Michael Todd - Fresh Seed
So today, week five of a series we’re calling «Somebody Say Friend: Fresh Fruit.» Today, I’ve heard God tell me to pivot from something we’ve done for years and do it differently. Usually, at this time of year, we’re doing a finance series, a series on generosity and stewardship, and I asked God if He wanted me to change to Plan C. He told me to speak this series called Fresh Fruit; He said, «No, no, no.» He mentioned that the people have matured and that they don’t need six weeks—they need two. I said, «Hold on, God, but you know some of them are remedial, and some of them forget, Lord, that You really do own everything, and I need five weeks.» He said, «This is a test of their maturity.» He explained that children you have to tell over and over again the same thing have come to a place where they don’t respect the voice. He said that there are some maturing believers, those who want to be fruitful. He stated that they don’t need a revelation; they need a reminder.
So today and next week, I’m going to remind you of the power of generosity and stewardship in a kingdom life. I am not going to preach at you; I’m just going to remind you of what God has already proven to you—some of you on a big scale, some of you on a small scale. But the only person that gets to determine the scale is you. Yes, sir! For the next two weeks, I need everyone who has any issue with people talking about money in church to unclench your booty cheeks, because I know some of you just got tight. There will be no offerings, no second offerings, no $100 lines; we are actually going to give stuff away. We are a generous church; we give just to give and not to get.
So I want to let you know that this is not about getting anything from you. We don’t have a building campaign, we’re not trying to repaint the parking lot, and there’s nothing wrong with any of that. I’m just saying, today, relax, because if you get the principle, you will become a person who lives in so much overflow that you will then begin to pray to God about how to manage. See, some of you have not walked into the revelation of management because you don’t have enough to manage. But God is saying, «I need you to manage the little that you have so that I can allow you to manage more.» Somebody say «more fruit.»
Okay, John 10:10: «The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.» Y’all know that scripture. The crazy thing is, we know more about what the enemy wants to do than what Jesus wants to do; the focus is off the enemy. He wants to steal, kill, and destroy. But we know he’s defeated; the Bible says he’s under our feet. We don’t have to worry about him. But what does our Savior want to do? Yes, yes! He said, «I have come that you may have life and have it to the full.» Write that word down on your paper: «full.» I like all things full! I mean, come on, I don’t know about you, but when I first got my bachelor pad before I was married, there were a few feelings that make you excited when you don’t really have a lot. It’s like the feeling after you go grocery shopping and buy everything you want. You place all your Gatorades how you want them, and you arrange your fruit snacks, and when you come back to that refrigerator, it’s like, «I’m rich!»
There’s nothing like a full refrigerator; it can make a bad day good. It’s like, «They hate me, but at least I have food.» Have you ever gone shopping and found everything in your size? Jesus, y’all know what I’m talking about! Sometimes you go, and it’s like, «Ooh, that’s cute,» but they never have your size. But there’s something about going shopping, thinking you won’t find anything, and then your bags are full, and you know everything in there is drippy. It’s just like, «Oh yeah, I’m about to kill it!» Have you ever received an unexpected check? You’re used to seeing your account close to that zero line, whether it’s the $100 line or the thousand-dollar line, but it all feels like zero in your mind. When it gets close to that amount, it’s like, «I’m broke. Stop eating!»
Some of you are in a mandatory fast right now. But have you ever gotten an unexpected check? You didn’t even know if it would cash. It wasn’t real to you until it actually changed the numbers in the account. You checked your bank account, and it was full! Have you ever woken up in the morning, breathed deeply, and felt that your life was full? If you’ve never felt that last one, it’s better than all the others combined because it’s the reason Jesus came! He came that you might have life and life to the what? Busting at the seams! More than you can handle, more than you even know you need. Yes! Somebody just shout at me by faith, «Full!» I’m believing that this is a new paradigm, a new thinking process in our lives, that we are going to come into an area of fullness!
Right next to the word «full,» I want you to write «fruitful.» What would it look like if your life were fruitful—everywhere you went, you were full of fruit? What would happen if I told you by the end of this year, the end of next year, and the end of the year after that, that the measure of your life would not be how many followers you had, would not be how many accounts you closed, would not be how many people you know or how many people know you? What would happen if your life were—everybody say «fruitful»?
We need to pray right now. Father, we don’t know what’s going on, but in the name of Jesus, I pray healing and strength for this young man or this young woman, whoever they are. Father God, I thank You that You are a healer, and I thank You, Father, that in this church, there will be a place where people can feel safe, healed, delivered, and set free. Thank you for wisdom for the nurses and doctors, and I thank You, Father God, for making everything okay. In the name of Jesus, we declare that all disease and sickness have to go in the name of Jesus. We give You the glory, we give You the honor, and we give You the praise in Jesus' name. Amen!
Hey, listen, the enemy can try, but he ain’t getting in here in the name of Jesus! Amen! How dumb of you to do that in a church; I will quit this whole sermon and turn this thing out! Oh, I love God! Somebody shout at me «Full!» Okay, all right, all right, all right—"Fruitful.» When I began to write this down on my paper, I just kept writing «fruitful.» Then I wrote «my marriage,» and I wrote «fruitful.» Then I wrote «parenting,» and that’s good! Then I wrote «fruitful,» and then I wrote «Transformation Church.» Yes, sir! I want you to practice this right now: write «fruitful,» but then I want you to list at least three things in your life that you desire to be fruitful in.
I started getting deep because my paper just wasn’t enough to contain it. I wrote «fruitful,» and then I wrote «kindness.» I’d never written down kindness as something I wanted to be full of, because the idea in culture is, «I’ll be kind until you push me past my limit.» Come on, y’all know! Once I pass my limit, I ain’t responsible for it. Yes, you are; you’re going to jail! But what if we could be full of kindness, full of forgiveness? Some of you have been so entitled to the debt that someone made that you won’t even let it go, because you feel safer with the unforgiveness. What if you were full of forgiveness?
When I started writing down all of these «fulls,» God spoke to me. He said, «Michael, to be fruitful, you have to recognize, watch this revelation: you are seed full.» That’s right; I said, «What?» He said, «Michael, look, any fruit I’ve ever made contains seeds.» Okay, I’m about to preach this. He said, «I never meant for the fruit to be it; I always intended for the fruit to be a catalyst to more fruit.» So if you want to be fruitful, you have to be seed full. The beautiful thing about our God is He’s put so many seeds inside of all of us. How many of you know there are seeds inside of you, gifts inside of you, things inside of you that have not been cultivated fully? Hold on, let me ask that question again—how many people know that God has put a lot of seeds in you? Good!
So when I started to think, if the goal is fruitful and God has made all of us seed full, why are so many of us pitiful? Have you ever acted like you go to church, singing the songs, but your life is pitiful? He said, «Michael, they missed the last point: being fruitful means you have to be seed full, but being seed full means you have to sow.» A seed outside of soil is suspect. Some of y’all don’t know what that is; I’ll use the full word—it’s «suspect.» But the Urban Dictionary would tell me that seed without soil is suspect. Why is this seed not in something that can produce its greatest potential? May I submit to you that many of us are full of seed, but we have not discovered the revelation of sowing? So you want to be fruitful, you are full of seed, but your heart is still gripped by fear and greed, so you won’t sow it. When I got this revelation, it freed my entire life because I learned the formula of the Kingdom: if I sow the seeds God has given me, I get more fruit. But if I also take that fruit and sow the seeds that come from that fruit, I get more seeds to sow more. It’s never supposed to stop! Somebody say, «It’s never supposed to stop!»
Think about this concept: we’re still eating the same apple that was in the garden. You missed it! If He put one apple on the earth, inside of that apple were seeds. The only way we eat an apple in 2024, God, is that there was an apple at creation. One of those seeds from the original apple created fruit, which created seeds, which created fruit, which created seeds, which created fruit, which created seeds. Good! But those seeds outside of soil are suspect. My question to everyone in Transformation Church is, why is your seed not in soil? Today’s message is called «Fresh Seed.» I’m believing God is going to give you a revelation that everything He puts in your hand is a seed, and your job is to sow it immediately. Your job is to figure out where to put this, who to spend time with, and how to encourage somebody. Is this money? Where do I give it? God, I need to learn what to do with this fresh seed because so much of it is coming in. Good!
It’s producing so much harvest in my life; I think my full-time job is generosity! Yes, sir! Oh, I’m talking to the wrong group of people today! I used to have a poverty mindset; I used to hide Oreos. Y’all know what I’m talking about! You come to the last row, and there are only four left. All you want is two right now, but you want the other two later, so you take them and put them somewhere. That’s a poverty mindset! Why am I saying this, Pastor Mike? It’s trivial, but the truth is, there’s something in you that wants to not do what’s necessary to get more. I used to live like this—not just in finances, not just in generosity; I used to live like this with my talent. Yes, sir! Yes, sir! With my gifts!
And then God began to challenge my heart because giving is all about the heart; generosity is all about the heart. When God began to show me this revelation that He wanted me to live fruitful and that He made me «seedful,» I realized I have to be «sful.» What do you mean «sful»? «Sow full.» I have to be full of sowing! Somebody say, «I’m going to sow!» I’m going to! Some of you are so stingy that the word fumbled out of your mouth when you just said that because the truth is, you feel like you’re your protector, and you feel like you’re your provider, and you feel like you are your lord is set up a system that I have enough resources, enough overflow, so just in case God doesn’t come through, I can protect myself. Oh come on, y’all! I just exposed somebody. Somebody standing there like, «And that is not faith.» This whole thing works by faith.
2 Corinthians chapter 9—I love the word of God! Now may He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness. That is a juicy scripture right there! Keep it on the screen. I’m going to read it one more time. It says, «Now may He— that’s God—who supplies seed to the sower…» That means the determination to sow. God already knows before He gives you the seed. We’re talking about the God who knows you, the God who knows your innermost thoughts, who can count the number of hairs on your head, the God who knits you together in your mother’s womb. He says, «I know if you’re going to sow before I give you seed.» And some of y’all, you’re not seeing what you desire, not because God can’t supply it, but because He knows you wouldn’t sow it. Oh my God! Are y’all reading the same scripture I’m reading?
He who supplies seed to the person He knows will sow, and He gives bread for food. Watch this—supplies and multiplies. Watch this: the seed you have sown. Uh-oh, reverse the equation! If I sow it, that’s what He multiplies off of! Yeah, yeah! Supply and multiply the seed you have sown. «No, Lord, if you give me the seed, I’ll sow it!» He said, «Uh-uh! How much did you sow? That’s what I’mma multiply.» No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! «Well, when I make it big, when I get this job…» Uh-uh! With the $4 you have right now, I can only multiply off of what you have already sown. Good, do y’all hear what I’m saying? So, 4 times 10 is what? Somebody was like, «Carrie?» I said, «4 times 10 is 40.» The only way that number changes is if what I start with changes. So, 7 times 10 is 70. 10 times 10 is 100. 20 times 10 is… somebody’s like, «694.» Stop!
Okay, hear me, hear me! Somebody, I ain’t done that type of math in a long time. Pastor, can you hear me? It’s what you start with that multiplies! That’s enough for us to go home, 'cause now you can figure out why the math hasn’t been mathing for you! That’s good! Father, why don’t I have enough? 'Cause you don’t give anything away, and I can only multiply what You have given me. So, watch this, watch this math class: 0 times a million is what? 0! So if you have not sown anything, if you don’t have a heart posture of generosity, if you’re not looking for something to give on behalf of your Savior, He has nothing to multiply, right? That’s good! Oh my goodness! When I figured this revelation out, it changed the way I viewed—watch this—seed! Okay, can you give me that seed? Where is it? It’s over here. Seed! When I go to the store, I go to the store with seed and I’m looking, «Hey, what’s your name?» Seeds of encouragement—that’s good! «Wow! You have such a beautiful smile! How long have you been working here? They should give you a raise!»
Oh, y’all thought I was just talking about money? I walk around with seeds! A person in front of me says, «Oh, my, for some reason my card is not working.» And you’re sitting there like, «Y’all should hurry up! If you ain’t got the money, get behind me! If you know you came here without no money, you greedy, selfish!» You’re sitting there just praising God in the car like, «I got that money! Money, honey!» Good, and they need $18! And some of y’all, when I said $18, were like, «If it was like six or seven, I would be okay, but when it crosses into the double digits…» I know I got some of y’all—double digits! «Hold on now! You know what I can buy with $17?» I’m always looking to sow seed!
Why, Pastor Mike? 'Cause this is what He multiplies! What’s up, fam? Good! Oh man, still need some money for my tuition! Can’t pay it all, but I’ll give you $50! Well, that didn’t meet my need! This ain’t about meeting your need; this is about me planting! This ain’t about me meeting your need! He supplies all your needs, but I got to plant this! I got to plant the seed. The seed is my responsibility; Him providing it is His. But if I don’t plant it, and most of us take our seed and we put it in a bank, «Mr. Banker, hold my seed!» Do you have anything? «Nothing! If I had it, you know you caught me at a bad time! I only use cards!» See, you only use cards? Yeah, out of cash? Oh, no cash app? Wow! Oh, come on! How many excuses? How many times have we not made provision to be generous?
My team will tell you one of our opportunities for growth—I’m about to say arguments, 'cause I’ll be going off on them! 'Cause these are my dogs, «Who got cash? Who got money?» Like, we’ll go into a store, and I’ll see a little boy trying to pick out some shoes, and he’s at the wall, and his mama is at the sale—she’s looking at them Jordans, them KDs—they’re nice! But he’s just there dreaming. I see him standing right there. I walk over to his mom, «What size does he wear?» «No, no, no! Not mine! No! He’s fine; he ain’t got nothing; he don’t need nothing!» I know he doesn’t need anything, but God told me to bless him! This has nothing to do with you! Do not let anybody keep you from the blessing of being seedful!
Oh my God, no, no, no! We don’t need your money! I know you don’t, but God needs my seeds! You may not need my money, but God needs my seed! And if I’m going to be fruitful, I have to be seedful, which means I have to sow! 'Cause some of y’all got a problem. Let me tell you where the flip comes: when you start giving to rich people! You missed it! You missed it! You missed it! 'Cause you thought it was about what they had! But there’s things I’ve given to people with more money than I’ll ever have that blessed them in ways that let them know that God saw them! You want to bless somebody? Watch this—bless their kids! You missed it! Y’all, and everybody’s trying to figure out how I’m going to provide for mine, and God said, «You’re full of seed but void of sowing!»
What I’m asking everybody to do is go get your seed! Run! Run back to the place where you’ve stored your seed and say, «Hold on! I need to borrow a little bit of that, 'cause I’m not just giving wherever I think; I’m giving wherever He says! 'Cause I don’t use seed for manipulation! See, 'cause some of y’all will use this: „You want some seed? Yeah, I got seed for you! A little seed!“ Well, if you make space for me or promote my situation or talk nice to me—Daddy! Wow! And what that is called is witchcraft! Oh, y’all missed it! That’s witchcraft! That’s why we say we give just to give—not to get! I have given in places that I’ve never expected to see the harvest in that place, okay? And some of y’all are okay with me doing this.
This whole time I’ve been throwing these seeds, y’all just been like, „Wow, that’s really a mess!“ But if I change the seed form—yes, sir! Huh! Pick that up real quick! Huh! If I start—y’all miss it! If I start walking around planting seeds—where the kids at? Is there any kids in here? Look at her! She said, „Boy, get up! Get up! Get up!“ He was asleep! What’s your name, buddy? Okay, here you go! Here’s some seed for you! Hey, can you do me a favor? Can you find that little boy right there, and you keep two of them, but give one to him right there? Okay, you see that right there? Yeah, give him one! Yeah, there you go! Are y’all sisters or friends? Here, yes! Here’s some seed! You’re giving away more? I know! He says sure!
Okay, well then here! Take all of these dollars, and give them to these people right here! Just give it to them right there! Yeah, just—yeah, you missed somebody! You skipped her! What? You didn’t like a skirt? Come back here! Come give my—You didn’t have your hands out; your hands was in your pocket! You weren’t ready to receive! Hey! Hey, look at him! He’s on a mission here! Give her the rest of it! Give her the rest of it! Give her the rest of it! That might be your wife one day! Give it to give you the rest! No, where you going? Yeah, give—get right there! No, the rest of it! Everything that’s in your hand—give them the rest of it! No! All of it! No, no, all of it! Yeah, there you go! You got the concept! Okay, how old are you? Nine? He said nine. But see, that was just the first part of the seed! These are all 20s!
Okay, now hold on one second! Now hold on! You see, he was quick; he was ready! Now I’m going to trust you with five of these, and I need you to go on this row and hand the seed to these people and then come back and visit me! Just real quick! Real fast! I need you to do it fast! Boom! Just choose them! Bow! Ooh! Bow! There you go! Bow! And bow! Okay, just stand there for a second! Don’t move! See, see, see, see! It’s different when it’s not just seeds! Sunflower seeds! Open her hand! You didn’t open your hand! „I’m sorry, Lord! I wasn’t—I wasn’t!“ You was ready! You was being a humble servant, huh? You didn’t want nothing from the Lord—you ain’t getting nothing! There! Look at the kids standing up! Hold on! She said, „Hold on! I don’t got a job!“
All right! Look, you’re smiling at her! Look at you! Why you smiling at her? No, no, it’s not like that! Here, go run up and give her three of those real fast! Hurry! Run! Run! Run! Run! Run! I need you to quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick! And on your way back down, give it to her! Yeah! Give it to her! And then on your way—hold on! You supposed to give her all three! You not listening! Three! No, no, to the same girl! No! Stop! To the same girl! Y’all see how y’all don’t be listening? He represents y’all! „I need money!“ You said, „I need some money too!“
What? I like your boldness! What’s your name? Dominque? But he said Dominique, but he told me his whole name! Here! You take that, but just give one of them to—give one to your mama, and then you keep one! Okay? Yeah! Where my mama? He said, „Let me find my mama 'cause I’m in the blessing business!“ Yes, sir! He felt bold enough! Yes, sir! To just come up and ask! Good! You’ve been faithful, man! You’ve been fa—You get it wrong sometimes! Look at him! He’s like, „Yes, I do!“ But every time I’ve told you to go do something, you’ve done it! You’ve tried to do it! You did it with the right heart! How much money do you have right now? Do you have—did you have any cash that I gave you?
Okay, well I’mma give you some seed! Here you go! How you feel about that? Good? Good! I like your heart! Give—give her the seeds, those seeds right there! Yeah! And then I want you to take all of the rest of this! It’s like $300! Okay? Now I want you to take all you’re nine? Yes! If I was nine with $300, I would be rich! Okay? But this is what I want you to do. There was a little girl that was up there! Okay? Where she at? Come here! Stand up, baby! Can you walk to the aisle real quick? Bring her to the aisle, and I want you to meet her, and I want you to give her all that money! Go ahead! Give her all of it! You’re welcome! And do you know that this whole time, the seeds I gave you—the $1 bills I gave you, the 20s I gave you—it was all a test 'cause the whole time I had hundreds for you! Put your hand out! Put your hand out! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8—You’re nine, right? Nine? And I want you to live in the overflow! Here you go! There’s a th—What would happen? What would happen if God’s people—yes, sir! Yes, sir! Yes, sir! That’s so good! That’s good!
Now do y’all know that tons of people just got blessed? I only touched four people! Nine years old with $1,000! That’s a different level of living! Here’s what I’m saying to you: It was never about the amounts! Right? From this to $1 bills to $20 bills to $100 bills, I had more than enough to supply! Sir, sir! But I gave seed to the—and everybody wants to receive the seed! When you receive the seed, you touch the least amount! The sower touches the most seed! Oh my God! Y’all are going to get it on Thursday! When you sow, even though it doesn’t stay with you, you get to touch the most seed! The truth of the matter is, when you become a conduit that God can flow through, you get to touch the most seed!
Some of y’all are like, „You’re making a mess!“ This is what my life looks like in things that God gives! It’s more than anybody could pick up and clean up by themselves! I actually… to pick all of this up, I would need help. This is a kingdom principle, and He only supplies and multiplies the seed you have sown. Pastor Mike, what you should be praying is that God doesn’t merely meet your need; ask Him to give you fresh seed. Just give me fresh seed because the principle works no matter what. Yes, it does. If this goes into soil, this is why you all can’t figure out why wicked people have resources; they are actually more generous than you. That’s true. But you quote John 3:16, and you don’t live like it: „For God so loved the world that He did what?“ Or you could say it a different way: God sowed His Son. Oh my God, where did He put Him? He sowed Him in this earth; they put Him under so that we could be the fruit. We all get to come to salvation because Jesus was sown for us. Sir, what if God had your attitude about sowing?
Okay, I need you to go home and study 2 Corinthians 9:6-11, the whole thing, because it literally will preach. I’m going to read the Bible in church because that’s why we gather—to hear about the Bible—but I want you to hear all of this. It says: „2 Corinthians 9:6, remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you, somebody say, 'He’s talking to me, talking to me, ' should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.“ As it is written: „They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.“
Now he who supplies seed to the sower—this is where our scripture is found—in the midst of all this meat where God is telling you not to give a little, don’t be stingy with this thing, because you are literally giving me the opportunity to bless you. When you sow generously, He said, „Now he who supplies seed and bread to the food will also supply and increase your store of seed.“ Hold on, and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness? Hold on, you mean God gave me this little seed bag to see what I would do? Because right there, it says, „Now he who supplies seed to the sower supplies and increases; he will increase your store of seed.“
That means that this is my bag of seed, but there should be a store of seed where I go to fill up all the time. So if I act rightly with this, I won’t have to go to Him every time I need to fill this back up. He can trust me enough to give me so much because my heart has turned to generosity, stewardship, and being intentional. He says, „Yeah, pour out some more on it! Come on, pour out enough where you can’t carry it in a bag. Get him a wheelbarrow of blessings!“ What would happen if God blessed you with so much seed that your job during the week is just to go back and fill it up? Oh yeah, that was fun giving away that seed yesterday! But God, today I thank you; wherever you send me, I thank you that you will use me as a conduit of your goodness. Father, I thank you. And then God says, „Did you do what I said today?“ „Yes, God!“ „Poured out all the seed for today.“ He said, „I give you more than enough; go back and fill it up!“
Well, God, I just thank you so much that when I used to be so broken-minded and frustrated about other people getting blessed, now I celebrate when other people get blessed, because I actually know that it is a sign that you are around me, about to do something else. And I thank you, Lord, that as I give this seed today, you do what I said today! „Yes, God!“ „Poured it all out.“ Well, God, dog it, I got to— you know what? Somebody would call this work. It takes work to live a generous life. Mo, we can tell them. It takes work to be generous to people—that’s right. You want to buy somebody something, and then you have to try to get it in their name, and then you try to do all this stuff. It can get frustrating.
And God says, „What kind of work do you want to do? Because I can make you so blessed in your life when it comes to love, when it comes to generosity, when it comes to peace, when it comes to sowing your talent. All I want you to do is fill up from the supply that I increased you with, and I want you to be willing to be generous enough to give it away when I say to, sir. Yes, sir! Not for your selfish gain, not to impress anybody; I just want you to be one of those people that I can use as one of my ambassadors on the earth.
When I hear people praying, I send them next to you, and I’m telling you, bless that woman. You’re like, „God, she looks blessed.“ You don’t know that she just cried in the car, and you don’t know that she just said, „God, if you’re still with me, when I walk in here, have somebody do something that’s unexpected.“ And she’s sitting there with her Gucci, Lululemon, and Louis Vuitton bag. Y’all saw Lululemon and Louis? I’m talking about Lululemon and Louis Vuitton, and you think, „These are Amazon leggings; I’m not giving her anything.“ And your attitude has judged an outfit to determine if you’re going to sow the seed. He said He increases your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be—oh my gosh! You will be increased and enriched in every way when you get the heart of generosity, when you get the concept of having fresh seed.
He said you will be enriched and enlarged in such a way that watch this promise: you can be generous on every occasion. Yes, sir! The only reason you’re not generous every time you can be is because you think you’re going to run out. But what if God could see His heart in you so much that you could have enough increase to give on every occasion? This is the Prosperity Gospel? No, it’s not; these are principles of the Kingdom. I did not write this! It’s says you will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us, your generosity—watch this! Watch! When I give, it will result in thanksgiving to God! Great! Come on! Let’s thank God in this place! And you go, „Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Great!“ But He said, „You thank me when you give too.“
That’s good! What am I saying? Okay, sum it up: The fruit is the result that God wants for all of our lives. The seed is ready for us. Oh my gosh, this seed is ready to produce right now! It is full of expectation. This seed right here has so much potential; this seed can make all of this! This seed is ready, but it’s looking for somebody who is responsible enough to put it in the right soil. And what are most of you doing? You’re eating your seed! Now, I just destroyed the potential. Wow, wow! There are so many other seeds around me, and there’s so much you will never see because that thing I ate, and I didn’t even really like it. The fruit is the result; the seed is ready.
Somebody say, „The seed is ready! The seed is ready! The sowing is your responsibility.“ That’s all I wanted you to know. Z is about to give you fresh seed, and I just want Transformation Church to have faith like a farmer. That’s it! I want you to wake up every morning thinking, „I don’t have a lot; I just have one scoop.“ But the thing about a seed bag is you don’t know how much is in here, right? Only the person who gave it to you knows, so this bag could be full; you wouldn’t know or this bag could have two things in it; you wouldn’t know. But if I came with the same attitude, „Hey, here you go, what for me?“ „Yes, God! Bless you! Great!“ God’s looking at how I sow, not what I sow.
Y’all remember that story in the Bible where the woman gave the last two mites she had to seeds? All these people were coming in, making it rain, acting like they were big ballers, and they were doing all this other stuff in the temple. Jesus didn’t pay attention to any of them; He said it was because they were doing it to be seen. Yes, sir! But He called that woman over and said to His disciples, „Look at that! You see that woman over there? She reached inside of her bag and took the last two mites she had. All these other people are giving out of their abundance and pride, trying to impress people at the golf club, trying to impress people at the PTA meetings, and trying to impress people on the boat, at the dock with their buds and the Budweiser. They’re doing all this stuff on the lake on the weekends to prove themselves, and God said, 'But none of that matters to Me.' You see that woman with two mites? Yes, sir! What she did was she sowed from a place of desperation, and we’re going to talk about the seed she sowed for as long as there is an Earth.'“
Somebody say, „I will have faith like a farmer!“ Faith like a farmer! Y’all know how many people are there. Are there any farmers in the building right now? Farmers, farm! What’s your shout-out? The farmer in the building, what’s up? What do you farm? Cotton? Wait, hold on. I’m just playing—guys, people farm cotton! He didn’t want to say it; you should have seen him! He turned red! Cotton, I appreciate you; my shirt would not be made without you.
Okay, so watch this. I want you to hear me: this man in this room has a revelation that most of us do not have. That’s good because most of us go and Uber or DoorDash, pick up whatever we desire. We don’t have to make a deposit or see anything to see the actual harvest. But you know about seasons. You know about having to plant something at one moment, and you don’t wake up every day thinking, 'Oh, it’s going to happen today.' You already know that it takes seed time and then harvest. The Earth is just explaining the Word of God. So this man does not sow seed one day and get frustrated because it didn’t show up the next day. 'Well, God, I sowed that one time in crazy faith, and I’m still waiting right here.' A farmer knows that I keep sowing seed; I go find more land to put it in. I can live in one place but be sowing in another. You missed it! I can be going to this church but be sowing in another one! I can be a part of this family but can sow into somebody else’s family!
Faith like a farmer! What are you saying, Pastor Mike? Ecclesiastes 11:4 says it like this: 'Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant.' Some of y’all have been waiting for the weather to be perfect! 'Oh Lord, like yeah, once I get my debt down to this amount, when I pay this Mazda off, and then, Lord once I get out of this broke apartment, 'cause you know I can’t do roaches, and I saw a roach last week, and I have to get out of here. I’m going to lose my deposit because I didn’t paint the walls…' You’re going through all of these thoughts! What happens? He said, 'Farmers who wait for the perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.'
Now the stock market’s about to turn; now Bitcoin, I’m telling y’all, it’s going to be the thing! No, no, no, I’ve got my blockchain together! I’m investing in squids right now! Oh, y’all ain’t heard about the squids? The squids! Boy, if I go over to Asia and buy 17 squids, I can bring them to Alabama and sell them for $1,000 each! Everybody’s going to be…! He said if you keep waiting for this perfect moment, 'You don’t have a heart for this.' That’s right! You’re waiting for your situation to give you permission to sow. What a farmer knows is, I’m going to plant anyway! I got a lot of money, I’m going to plant anyway! I got a lot of time; I’m going to plant anyway! I got no time; I’m going to still sow something! Watch this: sowing all the time is the right time!
Let me tell you the perfect time to sow: all the time! Do y’all hear what I’m saying? Sir, I’m trying to break the back of poverty and low thinking off your life. What if you made a decision that every day this year, I’m going to give away a dollar? That’s good! I’m not talking about hundreds—$1! Pick your amount, but I want you to prepare to sow it every day! Oh God, what if you could wake up knowing, I’m going to make some little kid’s day? What if you could wake up knowing, I’m going to be a conduit? What if I took this dollar and actually put an invite card to church? What if I sowed this dollar to a kid to get some candy whose parents weren’t having a good day with them and didn’t have the money? I say, 'Hey, you should come to my…' What if you decided? What if you gave good tips? They didn’t even serve me well! You don’t serve God well!
I’m sorry, but the truth is, you’re judging people on a scale that you’re not even on! What if you decided, 'Anything I spend, God, if You bless me, I’m going to give 20%'? It’s not about their service to me; it’s about my service to them! Well, two things will happen: some of y’all will stop going out to eat. Then the other thing that’s going to happen is you’ll be a conduit of generosity. People will know the service wasn’t good, but you gave them 20% and just said, 'Jesus loves you! ' What could happen?
Alright, when’s the right time to sow? I said, when’s the right time to sow? All the time! And the thing I’ve found out about sowing seed is seed makes you sensitive. Wherever you have seed, you care about that space! Sir, the reason why y’all can judge people is you ain’t got no seed there! But the same celebrities that you’re talking about are the celebrities I’m praying for. Why? Because I’ve been up at 4:00 a.m. with some of them trying to pray for them and give them hope not to kill themselves. Some of them Charles has shown up at our church door here in Oklahoma! I got seed in the ground, so while you’re commenting about them, what I’m doing is praying and interceding and tearing down strongholds and asking other people who have anonymity as a part of their anointing to get around these people and pray for their marriages. Why? Because I’m sensitive!
Why are you sensitive? 'Cause I got seed there! The reason why you can’t talk about people who are LGBTQAI is because there’s nobody around you that you love who’s in that battle. Oh God, I’m stepping too heavy right now! But the truth is, if your son or daughter struggled with that, you would become sensitive! That’s good! I hate religious people; y’all are so fake! Wherever your seed is sown, you become sensitive! That’s why I’m sensitive about the atmosphere of this house! I got blood, sweat, and tears in this house. Before I was a pastor, before I was anything, I sowed seeds in the sound booth. I would not be on this platform had I not sown seeds in the back of the auditorium. Everybody wants our seeds to be platformed, and God said, 'It’s not about that; it’s about Me seeing it.'
Ecclesiastes 11:4 is just nasty; it says, 'Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of the tiny baby growing in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God who does all things.' He said, 'When you plant something, you will not be able to understand what God is doing with your seed.' Do y’all understand that? He’s letting you know that when you sow, there is a mysterious component to it! Yeah, 'cause if you knew how to make it happen, you would manipulate the system! So I want you to trust Me; just sow and watch Me work in the background in stuff you could never ever imagine.'
And He’s saying, 'Watch this, write it down in a point: the mystery of sowing won’t make sense, but it will make miracles! ' It then goes on to say, 'Watch this: plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon.' Oh, I love the Bible! So it tells you first off to wake up! Some of y’all have just been sleeping on your seed! I’m going to come closer! You’ve been sleeping on your seed! You’ve been sleeping away the thing that God wants you to sow somewhere! 'Well, they won’t pay me enough! ' You don’t need the money, you need the experience! 'Cause if you would get the experience in this season, I got a door so open up the street for you! But you’re watching these podcasters who don’t have anything except lighting and a microphone, and they don’t do anything unless they shut up and listen to me. But they have a louder mic in your life than the Holy Spirit, and He told you to go sow at that elementary school that doesn’t have a budget!
'But I’m going to be a principal one day! ' He’s saying, 'Would you get up and sow your seeds early in the morning in that third-grade classroom? ' 'Great, great! Well, I’m retired.' But you’re not dead! That’s good! Because you worked all those years, you thought now you’re supposed to stop working for Me! Just because you don’t have to go to a job every day, doesn’t mean I don’t have work for you to do! But you’re sleeping your life away instead of planting your seeds! He said, 'Plant your seeds in the morning and watch—my favorite part! Oo, ooo, ooo, ooo, and keep busy all afternoon! '
Great! So, He doesn’t say, 'I did it, God, alright, call me when…' He says, 'Now find something else to make profitable! ' What’s the point, Pastor Mike? So swiftly work steadily! It’s the morning—I’m sowing it; I’m getting this out of me! I got to get it out of my hands! I’m going to keep working steadily! Why am I going to do that? Here’s the reason—this is where we’re closing. You don’t know if the profit will come from one activity or the other! My favorite part—or maybe both! Did y’all see that? It’s almost like God’s playing with us! He said, 'Sow the seed early in the morning, work, and invest in something else all afternoon.' He said, 'Do both of them! Just keep doing it! Because one may work or the other may work! '
Or think about this: maybe! I want you—He’s playing with us 'cause He knows all you’re doing is sowing seed. He’s telling you both will work! 'Cause if I sow a seed here and I sow a seed there, and I sow a seed here and I sow a seed… It’s where the seed is planted and what it was designed to do—it’s going to produce! Everybody shout at me: 'Fruit! ' There it is! Pastor Mike, why are you saying this? Because when you read the last part of that: 'For you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another or maybe both, ' it gave me the faith to say, 'It is coming! ' Somebody say, 'It’s coming! ' Something’s coming from what I planted! Something is coming from all the meetings and all the counseling and all—something is coming from me waking up and forgiving! Something is coming from me moving my whole family to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and I didn’t know what the heck— I didn’t know Oklahoma existed! But the seeds that I’ve sown, something is coming!
Somebody shout at me: 'Something’s coming! ' I don’t know where it’s coming from; I don’t know who’s going to be a part of it, but I know I sowed good seed in good ground and something—something is coming! So, that’s why each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver! Let me tell you how this works out in my life: I’ve already decided to give all my children, once they do the necessary things when they get their driver’s licenses, I’ve decided to buy all of them a car as soon as they get a driver’s license! A couple reasons: one of them is selfish—I don’t want to drive them around no more! But, for real, the reason is I want to be a father that gives them more than what they deserve! And I know some of you say, „No kids need that, ' and they’re going to have nice cars.“ Like, „I’m not—no, no! I started out with a bucket, and you’re going to get a bucket! I thought we were supposed to build generationally, and it was supposed to get better!“
I’m just saying, I’m just saying, I’m just saying, so they are going to have nice cars, and I’ve already planned that they’re probably going to wreck them because I know my kids. But I’ve already decided; my oldest daughter is 10. She can’t legally get a vehicle or a license for another six years, but her father is thinking about her in advance. So, because I decided, I’ve already started making preparations, sir, because I’m going to sew a car for her. I’ve already decided, so now I’m planning and preparing for it. Me and Natalie talked about this for years and all that other stuff. My parents blessed me and my brothers with cars and stuff like that. It was a really big moment for us, like, whoa, I got a car! I got responsibility! Oh, I have to put gas in that thing! There were different things that I started learning, and the Holy Spirit said, „I give seed to the sower.“ I was like, „Yes, God, I’m going to sew to my kids.“
He said, „Sew to somebody else’s kids.“ I said, „What?“ He said, „What do you mean?“ Me and Natalie went on a withdrawal trip. On the way back, He said, „I want you to buy this person’s child a vehicle.“ I said, „Lord, I decided to give my kids the ones that look like me and Natalie.“ Come on, sometimes you have to clarify. He said, „I know, I know what you decided, but if that heart is already there…“ Yes, sir! And I give Le to the… do you have the heart? Now, Mo is my witness; this week I went and bought somebody else’s kid a car. No, hear me! No, no, it’s not for the applause, because it hurt to do! Do you know what I could have done with that? And it’s a nice car, but I’m not looking for a harvest. My responsibility was to sew. I’m telling you, as a church, if you would decide you are going to actually give to people this Christmas next year…
Come on! Some of y’all think, „They ain’t never gave me nothing.“ They don’t have the heart to. They don’t have a heart like me. They don’t have a heart like our Father. But you could decide, and I’m not talking about being frivolous and ridiculous and getting in debt. I’m not talking about that, but right now you could make a—everybody say, „decision!“ Oh my God, you could decide, and if you decide that you are going to be a generous person, this scripture changes your life. Watch it! Proverbs 11:24–26: „The world of the generous gets larger and larger, and the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.“
The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped. Don’t eat your seed, don’t leak your seed, and don’t cheat your seed. How do I cheat my seed? By not sewing it. Would everybody stand all over this building? I feel hearts changing in this room! That’s right, I am talking about finances. Everybody, listen to me! We’re going to leave in just a second, but I really feel like God wants a fresh commitment from you to decide the level of generosity you’re going to live at. This is how I want to end the service. We’re going to sing „Overflow“ again, but I think we’re going to sing it with revelation this time. Yeah, I’m not just talking about one area of my life; I’m talking about overflow in every area. But that means if I’m going to have something full enough to overflow, I’ve got to sew what God has already placed in my hand. Generosity isn’t dramatic; it’s a decision.
If you want to make a decision to live at another level of generosity, you’re not going to prove it with your finances today; you’re going to prove it with your heart commitment to God. There’s no bait and switch—there’s the bait and switch; that’s what it’s called—no, there’s no bait and switch! I want you to have this revelation; see, it changes the quality of your life. Christ came that you might live to the full. Would you lift your hands if you desire to live at that level and actually experience what it’s like to have fresh seed? Oh my God!
Father, here we are today! God, I pray the prayer that I prayed almost 12 years ago: Father, would you take all of us from a place of providing for ourselves to a place of knowing that you truly are our provider? Would you teach us the kingdom principles that would allow us to give freely and expect you to be Jehovah Jireh? Would you eradicate us from all of the thoughts of greed and poverty, because both sides of the pendulum are evil? God, would you let us walk in a level of trust that would allow us to see your faithfulness over and over and over again? Today God, we trust you, and we decide that we will live generously. God, I’m thanking you that all week, you will do heart surgery on us, and you’ll give us opportunities, Father God, to wake up and be ready to sew the seed that you’ve given us—a seed of encouragement, a seed of kindness, a seed of love, a financial seed, Father, whatever the seed is, whatever type. We won’t look for the place that we sowed to be the place that we reap the harvest. I thank you that we will look to you, the Lord of the Harvest, to be able to meet every need. Blow our minds, God, and let us live in the overflow. We give you glory, we give you honor, and we give you praise. Change our faith in the name of Jesus. Let us have faith like a farmer. In Jesus' name.
If you’re in this room and you’ve never accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, y’all are going to have to come and clean this up in just a second, and then we’re going to sing the song. But I just need everybody to focus right now. If you are in this place and you’ve never received the Spirit of Jesus on the inside of you, it will be the thing that makes you more fruitful than anything you’ve ever seen in this world. I can tell you it’s taken me from being a liar, a manipulator, somebody who was addicted to pornography. I had a lot of evil things in my heart and many manipulative motives in my heart. God didn’t make me a perfect man, but I’m telling you He turned my life upside down. There’s no way I should be standing up here in front of you after 10 years; who I was is nothing like who God has made me to be.
I’m telling you it was because of one name: Jesus. And today I want to offer you the greatest gift that I was given. I’m telling you this is not a moment to be excited about anything else except my life being transformed. Some of y’all are tired of running, you’re sick of the relationships not working, and you’re done with church as normal. Some of y’all are religious, but you don’t know Jesus. You have rituals, meditation, prayer times, candles, and you have nothing that will actually help you. Today I want to give you—say His name with me—Jesus. He’s the reason we’re here, right? He’s the reason we give, 'cause He already gave. Absolutely, say His name one more time: Jesus.
Yeah, today I want to offer you Jesus. This is not spooky; this is an upgrade. Whatever life you’ve been living is better with Him, so on the count of three, if that’s you, if you want to give Jesus your life today and actually live in the overflow, I just want you to lift your hands. You don’t have to confess every sin you’ve ever done; you could still be struggling with addiction. He’s the only person who will bring you in, and He says, „Give me your heart, and I’ll help you change your habits.“
Don’t believe the lie that you have to clean up before you come to God; you can’t do it. You’ll still be a mess, absolutely, but He’ll take you just as you are. And then He loves you so much that He won’t leave you like that. Today, if you want to give Jesus your life: one, you’re making the greatest decision of your life; two, I believe that God has divinely orchestrated you to be here right now. Today is the day of salvation, and your name is going to be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. All over this room, three—if you want to accept Jesus, lift your hand in this place. I see you, my brother, so proud of you, man, holding your baby. I see you, I see you, my sister—come on, transformation! Come on, hands going up online! Oh y’all, this is the reason that we are here. Thank you, Lord! Hallelujah! Hey, we’re a family; nobody prays alone. Would everybody just lift your hands and say:
God, thank you for sending Jesus. Send Jesus. Today, I give you my life. I give you my life. I believe you lived, I believe you died, you rose again, and today I give you my life. Change me, renew me, transform me, make me fruitful. I’m yours. I’m yours. In Jesus' name, amen.