Time to Grow Up // Paper Chasers (Week 5) – Pastor Charles Metcalf – Transformation Church

Mike Todd’s Introduction

• By faith, we praise God right now for what we’re trusting Him for – before the situation is worked out
• The situation may look sketchy but our God is sturdy
• God invades our doubt, our defeat, and our decisions – He is Jehovah Jireh
• We don’t praise God when it’s good, we praise God because He’s good
• We’re in a season of generosity
• Over 20,000 people put God first with their tithes
• Mike is so proud of you for your new lifestyle
• This week, TC Outreach went to Tulsa McClain High School to be generous – we gave the entire senior class MacBooks and all of the faculty members
• This week Mike thought back to when TC needed to upgrade their technology from cameras. Mike heard about another church, Redeeming Word Church, with Pastor Lonnie and gave them $80,000 to help them to broadcast the gospel to the world
• Then Mike heard about a man of God in Memphis, All Nations Memphis, who TC sent $50,000 to
• You’re on somebody’s heart right now; the thing you’re praying for, God is already speaking to the answer, they just need to obey
• To the Young Leaders Conference with Mark Moore Jr., $50,000 is on the way
• It is more blessed to give than it is to receive
• Tomorrow at Starbucks, or at the gas pump, you can give it to someone just like this to be used as a conduit of Jesus
• We can have a victory lap before the battle even happens because we’re going to win in the end
• Silence yourself and still yourself for the days leading up to Good Friday
• Over 15,000 people have given their lives to Christ from January 1, 2021
• What if next week we could see a third of that in one weekend? What if 5,000 people decided to step out of darkness and step into the light? What if we collectively robbed hell?
• You’re the ministers here. You’re being charged to go to the highways and byways and invite all the hungry people to the table
• God has told Mike strategically to build up the voices of the people around him
• God doesn’t care about the vessel; He will get His word through any vessel that is ready
• Today’s message is coming from the anointed, humble, and powerful Pastor Charles!

Charles Metcalf’s Introduction

• It is week 5 of Paper Chasers
• The enemy thought he could slow Charles down this week, but the same power that raised Christ from the dead 2,000 years ago is on the inside of Charles and all of us
• Charles felt like he couldn’t preach any of these sermons for the first few years because his life didn’t reflect it
  • Last year, he was able to preach about tithing, because God matured him in that area
  • This year, he had to think about what TC wanted him to speak about, and then he realized that God has really moved in this area in his life

1 Corinthians 13:11-12 New Living Translation (NLT)

11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

Anecdote: Arlo is two, and last week, Charles and Abby had an eggs and potatoes birthday party per his request. In having two kids, you recognize that you can’t parent both kids the same way. You have to adjust parenting according to the current process and current progress. The way you treat a 6-year-old is not how you treat a 2-year-old. When Charles was trying to teach Luna to say “Dada”, Arlo kept saying it and expecting praise. When he told him he was bigger, he had to explain that the standard is different at this stage. I’m not going to clap when you say “Dada”, you’re being potty trained. You’re beyond “Dada” and it’s beyond your time.

Some of us, when we say, “God I read my bible today,” we must realize that it’s time to grow up. In another season that was good, he loves you, but you’re past that. You should be generous and living a blessed life. It’s time to get on to some mature things.

It’s been good up until this point, but God is saying it’s time to grow up.

Message Title: Time to Grow Up

There are certain things where you’re living below your calling.

Many would rather look at someone younger, or in a different stage than us, and compare to someone who doesn’t have what you have, and try to live at the same standard for someone who isn’t called in the same way you are.

Many are looking at friends, homies, and people you’ve always been with, who aren’t following purpose, but you see what they have and what they’re doing, and now you’re not living in your moment because you’re comparing yourself to them.

It’s time to grow up.

So many of us would rather be the big dog in the small room instead of going to a place where God can mature you – in a space where people are better than you, and therefore aren’t growing past where you are.  

Today, we are going to grow up. We can’t talk about small stuff. You can’t keep using your own opinions and try to argue it as the word of God – that’s small stuff.

Today, Charles wants to talk to us about maturing in our generosity and stewardship. Today we have to grow up.

It’s time to grow up. If we’re going to the deep, we can’t live in this small minded place with a low level of thinking.

Today, we will talk about 3 spaces and 3 levels of generosity and stewardship.

1. Level 1: The Tithe

Malachi 3:10-12 New Living Translation (NLT)

10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! 11 Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 12 “Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

A. God Did Not Invent Tithing for His Sake

He’s all sufficient. He doesn’t need your money. He wants your heart. It’s through your financing. When He says bring it to His house, it’s to get something to you, not from you.

B. Not Tithing Doesn’t Rob God of His Money, It Robs You of His Blessing

You’re robbing Him of the opportunity to be your provider.

When we fell into sin, it was raining. When you don’t do it His way, you’re robbing Him of an opportunity. It’s raining in this world.

He’s trying to reveal His unseen protection. When you grow up, you get His unseen protection in the supernatural.

God steps in and in the rain He covers you.

You’ve been wondering why things aren’t going right for you. When you honor God, He’s with you for everything – your raise – your promotion – your layoff.

You can’t get mad at God when you push His umbrella (protection) away.

Your peace is easily stolen when

C. Tithing Releases God’s Unseen Protection

When you honor God, His unseen protection steps into your life.

It’s time to grow up.

God will follow you. Even when you forget He’s there, He’s there.

No matter what you do, God has been with you. He’s with you now and He will be with you then.

• Your kids see you honor God. Kids see parents tithe from a young age.

   

  When Charles think back to his past, he wonders how he was able to go into his marriage as a virgin. It was his unseen protection. There are some things in your life God will take care of if you would just honor Him with the tithe.

   

  Many are at this stage talking about “how generous you are.”

How are you generous with something that isn’t yours? It’s returning.

You don’t give a tithe, you return a tithe.

It’s time to grow up and mature.

2. Level 2: Offering

This is the next level. The tithe is the minimum, it’s the starting place.

It’s like saying, “dada I tithe”, you learned that in the first years. He’s trying to move you to a new place.

Luke 9:10-16 New King James Version (NKJV)

Feeding the Five Thousand

10 And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. 11 But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. 12 When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.”

13 But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.”

And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people.” 14 For there were about five thousand men.

Then He said to His disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of fifty.” 15 And they did so, and made them all sit down.

16 Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.

God asks you to give out of the deserted place. You don’t give the dollar right now, so how could He trust you with the $100,000?

Have you ever thought about how long it would take 12 people to get 20,000 people to sit down? 5,000 was just the men, it didn’t include the women and children, which was 3 to 4 per capita.

If there’s anything in your life right now that’s out of order, you need to tell it to sit down for God to do something. Tell anxiety, depression, alcoholism, bad doctors report, lock in your mind, anger, next week Easter, death, hell, and the grave – “sit down, God is about to do something.”

Remind your emotions that they don’t run and drive the car. Some of you need to declare over the things in your life that are out of order, “sit down, God is about to do something.”

“He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude” – they had to bring it to God first, then God blessed it. He blessed it then He broke it. Have you ever felt like God broke something more than it was when you gave it to Him? Maybe your marriage?

This is what happens when you’re in the deserted place of offering.

A. Just Because It’s Broken Doesn’t Mean It’s Not Blessed

It might look like He’s just breaking it, but He knows it has to be broken to be given away.

He has to break it before He can give it to other people.

Your marriage isn’t just broken, it’s being prepared to be given to someone else. The same goes for your business and your identity.

The enemy is trying to make you believe it’s broken just for the sake of being broken. In the places that feel broken, know that at this level, God is preparing to give it away.

At this level, do you trust the provision or the provider?

God is asking someone to give Him the broken piece. You just need the piece. Tell the young people what you do know, even though you don’t know it all, for example, “God is good.”

The last little piece grows in their hands every time they reach the last piece. Whenever it got small, looked like not enough, feeling like you’re barely holding on, when you tried and got embarrassed, do you trust what He’s provided or as provider? God has unlimited provision.

B. Offerings Release God’s Unlimited Provision

He will multiply that thing right in front of you. It’ll be a piece and then all of a sudden overflowing all over your children. He will multiply it into a nation that reaches the world with just a little obedience.

At this level, you’re asking who do you trust in this moment?

He blessed it, he broke it, now I’m expected to give it, even though I’m still broken. Charles is sorry you went through that. God is saying, if you just trust Him as your provider, He is working right now, you’re breathing right now, and He can provide for everything else.

He has unlimited provision.

God is asking you to trust Him at this level.

When you understand and do it God’s way, it doesn’t mean you don’t have space to make mistakes or worry.

At the level of offering, He wants to multiply what you have.

People experiencing abundance have given out of obedience with just a little bit. You didn’t see them step up to that level. You weren’t there when they were obedient or embarrassed. You can’t assume they just started there – then you start to value their abundance instead of obedience. It’s small obedience that leads to massive abundance.

At the level of offering, this is the level of generosity. You can decide a percentage that you will offer to God.

3. Level 3: Sacrificial Offering

These offerings are about God maturing you.

At this level, these can only be given with something that is sacred to you. When God wants to mature you, He will ask for a specific thing. This level isn’t about the most money or being a philanthropist. This level is about what’s sacred to you – that thing laced through everything that prevents God from blessing you.

At this level it’s about what’s sacred to you and what has your heart.

This is not about “more money” – there are a lot of people giving more money, but it’s not sacred.

At this level, you can’t compare.

God will ask for specific things. This level is Abraham when God asks him for the promise back. These are things that even flow out of the promises of God.

He may have given it to you and want it back. He may need you to dial your personality back, he may have decreased your value at work to fix the real issue.

This level is uncomfortable and it’s not glamorous. It’s about what’s sacred to you.

In Genesis 22:10, he has lifted the knife over his only – his only son that he waited 22 years for. At that level, God said, “I can trust you”.

At this level, there are promises, things God promised, things you don’t know will happen. What happens when God asks for the thing back that you didn’t ask Him for?

He can only receive what’s sacred to you and He knows what it means to you. Others may see it as fruit or flourishing, but He will check your heart to make sure He’s the one really in control and He will ask for it back.

Almost 5 years ago, Charles and Mike met at a coffee shop. He asked, when was the last time Charles took Abby on a date. It was the start of their relationship maturing. They are here at this moment now, but it wasn’t an obvious decision to make at that time when God asked Charles to shut his church down and serve with Pastor Mike and Natalie. He felt like the devil was at work. The devil won’t tell you to give out of a sacrificial place.

God will ask you back for the things that were obedience in one season to test if He has your heart. On the other side is His unexpected promises.

Anecdote: Charles remembers a time when God asked him to give a guy his shoes. It’s not a routine. He may say, give that $20 offering to your cousin – because He knows that it’s a sacrifice for you – because you know that person does dumb things.

The levels of Offering and Sacrificial Offering will be constantly changing as things that are sacred to you no longer feel sacred – it becomes an offering.

It doesn’t take a certain age to obey God. Don’t wait for a different season to obey God. Submit your pattern to see His promise. Don’t think his promise will override your pattern. If you don’t get planted in God, He’ll start asking for stuff and you won’t even know what He’s asking for.

Sometimes people need to see your faith to be generous. Seeing Mike give away a car gave Charles and Abby the courage to do it. Giving a car away may be the greatest sacrifice you’ve ever given. In one season it might be an offering, in another, it might be a sacrifice. Charles and Abby have given away two cars – but don’t think that’s because they’re rich and just had cars – it was a sacrifice.

Fast forward. God is asking Charles to give even in the midst of them trying to close on their own home. They gave a car, gave the most money they ever had, and God still asked for a sacrifice. When Charles gave the car, it was a sacrifice, but God moved it to offering and wanted a sacrifice. Charles had just given away his down-payment for the house. He felt like God was asking for the little that he had left. He had to fight whether or not he had enough faith to pray for the Crazy Faith cards. Charles felt like if he gave the people that faith that he wouldn’t have anything left. It took everything in him to stretch his hands out to that wall and started praying for the names. As he prayed for their homes, he was telling God, you’re supposed to be doing this for me. Giving isn’t always, you give and you get. In that moment, God said, “there have been certain cycles connected to this that have been in your family for years. It has affected you and would have affected your children, but it stopped when you stretched out your hands.”

A. Sacrificial Offerings Release God’s Unexpected Promises

In that moment, there are unexpected promises that God wants to release to you.

One day everything will all be gone. We do all this work to focus on getting more money and more things, but one day it will all be gone and you will be left to evaluate what do you do with what God gave you.

You find yourself wondering if you should tithe or trust God. When you trust God at this level, relationships, money, and everything that gives you security can leave you, but you have God’s protection. When you honor God, He says, “I am your protection.”

You may be in a deserted place but declare that you will trust that God will provide. Trust God more to provide than your skills, education, or ability to make a plan.

Today, God is going to ask you to grow up, step up, and make a sacrifice.

There are promises, peace, hope, and things that will break things in your family. At this level, God has promises for you.

The beautiful thing about God asking for a sacrifice is that He’s not asking for something that He didn’t already do.

God has seen you since you were a child and is so in love with you, despite your darkest moment.

God set the example of giving a sacrificial offering. He gave His only. Jesus was sacred to God, and for you, He said, I’d do it.

The unexpected promise is that all the hurt you’ve been through, all the pain, He would give a sacrificial offering because there’s a promise of a whole life, a life that’s full.

There are some of you who are thinking it must be more to life than this and you realize it’s not the answer. No amount of money can fix the hole in your heart.

Just surrender. God loves you so much and he set the example of a sacrificial offering.

Jesus just wants a relationship with you.

No man or boss is your supplier. God can feed you, take care of you, give you money, and sustain you through every single season and He is your provider.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, you speak to hearts. I pray for every single person right now, right where they are, that you’re speaking to them. There are people arguing about the tithe, and you’re saying you will bless and protect. Some will trust and surrender. You are about to step into such a blessed life, but in the way of being a blessing to other people. Your life will be a blessing to people. There are others, God will ask a sacrificial offering of. God, no matter stage we just want to obey you Lord. You have sustained us and provided. Your spirit is healing wounds Lord Jesus. You’re tearing away the hearts that have been black and angry Lord God. I thank you that generosity is erupting out of the heart of your children. You have been faithful Lord Jesus. We cancel the lie of the enemy to suggest otherwise. I pray for the person struggling to trust you. I thank you that you are their provider.

Altar Call: If you look at your life, you realize you’re not as close to God as you would like to be. All you have to do is surrender. I want to offer you the greatest thing you can experience. All you have to do is surrender, Romans 10:12 says if you believe with your heart and say with you mouth that He lived and died and rose again. All you have to do is surrender, say I trust you, and his holiness, peace, grace, mercy, and power will enter into your life. If you want to surrender and give your life to Him, on the count of three, lift both of your hands no matter who you’re around. It’s an outward symbol of an inward decision you’re making. 1. He paid the price for you, 2. You can be free in this moment 3. Lift your hands right now to accept Jesus.

Let’s Pray Together: Dear God, thank you for loving me, dear Jesus, thank you for willingly laying down your life for me. I admit I’ve made mistakes, but save me, change me, transform me, sustain me, in Jesus name I pray, Amen.

• That is the best decision you could make. Mark this day down.
• We want to walk with you, following Jesus should not be done one your own
• Text ‘Saved’ to 828282 for resources and next steps on how to follow God

We’re encouraging you to keep coming back. Even if you make a mistake, just show back up. Read your bible. Read the translation that makes sense to you. As you continue to get the word in your heart, he will transform your heart. Get the word of God into your heart. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Fill your home with worship, TC has a worship playlist. Go into all the world and make disciples. Invite someone you know to the service next week. This is the time to get them on the stream. Let God step in and change things like never before. There is more on the inside of you, He’s madly in love with you, and He’s proud of you. He will sustain you. We love you. God is going to do something special. Go out and live a transformed life.

You can still check out Pastor Robert Morris’ book, “The Blessed Life” and the study guide below:

You can still get “Relationship Goals” the book and study guide today for additional support:

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SUMMARY NOTES

1. Level 1: The Tithe
   A. God Did Not Invent Tithing for His Sake
   B. Not Tithing Doesn’t Rob God of His Money, It Robs You of His Blessing
   C. Tithing Releases God’s Unseen Protection
   2. Level 2: Offering
   A. Just Because It’s Broken Doesn’t Mean It’s Not Blessed
   B. Offerings Release God’s Unlimited Provision
   3. Level 3: Sacrificial Offering
   A. Sacrificial Offerings Release God’s Unexpected Promises

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