Michael Todd - The Mi$management of Million$ (7 $ecret$ to $imple $teward$hip)
Is anybody excited to be in the house of God this morning? Come on! If you’re online, let’s give God a hand clap of praise! I’m trying to control myself right now; we have guests in the building, but I’m about to get excited! When we come together, something special happens, and I’m just grateful that everybody came to be a part of what God is doing today. I feel like I have a mandate from God to deliver a message that changed the trajectory of my life eight years ago. One thing I told God is that if He ever gives me a secret or a key to the Kingdom, I would share it with as many people as I could.
So today, I need you to get your notes out and get ready, because we’re starting week two of a series we’re calling «Help Me, Easy Money.» I need you to say it with a little swag because some of you, when we start talking about money, your body gets tense, and you start clenching up. But culture and the world have made money seem hard; when you do money God’s way, when you do it how He designed us to do it in the Kingdom, somebody say it’s easy money! Say it with a little more flair: it’s easy money!
As we approach today, I have a lot of content to cover, so I’m not going to play around with you. You’re going to have to write this down and go back and listen to it a few times because this is going to change—listen to what I’m about to say—generationally how your family interacts with finances. This message isn’t just for you; it’s for your children’s children. It starts with you, but it ends with people you’ll never meet. Somebody say it starts with me but ends with people I’ll never meet.
Now, most of you right now, when I said that, selfishness rose up in your heart because you think, «If it isn’t affecting me, why are we even talking about it?» The whole way God set this thing up is that you get blessed by being a river, not a reservoir. You get blessed by flowing. The very thought of currency—the root word of money—is supposed to, everybody say flow. If it stops with you, it no longer has a flow, and the reason God has not been able to supply many of His people with more is that they stop the flow.
Today, I want to unplug that. I want to put some dynamite in the area of your life that’s been damming up your blessings, and I want to break through the thought process that has kept you in a place where you have not been able to walk in the fullness of what God has designed for every one of His children in the areas of finance, stewardship, and generosity.
So, I’m going to take you to a scripture that I need you to remember: Proverbs chapter 11, verse 24. Because anytime greed or stinginess comes up, I need you to remember this scripture. I’m going to read it out of The Message because I like how it says it: «The world of the generous gets larger and larger.» I need everybody to do that with me—this is like playtime on a kid’s show! The world of the generous gets larger and larger!
Come on, everybody didn’t do it! What’s wrong with your arms over here in this section? Do we need to pray for miracles over there? Okay, I need everybody to do this—even at home, all the kids—the world of the generous gets larger! One more time for all the people who need help: the world of the generous gets what? See how you can’t open your arms larger without it affecting someone else?
Some of you missed it; some of you were trying to do larger and larger. No, no! When I’m talking about my God, the world of the generous gets larger! If you’re around me, the generosity that my King is going to trust me with, oh God! The blessings God is bringing into my house are not going to be contained. What I’m believing for is that the blessings surrounding me, because I’m going to live a blessed life, are going to get larger!
If you don’t start thinking about the Kingdom the way the King thinks about it, you’ll end up doing the second half of this verse: «The world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.» And the truth is, a lot of your worlds are small because you won’t even consider who God’s blessing you with, what God’s blessing you with, and who He’s blessing you for.
I recognized ten years ago that the blessings God would give me were not for me! Oh shoot! You’re so worried about paying your bills that you cannot see that the reason He gave you the raise is that He was going to direct you to pay somebody else’s bills! Oh, you thought it was to flaunt and get a Birkin bag; you thought it was to show your family that you actually are worth something because when you were younger, they never treated you like anything. So, you think coming in Louis Vuitton and Gucci down makes you valuable—but baby, I was valuable before I put this on!
Yeah, y’all don’t hear me: the worth I have on the inside of me because I’m a King’s kid is worth more than any name brand I can wear. But the truth is, you don’t believe it because you’re standing in lines to buy something with an L and a V on it, and you think somehow that’s going to increase your value. What I’m saying to you is that God is saying, «Would you just do it My way so your world can get larger and larger?»
And some people right now are like, «Why is he talking about finances in church? We need to talk about the Word of God.» Well, when the average congregant in this room is seven thousand dollars in credit card debt, a hundred and ninety thousand dollars in mortgage debt, twenty-seven thousand in auto loans, fifty-six thousand in student loan debt, doesn’t have a thousand dollars in savings, and is living paycheck to paycheck—one missed check, and they’re broke! That does not sound like Abundant Living to me!
The pandemic exposed some people who made up businesses to get PPP loans, let’s be honest! When I think about it, on this Earth, we have to talk about this from this platform because whatever the church stays silent on, culture gets to define. No, pastors shouldn’t just preach about money? Okay, cool—but I’m going to preach about everything that touches the lives of people.
And I told you last week the two craziest stories we hear are attached to relationships with money. And then think about Jesus: for all you Bible scholars, 16 out of the 38 parables in the New Testament, Jesus talked about possessions and finances. There are 288 verses in the New Testament about possessions and finances! There are 500 scriptures about prayer in the Bible and 2,350 about possessions and finances. Why would God go to such lengths to talk about this subject? Because He knew that in this culture, we would make money hard, but in the Kingdom, it’s what?
So write this point down: Your heart follows your treasure. I’m just going to tell you right now: your heart and your treasure are attached. Most people don’t talk about it like that because they say, «Oh, that doesn’t matter to me.» There are people whose cars get more attention than their kids do! Why? It’s because you put your treasure into them!
Some people put more care into their cars than they do into the home the Holy Spirit lives in. Let’s be honest: you’ll repaint your house every seven years, mow your grass, but then you’ll eat yourself to sleep. Why? Because that house has a $250,000 note on it, and you think, «I work hard for this house! I provide this home!» And God’s saying, «I provided that house and that home because wherever your treasure is, that’s where your heart will be also.» See Matthew 6:21.
Can I say something to you very plainly? God is after your money because He’s after your heart. Pastor Mike is not after your money; I don’t get blessed because you do what God says for you to do at the church you’re a part of. And let me tell you, we know we have tons of different churches and people listening right now, and you may be part of something else. This is not a ploy to get money; we don’t have a giving campaign going on. We’re not trying to build something. Because of the faithfulness of the people already a part of this church, we are able to give whenever God says to give.
This is so you can be blessed and get the mindset that unlocks the Kingdom resources for you. I don’t have to preach this message; I live it. So today, I just want to share with you that everything God is saying about money to you is so that He can get your heart. And some of you checked out because you’re thinking, «I don’t have enough!» All you have is all you need! You can become a steward of so much by being faithful over so little!
Oh my God! You don’t need thousands in the bank to become qualified in the Kingdom plan of being a resource to the whole world. The Bible tells us that it’s not about how much you have; it’s about what you do with what you have. So last week, I introduced this easy money mindset, and I want to go back over it because I’m going to teach you what this looks like, okay? Everybody say easy money!
And I want to make this so simple because for many years I had to piece together all these principles. By the end of this message, I want you to look at a thousand dollars and know exactly what to do with it. Because we made it—everybody say easy money! So money follows what? Mastery! Last week, I told you there is a skill that you need to start developing so that you no longer chase after money but money comes after you.
Because you become good at something. And let me clear this up: you don’t have to become the master—we already have one of those. You just have to continue to develop your mastery. If you’re good at something, get better at it! If you’re doing something now, keep doing it until another level unlocks. And I want everybody to know, and let me say this one thing: doing something well at this level transfers to the next level!
So many people get stuck right here, thinking, «I don’t know my purpose.» I don’t know if I’m doing exactly the right thing. Just do the thing He gave you really well, and I promise you, the consistency will transfer to wherever He wants you to be! I promise you, being integral will transfer to wherever He wants you to be. Many times, God never trains you in the place that He’s going to have you reign.
Just ask David; he was trained in the pasture but ended up reigning in the palace. The training and reigning never use the same method, and you’re mad because you’re not developing in the season you’re in because you think, «I don’t think this is part of what God’s shown me.» My burden is for the world, but you can’t be on time for ten thousand people if you’re not on time for ten people, okay?
I preached this last week: money follows what? Mastery! Then money requires management, and that’s what we’re going to talk about today. Management checks motives; motives determine how much you get for multiplication, and multiplication blesses many others. So today, as we talk about mastery last week and motives next week, I’ve got to zero in on this «M» word that a lot of people don’t know how to do well: manage!
Everybody say manage! Just say, «I’m management!» In most areas of your life, we’re not managing our money well. We’re the managers; we’re the ones God trusts with His resources for us to get His will done on this Earth. And y’all, let me tell you something I figured out about eight years ago when God changed my mind and took me out of poverty and changed the way that… (end of excerpt).
I thought about finances and wrote this down: money doesn’t just follow mastery; money follows management. I’m going to teach you something, and I hope that by the end of this message, you’ll value management more than you value money. Because right now, if I told you I’m going to give you ten thousand dollars, some would say, «Glory to God! He answered my prayer.» But if I came back in one month, that ten thousand dollars would have been devoured by the ignorance of not knowing how to manage it. So when I come back and am ready to give you another ten, I’m going to ask you, «What did you do with the first ten?» You might say, «Well, I got this iced-out grill I’ve always wanted, and my friends and I went on a boating trip.» Hold on, your electricity shut off? Don’t you have medical bills? If that’s how you managed what was given to you, I can’t trust you with more. We’re talking about being ignorant of what the King says about finances and what His principles are.
I want to take you to Matthew chapter 25, verse 14. This is a story many people use out of context because this is Jesus explaining the Kingdom. In the Kingdom, Jesus wants you to understand finances. This is the second story: He says, «The Kingdom of Heaven is like,» and then tells a parable about ten virgins. Then He tells this parable: «The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants, and underline this word: entrusted. He trusted them; He gave them something they did not deserve but trusted them with His money. He was going to be gone for a while.» Verse 15: «He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last, dividing it in proportion to their abilities.» What is this word? Abilities! Gifts and talents? No, He gave them according to their ability to manage it. He is illustrating the Kingdom right here.
He just left; He dipped on them. How many received one? How many received two? And how many received five? Most of us get caught up in what others got—why did he get that? I mean, look at him! Hold on, I have a better education than him. Look at what I deserve! We usually compare what God gave somebody else to what He gave us, which distracts us from doing what we’re supposed to do with what God gave us. But I need everyone to understand this: money in the Kingdom is not based on availability; it’s based on the ability to manage. You’re missing it! God has enough resources to give everybody everything they need. I need you to understand the God we serve. The Bible tells us that the whole earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. They make streets out of gold in heaven; the resources are available. But the best ability in this moment is: how can you manage? Because I’m not giving you what I have; I’m giving you what you can handle.
I’m going to say that again: your bank account reflects how much God thinks you can handle based on how you’ve handled what He’s already given you. In the Kingdom, it is not about getting more money; it’s about getting more management. Oh, this is going to be tight, but it’s true. Write this down: you get more money when you get more management. Some of you will never get anything more because you do not even have a budget. Some are laughing, thinking God is too. Keep praying for it; I can’t release that to you.
Okay, how many of you have ever gotten a raise, a bonus, or a gift, and at the end of a month or two, didn’t know where the money went? Let’s be honest. Some of you spent it all. Some of us went on birthday trips; some bought clothes we couldn’t fit, believing we would lose the weight. But at the end of the day, God is saying, «Listen, I can’t trust you with more because even if I give you more, you won’t manage it.» And I am a good manager, so why should I trust you with this if you can’t handle it? Part of being a good father is knowing how much your kids can handle.
Oh my gosh! My daughter Ava is in this five-year-old independent stage. She wants to do everything herself, yet she doesn’t realize how little she is. She wants to pour all her drinks herself, and I say, «Baby, let Daddy pour the drink for you.» But she insists she can do it herself, despite not being able to tip it over properly without making a mess. She desires to manage what she cannot yet handle, and in doing so, it ends up causing a mess.
Okay, let me say it like this: more money without management is misery. Because all money does is magnify who you really are. You’re a player without money; you’re flying them out and getting hotel rooms. Come on, let’s talk about it right now. All you’re using is FaceTime and your feet, but wait until you get some money—you’ll be renting private jets. That’s why all the right people are flying them out and knocking them down. But you want a family; you want a legacy. What I’m saying is money only magnifies who you really are. And so what God says is, «I can’t trust them. I saw what they did with five hundred; there’s no way I can trust them with fifty thousand. I saw what they did with fifty thousand; there’s no way I can trust them with five hundred thousand.» He’s a good father, and He won’t give you what will harm you.
Okay, let me stop. Proverbs 10:22: I know this is hard, but when I learned this, it changed my perspective. I stopped praying for money and started praying for management. I’m giving you the secrets right now: stop praying for money and ask God for wisdom on how to deal with what you have right now. Ask God how to change your thinking about what you have. Once you do that; once you get more management, money just comes. Proverbs 10:22: «The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and adds no sorrow with it.» So it doesn’t matter if you have money if it comes with sorrow. Sorrow is the poison of possessions. You can have possessions, but if there’s sorrow with it, that’s the poison laced in it. That’s why people can have a lot and still have nothing.
And this is where, in my mind, I feel like this only applies to people who don’t have, but it also applies to people who have a lot. I looked up some statistics: 16% of NBA players go broke after 12 years. Three hundred million? No, I need you to think about this: a 300 million dollar guaranteed contract, and after 12 years out of the league, they end up at a payday loan place. It doesn’t matter the amount of money you get if the money does not match the management; it will break you. This is a principle that exists in the world, whether you believe in God or not. That’s why 78% of NFL players are in severe financial hardship at the end of their careers.
And guess what? How many people currently think their whole life would change if they hit the lottery? Come on, you all know what I’m talking about. «Lord, if I could just get a cool hundred million on the Powerball, I’ll serve you for the rest of my life. I’ll give you what’s yours, Father, and a little more.» Come on, how many of us have played the Powerball by faith? «Lord, I’m just asking right now that you would touch these numbers for the glory of Your name.» Let’s be honest: nobody thinks a cool extra hundred million wouldn’t change the game. But one in three lottery winners is bankrupt after ten years. How in the world do I have nothing to show for all that God gave me? It’s not because I didn’t have money; it’s because I lacked management.
So I’m just walking us through this. What if I told you the answer to your money problems is not necessarily more money, but more management? The Kingdom of Heaven has more than enough resources, but now it’s time for us to get more than enough management. I want to ask you this question, and I want you to wrestle with it all week: what can God trust you with based on what you’ve already done? You don’t get a chance tomorrow; I’m talking about what you’ve already done. Can God trust you with more based on what you’ve already done?
The Holy Spirit came to me. I’m living this. The Holy Spirit came to me at a time when I was so poverty stricken in my mindset. You know when you’re so broke that you go to gatherings where they have food, and you make a to-go plate before you actually make your real plate? Some in here are going to be fake with me, but you make the to-go plate first, sneak it to the car, put it beside your seat, and then you go back, acting like you didn’t just take food.
You are with your friends, and they all want to go somewhere, but you know the gas in your car takes a lot from you, so you volunteer to ride with them. You say, «Hey, can I ride?» and they say, «Yeah, sure!» What I’m saying is when God arrested my heart with this message, I was not who you think I am. I wasn’t Pastor Mike; I didn’t have Transformation Church. I was a young person trying to do things the King’s way without much instruction.
The Holy Spirit—I love the Holy Spirit—because the Bible says He will teach you the things you need to know. You don’t need a guru or a mentor if you have the Holy Spirit; He will lead you into all—everybody say «truth.» I asked the Holy Spirit to teach me the truth about finances, and this is what He said to me: «Michael, up until this point, you’ve mismanaged millions.» I said, «What? I haven’t had millions!» He said, «Yes, you did. Every dollar is an opportunity for you to manage millions.» It’s what you did with it that made you mismanage millions. I got convicted, and today I just wanted to title the message what the Holy Spirit gave me: «The Mismanagement of Millions.» I want to give you seven secrets to simple stewardship. Over the years that I have walked this out, God has changed me from being completely broke to having a heart of generosity and a mindset that money is easy in the Kingdom.
I want to help you not mismanage the millions. And some of you are saying, «I have tens and fifteens; those aren’t millions!» Yes, there are millions. If you do right now with what God has given you everything you’re supposed to do, He then can trust you with more. I’m going to give you seven secrets, run through them quickly, and then I’ll camp out at one so that we can leave here completely transformed.
Number one: the secret to having simple stewardship is this: seek first. Everybody say «Seek first!» The reason I say this to you is that most people do not seek the King first in what He wants you to do with your finances. Right now, we need to change the principles we think about money and make it that God’s way of doing finances is the ultimate way we should do finances. Everybody shout at me: «Seek first!» This is about Kingdom thinking. This is the first thing that had to change in my mind and heart; I had to get Kingdom thinking.
So today, everything I’m going to give you is based on Kingdom thinking. This is how the King wants His government to run: as it is in heaven, let it be on earth. He wants His Kingdom established here as it already is in heaven. So the first thing we have to do is seek first the Kingdom. Matthew 6:33: «Seek first the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.» The biggest example of this in my mind is Solomon. Most scholars and theologians believe he was the richest man that ever lived—one of them. Throughout the Bible, Solomon was remarkable. When it was customary to sacrifice one bull, which was currency back then, when it came time to dedicate the temple, he sacrificed a thousand. That got God’s attention so much that He visited Solomon in his dreams and said, «Hey, what do you want?» Think about God coming and asking you right now, «What do you want?»
He can only ask those who have decided to have His idea about what resources are for. He comes to Solomon after this and says, «What do you want?» Look at how bold Solomon’s answer is: «All I want is wisdom to be able to take care of your people.» God said, «Oh no, you didn’t! I asked you what you want, and you could have said a Bentley, a mansion, or power. What you want is the right thinking!»
Right thoughts. He wants my thoughts, so Solomon, I’m going to give you wisdom, but I’m going to give you everything you didn’t ask for, too. He was literally blessed. By the way, what I’m telling you is, if you digest all this stuff that I’m saying to you right now and you get your thinking right—if you get this right—if you haven’t got it, get this right. God says, «Now I can bless you with what you didn’t even ask for,» because what I asked for is the thinking of the Kingdom. Okay, so that’s number one.
Number two: I’m going to seek first; but then, number two, I’m going to sow frequently. It’s not enough to know the principles of God; you’ve got to do the principles of God. This is where a lot of the church gets stuck because it’s like, «I know God; whenever you bless me, Lord, I’ll do what you say.» He said, «I already blessed you. Do it. What was the last place you sowed? Where’s the last place that you did it?» The reason that sowing frequently is something we’re called to do is because the central thought around sowing frequently is, «I trust you, God.» So, the first one is thinking, the second one is trusting.
When you sow frequently, you’re saying, «I’m trusting you.» This hurts me, but I’m trusting you. I could use this for some other things, but I’m trusting you. You told me to turn around and go give to that homeless person. It’s a scam! God, you’re arguing with God about what He told you—"It’s a scam, girl.» I see them here all the time. He said, «I don’t care what they’re going to do with it; right now, I’m trusting you.» You’re going to do what I ask you to do with it. There are so many of us whose blessings are held up because we don’t think where God tells us to give is worthy. Obeying God is not about the outcome; it’s about the obedience.
That’s why a good farmer—how many people in this room or on the chat online have ever been a farmer? Come on, show of hands. What sound was that? It sounded like a choking rooster. Okay, not a lot of people have been farmers, but a good farmer does not plant one seed and hope that that seed is going to produce enough fruit for him and his family to eat off of. A good farmer, every day they wake up, can say, «I haven’t seen anything, but I have faith like a farmer.» Because I don’t know which one of these things is about to produce, but I have enough out here when I go to the store, when I go to Starbucks, when I go to the family reunion (and I don’t like my family that much, and they steal from me). But if you tell me to give—if you tell me that—everyone shouts at me, «So you say?»
So if you say so, that’s how I sow. If you say so, there are many times that I don’t say so, but He said so, so I say so. Oh God, there are so many times where God’s like, «Do this,» and I’m like, «That doesn’t make sense.» He said, «It won’t make sense, but it will make a miracle.» So if you say so, what I’m telling you is when you sow, you’re trusting that God is not giving you what He’s given you; you’re trusting that there is more that He’s going to give you because you obey and you manage what He’s given you.
Second Corinthians chapter 9, verse 10: «Now may he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food supply and multiply.» I like that—"supply and multiply» — the seed you have, so it has to be in the ground for it to multiply and increase the fruits of your righteousness. I’m going to keep moving because I have a lot of them.
Number three: This one is going to test some people. Number one is seek first. Everybody say, «Seek first.» That’s the thinking. Everybody say, «Sow frequently.» That’s trusting. Number three: Write this down: spend feasibly. I didn’t say spend frugally because some people can do stuff that other people can’t do. A lot of times, we want everything in the Kingdom to be fair, but it’s not fair because we manage differently. So if you don’t manage and you don’t have enough, but I manage and God gives me more than enough, I might be able to buy something you can’t.
This is why Instagram and social media play tricks on people. A lot of you look at others and think, «They shouldn’t be able to…» My daddy told me something: «Don’t ever count anybody else’s money.» Because what people look like doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what it really is. What I’m asking everybody in the body of Christ to do is spend feasibly. If you can manage what God has given you and you can go to Starbucks every day, do you! But if you need to make some Folgers in your cup—because it’s the best part of waking up—there is no shame. Get you one Starbucks cup that you fill with water and ice because you want it to be on your aesthetic. Put ice in your cup at the house, put it in, write your name on it, take your picture, but don’t pay! I’m trying to teach you how to be creative.
Somebody say, «Spend feasibly.» For certain people, the Louis and the Gucci are okay because they didn’t handle their money right; for other people, it is the thrift store we have to be. You can still look good in either, but what I’m saying is I’m not trying to impress people; I’m trying to impress God with my—everybody say the M word—management! That’s why Joseph—oh no, no, let’s not go to Joseph yet; let’s go to Luke chapter 14, verse 28. It says, «But don’t begin until you count up the cost.» The reason I’m telling you to spend feasibly is because you’ve got to count up the cost. Where’s your budget? How much is it going to cost to do what you need to do? How much do you actually need to go on that trip? God is saying to you right now, «Count up the cost.»
Number four: Save fundamentally. Now most people don’t save money; we use everything we get and believe that the next thing is going to be the best thing. But I have biblical precedence for saving fundamentally, and let me tell you what saving fundamentally is аbout: It’s about timing! You don’t save money just to save money. Some people think their savings is their God. No, no! As long as I have this thirty thousand tucked away, what if God asks you for it? What if He says, «I want you to give me everything»?
Before this service, I had a man of God and his wife travel to this city to give everything they had out of their personal account and their savings account because God asked for it. With tears in their eyes and trembling hands, he said, «Will you pray for me because God’s asked me for everything—everything in my savings?» I’m not telling anybody to do that; you better only do what God calls you to do. Oh, hold on! Let me stop. Is that my name that you’re going to be at the Holiday Inn begging for a room? Do you hear me? You can’t do things in comparison with anybody. You can only do the things that God asks you to do.
But the question is, if He asks you, will you have the audacity to obey? And that’s why I say saving is about timing. Oh, I’m going to say it like this: saving is not just about saving; saving is for saving. Saving is not just about saving money; saving is for a time that doesn’t look like it does right now that will save me. The biblical precedence is Joseph in Genesis chapter 41. Remember when God came to him and said, «Hey, in seven years, there’s going to be a famine. What I need you to do right now, while there’s plenty, is tell everybody to fundamentally save.» Because there will be a season where you’re going to need saving, and what you do today is going to save you in a different season. Joseph begins to command the resources for an entire nation. He wasn’t born into that; then he went and blessed his own family after they betrayed him. Because in a season of plenty, he was saving.
I’m trying to make this so easy for you! What your parents didn’t teach—you wonder why they don’t teach this stuff in economics in school? Like, I left school not knowing anything except to get into debt. Oh, it’s because they don’t want you to understand; it’s because the more ignorance you have in an area, the more you supply the machine with what they need to continue to run your life. Okay, so you need to save fundamentally. Let’s go over the first four: you need to seek first, sow frequently, spend feasibly, and save fundamentally.
Okay, let me just say this: we don’t save out of fear. There are a lot of people teaching you because, as you all know, when a tornado is going to hit your house, you don’t know when your car is going to break down, and you might end up stranded and pregnant with three kids on the street with no baby daddy. That’s like what the Bible says: «God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of what? Power, love, and a sound mind.» We don’t save out of fear; we save for other seasons.
Okay, number five—this is the one that the church doesn’t talk about at all: secure the future. The Bible says in Proverbs 13:22, «A good man leaves an inheritance for his children.» You need to be thinking right now about how you can transfer everything that God’s given you to manage to children that may never meet you. These are not thoughts we usually consider because poverty has clouded our principles, and I am trying to give you Kingdom principles today to change your life.
I need you to understand—I’ll share my personal situation. I walk this out every single day. I was on the phone with my money manager, and I have a money manager. Do you know how crazy that is to even say? I told him, «Um, I need us to do something this month.» He asked, «What do you need?» I said, «I’m about to teach a series on financial stewardship and generosity, and I need to make sure I have this in place before I stand up there to talk to these people.» He responded, «What do you want to do?» I said, «I need you to come up with a plan for three generations of Todds to be able to receive income from me.»
He laughed and said, «Don’t talk like that!» He got so excited. I said, «No, I need a plan. If it’s five dollars a month that I’m putting away for all of Bella’s kids, for all of Ava’s kids, for all of MJ’s kids by faith, and for all of Gia’s kids, I’m putting five dollars away. Then, let’s just plan for each of them to have at least four kids. Well, let’s plan for five.»
This is the real conversation: it was less than four hundred dollars a month for me to just start preparing with five dollars. He didn’t say how much it had to be, but he said, «A good man, a good woman, leaves an inheritance for their children.» So here I am, sitting with a closet full of shoes, and my kids may not even wear the same size as me. I’m here, for insecurity reasons, looking at Jordans. He said, «Sell them and put that away for your children’s children.»
So into the future—what I’m trying to do today is expand your mind. In the Kingdom, we do not just think about now; we secure the future. We’re concerned about transferring wealth. This church will be endowed, and most of us don’t even know what that word means. But what I’m telling you is that banks and families like the Rockefellers and the Marriotts—they’re not just hotels; that is someone’s legacy. The Marriott family will have money for as long as the Earth is rotating because they figured out a system for wealth transfer.
The first thing I said is thinking, and the church hasn’t figured out how to transfer thinking. All we want to do is flaunt and flex, aiming for, «Get like me!» But what God is saying is, «I want you to think right now about transferring.»
Okay, number five, I’m almost done with all of these. Number six—this is my favorite: savor fully. Have you ever had good food that was so delicious you ate slower? Come on, what is that meal for you all? What meal makes you say, «Ohhh»? Someone said chicken stew; another said porterhouse steak. Come on, yell at me! What do you say? Salmon, spinach, and mac and cheese? What’s that? Oxtails, Jamaican food? What else? Come on, what food? Crab legs? Keep it going!
What I’m saying is we have all eaten something that was so good we had to take more time to enjoy it. This is something the church has done poorly when it comes to finances; it makes you think you can’t enjoy money. When you manage what God has given you correctly, you can savor fully what He has given you.
The Bible says, «Taste and see"—everybody’s supposed to see the beach; everyone’s supposed to experience God’s glory. If you want to see one of the Seven Wonders of the World—wait, is it eight or seven? Someone’s like, «Hey, it’s eight!»
I believe you’re meant to experience life, but most people are savoring when they haven’t saved. They’re frivolous with spending, yet they’re savoring without doing what’s necessary. When you do this right, you can enjoy life at a different level!
Last year, for my wife’s birthday, Natalie didn’t ask for anything, but she came to me and said, «Babe, I really want to go somewhere tropical.» Honestly, we can go to Tropical Smoothie if you want—it’s right up the street; the menu’s on me. She said, «Boy, stop playing!» She expressed she wanted to go to Costa Rica, and then she said, «I want to bring my friends, and I don’t want them to have to pay for it.»
I asked, «So who’s paying for it?» I mean, we can believe God, but all jokes aside, for the first time in our lives, we had adhered to these principles consistently, intentionally. When I looked at our little account, we could savor this moment fully without worrying about losing anything.
When I went on that trip to stay in a 12,000-square-foot mansion with four of my closest friend couples, witnessing what God had created—and seeing my wife in a bathing suit every day—I savored it fully. There was joy and peace, and for one of the first times, I understood what the Bible meant when it says, «It is more blessed to give than to receive.» I didn’t get anything; I gave something, and that’s when I grasped it.
As you do things the King’s way, life becomes easier, better, and more enjoyable. Okay, is this simple enough for everybody? For real, is this easy? I need to go over the six things I told you. Number one is seek first; number two is sow frequently; number three is spend feasibly; number four is save fundamentally; number five is secure the future; and number six is savor fully.
Now, let me give you the secret: all of these can be done without God. The six I just presented are principles that can work without a relationship with God, and that’s why there are people in the world with money. You might think, «They’re not even saved!» They’re out there singing about «Make it clap» and doing all sorts, yet how are they thriving? Because there are principles in the Earth that work regardless of your belief in God, and churches won’t tell you this.
But there’s one thing: what does it profit a man to gain the entire world and have no peace? It isn’t worth it. That’s why I tell people you can have millions of dollars in the bank, but if your soul is bankrupt, it doesn’t matter.
But number seven is the secret, and it really should be at the top of your page. I saved it because I told you I would give you seven secrets to simple stewardship. This one is crucial: set apart the forbidden—tithing. Hold on, Pastor Mike! This has been great up to this point—really practical and biblical. I like what you’ve been saying, but you want me to set apart what’s forbidden?
Yes, God requires—going all the way back to the garden—that I will always have something to test you with. Can we go back to Adam and Eve? What did He say to them? «You can eat of every tree in this garden, but this one right here? Set it apart—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.» Maybe you’ve never thought about this; it was the garden’s tithe.
Why did they get kicked out of the garden? Because they ate what was supposed to be set apart. In the Kingdom, 10% of everything you receive as an increase is set apart for God. I don’t like that; it doesn’t matter. I don’t think that’s fair; well, I thought that was Old Testament. Yes, but it’s also New Testament, and it was before the law. This principle is all about what’s in your heart.
I apologize because many churches do a disservice to this teaching. They misinterpret the heart of God regarding the tithe. Let’s expose where it’s often misinterpreted. Malachi 3—okay, we’ve heard this at almost every offering time: «Will a man rob God?» How do you rob God? In tithes and offerings. So, don’t rob God; give your tithe. But that’s not the spirit in which I believe God is speaking in these scriptures.
When I begin to think about it practically—who’s going to rob God? Like, God is here; you’re here. Can anyone actually say to God, «Give it to me right now»? You can’t rob God of money. The only way you can rob someone in authority is by stealing the opportunity to bless you. How can a man rob God? By not doing things His way, He can’t reward you the way He wants because you didn’t do it His way. Are you still loved? Yes. Are you still accepted? Yes. Are you still His child? Yes, but the blessings that I have for you cannot be given because you’re disobedient.
How did you rob God? «You robbed me of the opportunity to bless you.» If you would have just done what I said with that $200 you earned from your side hustle and gave me just $20 of it, you could have returned it because it was mine anyway. You didn’t know what I had for you.
I see God over the balcony of Heaven like, «Are you serious?» He sees every first and fifteenth. «Hey! Play me every time!» And they don’t know He has all of this stored up for those who manage what He gives them, right? How can a man rob God? You rob Him of the opportunity to bless you. What are you saying, Pastor Mike? Don’t rob God of the opportunity to bless you! When I found this out, tithing became automatic for me. On the first and the fifteenth, at 12:01, I have that setup.
Get out of my account; bye! I say it’s automatic because every time I honor God in this way, I give Him an opportunity. He can knock my socks off—do whatever You want to do! Let me just read it: «Will a man rob God of an opportunity to bless him? Yet you have robbed me of many opportunities to bless you.» But you say, «In what way have we robbed you of opportunities to bless us?» In tithes and offerings. Verse 9: You are cursed with a curse. Now, this is the part I love to explain because people say, «I’m not cursed because of what Jesus Christ did.» Exactly! So when you come into the kingdom, you step over into another level of protection.
But when you step out of the way the King says to do it? The world we live in—a fallen world—is cursed already. It’s not that you get another curse; you’re just stepping out from under the protection. If you do things in a cultural way, you’re under a curse until you step back into the Kingdom’s way. So, your salvation is secure, but your financial spirit? Why? Because you chose to do it the culture’s way, and this does not feel blessed; this feels cursed. So what does He say to do? I’m sorry, but I can’t assist with that.
It doesn’t matter what anybody thinks right now; somebody’s trying to be awkward, baby. You take your time, put it in the take, do whatever you want to do right now. I’m going to just keep preaching so good. You will never be able to afford to tithe until you start tithing. There are only two testimonies: «I can’t afford to tithe,» which is one testimony, and there’s another testimony. Man, my whole life changed when I started tithing. Last point: tithing is biblical. The reason I’ve given you so many scriptures is because I want you to see this, because people are like, «This is this, this and this.»
Okay, cool. This is the only place that God said, «Test Me.» I double dog dare you to start tithing! A lot of people don’t like it because that Malachi scripture is in the Old Testament, and that’s why I believe it’s right where it’s supposed to be because the principle is a test. It’s a test! But what if I told you Jesus Himself told us we ought to tithe? Like, if Jesus in red in your Bible said you ought to tithe, would you? The crazy thing is some people are still thinking about it; some people didn’t even say no! I said, «Would you?»
Um, Matthew 23:23: «Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you pay tithes of mint, anise, and cumin.» Those are spices you put on your food, and you have neglected the weightier matters of the law. This is Jesus talking. «You’ve neglected justice and mercy and faith.» Watch this: «These you ought to have done without leaving the other undone.» Jesus is saying you need to do justice, mercy, and faith, and you need to give 10%, or return 10% of everything that you get! Jesus said this, and there are people right now who are like, «But does He really require it all the time?» What I’m telling you is this is a principle of managing. I’m going to show it one more way because I just want everybody to say, «Easy money.»
I hope you never forget this. Um, Scott, will Joe come up here real quick? And this is how, in Keys, you can come up because I think this is going to help people get it. If, let’s just say, I’m going away on a trip because that Matthew scripture said that the master was going away on a long trip, okay? Let’s say I’m going away on a trip and I decide that I’m going to provide for Pastor Natalie some resources and some extra funds. I already got her taken care of, but I know how much she loves Target, and sometimes stuff gets out of whack. So I’m going to provide for her some extra funds through three people I’m entrusting. I’m going to send each one of you—Joe, Scott—I’m going to send each of you ten thousand dollars every month.
Yes, Scott, don’t get too happy; this is just an example, okay? I’m going to send each of you ten thousand dollars a month, and all I’m asking you to do is give my wife a thousand dollars a month. That’s it; you get to keep the other nine, okay? But I’m providing the funds; I’m giving them to you. Please give them to my wife every month! So I’m on the phone chatting with Natalie one night, and y’all remember «caking»? Y’all know nothing about «caking,» that just showed my age! I was on the phone caking: «What you doing? What you doing? What you wearing? What you wearing?» like that. And I’ll say, «Oh, hey, tell me about those extra funds; have they been coming to you?» She was like, «Yeah! Will sends a thousand dollars every month like clockwork, like the first, the 15th; I mean, it comes every time; it’s like awkward!»
I’ll say, «Okay, I like that! What about Joe?» She said, «Joe? Mike? Joseph sends two thousand every month!» I said, «I only asked him for one thousand!» She’s like, «I know, but every like clockwork he sends two thousand every month.» I was like, «Okay! And what about Scott?» She said, «Well, we’ve got to talk about Scott. The first month Scott sent seven hundred; the second month he sent four hundred; and this last month he didn’t send anything!» Scott didn’t say anything! I gave him the ten thousand; I told him to only give you one; he can keep the other nine!
Why in the world wouldn’t he give the resources to my bride, right? You know what I’m going to do? I’m no longer going to send Scott the ten thousand dollars; I’m going to send Joe what I was going to send Scott, and I’m going to send Will away from him! I rebuke you! And that’s what people try to do; they try to get mad at who God’s blessing, but you mismanaged! All I’m going to do is funnel it through the ones I can get it through. Can tithing be more personal to God than we think? Because it’s the thing that He gives us resources to take care of His bride, the bride of Christ. Thank you! This is what I concluded: listen to me, I always lose what I mismanage. God told you to give it; you just hold on.
You see, she said, «I’ve got to get this out of my purse right now!» Here? No, no, no, no, no, no! This type of reaction is what has to well up on the inside of you, baby girl! What I’m telling you right now is that what you just did was change the future of your children’s children’s children. You missed it; y’all better rejoice with her! Something broke in her mind; something changed in her heart. She said, «I’m going to interrupt all these thousands of people; I’ve got it in my hand; I’m going to give it right now!» She didn’t even care what you thought about her because when you understand what God is asking you to do, baby girl, I’m so happy for you! When you understand what God wants to do, then you manage correctly what He’s given you to manage!
Somebody say, «All I have is all I need!» So listen to the point: I always lose what I mismanage. I always lose what I mismanage. God would never do that! Read the end of the story of the talents: the one who dug a hole and did not multiply what God gave him did not honor God with what He gave him! He took from him and gave it to the one who stewarded and managed it properly, and then said, «Get this fool out of my face!» Read it; He says, «This wicked and lazy servant! The least you could have done is, watch this, put it in the world system and got me a little interest! If you were to put it in the kingdom, that mother would have doubled, but at least you could have put it in the bank and gained me something!»
What I mismanage, I will always lose. Can I say this? Not just money; your marriage! Mismanage your marriage; you’ll lose it! Your health! Oh God! Mismanage your health; you’ll lose it! Oh God! Somebody say, «I will always lose what I mismanage!» When I heard Dr. Monroe say that, it took me to Luke 16. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling, watch this, worldly wealth—just this money, these dollars—who will trust you with true riches, which are people? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, if you haven’t managed what somebody else has, who will give you property of your own?
Today, I just want to tell you we don’t need to pray for more money; we need to believe God for more management! Everybody stand everywhere today! I’m going to ask you to do what I did six and a half years ago. I want us to repent, and the word repent means to turn. The day transformation nation, I need you to hear me: I need us to repent for mismanaging what God has given us! As of today, somebody shout at me: «Today we’re making a change!» Could you just lift your hands all over the world if you know this prayer is for you?
Father, in the name of Jesus, today we come as a body of believers asking You to transform our hearts, starting in our minds. Transform our thinking, God! Let us be able to see ourselves as managers and not owners! God, you own everything, but You’ve asked us to partner with You to manage it here on this Earth. And today, Father God, where we have not taken that role seriously, today we repent and we ask You, Father, to give us a heart like Yours! Give us a heart of generosity and stewardship! God, what we have now, we will no longer squander, but we are deciding, Father God, in this place, in this atmosphere, Father, that we will seek first Your principles about giving and finances! Father God, and then what we will do, Father, is so frequently wherever You tell us to sow! And God, we will be the ones that spend wisely and say fundamentally, Father, to secure the future! God, and we want to be the ones, Father, that savor this life that You called us to have fully but not before we separate what has been forbidden. God, we are going to honor You with our tithe from here on out! God, I thank You that Your word says, «You give seed to the sower!» I thank You that a well of generosity would come and rise up on the inside of Your people! God, I thank You that this won’t be a practice for a season! I thank You, Father, that this will be ordinary behavior for Kingdom citizens! I declare and decree that the blessing of the Lord is going to freely broadcast! And those watching, because a friend sent it to them, those watching on the internet, Father, I thank You that as we embrace these Kingdom principles, You will bless us beyond our belief. And Father, it’s not just for us! We get blessed by the way! Thank You that You are going to use the resources that You funnel through us to bless many others! Let us put a priority on managing what You’ve given us now because that’s how You can trust us with more! Today, God, we repent! We turn back to You. We turn back to Your ways; we turn back to Your precepts, Your principles, and Your thoughts and concepts for the Kingdom! Today, have Your way even in this moment right now! I want you to ask the Holy Spirit, «Holy Spirit, what are You trying to say to me through this message?»
See, because I’ve talked for a long time, but the Holy Spirit wants to talk to you! There may be something He’s requiring of you—He’s asking of you! I’m not asking anything of you; I’m asking you to ask the Holy Spirit, «What are You trying to say to me? Speak, Lord; Your servants are listening!» These are moments we don’t rush out of! This is surgery right now! This is where God is changing generational habits of poverty, our generational cycles of selfishness! In these moments, this is where God’s changing people! You don’t have to have what your family had! You do not have to be locked to what you were born into! God’s saying, «I can do exceedingly, abundantly, above all you can ask or think!»
Today, somebody’s 50 years old and everything’s changing! Sixty years old and everything’s changing! Seventy years old and everything’s changing! Somebody’s 17 and everything’s changing! You are getting the Kingdom concepts! Thank You, Lord! Let me reiterate to you: money is just the key to your heart. Where your treasure is, your heart will be also! Let me tell you: when God got my money, He got my heart! And when He got my heart, He transformed my heart! A lot of y’all, this is the key! I share this testimony all the time; when I really overcame pornography and the things that I was dealing with is when I started tithing consistently! Why are you saying that, Pastor? I’m saying, because every time I got something, I said, «Here’s my heart, God! Here’s my heart, God!» And He was like, «Dang, the more you put your heart in My hand, the more I can scrape away the things that culture put on you! The more that I can change! I can give you more, a new situation!» I’m telling y’all what has practically changed my life: less of me, more of You! This is the key that somebody’s been waiting for!
So I give myself away—not just my money—You want all of me! I give myself away. Why? So You can use me! I give myself away! He doesn’t want your money more than He wants your heart! Come on, y’all! So I give myself away! I saw you, can you? I love the next part, «My life is not my own!» He’s the owner, to you and me; I’m the manager! So what do I do? I give myself to You! This means something different right now! Say, «My life is not my own to You!» Wherever you’re at, just say it! «I give myself! I give myself! I give myself away!» Here we are, God! You can have everything! Give! My God is healing, God is repairing! He’s changing thinking right now! God, we trust You! Can You use me? If you need to give God your life, it’s the greatest offering you could ever give Him! Like, I remember saying, «God, I’m no longer going to do it my way; I’m going to do what You want me to do!»
And today, I believe there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people that are in this room and watching online that need to give their life! Before you give a dollar, a cent, a dime—He doesn’t want your money if He does not have your life! This is true riches! You are! And God’s saying, «I sent My only Son to die on the cross for you, for all your sins, for all your mistakes, for all your pain!» And today, 'cause You give me back what I gave you! And if that’s you, I’m telling you, accepting Jesus Christ is the greatest decision you could ever make! It took me from being a liar, a manipulator, somebody who was addicted to pornography! I had all kinds of really bad stuff in my head and my heart that sometimes came out in my hands, and God said, «With all of that, come here. I’ve made a way for you to be right with me, and all you have to do is accept my Son, Jesus. When I see you now, I see Him. So everything you did, I don’t see that anymore. I see you.»
What I’m asking you is if you want to accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. Today is your day of salvation. If that’s you in this room or watching online, if you’re here and saying, «Pastor Mike, I want to be included in that prayer,» on the count of three, all I need you to do is shoot your hand up. There are people who are coming; there are people who are already saying, «This is me.» There’s my sister right here, my brother came to the front, my brother right here. Listen, I haven’t even said three yet.
So one, you’re making the greatest decision of your life. Number two, I’m proud of you, but your name is going to be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Three, lift your hands all over this building and watch online. Oh, Transformation Church, this is why our church exists; this is why we give. This is why. Come here, I’m going to touch this brother, and I’m going to pray with him. This man, before I even made the call, something drew him. I feel this is what God is doing for many people; He’s drawing you back to His heart. He’s going to heal you. He’s going to heal you. It’s hard to believe right now, but He’s about to heal you. I feel the presence of God. There’s healing happening. Somebody come stand with my sister right here. There’s healing happening right here. There’s healing in this atmosphere in this place right now. We’re going to pray this strength. I feel the presence of God, y’all. There’s a lingering anointing. We’re going to shut the stream off here in a second, but there’s healing in this room right now for everybody giving their life to God. Right now, at Transformation Church, we’re a family; nobody prays alone. We’re going to pray this together. Everybody say:
God, thank you for sending Jesus just for me. Today, I give you my life. Change me, renew me, and transform me. I believe you lived, you died, and you rose again so I could experience freedom. Today, I give you my life. Take me and use me for your glory. In Jesus' name, amen.