Feasts Pt. 3; First Fruits

[00:00:00] We're continuing our study on feasts in Leviticus, which sounds really boring. [00:00:07] However, it's very interesting that the character of God is attached to these feasts, which is why he instituted them in the Old Testament. And the principles of these feasts are carried all the way through the New Testament and to us today. [00:00:26] Today, I want to start off by asking you a question. Now, if you're a parent, you're going to really enjoy this. If you're a kid or student, you are really not going to enjoy this. But hang on. There's a hook at the end that you might actually feel like you've been vindicated a little bit. Let's play. Even though it's not Father's day today, let's act as though it kind of is, and let's play. What does a parent deserve? You want to play this game? [00:00:52] What? Yeah. All the parents are going. Grandparents, what does a parent deserve? All right, so if you agree with this, I want you to just give me a couple amens, all right? Or you can hoot or holler. However the spirit leads you to interact with this. All right? What does a child deserve? What does a child experience or own that a parent does not provide? Think about it. Parents provide clothes, right? Parents provide experiences. What experience? Do you know how many dance recitals I have been to? [00:01:26] Parents, they give a home to their children. Even the money that a child makes can only be because of the parent having money to give to the child. What experiences do they go through? Because we parents allow it or provide for it. Children even go to the job they make their money at because their dad or their mom or their grandparents have a car that they can use so they can get there or to buy clothes or to pay for a driver's education. Their food, their resources, and their very life comes from what parents. Right? [00:02:00] Comes from parents. All right, so as we were talking through this aspect of parenting with the sermon prep team this week, we kind of got a fire lit under us. And by the end of it, we thought to ourselves, you know, our children should be like, they should be doing parades for us on a regular basis. [00:02:23] Think of all that our children have because we have bent over. Do you know how much, by the way, it costs to raise a child nowadays? One child. [00:02:32] It costs $700,000 per child to raise a child right now. [00:02:38] So all children in here, if you would just give us a round of applause. [00:02:46] Yeah, I know all the kids walk out the door. Yeah. [00:02:53] Listen, the most illogical thing you would think for a child to do is to tick off their parent, right? Because this is their, I mean, that's your sugar daddy, literally, that's where it's all coming from. [00:03:08] Their parents are basically the gateway to get everything you've ever wanted. All right, so now, kids, you're probably students, you're probably sitting there going, I don't like this message at all. This is when you are going to start liking the message. You ready? Here we go. [00:03:27] I've picked on kids enough. Parents, listen to this question. [00:03:32] What does our heavenly father deserve from us? [00:03:38] What do we have that our heavenly father has not provided for us? Clothes, insurance, a home, even the money that you make is because he allows your heart to keep beating and your mind to keep functioning. All the essentials in our lives, our mind, our gifts, our experiencing, our experiences, our families of origin, for better or for worse, are because God initiated all those things. They're all from God. You couldn't get a job to make the money you do if God didn't provide that financial place where you could go. The emotional energy that you're going to need to do the job and the relational resources that you need in order to complete the job. [00:04:21] Your food, your resources and your very life comes from your heavenly Father. [00:04:28] So kids, lest you think I was too hard on you, parents, we should understand the same questions can be applied to us. [00:04:39] Maybe it is very illogical to think that we should be on God's bad side because he is the one that provides us with all that we need. In fact, maybe we should throw a parade for God. [00:04:52] Think of how we worship God. How do we celebrate God? We don't have to throw a parade for him. Instead, what do we do? We worship, we serve, we give generously, we're grateful on a regular basis. These are ways that we can like a child, we can treat our heavenly Father with great respect. [00:05:15] God gives whatever we ask. And it's amazing to me that Jesus said, you want something, you need to go to your heavenly father who generously gives all things. And that is reiterated all the way through the New Testament because everything we have is from him and all our future resources are at his discretion. He can change the game plan anytime he wants to. [00:05:44] Our lives are very dependent on our heavenly Father, just like our children's lives and our grandchildren's lives are very dependent on us. [00:05:54] He is literally the gateway to getting everything you need and want. [00:06:01] Maybe we should celebrate our heavenly Father more than we not so secretly want our children to celebrate us. [00:06:08] To this end, God gave festivals, feasts to the children of Israel, to give them a pathway where they can relate to God. Some of the ones we've already discussed, we've talked about Passover. We've talked about unleavened bread. These are ways that Israel could keep God at the center of their relationships, so that they would remember all things come from him, so that they could place him back in the middle, so their minds could be focused. Because I don't know about you, but in the run of a week, I forget a lot of stuff. Stuff. My life gets hectic. And when that happens, I have a tendency to put off some important things, to put out immediate fires that need my attention. [00:06:51] God, however, has these specific routes whereby his presence and his goodness and his. And his generosity, his attributes, could be remembered on a regular basis, and his people could celebrate him on a regular basis. Passover. Each one had a meaning. Each one had a certain emphasis. For Passover, it was without the shedding of blood, our sins can't be forgiven, and they certainly can't be forgotten. And that is revealed later on in Jesus Christ coming as our Passover lamb. Unleavened bread. We talked about this last week. That is, we get rid of sin the moment we realize it, right? We get out. We get out now and we don't go back. That is an attitude that God wants us to develop in our lives because it tells us something about him. He's holy, and sin cannot exist in his presence. So because we have sin in our lives on a regular basis, Jesus comes, he sheds his blood, and with his blood, our sins are forgiven, not only today, but also yesterday, today, and in the future. [00:08:02] Jesus is our holiness, and we wear his righteousness because of his forgiveness. [00:08:08] And today we get to the third one, which is first fruits. And the principle here is simply this. God gets our first and our best. It's kind of fun to say God gets our first and our best. You want to try it? God gets our first and our best. Our first and our best. It started long time ago with this feast of first fruits, this festival that they had, and it was centered around thanksgiving. It actually landed on the first day of the harvest of grain. [00:08:40] So when they would harvest their grain, they would look at it and they would. Can you imagine, like, if you were a farmer, which I don't think any of us are, but let's say that you were a farmer, and you go out to your field and you go, wow, what a harvest. This is gonna be amazing. I planted my garden, and I got one of those sprinkler hoses to go in my garden because I, quite frankly, I forget to water it. And so my little spigot comes on, like, in the morning and in the evening, and it just. And I hadn't been over there to see it, like, in a week. And I went out there last yesterday to see how it was doing. Everything's just growing like crazy. I'm gonna be bringing stuff for you guys to take home. Like, it's gonna be great. I got cucumbers and I got zucchini and I got tomatoes. It's amazing. Everything just takes off. Can you imagine having a farm, being dependent on your agriculture and realizing you got the harvest of a lifetime? It's an amazing. But God uses this moment to teach us a principle, and that is that he gets our first and he gets our best. [00:09:46] It's an old testament system. And it occurred on the first day of the barley grain. It occurred right after Passover. So we have Passover, we have the feast of unleavened bread, and then we have festival of first fruits comes right in a row. And the reason is God wants to keep his people, their minds, that we are God's people, in need of recalibrating our hearts together to keep God in his rightful place. [00:10:16] The danger is that we begin to replace God with other things. And the thing that rises to the surface the most is moi. Say moi. It is me. I am the first thing that I put in that place way too often. Because here's what happens. If I forget that my life, my resources, and my future are dependent on God, then I will begin to think my life, my future, and my resources are dependent upon me. [00:10:54] If I try harder, if I work harder, if I just give it a little bit more, then I can earn more. I can make this happen. And that is the danger. [00:11:06] We stick ourselves into that position of provider, and we forget to realize, without God's goodness and mercy to us, we get nothing. [00:11:18] Much like children who think that parents don't really, you know, they demand too much. But if you think about it, everything in their lives is dependent on what that parent allows to come through. [00:11:33] God created his feast, this one feast, to recalibrate hearts, because we think, I have made this happen. I have created this future. I have built this life. I can control my own destiny. And you know what happens? We don't even have a guarantee. Our hearts will keep beating until the end of this day. [00:11:56] We forget who we are dependent upon, and we easily stick ourselves into that place, and we rely on self rather than the Lord. [00:12:09] Listen, so God created this thing to recalibrate our hearts. He said, you got to give me your first and your best. Not because he needs it. He doesn't need your first. And he, quite frankly, doesn't need your best. You need to give him your first and your best. This is what he was saying to Israel the first day of the week. Whose day is that? [00:12:28] Gods. Your first child in Exodus 1312, if you are an israelite, was uniquely dedicated to God. All firstborn animals. Exodus 13, two dedicated to God. The first of your animals, the best of your animals on Passover, given to God, the first of your produce gods, the first of your income. God. The first of your love God. [00:12:51] And it's not because he needs anything from us. It's because we forget our hearts get calibrated wrong, and we need to recalibrate our hearts. [00:13:04] Let me put it to you this way, wives. [00:13:09] Why is it your husband wants your best? [00:13:15] Interesting, huh? Okay, husbands, let me ask you, husbands, why is it that your wife wants your best? [00:13:22] I don't know of any wife or any husband that would say, eh, I don't want their best. Like seconds, thirds, if they would just remember me like on Thursday, once a week would be great. [00:13:35] Every spouse at the altar that I have ever married to another person has said everything that I have, everything that I am, all that is, this is yours because they put the other person first. [00:13:51] Every spouse desperately wants to know that they are first, not because they want the other person to go poor, but because they want to know where they stand in the heart of the other person. [00:14:04] Whatever has your first and your best church. [00:14:09] Whatever has your first and your best has your heart. [00:14:13] I think I got a slide up there. Okay, after this one. Colossians, look at this. Colossians 16 116 says this for by him, Jesus. That's Jesus. All things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. All things were created for him, for Jesus. Why was everything created on the planet church? [00:14:33] For what? [00:14:35] For Jesus. Not for you. Not for you. Everything was created for him. In him, all things hold together. It says in verse 17. And in verse 18 it says, so that in everything he might have first place. [00:14:53] God needs to be first in our lives. It is an old Testament principle carried all the way through to the New Testament, and it needs to be in our hearts as well. And we'll figure out why once we get into the Old Testament passage. So here's where it all began. Leviticus 23 nine. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 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 first fruits of your harvest to the priest. Note what God said. Particularly note what he didn't say. Keep that verse up there a second. Who is going to plant the food that they're going to eat? Are they going to plant it? [00:15:35] Nope. Who's going to build the houses they're going to live in? Are they going to build them? Nope. They don't even need to save money to get food. These people have been taken out of Egypt. God has rescued them through Moses, out of Egypt. He's taken them to the promised land. And in this promised land, the way that he introduces it is he says he's going to take them to the land that I give you. Don't be mistaken. The land that you are going to live in, I am letting you live there. It is my ground. It is my property. You get to live on it. The land is yours because I am giving it to you. [00:16:13] He says, reap from the land that I give to you. The Canaanites planted. The Hebrews would reap the harvest. In fact, if you read the same chunk of time period in deuteronomy 610, he actually uses these words. You're going to live in cities you didn't build, houses you did not build wells that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant. [00:16:42] Israel wasn't even involved in the growing process. Do you know how hard I worked on my garden? I planted it, but I haven't done anything. I haven't even weeded it. It's just growing. [00:16:53] It's like I am using a resource that God has provided, and I am so accustomed to using it, I don't even think about it anymore. Stick a plant in the ground, put some water with it. The sun's going to shine. You can count on that. The water's going to fall. You can count on that. The ground's going to give nutrients to it. You can count on that. Oxygen is going to happen. You can count on that. I don't even have to think about it. And I act like I did that. [00:17:19] It's crazy. I couldn't grow a plant. I couldn't tell you what it takes to grow a plant for the life of me, but God provides everything needed for a cucumber to suddenly appear, and I get to eat the cucumber. And you know how I'm going to do this? I'm going to have everybody sit around the table. I'm going to take the first fruit out of my garden, I'm going to put it on the table, and I'm going to say to everybody, look what I grew. [00:17:45] But I couldn't grow it. [00:17:47] Who ended up who grew it? God grew it. If we get our minds recalibrated to the way that they should be, we would realize there is nothing in our lives that we actually do on our own. [00:18:02] Everything is because of his good graces and his mercy. [00:18:08] So he institutes this feast to remind us of this principle. Verse twelve. You shall offer a male lamb, a year old without blemish, as a burnt offering to the Lord. And the grain offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah of flour mixed with oil. A food offering to the Lord with a pleasing aroma. And the drink offering with it shall be of wine, a fourth of a hin. [00:18:33] I think that's up there. Now, I don't know what any of that means, but what I do know this is God is declaring that we are forgetful people and we need a format to follow. [00:18:46] So he sets up this format, which is basically around the idea of firsts. Like little children, we forget how often he intervenes in our lives. So he says, here's what I need you to do. [00:18:59] And it's not because you're gonna get whipped or beaten if you don't do this. This is for your good. This helps recalibrate your heart to remember to keep me first. [00:19:12] Sometimes we don't like giving away our first. We're naturally inclined to keep the first and the best for ourselves. And so what God says is, no, you've got to give me your first and your best. The Hebrews were meant to use these practices in the feast as an opportunity to keep their hearts recalibrated to thankfulness. [00:19:35] We need to learn to love the provider more than the provisions. I'll say that one more time. [00:19:42] Human beings need to learn to love the provider more than the provisions. We do love the provisions, though, don't we? We love the things that come our way. We love our cars. We love our children. We love our jobs. Sometimes. We love our food. We love our gatherings. We love the things. We love provisions. [00:20:03] But sometimes we forget to love our provider. [00:20:06] Verse 14. And you shall eat neither bread nor grain, parched or fresh, until the same day, until you have brought the offering of your God. It is a statute forever through your generations and all your dwellings. Church how long was this meant to be done? This is a feast Moses was telling the people to do because God told them to tell them. How often were they to do this? A statute? How many? How often? Forever. Forever. Throughout how many generations? [00:20:36] All your generations. [00:20:38] This was meant to be a feast that recalibrated our hearts, to remember, to be thankful, and who provides all things. The point is, why does God require your first and your best simply because of this? Whoever gets your first gets your heart. I would change that. I would say, whatever gets your first gets your heart. [00:21:05] We have a tendency to stick so many things in the place that we love first and foremost, when that place needs to be God's. [00:21:14] This principle is universal. It is eternal. I heard a preacher say this once. He said, you want me to tell you what you love? Give me five minutes with your checkbook. [00:21:26] Luke twelve says it this way. Verse 32. Fear not, little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you all the kingdom. I love that. I wish it would stop there. All right, this is Jesus talking, and he says to us, he says to his disciples, fear not. It is God's desire to give you the entire kingdom. And we're all going, woo hoo. Super. Yeah, yeah. We get the inheritance, give you the entire kingdom. Verse 33, however, is a real bummer because it says this first word is sell. [00:21:58] Sell your possessions, give to the needy. Provide yourselves with money bags that don't grow old, with a treasure in heaven that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 434. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. [00:22:20] God wants to give you the riches of his kingdom, but those riches may not come in the form of more possessions. Here. I want you to hear me loud and clear. Because we live this, God's blessings in our lives doesn't mean your bank account will grow. [00:22:39] In fact, it may mean the opposite. [00:22:43] You may need to sell some things in order for God to bless you like you need to be blessed. [00:22:49] We have a tendency to think our blessings have, have everything to do with our bank account or what sits in our driveway, or what kind of home that we live in, or the future that we have planned, where we're going to retire in Tuscany. We have an idea that this is what really matters. [00:23:08] But our hearts may require a recalibration, because kingdom investments are not always brick and mortar. [00:23:17] You may not put gas into something that God blesses you with. [00:23:22] God may restore a relationship. [00:23:26] God maybe give you a new relationship. [00:23:30] God may make you go through a time of pain so that you can learn a deeper trust, a deeper faith in him. [00:23:36] God may actually need to take something away, like with job, so that he can put himself into a deeper relationship with you. You see, the blessings that God gives aren't always the way that we think that they should be. Kingdom investments are simply funding God's missions above any other mission this world has to offer. And when we do that, we will find how blessings may be different in reality that God gives us than what's simply in our bank account. Listen, church, you fund what you love, you fund what you love. [00:24:11] If you love a hobby, you're going to fund it. [00:24:14] If you love your spouse, you're going to fund that. [00:24:18] If you love retirement, you're going to fund that. You fund what you love. [00:24:22] In Jesus own words, he says, where your treasure is is where your heart will be also. Now listen to this. This is going to blow you away. Why does he not say, where your heart is is where your treasure is also? [00:24:36] Listen to this. Now he says, could I have that verse up there one more time? He says, where your treasure is is where your heart is also. Do you know why it's that way? [00:24:46] Because we fund what we love. [00:24:52] Oh, it's easy to say that God has first in my heart, but then does he really? Are you funding what God loves? [00:25:00] Are you on his mission or your own? [00:25:04] Your money and possessions are a rudder that guard your heart, guide your heart. Whatever you steer your money toward, your heart will follow. [00:25:14] You will learn to love more of what you fund. So, church, why don't we fund what God loves? [00:25:21] Because if we fund what God loves, we love God more. [00:25:24] Where your treasure is like a rudder, is where your heart will be driven toward. [00:25:32] You cannot serve them both. You can serve one or the other. And it strikes me really weird that Jesus knew this so well, that Jesus knew us so well that he said these words in Matthew 624. No one can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God. And what's the last word? Money. Money. [00:26:00] I would expect Jesus, who is after our holiness, our devotion, our deeper faith. I mean, he just wants that for us. Why would he throw money in there? Why wouldn't he say, you cannot serve God and Satan? That's pretty impactful. Why didn't he say, you cannot serve God and yourself? Why didn't he say, you cannot serve God and evil? He didn't say any of that. He said, there's one of two masters. You cannot serve God and money. Do you know why? Because he knows what an idol that will be. And when we serve money, it is the rudder that guides our heart. [00:26:41] You fund what you love. [00:26:46] It's really about the heart. [00:26:49] This is about deciding who gets your firsts. If you serve money, God will become a tool whereby you can get money. [00:26:57] You want to see some of these people turn on your television? There are tv evangelists all over the place. They're using God to fund their lifestyle, right? We're not fans here, but if you serve God, money will become a tool to get you more God. [00:27:15] If you love God more, if you want to love God more, I would suggest that you fund what God loves. [00:27:23] One Timothy 610 gives us a warning for the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Listen, church, does it say money is the root of all evil? [00:27:32] No, it does not. And yet so many people thinking themselves to be such great theologians, have misquoted this verse so many times. So please read the Bible. It's a wonderful tool because it really says the love of money is the root of not all evil. All kinds of evil. I am constantly impressed what people are willing to do to get more money. [00:28:00] The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving. Some have even wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves through with many pains. [00:28:12] Loving anything else first holds dangerous repercussions for some. It has even caused them to leave an abandoned faith in Jesus. [00:28:21] Listen, this recalibration must happen on a regular basis. [00:28:25] It reminds us where our blessings come from. It keeps us in front of our children. It keeps your heart from wandering after anything that seeks to take the one who is good to us and who is generous to us off of his first place. [00:28:42] Bottom line is Israel's culture was guided toward an attitude of thankfulness through the feast of the first fruits. [00:28:50] This is a passage that I think I'm going to skip this because we're running out of time. But they were constantly reminded in deuteronomy 26 of where they came from, who they were, God's compassion through generations, what he has faithfully done, what he has done to bless them now, what he really deserves, and their devotion to proclaim more worship toward him. [00:29:14] So, church, focus your hearts toward what God really deserves. Fund what God loves, not what you love. Keep him first and foremost in our lives. First fruits one thing I noticed in studying the first fruits is every time somebody wandered away from the faith or got off kilter some way in their lives, they rededicated their lives by reinstituting this pattern of firstfruits this idea of firstfruits. Israel wandered away from God by the time Malachi arrived. This is a minor prophet in the Old Testament. Listen to this. [00:29:53] In Israel's day, this was way after Moses. [00:29:57] They kept on doing all the things that they were supposed to do. They kept on sacrificing, they kept on going to the priest. They kept on confessing their sins, but they tweaked it. [00:30:08] They didn't give him the first and their best. Instead they gave him like their seconds, thirds and fourths. Listen to this. Some of them were even stealing animals from their neighbors so that they could sacrifice them on behalf of their family. Isn't that crazy? They were committing a sin to steal animals to sacrifice on behalf of their family. And any animal would do. Forget about the non blemish stuff. You just pull this lame goat in. Nobody wants to eat, and everybody's scared of eating and sacrifice that God will be pleased. By the time Malachi rolls around, he says, listen, you don't understand. God deserves your first and your best. [00:30:52] Listen to this verse in Malachi where he corrects what they were doing. But you say, what weariness is this? [00:31:00] And you snort at it. Oh, this is Malachi 113. Sorry, I'm running out of order. [00:31:07] But you say, what weariness is this? And you snort at it, says the Lord of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick. And this you bring as your offering. Shall I accept that? Says the Lord, I will not. In other words, it is too much. [00:31:26] These Israelites were thinking to themselves, ah, it's too much. I don't want to bring in the first and the best. God will make do with anything that I bring in. It's too much. And you snort at it. I love that you go, who's God to decide what is first and best? [00:31:42] I work for this. This is mine. God should be pleased with anything I give back to him. [00:31:51] On the other hand, there are verse after verse illustration of illustration in the bible of what it means to recalibrate our hearts. [00:32:03] People who wandered away from the Lord, people who messed up royally, people who were desperate and broken, people who just wanted a refreshing time with God. [00:32:14] And the first thing they did was they re instituted this process of giving God their first and their best with Jacob. [00:32:24] Jacob was rejected by his family. He was a weasel. He stole, he lied, he was an evil individual. [00:32:33] But he made himself right with God, and he asked God to bless him. And the first thing that he did in Genesis 28 20 is he said he would give God back a 10th of anything that he received in his life from that point forward. The first and the best right off the top. [00:32:50] Hannah. One of the reasons we called our second born Hannah was because of this lady in scripture. She couldn't have a child. She was unable. She prayed and she cried out to God that he would give her a child. And she said if he did, she would give that child back to God to use however he wanted to use that child. [00:33:12] God blessed Hannah and gave her Samuel. You remember that story? And she dedicated Samuel back to God. In one Samuel 124, Samuel worked with Eli at the temple from that point forward. [00:33:25] David, after being confronted with Nathan, living in sin, having committed murder and adultery and lying and cheating like David did, the David that we all hate to see living like that for a year. And then Nathan the prophet comes in and confronts him with his sin. [00:33:44] And David repents. [00:33:47] And he built an altar to the Lord. In two Samuel 24, offering, burnt offerings and a peace offering. Hezekiah. After cleansing the temple, King Hezekiah brought a large number of offerings to the Lord. Burnt offerings, peace offerings, thank offerings, all as a sign of their recommitment, to give God their first and their best. THAt'S in two chronicles 29. [00:34:09] And on and on it goes. Ezra and Nehemiah. Nehemiah rebuilt the wall. TheY're in exile. [00:34:14] They're in babylon, in captivity, much like they were in Egypt and they were in captivity. Then they're released from Babylon. They come back home. Their homes are decimated because the Babylonians had burned everything to the ground. [00:34:26] Nehemiah comes back with a group of people. They rebuild the wall in 90 days. It's an amazing story. [00:34:33] And Nehemiah stands in front of the people. And the first thing he does in numbers ten, or Nehemiah 1035, he says, we obligate ourselves to bring the first fruits of our ground and the first fruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the Lord, also the firstborn of our sons and the firstborn of our cattle, as it is written in the law, and the firstborn of our herds and our flocks, every time it seems like there's somebody wandering away from the faith, or they're not where they should be with their relationship with the Lord, and they decide to make things right, they reestablish this one principle of giving God first and best. Why? Because when we do that, it recalibrates our hearts, because we fund what we love. [00:35:23] I'm praying this message lands on ears willing to hear and be recalibrated today. Because my question to you is, is God getting your first and your best and only you know if he is, does your heart think that he deserves it? Maybe that's the place we need to start. [00:35:45] Or are you sold out to his mission or yours? [00:35:49] Because a principle of firstfruits will most certainly help recalibrate our hearts to love what God loves, fund what God is doing, and serve where God is moving and gently putting back God where he deserves to be the first fruit of our hearts. I can hear Jesus talking to Peter in John 21 when he's on the beach. And Peter had denied Jesus, denied even knowing Jesus. [00:36:16] And then Jesus is crucified, he's killed, and Peter feels such pain and sorrow. [00:36:23] And then Jesus comes to the beach and he forgives Peter. [00:36:29] And I can still hear his words. Do you hear his words that he said to Peter? He said Peter three times. He said, peter, do you love me more than these? [00:36:41] And church, that's what it comes down to. The first feast of first fruits is, what do you love? What do you love? Who do you love? Do you love me more than these? [00:36:53] The Bible says that we will be given gifts in our lives. In second corinthians, chapter nine, verse eleven, it says we will be in Richmond, enriched in every way so that we can be generous in every way, which produces thanksgiving to God. God gives us stuff so that we can fund what God funds. We can push what God pushes. We can serve what God wants us to serve so that we can promote the mission that God has going in this life so that we can be a part of it. And so other people will give thanksgiving to God. Verse twelve says the same thing. Ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but it's overflowing with many thanksgivings to God. You know why we did the car wash yesterday? [00:37:36] The kids did not need something on their calendar to do. They worked like troopers. It was a lot of fun doing this car wash. [00:37:46] We had a great time and we raised over $1,200, which is such a blessing that money will not go into any bank account these kids can dip into. [00:37:59] Instead, it will go to fund their ability to go to South Dakota, where they will sleep on the floor, on mattresses on the floor, and they will probably not have a lot of air conditioning, and they will be outside from morning until evening, and they will work, and they will build a house for a family they've never met before, so that this family can have something where they can grow, where they can nurture their own family where they can feed and protect their own family. We are taking our kids to go do that and that's why they are raising all this money, so that they can be a part of that. Now listen, isn't it interesting how this works? We do this project here so that we can do that project there. And at the end of this project, and at the end of that project, you know what happens? People give thanks to God when we serve, when we give, when we sweat, what ends up happening is our service blesses somebody else and that person ends up giving thanks to God. That's called worship. [00:39:10] What we do with these teens, these amazing students, is we've asked them to serve, to sweat, to hurt, to raise money so that we can go hurt, sweat and do this for this family over here that we've never met. So that hopefully, whether we're doing it here or we're doing it there, more people give praise to God. [00:39:32] We want to fund what God is funding. We want to bless where God wants us to bless. We don't want to use our time stupidly. [00:39:40] We want to use our time wisely because, church, whatever these kids are going to do will result in some family in South Dakota giving thanks to God and it will result in our teams giving thanks to God because we're being used. And quite frankly, church, years from now, in the minds of these kids as Satan tries to corner them and pigeonhole them and steal their hearts away, my prayer is that these moments of service, washing a car and these moments of service, building a house will plant themselves in their brain. And when they're forced to wander away from God, they will have those memories, those precious memories of when God used their hands and used their hearts and used their feet and used their sweat so that other people could be blessed. [00:40:31] These memories might pull them back. [00:40:36] This is what it means for first fruits. [00:40:39] God gets our first, he gets our best because that is an investment that we cannot measure. [00:40:49] So what first one giving, your first invest is an investment greater than you can imagine. [00:40:56] Why would we not invest in God's kingdom and mission above our own? Well, we might be selfish. I deserve this. We might be fearful. [00:41:07] I don't know. If I take this step of faith, maybe God won't be there to catch me on the other side. [00:41:13] I better take care of myself in case God doesn't come through for me. Or maybe simple ignorance. [00:41:19] No one's ever told me this before, but church, what do we do when we invest in God's kingdom and his mission before our own. [00:41:28] What happens is our hearts get recalibrated and we learn a deeper trust, and we learn that we can have a deeper trust in the future. [00:41:42] God is after recalibrating our hearts, and, you know, the person that doesn't change isn't just us, but these little eyes are watching us, whatever we do. And our children, this legacy idea of these first fruits applies to us as well. [00:41:59] I want to build a home where my children see God gets our first and our best. [00:42:09] Even when we were washing cars yesterday, yeah, we could have slapped it on. But no, no, no, no. [00:42:17] You wash that car, you get every crevice. And when it's done, it's done. And you're proud of your work. Why? Because God deserves our first and our best. [00:42:30] We wear his name. Number two, trust God. [00:42:37] He will bless you when he has the first and best of our hearts. I don't know what way God will bless you, but here are a few ways he might. Righteousness. Deeper righteousness. A stronger faith. More of the fruit of the spirit, sometimes greater resources. I don't know what he has planned for you, but I do know this. You can't get through the next day without his mercy. Try it. Ignore him completely. [00:43:02] And on the other hand, he also says, test me in this. Put me first and watch what happens. [00:43:10] I guarantee you will be amazed at the joy you have deep down in your heart when you put him where he deserves to be. [00:43:18] That's why God, by the way, loves a cheerful giver. [00:43:22] He doesn't dictate how much we give, not these days, but he dictates our hearts. [00:43:29] Number three, first fruits, is about how God's desire to help you mirror his own. If you want to be more like Christ, if you. You want to look more like Jesus, this is a great way to do it. Put God first and foremost. Give him your first. Give him your best. The timing of this one is very interesting. [00:43:48] This is the part that I wish I had more time to talk to you about, but I don't. So here it is. The feast of the Passover is on Friday. The feast of unleavened bread was on Saturday. And the feast of Barley harvest, the feast of firstfruits, was on Saturday. It is very interesting that those dates matter, because what happened on Friday when Jesus came, he was our Passover lamb, crucified, killed so that the sins of the world could have his blood applied to it, forgiven. Saturday comes. It's a day of mourning. You have to eat this unleavened bread. Who likes unleavened bread. Not me. I like Texas roadhouse. I like the smell you get when you walk and there's bread cooking all over the place. I don't like crackers. I don't like unleavened bread with no salt. So that is the. The Bible actually calls it the bread of affliction. It tastes terrible. [00:44:40] That's Saturday. That's a day of mourning when we mourn the death of Jesus and what our sin has caused. But then comes Sunday. Sunday is. Remind me again, is it the second day of the week? Is it the last day of the week? Sunday is the what? First day of the week. This first day of the week is Sunday. It is the festival of first fruits. It is when Jesus rose from the dead. And God reveals to us that he has given us his first and his best. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten. What son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Passover to unleavened bread, to first fruits. [00:45:24] And the Bible actually calls Jesus our first fruits. He is the firstfruits of those who rose from the dead. [00:45:32] God has modeled what he demands of us and church. If you're a follower of Jesus, and friends, if you're not a follower of Jesus, and I don't know you that well, the significance of this is simply. It's simply, what do we owe God? [00:45:47] What does God owe us? [00:45:49] Zilts not a nothing. And what did God give us? His first, his best. [00:45:58] So, church, we model God's heart by giving him back our first and our best. He doesn't just want something you have. He wants something much more valuable than that. It is the most valuable possession that you own. It is your heart. [00:46:16] First step in giving God your heart is to apologize for your sin. [00:46:21] You must trust in his life, his death and his resurrection. [00:46:25] And in order to receive his forgiveness, you believe that he died for your sins. [00:46:31] And when you apply that forgiveness to your own life, he gives you a freedom that you can't even imagine. It is better than a million bucks in your bank account. Because when you die, how much of that do you take with you? Bapkis. [00:46:49] He gives you eternal life. [00:46:52] He gives you abundant life here because he gave you his first and his best. [00:46:59] Church. [00:47:00] Remember, your heart is the rudder. [00:47:03] It steers the ship of your life. [00:47:08] Whoever or whatever gets your first and your best gets your heart. [00:47:15] Let's pray. I'm grateful, Father, for feast of the first fruits. [00:47:21] It's an amazing old Testament principle. That holds so much truth for us today. [00:47:29] You established it not so that we could keep doing it today because covenant has changed from old to new. But you established it because it reveals your heart that you desire our first and our best. [00:47:42] You even mirrored that to us by giving us your first and your best. [00:47:48] And I'm grateful for that. May we always. May we wake up each morning and ask ourselves this question. [00:47:56] Am I giving you God, my first and my best? [00:48:02] I pray in Jesus name, amen.