Viola Solid Rock Assembly
Blessed Life 2
and from the direction that we've been going and I still think and believe in, and we're probably going to get back to hearing from the voice of God. It's still important even though what we're going through is still important to hearing the voice of God to walk through this. But it's also, you know, we're going to get back to stacking stones, but I feel that we need to hit on this and I talked to you about it a little bit last week about how God has just been rolling this phrase in my, just in my spirit around a blessed life and we all want a blessed life, right? Everybody in here would say and agree that they want to be blessed, right? But being blessed is having supernatural power working in your favor, right? And we all want that, right? We all want God to work on our behalf. If you don't want God to work on your behalf, then you are in the wrong place. This week, we're going to look at that in a little bit of different aspect and we're going to look at this from a first-fruits standpoint or first-born situation when we talk about, you know, the tithe or the law of the first born or the first-fruits, one argument is, you know, that I've heard and I've talked about it a little bit is that we don't live under the law, but grace, right? However, when we're talking about the tithe in Malachi chapter 3, God says, "I do not change." And in Malachi chapter 3 verse 6, He says, "I, the Lord, do not change, I do not change." He doesn't rebrand to fit the situation, right? He doesn't rebrand to fit with the latest trend. He's the same yesterday, today and forever. He does not change, the same thing that was a sin 400 years ago is still a sin today and will be a sin in 4000 years from now. What was sin under the law is still sin under grace. That didn't go away. You know, it's funny when people argue that, "Well, I'm under grace, we don't have to pay tithes." Well, that's funny because that's not what Jesus said at all. He didn't say that whatsoever. In fact, in Matthew chapter 5 verse 17, He said, "Don't misunderstand why I have come." I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God's law will disappear, until its purpose is achieved. So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But anyone who obeys God's laws and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. But I warn you, unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious laws and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that our ancestors are told you must not murder. If you commit murder, you're subject to judgment. But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you're subject to judgment. If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell. We live under grace, but what Jesus was saying, and what He continues to say in Matthew chapter 5 is, "Living under grace means we're held to a higher standard." He says, "The law says, 'Don't murder,' but I'm telling you that don't remain angry." If you read on, he says, "The law says not to commit adultery, but I say, 'Don't even look lustful at that one.'" There is a higher standard. Why would He tell us those things and set them at a higher standard? Look, you can't not even do this part. Don't even get angry. That's a higher standard, right? Why would He say that about that and then think, "Well, Ty, that's old law. We don't have to do that." If anyone uses that as an argument to me, the first thing I say, "Well, that's great. You're living under grace. That means you should be given more than 10 percent." Because that's what grace says. That's what, from the law to what Jesus says, Jesus says, "You're held to a higher standard." The thing about the thing is, is money is a test from God. And how you handle it will reveal volumes about your priorities, your affections, your loyalties, and in fact, it dictates many of the blessings that you will or will not experience. The first thing that we have to grasp if you understand giving, though, is the principle of the first fruits, the first born or the tithe. Exodus 13, chapter 13, verse 1, it says, "When the Lord said to Moses, 'Dedicate to me every first born among the Israelites,' the first offspring to be born of both humans and animals belong to me." In verse 12, he says, "You must present all firstborn sons and firstborn male animals to the Lord, for they belong to him. A firstborn donkey may be brought back from the Lord by presenting a lamb or a young goat in its place, but if you do not buy it back, you must break its neck. However, you must buy back every firstborn son." So the firstborn either has to be sacrificed or redeemed. There was no other option. There was no other option. It was either you're sacrificed or you're redeemed. There wasn't a third option. There wasn't an option C. The clean sacrifice, the unclean were redeemed. And with that mindset, when we look at the New Testament, we see John the Baptist and he sees Jesus. In John chapter 1, verse 29, he says, "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.' What he was declaring was that Jesus came to do what we could not do. He came to be the lamb to clean us, the lamb clean without blemish, without sin, perfect in every way to come and clean and redeem us." So by what Exodus says about the firstborn, the unclean have to be redeemed and the clean sacrifice, and Jesus was God's firstborn. He was born clean. All of us were born unclean in need of redemption and Jesus came to redeem us all to give us a way back to the Father. He was God's first fruit offering. Jesus was God's tithe. He gave his tithe in faith before we believed. Romans 5, 8 says, "But God demonstrated his own love for us in this while we were still sinners Christ died for us." Before the blessing, he gave his tithe. We have to give our first fruits, our tithe, the same way. Before we see the blessing, we have to give by faith. You know, the thing that we do, we've done this for the last three years, on the first Sunday, everything that comes in, on the first Sunday of the year, we give the missions. It's our first fruit offering, right? We talk about it, we take it up, and everything that comes in on that first day, nothing stays here, all of it goes out. What if we have a bad year? What if we do? But I have to believe that because we are doing what's right and we're sending the first fruits out that God will take care of us the rest of the year. I have to believe that what he says in the Word will come to pass, that if we trust him and even test him in this sack, that he'll fill our barns overflowing. Before the blessings, we have to give. We have to give our first fruits, our tithe, by faith. God gave Jesus in faith. In Romans 8.29 says, "For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them because like his son so that his son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters." God didn't wait to see if we would change, or if we would do better before he gave his tithe his son. It was while we were still sinners, while we were still scoundrels, while we were living it up. He didn't wait to see if we would repent first or get right first. He knew, he knew, first things first, we got to sacrifice. We can't wait for the blessings before we tithe. It doesn't work that way. You can't wait. Well, I'll give my tithe when God blesses me, and you're going to hold on to it, and you're going to be a thief, and you're going to be cursed because that's what the Bible says. I know it's uncomfortable, and people don't like talking about money, and they don't like the preacher talking about money. I'm not trying to get in your pocket, I'm trying to help you live a blessed life. Have you ever thought about when God took the firstborn in Egypt? Have you thought about that? The Israelites are there in Egypt, and Moses, he's telling Pharaoh to let them go, and they start with the plagues, right, and they're going through the plagues, and then they get through the firstborn, and God says, "I'm going to take the firstborn tonight." Either do it, or this is what's going to happen. You know, after you've already seen flies and frogs and water turn to blood and all the other things, you think they would have been like, "All right. No, I scared." But God took the firstborn, and I've thought about this, and why would He have come to that? Why would He have come to that? Why would He take the firstborn? But the firstborn belonged to God. It was His legal right, but the firstborn in Israel didn't die because of why they were redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. They applied the blood to the doorpost and the manel, and the blood was signed of that redemption. That's exactly how we are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. The first fruit's principle is powerful. I've heard it said that any first thing given is never lost, and any first thing not given is always lost. In other words, what we give to God, we don't lose, because He redeems it for us. But what we withhold from God, we will lose, whether it's three pennies or $3,000, He expects the whole tide, not half, not quarter, all of it. Jesus echoes this principle in Matthew 16, verse 25, He says, "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it." The first belongs to God. The first fruits belong to Him. We find this principle throughout Scripture. We can give Him the first of our time and the first of our finances. That's what tithing is. It's giving God our first. Have you ever thought about why we have church on Sundays? It's the first day of the week. The first day of the week. We're giving our time to Him. It's the first fruits. It's the first fruits. It's about giving the beginning before we're blessed, trusting that He would redeem the rest. The first, to put it another way, the first lamb is born, and there's no telling how many more lambs that you may produce. But God asks for the first, not the ninth, not the tenth. He asks for the first. He asks for the first, and then you can have the rest. It always requires faith to tithe because it's giving God first before we see if we have enough. Dave Ramsey, when talking about budgeting, talks about what's above the line and what's below the line, and he says, tithing should be before the line ever starts. It should be before you decide what's above and what's below the line. Tithing should come out first. If you wait to see, well, let me wait and see if I can pay all my bills, and then I'll decide if I want to tithe. It doesn't work that way. God requires the first. The third tithe, not the ninth, the beginning, the first. The first portion is the redemptive portion. Not only is the first, was the first born, but the first fruits belong to him. In Exodus 23 and 19, the first of the first fruits of your land, you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. He says that the first of the first fruits to the Lord, not the tenth of the first, but the first of the first. He says, bring the first of the first into the house of God. The rest is yours. I was thinking about this first fruits thing, and, you know, a lot of times we start talking about when we're talking about tithing, and we're talking about first fruits, we really, we start where Abraham gives Melchizedek 10% of the plunder, right? And we think that that's where tithing starts, or the first, the principle of first fruit starts, but it actually starts before that. It starts with Cain and Abel. Why did God approve of Abel's offering and not Cain's? It's good. You're good, he can answer. It's because it was the first fruits. It was the first of the first, and the reason that he rejected Cain's was because Cain just brought him what was left, and he looks at Cain and he said, "Why are you mad if you would just do what you're supposed to do?" I want to see if you're going to bless me first. It's not the way that it works. That's not the way that it works. He says, bring me the first of the first fruits. In Proverbs 3, 9 says, "Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the first fruits of all your increase so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine." This passage is just suggesting that tithing to the Lord's house involves honoring the Lord with our possessions, with the first fruits of our increase. When we honor God with our first fruits, he will redeem the rest so that our barns are full and our vats will overflow. Do you remember the story of Jericho? The Lord said that the people were not to keep any of the spoils from the city, that it belonged to him. Why? Because it was the first city that was conquered in the Promised Land. He said, "The rest of the Promised Land is all yours, but this first city, everything belongs to me." And what happened? One person, Aiken, decided, "You know, I really like this. I'm going to go bury it in the bottom of my tent, and nobody will know. But God knew, and He said, "I can't bless you because you're robbing from me. I can't bless you because you didn't give me the tithes." It was the first fruits of the Promised Land. I'll take Jericho and you can have the rest. He didn't say, "Conquer nine cities and I'll take the rest." He said, "The first fruits, that's it. This took faith on Israel's part. Tithing takes faith on our part. It takes faith." Aiken was like, "I don't know that I trust God with this. I saw him part the Jordan River, and we walked over on dry ground. I mean, that was pretty crazy. I saw it happen, but I'm not sure that I trust God if I give Him the stuff from this place that I'm not going to get more later." Joshua 7-10 says, "But the Lord said to Joshua, "Get up. Why are you lying on your face like this? Israel is sinned and broken by covenant. They have stolen some of the things that I commanded must be set apart for me. And they have not only stolen them, but they have lied about it and hid the things among their own belongings. And that's why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. For now Israel itself has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer, unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction." When the spoils were given to God, they were consecrated. They were holy. They were blessed. And while they were withheld from God, they were cursed, consecrated or cursed, that's what the tithe is for all of us. All throughout the Bible, the tithe is consecrated to the Lord and for the Lord's house. But when we take it for ourselves, it becomes a curse because it's stolen. Malachi 3.8 says, "Will a man rob from God?" But that's Old Testament. That's not really for us today. I am the Lord. I do not change. I do not change. It's so silly to me to think that just because it's Old Testament that it doesn't apply today. Hebrews 13.8 says, "Jesus is the same yesterday today and forever." Yesterday, that's the Old Testament today, where we are today. He's still the same, and tomorrow he'll be the same as he was today. James 1 17 says, "Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God, our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. God still expects the first fruits. He still expects the tithe. Will you continue to rob God and curse yourself?" I don't know why God has moved me to this place. I don't know why he's shifted my thought pattern to begin to preach on this. But I believe that tithing is essential to our growth. Tithing is essential to our personal walk with God. It's the first act of faith. It truly is the first act of faith that we will do as a believer. It will bless you, but you've got to give it first, Ronnie. You've got to trust that this is trusting God. I trust that if I tithe the first 10% that the 90 is going to go further than the 100%. I have to trust that. Is it always easy to trust God? Not always. Sometimes it's hard. It's okay. It's okay to doubt God. It's not okay when we allow doubt to become unbelief. We have to trust God and tithing. We have to trust God when he is asking us to be obedient, right? We've been talking about hearing from God's voice, hearing God's voice, and walking out what God is asking us to do, being obedient to his call, being obedient to his word. So the first thing, first thing's first, let's be obedient to what the word says to do and give the first fruits, the first fruits of our increase. Will you join me in walking in the blessed life? I don't want to be cursed. I want to be redeemed. I want my time, my finances, and everything else that I have to be redeemed. If it means I have to give 10% to get there, it sounds pretty easy to me. If God the Father can give his son as a tithe, as a redeeming sacrifice for us, the least I can do is give 10% back to him. I must get everyone that would stand to your feet. Maybe you're hearing you, you don't know Christ as your person, Lord and Savior, you're not where you need to be with him. I don't want to miss an opportunity. When we're talking about Jesus coming in, redeeming our souls, I don't want to miss an opportunity to not give you an opportunity to submit to him. You say, I don't know him or I'm not where I need to be with him, I'm just going to ask you to come to the front, I want to pray with you, I want to believe with you. Maybe you're just here though and you say, you know what, I want to have a blessed life. Maybe you pay your ties, maybe you're already doing that, maybe you just need to shift a little bit, maybe you've been paying, maybe you've been giving in the offering, but you've not been paying a full tithe, it doesn't matter either way. You say, I want a blessed life and I want to do it right. I want God's help, I want to invite you to come. This doesn't mean you're a bad person, we all need God's help, right? I want to trust God before I see it happen. I want to trust God before I see the blessings. I want to be obedient to what he's asking me to do. I want to pray with you, I want to believe with you, I want to ask you to come. I just thank you right now. I thank you for giving us a plan to bless us Lord. I thank you for showing us that through the first fruits is where we are blessed, that it's through the first fruits that we are redeemed, that it's through the first fruits that we are blessed God. And Lord I pray that you just continue to move in this house, that you continue to move in this place, God, that you help us Lord, if there are people in this room that haven't made it to the 10% God, Lord I pray that you help them to do that. If there are people in this room that haven't taken that step of faith and paid ties yet, Lord I pray that you help them, that you give them the ability, the strength to make that first step of faith, God. And Lord help us to hear the report, if we stepped out and you stepped in God and made a way and did things that we didn't think were possible, Lord help us to walk out that blessed life in this place, God. We just thank you, we praise you today. I pray that you watch over and you protect these people as they travel to their homes and bring them back here safely, your name we pray. Amen. We'll see you tonight at six o'clock right here, here at the church, okay? [BLANK_AUDIO]