The Danger of Decisionism: Why ‘Lifting a Hand’ Cannot Save

• Generosity and Stewardship 00:00:00 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor introduces the series 'Six Figures' and emphasizes that the topic is about the heart and soul, not just money, aiming to transform the congregation's view on generosity.
• Personal Testimony of Transformation 00:03:26 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares his personal journey from being 'stingy' and 'unfinished' to learning generosity, using his own life as a primary example of the series' impact.
• Biblical Principle of Generosity 00:05:42 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor cites Proverbs 11:24 and John 10:10 to explain that the world of the generous gets larger and that God desires abundance for His people, contrasting this with the thief's intent to steal.
• Personal Responsibility and Choice 00:07:08 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor argues that individuals are responsible for their own circumstances ('you die looking like your decisions') and must choose to forgive, produce wealth, and stop being stingy.
• The Nature of Testing 00:11:54 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor defines a test as an 'automatic definer' that reveals whether a person is ready or resistant, using the analogy of school tests to explain spiritual readiness.
• Financial Testing and Tithing 00:13:25 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor asserts that every increase in income is a test of trust, specifically linking tithing to the exposure of one's trust in God versus other resources.
• Tithing as a Test 00:13:09 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor defines tithing not as a burden but as a recurring test of trust that occurs every time a believer receives income, challenging the cultural view of money management.
• Salvation vs. Obedience 00:15:42 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor clarifies that salvation is not dependent on tithing, but the ability to live in abundance is dependent on obedience to God's word, distinguishing between saving faith and practical obedience.
• Priority over Percentage 00:17:19 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor argues that the specific percentage (10%) is less important than the spiritual priority it represents, questioning where God stands in the believer's life priorities.
• God Testing God 00:20:45 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor cites Malachi 3:10 to explain that God invites believers to test Him, promising abundant blessing if they honor Him with their firstfruits, reversing the typical dynamic of testing.
• Internal Resolve and Offense 00:25:29 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains that offense at the concept of tithing stems from a lack of internal resolve or trust, using the analogy of a polygraph test to illustrate that only those with hidden issues react negatively to scrutiny.
• The Principle of Testing and Trust 00:27:17 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor argues that tests expose internal unresolved issues and lack of trust, urging the congregation to address the root fear rather than the semantics of the test.
• Biblical Basis for Tithing 00:33:35 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor cites Leviticus 27:30 and Matthew 23:23 to establish tithing as a biblical command that is holy, set apart, and applicable in the New Testament context.
• Practical Faith and Spiritual Accounting 00:35:11 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains that tithing is a spiritual act activated by practical faith, where the act of giving is recorded in heaven, similar to salvation.
• Priority and First-Friths Giving 00:37:19 ▶️ 📄
  > Through a musical chairs demonstration, the pastor illustrates that God must be honored first (the first seat) and that tithing requires giving the first portion, not the leftovers.
• The Principle of Firstfruits and Priority 00:42:22 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the analogy of $100 bills to argue that the tithe must be the first portion given, as it requires faith to give what is left, whereas giving the remainder does not.
• Biblical Precedent: Cain and Abel 00:44:55 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor cites Genesis 4 to explain that God accepts Abel's firstborn offering but rejects Cain's because Cain lacked priority, illustrating that 'God doesn't accept seconds.'
• Tithing as a Spiritual Reset 00:47:30 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor argues that tithing is a mechanism to 'reset' one's perspective, reminding the believer that God is the source of provision rather than their job or finances.
• Tithing as Stewardship, Not Loss 00:49:04 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor clarifies that God does not ask for something the believer owns, but rather asks them to 'bring back' a portion of what God has already provided, framing tithing as returning what is already God's.
• The Danger of Spiritual Stagnation (Swamp vs. River) 00:56:31 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the analogy of a swamp (stagnant, smelly, predatory) versus a river (flowing, life-giving) to urge believers to let blessings flow through them rather than hoarding them.
• Tithing as Reverence and Christological Typology 00:58:54 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor connects tithing to the reverence God showed by giving His 'first and only' Son, Jesus, as the ultimate example of giving the first portion for the blessing of others.
• Theological Basis of Tithing 00:59:25 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor argues that tithing is rooted in God's nature, citing Christ as God's 'tithe' given first for the reconciliation of others, establishing tithing as a personal act of worship to God.
• Pragmatic and Moral Argument for Generosity 01:00:27 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor presents a hypothetical scenario where Christianity is false, arguing that a life of generous tithing and forgiveness still results in being a better person, thereby validating the moral value of the practice regardless of theological truth.
• Eschatological Consequence and Urgency 01:01:53 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor contrasts the peace of a life lived in faith with the terror of the 'great white throne judgment' for those who ignored God's commands, urging immediate obedience to avoid eternal consequences.
• Call to Obedience and Prayer 01:03:04 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor leads a prayer for the congregation to obey God's word regarding tithing and forgiveness, asking for help to overcome fear and trust God with the first 10% of their increase.

• Sermon Illustration 00:08:59 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a story about his daughter Isabella, who was overwhelmed by studying for a test on the 66 books of the Bible. He created a song using an AI app to help her memorize them, resulting in her getting a 100 on the test. He uses this to contrast her excitement for prepared tests with his own past anxiety, illustrating that tests are either exciting or exposing based on preparation.
• Sermon Illustration 00:13:09 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the analogy of a student being excited for a test because they are prepared, contrasting this with believers who are unprepared for the 'test' of finances.
• Sermon Illustration 00:20:00 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the analogy of a doctor or brain surgeon who must undergo rigorous testing because their work is valuable, comparing this to how God tests believers because their spiritual state is valuable.
• Sermon Illustration 00:25:41 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about a friend whose marriage was healed from infidelity, explaining that the wife's need for reassurance (like a polygraph test) does not indicate distrust but a need for security, illustrating that tests only provoke a negative reaction when there is internal unresolved guilt.
• Sermon Illustration 00:29:28 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his past as a liar who avoided confrontation to maintain control, contrasting it with his current freedom in saying 'test me' because he has nothing to hide.
• Sermon Illustration 00:31:25 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor tells the story of a young woman who cut the ends off a ham because her mother did, who did it because her mother did, revealing the practice was based on ignorance of pan size rather than divine command.
• Sermon Illustration 00:37:19 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor conducts a musical chairs game with three competitive congregants to demonstrate the concept of priority, showing that while one person was technically first, he chose to honor another, illustrating how people often fail to honor God as the first priority.
• Sermon Illustration 00:42:22 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses a hypothetical scenario of handing out ten $100 bills to illustrate that the tithe is the first bill given, requiring faith, while the rest are just leftovers.
• Sermon Illustration 00:45:12 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor references the biblical story of Cain and Abel, noting that Abel brought the firstborn of his flock while Cain brought a generic offering, resulting in God favoring Abel due to the priority of the gift.
• Sermon Illustration 00:52:17 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about finding a 2011 offering envelope in his attic, detailing his financial struggles at the time (rent, maxed credit cards, no car) and his decision to tithe despite having only $1,452 in savings, which he views as a testimony of God's provision.
• Sermon Illustration 00:56:31 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the analogy of a swamp versus a river to describe spiritual health, urging the congregation to be like a river that flows and gives, rather than a stagnant swamp that breeds predators and smells.
• Sermon Illustration 01:03:04 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the analogy of creation (stars, mountains, oceans) bowing in reverence to God to illustrate that humans should similarly respond to God's commands with obedience ('so will I').
• Sermon Illustration 01:02:16 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor describes a hypothetical scene at the 'great white throne judgment' where a person realizes they ignored God's commands about money and relationships, only to be told there is no 'redo,' emphasizing the finality of earthly choices.

• Pastoral Charge 00:01:34 ▶️ 📄
  > Click the QR code to subscribe to the new podcast and share it if it is valuable.
• Pastoral Charge 00:19:36 ▶️ 📄
  > Write down the point that multiple tests reveal the value of a material.
• Pastoral Charge 00:25:29 ▶️ 📄
  > Write down the point that a test only provokes a reaction where there is no internal resolve.
• Pastoral Charge 00:34:46 ▶️ 📄
  > The congregation is asked to verbally affirm that tithing is biblical.
• Pastoral Charge 00:47:30 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor instructs the congregation to view tithing as a spiritual reset to remember God as their source.
• Pastoral Charge 00:58:38 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor models and encourages the congregation to adopt the mindset of being a 'river' that flows with God's blessings rather than a stagnant 'swamp'.
• Pastoral Charge 01:04:10 ▶️ 📄
  > Lift hands in response to the call to tithe.
• Pastoral Charge 01:04:47 ▶️ 📄
  > Give the first 10% of increase to God.

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:00:00] What's going on family? It's another amazing time where we get to be together to share around God's word and I'm excited because today we're in week four of a series that we are calling Six Figures. You know what? The world of the generous gets larger and larger and I'm believing that your world is getting bigger as you are getting this revelation of generosity and stewardship. Before we get into today's message I want to tell you about an exciting announcement that I've been holding. God has released me
[00:00:30] to get in a lane that I was like, ah, God, do I, do I need to go over here and transform people's lives with representing and being hot, humble, open, and transparent? And God was like, yes,
[00:00:41] time. And I want to announce to you that me and Pastor Charles are starting a brand new podcast.
[00:00:48] It's called Pop Progression Over Perfection. And if you are a person that is committed to progressing on this journey with Christ, a person that is committed to progression in every area of your life, you're going to love this podcast. You're going to laugh. You're going to find out
[00:01:05] more about God. You're going to hear some really funny stories about my journey and Charles's journey. And more than anything, you're going to realize that God has a journey that will not be perfect for you, but it will progress you to the place of purpose. And I want you to join that.
[00:01:19] We're trying to get a thousand subscribers because we're starting over. Like we thought, what better way to prove this concept than start from scratch on everything. So I need you to help me with this. I need you to click the QR code that's at the bottom of your screen. We're going
[00:01:34] to release our first episode. And if anything is valuable, I want you to share it. If it helps you and encourages you or gives you a reason to continue to move forward, which is the word of
[00:01:43] the year, I want you to share it with somebody. Last thing I'm going to tell you about is this series is literally transforming people's lives everywhere. And I want you to not miss one moment. So we're in week four. I think we've got two more weeks left. But if you
[00:01:58] haven't watched the messages before this, I need you to go back because if your mind changes, your heart changes, your life changes. And this is a church of transformation. So today I'm going to talk to you about something that a lot of people don't touch. I'm going
[00:02:13] let the message introduce itself but the title is i'm ready for the test enjoy today's message yeah you said come on with it i'll you know what there are certain people that you can always come
[00:02:28] wherever i preach you hear me i'm a talkback preacher now i know we got all kinds of people i know some of y'all grew up in churches where you don't say anything it's like but like you can
[00:02:37] like you can use your cultural expression here like i just want you to i just want i mean don't offend nobody. But what I'm saying is if you're a cowboy and I say something that's good, you can be
[00:02:48] like, yeah, like you can do that. Y'all got what I'm saying? Like, I know there's some people that grew up in the hood. And if you grew up in the hood, like I'll fight you. Like, that's not a,
[00:03:01] that's not, that's not, that's not bad to me. If you know the connotation of it, you understand what I'm saying? So, and you can just use amen and hallelujah too. Okay. But at this church,
[00:03:11] um we love freedom of expression and I'm in week four of a series that's called six figures and this series is important to me because it changed my life I think about pivotal moments in my
[00:03:26] journey and one of the most pivotal moments that changed and touched every area of my life is when God taught me how to not be greedy and actually be generous changed my life you don't know the
[00:03:40] Michael who was stingy, the Michael who was, um, literally, I don't want to say I was a bad person.
[00:03:50] I was a, um, unfinished person and I'm still unfinished, but I was really unfinished.
[00:04:01] Yeah. Wrong. Has anybody ever like, just look back and be like, man, I was raw back then. Like that dad i had no understanding and i thank god for the progression um but today i want to share
[00:04:17] this from a place of not um speculating i want to share it from a place of trying to give you something that has transformed me and i know that there will be many people that find value in this
[00:04:27] um because it has um not just changed my life it's changed this church and there are thousands of you that already participate in the level of generosity that i'm talking about um but this is
[00:04:38] not about money i need everybody to hear me say this if i could just wear a shirt not about money like i need you to understand it because some people the block is there and you won't hear
[00:04:50] the principle because you think it's about money this is not about money this is about your heart this is about your thoughts this is about your soul and so if you can if i can make you a promise
[00:05:04] today i'm not gonna ask you for any money i'm not asking you for no money we're not taking no offerings. We've been giving in this series. I just need you to hear me relax. Nobody's coming
[00:05:14] to spy on your bank account. I don't have a prophetic sense that's, Oh, she's in the negative.
[00:05:19] I don't, I, there's nothing I can do to you except present to you truth. And then you choose.
[00:05:28] So today, look at your neighbor and say, you choose. I'm not going to make you choose. Look at your other neighbor. You didn't like as much and say, you choose Proverbs chapter 11, verse 24.
[00:05:42] The Bible says the world of the generous, one of my favorite scriptures, the world of the generous gets what? Larger and larger. But the world of the stingy gets what? Smaller. And my question is, how big is your world? I can't answer that question, but you know, if your world is big
[00:06:04] and you know, if your world is small, I'm not talking on the outside, I'm talking about right on the inside. How big is your world? It says the one who blesses others, watch this, is abundantly,
[00:06:16] here's our word, blessed. And those who help others are always helped. That's what I want for you. Your pastor, if I had a desire that I could ask God right now to give to you, I would pray
[00:06:30] that you live in abundance of everything you think you need. Abundance of love, abundance of peace, abundance of wisdom i mean like somebody asked a question and just wisdom comes out of you somebody shot at me abundance that's the life that god came for you to have john 10 10 the thief
[00:06:54] comes to steal kill and destroy but jesus came that we might have life and life abundantly how big is your life and the truth of the matter is god's not in control of how big it gets
[00:07:08] you are today you could change the size of your world by changing a few of your actions but today you've been blaming the man you've been blaming government you've been blaming your parents you've been blaming and they may all have a little piece to do with that but you 49 let's be clear
[00:07:30] nobody has made you who you are you came out looking like your parents you die looking like your decisions. Do y'all hear what I'm saying to you right now? And some of you need to choose or
[00:07:45] decide something different. You don't got to be mad no more. You can forgive. You don't have to be broke no more. God can give you the ability to produce wealth. You don't have to be stingy no
[00:07:58] more. You do not have to live the life you have lived, but it starts with you realizing God has given you the power to switch this whole thing up. Look at your neighbor one more time and say,
[00:08:13] you choose. And so one of the things that is exciting in my life right now is that right now I'm in the thick of raising children. Like when I say thick of raising children, I'm in the thick
[00:08:26] of it. You understand what I'm saying? I got children. I didn't really know how much time and effort and energy children take. It makes you need God. Y'all want to know where you need God.
[00:08:48] If you have kids, you need God. But there are some beautiful moments that happen where you feel like, man, this is why I'm their daddy. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, I'm their daddy. So one of
[00:08:59] those happened to me this past week. My daughter came in, Isabella. She's so studious. She's so smart. And she was a little overwhelmed by studying for a test. She had to learn all 66 six books of the Bible in for a test and know how to spell them. It's that second part that just
[00:09:16] Habakkuk Malachi like, and, and so she, she, she got, she got overwhelmed and I had this idea.
[00:09:29] I was like, oh yeah, daddy does music. So I'm going to, I'm going to make you a song that, and so I went to my recorder and I started Genesis as it is Leviticus. And I started doing
[00:09:38] this and I threw it in the AI app and I, and I made a song. Can I share it with y'all?
[00:09:42] It's cool. This is just honest no spiritual connotation. Just wanted to share it with you Could you play that real quick the books about this is the Old Testament real quick. Just play it real quick

[00:10:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:10:13] So I did that for my daughter.

[00:10:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:10:22] Is that okay?
[00:10:24] Now watch.
[00:10:27] Immediately, she learned all the books of the Bible.
[00:10:30] She got 100 on her test.
[00:10:32] Shout out to Bella.
[00:10:34] Okay.
[00:10:36] And that's when I realized that's where our similarities end.
[00:10:43] Because she was so excited to take the test.
[00:10:46] because she was prepared and then I started to think have I ever been excited to take a test and she's more like her mother on the study side of it and I was like I don't think I've ever been
[00:11:02] excited to take a test usually when I went into school test day anxiety many times I would come into class clowning look at you your mama doing all that other stuff and then the teacher was
[00:11:19] like all right get ready for the test and my thing would be like what test okay come on do i got any what test people i know you what hold on what test what what you talking about did you study
[00:11:31] give me your notes i thought about this is that anytime you're tested watch this write this down a test is either exciting or exposing y'all remember them people who used to be excited for tests and you want to punch them in the head teacher are we taking the test now or
[00:11:54] boy. Okay. I want to know those people. Who are those people? Come on.
[00:12:07] We love you with the love of the Lord. Why are you saying this past? I'm like, because a test is an automatic definer. A test defines either you're ready or you're resistant.
[00:12:29] And there are many people under the sound of my voice that think tests are bad, but the truth of the matter is when I dig deeper and I go through therapy and I do the things that
[00:12:38] God has done on me I figured out why I didn't like the test it wasn't the test it was I wasn't prepared and the three times I can count them the three times I was ready for a test I became the
[00:12:52] person I didn't like hey teacher how are you when are we taking the test the only reason you get excited is because you're prepared for it. And what I found out that there are many believers
[00:13:09] that don't know that we take a test every time we get paid. Oh, you saw that turn. You said, everybody. Ah, no, no, no. I'm just letting you know. Maybe you didn't know, but every time you
[00:13:25] get increased, every time your check goes up, every time that hits your cash app or bank account, it's a test and the test is who do you trust with your finances and maybe you didn't know maybe
[00:13:41] the issue of money and church it was all about a building fund that never got built or it was maybe about the the the pastor driving a certain car while there was no air conditioning we ain't
[00:13:51] talking about none of that here i'm talking about a test that god gives to every one of his children before there was a law. I can prove to you in scripture that tithing and generosity was
[00:14:05] literally 2,500 years before Moses ever got a law, but it's not even about a law. It's about, are you prepared? Are you ready for this test when it comes? And the truth of the matter is
[00:14:18] people are hearing this message. I'm like, what test? And then there are other people are like, oh, I'm excited about this test every time I get paid because I'm ready for the test.
[00:14:27] and today i just need you to understand that the tithe exposes who you trust and today pastor mike what are you saying the tithe i don't understand let me give you a definition of what the tithe is
[00:14:40] tithing is a biblical principle and practice established not by the church not by a pastor not by a group of people who thought it was a good idea for everybody to do a pyramid scheme
[00:14:57] and put a little bit in and like it's, it was established by God. I'm going to give you examples of it, but it was established by God for every person who trusts him to return the first 10%
[00:15:11] and underline first 10% of your increase back to God through the local church. Now fight with your mama. No, no, no. I just need to say this because there are people who are going to hear this
[00:15:25] and they're going to automatically start, start trying to tear down the principle God put in place. You don't ever have to tithe ever. And you can still go to heaven. Hold on. Look at me.
[00:15:42] Your salvation is not dependent on you tithing. So you can go ahead and relax, but your ability to live in abundance in this life is dependent watch this not on tithing on obedience see you missed it you missed it because there are people who tithe that don't
[00:16:12] forgive okay hold on let me stop because i'm talking about tithing but i want you to understand the principle is bigger than tithing the principle is obedience to god's word so there are people who
[00:16:24] don't tithe, but they do forgive. God's saying, we need to get both of them. You think we could upgrade to both of them? Y'all know what I'm saying. Both of them. Y'all know, not both of
[00:16:37] them. It's both of them. It's one word. Okay, anyway, I'm telling you right now, this is a principle that God set up not for his benefit. Heaven's not running short on gold for the streets. You think God needs our money? He calls gold what we would fight over, and it's concrete.
[00:17:05] The light bill in heaven is not too big for God. Y'all got what I'm saying? So there must be a deeper reason why he put this principle in place for the children he made. This is why I think
[00:17:19] tithing is so important, because it's not about percentage. It's about priority. Why 10%? Why not 25 why not 50 why not 100 it's not about the percentage it's about priority and my question to you is where is God in the priority of your life I can't answer that question and you don't
[00:17:47] get to worship your way to him being the priority okay all right well I pray 19 hours a day but you disobedient. Like, do y'all understand? Like we try to substitute stuff for other stuff. It's like
[00:18:02] take out the trash. Well, I'll clean the toilet, but the trash is overflowing, but I cleaned out the cobwebs, but the, and what do you do? You try to teach your children. It's not about just
[00:18:17] doing things. It's about doing what I ask you to do. And I just believe that God I'm coming to you as gently as I can to give you a principle that God's saying, could you just obey and do what I'm
[00:18:29] asking you to do? Because if you make me your priority, it changes everything in your life.
[00:18:34] And this is where I hear a lot of people that are cynical against this message. They'd be like, but why you got to take that test all the time? Every time you get paid? Every two weeks?
[00:18:45] Every month? What if they just cash map me an extra hundred? Do we tithe? It ain't my job, but it is. Did you get increased? And people try to finagle and play checkers and try to play
[00:19:01] tic-tac-toe with the tie. Y'all know what I'm talking about. I don't know if this is birthday money. Oh, I've heard everything. My granny sent me $250. Do you tie off of $250? Do you buy stuff
[00:19:16] with $250? Did you get increased? Did you? God says, I need you to think anytime you get increased, just honor me, honor me, just honor me. I promise you watch this. 90% with my blessing is better
[00:19:36] than a hundred without it. Okay. Write this point down. Multiple tests reveals the value of a material. Anytime something is tested multiple times, it's because the material must be very valuable. So the reason God tests us every time we get paid, cause he tried to get us a point.
[00:20:00] this is important for you. How you deal with money, your heart posture, what you do with it, it's important. Nobody would ever tell a doctor to go to less school. Oh, you want to be a brain
[00:20:12] surgeon? Oh, don't take those tests, but please work on me. Nah, bro. Why? Because it's so important that they are tested because what they're doing is valuable. The reason why God gives us this test over and over is because what it does to us is very valuable. And that's why it's the only
[00:20:41] place in scripture when you talk about the tithe where God does something he does nowhere else.
[00:20:45] He tells you to test him. What would happen if I got to go into my ninth grade geometry class and the teacher said, Michael, today is your test. And I'm like, yeah. And when I finished this test,
[00:20:57] I'm testing you. Oh, that would have felt amazing to be able to say, I'm testing you. Did you, do you know what the teacher said? Do you know what the principal said? Just give you a test
[00:21:10] back because it's so many times there's, there's this discrepancy that I'm getting tested, but what's the guarantee? God is so good that his grace says, I believe in this so much.
[00:21:22] I'm going to let you, the creation tests me, the creator. Okay. You don't believe me. Malachi chapter 3 verse 10 bring the whole tithe everybody say tithe into the storehouse that would be our local church it says there so that there may be food in my house watch this test me test me in
[00:21:43] this test me in this says the lord almighty and see if i won't throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour you out so much blessing that you will not have room enough to receive that sounds like
[00:21:56] abundance to me he gonna pour out so much blessing you don't have room enough to receive that means you become somebody who's supposed to give it away. But the truth of the matter is everybody wants that without the test. And today I'm telling you one of the greatest things you
[00:22:12] can do. I don't care if you're a high school student and you get a $35 allowance. That means out of the $35 that you get $3 and 50 cents belong to God. And I'm telling you, if you learn this
[00:22:24] principle at $35, it's a lot easier to do when you make $350,000. And I won't be a ball of six figures. You're not going to obey God. Then if you don't obey him, it's way harder to give away
[00:22:42] 35,000 in a check than $3 and 50 cents. But the principle is the same. Okay. All right.
[00:22:51] Somebody's about to get this. So, so I just want to let you know all through the Bible, the word tithe actually means test 10 test. Okay. So I got a couple of questions. I'm gonna give
[00:23:02] you a test right now and there's a pattern. So don't get scared. Okay. You're going to pass this test. Okay. And I want you to answer me out loud, even at home. Okay. How many plagues were there
[00:23:12] in Egypt? So look, y'all 10, there's a pattern. How many commandments did God give to Moses?
[00:23:24] Say it with your chest. How many, okay. How many times did God test Israel in the wilderness?
[00:23:30] How many times were Jacob's wages changed? It's a pattern. Even if you don't know the answer, the next one is 10. Here we go. How many days was Daniel tested? How many days of testing were in
[00:23:43] revelations? How many disciples were there? Okay. Some of y'all. All right. Okay. Somebody's like 10. Oh God, get them a Bible. I'm just want to let you know, this is not a principle that God
[00:24:00] has made exclusive for today. He's a pattern to God. He tries to make it easy. So there's a pattern. So even if you didn't know, you would hear everybody else saying 10 or tithe or give
[00:24:14] or anybody like, oh, I don't even have to study no more. This is what we do. Oh my gosh. This is what we do. I want you to pass the test. What's the answer? Yes or no. Everybody keeps saying yes.
[00:24:25] Yes. Yet we all just do what God has put as a principle. And when you understand it, it makes it easy. And this is the point that I love. God agrees to take the test too. He said, if you trust
[00:24:40] me in this world with 10 cents out of every dollar, he said, I bet you, I won't ever fail you financially. Pastor Mike, why are you saying that? Cause you put me, everybody say first.
[00:25:00] Now, again, this is about priority and I can't tell you what your priority is, but when God agrees to take a test too, it changes everything. And this is what I found. Only people get offended
[00:25:13] about a test. If there's something on the inside of them that is not prepared. Okay. Let me give you a real time example. And I want you to write this point down. A test only gets a rise where
[00:25:29] there is no internal resolve. I'm going to say it again. And then I'm going to explain it. A test only gets a rise out of somebody when there is no internal resolve. I was talking to a friend
[00:25:41] recently who dealt with infidelity. Their marriage went through a really hard time.
[00:25:47] God healed it, and God has made it healthy and changed everything. But time to time, the wife is needing some extra reassurance that everything is good.
[00:26:00] And so this man could have two responses. Hey, could you share your location with me? Why you mean my location? Don't you trust me? Yes, but you cheated on me. Even to this level. Hey,
[00:26:21] would you take a polygraph test? Some of y'all marriages would be destroyed, destroyed with just the eyes that are looking at me right now. Would you take a polygraph? You wouldn't get a rise out of somebody if it was internally. If you know you ain't been DMing nobody, if you know
[00:26:45] you ain't had a longer conversation with nobody if you know you took off the channel that you if you knew you wouldn't but the rise comes because there's something on the internal there are couples that don't even have to close today's spouse's phones i got questions
[00:27:05] it's quiet it's tight in here okay let me back up off of this okay because i knew we wasn't supposed to watch transformation like i see you right now let me try to get you the principle of timing
[00:27:17] because people rarely get offended by a test they feel secure in if somebody asked me to take a drug test i don't have any there is there is nothing in me that could come out of me that i didn't put
[00:27:43] in me there is nothing that y'all hear what i'm saying and so and so the only reason people and then they try to make it about what it's not about oh you don't trust me i'm a grown man i'm a grown
[00:27:56] woman. I'm this, I'm that. And it's like, hey, you're missing the point. The test offends if you're internally unresolved. This is why a lot of people get offended by the tithe because it's a test that exposes internal. I don't trust the church. Let's deal with that. You say, I don't
[00:28:26] believe in the tithe. Well, hold on. Wait, God said that. Well, the church just want my money.
[00:28:31] which church did you even give to, to find out if they just wanted your money? Let's be honest.
[00:28:39] Nike just wants your money. They literally tell you, do you want to buy it? Just do it.
[00:28:45] Do you understand what I'm saying? What are we talking about? They tell you straight up.
[00:28:53] But let's deal with the real issue. But anytime there's a test, what most people do is deal with the semantics and the things around it instead of the real issue. Today, I just want to move
[00:29:05] the cover back. Don't ever give anything to this church if God has not called you to do that and be a part of this, but I do want you to get this principle. If you actually ever get the mantra,
[00:29:19] test me. It's the freest life you could ever live. Test me. Pastor Mike, why are you saying it?
[00:29:28] Because I used to be a liar, and there would be things I would lie about that I knew if I got confronted with it, that's why I became really good at lying, because I needed to make sure you
[00:29:39] didn't need to ask me no questions. I need to make sure that y'all know some of y'all liars are in here. You make it so that you even forget. What an exhausting life. But when I got free,
[00:29:59] test me. Where you been? Where this thing has tracked me to? Here. Here. You need to close?
[00:30:07] You need to what? Why? Because there's nothing on the inside. With the test of tithing, what comes up? What gets a rise? Is there fear there? Cause you really don't think God will provide. Let's deal with that. Don't throw out the principle because there's some pain under it.
[00:30:33] Don't throw out the principle because somebody did something and abused it in a different season of your life. Let's deal with the, you had a bad pastor. Let's, let's talk about that.
[00:30:47] Let's talk about how you didn't grieve leaving that church where all your friends were there, but it was toxic and abuse. Let's talk about that, but let's not take away the principle that God put
[00:30:57] in place because now guess what? You're passing on disobedience to your children because they've never seen you do it. A good man, a good woman leaves an inheritance for his children's children.
[00:31:12] I found out you can leave an inheritance of ignorance. Oh God, y'all not ready to talk to me today y'all ever heard of that story where uh there was yeah y'all heard about the pan where
[00:31:25] they cut off the ends of the ham and and what if you ain't heard i'm gonna tell you real quick you want to hear here go uh a young lady was trying to learn how to cook for her new husband and what
[00:31:36] ended up happening is she always remembered her mom cutting off the ends of the ham and she called her mom and was like i know i'm supposed to do this but i don't know why and so she called her
[00:31:44] mom is like mom why did you cut off the ends of the ham and she said i don't know my mama did it And she called her mama and said, mama, why did you cut off the ends of the ham?
[00:31:52] She said, because that's how big the pan was I had.
[00:31:54] And so generationally now, we are wasting half a ham, bacon, half a ham gone because of ignorance.
[00:32:15] Church, what I'm trying to tell you is if somebody could get this principle and live it out, what you would see is generational blessing on your family and everybody.
[00:32:28] How many people want generational blessing to come from you? Okay, so watch this. If you were to take that little polygraph test, I'm just being ethereal right now. I need to tell you something.
[00:32:41] The response to the question is as important as the result. Hear what I just said. Would you take a test to see if you're lying? Uh-uh. They already answered. We already know.
[00:32:56] but if the answer is okay when where so many people want the results of tithing but your response is telling on you the way you tight looking at me right now some of y'all crusty
[00:33:15] right here on your lips take it just just take just do this do this because we're talking about honoring God with our finances what I'm saying is your response is exposing you it's not more money it's a different heart posture so I just want to let you know
[00:33:35] a few things. Number one, write it down. Tithing is biblical. Leviticus 27, 30. And all the tithe of the land, whether the seed of the land or the fruit of the tree is the Lord's. It is holy and
[00:33:49] set apart for the Lord. So the tithe means it's something that I set apart first to honor God with. So this is biblical. Give you one more because you're like, that's Old Testament, New Testament. Matthew chapter 23, verse 23. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites,
[00:34:03] church people for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin these are all spices back in the day it's like saying you pay tithe of your lorries and and what are the seasons a hot sauce and
[00:34:16] whatever your season it is but you neglect the weightier matter of the law justice and mercy and faith these you ought to have done without leaving the other one undone so god is saying to these people, you tithe off of the things that come into your life. Cool. He said, but these other
[00:34:34] things you should tithe on too. It doesn't matter what increase comes to your life. You got to honor God with it. So listen to me. Tithing is biblical. Say it with me. Tithing is biblical. One more time
[00:34:46] for the people in the back. Tithing is biblical. Second one, tithing is practical. Okay. So you were like, how does this tithe thing work? We give into the church and then y'all FedEx it to heaven.
[00:34:58] like what happens? Y'all know we'll find any excuse. I'm trying to be very ground level to let you understand. This is not just biblical. It's practical. Hebrews chapter seven, verse eight.
[00:35:11] I love the Bible. It says here, when you tithe, mortal men receive the tithes, regular people, but there, when you do the act, it's accredited or it's received in heaven, whom is a witness that he lives what the bible is saying real right here if you break it down is like you give it here
[00:35:31] but that exchange got recorded in heaven just like unforgiveness gets recorded in heaven okay just y'all understand what i'm saying just like sin if you don't believe in this then you wouldn't believe in salvation because you're making an act a heart decision a mind decision to say i am giving
[00:35:53] my life to god you say the prayer according to romans 10 9 you believe that he lived and he died and now you've been given a new life. There is not a, you don't get whirled up in your whole
[00:36:02] world. Like it is a spiritual act that is activated by practical faith. Tithing is the same thing. It's a spiritual act activated by practical faith and giving is practical practice that proves my faith every 15 days. Do you know that according to the calculations of all people
[00:36:30] that say they go to church, 3% of the church tithes. Not this church. No, no, no. Because y'all thought, oh, 3%? No, no, no. I'm talking about… That's the people who only come once a
[00:36:49] year. What does that say about how the church trusts God? 3%. That means out of 1,000 of y'all, 30 people trust God. So, tithing isn't just biblical. Tithing is practical. And then watch this. Tithing is first. Can you bring my chairs up here real quick? Because y'all don't understand
[00:37:19] this. I need three very competitive people. Okay. I'm going to take you with the Afro. Come on.
[00:37:27] Come on. I'm going to take you, sis. I need one more competitive person. Come on. You stood up.
[00:37:31] Come on. Two Afros. Come on. You come. Come. Just put them right here. All right. I'm going to need the band. Y'all got to hurry, though. You can't be cool coming down here. I'm going to pick somebody
[00:37:41] else. Come on, come on. What's up, man? What's your name? Kimarion. Your parents was creative with your name. Like that's like a Marion and some other people. Okay. I know you, that jacket is fire. Okay. Where's my last guy? You being too cool, Afro. Come here, man. Get up here. Okay.
[00:38:01] No, stand up, stand up, stand up. Have y'all ever, what's your name, bud? Jeremiah. Okay, cool.
[00:38:06] All right. Watch this. We're going to play musical chairs. Have y'all played musical chairs in a while okay cool uh whoever wins first place gets a hundred dollars okay so very easily she said yes
[00:38:17] i can pay for this jacket no i'll just play okay so we're gonna play musical chairs i need the band to help me okay so y'all start playing when you hear the band go around and then stop on it all
[00:38:29] right y'all ready here we go y'all go this way go this way play band do we have man you were slow coming down here and you were slow sitting down. Come on, get off the stage. God bless you. God
[00:38:56] bless you. Y'all go and get up and take one of the chairs. I knew he was going to lose when he came down here. He was like, I'm competitive. He took nine years to get down here. I was like, he's not
[00:39:04] going to. I love you, Bubba. Jeremiah, that is a long walk back. He's like, oh my God. Okay. Start me up, man. Who y'all think going to win? Okay. Okay. She's a mother. She's a mother. She's a
[00:39:40] mother. You lost though. Get out of here. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on.
[00:39:48] Hold on. Sis, sis, sis, sis, sis, sis. Come here. Come here. Come here. Come here. Come here. Come here. You won, right? Here's a hundred dollars. Hold on. Wait, wait, wait. Why y'all mad? Hold
[00:40:08] on. Hold on. Wait, wait, wait. He was first, but I made her the priority. Now, now, now, now listen, some of you are offended at me now because who was clearly first, I didn't honor. I did not
[00:40:35] honor who was first. I honored who I wanted. And this is the exact way most of you treat God with the tie. You say you got to give it up. Oh, okay. You can give it to it. You can give it. Look at
[00:40:59] it. He don't know if he want to take it. Give me. Okay. Now watch. Now watch. Thank y'all so much.
[00:41:05] Y'all give it up for him real quick. God bless you. Good job, boy. He was first, whether you acknowledged it or not. The question is, will you honor who already sits on the throne?
[00:41:39] And some of us put other people in those seats. It's the mortgage. It's the credit card. It's the bank. It's the lattes. No, come on, y'all. $9 coffee twice a day for a year?
[00:41:53] you drink your tithe and have to use the bathroom after it. I've been teaching my kids. I got a thousand dollars here. Why y'all say woo when I put out a thousand dollars? Woo, stop. The reason
[00:42:22] I'm saying this is because if there's 10 $100 bills, my question to you is which one is the tithe? They're all $100, but the only one that's the tithe is the first one because it doesn't
[00:42:40] take faith to give what's left. It takes faith to give what's… The tithe is the first one that leaves your hand. And practically, God is not up there. It was like, you paid, you paid the grocery
[00:43:37] bill. What you doing? Oh, you trying to take the example further. She handing out hundreds. Y'all mad y'all sit on that side. Y'all mad. You better rejoice with those who rejoice. Did you give out
[00:43:58] all of them? Now, why you have to go and do that? Now, why you have to go and do that and do that?
[00:44:25] Right. You know, when the Holy Spirit start talking to you, you got to process a little bit.
[00:44:30] okay all right i was hoping she kept one you know at least one god no genesis chapter four verse three god dog natalie uh okay scott you already know all right um genesis chapter three verse
[00:44:55] four the reason why this is important guys is because cain and abel um gave us an example of why god only accepts first okay so genesis chapter 4 verse 3 do y'all feel like the lightness like
[00:45:12] do y'all feel like i'm not trying to attack you i'm not trying to beat you over the head i'm not i already told you going to heaven if you believe in jesus i'm this is i'm just trying to give you
[00:45:21] the principle you can leave it or take it but i don't want to be responsible when i get to heaven and god's like why ain't you telling about that thing you preach everything else you preach about
[00:45:31] grace you preach about love you preach about relationship goals all the time but you ain't talking about the thing that transformed your life that changed you from being more like you to being more like me i gotta give it to you the day came that came brought a gift of the fruit
[00:45:51] of the ground to the lord but abel brought a gift of the firstborn of his flock and the fat parts or the good parts and the Lord showed favor to Abel and his gift if you know the the story
[00:46:10] the reason why God could not accept Cain's offering because the passage says at some time he gave him something there was no priority with it it was just like over a course of time Cain brought something but Abel he said he brought the firstborn he said as soon as he was increased
[00:46:37] he said this one's God's and he said the favor came to him because he put God and can I tell you something that's a little strong but I want you to hear it even if Cain would have brought
[00:46:57] the sacrifice, he couldn't have received it because God doesn't accept seconds. He only does firsts. So Pastor Mike, why are you telling me this? Because I just want you to remember three things, three things, and we're going home. Why does God care about the tithe? If I can answer
[00:47:25] this question for you, I think a lot of you will begin to see this whole thing differently.
[00:47:30] Why does God care about this? Because it's all about remembering. Why does God care about the tithe? Number one, because you remember to reset every time you tithe. You remember God is my source. Blank is not. And you get to fill in the blank. Every time you get that thousand dollars
[00:47:53] and you write a hundred dollars to whatever church you go to, you are remembering I could not trust God, but I'm choosing to. And with gas prices going crazy and my kids just keep growing out of their shoes. I just bought these last week. Y'all got what I'm saying? The cares
[00:48:17] of this life, heat and air bills. I got to get a wig now because my hair thinning back here.
[00:48:26] Y'all know it in real life. I got to get Botox because woo, all these things that people make priorities. Hear me what I'm saying? I'm using real life examples. I need a new car. I get a
[00:48:38] new car every three years. Oh, okay. But is that a priority or having God rebuke the devourer?
[00:48:48] Cause there's only two options when it comes to the tithe. The Bible says, bring the tithe. You can't give it. Hear what I just said. You only can give something that's yours. You bring something
[00:49:04] that already was somebody else's. I got four brothers and I randomly see them wearing my things might be some glasses some shoes a hat we're relatively the same size and um if I see them wearing it it's good they already know it's nothing but when I need it I don't say
[00:49:28] hey could you give me those shoes you had on yesterday creasing them I just say yo can you bring those Jordans back. Why? Because it wasn't theirs to begin with. God's not asking you to give
[00:49:50] him anything. He's asking you to bring him back a piece of what he's giving you the ability to manage. That's a whole different attitude. I have no problem sharing one donut out of 10 when you paid for them. But there are many people that feel like tithing is God taking something
[00:50:15] from them and the bible's clear he says you only have two options with the tithe you bring it or steal it that's not me saying this that's scripture he said you thief and the people
[00:50:33] listening and i don't even want to go into the whole thing because i need you to understand this is all scripture i need you to he's like you stealing from god and it's like in what way
[00:50:41] am i stealing from god in tithing offering he said you went to the club you paid for that subscription, you went on vacation, not with what I need you to give me, what I needed you to bring
[00:51:02] me back. So when we tie, it resets us. Everybody say reset. Some of us need a reset often. Sometimes money is a thing for us. Can I tell you that sometimes we got to reset so that we remember
[00:51:23] this is just a tool he is my source if I get let go of my job I'm gonna be okay because I'm in the hands of God y'all remember the song I'm safe sustained why not because of
[00:51:46] that job thank God for the job thank God for the inheritance thank God for my parents that left me something thank God for all that but if I ain't got nothing else I'm in the hands of God
[00:52:00] and he won't fail me and he won't drop me and he's going to keep me. And that's why he's saying, test me, man. Just see if I won't open the windows and come on, man. So you remember to reset.
[00:52:17] I brought this today. I found this cleaning out my attic. This was my reset. I remember this gray book. I was flipping through it and I found a page with the Greenwood offering envelope from
[00:52:38] 2011 and a picture with all the bills and money that I had. And at the top, it says soon to increase finances. God, you are provision. I wrote this six months to a year into me being the pastor
[00:52:57] of the church. When I told you, I didn't know how to handle finances. And I wrote down, I'm literally $2,322 and 16 cents plus 1000. I was still contracting people and producing for them on the side so that gave me three thousand three hundred twenty two dollars and sixteen cent my
[00:53:14] rent was six hundred dollars at the time my god today simpler times my cell phone was 200 i was paying 70 to my choice which was a credit card that i maxed out my car was 700 but at this
[00:53:35] time it didn't work but i still had to pay the bill don't judge me i saw you uber here today No, I'm just playing. I'm just playing. My bills were $300 because I had, I had roommates and then
[00:53:56] that left me $1,452 savings category, nothing. Y'all, this is real. But at the top, then I, I start putting food, clothing, toiletries, gas, because I had to pay people gas money to get, when you don't have a car, you still got to pay for gas. Because the people you ask for a ride,
[00:54:24] if you ask them too many times you don't get no ride so so i had the but at the top it says soon to increase finance this was my faith god you are provision and i put over here my tithe i got
[00:54:45] emotional looking at this book and there's other things in here that really really messed me up to think of where i am today but the crazy thing is on the offering envelope it says 10 31 2011
[00:54:57] 11, Michael and Natalie Todd. It's me and my wife. And this is in her handwriting because we decided as a family, we were going to honor God with nothing. And how I've watched God prove his
[00:55:14] principle to me over and over and over again. I can only stand here as a testimony that the word of God works. I'm not trying to manipulate you, convince you. I'm just here as a testimony.
[00:55:30] me. If you honor God with all of your increase, he opens up the windows of heaven and pours you out a blessing. You don't have room enough to receive. And the only reason you're scared of
[00:55:44] this test is if you're not prepared. And today I just want you to be prepared. It's coming.
[00:55:54] Some of y'all going to have a test this week. What's today's date? Some of y'all just missed the test woof oh Jesus the 15th or you might get a retake God's challenging some of you take the
[00:56:14] test and don't just take it once decide this is how you're gonna always take the test so remember to reset second thing remember I'm a river not a swamp God wants to flow through you not just to
[00:56:31] me put up a picture of a swamp who who would want to go take a bath in this not me who would want to go fishing and it's not me there there could be an alligator in there do you know why a swamp is
[00:56:52] a swamp because there's no flow some of your life looks like this not because you're bad it's just there's no flow and if you've ever been around a swamp it starts to stink the only thing that
[00:57:09] lives there are predators huh y'all just hear what i'm saying to you but could you put a picture of a river up there flowing water something that people come to to drink from God tells us in
[00:57:28] his word gives us a picture I want you to be planted next to the rivers of living what would happen if everything you did was a pass-through like God said oh yeah I'll trust you with millions
[00:57:42] because I know you I can get it through you I'll trust you with wisdom because I know you'll give it away oh I'll trust you with those connections because you'll connect people some of y'all
[00:57:50] aren't even stingy with money you're stingy with relationships you got one text message you could make to change somebody's life and you said no no you need to get it out the mud like i got it out
[00:58:02] the mud god said swamp okay i'm not even gonna go you're a swamp you're a spiritual swamp you're a relational swamp you stink that was me that wasn't god saying that i i said that you stand what i'm
[00:58:21] saying is like become a river let it flow say that let it flow someone one more time say let it flow so i'm going to remember to reset every time i'm presented with the opportunity to tithe i'm going
[00:58:38] to remember that i can tithe because i'm a river not a swamp somebody say there's more oh the last thing is remember tithing is reverent this is one of the most spiritual acts you could ever do watch
[00:58:54] this because God did it first. What church did God tithe to? You. Let's think about it. When you tithe, it has to be first. For God so loved the world that he gave not one of many sons. He gave the
[00:59:25] first and only on the potential that all of his other children would be reconciled back to him.
[00:59:34] he gave first so the rest could be blessed. Oh God. Maybe tithing is more important to God than you think. Jesus is God's tithe. Is there any other way? Nope. I got to give the first one to
[00:59:57] be sacrificed so that all my other kids can know that I love them. It's not a point on there, but I think it is. Tithing is personal. It's personal to God. There was a song that came up
[01:00:18] in my spirit earlier because I know there's people that want to know the semantics of everything and like okay is this it is this it the truth of the matter is either we right or we're wrong
[01:00:27] either this God thing works or it don't and literally I think I'm on the right side like either if you just like just think about it if you live your life generously tithing 10% giving
[01:00:42] when God tells you to give and we find out at the end of this life the Jesus Christ thing was all fake. You still would be a better person. There's nobody who lives generously that's like, I hate
[01:01:01] you. Generous people, it's just like, oh, forgive them. Give them more grace. Oh, you need a thousand. You need a hundred thousand. Like, let's just say, let's just say we got it all wrong, but we forgave. Like, Jesus doesn't exist at all. This is an example for everybody that's
[01:01:26] watching and just tuned in right here. I just need you because y'all be liking to clip stuff up.
[01:01:31] I'm giving you an example. Let's just say Jesus didn't exist at all, but you lived your life thinking on things that were good and lovely and of a positive report. You lived your life forgiving. You lived your life being generous. You will get to the end of this life and be like,
[01:01:53] well, I sure lived the best one I could. Now imagine if you're wrong and all of this was really important and you about to get tested again at the great white throne judgment and you're like
[01:02:16] hey hey hold on what's happening I'm I'm three people back hold on they really they really pulling up on the big screen of heaven everything I did on earth how I spent my money who I slept
[01:02:28] with what hold on wait everything when I lied when I they really can I get a redo and he said no you can't get a redo that's why I was trying to reset you I wanted you to have a reset because when you
[01:02:46] get to heaven you don't get a redo so today church we should be ones that would be like you know what if all of these principles are in god's word i'm just gonna obey them because i got too many
[01:03:04] signs around me if the stars were made to worship somebody say so will i if the mountains bow in reverence oceans roar your greatness so will i for everything that exists it exists to lift you high
[01:03:26] so so will i that's about priority standing all over this building today i'm gonna pray that if you're watching online or you're in this room before you move i want to pray for you hear me i'm gonna pray that you obey god just like the winds the waves the sea the trees
[01:03:55] the sun the mountains they're all standing and doing what they were created to do they're obeying God's word and your response should be so will I. So if God tells me to forgive, your response should
[01:04:10] be so. If God tells me to love, my response should be. If God tells me to tithe, would you lift your hands all over this place, God? We're asking for your help because many times there's fear around
[01:04:31] stepping out in faith. And I pray for every person from a middle schooler who's just getting allowance to the CEO whose business just got bought out. And I'm asking you that you would give us a heart
[01:04:47] to obey you by honoring you with the first 10% of everything that you increase us with.
[01:04:58] God, I declare and I believe that you are removing all doubt around trusting you.
[01:05:08] And I'm thanking you that people are about to step out in crazy faith and they will never be disappointed because you are a God that keeps your word.
[01:05:19] Thank you that when you give a test, you help us with it.
[01:05:26] It's open book test.
[01:05:29] We can't fail if we stay close to you.
[01:05:33] So for every person that is struggling with the concept, give them peace right now.
[01:05:39] For every marriage that needs to come into agreement based on the hurts and the pains of the past, I thank you for unity in the name of Jesus.
[01:05:50] For every young person who doesn't know if this God thing is real, God, thank you for an encounter with you.
[01:05:58] If the stars were made to worship, so will I.
[01:06:02] I will obey your word, even if I don't understand it fully.
[01:06:09] Because miracles happen when the logic stops.
[01:06:16] Faith begins where understanding ends.
[01:06:19] Today, God, we say we trust you.
[01:06:24] We will listen.
[01:06:26] We will hear.
[01:06:28] We will obey.
[01:06:29] in this moment, many of you need to ask the question, Holy Spirit, what are you trying to say to me? Because somebody just got laid off and you're like, why would this message come to me
[01:06:54] right now? Because God's trying to get your heart. If the stars were made to worship, so will I.

[01:08:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:08:30] I have to give every person under the sound of my voice as God is still speaking to you

[01:08:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:08:55] the opportunity to receive the benefit of God's tithe Jesus today because God gave us first now we can be redeemed bought back from the lies of sin the bondage of sin you don't even have to
[01:09:15] do nothing but receive it today it's a heart posture that changes and your eternity changes so for every person who is like me in any way a liar manipulator addicted to pornography or you just don't know Jesus or never accepted him today is your day because of what God gave
[01:09:36] us in Jesus today we can be reconciled or put back together with the father and it changes us we go on a journey of progression over perfection where he's the only one that if you give him your
[01:09:49] heart he'll help you change those habits you've tried over and over why can't you beat him because you need supernatural help and today Jesus wants to come and live with you every day of your life
[01:10:03] so if that's you and you're saying pastor I want you to include me in this prayer and that I want to make Jesus Christ my personal Lord and Savior your eternity is going to be secure and your
[01:10:13] history is about to be transformed today is a day of salvation if you're watching this from a jail sale or you're in this room or you're seeing this 10 months from now on rebroadcast and it's coming
[01:10:26] to you because somebody sent you a link today is the day of salvation I need the church to begin to pray your whole life has led up to this moment and all you have to do is make a choice choose
[01:10:40] Jesus I set before you today life and death and I'm gonna give you the answer to the test choose life and if that's you on the count of three I just want you to slip your hand up whether you're
[01:10:52] online or in the room. One, you're making the greatest decision of your life. Two, I'm so proud of you. But more than that, your name is going to be written in the Lamb's book of life. Three,
[01:11:02] if you want to accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior, lift your hands. I see you right there. I see you right there. Amen. I see you. God bless you. I see you. I see you, big dog.
[01:11:13] So proud of you. More than that, God sees you. And at Transformation Church, we're a family.
[01:11:20] nobody prays alone. So would you just lift your hands? It's our last prayer. And just repeat after me. Say, God, thank you for sending Jesus just for me. Today, I give you my life. Here I am.
[01:11:36] I repent and I turn to you. I believe you lived, you died, and you rose again so I could live in freedom. Change me. Renew me. Transform me. I'm yours forever. In Jesus name. Amen. Can we
[01:12:01] celebrate right now? Oh, y'all can do better than that. All of heaven is rejoicing right now. Can we celebrate? We want to say welcome to the family. You made that decision. I want you to text save
[01:12:12] to 828282 and as the altar workers are coming right now for those who text saved we literally have content discipleship content digitally that we want to give to you and uh you can click the
[01:12:26] qr code or our team will send it as you're leaving today i want you to remember that god desires for all of us to obey his will and that's in every area of our life you will be tested this week
[01:12:41] and the question is are you prepared or are you ready for the test father bless this church bless your people as they go keep them safe and for those who need prayer father and need
[01:12:55] agreement because things are happening right now i thank you for meeting them right now at the point of their need today father whatever you ask us to do we will be the ones who do it so will i
[01:13:08] have your way father god in jesus name i feel a spirit of worship in this house if you need prayer for anything if you're online just stay in this atmosphere for a second i believe god's
[01:13:21] gonna heal you if you need to go we will see you next week i believe god is gonna do something super special but if you need healing you need prayer come down to the front and if you're online
[01:13:34] I'm going to pray with you in just a minute.
[01:13:35] Just sing that for a second.
[01:13:41] If God asked us to forgive, our response should be, so will I.
[01:13:47] If God asked us to love, our response should be, so will I.
[01:13:51] If God asked us to worship him, our response, just like the ocean and the stars and the moon and the sky should be, so will I.
[01:14:00] if God asks us to tithe in obedience to his word, our response should be, so will I. I'm believing this message was revelation to you or revealed truth that is helping you walk or progress
[01:14:14] into another level of obedience. And I promise you, this is a test that God says, test me. I double dog dare you to test me and see if I won't open the windows of heaven and pour you out a
[01:14:26] blessing that you don't have room enough to receive. I'm so proud of you, Transformation Church, because you're a church that hears real truth, but you actually obey it with real obedience.
[01:14:36] And for everybody taking this crazy faith step to begin to tithe every time you get increased, I'm telling you, watch your life expand.
[01:14:44] I can't wait to hear the testimonies.
[01:14:46] Two things real quick.
[01:14:47] If you gave your life to Jesus in this message today and you received Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, I want you to text SAVED to 828282 or TCTCTC.
[01:14:59] That's what we put it in there for anybody that needs to remember.
[01:15:02] Why?
[01:15:03] Because our team has some amazing content prepared to disciple you.
[01:15:08] If you're new to Salvation, we've prepared a whole course called Salvation Made Simple, where I'm going to walk you through what you need to know.
[01:15:15] And if you want to know how to pray, we did a whole course on discipleship.
[01:15:19] Teach me how to pray.
[01:15:20] We want to help you walk this thing out because your life is about to be transformed as you do daily practices.
[01:15:26] The second thing is if this content has blessed you in any way, I want you to share it with somebody, share it on your social media, share a clip, go steal the little video from my
[01:15:35] social media page and put it up on yours because you have influence that I don't have.
[01:15:39] And transformation usually starts with an invitation.
[01:15:43] Last thing I'm going to ask you to do is if this ministry has ever blessed you, pray about being a partner with us financially so that we can reach more people.
[01:15:52] I had an amazing conversation with a partner, God Behind Bars, who is literally reaching into these jail cells all over the U.S.
[01:16:01] The least of these people who are forgotten and people are getting transformed at an alarming rate through the word of God from Transformation Church in the prison system.
[01:16:11] They presented a plan that literally has me so excited to go reach more people.
[01:16:16] But it takes partners, people like me and you doing what God has placed on our hearts.
[01:16:21] So I'm not asking for an amount, just pray.
[01:16:23] And if God tells you to do anything, obey.
[01:16:25] If he tells you nothing, obey.
[01:16:27] We love you, we believe you.
[01:16:29] And until next week, go out and live a transformed life.