “So sometimes you’ve got to trade out some boyfriends. You’ve got to do what you need to do to get ready for your miracle.”
Johnson shared that he had to get rid of some bad influences in his life to make room for people God wanted to surround him with.“I traded some friends. Now I want to be associated with and running with men of God, those who are praising the Lord because they’re going to help me get ready for my miracle,” he said.
Johnson’s wife, Cookie Johnson, of almost 28 years was in attendance and after the dynamic message, she took to Instagram and shared her reaction.
“Look who preached today @magicjohnson! And the topic was ‘Getting Ready For Your Miracle,’” she wrote. “It’s amazing how God can use you in a mighty way…to inspire others. #WontHeDoIt #ProudWife,” she wrote along with a video clip.
In 2014, Johnson opened up to the Gospel Herald about his faith.
"As for me, God is the most important one." Johnson testified. "Because God has blessed me every day and it is a great reminder. He has blessed the work that I do and my employees, my achievements are clearly blessings from Him.
"God loves me so much, at anytime He is good, so I go to Him with a thankful heart every day."
Johnson’s former promiscuous NBA lifestyle led to him contracting HIV in 1991. It was the loyalty of his wife despite the infidelity and her faith that would go on to help lead him to God. He has since dedicated himself to making the world a better place through various humanitarian efforts and business projects, such as the Magic Johnson Foundation.
