Secure the Bag (Part 1)(Michael Todd) - Transformation Church

0:25 But this is a time every year that we take to be able to honestly realign our lives and get stronger, which is the word for the year, to get stronger in the area of stewardship and finances and generosity. And since the very beginning of me being the pastor of Transformation Church, we have done this. It was my second sermon series that God told me, Michael, I want you to teach Transformation Church how to live a blessed life. Everybody say a blessed life. Not just a blessed wallet, not just a blessed home, but a blessed life. And the problem is many of us don't know how to live a blessed life. And Robert Morris, which has been one of my spiritual mentors from afar, he wrote this book and has this revelation on living a blessed life. And so we came in to being the pastors of the church, and I preached a series for a month on vision.

1:22 And then God said, you need to sit down and you need to teach your church through video how to live a blessed life. And y'all already know that I can't preach nothing I don't know. And so what God said is, Mike, I need you to be an example of being hot, humble, open, and transparent. And I stood in front of my church the second month of being the pastor. And I said, listen, y'all, God wants us to live a blessed life, and I haven't quite figured out how to do it yet. So I'm not going to play you and teach you a bunch of lies that I haven't lived out. I'm going to let this man teach you, and we're going to sit here. And he's white, and he's older, and his humor is dry, but he got the revelation. And we sat, and we listened to the blessed life for five weeks in a row. And I sat on the front row taking notes because a leader is not a leader because you know more. A leader is a leader because you'll do what is best for the people that are following you. Oh, y'all didn't hear me.

2:17 Some of y'all needed that nugget right there. And so I sat, and every year, God would continue to give us more revelation until two years ago, he said, Michael, I think you've learned a few things about the blessed life. You can teach, not the whole series, a couple of messages in the series. And we did, wait till I get my money right. And then last year, we did ducks in a row. This year, we're doing a series called Secure the what? The bag. And some of you are like, Sally, securing the bag? I have no idea what that means. Well, I'm about to teach you right now, but I need to calm everybody down who may be a little insecure about the topic of finances, generosity, and stewardship. Because I know some of y'alls, they just want my money. The church just want my money meter is going off right now. Relax. Everybody say relax. We don't want your money.

3:11 offerings during this series. We don't have a capital campaign. In case you haven't heard, the bill is paid off. Oh, y'all don't hear me. Hey, listen, we are walking in a season of abundance. So we're not teaching this series because the church needs more money. This is the best the church has ever been financially in our church history. I'm teaching this because I'm passionate about you living a blessed life. I don't want the church to be flourishing as an organization and the church as an organism is not flourishing. I want your home to be blessed. I want your bank account to be blessed. I want your health to be blessed. Somebody say, I'm gonna live a blessed life. Some of y'all don't believe it yet, but say it one more time. I'm going to live a blessed life. And so for the next four weeks, with me. Not because we're trying to get something from you, I'm trying to get something to you.

4:12 And the crazy thing about it is these principles in God's Word are something that have outlasted time. And we need to adopt these principles, live these principles, and be ones to actually live a blessed life. The coolest thing about this entire series is that in a series where we're talking about us being generous and stewards over what God's placed in our hand, we're not just not taking second offerings and trying to get money. We're actually going to give money away. Now, some of y'all don't understand this because you just started watching Transformation Church, but when we first started this, God told me, he said, Michael, I want you to take up an offering and I want you to give everything in that offering away. And I am so grateful for the people who've been down for Transformation Church and this vision of crazy faith from the very beginning of us being leaders.

5:05 Because that day we raised $8,000. And on that day, you may be like, oh, that's not a lot. But to us, that was everything. We brought our finances together. And there's people in this room who gave in that offering. And when we gave, we took all of that money and we gave it away as a seed. And we said, this is going to produce a life for our church that we would be marked as a generous church. Well, I'm glad to tell you during the next four weeks, we're not giving away $8,000. We're going to be giving away to different organizations and nonprofits that help change cities, the U.S. and the world. We're going to give away $350,000. Oh, yo, come on. That's huge. And I see you in the back like, how can I get some of that money? It's already designated. What I'm telling you though is because of Transformation Church's generosity and people who've already caught this message of the blessed life, we're able to be a blessing, not just ask for one. What would happen if you could be a blessing and not just ask for one?

6:11 What could happen when you walk into the room, the blessing just showed up? what happens that our church, wherever we work, wherever we go, we are the blessing that people are praying for, and that is my desire, is that we could be the answer to prayer instead of just the ones praying for things. But that takes us being able to walk in a level of generosity and stewardship that allows us to live, say it one more time, the blessed life. All right, so I want to talk about this whole concept of securing the bag for a second, people don't know how to live a blessed life because they don't know how to be generous. But look what Proverbs 11 24 says. It says the world of the generous gets larger and larger, but the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller. Now that's a powerful piece of scripture right there because some of y'all won't even share french fries. You hear what I'm saying? You're just stingy. You're just mean. But I'm trying to think about in the kingdom of God,

7:16 generous with whatever we have, our gifts and talents, our finances, our love, God says people's world get bigger and bigger. But if we hold back, if we try to keep it, if we try to keep it only for our family, our for and no more, God says that your world gets smaller and smaller. And some of you are in such a tight space, not because that's where God wants you, it's because where you have been having your faith at for generosity. Over the years, God will bless you and you won't give anything. God will expand you. You won't share your knowledge. He gives you more contacts and you won't hook nobody else up. And your world has just begun to collapse on you. Some of y'all are claustrophobic right now, not because of what God has done, because of what you have done. I'm talking to somebody. But today I want us to get stronger in the area of generosity and stewardship.

8:11 Secure the bag. Now this whole thing of secure the bag, this is a phrase, a cultural phrase that came up over the past five years. And for some of you, I say secure the bag and you have different meanings in your head. For some of you, when I say secure the bag, you think of this. You think of the little bread ties that you have to put back onto the bread because we want our bread to not be hard. So that's secure in the bag. For others of you, when I say secure the bag, you think of this. yep that's a Chick-fil-a bag and and and Monday through Saturday that's the only thing you want to secure is Christ um chicken is it Christ chicken Jesus chicken whatever some of the ladies in the room we're securing the bag look like this yeah yeah this is a celebrity's purse closet and some of y'all would want this to be the bag that was secured for you and then some of my fellas in the room, we got to work out because we have secured the bag. Those are bags of potato chips and Cheetos that you have been securing for a long time. But when I say secure the bag, this looks like something a little different today. And I want us to look at a definition of this, and I want you to write it down. This is from the most reliable source that I could find, the Urban Dictionary. An expression used to describe the act of taking advantage of a situation, want you to focus on, keeping something of value. Like when I secure the bag, I keep something of value. When I secure the bag, I do what? I keep something of value. Today I want to talk about what you value. As we start this series, as we go down this journey, I need to ask you what you value because when you see something that you value, our natural inclination is to secure it.

10:05 expensive thing that you own that's the thing you don't leave sitting out that's the thing you don't let kids play with that's the thing you don't pour things on because it's valuable to you you try to secure it and a lot of times we keep things secure that are valuable or we keep them the secure because they're vulnerable now I want you to think about that why do I secure anything because of its value and its vulnerability. Now I'm about to teach you something. I had a very hard time with this concept of giving and this concept of generosity because I valued my money. And I know there's nobody in here like this, but I wasn't giving my money to nobody. You know the little things where they're like, would you like to give 50 cents to some kids and da-da-da-da-da? I'd be like, no, I got three kids in the car that I got to give to. I got to feed these children, and not feed those, like, okay, maybe I'm being too real right now.

11:03 But because I value my money, I don't just give it away. And anytime my money's vulnerable, I'm trying to secure it. And the thing about our entire lives, especially when it comes to finances, the only reason you secure something, I want you to write this down, the only reason you secure something is when what's extremely valuable becomes extremely vulnerable.

11:31 When it's valuable and vulnerable, you secure it. I wanna show you a practical example. Here's a picture of me and my kids. And whenever you get past how beautiful my wife is and how cute these little offspring we made are and how much we spent being at this Disney park, the thing I want you to notice is that we all have on the same colored T-shirt. and the reason that we have on the same colored t-shirt is because me as the father of this beautiful family got a little insecure before we went to Disney World the night before we went to Disney World I don't know how I ended up on it but I was looking up rides for Disney World on YouTube and the best thing and then I got to this page where they was talking about kids who got lost at Disney World and your boy started freaking out and so 24 hours before we went to Disney where I stayed up all night designing these beautiful t-shirts that talked about our trip and though the t-shirts were nice I really didn't design them for the aesthetic I designed it because what was valuable to me would be vulnerable when we got into the park with thousands of people and so when something is valuable and vulnerable our natural inclination is to secure it and so what I was trying to do in that moment by giving us all the same color shirts was trying to secure that if my kids ran off I could easily identify them and if they got separated from me that they could easily identify us I was trying to secure what was valuable and vulnerable

13:12 so when I think about our finances our families our gifts our talents many of us have been securing it because it's valuable to us but in some area of our life it's been vulnerable and this is the thing I need you to hear because I'm trying to build this this foundation for a God to get to our hearts in this thing. If we do not feel like something is secure, we secure it ourselves. And this is the key to why many of us do not walk in our callings, why many of us don't give what we're supposed to give, is because we're insecure in the environment that we are in.

13:56 And when you are insecure, let me just give you the point, because some of y'all don't even understand it. Insecurity always comes from a lack of trust. And when I am insecure, I secure. I'm going to say it again. When there's a lack of trust, you start saying, oh, if they're not going to do this for me, I'm insecure in how they're going to treat me. I'm insecure about how this is going to work out. When I'm insecure, then I secure. I'm God. I'll take matters into my How many people in the room right now look at me, be honest. How many people are control freaks? Come on, let's be honest. Do you know the truth about you always wanting to be controlled? It's somewhere along the road, trust was broken and you don't trust nobody. So you're insecure now. And when you're insecure, you secure.

14:50 Ah, I'm going to give you the equation of insecurity. And this don't have to do nothing with finances. You can apply this to every area of your life. But when you have something that is valuable and then you put it in a position that's vulnerable and you take away trust, it equals insecurity. Value plus vulnerable minus trust equals insecurity. Let me give you an example. Okay, so if you had a dream when you were young, it was valuable and you believed in the dream and you were going to do great things. And then you got vulnerable at some moment and you told the frame.

15:28 But then they took away trust. They said you could never do that and nobody in the family has ever done that and it equals insecurity. Now you're 48 years old questioning your purpose. Because what was valuable, the dream, I'm talking to somebody right now, was vulnerable and they talked down and took trust away and now you're here questioning your purpose. There are people who are teenagers and they had something of value, they had their purity. They were sexually pure and then they were vulnerable. Oh yeah, we're just gonna go over to uncle's house to spend the night. And they went over to uncle's house to spend the night and trust was taken away from them. And somebody touched him inappropriately and I'm being very sensitive but this is somebody's real story right now. and now that's equaled them being insecure and they haven't been able to stay faithful in a relationship and stay true to something because now they're insecure and they don't know their own self-worth. I'm trying to help you and that's why I want everybody in this room to understand the wounds and the pain that you have in your life, all the things that are going on, a lot of it we're just trying to secure what has been damaged in other seasons. That's why cut on your hand, the first thing is put a bandaid on it because if I feel insecure, I secure.

16:54 I'm trying to help somebody in the room right now. That's why many of you are like, no, I'm shy. No, you weren't always shy. You used to go out and do stuff, but then trust was taken away, and now you're trying to secure yourself from getting hurt anymore. So you don't try anymore. You don't step out. You won't do what God's called you to do. But if you feel insecure, then you secure.

17:18 That's why many of you won't get in small groups. Because I tried to trust people one time before. And I told somebody something that really hurt and they talked about me, they gossiped about me. And so now I'm insecure about that and when I'm insecure then I secure. And that's why others of you, we have thousands of people in this room right now and only a fraction of them serving. and that's not because you don't have the ability to serve it's because at your last church somebody took advantage of your time and so now you're making everybody else pay for the mistake of one person and you're securing yourself not to be able to be the blessing that you could be I'm talking to somebody right now because when you're insecure everybody say I secure ah so so this is what I'm trying to get everybody to get when it comes to your family to your future and specifically in this series your finances are you securing the bag like like like people say that in a positive term in culture like I gotta go secure the bag baby I'm out here working securing the bag I'm out here I'm about to secure the bag but but I don't think that's such a positive term when it comes to the kingdom of God because I found out if you're securing the bag that means God isn't

18:43 If you're the provider in your life, that means God is it. If you're the way maker in your life, that means God is it. I don't think it is something we need to be proud of that, yeah, I secured the bag, because you're securing what you're insecure about.

19:05 And so when you have to be the one securing your family's future, when you're the one securing the family. I can't come, I can't spend time with the kids I prayed for because I got to make sure they got money to do this, that, and the third. And you're securing the family because you're the man of the house. That means you're not letting God secure what he's already paid for.

19:30 So do you want to be the provider? Do you want to really secure the bag? Because that goes in exact opposite of what God says he is. Jehovah Jireh, your provider. There only can be one of those. And that's why I'm begging you in this series to open up your heart. Stay with me through this whole series because I want you to trust God with your finances. Trust God with your family. Trust God with your future because the truth about it is many of us are securing what we should be sowing.

20:08 many of us are supposed to be sowing our gifts and talents but we're securing them many of us should be sowing our abilities but we're securing we should be sowing our time but we're securing them and this is is is it's a shame because

20:30 we didn't do anything to earn what we're securing in the first place It was God's grace who gave us our abilities. It was the grace of God who brought us to the place we're at right now. See, some of y'all have forgot where you used to be, but it's nothing but the grace of God. And now we're securing what God says. No, if you give it away, it'll multiply. If you give it away, it'll come back to you. If you don't give it away, if you're blessing to somebody else, it'll be a blessing to more. But he said, no, you're securing it and that's not what you need to do. So really, maybe the series should be called Don't Secure the Bag.

21:06 because if you're securing it, it means that God isn't. And God is so good that he knew that we would struggle with this in our mortal bodies. And so he gave us this parable, which is a truth alongside of a story, parah bole. And I want us to see what the kingdom of God looks like when we start talking about these bags and securing the bag. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 25, and we're going to start in verse 14. It says, Again, the kingdom of heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man who goes on a long trip. That man is God in this passage. He called together his servants and he entrusted money. What did he entrust? What did he entrust? The only reason that I'm saying this is he could have used any other example in the world, but he uses money. And I want you to know in the Bible that we read, money and possessions is referenced over 800 times. It is the second most talked about subject in the Bible because it matters.

22:04 Okay? So I want everybody to check in with me to this. He says, he trusted them with the money while he was gone. Verse 15. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last, dividing it in proportion to their abilities, and then left on the trip. And some of y'all are mad right there. Because you're like, hold on. Why he give one five bags? And then he gave one two bags. And then he gave me one bag. See, all of us are already assuming that God's unfair because my situation wasn't like their situation. That my setup wasn't like their setup. And that's the plan of the enemy. For God's grace to then be snuffed out because of comparison. None of them deserved any bags.

22:55 deserve the one bag, the five bag, or the two bag and what happens is we get the grace of God and then we start looking at what they got and what they got. And you need to understand that God is so good. He's a good master. Look what it says. He even tells us why he gives them the bags that they got. It says he divided it in proportion to their abilities.

23:22 And most of us, we want it to be something that's fair, even though we squandered the last season that God gave us. Even though the last opportunity we didn't do what we were supposed to do, maybe we should be all on the same level, but God is a good master. And I need you to understand this. The next season of ability is going to depend on the last season of responsibility. That's a good word right there. The next season of ability is going to depend on the last season of responsibility. How did you steward over the last year? How did you steward over the people that you have under your leadership? How did you steward over the $50.62 that you got from that job last week? And many times we don't count it as anything, and so we're like, I don't have to really do anything with that. But the master's watching your ability.

24:15 He's watching how you handle what he's placed in your hand. And he's saying this next level is going to be based on how you were responsible with the last level. So write this point down. God knows what you can handle because he's watching how you handle. He knows what you can handle because he's watching how you handle it. Some of you have on your crazy faith board a new house. It ain't coming until you handle that apartment. Y'all don't, they don't want to hear nothing like this. But it's not, the new car that you got looking clean on the picture is far away from you Pigsty you drove to get here today

25:05 We know what you ate for the last four weeks if we just look at the bottom of your floorboard in your car. What I'm telling you is God is watching how you handle what you have right now. and many of us need to know that God wants us to go to a whole nother level of being blessed but our next season of ability is coming from our last season of responsibility see the biblical term for this is stewardship everybody say stewardship it's not even a sexy word like stewardship like that's not a sexy word but it's a powerful one because if you could ever get the concept of true stewardship then you would be able to do things that your your pedigree doesn't call for your education doesn't call for God's looking for somebody he can trust and the thing that you've got to understand about stewardship this is what stewardship says today matters when I'm a good steward I'm not looking to the future I'm looking to what I'm doing today and that's why people are like I'm gonna be a better friend in the future Today, call the one person, text them back.

26:16 Everybody's talking about, I'll be a better employee tomorrow. I just got to get through this season. No, stewardship says today matters. How I love today matters. How I respond today matters. How I save my money today matters. The thing you got to know about stewardship, the reason why today matters, come close, because today always shows up tomorrow.

26:49 Some of y'all, y'all look at pictures of yourself when you were smaller. Oh, I'm coming for your house today. And you'd be like, oh my God, why didn't y'all tell me? Why didn't y'all tell me? That wasn't, that didn't happen overnight. That wasn't a shock to anybody. That was you not stewarding over the day.

27:14 And because you didn't steward over it that day, it showed up the next day. And you didn't steward over it that day, and it showed up the next day. And then it shows up the next day. Do you hear what I'm saying to you? Today matters. Somebody needs to get a revelation in this place. Somebody shout at me, today matters. So in this story of Matthew, we see two different types of people. One who would steward over it and then one who would secure it. They would steward over what the master gave them and the other one that would secure it. And I kind of want to introduce this thing because when we start talking about finances and we start talking about stewardship, you know, people get a little antsy. There's some people in this section that's tight, like all tight right now. And I want you to know that I'm not coming to judge you, but I want you to be able to assess yourself, okay? And that's one of the best spiritual gifts is self-awareness. So I want to give you an opportunity to assess yourself by something I'm calling the bag barometer.

28:14 Okay? And we're going to put up a couple of different scenarios, and you'll be able to see where you are. Either you're going to be a person who stewards the bag, which is what God wants us to do, or you're going to be a person who secures the bag, which is what our fear has us to do. So I'm going to put these up and through this I'm going to show us and illuminate some revelation that shows what those two type of people do. Either we're going to steward over what God's given us or we're going to secure this bag, okay? And honestly, as I look at this story, it's a perspective. If you're going to steward the bag, that means you know you're a manager, not an owner.

28:57 See, everybody who's a steward knows that it's somebody else's and they're just taking care of it They're just managing it But if you're going to secure the bag, you take the idea of an owner The reason why I got to do this with my money is because this is my job And this is my money And this is my family You feel like you own something And the thing that you have to know as somebody who will steward over it No, this is God's family

29:25 This is God's money. This is God's church. All I am is a... Everybody say manager. Yeah, some of y'all couldn't even say it because you're like, I'm not. That's a lie. Many of us are taking the place of an owner, and that's what we see in this chapter. Look at verse 16. It says, the servant who received five bags of silver, they went to invest the money and earn five more. The servant with two bags of silver also went to... cuss word in the Bible? Work. They went to work, oh snap, and earned two more. I just got to talk to somebody real quick that if you're in a season right now where you're just so creative and waiting on God that you're not stewarding over the season that you're in right now, you need to be responsible enough to work and work on your passion. And there's some people under the sound of my voice like, I'm like, I'm just so creative. I'm just waiting on this big break. Baby, you need to do that and clock in at FedEx. Do you hear what I'm saying? Because you have to manage the seasons so that you can be prepared for what God has for you to do. Somebody say that cuss word with me, work. I don't know who that was for, but I just went off on a tangent just on somebody.

30:37 Here we go. Verse 18. It says, but the servant who received the one bag, he dug a hole in the ground and he secured the bag. Or you could say he hid the money. So, so let me go back to my bag barometer. If you're gonna steward the bag, that means you know you're a manager of the bag, and that means that you would be one like the guys with five and two that they invested, they sowed the bag. See, the thing that you've got to understand when you're managing something that God gives you, that you can sow it. Because any good farmer knows when I sow something, I'm not saying goodbye to it forever. I'm putting it into the ground or putting it into a place where it can produce more. And so many of us are so scared to sow because we don't understand the concept of sowing and reaping. When I put something good in, that means I'm going to get something good out.

31:35 in. See, the guy with the five and the two, they sold the bag, but the guy who tried to secure the bag, he dug a hole and hid the bag. And I just wonder how many of us are trying so hard to secure what was supposed to be a seed.

32:03 Like that book that you haven't given to anybody because you're scared of them judging it, that wasn't the best book that you were supposed to write. That was just supposed to be a seed. You were supposed to sow that. That wasn't even the one that was going to blow up. That was the one that was going to allow somebody to see you who was going to partner with you for the book that was actually going to blow up. but because you dug a hole and hid it, you'll never be able to see what God wanted to do with it because you wouldn't sow it. And I don't know who I'm talking to right now, but the Spirit of God is challenging me to challenge you to dig up what you have tried to put in the ground and hide. Dig up the song. Dig up the curriculum. I feel the presence of God in this place.

32:56 piece you better dig up that idea and take it out of the place where it was gonna be a grave and plant it in faith that God is going to take that thing and multiply it somebody say I'm gonna sew the bag say it again I'm gonna sew the bag I'm telling somebody in this room right now that God is in the idea of trying to get what he placed in you out of you and he don't want it back the way he gave it to you. He wants it multiplied.

33:32 But you only can multiply something when you're stewarding the bag. And you know you're not the owner, but you're the manager of the bag. And you're not going to dig a hole for the bag, but you're going to sow the bag. Verse 19, after a long time, the master returned from the trip and called them together to give an account of how they used his money.

33:55 Remember, they don't own it. They were managing it. something, but you have the perspective that you're owning it, you'll do the wrong thing with it. Verse 20, the servant to whom he had trusted five bags of silver came forward and said, hey, what's going on, master? Look at his perspective. You gave me five bags of silver to invest, and guess what I did, baby? Boy, I earned five more. I want you to see what the one who knew he was stewarding the bag with the perspective of prosperity, look what he did. He acknowledged where the bag came from. If you're going to steward over what God has given you, you have to acknowledge God. And many of us have been walking around like everything that we have, somehow we deserved it. And God's saying, hey, it's me. The air that you're breathing, that's me.

34:56 The use of your limbs, that's your boy. Everything that's going on right now, that's me. And I don't even want you to stop doing what you're doing. All I need you to do is, everybody say, acknowledge me. That's why the Bible tells us in Proverbs 3, 6, in all your ways, acknowledge him and he will be so good. He'll be your GPS. He said, and I will direct your path. And some of you have been on the wrong path because you stopped acknowledging the one who made the path. And I don't know who I'm talking to today, but that was the key you came for is that I am going to start acknowledging,

35:38 But I'm here and I thank you that you allow me to be here. God, I acknowledge that you can make a good situation out of a bad one. God, I acknowledge that the only reason I have my right mind right now is to be able to bless people and help people. Father, I acknowledge I was about to cuss them out. But I acknowledge that you helped me. Keep my, like, we got to acknowledge God.

35:59 But in direct contrast, if you're trying to secure the bag and own the bag and dig a hole for the bag, what you do is what happens in verse 24. at it. Then the servant with the one bag of silver said, oh master, hey master, how you doing master? Master, you know what? You look good. I knew, you know what? I knew. I said self and self said what? And I said, you know what? I think the master, I know he is a harsh man. Yes, he is. I knew it. was about you. And I know you don't harvest in crops that you plant. And I know you gather crops that you didn't cultivate. And I got stopped right here because this man said, I knew.

36:50 He assumed that he knew what God was going to do with what he gave him. When you are stewarding the bag, you acknowledge God. But when you are securing the bag, you assume of God and some of us have gotten so prideful that we look at relationships and we oh I know what that relationship's gonna be do you you look at the money that God asked you to give or you look at the time he asked you to sow and you'll be like oh I know what God's gonna do do you really there have been so many times in my life that God was working something behind the scenes that I had no clue about but in my pride and my arrogance I assumed I knew what God was going to do and God says that is a characteristic of somebody who doesn't trust me and is trying to secure the bag because you are one that wants to be provided for yourself you want to be in control for yourself and God began to tell me Michael you don't know me have you ever met somebody who who acted like they knew you but they really did know you.

37:58 And there's sometimes where people, oh yeah, you're Michael Todd. You're the one that's, you don't know me. People try to make assumptions about what they don't know. Let me say it even clearer. They make assumptions about people who they don't know. That's why it's very, very, very bad to listen to people who don't have a real relationship with God

38:24 because they will assume and put on you what they assume about God and they don't even got a real relationship with him. And this man, he assumed he knew what God was going to do. But I hear God from heaven telling all of us like he's told me a hundred times what he told in Isaiah 55 verse 8. My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, says the Lord, and my ways are far beyond your imagination. for just as high as the heavens are of the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts. You better stop assuming how God can take a little bit of sacrifice, a little bit of seed, a little bit of intentionality and multiply it into something that will bless so many others. You don't know what God has in store for you.

39:16 I feel that thing. You have no clue what God will do with a little obedience. with a little faithfulness, with a little bit of love to somebody who feels like they're broken and downcast. You have no clue. That's why anytime I walk into a situation, I acknowledge, God, you're the reason that I'm here. Direct my path now. Whatever you want me to do here, whatever you want me to say here, I'm open.

39:46 Somebody needs to thank God right now. Come on. Just give him praise right now that you are going to be one that acknowledges him. Come on. Take five seconds and acknowledge God right now. We thank you, Lord. We magnify you. We lift you up. I don't have to secure my future. I don't have to secure my finances. I don't have to secure it because I'm just stewarding all this anyway.

40:18 The truth is, when you're securing the bag, securing your finances, securing your family, securing all of this, it exposes who you trust. And the sad thing to say in a room this big and the thousands of people watching in Transformation Nation is that most of us are in a building and in a lifestyle of Christianity where we act like we trust God, but we actually don't. I know we don't say it in public, but our actions, our actions expose who we actually trust. And today, I want us to get a different response than the dude that had one bag and dug a hole, and he secured his own bag, and he thought he owned the bag, and he dug a hole for it, and he assumed of God. look at the response that God gave to the people who stewarded the bag in the right way. Matthew chapter 25 verse 21. Look what it said. And the master was full of praise. Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount. Now this always messes me up because he's talking to the guy with five bags. And remember at the beginning, everybody was probably comparing themselves like you got one you got two you got five and look what the master says the one with five he said that was still a small amount oh you thought this was just a test you thought you was starting up here I the business that you have right now that's still a small amount the the influence that you have right now that's still a small amount like I'm not stuck to what you think that this is, I am the God of abundance. I am the God of a blessed life.

42:08 That's the reason I came, that you might have life and have life abundantly to the full. And what I'm trying to tell you, no matter if you say, well, Pastor Mike, I don't need anything. I'm blessed. I have a boat. My kids are in private school and all that. That's still a small amount, baby. What God wants to do is take it from glory to glory, level to level. And that's why you got God is not limited by our small thinking. He's limited by our small obedience.

42:39 if we don't start obeying God at the small things at the things that seem insignificant he told you to go read with those kids at that school and you don't think that it's important because nobody else is doing it because it's not a church-wide event and God said all I need you to do is be faithful over the small things one day you're going to be the principal of that school but I wanted you to sow seeds into that school when it didn't matter, but you're seeing so narrow, you're seeing so small, and God is saying, I see so much bigger. Whatever you think it is right now, that's still a small thing. That's the small thing, like when I started as the sound man at Greenwood Christian Center, when I decided to stay and be obedient in the small thing, God saw this. He saw the arena full of people. He saw it paid off, but he said, will you be faithful? I feel this thing, to sow a small see, to be obedient when nobody's looking. And all I'm asking you right now is not to look at what anybody else is doing, because what your obedience is, is significant. And that's true stewardship.

43:45 Whether you're an intern or you're a CEO, your obedience at that level is significant for what God has for you in your life. Verse 22, so the servant who had received the two bags of silver And said, Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I earned two more. And the master said, Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling the small amount. Now I will give you more responsibility. Not money. Ah, see, y'all thought this was a prosperity gospel. You thought it is, you give $333, you get $3,033. But this is the key of what God is saying. The reward of being a good steward is more responsibility.

44:32 You thought it was more money. You thought this was a magic trick. You thought this was the lotto. God says when you handle what's in your hand, I'm going to give you more responsibility. So you can go ahead and tweet this. This is not a gospel of prosperity. This is a gospel of responsibility. Can God trust us? The problem has been, and I have to apologize on behalf of all the pastors and leaders who have mishandled the responsibility of guarding people's finances and trust in their lives. I'm so sorry that God would trust men with influence who are imperfect and because they didn't have accountability or were drunk on pride or didn't understand the weight of what they were holding on behalf of all of them. I say, I'm sorry. What God is trying to do is not make us rich to be rich. He's trying to make us blessed so we can be a blessing.

45:26 There's a world out here that's dying. There are people who need needs met. They don't want to hear about our God if we can't meet their need. They need homes. They need shoes. They need to be rescued out of sex trafficking. And because we're so broke many times, we cannot be a physical extension of God's hand in his heart. And so what we have to do now is repent.

45:49 I'm repenting on behalf of every leader, every CEO, every boss who misused your trust or subtracted trust and made you insecure. Today, I'm coming to ask you to give God another chance through another leader, through another group of people to be able to stand and say, you know what? God doesn't want us to steward over this so we can just have more and be okay for our family. We don't need to secure anything. We have to be generous. And we have to steward over what God has given us. And I don't know right now, I feel such a burden right there. It's that people have been hurt by what's happened to them. And today I'm believing that God by his spirit is healing people. He's healing your perspective. He's healing your heart. He's healing your mind. And the enemy's trick would be to let a man keep you from a blessed life The enemy's trick would make you be able to blame somebody and now you're not living in the fullness of what God has Told you to live in but today we're coming to reverse that thing. I believe in this room. Come on somebody help me I believe in this room that God is coming to restore trust in his word in and the men and women of God that he has entrusted this to because we are supposed to live a blessed life. Look at verse 24. Then the servant with one bag of silver came and said, Master, I knew you was a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn't plant and gathering crops that you didn't cultivate.

47:18 Here's the whole reason he dug a hole. This is why he tried to secure the bag. I was afraid. Fear was the culprit that kept him from faith We're yelling crazy faith, we're wearing it on our hoodies But you can wear a crazy faith hoodie and still be walking in fear You can sit in this big auditorium that God provided in faith And still leave out of here in fear

47:51 And what I'm coming to do as your pastor is over the next four weeks, I'm about to break the spirit of fear off of you. 1 Timothy tells us that God didn't give us that spirit. He didn't give us the spirit of fear and timidity, but he gave us the spirit of power, love, and what? A sound mind. And I speak that over your life. The man trying to secure the bag, he wasn't a bad man. Just the way many of you who have been trying to secure the bag for yourself, secure your family, secure. a bad person, you're just afraid. You're afraid that God doesn't have a plan that's bigger than your savings account. You're afraid that God doesn't have a plan bigger than your first divorce. You're afraid that God doesn't have a plan bigger than your failure. But I'm here as a living witness telling you that God's plans for you are to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a hope and a good future.

48:56 And that's why we can't be ones to secure the bag and own the bag and dig a hole for the bag and assume of God. Because he was afraid, that man was afraid to lose the bag. And there are too many of us right now, if your living status changed, you would be a wreck. If you went for the home to the apartment, you would fall apart. If you went from three cars to one car that was 10 years old You would feel like you were where this

49:35 Aren't you still being able to do what God's asked you to do? And I don't know, but this spirit of fear has taken over our culture. When it comes to finances, when it comes to our family, when it comes to disease, when it comes to all this stuff. And many people are digging holes and securing bags because they're afraid. But when you steward over something that you know you're not the owner of, that you're just the manager of, and you'll sow what God gives you, and you acknowledge God at every step away, What you do is you trust God's plan for the future bag. I don't got to worry where the next is coming from. I don't got to worry if God has a plan. If Transformation Church shut down the Todd household, it's going to be fine. Because I made a declaration to God. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. That means I'm a manager.

50:26 So if he takes something away, that means he has something better for me. Oh, y'all better hear me in this room. I do not worry where the next bag comes from because I am secure in the one who called me to this place. Some of y'all need to catch that. You've been worried about the healing. You've been worried about your family. You've been trying to secure it. And all God is saying, have faith and trust me.

50:54 He that began a good work, he's faithful to see it to completion. His name is Alpha and, oh man, beginning and the end. I don't worry about where the next bag comes from. I know if I saw it today, and I love today, and I'm faithful today, and I stew it over today, The next bag is coming from the one who supplies all the bags.

51:26 Verse 29. To those who use well what they are given. Underline that use well. Not use. Not use up. Use well what they have been given. Look at this. Even more will be given and they will have an abundance. the blessed life to me? That sounds like the abundant life? And that's why you have to know

51:58 maybe securing the bag is not the way that we want to live our life. Because when we secure the bag, it exposes our insecurities. It exposes that we don't trust. Because we only secure what's valuable and what's fun. And in this scripture, it tells us if you're going to secure the bag, you use excuses for the bag that you have right now.

52:23 He said, I knew you were a hard master, so what I did was not the faith thing. I did the thing that would just give you back what you gave me. God said, I just could have kept it at that. when I gave you that singing ability, I didn't give you that so you could give it back to me the way I gave it to you. When I gave you that administration ability, I didn't ask you to give that back to me the same way I gave it to you. When I gave it, he said I wanted it to multiply. And that's why when you steward the bag, you use the bag you have.

53:00 It reminds me of a saying that all you have is all you. another bag just flip the one you got he wasn't looking for the one with one bag to end up with ten bags the one with five ended up with ten because he doubled it the one with two ended up with four because he doubled it all he was looking for from the person with one bag was two bags

53:27 And my question to you is some of us, because we've been so anxious and fearful and trying to secure the bank, that God's not even wanting nothing huge from you. He just wants you to double it. Double what you have. Double. Just double it. And if you do that, you get a well done, my good and faithful servant. But for those who do nothing, ah, this is scary, y'all. Even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw this useless piece of servant into utter darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And that's what many of our finances look like.

54:16 Let me help you. Our only true security is in trusting God. I'm going to say it one more time. true security is in trusting God. I gave you the equation of insecurity earlier, but let me give you the equation of security. Trust plus value plus being vulnerable equals security. When trust is the foundation, I trust God with what I value, my money. I trust God with my money. I trust God with my resources. And it's vulnerable. So it's vulnerable when I bless others, when I give it to a church, when I tithe 10%, it's vulnerable. But that's the only way you have true security. Let me give a practical example. I have a daughter named Bella, and Bella trusts her father. So because she has trust and she knows she's valuable to me, she has no problem being vulnerable with me.

55:25 We were at the pool this summer, right after we took that expensive Disney picture. And we were at a pool at the little rental house, the Airbnb that we had. And Bella, she can't quite swim yet. And so her mom is super like, oh no, stay away, do this, do that. I'm like, girl, it's three feet of water. and I was in the deep end of the pool and I said, Bella, jump. And her mama in the background saying, don't jump. And I'm saying, I'm looking her in our eyes and I'm saying, jump. And her mama's like, don't do it.

56:06 But because she trusted her father and she knew how valuable she was, I don't know how this is gonna end up, but in a place that I can't secure myself, I'm gonna be vulnerable enough to jump in, and that baby will all her might jump to me, and my hands like the hands of the Father. I see it stretching out to some of you who are gonna take steps in this next season to trust God with what he's given you. I reached out, and before she even hit the water, I secured her. And I just feel that in this room, That's the picture that God wants to give some of you. As you step out and you put your trust in the one who will never fail you, you can be vulnerable with him and he will catch you and secure you.

57:03 today I just want your heart to be open to what God is saying when you trust God with what you consider valuable and you are vulnerable enough to sow it he provides true security that's what I want for this church that's what I want for your family I want you to put your trust in God that's why we have to learn so much more about generosity stewardship over the next four weeks you don't want to miss one moment of this series because it can change the trajectory of your entire life and we've done it every year and i'm telling you we would not be here today if we didn't embrace this idea of living the blessed life maybe it's not the best thing for us to secure the bag maybe it's better if we steward the bag

57:57 because I don't have to secure the bag because I'm secured by God. Oh, that's good teaching right there. I don't got to secure nothing because I'm secured by God. The reason you find that revelation, it was found in verse 28 for me, and I saw it for the first time last year. because you know the man that did, that secured the bag, his bag got taken from him. But what did God do with that bag? Like I never paid attention to what he did with the bag until this moment, and this is God's grace and his love and his mercy for people who steward over what was given to him. Look at verse 28. I love Revelation. This is the real heart of God right here. It says, then he ordered, take the money from this nasty piece of servant, I just like saying that.

58:51 Piece of servant. And give it, not to himself. Like God wasn't trying to get more so that he could just be rolling in the dough. He said, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. I need to give more to the person who will steward over it properly.

59:16 That's the heart of God. He's not trying to take from anybody. He just wants what he gives us to be used properly. Many of us right now, as our bank accounts have other priorities in them, as our families have other priorities, God's saying, Hey, young, could you stop securing the bag and steward over it so I can secure you? And the thing that I found out about this servant with 10 bags, he didn't know he was getting another bag.

59:49 saw how he used what he had given him, and he put his grace on it. He put his abundance on it. He put the blessed life on it. And that's why I want you to know, while you're trying to secure a bag, God is trying to supply you with bags. some of you are so uptight about securing this one thing and God said I'm trying to give you more if you would steward over I'm going to pray for everybody under the sound of my voice right now come on all over this room stand up all over this room and I want you to lift your hands and I'm going to pray that if there's an area of your life that you have been securing and you know you need to give it over to God right now it may be your finances it may be your family it may be your gifts but if there is an area that you have been secure in the bag and now you want to give it over to God and you want to steward it with the right heart so he can direct your path, hands lifted all over this place. Watching online right now, watching on rebroadcast, lift it up. Father in the name of Jesus, come on. I believe Father God that today you gave us revelation. That Father that you don't just want us to live an okay life but you want us to live a blessed life and And today that starts with trusting you with what's valuable and vulnerable, God.

1:01:07 And I'm asking you right now in the presence of all your people that you would touch the hearts of people who trust have been stolen. And they would get a supernatural infusion of faith in this building to believe you again. God, I'm asking you to give us the faith of the one with five bags and two bags. Not to try to get as much as we can, but just steward well over what you put in our hands. Today, Holy Spirit, I'm asking that you start a surgery on the inside of our heart that will allow us to come from poverty to living a blessed life. That brings us from living a greedy life to living a blessed life. That keeps us from living a reserved life to living a blessed life. I command the floodgates of generosity to open in this church, in our lives, and in our families. today God we surrender everything we've been trying to secure and today we put our trust back in you have your way in our lives God and I thank you that we don't have to secure back because we're securing you in Jesus name amen come on somebody all over this place thank you so much for watching Transformation Church's YouTube and I just want you to take another step. If this is feeding you, join Transformation Nation. That's everybody that doesn't live here in Tulsa watching live with us on Sunday mornings. Gather your family. Let's make this thing an every week situation. And please share. Share if it has impacted your life. There is somebody that is waiting for you to share this with them. And transformation is only a click away.

1:02:44 And there's one more thing I would ask you to do. Pray about giving. If you want to help us take this message all around the world and represent God to lost and found people for one reason, transformation in Christ, you can do that right now by clicking the give button. I cannot wait to see you the next time we're here. Live a transformed life.