Michael Todd - Heart Check
I have a lot to do today, because we’re starting week two of a series we’re calling «Secure the Bag.» Now, if you were here last week, you realized that securing the bag is not what we really want to do; we want to steward the bag. I know there are a lot of people, because that’s a cultural term, who really want to understand this whole thing. Like, okay, so wait, what am I supposed to do here? I’m saying, because I’m out here hustling, I’m out here grinding, and I’m trying to secure the bag, but you just told me not to secure the bag but to steward the bag. Am I supposed to be broke in sight of the Lord, or am I supposed to? And I said, hold on, let me help everybody understand this a little better.
See, this is my bag, and all God is asking everyone to do is to surrender your bag to the one who gave you the bag in the first place. Now, I want to help you because I didn’t buy this bag; I didn’t print on this bag. You didn’t wake yourself up this morning; you didn’t give yourself all the abilities you have. You may have worked on them and stewarded over them, but they were given to you. So the thing that I believe God wants us to do in this series is to open up our bag and say, «Father, whatever is in my bag, You can have it.»
I know some of y’all are frustrated right there because nobody sees inside your bag. Everything in your life is secure. That’s why even when we mention today that we are starting B Groups and Belong Groups, and it’s a room full of people you don’t know, and we’re sharing our lives together, you’re like, «Uh-uh, no, I’m not telling anybody or showing anybody what’s in my bag.» Because when you’re insecure about something, you secure it. There are many people who are 20 years old, 25 years old, 35 years old, or 45 years old, and you have had such a tight grip on your life that everywhere you go, and everyone you meet, you can barely give anyone a hug because you are holding everything. «Hey, how you doing? What up, bro?» The only reason is that you’re trying to protect something that you think God won’t. I decided that in this series, where we’re talking about stewardship and finances, maybe the best thing I could do is encourage you in the second week of this series to open up your bag.
See, in my bag, the things that I like to secure—I’m not going to talk about you; I’m going to talk about me. The things that I like to secure are my family. So I’m cool with all of y’all, but the thing that I can’t fully trust God with is my family. I have to provide for my family, and I have to be the one to make sure that all my kids do what they’re supposed to do and grow up to be model citizens. Then, when I get old, I want them to put me in a nursing home. Many of us want to secure the family and then not give God our time. «Oh, so you’re talking about tithes, and Pastor Mike, you’re talking about giving.» Like, we don’t even need to get to the money part of it because the Bible says that we’re supposed to tithe or give a tenth portion of everything that God gives us.
Well, I started to really get wrecked this week as God told me that He gives me 24 hours every day. When I start complaining about not having enough time to pray and read the Word, He says, «Two hours and 40 minutes don’t even belong to you; they’re mine.» How much would it cost you to return two hours and 40 minutes back in the presence of God every day in prayer? We can watch a horrible Netflix documentary, and it doesn’t do anything but depress us and take away from us, yet we want to secure—everybody say time. Uh-huh. For me, this represents my talent. I’ve played drums since I was two years old. Many of us, when it comes to our talent, don’t have the same talent, but we try to secure and not give away what God has given us. I remember there were things that God said, «Hey, you’re supposed to go play for them,» and I said, «They’re only paying $25.» He said, «I didn’t ask you how much they were paying; I told you where you needed to sow your talent.»
Many of us have such a guardrail around what we are securing that when God tells us to sow, we ask, «How much do we get paid for it?» Uh-huh. Well, nobody needs—I mean, I know there’s somewhere in the Scripture that says a workman is worthy of his hire. Yeah, that’s in there, but when the God who manages everything tells you to sow something somewhere, you have to trust someone. But we don’t trust God like that, so we guard and secure our time and our talent. And y’all know—everyone in here is doing this—we’re securing these Benjamins. Hello. Because the only time you answer the phone is when they’re talking about money. The only thing that gets your time, your talent—He said facts—and the fact is that’s true, but the truth is that God’s not even concerned about this; He’s concerned about the thing that allows you to give this, which is your heart. Y’all not ready. I can’t show you what else is in the bag today because y’all came to be a little faith-based. So let me just go ahead and get back to my notes. Uh-huh.
See, because we’re not supposed to secure it; we’re supposed to steward it. We’re not the manager; we’re not the owner. Everything that we have—there are people right now who are frustrated and ready to leave because you be like, «How you gonna tell me I worked 45 hours this week? That’s my morning.» But did you supply the breath that you needed? I’m just asking questions. The card that your credit—sure, they denied you. For that, God somehow orchestrated a miracle five months ago, and now you feel entitled. Now y’all know that’s how it happens. It’s that God does something, and it’s a miracle in a moment, and now that we’ve got it—this is how it is—and God says, «Hold on, I gave you that so you could steward it.» Everybody say, «Steward the bag.» But there are some people in here who still think they want to secure it because they think they’re the owner.
Look what it says: when we don’t steward what we have already been given, we think we can control what only God can give. Let me explain it to you. So now we have people trying to control their joy. The crazy thing about 2020 is that people think they can buy joy, but if you look at the Word of God, joy is a fruit of the Spirit; it’s not a fruit of success. Oh, I’m dropping bombs up here already. Joy is not a fruit of success; joy is a fruit of God’s Spirit, and that’s why so many of y’all have two first-class tickets to everywhere you want to go, and you still have no joy. Touch the cake of Italy around; still no joy. See, because when you don’t steward over the things that God has already put in your hand, you become entitled, and you think that you can steward over things that you could never do. Because joy only comes from the Spirit.
Something else. Hmm. A lot of us go to things like this for peace. I’m about to preach. Been a hard day at work, kids acting up—Your Honor, I just need a little something to take the edge off. What we do is go to things—maybe for you it’s pills, or it might be weed for you, it might be anything—but anything other than God that you think you can get peace from is a counterfeit. It won’t come in the car; it won’t come in the relationship. It’s a counterfeit. But some of y’all have a cabinet right now in your house that you’re securing, whatever brings you peace, because you don’t trust God for peace. But I think His name is the Prince of Peace. Some of us don’t have patience, so what you try to do is be so efficient. This is a stopwatch, and you give people three weeks to change. «You didn’t change, you’re out of my life.» I’m gonna give 'em mmm; I’ll give them two months to recognize my leadership ability, or I’m out of this church.
And I think patience is another fruit of the Spirit. I’m just in somebody’s house right now. On Valentine’s Day, how many people had a good Valentine’s Day? Come on. All right, we’re a hot church—humble, open, and transparent. How many people had a… all right Valentine’s Day? Okay, he’s like me—I don’t even know. All right, let’s be for real. How many people’s Valentine’s Day was whack? Okay, she said, «Me, Pastor, me.» You know the crazy thing is when you don’t steward over the season you’re given—a season of singleness, a season of marriage, a season of discovery—you search for love in all the wrong places. And this is a little black book, and I know some of y’all on Valentine’s Day were like, «Well, I’m not doing anything today.» All I’m saying is that when you don’t trust God to secure you, you go to all the wrong things. And that’s why for me, like everything from possessions—some really expensive shoes. But if God tells me that I have to give them away, whose are they?
No, I need y’all to really be for real. Because like all of this stuff—the money, my talents, the time, me trying to find joy, peace, and secure my family—all this other stuff—who owns the whole table? And the problem is some of you are still wondering. Some people in this room are being like, «Well, okay, I see how the time could be God’s, but I found a scripture that really convicted me, and I want to share it with you.» It’s Psalms chapter 4, verse 5. It says, «Offer sacrifices in the right spirit.» Like, all it is—God doesn’t even want it if I’m mad about giving it. «Go ahead, God, take my relationship. Go ahead, you want my shoes? You want my passion? Here’s my time.» He said, «No, no, baby, you can keep that.» Uh-huh. He’ll give it back to you. «Here you go. You want your little job, and your little house, and you want all those bad relationships that are going to keep you in cycles for the next thirty years?» Because a good parent knows that at some point, you’ve got to let your kids have what they want so they can find out it’s not what they needed.
And some of y’all—y’all don’t hear me. Some of y’all are living in the fruit of having the wrong attitude when God’s asking you to give something. Say, «You want the job? Have it. You want that relationship that I’ve been trying to remove for you for years? Keep it.» Uh-huh. Somebody texting somebody like, «I’m so sorry; we cannot see each other anymore. Not gonna make it tonight.» But look what it says: it says, «Offer sacrifices in the right spirit,» and then it gives you the key to all of it—"and trust the Lord.» Like, trust Him with everything you’re trying to secure—everything you’re working for, everything you’re trying to make happen for yourself—it says, «Trust Him.» Everybody say, «Trust God.» That’s the key to this whole thing. He said, «Trust the Lord,» and it says, «Watch this.»
Culture starts talking. Many people will say, «Who will show us a better time than this?» But let Your face smile on us, Lord, because You have given me greater joy. So everything in culture that you’re looking at where people are saying, «Nice! This is the life! This is living my best life! This is how we do it when we get 40! This is how we do it when we get 60! This is how we do it when we’re empty nesters! This is how we do it when we’re in college!» All these people are saying, «If you let me secure it, I will give you greater joy.» You see, they don’t believe it!
Like, greater than nothing. So you see, the thing is, we’re talking about living a blessed life. Everybody say, «Blessed life.» And the thing about a blessing is the Bible tells us, «The blessings of the Lord make rich and add no sorrow.» See, you’re seeing the front side of the blessing with the picture and with the things that are happening, but God says there’s sorrow that comes along with blessing that I wasn’t in. And that’s why it’s not good to look at people’s Instagram and Facebooks and what they show you, because I know people, celebrities, people of influence, who died by suicide with $50 million in the bank. Why would you do that? It’s because what seemed to be a blessing came with sorrow.
And God is saying, «If you do it My way, if you let Me secure you, and you don’t secure the bag, He says, 'I will give you greater joy than those who own Instagram, who have an abundant harvest of grain and new wine.'» Everybody’s stunting. He said, «I’ll give you greater joy than that.» And this is my favorite part right here: I love the scripture that says, «In peace.» Don’t you mean that I can live a blessed life, be a blessing to other people, walk into rooms and not have animosity, and not have my hater radar on? I’m like, «Who’s a hater? Who’s a hater? Who’s a hater?» I can walk in and have everybody shout at me in peace, and then I will lie down and sleep with peace. Isn’t that the thing that all of us would give any amount of money to have? Like, I don’t even really care about the bills because I know God is Jehovah Jireh, my Provider. So, too, I’m not going to be getting up and down for something that I can’t even fix anyway because I know who I trust—not who just secures the bag but secures my life. I can sleep in peace.
And do you know one of the biggest epidemics in the world right now is people not getting enough sleep? It’s because the things of this world are robbing them of peace, and then they go to things of this world to try to find peace. But you can only find peace in the One who is peace. It says, «In peace, I will lie down and sleep.» I love that! «For You alone, O Lord; You by Yourself"—no amount of money, no connection group, no networking team, you alone, «O Lord, will keep me safe», or you could say secure.
What I’m trying to challenge everybody in this room with is that maybe it’s time for you to open up everything you’ve been securing and offer it to God. We could literally end the service right here and I could do an altar call and be done. But the Lord is giving me a couple more things to say today. However, for some of you, that’s all you needed to hear. Are you going to keep securing what God gave you, or are you going to open up your heart? You see, the only reason I would secure all of this is that these are heart issues. You don’t fully trust God in your heart; you trust Him enough to come to church. You trust Him enough to log on and post a picture of transformation that shines, but you don’t trust Him in your heart. It might be a little deep for some people right now; I see the faces. Some of you look like you just drank pickle juice.
So, I’m going to switch gears. For everybody that doesn’t know, this is a multi-generational church and this right here is called a check. Now, I know we need to be real about it—there’s some people here. All right, let’s be honest: how many people in this room have never written a check before in your life? Come on, let’s be honest! Hundreds of hands are going up because they invented these things called debit cards and credit cards, and we don’t use checks. Okay, let’s be honest right here. How many people don’t use checks all the time anymore? Like, come on, that’s over 70% of the room! So, I thought it would be advantageous for us to actually learn something that many of us may need to use one day for record-keeping purposes. This is a check, and if you ever need to write one, I’m just going to teach you how to fill it out.
The first thing is the date, and today’s date is 2/23, right? Okay, 20… okay. And then the next thing you need to understand is it says «Pay to the order of.» When you say «Pay to the order of,» that’s who the check is going to. Now by faith, because we believe in crazy faith here at Transformation Church, one day I plan to give Transformation Church a tithe and offering of a hundred thousand dollars in one go. So, I’m going to write this to the order of Transformation Church. Oh God, they’ll still cash it even if one of the words is spelled wrong, don’t they? I promise you we do it for you all the time!
Now let me say—so I write the amount. I don’t know why I did that wrong. There we go, make it a million! See, y’all are going on that baby faith, but we gotta make it a value. I’ve never done this before. Then you have to write it out in words; this always trip me out because you tell them how much here, but then you have to confirm it with words. See, some of you don’t understand that the kingdom of God is voice-activated. You think you can just do it in your head and call it done. But sometimes, we have to spell it out in words; we’ve got to write it and make it plain. So, one M… and then they tell you to do something like 00/100 because that doesn’t make any sense! You’ll get it; it’s a double entendre. I love having fun in the house of God. These last two lines are interesting because the memo is what this check is for. It’s to keep a record of what you are giving towards.
For me, in my faith check, I’m keeping this check, y’all, and one day I’m telling you, I’m gonna write this check and I’m gonna play this video again. Y’all know I like to do this! And God’s gonna allow this to happen because I’m writing this because I’m believing from this day on that I’m going to live a blessed life. But do you know that this entire check means nothing? Like right now, everybody that has a checkbook could write this exact check and give it to people. You get a check, you get a check, you get a check! But it means nothing until it’s signed. The one thing I’ve figured out about writing checks is that the signature shows where your heart is because I’m not signing anything that I don’t already have in me. I can’t write a check for something that there’s been no deposit for.
And what God told me today is to do this whole analogy to say that I need everybody to stop signing your name on the check, and I need you to sign your heart. He said because a lot of people are writing checks but their heart is not in it. He said, «People honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.» Today, the title of the message is «Heart Check.» Okay, «Heart Check.» Everybody say, «Heart Check!» And today, this is all it’s going to be—a heart check. I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 7, verse 1, because God doesn’t want you to just have a blessed wallet; He wants you to live a blessed life. Just say it one more time with me: «Blessed life!»
That means He wants your marriage, your family healthy. He wants your relationships blessed; He wants everything you do to be blessed! And I want to look at how we can live a blessed life. Matthew chapter 7, verse 1 says, «Judge not, that you be not judged; for with what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.» I have a simple question for everybody: is the word «money» used in that scripture? I’m going to say it again: was the word «money» used in that scripture? Okay, so the context of this whole scripture is judging. So, I want you to say this with me: «Judge not, and you will not be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.»
I need you to say it one more time like you drank coffee this morning. Everybody say, «Judge not, and you will not be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.» Look at Luke chapter 6, verse 37; it says, «Judge not, and you will not be judged.» No, no, y’all don’t have to just leave this to me, now it’s me. «Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will it be put into your bosom.»
Look at the last verse: «For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.» This may shock you, but the word «money» was nowhere in those verses! Yet, every time we hear Luke 6:38, we say, «It’s offering time!» Listen, I’ve heard that phrase, and we’ve used this as a money scripture, but it’s not a money scripture. This whole thing is talking about what you give: judgment, condemnation, forgiveness, at the level you give that—that’s the level you’re receiving it back! A pastor friend of mine was asked by a reporter how often he preaches on giving, and he said, «Every week.» And she said, «You preach on giving every single week?» He said, «Yeah.» He continued, «I think what you meant to ask me is how much do I preach on giving money,» and that’s once a year at Transformation Church when we do our series like this.
But you cannot talk about God’s grace without talking about giving. For God so loved the world that He… a marriage will not work if there are not two people that are willing to sacrifice and give. See, this is the enemy’s plan for your life: to pervert giving with money. Because anytime somebody talks about giving, you always think, «They just want my money!» You get locked out of a key to the kingdom because when you give, that’s the thing that unlocks everything else in your life! And I know it’s hard for some people, but you’ve got to realize my first point: write this down: Giving is all about the heart. It’s all about the heart. You can never give if your heart’s not in it, and there are some people right now that you’re tight. I see them. But everybody, just do this for me; everybody take a deep breath in, let it out, relax.
I’m not taking a second offering, and I’m not standing up people; we’re not checking anybody’s bank account. The reason I’m teaching in this series is because it transformed my life, and I would be a horrible pastor if I was back here holding these secrets that God has shown me—the keys to the kingdom—and I didn’t at least give them to you. The church is fine; the church has been in the best financial position it’s ever been in because of people like you who’ve already caught this! No, y’all don’t hear me: who’ve already caught the revelation of generosity and stewardship! But there are a few people in here, and a few people watching, that are still trying to secure what God wants them to give. And it’s my passion that you would not live your life in a way that would keep you from God’s best for your life, and His best for your life is that you would live a blessed life!
Somebody say it one more time: «Blessed life!» Look at this: I love this scripture, Matthew 6:21. It says, «For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.» It’s not where you promise it’ll be; it’s not where you’re saying it will be once you get enough money. Where your treasure is right now, there your heart will be also. This is one of those things that people say, «The law of God, you don’t love God.» What’s wrong with you? But then anytime it comes to giving their time, their treasure, their talent, they have an excuse. And I know some of y’all know this: everybody’s excuse makes sense to them! No, no, no! There were some things that happened on the first, so because it happened on the first, what I was doing was dating it back to the 15th, and I messed up on the 15th! So, you understand what I’m saying?
It was my birthday weekend, so then I did this and that… Everybody’s excuse makes sense to them! What I want to say very clearly is if you don’t tithe, if you don’t give, if you’ve been securing what you’re supposed to be stewarding, you’re not a bad person. I want you to say that; a lot of times in churches, it makes it seem like you’re a bad person, going to hell. No, no, you’re just not living your best life. And I want you to know you’re not a bad person. Maybe you weren’t taught these things. Maybe you weren’t given these keys at a young age. Maybe you had to fend for yourself, and your parents did bad things and messed up your credit and did all this other stuff, and now you’re left with the pieces.
God says, «I’m the only one that can take pieces, and with the right truth, I can bring them together and create a masterpiece.» What am I telling you? It’s not too late for you! No matter how old you are, no matter where you are in life! And for every young person in this room, please get this before you get money! No, y’all ain’t even hear me! Whatever money you got right now, you ain’t got no money! And if you can get these principles down in your heart before you’re looking at zeros in your account, you will be in a position to be used by God in ways that your parents and your grandparents and your great-grandparents were never! Because giving is all about the heart!
When you read Matthew 6:21 in the Message version, it even gives it to you so much clearer. Look what it says: «It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place where you will most want to be, and you’ll end up being there.» And that’s why, right now, whenever we put our treasure in something, our heart automatically goes there. There are people right now who, if you put your money into a stock or a bond, you’ll be online checking that thing all the time, and you never checked it before! Some of y’all right now check your bank account more than you check on your kids! You know you only get paid on the 1st and the 15th, but before you swipe, you think, «Let me check; let me see!»
It’s almost like there’s a string attached to your wallet and your heart, and anytime you’re ready to do something, it’s like, «Oh, that hurts,» because where our treasure is, there our heart will be. That’s why, for some men in this room right now, if they put their treasure into remodeling a car, nobody else can drive that car. That guy said it was him, I’m sorry Pastor! That car gets more attention than you do! You wash it, you steward it! It’s because your treasure is there! Some of us, our house is where our treasure is, and that’s why we protect it more than we protect our marriage! Because you used to invest in your marriage—you used to put your treasure into date nights and vacations and being intentional with gifts when it wasn’t a holiday or Valentine’s Day or their birthday. You used to do it more to put your treasure there, but somewhere around three years in, you say we stuck together, so you stopped putting your treasure there, and now your heart is not in it anymore.
I didn’t know this was going to be a marriage series, but wherever your treasure is, your heart will be also. If you want your heart in the kingdom of God, you have to put your treasure there. I know it’s tight, but it’s right. This is the Word of God, and it’s coming to challenge us because giving is all about the heart. Okay, so I want you to see that all of these scriptures are talking about giving—judgment, giving, forgiveness. And if this whole principle can be used for sowing and reaping, I think as the body of believers, we should be more into giving good things. Nobody talks about this, but some of us give judgment, and God says that the measure you give in judgment will come back to you—good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will judgment be given back to you.
That’s why if you’re going to give anything, you should be giving good things. But some of us at our jobs tomorrow are going to give a lot of judgment, and then you wonder why things come back to you in the same way. It’s time for us to live the blessed life. If we don’t want it to come back multiplied, we’re not giving it out. I’m going to say it again: If we don’t want it to come back to our lives multiplied, we’re not going to give it out. I’m going to give people compliments because I want that coming back to me—good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. I’m going to lend to people who are in need because I want that to come back, and that is a key to living the blessed life.
So I’m going to help you because I thought it was going to be a finance series, but I feel like I have to do this. I’ll talk to the married; I’ve got to talk to the parents for one second. This principle still applies with your kids. The way you talk to them, the way you’re short with them, the way you get embarrassed by the ones that carry your last name—oh, I don’t know why he’s doing that in the store. Girl, he doesn’t do that all the time. Shut your mouth; put it back. I told you before we got out of the car that we weren’t getting any. Put it back. I saw that this week. No, that’s not it. And so you wonder why when they get to the age where they start understanding stuff, they talk back, they disobey, they hide stuff. Oh snap, you sowed it in them, and what you’re getting back is what the scripture says: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will your kids give back to you the respect that you gave to them.
There are going to be a few people that leave the church over this one, but you still have to live with yourself and your kids. All I’m saying is if we’re going to live the blessed life, we have to give the things that we want to be multiplied back into our lives. So we have to develop a heart of generosity. Go to Deuteronomy, chapter 15, verse 7, and we’re going to find four things in this scripture that all of us need to do if we’re truly going to live the blessed life. It says, «If there is any among you who is a poor man of your brother within any of the gates in your land, which the Lord your God is giving you"—who gave them the land? The Lord. «You shall not harden your heart because it’s all about the heart, nor shut your hands to your poor brother.» They just gave us a secret right there: your heart and your hand are connected.
When your heart is hard, your hand is closed; when your heart is soft, your hand is open. That’s why when you go through a season and God is like give to that person, you’re like, «Nope,» and you walk right past somebody. «God bless you,» and then what do we do? We pray for them, and God said you were the answer to the prayer. You could have saved that prayer because I sent you there to answer the prayer. But because he’s a homeless man begging on the street, he’s there every Sunday. God said when you give, it’s not about what they do with it; when you give, it’s about your obedience to me. Ah, and some of y’all are passing people who God said you’re supposed to open your hand to, but you can’t open your hand when your heart is hard.
I’m not even going to talk about family members— «They did me wrong in 1978. It was September 22, and I lent them $68,» and God’s saying, «After all that I’ve blessed you with and after all that I’ve done for you, your heart is hard, so your hand is closed.» He said, «But don’t be like that. Don’t shut it to your poor brother.» He said, «But you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his needs, whatever he needs.» We’re going to have to deal with this—write this down: you’re going to have to deal with the selfish heart. All of us, pass the mic—every year has to deal with the selfish heart because it never stays open; it never stays like, «Oh, I’m just generous.»
Something will happen that will make you feel entitled and that you need to hold this or keep this or secure this. And so this is a never-ending work. That’s why living a Christian life is not about reaching a milestone. It’s about actually staying in relationship with God as He continues to perfect you every single day, and you have to deal with the selfish heart. Look at Deuteronomy 15, verse 9. It says, «Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart.» It can’t be a wicked dart in your heart saying that «the seventh year,» the year of release, «is at hand,» and your eye be evil against your brother, and you give him nothing, and he cries out to the Lord against you, and it becomes sin among you.
Notice selfishness is wickedness in God’s eyes, and it becomes sin. Selfishness is wickedness in God’s eyes, and it becomes sin. See, a lot of us don’t understand the concept, but back in those days they had this thing called the Year of Jubilee, and it was instituted by God that every seven years, no matter who you were, all of your debts were canceled. At seven years, let’s just stop real quick—would anybody like God to reinstitute that? Yeah, that would be a blessing! So back in those days, He’s saying if your brother comes to you, and let’s say his name is Jerome, and Tyrone comes to you, and Jerome says, «Hey bro, my crops were bad; I’ve got all of these kids; everything is not going; could you lend me a little money so we can get through the season?» He said, «Don’t think in your heart, hold on, it’s only six months until the year of release.»
Jerome doesn’t have a good track record, so if he doesn’t pay me back within six months, then I have to forgive the debt. He said, «Don’t think like that,» because that’s selfishness that turns into wickedness and becomes sin in your heart. He said, «If you have it to be able to bless him, I want you to give it to him.» And this is the thing about most of us: Most of us try to calculate other people’s finances. We try to calculate when we’re going to get back what God has done in us, even with our time. If I’m going to go help you with your wedding, you better remember this when I get married. I ain’t appeared to just put all these flowers up here for no reason. You look gorgeous, but really in your heart, the only reason you’re doing it is you’re giving to get.
That’s why at Transformation Church, we have part of our culture code: we give just to give, not to give because that’s where manipulation comes in. That’s why I hate most of this preaching that’s happening about finances because it’s giving—you’ll get, give three hundred, get three thousand. That’s just a smart business decision; that’ll take no faith to do that. And that’s why a lot of people are saying, «Oh yeah, I’ll give if I give this thing,» God… oh, did it? And I bet God is in heaven like, «Great, all my children are catching the revelation of getting, but they’re missing the heart of giving.» And that’s why I need everybody to think about this for one second.
Think about everything that God has given you. Think—think about why God even created giving. I want you to think about this. Think about it: why did God create giving? I asked this to a couple of people, and somebody said, «He created giving so that we could support God’s work.» And I said, «Really? You really think that God created giving 'cause He did it so that His work could be supported? Did the light bill in heaven get too steep for God? Did the gold they used for concrete run out?» It makes me know that giving was not created for God’s sake; giving was created for you—to work selfishness and greed out of your heart. And there are some people right now who are like, «I’ve got to get out of here; I’ve got to get out of here because this is messing with me; this is bothering me.»
That means you’re in heart surgery right now. And anytime you’re in heart surgery, nobody wants to feel the pain of that cut, but they sedate you so they can finish the work. I’m challenging every person in this room for the next three weeks. You need to stay in this heart surgery because if you get up too soon—if you get out of the thing that God is trying to change in you and reveal in you too soon, you may not have the healing that God wants for you to live in. And that’s why you have to develop a generous heart.
Now let me tell you, there’s one area of real selfishness that I don’t think men are ever going to grow out of: we don’t want to share our food. Let me just help somebody right now. When we go through the drive-thru, and I just have to tell on myself right now. When we go through the drive-thru and we ask you, «Do you want something?» please do not say, «No, I’ll just have some of yours.» Get your own! I’ll buy you three orders of fries, but please let me eat my fries! Thank you, my brother; let me eat my fries, and the fries at the bottom of the bag are mine to save! If the Lord asks again some, I’m a man, some brothers in the room—we need to deal with the selfish heart.
Number two: we need to deal with the grieving heart. Deuteronomy, chapter 15, verse 10 says, «You shall give to him, 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 all your works and in all to which you put your hands. See, this is the thing that you’ve got to understand: when you give with the right heart, you get a Midas touch. God says, «You gave over here, but I’m working stuff out over here.» The thing you’ve got to understand is the attack of the enemy—selfishness attacks us before we give, but grief attacks us after we give.
So what the enemy will try to do is be like, «Ah, you can’t do that,» and then you get up the courage to give him the crazy faith offering or give your time at that school or give your treasure or your talent in the thing, and right after you give, then the enemy comes to be like, «You shouldn’t have done that,» and you start grieving. How many people have ever given time, finances, something, and then something you own breaks? And guess what the enemy does? «See? Told you shouldn’t have done it. You should have kept it. Should not have given your time for them.»
And God says, «Don’t do that.» He said, «I need you, if you’re going to live a blessed life, never to grieve anything you give in the name of the Lord.» You were never giving; you were sowing it into another time in your future. You missed it! You’re never giving it away; you’re investing it for something else that God sees up the road. You know what? I’m having this thought right now that—well, I should let the thought go away right now, but I’m going out to eat after service today, and I just realized that I don’t have any money to actually go out and be able to pay for something. Whistle! Charles, honey! Y’all, Charles just gave me $100. Man, I love you, Charles.
Now stay here for one second in that white jacket. Now, why did Charles so readily give me $100? It’s because I gave it to him before the service. He’s not grieving because I gave it to him. The only reason you start grieving is because you thought it was yours. And when God is asking us for our time, our talent, our treasure, a lot of us grieve because you forgot He gave it to you before. Charles ain’t grieving. The thing I do as the one who gave it to him is because anytime I need it, I can have it. Here you go, Charlie; keep that, bro. God bless you.
ow watch this: this is how God wants us to work. Huh? Don’t cha cha cha, run! Come here! Hey, Charles, could you go ahead and give that $100 to run? Now run! God bless you! Yeah, true! Now watch, because Charles was faithful to obey, he was blessed to be a somebody who didn’t even know they were going to be a part of this, just got blessed because Charles was not a reservoir; he was a river. It didn’t stop with him. Some of y’all are like a dam; when God blesses you, you hold everything in. But God says, «I’m looking for some rivers that if I give it to you, you can get it to somebody.» So, I have no problem giving Charles another hundred because Charles will always obey me to give it away. But the test really is, «Ron, there’s somebody sitting next to you; what’s your name?» «Ron.» «Give Nicole your hundred dollars, Charles. Give Ron the hundred dollars.»
You’re missing it! Oh, y’all come up here just real quick; you’re missing it! Listen, I want everybody to hear me. I’m not even worried about my lunch anymore. It started with me trying to meet a need, and it ended up with me being a blessing to more people that didn’t even know they were a blessing to. So now, because Charles is the factor in this, I can continue to give things to Charles. Here’s $200, Kate. Now watch, now watch! I want you to give $200 to Line, and Ron, I want you to give all $300 to her. And something, Nicole, how much does she have? $400? Charles doesn’t have anything, but he’s not grieving because he knows where his supply comes from. Somebody in this section is about to get it! When God is asking you to give, it’s never because He’s going to leave you out. He just wants to know if He gets it to you, can He get it through you?
So, Charles, here’s another hundred. Can you get that to Ron? Can you get that to Nicole? See, what you don’t know is my whole intent this whole time was to bless Nicole. She said she literally has $25 to her name right now, but when I came out here, God said, «You need to bless Nicole,» but I need to see if I can trust Charles and Ron to be a blessing. And this is what our God is looking for: people who He can use to live a blessed life. Somebody give God a shout of praise in this place! Ron, thank you guys! Yeah, somebody’s about to get this! So, Charles and Ron aren’t grieving anymore because they just experienced what the Bible says when it says it’s more blessed to give than to receive. I didn’t know she had $25 to her name, but God did. So when I walked out here and I saw her, He said, «But the blessing is coming through others that have a heart of generosity.»
Point number three: we’re going to have to develop a generous heart. So the thing that we have to understand is that everything we’re doing, we have to deal with the selfish heart, we have to deal with the grieving heart, but then we have to develop a generous heart. Look what it says in verse 14: «You will supply him liberally.» That means abundantly— from your flock, from your job, from your bank account, from your giftings, from your threshing floor, and from your wine press. From what the Lord your God has blessed you with, you shall give to him.
See, God wants us to be generous, but we’re born selfish. You don’t have to teach a kid to be selfish. All of us come out, and one of the first words that all kids say is «mine.» You don’t have to teach them that! «Mine!» Your little kid’s playing with something, and another kid wants to come play with it. They say, «Mine!» And then you’re like, «Okay,» and then the little kid goes over here and they start playing with something else. «I was playing with that! Mine!» And then you’re like, «Oh Lord, that’s my child!» And what are you trying to teach your kid? Share! Share! Come on, share! And I believe that’s what God is trying to teach us.
See, one of the crazy things about it is a child can get this sometimes better than adults can. A couple of years ago, my wife and I were teaching our daughter Isabella how to share, and Bree was there. We were like, «Hey baby, we’re going to give away some of these dolls. You have too many dolls; you have too many toys. Let’s give to some kids who are a little less fortunate. Let’s bless them!» And she was like, «No!» And I was like, «Bella, come on! Let’s share!» And she was like, «No!» She got real strong with it. Her godmother explained it to her, and she was like, «Okay, we can give away a couple.» So we started giving away a couple of her toys, and she started getting into it. She was like, «Oh no, I don’t want this one either! Here!» My mom was like, «Hold up! We just bought this!»
Ha! Ha! Ha! I’m glad you did, baby, but you’re not giving away that! And she was like, «No, Mom, it’s okay! I don’t even play with that anyway!» She said, «You don’t play with it!» See, what ended up happening was God convicted me in that moment. He said, «Your daughter is developing a generous heart, but you and Natalie are still having a selfish heart.» And He said, «What if you would be more like Bella and have childlike faith? She didn’t care how much those dolls cost because she knew she didn’t pay for them in the first place! Ah! They showed up to her as gifts; they were brought to her! So when it came to giving them away, she didn’t have the attachment to them because she knew her father and her mother were standing right there with her!»
And my question is: if Bella kept walking in that level of selfishness, at some point when she got older, we would say, «Why don’t you share? When are you going to grow up and be more like your father?» And I think that’s what God’s saying to all of us! After all I’ve shared with you, everything that I’ve given to you, when are you going to grow up as a church and share? Be like your Father who loves so much that He gave, and He didn’t give out of a plethora; He gave His only! Last thing we’ve got to do is develop a grateful heart— develop a grateful heart. So we’re not just going to develop a generous heart; we’re going to be grateful that God is using us. It says, «You shall remember"—verse 15—"that you were a slave in the land of Egypt.»
Some of us forget where we used to be, and that the Lord your God redeemed you. Therefore, I command you this day that you need to be generous. How can God make us generous? He said, «Because I’m the one who rescued you out of what you were in.» See, I got a reminder this week. I have it in the back: I got a yellow piece of paper. Thank you, Lord! Just a few years back—before all the lights and before everybody came, before Instagram was popping— I had a felony case, and I was facing a lot of jail time for car insurance fraud. I got into an accident, didn’t have insurance, went to the house I was manipulating, called Geico… «Fifteen percent or less in 15 minutes,» and it worked!
So the people called me, «Do you have car insurance?» I had insurance on the day of the accident! No! Did you have it at the time? Yes! I had it on the day of the accident! So you had insurance at the time of the accident? Yes, sir! I had it on the day of the accident! And I was manipulated! Five years later, my life completely changed. Youth pastor at Greenwood Christian Center: «Is there a Michael Todd here?» «Yeah, what’s up, man? You got a soul? I know you got to turn yourself in.» «What? What you mean? We have recordings and documents that you’ve committed car insurance fraud, and you’re facing time.» I said, «Let me go talk to Bishop Gary McIntosh real quick!» Say—[ __ ] «I am! I’m telling the truth!» Bishop said, «[ __ ] I’m supposed to preach on Wednesday night; I might be starting a jail ministry.» And he stood with me through that situation—him and Pastor Debbie—and I said, «Okay, let’s do this! So if I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it right!»
So I went to the barbershop and got a haircut because if they’re going to take my money, not yours—there! When you got a haircut this week, we’ll post it! I’ll post my mug shot because I’m not ashamed of it. Oh! Y’all forgot? Yeah, I’m not ashamed! Where God—I remember! And when I looked at that yellow piece of paper this week, it was the completion of my community service hours! And God reminded me: He said, «Mike, you’re about to go talk to hundreds of thousands of people this week. You’re going to be generous with your finances, you’re going to be generous with your time, you’re going to be generous.» He said, «But it’s not hard for you anymore, is it?» He said, «No sir!» He said, «Why?»
He said, «Because I remember! I remember where you came from! I remember how you saved me! I remember how you put me in just enough heat to make me see that I never wanted to live that life! I remember how you had people stand with me: Bishop had me, my mom, my dad; we went on stage together, and they stood with me at my most embarrassing moment in front of our whole church! And our church was about as big as this section right here! But it didn’t matter! It felt like the whole world was judging me! And they stood with me and said, 'This was a mistake you made; this was from your past. But any man who be in Christ, he’s a new creation; the old has passed away.'»
Somebody needs to get excited about this! «And behold, I’ve made all things new!» I don’t know if there’s anybody watching or in this room, but can we thank God for the grace of God who saved us? So now it’s easy for me to give because I remember where I was! I was a slave! And it doesn’t matter if you have a whole bunch of money; without Jesus, you’re a slave anyway! You’re a slave, trying to secure all of these things that only God can give! And that’s why I’m telling every person in this room: it’s time for us to live a blessed life! Money doesn’t matter if your heart is bankrupt! I’ll say it one more time: money doesn’t matter if your heart is bankrupt! Somebody say, «It’s all about the heart!»
Can I prove it to you real quick? Is Kevin Jackson here? Come here, bro, just come here real quick! Just jump right here; we don’t have time for you to go to the back. He said he’s sure you’re fine! Get me—what’s up, bro? Transformation Church, this is Kevin Jackson! Don’t miss this because giving is all about the heart! Kevin Jackson runs a nonprofit called House of Freedom, and you work with the homeless, right? He works with the homeless in Tulsa, sheltering them, giving them food, giving them what they need, helping them get into a place where they can be… oh yeah, this is huge! A model citizen! And these aren’t bad people; these are people where situations and circumstances happen. And this man of God has a heart like God—a generous heart!
We got this story that at the end of the year, we were giving our crazy faith offering, and this man of God said, «God would not get off of me! We’ve been saving up $15,000 to redo a house for the homeless, and He said, 'But God challenged my heart! ' And He said, 'I don’t want you to give a portion of it; I want you to sow the entire $15,000! '» So he didn’t do it publicly; we’ve never met before (not never), but somehow the story got back to me. And because he gave—not grieving, just obeying—he was happy to do it because he knew that he didn’t have to secure what God was asking him to do! So today, on behalf of Transformation Church, you didn’t just give that away; you sowed it! Today, Transformation Church wants to be the first—because there’s more coming! But we want to be the first to sow a seed of $30,000 into your kingdom! Oh, is that how you… go ahead! Run it!
See, we’re going to help the homeless! Transformation Church, this is your Shack burger! Oh, can we give God some praise in this place? The sacrum. See, at this moment, they’re saying about us—this is not about the ten you gave, the thirty you gave, the hundred you gave, the five hundred you gave! We’re getting to see what it means! And the crazy thing about this is, this is not for him! He’s crying because now he gets to meet the need of the homeless in our city! Transformation Church, we will live a blessed life! We will develop a generous heart! We won’t grieve when God says it to us; we will be blessed to be a blessing! Hands lifted all over this place, watching online, I declare: Something is stirring inside our church!
Father God. I ask that You do a work within us that allows us to truly live a generous and blessed life. God, I thank You that we won’t have to grieve and that we won’t be selfish, but instead, we will develop a generous heart and a grateful spirit because we know where You have brought us from. I declare that as we catch this revelation, You will open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that this church, and everyone watching online, will not have room enough to receive. Bless their businesses, bless their investments, bless their homes, bless their jobs. Thank You for promotion as we go from glory to glory. God, we do this all for Your name’s sake. This is not about us, but about You. We will be Your hands and feet on this earth, and we won’t be blessed to just be a blessing.
If you believe it, all over this room and watching online, will you give God the biggest shout and the loudest praise you have? Because You’re never gonna let me down, that’s what Kevin believes! Now, say it out loud. Well, someone needs to believe that—hands lifted! And just say it in your house, in your family, and in your business—believe it! Somebody say one more time, with faith in your heart, «We will be generous; we will do what You say, God!»
I am about to jump off this stage, y’all! I’m so excited right now, but we can’t leave this place without giving people the chance to truly understand what it means to trust God. It’s not about giving Him your possessions; it’s about giving Him your life. If everyone would just give me two minutes—please—while I am not a distraction to somebody making this decision. This is why our church exists. If you’re in this room and you want to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior today, I want to give you that opportunity. It is the thing that transformed me from being a liar, a manipulator, and addicted to pornography, into a person who is now progressing. There are some people in this room who are securing everything because you haven’t given Him your life. Today is your moment. The Bible says today is the day of salvation. Some of you have been running, and you’re so tired. You’re exhausted from trying to find peace and joy and love on your own. God is saying, «I’ve got it all right here.» It’s not what I do; it’s Who I am. Today, I want to give you that opportunity.
Watching online and everyone in this room, if that’s you, on the count of three, raise your hand. This is something we celebrate at TC; it’s not like, «Oh no, they’re the bad people.» Everyone was a bad person, and everyone is a bad person if not for the grace of God. So don’t let anyone fake you out; you can belong here before you behave. Some people may need to step outside and smoke a cigarette. Just say, «Hi!» Some of you are going to smoke for a single week. Listen, let’s be real: you can belong here before you behave. Remember, it’s all about the heart, and if God gets your heart, He’ll help you change your habits.
So, if you’re about to make the greatest decision of your life, I’m so proud of you, but more than that, God is too. On three, if you want to give your life to God today, raise your hand! I see hands going up all over the building. I see you, sis! We are so excited for your seat! Hey, Transformation Church is a family; nobody prays alone. Let’s all pray this prayer together. Everybody say:
God, thank You for sending Jesus just for me. Today, I stop securing my life and I trust You. I believe You lived, You died, and You rose again just for me. Take my life; change me, renew me, transform me. I’m Yours. In Jesus' name, Amen.