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FIRST FRUITS — MORE THAN ENOUGH!
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“THE LORD INSTRUCTED MOSES, ‘DEDICATE TO ME ALL OF THE FIRSTBORN SONS
OF ISRAEL, AND EVERY FIRSTBORN MALE ANIMAL; THEY ARE MINE.’” Ex. 13:1 TLB
One of the most interesting studies in the Bible is
that of the many feasts, festivals and offerings
which the Lord required of the children of Israel. What
makes it so fascinating is that all of them pointed in
some way to the person of Jesus Christ who was to come.
Actually, if we stand back and look at the Holy Book,
we see it as one long and winding
road leading all us “sinners” back
to God. From Genesis 3:15 —
“THE SEED OF THE WOMAN”
— to the final words of Jesus on
the cross, “IT IS FINISHED,” we
see the Bible as one big LOVE
LETTER from God the Father to
everyone who will simply receive it!
But this is another whole, wonderful
study; so let me come back to one
of the glorious truths that can
HOLD YET ANOTHER KEY
to your need!
The children of Israel were
required to bring about twentytwo
different offerings to the Lord — some great and
some small. The one I want to point you to in this letter
is the “OFFERING OF THE FIRST FRUITS.” This
offering was unique in that it promised multiplication or
“MORE THAN ENOUGH” to the giver! I’ll prove this
to you from Scripture in a moment.
Now, as always, we have to first understand: Who
are the children of Israel today? Oh, I know, there is
controversy on this subject! But I believe most Bible
scholars agree that WE ARE! Jesus makes it clear that,
“I AM THE VINE, YOU ARE THE BRANCHES…”
(John 15:5). Yes, we have been grafted into the family
of God by faith in Jesus our Savior. The apostle Paul
goes on to say:
“AND NOW THAT WE ARE CHRIST’S WE ARE
THE TRUE DESCENDENTS OF ABRAHAM,
AND ALL OF GOD’S PROMISES TO HIM
BELONG TO US!” Gal. 3:29 TLB
Well, that settles it for me; so back to this “more than
enough offering,” or as the Bible calls it, “FIRST FRUITS.”
First of all, let’s not confuse this offering with the
tithe or ten percent of our
income. That, technically, is
not an offering because it
belongs to the Lord. When we
bring our tithe to the Lord we
really have not “GIVEN” Him
anything yet. We are simply
even or at sea level. Of course,
we are “blessed” by the Lord
for bringing our tithe into the
“storehouse” as the prophet
Malachi proves, but “FIRST
FRUITS” is different. The tithe
“opens the windows of heaven,”
but the “FIRST FRUITS”
offering brings the glorious
INCREASE!
First of all, let’s identify why God said, “THE
FIRST FRUITS ARE MINE.” The story is exciting —
the Israelites are leaving Egypt after 430 years of slavery.
God is preparing to kill all the first born of Egypt
— the last of the ten plagues — because Pharaoh would
not let them go! There is a chilling truth right here: the
Egyptians would not GIVE, so God TOOK! Believe me,
I would rather GIVE my FIRST FRUITS willingly and
lovingly to God, rather than have HIM TAKE IT!
So why FIRST FRUITS? God told Moses:
“AND IN THE FUTURE, WHEN YOUR
CHILDREN ASK YOU, ‘WHAT IS THIS ALL
ABOUT?’ YOU SHALL TELL THEM, ‘WITH
MIGHTY MIRACLES JEHOVAH
BROUGHT US OUT OF EGYPT FROM OUR
SLAVERY.’” Ex. 13:14 TLB
Egypt is often used as a type of sin, so it is clear
here that the FIRST FRUITS was a “THANK YOU”
OFFERING to God, as we see from the next line:
“PHARAOH WOULDN’T LET US GO, SO JEHOVAH
KILLED ALL THE FIRSTBORN MALES THROUGHOUT
THE LAND OF EGYPT, BOTH OF MEN AND
ANIMALS; THAT IS WHY WE NOW GIVE ALL THE
FIRSTBORN MALES TO THE LORD — EXCEPT
THAT ALL THE ELDEST SONS ARE ALWAYS
BOUGHT BACK” Ex. 13:15.
The purchasing back of all the eldest sons is, of course,
a beautiful type of Jesus’ sacrifice as a spotless male lamb
who was offered by the priest on the altar to God.
Finally, God tells Moses:
“IT [THE FIRST FRUITS] IS A REMINDER THAT
THE LORD BROUGHT US OUT OF EGYPT WITH
GREAT POWER.” EX. 13:16 TLB
The analogy is most evident: God has brought us out
of our Egypt, or sin, with even a greater power — the
death and resurrection of God’s own FIRST BORN!
Therefore we too can bring our FIRST FRUITS to God in
great thanksgiving for, as Paul puts it — “SO GREAT A
SALVATION!”
So, what are my FIRST FRUITS to God? Well, first of
all it is an offering, not our tithe. It could be your first pay
check on that new job; it could be a portion of the sale of
that house or piece of property; it could be a portion of that
new paycheck most of us receive every week or two weeks.
In Bible times it was the first lamb from each mother sheep
—first cow, mule, etc. To me it is NEW MONEY or NEW
GOODS of any kind that God supplies to us in many ways.
So, how much? Only God should reveal it to you. Ask
Him — He will quicken an amount to you — He has to Jan
and me many times!
So how do I know this special offering will be
multiplied back to me as Jesus said — “IN GOOD
MEASURE, PRESSED DOWN, SHAKEN TOGETHER
AND RUNNING OVER” (Luke 6:38)?
Here are two Scriptures, but there are many others:
“HONOR THE LORD WITH THY SUBSTANCE, AND
WITH THE FIRST FRUITS OF ALL THINE
INCREASE: SO SHALL THY BARNS BE FILLED
WITH PLENTY, AND THY PRESSES SHALL BURST
OUT WITH NEW WINE”! Prov. 3:9, 10
The second proof is a story from the prophet Elisha
who needed to feed 100 sons of the prophets —
“AND THERE CAME A MAN FROM BAALSHALISHA
AND BROUGHT THE MAN OF GOD BREAD
OF THE FIRST FRUITS, TWENTY LOAVES OF
BARLEY…AND HE SAID, ‘GIVE UNTO THE
PEOPLE THAT THEY MAY EAT.” II Kings 4:42
Now here may be YOUR KEY to that need, that
abundance, that more than enough, that you have been
asking the Lord for — read on carefully!
“AND HIS SERVANT SAID, WHAT? SHOULD I SET
THIS BEFORE AN HUNDRED MEN?
The prophet Elisha says —
“HE SAID AGAIN, GIVE THE PEOPLE THAT THEY
MAY EAT….” II Kings 4:43
And I love the way the Living Bible translates it:
“BUT ELISHA SAID, ‘GO AHEAD FOR THE LORD
SAYS THERE WILL BE PLENTY FOR ALL, AND
SOME WILL EVEN BE LEFT OVER! AND SURE
ENOUGH, THERE WAS JUST AS THE LORD HAD
SAID.” II Kings 4:43, 44
Ah, dear Partners, God really wants to give you
everything you need with “plenty left over,” but we have
to do it HIS WAY! As I have said so often, He even wants
to give you those “secret desires of your heart”! God
Himself says to, “PROVE ME…SEE IF I WILL NOT
OPEN THE WINDOWS OF HEAVEN, AND POUR YOU
OUT A BLESSING, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT HAVE
ROOM ENOUGH TO RECEIVE IT! Mal. 3:10
And as we all bring our FIRST FRUITS and even other
offerings we will move the very heart of God by sending this
GOOD NEWS to the world via 6,000 plus TV stations, fed
by 46 great angel satellites! Praise the Lord!
Jan and I will be agreeing with you that ALL YOUR
NEEDS BE MET with plenty left over for you and yours to
enjoy!
We love you — we need you —
now more than ever, 31 years strong!
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When we bring our FIRST FRUITS offering to the
Lord, He promises to multiply it back to us
“MORE THAN ENOUGH”!
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While in Baghdad earlier this year,
Paul purchased a satellite dish from a
street vendor. Praise the Lord —
the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ is
reaching people throughout Iraq!
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There are now 46 great “angel” satellites carrying TBN’s
signal to over 6,000 TV and cable affiliates — and to
countless millions of home satellite receivers around
the world!
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Through the prayers and faithful support of our precious
Partners, TBN is now covering roughly HALF of the great
nation of India with the Gospel! Yes, “thank you for giving
to the Lord”
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