Patrick J van Rensburg
You need to do 3 things for a breakthrough
Matthew 6 focuses on the three things that will lead to a breakthrough.
- Giving
- Praying and
- Fasting.
Mat 6:21 want waar julle skat is, daar sal julle hart ook wees.
When you pray, you release the thirty-fold return. Praying and giving releases sixty-fold blessing. But when you pray, give and fast, you will see a hundred-fold return!
God must be first in your life
Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Pro 3:6 Remember the LORD in everything you do, and he will show you the right way. (GNB) Pro 3:9 Give honour to the Lord with your wealth, and with the first-fruits of all your increase: Pro 3:10 So your store-houses will be full of grain, and your vessels overflowing with new wine. (BBE)
- The first belongs to God
Ex 13:1 Toe het die HERE met Moses gespreek en gesê: Ex 13:2 Heilig vir My al die eersgeborenes. Alles wat die moederskoot open onder die kinders van Israel, van mense en van diere, dit is myne.
Exo 13:1 The LORD spoke to Moses, Exo 13:2 “Set apart every firstborn male for me. Every firstborn male offspring among the Israelites is mine, whether human or animal.”
Exo 13:12 you shall set apart to the LORD all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the LORD’s. (belongs to the Lord). Exo 13:13 Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.
Ex 13:13 Maar elke eersteling van ‘n esel moet jy met ‘n lam loskoop. En as jy dit nie loskoop nie, moet jy sy nek breek. Maar al die eersgeborenes van mense onder jou seuns moet jy loskoop.
If you not going to redeem it you will loose. If you don’t bring the 10% that belongs to God you are going to loose it. The Lamb is clean and needs to be sacrificed. The donkey is unclean and needs to be redeemed with the clean – the lamb.
We are born unclean but are redeemed by the clean – Jesus the clean lamb. Jesus is the firstborn that God gave to this world. Jesus is God’s tithe. You must give the first. It takes faith to give the first. You don’t know if your sheep is going to produce another one. God did not say wait until your sheep has ten and the give me anyone. It is not the 10% that activates the blessing. It is the faith that actives the blessing. God gave Jesus before you accepted Jesus. He gave his firstborn in faith. While we were still sinners God gave Jesus. We give our tithes in faith
Jos 6:2 And the Lord said to Joshua, See, I have given into your hands Jericho with its king and all its men of war. (BBE) Jos 6:17b and everything in it will be given to the Lord
Jericho was the first city and therefore all in it belongs to the Lord. Before Israel could enter into their promise of the promised land that had to bring all of the first (Jericho) to the Lord. Jericho was first. It was the redeemed portion. When you bring the first to God the rest, 90% is redeemed. If not, it is cursed.
You cannot take the first portion or give it to the bank. The first 10% belongs to
Jos 6:19 Maar al die silwer en goud en die koper— en ystervoorwerpe is heilig aan die HERE: dit moet by die skat van die HERE kom.
Jos 6:18 And as for you, keep yourselves from the cursed thing, for fear that you may get a desire for it and take some of it for yourselves, and so be the cause of a curse and great trouble on the tents of Israel.
Jos 6:19 But all the silver and gold and the vessels of brass and iron are holy to the Lord: they are to come into the store-house of the Lord.
Jos 7:11 Israel has done wrong, sinning against the agreement which I made with them: they have even taken of the cursed thing; acting falsely like thieves they have put it among their goods.
Achan took from what belonged to God and therefore the curse of the Lord came upon the children of Israel.
Jos 7:12 Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. (ESV)
Mal 3:8 I ask you, is it right for a person to cheat God? Of course not, yet you are cheating me. ‘How?’ you ask. In the matter of tithes and offerings. Mal 3:9 A curse is on all of you because the whole nation is cheating me. Mal 3:10 Bring the full amount of your tithes to the Temple, so that there will be plenty of food there. Put me to the test and you will see that I will open the windows of heaven and pour out on you in abundance all kinds of good things. Mal 3:11 I will not let insects destroy your crops, and your grapevines will be loaded with grapes.
Luk 16:9 En Ek sê vir julle: Maak vir julle vriende deur die onregverdige Mammon, sodat wanneer julle die lewe verlaat, hulle jul in die ewige tente kan ontvang.
Mammon is not money. It is the spirit of deceitful riches that lies to us. Money is neither good nor bad; it takes on the spirit of who has it. How it is used depends on whether its owner is under the influence of God or mammon.
Luk 16:10 Hy wat getrou is in die minste, is ook in die grote getrou; en hy wat onregverdig is in die minste, is ook in die grote onregverdig. Luk 16:11 As julle dan nie getrou was in die onregverdige Mammon nie, wie sal julle die ware goed toevertrou? Luk 16:12 En as julle nie getrou was in ‘n ander se goed nie, wie sal aan julle jul eie gee?
2. The First must be offered to God
Spr 3:9 Vereer die HERE uit jou goed en uit die eerstelinge van al jou inkomste; Spr 3:10 dan sal jou skure vol word van oorvloed en jou parskuipe oorloop van mos. Pro 3:9 Give honour to the Lord with your wealth, and with the first-fruits of all your increase: Pro 3:10 So your store-houses will be full of grain, and your vessels overflowing with new wine.
Ex 22:29 Die offer uit jou volle opbrings en jou parskuip mag jy nie terughou nie.
Exo 22:29 Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits and of thy liquors; the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.
Ex 23:19 Die beste van die eerstelinge van jou grond moet jy in die huis van die HERE jou God bring. Jy mag die bokkie nie kook in sy moeder se melk nie. Ex 23:19 The best of the first-fruits of your land are to be taken into the house of the Lord your God. The young goat is not to be cooked in its mother’s milk.
Bring it to the house of God. You cannot give the first that belongs to God to someone else. The word “bring” is used here, because it belongs to God. Bring to God what belongs to Him. The word “give” is not being used here, because you cannot give that which does not belong to you.
You have two choices: You can bring to God what belongs to Him or you can give what belongs to God to someone else. 90% Blessed goes much further than 100% cursed.
Why did God accept Abel’s offer but not Cain’s?
Gen 4:4 En Abel het ook van die eersgeborenes van sy kleinvee gebring, naamlik van hulle vet. En die HERE het Abel en sy offer genadig aangesien, Gen 4:5 maar Kain en sy offer nie aangesien nie. Toe word Kain baie kwaad, en hy het sy hoof laat hang.
Gen 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD looked upon Abel and his present, Gen 4:5 but he did not look upon Cain and his present.
Gen 4:3 En ná verloop van tyd het Kain van die vrugte van die land aan die HERE ‘n offer gebring.
Gen 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground a present unto the LORD.
Abel brought the firstborn to God, while Cain brought in process of time. Cain did not bring the first that belonged to God. God must always be the first in your life. God cannot be second. He is before all. God is first. Even if you do not put God first, God is first. Cain offered a second place offer to God.
You represent what is first in your life. Where does the first of your money go? Does it go to God?
3. The first must be first
Lev 27:30 Ook al die tiendes van die land, van die graan van die land, van die vrugte van die bome, behoort aan die HERE; dit is heilig aan die HERE.
Lev 27:30 And every tenth part of the land, of the seed planted, or of the fruit of trees, is holy to the Lord.
Holy set-aside first to the Lord. The first tenth of your income must leave your hand (bank) first to redeem the rest (the 90%)
Toe Farao nie God se eerste, sy volk aan Hom wou teruggee om te gaan nie, moes hy betaal deur die eersgeborenes.
Put God First
Job 31:24 “If I put my confidence in gold or said to fine gold, ‘I trust you’…. Job 31:28 then that, too, would be a criminal offense, and I would have denied God above.