First Fruits and Second Fruits

The last time we took up our series on Joshua, we witnessed Israel’s stunning defeat at Ai. They went in confident only to be completely defeated. Their defeat was because one of them, one man had taken a few precious items from Jericho, totally disobeying God’s commandment.

Achan paid the price with his life. Indeed, the wages of sin is death. His death pointed to Christ. Christ was the one who perfectly laid down his life, not for his own sin, for he’d committed none, but rather for the sins of the world, yours and mine included.

In Chapter 8, we read the successful defeat of Ai. I’m so glad that God included the strategy in this chapter. God took Israel’s failure and he used it as a tool to win the battle. When Ai saw Israel coming again, they thought, “Okay, let’s get ‘em again, obviously they don’t learn!” But while all of Ai’s fighting men chased after part of Israel’s army, the rest sacked the city. Ai was totally conquered.

God used Israel’s failure to bring about victory. There’s no reason to think he’s stopped doing that. I’m convinced; no, I know from experience that God brings victory from our defeat. The best and first example is Christ himself. Christ took our defeat, our fall into sin and turned it into victory on the cross.

Think about your own life; think about mistakes you’ve made that God has turned into victory. Sometimes you don’t see that victory for a long time, but then, looking back you can see it, you can see how God has used that experience to send you onto a different path. With God, all we have to do is trust in him.

I remember worrying about the calling process. How would I know if I chose the right church? Then I read an article that explained that God uses us where we are. There is no right or wrong place to serve God. Sure, some pastors might be better suited for certain congregations. But God uses people where they are, good or bad. I know of a pastor and a church where things didn’t work out in a way either had hoped. Looking back, after a long time had passed; you can see how God brought great good out of not so great circumstances. Both pastor and congregation have flourished.

Looking at Springdale and her history, we have to understand that God is bringing great things out of it! Jesus came to seek and save the lost. At the very least there is one more church doing that! Knowing that Christ has paid for all sin, we can release and forgive others the wrongs we feel we’ve received. As we’ve been forgiven, we forgive. We can earnestly pray for God’s blessing to be on those who have harmed us, because it isn’t about is, it is about God and telling people of salvation in Jesus Christ.

Additionally, Springdale’s recent past is a wakeup call for us. We’ve forgotten our first love: Jesus Christ. We’ve forgotten our first task: preach the gospel to those who do not know. That’s what Pastor Howard McPhee preached at Springdale’s 60th anniversary service. That’s what we need to do. Let us not bemoan, grumble, or complain any longer about what has happened. Let us give it over to God, seek reconciliation, as far as it depends upon us, and let us run the race laid out before us!

Our second lesson from our text is the spoils of Ai. There’s a pattern here. Jericho, the first city, was completely dedicated to the Lord. The second and subsequent cities go to the nation. This is the pattern throughout scripture. God receives the best of our rewards, first. This requires faith, or trust on our part. When we give first to God, we demonstrate our trust that God is our great provider; every good and perfect gift comes from him. The trust part is, by giving our best first, we’re trusting that the rest of our harvest won’t be so horrible that we can’t live off it.

The farmers here understand this. What God requires of us is a first fruit offering. Able offered the best, most valuable and choicest of offerings to the Lord. Cain offered whatever he had left over, and of poorest quality. It is also possible that Cain’s offering was rejected because he didn’t offer any animals, that he should have purchased some from his brother so that he could give a blood offering, for only a blood offering served as an atonement for sin, pointing to Christ’s blood shed on the cross.

In the days when you needed to recover seed from your crop, giving up the first and the best was a trust exercise. You could end up losing next year’s harvest also, because you weren’t able to set aside enough good seed for planting. Or you might end up sacrificing so much, that if a storm ruins the remainder of the crop, you wouldn’t have enough to live.

The people of Israel were supposed to give to the Lord first. They failed to do so. As a result, God punished them, he withheld his blessing, and their crops failed. They tried worshipping other Gods to increase their fortunes, but the only thing that worked was to repent and trust God to provide.

We’ve all heard great and not so great sermons on giving. Pastor Dante Venegas at the Madison Square CRC preached a great sermon on giving. He said, “You can’t out give God. Demonstrate your trust in God by taking out your tithe first. When you deposit your paycheque, allowance, or whatever, take your tithe, start at 10% he said, first.”

I decided to try it. I was never very good at tithing back then. At the end of the pay period, I never seemed to have enough cash in the account. So, I tried it. It was hard to see the bank account depleted by 10% right off the bat. But I soon discovered that it changed the way I thought about money, eventually. I was surprised that I often wound up with more money in my account than I had before without giving a tithe!

Pastor Dante told us to start with a percentage, and then increase it. Start with your after tax 10%. Then try 10% of what you make before tax. Then try increasing it. See if God can’t out give you.

Also, when you give, recognise that you’re giving to God. After you drop it in the plate, it is God’s, not yours. Actually, it never was yours in the first place, “The whole world is the Lord’s and everything in it.” You can’t go to council and say, “I don’t agree with what this church is doing with my money.” It isn’t your money. Now, if council or the leadership of the church isn’t being good stewards with God’s money, then by all means write letters, show up at council meetings, ask for audits, etc. Accountability is good! But if you withhold giving because you are not getting your way, or if you are not satisfied with certain things, or any other reason, stop. To not give is to sin. Giving is a required part of worship; you give of your time, treasures and talents.

Our third and last point is Christ. Christ is the first fruit. Christ is the firstborn of the dead. He is the one perfect true 100%, tithe, offering, sacrifice. There is no greater sacrifice given than Christ. To suggest otherwise diminishes Christ. Christ is our greatest offering. That’s what we’ve received. We’ve received Christ. That’s what we give; we give Christ.

We give back to God, that which is his own. The only worthy sacrifice we can really give unto God is God. So many people are caught up in the finances. So many people argue over pennies, or songs, or prayers, or sermon lengths. We need to understand that worship is about God. God calls us here. The Holy Spirit transforms our humble attempts to ascribe praise into something that is acceptable and pleasing to God. The very fact that we can stand before God is because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and his continual presence before the Father. Indeed, he is continually pleading with the father on our behalf. Don’t fool yourself. Nothing we do here, or in any Christian church really is good enough. The Spirit and the Son must transform all of it.

Also, please try to remember that the songs we sing are just songs. There is not one song or style of song that is more reverent, more acceptable over another. They’re just tools to help us to ascribe worth to God. What matters is the heart of the person worshipping. I don’t know your hearts, though I can see the fruit of the hearts in worship. Some of us are right there, in fact, most of us are really connecting with Christ and the Spirit, regardless of the songs sung, or the style of service. Some are not. Be careful how you worship. Be sure you are giving your attention to God, not to the songs, or your own personal preferences.

How then do we live? How then do we give? How then do we worship? The only way is Christ. Christ is the first fruits. This means that Christ has to live in and through us. Christ is the only one who ever lived a perfect, Godly life. All others have failed. We have the Holy Spirit and we still fail! Our only option is to let Christ live in and through us!

People of God, trust God to turn your defeats into victories. Don’t try to come up with your own solutions, that’s what Abraham and Sarah tried to do. Don’t try to help God along, rather simply let him work. As God’s beloved children, don’t neglect giving to God. Remember what you’ve received in Christ, the perfect first fruits offering. Don’t get caught up in the wisdom of the world, which says, “The man who dies with the most toys wins.” I prefer the counter bumper sticker, “The man who dies with the most toys still dies.” He can’t play with them, so what’s the point of having them? Don’t get caught up into seeking after the things the world says is important. Realise that you have everything already in Christ.

Finally, Springdale CRC, let Christ live out His live in you and through you via the Holy Spirit. Set your mind on things above, where Christ is. Let him live out his perfect life in and through you. If you try it on your own, you’ll fail miserably, trust Christ to do the impossible in you, in me. Then you’ll be able to give as you should, with your time, your talents and your treasures. You have to start with Christ.

Let us remember to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, strength, finances, time and talents. He’s the one we love and serve. Let us love our neighbours as ourselves by seeking ways to introduce them to the gospel truth: Christ came to seek and save the lost! Amen.