April 4, 2025 • 27 mins
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The viral controversy around Marvin Sapp's offering approach provides an opportunity to examine biblical principles of giving and where church fundraising tactics may cross important scriptural lines.
• Exploring Marvin Sapp's "close the doors" offering technique that went viral on social media
• Biblical perspective from 2 Corinthians 9:7 warning against giving "under compulsion"
• How prosperity follows prophecy while maintaining the principle of cheerful giving
• Distinguishing between legitimate prophetic offering calls versus manipulative tactics
• Why creating pressure through closed doors contradicts the spirit of joyful giving
• Learning to hear God's voice personally when deciding whether and how much to give
• Finding balance between honoring scriptural models of miracle offerings without obligation
• Recognizing that the atmosphere of an offering should welcome God's presence, not fear
• Examples of biblical fundraising that involved prophetic words without compulsion
• Approaching church giving practices with discernment rather than judgment
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
What's going on in the world?
Ladies and gentlemen?
There's a whole lot happening.
If you've been tuning intoChristendom for any time,
recently you heard about MarvinSatt.
Mr Never would have made itmade headlines for his version
of Close the Door, and I'm nottalking about Teddy P y'all.
I'm talking about Marvin Satttaking up an offering Close the
(00:22):
Doors.
If you've been anywhere nearsocial media, you've heard this.
Listen, I got some things Icould get off my chest
concerning this matter theoffering, closing the doors, all
(00:45):
that and a whole lot morecoming up on this edition of
Dimensions.
What's going on, ladies andgentlemen?
I'm so glad that you have tunedin to this latest edition of
Dimensions.
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We're coming into you at leastweekly, but if not more.
(01:09):
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glad to have.
You Listen what I'm about toget into today.
I tell you what it's been makingheadlines everywhere.
People have been tuning in,talking about it.
(01:31):
There's been memes on it.
This whole situation that hashappened with Marvin Sapp and in
regards to the offering he tookup about a year or so ago.
It's amazing it's coming upabout a year later.
And what is my take on this?
I wanted to share some thingswith you because I think there's
some things we could look atconcerning these matters.
(01:52):
Of course, people are going totake it out of perspective.
People are going to talk abouta lot of different ways try to
smear, campaign and all thesetypes of things.
This isn't a cardinal, cardinalerror that where somebody is
going to go to hell over butthere are some things I think we
could take a look at.
So I want to take some time toshare with you all my take on it
.
And I'm a fundraiser.
I believe in raising money, Ibelieve in taking up miracle
(02:13):
offerings.
I believe in all of that.
I have no issue with taking upofferings.
But I want to take a minuteright now.
We want to look at the video byMarvin Sapp and we want to take
this in.
I may stop it in the middle, Imay not, but we want to take a
look at this, hear what he hadto say, and then we're going to
do a little bit of an autopsyand dissect what happened here
about a year ago.
(02:34):
Let's take a look.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Close the doors for me for a quick moment.
I want everybody to remainstanding quickly.
How many are really receivedsomething from the word of the
Lord tonight?
Listen, when you studyscripture, you will know to
notice that whenever God didsomething in the lives of the
patriarchs of old, thepatriarchs would pause, they
(02:59):
would set up an altar, theywould offer a sacrifice.
I asked each and every one ofyou how many of y'all received
something from the word of theLord?
Everyone in this place saidthese words.
I did Because of youracknowledgement of what God did
in word.
There is an obligation that isattached to that acknowledgement
(03:24):
.
In biblical days, they offeredlivestock grain.
That was a type of currency.
Note, if you will.
I did not say money, I saidcurrency.
And this is what God is sayingfor at least 1,000 of you in the
(03:46):
building.
And this is simple.
I'm not going to challenge youthe way Bishop did, but I know
that there's 1,000 individuals,under the sound of my voice,
that can do what I'm about tochallenge you all to do.
This is simple 1,000 peoplegiving what I'm about to
challenge you all to do.
This is simple.
A thousand people giving.
(04:06):
What I'm about to challengewill be $20,000.
A thousand people giving whatI'm about to challenge you all
to do will be $20,000.
Now, for those of us who are onthe dais, I'm taking you higher
, so put it back.
Those of us who are on the dais, I'm taking you higher, so put
(04:31):
it back.
I'm a strong believer thatleaders lead not only in time,
not only in talent, but also intreasure.
Leaders lead in time, talentand treasure.
I was taught a long time agothat it costs to sit up here.
There's 1,000 of you.
I said close them doors.
(04:54):
Ushers, close the doors, closethe doors, close the doors.
We all going to leave together.
Y'all ain't going no place butto the restaurant.
There's 1,000 of you tonight.
And those that are watching,it's 1,000.
That's watching online.
(05:15):
This is a small seed.
If I get 1,000 online to givethis, if I get a thousand in the
sanctuary to give this, that's$40,000 tonight.
Now, everyone up here, we'veall sold and seated, but I need
everyone standing up here withus, with me, to plant a seed of
$100.
Because, again, it costs to situp here.
(05:37):
Y'all start moving.
Y'all can bring it right now.
Come, come, come, come, come.
Even if you're giving tangibly,just put your hand on the.
Take your phone and stick it onthe on the bucket.
Shh, giving is worship.
(06:03):
Giving is worship.
A thousand people online needto give twenty dollars.
This is easy saints.
This is an easy miracle.
We should be able to to raiseforty thousand dollars tonight
just from y'all giving.
I'm about to go get in my truck.
I'm going to my hotel.
I got me some fruit, fruit,fruit.
(06:28):
I'm doing fruit now, fruit andwater.
I'm trying to Look at us.
Yeah, now, after you come uphere, you can open the doors.
Y'all walk out the door afteryou come up here, but make sure
you come this way before you goout the door.
That's it.
Look at God, look at what Godhas done.
Hallelujah.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
All right.
That kind of gives you an idea,a little bit, of what was
shared there, and I got somethings that I want to share with
you all, because there's somethings that I agree with and
some things that I don't agreewith in regards to this offering
that was raised.
Now, first of all, let me statefor the record, this isn't
meant to be a smear campaign.
This is not meant.
I believe Marvin Sapp is agreat man.
I think he's one of the mostphenomenal vocalists and
(07:15):
preachers and pastors of our dayand of our era.
I mean, you got never wouldhave made.
He sang for commission.
I mean, he's been a phenomenalman of God.
Unfortunately, mission.
I mean he's been a phenomenalman of God, unfortunately, where
much is given, much is required.
So a lot of times we havebigger platforms like that.
There's a bigger spotlight onthings that a lot of people get
away with you don't get a chanceto get away with.
I believe that God is usingthis as an opportunity to
educate.
I don't believe it's about ourcustoms.
(07:36):
I don't believe it's about ourtradition.
It's about what does the wordof God say when it comes to
these things?
I think a lot of times, ifwe're not careful, we get caught
up in what we think thingsshould be.
You know well, this is ourcustom, this is how we do it,
this is how we do this, but wecan't violate scripture in order
to do that.
And for the record, let me saythis as well I am all for
fundraising.
I raise funds for television.
(07:56):
I raise funds for churches Atgot back from California and did
some fundraising there on aSunday morning and took up a
large offering for a church thatI was out there with, and I'm
all for that.
I believe God gives men of God,women of God, words of
knowledge and prophetic insightthat people can sow into.
I believe just like it was withElijah and the Shunammite woman
(08:17):
.
She said she had a little bitof oil, a little bit of meal.
She was going to make a cakefor her and her son.
They were going to die.
The man of God says make me acake first.
She goes and makes the cake andhe says for thus saith the Lord
.
A lot of people don't believethat you can have a word
attached to giving.
Well, if that's the case, thenElijah was in error, because
Elijah told the widow woman thussaith the Lord.
(08:38):
Now she had to sow into it.
There was a promise attached toher obedience.
And so Elijah says to her forthus saith the Lord, if you make
me a cake first, that thecrucible oil or the barrel of
meal will not run out until thefamine is over.
And so it was up to her toactivate that promise.
She could have died.
The man of God went and foundher.
(08:58):
God said I'm sending you to awoman and I want you to now
think about it.
Elijah didn't know if she hadanything or not.
He said I'm sending you to awoman and I want you to now
think about it.
Elisha didn't know if she hadanything or not.
He said I'm just sending you tothis woman.
I've commanded her to sustainyou.
Now, I'm sure when he got therehe's probably like wait a
minute.
You commanded her to sustain me.
She ain't got enough for herand her son.
But then the word of the Lordcame to him and it brought
multiplication and increase intotheir lives.
We words where people havespoken and done different things
(09:21):
.
As a result, finances came.
It's all throughout scripture.
Jesus, when Peter and themneeded tax, said go down to the
river, pull out the fish.
There's going to be a coin inthe fish's mouth.
Take it and pay our taxes.
God provided that way.
I mean there's so manydifferent areas where we see
that there is now.
(09:45):
Watch this.
This is very important that Ibelieve.
Prosperity always followsprophecy, because it's
scriptural.
It says in 2 Chronicles 20, hesaid believe in the Lord, thy
God, and you'll be established.
Trust in his prophets and youwill prosper.
So believing in God gets youestablishment, but trusting in
prophets brings prosperity.
So there's prosperity that istied to the prophetic gift.
A lot of people don't like totake a heed to this because it
can be abused, and so do peopleabuse that gift.
Of course Do people abusefinances in the church.
(10:06):
Of course Do people abuseprophetic words.
Of course, whether it's dealingwith money or not, people do
abuse it, and we take a lookhere with this situation with
Marvin Sepp.
I wanted to show you the wholething.
A lot of people just look atthe one part there, but I wanted
to look at his whole thing andgive you an autopsy.
The first thing that I wantedto mention he said you have an
obligation to give when you'vebeen blessed by the Lord.
(10:27):
Now, yes and no, I believe thatwe need to sow into people.
It isn't an obligation, but Ibelieve this.
There's something that trumpsall of the obligation talk that
he has mentioned, and there's ascripture that I want to get to,
because, see, when you starttalking about people are
obligated to do something, thento some degree it neglects what
(10:51):
it is.
That is said in secondCorinthians, chapter nine.
And this is where and let mesay away from the jump, I do not
agree with everything thatpastor Marvin Sapp did in that
moment.
And the reason why I wanted tomention this, because I think
it's very important not to beatup on him, to smear him or
anything along that line, justto give a biblical perspective.
I have been in services likethat and I've been in services
(11:12):
where people have raisedthousands of dollars the right
way and I've seen people raisethousands of dollars the wrong
way.
And I believe that, inaccordance with this, here there
is a scriptural context that wecannot neglect.
In 2 Corinthians, chapter 9, itsays verse number 6, now watch
this.
But this I say he who sowssparingly will reap sparingly,
(11:34):
and he who sows bountifully willreap bountifully.
Now here's where I want to getto.
He's setting the platform forus.
They're saying hey, some peopleare going to give a little, some
people are going to give a lot.
It's not according to what aman that he doesn't have, it's
according to what a man has.
That God looks at this, okay.
So look here at verse numberseven.
So let each one gives as hepurposes in his heart.
(12:00):
This is 2 Corinthians 9, verse6 through 8.
Look at what it says here.
Let each one give as hepurposes in his heart, not
grudgingly or of necessity.
That word necessity can also betranslated under compulsion, for
God loves a cheerful giver andGod is able to make all grace.
(12:21):
God is able, but you've got tobe willing to make all grace
abound towards you, that youalways, having all sufficiency
and all things, may have anabundance for every good work,
hallelujah.
So look at this here, he who'sso sparing, he sets it off
saying here's the principle Ifyou give a little bit, you're
going to reap a little bit.
If you give a lot, you don'tgive a lot.
But he's saying God loves acheerful, prompt to do it,
(12:41):
joyous giver whose heart is intheir giving.
If you read that in Amplifiedbut this is where I want to get
to it says don't let a man givegrudgingly or of necessity, and
that word necessity is anake,anake, which simply means
imposed giving.
Imposed either by circumstances, outward circumstances, by law
(13:04):
of duty.
So it is your duty to do this.
That's not what God's lookingfor.
Or regarding to one's advantage.
So we're saying, basically, ifsomeone's going to take an
advantage, it's not givingaccording to that person's or
the other person's advantage,one that's giving or the person
that's receiving the offering,not giving according to custom
or argument.
Now watch it.
Jesus said something veryprofoundly.
(13:25):
He said you make the word ofGod of no effect through your
tradition.
I have been in offerings.
Listen, people ask me to takeup offerings.
I raise money for television.
I'm actually heading up rightnow.
I'm producing the fundraising,the telethons for Cornerstone
Television Network.
I work with all of that.
I love doing this.
I believe in giving.
But what I have found out iswhen God wants the money raised,
(13:49):
there will be an anointing inthat atmosphere that you don't
need to use compulsion.
The Bible makes it very clearDon't give of necessity,
compulsion.
God is looking.
He doesn't want us to givegrudgingly.
God wants a cheerful, joyful,prompt to do it.
Giver whose heart is in theirgiving when I feel when he went
(14:13):
into close the doors, that'sright, close the doors.
And then he went into a rebukein regards to we all go in the
same place, there ain't no needgoing out there, going to the
restaurant.
You know, he's making theselittle innuendos of people that
feel like they don't want to go.
Now, this is what I want you tocatch.
He said close the doors, butwhen I talk to people about it,
(14:34):
what they heard is you can'tleave.
Now.
See, this is the reality.
No-transcript.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
If I'm taking up an offering.
Open the doors If you don'twant to get in on this.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
That's on you.
You don't want to receive it,that's on you.
The Bible says let every mangive as he purposes in his heart
.
Now, this is what I do believe.
You miss a blessing If you'reobligated to give, then
therefore, it's a sin not togive.
If you choose to give, that'son you.
If you choose not to give,that's on you.
If you choose not to give,that's on you.
(15:05):
Do I believe a person can missout on blessing?
Without a doubt.
Do I believe a person can missout on a breakthrough?
Without a doubt, the womancould have made the cake and
died if she would not haveobeyed the word.
Now, here you go.
You have to determine whetherGod is speaking to you or not
and, as men of no one shouldfeel obligated or feel pressured
(15:26):
to stay, feel pressured to give.
I remember I was in a serviceone time kid you not true story.
There was a guy that wasraising an offering for a pastor
and he was in there.
They didn't get as much as theywanted for the pastor.
So this guy started callingpeople out in the audience and
started saying hey, so-and-so,brother McGillicuddy, I know you
got more money, come on up here.
Hey you, I know you got extra.
Come on up here and startedcalling people out by name and
(15:50):
people came up to give offeringsand I'm sitting there thinking
in my mind.
I'm like I wish he would callme out.
If he calls me out, we don'thave a problem.
I'm going to let him know.
No, sir, you are out of order.
I believe this.
When you are going to be askingpeople to raise money, do you
believe?
Do I believe, there's a promiseattached?
Without a doubt?
Do I believe that a person canhear from God and share a
(16:13):
prophetic word for people togive?
Without a doubt?
Do I believe in miracleofferings?
Without a doubt?
Do I believe you can miss abreakthrough by not giving?
Without a doubt?
Do I believe you can get abreakthrough by giving?
Without a doubt?
It goes both ways.
But see, this is the thingJesus said.
My sheep know my voice.
It's real simple.
Matter of fact.
I believe, if it's really aword from God, open the doors.
(16:34):
Open the doors and let thepeople know.
If you don't want to give,that's totally up to you.
You're the one that's going tomiss the breakthrough.
If God's talking to you, you'rethe one that's going to the
people that need to hear it aregoing to hear it.
But to make people feel, andwhat I heard everybody say
anybody that I've talked to saidwhen he said, shut the doors.
It sounds like lock the doors.
It sounds like nobody's able toleave.
If you were to get up rightthere, you would feel guilty for
(16:59):
leaving.
I don't believe that shouldever be the case.
What if somebody has to go tothe bathroom?
What if somebody feels like Ihave to leave?
I waited long enough and mykids are waiting for me, or I
got now.
You put them in a predicament.
There's a lot of things that goalong with that.
Everybody that gets up isn'tgetting up just because they
don't want to get.
Some people may just not be ableto stay, and I don't believe we
should ever make people feelthey are obligated to stay in an
arena.
Now I believe this when youfeel it's a holy moment, you can
(17:24):
tell people hey, I want to askeverybody if you can, don't move
.
I don't want anybody to missthis moment and let people know.
Hey, if you need to leave, Iunderstand, do it quietly, but
let's honor God's presence inthis moment.
If somebody's getting ready togive their life to the Lord, we
don't want anybody walkingaround.
Please give us a moment.
(17:47):
If you sure that every soulhere, it's the motive and the
intent of the heart when I'mlistening to him talk close the
doors, close the doors.
We're all leaving together.
Listen, you ain't going nowherebut the restaurant anyways, so
you need to just.
I mean, it's almost a rebuke,it's condescending and it can
come across as judgmental andpeople are now gripped with fear
.
That's not what cultivates anatmosphere full of faith giving.
When you give, you want to feelthe presence of God moving up
(18:10):
and down the aisle.
You want to feel the heart ofGod going up to people, saying
I'm ready for you to join infaith and take a step of faith,
and I believe those are miraclemoments.
And I believe for far too long,many people in the church
African-American churches inparticular, because I've been in
them Doesn't mean that whitechurches or non-blacks don't do
(18:31):
it.
But I'm saying I've seen a lotof African-American where it's
very pressurized.
I've been in services with thatand I just made up my mind.
I'm not going to be one ofthose type of people.
If you choose to give, youchoose to give.
If you choose not to give, youchoose not to give.
I mean, the preaching of theword is just as important as the
salvation altar call, it's justas important as the tithe and
offer and everything else.
(18:53):
Hey, if people have to move,they have to move.
But I believe what happened?
We get into this thing wherewe're feeling this sense where,
like you're going to give thismoney and that's kind of the
tone that I heard Nobody'sleaving, everybody sit down,
close the doors, ushers, I toldyou before.
He said in the beginning hesays again shut the doors, close
the doors.
Like what's going on here?
Why aren't we doing this?
(19:13):
And it came across with a toneand to his defense he did a
positive.
Maybe I could have adjustedthat, could have said that a
little bit differently.
And that's where I feel thisscripture.
Here it says let each one giveand here's in the Amplified
thoughtfully and with purpose,just as he has decided in his
(19:34):
heart, not grudgingly or undercompulsion.
So the Bible warns about peoplefeeling under compulsion to give
.
Don't give that way.
God loves a cheerful giver andwhen I've seen the most
miraculous offerings, it's when,man, the atmosphere is so ripe,
it feels so good and you canfeel the heart of God going out.
You know you're in a moment andif you've ever been in there
(19:57):
and you've preached in thosemoments, you'll tell people this
is a special moment Because youcan take up other offerings and
people will sow you, challengetheir faith.
Nothing wrong with that, but,man, when the miracle offering
is happening, the power of Godis moving and you know it and
can recognize it in thatatmosphere.
And so that's one of thereasons why I kind of felt in my
(20:18):
heart that I really wanted totake some time and address this,
because I really believe thatit needs to be looked at.
It needs to be addressed.
It's something that has to belooked at.
We have to take up offeringsand allow the spirit of God to
move in people's hearts.
Preach the word, know the word,understand the word, but never
feel under compulsion.
I do this all the time.
(20:38):
I said listen, I may saythere's five people that are
supposed to give $1,000, 10people supposed to give $500, 25
, 10 people to get $500, 25people to give $2,000, whatever
it's going to be.
But if I'm not talking to you,I'm not talking to you, but to
make people feel like nobody'sleaving, nobody's going anywhere
, close the doors.
But when you do that, and thenat the end he said now open the
doors.
(20:58):
All right, y'all, but beforeyou leave, come up here first,
you know.
So you've got this wholedynamic of like control,
manipulation, you know, usingfear tactics, making people feel
like they're afraid to move.
I don't agree with that.
I don't think that's the way anoffering should be shared and,
once again, I love Pastor MarvinSapp.
I believe he's a phenomenal manof God.
(21:22):
But I believe it's importantthat people understand the
scripture and I believe thatwhen people are taking up
offerings correctly, I'm all for.
Like.
A lot of people may disagreewith me on the fact that you
know you can take up a miracleoffering or attach a promise to
a seed.
It's worked for me.
I've done it myself, I've askedpeople to do it and I felt the
presence of God in those momentsand I've seen people respond
and get supernatural miracles.
So, like I always say, a manwith experience is never mercy
to a man with an argument.
(21:42):
So, so I just want to encourageyou today.
First of all, don't beat up onhim, don't beat up on other
pastors or anything along thatline, but we do need to get back
to the word of God.
That's all that matters, andyou know what he's been willing
to own that part.
I was watching I think it was onthe Ricky Smiley show and he
talked about how he could havebeen a little bit softer and he
went into talking about how youknow he's not, and I don't think
(22:02):
that's real.
I think that was all completelyirrelevant.
I think the thing that reallycame across and struck people
the wrong way was the tonebehind close the doors, the
sense of control, manipulatingthe emotions of people.
And when I say that I mean inregards to fear that nobody can
move, nobody's going anywhere,stand still.
Shut the doors, nobody'sleaving this place until I say
so tight that that's what itcame across, that that may not
(22:25):
have been his intent, but that'show it came across and I
believe this Open the doors,even when it comes to salvation.
Open the doors.
You want to walk out?
You can walk out.
If you want to leave, that's upto you.
You can leave.
Jesus when he was feeding the5000.
Think about it for a minute Fedthe 5000, preached the gospel,
offered to come to the house andthey all left him.
He opened the doors.
He said go ahead and go.
(22:46):
And then he looked at Peter andthe disciples are you leaving.
He said where else are we goingto go?
You alone have the words ofeternal life.
If it's the word of the Lord,they're not submitted to me and
you anyways.
Whoever's leading that chargewhen it comes to raising the
funds or taking up an offeringor whatever it might be, giving
under compulsion to a man, goddoesn't honor that.
(23:06):
God said I bless those thathave a cheerful giver, that
cheerful giving heart.
Those are the people that Godblesses and honors.
And so what we wanna do whenwe're taking up our tithes and
offerings or doing a miracleoffering is we want an
atmosphere that God pulls on thehearts of the people, that
they're no longer giving to us.
They're not giving to thechurch, they're giving in
(23:27):
response to the word of God.
Of course, yes, they're givingto the church, but not just
giving to the church forchurch's sake, not giving an
offering just because thepreacher said so.
They hear the Lord forthemselves saying I need to
write this miracle check.
That's what I want.
I want that to happen.
And if we can get that tohappen, ladies and gentlemen, my
goodness listen.
(23:47):
Tithing offering can be a timeof worship.
It can be a time of enjoyment.
It can be a time where peoplethat go home excited.
Now sometimes people write thatcheck in faith.
Sometimes you're a littlenervous when you first go home,
but God always honors it, heresponds to faith and he will
bless you when you sow.
It's very, very important.
I remember one time I was in aactually I was in a telethon and
(24:08):
a preacher was taking up anoffering and the Lord spoke to
me and said I want you to get$5,000 from your ministry,
greatest $5,000 I ever gave.
So $5,000 ended up having aperson give me now check this
out Huge led wall.
I mean thousands upon thousandsof dollars in lighting
equipment.
I mean total of 150, $200,000.
I can't remember the exactamount, I don't know exactly.
(24:30):
I've used those numbers aroundaround that place a lot.
I got all of that for um, I'llnever forget it for $000.
$13,000.
I mean you ain't getting thoselights, every light that I have.
I mean there was like $4,000 apiece, brand new, and I got them
.
And I mean the Lord justcompletely blessed.
I'll never forget sowing thatseed.
In that moment I knew it didn'tmatter what the man of God said
.
I knew what God spoke to me.
(24:51):
So let me say this no matterwhen a preacher is taking up
money, no matter when.
Listen, don't condemn anybody,don't judge anybody.
Learn to hear from God, fromyourself, and if you don't feel
led to give, then just don'tgive.
You're not going to miss itbecause of that.
It's when you're in theatmosphere, when the atmosphere
is ovulating for that seed, thatis when you want to sow.
(25:13):
You want to know God so wellthat you look beyond the
preacher, you look beyond theman or woman of God, you look
beyond who's raising the funds.
You hear the spirit of the Lordand you respond in obedience to
him.
Because if you sow to a man,only that man can bless you.
But if you sow under the Lord,the man that's holding that
mantle when he shares the wordof the Lord to you and you
respond to it, that mantle, thatanointing that word, that
(25:33):
presence must honor the seedthat you sow.
Learn to hear from God andlisten.
Let's not be hard on PastorSatt.
He's a good man of God.
I believe that he's a good manof God.
To my knowledge, from what Iknow, what I've seen, I mean,
he's been singing and preachingfor decades now and been nothing
but, to my knowledge, a modelcitizen.
(25:55):
I don't know everybody, butjust because of this thing here,
let's go easy, be loving, bekind.
We all can fall short, but thisis just my take on it.
I hope that you've been blessedby this.
I hope that you'll take a minuteto like, subscribe, follow,
share, let others know aboutthis.
It comes from a scripturalbackground.
It's not my opinion, some of itis but there's Bible behind
(26:15):
what I'm talking about, where Ifelt the lines were crossed
Whenever there's compulsion.
That is the point of where itis that we need to start looking
at how we're motivating peopleto be able to sow and to give,
but giving in faith.
Nothing wrong with that at all,sacrificial giving, nothing
wrong.
And I believe there's a lot ofpeople that need to hear this
perspective, and I believe thatif you will like, subscribe,
(26:35):
follow and share, god's going togive a million dollars Now I'm
just kidding with you, but God'sgoing to bless you for getting
that message out to somebodyelse.
So take a minute and do that,and don't forget to and every
one of our podcast platforms,like and subscribe to our
podcast, so you, too, can be thelatest member of the Dimensions
family.
God bless you.
(27:00):
I hope that you've been blessedand I look forward to seeing
you next time right here onDimensions.
What's going on in the world?
Ladies and gentlemen?
There's a whole lot happening.
If you've been tuning intoChristendom for any time,
recently you heard about MarvinSatt.
Mr Never would have made itmade headlines for his version
of Close the Door, and I'm nottalking about Teddy P y'all.
I'm talking about Marvin Satttaking up an offering Close the
(00:22):
Doors.
If you've been anywhere nearsocial media, you've heard this.
Listen, I got some things Icould get off my chest
concerning this matter theoffering, closing the doors, all
(00:45):
that and a whole lot morecoming up on this edition of
Dimensions.
What's going on, ladies andgentlemen?
I'm so glad that you have tunedin to this latest edition of
Dimensions.
First thing I got to say istake a minute right now to like,
subscribe, follow, share andguess what?
We are on almost every singleplatform where you can find a
podcast, and there is so muchthat we're going to get into.
We're coming into you at leastweekly, but if not more.
(01:09):
But in order for you to stay upto date on what's going on, I
want to encourage you to like,subscribe, follow and share.
Go to the podcast platform ofyour choice and you too, can be
the latest member of theDimensions family, which we so
glad to have.
You Listen what I'm about toget into today.
I tell you what it's been makingheadlines everywhere.
People have been tuning in,talking about it.
(01:31):
There's been memes on it.
This whole situation that hashappened with Marvin Sapp and in
regards to the offering he tookup about a year or so ago.
It's amazing it's coming upabout a year later.
And what is my take on this?
I wanted to share some thingswith you because I think there's
some things we could look atconcerning these matters.
(01:52):
Of course, people are going totake it out of perspective.
People are going to talk abouta lot of different ways try to
smear, campaign and all thesetypes of things.
This isn't a cardinal, cardinalerror that where somebody is
going to go to hell over butthere are some things I think we
could take a look at.
So I want to take some time toshare with you all my take on it
.
And I'm a fundraiser.
I believe in raising money, Ibelieve in taking up miracle
(02:13):
offerings.
I believe in all of that.
I have no issue with taking upofferings.
But I want to take a minuteright now.
We want to look at the video byMarvin Sapp and we want to take
this in.
I may stop it in the middle, Imay not, but we want to take a
look at this, hear what he hadto say, and then we're going to
do a little bit of an autopsyand dissect what happened here
about a year ago.
(02:34):
Let's take a look.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Close the doors for me for a quick moment.
I want everybody to remainstanding quickly.
How many are really receivedsomething from the word of the
Lord tonight?
Listen, when you studyscripture, you will know to
notice that whenever God didsomething in the lives of the
patriarchs of old, thepatriarchs would pause, they
(02:59):
would set up an altar, theywould offer a sacrifice.
I asked each and every one ofyou how many of y'all received
something from the word of theLord?
Everyone in this place saidthese words.
I did Because of youracknowledgement of what God did
in word.
There is an obligation that isattached to that acknowledgement
(03:24):
.
In biblical days, they offeredlivestock grain.
That was a type of currency.
Note, if you will.
I did not say money, I saidcurrency.
And this is what God is sayingfor at least 1,000 of you in the
(03:46):
building.
And this is simple.
I'm not going to challenge youthe way Bishop did, but I know
that there's 1,000 individuals,under the sound of my voice,
that can do what I'm about tochallenge you all to do.
This is simple 1,000 peoplegiving what I'm about to
challenge you all to do.
This is simple.
A thousand people giving.
(04:06):
What I'm about to challengewill be $20,000.
A thousand people giving whatI'm about to challenge you all
to do will be $20,000.
Now, for those of us who are onthe dais, I'm taking you higher
, so put it back.
Those of us who are on the dais, I'm taking you higher, so put
(04:31):
it back.
I'm a strong believer thatleaders lead not only in time,
not only in talent, but also intreasure.
Leaders lead in time, talentand treasure.
I was taught a long time agothat it costs to sit up here.
There's 1,000 of you.
I said close them doors.
(04:54):
Ushers, close the doors, closethe doors, close the doors.
We all going to leave together.
Y'all ain't going no place butto the restaurant.
There's 1,000 of you tonight.
And those that are watching,it's 1,000.
That's watching online.
(05:15):
This is a small seed.
If I get 1,000 online to givethis, if I get a thousand in the
sanctuary to give this, that's$40,000 tonight.
Now, everyone up here, we'veall sold and seated, but I need
everyone standing up here withus, with me, to plant a seed of
$100.
Because, again, it costs to situp here.
(05:37):
Y'all start moving.
Y'all can bring it right now.
Come, come, come, come, come.
Even if you're giving tangibly,just put your hand on the.
Take your phone and stick it onthe on the bucket.
Shh, giving is worship.
(06:03):
Giving is worship.
A thousand people online needto give twenty dollars.
This is easy saints.
This is an easy miracle.
We should be able to to raiseforty thousand dollars tonight
just from y'all giving.
I'm about to go get in my truck.
I'm going to my hotel.
I got me some fruit, fruit,fruit.
(06:28):
I'm doing fruit now, fruit andwater.
I'm trying to Look at us.
Yeah, now, after you come uphere, you can open the doors.
Y'all walk out the door afteryou come up here, but make sure
you come this way before you goout the door.
That's it.
Look at God, look at what Godhas done.
Hallelujah.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
All right.
That kind of gives you an idea,a little bit, of what was
shared there, and I got somethings that I want to share with
you all, because there's somethings that I agree with and
some things that I don't agreewith in regards to this offering
that was raised.
Now, first of all, let me statefor the record, this isn't
meant to be a smear campaign.
This is not meant.
I believe Marvin Sapp is agreat man.
I think he's one of the mostphenomenal vocalists and
(07:15):
preachers and pastors of our dayand of our era.
I mean, you got never wouldhave made.
He sang for commission.
I mean, he's been a phenomenalman of God.
Unfortunately, mission.
I mean he's been a phenomenalman of God, unfortunately, where
much is given, much is required.
So a lot of times we havebigger platforms like that.
There's a bigger spotlight onthings that a lot of people get
away with you don't get a chanceto get away with.
I believe that God is usingthis as an opportunity to
educate.
I don't believe it's about ourcustoms.
(07:36):
I don't believe it's about ourtradition.
It's about what does the wordof God say when it comes to
these things?
I think a lot of times, ifwe're not careful, we get caught
up in what we think thingsshould be.
You know well, this is ourcustom, this is how we do it,
this is how we do this, but wecan't violate scripture in order
to do that.
And for the record, let me saythis as well I am all for
fundraising.
I raise funds for television.
(07:56):
I raise funds for churches Atgot back from California and did
some fundraising there on aSunday morning and took up a
large offering for a church thatI was out there with, and I'm
all for that.
I believe God gives men of God,women of God, words of
knowledge and prophetic insightthat people can sow into.
I believe just like it was withElijah and the Shunammite woman
(08:17):
.
She said she had a little bitof oil, a little bit of meal.
She was going to make a cakefor her and her son.
They were going to die.
The man of God says make me acake first.
She goes and makes the cake andhe says for thus saith the Lord
.
A lot of people don't believethat you can have a word
attached to giving.
Well, if that's the case, thenElijah was in error, because
Elijah told the widow woman thussaith the Lord.
(08:38):
Now she had to sow into it.
There was a promise attached toher obedience.
And so Elijah says to her forthus saith the Lord, if you make
me a cake first, that thecrucible oil or the barrel of
meal will not run out until thefamine is over.
And so it was up to her toactivate that promise.
She could have died.
The man of God went and foundher.
(08:58):
God said I'm sending you to awoman and I want you to now
think about it.
Elijah didn't know if she hadanything or not.
He said I'm sending you to awoman and I want you to now
think about it.
Elisha didn't know if she hadanything or not.
He said I'm just sending you tothis woman.
I've commanded her to sustainyou.
Now, I'm sure when he got therehe's probably like wait a
minute.
You commanded her to sustain me.
She ain't got enough for herand her son.
But then the word of the Lordcame to him and it brought
multiplication and increase intotheir lives.
We words where people havespoken and done different things
(09:21):
.
As a result, finances came.
It's all throughout scripture.
Jesus, when Peter and themneeded tax, said go down to the
river, pull out the fish.
There's going to be a coin inthe fish's mouth.
Take it and pay our taxes.
God provided that way.
I mean there's so manydifferent areas where we see
that there is now.
(09:45):
Watch this.
This is very important that Ibelieve.
Prosperity always followsprophecy, because it's
scriptural.
It says in 2 Chronicles 20, hesaid believe in the Lord, thy
God, and you'll be established.
Trust in his prophets and youwill prosper.
So believing in God gets youestablishment, but trusting in
prophets brings prosperity.
So there's prosperity that istied to the prophetic gift.
A lot of people don't like totake a heed to this because it
can be abused, and so do peopleabuse that gift.
Of course Do people abusefinances in the church.
(10:06):
Of course Do people abuseprophetic words.
Of course, whether it's dealingwith money or not, people do
abuse it, and we take a lookhere with this situation with
Marvin Sepp.
I wanted to show you the wholething.
A lot of people just look atthe one part there, but I wanted
to look at his whole thing andgive you an autopsy.
The first thing that I wantedto mention he said you have an
obligation to give when you'vebeen blessed by the Lord.
(10:27):
Now, yes and no, I believe thatwe need to sow into people.
It isn't an obligation, but Ibelieve this.
There's something that trumpsall of the obligation talk that
he has mentioned, and there's ascripture that I want to get to,
because, see, when you starttalking about people are
obligated to do something, thento some degree it neglects what
(10:51):
it is.
That is said in secondCorinthians, chapter nine.
And this is where and let mesay away from the jump, I do not
agree with everything thatpastor Marvin Sapp did in that
moment.
And the reason why I wanted tomention this, because I think
it's very important not to beatup on him, to smear him or
anything along that line, justto give a biblical perspective.
I have been in services likethat and I've been in services
(11:12):
where people have raisedthousands of dollars the right
way and I've seen people raisethousands of dollars the wrong
way.
And I believe that, inaccordance with this, here there
is a scriptural context that wecannot neglect.
In 2 Corinthians, chapter 9, itsays verse number 6, now watch
this.
But this I say he who sowssparingly will reap sparingly,
(11:34):
and he who sows bountifully willreap bountifully.
Now here's where I want to getto.
He's setting the platform forus.
They're saying hey, some peopleare going to give a little, some
people are going to give a lot.
It's not according to what aman that he doesn't have, it's
according to what a man has.
That God looks at this, okay.
So look here at verse numberseven.
So let each one gives as hepurposes in his heart.
(12:00):
This is 2 Corinthians 9, verse6 through 8.
Look at what it says here.
Let each one give as hepurposes in his heart, not
grudgingly or of necessity.
That word necessity can also betranslated under compulsion, for
God loves a cheerful giver andGod is able to make all grace.
(12:21):
God is able, but you've got tobe willing to make all grace
abound towards you, that youalways, having all sufficiency
and all things, may have anabundance for every good work,
hallelujah.
So look at this here, he who'sso sparing, he sets it off
saying here's the principle Ifyou give a little bit, you're
going to reap a little bit.
If you give a lot, you don'tgive a lot.
But he's saying God loves acheerful, prompt to do it,
(12:41):
joyous giver whose heart is intheir giving.
If you read that in Amplifiedbut this is where I want to get
to it says don't let a man givegrudgingly or of necessity, and
that word necessity is anake,anake, which simply means
imposed giving.
Imposed either by circumstances, outward circumstances, by law
(13:04):
of duty.
So it is your duty to do this.
That's not what God's lookingfor.
Or regarding to one's advantage.
So we're saying, basically, ifsomeone's going to take an
advantage, it's not givingaccording to that person's or
the other person's advantage,one that's giving or the person
that's receiving the offering,not giving according to custom
or argument.
Now watch it.
Jesus said something veryprofoundly.
(13:25):
He said you make the word ofGod of no effect through your
tradition.
I have been in offerings.
Listen, people ask me to takeup offerings.
I raise money for television.
I'm actually heading up rightnow.
I'm producing the fundraising,the telethons for Cornerstone
Television Network.
I work with all of that.
I love doing this.
I believe in giving.
But what I have found out iswhen God wants the money raised,
(13:49):
there will be an anointing inthat atmosphere that you don't
need to use compulsion.
The Bible makes it very clearDon't give of necessity,
compulsion.
God is looking.
He doesn't want us to givegrudgingly.
God wants a cheerful, joyful,prompt to do it.
Giver whose heart is in theirgiving when I feel when he went
(14:13):
into close the doors, that'sright, close the doors.
And then he went into a rebukein regards to we all go in the
same place, there ain't no needgoing out there, going to the
restaurant.
You know, he's making theselittle innuendos of people that
feel like they don't want to go.
Now, this is what I want you tocatch.
He said close the doors, butwhen I talk to people about it,
(14:34):
what they heard is you can'tleave.
Now.
See, this is the reality.
No-transcript.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
If I'm taking up an offering.
Open the doors If you don'twant to get in on this.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
That's on you.
You don't want to receive it,that's on you.
The Bible says let every mangive as he purposes in his heart
.
Now, this is what I do believe.
You miss a blessing If you'reobligated to give, then
therefore, it's a sin not togive.
If you choose to give, that'son you.
If you choose not to give,that's on you.
If you choose not to give,that's on you.
(15:05):
Do I believe a person can missout on blessing?
Without a doubt.
Do I believe a person can missout on a breakthrough?
Without a doubt, the womancould have made the cake and
died if she would not haveobeyed the word.
Now, here you go.
You have to determine whetherGod is speaking to you or not
and, as men of no one shouldfeel obligated or feel pressured
(15:26):
to stay, feel pressured to give.
I remember I was in a serviceone time kid you not true story.
There was a guy that wasraising an offering for a pastor
and he was in there.
They didn't get as much as theywanted for the pastor.
So this guy started callingpeople out in the audience and
started saying hey, so-and-so,brother McGillicuddy, I know you
got more money, come on up here.
Hey you, I know you got extra.
Come on up here and startedcalling people out by name and
(15:50):
people came up to give offeringsand I'm sitting there thinking
in my mind.
I'm like I wish he would callme out.
If he calls me out, we don'thave a problem.
I'm going to let him know.
No, sir, you are out of order.
I believe this.
When you are going to be askingpeople to raise money, do you
believe?
Do I believe, there's a promiseattached?
Without a doubt?
Do I believe that a person canhear from God and share a
(16:13):
prophetic word for people togive?
Without a doubt?
Do I believe in miracleofferings?
Without a doubt?
Do I believe you can miss abreakthrough by not giving?
Without a doubt?
Do I believe you can get abreakthrough by giving?
Without a doubt?
It goes both ways.
But see, this is the thingJesus said.
My sheep know my voice.
It's real simple.
Matter of fact.
I believe, if it's really aword from God, open the doors.
(16:34):
Open the doors and let thepeople know.
If you don't want to give,that's totally up to you.
You're the one that's going tomiss the breakthrough.
If God's talking to you, you'rethe one that's going to the
people that need to hear it aregoing to hear it.
But to make people feel, andwhat I heard everybody say
anybody that I've talked to saidwhen he said, shut the doors.
It sounds like lock the doors.
It sounds like nobody's able toleave.
If you were to get up rightthere, you would feel guilty for
(16:59):
leaving.
I don't believe that shouldever be the case.
What if somebody has to go tothe bathroom?
What if somebody feels like Ihave to leave?
I waited long enough and mykids are waiting for me, or I
got now.
You put them in a predicament.
There's a lot of things that goalong with that.
Everybody that gets up isn'tgetting up just because they
don't want to get.
Some people may just not be ableto stay, and I don't believe we
should ever make people feelthey are obligated to stay in an
arena.
Now I believe this when youfeel it's a holy moment, you can
(17:24):
tell people hey, I want to askeverybody if you can, don't move
.
I don't want anybody to missthis moment and let people know.
Hey, if you need to leave, Iunderstand, do it quietly, but
let's honor God's presence inthis moment.
If somebody's getting ready togive their life to the Lord, we
don't want anybody walkingaround.
Please give us a moment.
(17:47):
If you sure that every soulhere, it's the motive and the
intent of the heart when I'mlistening to him talk close the
doors, close the doors.
We're all leaving together.
Listen, you ain't going nowherebut the restaurant anyways, so
you need to just.
I mean, it's almost a rebuke,it's condescending and it can
come across as judgmental andpeople are now gripped with fear
.
That's not what cultivates anatmosphere full of faith giving.
When you give, you want to feelthe presence of God moving up
(18:10):
and down the aisle.
You want to feel the heart ofGod going up to people, saying
I'm ready for you to join infaith and take a step of faith,
and I believe those are miraclemoments.
And I believe for far too long,many people in the church
African-American churches inparticular, because I've been in
them Doesn't mean that whitechurches or non-blacks don't do
(18:31):
it.
But I'm saying I've seen a lotof African-American where it's
very pressurized.
I've been in services with thatand I just made up my mind.
I'm not going to be one ofthose type of people.
If you choose to give, youchoose to give.
If you choose not to give, youchoose not to give.
I mean, the preaching of theword is just as important as the
salvation altar call, it's justas important as the tithe and
offer and everything else.
(18:53):
Hey, if people have to move,they have to move.
But I believe what happened?
We get into this thing wherewe're feeling this sense where,
like you're going to give thismoney and that's kind of the
tone that I heard Nobody'sleaving, everybody sit down,
close the doors, ushers, I toldyou before.
He said in the beginning hesays again shut the doors, close
the doors.
Like what's going on here?
Why aren't we doing this?
(19:13):
And it came across with a toneand to his defense he did a
positive.
Maybe I could have adjustedthat, could have said that a
little bit differently.
And that's where I feel thisscripture.
Here it says let each one giveand here's in the Amplified
thoughtfully and with purpose,just as he has decided in his
(19:34):
heart, not grudgingly or undercompulsion.
So the Bible warns about peoplefeeling under compulsion to give
.
Don't give that way.
God loves a cheerful giver andwhen I've seen the most
miraculous offerings, it's when,man, the atmosphere is so ripe,
it feels so good and you canfeel the heart of God going out.
You know you're in a moment andif you've ever been in there
(19:57):
and you've preached in thosemoments, you'll tell people this
is a special moment Because youcan take up other offerings and
people will sow you, challengetheir faith.
Nothing wrong with that, but,man, when the miracle offering
is happening, the power of Godis moving and you know it and
can recognize it in thatatmosphere.
And so that's one of thereasons why I kind of felt in my
(20:18):
heart that I really wanted totake some time and address this,
because I really believe thatit needs to be looked at.
It needs to be addressed.
It's something that has to belooked at.
We have to take up offeringsand allow the spirit of God to
move in people's hearts.
Preach the word, know the word,understand the word, but never
feel under compulsion.
I do this all the time.
(20:38):
I said listen, I may saythere's five people that are
supposed to give $1,000, 10people supposed to give $500, 25
, 10 people to get $500, 25people to give $2,000, whatever
it's going to be.
But if I'm not talking to you,I'm not talking to you, but to
make people feel like nobody'sleaving, nobody's going anywhere
, close the doors.
But when you do that, and thenat the end he said now open the
doors.
(20:58):
All right, y'all, but beforeyou leave, come up here first,
you know.
So you've got this wholedynamic of like control,
manipulation, you know, usingfear tactics, making people feel
like they're afraid to move.
I don't agree with that.
I don't think that's the way anoffering should be shared and,
once again, I love Pastor MarvinSapp.
I believe he's a phenomenal manof God.
(21:22):
But I believe it's importantthat people understand the
scripture and I believe thatwhen people are taking up
offerings correctly, I'm all for.
Like.
A lot of people may disagreewith me on the fact that you
know you can take up a miracleoffering or attach a promise to
a seed.
It's worked for me.
I've done it myself, I've askedpeople to do it and I felt the
presence of God in those momentsand I've seen people respond
and get supernatural miracles.
So, like I always say, a manwith experience is never mercy
to a man with an argument.
(21:42):
So, so I just want to encourageyou today.
First of all, don't beat up onhim, don't beat up on other
pastors or anything along thatline, but we do need to get back
to the word of God.
That's all that matters, andyou know what he's been willing
to own that part.
I was watching I think it was onthe Ricky Smiley show and he
talked about how he could havebeen a little bit softer and he
went into talking about how youknow he's not, and I don't think
(22:02):
that's real.
I think that was all completelyirrelevant.
I think the thing that reallycame across and struck people
the wrong way was the tonebehind close the doors, the
sense of control, manipulatingthe emotions of people.
And when I say that I mean inregards to fear that nobody can
move, nobody's going anywhere,stand still.
Shut the doors, nobody'sleaving this place until I say
so tight that that's what itcame across, that that may not
(22:25):
have been his intent, but that'show it came across and I
believe this Open the doors,even when it comes to salvation.
Open the doors.
You want to walk out?
You can walk out.
If you want to leave, that's upto you.
You can leave.
Jesus when he was feeding the5000.
Think about it for a minute Fedthe 5000, preached the gospel,
offered to come to the house andthey all left him.
He opened the doors.
He said go ahead and go.
(22:46):
And then he looked at Peter andthe disciples are you leaving.
He said where else are we goingto go?
You alone have the words ofeternal life.
If it's the word of the Lord,they're not submitted to me and
you anyways.
Whoever's leading that chargewhen it comes to raising the
funds or taking up an offeringor whatever it might be, giving
under compulsion to a man, goddoesn't honor that.
(23:06):
God said I bless those thathave a cheerful giver, that
cheerful giving heart.
Those are the people that Godblesses and honors.
And so what we wanna do whenwe're taking up our tithes and
offerings or doing a miracleoffering is we want an
atmosphere that God pulls on thehearts of the people, that
they're no longer giving to us.
They're not giving to thechurch, they're giving in
(23:27):
response to the word of God.
Of course, yes, they're givingto the church, but not just
giving to the church forchurch's sake, not giving an
offering just because thepreacher said so.
They hear the Lord forthemselves saying I need to
write this miracle check.
That's what I want.
I want that to happen.
And if we can get that tohappen, ladies and gentlemen, my
goodness listen.
(23:47):
Tithing offering can be a timeof worship.
It can be a time of enjoyment.
It can be a time where peoplethat go home excited.
Now sometimes people write thatcheck in faith.
Sometimes you're a littlenervous when you first go home,
but God always honors it, heresponds to faith and he will
bless you when you sow.
It's very, very important.
I remember one time I was in aactually I was in a telethon and
(24:08):
a preacher was taking up anoffering and the Lord spoke to
me and said I want you to get$5,000 from your ministry,
greatest $5,000 I ever gave.
So $5,000 ended up having aperson give me now check this
out Huge led wall.
I mean thousands upon thousandsof dollars in lighting
equipment.
I mean total of 150, $200,000.
I can't remember the exactamount, I don't know exactly.
(24:30):
I've used those numbers aroundaround that place a lot.
I got all of that for um, I'llnever forget it for $000.
$13,000.
I mean you ain't getting thoselights, every light that I have.
I mean there was like $4,000 apiece, brand new, and I got them
.
And I mean the Lord justcompletely blessed.
I'll never forget sowing thatseed.
In that moment I knew it didn'tmatter what the man of God said
.
I knew what God spoke to me.
(24:51):
So let me say this no matterwhen a preacher is taking up
money, no matter when.
Listen, don't condemn anybody,don't judge anybody.
Learn to hear from God, fromyourself, and if you don't feel
led to give, then just don'tgive.
You're not going to miss itbecause of that.
It's when you're in theatmosphere, when the atmosphere
is ovulating for that seed, thatis when you want to sow.
(25:13):
You want to know God so wellthat you look beyond the
preacher, you look beyond theman or woman of God, you look
beyond who's raising the funds.
You hear the spirit of the Lordand you respond in obedience to
him.
Because if you sow to a man,only that man can bless you.
But if you sow under the Lord,the man that's holding that
mantle when he shares the wordof the Lord to you and you
respond to it, that mantle, thatanointing that word, that
(25:33):
presence must honor the seedthat you sow.
Learn to hear from God andlisten.
Let's not be hard on PastorSatt.
He's a good man of God.
I believe that he's a good manof God.
To my knowledge, from what Iknow, what I've seen, I mean,
he's been singing and preachingfor decades now and been nothing
but, to my knowledge, a modelcitizen.
(25:55):
I don't know everybody, butjust because of this thing here,
let's go easy, be loving, bekind.
We all can fall short, but thisis just my take on it.
I hope that you've been blessedby this.
I hope that you'll take a minuteto like, subscribe, follow,
share, let others know aboutthis.
It comes from a scripturalbackground.
It's not my opinion, some of itis but there's Bible behind
(26:15):
what I'm talking about, where Ifelt the lines were crossed
Whenever there's compulsion.
That is the point of where itis that we need to start looking
at how we're motivating peopleto be able to sow and to give,
but giving in faith.
Nothing wrong with that at all,sacrificial giving, nothing
wrong.
And I believe there's a lot ofpeople that need to hear this
perspective, and I believe thatif you will like, subscribe,
(26:35):
follow and share, god's going togive a million dollars Now I'm
just kidding with you, but God'sgoing to bless you for getting
that message out to somebodyelse.
So take a minute and do that,and don't forget to and every
one of our podcast platforms,like and subscribe to our
podcast, so you, too, can be thelatest member of the Dimensions
family.
God bless you.
(27:00):
I hope that you've been blessedand I look forward to seeing
you next time right here onDimensions.
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