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| Give the Firstfruits of all your increase to the God of Elijah! |
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| Firstfruits of all your increase
Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
Proverbs 3:9-10
Nowadays, we honour the Lord through our lips only. We worship and adore Him in our churches. We pray a long prayer like the Pharisee. But when it comes to honouring Him with our substance, we just turn a blind eye to the missionary organizations who appeal for funds. The Old Testament standard of giving is just one tenth of our increase. But under the New Covenant, there is no limit to our giving. We have to give beyond our ability until it affects us. We want to receive everything free from our Lord. We want free email devotionals to be sent to our Inboxes. At times, when we receive some email devotionals freely in our Inbox, we immediately react violently and we send an impolite reply saying, "Unsubscribe". Why cannot we thank the servant of God who took pains to send us this message and then request him not to send you his message?
We want free books. We want free Christian magazines to be delivered at our door steps. We want free CDs/VCDs. Of course, those who send us free have been blessed by God. But we are supposed to pay a price for what we learn from the elders in the Body of Christ who take pains to teach us.
Secondly, we have to honour Him not only with our substance but also with the firstfruits of all our increase. If you get a promotion in your career, the first salary should go to our Lord. If you get a job after the prayers of a servant of God, your first salary should go to the servant of God concerned. If you get a windfall profit in your business, the first profit money should go to the Lord. Today, the missionary organizations are not able to meet their budgets because the people of God are not giving sacrificially to them. The people of God do not give their firstfruits to the apostolic ministers who are the missionaries that serve God in places not reached by the gospel. God has set the apostles in the first place in His body, and the other ministers entrusted with miracles and healings, etc, in the secondary places (I Cor.12:28). We give more to the ministers who perform miracle and healing ministries but ignore the apostolic ministers in our midst who just lead a hand to mouth existence in mission fields. We just reverse the order set by God in the body of Christ.
Recently, I was invited to speak during the first anniversary of a Christian organization in Delhi which is engaged in translating the Bible into the scriptless languages of India. The missionary couple who do this wonderful ministry could not get their "salaries" fixed by the Trust of this organization for the last two months and they just struggled to buy a computer for their ministry which cost only Rs.16, 000/- (equivalent to $400). In fact this computer could be bought due to the precious gift sent by a dear sister in USA.
I have been receiving many prayer requests from the people of God all over the world about their financial problems. Many of them mentioned that they could not pay their mortgage loans/clear their electricity/cooking gas bills, etc. They want others to pray for "financial miracles". I say with all the assurance that their financial problems would vanish the moment they give a part of what they have in their pockets to the apostolic ministers in the universal Body of Christ. They would have sown "seeds" in the ministries of those who preached the "prosperity gospel". I exhort them to sow their seeds in the "good land" that gives them 100 fold yields (Matt.13:8). Let them give to God out of their penury to receive the great financial miracles. " So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine".
Recently, I came across a wonderful testimony of a poor couple who gave to God out of their penury. Arul Jothy of J.D.Nagar, Sankarankoil, Tamil Nadu, India lives with her family in a house with asbestos sheet roof and with no proper door. They are supporters of Indian Missionary Society that is engaged in sending missionaries to those places in India which are not reached by the gospel of Christ. In India, there is a system of raising funds from the house-wives or the poor people. They are given offertory boxes in which these people put their coins in a sacrificial manner. They will never open these boxes even if they need money desperately. These boxes are handed over to the fund raisers after a particular period. In a similar manner, the Indian Missionary Society distributed offertory boxes known as "IMS Hundi" amongst their donors. When the staff of IMS went to the house of Arul Jothy to collect the money saved by her through her offertory box, she said, "Sir, the Hundi is overflowing and there is no more space to drop the coins." She also said, "All three of us, my husband, son and myself, never had any medical expense. If any becomes sick, we will put our offering in the Hundi and pray on our knees. Sickness will fly away." When the offertory box was opened, there was Rs.2675 (equivalent to $50). Today, many people of God suffer from various ailments and do not get healed because they do not honor God with the firstfruits of all their increase.
Dearly beloved in Christ, you need not send your prayer requests over the internet to many servants of God. Instead, give a part of what is in your hand to God today, especially, to the apostolic ministers whom God has set first in the body of Christ. Your barns shall be filled with plenty and your presses shall burst out with new wine. Elijah just wanted the widow at Zarephath who was gathering the sticks to feed him "with a morsel of bread in thine hand " (I Kings 17:11). He wanted only what she had in her house. She did not have much but only "an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse". She told him in a plain language that she had this last meal in her house and that she and her son might "eat it and die". But she gave what she possessed. She made "a little cake" for Elijah. Then came the word of prophecy: "The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth" (I Kings 17:14). What happened to her? She and her house "did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which He spake by Elijah (I Kings. 7: 15-16). The word of prophecy, though it emanated from Elijah, was in fact the word of the Lord. Today also, the same word of prophecy comes to you from the God of Elijah! It is not my word but the word of the Lord.
Until and unless the Elijah is fed through your own hands, you cannot expect a financial miracle but only a deficit. Dear minister, you will have definitely "new wine" in your ministry if you feed the Elijah in the wilderness. God will definitely enlarge your tent in your nation if you have a willing heart to help the apostles in the body of Christ. Are you like the widow at Zarephath? The God of Elijah is here to bless you. You will have your barns filled with plenty, and your presses burst out with new wine. Is your bank balance "empty"? Has your debt mounted like anything? Give to God out of your penury today. The "new wine" for you may be divine healing for your body or a financial miracle or a new job with a very good pay package. |
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| Well, the ante has been upped, eh? A very godly woman I attend church with, she started sowing into a ministry (ironically enough, one that is currently under investigation), and she tells me that since then, she has been blessed, not just financially, but in all aspects. We are often taught in our church to sow seeds. Lately my husband's and my "above and beyond" has been going for missions, and specifically for orphans and widows in Rwanda. Certainly no waste there. Pure and undefiled religion. We don't specifically sow into any one ministry currently, but I tell ya that our God has always made sure we could pay our bills, eat and be clothed; always. God's spirit within us will direct us as to where His money should be going. They say you can't outgive God, and it is really true. Those who refresh, will themselves be refreshed. God is getting us out of debt, as we tithe and give above and beyond...He really is! Praise de Lord! |
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| Lara, I thank God for you and your husband for giving to the Lord. There is a sea of difference between giving out of abundance and giving out of penury. It is not merely sowing seeds in someone's ministry expecting returns. It is giving sacrificially out of love for the Body of Christ. The people of God should be taught to give to the Elijahs in our midst who are serving God in the wilderness. There are many apostles likened to Elijah serving in distant mission fields whom I do not know. But we have to reach out to these wonderful servants of God who are not known in the Christian world. |
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Tropical Guy, I thank you for your response. Tithing is of the Old Covenant. Under the New Covenant, we have to give sacrificially until it hurts us. There are no Levites in our midst to receive tithes from us. We have to minister to the poor saints, widows, orphans, etc. We have also to give to the saints who are engaged in preaching the gospel, and to the saints who minister to us in the Word. |
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GERVIS |
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November 09, 2007 at 6:56am |
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Our Pastor tells us that you give your 10% where you attend church more often,or where you consider yourself a member.I know how blessed you are cause so are we.We give God what belongs to Him and live on the rest.We do give donations to the poor,but thats after we give our 10% to our local church.My wife Brenda keeps track of people's birthdays.On their special day she gives them a little gift,and or Birthday Card.Nothing too costly,but a small gift to say your Birthday is important.Every Sunday she has a Birthday gift for someone in church.thats small Birthday gift has open the door to get to know our brothers,and sisters much better.When Brenda meets a new person she has never known before she ask when is their Birthday.God has really blessed all of us because of our giving.We never worry about our gifts after we give it.If the people who handles it ,misuse it,God will correct that.Nothing really belongs to us anyway.God gives us what we have so we can bless others.
Thank You
Gervis
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| Gervis, very good message by you. It is God Who judges His servants who misuse the sacrificial offerings being given by His people. |
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I believe giving to be the highest form of worship, for sacrificial giving implies trust of the Lord...that He is who He says He is....and as you have stated Job, Love for Him and the Body of Christ. The first year I came to understand about giving and it became one of my delights, I received a 3.00 an hour raise, and the ability to work from my home..which saves money in many ways, clothing allowance, not needed for the work place, gas and wear and tear on my automobile....and in saying this I also want to reinterate something else that you said Job and that is that it has never been about giving to receive...it is simply Love. |
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In the hands of the potter, you are truly a pot in the hands of the Potter. By giving to the God of Elijah, you have proved your love for His body, the mystical body.
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Well I got as far as reading about Arul Jothy and the tears started running out.
I have been a Christian for 47 years and over the years I've heard inspiring sermons and good advice and have read inspirational stories, including the lives of several missionaries to India which NEVER CHANGED MY LIFE THAT MUCH...except to give me a nice warm feeling that YES, GOD IS REAL AND WORKING IN PEOPLE'S LIVES.
But not mine so much.
Arul Jothy and Job and Siani are teaching me that in India it is not "business as usual" to be obedient to Christ and to follow Christ.
(I may not be able to type much more of this, there seems to be a flood washing away the keys, the monitor and everything else.)
HOW CAN WE STAND TO SIT HERE IN AMERICA AND LET THE POOREST OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE GIVE THEIR WIDOWS MITES TO HELP BAREFOOT MISSIONARIES GO WHERE THEY ARE LIABLE TO BE PERSECUTED and we dare to ask them to pray for US?
I am so ashamed. Thank you Dr. Walker Moore of Awestar.org for getting me started on the road to understanding about true prayer...God's Way. And thank you Job for finishing the journey.
Walker has been telling me to only deal with God himself, no middlemen. From now on Arul Jothy and I are a team. She relies on God to heal and supply and so will I. She collects $50 for missions out of her pennies and so will I instead of going to Checkers for a hamburger, which only makes me fat. And I am going to fast now. If I'm hungry I'm going to read about India and Job's blogs. And pray for Dr. Walker Moore and Siani, and all the missionaries I know of.
From now on I am NOT going to ask anyone for prayer for myself (but for others I will). I will only be asking God.
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MaKelly |
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November 09, 2007 at 10:57am |
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Firstfruits are the first of something, such as the first child born into a family, or the year’s first calf, or the first corn or beans to grow in a garden that season. The Hebrews saw the firstfruits as holy. Why? Because the firstfruits were a taste of what was to come. Dedicating those firstfruits to God was a way of thanking him for providing them. It was also a sign of trust that God would take care of his children.
Firstfruit offerings included produce in both natural and processed states (e.g., dough, bread, wine, olive oil, and wool). The firstborn son and the firstborn of one’s animals were to be treated as belonging to God. Firstborn children and the firstborn of unclean animals were “redeemed” (paid for) with money by the offerer, and the firstborn of the cows, sheep, and goats were offered in sacrifice to God (Numbers 18:14-17).
Firstfruits of any kind were reserved for people God designated, namely, the priests. The Old Testament uses the term “the first of the firstfruits.” This may be a reference to the first ripened of the firstfruits, or it may refer to the choicest of them. These offerings were especially designated for the priests and could be eaten by any of them who was ritually clean (Numbers 18:12-13). For other references to the firstfruits, see Exodus 23:15-19; 34:22, 26; Leviticus 2:14; 23:10-17.
The firstfruits were presented to God by bringing the offering to the priest at the tabernacle and, in later times, at the temple (Deuteronomy 26:2). The priest took the offering, and on the first day of the week, with arms outstretched, waved it before the Lord. On the same day, the person presenting the firstfruits offered a male lamb as a burnt offering to the Lord, a grain offering of fine flour mixed with olive oil, and a drink offering of wine. Fifty days later another grain offering was made. Each family was to give two loaves of bread to the Lord as a special gift. These were also given with appropriate animal, grain, and drink offerings (Leviticus 23:9-22).
In the New Testament the apostle Paul referred to Jesus Christ’s resurrection as the firstfruits of the resurrection of believers that will occur at Jesus’ return (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23). The Holy Spirit, who dwells in all believers (Romans 8:9), is also said to be the firstfruits of the full redemption that is yet to come. “Firstfruits” is sometimes used of the first believers in a geographical area (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:15). They were a kind of promise of a spiritual harvest to follow in that particular locality.
Christian believers are said to be firstfruits, referring to their status as a unique and sacred possession of God out of all he has created (James 1:18). Similarly, in the book of Revelation, the 144,000 are said to have been redeemed from humanity as firstfruits belonging to God and to the Lamb, Jesus Christ (Revelation 14:4). |
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Job , I was out running errands and saw a church sign I thought you may appreciate
"You can give and not love but you cannot love and not give" |
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Robin, you have written "If we don't have enough money to make ends meet how can we give to the poor???..." We have to give to God out of penury. Please read the following message of mine.
Sister Connie, your words have brought tears in my eyes as there are still precious people of God like you in your great nation who have a heart for the Body of Christ in other nations.
In the hands of the potter, you are absolutely correct. You cannot love and not give.
 Many people asked me whether they could pay tithes under the New Testament. I told them that they could pay more than tithes and that since there was no Levitical priesthood under the New Covenant, they could pay free-will offerings with a cheerful heart to the ministers of God who preach the gospel as well as to the poor saints in their midst. We are under the covenant of grace and not under the Old Covenant. The incident of the poor widow giving her two mites as recorded in the Luke's gospel is the best ensample for us to emulate.
In Jerusalem, Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. Jesus said that truly this poor widow put in more than all (Luke 21:1-4). When others put in their offerings for God out of their abundance, this poor widow put in the entire livelihood she had out of her penury. Here is a poor widow who put in what she had with her. She had no more savings to fend for herself, having dropped her two mites into the treasury. Her name is not mentioned here. The Bible calls her “a certain poor widow”.
Let us note that this poor widow lived under the old dispensation of the Law of Moses. Christ had not yet died for her. The Holy Spirit was not given to her at that time. But still she loved the God under the old Covenant. Nor did she have the wonderful promises of reward or blessings in return for her two mites. She did not have any expectation of reward for her sacrificial offering. She left the place after dropping her two mites. We do not know where she had gone or how she lived the rest of her life.
The Bible also does not tell us how she was induced to make this great sacrifice. When I was a small boy, I had seen a picture of this poor widow with a baby in her hands, though the Bible does not specifically say so. If she had a baby in her widowhood, what made her give all she had to God without caring for her baby? Did she love God more than her baby under the Old Covenant? Dear reader, it is for you to answer.
What a surprise! A poor widow comes near the treasury and drops all her coins and then disappears and that too, without being watched by the priests of the temple! These days, when we give a few dollars to some servant of God, we go about telling the whole world. It was only Jesus Who had seen the poor widow throw her two mites into the offertory. As we give to God secretly, the eyes of Jesus are on us. Let us give to God without expecting any reward from Him. Let us not heed the preachers of the so-called prosperity gospel. Let us imbibe the poor widow. Let us also be anonymous as “a certain poor widow”.
Let us examine ourselves today. Are we better than the poor widow? How much we have to give to God under the New Covenant now that Christ has died for us and that we have received the Holy Spirit? |
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