Word & Spirit Conference 2023, Sun AM

All right, everybody, get your Bible out.

We're going to read a scripture when we receive the Sunday morning offering.

So we're only receiving one offering this morning.

So there's a place where you can say this is my tithe for the church and you can say this is a special offering place where you can do that.

So this is just one offering this morning place where you can give to mark hangers ministry.

This church is one of the most generous churches really that we go to in all of America.

Isn't that great?

Amen.

Sometimes the real, true test of the love of God is simply generosity.

Amen.

Jesus said where your where your heart is, come on.

Where your treasure is, come on.

That's where your heart is, where your treasure is.

Billy Graham once said Show me your checkbook, I'll tell you what you love.

In other words, you can follow the money trail To find out what you love, where your true affections are.

Follow the money trail, right, amen.

If your wife is abundantly blessed, you can say the guy loves his wife man, he's always blessing his wife Right?

If you love hunting, I mean think you can follow the money trail.

Personally, I love hunting.

You know, killed, killed a moose and couple of bears, whitetail bucks got a bunch of whitetail, buck trophies and Killer elk.

So I kind of like the big, big animals.

So if you ever figured up, kind of how much that costs for a pound of that deer meat I Mean you had to have a four wheeler, you know, and that that cost you a little bit Then you had to have a gun, good one with a scope, and then you had to have a good place to go hunting and then you had to, whoo man, just one deer steak cost you $500.

You say, well, how could you find that?

Yeah, that's good.

Yeah, how can you find?

How can you find out what that man loves?

You see where that money goes.

He loves hunting, right, if you love hot rod cars, oh well, we better not get in there.

If you love motorcycles, come on, follow the money trail.

But if you love Jesus, let's try that one more time.

I said if you love Jesus, come on.

If you love Jesus and you love the church and you love the body of Christ, boy, you follow that money trail.

I mean, any accountant can tell you love Jesus, that's right.

Oh, come on, I have a count and come in, take care of my business.

He knows exactly.

Actually he told me one time he said you give too much.

He told me that and I said that's why I have too much Figure that with your pencil I Got too many shoes, one less I got too many shoes.

How many I have too many shoes?

Come on, I know some people you know I'm pretty all over the world they only have one pair of shoes.

I Know you had to have them.

How many y'all got too many shoes?

Raise your hand.

Bunch of liars in here.

You ain't gonna raise hand.

You got too many shoes.

I Just gave away.

How many pair of shoes did I have to give away?

I Just and this was like the second time in a year I gave away Probably a hundred pair To some other believers.

You know, friends, I say gave my hundred pairs.

I don't need them, I don't wear them, I don't have time to wear them.

I got all these other shoes and I usually put on like I only have two pairs that are real comfortable, you know.

So I put the same ones on.

You know these are my black ones.

See, I've had these for about like 10 years.

That's hilarious.

I got like five other pair of black ones.

I just put these on because you can slip them on.

You know it's, they're tied, but you just slip on, and when you get older you don't like bending over that much, they said.

When you get old, if you do bend over, you see if you can get anything else while you're down there.

I Think you and all you gotta do you know he's got slip-ons right there See, all you gotta do just take your foot in there, crunch it down.

Got too many shoes, so I gave away a hundred pair.

I buy shoes Lot of places to go because I think they look nice, and then I get home they don't feel that good, you know, so I just give it away.

Let's see what else I got.

I got too many cats.

Got two cats.

I've got too many trucks.

I got a 83 84.

I got a 50 Chevy.

I've got a 75.

Monte Carlo just had a 50 Chevy car.

I have too many.

I just bought me a diesel.

One of them diesels, you know, I mean that's why, jay, he likes his diesel.

You climb up in there and you just feel like you're better than everybody else.

So, got too many trucks.

Too many cars.

How many?

I've got too much stuff.

How many I could get rid of a bunch of stuff, you know, and when I pastor pastor for 20 years, really, really great church and so I said one Sunday a year we're gonna have everybody in the church Find something in their house or something they have and go sell it, like they did in the book of Acts, and bring the money to the church.

At least once a year.

Go pick something out, you know, sell it, bring the money to the church.

Don't bring the thing because we don't want the thing.

Sell it and bring the money.

And if you don't know what to pick out, you know we can come over and pick something out for you.

Ha ha ha.

Well, that lets you know that you're free from things.

Right, you're not run by possessions Like my fancy 50 Chevy red truck.

I totally overhauled that thing, totally Take, took it all apart and took care of everything.

It's beautiful red truck, 50 Chevy.

So our church we were raising money, we were raising money for the church and I gave all I could give.

I meant I had no more money.

And Lawrence said what about that red truck?

I said now, lord, you know, you know that that red truck's already yours, but I'm keeping it.

Ha ha ha.

So I didn't have no money so I pledged $10,000.

And so the easiest way I could get $10,000 was to sell the truck.

You know it's worth more than that, but that's the easy way I could come up with $10,000.

So at that time I don't think it'd been painted red yet.

I think it was like what are gray, you know, before the red.

So I put an ad in the paper.

I put an ad in Houston paper.

Actually, a woman from Houston said I want that truck and I'm gonna give you cash right now.

I said well, ma'am, I made a pledge to the church and I got 30 days before I have to play pay that pledge.

So if you will give me 30 days, I'll sell it to you for $10,000.

You have to come get it.

So, man, it's like almost 30 days and I took my red truck for the last ride Almost tears, you know you get attached to your old truck.

So I was driving my truck down the country road.

I looked up in the sky.

I said, god now you know I love my truck, but I only got two more days and my truck's going into the church.

So I just took for a ride, parked.

It Got a phone call that afternoon Some people from Missouri that I forgot I had bought a lot and they gave me a bond for $15,000, and that had been 10 years ago.

And they said someone wants to buy your bond.

I said how much?

They said $10,000.

So I called the lady back and said I'm keeping my truck and I brought $10,000 to the church.

Hallelujah.

I said I'm just saying Amen.

And so generosity really tells you first of all what you love.

Are y'all still here?

Yes, the Lord redeemed it for me, praise the Lord.

And I was still able to give Amen.

And so there's something about generosity, about giving, that my spiritual father was Kenneth E Hagan.

We call Dad Hagan, and so my friend from Georgia Pastor.

He asked Dad Hagan.

He said if you're looking for a leader in your church, if you're looking for a leader in your church, what would be the most important quality you would look for in a leader?

He said generous.

So my Pastor friend thought that's interesting.

That's the first thing he said was generous.

He said because someone who's not generous was shut down.

The move of the spirit of God in the church, in their life, generous.

So why say generous?

Generous?

You heard about the guy you know that told his wife.

He said I've worked hard for my money.

He said I've worked hard all my life for my money.

He said I saved up a lot of money.

He said, so I'm gonna be the first one to take my money with me when I die.

He said matter of fact, all my money is stacked up in the attic.

When I die, I'll be the first one to take it with me.

So he died and had the funeral.

His wife got a ladder climbed up in the attic.

All the money was still there.

She said huh, he should have put it in the basement.

You see, that's okay, get it on the way down.

Everybody say generous and so a lot of times people think they're generous till they run into somebody that's generous.

Amen, generous, in other words, it's really a godly characteristic because God's the biggest giver in the universe.

The closer you get to God, the more you enjoy giving Generosity.

Somebody just said something the Lord told me years ago, because we've had to kind of practice this over 50 years, improving that it works.

Actually, the Lord told me this.

He said I did not design tithing or giving for you to decrease.

All right, lay hands on your head, just lay hands on your head.

What does that mean?

You're gonna be the first one to take your money and you're gonna have to change your thinking about it.

Because when Jesus said give, he didn't say you're gonna go broke.

No, jesus says give and what's gonna happen?

It's gonna come back to you.

Press down, shaking together and running over, and the same measure you meet will come right back to you.

Wow, how many of y'all believe Jesus would tell you the truth about it?

So God did not design giving or generosity so you would have less.

Come on, he said I'm gonna open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing.

You don't even have room enough to receive it.

So he's not saying you're gonna go broke.

I think it was Anne Frank.

You know, in the World War II, you know one of the survivors and she said she died and she was helping the Jews.

And so Anne Frank said no one ever became poor by giving.

Boy, let's try this side over here.

Come on, this is a woman that you're just sharing your bread with somebody because you're dying and you don't have enough.

You don't know what you're gonna do, and you find other people and you start sharing your bread.

Are y'all still here?

In other words, no one ever became poor by giving A missionary that actually became a martyr, very, very famous missionary, he said.

He said he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he can never lose.

Boy, you ought to write that down.

He is no fool because sometimes when you're generous, when you're a giver, people say well, you're stupid, you're a fool, you're giving like that, you're a fool.

And sometimes you do give to people that never say thanks, and sometimes you do give, you know you've been tricked.

But he is no fool who gives what he can never keep to gain what he can never lose.

Woo, amen.

There is a rich man in my dad's church years ago and he ended up.

He was a very generous giver and he ended up going bankrupt.

His business fell apart and so I was talking to my dad about it.

My dad said I said well, what did he say?

He said well, somebody asked him don't you wish you hadn't given that money to the church?

He said no, actually that's the only money I kept.

Amen, ha ha, ha.

Are y'all still here?

In other words, the only money I didn't lose was what I gave to the church.

Wow, how many I'd like to give.

Oh, how many I'd love to give.

What does God love?

He loves a cheerful giver.

He must be paying attention.

I'm gonna believe God's paying attention during the giving Amen.

He's got a book called Numbers.

I know he can count.

So when you're giving, it affects your heart.

Matter of fact, a generous giver will receive the word better.

Oh, let's try that one more time.

Yeah, I see some of y'all staring at me, but I'm staring right back.

So a generous giver will receive from God better because it affects your heart, amen.

So you're giving affects your heart and it also reflects your heart.

Boy, this is good preaching and I'm not gonna stop until y'all get happy.

So a generous giver, amen.

If giving irritates you, come on now.

You ought to question yourself.

In other words, a generous giver, a generous giver.

Generous simply means giving a little bit beyond your comfort zone.

So I like to say it this way if you're giving don't affect you much, neither will your harvest affect you much, but if you're giving affects you.

Boy, when your harvest comes in, how many y'all been given?

And sometimes it didn't look like it's working.

Let me tell you this God can make it up to you really fast, man.

It may look like.

You went a little while and said I don't see no harvest.

You just stick with it and watch what God's gonna do.

He has a harvest coming to you.

Bible says in due season you will reap if you faint.

Not, Hallelujah, I mean, believe you got a harvest coming in due season.

Well, how many got a due season?

Say, hey, don't look like it's happening right now.

But I'm telling y'all I got a harvest coming to me.

God is arranging it for me.

I don't know how he's gonna do it.

I don't know if he's gonna do it through my job.

I don't know he's gonna do it through somebody I never met before.

But I believe God, there is a harvest coming to me, a blessing.

Praise the Lord.

It's coming back, pressed down, shaking together and running over shaman.

Give to my bosom, hallelujah, whoo.

So I learned this from Smith-Wigelsworth, apostle of faith you know, raised 23 people from the dead.

Yeah, I'm still working on my first one.

So he raised 23 people from the dead, proven.

So I encourage you, don't die this morning because I'm still practicing on my first one.

So he raised 23 people from the dead and he said any person can be changed by faith, no matter how they may be bound.

In other words, the devil cannot make a bondage that your faith cannot break off of you.

Smith-wigelsworth said this.

He came from England, you know, and so he had kind of a few different words he would use, but he used the word fettered.

In other words, your faith in God, faith in the blood, faith in the word, will break off every bondage, every fetter, including financially Free.

Come on, free from debt, you know, free from those kind of problems all your life, amen.

I want to overcome in that area because I want my children to overcome in that area.

I want my grandchildren to overcome in that area.

Blessed and be a blessing, praise the Lord.

So this is my favorite, one of my favorite quotes from Wigelsworth.

He said my father God always takes care of me in grand style.

So write that down.

My father God always takes care of me in grand style.

Let's try it one more time.

My father God always takes care of me in grand style.

One more time my father God always takes care of me in grand style.

Come on, no matter what the economy is doing.

I said no matter what the economy is doing, no matter how things look.

When you're whining and complaining, you accuse God of child abuse.

All right, let's try.

This side over here.

I said when you're whining and complaining, you're saying my Father God don't take care of me, he forgot me, he ain't helping me.

So I just change all that.

When it looks I'm going through a tough time, I just say it out loud my Father God, well, you ought to get happy already.

This is just an offering message.

Amen, come on.

The offering message ought to bless you.

Say my Father God always takes care of me in grand style.

Woo, come on, act like your Father God's taking care of you in grand style.

Whoa, my Father God, come on.

I drive the best, wear the best, eat the best, live in the best.

My Father God always takes care of me in grand style.

Amen.

And if you ain't there, you are on the way.

All right, let's try.

I said if you're not there, you say I don't have a bad thing.

That's why I let you what you got.

When you're whining and complaining, instead of being thankful, what you got, thank you Lord, thank you Lord, thank you Lord.

How many can remember your first car?

How many of y'all can remember your first car?

Y'all remember your first car?

Well, I'm 70 years old.

I just turned 70, january 12th, thank you very much.

So I just turned 70.

Say you don't look a day older than 69.

So so it's that cream.

I've been using that cream.

My wife gets this cream.

It's just expensive cream.

It's just a bit on the air.

But I'm still having problems under here.

I don't know if we can fix that or not.

I know I had a friend you know preacher friend.

He cut it right here and got that turkey thing out of there.

But they say you can cut it in the back now and pull it back like that.

So you look like you're riding a motorcycle all the time.

You puff up in your lips or whatever you can do.

So I mean I remember your first car.

My first car was a 55 Chevy with a post.

I paid $100 for it.

That's when it got me a better one later.

But anyway, 55 Chevy with a post and you could actually see the road while you're driving.

You see right now how big a hole in the road.

And then the door.

You better slam that door, man.

I mean you, bam, you slam that door, it'll come open while you're going around the corner or something.

It's the only car I ever run out of gas in.

I was like 17 years old and I run out of gas.

You do, I don't know no other time.

It was that red truck.

It was the Gage didn't work.

Oh yeah, the Gage didn't work Anyway.

So that was the second time, and it was a 50 Chevy truck, anyway.

So the Gage didn't work.

So we ran out in the neighborhood, helped me.

So, anyway, so that's the second time.

So first time the gas was about what 34 cents or something like a gallon and I could really only come in and get like $2 worth.

How many of y'all used to get $2 worth?

My daddy accused me of trying to wean that car off a gas.

You put it in there.

So I got $2, man, so you can get like what six gallons or something for.

So anyway, I run out of gas.

My 50, 55 Chevy, I run out of gas.

That car cost me $100.

Wow, I kept that car until I went to college.

Anybody here ever have a car that cost you $100?

I do not want to tell you how much my last car cost me, a little nicer than that one.

How many of you come a ways since your first car?

Come on, how many are thankful from where you came from, from your first car, come on.

And your father God, come on, brought you out of that.

Come on, look what the Lord has done in the last 20, 30, 40 years.

Come on, your car cost more than your house, man.

My first house only cost $33,000, and I liked it.

I thought it was nice, wooden floors you could crawl under there, leaned a little to the left when you come into kitchen, just kind of walked out of the way.

But that was our first house.

We were happy.

But think of the confession that you would keep all that time.

My Father God, come on, you might be in the leaning house.

Come on when you walk in that house.

Thank your Lord for this house, come on.

Thank your Lord for this house.

Come on, my Father God, how many believe he knows every need, he knows every detail, every desire.

God knows you.

Come on by name.

My Father God, come on.

Just thank Him for a minute.

My Father God, always, come on.

I see some of you teenagers in here just staring at me.

You just staring at me, your teenager, you are spoiled, rotten.

Come on where we came from.

We worked for $1 an hour underneath the car mowing grass.

Come on, and all you've been is on your phone for the last five years.

I'm just telling you, some of y'all are spoiled, rotten.

Come on, nowadays you try to give a car to your kids and they'll say I don't want that car, they want a better car.

Listen, if I got anything with four wheels when I was 17, I was shouting baby, where do you turn it on?

Man, that's right.

And your kids nowadays look at it and say I don't like that car.

So you don't mean to hope you till you're blue.

In effect, you are unthankful as your problem.

And so you got a better source than your daddy.

I said you got a better source than your daddy when your father's God.

You got a better source than your daddy, I said, when God is your father and you know him as your father.

Come on, your daddy may be limited, but your father is unlimited.

Whoo, you delight yourself in the Lord.

He will give you the desires of your heart.

Man, the dreams and the desires of your life will come to pass.

Whoo.

So my daddy was very limited, not just limited, he was one of me to earn.

So my daddy would say no, I can't afford that.

He would say but we can pray about it and God can afford it.

So he would pray with me and I'd learn how to receive from God.

So one more time everybody say my father, god always takes care of me in grand style.

How many of you know you have to teach your children generosity, because Stingy can start very early in life.

You don't believe it?

Go to the nursery.

Can you believe that?

Two year, three year olds in there, stingy, they got one doll.

Then they get another one.

You say now give one to little lamb here they go.

Now, where does that ugly thing come from?

I mean, they were so sweet until somebody tried to take one of them.

Dolls, you give them.

They get three or four cars.

You know.

You say now give one to little Bobby over there.

No, man, I see that and I'm like in my own kids and grandkids.

I thought this must come from the other side of the family.

I know, I know that's not my side of the family.

I know, I know that don't come from my side of the family.

Man, that's in the beard.

Man's side of the family, stingy things over there.

Man, man, you have Christmas.

They give you a book for Christmas.

I'm like I don't want no book for Christmas, book about kindness Anyway.

So so you have to teach generosity.

I said you have to teach it.

And so Dad Hagen taught us this.

He said God is not opposed to you being rich.

I mean, think about how rich God is, and if you're his children, the blessing of the Lord makes you rich.

So God's not opposed to you being rich, but he is opposed to you being covetous, and that interesting.

So if you could pass the test of generosity, let's try it one more time.

God's not opposed to you being rich.

You know, that set me free when I was 17.

It's one of the reasons I did not want to be a preacher, because I thought I ain't going to be no broke preacher Driving an old car around.

I ain't going to be no broke preacher.

I mean, I'll be a lawyer and preach on the side or something, because I'm going to make some money.

I'm going to have me some money, man, I'm going to be no broke preacher.

And the Lord said if you work for me, you be surprised how I'll take care of you.

I'll bless you going out and coming in.

I'll make you the head and not the tail, above and not beneath.

I said, lord, I'll be a preacher.

Whatever you want me to do, I'll serve.

Well, you don't start out at the top, you just start out where you at and let the Lord work you up.

Do you think he can work you up, boy, I'll tell you.

I guarantee he can work you up, amen.

And so Dad Hagan, a pastor for 12 years and after that he's traveling ministry for 65 years teaching faith, building Ramah.

But he passed it for 12 years.

So you learn a lot about people if you're a pastor, because you like seeing them, like every week, sometimes couple times a week.

I did that for 25 years.

So if you're a pastor, you got to tell people the truth because you're going to see them next week.

If you're a traveling ministry, you can prophesy anything.

Leave town, people go wah.

Then the next week they're like what was that?

That make a liar, so anyway.

So if you're a pastor, you've got to stick with people and help them.

So you have to teach.

Dad Hagan passed it 12 years.

But one of the churches he had to pass it twice.

The Lord said you're going to have to go back to that church.

He said why, lord?

The Lord said because you didn't teach them about tithing and giving because you were afraid they would criticize you.

So he said I never taught them on tithing and giving.

I taught them the word, everything else, but never taught them on tithing and giving.

So I said you have to go back and teach them that because you robbed them of a blessing.

Or try that again you robbed them of a blessing because you were afraid to teach them on tithing and giving.

And there's something about the tithe.

Come on, my daddy taught us the tithe Whenever we could count.

I mean, he'd figure it for us at 10%.

Some people say well, I don't have to tithe.

No man, you don't have to stop at tithing.

It's the issue.

You can go way beyond the tithe.

But Hebrews, chapter seven, that's the New Testament, if I can remember correctly.

Let's try this out over here.

I'm just going to turn like that just a little bit.

Hebrews, chapter seven, if I remember correctly, it's the New Testament and we don't know who the author was.

But Dad Hagan said one of his visions of Jesus.

Jesus told him the apostle Paul wrote Hebrews Come on, it's written two believers.

Hebrews seven was to say here men receive tithes, but there Jesus received tithes and it witnesses that he is alive.

Come on, so sure you can say I believe Jesus is alive.

But the financial witness that you believe Jesus is alive is when you tithe, because the tithe is the first fruits of your income and Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection.

Amen, are y'all still here?

So there's a purpose for tithing beyond just 10% or beyond that.

Actually, the tithe is not the tithe unless you know what the tithe is.

So people say, well, I have to tithe to go to heaven.

Honestly, I'm not in charge of that, but I don't think I would take a chance on 10% of anything.

You know you want to be in hell saying, well, I thought he'd at least let me in.

I mean, I know it's only giving 5%.

It's sure hot down here.

Well, I wish I would have tithed.

Is that going to happen?

Probably not, but I'm not in charge.

So don't blame me If you say I have a pastor told me I wouldn't go to hell for that.

Well, go call him.

No, my daddy taught us to tithe.

My grandpa taught us to tithe.

I've never met a lifetime tithe that wished he hadn't done it.

I've never met a lifetime tithe that wanted to refund.

Are y'all still with me?

I'm doing you a favor right now.

I'm doing you a favor because some of you got all this kind of thinking going on in your brain.

But if you'll be a tithe, come on.

First 10% goes to the Lord.

Come on.

I said the first 10% goes to the Lord.

I said the first 10% not after I pay my bills, not after I pay my truck payment.

Come on, not after I make my house payment.

The first 10% goes to the Lord.

And the Bible calls it holy.

It's holy money.

Come on.

It's blessed money.

Come on.

And if you're afraid of spending your tithe, as soon as you get your check, come on.

Ask the pastor to put like a deposit box on the front of the church so you can bring it right to the church and drop it in.

You're going to be tempted to spend your time.

Are y'all still here?

I mean you got churches, people driving stolen cars, woo man, y'all stretch out their hand and pray for me.

I said people driving stolen cars and trucks, come on.

I said will a man rob me?

He said you robbed me in tithes and offerings.

So he said, oh, you're cursed.

You said well, I'm not cursed, listen, because I'm a preacher's kid.

I told the Lord that I know a lot of people in church that don't tithe and they're not cursed.

You know what the Lord told me?

He told me this he said the curse is not always something bad that happens to you.

Sometimes it's something good that don't happen to you, come on.

But if the tithe opens the windows of heaven, it must have been closed until I tithe.

Once I started tithing and giving God opened the windows of heaven to pour out a blessing, amen.

So the tithe of the 10%.

Just beginning, he said you robbed me in tithes and offerings.

So my daddy always taught us this.

Y'all listen to him because I was just a teenager when I heard it.

He said you can tithe on what you make.

Oh, you can just tithe on what you want to make.

All right, let's try this side over here.

You can tithe on what you make, tithe on what you want to make.

All right.

Now, if the pastor disagrees with what I'm telling you, you disagree with what I'm telling him.

If he disagrees, then you can follow your pastor.

But you know I'm right, but I'm just telling you it's a tithe.

I'll talk to him later.

But the tithe you wouldn't want to do anything less Tithe's in offerings.

So when my dad said you can tithe on what you make or tithe on what you want to make, I was 17 years old, made a dollar an hour working for a mechanic.

His name was Slim.

I basically had to do all the dirty work under the car Take the parts off, come on scratches all over your hand, put the parts in gasoline or something like that and scrub the parts until they look new.

Then Slim fixed the car and I'd be under the car.

Slim had the biggest nose of anybody I've ever met in my whole life.

True story.

I've never seen anybody with a bigger nose than Slim.

And that's been how long ago.

I was 17,.

He says 50 years, 53 years.

Slim got what Giant nose.

So we didn't work in no heated place, that little heater, but it wasn't heated.

So I'd be under the car and Slim'd be on top.

You know he'd say he'd call him mum and he'd say mum, I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming.

What?

I'm 17,.

You know, poor kid.

So Slim, while they lean over the car is cold in there.

His nose would drip right down there.

While I'm under the car, slim knows dripping, splashing under there.

I'm trying to dodge the drips.

Then I go to church, bring 10 percent.

Then my dad said you can tithe on what you make, tithe on what you want to make.

So I just started double tithing systematically.

Instead of 10 percent I just give 20 percent.

People say you can't do that.

I said but I did.

There's no such thing as a double tithe.

But it was to me.

I give 20 percent.

Seventeen Praise.

The Lord Went to Bible college four years Before I graduated.

I said I'm going to drive a brand new car for the first time in my life.

When I graduate, me and Trinna just started dating and I started saving up some money, I got a jar full of $400.

I went to Chaplain as an African missionary there.

The Lord said you know about that jar.

I said what jar?

He said how'd you like to give that money in that jar?

I said when Trinna was there, we just started dating.

I ran out of the chapel and she was judging me.

She didn't know.

She was like wonder why he's leaving chapel early.

He's running out of the chapel.

She's like I wonder if he's a carnal man.

He's leaving chapel.

I said no, no, I'm a great husband for you, so so I'm leaving the chapel.

She didn't know what I was doing.

She found out later.

I ran and got that jar because if I didn't give it now I'd do it.

I talked myself out of it.

I gave that $400.

But I didn't just give it, I sold it.

Oh, that means it's going to catch up to me, right, amen.

And so as soon as I gave it I was so happy.

I mean, giving makes you happy.

The most unhappy people in the world are stingy people.

That's right.

Giving just makes you happy, like down in your spirit, you get happy.

Then a few hours later it's like givers remorse.

How many of you have had givers remorse?

Don't lie.

Some of you are like what in the world?

I gave away my new car money because you get a new Monte Carlo for $3800.

Brand new.

And I thought I gave away my money, my down payment.

The devil said now you ain't going to have no car.

I said sure, don't look like it.

And then I thought my father, god always takes care of me in grand style.

I believe God will make it up to me in the harvest or come.

And so May.

When I graduated from college, I drove off with a brand new baby blue Monte Carlo, with a half to come.

On Navy Blue Top Driving like that.

I said you want to be my boyfriend now, don't you baby?

You ain't got no boyfriend, so you want to be my boyfriend.

My first new car, baby blue, monte Carlo.

Are y'all sitting with me?

Come on, let's just learn in generosity.

God don't want all your money, I don't want all your money.

If you gave all your money then you'll be broke.

God don't want you broke.

So God just wants you to give him a percentage, a generous portion To me.

We went 20% and later we went 30%.

So my first 30% giving was $50.

And we made about 150.

And Trent was having babies.

I didn't have no Obamacare, I didn't have no kind of care.

You know, if you get healed or you just die, what should you do?

Make payments on them?

Babies, man, praise the Lord.

But we had two healthy babies.

That's a blessing, huh.

So my first 30% was $50.

And literally my hands broke out in a sweat.

Did you know?

Tithing often is the only place God said to prove me.

He actually says prove me now.

So there's no good time to start tithing.

He said prove me now.

And I've been wanting to increase my giving.

But I said, lord, I don't think I can afford it.

You know I'm married, you know I've got a wife here and I've got, like, kids here, little babies.

I said it's not a good time for me to start that generosity beyond.

So just give me a little time.

You know I'm here to ask the Lord give me another time.

I'm going to do that.

Lord, give me a little time.

You know what they say.

You know the state.

Obedience is called disobedience.

So I said, okay, lord, I'm going to start.

I gave my first $50.

My hands started sweating.

I remember I gave my first $50.

I went, ooh, there better be a God.

I never wondered if there really was a God.

You're like, I'll give my money.

I don't know if he's counting or where he's at.

I said God here, read it, this is it, I'm doing it.

He said prove me now.

I said when he said right now, I said all right, my first 30%.

Now let me clear this up because sometimes people say this works for you because you're a preacher.

But there's a lot of preachers that it ain't working for.

It don't work for you because you're a preacher.

It works for you because you're a believer, it's good.

Because you're a sower, it's good.

Come on.

Not a thrower, it's good.

You're a sower, that's who it works for.

God gives seed to the sower.

So the Lord told me if you'll get addicted to giving, I'll support your habit.

Hallelujah Amen.

Hallelujah Amen.

Thank you, lord.

All right, let me just throw this out here.

Don't get mad at me.

If you do Take a number of good lines, you ain't.

Next, my first 30% is $50.

My last 30%, $300,000.

All right, that ain't all my 30%, that's just the last one.

If I can go to Ramah, where Dad Hagan taught me faith, bring him a $100,000 check, $50,000 check.

I set out to give him a million dollars.

We passed that a long time ago.

You say how did that happen?

I don't know, for a dollar an hour.

Or else I said I don't know for a dollar an hour.

Then I go to Brother Copeland's meeting because a victory network cost him a million a month.

I gave him $200,000 the last time I was there.

He was kind of happy about that.

Somebody said in the church you got givers and kickers.

The givers don't kick and the kickers don't give.

I mean no giving or cure, you're kicking.

Are y'all still here, in other words saying Lord, use me.

I want to serve.

Many ways you can serve, but you could actually serve in this way.

Come on, if you'd say Lord, even if it's a dollar, say Lord, I want to like to double that up right now.

Come on, if it's $10, you say I believe, I'm going to double that up, I'll give $20 every week.

Amen, I call it.

Grab a corn stalk, swing out over hell and spit in the devil's eye.

Come on, if the devil says I, you can't do that, you can't afford to do that.

You say the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof and I'm an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ.

Come on, if anybody in the world can afford it.

I can, because God is my Father.

Hallelujah, jesus is my Lord and I.

Come on, the Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not want.

I do not like for ability, I do not like for opportunity and I never like for money.

That's my confession.

I never like for money.

I'm a giver.

Everybody say I'm a giver, I'm a sower.

Come on, I'm breaking records in my giving every year.

Hallelujah, I'm going into new territory.

Come on.

Financially, I said financially, you live in a better house than you ever lived in, you drive a better truck than you ever drove.

Come on now.

You may not go where no man has gone before, but you can go where no one in your family has ever gone before.

Let's try this out.

I said you may not go where no man has gone before, but everybody in your family will wonder how did you get there?

How did your kids get there?

Come on, how did your family get blessed that way?

Come on, they'll say, well, there's one person in my family that's got some money.

They'll say uncle Mark got some money.

And he'll say where did you get it from?

I got a covenant with the almighty God, hallelujah, and he is my provider, praise the Lord.

That's the way I said well, I'm going to fix income.

I always said, well, who fixed it?

I'll pray for your head again.

I'm going to fix income.

I got to count my beans.

You better do some budget busting.

Boy, I'm telling you I'm going to have to leave town this afternoon.

You do some budget busting.

If I got to eat ramen noodles, my kids are going to learn to love it.

We'll put ketchup on it, but if I got to eat some ramen noodles, I'm going to be a tither.

Are y'all still here.

I said I'm going to be a tither.

Come on, with the stock market crashes, they'll say well, there was a tither in there.

That means that my father, god, is going to take care of me in grand style.

Come on, nothing wrong with having money saved up, because God said he'll bless your basket, he'll bless your storehouse.

But every once in a while I can dip into my savings and say give me some money, boy, I can put that into the gospel.

They said well, all my money is tied up.

Well, I can tell you this, a good funeral is going to lose all of it.

I heard this rich guy I don't know if he's a rich guy.

He said this.

He said all these people talking, you know.

So I got life insurance.

I tell my staff all of you better have life insurance.

If you don't, I'm going to throw you in a ditch.

I am not going to pay for your funeral.

We'll dig a hole out back.

We've got lots of room.

But you better have life insurance so you can bless your family whoever when you die.

I know you ain't playing on dime, but nobody usually is.

So you need to have some life insurance for your family.

Have some money in savings.

Take care of your family.

They'll be real happy when you die.

You don't know if they're crying or if they're real happy.

My mama at my dad's funeral.

It was in the family life center there and there's about 2,000 people in there.

It's a big funeral in West Columbia, texas.

So you had all these officials, you know, because my dad was like head of the Rotary Club and all that kind of stuff.

So I was preaching about God's faithfulness at my dad's funeral and my mom had been real sad, you know, the last few days.

But while I was preaching about the faithfulness of God, I heard my mom.

She was sitting on the front row and Trent was sitting next to her.

She was kind of like this and I started preaching about God's faithfulness the last 50 years in that church and I heard my mama go hallelujah, yep.

She said hallelujah.

Well, trent was sitting next to her.

My mama leaned over to Trent and she said let's run.

See, my mom used to run around the church if she'd get happy, you know.

So she lay on the Trent and she said let's run.

She had kind of been in a depression, you know.

She said let's run.

So I was talking faithfulness of God.

But when we started getting happy, we knew daddy was happy in heaven.

We just weren't happy.

Down here, my mama woo, she took off running.

2,000 people there.

She ran all the way around the place.

Were you there, bob?

My mama ran all the way around.

She ran all the way around.

Trent was running with her.

You know she was getting older.

You know Say if you can't run you can scoot.

So my mama, she's not very fast, but she's going to run around the church.

God is faithful, no matter what happens in life or in death.

God is faithful.

Oh, I think about the faithfulness of God and His mercies anew every morning.

What could have happened a thousand times, but God is faithful.

I think about His faithfulness.

She got off of her depression and ran around the church.

So you've got these people that don't even understand.

You know Spirit Field Church, you know Pentecostal Church and they're looking at it.

They're like that's the first church they ever saw the widow run.

First time you ever been to a funeral that a widow ran around the church.

You see that they're sitting there.

Like you know, we want to be respectful.

So sad.

So she took off running.

So I thought I was looking at them.

So I just started laughing.

You know they never seen nobody run in church for no reason.

But at the funeral, you know, she took off running.

So I started thinking I wonder what they're thinking.

I mean, I've ever wondered what some people are thinking the first time they come to your church.

You're like, wonder what they're thinking.

I said I bet they're thinking he left her a lot of money.

But this, this is something that he said.

I don't have no life insurance.

He said when I die, I want it to be a real tragedy.

Pretty selfish, right?

I want real tears in my funeral.

Now we encourage life and my dad had plenty to take care of my mom until she went to be with the Lord.

How many know that's appropriate?

Papa says you're worse than an infidel if you don't take care of your own family.

You're worse than a heathen if you don't take care of your own family.

Come on, I told my wife.

I said you're going to be real happy when I die.

You're going to go straight to the mall, baby, Whatever you want, just get everything you want.

Of course you can do that now anyway, but I'm just telling you.

I said I got you well taken care of Amen.

Don't you think that's appropriate?

Yes, don't you think God would do something like that?

Yes, so think about that.

What happens when you are me?

Take steps of generosity.

Now we do that at church.

Why?

Because that's what God told us to do.

He said first of all, be generous with who.

He's talking about, the church of God.

First of all, can you be generous other places?

Oh, yes, I love it.

It's easier to witness when you're generous.

Nobody cares how holy you are if you're stingy.

Amen, you don't want that on your tombstone.

Here lies stingy, here lies tightwad.

No, come on, you may not be the most spiritual person in the world, but you can be generous.

I said you can be generous.

That's one godly thing you could do.

Come on, guys, be generous.

And then what's going to happen?

It's going to come back fresh down, shaking together and running over.

Amen, praise the Lord, hallelujah.

Anybody learn anything this morning?

Yes, I said anybody learn anything this morning.

I wasn't planning on spending that much time on that.

I wasn't planning on it, but the Holy Ghost just kept going.

He must have done that for somebody here.

Anybody know who he did it for?

I was just checking.

So in the church we pastor.

I would teach you on a little bit every Sunday.

But if I got the anointing I'd just follow that anointing, because the anointing breaks the yoke.

Come on, set you free, hallelujah, you can act on the word.

So you follow that anointing and in that area the Lord has anointed me.

I know you say why?

Because I proved it.

I proved it at a dollar.

I said I proved God at a dollar.

I proved God at $100 a week.

Well, if you can prove him at $100 a week, come on.

What in the world is going to happen in the next thing in your life when God starts moving you up?

Because God sees he can trust you with money, he said.

Jesus said Luke 16, if I can trust you with money, I can trust you with true riches.

There's a lot of stuff better than money, hallelujah.

I said there's a lot of stuff better than money.

Praise the Lord.

I said there's a lot of stuff better than money.

I said there's a lot of stuff better than money.

I'd rather have the true riches, eternal things.

Hallelujah, and the money will come.

Praise the Lord.

Y'all learn anything today.

How many of y'all got happy while I was preaching?

You better notify your face fast.

I said how many of y'all got happy while I was preaching?

How many believe your Father God Always?

Let's try it again.

My Father God always takes care of me.

Come on, quit looking to people.

God's your source, come on, god's my source.

I couldn't preach this to you if I was looking to you.

Come on.

That makes what you call scared preachers.

They won't preach nothing that disturbs anybody, my daddy told me.

He said your job is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comforted.

If people get too lazy, you got to stir them up a little bit.

Amen, and so being free.

So Dad Hagen had to go back to that church and teach on tithes and offerings.

Woo, when you see what it does, you'll send me a thank you card.

Put $20 in there, I said when you see what it does for you, because we had one family in our church struggle the whole life and he worked hard, you know, just didn't make the whole lot.

And so I kept talking to him.

He kept listening, he took some steps and the Lord started blessing him A few months ago, or maybe a few years ago.

I heard him.

I heard him and his wife.

They were talking in the house and his wife hollered at him.

His name's Farrell, his wife Lynette.

Lynette said Farrell, come in here, come, look at the checkbook.

It's over $100,000.

Again Now they've gone way beyond that because that's years ago.

So come in.

Come here, look at the checkbook.

Come on, you look at your checkbook and go amazing grace.

Everybody say amazing grace.

Come on, you look at your checkbook and say, luke, where the Lord has brought us from?

Now look what the Lord has done.

Amen, praise the Lord, praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord.

How many of you have any kind of expectation right now?

My expectation for the rest of my life is my Father, god, always takes care of me in grand style.

Woo, come on first time, come on from $100 a week to be able to give $10,000 at a time.

The first time I gave $100,000, I told Trinidad look at that, see that, look at it.

It looked impossible.

When we first got married, we had to talk.

We talked about kids.

Come on, the things you talk about, right, talk about kids and church.

What else you talk about?

Having kids you want you talk about, you know, do you?

You're going to have a bad attitude like your mama?

No, no.

So we talked about a lot of stuff and so before we got married I talked to her and said you know I'm a giver and I know that you're a giver.

So my goal is to give 30% every week or every time I get a check.

30%, the first 30%.

That's my goal.

I'm only at 20% right now.

I'm going to make it to 30%.

I just want to make sure you know that so you won't wonder why the drapes in the house look like sheets.

I mean, I've had sheets over the winters, don't lie.

So our first house, I mean that's all we could afford with sheets.

We got my grandma's furniture, cleaned it and she recovered there.

It is Paid for.

Yeah, I said it's paid for.

So what happened?

20%.

And then the babies came and the Lord said when you want to start that 30%?

I said, lord, this is a bad time.

Let me stick at 20%, like for another, like a year or two or something.

But when he showed me, proved me now and some of you may not even be tithing, I encourage you to take that step If you're married, I said, if you're married, husband and wife.

You said we're going to be tithers for the rest of our life.

Are y'all still here.

I said we're going to be tithers for the rest of our life, amen, we're going to tell our kids, if you want to see why I got this job and why our house is blessed Everyone, it's not because I'm just a hard worker, it's because of my covenant with God, come on.

It's because I put God first, amen, and do 10%.

And you kind of have to work yourself into it.

You know you like, so you don't go into shock.

You know, like you're just sitting in church and you said I'm going to give 20% and you went oh, there better be a God.

Oh, I'm worried about the money.

No, start with 10%, crank it up to 15%, do that and spit in the devil's eye.

The devil says you can't afford that.

You just spit, you say watch what God will do.

Come on, you see increase and you say I believe I'm going to go 20%.

See, I did.

I did that at 17.

So some of y'all are getting ready to start.

How many tithers in here?

Come on, come on.

You don't live broke all your life.

You have the blessing of the Lord.

Young people come on 17, 18, 19.

Who knows how much your cell phone costs?

More than 10 of my first car and your tennis shoes.

I don't know we're going to get into that.

So y'all still here?

So if I was a teenager, I make my covenant with God I'm a tither for the rest of my life.

Don't marry anybody that won't let you tie.

They say anything about it.

You say we ain't getting married.

I'm a tither.

I'm a tither on my money and yours and ours.

Amen.

If my daddy or your mama or somebody leaves us $100,000, I ain't going to act like that's my money.

I'm pulling $10,000 out and bringing it to the church.

Are y'all still here?

Well, my dad passed away.

He left me a lot of money.

I called up the guy that managed it.

I said send me 30%.

I'm going to put it into offering.

He is a Baptist preacher.

He become like a financial guy and he said excuse me, can I tell you something?

I have managed people's money for 40 years and no one has ever called and asked me for ties and offerings out of the money that was left to them.

Come on.

You said well, that's my money.

No, that's the Lord's money.

Come on.

I call this money laundering Because when I give God the first, that's some clean money, baby.

That means I got some seed to sow and I got some money to spend.

I got some bread to eat.

Oh, you'll have plenty of bread if you take care of your sowing.

Wow, praise the Lord.

All right, I don't know if I'm finished yet.

Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

Well, we were going to receive the church's ties and offerings and whatever else you wanted to give this morning, but whatever steps of faith that you feel like the Lord wants you to take, for me it was like I see, I made a hundred, so it was.

For me it was 20 bucks.

Then I started making 150.

So for me that was like 30.

And then I had to take a $20 step.

I said well, if he can take me from 50 to millions, he must not only trust me with money, he trusts me with eternal things.

Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

Man, that was a good sermon.

I don't even have no notes on it.

I said that was a good sermon.

I said I only have no notes on it.

That's a good sermon.

Wait till I get my notes out.

Man, I'm telling you that was a great message from the Holy Ghost.

Amen, let's lift our hands.

Father, god, we thank you for your Word.

Amen your Word that you watch over your Word to perform it.

Lord, you're the biggest giver.

You are the biggest giver.

Your mercy, your grace, your goodness.

You're the biggest giver.

You're our Father.

We are your children.

We will walk in your steps of generosity.

We will be givers.

We will be generous givers.

Thank you, lord.

From young to old, from large amounts to little amounts, it doesn't matter large or small.

That it's your faithfulness and we honor you.

We take steps beyond being a tither and then steps beyond to generosity.

To see your faithfulness, you multiply the seed that is sown and you make all grace.

Amazing grace, amazing grace.

You make all grace abound.

You make all grace abound in every air of our life.

Amazing grace, amazing grace.

Your amazing grace, your favor, your abundance and your blessing that families are blessed and marriages are blessed and jobs are blessed, businesses are blessed.

We are blessed, so we can be a blessing.

We are blessed, we can be a great blessing to your work.

Be generous, be a blessing to others.

Thank you, lord, for our harvest of blessing In due season.

You said we count you faithful, we give you praise and honor.

We boldly confess every day my Father God, my Father God, you are my very own Father.

You're my very own Father.

Come on, talk to God like he's your Father.

You're my very own Father.

I am your very own child.

I belong to your family.

I'm an heir of God and I'm a joint heir with Christ.

You're my Father.

Thank you, father.

You're the Father of mercies.

How great is your mercies that your mercies are new every morning.

You're the Father and the God of glory and you're our very own Father.

Thank you, father God.

Thank you, father God, that we've been born again through the blood of Jesus, washed into blood, and we have been re-fathered by God, re-fathered.

We belong to your family.

Oh, in Christ, new creatures in Him washed in His blood.

Thank you, father.

Thank you, father, your loving kindness and your tender mercies, your presence, thank you Lord.

Thank you, lord.

In your presence you see us through the blood, holy and clean, righteous.

By the blood of Jesus, you are very own Father.

We come boldly to the throne of grace, we receive mercy.

Oh, we find grace to help us in the time of need.

You're our very own Father.

We worship you.

Father God, you worship you.

You are the Father God of the whole family in heaven and in earth, the whole family in heaven and in earth, that we have family in heaven and the family in the earth.

You're the Father of the family.

We're your children.

We worship you, father God.

You're the source of our supply.

You're the source of our life.

Thank you, father God.

You are our very own Father.

You've blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places In Christ Jesus.

Thank you for the blood of Jesus.

We are blessed, our mind is blessed, our body is blessed, healed and made strong and made well.

Father God, you're our healer, you're the great physician.

You are our Father God.

Thank you, father God.

Oh, you're our healer, our redeemer.

Thank you, father.

God Bless.

I pronounce that blessing on every person here today because of the blood of Jesus.

We are blessed coming in and blessed going out.

Our family is blessed, our house, our home is blessed.

Your presence is in our house.

The peace of God, the love of God, the joy of God in our house, in our family.

We are blessed so we can be a blessing in our generation, so we can lead and influence others.

Lord, a life of generosity, you said give and it shall come back.

Press down, shaken together and running over.

Shall men give to our bosom Same measure that we meet.

You said it'll be measured right back to us.

Thank you, father God.

You always take care of us.

Come on, just tell the Lord, father God, you always take care of us in grand style.

Great is your faithfulness.

Great is your faithfulness.

You always take care of me in grand style.

Come on, you know when I get up in the morning.

You know when I get to go to bed at night, lord, you know the things concerning every day, things you have prepared.

My God supplies all of our need according to His riches in glory by Jesus Christ.

We're not looking to people and need people to approve of us, and need people to do this for us.

We look to you, father God.

We look to you, we set our affection upon you, we set our expectation upon you.

My Father God, you can arrange every supply, every need, even desires of our heart.

You can arrange all of it.

You are my Father God.

Come on, just say that my Father God Always takes care of me in grand style.

Come on, just look up and smile at Him and say thank you, father.

Come on, say thank you, father.

Thank you, father.

You always take care of me in grand style, woo, that the Lord is my shepherd and I shall not want.

I do not lack for ability, I do not lack for strength, I do not lack for opportunity.

I never lack for money.

I never lack for money.

I'm a tither, I'm a giver, I'm a sower.

I have a covenant with God.

Thank you, father Woo.

Everybody say in Jesus' name amen, jesus is my Lord.

Hallelujah, praise the Lord.