First Things First

First Things First — The Power of Firstfruits

Week 2

Today we are going to talk about the principle of firstfruits

in order to understand firstfruits...

we must first understand something very

simple but very powerful:

There is a difference between something being important and something being first.

Many things in our life are important:

Family is important.

Health is important.

Work is important.

Finances are important.

But only one thing can be first.

OH COME ON.....

Important things get attention...

when there is time.

First things on the other hand….

shape how OUR time is used.

Important things fit somewhere in our lives.

First things however…….

determine how those things are arranged.

OH MY LORD HELP US....I WISH SOMEBODY WAS GETTING THIS....

WE MAKE IMPORTANT THINGS FIT INTO OUR SCHEDULE....

BUT FIRST THINGS ARE WHAT WE BUILD OUR CALENDARS AROUND

OH MY LORD HELP US.

So the real question is not:

“Is God important to me?”

The real question is:

“Is God first IN MY LIFE?”

OH COME ON....

ARE YOU TRYING TO FIT GOD IN??

OR ..IS HE FIRST AND

EVERYTHING ELSE....FALLS WHERE IT MAY?

Jesus made this clear.

Matthew 6:33 NIV

33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

The promise is not attached to seeking God occasionally.

The promise is attached to seeking God first.

OH MY......

HE DIDN’T SAY....

WHEN YOU HAVE TIME...MAKE SURE YOU SEEK ME

HE SAID....I PROMISE YOU THIS...

SEEK ME FIRST..... AND I WILL SUPPLY ALL YOUR NEEDS

1. What Is First Fruits — And Where did it come from

The principle of firstfruits began in the earliest worship practices of God’s people.

lets look at a couple of scriptures.

Exodus 23:19 NIV

19 “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.

Leviticus 23:10 NIV

10 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest.

The people were instructed to bring

the first portion of the harvest to God before the rest was gathered.

Deuteronomy shows the heart behind it.

When they brought firstfruits, they were declaring...

that God was the one who gave them the land and the increase.

Firstfruits was not about agriculture alone. It was a declaration that:

“God, You are my source.”

Do you know how much faith that required?

they gave the first part before knowing how the rest of the harvest would turn out.

that’s like you and I giving the first month of income to God

and trusting that he is going to take care of the rest of the year

hard to swallow for most of us.

and here is the thing,

IT’S NOT ABOUT THE AMOUNT YOU GIVE

IT’S ABOUT THE HEART AND TRUST THAT YOU GIVE WITH

FOR SOME OF YOU....

GIVING YOUR TIME IS WORTH MORE THAN GIVING MONEY....

IF THIS IS THE CASE....THEN I CHALLENGE YOU

TO GIVE YOUR TIME FIRST ....TO GOD

IF GIVING MONEY IS HARD FOR YOU.....

THEN I CHALLENGE YOU TO GIVE YOUR MONEY FIRST....TO GOD

CHURCH.....

FIRSTFRUIT IS NOT ABOUT JUST GIVING FINANCES....

IT’S ABOUT GIVING GOD THE FIRST OF EVERYTHING...

IT’S ABOUT TRUSTING HIS AS YOUR SOURCE

This Principle Appears Throughout Scripture

Even before the law, we see the principle of firstfruit.

Genesis 4 NIV

1 Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

God honored Abel’s offering because it represented the first and the best,

not simply a portion.

When Israel entered the Promised Land in Joshua 6,

the first city was Jericho — belonged completely to the Lord.

It was the firstfruits city,

it shows us that the first...always belongs to God before the rest is enjoyed.

The first portion is never about quantity.

It is about recognition —

recognizing who the true owner is.

2. The First Blesses the Rest

OH I LOVE THIS.....

Romans 11:16 NIV

16 If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

Paul is drawing from an Old Testament practice

where a small first portion of dough was offered to God (Numbers 15:17–21).

When that first portion was dedicated to the Lord,

it symbolically consecrated the entire harvest from which it came.

OH MY LORD HELP US......

Paul is explaining a spiritual principle:

What is dedicated first

determines the spiritual condition of what follows.

OH COME ON SOMEBODY

When the first portion is set apart,

the rest is considered covered.

When the root is healthy,

the branches benefit from that same life.

When the beginning is consecrated,

the remainder carries the influence of that consecration.

OH MY LORD I HOPE SOMEBODY IS GETTING THIS

This is not superstition —

THIS is about alignment and acknowledgment.

The first portion represented recognition that everything ultimately belongs to God.

(SLOW IT DOWN)

When we give God the first:

We are declaring that He is the source.

We are placing the rest of what we have under His authority.

We are aligning the remainder of our lives with His covering.

“When the first is surrendered,

the rest is positioned.

When the beginning is consecrated,

what follows comes under God’s blessing.”

CHURCH... God is not after a fraction of what we have —

He is establishing lordship over the whole

by asking for the first.

DOES THAT MAKE SINCE???

WATCH THIS.....

Proverbs 3:9–10 NIV

9 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

Notice the order:

Honor first — blessing follows.

UNDERSTAND THIS....

Two people can give the same amount:

One gives first — it is consecrated.

One gives later — it is leftover.

Same amount.

Different spiritual posture.

Sometimes we ask God to bless what we have already placed second.

AND HE SAID SEEK FIRST....AND THEN

The Widow of Zarephath

REMEMBER THERE WAS A FAMINE

FOOD WAS HARD TO COME BY,

NO WATER,

NOTHING WAS GROWING,

SHE WAS was preparing her last meal when the prophet Elijah spoke to her.

1 Kings 17:13–16 NIV

13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’ ” 15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

When she released what was first,

God secured what was next.

OH MY LORD......

CHURCH....

WHEN WE TRUST HIM WITH THE FIRST

HE PROMISES TO SHOW UP FOR THE NEXT

3. God Gave First

OH HOW I LOVE THIS.....

The principle of first did not begin with people —

it began with God.

THINK ABOUT THIS....

God gave His Son

before humanity ever responded.

Scripture calls JESUS...

the firstfruits of resurrection

1 Corinthians 15:20 NIV

20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

God did not wait for perfect behavior.

GOD DIDN’T SAY...

IF YOU GUYS CAN GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER

THEN I’LL SEND MY SON TO DIE IN YOUR PLACE

NO.....God gave first.

I LOVE THIS SCRIPTURE...AND IF I DOESN’T WRECK YOU....SOMETHING IS WRONG

Romans 5:8 NIV

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

So when God calls us to put Him first,

He is asking us to live according to the very pattern He demonstrated.

4. Firstfruit Breaks the Power of Fear

I SAID THIS LAST WEEK....

The greatest struggle in giving

is rarely generosity

it’s security.

Fear asks:

“What if I need this?”

“What if I don’t have enough later?”

Faith declares:

“God is my source.”

HE’S GOT THIS

CHURCH.....

Anything we cannot trust God with first

still has influence over our hearts.

But THE MOMENT God becomes first,

fear begins to lose its voice.

OH COME ON SOMEBODY....CAN YOU GIVE HIM SOME THANKS

.....WORSHIP TEAM WOULD YOU COME......

5. Firstfruit Is a Lordship Issue

(SLOW IT WAY DOWN)

Firstfruit is not only about finances.

It is about:

Who is first in my decisions?

my time?

my priorities?

Who is first in my trust?

Because when God is truly first,

everything else begins to come into alignment.

.....STAND TO YOUR FEET.....

Today this is not just a teaching SERMON—

it is a SERMON THAT REQUIRES RESPONSE

THIS IS A CALL TO ACTION.

BECAUSE IF WERE HONEST...MANY OF US ARE NOT GIVE GOD OUR FIRST

HE GETS OUR LEFTOVERS

THIS IS NOT OK.....

whenever God speaks about order,

AND HE DOES ALL THROUGHOUT SCRIPTURE

He also invites us into alignment.

HE IS SAYING....

HERE IS THE STANDARD OF LIVING A CHRIST CENTERED LIFE....

WILL YOU RESPOND BY ALGINING TO HIS WILL

WITH EVERY HEAD BOWED AND EYES CLOSED

Altar Call — Challenge to Respond

Some of you today sense the Holy Spirit speaking clearly to your heart.

IT’S Not condemnation —

IT’S invitation.

Invitation to put God first in a deeper way:

First in your time.

First in your decisions.

First in your trust.

First in every area of YOUR life.

And if today you know God is calling you to take a step of alignment —

to say, “Lord, I want You first”

I want to invite you to step out from where you are and come to the altar.

Not because YOU FEEL pressured.

But because God is drawing you.

If the Lord is speaking to you, step out now.

This is a moment of trust.

a moment of surrender.

This is a moment of putting God first.

WORSHIP TEAM WOULD YOU PLAY

MARCH 1ST, WILL BE FIRSTFRUIT SUNDAY

I ENCOURAGE YOU TO TALK TO YOUR SPOUSE AND PRAYERFULLY DECIDE

WHAT YOU WANT TO GIVE BACK TO GOD AS A SYMBOL OF TRUST FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR

THIS IS NOT ABOUT QUANTITY

THIS IS ABOUT ALIGNMENT

I ALSO CHALLENGE YOU TO BRING...

YOUR PRAYER REQUESTS OR TESTIMONIES OF PRAISE TO GOD

WRITE THEM DOWN TO INCLUDE WITH YOUR FIRST FRUIT OFFERING.

THERE WILL BE A SEPERATE BOX FOR THE WRITTEN PRAYERS AND TESTIMONIES.

AMEN???

Closing Prayer

Father, You see every heart responding today.

You see every person choosing to trust You more deeply.

LORD, HELP US OVERCOME OUR FEAR OF RELEASING CONTROL.

I PRAY THAT peace WOULD replace anxiety.

FATHER I PRAY THAT THIS RESPONSE WOULD MARK A NEW MOMENT IN TIME where You are first in every part of our lives.

FATHER HELP US TO KNOW YOU MORE DEEPLY

HELP US TO GROW IN DISCERNMENT AS WE WALK THROUGH LIFE

LORD WE THANK YOU AND GIVE YOU ALL THE GLORY AND ALL THE HONOR.....

In Jesus’ name, Amen.