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The Principle of First

September 14, 2020

27:29

Pastor Robert continues The Blessed Life series by defining firstfruits and why we bring God the first in a message titled; “The Principle of First.”

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The Principle of First

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ROBERT MORRIS: That's howimportant this principle is.
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And we're going to seethat this principle
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refers to tithing.
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But I want to say somethingto you that maybe you've
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never thought of;
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Jesus is God's tithe.
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Welcome tothe blessed life.
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Is God reallyfirst in your life?
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What would yourcheckbook say?
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Stay tuned.
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♪ ♪
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ROBERT: I want you to turn yourBibles to one
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passage of scripture.
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We'll go throughsome others.
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But, we'll just look at one.
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Exodus 13.
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We'll just go to one.
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Exodus 13, and as you'regetting to Exodus 13,
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let me just say this.
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This is in my opinion themost important message
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in the series.
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We're in this series called"The Blessed Life,"
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and this is probably the mostimportant message in the series.
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The title of this message is"The Principal of First."
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"The Principal of First."
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I want to makethis statement.
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If God is first in yourlife, then everything
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will come into order.
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I'm not saying you won'thave difficulties
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or problems or gothrough struggles.
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Jesus said in this world,you'll have tribulation.
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But would you rather gothrough tribulation
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with everything in order, oreverything out of order?
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And hear me, if Jesus isfirst, if God's first,
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everything will comeinto order in your life.
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If He is not first, thennothing will come into order
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in your life.
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God has to be first forthere to be order in your life.
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So I want to show you thisprincipal,
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because this principal is aprincipal that runs all through
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scripture, fromGenesis to Revelation.
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Here, so let'sstart, Exodus 13:1.
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It says, "Then the Lordspoke to Moses, saying,
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'Consecrate to meall the firstborn.
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Whatever opens the wombamong the children of Israel,
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both of man and of beast,it is mine.'" It is mine.
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It belongs to me.
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I wish that I couldadequately explain to you
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how emphatic the languageis in the Hebrew here,
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this phrase it is mine.
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It is my property, itbelongs to me, I'm the owner.
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It's extremely emphatic.
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It's very important tounderstand that,
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when you talk about thePrincipal of Firsts.
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The firstborn, hesays, belongs to me.
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Okay now, look at verse 12.
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"That you shall set apart to theLord all that opens the womb."
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That is every firstborn thatcomes from an animal,
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which you have, "malesshall be the Lord's."
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Very similar language in theHebrew shall belong to God.
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They'll be the Lord's.
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"But every firstborn" now,we'll talk about this,
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"of a donkey you shall redeemwith a lamb," very important.
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A donkey will beredeemed with a lamb.
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Now watch this phrase.
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And "if you will not redeem itthen you shall break its neck."
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It's very important tounderstand that if you don't
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redeem it, you're goingto lose it anyway.
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I want you to apply that aswe talk about the first
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of our finances, thefirst ten percent.
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He says, you're, if youdon't bring it to me,
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you're going to lose it.
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You're stillgoing to lose it.
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It's going out of your account.
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Watch this.
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"And all the firstborn ofman among your sons
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you shall redeem."
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All right, so Ihave three points.
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If you're taking notes, Iwant you to write these down,
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the firstborn mustbe sacrificed or redeemed.
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That's the principal here inthe Old Testament
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that is referring to a principalthat goes all through the Bible.
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The firstborn must besacrificed or redeemed.
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Okay, but how do youknow which to do?
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How do you know whether yousacrifice it or redeem it?
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Well, he gives two animalswhich are exemplary
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of categories of animals.
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He gives us the donkeyand the lamb, okay?
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The donkey representsunclean animals,
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and the lamb representsclean animals.
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So how do youknow which to do?
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Well, if it's a cleananimal, it has to be sacrificed,
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the firstborn.
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If it's an unclean animal,it has to be redeemed
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with the sacrifice of a clean.
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All right, let me saythat one more time.
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If it's clean, firstborn.
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I'm hoping you kind of getahead of me on this,
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and understand whatthis represents.
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If it's a clean, and it'sfirstborn,
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it has to be sacrificed.
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If it's unclean, it hasto be redeemed
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with the sacrifice of a clean.
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Okay.
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How in the world doesthis relate to us today?
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Well let me ask you twoquestions, alright?
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First of all, were you and Ispiritually born
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clean or unclean?
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In other words, when we wereborn in the natural,
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our spiritual state before God,were we born into this world,
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were weclean or unclean?
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Unclean.
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We are all bornin sin, right?
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I can prove it by simplyasking the experts here,
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the parents, did you have toteach your children to be bad?
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Or did that comenaturally for them?
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See, we have to teach themto be good is that right?
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Because we're all bornwith a sin nature.
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That's what theBible says, alright.
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So we were all born unclean.
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Was Jesus bornunclean or clean?
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Clean, okay.
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Listen to me, listenvery carefully.
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The clean, Jesus, the cleanhad to be sacrificed,
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so that the uncleancould be redeemed.
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That's what we just read.
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That's how importantthis principal is.
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And we're going to see that thisprincipal refers to tithing,
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but I want to saysomething to you that maybe
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you've never thought of.
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Jesus is God's tithe.
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Because you see, yougive tithe first.
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You don't pay your bills andsee if you have enough
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left over to tithe.
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You give the tithe first.
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It's the first ten percent.
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It's not just ten percent,it's the first ten percent.
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Because, it takes faith togive the first see, God said,
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"When your sheep has alamb, give me the first one.
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It takes faith to give thefirst one before
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you have anymore.
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You don't know if the sheep'sgoing to produce anymore.
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That takes faith.
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God didn't say, "Wait untilyour sheep has ten and then give
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me one of them and youcan give me the one that keeps
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getting in your gardenthat you don't like."
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No, He said, "You give me thefirst one
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before you have any others."
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See, so many people thinkit's not the ten percent
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that enacts the blessing.
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It's the faith thatenacts the blessing.
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It's giving thefirst ten percent.
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And the reason I say that,Jesus is God's tithe
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is because God gaveJesus first.
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He didn't wait to see if wewould clean up or straighten up
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to give His son.
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God gave Jesus when we weremocking him and spitting
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on him and nailinghim to a cross.
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Romans says it this way,"While we were yet sinners,
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Christ died for us."
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And Romans also said it thisway,
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that God gave Jesus in hope.
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In hope.
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And that word, the rootof that word is faith.
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In faith, we giveour tithe in faith.
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So, it's thefirst ten percent.
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Think about this.
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When the children of Israelwent into the promised land,
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God said bring all of thesilver and gold from Jericho
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into the house of God.
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It's always intothe house of God.
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That's always wherethe tithe goes.
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But, why didn't he sayten percent of Jericho?
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It's very simple.
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Because Jerichowas the first city.
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It's simple.
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He said, "Bring the firstinto the house of the Lord,
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and the rest are redeemed."
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They're out fromunder the curse.
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They're blessed.
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See, the first portion hasthe redemptive,
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is the redemptive portion.
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So, the firstborn must besacrificed or redeemed.
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Here's the second point.
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The first fruitsmust be offered.
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You can stay there in Exodus13, look at Proverbs 3:9-10,
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"Honor the Lord with yourpossessions,
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and with the first fruits ofall your increase."
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Bonuses, everything, "Soyour barns will be filled
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with plenty,and your vatswill overflow with wine."
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Okay.
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That says to honor the Lord withthe first of our increase.
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I just want to justmake a note here.
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This is in Proverbs.
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This is not the law.
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This is not under the law.
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This is hundreds ofyears after the law.
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This is a principal thatruns all through scripture.
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Let me show youanother scripture.
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Exodus 23:19, "The firstof the first fruits."
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I kind of like that phrase,because it's like God is saying,
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"Listen closely if you don'tknow what first means."
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"The first of the firstfruits of your land,"
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now watch these words, "youshall bring,"
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that's the important word,"bring into the house
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of the Lord your God."
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Now we saw last weekendabout Malachi, he said,
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"Bring the tithesinto the storehouse."
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The tithe alwayscomes to the church.
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You don't, you can'tdivide your tithe.
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You can't designate your tithe,you can't give
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it to somewhere else.
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But I want you tonotice the word bring.
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The reason God uses the word"bring" instead of the word
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"give" when he talks abouttithing, is because you can't
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give whatdoesn't belong to you.
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You have two choicesaccording to scripture.
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And I know this is strong,but I've studied this for over
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30 years now.
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You have two choices when itcomes to the tithe according
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to scripture.
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You can bring it,or you can steal it.
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Those are theonly two choices.
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There's no other choiceaccording to scripture.
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They either broughtit, or they stole it.
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Remember when God said,bring all the silver and gold
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from Jerichothat Achan kept some?
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And of course, the nextcity, then they lost the battle
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until they broughtit to the house of God.
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But here was the point.
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In Joshua 6, God calls the tithe"consecrated" or set apart,
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same thing hecalled the first born.
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But in Joshua 7, once Achantook it, he said,
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"Israel has stolen from me,and they're cursed."
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They're cursed.
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It's consecrated when youbring it to the house of God.
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It's cursed if you leaveit in your bank account.
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Here's a real simple,straightforward question,
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why would you want somethingcursed in your bank account?
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I mean, it hasenough problems.
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Why wouldn't you want yourbank account blessed?
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See, it takes faithto give the first.
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It takes faith to believethat 90% redeemed and blessed
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will go fartherthan 100% cursed.
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Watch.
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Genesis 4:3-5, "And in processof time," now those words
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are very important,"in the process of time it came
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to pass, that Cain broughtan offering of the fruit
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of the ground unto the Lord."
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Notice it specifically doesnot say that he brought
00:11:49.023 --> 00:11:50.625
first fruits.
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He just brought an offeringin the process of time.
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Abel also brought of thefirstborn of his flock
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and of their fat.
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And the Lord respected," orthis word could be received,
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"Abel and his offering."
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Notice the person's receivedtoo, not just the offering.
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"But he did not respect"or receive,
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"Cain and his offering."
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It's simple, isn't it?
00:12:14.315 --> 00:12:15.917
Cain was a farmer.
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He didn't bringfirst fruits.
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Abel was a rancher, hebrought first born.
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God says, "I'll accept that,I will not accept that."
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Didn't accept it.
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Now I'm going to take it alittle farther in this,
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and that is, it's not just thatGod wouldn't accept it,
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it's that God couldn'taccept it.
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God can't be second.
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He can't be second.
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This is called thepreeminence of God.
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You know, you'veheard of eminence.
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But God is preeminent.
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That means He's not onlyfirst of all, He's before all.
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He's higher than all,He's above all, He's first,
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He's before all.
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So, God is first.
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Now we, when our lives,we talk about putting God first.
00:12:57.425 --> 00:13:00.195
And that's good, because wedo need to put God first
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in our lives.
00:13:02.697 --> 00:13:03.565
But I just want youto know something.
00:13:03.665 --> 00:13:04.799
Even if God's not first inyour life, He's still first.
00:13:04.899 --> 00:13:08.436
You didn't rearrange Hisorder in the universe.
00:13:08.536 --> 00:13:12.440
He's still preeminent.
00:13:12.540 --> 00:13:14.108
So, God can never be second.
00:13:14.209 --> 00:13:16.344
So, this is why I'm tellingyou the reason God couldn't
00:13:16.444 --> 00:13:19.047
accept Cain's offering, isbecause God's always first,
00:13:19.147 --> 00:13:22.483
and Cain did not bringa first offering.
00:13:22.584 --> 00:13:26.988
And God says, "I'm sorry, Ican't accept a second place
00:13:27.088 --> 00:13:30.124
offering, because I'malways in first place.
00:13:30.225 --> 00:13:33.361
I can't accept it."
00:13:33.461 --> 00:13:34.462
Now, we need to thinkabout that,
00:13:34.562 --> 00:13:36.397
when it comes to the tithe.
00:13:36.497 --> 00:13:38.032
You remember I saidJesus is God's tithe.
00:13:38.132 --> 00:13:40.935
And I said to you lastweekend, because we talked
00:13:41.035 --> 00:13:42.704
about giving to thebride of Christ.
00:13:42.804 --> 00:13:45.840
And I said that tithing isprobably more personal
00:13:45.940 --> 00:13:47.876
to Jesus than what we think.
00:13:47.976 --> 00:13:49.410
Okay, I want you tothink about this.
00:13:49.510 --> 00:13:50.912
If Jesus is God's tithe,tithing might be a little
00:13:51.012 --> 00:13:54.148
more personal to the Fatheralso than what we think.
00:13:54.249 --> 00:13:58.519
See, it represents who'sfirst in your life.
00:13:58.620 --> 00:14:01.589
You can, and again, I knowthese, some of the things
00:14:01.689 --> 00:14:04.392
I'm saying are strong, butyou can tell me all day God's
00:14:04.492 --> 00:14:06.895
first in your life, but let mesee your bank account,
00:14:06.995 --> 00:14:11.199
and I'lltell you who's first.
00:14:11.299 --> 00:14:14.435
It might be Nordstrom's.
00:14:14.535 --> 00:14:17.972
Okay, ladies, letme hit the guys.
00:14:18.072 --> 00:14:19.440
It might Bass Pro Shops.
00:14:19.540 --> 00:14:24.145
Where does the firstten percent go?
00:14:24.245 --> 00:14:27.482
That's who's first.
00:14:27.582 --> 00:14:29.050
Alright, so, the first born mustbe sacrificed or redeemed.
00:14:29.150 --> 00:14:33.354
The first fruitsmust be offered.
00:14:33.454 --> 00:14:34.689
Here's point three.
00:14:34.789 --> 00:14:35.823
The tithe must be first.
00:14:35.924 --> 00:14:40.528
The tithe must be first.
00:14:40.628 --> 00:14:43.831
Leviticus 27:30, it says,"And all," I want you to notice
00:14:43.932 --> 00:14:47.735
the word all, "andall the tithe of the land,"
00:14:47.835 --> 00:14:52.573
all of it, " whether of theseed of the land,
00:14:52.674 --> 00:14:55.543
or of the fruit of the tree, isthe Lord's:"
00:14:55.643 --> 00:14:58.780
there's the emphatic phraseagain, belongs to God.
00:14:58.880 --> 00:15:01.783
God set it apartfor himself.
00:15:01.883 --> 00:15:04.218
And that's what the nextphrase says, " it is holy,"
00:15:04.319 --> 00:15:07.155
that word is the word thatsimply means set apart,
00:15:07.255 --> 00:15:09.891
it is set apart unto the Lord."
00:15:09.991 --> 00:15:12.827
That's why it's stealing.
00:15:12.927 --> 00:15:14.429
Because He set itapart to Himself.
00:15:14.529 --> 00:15:15.897
And that's why it has to befirst, because God's first
00:15:15.997 --> 00:15:19.067
and he owns it.
00:15:19.167 --> 00:15:20.768
So in order, in other words,if we're going to return it,
00:15:20.868 --> 00:15:22.804
we have to return it first.
00:15:22.904 --> 00:15:24.806
Okay, so I'm going to giveyou an illustration,
00:15:24.906 --> 00:15:27.742
and it's a mathillustration, okay?
00:15:27.842 --> 00:15:30.511
I'm warning you, so half ofyou can take a nap, alright?
00:15:30.611 --> 00:15:34.182
Let's say that you're alandscaper and you come to our
00:15:34.282 --> 00:15:36.985
home and pastor Robert,I'm, you know, I call you
00:15:37.085 --> 00:15:42.256
and I say, "Listen, I'd liketo add some plants,
00:15:42.357 --> 00:15:45.093
and some trees, and someflowers, and things, you know."
00:15:45.193 --> 00:15:47.762
And so, you giveme an estimate.
00:15:47.862 --> 00:15:49.063
And you say, "Now, this ishow much my materials will be.
00:15:49.163 --> 00:15:51.599
This is how my labor will be,and my profit will be $1.000.
00:15:51.699 --> 00:15:55.970
You need to know, thetithe is on profit.
00:15:56.070 --> 00:15:58.740
It's not on all of this,it's on the increase.
00:15:58.840 --> 00:16:01.109
Your personal increase,personal income,
00:16:01.209 --> 00:16:03.845
that's what we tithe on, okay.
00:16:03.945 --> 00:16:05.346
So, you say, "Are youagreeable to this whole price?"
00:16:05.446 --> 00:16:08.816
I say, "Yes I am."
00:16:08.916 --> 00:16:10.018
So after you do the job,I pay for all of your materials,
00:16:10.118 --> 00:16:12.320
all of your labors, and then foryour profit,
00:16:12.420 --> 00:16:14.455
let's say that Igive you ten $100 bills.
00:16:14.555 --> 00:16:17.358
So, you have $1.000in your hand, okay.
00:16:17.458 --> 00:16:20.294
This is the mathpart, alright.
00:16:20.395 --> 00:16:21.829
So you have $1.000.
00:16:21.929 --> 00:16:23.331
Let me ask you twoquestions, alright.
00:16:23.431 --> 00:16:24.699
A thousand dollars, remember theword tithe means ten percent.
00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:27.402
So, how much is the tithe?
00:16:27.502 --> 00:16:30.905
$100, alright.
00:16:31.005 --> 00:16:31.906
I know some of you stillcarry the -- okay.
00:16:32.006 --> 00:16:34.809
That's alright, that's okay.
00:16:34.909 --> 00:16:35.943
Alright so, it's $100 that'sright.
00:16:36.044 --> 00:16:37.845
But you have ten hundreddollar bills in your hand,
00:16:37.945 --> 00:16:39.947
so which one is the tithe?
00:16:40.048 --> 00:16:42.150
The first one, yeah, okay.
00:16:42.250 --> 00:16:43.618
The one on top iswhat we said, alright.
00:16:43.718 --> 00:16:44.919
Let me say it to you adifferent way, alright.
00:16:45.019 --> 00:16:46.587
It's the first onethat leaves your hand.
00:16:46.687 --> 00:16:50.224
That's the tithe.
00:16:50.324 --> 00:16:51.325
In other words, if you gohome, and you say,
00:16:51.426 --> 00:16:53.294
"Let me set aside some for themortgage, some for the car,
00:16:53.394 --> 00:16:55.930
some for utilities, some forclothes, and here's God's part."
00:16:56.030 --> 00:16:59.534
No, that's not God's part.
00:16:59.634 --> 00:17:00.868
You gave God's part tothe mortgage company.
00:17:00.968 --> 00:17:04.572
Because, here's whata lot of people do.
00:17:04.672 --> 00:17:06.307
Okay, let me set aside somefor this and this and this,
00:17:06.407 --> 00:17:08.709
and oh, there's notenough leftover for God.
00:17:08.810 --> 00:17:13.781
Can I say something nicelyto you, but firmly?
00:17:13.881 --> 00:17:16.984
He wouldn'taccept it anyway.
00:17:17.085 --> 00:17:18.586
Because our God doesnot accept leftovers.
00:17:18.686 --> 00:17:22.790
As a matter of fact,he says it in Malachi.
00:17:22.890 --> 00:17:24.892
He says, "You bring me theblind and the lame animals,
00:17:24.992 --> 00:17:29.730
and I do not accept them.
00:17:29.831 --> 00:17:33.101
I accept the first.
00:17:33.201 --> 00:17:35.236
That's all I accept."
00:17:35.336 --> 00:17:36.504
Okay, so, how does thiswork out in my own life?
00:17:36.604 --> 00:17:39.207
I get paid on the 15th and30th, or the last day
00:17:39.307 --> 00:17:42.877
of the month, 30th, 31st, andit's directly deposited.
00:17:42.977 --> 00:17:46.214
So, it's like it magicallyappears, you know,
00:17:46.314 --> 00:17:48.783
on my account.
00:17:48.883 --> 00:17:49.984
So what I do on the 15th andthe last day of the month,
00:17:50.084 --> 00:17:52.453
is while I'm having my quiettime in the morning,
00:17:52.553 --> 00:17:55.389
before I do anything else, I goonline and that's the way now,
00:17:55.490 --> 00:17:59.594
I think it's justeasiest to give online.
00:17:59.694 --> 00:18:01.662
I go online and I send thetithe to Gateway Church.
00:18:01.762 --> 00:18:06.367
So what happens though,if I have an early morning
00:18:06.467 --> 00:18:09.837
meeting and I kind of rushout, I don't have my quiet
00:18:09.937 --> 00:18:12.940
time that day, and I gethome that night, and I think,
00:18:13.040 --> 00:18:16.043
"Oh, it's the 15th,I forgot to do the tithe."
00:18:16.144 --> 00:18:18.546
And I go in and I noticethat Debbie has been
00:18:18.646 --> 00:18:20.915
to the grocery store that day.
00:18:21.015 --> 00:18:22.483
Okay, what I do, I don'tsay, "Well that's great, sugar,
00:18:22.583 --> 00:18:24.952
we're cursed.
00:18:25.052 --> 00:18:29.157
That's great.
00:18:29.257 --> 00:18:30.224
I mean, you gave the tithe toKrogers and so
00:18:30.324 --> 00:18:31.692
we're cursed now."
00:18:31.792 --> 00:18:33.327
No, because I'm notlegalistic about it.
00:18:33.427 --> 00:18:35.863
Now listen to me.
00:18:35.963 --> 00:18:36.697
God's not legalistic either.
00:18:36.797 --> 00:18:38.232
I'm not trying to give you alegalistic principal today.
00:18:38.332 --> 00:18:40.601
I'm trying to give you yourprincipal that's about
00:18:40.701 --> 00:18:42.370
your heart.
00:18:42.470 --> 00:18:44.572
Where's your heart?
00:18:44.672 --> 00:18:45.640
God knows my heart, andHe knows your heart.
00:18:45.740 --> 00:18:47.341
Where's your heart?
00:18:47.441 --> 00:18:48.476
So the first ten percentgoes to the house of God.
00:18:48.576 --> 00:18:52.313
Now, Exodus 13, let me showyou one more scripture,
00:18:52.413 --> 00:18:56.217
and then we'refinished, alright?
00:18:56.317 --> 00:18:57.952
We stopped awhile ago atverse 13, so let's pick it up
00:18:58.052 --> 00:18:59.987
at verse 14.
00:19:00.087 --> 00:19:01.756
"So it shall be, when yourson asks you in time to come,
00:19:01.856 --> 00:19:07.195
saying,'What is this?'
00:19:07.295 --> 00:19:09.830
Okay, in other words, he'ssaying one day your son's going
00:19:09.931 --> 00:19:11.566
to ask you, why areyou killing these animals.
00:19:11.666 --> 00:19:14.635
"That you shall say to him,'By strength of hand,'"
00:19:14.735 --> 00:19:17.738
by a mighty hand, "the Lordbrought us out of Egypt,
00:19:17.838 --> 00:19:21.676
out of the house of bondage;and it came to pass,
00:19:21.776 --> 00:19:25.246
when Pharaoh was stubborn aboutletting us go, that the Lord
00:19:25.346 --> 00:19:28.049
killed all the firstborn inthe land of Egypt,
00:19:28.149 --> 00:19:30.885
both the firstborn of man, andthe firstborn of beasts.
00:19:30.985 --> 00:19:33.454
Therefore I sacrifice to theLord all males that open the
00:19:33.554 --> 00:19:38.859
womb, being males; but all thefirstborn of my sons I redeem.'"
00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:44.198
He said, "One day your son'sgoing to ask you."
00:19:44.298 --> 00:19:47.268
And He said, "When he asksyou, you say to your son,
00:19:47.368 --> 00:19:50.938
"Son, I need to tell yousomething about our family
00:19:51.038 --> 00:19:57.378
that you don't know.
00:19:57.478 --> 00:20:02.083
But we weren't always inthe ranching business.
00:20:02.183 --> 00:20:06.621
We did not own animals.
00:20:06.721 --> 00:20:10.758
We didn't own land.
00:20:10.858 --> 00:20:15.162
Son, we were slaves.
00:20:15.263 --> 00:20:20.401
We were in bondage.
00:20:20.501 --> 00:20:26.474
But God, with a mighty handredeemed us,
00:20:26.574 --> 00:20:37.285
and gave us everythingwe have now.
00:20:37.385 --> 00:20:41.222
Therefore, we gladly give toGod the firstborn
00:20:41.322 --> 00:20:47.895
of all of our increase.
00:20:47.995 --> 00:20:49.030
Now, this was written4.000 years ago,
00:20:49.130 --> 00:20:55.503
and this principalhappened to me.
00:20:55.603 --> 00:20:59.006
When Josh was kind ofgetting old enough
00:20:59.106 --> 00:21:01.542
to understand numbers and all,and he has this mathematical
00:21:01.642 --> 00:21:04.712
mind like I do andlike his grandfather.
00:21:04.812 --> 00:21:07.315
And so one day I waspaying the bills.
00:21:07.415 --> 00:21:09.984
Now, we didn't haveonline back then.
00:21:10.084 --> 00:21:11.886
And so, what I would do is,I would write the check first.
00:21:11.986 --> 00:21:14.955
And then I would set thecheck, the tithe check,
00:21:15.056 --> 00:21:17.024
and then I would set it overaside,
00:21:17.124 --> 00:21:18.359
and then I would pay the bills.
00:21:18.459 --> 00:21:19.627
But I would always write thetithe check first and set it
00:21:19.727 --> 00:21:21.195
over to the side, and thentake it with me to church.
00:21:21.295 --> 00:21:23.831
By the way, for you youngpeople, we used to have pieces
00:21:23.931 --> 00:21:26.067
of papercalled checks.
00:21:26.167 --> 00:21:30.438
Alright, so I'dset it over aside.
00:21:30.538 --> 00:21:33.174
So I'm paying the bills,and Josh came in,
00:21:33.274 --> 00:21:35.476
and I'm watching him out ofthe corner of my eye.
00:21:35.576 --> 00:21:39.246
And he's reading this tithecheck, and he sees the amount,
00:21:39.347 --> 00:21:42.183
which to a young boylooks like a lot of money.
00:21:42.283 --> 00:21:46.187
And he says, "Dad, why are yougiving so much to the church?"
00:21:46.287 --> 00:21:55.429
And I remember this scripturewhen your son asks you,
00:21:55.529 --> 00:21:59.633
this is whatyou tell them.
00:21:59.734 --> 00:22:02.236
And I took Josh, and Iactually set him on my lap,
00:22:02.336 --> 00:22:04.472
and I said to him, "I needto tell you something about
00:22:04.572 --> 00:22:14.014
daddy that you don't know.
00:22:14.115 --> 00:22:20.388
But daddy wasn't always aChristian, son,
00:22:20.488 --> 00:22:23.791
and daddy was a very bad man.
00:22:23.891 --> 00:22:28.462
And daddy was in bondage.
00:22:28.562 --> 00:22:34.969
But God with a mighty handredeemed your daddy and gave us
00:22:35.069 --> 00:22:46.180
everything we have now.
00:22:46.280 --> 00:22:48.816
Therefore, I gladly give to Godthe first of all
00:22:48.916 --> 00:22:54.655
of my increase."
00:22:54.755 --> 00:22:59.860
This is a principal that'sall through scripture.
00:22:59.960 --> 00:23:04.365
It's called thePrincipal of First.
00:23:04.465 --> 00:23:07.768
Is God first in your life?
00:23:07.868 --> 00:23:09.804
Is God reallyfirst in your life?
00:23:10.638 --> 00:23:14.408
You know, I really believedeep in your heart, He is.
00:23:14.508 --> 00:23:17.511
So, I want to encourage youto put God first
00:23:17.611 --> 00:23:19.380
in your finances as well.
00:23:19.480 --> 00:23:21.715
Tithe to your local church.
00:23:21.816 --> 00:23:25.319
God set it up, and God didit so He could actually bless
00:23:25.419 --> 00:23:29.590
us and remind us thatHe's the one that set us free
00:23:29.690 --> 00:23:34.228
from the bondage of sin.
00:23:34.328 --> 00:23:36.564
Thanks so much for watching.
00:23:36.664 --> 00:23:37.998
I want to encourage you toget the series and the book
00:23:38.098 --> 00:23:40.134
so you can go deeperin this subject.
00:23:40.234 --> 00:23:42.336
See you next time.
00:23:42.436 --> 00:23:43.904
ANNOUNCER: It's our desire foryou to live a blessed life.
00:23:44.605 --> 00:23:46.974
But all too often, greed andmaterialism can choke out
00:23:47.074 --> 00:23:50.077
the true spirit ofgenerosity that's found
00:23:50.177 --> 00:23:52.313
only in Christ.
00:23:52.413 --> 00:23:54.548
The enemy will do anythingto keep you from discovering
00:23:54.648 --> 00:23:57.051
God's principles forfinancial stewardship,
00:23:57.151 --> 00:23:59.620
giving, and blessing.
00:23:59.720 --> 00:24:01.255
And it's because once youapply these godly principles
00:24:01.355 --> 00:24:04.058
as Pastor Robert hasoutlined in this series,
00:24:04.158 --> 00:24:06.627
you'll begin to see changein every area of your life.
00:24:06.727 --> 00:24:09.763
From your marriage, to yourhealth, to your finances.
00:24:09.864 --> 00:24:12.666
Your life will betransformed for the better,
00:24:12.766 --> 00:24:14.702
and you will be positionedto make an even bigger impact
00:24:14.802 --> 00:24:17.538
for thekingdom of God.
00:24:17.638 --> 00:24:19.740
We would like for youto have a copy of these
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life-changing messages.
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Right now, for your gift ofany amount, we'll send you
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Log on to pastorrobert.comor give us a call today.
00:24:54.675 --> 00:24:57.444
And thank you for yourcontinued support
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00:24:59.547 --> 00:25:01.115
♪ ♪
00:25:01.215 --> 00:25:03.384
REED PREJEAN: I would considerus to be contributors,
00:25:03.484 --> 00:25:05.519
not tithers.
00:25:05.619 --> 00:25:06.820
We never felt like we couldafford to pay a full ten percent
00:25:06.921 --> 00:25:10.658
tithe on the money.
00:25:10.758 --> 00:25:12.159
We never felt likewe could afford that.
00:25:12.259 --> 00:25:13.694
And if we did, we wouldn'thave enough money
00:25:13.794 --> 00:25:15.496
for the rest of our life.
00:25:15.596 --> 00:25:20.067
We read "The Blessed Life"and realized that we weren't
00:25:20.167 --> 00:25:24.738
tithing, and thatwe needed to start.
00:25:24.838 --> 00:25:26.907
And that really changedour perspective.
00:25:27.007 --> 00:25:29.410
That was the beginning of usbeing, becoming cheerful givers.
00:25:29.510 --> 00:25:33.781
Kara regularly watchesJames Robinson's TV show.
00:25:33.881 --> 00:25:37.351
They're always talkingabout water wells.
00:25:37.451 --> 00:25:39.587
KARA PREJEAN: Water's alwaysbeen dear to my heart.
00:25:39.687 --> 00:25:41.555
And so, it's a ministry wereally like to support.
00:25:41.655 --> 00:25:44.525
I saw the program with theopportunity
00:25:44.625 --> 00:25:46.527
to give a water well.
00:25:46.627 --> 00:25:47.795
I called Reed, and he said,"Oh yeah, we definitely want
00:25:47.895 --> 00:25:50.364
to do it."
00:25:50.464 --> 00:25:51.432
REED: We were able to buythat one water well.
00:25:51.532 --> 00:25:53.968
My company was in theprocess of being purchased
00:25:54.068 --> 00:25:56.570
by a bigger company.
00:25:56.670 --> 00:25:58.339
This year, we were toldthat they were going
00:25:58.439 --> 00:26:00.708
to contribute a certainpercentage of our salary
00:26:00.808 --> 00:26:02.977
into this ESOP Program.
00:26:03.077 --> 00:26:04.378
And it just so happens thatthe exact amount that they
00:26:04.478 --> 00:26:07.181
put into our 401K was tentimes what we donated on the
00:26:07.281 --> 00:26:11.819
water well.
00:26:11.919 --> 00:26:13.020
KARA: It's about blessing otherpeople with whatever
00:26:13.120 --> 00:26:15.356
means we have available to us.
00:26:15.456 --> 00:26:17.358
We recognize that it's allabout giving, and not about
00:26:17.458 --> 00:26:20.294
getting anything in return.
00:26:20.394 --> 00:26:21.829
REED: We knew that it wasthe right thing to do.
00:26:21.929 --> 00:26:24.264
And we had such a joyin writing that check.
00:26:24.365 --> 00:26:28.369
And so, that's whereour hearts are now.
00:26:28.469 --> 00:26:31.305
It's all aboutcheerful giving.
00:26:31.405 --> 00:26:32.906
Whatever God leads you todo, you know it's going
00:26:33.007 --> 00:26:34.675
to be something that's good.
00:26:34.775 --> 00:26:36.377
Once you let go of it,that's when the peace really
00:26:36.477 --> 00:26:39.780
comes, because as long asyou're holding onto it,
00:26:39.880 --> 00:26:43.217
you don't really get thatpeace that God gives you.
00:26:43.317 --> 00:26:45.953
And that peace is partof the blessed life.
00:26:46.053 --> 00:26:48.656
♪ ♪
00:26:48.756 --> 00:27:01.735
ANNOUNCER: Introducing,the all-new PastorRobert.com.
00:27:01.835 --> 00:27:05.539
Where we've made it even easierfor you to connect with us.
00:27:05.639 --> 00:27:09.176
You can watch currentand previous episodes
00:27:09.276 --> 00:27:11.278
of our television program,
00:27:11.378 --> 00:27:13.714
shop at our online storewith enhanced security,
00:27:13.814 --> 00:27:17.217
and access a freeweekly devotional.
00:27:17.317 --> 00:27:20.320
We hope that our new featureswill help you find
00:27:20.421 --> 00:27:22.489
exactly what you needto continue to grow
00:27:22.589 --> 00:27:24.758
in your relationshipwith the Lord.
00:27:24.858 --> 00:27:26.927
To learn more visitus at PastorRobert.com.
00:27:27.027 --> 00:27:30.330

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The Principle of First

The Principle of First

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The Principle of First

The Principle of First

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