GOD MUST always be the No. 1 priority in the life of each Christian. And He should be offered – out of our love and respect for Him – the first fruits of the believer’s increase; that is, his tithes and offerings.
Pastor Sharina Ifill of New Life Family Fellowship, which is headed by Senior Pastor Reverend Ron Hercules, also told the congregation of this Belleville, St Michael ministry that “God wants each born again believer to serve Him all the way”.
“He does not want us to be lukewarm. He wants us to be either hot or cold. We must give Him our best, serve Him with everything and give Him what is His.”
Ifill, speaking on the subject The Kingdom Of God – Kingdom Finances, said many Christians hated to speak about money and there were many controversies about its use.
She asked the congregation to share their views on what came to mind when they thought of money. Based on their negative and positive responses, she informed that although the Bible stated that “money answereth all things”, it also said “the love of money is the root of all evil”.
“Money is useful. In itself it is not bad, but when you place money before God and start to serve money instead of allowing money to serve you, it becomes a problem. Ask God to give you the Kingdom concept for dealing with money. Practise giving God of your first,” Ifill stressed, as she referred to the practice of paying one’s tithe as a first fruit offering, while putting God first in everything.
Her main text was based on the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis Chapter 4. Ifill explained that while both brothers gave offerings to God, God had a greater respect for Abel’s, not because he gave a blood sacrifice and Cain did not, but because Abel gave God of his first fruits.
“God expects us [His people] to give of their first to Him. Giving of the first is about giving God your best,” she declared, as she quoted several passages, including Matthew 6:33, Proverbs 3:5, Hebrews 11:4 and Proverbs 3:9.
The young preacher added: “God honours us when we make Him our No.1 priority. We are to honour Him with our substance. Many times we lean on our own understanding in order to have our needs met. We cannot lean on God and on our own understanding at the same time.
“There is always a war between the flesh and the spirit and imbedded in this is the fear of the Lord. God wants us to do His will.”
She urged listeners during her “interactive” presentation to use money to serve God’s purposes.
“We must not use God and serve money. Do not allow money to be your master. Everything will come into alignment when we put God first. We should not be laying up for ourselves treasures on earth, but treasures in Heaven. We need to simply activate our faith in God and watch Him provide all our needs.”
Ifill encouraged the congregation to be generous when giving to others and reminded them that generosity had nothing to do with how much they possessed, but rather, the love they possessed for their fellow man.
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