Michael Todd - Where The Money Resides - Part 3

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Hey, what's going on, my friends? Welcome to today's message. I am so excited that you showed up, and I believe that the word I have to share with you today has the chance to change your life and produce a huge harvest. See the seed is always subject to the soil and your heart is the soil that God wants to plant the seed on, and I have a question. Is your heart, or the soil of your life, is it vacant, is it vulnerable, is it violated, or is it valuable? I'm speaking by faith that you are good ground. And the word that's about to go in is going to be valuable to you and not just you, but the generations to come after you, remember giving is all about the heart. This message is about to bless you. Get ready. I'm Michael, and this is the start of your transformation.

Did the light bill in heaven get too high? Did they run out of gold to pave the streets with? I truly believe, and I'm convinced of it of every part of my life, the only reason God created giving was to give us an opportunity to be like him. You missed it. You want to be like God? You want to do the things that God does? You want to be people who actually make a difference in people's lives? Give, give to people who don't deserve it. Give to the homeless man on the street.

Well, I know he out there hustling cause I know some of you all. He hustle, he make more money than I do. If you give with the right heart it doesn't matter what he does with it. If you gave it trying to meet the need, God didn't judge your harvest on what they did with it when it was in their hand. He judges your harvest on what you did with the seed he gave you. Ooh, that's good Bible right there. How do you think God feels when everybody is giving hoping they'll get something back. He said, they're not, they're not acting like me. That's gambling. Give 100 get back 1.000! Everybody does that. That doesn't take faith to live like that. That's chance. And God says, they're getting the revelation of getting not giving. God wants us to get the revelation of giving but we have to deal with the selfish heart.

Now ladies, come close. Okay, there is one area of selfishness that every man is never going to grow out of and I think I should let you in. We don't want to share our food. I should be hearing some amens from the men. And we asked you at the drive-thru, did you want some fries? And what did you say to me? I think maybe this is just me. No, I don't want nothing. Five minutes later, you asking for some of my fries? Baby, I'll buy you two fries for yourself but you ain't getting none of mine. And the fries at the bottom of the bag, they mine too. I feel the Spirit of God coming over me right now. We need to deal with the selfish heart. Maybe that was just for me. Okay, we got to deal with the selfish heart.

Number two, we have to deal with the grieving heart. So it's not just enough to deal with the selfish heart, we got to deal with the grieving heart. Deuteronomy 15:10. You shall surely give to Jerome and your heart should not be greed- I don't know, if your name is Jerome, and you ever watch these services, I am sorry, but that's always the name that comes to me. You shall surely give to Romey Rome and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him. Because for this thing that's giving with the right heart the Lord, your God will bless you in, watch this, all your works. Hold on. If I give with the right heart, everything I touch works? If I give with the right heart, everything I do works? And in all which you put your hands?

Like I need everybody to understand that this principle works if you believe in God or not. Uh oh. If you go check Oprah's giving records, Bill Gates' giving records, Elon Musk's giving records, they're not giving to the Kingdom of God, but somehow they've adopted the principles knowing that they cannot just amass it all. But there is a principle of reciprocity that when I start giving it comes back to me in a different way. The problem is when they get to heaven, many of them, it'll still all be pointless, 'cause they didn't do it with purpose. Can I say it to you like this? Selfishness attacks us before we give but grief tries to attack us after we give. Have you ever given something or made a commitment or said you were going to bless somebody, and then right when you do it your washer break? Like right when you say, your tire bust. Right when you say it. That is the enemy trying to convince you, that don't work. The principles of God don't work.

And even as I'm sitting here teaching this I'm thinking I'm going to lunch after this and I don't actually have any money to feed my daughters. My daughters are here and they want some food and I don't actually have any money. What's up Charlie? What's up bro, you got me? Take this. 100? Bro, I can actually go to cheesecake factory or something with 100, thank you Lord. Now, why was Charles so quick to get up and give me this $100? It's 'cause I gave it to him before service. It's easy not to grieve when you remember where it came from. The problem with many of us is that we feel like this was ours. I earned this. I went to work, but who gave you the activity of your limbs, and who blessed you to be able to move to that city, and who allowed you to be able to go to that place to learn that skill, to then be mentored by that person to be able to even stand in that position with some level of competency? It was the Lord who made a way!

But somewhere along the way we thought it was our wit, our smarts, our knowledge. And you only grieve what you thought was yours. I'm teaching so good up here. Who told you this before? Who's shown you the principles of God that work in your life? And it's so easy. Charles, come back here. It's so easy for me to trust Charles with this. And this is, this is real life example. My man came to me, needing a real need met. How long ago was that? Two weeks ago. And because I adopted the principles, now we live a real life. Like me and Charlie, this is not, oh, he's the pastor and he work, like this is for real. And he told me what he needed. I called my wife and I said, "Babe, we came into a little extra". And my brother, it's this exact, I'm realizing it at this moment. It's this exact scripture lived out.

And I told him, I said, "Hey bro, I'm going to lend you this money". Da, da, da, da, da. As long as you can have me paid back by da, da, da. And then I told you, I said, "Never mind, pay me back whenever you can. Talk to Abbey, figure out what needs to happen". And the reason I'm sharing this transparently is because I'm recognizing in this moment, this is transformation for me. I just need you to understand it's happening before like you ever seen a butterfly come out of a cocoon? Like this is what's happening right now for me. I'm realizing at this moment, since the moment I gave you that cashier's check, I have not thought about that money again. I've not thought about getting it back. I've not thought of because the motive of giving it wasn't to receive it back from the place I've gone.

See some of you all think that the place you give is the place you receive from. But when I give I'm giving as unto the Lord and wherever God decides to bless me from. I may be givin' over here but he's working something out for Mj over here. I may be sowing right here but he's causing provision to come. You may not be able to see where it's coming from, but when I sow with the right heart, when I'm not grieving, God got every way he want to to get it back to me. Somebody needs to give God some praise right there. That's why Psalms 24 says "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof". It's not yours. This church ain't mine. It's not my car I'm driving, it's God's. And some of you are like, no, Pastor Mike, I have documents that tell me right now that the deed to my house is mine. Okay, baby, if this is your reward, keep it. If this is what you want, keep it. And God's saying I have so much more for you. If I could just get access to your, everybody say, "Heart".

All right, let's keep going. Okay, we have to develop a generous heart, our grief. We have to get, excuse me, we have to get out of dealing with the selfish heart. And then we have to deal with the grieving heart. And this third one, we have to develop a generous heart. Okay, verse 14. It say, you shall supply Jerome, liberally, a lot. You know like when God tells us to do something we try to do the bare minimum. Oh you all going to just leave me out here, there ain't nobody. Like okay, how much exactly did you say? No, $22, okay, 'cause I just want to make sure it wasn't 222. But it said, you shall supply liberally from your flock from your threshing floor, from your bank account from your 401k, from your closet, from your shoe collection.

Oh, is it making, somebody, he really needs some new shoes and you all wear the same size. You've been clowning him for three months but you wear the same size. It's not a hand issue. It's a heart issue. He said, "Supply them from your wine press. From what the Lord your God has blessed you with. You shall give to him". God wants us to be generous, not selfish. And this is the thing you have to know. You're born selfish, but you're born again generous. Anybody that's saved, it comes into you. When you accept Jesus that you want to be generous.

Now we have to break down the strongholds by the renewing of our? Why do I take five weeks every year to about this? It's because many of you got saved last year but we still got to break down the strongholds. You eternity is secure but your history's going to be jacked up if we don't get the strongholds down. And in the area of finances, stewardship, and generosity, I'll be bold enough. The truth is most pastors won't talk about this. Most people won't do this because they don't want anybody to think bad of them. The church doesn't need your money. Did you all hear what I just said to you all before this thing happened? God has blessed this church because we chose in the dark.

I'm not trying to get something from you. I'm trying to get something to you. We're giving away half a million dollars over the next four weeks. We gave away a house 20, 30 minutes ago and paid somebody's salary for six months, and be heard, that works with the homeless is in the building right now. And we've supplied them with living quarters and blank, like, this is not about us giving or getting something, it's about getting you something. And that means you're going to have to develop a generous heart. Honestly, we're like children. Like what's the one thing you got to teach your kids? Share. Hey, stop! Share! I got 3 1/2 kids. I mean, you all know I got three out the womb and then one finishing baking. Natalie, you a fine oven. I love my wife pregnant, but this is over. I'm just having a lot of thoughts right now.

Thinking about all my kids at this current moment and how many of them I have to teach this same principle share. My kids right now, they've one playing with something, and then the other one wants to play with them. It's like, there is 500 things to play with in this house. Why you all all playing with this same thing? And then I'll be like Ava, share. And then I'll be like Bella, share. Mj, share. And I just have to keep telling them to share. Why doesn't that come innate in them? Why didn't they come built, already included, to be kind and to share. It's because we're all born with a sin nature. You don't have to teach your kids to be selfish. You have to teach them to be generous. Oh, that sounds like God. You don't have to teach your kids to be selfish, we're already that.

That's why uncle Sam doesn't ask you do you want to give your taxes? He takes them before you even see your check. The gross and the net, it's gross 'cause he 'about to rob you, he's going to take his, and you just give him that. That's how I always feel like this is gross. And when I see what I actually make and what I actually get to keep, because they don't trust you. But the thing about God is it can't be love if there's not a choice. The reason why God doesn't make you give because if he made you give it wouldn't be love. It couldn't come from the heart. And so what he does is he says I give you this choice, and still we got to grow up. I literally have a image when I was preaching this a couple of years ago that I found this week and I want to share with you of me trying to tell my daughter Ava to share. And she looks like me as an adult in different situations, and she may look like you. Check this video out real quick.

— Hey, share. Ava, are you seeing that?
— Mine!
— No, you share. It's good to share. Do you understand me, Ava?
— Yeah.
— Yeah. Are you going to share?
— Huh uh.
— Huh uh? Are you going to share?
— No, she's like mm—hm.
— Ava, say share.

That's my daughter but doesn't that sound like some of us? God, share. Uh uh. Share. Are you going to share? Nah. And it's cute 'cause she's a kid. But after a while of that same behavior if she doesn't, everybody say mature. I know that's a cuss word for some of y'all. If she doesn't mature and start acting like her father. The water that she had, she didn't pay for. The rubber ducky she was playing with, she didn't pay for the tub, or the lights, or the towel. But she still hadn't formed the principle of sharing. At some point, I would say, when are you going to grow up? And I think that's what God's challenging us in in this Paper Cha$er series. I've blessed you. I've given you more than you deserve. I kept you. I'm blessing the works of your hands. Do you remember where you were five years ago and what I've done for you today? When are you going to grow up and be like your daddy who loved the world so much that he gave. And he gave on a maybe. There was no guarantee you were even going to believe him, and receive what he had for you.

We have to develop a generous heart. Last one: we need to develop a grateful heart. This one always hits me differently, because Deuteronomy 15:15, it says, "You shall remember," ugh, this one hits me right when I start to read it. "You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord, your God, redeemed you. Therefore I command you this day, be generous, give. Do more than others have done". Why would God say I command you to give? What authority does he have to command us to, again it's because everything we have came from him. And sometimes if you have a hard time giving and I say where does the money reside, it resides in the heart, it's because you forgot what God delivered you from.

This week I remembered what God delivered me from. As I was going through some papers, there's this yellow piece of paper that I have and it was my release form from doing community service. And many of you don't know this about your pastor but I tell you every Sunday, 'cause I have nothing to hide. I'm humble, open and transparent. I used to be a manipulator. I used to be conniving. I got in some trouble for car insurance fraud, and it was a felony, and I ended up being able to, by the grace of God, be able to serve community service and get it expunged. And many of you didn't see me at my lowest point. If you saw me at that point you would have canceled me. But God, hmm.

And as I was looking at that paper and I remember picking up trash all over Tulsa, being a youth pastor. I was a youth pastor at the time I was doing community service. Bishop is here and pastor Debbie. I had to get on the platform with my mom and bishop and Helen Trowbridge, and I had to tell the entire church what I did. See a lot of us, we make mistakes and we want God to erase the consequences. It didn't erase the consequence that I had. But I wasn't, and I didn't have to live in shame, and guilt, or condemnation. And I remembered what God did for me. And people say, Pastor Mike, it seems so easy for you to give. It ain't easy, it hurt every time.

The first and the 15th, when my 10% comes out and then God tells me to give above and beyond that, it hurts so much that I just tell them take it, don't even, this is the amount, just take it. It doesn't, it's not like it doesn't matter, I just live by a principle that's higher than my passions. And the reason it has become easier to give is because I'm grateful. I remember where I was when God found me. And he said, with the case, I'll use you. At my lowest moment I was picking up trash downtown, and God said, people are going to hear this story all around the world and it's going to bring me glory. And at the moment I'm sitting there, I'm saying God, how in the world, I was trying to save some paper and I lied about insurance. And he's like, but I'ma use it for my purpose. It's not paper chasing anymore, Michael, it's purpose chasing. And as I get grateful on where God has brought me from it changes how I deal with what's in my hand 'cause I know who holds my heart.