It's All About the Heart (3)

First Things First

Good morning, CHURCH!

(Opening joke)

A small church was raising funds for a new piano.

On Sunday the pastor said, “Whoever gives the most money today in the offering can pick out 3 hymns.”

So they passed the offering plate around and the pastor sees a $100 bill in the plate. He said “Looks like we have a winner!

Whoever gave the $100 bill can come to the front and select 3 hymns.” An 80-year-old lady slowly got up, walked to the front. She looked at the pastor, “You said I can pick 3 hymns.” He said, “Yes mam.” “I’ll take him, him, and him! “

Are you ready to be equipped today?

Let me see your Bibles.

Let’s go to the book of Leviticus 27:30 for this week’s wisdom Vaccination.

This Week’s Wisdom Vaccination

Leviticus 27:30 ESV

“Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord's; it is holy to the Lord.

It is set apart to the LORD.

It belongs to God and not to you.

Today’s message title is:

First Things First

Do you know that if God is first in your life, everything else will fall into order.

And did you know that if he’s not first, nothing will come into order in your life.

I remember we rented out a theatre to see “Why did I get married.” We passed out questionnaires to the married couples and asked them to rank what their spouses order of priorities were using 5 things. (God, spouse, children, job and the church)

Hardly any of the wives listed that their husbands number one priority was God.

Point #1

The first belongs to God.

Exodus 13:1-2 ESV

The Lord said to Moses, 2 “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.”

When the children of Israel went into the promised land God said bring all the silver and gold from Jericho into the house of the Lord.

Jericho was the first city they conquered.

The first has the redemptive power for the rest which we will see later in the message.

Proverbs 3:9-10 ESV

Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce; 10 then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

Exodus 23:19 ESV

“The best of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.

Did you notice the use of the word bring.

You can either bring the tithe or steel it.

Do you know what happened to Achan when he kept/stole some of the tithe from Jericho. Joshua 7

This is kind of like the temptation for us today when things might be financially tight, the tithe might seem like just what you need to make it till next payday.

Do you know why God eventually blesses those who tithe even in tight times?

Because He can really trust them.

The first belongs to God

Do you remember in Genesis that God accepted Abel’s offering but he didn’t except Cain’s.

Genesis 4:3-5 ESV

In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.

One was the first fruits, and the other was just an offering.

So, don’t get mad if God blesses your brother or sister who is a tither and your not.

You’ll be acting like Cain who killed his brother Abel.

It wasn’t just that God didn’t except Cain’s offering. It was that God couldn’t except it.

You see there are some things that God can’t do.

*God can’t change. (If God could change, he could get better but he’s already perfect.)

*God can’t think the way we think. (Omniscient – We think to figure things out - Nothing has ever occurred to God - Higher thoughts – God has never said Oh my God.)

Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

*God can’t be second (The preeminence of God - God is first even if not in your life.)

Point #2

The first is the redeemer.

Redeemer means to save, deliver or to buy back.

Exodus 13:11-13 ESV

“When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, 12 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. 13 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.

“The first offspring of every womb” belongs to God, and in cattle it was specifically the “firstborn males” that were his.

God did not want to keep away from the people and families their firstborn human babies or many of the firstborn animal babies.

The way it was, is that the firstborn males of normally edible animals (goat kids, lambs, oxen,—whatever was considered a proper food animal) were given to God as offerings.

And the firstborn of humans and the firstborn of male animals used for work but not for eating (such as the donkey mentioned in v. 13) were redeemed by payment of a substitute.

The clean/edible firstborn animals were sacrificed and the unclean/non-edible firstborn animals were redeemed.

The rule in v. 13 about breaking the neck of an unredeemed donkey may seem odd at first glance.

But A firstborn animal could not simply be kept from God for one’s own use—whether for working or for eating.

It belonged to God, so if it was not redeemed, it must be destroyed.

We understand that the Old Testament foreshadowed what was to come later.

If a Donkey represents unclean and a lamb represents clean.

You and I were born unclean and Jesus the lamb of God was born clean.

So, we who were born unclean have now been redeemed back to God by the one who was clean.

Point #3

The tithe must be first.

Jacob had a dream in Genesis 28. He saw a ladder.

I imagine it to be something like and escalator up to Heaven. Angels were going up and down it.

Then the LORD spoke to him saying I’m giving you this land and your offspring will be great and blessed.

I’ll be with you and keep you wherever you go.

This was Jacob’s response.

Genesis 28: 16-17 ESV

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

This was like that aha moment when he realized that God was real or like that moment when you realized you really found a house of God.

So, what was your position when you found that place God has for you? what did you do?

This is what Jacob did.

Genesis 28: 20-22 ESV

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

Jacob was like, God if you got me like this, you shall be my God and of all that you bless me with, I’ll break you off from the top.

Let’s wrap up our passage in Exodus 13.

Exodus 13:14-16 ESV

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. 15 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.’

One day your child is going to ask you why do you tithe or why do you give so much to the church?

You’re going to sit your child down and tell them that you were once a slave to sin, and God rescued you with His son Jesus just like he rescued the children of Israel from 400 years of slavery.

Because of that and in remembrance of that, I happily bring a tithe and large offering to the house of the LORD.

How do I know what’s first?

(E.G.) If I’m a contractor and I paint houses all week long. At the end of the week, I get a check for $1,300.

And after I deduct the cost of the paint and brushes and supplies, I’m left with $1,000.

I have 10 one-hundred-dollar bills.

Which one is the tithe?

It's not the 10% that enacts the blessing. It’s the faith by offering it first that enacts the blessing.

(Closing illustration)

I went to the gas station to buy something to drink.

I only had a twenty that was given to me. I didn’t want the tithe of it to go to the gas station, so I asked them for change before I made the purchase.

But I’m not telling you to be legalistic about it.

If your signals get crossed and you end up paying something but forgot that you didn’t send the tithe. Just send it.

But if your heart is that God would be first, you will usually make sure His is first.

If you’re watching online or here in the room, I have a very important question to ask you.

What is Holy Spirit saying to you right now?