Michael Todd - Faith Like A Farmer - Part 3
Howdy to everybody that is watching today. Now, I know some of you all are wondering, "Pastor mike, why do you have on a cowboy hat"? Well, if you've been following us in this series, we've been talking about having faith like a farmer. And I'm one of those people that believe that you sow seeds today that will produce tomorrow. And I want you to know that God has something that he's placed in your hand right now. I'm not just talking about finances, I'm talking about time, I'm talking about creativity, I'm talking about specific things that God has placed as treasures on the inside of you that could impact the world if you would actually sow those seeds, I'm talking about crazy faith. Matter of fact, crazier faith. This message is about to spark your faith so you can have faith like a farmer, and sow the seeds today that'll show up tomorrow. Let's go.
All of these seeds look good in this bucket. The aesthetic is beautiful. Matter of fact, I think this is sunflower seeds yeah. Eating seed. And some of you all will sit here all your life. Yeah, I know. Yeah, I know. Back in Louisiana, where I'm from, downtown. You just ate the forest of your faith. Was it good? Was it enough? Hold on, where you satisfied? I would have to eat so many seeds to actually be full. What if I sowed the seeds? And gave it some time? It could turn into something with more seeds in it, but enough sustenance for me to actually be full. A cereal sower, looks at their marriage and says, "I don't just sow on our honeymoon".
Oh, let me stop. Let me help you all get the full visual. See, 'cause none of you all have ever farmed, neither have i, but I studied this week. And the thing that I found out is that farmers have a different type of clothing. They know that sowing can get dirty. They know that for them, sowing may require them to have to be around something, and in something, that could leave a stain. So what I'm doing is I'm getting the right clothes on to be able to do this, and I'm going to have faith. And you know, I just had to take it to the next level. Some of you all should stop posting what you look like. This is a nice look, I kind of liked this right here. I know what you see on the gram, but to God, this is what I look like. He knows he can trust me, 'cause I got faith like a farmer.
When God gave me 300 people, when God gave me a little bit of money, when he gave me a little bit of influence, I didn't eat it, I didn't negate it, I didn't act like it was nothing. I said, "All I have, is all I need". And I just started. Wherever I go, I'm a cereal sower. You'd be like, "Hey, it's nice to meet you. Nice to meet you". I'm sowing seeds everywhere. I don't just sow in me and Natalie's marriage, when we got married, but every Monday night on date night, what am I doing? I'm planting seeds, "Girl you know, I love you and you look good, and girl, your booty getting tight, and I'm just telling you, that".
What am I doing? That's why your marriage is dead. You ain't planted there in 20 years. But what I'm telling you, is that when you become a cereal sower. I sow on accident. Can I say it like this? I'm addicted to sowing. If you get around me too long, you gon' get something from me. Why? 'cause you're in my field. And if you get anywhere near my field, the seeds that's coming off me. Whoo! This is what it look like, the seeds coming off me! All it has to do is fall on good ground. This is why you shouldn't give your leaders hail. At your job, your boss, all the, this is why you should be good ground. 'Cause if your heart is hard when they ask you to do something, it doesn't go deep. Arg! And even if they do things a different way and you don't like what they do and all that, keep your heart open. 'Cause if you get around the right people, and you're good ground, partner, you're going to see a harvest.
Can I prove it to you in the word? Ecclesiastes 11:6. Ooh, I like the Word of God. Oh, you thought I was wasting time? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, I'm a cereal sower. Cordell, every time we get in the car to reason, I'm just talking and sharing stuff, 'cause I'm trying to drop something in your heart, that'll build the billion dollar business. It may be 30 years from now, Cordell, before we walking up to that building, and paying for another church's $35 million. You all so, dale, we gonna buy somebody else's building with no strings attached. You all don't hear me, run the tape back, 'cause it's gonna happen! I'm a cereal sower! I don't... This thing is about to go. Pastor Pearson didn't know, when he was singing those songs. All them songs I sang today was songs sown into my heart.
When I was a baby, sleep on the pews, while my mom was leading prayer, he was throwing out seeds. Didn't nobody know I'd be Mike Todd, except God. And all the faithful people, who've been cereal sowers, just been throwing it out. Why would I keep throwing it out? On this platform right now, there's no harvest. Like we're shouting, but this is pretty depressing day after day. To come out here and to be like, "All right, I sold it. Great selling". This is why you go to the Word of God Ecclesiastes 11:6 ooh, I love the Bible. "Sow your seed in the morning". Every day I woke up, every day I wake up, what am I doing? Sow seeds. When you go to your job, stop looking at what you can take.
Well, I need a promotion, and I need to get recognized. Have you sown anything there? Stop looking for a harvest, where you have never sown. No farmer goes out to pasture, and sits there and is like, "Looking for the harvest". And somebody walks by and is like, "What kind of harvest you looking for"? "Looking for wheat". "Well, did you sow wheat"? "Nope, sowed corn. But I'm believing for wheat". Why would you, like, see that whatever, that whatever you sow comes back to you, includes bad things. Why do all your friends gossip? 'cause it's harvest time. I'm in somebody's business. Why does everybody leave you? When they said they would be there for you? You sowed, everybody say whatever.
This is why the Bible tells us, if you're gonna sow something, sow good things. Okay, either don't sow, or sow something good, 'cause it's coming back. And that's why Ecclesiastes 11:6 says, "Sow your seed in the morning, and in evening, let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which seed will succeed. Whether it's this one, or that one, or whether both will do equally well". God's saying, become addicted to sowing, because at the end of the day, nobody knows which seed is about to produce fruit. So I keep throwing it out, so God has more to work with. I keep giving to those people, I keep serving in that area, I keep going back to those family members who don't appreciate what I do for them every holiday season, 'cause at one point, at some moment, there is going to be, aah! Remember what it is, seed, sow, time, work, aah! Harvest.
Proverbs 11:24. I got to end this 'cause some of you all too full, and some of you all too frustrated. 'Cause the truth of the matter is, your life is not God's fault at this moment. You keep blaming him, for not doing what he's said, and he's holding you responsible, for not sowing what you said. God, if you ever get me out of this situation, I'll ... And you never did. You never sowed those seeds. It didn't make fiscal sense. It wasn't a part of my five-year plan. It didn't make sense. I was at the top and you gonna tell me to leave this high-paying job, to go start over and all, the devil is a liar, and you rolling your neck. And that wasn't the devil, that was divine. But now, you're going to pray, for seeds to flourish, in a dead field. Oh, I'm in your business. And the truth of the matter is, the church is who's supposed to exemplify this.
And we have the least amount of harvest. We always begging people, "Could you please, if it would, I mean, if God, oh my God, God is doing a miracle, you gave us $800". What the hell? I'm sorry. I am so sick of the church being the place who needs the handout, when we have the God of the universe on our side. He gets a bad rap 'cause we don't work the principles. I'm ma say it again. We give God a bad rap, 'cause we do not work the principle. If he says seed, sow, time, work, harvest, and you sitting up here waiting for somebody to bless you, "I'm just waiting for God to bless me". He said, "Waiting for me to bless you? I did, with seed! Now sow it"!
Somebody say: I have seed. The enemy tried to convince so many of you you didn't have seed. He tried to tell you, you didn't have seed. But you sitting there with so much seed. Phil, you're sitting there with so much seed. Kayla, you got so much seed, nat you got so much seed. And now God's asking you to do what? Sow it. Proverbs 11:24, 25. "Give freely". Start getting creative in your sowing. Why is there a limit? The Bible didn't give us a limit to how we sow. He's literally telling us right here, "Give freely, sow creatively, walk into every store". Some of you all need to walk into places and sow encouragement. You sow so much judgment, and so much that, "I didn't like the way she sang that song, I don't like that. And look at her outfit. And did you see pastor mike over there in some shorts"?
I'm skinnier than I was, I'm doing stuff that I don't like. I'm just wearing shorts, I don't know! I don't know! I may look back at this and be like, "That was a bad idea". But when I put it on, I say, "Boy, you look good". I don't know! But did you sow encouragement today? Creatively sow and become more wealthy. You all see the Bible? "Give freely and become more wealthy. Be stingy with your seed and," not, not reap a harvest, watch what the Bible says. "Be stingy and lose everything". Hold on, does this confirm, the parable of the seed and the sowers? Where God literally gave one, one, one, two, and one five? And somebody got scared of the seed God gave him, and said, "I'm ma protect this one seed. Uh-uh, God gave me one, mm-mm. Hey, what you all doing"? "Working the field, doing what God gave us. What you doing"? "Just protecting my seed. Don't want anybody to misunderstand me. Don't want anybody to get uncomfortable by what God's placed in me, so, let me just protect my seed. You doing okay seed? Okay, cool".
And then Jesus comes back and wants to see the account of what you did, with what he gave you. All of it was grace, he gave everybody a measure of grace, gave everybody seed. Then the one with five, he said, "I doubled it. I made it 10, I planted". Seed, sow, time, work. What's the last thing? Harvest. "I multiplied it". The one with two, he doubled it. "We did four". The one with one, "Listen to me, God. I knew that that one thing you gave me, needed to keep it safe, keep it secure, keep myself safe and secure, be open to no criticism, really be at a place where everybody was just happy with what was going on. Didn't take up any more space than what you started me with. Can't really feed anybody, but I still got the seed". God said, "You wicked and perverse man. You could have done something with it. You were lazy and scared".
And look what he does to the man. He takes his one seed, and gives it to the one with 10. And this is where the church gets mad. "How are you going to take from them, and bless them with it"? They're bad farmers, and God wants a return on the investment. So he looks at who's using the seed, and he looks at who's not using the seed, and he goes back and say, "Uh-uh, come here". And he'll give it to somebody else. Ain't this what this says? "Give freely and become more wealthy. Be stingy and lose everything. The generous will prosper". And then this messes me up. "Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed". The blessing of God that has come over my life, when I decided to have faith like a farmer. You all I can't explain it. Money comes looking for me. Connections come looking for me.
You all know cap, I'm not out here looking for nothing. People sinned all kind of stuff, that has nothing to do with what I'm doing today. It was seeds I sowed in different seasons, that are, they're chasing me down to give me the fruit of my faith. It's a principle of the earth! If you plant it, it's coming back. But it takes what? Seed, then what? Sow, then what? Time, then what? Work, then what? Harvest. So what are you saying, pastor mike? Everybody right now, take your hand, and just clench it in front of you. And I don't know what this represents for you, but it's something you already have. You're holding your harvest. Right now, I'm holding my harvest. You'll never see it if I don't let it go. But this is the forest of my faith. This is my family being healed, delivered and set free. This is me walking in confidence, no insecurity, blessing other. But it's not until I take what I have right now, and sow it.