January 14, 2024
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Last week, the Lord encouraged us that He was doing something new, and it was about to spring forth. Isaiah 43:19 taught us that the Lord was making roadways in the wilderness of our lives, and rivers in the desert. That means He is making a way for us where previously there appeared to be no way. So, if you are in a wilderness, unsure about next steps in any area of your life, the Lord is doing something new, and He wants you to perceive it.
We talked about His desire to put rivers in our desert areas, so if there is an area of your life that is not growing, look for the Lord to bring water to that desert, to bring growth, whether it be spiritual growth, or growth of a relationship, or even divine growth in your financial provision.
1st Peter 1:13 taught us last week to gird our minds for action, to be sober in spirit to perceive the new thing that Jesus is doing in us, and to fix our hope on His grace to walk in it. The Greek word for “sober” means to be discreet and to watch. Discreet means to have objective discernment and to show good judgment. In that regard, I gave a testimony about the time many years ago when the Lord opened a door for us to move to Birmingham, AL. We had to be sober in spirit to hear that word, and we had to depend on Him for that move the way Peter had to focus on Jesus to walk on the water.
If we had followed our natural instincts, we might not have made that move, not wanting to pull the kids out of school and move far away from family. But we were sober in spirit, and we walked in the new thing He was doing. It turned out to be a roadway in the wilderness, and a river in the desert of my professional career. I was at a crossroads professionally, as I did not have permanent work at the time and was unsure of next steps. But more importantly, the move grew us spiritually. We came to depend on Jesus to make a way, and we saw His faithfulness big time. I began to hear and give words of the Lord, and I began to fully trust the Lord with our financial wellbeing.
So, He made a way in our wilderness, and brought the rivers of His Spirit to grow us. If we were not sober to hear the new thing that He was doing for us, we would have missed all that fruitfulness.
All of that brings me to today’s word.
You Were Appointed by Jesus to Bear Fruit
Do you realize that Jesus chose us and appointed us to be fruitful?
John 15 (Jesus’ words):
16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and [that] your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you.
So, it is the Lord’s will that we be fruitful, that our lives are not frustrated, fearful, or unhappy, but fruitful, productive, and joyful. He also desires that our fruit should remain, meaning that our fruitfulness would have permanent significance in the Kingdom of God. He wants our fruit to benefit the Gospel, to be a witness to believers and unbelievers alike. That will bring great joy to our lives.
This desire of the Lord for us to be fruitful is emphasized in Ephesian 2:
Ephesians 2:
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Get that – we are His workmanship, created in Jesus for good works, which God has already prepared for us that we should simply walk in them. God prepared that whole move to Birmingham beforehand. People have told me since then that the decision makers, whom I hadn’t met yet, were sitting in a room in Birmingham AL, and they were convincing themselves that I was to be the CFO, even before I knew there was a job opening there. My interview was a piece of cake – they had already decided I was the guy before I got there. The Lord had prepared those good works beforehand, that we should walk in them.
I was created for good works, not just in that job, but in the Spirit. He began speaking into me words that I would deliver in the church. He healed me of an orphan’s mentality and had me reconcile with my earthly father posthumously. I taught a fellow vice president at the company a word of God about forgiveness. And I had the opportunity to witness to others by conducting myself with honesty and integrity in the midst of the company’s financial struggles.
I am not bragging here about me, but I am bragging on my Lord and Savior because we are His workmanship, created in Him for good works, prepared by God beforehand. His word is true. Without Jesus, that move to Birmingham could have destroyed me, my faith, and potentially our family. But we are appointed to bear fruit. Praise God!
The Spiritual Significance of Fruit
Fruit represents an important spiritual principle in the Kingdom of God. In the agricultural economy of the Old Testament, people had to be fruitful, or they would starve. They worked the land to produce a harvest. Food was the “fruit” of their labor. God’s Law stipulated that the first fruits of the harvest were considered choice fruits and were to be dedicated and given back to the house of the Lord.
Exodus 23:
19 “You shall bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God…”
Verse 19 establishes the spiritual principle of tithing, also known as the principle of sowing and reaping. When we tithe, we give 10% of our income to the work of the Lord, and we call that the first fruits tithe, meaning it comes off the top as an expression of faith. It is choice fruit because it belongs to God. We pay the tithe and live off the 90% because it is a first fruits tithe. Malachi 3 teaches us that the fruitfulness of our lives is dependent on bringing that first fruits tithe into God’s storehouse, so there will be food to bless the widows, the orphans, people with disabilities, and the poor.
Tithing is key to our fruitfulness. Since the first firsts tithe belongs to God, it is holy, and Malachi 3 teaches us if we do not tithe, we are robbing God of what is His.
Malachi 3:
8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed Thee?’ In tithes and offerings.
9 “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation [of you]!
10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test 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 a blessing until it overflows.
11 “Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it may not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast [its grapes],” says the LORD of hosts.
12 “And all the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,” says the LORD of hosts.
God is tying the fruitfulness of our lives to our obedience in bringing the first fruits tithe into His storehouse. Verse 9 says we are cursed if we do not tithe. It is important to note that God does not curse us. We curse ourselves and our finances when we do not tithe because we are ignoring God’s principle of sowing and reaping. When we sow into His good soil, we reap a multiple of what we sow.
In explaining the Parable of the Sower, Jesus said this:
Matthew 13:
23 “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”
Some think of the obligation to tithe as additional expense, which cannot be afforded, but really, it is an investment in the Kingdom of God and His work (spreading the Gospel). When we tithe, we are sowing in the good soil Jesus is describing, and the harvest is many multiples of what we pay. So, when we do not tithe, we are robbing not only God, but also ourselves because we are giving up many multiples of that money in the future. If we hold back the tithe, that is all we get, but if we pay it, we get a hundredfold, or sixtyfold, or thirtyfold. Even thirtyfold is not a bad return on investment! Jesus is saying if we hear this word and understand it, we will indeed bear fruit.
Malachi 3:10 promises if we tithe, God will open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing until it overflows. The Hebrew word for “blessing” in verse 10 means “benediction,” and by implication, “prosperity.” Benediction in turn means “good word.” So, the promise here is that God will give us a good word in the Spirit that will prosper us. It will prosper us spiritually because we will be getting good words from God, but it will also prosper us practically because those good words will show us the new thing God is doing, the roadway in our wilderness, and the rivers in the desert areas of our lives. Tithing therefore increases our fruitfulness, by enhancing our creativity to make money and to be more productive in our work, no matter what is happening in our national or global economy. Remember God prospered Joseph and his family even during a famine (Genesis 47-50).
Malachi 3:11 is also significant – if we tithe, the Lord will rebuke the devourer so the devil will not be able to destroy our fruitfulness. I remember times before I began tithing when my income increased but our financial picture was not improving. Expenses increased even more – the car needed major repairs, the furnace died, or the roof began leaking. That was the devourer destroying our fruit, casting our grapes to the ground. God promises the tither that He will rebuke the devourer, which means He will turn him back or keep him down.
The spiritual principle of the first fruits tithe promises to return manyfold our investment in the Kingdom. Jesus promises us, if we tithe, the vineyard that is our work life, or family life, or social life, will remain fruitful, productive, and joyful. This promise is more than financial in nature, but also reflects spiritual growth as He gives us “good words” to bless the Kingdom.
We are appointed to bear fruit and the Lord is giving us the formula to be fruitful.
Jesus Is the Father’s First Fruit Tithe
Fruit takes on even more spiritual significance when we realize the lesson of 1st Corinthians 15 that Jesus’ resurrection represents the first fruits of those whom God is raising from the dead (which includes us).
1st Corinthians 15:
20 ¶ But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.
21 For since by a man [came] death, by a man also [came] the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive.
23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,
24 then [comes] the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.
25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
So, we know that those of us who accept Christ are children of God who will be resurrected with the dead when Jesus raptures us. Jesus is the Son of God and, as such, He is the first fruits tithe of Father God. The Father gave His first fruits tithe to do the work of the house of God. Jesus, in turn, appoints us to be fruitful by giving a first fruit tithe as well. Therefore, when we tithe, we are imitating what Father God did when He gave Jesus as a first fruits tithe.
Is this awesome stuff or what?
Our Fruitfulness Comes from His Grace
Fruitfulness and productivity and prosperity are the kinds of things that we can become proud of and even boastful, but the Apostle Paul admonishes us Ephesians 2:
Ephesians 2:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
We discussed verse 10 earlier. We are His workmanship, created in Jesus for good works, but it is by grace we have been saved and therefore have become eligible to walk in those good works. No one should boast, but we all should thank God for His faithfulness to us, even when we are not faithful.
2nd Timothy 2:
13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself.
I love this verse of scripture. God cannot deny Himself. He remains faithful. He can’t help but be faithful to us. That’s who He is, even if we are struggling in our faith, He is faithful to us and His promises. I encourage you to let God work with you on your faith, as Jesus did with Peter. Let the Holy Spirit draw you to a higher ground of faith, to a higher ground of sowing the first fruits, where you can trust His promises of the multifold harvest and walk in the works which He has prepared for you beforehand.
Let us pray.
Father God, thank You for appointing us to bear fruit, permanent fruit in Your Kingdom that will bring lasting joy to our hearts. Thank You for creating us in Jesus to be His workmanship and to do the good works which You prepared for us beforehand. Thank You for the spiritual principle of the first fruits tithe and the promise of good words, spiritual growth, creativity, and productivity in the vineyard that is our life. Lord, we pray over the tithe, as it is the choice fruit, just as Jesus is the choice fruit among those You are raising from the dead forever. And thank You, Lord, that we are saved by grace, and You remain faithful to us and to Your word, even when we are faithless. All glory to the Lamb, in whose name, we pray. Amen.
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