The Principle of First | Robert Morris | Gateway Church

I want to share with you a pastor preston is is allowing me you're not going to believe this but i'll be sharing with you the next six weeks so including this week but five weeks after this and a series called the blessed life and this is a series that has literally changed people all over the world and I had no clue this would happen because Debbie I just began living at we didn't even know we were living it and and then wrote a book the book has gone literally all over the world millions of copies sold 40 something languages and uses textbooks in universities and seminaries and things like that and this truth will change your life at once you you know come to Christ obviously come to Christ first get to know the Holy Spirit baptized in the Holy Spirit walk in the spirit understand the Word of God it's not a historical or literary book it's God's Word exactly and but this is the most important truth I can share with you because it changes everything about your life changes your marriage your family your health your finances everything and so the the first message I want to start with is called the principle of first and this is a principle that runs all through scripture today it starts in the Garden of Eden and runs through revelation 22 so the principle of first and so if you have your Bibles or your devices or whatever you undo we're gonna go to Exodus 13 and we'll be in Exodus 13 the the whole message but we'll we'll pull in some other verses right Exodus 13 verse 1 says then the Lord spoke to Moses saying consecrate which means set apart that's all it really means set aside set apart to me all the first born first notice toward first okay whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel both a man and beast it is mine now I wish I could explain to you how in Fatt it the Hebrew language is here but it belongs to me it is my property it is mine the firstborn is mine you just need to remember that to really understand the principle at first okay and then you go down to verse 12 it says you shall set apart to the Lord all that open the womb that is every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have the males shall be the lords again this is shall be the property of the Lords are belong to the Lord but every firstborn now this sounds a little Old Testament T but just stay with me and we'll get to the New Testament principle it's referred to but every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb and if you will not redeem it do you shall break its neck in other words you're going to lose it anyway you're gonna lose it if you don't dedicate it to God you're gonna lose it and all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem so three three points if you're taking notes the firstborn must be sacrificed or renewed that's what we just read and again we'll bring this up to to a New Testament understanding but the firstborn from this passage what we're reading and remember you read something the Old Testament there's a principle behind it and that's what you're looking for is the principle the firstborn must be sacrificed already but how do you know which to do how do you know whether you should sacrifice it or redeem it well so God gives two classifications of animals that are exempt exemplary examples we should say exemplary of a clean animal or an unclean animal for instance lambs representing clean animals donkeys represented unclean animals so if your animal the firstborn is a clean animal it has to be sacrificed if it's an clean animal it has to be redeemed or purchased back from God because God owns it redeem means to buy back not just to buy but to buy back it has to be redeemed with the sacrifice of a clean animal now I want to say that again because when we get to the principle of what this represents all of you are gonna go oh please I there you go okay all right yah that was very good by the way so so clean animals the firstborn of a clean animal had to be sacrificed the firstborn of unclean animals had to be redeemed by the sacrifice of a clean okay so this is written about 4000 years ago so what in the world does this have to do with us today I want you to think about where you and I born spiritually speaking now in our spiritual state before God were we born on this earth clean or unclean unclean we were born in sin the Bible says and I can prove it by asking the experts in the room that would be the parents did you have to teach your children to be bad or did it come naturally for them being bad comes natural you have to teach them to be good right so we were all born unclean all of us spiritually was Jesus born unclean or clean clean okay listen here's the all moment the clean had to be sacrificed so that the unclean could be redeemed thank you thank you I know we joked about it but but I hope you actually have a whole moment you know what I'm saying and Jesus is called the firstborn of many brethren he had to be sacrificed so we could be redeemed so this is a principle it's not just in the Old Testament this runs all through scripture that be the the firstborn redeems the rest so if your if your sheep has a lamb you have to sacrifice it and then that sacrifice redeems the rest and here's what he said give me the first one it takes faith to give the first one now we'll talk about tithing in a little while which is 10% we know the Hebrew word tide means 110 but it doesn't take faith to give the last 10% that's not faith it doesn't take faith to have 10 lambs and give the last the tenth one that's not faith see you've got God didn't say let your sheep have 10 lambs and they give me the one of them and you can give me the one that you don't like that keeps getting in your garden he said give me the first one when you don't have the others so there's so much more to tithing or giving 10 percent of our income there's so much more it's the it is the act of faith that releases the blessing it doesn't take faith let me say again together the last 10% of your income it takes faith to give the first 10% it takes faith to say to God I've got a stack of bills here but I believe according to the Bible that 90% with your blessing will go farther than a hundred percent without that takes faith so it in acts faith to be able to do that and this again this scripture is this this principle is all through Scripture when Ethan and Elaine were dating my son-in-law and daughter that you just saw standing up and saw the picture of them they were standing around and talking with the young adults they were part of the young it's ministry at our church and they were standing kind of down front you know in the church and with with eight or nine other young adults and they got to joking about what what it would be like they were joking with Ethan what it what it's like to date the pastor's daughter and then one of them said to Elaine you know your dad is so strong on tithing I'll bet he even checks the tithing records of the guys that want to date you and my daughter said he does and I did and I have a simple question for you please don't be offended by this because I'm taking this from two other scriptures in the Bible Joshua and Malachi of course I would check their tithing records why would I give my daughter to a thief and and again don't get offended to me those were God's words he called a person who keeps the tie a thief God did and and I don't we just take from a report of stewardship why would I give my daughter to someone who can't even handle money we can handle money he can't trust God with money and if he if he can't handle money he definitely can't handle my daughter cuz my daughter is a handful so the firstborn this is a principle all through Scripture the firstborn must be sacrificed for Dean here's here's number two the firstfruits must be offered now I notice I'm putting the Lord must be must be offered proverbs 3:9 and 10 honor the Lord with your possessions have you ever seen that think about that in the Bible honor the Lord not just in worship and attending church or volunteering or praying honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first fruits of all your increase this this could be where the same word is income your increase your income what but it's got to be the first of your income so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine by the way this is hundis has written hundreds of years after the law because we seem to say well tithing is a part of the law well tithing was 2500 years before the law and hundreds of years after the law and even in the New Testament Jesus himself said you ought to tithe now that's amazing to me that's Matthew 23:23 if you oughta check it jesus said you tithe of all these little spices he names three of them but you neglect justice mercy and faith but then this is what he says this you ought to do in other words you oughta ties but don't neglect the other or your phone that right there's enough for me if the guy who saved me the God who saved me in a motel room said you ought to that's all I need that one scripture would have done it for me so but this again this principles all through Scripture here's Exodus 23:19 the first of the firstfruits of your land case you get confused on whether it's first or not the first of your firstfruits of your land you shall bring I please notice or bring into the house of the Lord you've got two things I want you to notice the tide doesn't go to a university it doesn't go to a missionary does it go to a television ministry he goes to the house of God that's all through Scripture secondly I want you to notice Thor would bring God never uses the word give when he talks about tithing he always uses the word Bri here's the reason you can't give what doesn't belong to you you can only bring it or again according to scripture there are only two choices with Titan the first 10% gun you can bring it to God's house or you can steal it study the Scriptures yourself those are the only two choices you can take what belongs to God or you can bring it to the house of God so when I was in college one of the students asked one of the professors why did God accept Abel's offering and he didn't accept Cadiz and the professor was honest and humble and he said you know I really don't know I don't have any revelation on that Scripture and but I remember that Scripture and then as I learned the truths of first born and first fruit and read that one day I saw well that's why it's easy and you'll all see it - you'll see it remember the first born is belongs to God in firstfruits belong to God the first belongs to God watch this Genesis 4 verse 3 and in the process of time now those words are very important in other words it just happens what happened in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord notice it specifically does not say firstfruits Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat and the Lord respected and this word means received Abel and his offering but he did not respect or receive Cain and his offering it's clear isn't it Abel is a rancher he brings the firstborn Cain is a farmer he doesn't bring the firstfruits he just brings an offering in the process of time in other words let me say another way he gave what he wanted when he wanted and God said no I'm not accepting that but I want to take you a little deeper theologically here it's not just that God didn't receive it God couldn't receive it he could not receive it now that might shock some of you who might be new in the faith or just haven't have it learned some of the theological truths as you get you get more mature in the faith but but some people think God can do anything because he's God that's not true there are things God can't do God can never act out of his nature for instance God can't lie he can't lie because he is truth see so there are all these things in Scripture and I'll just give you a couple examples and I'll show you why he couldn't do it God can't I was trying to think of some of the things my firt I had a few examples here and all sudden I forgot the first one but I don't know if you have that we have the ability to edit where so if y'all can edit this part right here that would that way that would help okay okay all right okay okay just pretend like we're just starting from right here so God can't change this is called the immutability of God God can't change I'm the Lord I changed not God can't change his character cannot change here's the reason he can't change he can't change because he's perfect if he could change he could get better and God can't get better because he's already best see so let me give you the second one that God can't do now this one was shocking God can't think the way we think God can't think the way we think this is called the omniscience that's the attribute the omniscience of God Omni science God knows has all knowledge so he knows everything at the same time see think think about this when we think we think to try to figure something out okay God's not trying to figure anything out so he doesn't think like we think let me say let me say another way nothing has ever occurred to God God has never said you know what I just thought of I just thought of something I've never thought of before because he knows everything at the same time y'all follow me if you really think about that son this week you'll trip a breaker where you can't you what our minds can't conceive that God knows everything so God can't think the way we think now I know there's a scripture and you might say well wait there's a scripture about God's thoughts I didn't say he doesn't think I say he doesn't think the way we think but let me say that scripture proves this doctrine and that is here's what God says my thoughts are not your thoughts I don't think like you think as the heavens are higher than the earth my thoughts are higher than your thoughts so there are some things God can't do so I'm gonna bring her back to about why God didn't accept Cades offering God can't be second he kept me this is called the preeminence of God in other words he's first of all higher than all above all before all he can never be second now as pastor sometimes we'll say put God first in your life now that's a good analogy but even if you don't put God first in your life he's still first in the cosmos you didn't upset the cosmos at all God still first so what does this mean he has to always be first so when Abel gave a first offering God could accept it when Cain did not give an offering that was first God could not accept it that's how important this truth is he can't he only accepts the first so the firstborn must be sacrificed or deemed firstfruits must be offered here's point number three the tie must be first the tide must be first Leviticus 27 verse 30 says lavinia and all the I of the land I just want to know it all some of you might not know in Hebrew the word all means all yeah okay and all that by the way if I say something that precedent said I invented it you just want to clarify that I'm not quoting him he's quoting me okay all right I love you Pastor press and so I hope you get to feeling better y'all no presents not feeling well and so oh I'm sorry so um but it's not not not anything serious he's just he's just got some sort of a bug or something right now so let's just Lord we ask you to heal preston and lord please don't let this go through his household so we ask you to heal him completely and totally in Jesus name Amen all right so and all the tithes of the layin all all the tithe of the land whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree watch is the Lord's belongs to the Lord it is holy to the Lord now I know God owns everything but he has set aside the first 10% for himself it is holy are set apart set aside for him this is why that the tithe must be the first 10% of your income not the last 10% or the second to imprisonment it's the first temperate this is one because it belongs to God God is preeminent he only accepts the first so let me give you how this works out practically and we'll have to give you a math illustration and I'm sorry for 2 to 50% of you I am sorry and some of you think 50% I mean think yeah and I don't mean that wrong because you're actually very very good at some things I'm not good at but math and English happened to be things that to subjects that I'm good at my father is actually a mathematical genius certified mathematical genius certified so I'm not a mathematical genius so apparently it skips a generation but but numbers add up in my mind without me trying to get them to they just they just I mean they just had automatic ly I can I can you could say numbers and they just add up with my wife and I were buying something one time for $7.99 and the lady of the cash register said I'll have to figure the tax on the calculator because the cash register is broken and I said it'll be 66 cents that quickly I'm not that simple you know it's it's 66 cents and we got out in the car and Debbie said to me how do you do that now I I've since realized that she wasn't actually asking me how I did it she could not care less how I do math but I thought she was that she said how do you do that and so I explained it to her I said well sugar $7.99 close to eight our tax rates eight point two five eight times eight is sixty-four quarter of eights to sixty four plus two is 66 I said that should happen in less than a second in your mind she said to me it doesn't and then she said but I know what 25% off means yeah I'm still thinking math I'm not thinking you know I'm thinking that so I said to her okay sugar so if you're buying something for $100 and it's 25% off what does that mean she said it means it's a good deal and then she said and if it's 50% off it's free what and then she does like this like I don't understand man no and she said to me Robert everybody knows if it's 50% off it's the same thing as buy one get one free so it's 50% off it's free and then she goes on to say and if it's 75% off you're making money which explains some difficulties we've had in our checkbook over the years so alright but so I'm gonna give a Matthew illustration but I know some of you don't like math but please don't tune me out okay because it's practical so how does this work so let's say you own landscape company you come over to our house and I would say we'd like some plants here and we like a hedge here and we like in tree over there and so you say okay this is how much my materials will cost this is how much my labor it will cost and my profit will be a thousand dollars I say that because you tithe on your profit your increase that's what you tie them and so at the end of the deal I pay all your materials I'll pay all your labor costs and then I give you ten one hundred-dollar bills thousand dollars so now you have ten $100 bills in your hand all right so two questions first of all how much is the tithe it's it's 10 10% you had 10 $100 bills in your hand so how much is the tithe hundred dollars right okay but you have ten hundred dollar bills in your hand so here's the second question which one is the tithe the first one right you're you're listening so that's great but how do you know which one's the first one let me tell you it's the first one that leaves your hand in other words if you go home and say let me set aside something for the mortgage I'm set aside some for utilities let me set aside some for food so I'm for gross for clothes oh there's not enough left over for God please please hear me God would not receive in any way some people will say here here's some for the mortgage here's some for utilities here some for food here's some for this and here's God's part that's not God fart you gave God's part to the mortgage company and the mortgage company does not have the power to bless your finances but God it's the first one that redeems the other nine it's the first that brings the blessing so we stopped a moment ago at verse 12 a 13 so let me go back to verse 14 and finish the message for you okay Exodus 13 verse 14 oh wait I need to say something this is how I what I do it okay I get paid electronically automatic deposit the fifteenth and the 30th so on the 15th and the 30th and some people settle up automatically to tithe and that's great too I just personally like to go in and do it during my quite time so in the fifteenth and the 30th while I'm having my quite time I go in and the very first money that leaves my account every time I get paid is the time for us and and I not bragging but I felt like God told me every time I preached this message to say this because he's calling some of you to do this as well okay just let you know since 1995 excites 1985 Debbie and I have double ties to the church we give over and above that to missionaries and things like that but we do 20% to the church that's just sub God called us to do okay so anyway I do it on the 15 and 30 what happens though if I forget because I want you to understand God is not legalistic God I'm not preaching law to you I'm preaching life to you so what happens if I'm I have to catch the nut early-morning plane and I forget and then that night I get to the hotel room and I think oh it's 15th I got paid today and I go online to send the tithe to the church and I noticed that Debbie went to the grocery store I don't say oh that's great sugar we're cursed you go to tell you gave part of the ties to the grocery stores over the next two weeks were cursed okay you're not you're not it's it's it's about your heart God knows your heart and so that's really what I'm asking you is where is your heart because jesus said where your treasure is jesus said this by the way not a pastor Jesus in the New Testament we just say that again in case you get hung up on the old in the new Jesus in the New Testament said where your money is that's where your heart is so I'm not I'm not into preaching legalism to you about the first 10% because and sure Willie might forget but I'd like to know in your heart where is God because when he's first everything can come into order and when he's not first nothing can come into order so this is a very important principle in Scripture so let's go back now verse 14 so it shall be when your son asks you they remember this but sacrificing the first board or redeeming the first morning when your son asks you in time to come say what is this in other words why are you killing these animals that you shall say to him by street of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt I have the house of bondage old King James says by a mighty hand and he came to pass when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go that the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt both the first one a man and the first war two beasts there for I sacrifice to the Lord all males had opened the womb and all the firstborn of my sons I redeem so here's what he's saying he said one day your son is going to ask you why you're doing this and this is the answer so think about it the little boy runs in and says mom dad the Sheep is having her firstborn lamb and so the whole family gets up runs from the goats from the kitchen out to the barn but the dad grabs the butcher knife on the way and so they're all standing around and they say oh look look oh here standing up him stand up and then the father grabs the land by the hind legs and cuts his throat and the little boy is watching this and so you know what he's thinking don't you don't mess with dad I don't know what that lamb did but I'm not doing that okay and then he grows up but his dad keeps doing this and then he goes to college and he comes home and his dad says hey son like can you help me with the books I mean he went to school and you got your degree and you took accounting classes and it's starting to get sour ranch it's starting to get bigger and so would you do that so the son says sure I'll do it and so one day the father comes in from the field and the sons got the books in front of him and he says hey Dad um what would you would you set out and then I want to talk to you dad you know I've been going over the books like you said and that you don't have that knife with you do okay okay but um and that you know we all have blind spots that we all have blind spots and but um I I was noticing that any time we have a firstborn you you know how should I say this you kill it and that you killed 78 animals last year and that we're in the ranching business and this is cutting into our profits and I'm just wondering why why do you do this and God said we just ready God said your son's gonna ask you and he said here's what you tell him son there's something about our family that you don't know we weren't always in the ranching business what we did known animals we didn't know land we didn't know anything son we were slaves but God with a mighty hand redeemed us and now everything that we own is because God has given it to us therefore we gladly give God the firstborn of all of our increase now years ago my son who's sitting right over here who can attest to this I was in my office paying the bills what I used to do back then we didn't have online banking we didn't have online it was before we chiseled on rocks but before we had all night and so I would write checks and I would pay the bills I would always write the tithe check first and then I would settle over to the side to be able to take on the weekend and then I would pay the bills now again for some of you younger people we used to have pieces of paper called checks so I wrote the tight check I settle over here and I'm paying the bills Josh my firstborn firstborn son comes in and I can see him reading his tight check he's got a math mind like I've got a bad fight and he sees the amount and he says dad why are you giving so much money to the church and I remember Dax disturbed one day your son's gonna ask you while you do this and I took my son sitting right there and I put him in my lap and I said son there's something about daddy that you don't know yet but daddy used to be a very very bad man daddy didn't know God and daddy was a bad man and daddy couldn't stop being bad but God with a mighty hand redeemed your daddy and gave us everything that we have now therefore I gladly give to God the first of all of my income [Applause]

Channel: Gateway Church

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Keywords: Preston, Morrison, gateway, church, gateway church, scottsdale, tempe, gateway church sermons, church online, arizona church, arizona churches, scottsdale churches, tempe churches, phoenix churches, gateway people, gateway life, Preston Morrison, Robert Morris, Pastor Robert Morris, Preston Morrison sermons, church sermons, the blessed life, blessed life morris, tithing, giving, sermons on tithing, what is tithing, giving in church, principle of first

Id: vcYEOnstUt0

Length: 35min 52sec (2152 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 04 2019