#theEncounter Worship Experience

god when we go into praise our faith will be where it's supposed to be like the man prays lord i believe but help my unbelief we want to believe this morning when god to teach us to believe and we believe god from the do it please share if you can as we ask god to help our unbelief come on father i thank you for this moment i appreciate you for this time i thank you lord for how you have brought us to this moment some of us came crawling in dragging in some of us came running into this moment but lord we thank you that no matter how we got here we are here and we give you praise for that we honor you for your spirit we honor you for your presence we thank you for your guidance for your love and for all your joy thank you for your peace today a peace that passes all understanding a love that's beyond all comprehension and we give you praise for that so now god i pray that you would begin to move in this service holy spirit rise up in this moment fall fresh on us do your work god i pray that you would help our unbelief help us to believe in the god of possibilities help us to believe in the god that says all things are possible to them that believe i pray that you would increase our faith help our unbelief the areas where we struggle i pray that you will lift us up so we don't live on our faith but we live through the faith of jesus christ thank you for his faith the author and the finisher the perfect example of what it's like to believe god thank you for giving us jesus thank you for the holy spirit i pray that you have blessed us bless this word save somebody today reclaim a backslider settle somebody on this church in jesus name amen if you believe it lift up a praise where you are lift up worship where you are get ready we're getting ready to go into some worship some praise get ready god's getting ready to bless your life praise the lord we've come to praise god we've come to give them glory somebody get what god has done for you on their mind [Music] hallelujah than i ever expected [Music] you did more than i ever expected you did more than i ever i ever expect that [Music] god you keep on doing great things truly amazes me so many miracles and blessings continue to chase me i am overwhelmed gratitude [Music] it's why we offer up his praise for the things you do everybody help me say you did more can i ever i ever [Music] you keep on doing great things for me truly amazes me so many miracles and blessings continue to chase me [Music] [Music] that's why we offer up his praise for the things you do everybody help me people doing great things for me [Music] everybody help me [Music] doing great things for me let's take a moment to just get something on your mind that you know god did for you think about a time when god came through for you and how many people are crazy enough to thank god for what he's going to do take him in and pitch for what he's going to do send that praise up so he can send his attention down [Music] we worship you today we praise you today we're coming in on more everybody say more people keep and that's why that's why i praise you that's why i lift you up and i'm not upon him that's why i praise you that's why i praise you i got to praise you i got to let you up i got to magnify you and minimize everything else [Music] everybody help me [Music] you did more than i ever [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] everybody that's why my heart that's why my heart is filled with praise last time that's why my heart filled with praise worship right where you are worship him right where you are [Music] hey bethany family desert right here wanting to remind you that this month is our transforming lives month so what that means is we want to make sure that we're bringing people in not only people who we know but people we might not know sharing is one way that we can bring people in because we want to make sure that the word of god is getting spread all throughout the world right now especially right now in the time that we're in so make sure you guys share make sure you invite people to service because like i mentioned this is transforming last month so we want to transform and see how god is going to move in this month good morning bethany family is brother kevin here and desi and we want to invite you guys to the recap you know every monday we have a great time recapping the word you know sister dance throws her knowledge and some little shade in here too i am not shady but we do want you to come in and join us every monday evening at 5 30 for our recap where kev is the ultimate moderator asking us questions and just getting more insight about what happened on sunday about service so make sure you guys tune in and make sure you share and comment with us and let us know what you think about you know this sunday sermon bethany family as you guys know we always get fed every sunday with the encounter services but we also get fed with our midweek service on wednesday word impact i want to invite you guys to come on back and join us for word impact this wednesday as we get a word from pastor nick and bishop as her starting this new series about prayer all right we want you guys to invite someone remember it's still transformer lives month so tag someone and let someone know that we're on midweek service word impact alright bethany family i'll see you in the comments praise the lord bethany family is deacon antoine here and we want to let you know that this thursday we have a sound mind panel at seven o'clock on facebook and on youtube uh we talked about dealing with grief and dealing with this whole pandemic and talk about mental health and military awareness we want you to know that it's okay if you're if you need help if you need to talk it out you need to listen to someone it's okay for you to join invite someone this is transformer lives month you can invite someone to this panel you never know someone's life might be changed from it hey guys guess what month it is january it's january where is she transforming lives month right yep inauguration the inauguration no no no not about the world about about bethany they don't know but i know and i'm going to share it with you and with them clearly it is bishop's birthday bishop and we want to say happy birthday to bishop we are so blessed and so grateful to be under such wonderful leadership he is such a strong mighty man of god and we just love him and we want to just let him know how much we appreciate him how can we do that guy you know we want you guys to be a part of it as well so we want to post videos all month so we need you guys to take a nice little quick video saying happy birthday bishop how much you love them how much you you know inspired you to just continue your walk with god so make sure you submit them to social go to number two bethany.com and get this social go to number two bethany.com and you know deacon what else can we do to just show and celebrate our leadership we can also give him the gift of appreciation this year we are doing a dollar per year so bishop is turning a young 69. yeah per year you could do more but we're asking for 69 just to celebrate him uh you could do it through giblify you could do the text to give you can do it on our website yes uh show him how much you appreciate him how much you love him because it's great to have a pastor even right now during this painting and we want to show him that we appreciate it appreciate him happy birthday happy birthday birthday bishop i love you love you baby [Music] [Music] come to my rescue with thousands and times every other voice it is provides in ways i can't explain and can't deny the little that i have a multiplier just when i feel he won't show up on time god provides he'll come through when the clouds of doubt rain down you and test everything you thought you knew now you finally see what god can do [Music] for you so [Music] tonight [Music] god it's hard to say when there's no food to eat oh what you see is all their life will and be this be another misery for me but my faith can't survive or just things i see [Music] and my feelings can't control my destiny god i only want [Music] close your eyes there's no more need to cry [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] from before bye [Music] close your eyes there's [Music] [Music] watch [Music] bible lets us know that we can count on god that we can rely on him that we can trust in him the bible says in the book of isaiah chapter 41 verse 13 it says for i the lord thy god will hold thy right hand saying unto thee fear not i will help thee fear not thou worm jacob and ye men of israel i will help thee saith the lord and thy redeemer the holy one of israel you can count on the lord brother rodney's getting ready to come to minister to us you can count on on him [Music] and i'll be [Music] there [Music] to dry your [Music] tears [Music] count on me i'll see you through [Music] count on me [Music] and now be [Music] there on me to dry your tears [Music] going through count on me i'll see you through trust in me and now be be there trust in me to dry your tears [Music] going through trust in me i'll see you through depend on me and i'll be there on me to dry your teeth [Music] through depend on me hey i'll see you through you can [Music] you can count on me god said you can't oh you can count on me god said he says you can you can you can you can trust in me god said you [Music] [Music] you can [Music] you can trust in me you can deepen me you can [Music] depend on [Music] me [Music] well praise the lord you can depend on the lord today trust in him believe in him he promises to never leave you nor forsake you and promise is not a concept with god it is an activity it is an action he does not just say he loves you but he has proven to the entire universe that he loves us for god so loved the world [Music] he followed up with what he believed he gave his only begotten son whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life i am so glad you've taken the time to join me once again that was brother rodney harris depend on god today i'm excited about this series that god has laid on my heart for you over the next few weeks this conversation that we're going to have a series entitled shift the needle during the next few weeks it is my assignment to cause a significant radical shift in your life in whatever area of your life you feel has become stagnant no matter what it may be as we search the scriptures together and become more acquainted have a revelation i believe in how the spirit of god desires to work in your life and that it requires you and i to position ourselves for god to do what god has already willed he wants to do it is not that god does not want to perform the miracle the breakthrough the blessing that you require it's have you positioned yourself but before we get into the message i want to invite those of you who perhaps don't know the lord for yourself to make what i call the most significant decision you will ever make in your life it's important to understand that the kingdom of god in the kingdom of god god requires requires a relationship with him no different than any other human being when you have a sacrifice for an individual you believe the appropriate response it's not just fellowship but relationship reliability god has positioned himself as reliable for you i'll never leave you nor will i forsake you in other words once you are committed to one another he says i'm not going anywhere i'll be with you through the storm and the rain as the saints used to say good times bad times summer winter all kinds of calamity god said i will not leave you but for that to be your certainty you must also be in relationship with him the bible says while we were yet in sin god commended or commanded his love towards us he decided that you and i even when we did not love him he would begin the process of drawing us to him by loving us first he understood a basic fundamental principle in the kingdom of god in the spiritual life that we are centered around he understood something significant i don't have the authority to ask you to come if i haven't first gone to you first i must go to give you the authority to come so god loved the world in such a magnified way that the first thing he did the first overture was him sending his son because he realized if i don't if i don't come to them first i won't have the authority to ask them to come to me so the lord sent his son the bible says in the fullness of time god sent his son gave him a destiny called calvary that he might die [Music] for your sins and my sins today a destiny with pain jesus stayed in his assignment because of not only his commitment to his father but the mutual love he and his father had for you and i he went through days and of torture on that cross he went through a season if you will that he could have reversed with a snap of his fingers but his love kept him on the cross for you and i because he realized he had some grace for you he had some mercy for you and he knew that mercy was the answer to your problem and grace was a solution to your equation he understood if i don't do this they won't have the right to come so if you will he came to us first [Music] so he would have the authority to say come unto me all ye that are heavy-laden i will give you rest partner up with me yoke up with me and find that this burden this responsibility this assignment in your new life is easy and jesus will make whatever you have to experience and face in your life with him a light thing so right now i want to pray for those of you who are not saved as we welcome you to the encounter worship experience here at bethany church in lindenwald new jersey as we welcome those who are geographically close by but also those in our connections church worldwide we welcome you once again to what i believe is going to be another powerful service but first order of business is that if there are any of you right now that realize i need to come to the lord for the very first time in my life or i need to come back to him it does not matter how many times you're going to do it right now new you new year new mind new life or perhaps you love the lord and you simply have been searching and what i call the wilderness of ministries and especially during the time of this pandemic when so many different messages are being released and so many distractions are being used by the enemy so that the very saints the elect are being deceived i want to assure you that today god has led you to us because he understands the anchor that you need the anchor you need the solid foundation that you need a ministry that you need to connect to so that your life begins to blossom god has led you to us today i'm asking those who have never given your life to the lord say yes today to this invitation to this i don't want to call it suggestion because it's much more powerful than that i'm inviting you to a brand new life those of you that know the lord for yourself you were on fire at one time but for some reason you walked away from god i'm going to invite you in this new year to take the step in the right direction repair your fellowship restore your relationship with god those who already are saved and loved the lord have been searching like a deer panted at the water the lord is providing that for you when you're connecting with us let's pray god i bless your name now for the awesome privilege you have provided for us today as we pray for those that don't know your holy spirit won't you please move by your power bring that man that woman that son that daughter that father that mother bring them into fellowship and relationship by the power of your spirit and the power of faith right now if you believe he will save you if any man be in christ no matter what your background is i'm praying that you can overcome your reasons for why you shouldn't and understand that god knows all those reasons and still is asking you to come to him today praying for those of you who know the lord but you got distracted you allowed something someone something said something done to distract you from your relationship with god you allowed the devil to ask you to give up something he could not replace and that was god christ the holy ghost and heaven i'm praying that you say yes and come back to the lord right now don't hesitate don't think about how far out you've gone but understand no matter how far you've gone the way back is much shorter it's a yes it's i believe it's the lord take me back right now praying for those you who need a church home today love the lord saved and committed beneath that right place where you can begin to grow like never before holy spirit please do your work and draw them to the heart of jesus jesus please do your work and draw them to the heart of god and i thank you in jesus name amen now if you said yes to that invitation if you felt in your heart yes i need to make this decision make this move the day write me on the site our team will get back to you join the body of christ today join hands with this ministry and let's take this walk together i thank the lord for you this today in jesus name amen well let's take a look at the bible as we continue in our series shift the needle and we've been talking about this is part two of the message simply entitled blessed if you did not get a chance to join me the last time we preached this message i need you to go to the sites whichever one is more convenient for you and watch the message after we're done today as i am going to teach you how to literally be that individual that god is talking about in his word and that is blessed in whatever you do but i'm going to show you significantly how to shift how to experience a seismic shift in your walk with god now last time we were together we were centered around the book of exodus we'll go back there in just a moment but i want to take your attention as we continue to uh matthew chapter six and i want to start at about verse 33 as we talk about these things that are significant for you to experience the seismic shift that god has planned for you now as we look at matthew chapter 6 something very this is a historic text but something very profound is there for you and i uh to experience to see for the very first time the bible says in 33 but seek ye first matthew 6 33 but seek ye first the kingdom of god let's stay right there so first off the kingdom of god is a kingdom of relationships we have to establish that right from the gate it is also a scripture that is talking to you specifically about focus and that focus being different than those that do not believe in the lord jesus christ so as god's scripture as the word of god through the power of the holy ghost and his word begins to talk to us about focus it says seek ye first so now we see focus and we see priority and we see the word seek which is a key to our understanding that this is not a one-time endeavor not that you sought him when you got saved or you sought him when you had a need but that you continually seek him watch this prioritize him watch this stay focused on him seek ye first in everything prioritize our focus on the kingdom of god and his righteousness so doing the things that are right in the kingdom understanding who you are in the kingdom building your relationship with god each and every day to the point that you seek god first he is your priority and then the bible lets us know when this relationship is evident when your focus has been proven watch what i mean about this when i'm focused it gives me an indication of where my heart is focused when i'm focused on a thing if i'm focused on my grandchildren focused on my children it shows where my heart is directed the bible lets us know that my treasure what i value is where my heart is so whatever i'm focused on has the attention if you will of my heart so god says seek him first seek the kingdom of god first prioritize your relationship with him make sure you understand he understands where you have him positioned watch this and where you are positioned not just in the kingdom but in the spirit and in your relationship with god because when you are focused on an individual and that per folk that person has your affection when you claim love for an individual it dictates your behavior your focus dictates your behavior in any relationship so we find ourselves having been committed watch this to the right people in the past and the wrong people in the past and that focus directed our energies and our behavior our commitment and our honor is placed on that individual or that thing god says i want you to prioritize me he says to seek me first seek the kingdom of god first what's the reaction and his righteousness significant part of the statement is this the text implies there is a righteousness that is an opinion and then there is righteousness that is a fact and that not only if we're going to be focused on the kingdom of god therefore focused on god therefore uh focusing the energies of our heart towards god then one of the byproducts of that focus is righteousness and then there is a supernatural reaction in the natural tendencies and the parts of your life all these things these things are the things that the bible says that gentiles seek after but children of god should know not to seek them as a priority but seek god as a priority and the things that you desire shall be added unto you because your father knows you have need of these things this is critical for understanding you can't shift the needle unless there is a kingdom a god priority in your life and this god priority requires that only do we seek the kingdom but we seek to learn his righteousness watch this because we learned in last week's lesson in first corinthians that the old testament examples were therefore our admonition that the old testament saints the examples written in the old testament are blueprints for kingdom behavior what's right and what's wrong and that those examples were an admonition to us give us a mindset a the example was a teacher teaching the student what the student needs to know based on what the teacher knows has already been promised to the student so god says i'm admonishing you through the old testament examples because your eyes haven't seen your ears haven't heard nor has it in your heart the things that i've already prepared for you there are some things laid up for you and i that when we get this first revelation the invisible kingdom and the workings of the kingdom will open to us in such a way like we've never seen before a revelation of the kingdom and how god responds to the person that has prioritized him in their lives i hope i'm making sense to you so we need to understand this principle of first things now first corinthians chapter 15 verse 23 tells us jesus is the firstborn among many and that jesus is the first fruit of god now we explain to you that first fruit significant i'm going to show you a revelation concerning this principle that will explode your life and the immediacy by which god moves still amazes me in my life i'm sharing with you today that the bible lets us know last time we were together that cain and abel learned in the process of time i'm telling you when i first got saved i did not have this revelation i'm telling you that as i matured in christ i had every other revelation but this revelation i'm telling you that when i finally discovered it and watched god move his movement still amazed me even though i expected him by faith to do what he promised to do i am going to show you exactly what you're going to have to do in 2021 to not only be a blessing but be blessed and i'm not just talking conceptually i'm not just talking you walking around saying i'm blessed with no manifestation i'm talking about what 633 says there's going to be a physical manifestation when we put god first prioritize him focus on him so our hearts are with him and watch a supernatural response from the kingdom regarding the things in your life now you write down what the things are to you whether they are promotion whether they are business whether they are relationship whether they are your ch whatever they may be i need you to write down what your things are if you're struggling financially i need you to know you're going to get your answer i'm going to show you how to shift the needle in your life so that you walk around not just thinking you're blessed as a concept but knowing you're blessed because of manifestation and reality i hope you're getting this because i feel the lord moving so first corinthians 15 23 tells us all about jesus being the first fruit of god in order for you to understand that all a first fruit is is putting god first and giving god the first of everything we receive we don't give him leftover praise we don't give him leftover worship we don't give him left over time to pray not left over time to study but prioritizing my relationship with god so that the righteousness of god becomes my righteousness so god gave jesus first god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son he gave jesus first and then there was a response from humanity he had to give jesus because god first fruit his first fruit is christ himself old testament numbers 18 about 17 says first is holy that it's not for man it's cut out and separated for god not for man so back in the old testament what they did is they consecrated if you will the first born males of their families to god in other words they redeemed them watch this because they gave them to god they gave them they did they brought them to god they didn't give them to god because god god already they were already his they brought him to god and by bringing him to god he was redeemed so the firstborn children sons were brought to god oh i'm going to show you something so amazing now all of us most of us are familiar with this story of jericho and we now can understand why jericho has such a great significance as it relates to first things so jericho the law of first things so significant to god that he gave specific instructions how jericho was supposed to be treated let's go to joshua chapter six you may be unfamiliar with it i have a little time so i'm going to try to show it to you uh joshua chapter six now the story context is this you know the famous uh preacher illustration of the people walking around the city uh a number of times and when they got to the last time with god's instruction they shouted and the walls fell now what's historically significant about jericho in joshua chapter six is that jericho is if you will the first place to be conquered in the promised land so jericho is the first city among the many cities that god had promised to his people first so not only was the first a key to fulfilled promise but jericho was the key to god releasing them into or shifting the needle if you will from their journey of slavery and wilderness into promise now i want you to understand this significant illustration there is no journey from captivity to promise or manifestation without some season a wilderness now this is really important for you to understand but there is no season of wilderness without god sustaining you by the miraculous now here's what's significant for you and i i think i brought this point out the last time you need to understand that many of us have missed the supernatural because we've been looking for something spectacular when in the bible the supernatural is rarely spectacular there's only one red sea parting there's only one uh uh uh river parting in in in scripture there's a red sea parting and and then then there's another sea that they go through there's only two of those but most of the miracles are very subtle take up your bed and walk go wash your face very subtle so i know you see it now so you see the jordan river miracle you see the red sea miracle spectacular but most of the miracles of christ jesus subtle and because watch this the reason oh lord thank you the reason the miracles are subtle connected to jesus is because the instructions are not spectacular take up your bed and walk stretch out your hand go wash your face the old testament he tells naaman dip in the water seven times that's not spectacular but it's supernatural i need you to hear what i'm trying to tell you here today so he says look i need you to walk around jericho six times when you get to the seventh time i need you to shout and the walls will fall now most people have a problem with faith because the instruction does not appear to have the power that's needed to do what god has promised whoever heard of a city falling because of a shout but the instructions and righteousness were key to victory so let's take a look at what happened here so in joshua chapter six bible lessons told that jericho was very secure it was a fortress god gave them instructions in in verse three i want you to encompass the city all them in a war go about it go do that for six days seems tedious seven priests shall blow some trumpets nothing spectacular five it shall come to pass when they make a long blast with the ram's horn when they hear the sound of trumpet all the people saw shout with a great shout and the wall of the city shall fall down flat and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him so i want you to see jericho as the doorway as the threshold as the door way to promise and in order for that doorway to open watch this a supernatural activity has to occur they have to do something physical that represents something spiritual i hope you're getting this so they obey the instruction encompass the city get to the final day they blow their horns the people shout boom the walls call fall flat a supernatural result from a very very unspectacular if you will action but in order to get the victory in order to get the first fruit of promise called jericho the people have to do something that does not appear to be spectacular but is absolutely supernatural watch how this works so jericho is destroyed in chapter six you have to remember it's the first city it's the threshold it's the doorway to the promised land israel was not allowed to possess jericho israel had to sacrifice jericho why because god's character like in cain and abel god's character can't change he can't see jericho any differently than he sees it and he sees it as the first city in the promise so jericho must be defeated because jericho is the first fruit of israel's promise then he gets down to verse 19 and he says now you're not to take anything out of jericho bring all that into the lord's treasury so we saw abel bring first lings of his flock first lanes plural of his flock we see jericho conquered first in all the possessions of jericho given to the lord brought back to the lord and then the new testament we see jesus first because first redeems the rest i hope you hear what i'm telling you first redeems the rest if jericho is not handled correctly there will be no promised land to to possess if jericho is not handled correctly there will be no promised land to possess when we give god the first that he demands it redeems if you will the rest when you redeem a thing it is released from an undesirable condition now we know from the bible that all the cities that had to be conquered were in the possession of the enemies of god's people y'all don't hear what i'm saying this is a blow in my mind so so jericho goes down first they obey what has to happen in jericho find out later that there were a few people in one of the cities that they conquered that they decided to keep some stuff for themselves they lost their lives they came under judgment did not participate in the promise find ourselves now redeeming jericho redeems the other cities and what is redemption to redeem a thing is to release it from an undesirable condition and in this context the captivity of the enemy why simple principle the first jericho redeems the rest of the city so the first if you will is the first fruit the first if you will is the tie the first shows that doing what god told them about jericho shows the focus of their heart the focus of their minds manifested or revealed in their behavior now you've got to ask yourself who are your friends going into this new season who are you liking or loving are they a bringer or are they a thief are they a tither a non-tither do they bring to god or do they make the mistake of thinking i'll just do it the way i want to do it in the kingdom thieves have no future let's go to proverbs chapter 3 i want to show you something i want to show you something very significant proverbs chapter 3. yeah let's take a look at verse 9 and 10. proverbs chapter 3 verse 9 and 10 says honor the lord with thy sepsis watch this honor the lord honor the lord place high value on your relationship with god uh treat him like he is of value let him understand that your heart is with him honor the lord and how you do that one of the ways with your substance and with the first fruit of all thine increase let's settle a question right now many of you may have had i had it for years so i understand the dilemma what do i give god what can i keep for myself violent question do i have to give god part of my tax refund okay i'm in your head do i do i um i get a bonus at work do i do i does god god wants me to keep that the bible says honor the lord with thy substance and with the first fruits of all your increase a first fruit is another word for an additional tithe another 10th says show here watch this watch the things happen in verse 10 so shall thy barns be filled with plenty and thy presses shall burst out with new wine so that's increase that's revenue that's things of value those things are added to you and i because i've honored the lord i've shown my heart is focused on him now somewhat i showed you a scripture last time in exodus uh about why some people will question you in this coming season why you do what you do for the lord why you're so focused why you're so committed why you're so consistent with god why you have decided i'm going to give him the first of everything that i possess my first praise my first worship my first thanksgiving in the day i'm going to give you my first prayer of the day i'm not going to give him part of my leftovers i'm giving him what's first in my life watch what happens the bible says that this young man's son this man's son comes to his father and says god dad we're in i'm paraphrasing now exodus chapter 13 i believe dad we're in the sheep herding business we're in the we're in we're flock builders and i got to ask you a question dad he says you keep taking all the first-born sheep and killing them you're taking those sheep that responsible for the multiplication of our flock our success supposedly hinges on what you keep giving to god i hope you hear what i'm saying and the father looks at the son in a loving way and says son you don't understand i'm a cheerful kind of guy and the reason i'm cheerful is because it was the lord that brought us out of bondage and out of egypt with a mighty hand so i do this gladly because what the son didn't know as the father was sacrificing the first to the lord the rest of the flock was redeemed blessed and multiplied increase it's so simple it's amazing so it's not first fruit of just us getting paid so what are you saying pastor oh here comes so watch this so in the loins of the sheep male sheep that was sacrificed were yet unborn sheep in the loins of the sheep were yet unborn sheep this is an amazing context so god was not asking them for what simply they could see god was asking for what they could not see this challenge is the gross or net mindset i'll tell you a personal testimony when i finally shifted and i still am amazed when god moves when i finally shifted from giving god the leftover because god must be first i taught you before cain and abel cain's problem was he gave god out of what was left over he brought an offering he didn't bring her first he had no way of bringing the first he didn't know what came up first he could have simply gone to his brother said i need one of your sheep because i want to give god according to who god is and amazingly cain decided like many of us do i'm just going to give him out of what i have when god will never be second he will always be first i hope you're hearing what i'm saying watch how this works now so all the places of storage god says are going to increase so let's talk about this for a minute so it is not the net because that's what's left over that is not first it's the gross that's the first so it can redeem the rest i'm going to show it to you i'm hoping i'm going to get to it today let's go to exodus 23 19 exodus 23 19. watch how this works now this was such a breakthrough in my life i want to share it with you exodus 23 19 says the first of the first fruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the lords and the house of lord thy god thou shalt not see the kid in his mother's milk god required that even the first milk from the utter come to him he's so clear on this now you need to understand god never uses the word give when it relates to bringing a first fruit or a tithe he never uses the word give in this principle it's always bring why you can't give me what is mine god says it's mine you can only return it you can you can't or bring it so there are only two other two words that are up to other words are bring or steal you're either bringing it or you're stealing it so with cain and abel it's it's uh it's it's what's born versus fruit so what is god saying when you have me prioritize you reveal your heart to me tithing and first fruit proves your kingdom priority leviticus 27. i'm going to show you something leviticus 27 verse 30. this amazing principle here 27 verse 30. let me show you something i'm running out of time um watch how this works verse 30 and all the tithe of the land whether of the seed of the land or the fruit of the tree is the lord's it is holy to the lord it's the lord's and he says it's holy to him now let's see god says what belongs to me is the first so the first thing to leave my hand is who i am focused on my decisions tell god who's first so i can't give him a first fruit or tithe from the leftovers i know i'm making sense to you and i need to understand the principle in god's principle that first redeems the rest first redeems the rest i need five of your minutes let's go to exodus uh 13 because i hear a couple of you saying to yourselves isn't that the law let me show you something exodus 13. go down to verse 13. now this is going to be very very strong but i need you to accept it and you take a look at it with your faith eyes and watch what god is saying now the first thing we're in exodus 13. so what i'm showing you is before the law so this is not legalism this does not you know because many times we well that's old testament this is before the law oh i'm talking to you today watch what happens verse 13 and every first sling of every ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb and every first sling of an ass that's part of the flock thou shalt redeem with a lamb watch this now and if thou will not redeem it then thou shalt break his neck if we won't redeem the donkey you might as well break his neck all the firstborn among men of thy children shall thou redeem so it is watch this the lamb sacrifice the first redeem the rest of the flock and god is so gangster he says if you don't redeem it you might as well break the neck of the donkeys it's an amazing thing so the burden-bearing part of your flock won't work if they're not redeemed by the lamb so what is god saying to you and i focus principle of first things he says whatever comes into your head the first focus is the lord whatever you decide to do you redeem the rest so when you give that tithe when you give that first fruit you are redeeming the rest of your money redeeming your things your possessions the law of first is so critical that it was not that that that cain could be accepted cain could not be accepted because god's character can't change he will not be second now i want to tell you something that's going to really blow your mind not only is this before the law not only will people question you why do you behave the way you do why do you give to god like you do and you can look them square in the face like the father did the son and say to them look you don't understand where he's brought me from you don't understand the condition i was in when his son the lamb the first lamb died for me because if it had not been for the first i would not have been redeemed if he had not placed him on the altar called the cross i would not be saved today because the first redeems the rest therefore i do this gladly for the lord because it was his hand his mighty hand that brought me out of bondage and brought me out of that egyptian lifestyle i was living it's time for us to begin to shift the needle i'm going to really focus in on this the next time and show you exactly how this works but if you want those things to begin to respond in a supernatural way i'm going to show you how to shift the needle significantly and i'm talking not from what i heard i'm talking about my own experience i was not here at first but i began to honor the lord with the first fruit of everything i possessed and a dimension in the spirit opened to me that was there but was invisible to me i began to sense and see because i believed how the kingdom of god works and i'm leading you to that place this month i need for you right now by faith to decide to lock into the principle of first things with god i need you to decide i want the realm of the supernatural to open to me where the focus of my heart is god and where god's response quite naturally is to call all those things to be added to your life supernatural move that does not look supernatural but in the eyes of god tap into a supernatural principle that will cause you to experience an outpouring and increase open up doors of business doors of partnership contracts revenue increases bonuses the types of things that you worry about that you shouldn't worry about if you are locked into this principle there will be a peace that comes in your life knowing that my father knows what i have need of [Music] and he's about to do some things in my life that i never thought possible shift the needle with us today and watch god move down you can start today that tithe and all of you know that in january we sow a first fruit that's an additional tie and we we made it we made it such that you have to move by faith an additional tithe somebody said well pastor you know i'm not working right now watch this 100 or get in where you fit in but for those of you who are gainfully employed and understand that god has given you it's time for you to shift from giving him what's left over the net to shift to giving him from the gross i'm telling you it's a milestone and a life-changing event in your life it happened to me and my life has never been the same there's a realm in the spirit that what god wants to open to you the one with the ones your eyes haven't seen your ears haven't heard invite you to the way he sees things and the way he thinks about things today is the day you can get started some of you will have to go back and rewrite some things but you're going to do it today because you want to redeem here's here's the thing i'm going to talk about malachi next time but you know it talks about cursed when i deposit in the bank money that has not been redeemed i am cursing my resources i'm putting a hindrance on my resources and many of you understand what that feels like because you've been going through it but you haven't sacrificed if you will the lamb the first fruit the tithe in order to redeem the rest of your life so i want to remind you today join us join me as i give god honor god the first of all my increase first of all my substance don't just relegate him to you know a leftover praise a leftover worship left over prayer left over time but get it in your mind whatever comes through my hand he gets the first portion what does that look like what leaves your hand first god sees as your focus your treasures where your heart is for years i paid things took care of things before i took care of god and wondered why i struggled so much and then one day i got the revelation my life has never been the same join us as we shift the needle and watch 2021 become a year like no other the icons on the screen if you did not join us on our new year's eve service and so that first fruit offering that tie that extra time that new year's eve night or right now that 100 first fruit offering if that's what you can do but god says bring me the first bone because when you do that i'll redeem the rest of your stuff go to the icons so you're tired and you're offering if you did not get a chance to do your first fruit do that right now i'm excited about your life of blessedness i'm excited as the testimonies begin to come in and you shift the needle write me today tell me what you are experiencing through this word [Music] and i want to thank you for joining me and i look forward to seeing you the next time and i want you to remember faith acts like a thing is so even when it's not so that it might be so god bless you i'm praying for you and i'll see you real soon [Music]

Channel: Bethany Baptist Church

Views: 645

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Id: 1e3CApcCF9Q

Length: 74min 58sec (4498 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 10 2021