First Fruits
Notes
Transcript
An Attitude of giving
An Attitude of giving
Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest; then your barns will be completely filled, and your vats will overflow with new wine.
The idea - First Fruits
OT - God called his people to bring the first yield—the first fruits—from their harvest to him as an offering. This was to demonstrate the Israelites’ obedience and reverence for God. It also showed that they trusted God to provide enough crops to feed their family.
Hebrew word for first fruit is bikkurim—literally translated to “promise to come.”
NT - no command specifically that says how or how much to give - but it talks about our heart, that we are called to be generous and even sacrificial.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.
Giving our firstfruits means giving our best to God. It means sacrificing something that costs us a little. It means putting God first, even before ourselves, or our family.
It means we acknowledge it is all His
It means we trust and our actions back it up
Giving of our first fruits reminds us that God is our ultimate priority. It shows God that we are obedient to him and we can be trusted with more.
Perhaps most importantly, being generous in this way shows that we are grateful for all God has given to us.