9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.  KJV

 

9 Honor the LORD with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; 10 So your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.  NKJV

 

9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your

crops;

 

10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.  NIV 

 

If you are truly a child of God, your desire is to honor the Lord. One of the first ways that you honor Him is with your substance; your possessions; your wealth. No one can serve God and mammon; money; possessions at the same time. You can only put one first place in your life.

 

“No servant can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money.”  Luke 16:13 NIV

 

You honor God when you bring Him the first fruits of your increase. By offering the first fruits of the increase of your substance, you demonstrate that God is number one in your life. When you make God your priority, He will make you His priority! God says that if you will honor Him with your substance and your first fruits then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. You will be abundantly blessed. You will have more than enough. You will have enough for what you need today and for what you will need tomorrow!

 

1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the LORD.” 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6 So the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” 8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.  Genesis 4:1-8 NKJV

 

Cain and Abel both brought an offering to the Lord. Abel brought the firstborn of his flock and their fat, but Cain brought only an offering of the fruit of the ground – not the first fruit of his harvest. God accepted Abel’s offering, but He did not accept Cain’s offering. Cain was angry with God for rejecting Him, when it was he who had rejected God first because did not honor Him with his first and best. If we do not honor God in a way that is acceptable to Him, it is because we do not have the right heart attitude. If we do not have the right heart attitude, then sin will rule over us. God does not want sin to rule over us. He wants us to rule over sin, for our own sake.

 

Cain did not kill Abel because god had rejected him and his offering. Cain killed Abel because he had a jealous, covetous spirit. His covetousness was the reason God rejected him in the first place – because he kept the best for himself instead of offering it to God. God sees your heart and God sees your offering. Give of the first fruits of the increase of your substance with a willing heart and the Lord will accept you and your offering.

 

4 Moses said to the whole Israelite community, “This is what the LORD has commanded: 5 From what you have, take an offering for the LORD. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the LORD an offering of gold, silver and bronze; 6 blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; 7 ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows; acacia wood; 8 olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 9 and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.  Exodus 35:4-9 NIV

 

As a church, we are going to honor God with the first fruits of our increase in the month of January 2002. All those, at The River, who are of a willing heart and mind are going to bring a week’s worth of our salaries and wages and we are going to offer it to the Lord as our first fruits. We are trusting the Lord for a blessing upon us and our families in this New Year, where our barns will be filled to overflowing, and our vats will brim over with new wine!

 

Thus says the Lord: Cursed [with great evil] is the strong man who trusts in and relies on frail man, making weak [human] flesh his arm, and whose mind and heart turn aside from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub or a person naked and destitute in the desert; and he shall not see any good come, but shall dwell in the parched places in the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. [Most] blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters that spreads out its roots by the river; and it shall not see and fear when heat comes; but its leaf shall be green. It shall not be anxious and full of care in the year of drought, nor shall it cease yielding fruit. Jeremiah 17:5-8 Amplified

Rodney Howard Browne teaches that the man who believes in, trusts in and relies on the Lord is blessed. The Lord is his hope and confidence. He is like a tree planted by the waters—spreading out his roots by the river of God—drawing water and nourishment from the fertile soil of God’s Word and His Spirit. He will not feel the heat of the enemy’s attack and he will have no reason to fear it. His leaf is green all the time. He is not anxious and full of care in the year of drought, nor will he cease from yielding fruit.

On the contrary, the man who is strong in his own strength; who trusts in and relies on frail man; whose power comes from weak, human flesh and whose mind and heart turn away from the Lord is cursed with great evil. He is like a shrub—like a naked person—destitute in the desert. He will not see any good come to his life, but he will remain permanently in the parched places—in the wilderness—in an uninhabited salt land.

Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’–and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. Revelation 3:17 NKJV

You can put your trust in God and you can drink from the river or you can put your trust in yourself and live in a parched wilderness. You can choose to draw your life and your strength from the Lord or you can struggle out there on your own. When you put your trust in the Lord, you are not afraid of the weather, you are not afraid of what life may throw at you. When you trust in and rely on the Lord—no matter what comes your way it will not hinder or prevent you from prospering.

You can choose to serve God and honor Him, or you can serve your own interests and dishonor Him. You can choose to be blessed or you can choose to be cursed. You can be a big tree next to a river or you can be a little shrub in the hot desert. You can be gloriously attired in green leaves or you can be a naked, small bush. You can spread your roots out—increasing your capacity to receive nourishment, life, strength and blessing. You can tighten your grip on God and draw in closer to Him—your life can become ever more entwined in His life and it will be even harder to remove you from your foundation. But if you have little shrubby roots, they could just be ripped from the soil.

You can yield much fruit or you can be devoid of any fruit at all. You can have your roots in the water and your branches covered in green leaves and not be afraid of the heat or you can be dried up and destroyed by it. You can live in comfort, peace and safety or you can live in fear and anxiety—exposed to the elements, constantly fearing for your life.

You can be comforted in God’s presence or you can be destitute in the desert. The shrub in the desert has nothing to offer anyone—no shade and no food. But the tree planted by the river gives shade, protection and fruit. Those who trust in the Lord will be abundantly blessed and will be a blessing to all those they touch, but those who trust in themselves have nothing to offer anyone else because they are in need themselves. The blessed man only knows abundance, but the cursed man only knows lack.

Make up your mind to trust in the Lord, to look to Him for guidance and sustenance. Firmly plant yourself on the banks of His river, yielding to His will, His Word and His Spirit. When you remain in His presence, drinking the waters of life, you will live a long, prosperous life of peace and safety.