Embracing God's Sovereignty Through Generosity and Trust

**Bible Study Discussion Guide**

**Bible Reading:**
1. Exodus 13:1-2, 12-13
2. 1 Peter 1:18-19
3. Proverbs 3:9-10

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**Observation Questions:**

1. According to Exodus 13:1-2, what does God command regarding the firstborn, and how does this relate to the principle of "the power of the first"? [45:40]

2. In 1 Peter 1:18-19, what is said about the nature of our redemption, and how does this connect to the sermon’s message about Jesus as God's tithe? [54:37]

3. How does Proverbs 3:9-10 describe the outcome of honoring the Lord with the first fruits of our increase? [01:00:50]

4. What examples from the sermon illustrate the concept of giving God the first and best of our resources? [56:54]

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**Interpretation Questions:**

1. How does the principle of "the power of the first" challenge the way individuals prioritize their resources and time? [52:52]

2. In what ways does the sermon suggest that Jesus exemplifies the principle of the first, and how does this impact our understanding of generosity? [54:37]

3. How does the sermon explain the relationship between giving God the first portion and experiencing His provision and abundance? [56:54]

4. What does the sermon imply about the heart's posture towards God when it comes to giving, and how does this relate to the concept of legalism? [54:37]

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**Application Questions:**

1. Reflect on a specific area of your life where you struggle to prioritize God first. What steps can you take this week to realign your priorities? [52:52]

2. Consider the principle of "the power of the first" in your financial giving. How can you apply this principle in a practical way in your life? [56:54]

3. The sermon encourages us to trust God with our first and best. What is one area where you find it difficult to trust God, and how can you work on this trust? [56:54]

4. As we approach Overflow Sunday, what sacrificial offering can you consider bringing, and how can this act of giving extend God's kingdom and bless others? [56:54]

5. How can you cultivate a heart of gratitude and faith in your daily life, especially when it comes to giving and generosity? [54:37]

6. Reflect on a time when you experienced God's provision after prioritizing Him. How can this testimony encourage you and others in your small group? [01:05:28]

7. How can you be a blessing to others in your community this week, reflecting the generosity and blessings you have received from God? [01:05:28]

Day 1: The Sovereign Reign of Christ
In every moment of our lives, Jesus reigns as King, offering peace and assurance. His eternal kingship is not just a theological concept but a living reality that impacts our daily experiences. This understanding invites us to live with confidence and hope, knowing that our King is with us always. When we face challenges, we can trust in His sovereign control and presence, allowing His peace to guide us through life's uncertainties. By acknowledging His reign, we open our hearts to His guidance and wisdom, trusting that He will lead us in the right direction. [38:45]

Psalm 93:1-2 (ESV): "The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting."

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you struggle to trust in Jesus' sovereign reign? How can you invite His peace and assurance into that area today?


Day 2: The Principle of Prioritizing God
The principle of giving God the first and best of our resources is a powerful spiritual truth. It reflects our trust in Him and sets the order for the rest of our lives. When God is first, everything else aligns, and His blessings flow abundantly. This principle is not about legalism but about the heart's posture towards God. By prioritizing God, we demonstrate our faith and gratitude, acknowledging that He is the source of all we have. This alignment with His order invites His provision and abundance into our lives, allowing us to experience His blessings in every area. [52:52]

Proverbs 3:9-10 (ESV): "Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine."

Reflection: In what ways can you prioritize God in your daily routine? Consider one specific change you can make this week to put Him first.


Day 3: Jesus as the Ultimate Gift
Jesus was given as the first and best, sacrificed to redeem us. This act of divine generosity sets the example for us to follow in our giving. By prioritizing God in our lives, we mirror the faith and trust that God demonstrated through Jesus. His sacrifice was an expression of God's love and commitment to redeeming humanity. As we reflect on this, we are called to emulate this generosity in our own lives, giving sacrificially and trusting that God will use our offerings to extend His kingdom and bless others. [54:37]

2 Corinthians 8:9 (ESV): "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich."

Reflection: How can you reflect Jesus' sacrificial love in your own acts of giving? Identify one way you can give generously this week, trusting God to use it for His purposes.


Day 4: The Redemptive Power of the First Portion
The first portion given to God redeems the rest. This principle teaches us that when we trust God with our first, we invite His provision and abundance into our lives. It is a demonstration of faith that God will take care of our needs. By giving God our first and best, we align ourselves with His order, unlocking His blessings in our lives. This act of faith is not about the law but about the heart's posture towards God, trusting that He will provide for us in every circumstance. [56:54]

Leviticus 27:30 (ESV): "Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord's; it is holy to the Lord."

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you can trust God with your "first"? How can you demonstrate this trust in a practical way today?


Day 5: Generosity as a Reflection of God's Blessings
Our giving is a response to God's goodness and a way to bless others. As we are blessed, we are called to be a blessing, participating in God's work and extending His kingdom. This mindset shifts our focus from ourselves to others, aligning us with God's heart for the world. By being generous, we reflect God's love and provision, allowing His blessings to flow through us to those around us. This act of giving is not just about financial contributions but about participating in God's work and being a blessing to those around us. [01:05:28]

2 Corinthians 9:11 (ESV): "You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God."

Reflection: Who is someone in your life that you can bless this week? Consider a specific act of generosity you can extend to them, reflecting God's blessings in your life.

"Jesus became the first. He became the tithe. He became the sacrifice that God would use to redeem us from the curse of the law. The tithe is not legalistic. It's about the first. It's about the priority of the heart. It's not about you get your check on Friday and oops, man, um, Netflix took a $5 out first. Oh my God, I'm cursed." [00:55:09] (24 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


"Cain had the mindset that I'm going to give God something, but it's going to be in the process. The time is all about priorities, all about the matter of the heart. Abel made sure I'm going to give him my first. I'm going to give him my best. Cain had a different heart. Cain said, I'm a giver offering, but I give it when I do everything else. I'll bring it later." [01:08:57] (23 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


"When people ask you why you do what you do, you just remind them how good God has been to you. Let's give God a praise for his word." [01:15:06] (11 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

Hallelujah! I don't want us to just real fast go back to that "He reigns" part with the thought in mind that that idea of He's the King that reigns over our life, over whatever your circumstances or conditions may be. But that thought in mind that He's the King and He can reign over any situation and circumstances of your life. Kings come, kings go, but our King is an everlasting King, and He reigns forevermore.

The idea that as one, as a King in that reign, that means they dominate, they control, they call the shots. So understanding that over your life, over your circumstances, over your dreams, over your visions, over your desires, over these last 30 days, He reigns over these last closing days of 2024 over our life.

If you are a person of faith and you don't mind just for a few seconds, extend your hands towards heaven as if the King walked in a building, and we're letting Him know that He reigns forever. We thank You so much for the opportunity to serve, to worship a King that has a kingdom that is everlasting and that, God, You reign on high.

God, we thank You for the opportunity to serve, Your presence in the midst of us. Though You are high, God, lo, You are with us, even until the ends of the world, even until the ends of the earth, God, You are with us. And so, Father, I pray that Your spirit, Your presence will be in the midst of our service on today. Rule as King of kings and Lord of lords. Speak to our hearts, speak to our minds. You know the mountain, You know the valley that each of us are in right now, God.

God, give us a word. Give us a word that will speak directly to our situations, even though we're speaking about one particular topic on generosity and giving, God. In Your infinite wisdom, God, take this word, craft it in such a way that it can deal with any other personal pains, struggles, victories, changes that these particular people are going through right now, God.

Father, we bless Your name in this place now, and we declare again, You reign on high.

In Jesus' name, I pray, amen, amen. Can we give God one more word? Can we give God one more phrase in this place? Oh, come on, y'all can do better than that. Let's give the King of kings and the Lord of lords a praise in this place on today.

Come on, I'm talking about Jehovah Jireh, your provider. I'm talking about Jehovah Shalom, your peace. I'm Jehovah Tishkanu, your righteousness. Come on, I'm talking about Jehovah Shammah, your healer. He's in this place on today. God, we thank You.

Oh, come on, stay right there. Hit those keys again real fast, y'all. Come on, church. It's a real church. You're here today. Come on, worship the King for just a moment. Come on, just celebrate the King like He just walked in the building. He reigns on high, but He's in the midst of us on today.

God, we thank You. God, we praise You. God, we lift You up. God, we magnify Your name. You reign in this place, God. You reign in this place, God. You reign in this place, God. Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Thank You, Lord God. Thank You, God. Thank You, Lord God. Thank You, Father. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Thank You, Jesus.

That song, we were planning to do our communion today, and things kind of got off, and so we're going to do that on the third Sunday for Christmas. But just I want y'all to remember that song on Christmas Sunday. As we sing that song, we take the Lord's Supper, and let's come with, if we don't come with anything next on Christmas Sunday, come with a worship. Come bearing gifts of worship to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Amen.

Let's give God one more handclap of praise. Amen. Amen. And then, I mean, why y'all start something over there? Why y'all starting stuff? Why you starting stuff? Y'all starting stuff, okay?

Before you take your seat, love on about three people again, and let them know you're glad to see them today, right before you take your seat. It's good to see you guys after Thanksgiving. Y'all looking mighty skinny. Y'all didn't eat Thanksgiving? Yeah, y'all look, y'all done lost a little weight. Amen, praise God. I'm prophesying to y'all right now. You know them five pounds you put on, they going off. Speaking to it.

Anybody went Black Friday shopping? Nobody went Black Friday shopping? Anybody went Black Friday shopping? Those Black Friday shopping prices weren't black enough for me, so I just didn't go, all right? Come on, somebody. Man, it was like light brown. Come on, somebody. Man, them prices look like the same prices in their regular days. Y'all laugh. Okay, don't just say, did he just say that? I did. It's okay. They weren't just nice as they was last year.

Hey, man, I'm going to just jump right into the word, just give you one update, just a reminder. Next Sunday is our Overflow, formerly our Legacy Sunday, but our Overflow Sunday is next Sunday, where once a year we bring a special offering, and we give as we prepare for 2025 or the upcoming year. We've done this for the past 10 years. We ask you to pray in advance what would be that sacrificial offering that you would give, you, your family, you as an individual, that you would give on next Sunday, and we would give that offering together during our offering time.

And so let's prepare for that. Excited. A lot is going on, as has already been said, this month of December. So please stay tuned in to the texts. Stay tuned in to the emails of the announcements on the screen. If anybody says they don't know what's going on here at Hope City, we heard you months ago. We resolved that, and there's a lot of information going on. The announcement video by itself is about five minutes long. Come on, somebody. And so you have no excuses not to be in the know of what's going on right here at Hope City.

Hope City Church is so excited about that, excited about the launch again of the Pooler Campus in January. Just a reminder. Amen. I'm going to say this every Sunday for the next few weeks. Just a reminder that we're going to two services starting in January, 9 o'clock and 11 o'clock services will take place in January. And, of course, for those that will be going to the Pooler Campus, that will be a 10 o'clock service. We already got about 100 people that's already signed up to be going to the Pooler Campus. Come on, somebody. Excited about that.

So, you know, just real fast. So someone said to me maybe about two weeks ago in social media land, another pastor, like, you ain't concerned about that? You started another church around the corner, and you're sending your campus pastor. You're not worried about that? I said, that didn't cross my mind at one time. I think it's crazy not to do it. Come on, somebody. They're like, you're not worried that a lot of people are going to? I'm not worried at all. Matter of fact, I know people are going to go. I want people to go. And once they go, I can make room for some other people to come here. Come on, somebody.

So that ain't bothering me. Not one drop. And here's the funny thing. We're going to do it in Pooler and do it again downtown and do it again on the beach. Come on, somebody. And extend the kingdom of God. And so excited about what God is doing here. If folk are coming here, their lives are being impacted and transformed. Our desire is to create more opportunities and more spaces, not to know me, but to know Him. Come on, somebody. To know the King of Kings and the Lord.

So excited about what God is doing. We'll be having special gifts given away for all those who register or who show that they're going to the Pooler campus starting next week. It'll be limited gifts available. If you're going to the Pooler campus, make sure you stop by the tent today to see Pastor David. Fill that form out. Once we're out, we're out. Those will be just special gifts for the first, those individuals who's a pilot team, if you would, at the Pooler campus. They will have that special gift. They'll be able to brag about that five years from now. Ten years from now. You got one of these? No. Well, we know who you are. Come on, somebody.

So y'all have some bragging rights. So excited about that. Pray for what God is doing with that. It's going to be absolutely amazing.

Today, we're continuing our series entitled "Blessed to Be a Blessing," Part 3. Today, talking about the power of the first. I'm giving a lot of Old Testament scriptures on today. If you were with me the past two weeks, a lot of that was New Testament scriptures. So hopefully, you got a good foundation of Part 1 and Part 2 to see how the Old Testament scriptures make sense in light of what I said the past two Sundays. If not, go back to the website, go to YouTube, and go binge-watch Part 1 and Part 2 of the "Blessed to Be a Blessing" series. And I promise you, these Old Testament scriptures will make sense.

If you've been a part of Hope City Church long enough, you know I've shared many times over the past ten years that the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. Everything that God was doing, everything that God was doing, everything that God was doing in the Old Testament, particularly to restore man back to Himself after the fall of Adam, it was speaking about Jesus Christ. The prophets did not fully understand what they were prophesying and saying, and some of the symbols that God would do in the Old Testament. But again, the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.

And so hopefully, you can see some pictures of what God was doing in the Old Testament that were ultimately going to be fulfilled through Jesus Christ. Look what it says here in Exodus chapter 13, beginning in verse number one. It says, "So God was setting this standard at the beginning of time that all the first, it belongs to me. I don't want the second, I don't want the third, I don't want your leftovers, I want the first." It's this principle of the power of the first.

Look what it says in Exodus chapter 13, um, Exodus 13 verses number 12. It says, "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. He says, redeem with the lamb every firstborn donkey. But if you do not redeem it, break its neck, redeem every firstborn among your sons." I promise you this language will make sense shortly.

So when God is first in our lives, everything comes into order is the point I want to make. Amen. When God is first in our lives, everything ultimately comes into order. If you're a new believer and you lived your life for the past 20 years, the last 30 years, according to your standards and your terms, now that you're in faith, understand you're now trying to put your life in alignment with God's ways. And so therefore, when God is first, now you're putting God first, trying to put God in your equation. Those things that now seemly and seemingly are not in your life, they're not in your life.

And so when you, in many cases, out of order in your life, they're going to begin to start lining up and getting the order as you begin to make your alterations in your life. When God is not first, everything is out of order. I'm going to say it again. When God is not first, everything is out of order. Order matters.

Have you ever went to a restaurant or you went to some type of place and you tried to go to the restroom and there was a sign on the door saying "out of order"? Everything that was necessary to be a restroom, the toilet was there, the sink was there, the urinal was there, everything that was necessary to make it a restroom was there, but it was out of order. It wasn't functioning properly.

And sad to say that many of you look like church. Many of you got everything that looks right. You got your Bible, you got your pink highlighter, your yellow highlighter, your orange highlighter, you got your notepad, you got your devotion. You look like church, but you're out of order.

Come on, somebody. Everything you need to look like you have it in place, but there needs to be a sign put over your life that says "out of order." Order, I cannot be used right now.

I want to give you three things here quickly to make sense of this idea of the power of the first and to the scriptures I read in Exodus.

Number one, the firstborn must be sacrificed or redeemed. Let's talk more about that. The firstborn must be sacrificed or redeemed. Look what it says here in 1 Peter, chapter 1, verse 18, "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors. It says, but with the precious blood of Christ."

Now here's that blood, the Old Testament, they would use animals as blood sacrifices. It says, "but with precious or the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect, he was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake."

Remember the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, could not be understood. They didn't understand what the prophets were fully saying, but it will be later revealed through Jesus Christ when the New Testament will come to play. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in the last time for your sake through Him. You believe in God who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him. And so your faith and hope are in God.

The firstborn must be sacrificed or redeemed. So with this in mind, think about Jesus Christ who became what? The Savior of the world. He was going to become the first fruit of the harvest. He was going to be the first of many brothers. We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ Jesus. He is our big brother, if you would, if I could use that language to make it make sense there, He was the first.

It says while we were yet sinners, Jesus, what? He died for us. He became the sacrificial lamb to be able to redeem us from the curse of the law. So all the blood sacrifices that we saw in the Old Testament, it was a photo. It was a picture of what would ultimately happen through Jesus Christ.

And the thing you have to understand, God, He determined what was clean and what was unclean. He identified what animals would be clean or unclean. And I love what it says here in 1 Peter. He said, I love what it says here in Peter chapter 1 when it says Jesus was, or the lamb was without blemish or defect, because in order to be the Savior of the world, if we still speak about metaphors and the Old Testament with the animals, it had to be a clean animal, because again, it was a picture of a clean Savior that would ultimately come.

And so we have Jesus here who what? Knew no sin. He became the Savior of the world without blemish or defect. He became the first. How do we know? Whether to sacrifice it or to redeem it. God gave us two animals that are exemplary of this particular classification. The firstborn clean had to be sacrificed. The firstborn unclean had to be redeemed.

So watch this here. The clean Jesus was sacrificed so that the unclean, you and I, could be redeemed. I'm going to say it again. The clean Jesus was sacrificed so that the unclean, you and I, could be redeemed.

Let me ask you a question. Did you ever have to teach your child to take somebody else's toy? When your child was growing up, did you have to teach them how to take somebody's toy? Did you have to teach them how to be bad? No, it was in their nature. The Bible says that we were born and shaped in iniquity.

I know you see that little angel baby in your hand or the one that's your oogly-boogly-googly there. They're the perfect little angel, but they got a little demon in them too. Come on, somebody. It got a little spirit on them. And the Bible said you spare the rod, you what? You spoil the child.

And so we discipline that child because of that old sin nature, or that nature that's locked up on the inside of all of us because we were born and shaped in iniquity. We ultimately needed someone to redeem us from the curse of the law. Are you with me right now?

And so Jesus, who knew no sin, He became sin or He became a curse so that He could redeem us from the curse of the law. Jesus was clean. He was sacrificed so that you and I, the unclean, could be redeemed.

I love the fact that, that, that I just think about kids in nurseries and how one kid would take a toy and hit the other kid upside the head. And then how like they didn't do nothing. I know that wasn't me. You didn't have to teach that kid none of that. That's actually, it's in them. It was in us by nature.

Can we go a little further here? So the firstborn clean had to be sacrificed. The firstborn unclean had to be redeemed. And Jesus, just a point of reference, is Jesus is God's tithe.

I want to go back to keeping in this mindset here, the power of the first. Jesus is God's tithe. What do I mean by that? I mean is Jesus was the first again of many brothers. He gave Jesus in faith, not knowing if we were going to accept the finished work of Christ.

The scripture says while we were yet sinners, Jesus died for us. He didn't wait for us to get saved to die for us. He died first, hoping that we would accept what He had made available. Jesus became the first. He became the tithe. He became the sacrifice that God would use to redeem us from the curse of the law.

The tithe is not legalistic. It's about the first. It's about the priority of the heart. It's not about you get your check on Friday and oops, man, um, Netflix took a $5 out first. Oh my God, I'm cursed. No, no, no, no, no. It's not, it's, it's, it's not this legalistic method. It's the matter of the heart. Where's I want to make sure I take care of God first.

That doesn't mean every now and then something, a dollar may come out for some tax or fee wild. And now you run around like, "Oh God, my life is cursed." No, God is measuring your heart. God is measuring. Do you have Him as the priority in your life? That is, is your intentions always to make sure that God is measuring your heart?

God takes the lead in your life, in your circumstances. So let's not get legalistic over this. I want to show us the move from law to principles. Are you with me? We give not because of a law, we give because of principles, which we'll go more into that here in just a second.

God gave Jesus first in faith. Even when we were sinners, the first portion, watch this here, given it redeems the rest. I'm setting in the first portion, given it redeems the rest. It redeems the rest. Therefore, you can't eat the first portion and then give God something in the process of time.

See, you can't say, "I don't win and did what all I want to do all week. Now it's offering time. Oh, I can give this here now because it's not a big deal." It's God wants your first. He wants your best. He wants it up front from your heart to let Him know that He's the priority and you trust Him with the rest. Come on, somebody.

It's, it's, it's, do I trust Him? Do I trust God in faith to give Him this here up front, not knowing what's going to happen with the rest? But when you learn how to say, "God, I trust You with the," and particularly for those of us that have tried it. And now we know it works. You don't have to beg us to do anything.

That's the reason why we say the first-time guests, if this is your first time worshiping with us, feel no obligation to give. This service is our gift to you. I do believe in the process of time. When you get the word and the revelation of the scripture, no one has to make you give. You would never be forced to give because you got the revelation. You got the principle yourself, all the rest after the first was given, it was redeemed.

So mankind after Jesus Christ did what He did, what He did after that, all mankind was redeemed. Now I have to accept the finished work of what Christ did, but because of what Jesus did, now all mankind can be redeemed. Meaning, we could be put back in right standing with God after what Adam did in the first garden.

After Adam in the first garden messed everything up, God had to turn His back on mankind. He created a process to redeem man back to Himself by sending Jesus Christ as a sacrificial lamb. When Jesus died on the cross, at that point there when He rose again, all mankind had the ability to be redeemed. He was the first that made that available.

Can we give God a praise for that on today? The first portion is the redemptive portion. The first portion is the part that redeems the rest. The first portion carries the blessing. You can't wear the blessing. Now, God going to give you a blessing, but you can't wear the blessing of the tithe. You can't eat the blessing of the tithe.

I'm coming. You don't want to give the first. You don't want to give the first portion to the electric company, meaning that that's your priority. I'm not saying you don't need to pay your light bills. I'm not saying that. But what I'm saying is the same way that, "Oh, I got to pay this. I got to pay this. I got to give that." Where is God in that giving process?

Is He always the last thought and everything else is the priority? Here's a second thing here. God didn't say wait till your sheep has ten and give me one. He said every time your sheep give birth for the first time, it's supposed to be sacrificed or given to me for kingdom purposes wise. That's faith.

That's the same way God in faith gave Christ not knowing if you're going to accept it or not. He said every time you get a blessing in your life, God said, "I want a portion of that." And God said, "I don't want it just because I need it. I'm trying to show you a principle of how the blessing comes in your life. Of how you get resources and abundance in your life."

Because God is all about making sure we bless other people. Because He desired to bless other people. And how is He going to bless other people? Through people. By you being a blessing, you're blessing people who's praying for God to bless them. And so God's going to use people to bless them.

So while you've been faithful to God so that He can be faithful to people. Come on, somebody. Remember, God is not our resource. God's our source. And He used people. People who use things to get the sources through. So you could be a resource, but always remember that God is the source.

God didn't say, "Wait till you get 10 sheep." He said, "Get and give me one." It's the principle of putting God first. Look at this here. The first fruits must be offered. Proverbs 3:9 says, "Honor the Lord with all your possessions and with the first fruits of all your increase. So that your barns will be filled with plenty."

Anybody here got a bar? I'm just curious. I got a bar. Who got a bank account? Okay. So I'm going to read this again. So when I say, "So your," you say your bank account. So your will be filled with plenty.

Oh, y'all naming them now, huh? I'm going to say it one more time. Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first fruits of all your increase. So your will be filled with plenty. God said, "Take care of me. I will make sure your bank account is taken care of. Put me first. I will make sure that your bank account is taken care of."

And your vats will overflow with new wine. Remember y'all, this is hundreds of years after the law. Hundreds of years. And they're talking about this principle. Principle. Not law, if you would. Exodus 23:19 says, "The first of the first fruits of your lands you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God."

Look what it says here in Joshua chapter 6. I love this right here. Joshua chapter 6, verse 15. It says, "On the seventh day they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. Except on that day they circled the city seven times."

So, they're about to get a strategy that calls the walls of Jericho to come falling down. God is telling them what to do every single day so that these walls can come down. It says, "The seventh time around when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, 'Shout for the Lord your God has given you the city.'"

It says, "The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the Lord." Now I think everybody get about conquer about ultimately conquer about 10 cities. But God says to them this first city, it belongs to me. He said, "The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the Lord. You can't touch it. It's not yours."

He said, "You're going to conquer it, but I want you to dedicate that city for me." He says, "Only Rahab, the prostitute, and all who are with her in her house shall be spared because she hid the spies we sent. He said, but keep away from the devoted things so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them."

In other words, don't touch what belongs to God. There are some things that God brings in your life for His pleasure, for His purpose. There are some increases He gives you so that you can move from being blessed to being a blessing. He said, "Abraham, I'm going to bless you and make you a blessing."

So you got to remember that God's going to make sure as I walk into Abraham and bless him that my life is taken care of. My bills are taken care of. I can go on vacations every now and then. I can go to the Bahamas on a Tuesday, the week of Thanksgiving as a group of y'all did. Come on, somebody. Everybody can't do that.

Why did y'all with the thing on Monday? There was the Bahamas, a whole group of the ladies here came back on Thursday, on Friday and had Thanksgiving with your family. God said, "I want to bless you and make you a blessing."

Many of you are already blessed. You already got your life taken care of. God said, "Now it's time to fulfill the first part." The second part of that is now I want to position you so much so in the earth that you now could be a blessing to other people. Come on, somebody.

Imagine you being the person people are in need and you're able to be able to give it with no problem at all. Write the check. Send them money with no problem at all. Some of y'all can't even believe that because you was always the one begging and you was always the one who never had. You came from a poverty background, maybe, but I'm telling you that curse is broken off of your life and the promises of God. It belongs to you.

You don't have to rob Peter to pay Paul. You can walk in the promises of God and God will give you a strategy that fits your life to bring the abundance in your life that belongs to you. If you believe that, give God a praise.

He says, "So that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise, you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. He said all the silver and gold in the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into His treasury."

It was going to be used for stuff. God's going to ultimately use to build His process, His kingdom. There's going to have 10 cities. God said, "I want the first one. You can have the other ones." And in other words, you're doing right with this first one is going to bless the rest of them. Come on, somebody.

And so can you trust me enough that if you give me that one, knowing that I'm going to make sure the rest of it is extended? You know, those that started paying tithes for the first time, you know how that thing was going to work out. It's like, "Man, I paid my tithes and I still got this left. I still got this left."

It didn't make sense sometimes until you really got into the understanding of the principle that God has a way. Just like He multiplied the fish and the bread. Every time you put your hand in, like, "Man, I still got enough." This comes when you learn how to put into practice the principles of God, not because you got to, but because you get to.

Not because you have to, but because you want to. God didn't say after you conquer the promised land, then give it to me. He said, "No, conquer the promised land." He said, "Conquer that land and give me that. And you can have the rest."

Remember the story with Cain and Abel. And there's many theologians who read that story that when God blessed Abel and He cursed Cain. And if I let's read it here, it says Genesis chapter 4, verse number 3 to 5. "And in the process of time, it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. And Abel also brought the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected or honored Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offerings."

Now, many theologians have taught many times. The reason why God honored the offering of Abel of Abel is because he brought him a blood offering. And the reason He did not honor the offering of Cain because Cain brought him seeds from the ground. But that's not the case. God did not dishonor one over the other because of what they brought.

Abel brought what he brought because he was a herdsman. He worked in that field. So he brought some of that. Cain did the same thing. He broke the ground. He tilled the ground. So he brought some of that. The issue wasn't what they brought him. The issue was when they brought it.

It was the timing in which it says clearly. "And in the process of time, it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the Lord. But Abel brought the firstborn." Cain had the mindset that I'm going to give God something, but it's going to be in the process. The time is all about priorities, all about the matter of the heart.

Abel made sure I'm going to give him my first. I'm going to give him my best. Cain had a different heart. Cain said, "I'm a giver offering, but I give it when I do everything else. I'll bring it later." I'm not going to bring it on Legacy Sunday. I'm not going to bring it on Overflow Sunday. I'm going to the end of the year.

I've got to check some things out real fast and make sure everything, or am I going to just trust God in the process? He says, "In the process of time, Cain brought an offering." The issue was not what they brought. It was a matter of the heart. It's when they bought it.

Do I really, question to you, do you really trust God? Do you really trust God with your life? Do you really trust God with what you have? Let me hasten to close here.

Number three, and we're done. The tithe must be first. Number one was the firstborn must be sacrificed or redeemed. The firstfruits must be offered. The tithe must be first. I mentioned, I think it was last Sunday, there's three ways that we normally give. It's systematic giving, which is tithing. That is set, 10%. You give that you get money once a month or twice a month, you always give a tithe of that. That is systematic. You ain't got to pray about it. You ain't got to think about it.

When you become a believer, understand the scriptures and what God requires of that. That's systematic, scheduled, if you would, giving. But then there's also spontaneous giving. Like we did a couple Sundays ago when we had our sister in our church. She just, I'm dealing with, is it kidney issues wise. And we were able to raise about $7,000 plus for her in a matter of a few minutes. That was spontaneous giving that you gave.

And then there could be special giving like we're doing on next week. We do that once a year. Ask you to pray about it. Go home. Get with your family. However you're going to do it. This is a special offering. But we talk about the tithe that must be first. That's not special, if you would. That's not sacrificial, if you would. It is a systematic thing that we do as believers.

Leviticus 27:30 says, "And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed, of the land, or of the first fruit of the tree, is the Lord's. It is holy to the Lord." So it's not going to make sense if you miss part one and part two. So go back and listen to it.

Last verse and I'm done. Exodus chapter 13. I love this here. Exodus 13 verses 14 and 15. "So it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What is this?' That you shall say to him, 'By strength, by strength of hand, the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. And it came to pass when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.'"

Now, that wasn't exciting. I didn't just stand and explain one thing. And then I'm going to read it one more time. So literally he says to him, "So shall it be when your sons ask you." In other words, he said, "Your sons is going to ask you one day, why are you out there killing these animals and split their necks? Your son's going to ask, 'Daddy, why are you out here killing these animals? Why, why are you taking the first ones and sacrificing that? We can do something with that.'"

He says that whenever your sons, when your sons ask you questions like that, I want you to remind them of something. I want you to remind them of how the Lord delivered you and how the Lord saved you and how the Lord healed you and how the Lord brought you out. Come on, somebody.

So that, so when you tithe and so when you give and your children, mom and dad, why are you always giving that money to the church? Why are you always doing? He says, "So it shall be when your sons asked you in the time to come saying, 'Why are you doing this?' By strength of the hand of the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. And it came to pass. Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go that the Lord killed all the firstborn."

Jump down to the end. "Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord all." He said, "I willingly do this. When I think about all God has done for me to give Him an offering, to give Him my first, he said, this pales in comparison to all that God has done for me. God won't 10%. That's all He, I could be dead right now, sleeping in my grave. He saved you from a car accident. I don't know what it may be for you.

He said, "I freely give this unto the Lord because I remembered what He has done for me." Listen, I'm telling some of you right now, you just need to remember what the Lord has done for you. Every time you have to give something and you remember how He brought you out and you remember it was a point you didn't even have to give at one point. You ever been there before?

Some of you are in position right now. Some of the stuff that you give right now, that was, that was a time you can't even imagine. Come on, somebody. You could not in. Remember, I've got a gift recently. We, you can't. I'm sure some people would have never thought they would have got in position in life to give certain gifts away.

This man here, he said, "Whenever your sons ask you, why are you giving these first away?" He said, "You remind them of what the Lord has done." So we come together next week, or when God uses you out in the community somewhere to do something for someone, and people ask you, "Why are you always going to the homeless shelter? Why are you always giving the food out every Friday in the brown bags? Why are you always going down to the nursing home every single week?"

He said, "Because, I got to tell you something real fast. Let me tell you what the Lord has done for me. You know, my grandmother used to go to the nursing home. She lived in New York. I could never get there to see her, and there was an old lady and their children that every single week, they went to the nursing home to see my grandmama because I couldn't get there, and my grandmother passed away five weeks ago, and I made up in my mind, I couldn't get to New York, but there's some old ladies in my community, and I made up in my mind, I'm going to that nursing home every chance I get to be a blessing to them."

When people ask you why you do what you do, you just remind them how good God has been to you. Let's give God a praise for His word.

Stand to your feet, that's right. The power of the first. When order is restored, the blessing is released. When order is restored, the blessing is released. Just focus on order, not law, not legalistic principles, and when order is restored, the blessings will be released.

Father, we thank You for Your word. For Your word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths. Thank You for speaking to our hearts. Thank You for speaking to our minds. God, teach us Your words in such a way that we can honor the word, we can honor You and those that we're called to serve.

Father, I pray that this word, this message today will bring forth a hundredfold harvest of return in the lives of the doers of this word. Maybe it's the one that's saying today, "Pastor Cora, I needed this word. I know you, but I don't know Him. I've shaken your hand, but I've yet to shake God's hand. I got good religion, but I don't have a personal relationship with this God you're talking about. I want to know what it means to be born again. I want to know what it means to be saved. I want to know what it means to have my name written in the Lamb's book of life."

Yes, I know we're all God's creation, but we choose to become a son. We choose to become a daughter. And today, I would love to pray for you right there at your seat if you're making that decision.

And then number two, maybe you're saying, "Hey, I've already made that decision. I'm assured of my salvation. I know that whenever that day comes where I close my eyes on this side, that I will enter into the presence of the one who created me. So I have that assurance of eternal salvation. But what I do need is a church home that teaches the word, God, in such a way that I can take it and apply it to my life, that I can see my faith and my family transformed by the teachings and the fellowships and the relationships here in this place."

So if you're here today, I'm not going to call you up. I'm not going to call you out, but I want to just know who to include in on this closeout prayer. If this message has spoken to you and you find yourself in one of those two positions, you want to be saved, want to make Hope City Church your home, I'd love to pray for you right there at your seat. No pressure. No prime.

But on the count of three, if this message, this service resonated with you, you feel a tugging on your heart to take a next step, I'd love to facilitate this moment with you through prayer. So on the count of three, one, two, three. Will there be one? Will there be one? No pressure. No problem. Just slip that hand up if there'll be one.

I see that one hand there. Amen. I see that hand. I see that hand as well. Amen. Will there be another? No pressure. No primes. No pressure. No pressure. Amen. I see that hand as well, sir. I see that hand as well. Amen. Thank You, Father.

I'll do my favor all over the building. Lift your hands towards heaven and pray this simple prayer with me, with them, if you would. Say, "Lord God, thank You for sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross for my sins. But God, I also thank You for Him rising from the grave with all power in His hand. Say, God, I ask You now to forgive me of any and every sin that has separated me from Your love.

Now say, God, I don't fully understand what all this means, but I do believe with Your spirit, Your presence living on the inside of me, I will become the person You desire me to be. So I ask You now, so I ask You now to fill me with the power and the presence of Your Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, You are welcome to live in my heart for the rest of my life.

Father God, You've already declared me in the man being Christ. He's a new creation. Old things are passed away and behold, all things are becoming new. I declare that those that pray their prayer for the very first time in prayer for salvation or to make Hope City Church their home, whether it's a spiritual separation or physical separation, God, I declare that everything they lost in that season of separation, they're moving into a season of recovery and restoration and everything they lost prematurely, God, is coming back into their life.

And I declare that any, God, strongholds, any addictions, God, that has attached itself to them, God, that those strongholds, those chains, those yokes, those bondages, they're falling off right now. And who the Son sets free, they are free indeed. In Jesus' name I pray. Come on, if you believe that, let's celebrate with every decision that was made in this place on today.