The First Things of a Blessed Life
Jesus taught us that the Father will care for us when we seek Him first. How we manage our money says volumes about our heart priorities, loyalties, and affections. For a church that puts God first, there are three patterns of life-giving firsts.
Discovering God’s Provision
In Matthew 6, Jesus said, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you? But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.”
Jesus isn’t instructing us to live carelessly; instead, He’s urging and reminding us that the Father will take care of us when we seek Him first. In the context of our society and the world’s vicious cycle for more, we’re going to examine this topic through the arena of our resources and, more specifically, our finances.
As a pastor, I know that your guard just went up. However, I ask that we open our hearts before God to let Him speak through His word.
There are more than 500 verses in the Bible concerning prayer, nearly 500 verses concerning faith, but more than 2,000 verses on the subject of money and possessions. Why is that?
Money and possessions can be substitutes for our ultimate security. For Christians, your security is in Jesus; however, money and possessions can take the pinnacle of hearts, and God knows that.
Jesus talked about money in 16 of His 38 parables. From the Bible’s standpoint, we need to understand money and how to handle it. Because money is a test from God, how we manage money says volumes about our heart priorities, loyalties, and affections.
Our resource and financial management directly dictate many of the blessings we will or won’t experience in life and in the life to come.
For a church that puts God first, there are three patterns of life-giving firsts.
Three Patterns of Life-Giving Firsts
1) The Pattern of the Firstborn
You may wonder what a firstborn has to do with our topic, but let’s examine Exodus 13. God instructed His people to concentrate every firstborn male to Him. Every first offspring male among the Israelites belonged to God, and what He declared was the principle of putting Him first.
We see this thread of God declaring that the firstborn is His 16 times in Scripture. For example:
“. . . you are to give over to the LORD the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD. Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.” Exodus 13:12-13
While that may sound gruesome, in the context of the Old Testament, here’s what’s important to understand: This is written in an agrarian society, meaning the economy is based upon agriculture.
According to Old Testament Law, you must understand that the firstborn was to either be sacrificed or redeemed. Therefore, there was no third option.
The first portion is what we call the redemption portion, meaning while the first portion is given to God, the rest is redeemed. Redemption means to take you out of a dark spot and put you into a place of light and life. So God declares that when you honor and keep Him first, He will work redemptively in the life of a believer.
2) The Pattern of Firstfruits
“Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God.” Exodus 23:19a
“Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” Proverbs 3:9-10
Notice in that passage redemptive portion emerges again. When the firstfruits of the crop were given, the barns were overflowing.
Israel was God’s first love, and they were His first portion. Through the nation of Israel, God birthed the Messiah so that all the nations would be blessed.
“Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruit of His harvest . . .” Jeremiah 2:3
“A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.” Leviticus 27:30
3) The Pattern of the Tithe
The word “tithe” literally means a tenth, and Biblically, it refers to the first 10 percent.
You’ve likely heard this talk before, and perhaps you’ve been tithing for years. But I want to remind you of the spirit behind this. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 9 that, “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
For years, there was a church that my family visited when we were on vacation. During the offering, the people broke out into rapturous applause. We learned that it was a decision made because when we give to God, we should labor to guard our hearts, so it’s not begrudgingly. Instead, it’s done cheerfully. It’s not because we have to tithe but because we get to honor God this way.
James wrote, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
The principle of firstborn is powerful, firstfruits is powerful; the principle of the tithe is very, very powerful.
When an individual gives any first thing to God, it is never lost, and any first thing not given is always lost. So what we give to God, we don’t lose because God redeems it for us, but what we withhold, we lose.
Jesus echoed this principle in Matthew 16. “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whosoever loses his life for Me will find it.”
How To Trust God With Our Firsts
When we give God the first, including the first of our finances, that’s really what tithing is; we’re giving our first to God. We’re trusting God with the firsts and to redeem the rest.
Going back to our first point, in an agrarian society, you didn’t know how many more lambs might be birthed when the firstborn lamb was born in your flock. God didn’t say, “Let your ewe produce nine lambs and then give Me the next one.” No, God says, “Give Me the first one.”
It always requires faith to give the first, which is why so few Christians experience the blessing of tithing. It means giving to God before you see if you’re going to have enough, and He actively implores us to allow Him to prove this.
In Malachi 3, God said, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”
In tithing, we say to God, “I recognize You first. I am putting You first in my life, and I trust You to take care of the rest of the things in my life.” That’s why tithing is so important. It is the primary way to acknowledge that God is first.
What Happens When We Don’t Give God Our First
In the fall of Jericho, the Lord instructed the Israelites not to keep any of the spoils from Jericho. He declared that all the silver and gold belonged to Him. Why was that? Because it was the first city conquered in the Promised Land, it was the firstfruit.
God didn’t say conquer all ten cities and give me the spoils from the tenth. He said, give me the first, and you can have the rest. That took faith for the Israelites because those other cities were still unconquered.
However, one person among the Israelites disregarded God’s explicit instructions. They were told, “The silver and gold were consecrated to the Lord,” but Achan took some for himself, and we read that it was “cursed.”
When the spoils were given to God, they were “consecrated” or set apart for God’s house, but after a man took some for himself, it was called “accursed.” Consecrated or cursed–that’s exactly what the tithe is throughout the Bible. The tithe is consecrated to the Lord and for the Lord’s house.
But if we take it for ourselves, it becomes cursed because it’s stolen.
“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, the whole nation of you.” Malachi 3:8-9
When we move to the New Testament, we see these same ideas from Jesus’ mouth too. In an exchange with the Pharisees, He said, “But woe to you, Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done without neglecting the others.”
We can tithe in the wrong spirit, which can become about what rather than who. So all tithers give the testimony that they are blessed, and all non-tithers give the testimony that they can’t afford to tithe.
When times are difficult, there is a temptation not to honor God first. However, when you get into a better stage in life, there are new temptations that you’ll face. Unfortunately, just because your circumstances change doesn’t mean your temptations vanish.
Final Note
As we wrap up, let me be clear: Tithing does not save you; Jesus saves you. It is not your salvation by tithing, nor is it salvation by works. By grace alone, you are saved through faith in the person of Jesus. Be mindful that in light of God bleeding and dying for you that your sins are forgiven and being reconciled to God. This is not just anyone we’re horning, but the one true sovereign God of the universe.
TL;DR
Money and possessions can be substitutes for our ultimate security.
For Christians, your security is in Jesus. However, money and possessions can take the pinnacle of hearts, and God knows that.
Three Patterns of Life-Giving Firsts
The Pattern of the Firstborn
The Pattern of First Fruits
The Pattern of the Tithe
When an individual gives any first thing to God, it is never lost, and any first thing not given is always lost.
How To Trust God With Your Firsts?
It always requires faith to give the first, which is why so few Christians experience the blessing of tithing.
What Happens When We Don’t Give God Our First
If we take it for ourselves, it becomes cursed because it’s stolen.
Tithing does not save you; Jesus saves you.
Related Reading
What is the Church by Rev. Paul Lawler
Why Does God Want Our Hearts Enlightened? by Rev. Paul Lawler
Why Are Christians A Chosen People by Rev. Paul Lawler
About Christ Church Memphis
Christ Church Memphis is church in East Memphis, Tennessee. For more than 65 years, Christ Church has served the Memphis community. Every weekend, there are multiple worship opportunities including traditional, contemporary and blended services
