Is God worthy of our First Fruits
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Intro and Tension
Intro and Tension
the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
A Series on Humility - On realigning our life around our Lord | We so often seek that which only God is worthy to recieve | Want to be Rich, Powerful, Wise and Strong, have Honour and Praise from people | But we need to ascribe these things to our Lord Almighty, He is worthy of opening up the scroll |
Through this series, let us learn not to seek that which should only be ascribed to God and grow in gratitude for Him when he shares with us that which rightly belongs only to Him - Because He is Worthy of it all.
Series: Worthy of it All - 4 Week journey - First Fruits, Surrender, Forgiveness and Worship.
My Hope, stop being a fan, and get in the game.
It wasn’t a coincidence that we start with First Fruits . I want to be honest | Tried to get away from message | HS wouldn’t let me | someone getting freed today | If this subject makes you uncomfortable, it’s you
Title: Is God worthy of our first fruits? (Spoiler, yes)
My Hope: Is that you will realise that our God is truly, without a shadow of a doubt, our provider - and you will be freed from the strong hold of scarcity and want.
**Pray**
I want to try and answer 2 Questions;
Is God Jehovah Jirah?
What is our response?
Firstly, I want to say, Generosity is not what we do here, it’s who we are. (Lead the way in irrational generosity). More blessed to give.
How many say they rich?
Most aussies don’t think we are rich and we are,
and most aussies think they are generous but they’re not. (Can we go there today). Australian's are generous by nature - and 2020 has demonstrated this like never before. But it is the under-lying, everyday generosity that the team at GiveNow are always impressed by. The everyday giving by everyday Australians to the community organisations that matter to them. It is this generosity that is the fuel for the engine of our beloved community organisations.
How generous are we you might ask? The average person gave $200 per year and helped out for 1 hour per week. (Sin Nature)
don’t give much, because we don’t have much. Don’t feel rich | Compare to someone really rich | Have a car, in the top 9% of wealt in the WORLD | Get in our car, Drive past 6 pr 7 restaurants, order, go home, home for our car, toilet - stuff goes away, touch every clothe, then say “We got nothing to wear” -
THe reason for these 2 issues, we think there is never enough | We operate out of a scarcity mindset = God Supples > We Consume > We lack > We Fear
AS Jesus followers, we are meant to have a different mindset.
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Notice, he meets all our needs, doesn’t meet our wants.
Need Clothes, we want white sneakers,
Need rest, We want vacation resort by the ocean
Need shelter, Granite benchtops, wooden floors
Difference between need and want > Conditioned to spend to our limit.
The issue is not that of provision, it’s of Focus - and our Focus, should be on God’s will.
Point: Where God Guids, he always provides.
And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
God doesn’t provide for YOUR dreams, he provides for HIS WILL.
Someone might think “God is not coming through”, Mortgage, Car, Vacation, Still paying off Xmas 2014 - What we need to recognise - Maybe God met your NEEDS, but we spent it on our WANTS. His Provision isn’t a get-out-of-jail free card for silly decisions.
Good news - When God directs you, he provides for you
Let’s go to Abraham - If Remember, they wanted a Son - For years he and sarah prayed - Waited, Prayed, Decades - God finaly gives him what he wanted. A Son.
God puts abraham to the test - Who is FIRST? Take Son, Sacrifice. Walking | Little Boy “Daddy, Where is the sacrifice”
Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
They reach the top - Abraham Obeys God - Raises KNife - Angel says - Do not lay a hand.
And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
Jehovah Jirah - The Lord will Provide (Wat is it for you)
Where God Guides, He always Provides
Abraham living his life FIXED on the WILL OF GOD - How Many times are we living fixated on the LACK.
and if we are living fixated on the LACK, it’s so difficult to give God our FIRST - Because we have bought the lie that God is not going to PROVIDE, and we shift our eyes from Provider, to provision - When We start to shift them back, we mature as Christians.
Maturing as a Christian is realising that we live a sacrificial life be cause HE IS WORTHY. (Bodies as a living sacrifice, come next week).
Seek the Providers Will, Not His Provision.
So if God is our Provider, what is our response?
Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce;
Hair Cut Story - Traumatic, My Fav hairdresser having baby, went to another before closing, was terrible, PTSD. I wanted the BEST.
God wants your best, God wants to be first in every aspect of your life. When God is first, Everything comes in order. (Still storms)
Go to OT - Explain why FIRST Matters - Very Old testamenty, but stay with me.
The Lord said to Moses, “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.”
Hebrew is SO STRONG. IS MINE.
you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord’s.
Firstborn must be sacrificed or redeemed - Again, this was a law, we are under grace, but there are principles in the law that leads to life. We are trying to find the PRINCIPLE that leads to LIFE. Principles carried all the way through - Abraham gave to God before the Law, Cain and Able, Exodus, Malachi and Jesus.
Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.
(Grab teddies) How do you know sacrifice or redeem? 2 Classifications of animals = Lamb - Clean, Donkey = Inclean. Clean first born, Must be sacrificed, Unclean first born, it must be redeemed by a sacrifice.
First of everything - Sacrificed, or Redeemed.
Here is why it’s important - Where you born clean or unclean? (parents)
Was Jesus born clean or unclean? What He did was take the donkey, and he redeemed it. Had to be sacrificed so the UNCLEAN could be REDEEMED. THe only reason we are standing here after all the bad is because the spotless lamb of God took the donkey’s place.
Every Stain I Had | Every Sin I walked in | Every Rebellion | The Lamb was sacrificed to make me clean - Because Jesus was God’s first.
This is the principle of giving first fruits and your BEST - God gave Jesus, FIRST. You thought it was about the money - it doesn’t take faith to give the 10th one - It takes faith to give the first one.
Point: It takes FAITH to give the first.
That is why we tithe (Tenth in hebrew) - It’s the FIRST 10% - It’s a Principle. *My Story on Tithing* -
I want to be clear; God does not need our money. Not paving the roads of Gold and was like “How do I keep going? I know, I’ll get them to tithe” - He wants our Heart - It’s about Obedience.
Under Grace, do we HAVE to Tithe = NO. Should we Tithe = Yes, why? Because he wants our first fruits, not just Money - First in our Day, First in our Business, First in our Marriage, First in our money - Why concentrate here? It’s the hardest thing for us to let go of - Money in Bible over 800 times - Jesus 15% of preaching - He knew we would struggle in this area. God doesn’t want us to cling to money etc, cling to God. (Elsa Equation) Some Advice.
What you’re willing to let go of, shows what you’re willing to be a part of.
God says to BRING IT - You can’t GIVE what you do not own. Bring it, or Steal it. That’s what Scripture says.
Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.
You put God First, the Rest is Blessed.
God can never be second!! He is above all. He is FIRST.
Do you trust Jehovah Jirah - Why does it have to be first?
(illustration) Get given something, do you believe that God will provide what you need? Not Want, NEED? If you keep it, ask why - If you give it, ask why.
Faith Mindset (Graph)
The world lives in Scarcity Mindset, we as jesus Followers are meant to live different.
God is Jehovah Jirah, He will supply every need.
We will lead the way, with irrational generosity. Not in the church, but for our community. starts with tithe.
God is JEHOVAH JIRAH
Not just finances | Spiritual | Loniless | Addiction | Maybe your problem is your preperation | Your trials will be your testimony | He supplies all our needs | While we were spiritually bankrupt… He came down while we were sinners...
God’s First, even if you don’t put Him First, but He wants your heart.
Close and Inspo
Close and Inspo
This is what they use to do in Exodus *act out*
And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’
If Alexis, or Nate ever ask why do we give, why do we serve, why do we want to try and live a sacrificial life for our king?
because a few years ago, I was lost, I had nothing, I was spiritually bankrupt BUT GOD - BY A STRONG HAND, Saved Me, and so now I GLADLY give and this is the point because it’s not about Law.
God wants a cheerful giver - You’re not required, but I dare you to test him.
He said he provides out of our GIVING for our Good work - This house is doing good work. Let’s do Good work, together.
Where God Guides, He Provides.
Lift our eyes, from our provision, to our provider.
Seek the Providers Will, Not His Provision.
It takes FAITH to put Him First.
But we do it, because He is Worthy of not just a tenth, not just the first prayer in the morning, not just the first hour of our day, He is Worthy, of it ALL.
**Pray**