Infinite Fellowship Ministries

The Prelude & Object Of Giving – Part 5: Sermon By Apostle Gobanga

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. 

Proverbs 3:9-10 

 
When God makes a particular character standout in Scripture, there is a principle of applicability that He wants to use their lives to usher you into.

God doesn’t just want us to give without fruitfulness. There is a systematic way in which Biblical principles are made in one’s life.

Tithe is different from first fruits. First fruits are given based on the attitude of your heart. We give a first fruit because we have a right understanding of God’s heart and mind.

The first fruit is based on our personal discretion.

Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. 

Leviticus 23:10

First fruit means promise. The first produce is indicative of what is to come. God will never break His promise.

The first fruit denotes divine productivity that is to come.

The first fruit is a principle. That which is first must be considered as first.

Honouring the first fruit principle is a process of activating the promise into produce. The place of devotion to God should come even before anything else. Giving must be accompanied by faith.

First fruit in Hebrew is referred to as “Bikkurim.” Another word in Hebrew is “Reshiyth” which means: the first in place or time.

It is the first or principle thing. “Bekor”; the first, it is a primary. The first fruit is meant to be an excellent thing.

The genesis of the first fruit lays the foundation of the rest to follow. The first fruit governs the rest. It is the set pattern and promise of God.

The first fruit signals the beginning of your harvest. The first fruit establishes the law of first things in your life. It establishes the promise of what is to come.

Giving the first fruit is to align yourself for conditioning.

The place of changing in position is so that you can be conditioned to gain capacity to handle the place of promise.

When giving to God the first fruit, it is a personal engagement between you and God.

The first fruit is the starting point of your productivity. When you never do first things first, you will never be a good finisher. How you start will determine how you finish.

According to God, the start will determine how you will finish. When you start well, you are creating a depth. Heights are created from depths.

When you give your first fruit, you are creating a depth that will give you capacity to handle the height that will follow.

You don’t partake of the rest without first giving the first fruit. Giving the first fruit sanctifies the rest of the produce.

Giving the first fruit of the produce should be done with thanksgiving. We must be people of gratitude.

That which remains after giving the first fruit is separated from devourers. When you give first fruits, God releases wisdom to create wealth.

There are some things that can only be resolved in the place of thanksgiving. The fat that was given was a demonstration of the thanksgiving resident within Abel’s heart. 

You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: seven days it shall be with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me. 

Exodus 22:29-30

The first born has to be dedicated to God. The first born is the first fruit for the family. Samuel was dedicated to God from before he was conceived. That which is a promise belongs to God.

God rejects carnal giving. There is a type of giving that you can only give when you separate the carnal from the Spiritual. God transacts with them that are spiritual.

The Spirit man is the first one.

When you give the first fruit, you give it because it is the pattern of God. God provided a much more excellent sacrifice to Abraham. Your first fruit is the promise of that which is to come.

Our obedience is key to us unlocking the promises of God He has declared over our lives. It is our obedience to God’s instruction that will release the stream of His promises.

God demands everything that is first. Every first thing belongs to God.

We come to church on Sunday because we are celebrating the victory we have received in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the first born from the resurrection of the dead as well as the first born.

The new covenant does not annul the principle of first fruits because principles are eternal. God never changed the principles but it is the applicability of the principles that changes based on the season and times.

When we don’t set first things as first, confusion reigns. But when we enthrone God as the first thing, He will give us wisdom to handle the rest.

God doesn’t expect us to do things because our circumstances agree but out of the abundance of the revelation of truth.

First born has nothing to do with eternal factors but with obedience. God can give you supernatural strength to overcome circumstances that seem to be a hindrance.

In order to be successful in the marketplace, you need to first offer yourself as a sacrifice to God. Favour with God precedes favour with men.