Late in the afternoon the twelve disciples came to him and said, “Send the crowds away to the nearby villages and farms, so they can find food and lodging for the night. There is nothing to eat here in this remote place.” But Jesus said, “You feed them.” “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Or are you expecting us to go and buy enough food for this whole crowd?” For there were about 5,000 men there. Luke 9:12-14 NLT
About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children! Matthew 14:21 NLT
Jesus replied, “Tell them to sit down in groups of about fifty each.” So the people all sat down. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers! Luke 9:14-17
When the day began to wear away. Luke 9:12 NKJV
But Jesus said, “You feed them.” Luke 9:13 NLT
Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces. Luke 9:16 NLT
he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. Luke 9:16 NLT
1. IT HAS TO BE BLESSED BEFORE IT CAN MULTIPLY
Now the law of Moses required that the priests, who are descendants of Levi, must collect a tithe from the rest of the people of Israel, who are also descendants of Abraham. But Melchizedek, who was not a descendant of Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham. And Melchizedek placed a blessing upon Abraham, the one who had already received the promises of God. And without question, the person who has the power to give a blessing is greater than the one who is blessed. Hebrews 7:5-7 NLT
2. IT HAS TO BE GIVEN AWAY TO MULTIPLY
Blessed are those who act justly, who always do what is right. Psalms 106:3 NIV
I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you… Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:1-2 NLT
Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. John 12:1-6 NKJV
1. THE ENEMY OF GENEROSITY
This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. John 12:6 NKJV
Then Jesus said, “I chose the twelve of you, but one is a devil.” He was speaking of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, one of the Twelve, who would later betray him. John 6:70-71
SUCCESS IS CONFRONTING OUR WEAKNESSES AND OVERCOMING THEM!
Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 2 Corinthians 12:9
2. THE EXTRAVAGANCE OF GENEROSITY
And now, because of my devotion to the Temple of my God, I am giving all of my own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction 1 Chronicles 29:3 NLT
Solomon loved the Lord and followed all the decrees of his father, David, so the king went there and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings. 1 Kings 3:3-4 NLT
While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins. “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.” Luke 21:1-4 NLT
EXTRAVAGANCE IS NOT THE AMOUNT, BUT THE ATTITUDE BEHIND IT!
She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time. Mark 14:8 NLT
they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord 2 Corinthians 8:5 NIV
THE MOST EXTRAVAGANT YOU CAN GIVE GOD IS YOUR HEART
3. THE REWARD OF GENEROSITY
I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed. Mark 14:9 NLT
When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”; “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.” Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?”; Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!” John 11:32;39-40;43-44 NLT
GENEROSITY IS A REFLECTION OF GRATITUDE
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-6 NLT
Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. Hebrews 11:6 NLT
You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” 2 Corinthians 9:7 NLT
I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. Genesis 12:2 NIV
The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. Genesis 12:7 NLT
For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NLT
Blessed Life – Week 4
The Principal of the First
What is up family? We are in week four of our series the blessed life based on a book with the same title written by pastor Robert Morris and this book radically changed my life! At the beginning of this series Pastor Mike made a challenge for you to not miss a week of this series because I truly believe these principles will radically transform your life, but if you miss any weeks so far you can go online and catch up because I really layout some foundational truth about our heart and the purpose behind why we do what we do in regards to these principles.
Today is probably one of the most difficult messages to speak and teach on as we are going to be tackling some meaty teachings today, but I believe it is probably the most important message out of the series as we are going to be talking about
The Principal of the Firsts
If God is 1st in your life, then everything comes into order. Now I’m not saying that you won't go through trials or tough times because even Jesus said we're going to go through trials; what I'm saying is despite the trials we go through, we have the proper alignment in life. If we routinely seek Him first and make God 1st, He will reveal solutions to our problems and struggles through the light of His presence and the power of His voice. His peace guards our hearts against chaotic thoughts and emotions. Wouldn't you rather go through life with your life in order instead of out of order?
This principle of the 1st is a theme throughout the entire Bible because it is laying out the placement of God in our lives. Watch what it says in Exodus:
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.” Exodus 13:1-2 NKJV
Consecrate means to set apart! Notice he says it is mine. These are very strong words God using in the original text very powerful statement where he's making a claim and leaving a very clear description to the people of Israel of what is of importance to him. The first.
“Every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the Lord’s. But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. Exodus 13:12-13 NKJV
Notice it says that every donkey you must break its neck if you don't redeem it which means you will lose it anyway. Think about that with your tithe and finances: if you don't redeem them they would become lost
Now to understand this principle of 1st there are several things we need to grasp about this principle.
1. THE FIRSTBORN MUST BE SACRIFICED OR REDEEMED
Now the question comes up how do you know which to do. How do you know if you're supposed to sacrifice it or redeem it? If it's clean it is to be sacrificed and if it's unclean he needs to be redeemed and what exodus says here is that it is redeemed with a clean animal. So to redeem the unclean donkey you needed a clean lamb to redeem it.
Now how does that apply today because that seems like some ancient stuff that we can't always comprehend in 2023? Think about it this way: how are you born do you think you were born clean or unclean?
For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. Psalms 51:5
Romans says because of the sin of Adam that sin has spread to everyone. So we are born into sin with a sinful nature. However, Jesus was born into this world clean. The Bible says he was pure and never sinned and he was sacrificed so that we could be redeemed and clean. Now, why am I saying this?
JESUS IS GOD’S TITHE
God gave his 1st born son 1st watch what Roman says,
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:8
Did you see that? God sent his son as a sacrifice before we got our act together. While we were still in sin he sent his tithe. He sent Jesus while we were still mocking him, beating him, spitting on him, and nailing him to a cross. While we were still consumed with the sin he hoped and desired that we would receive the free gift of Jesus’ sacrifice and receive the forgiveness that would redeem our unclean sin. I'm glad he didn't wait for me to get my act together to redeem me.
So he gave his son in faith!
We tithe 10% in faith… We put God 1st in trust! The first fruit means that the tithe comes 1st and for that to happen we need faith! God says give me the first lamb, the firstborn I want the 1st. Don't wait till you have 10 lambs and then hand over the scrawny one that you don't really want. No, give me the first before you even have 9 more that follows because that takes faith.
Many people think that the tithe the 10% is what causes the blessing but that's not the truth it's
Your faith and obedience cause the blessing
Now I really want you to see this principle in the eyes of faith. Think back all the way to the book of Joshua the people of Israel 40 years before were delivered from the powerful Egyptian army out of slavery and the people still did not have faith to trust God to be their provider and sustainer. When he brought them to the promised land their response was we cannot defeat the nations that live in this land and they were filled with doubt, not faith. So for 40 years, the people of Israel wandered in the desert until all the doubters became old and died away.
Now Joshua is in command and the people of Israel are ready to inherit the promised land that was theirs from the beginning. And they're stepping into their first battle to take down the mighty city of Jericho and watch what God instructs the people of Israel to do.
Jericho and everything in it must be completely destroyed as an offering to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and the others in her house will be spared, for she protected our spies. “Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to the Lord and must be brought into his treasury.” Joshua 6:17-19
Now the logical thinking would be that after you win your first battle you would take the spoils of war to fund the mission of conquering the rest of the land. But God said everything from the first battle would be given to him as an offering. Why? Because it was the first city conquered in the promised land and that would make it the first fruit. He didn't say conquered 10 cities and give me the spoils from the 10th one he says give me the 1st and you can have the rest and that's going to take faith and of course, tithing takes faith to give the 1st.
2. FIRSTFRUITS MUST BE OFFERED
Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase Proverbs 3:9 NKJV
All your increase which means bonuses and all the God brings into your home. Honor God with it. Now I want you to notice something this isn't the law in proverbs where God is kind of writing out the guidebook for the people of Israel. This is actually hundreds of years after the law was written we're Solomon is reinforcing that this is a principle, not just a rule.
The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. Exodus 23:19 NKJV
Notice God says to bring the firstfruits not give first fruit Why is that? Because:
You can’t give what’s not yours
And we've already associated that the tithe is set apart for God so it is already his that's why we just bring it to the House of the Lord. So, you can either bring it or you steal it as we talked about 2 weeks ago in Malachi chapter 3.
Now, remember when we talked about how in the book of Joshua God commanded the people of Israel to take all the spoils they received from the battle of Jericho and offer 1it to God as an offering because it was the first fruits and that was their tithe? Well not everybody has faith and there was a dude Achan just didn't want to trust God and took matters into his own hands.
But Israel violated the instructions about the things set apart for the Lord. A man named Achan had stolen some of these dedicated things, so the Lord was very angry with the Israelites. Joshua 7:1-2
So Achan takes some the first fruit offering and keeps it for himself. Took what was set apart for himself and God becomes angry and now their mission which was redeemed is now cursed and the people of Israel go to battle and when they just came out and a victory that was amazing and miraculous they get beat handily by the men of Ai.
And Joshua goes and he's weeping on his face before God and God goes dude get up why you laying on your face like that because there's only one logical explanation as to why you were defeated you didn't obey the covenant and my commands by giving me the 1st. People stole from me and my blessings could not be there because there was sin in its place. And God says until you deal with this you'll never defeat your enemies until you get those things that were set apart and give him to me you won't have victory and so Joshua dealt with it and God blessed their mission.
Listen to me: when we don't tithe we are not setting apart what God called to be holy and we're not seeing our finances be redeemed but now we are cursing them.
Why would you want curses in your bank account because the Lord knows you already got enough problems in that bank account already. Wouldn't you want it blessed? Heres what I know:
IT TAKES FAITH TO TITHE AND IT TAKES FAITH TO BELIEVE THAT 90% BLESSED IS FAR BETTER THAN 100% CURSED.
Listen to what it says in Genesis 4:
And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Genesis 4:3 NKJV
I want you to notice this it says in the process of time Cain brought an offering. It didn't say he brought the first fruit it just says an offering over the course of time.
Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. Genesis 4:4-5 NKJV
The Lord respected and accepted Abel's offering but did not accept Cain's offering and it's not that God wouldn't accept it that he couldn't accept it because God has to be 1st and can never be 2nd. God is above all and he is 1st and just because you don't make him 1st Doesn't change who he is and that means he could never be second. He is God!
Tithing represents who is 1st in your life. You can tell me all day long who's 1st in your life but your lifestyle and your choices are the real answer. The first belongs to God we can give God the first of our time. We can give him the first of our finances. What the tithe is really is giving our first to God. It is saying, God, I'm gonna give you the 1st and trust you redeem the rest.
So when we understand the principle of tithing we can look at our bank accounts and say God you come first And I trust now when I tithe 1st you're going to redeem the rest and provide for me. You can also say God I understand the principle a first because you come first in my schedule I give you the first portion of my week by attending church and believe you will redeem the rest of my week because I will honor you and model to my family God comes 1st.
Sadly some people view Monday as the beginning of the week other people think Friday is when their week begins because they think I'm going to party and have a good time but very few people view attending church as the tithe of their time by giving God the first of their week as they worship God and they serve in the body to see people that are far from Jesus have a welcoming loving experience in our church community. Even in business, this is why chick fila, hobby lobby and others, are BLESSED and still at the top of the lists for revenues minus 1 day of the week against their competition…bc they give the first part of their week. Number 3:
3. THE TITHE MUST BE FIRST
One-tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain from the fields or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord and must be set apart to him as holy. Leviticus 27:30
OK now let me use a little illustration here say I hire a contractor to remodel my kitchen and the contractor gives me a bid and says this is how much it's going to cost for materials, this is how much is going to cost to pay my workers, and this is the profit I'm going to make which will just say is $1000. Now the contractor doesn’t tithe on the material cost or on what he pays his workers he tithes on his profit which is his increase. So let's say I give him 10 $100 bills for his $1000 profit. What's his tithe? $100.
Now, which of the $100 bills is his tithe? Now what we do is we set some aside for a mortgage, set some aside for our car payment, set some aside for our utilities, set some aside for our food, and then we set some aside for our tithe. However, when we do that our tithe is not our first fruit which means Gods not first because our mortgage is getting our first fruit.
For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. Romans 11:16 NKJV
I want you to see this is we made the first fruit holy it redeems the rest and makes the rest holy. In the root is only all the branches and its fruit becomes holy. If the tithe is 1st and God is 1st then the rest is holy. So your tithe is the first that leaves your hand.
Because if we're honest and we don't make the first fruit the first fruit which causes the rest to be holy what happens is we send some aside for a mortgage, we set some aside for our car payment, we set some aside for our utilities, we set some aside for our food, and oops we don't have quite enough to set aside for our tithe and God cannot accept and redeem that because he was not first. Remember in Malachai when God said you are robbing me. He also says you are not bringing me your first or your best offering when you do bring offerings and it is so dishonoring I wish you wouldn’t bring me any offering at all! God has to be 1st in our life and we have to trust that he has our best interests at heart. That's faith!
Now how does this work for me? I get paid every other Friday and my check is direct deposited so it just magically appears in my bank account and So what I've done is I set up recurring giving that the very first thing that comes out of my bank account on payday is my tithes and offerings. Now some people write checks and when they get paid the very first thing they do is write a tithe check or some people physically go online on their payday and give their tithe. But what they're doing and what I'm trying to do is to always make the first fruit the first fruit because I always want God to be 1st.
Now what if you get paid and go to pay your tithe and maybe you write a check or pay online on your payday but you get so busy one day that you get home that night and you're like I forgot to write my tithe check where I forgot to pay my tithe online and you jump online to pay your tithe and you realize your wife bought groceries already and you're like great my check already cursed for this pay period. No! That's not the way it works because God is not legalistic.
Tithing isn't about following rules it's about your heart and your intentions
2nd corinthians 9 says:
“Let giving flow from your heart, not from a sense of religious duty…” 2 Corinthians 9:7 TPT
We do it just because we want God to be 1st in our lives and he knows your heart.
{PERSONAL STORY} – MY FIRST YEAR TITHING – BLESSED AND REDEEMED FINANCES
That's why I tell you only you can keep yourself accountable to this and as one of your pastors I will teach you the truth but I'll not be looking at your paycheck and your donation and see if you're giving 10% that's between you and God. it's also why I say if you don't feel called to Bloom go to a church that you feel called to be a part of an apply these principles too because I care more about you being blessed and I don't want you to walk in the curse any longer. God has great things in store for you but he has to be 1st in your life.
And in the future, your children will ask you, ‘What does all this mean?’ Then you will tell them, ‘With the power of his mighty hand, the Lord brought us out of Egypt, the place of our slavery. Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, so the Lord killed all the firstborn males throughout the land of Egypt, both people and animals. That is why I now sacrifice all the firstborn males to the Lord… Exodus 13:14-15
One day your children will come and ask you why do you sacrifice the first fruits to the Lord and you'll tell him we weren't always blessed like we are now. We didn't use to be farmers or ranchers we used to be slaves, but God redeemed us and out of a grateful heart we remember that and we understand that we never want to walk in this life without God being 1st. Because I don't want to take one step without God’s direction. because only a surrendered disciple can walk in the thriving will of God. That is still true for us today thousands of years later parents we model to our children what redemption and surrender looks like and if God is not first in your life and he is 2nd and 3rd in your life he will be 4th 5th and 6th in your children's lives. We explain to them the redemption we explain to them the goodness of God and we show them what freedom looks like and we explain why God is 1st in our lives.
So the question I want to end with
is God really first in your life?
Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord. Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts. They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in his paths. You have charged us to keep your commandments carefully. Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees! Psalms 119:1-5 NLT
And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. Luke 16:9 NKJV
He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own? Luke 16:10-12 NKJV
No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Luke 16:13 NKJV
1. WHAT IS MAMMON?
And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves… Genesis 11:4 NKJV
'“How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. For you said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.’ Isaiah 14:12-14 NLT
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:24 NKJV
Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Matthew 6:25-26 NKJV
MAMMON PROMISES US THINGS ONLY GOD CAN PROVIDE
Cause my heart to bow before your words of wisdom and not to the wealth of this world. Psalms 119:36 NLT
2. IS MONEY EVIL?
MONEY IS NOT EVIL IT IS NEUTRAL
For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. 1 Timothy 6:10 NLT
And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. Luke 16:9 NKJV
ONLY GOD CAN TURN UNRIGHTEOUS MAMMON INTO SOULS
3. WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH MY MONEY?
If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. Luke 16:10 NLT
SATISFACTION IS ROOTED IN LIVING YOUR PURPOSE!
And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? Luke 16:11 NLT
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV
Decide:
“When you have plans that are diligent, it leads to plenty.” Proverbs 21:5.
Discover:
“God will supply all your needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19.
Dream:
“God can do exceedingly abundantly more than all we can ask for or imagine.” Ephesians 3:20
'They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest. Psalms 126:6 NLT
None of us can do everything but everybody can do something and together, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us!
HOW CAN YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR HEART IS?
'And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? Matthew 16:26 NLT