The Principle of First

Matthew 6:19-21 NKJ
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust
destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys
and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure
is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:25-33 NKJ
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat
or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is
not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the
birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns;
yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than
they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So
why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how
they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God
so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is
thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little
faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What
shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the
Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all
these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
THE PRINCIPLE OF FIRST
Exodus 13:1-2 NKJ
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Consecrate to Me all the
firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel,
both of man and beast; it is Mine.”
Exodus 13:11-14 NKJ
“And it shall be, when the Lord brings you into the land of the
Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you,
that you shall set apart to the Lord all that open the womb, that is,
every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males
shall be the Lord’s. But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem
with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its
neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.
So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What
is this?’ that you shall say to him, ‘By strength of hand the Lord
brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”
Exodus 23:19a NKJ
“The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of
the Lord your God.”
Leviticus 27:26 NKJ
“‘But the firstborn of the animals, which should be the Lord’s firstborn,
no man shall dedicate; whether it is an ox or sheep, it is the Lord’s.’”
Leviticus 27:30 NKJ
“’And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the
fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s. It is HOLY TO THE LORD.’”
Proverbs 3:9-10 NKJ
Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all
your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty,And your vats
will overflow with new wine.
Matthew 6:21 NKJ
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Genesis 4:3-5 NKJ
And 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 of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and
his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain
was very angry, and his countenance fell.
Matthew 6:24 NKJ
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and
love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the
other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
Genesis 3:17-19 NKJ
Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your
wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you,
saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in
toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles
it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In
the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the
ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you
shall return.”
Malachi 3:6-12 NKJ
“For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed,
O sons of Jacob. Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone
away from My ordinances and have not kept them. Return to Me, and
I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. “But you said, ‘In what
way shall we return?’ Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me!
But you say,‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and
offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even
this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there
may be food in My house, and try 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 such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.
And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not
destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for
you in the field,” says the Lord of hosts; “And all nations will call you
blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of hosts.
Hebrews 7:1-7 NKJ
For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God,
who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and
blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first
being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem,
meaning “king of peace,” without father, without mother, without
genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made
like the Son of God, remains a priest continually. Now consider how
great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a
tenth of the spoils. And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who
receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from
the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though
they have come from the loins of Abraham; but he whose genealogy
is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed
him who had the promises. Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is
blessed by the better.
THREE LANDS:
• THE LAND OF BONDAGE (DEBT)
• THE LAND OF EVEN (NO DEBT)
• THE LAND OF ABUNDANCE (BLESSING)