Category: Sermons

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The firstfruits mindset

close up photo of person holding green apple

In the Old Testament, the Israelites were commanded to give God the firstfruits of their crops. This sacrifice showed that the people trusted God to continue providing the rest of the crops. It also signified giving back to God the first portion of what already belongs to him. Proverbs 3:9-10 says, “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.” God blesses those who are not stingy with what God has given them.

The Israelites weren’t just supposed to bring in the firstfruits of their crops, but the best of the firstfruits: “The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God” (Exodus 23:19). This command and concept are not limited to the Old Testament. The concept of firstfruits relies on the agricultural laws God gave to ancient Israel. But the literal harvest also deeply connects to theology. 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 says, “But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.”

The first crop out of the ground guarantees the rest of the harvest is coming. Christ’s resurrection guarantees that everyone who believes in him will also be raised from the dead. Paul talks about believers having the “firstfruits of the Spirit” (Romans 8:23). James calls believers a “kind of firstfruits of his creation” (James 1:18) and on it goes. We should always give God our best first.

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Generosity in scarcity

sunflowers seeds on hands

We often think about generosity coming from those who have an abundance. This is a humanistic way of looking at the world. The kingdom view is that generosity comes from those who have nothing. Mark records a time when Jesus sat opposite the treasury and was observing people putting money into the offering box. He saw a poor widow put two small copper coins in. He was moved by that and called his disciples over. He said, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on” (Mark 12:43-44).

Paul echoed the sentiment when he was asking for money from the wealthy Corinthians to help the church in Jerusalem. the Macedonian church gave abundantly out of their extreme poverty. Paul said, “For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part” (2 Cor. 8:2). Paul said they gave according to, and even beyond their means and begged Paul and his co-workers to take part in the relief of the saints in Jerusalem.

Paul goes on to say that their request was not expected. So where did it come from? “But they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us” (vs. 5). Paul didn’t guilt the Corinthian church into giving, but instead gave an example of the poor Macedonians giving abundantly out of their extreme poverty. They did it because they first gave themselves to the Lord. They realized that they belong to God and God is the provider of all that we have. This is what generosity in scarcity looks like!

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Honoring God by giving to the poor

elderly man giving food to a beggar

Giving to the poor is a command. But it was far more than a command and there is something deeply theological about giving to those in need. For example, Proverbs 19:17 says, “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.” Proverbs 28:27 says, “Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.” Proverbs 14:31 says, “Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.” And Hebrews 13:16 says, “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

It should not come as a surprise, then, that Jesus lays very strict rules down for giving in Matthew 25. In fact, the very separation of the sheep from the goats rests on one thing: our willingness to give to the poor. Jesus sums it up this way, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40). We clearly see a theology emerge that says giving to the poor is the same as lending to God. Being kind to the needy honors God. God is pleased with the sacrifice of giving to the poor.

Why is it, then, that Christians are often slow to give to the poor? There are many reasons–we’ve been burned before, many poor people scam others, we might feel unsafe because desperation can be associated with violence. But God doesn’t give us a free pass because we’ve been taken advantage of before. He is very clear that giving to the poor honors Him. Yes, we need to be cautious, but cautious and failure to give are two different things. We must be willing to give, and to give generously!

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The cheerful giver

gift box in paper bag

God commands us to give. Not just monetarily, but Jesus says that anyone who wants to follow him must deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow him. Greater love is defined by the person willing to lay down his life for his brothers. Giving is never commanded just because. In other words, it’s not commanded simply because God says so. There’s a very important principle of proportioned giving in the Bible. We give according to what God has provided. And we do it as a first fruits–we give to God first by providing for the needy before doing anything else with our blessings.

Paul took up a collection for Christians in Jerusalem. He said to the Corinthian church: “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6). He continues: “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (vs. 7). Some people push a tithe of 10% but that was a law specifically to provide for the tribe of Levi since their full-time work was to serve God. Paul is urging to give cheerfully, not under compulsion, and as one has decided in his heart.

The amount will vary greatly from person-to-person. God is not looking at the amount. He’s looking at the heart. Are we generous with what God has blessed us with or are we stingy? Are we irritated that we are giving or are we excited? When speaking to the Ephesian elders, Paul quoted Jesus and said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Paul is not preaching in a vacuum. He alludes to Malachi 3:10 when quoting Jesus: “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” God has always loved a cheerful giver!

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The treasure principle

ornate jewelry box with crystal beads

Treasure is important in the scriptures. During the time of Joseph, treasure quickly became life saving. When he predicted seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine, the grain was invaluable treasure. Genesis 41:49 says, “And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea, until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured.” The grain is what saved his family, all of Egypt, and numerous other nations at the time.

But Joseph never viewed the grain as earthly treasure. Instead, he saw it as a call to be faithful to the vision God gave him. He never held the wrongs his brothers did to him against them. In fact, Joseph said, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones” (Genesis 50:19-21). Joseph was compassionate because he saw the big picture of what God was accomplishing through him.

This is reminiscent of what Jesus said: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). While Joseph amassed earthly riches, he was storing up treasure in heaven and that’s where his heart was. His kindness towards his brothers is evidence of the treasure principle–storing up treasures in heaven.

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The owner vs. managers

man ploughing a field

Psalm 24:1-2 says, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.” God is the creator and owner of everything and everyone. The earth and all that is in it is His. He has dominion over it all. He can bless and He can take away. At creation, God did something incredible: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Genesis 1:26).

God made man–created in His image–managers over everything on earth. As managers, we have great responsibility. Most of us have had bad experiences with bad managers at work. Lazy managers place heavy burdens on the workers. Domineering managers exasperate them. Incompetent managers drive them crazy. Dishonest managers rob them. Evil managers destroy them. But good managers work with the workers, keep morale high, and everything is done responsibly to please the owner. The scriptures clearly differentiate between the owner and the manager/workers.

There are plenty of parables that demonstrate this. One of the most notable is the parable of the talents. In the story, God is the master and the servants are the ones managing his talents. The servant who was given 5 talents made 5 more. The one given 2 talents made 2 more. The one given 1 talent buried it out of fear. The master was angry at the mismanagement from the one who buried it and ordered that his talent be given to the one with 10. Then he said, “Fro to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:29-30). We are commanded to be responsible managers of the talents and resources that God has blessed us with.

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Serving without status

person having a foot spa

When Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, he demonstrated how important it is to serve without status. Imagine. The son of God on his knees washing the feet of his followers. When he got to Peter, Peter said, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” (John 13:6). Jesus replied, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand” (vs. 7). Rather than trust Jesus, Peter protested and said that Jesus would never wash his feet. Jesus answered, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me” (vs. 8). Peter’s famous response was, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” (vs. 9).

Jesus said that anyone who has bathed is completely clean but only his feet need washed. He was referring to their baptism. They are not in need of washing over and over again but they must serve one another and remain humble. Jesus asked them if they understood what he had done for them in the washing of their feet. He said, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. . . Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him” (vs. 14, 16).

This theme appears other places too. When James and John requested that Jesus allow one to sit on his right and the other his left in glory, Jesus corrected them. He said that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them “but it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all” (Mark 10:43-44). The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. We all must serve without status.