Speaker 1i'm speaking on kingdom attitude but basically i'm addressing on giving on giving so my assignment is to teach on first fruits the tithing and the offerings on giving the bible says understanding is the wellspring of life to impact understanding hallelujah thank you for this privilege reverend steve are you ready to receive god's word lift up your right hand as we pray thank you our father thank you blessed holy spirit this blessed sunday morning we receive the spirit of wisdom and revelation anoint our eyes with eyesalve to see the riches of your word open our heart as we receive the engrafted word of god which is able to save us the word is blessed blessed holy spirit move among us have preeminence among us and let jesus be glorified in jesus name the son of god amen amen hallelujah so basically i'm speaking on giving the different aspects of giving kingdom attitude concerning giving first fruits tithing and offering so i will humbly plead with you to listen to the rest of the messages because i'm preaching all the services the second service and also the restoration service so i'm going to address all of them each of them in these services so this morning i will basically touch on first fruit then the second service i'll touch on tithing then on the restoration service either at that service i'll touch on our offerings so you have an assignment to listen to the rest of the messages so you can get everything you can get the whole message and be blessed are you with me hallelujah so we want to begin with the first fruits because it is first so it must be first the first fruit offering that's what we want to begin with this morning and i also challenge the second those who come at the second service and the third service to also listen to the morning service hallelujah thank you jesus now tie with me to the book of numbers chapter twenty three verse nine balaam the prophet was prophesying he was told to curse israel but he ended up blessing israel and he said from the top of the rocks i see him and from the hills i behold him lo the people shall dwell alone and shall not be reckoned among the nations now this is a prophecy concerning israel god's people and balaam prophesied concerning them and said the people shall dwell alone they shall not be counted among the nations now what it means is this there are earthly kingdoms and kingdoms of this world but when god chose israel israel was not to operate they were not to operate by the principles that governs the kingdoms of this world but when god chose israel israel was not to operate they were not to operate they were not to operate by the principles that governs the kingdoms of this world so at the beginning this prophecy said they shall dwell alone they shall not be counted among the nations that means that the kingdom of god that was given to israel was supposed to operate in a different dimension than the ordinary rules that governs the kingdoms that operate on earth but when god chose israel was not to operate they were not to operate they were not to operate by the principles that governs the kingdoms of this world They will not be accounted among the nations. They are operated by different rules and different principles. Now, every kingdom has its own health system, taxation system, educational system. Every kingdom and the principles that controls the kingdom, the governing principles. But when God chose Israel, God gave them the principles of the kingdom of God to live by. What God gave them, Israel was not to live like the Egyptians or like the Assyrians or the Babylonians. This was different. What God gave them was the principles of biblical economics. Now, the kingdom has its own economics, biblical economics. The kingdom has its own dimensions, principles that governs it. So what God did was that God gave Israel the principles of the kingdom of heaven. Biblical economics, so that they will prosper. Hallelujah. And understand that we are the people of God. We are in the world, but not of the world. We are the heavenly people. And God has given us these same principles to govern our lives. And if we live by these same principles, I'm telling you that your life will be worth living. Your life will be heaven on earth. You will enjoy all the things Jesus gave us. It is finished work. You are going to enjoy it. If you'll be willing and obedient, you will enjoy it. So I want to. I want to open up the biblical economics and its principles that are to govern the church, the kingdom of heaven. And if you live by it, you are going to prosper. Israel was obedient. In fact, when it comes to wealth, the church is ambivalent concerning wealth. That is to say, the church has mixed feelings concerning wealth. Some believe wealth is good. Others believe wealth is not good. Not with me. But when it comes to Israel, when a Jew is growing up, he has one mindset, to prosper. And the culture of the Jewish people is rooted in the biblical economics. So God gave them, number one, the first fruit, which is the first of the offerings. God gave them the tithe. There's the first fruit. There's the tithe. There is the freewill offerings. There is seed sowing. There is almsgiving. These are the principles of the kingdom. Almsgiving is for the poor. You see, they are all distinct and unique. And even the blessings are quite different. If you practice first fruit, it comes with a blessing. If you practice tithing, it comes with a blessing. If you practice freewill offering, it comes with a blessing. If you practice seed sowing, it has a blessing. And the freewill offerings, the offerings we give on Sunday, also has a blessing. Then, of course, the almsgiving, what we give to the poor. They all have their own regulations. For instance, the Bible says that when you are doing your alms, you shouldn't let your left hand see what your right hand is doing. When you are giving to the poor, Jesus said it should be hidden. You see, you can expose your Sunday offering. You can even expose your tithe. But when it comes to giving to the poor, with almsgiving, Jesus said, do it quietly. Don't let your right hand see what your left hand is doing. You can't generalize that for all the offerings. So all the offerings have their own specifications. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Israel believed in these principles and they practiced it. That is why they are the wealthiest people on earth today. The wealthiest people. Now, Israel forms, the Jews form, they form 2% of the American population. That's 2%. Out of 300 million, there are 6 million in America. But it was surprising to know that one-third of all multi-millionaires in America are Jewish. One-third. Meanwhile, they are the minority. Because of these principles, it undergirded their businesses and their career, whatever they did. According to Forbes, 45% of the top 4%. 40 wealthiest in America are Jews. The extent. Did you know that 25% of all Nobel Prize winners in the world are Jews? 20% of all professors in all leading universities in America are Jews. So these are blessed people. Blessed people. Blessed people. They are great givers. There is a philanthropic network called Benefactor 100. They call them Benefactor 100. These philanthropic networks are made up of wealthy guys who actually donate to help people. Now, in the Benefactor 100, out of the 100 people, the first 35 are Jews. Out of this philanthropic network, the first 35 are Jews. Crazy givers. In 1973, there was a war in Israel. During Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, there was a war. Do you know that a very small Jewish community in America, under one week, contributed $100 million for their brothers in Jerusalem? Under one week. And this is 1973. You know, in our churches, sometimes we have to plead for people to give. Plead. Convince. The synagogues are not like that. The Jewish synagogues are always full. Always have in excess. You are always full. Israel practiced it. And it had success. But we are the Israel of God. Praise God. We are established under a better covenant. And this better covenant has better promises. I am telling you that it is God's good will for you to prosper. God is not against prosperity. God is against greed. You are blessed to be a blessing. It can be selfishness not to prosper. Because many people are connected to you. We are not called to be blessed. We are called to be a blessing. To be a channel through which God will flow through you to touch many lives. Your family is waiting for you. Many people are looking at you, waiting for you. There are many rents to be paid. People are looking for you for the payment of their rent. People are looking to you for the payment of their school fees. And you, as the seed of Abraham, God has positioned you. To be a blessing to many. I am telling you, that is your calling. You can feed 50 families. If you have a vision, in the next few years, you can be feeding 50 families every month. Do you believe that? God has ordained you to be a blessing. So, we are going to explore these principles. If you follow these principles, you are going to prosper. Because that is the kingdom to which we belong to. Don't let the world influence you. There is a spirit of intimidation from the world to cause us not to prosper. Or to cause us not to live by the principles by which kingdom we are in. We belong to God's kingdom. So, we have to regulate our finances God's way. If we do it God's way, we will have God's result. The first offering in the Bible which God required was the first fruit offering. The first fruit. First fruit. The word first fruit appears 32 times in the Bible. 32 times in the Bible. Now, what is first fruit? There are different Hebrew words for the word first fruit. Now, in the Hebrew, the word first fruit, the first word is the word Rashith. Rashith. Now, Rashith means beginning. It means first in time, first in order, and first in rank. The word is Rashith. Now, in Genesis 1 verse 1, the Bible says, In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now, that is the English Bible. The English Bible says, In the beginning. But the Hebrew Bible says, Beginning. Beginning. The word beginning is the first word in the Hebrew Bible. And the word beginning is the word Rashith. Rashith. And it's the word for first fruit. So, the word first fruit in the Bible, whether it is Leviticus, Exodus, or wherever you say it, the first word is Rashith. First in time, first in order, and first in rank. Why is it first? Why is it the beginning? Because it is the first major offering you can give God when the year begins. The first major offering you can give God when the year begins. Because the first is for God. The first belongs to God. First in time. First in time. God requires the first fruits when the year begins. First in rank. The reason the first fruit must be first is because when you give it first, it programs the rest of the year. Your first fruit is to direct how your year should be. It programs your financial year. The beginning determines the rest. The rest of the year. That is why God requires that to be first. The first fruit. In Exodus 22, verse 29, God actually said that the first fruit must not delay. When you give your first fruit, it shouldn't delay. You see? The firstborn of thy sons, thou shalt give. See, thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruit. Thou shalt not delay. The word is Rashith. Beginning. First in time. So, God doesn't require. Or doesn't permit you to delay with your first fruit. Because actually, when you are giving your first fruit and you delay, delay is a language of dishonor. Delay is a language of dishonor. If you have it and you delay, it actually speaks of or reveals your doubts and unbelief concerning what God has said. He said, you should not delay. Say, I will not delay. Because it must be first in time, first in rank, first in importance. So, it is the word Rashith. Rashith. Now, the second Hebrew word for first fruits is the word Bikurim. Bikurim. B-I-double-K-U-R-I-M. Bikurim. Bikurim. So, in the Hebrew, sometimes it is Rashith. Other times, it is Bikurim. Now, Bikurim in Hebrew literally means a promise of more to come. A promise of more to come. That is Bikurim. Now, any time you give your first fruits or you bring your first fruits to God, your first fruits at the altar becomes a tangible guarantee of a greater harvest. It is a tangible guarantee of a greater harvest. It is a promise of more to come. Now, your first fruit secures your financial future. It secures your financial future. Now, the Israelites were primarily farmers. The fact that you have sown your seeds and crops does not necessarily mean you are going to have a good harvest. Because the harvest could be attacked by pests. By pests, by droughts, and even by theft. It could be stolen. So, they were always disadvantaged because the harvest normally would be attacked by pests or by droughts or even stolen. But, this is what God says. The moment you give God a first, it is a promise of more to come. The first actually guarantees a greater harvest. That the first or the first fruit secures the rest of your income. For the rest of the year, God protects the rest of your income with his integrity and with his ability. God guarantees and God ensures that there is no pest, there is no drought. Whatever you are going to receive in the course of the year is preserved. So, the farmers, when they give their first fruit, they have faith and they have hope. Because God's integrity is behind whatever they will get in the rest of the year. His integrity is behind it. So, your first fruit is a promise of more to come. So, your first fruit is a promise of what? More to come. More to come. God is not a man that he should lie. He is not a son of man that he should repent. Has he said it? Will he not do it? Has he not spoken? Shall he not make it good? His promises never fail. All the promises of God in him are yea and amen. If he said so, it will be established. See, your first fruit. It guarantees your financial harvest in the course of the year. Apostle Paul said something in 1 Timothy 6 verse 19 concerning giving. See, when you give, what you do is that when you give, you lay in store a foundation, a good foundation against the time to come that you may lay hold on eternal life. 1 Timothy 6 verse 19. If you can give me the amplified version. In this way, laying up for themselves the riches that endure forever as good foundation for the future so that they may grasp that which is life indeed. Now, have you ever come to a place in your life where you enter into crisis? Financial crisis. You looked everywhere for help and help wasn't coming. You know you are in crisis. You want money to come. You want to pay the bill. There's something to pay for. You just got into crisis. You are praying. You are calling for those things which be not as though they are. But you don't seem to see the tangible results. You know what it means. Anytime we get into crisis in the future, most of the times, it is because of a missed opportunity in the past. There is a missed opportunity to give in the past. And when God gives us a prompted heart to give and we miss it, we program ourselves for future crisis. If you miss your first fruit, you are not laying in store a good foundation. But if you give your first fruit to God, you guarantee a greater harvest to come. Hallelujah. And that will not fail because God cannot fail because his word is sure. We belong to a higher kingdom. Praise God. So in the Hebrew, first fruit is Rashith and Bikurim. But in the Greek, the word is Apache. Apache. Now Apache means first. and best. Not just first, but first and best. Now, you can give your first, but it is not best. So you're not just merely giving anything. You have to give qualitatively and quantitatively. What you give must be first and best to God. Proverbs 3, verse 9. The Message Bible. Honor God with everything you own. Give him the first and the best. Now, tell your neighbor, give him the first and the best. One more time, give him the first and the best. So, what God deserves is the first and the best. When Abel, in Genesis 4, verse 4, gave his first fruits unto God, what he gave, the Bible says he gave the firstlings and the farts. The firstlings and the farts. King James Version says, the firstlings and the farts. This verse says, the choice cut of meat. He gave God the best. He never exchanged the fat animal with the lean animal. But God doesn't deserve the lean. He gave God the best, because that's what God deserves. So, when we speak of first fruits, it is not just giving the first, but giving the best to God. Hallelujah. Praise God. Now, I want us to also read Exodus 23, verse 19. Exodus 23, verse 19. The first of thy first fruits, of the first fruits of thy land, thou shalt bring to the house of the Lord, thy God. The first of the first fruits of thy land, thou shalt bring to the house of the Lord. Now, say the house of the Lord. Now, I want us to also see Proverbs 3, verse 9. We've just seen it, but I want us to read it again. Proverbs 3, verse 9. Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thy increase. Now, verse 10. Verse 10. So shall thy barns be filled with plenty. I want you to mark the word barns. Barns be filled with plenty. The Israelites primarily were farmers, and this is what happened. When they go to their farm, normally they have a farmhouse, and they have a storehouse, and the storehouse was called a barn or a garner. So what happens is that when they harvest the field, they put the harvest into what is called the barn or the garner. It was their storehouse. The barn or the garner was situated on the farm. So they rip the field, and they put it on in the garner or the barn, and they put it in the barn. But when the year begins, this is what happens. Exodus 23, verse 19 says that your first harvest, the first fruit, if you pick it from the field, instead of going to put it in the barn, don't do that. Rather, redirect your steps and take it to the house of God. That is it. The first of the first fruit of the land. I bring it to the house of the Lord thy God. So, when the crops are matured, the first group to mature, you pick it. Instead of going to put it in the barn, it says, don't go there. Rather, send it to the house of God. Now, the first fruits from the field, today is your first income. Don't send it to the barn. The barn today is your bank. Your bank account is your barn. Because that's where you receive your income. So, when you pick it, instead of going to the barn or the garner, it says, go to the house of God. Now, that will intimate that. With the first harvest, the barn should be empty. Is that not so? Because the barn is the storage, it's a storehouse. But, in this case, the Bible is saying that God is saying, the first one, take it to the house of God. So, the barn will remain empty. So, the first month of the year, it's almost like my bank account is, it's red. It's empty. What shall I do? How shall I take care of my children? What will happen to me? You know, working with God requires faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Faith is the greatest adventure on earth today. He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is the reward of those who diligently seek him. Faith honors God, and faith is our currency to receive whatever is ours in Christ. Praise God. So now, you pick it to the house of God. The barn is empty. Are you supposed to cry, what shall I eat? What will I do? Now, look at the promise again. Look at the promise again. Proverbs 3, verse 10. Honor the Lord with thy substance and with the first fruit of order and increase. What is the result? So shall your bank account, your bank, ha, ha, ha, account be filled with higher figures, be filled with plenty, and your presses shall burst out with new wine. Now, this is God speaking. So you shouldn't just see physically. It is empty. Although it is empty, God has promised with his integrity and with his ability that your barns shall be filled with plenty. It is a covenant. God says, my covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing which has gone out of my lips. God cannot break his covenant. I have sworn in my holiness to my servant David. He says, I will not lie unto David by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie. God does not lie. Scriptures cannot be broken. If he said, your barns shall be filled with plenty, truly your barns shall be filled with plenty. God is waiting for your fifth response to respond in faith and your barns indeed shall be filled with plenty. Wearing God, willing the more abundantly to show to the ex of promise the immutability of his counsel. You see, God's counsel doesn't change. God's counsel doesn't mutate. God's counsel is steadfast. Praise the Lord. If he said it, it will manifest. If he said it, it will come to pass because God is God and God is the truth. Your barns shall be filled with plenty. Filled with plenty. So, there's a difference between the tithe and the first fruit. The tithe is the first 10% of all your income. It is given to God to show that God is your source. It is given also as an act of worship to God. So, the tithe is the first 10%. But the first fruit is the first 100% of your income. The first 100% of all your income. That's what the Bible says when we read Proverbs 3 verse 9. That's the first fruit. Hallelujah. So, you bring all. The two are not the same. Now, when you read the book of Nehemiah chapter 10, verse 37, it tells us that there are people who put them together. But they are different. And that you should bring the first fruits of your dough and our offerings and the fruits of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil unto the priest and to the chambers of the house of our God and the tithe. You see, so it begins with first fruits. It says, and the tithe. The two are different. Now, let's see verse 35. Verse 35. And to bring the first fruits of our ground and the first fruits of all trees year by year. So, the first fruit is given yearly, but the tithe is given monthly. You see, the first fruit is given yearly, the tithe is given monthly, your offerings are given weekly. So, God has a program for us. For us, yearly, monthly and weekly concerning his economics as far as the kingdom of God is concerned because he doesn't want us to lack year by year. So, when the year begins, your first income belongs to God. But not only that. In case you get a new job along as the year goes by, maybe you are working in Ecobank, then now you are working in the bank. Another bank. Your first salary belongs to God. You may have given your first fruits in your previous work. It belongs to God. But when you have a new job, the first, everything that is first, I'll talk about the preeminence of God. Everything first is for God. It belongs to Him. You have a new job, your first offering, sorry, not offering, your first fruits, your first income of the new job belongs to God. Then the Bible also speaks of the first fruits of all your increase. All your increase. Now, this is what it means. Now, assuming you are receiving, let's say, 10,000 Ghana a month. Then you got promoted. Somewhere in July, now you gave your first fruit in January. Somewhere in July, you got promoted and your salary got increased. Now, instead of the 10,000, you are now receiving 15,000. Now, the first increase, the first fruit of all your increase, the first increase belongs to God. So what it means is that is that the first one, you are receiving 10,000. Now you are receiving 15,000. Now, the first 5,000, which is the increase, is for God. It's called the first fruit of your increase. It's for God. The first one. Hallelujah. It belongs to God. Now, why the first? The first. My, my, my. Hallelujah. See, the first is for him. Yeah. You know, Solomon wrote this verse. And he himself was a partaker of the blessing. He knew what he was talking about. Solomon, when he became a king, what was his first offering? The first fruit he gave to God. When he became a king, he gave God, 1,000 bullocks. It had never happened before in the history of Israel. 1,000 bullocks. He gave so much that God, God, God, God entered into his room. Almost like, I don't want to say God left his throne, but God appeared in his room and said, Solomon, this is too much. What can I do for you? It moved God. God labored a cheerful giver. It moved God. God entered into his room and said, what do you want? He gave his first and his best because he knew he was honoring God. He gave his first and his best. And you know, Solomon was consistent and addictive giver. There was another time, you know how much he gave? He gave 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. That is radical. Experts will tell us that even in the modern age with all our technology, it is difficult to offer 22,000 bullocks. 220,000 sheep in one day. It's very difficult. Even in our modern technology. So it took time in preparation for Solomon to offer that to God. You know the result. Obviously, he became the wealthiest man ever. The Bible says he made silver in Jerusalem like stones. He had 4,000 chariots. It's like saying he had 4,000 cars and 12,000 drivers. That is wild. The Bible says he received 65 tons of gold every year. That's amazing. But that one ton of gold is about $140 million. He received 65 tons of gold every year. That's Solomon. He became wealthy. And he wrote this himself. The honor, because your first fruit is a language of honor. Honor the Lord with your first fruit. Hallelujah. Honor him with your words. Honor him with your wealth and the first fruit of all your increase. And that will be the result. The result will be great. Now the first fruit cuts across all dispensations. Now there are people who get limited and offended because they feel like the first fruit doesn't belong to the New Testament era. Or the tithe doesn't belong to the New Testament era. Hmm. You know, the people, those who have experience will always win over those who have knowledge. Why don't you practice it and see? Those with experience will always have or always win over those with mere knowledge. Because God says, prove me therewith. Have you proved God? If I'm confused in doctrine, test God in practice. Because God cannot test you. You can never fail. So put me into remembrance. Plead your case as a lawyer so that you'll be justified. Plead your case. By the way, the first fruit offering was the first required offering in the Bible. Abel gave the first fruit. If it is animals, the Bible calls it firstlings. If it is the crops, it is called first fruits. So firstlings and first fruits are the same word. First fruits are the same. And Abel's first fruits preceded the law by almost 2,400 years. Now what we say in the Old Testament, it is generic. But in the strictest sense, the Old Testament began at Mount Sinai from Exodus 19 when a new covenant was inaugurated under Moses. It is called the Sinaitic Covenant. See, so the Old Covenant actually began from Exodus 19. But prior to the Old Covenant, they were under different dispensations. So Abel gave God the first, first, first fruit in the Bible. You know how he gave it? He gave his best. Now let's see how he gave it. Genesis chapter 4. Genesis chapter 4. And Abel, he also brought, of the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof. Now this is it. Let me show you how he gave. He gave qualitatively and quantitatively. I want to show you why even in the New Testament the Bible says he gave a more excellent offering. God testified of his offering, his first fruit. The problem with Cain is that Cain gave an ordinary offering but Abel gave the first fruit. Because what God requires at the beginning is not just ordinary offering. God requires the first, the first fruit. Quantitatively. You cannot just give ordinary offering whilst God is requiring for the first and the best. And the Bible says he gave the firstlings of his flock. The word flock here in Hebrew is plural. Plural. Now this is it. Let's say goat, sheep, and cattle. He gave the firstlings. Let's assume that Abel had hundred sheep, hundred goats, hundred cattle. This is what he did. Of the hundred sheep, every firstborn of the hundred sheep, he had to mark it. He marked all of them. And every firstborn of the hundred goats, he marked them. And every firstborn of the hundred cattle, he marked them. That's what he did. Then the firstborn of the firstborns, he marked all of them. The firstborn of the firstborns of the cattle, he had to mark them. The firstborn of the firstborns of the sheep, he had to set a mark on all of them. The firstborn of the firstborns of the goats, he had to mark all of them. So, I'm telling you that it was a huge offering. All the firstborns of the flock he had, the word is in plural, he brought all of them. It was a massive offering and offered them all to God. Massive. And he didn't only do that, the bouses and the fat thereof. The word fat is the choicest, the best, the choicest. So, you know what he did? If the firstborn of a cow is fat, sorry, it's very lean unless he's diseased and the secondborn is huge. He never did the exchange. He wouldn't say, oh, once this is good, let me just exchange the first for the second. You know, will God eat cow? I mean, all that he wanted was some sacrifice. So, you know, the first one is lean. Let me exchange it for the first one is what? The second one is lean. The first one is big. Let me exchange it. He never did that. He gave to God what is due God and what God deserves. And the Lord had respect. Now, the word respect in the Hebrew means to be elevated in rank. By reason of his offering, Abel was elevated in rank. The Hebrew says elevated in rank. Abel was elevated in rank. No wonder he became part of the fifth hall of fame. By faith, Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than king in the which he obtained witness that he was righteous. God testifying of his sacrifice. God testified of his offering. It was an excellent sacrifice. So, how do we know God accepted his offering? When we were children in Sunday school, they told us that the smoke went up this way. Have you ever watched that before? And Abel's offering, the fragrance went this way. You know, it was heavy, but for Abel, the fragrance went up. That's not what the Bible said. That is not scriptural. I believe that there was an evidence of prosperity in Abel's life. Because he gave to God. God respected it and the result is abundance. He had more because that is God's word and God's promise. Hallelujah. Abel was offended. Let's see the next verse. The next verse. But unto Cain and to his offering, he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth and his countenance fell. The next verse. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted. God gave Cain an opportunity to retrace his steps and amend his ways. to give well, just as Abel gave well. well but he didn't do that so if you are not giving your first fruit god is giving you opportunity to reconnect back to give your first fruit because with god he will abundantly pardon get back and connect be willing and obedient and you will eat the best of the land hallelujah so the first offering demanded or required was the first fruits which abel gave which was 2400 years almost before the mosaic law and under the law first fruit was required god required first fruits under the law so there's so much to say about first fruits under the law hallelujah now in the gospels and in the epistles where do we find first fruit in romans 11 16 it says that if the first fruit be holy the lamp also is holy if the first fruit be holy the lamp also is holy and if the roots be holy so are the branches so the principles still run through all dispensations when it comes to giving there are principles and there are practices if you study the bible well you realize that the principles of giving that governs the kingdom economics or the biblical economics runs through all dispensations but the practices differ the practices are quite different so that when the church was born the very first person who gave was banabas and what banabas gave was 100 now if you study um acts chapter 4 from verses 32 to 37 you see they showed everything and they gave 100 to god because the principle was there and it was never debunked by any apostle because that was the culture they found themselves in hallelujah and it will amaze you that it will amaze you that after the church age there's another age coming called the kingdom age you know about the millennial reign with christ you see we will come back with jesus on earth to reign with him for a thousand years that is what is called the millennial reign or the millennium and jesus will reign literally in jerusalem upon the throne it will surprise you that in the kingdom age first fruits will be required ezekiel chapter 44 verse 30 even in the kingdom age and i'll show you why god always requires the first in all dispensations if you start from the beginning it is the ordinances concerning ezekiel's visionary temple now what ezekiel was addressing here is not what will happen in solomon's temple which was in the past at the time he was speaking solomon's temple had been destroyed because he was speaking from exile in captivity and he saw the millennium and how that jesus will come and reign in the millennium hallelujah and he told us what will happen he spoke of the river of life flowing from the temple and all of that that he told us what will happen in the millennial reign at that time we are the glorified saints but there'll be living beings human beings on earth and there are practices that will be required from them and one of them is first fruit and look at it this is ezekiel's visionary temple and the first of all the first fruit of all things and every oblation of all and every sort of your oblations shall be the priest so even in the millennial temple first fruit will be taken so it is in every dispensation hallelujah from ezekiel 42 he spoke about the millennium this is not about the old testament temple but the temple to come hallelujah praise god so it works a certain man read this verse and he saw that when you give your first fruit look at what happens ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough that he may cause the blessing to rest in that house so he read it and said oh so there is the caused blessing you see there's a blessing it can cause it says that when you give the first fruit the priest can cause the blessing to rest in your house now the word house here is the word for family in the old testament when you see house the house of david is the family of david so he will cause the blessing there's something called caused blessing to rest on your family this one had daughters and for a long time none of his daughters were getting married he had two daughters when the year began he took his first fruit and spoke on it lord we spoke of the cause blessing and i use this my first fruit if a blessing can be caused then i direct it to the marriage of my my daughters that will have a befitting befitting spouses i want to give the tithe and told the man of god to speak in the world because the priest can speak the word hallelujah within one year both daughters were married because he believed it he believed it you can have the cause the blessing can cause the blessing the cause blessing hallelujah praise god the bible says is that if the first fruit be holy so is the lamp now at the beginning of the year when you take your first fruit the moment you put it on the altar matthew 23 verse 20 verse 19 says that the altar sanctifies the gift the moment you put it there the altar will sanctify the gift now if the first fruit is holy the rest are holy if your first income is holy the rest becomes holy why is it necessary jesus called money the unrighteous mammon now money is called unrighteous mammon so the default mode of money in the mind of god is that money is filthy money is filthy it is called the unrighteous mammon now if you have money you do know where the money came from it may have come through manipulation may have come by someone being deprived it could have come through unjust gain or by theft now you're holding this money it is filthy but jesus calls it unrighteous mammon but if you put the first fruit and give to god the bible says that now every money that will come into your hands the rest of the year has been sanctified because if the first first fruit is holy the rest are also holy so the first sanctifies the rest i'm telling you that at once it is holy the first fruit the money is holy the devil cannot touch that which is holy the devil has no legal claim or legal rights to that which is holy he may have legal claim to unrighteous mammon but if it is sanctified he has no claim it becomes holy remember whatever is holy thrives whatever is holy grows whatever is holy multiplies if the first is holy the rest is holy yeah when they give you the first fruit the rest becomes holy whatever is holy grows when they are taught first fruit in a certain church someone was in the congregation he wasn't so convinced but he decided to do it so he did it anyway the next day when i went he met me in front of the auditorium he said man of god it works man of god it works he said my my my my salary is just five thousand i didn't believe what you were saying but i did it anyway can you believe man of god that after three weeks someone i didn't know sent me ten thousand dollars he said man of god it works i'll never leave it may god give you a testimony to encourage your faith testimony to encourage your faith it works it doesn't fail it doesn't fail hallelujah now the reason for the first fruit is because of the preeminence of god now say the preeminence of god now god has different attributes god's attribute is who he is in himself for instance we say that god is immutable the immutability of god means god can never be better god can you can be better but god can never be better why because god is best god is omniscient which means he's all knowing you see god can never say something like i just figured out something god can never say that oh something just came to mind that can never be god because he's all knowing but one supreme attribute of god is that god is preeminent the preeminence of god says that god can never be preeminence means he is before all he is higher than all he is above all and he's first in all the preeminence of god says that god can never be second now anytime you put god second you have not treated him as god because god can never be second if you put god second you have not honored and treated him as lord so you know how god did if you are god's child or god's servant he always requires you to be god's servant and he always requires you to be god's servant and he always requires the first that is the law of priority to show that he has a preeminent place and you prioritize him above everything so for this reason god intentionally required the first of everything from israel if you read the bible read the hamaya chapter 10 35 to 37 the first of their children belong to god every first born was for god your first child will belong to god your first male child was for god then the first of your animals, every animal you have, the first that openeth the matrix, the first belongs to God. Every animal you have, the first belongs to God. The first of all trees, you see, the first of all trees, whether it is mango tree, it is gravel tree, it is pineapple tree, pomegranate, the first of every kind of tree, the first belongs to God. If you read it down, verse 36, you see, and the firstlings of our heads and of our flocks to bring it to the house of the Lord. Now, even the first of their dough belongs to God. So God required the first of everything. Why? Because God can never be second. The preeminence of God states that, now, not only in your manual, God must be first in your life, first in your time, first in your marriage, first in your business, first in your career, first in everything. God must be placed first because that is his place. So when you wake up in the morning, you can't just go and start working on your business and start and do other things. When you wake up in the morning, you have to give the priority of your time to God. That is why you have to have your devotion and talk to God and have time with God. Then you have honored God because you have given him the first place. Now, God must be first, not only your time in your marriage, God must be first in your marriage. If God is first, the marriage will work. Now, he must be first in your career. If God has the first place, the career will work. He must be first in all things. Now, C.S. Lewis said, if first things are placed first, the second things will align. Or we will be thrown into it. But if second things are placed first, you lose both the first and the second. Yeah, so if you don't put God first, I'm telling you that what you think you are putting first, you are going to lose it. Because the first reveals his lordship and the law of priority. Do you prioritize God? Is he first in your life? Is he first? Matthew 6, verse 33 says, Seek ye first the kingdom. Of God and all his righteousness and all other things shall be added unto it. Seek ye first the kingdom. Now, these principles are the principles of the kingdom. You seek God and what he has said. You seek God first. And all these things shall be added unto it. Now, let me quote for me the Greek. The Greek actually says that if you seek God first, all other things will be drawn to you like a magnet. If God is first in your time, God is first in your life. God is first in your marriage. God is first in your business. God is first in whatever you do. The rest of the things others are dying for will be drawn to you like a magnet. You have a magnetic attraction. Hallelujah. Of the things the world is following after, they will follow after you. Goodness and mercy will follow after you. Hallelujah. So, that is it. So, God can never be second. Make sure God is first in your time. But God must be first in your money also. Because money controls. They're bulk. They control all parts of your life. Yeah, from eight to five, you're always working, sweating. Your intelligence is in your money. Your skill is in your money. Your energy, your strength, everything is in your money. Your money becomes your life. If you don't give the first to God, you have not given God the first of your life. Yeah. Praise God. You know what Israel did in Joshua chapter 6, 18 and 19? When they were going to. Crossed over Jordan. They crossed Jordan. And they were going to possess the promised land. But it wasn't going to come easy. It was going to come by fighting. The first nation they were going to fight was Jericho. It was a strong one. It was Jericho. Now, do you have an NIV? The first nation to fight against was Jericho. And after Jericho, they were going to fight against the Canaanites, the Jebusites, the Gilgashites, the Amalekites, the Amorites. All of them, they were going to fight against them. And in those days, if you fight against a nation, what happens is that if you defeat them, you carry all their spoils. Whatever belongs to them, the plunder and the goodies are now yours. But that's what God said. God said, the first nation you will fight, whatever you get from the nation, all the goodies, all the spoils, all the plunder, is for me. It is devoted to the house of God. Don't touch it. If you touch it, it is a curse. Everything you get from the nation, it is a curse. And the first nation you fight is for the temple. Now, let's see what it says. But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise, you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. All the silver and the gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury. Now, this is what God told Israel. Now, the first spoils is for devoted to my house. It's for me. But the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth is yours. You know the story. There was a man by the name of Ikan. Ikan. I'm wondering, his name is Troubler. The mother gave birth and they gave him the name Troubler before he committed trouble. Troubler. Troubler. God has said, The first fruit is for the Lord. He stole some and hid it under a tent. Nobody saw it. Not a result. The secret nation they had to fight, Israel had to fight, was called Ai. It was the smallest nation they fought. Jericho had huge, gigantic walls. In fact, there were horse racing on the walls. And there were buildings attached to the wall. There were buildings in the wall, like Rehab's house. They conquered Jericho. But the smallest nation was Ai. Ai defended. Defeated them. And they didn't know why. They were armed, they were strong, the Ark of the Covenant was with them. But the smallest nation, Ai, defeated them. Why? Because they touched what belongs to God. They touched the first, therefore they had defeat. They touched the first, therefore they suffered destruction. And through the Urim and the Tumim, when Joshua got to know, the Lord led Joshua to find out who actually was responsible. It was Ikan. He had stolen it. You know what happened? He was stoned with stones. They stoned him. Not only him, but his family also. At the end of the day, what he stole was buried. Could it be that you are causing trouble to your family because you are keeping for yourself what is devoted to God? There is that which belongs to God. And there is that which is for you. Give to God what belongs to God. You are giving proofs that he is first in your life and he has the priority in your life. He is the Lord of priority. He is the Lord of your life. If he is the first of your life, he is the Lord of your life. Is he first in your marriage? Is he first in your business? Is he first in your career? Is he first in your time? And is he first in your money? Which principles are you operating in? Are you operating by the principles of this base kingdom where we have failing systems? The systems of this world are failing. But there is a higher system. And God has given us the principles of this kingdom to live by. The economy of this world can fail. But the principles of the divine economy can never fail. Because God's ability and God's integrity is behind it. If you do your part, God will do his part. Because you can never fail. God is waiting for your fatal response to do what is right. Sometimes you give and you don't see the harvest immediately. That doesn't mean God has failed. Be not weary in well-doing, for in due season you shall reap if you fail not. There are some seeds, if you sow, they come up immediately, two or three days. But the other seed, it takes a long time. Why? Because the harvest is greater. All you know, the reason you are not reaping immediately is because what is coming is greater. What is coming is mind-blowing. What is coming is mind-boggling. And I know that God cannot fail. God cannot fail. God is not a man that he shall lie. He is not a son of man that he shall repent. Has he said it? Will he not do it? Has he not spoken? God has spoken once, yea, twice I have heard. The power belongeth to God. He said the silver and the gold is mine. If it is his, it is yours. Because we are the seed of Abraham, if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. If ye be Christ, ye are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. For the promise that he should be the heir of the world was not to Abraham and to his seed through the law. But through the righteousness of faith ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, how that he was rich. Yet through he became poor that through his poverty he might become rich. There is coming a massive wealth transfer to the church for the greatest engathering of souls in these last days because of the coming of Christ. There's coming a wealth revival but God needs trusted hands, not greedy hands. People through whom his assets and resources will flow through to reach the masses. May you be a candidate but God must prove your integrity and sincerity through your faithful giving. And when you are faithful in giving, God will be faithful to do his part. Lift up your voice and bless this holy name. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Korah, Babah, Shattah. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Thank you. jesus left up your hands and bless his holy name what i wanted to do before i sit down is that you want to say god in all things you have the preeminence in my life the bible says in all things he must have the preeminence in all things he must have the who is the beginning the first from the dead that in all things he must have the preeminence you want to say jesus have the preeminent place in my life in my marriage in my time my career whatever i do occupy the first place give to him the law of priority make him the lord of your life one more time by giving him the first place in every part of your life lift up your voice and pray with your hands lifted lord take the first part of my life the first place of my life is nine thank you lord
Speaker 2thank you lord thank you lord prepare me to be a sanctuary thank you jesus give him the first place with thanksgiving the preeminent place give it to him i'll be i'll leave it make it the first in your business the first in your life god can never be secure lord prepare me to be a sanctuary thank you jesus honor jesus honor jesus give him the first place thank you jesus I'll see you next time.
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