WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.680 God's plan, God's best is for you. If you need a miracle, he's happy to give you one. 2 00:00:04.680 --> 00:00:09.780 Then, start walking with him so that you don't need a miracle every five, six days. 3 00:00:09.780 --> 00:00:12.080 So that you're now living in victory. 4 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:14.300 And then, you're actually living in victory. 5 00:00:14.300 --> 00:00:18.040 Now God can build on that. He's not always taking you out of the pit. 6 00:00:18.040 --> 00:00:20.240 But now he's taking you out of the pit. Now you're walking. 7 00:00:20.240 --> 00:00:24.400 You can actually build together and he can use you to take someone else out of the pit 8 00:00:24.400 --> 00:00:26.200 because you're not in one, amen. 9 00:00:26.200 --> 00:00:28.680 Welcome to the City Light Church podcast. 10 00:00:28.680 --> 00:00:34.200 Thanks for joining us today as we look into God's Word and discover the hope and truth that 11 00:00:34.200 --> 00:00:35.800 he has for us. 12 00:00:35.800 --> 00:00:41.880 If you want to connect with City Light Church, feel free to visit us at citylightnyc.com that's 13 00:00:41.880 --> 00:00:44.880 citylightnyc.com. 14 00:00:44.880 --> 00:00:50.120 Pastor Boyan Jansik and his team believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is already 15 00:00:50.120 --> 00:00:55.960 working in our hearts and minds. As you listen to today's teaching, remember that you are deeply 16 00:00:55.960 --> 00:01:02.040 loved by God that you are surrounded by his grace and that he has a real hope and a future 17 00:01:02.040 --> 00:01:06.400 for you. 18 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:14.280 First Corinthians 1520, we're going to talk about the power of the first. 19 00:01:14.280 --> 00:01:18.280 The power of the first. 20 00:01:18.280 --> 00:01:25.840 First Corinthians 1520, Paul says, but now Christ is risen from the dead and has become 21 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:33.280 the first fruits, everyone shout first fruits, has become the first fruits of those who have 22 00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:35.980 fallen asleep. 23 00:01:35.980 --> 00:01:40.360 You may have read this a couple of dozen times, I know I certainly did, I read it dozens 24 00:01:40.360 --> 00:01:45.720 of times, but until I dove in and studied out what that verse meant, I had no clue what 25 00:01:45.720 --> 00:01:47.760 the Holy Spirit was trying to communicate. 26 00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:51.600 What does it mean that Christ is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep? 27 00:01:51.600 --> 00:01:55.040 First of all, falling asleep means you've passed away, right? 28 00:01:55.040 --> 00:01:58.760 Notice that in the scriptures, it never says they died, like we'll say that, where's 29 00:01:58.760 --> 00:01:59.760 Joe? 30 00:01:59.760 --> 00:02:00.760 Oh, you didn't hear? 31 00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:01.760 Joe died. 32 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:06.600 But Jesus intentionally said they fell asleep, even confused people, but he said about 33 00:02:06.600 --> 00:02:10.240 a girl, she's falling asleep. 34 00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:16.160 Well, no, she's in a sense, she's falling asleep because they're getting ready to get 35 00:02:16.160 --> 00:02:17.160 woken up again. 36 00:02:17.160 --> 00:02:23.840 Look, I don't like to use the word die, because Jesus said those who believe in me will 37 00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:29.400 never die, but will live forever, hallelujah. 38 00:02:29.400 --> 00:02:32.040 You have eternal life on the inside of you. 39 00:02:32.040 --> 00:02:36.280 So yeah, get it, you die, but you're not dead, you're alive to be absent from the bodies 40 00:02:36.280 --> 00:02:41.120 to be present with the Lord, and when he comes back, you'll be bodily resurrected and 41 00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:43.760 forever be with the Lord. 42 00:02:43.760 --> 00:02:46.320 But what does it mean that Jesus is the first fruits? 43 00:02:46.320 --> 00:02:51.160 Well, they had this thing throughout the whole Old Testament, they added in Jesus's 44 00:02:51.160 --> 00:02:57.600 day, it was called the festival of first fruits, and the festival of first fruits took place 45 00:02:57.600 --> 00:03:01.760 on the first Sunday after Passover. 46 00:03:02.760 --> 00:03:10.840 Coincidentally, when Jesus was resurrected, you guessed it, the first Sunday after Passover. 47 00:03:10.840 --> 00:03:16.880 And the first Sunday after Passover, the Hebrews would come to the temple and they would 48 00:03:16.880 --> 00:03:23.080 present their first fruits offering, oftentimes barley, and it would be a bundle of barley 49 00:03:23.080 --> 00:03:26.440 that they would wave in the air and present as an offering, and the priest would not 50 00:03:26.440 --> 00:03:28.760 an approval, and that was the first fruits. 51 00:03:28.760 --> 00:03:31.040 What was the significance of that? 52 00:03:31.040 --> 00:03:35.480 They were saying, hey, the barley harvest just came in. 53 00:03:35.480 --> 00:03:39.640 I don't know that there's going to be second fruits or third fruits or fourth fruits. 54 00:03:39.640 --> 00:03:43.280 I don't know what the harvest is going to look like, but I'm going to give this barley 55 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:50.800 anyhow in faith, trusting that as I do, that means the entire harvest is coming, amen. 56 00:03:50.800 --> 00:03:57.720 So listen to this, Jesus is resurrected on Sunday, right after Passover, on the festival 57 00:03:57.720 --> 00:04:03.400 of first fruits, and Paul is saying here, because Jesus was resurrected, he was the first 58 00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:10.360 one that now that is a guarantee that the rest of the harvest of resurrections is coming 59 00:04:10.360 --> 00:04:11.360 in. 60 00:04:11.360 --> 00:04:13.560 What's the rest of the harvest of resurrections? 61 00:04:13.560 --> 00:04:19.160 You, me, the person sitting to your right, the person sitting to your left, everybody's 62 00:04:19.160 --> 00:04:24.680 resurrection, including yours is guaranteed, because Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection, 63 00:04:24.680 --> 00:04:26.880 amen. 64 00:04:26.880 --> 00:04:34.280 So this concept, this principle of first fruits, is interwoven all throughout the Scriptures, 65 00:04:34.280 --> 00:04:39.920 the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Old Testament, pre the Mosaic Law, as early 66 00:04:39.920 --> 00:04:42.360 on as Genesis chapter 4. 67 00:04:42.360 --> 00:04:48.720 And I've found that if God is constantly hammering a principle, trying to get a principle 68 00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:56.160 through to us, we better pay attention, because principles, biblical principles, they work. 69 00:04:56.160 --> 00:04:57.960 They work all the time. 70 00:04:57.960 --> 00:05:01.800 They work whether you think they work or don't, just like gravity. 71 00:05:01.800 --> 00:05:06.520 You can be on a rooftop and go, I don't believe in the principle of gravity, the law of gravity. 72 00:05:06.520 --> 00:05:09.880 Don't take a jump and find out. 73 00:05:09.880 --> 00:05:13.560 Drop an apple, make sure no one's on the street. 74 00:05:13.560 --> 00:05:17.240 They'll work for you, and I want you to be able to tap into the sacred principle of 75 00:05:17.240 --> 00:05:18.240 the first. 76 00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:23.080 Let's go to Genesis chapter 4. 77 00:05:23.080 --> 00:05:31.600 Coming in verse 3, in Scripture first fruits represent the first, the best, and the earliest 78 00:05:31.600 --> 00:05:34.520 portion that belongs to God. 79 00:05:34.520 --> 00:05:43.400 It is God's way of teaching his people that he gets priority, not leftovers. 80 00:05:43.400 --> 00:05:46.600 God has a, does have a problem with leftovers. 81 00:05:46.600 --> 00:05:50.040 There's a rebuke in Malachi, Malachi chapter 1. 82 00:05:50.040 --> 00:05:51.040 You should read it. 83 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:52.440 It's almost humorous. 84 00:05:52.440 --> 00:06:01.120 When I read it, I actually feel like Malachi's attitude is closest to mine, nine tenths 85 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:02.620 of the time. 86 00:06:02.620 --> 00:06:03.620 There's almost like this. 87 00:06:03.620 --> 00:06:05.720 He's almost like, what are you doing? 88 00:06:05.720 --> 00:06:08.840 You're bringing three-legged lambs in. 89 00:06:08.840 --> 00:06:11.720 You're bringing one-eyed heifers in. 90 00:06:11.720 --> 00:06:14.360 Look at that manji goat you brought in. 91 00:06:14.360 --> 00:06:16.000 You're giving God the stuff you don't want. 92 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:18.080 You're giving God the leftovers. 93 00:06:18.080 --> 00:06:20.320 He's not happy with that. 94 00:06:20.320 --> 00:06:25.240 How do you feel in those days right before the New Year's? 95 00:06:25.240 --> 00:06:28.800 You know what I'm talking about, December 28th, December 29th. 96 00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:30.920 You meet with a friend and they give you a present. 97 00:06:30.920 --> 00:06:31.920 You get excited. 98 00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:35.560 You open it up and then it dawns on you and hits you that they're not really giving 99 00:06:35.560 --> 00:06:36.560 you a present. 100 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:41.560 They're giving you a regift, a Christmas present they never wanted. 101 00:06:41.560 --> 00:06:44.520 And you got a smile and go, thanks. 102 00:06:44.520 --> 00:06:47.880 I don't want this and I know you don't either. 103 00:06:47.880 --> 00:06:51.320 And it looks like the four people before you gave it to me didn't either. 104 00:06:51.320 --> 00:06:52.320 The box is all done. 105 00:06:52.320 --> 00:06:56.080 This has been repurposed and regifted so many times. 106 00:06:56.080 --> 00:06:58.320 You don't feel too great, right? 107 00:06:58.320 --> 00:06:59.560 But I didn't give you anything. 108 00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:03.240 Now you got to go to Goodwill and give it to me. 109 00:07:03.240 --> 00:07:04.480 Why don't you like it? 110 00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:07.400 Because you realize it's the leftover. 111 00:07:07.400 --> 00:07:09.600 Everybody knows what I'm talking. 112 00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:14.960 Maybe you are that friend and you're like, I do do that all the time. 113 00:07:14.960 --> 00:07:17.520 You're not fooling anyone. 114 00:07:17.520 --> 00:07:21.360 Everybody wants to be treated like they're given the leftovers. 115 00:07:21.360 --> 00:07:24.320 Hallelujah. 116 00:07:24.320 --> 00:07:26.400 So we don't give God our leftovers. 117 00:07:26.400 --> 00:07:31.360 In the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of 118 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:35.160 the ground to the Lord. 119 00:07:35.160 --> 00:07:38.400 Abel also brought of the firstborn. 120 00:07:38.400 --> 00:07:39.720 Shout first born. 121 00:07:39.720 --> 00:07:43.320 Now many of you know right away. 122 00:07:43.320 --> 00:07:50.240 Cain killed Abel because God liked and received Abel's offering. 123 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:53.680 But he didn't like he rejected Cain's offering. 124 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:56.960 The big question is why? 125 00:07:56.960 --> 00:08:00.880 And there's different theories as to why all those very plain in the scriptures. 126 00:08:00.880 --> 00:08:07.960 Typically if you were raised in a church that isn't alive, the Holy Spirit's not flowing, 127 00:08:07.960 --> 00:08:09.360 the Word of God isn't prized. 128 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:13.080 You heard something like well Cain brought a meat offering. 129 00:08:13.080 --> 00:08:18.280 He brought animals, excuse me Abel brought a meat offering, Cain brought vegetables and 130 00:08:18.280 --> 00:08:20.720 God didn't like vegetables. 131 00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:22.560 He liked meat. 132 00:08:22.560 --> 00:08:26.280 God was on the carnivore diet before it was cool. 133 00:08:26.280 --> 00:08:27.600 He's a meat eater. 134 00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:32.280 He does not like vegetarians. 135 00:08:32.280 --> 00:08:37.600 My wife is a vegetarian but the blessing of my carnivorous lifestyle has extended and 136 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:40.840 it covers her. 137 00:08:40.840 --> 00:08:45.760 No it has nothing to do with vegetarians or carnivores and it has everything to do. 138 00:08:45.760 --> 00:08:47.800 Go back one verse. 139 00:08:47.800 --> 00:08:52.360 It has everything to do between in the course of time. 140 00:08:52.360 --> 00:08:55.560 See Abel came in the course of time. 141 00:08:55.560 --> 00:08:59.000 Excuse me Cain gave in the course of time. 142 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:04.800 Whatever without priority, without urgency, not honoring God with the first. 143 00:09:04.800 --> 00:09:11.800 Whereas Abel gave, next verse, verse 4 of the first born of his flock. 144 00:09:11.800 --> 00:09:16.960 So God respected the first because the first chose I trust you because I don't know if 145 00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:20.320 there's going to be a second, third or fourth or fifth. 146 00:09:20.320 --> 00:09:24.920 The first is I esteem you, I prioritize you. 147 00:09:24.920 --> 00:09:31.560 Notice that the first murder in the Bible was jealousy over an offering, just a note. 148 00:09:31.560 --> 00:09:40.240 Oftentimes, first fruits is with regard to our giving to the Lord. 149 00:09:40.240 --> 00:09:44.640 That's mainly what's preached but you look at it throughout the Bible. 150 00:09:44.640 --> 00:09:49.200 It's not just giving, it's how we organize our whole lives. 151 00:09:49.200 --> 00:09:56.120 When you honor God with the first, when you have a decision to make and you immediately 152 00:09:56.120 --> 00:10:00.200 go to the Lord, when you get a bad report, you ever get interrupted? 153 00:10:00.200 --> 00:10:04.440 Of course, we've all been interrupted where you're just minding your business, enjoying 154 00:10:04.440 --> 00:10:09.520 life, everything is fine and boom, a cannonball just lands in your living room and oh, who's 155 00:10:09.520 --> 00:10:11.440 the first person that you think of? 156 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:12.440 Where do you go? 157 00:10:12.440 --> 00:10:14.040 Do you text all your friends? 158 00:10:14.040 --> 00:10:17.880 Do you immediately look to yourself and try to solve the problem yourself or do you go 159 00:10:17.880 --> 00:10:24.800 to the Lord and rush to him first and is he taking first place in your life when he does? 160 00:10:24.800 --> 00:10:29.600 It aligns you with the way God made you and designed you to function and live and that's 161 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:34.440 when his blessings can most fully flow, giving God your, listen, I don't know how else 162 00:10:34.440 --> 00:10:35.440 to say it. 163 00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:42.440 I want to church of first Christians, amen, for the most part we are that I want more. 164 00:10:42.440 --> 00:10:52.440 I want us to be like a bright and burning, shining lamp on fire, committed, no compromise. 165 00:10:52.440 --> 00:10:53.440 Who are those over there? 166 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:58.360 It's going to be like, oh, they're the intense ones, they're the ones who put God first 167 00:10:58.360 --> 00:11:07.280 and everything, they never back down, they never be quiet, they don't retreat, hallelujah. 168 00:11:07.280 --> 00:11:15.000 Look at Mark, this is how Jesus lived his life, Mark chapter 1, verse 35, there's power 169 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:27.400 in the first, now in the morning having risen a long while before daylight, hey, Jesus 170 00:11:27.400 --> 00:11:34.520 was like, you know, those success guru influencers and they always talk about how early you get 171 00:11:34.520 --> 00:11:41.160 up, some of them get up at 3 a.m., I think that's a recipe for poverty, in my opinion, 172 00:11:41.160 --> 00:11:50.440 not success, waking up at 3 a.m., but Jesus was the original doing that and they'll tell 173 00:11:50.440 --> 00:11:55.360 you one of the hours of watch for prayer was 3 a.m., so it says in other parts in the 174 00:11:55.360 --> 00:12:02.720 Old Testament they would pray when the dew was still on the grass, that's early, pray, 175 00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:08.240 it says way before the sun rose, it was most likely Jesus was praying at 3 a.m., but he gave 176 00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:13.280 the Father first, I mean, what was he going to do that day? 177 00:12:13.280 --> 00:12:21.840 Who knows, he'll six deaf people, raise two people who were lame, frustrate some Pharisees, 178 00:12:21.840 --> 00:12:25.760 he could just do that unempty, he had to do that by going to God and giving the first and 179 00:12:25.760 --> 00:12:30.960 getting a fresh download from heaven, in the morning having risen a long while before daylight, 180 00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:35.440 he went out and departed to a solitary place and there he prayed. 181 00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:41.840 If somebody right now was in a hard place, that cannibal just landed in a living room, 182 00:12:42.400 --> 00:12:51.760 I've had that happen, that is the most delicious cooling of it, is that real? 183 00:12:51.760 --> 00:12:57.040 You know, how many? That is adorable, it actually sounds like gizmo. 184 00:12:58.400 --> 00:13:01.120 Do you remember in the movie Gremlins and they're sweet and he's like, 185 00:13:02.800 --> 00:13:04.560 that I didn't think that was possible. 186 00:13:04.560 --> 00:13:10.240 Oh, Lord bless that child, those sweet coos, hallelujah. 187 00:13:10.240 --> 00:13:14.080 It sounds, I feel like I'm in a magical forest and there's this bird. 188 00:13:28.080 --> 00:13:30.000 There are in life winks from heaven. 189 00:13:30.560 --> 00:13:34.640 These winks were something random happens in the physical realm and it's like, 190 00:13:34.640 --> 00:13:38.400 God just winking at you going on with you, the cooling of a baby is one of those things. 191 00:13:42.160 --> 00:13:47.360 A cannibal ends in your living room. In other words, you get an unexpected life disturbance. 192 00:13:47.360 --> 00:13:53.200 What's your next move? Well, don't just go about your day doing the same thing you did yesterday, 193 00:13:53.200 --> 00:13:58.160 you got a shift and adjust some things. A very powerful thing you can do, really, you can live 194 00:13:58.240 --> 00:14:07.520 this way, but if you haven't been to recalibrate, to readjust is giving God the first of your day, 195 00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:14.400 the first. When God called me into ministry, that was a non-negotiable. I would be sleeping and 196 00:14:14.400 --> 00:14:18.560 whenever I would wake up as soon as I would wake up, what I would do is just roll over my bed 197 00:14:18.560 --> 00:14:22.000 and land on the floor. And then however I landed, that's how I'd be praying. 198 00:14:22.640 --> 00:14:31.280 But that was before the temptation of, oh, I just got a check to make sure our country didn't 199 00:14:31.280 --> 00:14:35.440 blow up. Let me open my phone. And every morning it's the same stupid thing. 200 00:14:36.240 --> 00:14:40.720 Your stupid notifications are telling you the same thing. Next thing you know 20 minutes when 201 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:45.920 you're like, I don't even know what I'm doing. And you could actually be doing something very 202 00:14:45.920 --> 00:14:52.080 productive. And it's not how long you pray. See, I've heard verses like this be used to whip 203 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:57.200 the people of God and guilt them and shame them and manipulate them into early morning prayer. 204 00:14:57.200 --> 00:15:03.520 No, don't do that. None of what I'm going to say today is this formula that's transactional, 205 00:15:03.520 --> 00:15:10.640 where if I do a, God will do b. And then I will do c. And therefore he must do d. No, this is about 206 00:15:10.640 --> 00:15:15.920 a love relationship. And I've heard this verse used like, give God, you know, this combined with 207 00:15:15.920 --> 00:15:20.720 Jesus saying, could you not carry with me one hour? You know that, could you not pray with me one 208 00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:25.040 hour? There's a title of a book. It like made every Christian feel guilty because they prayed 209 00:15:25.040 --> 00:15:30.640 less than an hour. I was like, oh, because in that moment, look, just because Jesus says one thing to 210 00:15:30.640 --> 00:15:35.600 one person one time doesn't mean that that's a rule for everybody all the time in every situation. 211 00:15:36.320 --> 00:15:42.000 You got a mom with four kids. She's busy. She's doing a million things. You got a dad. He's got to 212 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:47.440 get up early. He's got to work a job has 60,000 things flying across and you're going to tell, but 213 00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:58.400 you got to pray an hour a day. What? And you'd very rarely hear any preacher laugh at that or mock 214 00:15:58.400 --> 00:16:04.000 that because every preacher feels like quantity is everything quality doesn't matter, but you got 215 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:11.040 to put your time in. You got to pray. You got to pray long and you got to pray when you're tired 216 00:16:11.040 --> 00:16:16.720 and exhausted. Bleary eyed. When you're miserable, that's how God will actually know that you love him. 217 00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:27.360 No. Amen. Look, he's already done the sacrificing. He doesn't want you to pray early in the 218 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:33.200 morning because that's when you're most miserable. He wants you to pray early in the morning. He does 219 00:16:33.200 --> 00:16:38.320 because that is another spiritual principle. If you look at most of the miracles in the Bible, 220 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:43.520 they actually happened early in the morning, including the resurrection. There's something about 221 00:16:43.520 --> 00:16:50.880 the morning. The psalmist said, Lord, early will I seek you? Early, earnestly, eagerly and 222 00:16:50.880 --> 00:16:59.840 early in the morning when your mind is actually clear and it's not about quantity. There is. We 223 00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:06.160 have to be honest. There are people. I know people actually pray hours a day and their life 224 00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:12.880 terrifies me. I would not want to have their life. Nothing ever changes. They're always frustrated, 225 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:18.320 but they're always praying. Had enough to the next prayer meeting, praying at home. I don't know 226 00:17:18.320 --> 00:17:25.280 what they're doing, but it doesn't have to be long. It's about opening up your heart. Yeah. 227 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:34.880 And letting him come in, get good at, you got to have a, because most people are, 228 00:17:37.120 --> 00:17:44.640 so you got to hit that button on the inside where you open up and allow him in. He wants to know you. 229 00:17:45.280 --> 00:17:51.760 He loves you. And we, we go through this life. We got baggage from being hurt in the past, 230 00:17:52.400 --> 00:17:58.320 past baggage, baggage from being hurt in the present, present baggage, messed up doctrine where we 231 00:17:58.320 --> 00:18:02.720 think that God is constantly mad and angry with us. So there's guilt and ashamed and there's 232 00:18:02.720 --> 00:18:07.440 condemnation, not a revelation of His blood, not a revelation of redemption that you've been made 233 00:18:07.440 --> 00:18:11.360 in you, that you're now perfect in Christ or now you're full of guilt. So you have a hard time. 234 00:18:13.040 --> 00:18:19.680 So you can pray for hours all closed up and get nowhere. Or you can pray for two, three minutes. 235 00:18:19.920 --> 00:18:26.160 Yes. But if you hit that button where you, uh, because guess what, you're not hiding anything 236 00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:35.040 anyway. He knows you thoroughly. He know he can explain you to you that will blow your head. 237 00:18:38.080 --> 00:18:43.040 And he landed the real like kicker here is, even though he knows you, he knows every cell in 238 00:18:43.040 --> 00:18:48.560 your body, everything you've ever done and loves you still and calls you out by name still. Yeah. 239 00:18:50.080 --> 00:18:57.440 So it doesn't have to be quantity, but it does have to be, you got to open up, you got to shed the 240 00:18:57.440 --> 00:19:03.760 guards. And you can actually get good at that. You know how you get good at that? The same way you 241 00:19:03.840 --> 00:19:17.040 get good at everything, practicing. You got to practice. Open up, hide nothing, wake up, let him in, 242 00:19:17.040 --> 00:19:21.600 receive from him. Let him know you love him, receive his love for you and go on with your day. 243 00:19:21.600 --> 00:19:25.680 And then you're getting started right. You're giving the Lord the first of your day. Hallelujah. 244 00:19:25.680 --> 00:19:32.480 Is this helping anybody? All right. Let's go to first King 17. We're talking about the power of 245 00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:42.320 the first because we will not treat God like a bad waiter and tip him with the leftovers. 246 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:48.800 I mean, you can, but you're not going to receive his best. 247 00:19:53.040 --> 00:19:57.040 This is a time of drought. What we're about to read right now. It's about time of drought and 248 00:19:57.040 --> 00:20:03.040 because it's a time of drought, it's a time of famine also. Then the word of the Lord came to him. 249 00:20:03.040 --> 00:20:10.800 That's Elijah saying, arise good as air path, which belongs to Sid and well there, see I have 250 00:20:10.800 --> 00:20:18.000 commanded a widow there to provide for you. So he that's Elijah. He arose and went to 251 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:23.600 Zerapath and when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was their gathering sticks. 252 00:20:24.320 --> 00:20:29.200 And he called to her and said, please bring me a little water in a cup. That seems innocent enough 253 00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:38.480 except it's a time of drought that I may drink. So they had very strong hospitality, 254 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:44.400 social contracts in that day. This is showing all right. This guy's asking for water. I'm bound. 255 00:20:44.400 --> 00:20:50.480 I got to give it to him. And as she was going to get it, he called her and said, please bring me a 256 00:20:50.480 --> 00:20:56.880 morsel of bread in your hand. Uh-oh. Now it's not just about water. He wants a little cake. 257 00:20:58.880 --> 00:21:03.920 So she said, as the Lord, your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin 258 00:21:04.560 --> 00:21:11.200 and a little oil in a jar and see I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it 259 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:18.000 for myself and my son that we may eat it and die. So not too bright of a future as it stands right 260 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:24.240 now. And Elijah said to her, now Elijah was sent to her to bring her a breakthrough. 261 00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:31.040 She was not in a place of breakthrough because she was just focusing on her lack 262 00:21:31.040 --> 00:21:34.960 and was obsessed and consumed with her own situation in life and her own problems. 263 00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:40.400 She didn't have a solution. She just had one final meal and then there's nothing left my son 264 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:50.560 and I are going to die. But he has to provoke her into a miracle. A lot of what I do when I minister, 265 00:21:50.560 --> 00:21:57.120 some of the things I say, it's actually the joll chew. It's to get you from doing the same old 266 00:21:57.120 --> 00:22:03.520 same old to provoke you into a miracle, to get you out of that rut. See, she was in a rut of 267 00:22:03.520 --> 00:22:10.080 lack only looking at that lat, only seeing lack. He had to provoke and he had to get her a miracle. 268 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:15.440 Look how he does it. Do not fear going do as you have said. Fine, you can eat. 269 00:22:16.640 --> 00:22:29.440 But first, make me a small cake from it. Say that word. First. First. I mean now socially, 270 00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:34.320 he's crossed every line. That's not just one water. He wants cake. Get it to me first. And who 271 00:22:34.320 --> 00:22:44.960 is Elijah? He's a representative of God. The message is clear. Honor God first. Because if you did 272 00:22:44.960 --> 00:22:50.880 what you were going to do anyway, you're going to be dead in 72 hours anyway. So might as well do 273 00:22:50.880 --> 00:22:57.840 it God's way. Give it to me first and bring it to me and afterward take care of yourself. 274 00:22:57.840 --> 00:23:03.200 Afterward, make some for yourself and your son. For that says the Lord God of Israel. 275 00:23:04.560 --> 00:23:11.440 The bin of flowers shall not be used up. Nor shall the jar of oil run dry until the day the Lord 276 00:23:11.440 --> 00:23:19.360 sends rain on the earth. So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah and she and her 277 00:23:19.360 --> 00:23:24.160 household ate for many days. He did something with the bin of flower and the jar of oil. There were 278 00:23:25.120 --> 00:23:31.600 miracles of multiplication and miracles of provision. And then it was like you ever see Mary 279 00:23:31.600 --> 00:23:36.000 Poppins where she can just take all these items out of her suitcase and take a vacuum cleaner out 280 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:39.920 or put an umbrella and that's kind of like what it became. It's just like it looks like there's two 281 00:23:39.920 --> 00:23:43.760 inches of flower except it never runs dry. Looks like there's three fingers of oil but I can just 282 00:23:43.760 --> 00:23:50.080 keep pouring it. Make cakes for the whole neighborhood. She got a miracle of provision. 283 00:23:50.960 --> 00:23:56.800 But the provocation to get her there was honoring the Lord with the first. There was something about 284 00:23:56.800 --> 00:24:02.720 putting God first. My prayer is that we would just as we wrap up 2025 that the Lord would do a 285 00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:09.840 deep work in us and put the search light on our souls. If we be putting him in second place 286 00:24:09.840 --> 00:24:14.000 anywhere, third place, fourth place. If he's an afterthought in an area. 287 00:24:14.320 --> 00:24:22.640 If we do that, we're only hurting ourselves. We are limiting God. And then some people get 288 00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:26.160 mad and go, well, how come God didn't come through for me and he didn't dance like I wanted him 289 00:24:26.160 --> 00:24:32.400 to dance. He didn't perform like I wanted him to perform. Well, you've given him the leftovers. 290 00:24:33.840 --> 00:24:39.920 You haven't honored him with the first. He was an afterthought until that cannibal lands in 291 00:24:39.920 --> 00:24:43.120 your living room. He was an afterthought. Now all of a sudden you're excited about God and you 292 00:24:43.120 --> 00:24:48.160 need him. Which by the way, even if that's you, that's been me. You can still immediately come to 293 00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:53.760 him and he's not going to hold it against you. That's how good he people will. If you only come 294 00:24:53.760 --> 00:24:56.960 to somebody when you need something, you can only do that two, three times right after a while, 295 00:24:56.960 --> 00:25:01.360 they're going to be like, hey, you're always coming to me with your handout. How about a cup of coffee on 296 00:25:01.360 --> 00:25:09.760 a Tuesday? But God, not that we should treat him that way, but I just God doesn't say that. God 297 00:25:09.760 --> 00:25:15.440 doesn't do that. Okay, here you go. Coming again for a miracle. I love you. I'll do it. 298 00:25:16.720 --> 00:25:22.640 But that's not. Did you know living from miracle to miracle is not God's best? That is actually a 299 00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:27.760 yucky way to live. And God will give you that miracle because He loves you so much. But you don't 300 00:25:27.760 --> 00:25:33.440 want a life where cannibal lands in your living room. I need a miracle. God comes through and then 301 00:25:33.440 --> 00:25:39.040 you keep doing the same thing that made that cannibal come into your living room. And it comes 302 00:25:39.040 --> 00:25:45.360 six months later. God, I need a miracle. You know, when I was leading you and dad to the Lord, 303 00:25:45.360 --> 00:25:50.240 you remember dad, my dad, very logical, practical guy, the pastor would always start the service. 304 00:25:50.240 --> 00:25:54.240 How many of you need a miracle? Like every hand would go up. I mean, that was like, wow. But then 305 00:25:54.240 --> 00:25:59.440 after six months, he's like, how come every service everybody raises their hand? They need a miracle. 306 00:26:00.640 --> 00:26:04.800 It's a good question. I don't want to church if people that always need a miracle. 307 00:26:05.120 --> 00:26:11.520 That's not God's story. God's plan. God's best is for you. If you need a miracle, 308 00:26:11.520 --> 00:26:17.520 he's happy to give you one. He's happy to rescue you. Then start walking with him so that you don't 309 00:26:17.520 --> 00:26:24.320 need a miracle every five, six days. Amen. So that you're now living in victory. And then 310 00:26:24.320 --> 00:26:29.200 you're actually living in victory. Now God can build on that. He's not always taking you out of 311 00:26:29.200 --> 00:26:33.520 the pit. But now he's taking you out of the pit. Now you're walking. You can actually build 312 00:26:33.520 --> 00:26:38.400 together and he can use you to take someone else out of the pit because you're not in one. Amen. 313 00:26:39.840 --> 00:26:47.760 Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. Deuteronomy 26, one through two. 314 00:26:51.040 --> 00:26:56.640 The power of the first fruits was reiterated by Moses over and over again. Obviously was the 315 00:26:56.640 --> 00:27:05.280 Lord himself speaking through Moses, but Moses was the the big pen. Big pen. You remember big 316 00:27:05.280 --> 00:27:14.160 pens? Because people people will say, well God didn't write the Bible. Yeah, I know. I know 317 00:27:14.160 --> 00:27:19.120 he didn't come in bodily form and write the Bible, but people wrote it who were inspired by the 318 00:27:19.120 --> 00:27:25.120 Holy Spirit. If I write you a beautiful poem right now using a big pen, you don't say big 319 00:27:25.120 --> 00:27:31.360 wrote it. I wrote it. I just used a big pen. But some people will say, well God didn't write the 320 00:27:31.360 --> 00:27:41.280 Bible. No, he used big pens, about 40 of them, 40 authors, over 1600 years. Amen. 66 books. All right. 321 00:27:41.280 --> 00:27:47.360 First fruits. And it shall be when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you as 322 00:27:47.360 --> 00:27:55.200 an inheritance and you possess it and dwell in it that you shall take some of the first of all 323 00:27:55.200 --> 00:28:01.440 the produce of the ground which you shall bring from your land that the Lord your God is giving you 324 00:28:01.440 --> 00:28:08.000 and put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to make his name abide. 325 00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:18.480 This was a commandment from the Lord. He's showing his preference for the first and the children of 326 00:28:18.480 --> 00:28:27.040 Israel were commanded to fall in line with God's divine order of putting things first. Joshua 327 00:28:27.040 --> 00:28:35.520 chapter 6 verses 17 through 19. First fruits is the ultimate act of faith because you give it when 328 00:28:35.520 --> 00:28:44.720 nothing else is in yet. So Joshua this if you ever want to read a fun book in the Old Testament 329 00:28:44.720 --> 00:28:53.600 read Joshua it's a book of victories it's a great book epic and they had because right before that 330 00:28:53.600 --> 00:28:57.520 you can always the word of God is always life but sometimes you're reading how they were stuck in 331 00:28:57.520 --> 00:29:01.840 the wilderness it's depressing because you know how long that journey should have taken 332 00:29:02.160 --> 00:29:11.680 through the wilderness back to the Primus land 11 days how long did it take them 40 years now I 333 00:29:11.680 --> 00:29:17.440 don't like when I miss Google Maps and make the wrong turn like oh I gain 45 seconds on this trip 334 00:29:17.440 --> 00:29:24.880 ah I feel robbed I'll never get those 45 seconds back they took them 40 years I mean that's 335 00:29:24.880 --> 00:29:31.200 frustrating but now those guys had died this is the next generation and Joshua was leading about 336 00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:39.120 two three million people into the Primus land and the first city that they take is Jericho and because 337 00:29:39.120 --> 00:29:45.040 it's the first city God said you won't take any of the treasures I want the first that's going to 338 00:29:45.040 --> 00:29:50.400 go into the treasury of the Lord you're not allowed to touch any of the precious things they belong to 339 00:29:50.400 --> 00:29:56.240 me now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction Jericho mighty victory by the way 340 00:29:56.960 --> 00:30:02.080 you know the walls of Jericho fell flat down archaeologists would tell you how thick those walls 341 00:30:02.080 --> 00:30:09.920 actually were in New York you know the thickness of the walls is three bricks how do I know because 342 00:30:09.920 --> 00:30:14.000 it's seven streets it was falling apart so much we could actually see it's like oh three bricks 343 00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:18.480 thin this is how they do all the tenements three bricks is enough to separate one building from 344 00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:23.520 another and you know when you hear the walls of Jericho fell down you go oh you probably imagine a 345 00:30:23.520 --> 00:30:27.840 brick wall like the Berlin wall or maybe even like the Great Wall of China which is pretty thick 346 00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:35.280 it's said that the walls of Jericho were so thick that you could run seven chariots side by side 347 00:30:35.280 --> 00:30:40.480 on them and race them around the walls of the city that's the miracle that God did when he made 348 00:30:41.040 --> 00:30:44.880 and when the walls fell by the way they didn't fall like this they didn't topple forward 349 00:30:44.880 --> 00:30:50.560 they collapse straight down and when you collapse something straight I can go on and when you 350 00:30:50.560 --> 00:30:54.640 collapse something straight down with the wall of that thing that actually creates an incline like 351 00:30:54.640 --> 00:31:00.160 stairs so they could just use stairs now and just walk right into the city now the city shall be 352 00:31:00.160 --> 00:31:06.960 doomed by the Lord to destruction and all who are in it only Rahab the harlot sounds like such a 353 00:31:06.960 --> 00:31:12.000 funny detail Rahab the harlot do you know this is Jesus is great great great great great great great great 354 00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:20.000 grandmother this prostitute who had a moment of redemption and looking towards God it's just 355 00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:25.040 there there's so many times in the Bible where it just shows you that you are never too far gone 356 00:31:25.040 --> 00:31:30.720 for God because this book these big pens the people who wrote the Bible who were inspired by the 357 00:31:30.720 --> 00:31:37.360 Holy Spirit some of them were murders some were more thieves some of them were scoundrels and 358 00:31:40.320 --> 00:31:40.960 adulterers 359 00:31:41.040 --> 00:31:51.200 only Rahab the harlot shall live she and all who were with her in the house because she hid the 360 00:31:51.200 --> 00:31:58.240 messengers that were sent verse 18 and you by all means abstain from the accursed things what are 361 00:31:58.240 --> 00:32:04.400 the accursed things lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things and make the camp 362 00:32:04.480 --> 00:32:10.560 of Israel accursed and trouble it so when I first read this I thought accursed things were like 363 00:32:11.680 --> 00:32:17.520 idols because this was a pagination maybe they were idols maybe they were witchcraft items what 364 00:32:17.520 --> 00:32:22.960 accursed or accursed things but it wasn't those things it was actually treasures that the Lord 365 00:32:22.960 --> 00:32:28.400 said this belongs to me so it's a cursed thing to take from what the Lord says is his 366 00:32:29.040 --> 00:32:37.200 by all means abstain from the accursed things lest okay we read that verse 19 but all the silver and 367 00:32:37.200 --> 00:32:45.280 gold and vessels of bronze and iron are consecrated to the Lord they shall come into the treasury of the 368 00:32:45.280 --> 00:32:52.080 Lord now fast forward one chapter there was a fella by the name of Akin and this is known as Akin 369 00:32:52.880 --> 00:33:00.400 God gave his people tremendous victory and it was like a series of victories victory yeah 370 00:33:00.400 --> 00:33:05.760 victory yeah and then because they crossed over the Jordan they came in the spies came were let out by 371 00:33:05.760 --> 00:33:12.240 Rahab they take Jericho then all of a sudden everything starts going wrong it was like everything 372 00:33:12.240 --> 00:33:18.080 that can't go wrong does and they start seeking God what happened we were unstoppable now we 373 00:33:18.080 --> 00:33:22.320 can't do anything right and it's like we're cursed and God said well remember how I said you 374 00:33:22.320 --> 00:33:32.160 can't take anything from the first the first belongs to me Akin made all of Israel to be Akin 375 00:33:34.320 --> 00:33:41.280 because he was a fashionista and he wanted this garb he wanted a coat and he wanted it so bad 376 00:33:41.280 --> 00:33:47.280 even though God said don't take from the treasures he had to have he saw it on tiktok on the runway 377 00:33:47.280 --> 00:33:53.200 this Babylonian garment and said I must have and he took it and everything started to fall apart can 378 00:33:53.200 --> 00:33:59.200 you just get that verse up don't keep us in such mystery please when I saw among the spoils a 379 00:33:59.200 --> 00:34:05.680 beautiful Babylonian garment 200 shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing 50 shekels I 380 00:34:05.680 --> 00:34:11.760 coveted them and took them and there they are hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent with 381 00:34:11.760 --> 00:34:18.800 the silver under it so the moment that problem was fixed Joshua becomes a happy book again 382 00:34:18.800 --> 00:34:23.440 and then it's like 20 plus chapters of victory after victory after victory what's the moral of 383 00:34:23.440 --> 00:34:29.840 the story God actually likes first he has a preference for the first and when we get into what 384 00:34:29.840 --> 00:34:44.080 God likes I notice now things are way better life is better the blessing flows hallelujah hallelujah 385 00:34:46.000 --> 00:34:56.800 thank you Jesus let me show you some slides five slides of what first fruits represents 386 00:34:56.800 --> 00:35:07.520 first fruits equals priority your demonstrating that God is a priority in your life God claims the 387 00:35:07.520 --> 00:35:14.960 first of everything harvest livestock income even children no you didn't give your child but you 388 00:35:14.960 --> 00:35:20.880 consecrated him to the Lord that every child that opens the womb the first one shall be consecrated 389 00:35:20.880 --> 00:35:28.000 dedicated to the Lord not because he needs it but because the first portion determines who 390 00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:38.800 or what is the first in the person's heart now I have to preach the spark because it fits into 391 00:35:38.800 --> 00:35:42.320 my sermon but my mother doesn't know this I even mentioned in the first service how my family 392 00:35:42.320 --> 00:35:47.040 doesn't know this and they think I'm crazy so when she surprised me in service this morning I thought 393 00:35:47.680 --> 00:35:52.560 this is a wild way for her to find out so I'm going to preach to this section right now because even 394 00:35:52.560 --> 00:36:02.640 though I turned 50 in about a month two months from now I still can feel her gaze now she'll be fine 395 00:36:04.720 --> 00:36:10.640 I've shared with you all that by faith you guys know we've been blessed we invested heavily in 396 00:36:10.640 --> 00:36:17.280 Bitcoin and Bitcoin related derivatives and then we felt led to give two million dollars as the 397 00:36:17.280 --> 00:36:21.840 first fruits offering to city light church right you all caught up with some of you or knew you don't 398 00:36:21.840 --> 00:36:26.960 know that it was wonderful 2025 was a great year and I was able to do stuff that was in my heart 399 00:36:26.960 --> 00:36:33.680 for decades and in so giving that gift I actually I didn't plan it this way but I paid the church 400 00:36:33.680 --> 00:36:40.960 back for every single salary check ever in history so I am for 23 years I've served city light as 401 00:36:40.960 --> 00:36:48.240 a volunteer pastor it's a wonderful thing to be able to do but we did not give that as a tie 402 00:36:48.240 --> 00:36:52.560 I know some people got excited they're like whoa you made 20 million dollars and you gave two million 403 00:36:52.560 --> 00:36:58.880 you know that's what they thought no that was the first fruits offering that was us saying we don't 404 00:36:58.880 --> 00:37:04.640 know because the scary thing about it was we haven't closed all of our positions yet everything 405 00:37:04.640 --> 00:37:08.960 was in other words you don't know how in the green you are so well how much money did you make I 406 00:37:08.960 --> 00:37:15.120 don't know it changes every day tremendously so I don't know so why would you give two million 407 00:37:15.120 --> 00:37:26.400 dollars then exactly I don't know but I gave it by faith because when you trust God with the first 408 00:37:26.400 --> 00:37:35.840 fruits not knowing whether second third or fourth are coming you're setting yourself up hallelujah 409 00:37:37.200 --> 00:37:43.360 so if a year from now I'm here receiving a special offering on wow 2025 was a great year but 410 00:37:43.360 --> 00:37:50.560 whoa 2026 really clean my clock guys and so I've been downhill since and I can't believe I gave 411 00:37:50.560 --> 00:37:55.040 away two million dollars but by law I can't ask for it back and I'm gonna have to pass the bucket 412 00:37:55.040 --> 00:37:59.920 around guys because Victor needs a new pair of shoes are you smiling I haven't checked your face yet 413 00:37:59.920 --> 00:38:12.560 you're right that's not gonna happen I already tested this when I bought the R knots a car before I 414 00:38:12.560 --> 00:38:22.800 had one amen I mean I had a car but wasn't a car I had a Toyota that that that I was just in the 415 00:38:22.800 --> 00:38:27.200 first service reminiscing with Mauricio he was with me we actually took the R knots out guess where 416 00:38:27.200 --> 00:38:32.560 we went we go where no New Yorker ever goes but where every tourist wants to go no not time square 417 00:38:32.560 --> 00:38:38.000 literally and time square you can at least park in a garage but in literally they fake you out you 418 00:38:38.000 --> 00:38:44.240 can find parking but the streets are so narrow down there and I parked and this corrections bus 419 00:38:45.760 --> 00:38:50.080 we're still we'd even get out of the car all of a sudden it felt like a bomb landed in the car 420 00:38:50.080 --> 00:38:54.480 you never know how loud a car crash is until you're in one the whole it was like the whole 421 00:38:54.480 --> 00:39:01.440 car was boom and shook I thought half the car was missing I get out and it's just like the front 422 00:39:01.440 --> 00:39:05.520 right right towards the front it just looked like somebody took a sledgehammer and bashed it in 423 00:39:06.720 --> 00:39:12.000 I went to price out I'll skip the part where I exchange information with them didn't call the cops 424 00:39:12.000 --> 00:39:17.440 because I wanted to tend to our tourists so I had no police report and I'll skip that part it's 425 00:39:17.440 --> 00:39:22.800 very sad some guy with a badge from the corrections comes and says call this number we'll make sure 426 00:39:22.800 --> 00:39:26.160 we'll make we'll make you hold whatever I call that number for days nobody ever ends I don't 427 00:39:26.160 --> 00:39:33.680 know what number he gave me yeah to someone say a pay phone that's what it was there's the one 428 00:39:33.680 --> 00:39:41.360 pay phone left in New York he gave me that number today I want to price out you know how much 429 00:39:41.360 --> 00:39:48.000 you would be to repair the Toyota and it was like over $5,000 I'm like especially back then that 430 00:39:48.000 --> 00:39:53.280 was like an insurmountable I was like I'm not paying that still functions I'll put air in the tires 431 00:39:53.280 --> 00:40:02.160 oil in the car will be fine but I wanted a nice car but the Lord said no first get your wife 432 00:40:02.160 --> 00:40:08.080 one got my wife one then he said now those preachers they drive a Tesla that's 10 years old tell 433 00:40:08.080 --> 00:40:11.600 them you're gonna buy them a Tesla send them a hundred thousand dollars say to pick the Tesla 434 00:40:11.600 --> 00:40:15.520 with all the options that I don't know all the classes but that one that's right around there 435 00:40:16.480 --> 00:40:23.200 and honestly in that moment I thought but what about me I mean when do I get to eat it's my time 436 00:40:24.000 --> 00:40:31.840 I'm here in this Toyota pump and burn them it's my time and the Lord just all the Lord has to do 437 00:40:32.240 --> 00:40:40.480 do what you got to do so I bought them a car now when I did that with the way the numbers removed I 438 00:40:40.480 --> 00:40:45.920 didn't think I had to make peace with look if my car comes or doesn't come that's fine I did the 439 00:40:45.920 --> 00:40:51.200 right thing Lord said get them I get them I get them I got that was in November December I believe 440 00:40:51.200 --> 00:40:57.600 yeah November December yeah right exactly year from now no it may have been October late October 441 00:40:57.600 --> 00:41:04.480 November because it was just like six weeks after it was still 2024 where I went into Mercedes and 442 00:41:04.480 --> 00:41:08.640 ordered that Maybach because the money had come in I quickly separated it you got to do a lot 443 00:41:08.640 --> 00:41:16.880 you separate the tithe separate for the taxes and then with the overflow hallelujah hallelujah 444 00:41:19.040 --> 00:41:25.360 thank you Lord I'll read that again again first fruit is the ultimate act of faith because you 445 00:41:25.360 --> 00:41:36.480 give it when nothing else is in yet it shows your trust first fruit equals holiness found in Romans 11 446 00:41:36.480 --> 00:41:44.320 16 there is a biblical principle of giving the first fruits when you give the first it makes the rest 447 00:41:44.320 --> 00:41:54.080 holy it sanctifies the lump for if the first fruit is holy the lump is also holy see I have so 448 00:41:56.080 --> 00:42:04.000 so so much joy driving in that car not because of the leather quality not because it actually has 449 00:42:05.200 --> 00:42:12.480 a cup heater and cooler right now that I have so much joy in it because it's a holy car 450 00:42:13.440 --> 00:42:23.280 it's been made holy I have no guilt no it's just like I'm free hallelujah because the first fruits 451 00:42:24.000 --> 00:42:30.960 has been is holy the lump has been if the root is holy so were the branches when you're organizing 452 00:42:30.960 --> 00:42:37.920 your life to put God first in every area again the decisions you make do you run the playbook 453 00:42:37.920 --> 00:42:43.840 with ungodly counsel first or do you go to the Lord first some of you you have to work with unbelievers 454 00:42:44.640 --> 00:42:50.400 the but the Bible says blessed are those who don't stand in the seat of scorners and listen to godly 455 00:42:50.400 --> 00:42:56.960 counsel ungodly counsel but you have to collaborate fine collaborate but you go to God first 456 00:42:57.920 --> 00:43:02.960 in the decisions that you make in your prayer like when when it's service hey I'm not going to 457 00:43:02.960 --> 00:43:07.120 have got the leftovers and stroll in right right where I know they're ending that third song 458 00:43:07.760 --> 00:43:13.280 I'm not looking at anyone I'm looking at I'm going to give him the best I'm going to give him the first 459 00:43:15.520 --> 00:43:22.800 and if the root is holy so are the branches amen first fruits equals honor 460 00:43:23.920 --> 00:43:28.560 Proverbs 39 through 10 this is how you show the Lord that you're honoring him when you put him first 461 00:43:28.960 --> 00:43:38.480 honor the Lord with your possessions and with the say it first fruits of all your increase and what 462 00:43:38.480 --> 00:43:48.960 will happen tell me Solomon what happens go ahead what happens there you go Solomon right in your 463 00:43:48.960 --> 00:43:55.600 Proverbs trying to get stuff out of me what happens when I give God the first oh Solomon you're 464 00:43:55.600 --> 00:44:01.120 going to keep me in suspense what did you write in verse 10 Solomon 465 00:44:06.880 --> 00:44:07.440 let me know 466 00:44:07.760 --> 00:44:23.440 so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine 467 00:44:24.320 --> 00:44:31.120 hallelujah so number one first fruits equals your priority first fruits equals your trust first 468 00:44:31.120 --> 00:44:38.720 fruits equals holiness first fruits equals honor and first fruits equals covenant loyalty worship 469 00:44:38.720 --> 00:44:45.520 team you can come on up first fruits equals covenant loyalty it separated the Israel from pagan 470 00:44:45.520 --> 00:44:50.720 nations this is what separates us you know everybody should have Christian here you have Christian 471 00:44:50.720 --> 00:44:54.880 heroes it could be people in this church someone in your life group somebody somebody doesn't 472 00:44:54.880 --> 00:44:59.360 mean you admire everything about them but this people in my life I'm like I love how they pray 473 00:45:00.320 --> 00:45:05.040 I look at that person has the gift of faith on them they never take it on the chin and just 474 00:45:05.040 --> 00:45:10.960 wallow and self pity they've got the gift of faith I'm like hmm I like that I want that 475 00:45:12.320 --> 00:45:16.960 with your Christian heroes or aspirational figures someone you want to be like in a particular way 476 00:45:16.960 --> 00:45:23.360 I can guarantee you one thing they are first fruits Christians they are Christians if they're 477 00:45:23.360 --> 00:45:29.440 if they're worth respect in admiration their Christians who are putting God first in every area 478 00:45:29.440 --> 00:45:37.760 of their lives but it's not so in other religions it's not so in pagan this was unique to the 479 00:45:37.760 --> 00:45:44.480 God of Israel it separated Israel from pagan nations which offered the leftovers are only gave 480 00:45:44.480 --> 00:45:51.360 when they felt secure God demanded the first so that his people were visibly marked as his and 481 00:45:51.360 --> 00:45:55.920 that's exactly what it is with a Christian who puts God first there's a mark on them there's 482 00:45:55.920 --> 00:46:00.800 a mark on them that's practically visible it's like they've been branded with the Holy Spirit there's 483 00:46:00.800 --> 00:46:09.120 this swirl of the goodness of the Lord all around them I want this world hallelujah I want to 484 00:46:09.120 --> 00:46:14.400 get into a room and it be very evident that I'm not getting in there alone amen and that's how 485 00:46:14.400 --> 00:46:18.720 it is when you're putting God first it's evident to everybody that you're not walking into a room 486 00:46:18.720 --> 00:46:25.360 alone that was when I first met real Christians as an unbelieving 16 year old even then I had 487 00:46:25.360 --> 00:46:30.000 enough spiritual sense to realize these people are different I mean their behavior is different 488 00:46:30.800 --> 00:46:36.720 that's but what is this they just look different to me it's like an energy about them there's a 489 00:46:36.720 --> 00:46:43.680 life and a light about them it's the Holy Order of God hallelujah thank you Jesus 490 00:46:44.000 --> 00:46:54.160 first fruits are a revelation of Lordship God wants to be first in desire decisions finances 491 00:46:54.720 --> 00:47:04.640 and lifestyle Lord may you do this in our heart treat first fruits as consecration not superstition 492 00:47:05.280 --> 00:47:14.880 the first portion declares everything I have is yours let the principle of first fruits form your 493 00:47:14.880 --> 00:47:23.600 heart your heart first fruits are God's way of forming trust loyalty and worship in his people 494 00:47:25.760 --> 00:47:31.040 what you give to God first is what rules your life by the way I'm just reading some truth 495 00:47:31.040 --> 00:47:34.880 isms about first fruits I didn't know where to put them in the sermon so I'm just giving them to 496 00:47:34.880 --> 00:47:46.560 all at the end what you give to God first is what rules your life first fruits declares who sits on 497 00:47:46.560 --> 00:47:53.520 the throne when the first is holy the rest is blessed when the first is withheld the rest is 498 00:47:53.520 --> 00:48:00.400 hindered first fruits aren't about money they are about allegiance trust and the sacred order of God 499 00:48:01.280 --> 00:48:07.600 giving God the first opens the door for him to fill the rest the first unlocks the future 500 00:48:08.320 --> 00:48:15.920 that's so true the power of the first is woven from able to Elijah to Jesus first fruits 501 00:48:15.920 --> 00:48:25.200 are a mystery of divine order and not a human formula hallelujah let's pray heavenly father 502 00:48:26.000 --> 00:48:32.800 we all know what it's like to give you the first and we all know how easily we can slip into giving 503 00:48:32.800 --> 00:48:40.320 you leftovers we pray Lord that we be an on fire people a people full of the holy ghost and 504 00:48:40.320 --> 00:48:50.000 serving you in a spirit of revival so help us be a people who honors you first in every category 505 00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:56.240 of life brand us and empower us we're not going to be legalistic about it we're not going to 506 00:48:56.240 --> 00:49:05.280 try to do it in our own strength but yeah we welcome the holy ghost to shake us move us rearrange us 507 00:49:05.280 --> 00:49:11.360 changes do whatever you got to do that we will be walking worthy of this great calling with which 508 00:49:11.360 --> 00:49:19.760 we have been called honoring you and putting you first in everything in Jesus name amen 509 00:49:21.360 --> 00:49:34.960 amen we'll give the Lord a big hallelujah hallelujah thank you lord well are you ready to 510 00:49:34.960 --> 00:49:43.520 worship and honor the Lord with your tithes and offerings before we do that yeah let's look at the 511 00:49:45.360 --> 00:49:50.720 first fruits of the future campaign obviously I'm preaching this morning because we have this 512 00:49:50.720 --> 00:49:55.360 first fruits of the future campaign so you all understand what first fruits is this isn't the 513 00:49:55.360 --> 00:50:02.880 first time I've preached something like this but it's probably been the most the most comprehensive 514 00:50:02.880 --> 00:50:07.920 that I have I wanted you to know the principles behind it and hey let's just we just started 515 00:50:07.920 --> 00:50:14.560 this last week how many of you remember what what we had raised up until last week we're on 2000 516 00:50:15.440 --> 00:50:26.640 show drum roll please give us a little hey look at that look at that look what the Lord has done 517 00:50:26.960 --> 00:50:35.040 now I was very excited when I got that so I asked pastor Andrew who's the who's the controller 518 00:50:36.240 --> 00:50:40.480 which I'm just mentioning that and he watches all all of all of our sermons you know because he 519 00:50:40.480 --> 00:50:44.720 lives in Texas he's moved away to Texas but he's still a part of our church and is on staff and 520 00:50:44.720 --> 00:50:50.720 is a great man of God and pastor and and he does all of our finances he was an amazing guy and 521 00:50:50.720 --> 00:50:56.800 finances God has brought us the best you know just so you know with our staff none of us play around 522 00:50:56.800 --> 00:51:01.360 he used to work at a hedge fund he's not you know a lot of times in church like the finances like 523 00:51:01.360 --> 00:51:05.920 the finance person's like well you know they used to work at seven eleven and then they got 524 00:51:05.920 --> 00:51:10.560 radically saved and you know he used to do the stock in that supermarket he's really good with 525 00:51:10.560 --> 00:51:14.400 numbers a great bean counter how about him well yeah he'll do that's how no he used to work for 526 00:51:14.400 --> 00:51:20.560 a hedge fund he knows his stuff but I but I'm I'm even talking about this because his title is 527 00:51:20.560 --> 00:51:26.400 controller which makes sense if you're in finance it never did to me but I just went with it but the 528 00:51:26.400 --> 00:51:31.440 pastor that that you know that brought took me to Poland that administered for him he just sent me 529 00:51:31.440 --> 00:51:36.000 a screenshot of her own website and like with concerns he said why is he called controller 530 00:51:37.680 --> 00:51:42.400 I had to say well he's not controlling the Holy Spirit thankfully and he's not controlling the 531 00:51:42.400 --> 00:51:50.240 flow of the service he's controlling he's controlling he's he's making sure every being is accounted for 532 00:51:52.160 --> 00:51:58.560 so I asked our controller I said hey that's a lot of dough give me the breakdown and he says well 533 00:51:58.560 --> 00:52:05.120 two people gave ten thousand dollars each which which made me happy and sad I'm happy for the 534 00:52:05.120 --> 00:52:10.880 people who who who did that I pray and I pray this for every giver that the Lord multiply it 535 00:52:10.880 --> 00:52:16.720 back to you that your harvest come and the only reason I was sad was it all came from not all but 536 00:52:16.720 --> 00:52:22.560 20 grand came from two people and it need not be it shouldn't be by the time we wrapped this all up 537 00:52:22.560 --> 00:52:29.120 it should be spread spread the love it shouldn't be concentrated in two people and by the way 10,000 538 00:52:29.120 --> 00:52:34.800 may be a tip for you like nothing and 10,000 may be the most money you never had so much money 539 00:52:34.800 --> 00:52:39.760 you're baking and I get that that's why we never tell people what to give you say what should I give 540 00:52:39.840 --> 00:52:45.920 ask the Lord and he will put in your heart what to give sometimes you get two amounts then you 541 00:52:45.920 --> 00:52:54.000 should know the lower mountain Satan the higher mountain is God let's put the giving information 542 00:52:54.000 --> 00:53:00.480 up there Lord we honor you we love you and we give with a glad heart and full expectation to you 543 00:53:01.120 --> 00:53:06.640 God I thank you that at city light church we will not be shaken people will continue to move 544 00:53:06.640 --> 00:53:11.680 forward in their lives they're gonna get married they're gonna have lots of healthy and blessed 545 00:53:11.680 --> 00:53:16.720 children they're gonna buy townhouses and condos they're gonna start businesses they're gonna 546 00:53:16.720 --> 00:53:23.440 multiply Lord I don't care who the mayor of New York is and neither do you you will bless and you 547 00:53:23.440 --> 00:53:36.560 will prosper your people hallelujah hallelujah thank you Lord ministry team if you would just 548 00:53:36.560 --> 00:53:40.960 prepare if you want ministry by the laying out of hands you want someone to pray with you and for 549 00:53:40.960 --> 00:53:46.560 you if you've been shy and never did that before I assure you you will not be harmed you will be blessed 550 00:53:47.200 --> 00:53:52.320 go on over to that I can only imagine let's just say you've never been to church you just come in 551 00:53:52.320 --> 00:53:57.200 you need the Lord and then you're being invited to go into that blue lit area for people to pray for 552 00:53:57.200 --> 00:54:03.120 you for us it's not it's like not daunting we know good but imagine you gotta always think of that 553 00:54:03.120 --> 00:54:08.240 somebody who like didn't like half my message still clinging to the Lord and now they're told to 554 00:54:08.240 --> 00:54:15.200 go to that blue like they might not ever emerge look it looks like a twilight zone don't go toward 555 00:54:15.200 --> 00:54:20.080 the light but you will be safe go over there and some wonderful people will pray with you and for 556 00:54:20.080 --> 00:54:24.720 you we're gonna trust God to do a miracle in your life such a miracle that you won't need another 557 00:54:24.720 --> 00:54:34.720 miracle next week amen let's all stand if you need to go go be blessed city light be blessed 558 00:54:35.600 --> 00:54:40.800 this is the city light church podcast if you've missed any part of today's message or if you 559 00:54:40.800 --> 00:54:46.320 would like to find out more about pastor boy on jansk and city light church visit us at citylight 560 00:54:46.320 --> 00:54:54.480 nyc dot com that's city light nyc dot com you're free to visit us online or in person anytime 561 00:54:54.480 --> 00:55:00.000 we would love to connect with you we pray that you have been encouraged today that you have been 562 00:55:00.000 --> 00:55:06.720 reminded how much God loves you and that you are surrounded by grace thank you for listening 563 00:55:06.720 --> 00:55:11.520 make sure that you subscribe to city light church podcast wherever you find your favorite podcasts 564 00:55:11.520 --> 00:55:14.960 worldwide