Show Me The Motive // Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems (Part 2) – Pastor Mike Todd – Transformation Church

Mike Todd’s Introduction

• Last week we learned that “Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems” was rooted in the poverty gospel. Both the poverty gospel and the prosperity gospel are evil, i.e., more money, more problems & more money, more pleasure.

• We should be subscribing to more money, more purpose – to use our funds for God’s purposes.

• God will give our money purpose that we don’t get to see the full perspective of until we get to heaven – that’s why it’s actually faith when we give.
  • Your $10 gift at the gas station could’ve restored a marriage.
  • It doesn’t take facts, just faith when we give. We don’t need to know the impact, that’s facts.

• If you have suffered from the prosperity or poverty gospels, we need to break the generational cycles of the spirits that are controlling you – the spirit of mammon, the spirit of greed.
  • How many shoes are enough? Do you have a 2-car garage and 5 cars?
  • The storage industry is a billion-dollar industry because we store stuff that can’t be stored where we live.

• Many of us are sitting on stolen merchandise that we should have given away years ago. We could bless someone’s entire life by giving away some of the stuff you’re sick of cleaning.
  • You haven’t invited anybody over in years and you’re hoarding comforter sets. You’re hoarding as well as not helping.
  • How many winter coats do you need?
  • When God wants to trust us with more resources, He looks at the responsibilities He’s already given us.
  • We end up in seasons of “less than” because “more for you only means more for you.”

• You don’t have to pray to give people the money in your pocket. The Bible is clear. It says, when you pray, when you fast, and when you give – not “if”. Too many believers are waiting on a sign from God for something that should be a habit.

• This series you are being challenged to start a new habit: 3 random acts of kindness. God sees what you do. If you would just start this practice, it’ll become a habit, then it’ll invade your home, then everything around you will be blessed. The goal is to have a blessed life.

• Recommendation: Buy “The Blessed Life” – there are principles to change your life (link below).
  • Stop binging Netflix with series that aren’t changing you.
  • TC has also created a version for the kids called, “Generous Families” that you can download below.

• Declare that you will live a blessed life.
• Too many of us are in debt. TC called the people over at Ramsey Solutions and partnered with them, and for one year, everyone that’s a part of Transformation Nation has the complete series, the entire resources worth $129.00 a person to give to everybody for free. You have one year.
  • Step 1: Visit transformchurch.us
  • Step 2: Select Ramsey+
  • Step 3: Fill out the form to claim your membership
  • Step 4: Watch the videos
    • Don’t be a bad investment
    • Fully lean into it so you’re not in the same place next year

• When we feel like we’re doing everything right, we start to ask God to, “show me the money.” Mike heard God say back to us, “show me the motive.”

• He has no problem giving us the money, but we have to expose what’s in our hearts. If you want to believe God for money, He will ask you to show Him the motive.

• Today, Mike wants to teach about the motives of our hearts. If the motive is not right, the money never will be.
  • God will withhold nothing from His people if we ever get the right motive around money.
    • Think of our own kids. We expose them to more based on how they act with what they have.

Message Title: Show Me The Motive

Anecdote: Mike gave his kids $1,000 and told them that God challenged the family to give to the kingdom of God. Ava said she didn’t want to. Bella said, “all of it?” Mike said they didn’t have to give all of it – but then explained what God has done for us. By the end of it, Ava gave $400 and Bella gave all of it. She has been born into a household of generosity. Exposing our kids to motive is more important than money and making monumental moves. Your motive is the only thing nobody can take from you, even if they misinterpret it. You’re the only one that can say, “I meant for it to land like this…”

Today, as many people are going to feel comfortable about their understanding in the areas of generosity and stewardship.

You can be older, but God will still ask you to show Him the motive.

You can be selfish with both millions and hundreds. You can be selfish with your resources and selfish with your ramen noodles. It’s not about what we’re giving, it’s all about the heart.

Proverbs 4:23

New Living Translation

23 Guard your heart above all else,

    for it determines the course of your life.

Your heart is the only thing open 24/7. If you don’t guard it, you’ll be open to all sorts of foolishness ravaging through your life. The heart is the cockpit of your life.

The anger you’re experiencing happened in your heart first. When you were a child and you would scream in the pillow, what was happening was at some time later, you actually had a real confrontation like that with your parents.

How many people had a real, “I’m a grown man/woman, you’re a grown man/woman” moment with your parents? Even if you haven’t had that conversation, it creates a tension in real life because it happened in your heart.

If God is saying show me the motive, he can course correct your whole life if He can get into your heart.

The gate to your heart is your finances. The Bible says, where your treasure is. Look at your app with the finances and it will show you where you heart is. It might be your appearance or your house. Nobody wants to hear, “downgrade your house and go get marriage counseling.” You can have a house that’s not a home. All of this starts in the heart.

The point of this series is to unteach some of the things you’ve been taught, for example, “give and you’ll get” or “give me a Psalms 442 blessing, and in 4 hours and 42 minutes…” – this is manipulation. That’s the motive of the heart. God is saying, “Mike, don’t teach them give and get.” That’s a slot machine, this is kingdom. Our motive should be to give just to give.

Our mindset should be to give, just to give. If you get, cool, but give, just to give – that’s the mindset we need to adopt.

When we get that, the principles of God will change our families, relationships – lives.

Matthew 7:1-2

New King James Version

Do Not Judge

7 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

The context of this is “judging”, not “money.”

Luke 6:37-38

New King James Version

Do Not Judge

³⁷ “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

The word money doesn’t appear in this verse either.

Every time we hear it, it’s at offering time despite the word money being nowhere in this. Giving is all about the heart

1. Giving is All About the Heart 

Mike believes the theme of the Bible is about giving – not giving money. You can’t talk about grace without talking about giving. You can’t have a healthy marriage unless you have two people that will give.

When you think about giving, it should be your life. The only reasonable sacrifice to give God is our bodies as a living sacrifice. You definitely won’t give God your life if you won’t give Him paper (the money he gave you).

The devil will never tell you to give. He can only lie. What he says has to oppose what God says. If you ever feel inclined to give something, it’s not the devil. Some people may say, “I just bought this, that has to be the devil.” God is fine if we need confirmation – but know that the devil always tries to take, not to give. He tries to steal the glory from God.

When you give and get the idea of giving in you, it works out selfishness and gives you the heart of God. Don’t sit there clenched up thinking Mike is going to ask you to give anything. Ask God what you need to give. This week, we need to spring clean our souls. Allow God to do inventory on your heart and determine what’s in there that’s not like Him.

Matthew 6:21

New King James Version

²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:21

The Message

A Life of God-Worship

^19-21 “Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.

You’ll just somehow end up where you put your treasure. If you put treasure in a stock, you’ll check it. Some people check their bank account more than they check their kids.

We need to understand that God needs to teach us about giving through our actual treasure.

This church does not want your money.

God has blessed our church to be able to give.

For many of us, this is a refresher, for others it’s a spanking, and for others, it’s a conviction.

God always provides for a soul winning church, a soul winning child, a soul winning business – so that we can achieve His purpose. Determine your salvation goals, not just your sales goals.

There are certain people He can’t even send to you because you see people as dollar signs.

You can say, more money, more passion – i.e., God’s passion. If giving is not in your heart with no money, then it won’t be there with tons of it.

Money magnifies who you really are. If you don’t allow God to check your motive right here, it will magnify who you really are.

Men – you were called to lead your family in kingdom principles. Don’t start it when you have the family – start it here. God wants to raise up men in the kingdom. Women are out bossing men because of their mindsets.

One of the deal breakers in relationships can be the motive around money.

God wants us to be very sure that giving is more important than giving money. Your children are an amalgamation of what you give them. If you give screaming to them, that’s what they give back. If you punish them out of your emotions instead of disciplining them, don’t be surprised when they give that too.

We should give good things, no matter what.

God tells us 4 things we have to do in order to develop a heart of generosity. We should be able to stand before God and ask Him to check our hearts without question.

Deuteronomy 15:7-8

New King James Version

Generosity to the Poor

⁷ “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the ^[a]gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, ⁸ but you shall ^[b]open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.

What would it look like to be able to live like this?

The connotation for this is not your actual brother – but someone in the community. Some of you will do anything for your blood family, but not to others in the community.

A. Deal with a Selfish Heart

Deuteronomy 15:9

New King James Version

⁹ Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the Lord against you, and it become sin among you.

Selfishness becomes wickedness; wickedness becomes sin.

When you develop a hard heart, God counts that as sin against you. You’re in church worshipping and thinking God is going to bless you, despite everything he gives you turning to selfishness, then wickedness, then sin.

For Mike, when he asked God for more revelation/wisdom, He asked Mike to give more away – more release.

Everybody has to deal with a selfish heart because it turns into sin.

Stop being selfish – it may be the thing that separates you from God. God sees a selfish person in the same boat as another sinner.

Until we deal with a selfish heart, we can never get into the blessed life.

In Biblical times, debts were released after 7 years.

Our blessed life is not dependent on the government or a tax break. Nor are the resources in heaven changing with gas prices.

If we get the right principles, it will change the patterns we’re living in right now.

This verse demonstrates selfishness and greed. This can keep you from what God actually has for you. God didn’t invent giving for himself. The streets in heaven didn’t run out of gold – the light bill isn’t too high. He didn’t make it for his sake, He made giving for our sake. We must extend beyond ourselves and get the right motives in our hearts to be an extension of Him.

God wants us to give willingly to anyone who needs it.

When we don’t deal with our selfish heart’s, God is like, “really?” – are you seriously going to take the resources God gave you in grace and not extend that same level of grace to something or someone else. Some people feel like Mike can’t be talking to them based on what they have. The thing about motive is that it’s found in the heart, it doesn’t have money attached to it. Giving is in the heart.

Challenge: Write down who you want to bless this year, with amounts.

When you begin to direct where you’re sowing, God will provide the seed. It’s March – decide how many families you’re providing for this Christmas.

In crazy faith, begin to write down and assign your seed somewhere. Decide you will have $800 to give away.

That will work against you having a selfish heart. Declare that you must deal with a selfish heart.

Ladies – men don’t want to share their food – they asked what you wanted already (lol).

B. Deal with a Grieving Heart

Deuteronomy 15:10

New King James Version

¹⁰ You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand.

You should not grieve when you give to Him.

Give and declare that “God’s got it.” God will not ask you to give something up and not know how He’ll get you to the next place.

We shouldn’t grieve. We should give cheerfully.

This week, give a pair of shoes away – a pair that you still wear.  

Be a cheerful giver.

Giving is exercise – it’s training. These are the habits of our hearts. Give to stay in the place of humility in our hearts so that we don’t grieve when God asks us to give away things.

When you release it, you’re no longer responsible for it, He is.

2. Selfishness Attacks Us Before We Give! Grief Attacks Us After We Give!

The enemy tries to convince you not to give. Something breaks right after you give in faith. People have called the church to get $36 back.

Mike doesn’t feel grieved for the $36, but for their lack of trust in God.

At TC, we live in a way that changes communities, our lives, our businesses. We can stand up proudly and say that we’ve dealt with both a selfish heart and a grieving heart.   

The problem for many of us is that somehow, we think it’s our money, our job, our bank account, our car. We don’t own anything. We’re just managers. We cannot grieve what’s not ours.

When God gives, He always gives back more – the expectation is for us to give to others – even if that person doesn’t look like you. Sometimes, God will bless you and then assign it to someone you’ve had issues with. Generosity has no color. Generosity has no gender.

You may not have resources at the moment of release – but the resources are in transit. You may have the least at the moment, but your level of obedience can start the train of generosity. Your motive must be pure.

We’re not responsible for what “they” do with their resources. God blesses us based on our motives.

Giving is all about the heart.

C. Develop a Generous Heart

This involves discipline. This isn’t returning a tithe once. Development is in the consistency – it’s what happens in the dark room, like the developing of film.

God develops our generosity in the dark.

This year, when everyone in TC Nation gives away a pair of shoes that we like, everyone won’t know about it. Try this one in silence. You can even say, “somebody told me to bless you with this.” Go and find out someone’s shoe size.

Go to the shoe store – see somebody looking at shoes and buy them a gift card for $200 and tell the cashier to use that for the person, and then walk out the store.

What you don’t develop, you can’t distribute. If you don’t develop kind words, you can’t give them. The same applies for generosity.

Deuteronomy 15:14

New King James Version

¹⁴ you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the Lord your God has blessed you with, you shall give to him.

Everything that came from God, He wants us to be generous with – despite us being born selfish.

It’s our nature to be born this way. When we’re born again, we’re born generous. Now we have to renew our minds to the point of what God giving us matching what we give to others.

Many of us have not learned to share.

We teach our kids to share.

The truth of the matter is that there are adults that have still not learned the concept of sharing.

When kids aren’t sharing teddy bears at 8 and 4, it’s cute, but at 21 and 25, at some point, you’ll wonder when a person is going to grow up. It’s not cute in a marriage. It’s not cute when God gives you resources so that you have more time with your kids and you don’t share the time with them.

God has so much more in store for you – to the point where you’re able to give things away.

The bears Mike had in store for his daughters were so much bigger and better than the ones they wouldn’t share.

Let go of a selfish heart and deal with a grieving heart.

We must steward and give away what God has already placed in our hands.

Sometimes the packaging of how God blesses you is not in the same way He blessed you before. Eventually Mike will give small bears with diamonds on them. Maybe God is trying to trust you with not “bigger”, but more “value.”

D. Develop a Grateful Heart

Deuteronomy 15:15

New King James Version

¹⁵ You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today.

He can command us because we were once a slave in bondage, and we have the freedom to choose because God has been good.

If you don’t develop a grateful heart, you’ll still feel entitled to it – like, “it’s about time.”

Be grateful.

The only way you stay grateful is to stay in touch with your desert place. If you don’t remember who you were when nobody was checking for you, you act brand new.

As a parent, don’t act like you were always a parent. One of the greatest things you can do is share your failures with your children.

Mike’s father shared with him that when he was younger, he would put in a quarter for peep shows. He walked down the street all night with a pocket full of quarters. He told Mike that his lust and battles with pornography came from him. It let Mike know that he wasn’t alone and that he could come out of it because his father overcame it. Don’t lose your testimony in all of the great things God is doing. God saved you to save others.

You’ll never accomplish the person if the motive is not in your heart.

This week, Mike got a reminder that him and Natalie have been walking through a journey of counseling and praying about grief and MJ’s situation. Grief and therapy are both important. You can find out that there’s so much healing to communicate what actually happened, with no judgment. What’s not transformed is transferred. Natalie and Mike made a decision that their kids would not get the dysfunctions they wouldn’t talk about, but just pray about.

This journey at TC is about progression, not perfection.

You may need counseling more than the shoes/purse. You don’t have to enjoy it to begin getting healed.

Without Jesus you’re a slave to sin, no matter how much money you have. Sin can make you think you have freedom. It’s driving you to eat like that, and to climb into a window at 4am. It doesn’t matter what you have if you don’t have Christ.

When we say more money, we say more purpose. God wants to check our motives to make sure He has our hearts.

3. It Doesn’t Matter How Much Money You Have If Your Heart is Bankrupt

One of the things Mike decided, was that if we’re going to live a blessed life as a church, and as the church, we have to have a heart like His.

More money – more purpose.

If there’s any of these areas you need God to touch, a selfish heart, or a grieving heart, or you just want a generous heart or a grateful heart, lift your hands as a sign of surrender and let us pray.

Prayer: Father, I’m praying that right now, as we have heard this message, God we are asking you to check our motives. Father, take away anything that is not like you. Give us a heart like yours, to be as generous as you were to give Jesus, without a guarantee. For everybody dealing with a selfish heart, God, I thank you that all selfishness is crushing under the power of this anointing. A generous heart will begin to blossom in them.  Thank you that you will allow generosity to form. For those that are grieving, I thank you that they don’t get weary in welldoing, but you are sending encouragement to them, that they will stay faithful. God, give them the faith to stay in the fight. For those who have been generous, I thank you that you would spring them forward and continue to make them a river and not a reservoir, but that resources will erupt in the hands of people who have your heart. Thank you for your grace. We’re grateful for your grace. We trust you, believe you, and thank you in Jesus’ name.

Altar Call: If you’re watching and have never given your life to Christ, the best way to get a heart like God’s is to give Him your heart. At salvation, God gives us a new heart. Today, we want to offer you the gift of salvation. This took Mike from being a liar, manipulator, and addicted to pornography with a really bad track record. God is not repulsed by you or repelled by you. He is excited that you would even consider Him as an option for your life. He sent his only son on the cross and gave Him up for you so that you could have eternal life. He had a plan for you. He came so that you would have life, and life to the full. Today, you have the opportunity to really live the blessed life. It starts with Christ. If you’ve backslidden, today is the day. At the end of the day, we’re all saved by grace.

If so, on the count of three, raise your hand. Today is the day of salvation.

If at this moment your heart is open to salvation, on the count of three, slip your hand up. Today, right here, here is holy. 1. You’re making the greatest decision you’ve ever made. 2. Mike is proud, but more importantly, your name will be written in the lamb’s book of life. Your eternity will be secured, and your history will be enhanced. 3. Hands up all over the world.  

You can put your hand down.

Transformation Church is a family so we pray together.

Let’s Pray Together: God, thank you for sending Jesus, just for me. Thank you for changing my heart and changing my motives. Today, I give you my life, I believe you lived, you died, and you rose again, just for me. I’m yours, take over, renew me, change me, and transform me, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

• Text ‘Saved’ to 828282 for resources to walk this out with you. Everybody should join a community group called B-groups. Our lives are changed in community. Many of us need to do the Dave Ramsey thing in community – with a group of people.

Over 9,536 people have given their lives to Christ!

The best part is that they have started showing our messages in some prisons. What does it look like to be physically confined, but spiritually free? Since January, there have been 900 inmates that have given their life to Christ.

More money, more purpose. We’re just getting started.

Share the message with three people. Text it to them. That invitation to something around finances could be the thing that changes their eternity. TC, this is why we’re here.

Pastor Mike is trying to get Pastor Robert to come.

For our church, we eat well, but we don’t have to eat the same. Only kids eat only chicken nuggets at every restaurant due to an underdeveloped pallet. This applies spiritually. You do not want to receive from someone who doesn’t have an anointing for something. Pastor Robert Morris has an approval and an anointing from God on this. Pastor Mike wants us to have an impartation.

This week, be God’s hands and feet with generosity. Be the church. Have the right heart.

Get “The Blessed Life” today:

Get “Crazy Faith” the book today for additional support:

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

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SUMMARY NOTES

-1. Giving is All About the Heart   

-A. Deal with a Selfish Heart

-B. Deal with a Grieving Heart

-2. Selfishness Attack Us Before We Give! Grief Attacks Us After We Give!

-C. Develop a Generous Heart

-D. Develop a Grateful Heart

-3. It Doesn’t Matter How Much Money You Have If Your Heart is Bankrupt 

​If you want to join a Belong Group, text “BGroups” to 828282 or you can visit transformchurch.us/belong TC has groups for all people, yes you too TC Nation!

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The D.I.G. stands for Deeper In God and it is a conversation where we dive deeper in God. Join us this Wednesday at 7pm (CST)! — https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYv-siSKd3Gn9IsliO95gIw