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VIRTUAL SERMON:

SERMON NOTES:

First Fruit Giving

Hosea 4:6-7 - Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you [the priestly nation] have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you that you shall be no priest to Me; seeing you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.

7 The more they increased and multiplied [in prosperity and power], the more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame.

• Devil thrives on ignorance of the word with Christians

• God is only obligated to do what His word says He will do

  • Nothing less maybe more

• God lays out principles in His word

  • We have misapplied & misappropriated His teachings, and have not reaped the results we expected

• Giving First fruits is how you handle new increase or when you get blessed (motivation is generosity)

• A throw (money) lacks purpose vs. sow mentality gives with purpose

1 Kings 9:3-5 - The Message

3-5 And God said to him, “I’ve listened to and received all your prayers, your ever-so-passionate prayers. I’ve sanctified this Temple that you have built: My Name is stamped on it forever; my eyes are on it and my heart in it always. As for you, if you live in my presence as your father David lived, pure in heart and action, living the life I’ve set out for you, attentively obedient to my guidance and judgments, then I’ll back your kingly rule over Israel, make it a sure thing on a solid foundation. The same guarantee I gave David your father I’m giving you: ‘You can count on always having a descendant on Israel’s throne.’

• David made up his mind to live God’s way

• God values our purpose or motive (pure in heart)

• Action is our faith to follow through

• Giving first fruits puts an importance on a pure motive (purpose) and giving out of generosity

2 Corinthians 9:7 - Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

7 Let each one [give] as he has made up his own mind and purposed in his heart, not reluctantly or sorrowfully or under compulsion, for God loves (He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful (joyous, “prompt to do it”) giver [whose heart is in his giving].

• First fruits were given as part of an agricultural society

  • Bring first part of the harvest as a special offering

• A way of honoring God out of our abundance

2 Corinthians 9:7 - The Message

6-7 Remember: A stingy planter gets a stingy crop; a lavish planter gets a lavish crop. I want each of you to take plenty of time to think it over, and make up your own mind what you will give. That will protect you against sob stories and arm-twisting. God loves it when the giver delights in the giving.

• Do not give grudgingly or out of necessity 

• I break off a little something for the Lord when I am blessed

  • Offering that shows you are thankful to God for blessing you

  • You want to express with action your thankfulness of heart

Proverbs 3:9-10 - New King James Version

9 Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the first fruits of all your increase; 10 So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.

• Honor the Lord with our substance/possessions/money

• Its only given on the First increase that will be ongoing in your life (not your income)

  • Raise, promotion, new job increases only (separate than the tithe)

  • Given once on just the increase

• Remember the Hebrew were an agricultural society, so it was when the harvest came in

  • Some say beginning of the calendar year or business year

  • But it can come in at any moment or time

• Form of Honor to the Lord

  • Shows God you are not in love with money (insulates you from greed)

  • He can trust you with money (motive is generosity and thankfulness)

• Promise attached: storage places filled with plenty (bank accounts, savings, stock, 401k, etc.)

• Promise attached: pressed burst with new wine (new ideas, new increase, fresh anointing)

  • Presses (vat or trough) burst out with something new and fresh

Romans 11:16 - King James Version

16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

• First fruits are a tangible offering considered honorable & holy to the Lord

• Bridges the new & old testaments to Jesus

• Links us to Jesus; Jesus gave Himself as a first fruit for us

  • He is the vine, and we are the branches

Conclusion: Understand and Apply God’s Word

• Purpose and obedience matter the most when it comes to giving

• Once you find out what the scriptures say about giving, it changes the way you think, which changes the way you believe

• Faith- believing changes everything

Mark 9:23 - New King James Version

23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

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