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Intro: This three-week series examines the significance of being a good steward.
First Fruits 1
Intro: This three-week series examines the significance of being a good steward.
A. Steward = Someone who manages or looks after another’s property.
· God owns everything.
· Everything we have is a resources God provides to us
· Everything we have is a resources God provides to us
B. We talk abut giving once a year.
· This is not a sermon on why you should give but how.
· Why we give?
We are commanded.
To pushback against the selfish we are born with.
God’s blessings.
· Today we want to talk about how we give.
The attitude of giving.
C. Learning to offer God our best
· We follow Christ’s example when we use our money to serve God, rather than serving our money.
· God expects us to be good stewards of all he has given us
· and to show our love for him by offering our first and our best to him.
Today we are going to talk about the first recorded sacrifice to the Lord to draw some insight in how we should give and hopefully understand that how we give might be more important than why.
ILLUS: Molly and Billy making Birthday presents for you.
· Molly detailed colorful, Billy’s stick figures, My, what beautiful pictures you children have made for me!"
And you smother them with love and appreciation.
· Tell us which you like better /both of course / They are beautiful each in there own way.
· What do we think of the parent who doesn’t take this approach/
Let me show you a parent who goes the other way.
I. Re-gifting to God
A. Have you ever received a gift and thought to yourself, How much effort went into this?
· Sometimes we receive gifts we don’t really like.
Some of those gifts we end up re-gifting to others.
· In fact, US News & World Report did an article about dos and don’ts of re-gifting.
Don’t “re-gift within the family.”
Do “package it prettily.”
· The point is sometimes we receive what we do not want.
And we give what we really don’t want
· We do this to God too.
Instead of putting our thought and heart into what we offer him, some of us give him half-hearted gifts.
B. God accepted Abel’s gift and rejected Cain’s
· The offerings of Cain and Abel in are the first recorded offerings to God.
· Why? Did God prefer the animal sacrifice over a plant?
There are many reasons that have been taught
· Some suggest it is because Abel’s offering was a blood offering.
· Others suggest it is because Cain did not offer a first fruits offering.
· I have always contended that they had instructions.
The lord wanted a blood offering and Cain would have had to go through Abel to have one.
· Dr. Mariottini (Old testament professor at northern Baptist seminary} suggests there is not sufficient evidence for either theory.
He contends the reason is likely due to Cain’s attitude toward giving.
C. Attitude
It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did.
Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts.
Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.
· Abel’s offering gave evidence of righteousness…
· Abel’s offering gave evidence of righteousness…
· Cain’s offering did not.
· Did Cain regift God.
Aren’t we all just regifting God in a way?
· Maybe it was the way Cain felt about the gift that made the difference.
Could that be why God rejected it his offering?
Did Cain decided to give God something he really didn’t want?
Could it have been his attitude toward giving that cost him dearly?
>>> Could that be why God rejected it his offering?
Did Cain decided to give God something he really didn’t want?
Could it have been his attitude toward giving that cost him dearly?
II.
How they gave their offerings
When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock.
A. Abel gave the best
A. Abel gave the best
· Cain presented some of his crops
· Abel gave his best, which introduces us to the concept of first-fruit offerings.
B. First fruits refers to the first portion of the harvest which is given to God.
· Most notably the firstfruits are: the first to come in time; a pledge or hope of the greater harvest to follow; and specially dedicated to God. …
· Ever see that first tomato get ripe?
Waiting all summer…
· “The concept of firstfruits derives from God's creation work.
Because God created everything that exists, all of creation belongs to him
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
The world and all its people belong to him.
· Consequently, that which is first and best belongs to him and is to be given to him”
· Consequently, that which is first and best belongs to him and is to be given to him”
· Offering firstfruits means offering to God our very best without hesitation or regret.
· This includes our finances, time, gifts, and whatever he asks from us.
· Firstfruits are about choosing God first.
C. What attitude did Cain have?
How did he give
· Couple of things that are not obvious but important when you study scripture.
Name and chronology.
· Sometimes you must ask why this story is here.
· There is not much here so lets try and dig a little deeper.
· He is called Cain and he chooses to be a farmer.
These to facts seemed to be related.
Sometimes names are important clues
:1 Eve, and she became pregnant.
When she gave birth to Cain, she said, “With the Lord’s help, I have produced (I have Acquired a man)a man!”
· Cain was never actually named Cain.
He was Cain.
· Other children in the Bible -- Ishmael, Moses and Samuel, for example -- are given names by parents or by others
· but not Cain.
In his case He is not someone merely named Cain, he is Cain; he embodies the word.
But what does Cain mean?
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