Part Five - First Fruits Tithing
Proverbs 3:9-10 KJV
9 Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
God wants us to know that He comes first, it is impossible for anyone or anything to replace God as first in our lives.
The law of first-fruits dictates that whatever is done with the first will determine what will happen with the remainder.
• The order is which we give to God let's God know where we place Him in our lives.
• When we give the first ten percent, we are simply stating to God, "God your are first in my life, and you deserve the best simply because of who you are."
• God doesn't need what we are giving Him, He owns it all anyhow.
o God needs the first because that is the position reserved for Him alone.
• When we give the first, or the best part to God, it frees the rest of our increase from the devourer.
Mal 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Mal 3:11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.
Rom 11:16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
By offering the 1st part to the Lord the whole of our posessions isblessed
An Atmosphere For Revival
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
• The Earth was formless (unshaped, unstructured), empty and dark.
o And the earth He created could not support the man He was about to create without some help.
• The Spirit moved (brood, hovered) waiting on the spoken Word of God to do…
Could it be that the spirit of God is waiting on someone to speak God’s word
Gen 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
•God separates or divides light from darkness. Creates day and night…
At some point we must make decisions to separate bad out of our life
o Before anything else is created or formed God brings light to see with and to nourish what He is about to create…
Gen 1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
God separated the water on earth and the waters of the heavens by creating the sky, the expanse between waters on earth and the heavens is the sky.
o Again, He divides in order to bring ORDER!
§ HE HAS CREATED ATMOSPHERE!
BEFORE GOD CREATED ANYTHING THAT LIVED HE FIRST SET THE ATMOSHPERE!!! Before any life form; plant life, animals, fowls or birds, and particularly man, God prepared an ATMOSPHERE for them all to be able to live in.
REVIVAL HAS TO HAVE AN ATMOSPHERE! For growth, sustained growth, procreation, there must be the right atmosphere!
• Before there can be revival in your life, department, ministry or church there must be atmosphere that life can be birthed into.
o God then made the sea, and fish in the sea.
o He made the field, and He put beasts in the field.
o He makes grass and fruit bearing trees…
§ He creates living things to sustain life that WAS COMING!
Gen 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
• Here was the purpose of what He has created thus far…MAN! A place to live, PRO-create, multiply…
Gen 2:8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
• God had made atmosphere for fish and put them there. He made atmosphere for beasts and put them there…
• And He created an atmosphere for man and put him there!
o A Garden! And Adam was to maintain it, work it!
Adam wasn’t just put anywhere to live and procreate! God made a place for Him to be born, live, grow and reproduce!
• Climate and atmosphere ARE IMPORTANT to God and He will work on it, prepare it, and get it ready FOR REVIVAL!
Man in the atmosphere of the church must give birth to life. So God creates atmosphere that is conducive to growth.
Departments must be conducive to growth and sustained momentum.
The body…
There is an atmosphere that the body must have in order to;
• Sustain life
• Reproduce life
• Help us have dominion.
The natural reveals or mirrors the heavenly!
• You know at the creation there was separation! A dividing! Light from darkness! Firmaments! Waters being divided!
o It was chaotic! Upheaval! Scary! Even violent!
§ But GOD WAS PREPARING THE ATMOSPHERE FOR MAN TO LIVE IN AND REPRODUCE IN!
• He will do what it takes when He has a body passionate and hungry for revival!!! AND IT MAY SEEM CHAOTIC BUT IT IS GOD AT WORK!
The climate dictates what can or cannot grow.
• Some things in warm climates can’t grow in Indiana because it is hot enough here. The climate or ATMOSPHERE won’t allow some things to grow!
o There are some that want to CONTROL what happens or doesn’t happen!!!
It takes proper light, temperature, atmospheric conditions for life, growth and reproduction to come in the natural world.
• There must be an atmosphere to support life.
o When births take place Jesus doesn’t want babies being aborted, or even killed after birth by situations that are detrimental to their growth.
§ Gossip, rebellion against authority, disunity, etc…
• Light comes when there is the right atmosphere.
o REVELATION is a must, and it takes more than having church for spirit of revelation to come to people!
• Sound is affected by atmosphere. Molecules affect sound… what and how one hears…
o Hearing and sensitivity to God are affected by atmosphere! Moving past being sensual based walk into FAITH walk!
§ Spirit led Apostolic ministry!
• Subduing and exercising dominion over the earth!
o Walking in Spiritual authority! WARFARE! Binding and loosing! Over strongman and prince of the area!
§ BREAKING THE SELF WILL SPIRIT THAT IS THE DOOR WAY TO THE ENEMY WORKING IN PEOPLE!
• Jesus has His eye upon this church! He is prepping us for a breakthrough!!! Revival!
Because atmosphere is CRUCIAL, GOD WILL WORK ON IT, SEPARATE, CONVICT, allow the winds of separation to blow to separate wheat and chaff on the threshing floor, and crushing to take place. WHY???
• He is at work SETTING AN ATOMOSPHERE for revival!!! For a revival church that walks in the Spirit, has broken the strongholds of the area and exercises dominion over the prince…
o And souls are birthed, born, nourished, discipled and the process reciprocates and revival continues!!!
THE ENEMY MUST BE DEFEATED!
When the atmosphere is right, REVIVAL CAN HAPPEN! IT WILL HAPPEN!
An atmosphere for revival…
Looking at Jesus we see what happens when the atmosphere and climate CHANGES!
Luke 9:37-42
37 And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met him.
38 And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child.
39 And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him.
40 And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not.
41 And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither.
42 And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.
One Chapter later…
Luke 10:17-21
17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. 18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. 19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. 21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.
In Luke 9, we read of one of the most frustrating moments in Jesus’ life – He basically cries out, “Why do I put up with you? You’re faithless and you’re perverse. Your thinking is twisted and you’re filled with doubt.”
Yet, in a short time of period– everything changed! He rejoiced. Disciples who couldn’t cast out devils were sending them right and left. Jesus Cried “I saw Satan falling as lightning from heaven.”
From frustration to faith. From inability to great power. From weariness to great joy. What happened? Could it be that a change in spiritual atmosphere took place.
Let’s wander through the book of Luke:
In Luke 3, God casts down the gauntlet in the Enemy’s face – basically saying Devil, a Sinless One has entered into your midst.
In Luke 4, three significant things happen to show the power of Satan as god of this world:
• The devil tempts Jesus in the wilderness. Through the Word, Jesus resists the enemy. (overcomes, devil leaves, Jesus returns in the power!)
• Following the Lord’s victory, we find our Lord’s friends and neighbors in Nazareth turning against Him.
o Luke 4:29-30 29 …they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, 30 but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way. NLT
• Synagogue in Capernaum, a devil cried out against Jesus. Then, that same evening many devils were loosed against him.
o Luke 4:40-41 40 Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. 41 And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ.
In Luke 5, the dead religious system (scribes & Pharisees) attacked Jesus.
Luke 6:11 And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.)
• The same system plots the Lord’s death. Wait a minute! Can anyone see what is behind this?
o Jesus said the devil is a murderer from the beginning – and He told the religious system, “You want to do the desires of your father, the devil” (John 8:44).
In Luke 7, the righteous preacher John is killed.
In Luke 8,
• Nature rose up against its Creator. A huge storm battered the boat that held Jesus – and He rebuked His creation – the wind and the waves. What is this? Why the opposition?
o Supernatural evil was behind the storm.
• Recipients of a great miracle rose up against Jesus. He had healed the Gadarene demoniac – but the townspeople of Gadara said, Go!
In Luke 9,
• Jesus forbade His 12 disciples to preach – their words weren’t for His glory. They spoke the words of the enemy; asking if Jesus wanted them to call down fire from heaven to incinerate people.
• 3 disciples journeyed with Jesus to the Mount of Transfiguration, but the nine left below couldn’t muster up enough faith to cast out one little devil.
Then, all the disciples start fussing about who is the greatest in the kingdom….One week from Calvary – and Jesus was contending with …with what?
• They wanted do destroy those that were lost and arguing over who had what position!
o They could not cast out the devil in verse 40 and in verse 46 they are talking about who is the greatest!
That is what happens when the ATMOSPHERE is in need of changing!
• Watch what happens when the climate starts to change!
o What is inside will be revealed!
§ You see the real fruit of what the tree REALLY is!
• God starts working on it, prepping it for BREAKTHROUGH.
It appears that the spiritual atmosphere was hostile.
• Jesus, although He won every battle, was in danger of having no converts, no effective, lasting complement of leaders.
o But, something happened – the climate or ATMPOSPHERE shifted…..
In the first nine chapters of Luke, a multitude of aggressive demons attack the Lord. But, from Luke 10 on – we see only two devils that are sent on their way expeditiously. The ATMOSPHERE changed.
In Luke 11, disciples who had walked with the Lord for three years – suddenly cry, “Lord, teach us to pray…..” The spiritual climate changed.
• People want to pray when the Spiritual Climate changes!
o They hunger, ask, seek, knock, weep fast, worship…!
• In the same chapter – after they prayed – (verse 14) “The multitudes marveled.”
• The crowds were increasing. “The people were gathered thick together….” (verse 29).
• By chapter 16:16, Jesus says, “Everyone is Pressing their way into the kingdom.” The whole world went after Jesus – what happened – THE ATMOSPHERE of the spirit changed.
From Luke 10 forward, Jesus goes on the offensive – challenging hypocrisy and silencing their accusations (accusers, gossip, discord).
• What happened! When Satan thought He had the Lord on the ropes; the power of God was displayed!!!!
***It happened in Luke 10 –
that Jesus said that the climate change –
Satan fell from his lofty perch like lightning!!!***
5 Ways to Change the atmosphere!!!
The ATMOSPHERE Changes When People Begin to Speak that Change is Coming!!!
Luke 10:1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
• Two by two they went out saying, Jesus is coming – Jesus is coming. Get ready – He’s on His way.
o TEAM-WORK – 2 by 2!
§ The God who changes things is coming.
• Do you know folks that the same One who picked Simon Peter and Matthew and Mark and Bartholomew has chosen you? He has called you unto Himself that you might speak to this world.
o Yesterday, we were fussing about who is the greatest.
§ Today, we’re talking about Jesus – the greatest One.
o Yesterday we were individuals, today we’re going out two by two.
§ Yesterday we were divided, today we’re united.
o And we all have the same message – the Great Change Artist is coming. The One who can change your world.
§ Tell someone - It’s getting HOT! The climate is changing!
§ Tell someone – I feel a SHIFT IN THE ATMOSPHERE!
• It is hot, put on linen! Put on your garment of praise! Blessing, miracles, outpouring, backsliders are coming back! Your family members are coming in!
The ATMOSPHERE Changes When People Begin to pray for more Workers
Luke 10:2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
• Only 70 – but, we will work with these.
o Only 70, but we will start working.
o But, in our belief that change is coming – God we need more laborers (Soul winners, HBS teachers, prayer warriors, altar workers…).
§ PRAY IT… PRAY IT… NOW…
In Luke 9, the disciples slept while the Lord prayed. In Luke 10, they were told what to pray. In Luke 11, they imitated His prayer.
• Come folks – let us pray. Prayer changes the spiritual ATMOSPHERE.
o pray for; healing, unity, revival, signs & wonders, lost coins, sheep and prodigals!
The ATMOSPHERE Changes when we don’t Fight – we Bless!
Luke 10:5-6 5 And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. 6 And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.
• Jesus said, I’m sending you out like lambs among wolves. Walk up to a house and bless the house. If they are worthy of the blessing it will abide upon them. But, if they aren’t, the blessing will return upon you.
o Pray for someone who doesn’t deserve it – and you prayed for yourself
• Unified, working together as a team! God WILL HAVE UNITY!!! HE WILL…
o Encouraging, praying for each other, worshipping together, protecting, interceding…!
o Loving each other!
The ATMOSPHERE Changes when we Speak in God’s Behalf
Luke 10:16 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
• Jesus said to speak in His Name. When we do so, the climate changes.
• Jesus said that He said the devil fell like lightning. We talk about how the devil hurts us – have you ever realized how you hurt the devil when you speak in the Name of Jesus.
o We have the keys; it is time to use them! Matthew 16:18-19 …upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
§ “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in earth AS IT IS IN HEAVEN…”
o WARFARE!!! THIS IS GOD’S CHURCH! Satan shall not prevail against it. WE HAVE TO ATTACK THE GATES OF HELL! BIND, LOOSE, INTERCEDE, …
§ Some of you ARE NOW seeing; “WE NEED TO WAR LIKE WE DID WEDNESDAY PM!!!”
• It is time to; Psalms 68:1 Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered:
The Spirit is waiting on someone to speak the Word! Genesis 1:1-2 1 In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
• …the Spirit of God MOVED - to brood; to be relaxed: flutter, move, to hover.
o The Spirit was hovering, brooding, moving and waiting on something:
Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
• The Spirit was waiting on the SPOKEN WORD or someone to PROPHESY!!
o GOD IS WAITING (HOVERING OVER YOU) ON YOU TO SPEAK/PROPHESY AGAINST YOUR ENEMY!!!!
§ Speak the Word of God in a HBS!
§ Speak it in intercessory prayer!
§ WARFARE INTERCESSION!!!
§ The Gifts of the Spirit!
The ATMOSPHERE Changes when we realize that Our Future is Certain
Luke 10:19-20 19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
• Your Names are written in Heaven – God won’t forget you.
• Your future is secure in God.
o When you know; you are secure! Confident! Secure in our salvation, revelation, truth, going to Heaven!
Closing:
What is happening – the climate is changing!
It happened in Luke 10, when the same evil powers who had thwarted good suddenly lost the upper hand. Jesus had sent 70 of His disciples out two by two to proclaim the coming kingdom in every city – they came back saying, “Even the devils are subject to us in Your Name”
Jesus said, “I saw the devil fall like Lightning.”
Satan suffered a major defeat through these lowly disciples.
The world that we live in is in upheaval! Nature groaneth and trevaileth! There is a change in the climate of the world!
God is wanting us to wake up and realize that He is wanting to also change the ATMOSPHERE of the Church!
It is time to speak change, pray change, unify and bless for change, speak the Word of God and know that we have a certain future!
