The Power of Prioritizing God
Explore the significance of putting God first and the abundant blessings available. Learn from the Ephesian Church's example of prioritizing God and love. Discover how heart-aligned stewardship can bring blessings to your life as you faithfully give God what belongs to Him, experiencing His redeeming power.
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20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
The Christian’s Torrent of Holy Benefits
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…” Ephesians 1:3
The first three chapters of Ephesians share what we can call a torrent of holy benefits to being a child of God. Those chapters are a description of unleashing the blessing that the believer has in Christ. But it’s not like white water rapids that wear you down. Instead, it’s the expression of every wave and how it benefits, blesses, and strengthens you.
Let’s do a quick flyover of what Paul describes that you have available as a believer and is already operative within your life. Ephesians 1 shares that we have:
Redemption through the blood of Jesus.
Forgiveness of sins and an unveiling of the mystery of God’s will.
The gift of the spirit of wisdom and revelation of the knowledge of God.
Our eyes and hearts are enlightened.
Hope in our calling and the riches of His grace, meaning we have a Kingdom inheritance.
Ultimately, as believers, we have the immeasurable power of God working in and through us; we have resurrection power. So, because we’re serving Jesus, it's crucial for us to seek to be fruitful for Jesus and to be mindful that God is arranging chess pieces in and through our lives. Our fruitfulness affects this generation and the next for His glory.
So, when we get to Ephesians 3:20-21, Paul is celebrating the riches of what God is doing in the church at Ephesus. This was the only letter by Paul in the New Testament where he does not address a controversy. They were the most spiritually mature church at the time.
This is important to note because, in Revelation 2:2-3, Jesus affirms the Church in Ephesus. However, in verse 4, He says, “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”
Jesus calls on them to repent and do the works they did initially. They were once spiritually healthy and dynamic for the kingdom, but they lost sight of their first love. This matters because if it can happen to the church at Ephesus, it can happen to us. It can happen to you. Jesus is clear that if they fail to repent, He will remove the lampstand, which signifies God’s presence and illumination, from them.
They were affirmed for having good theology. They believed in all the right things; however, their orthodoxy was dead. Their hearts were no longer full of God’s love. God is correcting His church because they weren’t honoring the Savior wholeheartedly.
So, this leads us to how we handle our priorities, loyalties, and affections, which dictate the blessings we will or won’t experience in this life and the one to come.
Three Patterns of Life-Giving Firsts
1) The Pattern of the Firstborn
“Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to Me, whether man or animal.” Exodus 13:2 (NIV)
We find a critical financial precedent established in this chapter of Exodus. God declares that the firstborn “is Mine;” It belongs to Him.
For parents of multiple children reading this, you may recall the attentiveness and doting you applied to your first child. If they spit out their pacifier and it hit the ground, you sterilized it extensively. However, by the time your third, fourth, or fifth child comes, you will still clean it, but the extent will likely be expedited.
I’m illustrating the sense of love and affection a parent has for their firstborn. The Lord seeks to cultivate a heart that would have a priority upon God, which means consecrating our firsts to Him.
But why would God demand that? It’s vital that you understand something about the principle of the firstborn. According to Old Testament Law, the firstborn was to either be sacrificed or redeemed—There was no third option.
The importance of consecrating the firsts is that God’s people would keep proper priority so He could reign as the pinnacle, not just in our minds but also in our hearts.
“…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 (NIV)
God isn’t just pursuing our comprehension but the throne of our hearts. When we give Him that spot, He is honored and will redeem every remaining aspect of our being. The first portion is the redemptive portion, and when that is given to God, the rest is redeemed.
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 (NIV)
“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 (NIV)
“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 (NIV)
While in India, I attended a worship service, and there was a time to honor God with tithes and offerings. People from all over the sanctuary got up to place bags of tea leaves, rice, and other harvests at the altar. My translator told me that, as a people, they don’t carry cash. Instead, they barter, thus they were giving their firstfruits. Rather than selling at the market or adding to their storehouse, this was how they magnified and honored God.
So, why did God instruct His people to give their firstfruits? Because God is not just after a transactional, intellectual, cognitive assent of who He is; God is after your heart. He wants a heart that will trust Him to do what He says He’ll do.
3) The Pattern of the Tithe
The word “tithe” means a tenth. Biblically, it refers to the first 10 percent.
“Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7 (NASB)
A church in Huntsville, Alabama, breaks out in applause every Sunday during the offering. While that may sound odd, it’s an act of worship that celebrates that giving should never be out of obligation but giving in a spirit that matters: cheerfulness and joy.
Tithing is not a “have to” but a “get to.” You get to honor God, and it’s a conscious effort to keep Him on the throne of your heart. Rather than resting on the security of your bank account, you’re trusting Him to be your security, as He has declared.
The second reason the congregation applauds is in conjunction with James 4:3, which states, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.” This isn’t a perfunctory moment but a moment to treasure and honor God. They’re edifying one another by applauding that this isn’t about a church budget but honoring God with all aspects of our lives.
The principle of firstborn is powerful; firstfruits is powerful, but the principle of the tithe is very, very powerful. Pastor Robert Morris said, “Any first thing given is never lost, and any first thing not given is always lost.”
“Any first thing given is never lost, and any first thing not given is always lost.”
In other words, we don’t lose what we give God because He redeems it for us. But what we withhold from God, we will lose. Jesus echoed this principle when He said:
JESUS: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whosoever loses his life for Me will find it.” Matthew 16:25 (NIV)
When we honor this pattern, we see in Scripture what’s happening is that God blesses this step.
In Joshua, we see the fall of Jericho. The Lord gave strict instructions that the Israelites were not to keep any of the spoils from Jericho. Why did the Lord say that all of the silver and gold from Jericho had to be given to the Lord’s house? It was firstfruits because it was the first city conquered in the Promised Land.
God said, “Bring all the silver and the gold from Jericho into My house, and then you can have all of the rest.” He didn’t say, “Conquer ten cities and give Me all the spoils from the tenth one.” He essentially said, “Give Me the first, and you can have the rest.” That took faith, of course, and so does tithing.
You may also remember that one person, Achan, among the Israelites, disregarded God’s clear 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, even this whole nation.” Malachi 3:8-9
It is amazing how many people try to overlook this Scripture or explain it away. Some say, “Well, that’s in the Old Testament, and we’re living in the New Testament now.” But in the very same chapter of Malachi, God said, “For I am the Lord, I do not change.”
Witness the Benefits of Heart-Aligned Stewardship
JESUS: “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.” Luke 11:42 (ESV)
Jesus is affirming the Pharisees should’ve been operating in a spirit of love and justice, but they should never have stopped honoring God with the 10 percent. All tithers I’ve encountered give the same testimony that they are blessed, and all non-tithers provide the testimony that they can’t afford to tithe.
Early in my ministry, I was living below the poverty line. I also supported my family, including my wife and two young children. However, I still made a point to tithe. I wanted to be faithful and steward the little I had. I found God was equally faithful in unique and beautiful ways during that period.
Now that I am in a different life stage, I still see the fruitfulness of stewarding our resources. Scripture shares that we are blessed to be a blessing. You are uniquely anointed with the power of God, who dwells within. You are free to be a conduit for God’s glory.
In biology, relationships within cells are labeled as symbiotic and parasitic. A symbiotic cell sees growth occur when the cells benefit from the other. A parasitic relationship, on the other hand, occurs in one organism because it's feeding off of another organism.
As Christians, if we’re interested in a symbiotic relationship with Jesus, we must evaluate how we function in our lives together. If we have a parasitic relationship with Jesus and His Church, we see these symptoms:
Sing to me.
Pray for me.
Counsel me.
Preach to me.
Help me.
But a Christian interested in a symbiotic relationship with Jesus looks like this:
I’m willing to glorify God with my heart.
I’m willing to invest so everyone can benefit from God’s glory.
Where your treasure is, that’s where your heart is. The church at Ephesus didn’t go from a life-giving and vibrant congregation in Christ to a place that Jesus rebuked overnight. They did it two degrees at a time, and because of that, I admonish you to fight for your heart. Fight for your heart in prayer, God’s Word, worship, and fellowship. When your mind pushes back on the revelation of God, fight for your heart to be in a loving relationship with the living God.
If it can happen to the church at Ephesus, it can happen to me. If it can happen to them, it can happen to us. Fight for your heart in Jesus’ name.
TL;DR
Ephesians 3:20-21 reveals a treasure trove of blessings for believers, emphasizing the importance of putting God first in our lives.
This blog explores the principles of firstborn, firstfruits, and tithing, highlighting the significance of prioritizing God.
It also draws lessons from the spiritual journey of the Ephesian Church, emphasizing the need to safeguard our hearts in our relationship with God.
Related Reading
Beyond Bread and Fishes: A Message of Trusting God by Rev. Paul Lawler
Characteristics of a Healthy Church by Rev. Paul Lawler
The First Things of a Blessed Life by Rev. Paul Lawler
