The Breakthrough Power of First

God's plan, God's best is for you. If you need a miracle, he's happy to give you one.

Then, start walking with him so that you don't need a miracle every five, six days.

So that you're now living in victory.

And then, you're actually living in victory.

Now God can build on that. He's not always taking you out of the pit.

But now he's taking you out of the pit. Now you're walking.

You can actually build together and he can use you to take someone else out of the pit

because you're not in one, amen.

Welcome to the City Light Church podcast.

Thanks for joining us today as we look into God's Word and discover the hope and truth that

he has for us.

If you want to connect with City Light Church, feel free to visit us at citylightnyc.com that's

citylightnyc.com.

Pastor Boyan Jansik and his team believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is already

working in our hearts and minds. As you listen to today's teaching, remember that you are deeply

loved by God that you are surrounded by his grace and that he has a real hope and a future

for you.

First Corinthians 1520, we're going to talk about the power of the first.

The power of the first.

First Corinthians 1520, Paul says, but now Christ is risen from the dead and has become

the first fruits, everyone shout first fruits, has become the first fruits of those who have

fallen asleep.

You may have read this a couple of dozen times, I know I certainly did, I read it dozens

of times, but until I dove in and studied out what that verse meant, I had no clue what

the Holy Spirit was trying to communicate.

What does it mean that Christ is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep?

First of all, falling asleep means you've passed away, right?

Notice that in the scriptures, it never says they died, like we'll say that, where's

Joe?

Oh, you didn't hear?

Joe died.

But Jesus intentionally said they fell asleep, even confused people, but he said about

a girl, she's falling asleep.

Well, no, she's in a sense, she's falling asleep because they're getting ready to get

woken up again.

Look, I don't like to use the word die, because Jesus said those who believe in me will

never die, but will live forever, hallelujah.

You have eternal life on the inside of you.

So yeah, get it, you die, but you're not dead, you're alive to be absent from the bodies

to be present with the Lord, and when he comes back, you'll be bodily resurrected and

forever be with the Lord.

But what does it mean that Jesus is the first fruits?

Well, they had this thing throughout the whole Old Testament, they added in Jesus's

day, it was called the festival of first fruits, and the festival of first fruits took place

on the first Sunday after Passover.

Coincidentally, when Jesus was resurrected, you guessed it, the first Sunday after Passover.

And the first Sunday after Passover, the Hebrews would come to the temple and they would

present their first fruits offering, oftentimes barley, and it would be a bundle of barley

that they would wave in the air and present as an offering, and the priest would not

an approval, and that was the first fruits.

What was the significance of that?

They were saying, hey, the barley harvest just came in.

I don't know that there's going to be second fruits or third fruits or fourth fruits.

I don't know what the harvest is going to look like, but I'm going to give this barley

anyhow in faith, trusting that as I do, that means the entire harvest is coming, amen.

So listen to this, Jesus is resurrected on Sunday, right after Passover, on the festival

of first fruits, and Paul is saying here, because Jesus was resurrected, he was the first

one that now that is a guarantee that the rest of the harvest of resurrections is coming

in.

What's the rest of the harvest of resurrections?

You, me, the person sitting to your right, the person sitting to your left, everybody's

resurrection, including yours is guaranteed, because Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection,

amen.

So this concept, this principle of first fruits, is interwoven all throughout the Scriptures,

the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Old Testament, pre the Mosaic Law, as early

on as Genesis chapter 4.

Genesis 4 · chapter mention

And I've found that if God is constantly hammering a principle, trying to get a principle

through to us, we better pay attention, because principles, biblical principles, they work.

They work all the time.

They work whether you think they work or don't, just like gravity.

You can be on a rooftop and go, I don't believe in the principle of gravity, the law of gravity.

Don't take a jump and find out.

Drop an apple, make sure no one's on the street.

They'll work for you, and I want you to be able to tap into the sacred principle of

the first.

Let's go to Genesis chapter 4.

Genesis 4 · chapter mention

Coming in verse 3, in Scripture first fruits represent the first, the best, and the earliest

portion that belongs to God.

It is God's way of teaching his people that he gets priority, not leftovers.

God has a, does have a problem with leftovers.

There's a rebuke in Malachi, Malachi chapter 1.

Malachi 1 · chapter mention

You should read it.

It's almost humorous.

When I read it, I actually feel like Malachi's attitude is closest to mine, nine tenths

of the time.

There's almost like this.

He's almost like, what are you doing?

You're bringing three-legged lambs in.

You're bringing one-eyed heifers in.

Look at that manji goat you brought in.

You're giving God the stuff you don't want.

You're giving God the leftovers.

He's not happy with that.

How do you feel in those days right before the New Year's?

You know what I'm talking about, December 28th, December 29th.

You meet with a friend and they give you a present.

You get excited.

You open it up and then it dawns on you and hits you that they're not really giving

you a present.

They're giving you a regift, a Christmas present they never wanted.

And you got a smile and go, thanks.

I don't want this and I know you don't either.

And it looks like the four people before you gave it to me didn't either.

The box is all done.

This has been repurposed and regifted so many times.

You don't feel too great, right?

But I didn't give you anything.

Now you got to go to Goodwill and give it to me.

Why don't you like it?

Because you realize it's the leftover.

Everybody knows what I'm talking.

Maybe you are that friend and you're like, I do do that all the time.

You're not fooling anyone.

Everybody wants to be treated like they're given the leftovers.

Hallelujah.

So we don't give God our leftovers.

In the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of

the ground to the Lord.

Abel also brought of the firstborn.

Shout first born.

Now many of you know right away.

Cain killed Abel because God liked and received Abel's offering.

But he didn't like he rejected Cain's offering.

The big question is why?

And there's different theories as to why all those very plain in the scriptures.

Typically if you were raised in a church that isn't alive, the Holy Spirit's not flowing,

the Word of God isn't prized.

You heard something like well Cain brought a meat offering.

He brought animals, excuse me Abel brought a meat offering, Cain brought vegetables and

God didn't like vegetables.

He liked meat.

God was on the carnivore diet before it was cool.

He's a meat eater.

He does not like vegetarians.

My wife is a vegetarian but the blessing of my carnivorous lifestyle has extended and

it covers her.

No it has nothing to do with vegetarians or carnivores and it has everything to do.

Go back one verse.

It has everything to do between in the course of time.

See Abel came in the course of time.

Excuse me Cain gave in the course of time.

Whatever without priority, without urgency, not honoring God with the first.

Whereas Abel gave, next verse, verse 4 of the first born of his flock.

So God respected the first because the first chose I trust you because I don't know if

there's going to be a second, third or fourth or fifth.

The first is I esteem you, I prioritize you.

Notice that the first murder in the Bible was jealousy over an offering, just a note.

Oftentimes, first fruits is with regard to our giving to the Lord.

That's mainly what's preached but you look at it throughout the Bible.

It's not just giving, it's how we organize our whole lives.

When you honor God with the first, when you have a decision to make and you immediately

go to the Lord, when you get a bad report, you ever get interrupted?

Of course, we've all been interrupted where you're just minding your business, enjoying

life, everything is fine and boom, a cannonball just lands in your living room and oh, who's

the first person that you think of?

Where do you go?

Do you text all your friends?

Do you immediately look to yourself and try to solve the problem yourself or do you go

to the Lord and rush to him first and is he taking first place in your life when he does?

It aligns you with the way God made you and designed you to function and live and that's

when his blessings can most fully flow, giving God your, listen, I don't know how else

to say it.

I want to church of first Christians, amen, for the most part we are that I want more.

I want us to be like a bright and burning, shining lamp on fire, committed, no compromise.

Who are those over there?

It's going to be like, oh, they're the intense ones, they're the ones who put God first

and everything, they never back down, they never be quiet, they don't retreat, hallelujah.

Look at Mark, this is how Jesus lived his life, Mark chapter 1, verse 35, there's power

Mark 1:35

in the first, now in the morning having risen a long while before daylight, hey, Jesus

was like, you know, those success guru influencers and they always talk about how early you get

up, some of them get up at 3 a.m., I think that's a recipe for poverty, in my opinion,

not success, waking up at 3 a.m., but Jesus was the original doing that and they'll tell

you one of the hours of watch for prayer was 3 a.m., so it says in other parts in the

Old Testament they would pray when the dew was still on the grass, that's early, pray,

it says way before the sun rose, it was most likely Jesus was praying at 3 a.m., but he gave

the Father first, I mean, what was he going to do that day?

Who knows, he'll six deaf people, raise two people who were lame, frustrate some Pharisees,

he could just do that unempty, he had to do that by going to God and giving the first and

getting a fresh download from heaven, in the morning having risen a long while before daylight,

he went out and departed to a solitary place and there he prayed.

If somebody right now was in a hard place, that cannibal just landed in a living room,

I've had that happen, that is the most delicious cooling of it, is that real?

You know, how many? That is adorable, it actually sounds like gizmo.

Do you remember in the movie Gremlins and they're sweet and he's like,

that I didn't think that was possible.

Oh, Lord bless that child, those sweet coos, hallelujah.

It sounds, I feel like I'm in a magical forest and there's this bird.

There are in life winks from heaven.

These winks were something random happens in the physical realm and it's like,

God just winking at you going on with you, the cooling of a baby is one of those things.

A cannibal ends in your living room. In other words, you get an unexpected life disturbance.

What's your next move? Well, don't just go about your day doing the same thing you did yesterday,

you got a shift and adjust some things. A very powerful thing you can do, really, you can live

this way, but if you haven't been to recalibrate, to readjust is giving God the first of your day,

the first. When God called me into ministry, that was a non-negotiable. I would be sleeping and

whenever I would wake up as soon as I would wake up, what I would do is just roll over my bed

and land on the floor. And then however I landed, that's how I'd be praying.

But that was before the temptation of, oh, I just got a check to make sure our country didn't

blow up. Let me open my phone. And every morning it's the same stupid thing.

Your stupid notifications are telling you the same thing. Next thing you know 20 minutes when

you're like, I don't even know what I'm doing. And you could actually be doing something very

productive. And it's not how long you pray. See, I've heard verses like this be used to whip

the people of God and guilt them and shame them and manipulate them into early morning prayer.

No, don't do that. None of what I'm going to say today is this formula that's transactional,

where if I do a, God will do b. And then I will do c. And therefore he must do d. No, this is about

a love relationship. And I've heard this verse used like, give God, you know, this combined with

Jesus saying, could you not carry with me one hour? You know that, could you not pray with me one

hour? There's a title of a book. It like made every Christian feel guilty because they prayed

less than an hour. I was like, oh, because in that moment, look, just because Jesus says one thing to

one person one time doesn't mean that that's a rule for everybody all the time in every situation.

You got a mom with four kids. She's busy. She's doing a million things. You got a dad. He's got to

get up early. He's got to work a job has 60,000 things flying across and you're going to tell, but

you got to pray an hour a day. What? And you'd very rarely hear any preacher laugh at that or mock

that because every preacher feels like quantity is everything quality doesn't matter, but you got

to put your time in. You got to pray. You got to pray long and you got to pray when you're tired

and exhausted. Bleary eyed. When you're miserable, that's how God will actually know that you love him.

No. Amen. Look, he's already done the sacrificing. He doesn't want you to pray early in the

morning because that's when you're most miserable. He wants you to pray early in the morning. He does

because that is another spiritual principle. If you look at most of the miracles in the Bible,

they actually happened early in the morning, including the resurrection. There's something about

the morning. The psalmist said, Lord, early will I seek you? Early, earnestly, eagerly and

early in the morning when your mind is actually clear and it's not about quantity. There is. We

have to be honest. There are people. I know people actually pray hours a day and their life

terrifies me. I would not want to have their life. Nothing ever changes. They're always frustrated,

but they're always praying. Had enough to the next prayer meeting, praying at home. I don't know

what they're doing, but it doesn't have to be long. It's about opening up your heart. Yeah.

And letting him come in, get good at, you got to have a, because most people are,

so you got to hit that button on the inside where you open up and allow him in. He wants to know you.

He loves you. And we, we go through this life. We got baggage from being hurt in the past,

past baggage, baggage from being hurt in the present, present baggage, messed up doctrine where we

think that God is constantly mad and angry with us. So there's guilt and ashamed and there's

condemnation, not a revelation of His blood, not a revelation of redemption that you've been made

in you, that you're now perfect in Christ or now you're full of guilt. So you have a hard time.

So you can pray for hours all closed up and get nowhere. Or you can pray for two, three minutes.

Yes. But if you hit that button where you, uh, because guess what, you're not hiding anything

anyway. He knows you thoroughly. He know he can explain you to you that will blow your head.

And he landed the real like kicker here is, even though he knows you, he knows every cell in

your body, everything you've ever done and loves you still and calls you out by name still. Yeah.

So it doesn't have to be quantity, but it does have to be, you got to open up, you got to shed the

guards. And you can actually get good at that. You know how you get good at that? The same way you

get good at everything, practicing. You got to practice. Open up, hide nothing, wake up, let him in,

receive from him. Let him know you love him, receive his love for you and go on with your day.

And then you're getting started right. You're giving the Lord the first of your day. Hallelujah.

Is this helping anybody? All right. Let's go to first King 17. We're talking about the power of

the first because we will not treat God like a bad waiter and tip him with the leftovers.

I mean, you can, but you're not going to receive his best.

This is a time of drought. What we're about to read right now. It's about time of drought and

because it's a time of drought, it's a time of famine also. Then the word of the Lord came to him.

That's Elijah saying, arise good as air path, which belongs to Sid and well there, see I have

commanded a widow there to provide for you. So he that's Elijah. He arose and went to

Zerapath and when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was their gathering sticks.

And he called to her and said, please bring me a little water in a cup. That seems innocent enough

except it's a time of drought that I may drink. So they had very strong hospitality,

social contracts in that day. This is showing all right. This guy's asking for water. I'm bound.

I got to give it to him. And as she was going to get it, he called her and said, please bring me a

morsel of bread in your hand. Uh-oh. Now it's not just about water. He wants a little cake.

So she said, as the Lord, your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin

and a little oil in a jar and see I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it

for myself and my son that we may eat it and die. So not too bright of a future as it stands right

now. And Elijah said to her, now Elijah was sent to her to bring her a breakthrough.

She was not in a place of breakthrough because she was just focusing on her lack

and was obsessed and consumed with her own situation in life and her own problems.

She didn't have a solution. She just had one final meal and then there's nothing left my son

and I are going to die. But he has to provoke her into a miracle. A lot of what I do when I minister,

some of the things I say, it's actually the joll chew. It's to get you from doing the same old

same old to provoke you into a miracle, to get you out of that rut. See, she was in a rut of

lack only looking at that lat, only seeing lack. He had to provoke and he had to get her a miracle.

Look how he does it. Do not fear going do as you have said. Fine, you can eat.

But first, make me a small cake from it. Say that word. First. First. I mean now socially,

he's crossed every line. That's not just one water. He wants cake. Get it to me first. And who

is Elijah? He's a representative of God. The message is clear. Honor God first. Because if you did

what you were going to do anyway, you're going to be dead in 72 hours anyway. So might as well do

it God's way. Give it to me first and bring it to me and afterward take care of yourself.

Afterward, make some for yourself and your son. For that says the Lord God of Israel.

The bin of flowers shall not be used up. Nor shall the jar of oil run dry until the day the Lord

sends rain on the earth. So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah and she and her

household ate for many days. He did something with the bin of flower and the jar of oil. There were

miracles of multiplication and miracles of provision. And then it was like you ever see Mary

Poppins where she can just take all these items out of her suitcase and take a vacuum cleaner out

or put an umbrella and that's kind of like what it became. It's just like it looks like there's two

inches of flower except it never runs dry. Looks like there's three fingers of oil but I can just

keep pouring it. Make cakes for the whole neighborhood. She got a miracle of provision.

But the provocation to get her there was honoring the Lord with the first. There was something about

putting God first. My prayer is that we would just as we wrap up 2025 that the Lord would do a

deep work in us and put the search light on our souls. If we be putting him in second place

anywhere, third place, fourth place. If he's an afterthought in an area.

If we do that, we're only hurting ourselves. We are limiting God. And then some people get

mad and go, well, how come God didn't come through for me and he didn't dance like I wanted him

to dance. He didn't perform like I wanted him to perform. Well, you've given him the leftovers.

You haven't honored him with the first. He was an afterthought until that cannibal lands in

your living room. He was an afterthought. Now all of a sudden you're excited about God and you

need him. Which by the way, even if that's you, that's been me. You can still immediately come to

him and he's not going to hold it against you. That's how good he people will. If you only come

to somebody when you need something, you can only do that two, three times right after a while,

they're going to be like, hey, you're always coming to me with your handout. How about a cup of coffee on

a Tuesday? But God, not that we should treat him that way, but I just God doesn't say that. God

doesn't do that. Okay, here you go. Coming again for a miracle. I love you. I'll do it.

But that's not. Did you know living from miracle to miracle is not God's best? That is actually a

yucky way to live. And God will give you that miracle because He loves you so much. But you don't

want a life where cannibal lands in your living room. I need a miracle. God comes through and then

you keep doing the same thing that made that cannibal come into your living room. And it comes

six months later. God, I need a miracle. You know, when I was leading you and dad to the Lord,

you remember dad, my dad, very logical, practical guy, the pastor would always start the service.

How many of you need a miracle? Like every hand would go up. I mean, that was like, wow. But then

after six months, he's like, how come every service everybody raises their hand? They need a miracle.

It's a good question. I don't want to church if people that always need a miracle.

That's not God's story. God's plan. God's best is for you. If you need a miracle,

he's happy to give you one. He's happy to rescue you. Then start walking with him so that you don't

need a miracle every five, six days. Amen. So that you're now living in victory. And then

you're actually living in victory. Now God can build on that. He's not always taking you out of

the pit. But now he's taking you out of the pit. Now you're walking. You can actually build

together and he can use you to take someone else out of the pit because you're not in one. Amen.

Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. Deuteronomy 26, one through two.

The power of the first fruits was reiterated by Moses over and over again. Obviously was the

Lord himself speaking through Moses, but Moses was the the big pen. Big pen. You remember big

pens? Because people people will say, well God didn't write the Bible. Yeah, I know. I know

he didn't come in bodily form and write the Bible, but people wrote it who were inspired by the

Holy Spirit. If I write you a beautiful poem right now using a big pen, you don't say big

wrote it. I wrote it. I just used a big pen. But some people will say, well God didn't write the

Bible. No, he used big pens, about 40 of them, 40 authors, over 1600 years. Amen. 66 books. All right.

First fruits. And it shall be when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you as

an inheritance and you possess it and dwell in it that you shall take some of the first of all

the produce of the ground which you shall bring from your land that the Lord your God is giving you

and put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to make his name abide.

This was a commandment from the Lord. He's showing his preference for the first and the children of

Israel were commanded to fall in line with God's divine order of putting things first. Joshua

Joshua 6:17–19

chapter 6 verses 17 through 19. First fruits is the ultimate act of faith because you give it when

nothing else is in yet. So Joshua this if you ever want to read a fun book in the Old Testament

read Joshua it's a book of victories it's a great book epic and they had because right before that

you can always the word of God is always life but sometimes you're reading how they were stuck in

the wilderness it's depressing because you know how long that journey should have taken

through the wilderness back to the Primus land 11 days how long did it take them 40 years now I

don't like when I miss Google Maps and make the wrong turn like oh I gain 45 seconds on this trip

ah I feel robbed I'll never get those 45 seconds back they took them 40 years I mean that's

frustrating but now those guys had died this is the next generation and Joshua was leading about

two three million people into the Primus land and the first city that they take is Jericho and because

it's the first city God said you won't take any of the treasures I want the first that's going to

go into the treasury of the Lord you're not allowed to touch any of the precious things they belong to

me now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction Jericho mighty victory by the way

you know the walls of Jericho fell flat down archaeologists would tell you how thick those walls

actually were in New York you know the thickness of the walls is three bricks how do I know because

it's seven streets it was falling apart so much we could actually see it's like oh three bricks

thin this is how they do all the tenements three bricks is enough to separate one building from

another and you know when you hear the walls of Jericho fell down you go oh you probably imagine a

brick wall like the Berlin wall or maybe even like the Great Wall of China which is pretty thick

it's said that the walls of Jericho were so thick that you could run seven chariots side by side

on them and race them around the walls of the city that's the miracle that God did when he made

and when the walls fell by the way they didn't fall like this they didn't topple forward

they collapse straight down and when you collapse something straight I can go on and when you

collapse something straight down with the wall of that thing that actually creates an incline like

stairs so they could just use stairs now and just walk right into the city now the city shall be

doomed by the Lord to destruction and all who are in it only Rahab the harlot sounds like such a

funny detail Rahab the harlot do you know this is Jesus is great great great great great great great great

grandmother this prostitute who had a moment of redemption and looking towards God it's just

there there's so many times in the Bible where it just shows you that you are never too far gone

for God because this book these big pens the people who wrote the Bible who were inspired by the

Holy Spirit some of them were murders some were more thieves some of them were scoundrels and

adulterers

only Rahab the harlot shall live she and all who were with her in the house because she hid the

messengers that were sent verse 18 and you by all means abstain from the accursed things what are

the accursed things lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things and make the camp

of Israel accursed and trouble it so when I first read this I thought accursed things were like

idols because this was a pagination maybe they were idols maybe they were witchcraft items what

accursed or accursed things but it wasn't those things it was actually treasures that the Lord

said this belongs to me so it's a cursed thing to take from what the Lord says is his

by all means abstain from the accursed things lest okay we read that verse 19 but all the silver and

gold and vessels of bronze and iron are consecrated to the Lord they shall come into the treasury of the

Lord now fast forward one chapter there was a fella by the name of Akin and this is known as Akin

God gave his people tremendous victory and it was like a series of victories victory yeah

victory yeah and then because they crossed over the Jordan they came in the spies came were let out by

Rahab they take Jericho then all of a sudden everything starts going wrong it was like everything

that can't go wrong does and they start seeking God what happened we were unstoppable now we

can't do anything right and it's like we're cursed and God said well remember how I said you

can't take anything from the first the first belongs to me Akin made all of Israel to be Akin

because he was a fashionista and he wanted this garb he wanted a coat and he wanted it so bad

even though God said don't take from the treasures he had to have he saw it on tiktok on the runway

this Babylonian garment and said I must have and he took it and everything started to fall apart can

you just get that verse up don't keep us in such mystery please when I saw among the spoils a

beautiful Babylonian garment 200 shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing 50 shekels I

coveted them and took them and there they are hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent with

the silver under it so the moment that problem was fixed Joshua becomes a happy book again

and then it's like 20 plus chapters of victory after victory after victory what's the moral of

the story God actually likes first he has a preference for the first and when we get into what

God likes I notice now things are way better life is better the blessing flows hallelujah hallelujah

thank you Jesus let me show you some slides five slides of what first fruits represents

first fruits equals priority your demonstrating that God is a priority in your life God claims the

first of everything harvest livestock income even children no you didn't give your child but you

consecrated him to the Lord that every child that opens the womb the first one shall be consecrated

dedicated to the Lord not because he needs it but because the first portion determines who

or what is the first in the person's heart now I have to preach the spark because it fits into

my sermon but my mother doesn't know this I even mentioned in the first service how my family

doesn't know this and they think I'm crazy so when she surprised me in service this morning I thought

this is a wild way for her to find out so I'm going to preach to this section right now because even

though I turned 50 in about a month two months from now I still can feel her gaze now she'll be fine

I've shared with you all that by faith you guys know we've been blessed we invested heavily in

Bitcoin and Bitcoin related derivatives and then we felt led to give two million dollars as the

first fruits offering to city light church right you all caught up with some of you or knew you don't

know that it was wonderful 2025 was a great year and I was able to do stuff that was in my heart

for decades and in so giving that gift I actually I didn't plan it this way but I paid the church

back for every single salary check ever in history so I am for 23 years I've served city light as

a volunteer pastor it's a wonderful thing to be able to do but we did not give that as a tie

I know some people got excited they're like whoa you made 20 million dollars and you gave two million

you know that's what they thought no that was the first fruits offering that was us saying we don't

know because the scary thing about it was we haven't closed all of our positions yet everything

was in other words you don't know how in the green you are so well how much money did you make I

don't know it changes every day tremendously so I don't know so why would you give two million

dollars then exactly I don't know but I gave it by faith because when you trust God with the first

fruits not knowing whether second third or fourth are coming you're setting yourself up hallelujah

so if a year from now I'm here receiving a special offering on wow 2025 was a great year but

whoa 2026 really clean my clock guys and so I've been downhill since and I can't believe I gave

away two million dollars but by law I can't ask for it back and I'm gonna have to pass the bucket

around guys because Victor needs a new pair of shoes are you smiling I haven't checked your face yet

you're right that's not gonna happen I already tested this when I bought the R knots a car before I

had one amen I mean I had a car but wasn't a car I had a Toyota that that that I was just in the

first service reminiscing with Mauricio he was with me we actually took the R knots out guess where

we went we go where no New Yorker ever goes but where every tourist wants to go no not time square

literally and time square you can at least park in a garage but in literally they fake you out you

can find parking but the streets are so narrow down there and I parked and this corrections bus

we're still we'd even get out of the car all of a sudden it felt like a bomb landed in the car

you never know how loud a car crash is until you're in one the whole it was like the whole

car was boom and shook I thought half the car was missing I get out and it's just like the front

right right towards the front it just looked like somebody took a sledgehammer and bashed it in

I went to price out I'll skip the part where I exchange information with them didn't call the cops

because I wanted to tend to our tourists so I had no police report and I'll skip that part it's

very sad some guy with a badge from the corrections comes and says call this number we'll make sure

we'll make we'll make you hold whatever I call that number for days nobody ever ends I don't

know what number he gave me yeah to someone say a pay phone that's what it was there's the one

pay phone left in New York he gave me that number today I want to price out you know how much

you would be to repair the Toyota and it was like over $5,000 I'm like especially back then that

was like an insurmountable I was like I'm not paying that still functions I'll put air in the tires

oil in the car will be fine but I wanted a nice car but the Lord said no first get your wife

one got my wife one then he said now those preachers they drive a Tesla that's 10 years old tell

them you're gonna buy them a Tesla send them a hundred thousand dollars say to pick the Tesla

with all the options that I don't know all the classes but that one that's right around there

and honestly in that moment I thought but what about me I mean when do I get to eat it's my time

I'm here in this Toyota pump and burn them it's my time and the Lord just all the Lord has to do

do what you got to do so I bought them a car now when I did that with the way the numbers removed I

didn't think I had to make peace with look if my car comes or doesn't come that's fine I did the

right thing Lord said get them I get them I get them I got that was in November December I believe

yeah November December yeah right exactly year from now no it may have been October late October

November because it was just like six weeks after it was still 2024 where I went into Mercedes and

ordered that Maybach because the money had come in I quickly separated it you got to do a lot

you separate the tithe separate for the taxes and then with the overflow hallelujah hallelujah

thank you Lord I'll read that again again first fruit is the ultimate act of faith because you

give it when nothing else is in yet it shows your trust first fruit equals holiness found in Romans 11

16 there is a biblical principle of giving the first fruits when you give the first it makes the rest

holy it sanctifies the lump for if the first fruit is holy the lump is also holy see I have so

so so much joy driving in that car not because of the leather quality not because it actually has

a cup heater and cooler right now that I have so much joy in it because it's a holy car

it's been made holy I have no guilt no it's just like I'm free hallelujah because the first fruits

has been is holy the lump has been if the root is holy so were the branches when you're organizing

your life to put God first in every area again the decisions you make do you run the playbook

with ungodly counsel first or do you go to the Lord first some of you you have to work with unbelievers

the but the Bible says blessed are those who don't stand in the seat of scorners and listen to godly

counsel ungodly counsel but you have to collaborate fine collaborate but you go to God first

in the decisions that you make in your prayer like when when it's service hey I'm not going to

have got the leftovers and stroll in right right where I know they're ending that third song

I'm not looking at anyone I'm looking at I'm going to give him the best I'm going to give him the first

and if the root is holy so are the branches amen first fruits equals honor

Proverbs 39 through 10 this is how you show the Lord that you're honoring him when you put him first

honor the Lord with your possessions and with the say it first fruits of all your increase and what

will happen tell me Solomon what happens go ahead what happens there you go Solomon right in your

Proverbs trying to get stuff out of me what happens when I give God the first oh Solomon you're

going to keep me in suspense what did you write in verse 10 Solomon

let me know

so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine

hallelujah so number one first fruits equals your priority first fruits equals your trust first

fruits equals holiness first fruits equals honor and first fruits equals covenant loyalty worship

team you can come on up first fruits equals covenant loyalty it separated the Israel from pagan

nations this is what separates us you know everybody should have Christian here you have Christian

heroes it could be people in this church someone in your life group somebody somebody doesn't

mean you admire everything about them but this people in my life I'm like I love how they pray

I look at that person has the gift of faith on them they never take it on the chin and just

wallow and self pity they've got the gift of faith I'm like hmm I like that I want that

with your Christian heroes or aspirational figures someone you want to be like in a particular way

I can guarantee you one thing they are first fruits Christians they are Christians if they're

if they're worth respect in admiration their Christians who are putting God first in every area

of their lives but it's not so in other religions it's not so in pagan this was unique to the

God of Israel it separated Israel from pagan nations which offered the leftovers are only gave

when they felt secure God demanded the first so that his people were visibly marked as his and

that's exactly what it is with a Christian who puts God first there's a mark on them there's

a mark on them that's practically visible it's like they've been branded with the Holy Spirit there's

this swirl of the goodness of the Lord all around them I want this world hallelujah I want to

get into a room and it be very evident that I'm not getting in there alone amen and that's how

it is when you're putting God first it's evident to everybody that you're not walking into a room

alone that was when I first met real Christians as an unbelieving 16 year old even then I had

enough spiritual sense to realize these people are different I mean their behavior is different

that's but what is this they just look different to me it's like an energy about them there's a

life and a light about them it's the Holy Order of God hallelujah thank you Jesus

first fruits are a revelation of Lordship God wants to be first in desire decisions finances

and lifestyle Lord may you do this in our heart treat first fruits as consecration not superstition

the first portion declares everything I have is yours let the principle of first fruits form your

heart your heart first fruits are God's way of forming trust loyalty and worship in his people

what you give to God first is what rules your life by the way I'm just reading some truth

isms about first fruits I didn't know where to put them in the sermon so I'm just giving them to

all at the end what you give to God first is what rules your life first fruits declares who sits on

the throne when the first is holy the rest is blessed when the first is withheld the rest is

hindered first fruits aren't about money they are about allegiance trust and the sacred order of God

giving God the first opens the door for him to fill the rest the first unlocks the future

that's so true the power of the first is woven from able to Elijah to Jesus first fruits

are a mystery of divine order and not a human formula hallelujah let's pray heavenly father

we all know what it's like to give you the first and we all know how easily we can slip into giving

you leftovers we pray Lord that we be an on fire people a people full of the holy ghost and

serving you in a spirit of revival so help us be a people who honors you first in every category

of life brand us and empower us we're not going to be legalistic about it we're not going to

try to do it in our own strength but yeah we welcome the holy ghost to shake us move us rearrange us

changes do whatever you got to do that we will be walking worthy of this great calling with which

we have been called honoring you and putting you first in everything in Jesus name amen

amen we'll give the Lord a big hallelujah hallelujah thank you lord well are you ready to

worship and honor the Lord with your tithes and offerings before we do that yeah let's look at the

first fruits of the future campaign obviously I'm preaching this morning because we have this

first fruits of the future campaign so you all understand what first fruits is this isn't the

first time I've preached something like this but it's probably been the most the most comprehensive

that I have I wanted you to know the principles behind it and hey let's just we just started

this last week how many of you remember what what we had raised up until last week we're on 2000

show drum roll please give us a little hey look at that look at that look what the Lord has done

now I was very excited when I got that so I asked pastor Andrew who's the who's the controller

which I'm just mentioning that and he watches all all of all of our sermons you know because he

lives in Texas he's moved away to Texas but he's still a part of our church and is on staff and

is a great man of God and pastor and and he does all of our finances he was an amazing guy and

finances God has brought us the best you know just so you know with our staff none of us play around

he used to work at a hedge fund he's not you know a lot of times in church like the finances like

the finance person's like well you know they used to work at seven eleven and then they got

radically saved and you know he used to do the stock in that supermarket he's really good with

numbers a great bean counter how about him well yeah he'll do that's how no he used to work for

a hedge fund he knows his stuff but I but I'm I'm even talking about this because his title is

controller which makes sense if you're in finance it never did to me but I just went with it but the

pastor that that you know that brought took me to Poland that administered for him he just sent me

a screenshot of her own website and like with concerns he said why is he called controller

I had to say well he's not controlling the Holy Spirit thankfully and he's not controlling the

flow of the service he's controlling he's controlling he's he's making sure every being is accounted for

so I asked our controller I said hey that's a lot of dough give me the breakdown and he says well

two people gave ten thousand dollars each which which made me happy and sad I'm happy for the

people who who who did that I pray and I pray this for every giver that the Lord multiply it

back to you that your harvest come and the only reason I was sad was it all came from not all but

20 grand came from two people and it need not be it shouldn't be by the time we wrapped this all up

it should be spread spread the love it shouldn't be concentrated in two people and by the way 10,000

may be a tip for you like nothing and 10,000 may be the most money you never had so much money

you're baking and I get that that's why we never tell people what to give you say what should I give

ask the Lord and he will put in your heart what to give sometimes you get two amounts then you

should know the lower mountain Satan the higher mountain is God let's put the giving information

up there Lord we honor you we love you and we give with a glad heart and full expectation to you

God I thank you that at city light church we will not be shaken people will continue to move

forward in their lives they're gonna get married they're gonna have lots of healthy and blessed

children they're gonna buy townhouses and condos they're gonna start businesses they're gonna

multiply Lord I don't care who the mayor of New York is and neither do you you will bless and you

will prosper your people hallelujah hallelujah thank you Lord ministry team if you would just

prepare if you want ministry by the laying out of hands you want someone to pray with you and for

you if you've been shy and never did that before I assure you you will not be harmed you will be blessed

go on over to that I can only imagine let's just say you've never been to church you just come in

you need the Lord and then you're being invited to go into that blue lit area for people to pray for

you for us it's not it's like not daunting we know good but imagine you gotta always think of that

somebody who like didn't like half my message still clinging to the Lord and now they're told to

go to that blue like they might not ever emerge look it looks like a twilight zone don't go toward

the light but you will be safe go over there and some wonderful people will pray with you and for

you we're gonna trust God to do a miracle in your life such a miracle that you won't need another

miracle next week amen let's all stand if you need to go go be blessed city light be blessed

this is the city light church podcast if you've missed any part of today's message or if you

would like to find out more about pastor boy on jansk and city light church visit us at citylight

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reminded how much God loves you and that you are surrounded by grace thank you for listening

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