Blessed Pt. 2
FIRST PLACE
Proverbs 3:9-10 – Honor 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.
Honor – To treat someone as a person of high value, great importance
Sometimes, without realizing it, we are not honoring the Lord.
Jesus wants to be first place in our lives.
We want to live a life that honors the King- to put Him first.
Robert Morris – “We can give God the first of our time.”
Robert Morris – “We can give God the first of our finances.”
Proverbs 4:9 – Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase.
Honor – To treat as valuable, important, weighty
Possessions – Property, wealth, substance
Firstfruits – First and best, first portion that is set aside for God
Increase – Harvest, revenue, income
We honor God by giving Him the best and first of our income, revenue, or harvest.
Message Bible – Honor God with everything you own, give Him the first and the best.
How do we honor God with our finances?
WE HONOR GOD BY BRINGING A TENTH OF OUR INCOME INTO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD.
Malachi – Bring all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be food for My house.
The tithe is one tenth. It is holy, set apart for God.
Leviticus 27:30 – And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s. It is holy to the Lord.
Matthew 23:23 – Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
Hebrews 7:2 – To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all
Genesis 28:22 – Of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.
Dave Ramsey – “No matter what, I give a tenth of my income to my local church in the name of the Lord.”
WE HONOR GOD BY BRINGING THE FIRST TENTH INTO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD
The first born of the flock belonged to God. Exodus 13:12
The firstfruits of harvest belonged to God. Exodus 23:19
The tithe is a firstfruit offering. It is the first tenth given to the Lord.
We put God first by giving the first tenth of our income to Him.
Proverbs 3:9 – Honor the Lord with your possessions, with the firstfruits of all your increase(income).
Matthew Henry – “God is first and best. He deserves the first and best.”
Tithing is an act of faith.
Robert Morris – “God I am going to give to You first and trust You to redeem the rest.”
WE HONOR GOD BY TRUSTING HIS PROMISE OF PROVISION
Proverbs 3:9 – Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the firstfruits of all your possessions.
Proverbs 3:10 – So your barns(storehouse) will be filled with plenty.
Plenty – Abundance, more than enough
2 Corinthians 9:8 – And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
Proverbs 3:10 – So your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.
Overflow – Breakthrough, break out, overflow
As we put God first, honor Him, and submit to His Word, we are positioned for breakthrough.
Malachi 3:10 -Bring all the tithes into the strorehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this, says the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.
We are blessed to be a blessing for the Glory of God and the advance of His Kingdom.
Discussion Questions
Are there ways you have been dishonoring to your spouse or children?
Are there areas in your life in which God is not first place?
Does giving a tenth of our income to the Lord seem impossible to you? Why or Why not?
Have you experienced the blessing of God that comes through tithing? Please share.
What is God saying to you through these Scriptures?
Memory Verse
Proverbs 3:9-10 – Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.