OFFERING THE FIRST FRUITS: PASTOR (DR) MENSA OTABIL – SPECIAL SUNDAY SERVICE, 7TH MAY, 2023.
SPECIAL SUNDAY SERVICE WITH PASTOR (DR) MENSA OTABIL (GENERAL OVERSEER, INTERNATIONAL CENTRAL GOSPEL CHURCH (ICGC) CHRIST TEMPLE, ACCRA GHANA)
TOPIC: OFFERING THE FIRST FRUITS
DATE: 7TH MAY 2023
BIBLE TEXT: GENESIS 4:4
Let us rise up together as we make our “DECLARATION OF GATHERING” in this “YEAR OF GATHERING”.
Are you ready? Say with me:
I Proclaim Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. The Lord is the Shepherd of my Soul, my Shelter by Day, my Light by Night.
In His Name, we Plough our fields, by His Spirit we gather the Harvest, in His Light we seek and find.
In this Year of Gathering, the Lord of the Harvest has commanded: Launch Out into the Deep. At His Words, we cast our Nets, we gather in Souls and Substance for God’s Kingdom.
The Lord is our Reward; in this Season I received God’s Portion set aside for me: Full Measure, Pressed down, Shaking together and running over.
Nothing is Lost and Nothing is wasted in Jesus Name – Amen!
My Message today is Titled: “Offering the First Fruits”.
Now, establishing a Biblical Principle goes beyond something that is written in the Bible. You know, sometimes people say, “The Bible says…”
And it is good to say, “The Bible says” But ‘the Bible says’ is not just a Verse in the Bible. If you say you want to find anything based on a Verse in the Bible, you you would find a Verse for it.
I. There is a Verse that would make you marry a thousand women, if you want to.
II.There is a Verse that would make you eat a lot of food, if you want to.
III. There is a Verse that would make you kill all your enemies, if you want to find such a Verse.
Looking for a Biblical Doctrine is not just finding a Verse; because the Biblical Truth is the same. It must run through the Fullness of God’s Revelation – From Genesis right through the Bible.
That’s how we establish Biblical Foundation, and that’s how we establish the Truth of the Bible.
So, for somebody to say, “this is Biblical” it has to go beyond, one Verse is saying it. It has to be the full Counsel of God.
And that is the approach I take when I am teaching from the Bible. I go beyond ‘this Verse says’, and ‘that Verse says.’ to try and teach the full Counsel, as it is expressed in the Bible.
Every Giving, every Offering that we give – Whether we call it Tithes, First Fruits, Thanksgiving Offering, Seed Faith, Building/Projects Offering; whatever Offering we give must have a Foundation.
In the Book of Genesis, you find the beginning of all Biblical Doctrine.
The Doctrine of God is in Genesis, the Holy Spirit is in Genesis, Redemption is in Genesis, Blessing, everything finds its Foundation from Genesis.
From Genesis we build up Christian Doctrine.
So we go to the Book of Genesis 4:4 – This Passage records the first acceptable Offering in the Bible. Not the first Offering;
The first Offering is Cain’s Offering – Which was not accepted by God. And secondly Abel’s Offering – Which was accepted by God.
So if you want to find out:
- What is the kind of Acceptable Offering?
- What kind of Offering does God accept?
- How does God want me to Give?
- What is the kind of Offering that God blesses?
We have to go to the first one, and from the first one you build your Doctrine.
The Study of Biblical interpretation is called, Hermeneutics.
One of these days, just use it in a sentence and say, “I am an Hermeneutical Student of the Bible!
… You would impress People when you say things like that.
Hermeneutics establishes the rule for interpretation and one of the Rules of Interpretation is the “Law of first Mention.”
That means that the first time a Subject is mentioned in the Bible, it sets out God’s Original thinking of that Subject – The first time it’s mentioned in the Bible.
The first time we read about Offerings is in Genesis Chapter 4.
And so it is establishing the Foundation of the Principle of Offerings.
Genesis 4:4 (NKJV);
Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his Offering,
“Also” means somebody has done it earlier.
“And the Lord respected Abel and his Offering:” – That’s something I want you to Note: The Lord respected it. The Lord accepted it. The Lord said, “This is the way an Offering must be made!”
There are Three (3) words there I want you to Pay attention to, about Abel’s Offering – All of those words starts with an “F”.
- FLOCK: This is the first word I want you to pay attention to.
Flock is where he took his Offering from – He took it from the flocks he reared.
It tells us that an Offering comes from somewhere. You don’t give an Offering out of nothing; it comes from somewhere.
For Abel, it was the work of his hand, what he was doing – He was taking care of animals. And that’s where he brought his Offering from.
Now each one of us works somewhere. You may not be Abel, who takes care of animals.
Maybe you sell fabrics or you sell cars or you make chairs and tables. Or you work in a Bank and you’re Paid a Salary – That’s your ‘flock’. That’s where you work, that’s the work of your hand.
An Offering always comes from somewhere – And it comes from the work you are doing.
That was what Abel did – His Offering came from the flock.
An Offering always comes from somewhere!
- FIRSTBORN: The second word I want you to pay attention to is the word ‘Firstborn.’
It describes the kind of Offering that he gave – The Firstborn. Or as the Old King James says, “The firstlings”.
He didn’t give the second born or the third born, or the fourth – He gave the firstborn (The first and not the second)!
So, Abel establishes that the Offering God respects comes from what we have worked hard for (our flocks); it must be the first – In his case, the firstborn and not the second, not the third, not the fourth, not the fifth, the first!
… Everybody say: “THE FIRST”!
And so he is establishing for us what God honours: it must be the first: The kind of Offering you give must be the first. And I will explain that a little further.
- FAT: is the third word we find with Abel’s Offering – “The Fat.”
The Fat describes the quality of the Offering he gave – He gave of the firstborn and their fat.
That means when he was giving the firstborn, he wouldn’t look at the firstborn, if it is big he says, “No, this firstborn is too big” (push it aside) and go and get a very lean firstborn. He gave the firstborn and their fat, everything to the Lord.
In Abel’s Offering we learn where our Offering must come from:
- It must comes from the Flock – Where we work.
- The kind of Offering we must give must be the first, not the second – It must always be at the topmost!
- And then, it must be qualitative – It must come with the fat.
And these are the three (3) important Principles that Abel established for us – And they establish the basis for every Offerings that we give to the Lord. It must be measured in this way.
Now if you look through the Bible, you would realised that subsequent to Abel’s Offering, all other Offerings followed the same Process.
- Noah gave an Offering later on, and he gave the same Offering.
When he came out from the Ark, he gave the first and he gave the best to God.
- Abraham’s Offering was the first.
Every Offerings that God respected, followed this Principle.
So, the Firstfruits is not just a Particular Offering; it is the Spirit – The attitude with which we give it.
Now when you look through the Old Testament, the word “Firstfruits” occured many times.
The two (2) different words that are translated in the Bible as First Fruit can be found in:
- Proverbs 3:9 – Honor the Lord with your Possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your Increase;
Firstfruits here is the word translated beginning – The beginning means that which starts everything. It’s the Foundational thing. It is the first thing you do.
The first thing God did, He created the Heavens and the Earth.
In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth (Genesis 1:1).
The first thing you do is that you give your Firstfruits.
So the Firstfruits is something you do at the beginning, it’s not something you do after.
In other words, if I am going to give my Firstfruits, I don’t pay all my bills and then I come and give the Firstfruits.
If you want to honour God, you give that first before you pay all other bills. Because it is that which starts everything.
And when you start with that, everything else is now Dedicated to God.
The Firstfruits is the beginning and the foremost.
- When you read Proverbs 4:7, it says: Wisdom is the Principal Thing; Therefore get Wisdom. And in all your getting, get Understanding.
… That word ‘Principal’ found in Proverbs 4:7 is the first thing you do.
Exodus 23:18-19 says, “You shall not offer the blood of My Sacrifice with leavened bread; nor shall the fat of My Sacrifice remain until morning.The first of the firstfruits of your Land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
Firstfruits also means that it is ripe and it is ready.
In other words,the Firstfruits is not something that is not well developed. It is ripe, it is ready, it is the first Product.
And that talks about the Quality of the Firstfruits: it must be ripe, it must be ready.
For example, if you were living in those days, and you were going to give your Firstfruits to God, and your Firstfruits was from the Mango tree.
Maybe you are a Mango Plantation Person, and you are going to give your Firstfruits from the Mangoes; And the first Mangoes that come out are not ripe: you don’t go and pluck them and give to God.
… Because the Firstfruits must be ripe! And it must be ready.
It is talking about you being careful to give to God something that has Value, is Qualitative and Presentable.
You don’t bring unripe fruits to God.
That’s how they did it – You give of something that is ready, something that is Qualitative, something that is Presentable.
This explains the thinking of God concerning the Firstfruits; and the attitude with which we must bring it – It must be the beginning, it must be ready, and ripe! It’s not the last thing you do.
Interestingly, the Government of Ghana doesn’t even wait for you to determine to Give. They don’t say, “We trust you, we love you, you are a Good Citizen. So we will pay you your Gross Salary and you decide when to Pay Tax.” No!
The Government of Ghana says, “I don’t trust you: so before I give you what is yours, I take first what is mine.”
And when you go to a shop, you buy anything and there is a Tax added to it – Whether it’s a Value Added Tax (VAT) or it’s a Sales Tax or whatever; Tax is added;
The Government doesn’t say “Well, Pay the Price for the Product and later Calculate the Tax and pay it later.” No! It takes it from Source.
Because somehow, the Government understands – It must be the first thing you do. You must take it before any other thing comes through.
But God did not tell the Israelites, “I am going to take the Firstfruits, or the Tithes or your Offering by force!” He never did that.
He never said, I take it at Source! He said, I will give you all the hundred Percent, and then you determine in your Heart, what is the beginning and what is the Best: and you out of Love, Dedication and Commitment in your Heart, come and give me my Portion.
… And that is why it is a Test of where your Heart is towards God.
For the Government of Ghana, Paying Taxes is not a Test. It doesn’t test us, doesn’t even think we would pass the test. But God says, if you truly love me, I am going to test you. I am going to give you everything and I would watch what you bring back to me.
But He says, if you going to give, watch Abel and Cain – They both have! One not accepted, the other was accepted.
An Offering is not accepted simply because it is given! And not every Offering is accepted by God.
Some time People say, “I Give and Give and Give; and I am not seeing anything. You have to understand and ask yourself, “am I truly Giving the way God wants me to Give? Or I am just Giving anything by Heart and hoping that God would bless me?”
God does not bless us simply because we have, He bless us because the attitude is Right – It is the Firstfruits, it is from the flock, it is first and it is the fat.
It is ripe, it is the beginning, it is the foremost! It’s not the Last Thing you give after you’ve Paid all your bills; Pay your Landlord, Pay everybody and then you realised what is leftover – okay, now I’ve done my best, let’s see what I can Give to God and you Give to Him.
You’ve given, and it’s Probably a very Sincere Giving, but it doesn’t qualify: because it wasn’t first, it as Last! You give first, you give the ripe.
WHAT SHOULD BE OUR ATTITUDE WHEN WE HONOUR GOD?
Three (3) Things:
- You Give to God first.
- You Give the First to God, and
- You Give the Fat to God.
The Fat means, you give Qualitatively. It doesn’t mean go and buy fat to Give to God. It has to be Qualitative, it has to be first and you give to God first.
The Foundation of all the Giving in the Bible was this Principle – It had to be first to God. First in terms of the Action, and it has to have the Quality.
Whether you call it a Tithe, a Sin Offering, a Trespass Offering – Whatever it is: it must meet the Test that Abel established with God.
If you miss that test, you can make a thousand Offerings, it would not be Acceptable to God.
When we were kids and we were going to Church, our Parents would give us money for Offering. Most of the time they gave is coins.
In those days, coins ruled Ghana. And so you get a Pesewa (Ghanaian coin) or more to go and give the Offering, if they were in a Good mood.
Sometimes they would say, this week there would be some extra Offering to be given.
So the three (3) Pence that would be given, they break it into two (2) – Not Increase the three (3) Pence – The same amount you Give, they divide it into two (2). If it is one Pesewa, you divide it into two (2) half Pesewas.
And for your information, there was a time when we were spending half (½) a Pesewa. And you could actually buy stuff with half a Pesewa.
It is like how most of us decide that we are going to Give Fifty (50) Cedis; and because I know Project Offering is coming, I would break it into two (2) (Laughter)!
“I will break into two (2) – Give thirty (30) Cedis for main Offering and Twenty (20) cedis for Project Offering. And I will still end up with my fifty (50)!”
It looks like you have given a lot but really (as we say in our Vernacular) “if you cheat Anase, you’ve cheated yourself.”
If you try to cheat God, you are cheating yourself. You can’t play games with God – It has to be Right.
So, let’s look at the REWARDS (and then I Close).
Proverbs 3:9-10, Honour the Lord with your Possessions. And with the firstfruits of all your Increase; So your barns will be filled with Plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.
… Two (2) Blessings;
- First, is the Blessing of ENOUGH.
“Your barns will be filled with plenty.”
That word ‘Plenty’ in the Hebrew means: Sufficient.
You know, when we say ‘Plenty’ in Ghana we don’t mean sufficient, we mean a lot. But the word ‘Plenty’ there means Sufficient.
In other words, when you Give, God would give you something sufficient, something enough. What you need, God gives to you.
That’s the first level of Blessing God gives to you when your Offering Pleases Him – He gives you Enough!
… Everybody say: ENOUGH!
- But then He Gives us a Second Blessing – MORE THAN ENOUGH.
Because He says, “your fats will Overflow!”
The word ‘Overflow’ in Hebrew means: Breakthrough.
So God says, if you would honour me with your Firstfruits, not only would you have Enough; you are going to be have a Breakthrough.
“Your fats will Overflow” – No Boundary can hold your Blessing. Your Blessing would cross Walls, cross Limitations, cross Geography, cross Nations, it would go International because you are Overflowing.
And today we just want to trust God, that if we’ve given Faithfully, for each one of us, there will be Enough for the Month of May – Amen.
I say that again – For those of you who have been Faithful in Giving to the Lord and would continue to Give; God says your barns would have More Than Enough – Amen.
CLOSING PRAYER
And so I Pray that in this Month of May, you would have Enough!
There would be no Shortage, no Limitation; there would be no time you’ll say, “I need to do this” and you don’t have the money for it!
You would have Enough!
Everybody say: ENOUGH!
Say: PLENTY! I receive Enough! Sufficiency!
So if you need to Pay fees today, you will Pay it!
You need to Pay rent, you would Pay it!
You need to Pay the Bank, you would Pay it!
Whatever is Enough, you would have it!
May you receive Enough! For every Need, and no Shortage;
If it’s a thousand, you will get a thousand. If it’s ten thousand, you will get ten thousand. If it’s in a Million, you will get a Million. If it’s ten Million, you will get ten Million –
That is Enough!
… But there is a a Second Blessing;
And I Pray for you, in this Month of May, that your fats would Overflow!
You would have More Than Enough!
Breakthrough on every side!
If you were held back, you would not be held back.
Some of you have operated on ‘Table-top’; you would Breakthrough from tabel-top and you would get your own shop!
Some of you have your own Shop; you would break out from Shop to Supermarket!
You have operated in Tens; you would break through into Hundreds; you would break through into Thousands, you would break through into Millions; you would break through into Billions!
In the Name of Jesus, you would have Enough, but you would also have More Than Enough!
I said, you would have More Than Enough!
Whatever was considered your Boundary, you would cross it!
Whatever was your Geographical Limitation, you would step over it!
And may the Lord open the Nations to you!
Everything that has determined to be a stumbling block, you would break through it!
Your fats would Overflow! There would be no Limits.
And so, I speak the Blessing of Firstfruits over you;
May the Lord cause your Faithfulness which He has seen in Heaven to be Rewarded here on Earth.
In Jesus’ Name – Amen and Amen!
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