The Unteachable Spirit The first cause of spiritual poverty is an unteachable spirit. There are many ways you can have an unteachable spirit. One way is by refusing instruction. Proverbs 13:18 “Someone who will not learn will be poor and disgraced. Anyone who listens to correction is respected.” What’s that you say? You think you know it all? Well don’t read another word~because no one can help you. Rebellion is a sin and sin separates you from God’s abundance. People who think they know everything can’t be taught anything. No one can speak into their lives and they have no accountability. No one can bring correction to them. If you have an unteachable spirit, you will not move into the place God has for you because the Bible says an unteachable spirit brings poverty upon you. You can be in one Scripture for the rest of your life and never receive the depth God can unlock within it. There is so much wisdom and power God has for you! You shouldn’t be the same person you were 10 years ago. If you are, something is wrong! You should be growing from glory to glory to glory! But you can’t grow unless you can be taught. Another, more devastating, way you can have an unteachable spirit is by refusing to forgive. The Bible says to forgive, not for their sake but for your sake. Forgiving releases you from bondage. Matthew 18:21 says we must forgive “Until seventy times seven.” God knew we would need to do a lot of forgiving in a day! How can you ever expect to be forgiven for the wrongs you’ve committed if you are not willing to forgive? You can’t even begin to understand the principle of First fruits unless you break free from unforgiveness. You can never see the power of God’s system of seedtime and harvest while you hold an unforgiving heart. You can’t position yourself to receive the promise God has for you until you forgive.
August 28, 2008
FIRST FRUITS
DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS THE FIRST FRUIT? HAVE YOU GIVEN TO GOD YOUR FIRST FRUIT OF THE YEAR? EXODUS: 13
The first fruit offering honors God and gives you the power and anointing to get wealth according to the word of God. The bible references those first fruits or first things or devoted things no less than 32 times. “First fruits” is not the same as tithe. Tithe is the first tenth. First fruits is the whole root, the foundation. “For if the first fruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.” Romans 11:16 GNB When you offer God your first fruits and bring Him the fullness of the first, you establish the foundation of the “whole thing”; your entire life will be holy and blessed. To biblically position yourself for your first fruits blessing in 2006, give your best to the Lord’s work today as your first fruits offering.
What the Bible says about First Fruits
“Each year bring to the house of the LORD the first corn that you harvest. Do not cook a young sheep or goat in its mother’s milk” Exodus 34:26 GNB “So now I bring to the LORD the first part of the harvest that he has given me. Then set a bucket down in the Lord’s presence and worship there. Deuteronomy 26:10 GNB “Each family is to bring two loaves of bread and present them to the LORD as a special gift. Each loaf shall be made of two kilogram’s of flour baked with yeast and shall be presented to the Lord as an offering of the first corn to be harvested. Leviticus 23:17 GNB “As soon as the order was given, the people of Israel brought gifts of their finest corn, wine, olive oil, honey, and other farm produce, and they also brought the tithes of everything they had. 2 Chronicles 31:5 GNB
“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them;’ When you come into the land which I give you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.” Leviticus 23:9-10 GNB “Do not eat any of the new corn, whether raw, roasted, or baked into bread, until you have brought this offering to God. This regulation is to be observed by all your descendants for all time to come. Leviticus 23:14 GNB “For if the first fruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.” Romans 11; 16 GNB
August 27, 2008
FIRST FRUITS - PART 2
“Honor the LORD with your possessions, and with the first fruits of all your increase.” Proverbs 3; 9-10 GNB “We will take to the Temple each year an offering of the first corn we harvest and of the first fruit that ripens on our trees. Nehemiah 10:35 GNB “We will take to the priests in the Temple the dough made from the first corn harvested each year and our other offerings of wine , olive oil, and all kinds of fruit.” Nehemiah 10:37 GNB “For in My holy mountain in the mountain height of Israel, declares the Lord Jehovah, all the house of Israel shall serve Me there, all of them in the land. There I will accept them, and there I will seek your heave offerings and the first fruits of your offerings, with all your holy things.” Ezekiel 20:40 LITV “The priests are to have the best of all the first harvest and of everything else that is offered to me. Each time the people bake bread, they are to give the priests the first loaf as an offering, and my blessing will rest on their homes.” Ezekiel 48:30 GNB “The area dedicated to the LORD is the best part of all the land and none of it may be sold or exchanged or transferred to anyone else. It is holy and belongs to the LORD.” Ezekiel 48:14 GNB
Please note that eating the first fruit can cause your blessings to be cursed. Leviticus 26:18
August 27, 2008
PRODUCT OF THE VINE PART 4
Again, the warning is to watch out for the subtle god of materialism. As stated previously, it is perfectly acceptable to have things so long as things don’t have us. Did Jesus not say, “Do not lay up for yourself treasure on earth, for where your treasure is there will your heart be also” Matthew (6:21). If one is a person of the altar, then they will treat their home and possessions like a tent. Abraham was a man of the altar and of the tent, and both he and what he had belonged to God. The Lord will enable the man or woman of God to be both the message and the model of integrity that this world so desperately needs. Part of this precaution is not to divide one’s devotion between God and money. “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Luke 16:13) All leaders should know “not greedy for money” is one of the qualifications for ministry (Titus 1:7) also Samuel said, “Witness against me before the Lord and before His anointed; whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have received any bribe with which to blind my eyes” (1 Samuel 12:3). The Purpose of Pruning If you read you will notice in John 15 that Jesus states that those who bear fruit will be pruned. The pruning processes in the natural world are necessary in order to purity the plant and prepare it for further and more substantial growth. Jesus relates this process to the believer.
August 25, 2008
PRODUCT OF THE VINE PART 3
If you recall in Acts 8:18-24, that Simon offered the Apostle money for the gift of God. Peter responded by saying “Your money perishes with you,” and kept his ministry intact. God said, “Have you considered my servant Job?” Why was such a question asked? Because Job was a man of integrity, trusting God in spite of adverse circumstances or opulent wealth. Job was a man who did not stoop to blaming God or backing away from his God-given commitment to service. He said, “As long as my breath is in me, my lips will not speak wickedness, my tongue utter deceit: Till I die, I will not put away integrity from me”. (Job 27:3-6). There were many negative influences affecting his life, but he retained his integrity saying, “My righteousness I hold fast and will not let it go” Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, but who can find a trustworthy man?” (Proverbs 20:6). Simon is escalating because the character of the individual is so often compromised. May God give us leaders who are like Deborah or Daniel, will live lives that honor God, both publicly and privately, never bowing to other gods. Leaders should seek the presence of the Holy Spirit. John wrote of the hypocrisy of those who could not commit themselves to Christ in John 12:43, for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” May this never be said of a man or woman of God!
