Walk Upright
On the top of Mount Sinai, the Lord gave commands to Moses for the people of Israel to follow for all generations. One of those was about how to give to the Lord. He said, “The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring to the house of the LORD your God” (Exodus 34:26, NKJV).
Are you interested in personal prosperity? Do you want to live a life of abundance beyond your wildest dreams? The Bible tells us that “No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11, NKJV). The prosperity mentioned in Scripture is not just about financial prosperity, though that is certainly God’s plan for you. God wants you to prosper in all things, even as your soul prospers (3 John 1:2). He wants you to prosper in your mental and physical health, in your finances, in your relationships, in your business…in whatever you put your hand to. God’s blessings will overtake you when you put Him first in all things.
Would you like to be drowning in the goodness of God, living a full and abundant life saturated in favor? Are you putting God first in all things? Or do you only seek Him when your life is falling apart and you have run out of answers?
Matthew 6:33 tells us to “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (NKJV). Have you heard the term firstfruits?Firstfruits is putting God first in time, order, and importance. It is putting your faith into action.
FAITH IS REACHING OUT TO GOD IN THE DARKNESS, KNOWING THAT HIS HAND IS REACHING BACK FOR YOU.
It is following His lead in the good times and the bad. Faith means starting out before you know how things will turn out and trusting that when you are following God, all things will work together for your good.
Life is hard. It can be chaotic and painful. But regardless of the moment in time that you are currently walking through, as Christians, we are more than conquerors because of the Cross. Keep in mind that on the hard days… He is good. And on the good days… He is good. He is faithful in and out of season. His mercy and grace are not only extended to us on days that are amazing. He is fighting battles for us that we have no idea about. Are you trusting Him, digging into the Word, and asking for direction?
Whatever path you are on today, if Christ isn’t leading you, you need to stop. Open the Word. Saturate your life with Scripture and start crying out to God. Let Him know that there is nothing more important in your life than Him (Jeremiah 29:12–13).
Honor God in your living and in your giving. What does that mean? Not only are we called to live a life that is a living testimony of God’s faithfulness, but we are also called to share His love and His Gospel with those around us. Be a light that shines so brightly in the darkness that people want what you have.
Trust God with every aspect of your life and honor Him with your firstfruits. When payday comes, your tithe is the first thing that needs to be given — putting God above all other things. When God is first in your life, everything else falls into place. You don’t have to live in a constant state of stress and anxiety if you are trusting the One who calms the winds and the waves to control your destiny.
Putting God first means that His hand is on your life, leading you down passageways drenched in blessings that you could never have imagined. But you have to take that first step and invite Him into every part of your life. You have to honor God with your living and your giving.
While we are told that in this life there will be trials, John 16:33 tells us, “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (KJV). Why do we worship on Sunday? Because it’s the first day of the calendar week, the firstfruits. Your success begins on Sunday! Starting your week out with praise and worship, followed by a word from the Lord, always points you in the right direction. It sets a tone and sends a message that no weapon formed against you will prosper.
The firstfruits sanctify the fruit that follows. Putting God first in your life establishes His lordship. If He is not first in your life, He is not the Lord of your life. If He is not Lord, there is no blessing, no favor.
In ancient Israel, the firstfruits were the offerings of the first harvested grain. If you didn’t bring your firstfruits to the Lord’s house as an offering, there would be no additional fruit for harvest.
In the Old Testament, animals that were considered clean (oxen, goats, sheep, pigeons, and turtledoves) were sacrificed as the firstfruits to bless those that remained. According to Old Testament law, the firstborn was either sacrificed or redeemed.
Jesus was God’s only begotten Son. He had to be sacrificed or redeemed. God allowed His Son to be sacrificed for the sins of the world. If you do not accept Christ as your substitute on the Cross, you must die for your sins. The Bible says that “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23, NIV).
You don’t have to look around very long to notice the absolute madness in the streets. Our world has forgotten God. “In God We Trust” is no longer a tenet that people live by. We see division and chaos surrounding us because we live in a world that has forgotten to put God first.
If this is a brand-new concept for you, adopting firstfruits into your life is absolutely revolutionary. Put Christ first in all things and watch how every aspect of your life begins to flourish. If you have walked away from this concept over the years, today I invite you to come back and walk on the solid ground of God’s Word. God is ready to pick up right where you left off. His arms are open wide, and He delights in your well-being.
If you choose to continue down your own path, you will reject the blessings God has in store for you. And living under the banner of blessing is so much better than living through one problem after another, trying to sort things out on your own. Our God is the Friend who sticks closer than a brother. Whatever you have consecrated to Him will bring you untold blessings. Whatever you have not consecrated to Him…get it out of your life. Walk away from it! Don’t open any doors for the enemy.
The blessing of the firstfruits is connected to the promise of the tithe. Are you giving God the first 10% of your income? Because what you do with the firstfruits (the 10%) determines what happens with the rest (the 90%). Would you like your finances to be blessed, running over, and filled with God’s favor? The choice is yours. Your action (or inaction) determines the blessing (or lack thereof).
IF YOU ARE NOT SETTING GOD FIRST IN ALL THINGS, IT’S TIME TO GET YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER.
Our God is an awesome God, but He is a God of order. What He says, He will do. He does not break His Word. If you are not giving Him the firstfruits sacrificially, you have tied up the blessing that is connected to the firstfruits.
If you follow God’s Word and God’s ways, you will find yourself living a life filled with the goodness of the Lord. This doesn’t mean you will never encounter a problem or that life will be smooth sailing. It simply means that God will always be there to carry you through to the other side. And, in this life, walking hand-in-hand with the Savior towards your divine destiny…it just doesn’t get any better than that.
