Oxford Bible Church - Living in the Last Days

By giving the firstfruits we acknowledge God as the Owner of our money and this puts it under His blessing. Only the Lord can define the First Fruits and He says it is the TITHE. Tithing is before the Law (Gen 14:20, 28:22), in the Law (Lev 27:30), and in the New Testament (Matt 23:23, Lk 11:42, Hebr 7:1-8).

The 1st revelation for our finances is we are not the true owners of our wealth. It all belongs to God. We're the stewards of God's resources, temporarily entrusted to us to meet our needs and use to help people and extend His Kingdom. We'll give an account and if faithful be rewarded with true eternal riches.

God is the true owner of our money, so we need to honour Him as the Lord of our finances. We do this by giving Him the First Fruits, which represents the whole. In so doing we put all our money under His blessing (Proverbs 3:9-10). We see examples from Scripture showing the importance of First Fruits.

God’s WILL is to PROSPER you in your finances. God’s PURPOSE in BLESSING you financially is that you would be a BLESSING to others and God's Kingdom. Genesis 12:3: “(1) I will BLESS you, and (2) make you a BLESSING.” The 2 blessings of (1) RECEIVING and (2) GIVING work together.

Our motivation determines if a work is a good work or dead work. Do we do it for the praise, reward and glory of God or man? Our faith in God's future grace motivates us to please God by obeying Him, thus producing good works which He will reward with a greater measure of eternal joy, glory & honor.

We shall soon all stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ to receive our rewards as His servants. These rewards are described as: 1. Glorious CLOTHING, 2. THRONES, and 3. CROWNS. We study the 5 CROWNS: 1. REJOICING, 2. GLORY, 3. LIFE, 4. RIGHTEOUSNESS, 5. IMPERISHABLE.

Don't look down, but look up at the SON Who is shining upon you! Turn your back to the darkness and FACE the SON, Who gives you LIFE and LIGHT. Turn your attention away from yourself to God to receive His help. PRESS into His PRESENCE with PRAISE, THANKSGIVING and WORSHIP.

We are saved by grace alone, but we are saved FOR GOOD WORKS (Eph 2:8-10, Titus 2:11-14, 3-8). Learn the difference between GOOD WORKS of faith which please God and will be rewarded (gold, silver and jewels) and DEAD WORKS (wood, hay, straw), from which we must repent (Heb 6:1).

“Faith without works is dead" (Jam 2:26). Our works (1) REVEAL, (2) RELEASE and (3) PERFECT our faith. (1) Our faith is revealed by our works (we're justified before man by works). (2) Our works activate our faith, thus releasing God's power. (3) To grow in faith we must FEED and EXERCISE it.

When a servant was set free he had the choice to give himself to His Lord to be his Love-Servant, and would have his ear pierced by his Lord (Exodus 21:2-5). His opened ear signified his consecration to hear and obey His commands. Likewise we are to present ourselves as living sacrifices to our Lord.

Jesus is our perfect example. He was the SON of God but humbled Himself to become a SERVANT. Using a wooden carving of the Last Supper we see how the Footwashing of John 13 was a dramatic illustration of Philippians 2:5-10 - Jesus humbled Himself for our salvation, and then was exalted.

Jesus is the Baptiser in the Holy Spirit. At Pentecost He poured out the Spirit. The Baptism of the Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues is available for ALL who have received Jesus (Acts 2:4,39). There's no need to wait, for He will GIVE the Spirit to all those who ASK Him (Luke 11:13).

In Hebrews 11:20-22 God chose specific incidents in the lives of Isaac, Jacob and Joseph to illustrate the power of faith's confession in the face of opposing pressures (the flesh, the will of man, the sight of the eyes). By faith we proclaim God's promises, prophesy things to come and bless our children.

God has given you a Promised Land and Joshua is our example of faith for entering and possessing it. He had to meditate on the Word (Joshua 1), cross the Jordan - by walking in the Spirit we overcome the flesh-life from Adam (Joshua 3), and destroy the Jericho-stronghold by the shout of faith (Josh 6).

JESUS said in Mark 11:24: "Whatsover things you desire (including healing), when you pray believe you receive them and you shall have them." This teaching shows you step by step how you can RECEIVE your HEALING from God on the basis of Mark 11:24.

Hebrews 11:23-29 describes 5 PHASES of Moses’ Life, demonstrating 5 aspects of overcoming faith: Faith overcomes: (1) the fear of man (v23), (2) the world's temptations and tribulations (v24-26), (3) all the power of the enemy (v27), (4) God's Judgment on sin (v28), and (5) impossible obstacles (v29).

Hebrews 11:8-19 reveals Abram’s 4 major Steps of Faith, each introduced with: “By faith." We look at Step 3: Receiving the promise of the seed (v11-12). (1) He received the RHEMA (Gen 15:1-5), (2) his obedient RESPONSE was only complete in Genesis 17, (3) RESULTING in Isaac's birth (Ro 4:17-21).

God loves to BLESS us, but we can have BLOCKAGES preventing us from fully enjoying His life and power. If we ask God He will reveal these blockages to us and do HEART SURGERY to remove them. We identify 8 major blockages to your blessing and reveal how they can be removed.

Each Pioneer of Faith in Hebrews 11 reveals a particular aspect of the Life of Faith, and their order is significant. Like Abel and Enoch before him, NOAH was right with God and walked with God by faith, but his life especially demonstrates how by obedient FAITH we are to WORK and WITNESS for God.

Proverbs 23:7: “As a man thinks (about himself) in his heart so he is.” What PICTURE of yourself do you have on the inside? Learn to build a healthy self-image through accepting God's unconditional love and approval. Then we can accept ourselves, even with our weaknesses and imperfections.

“We are to WALK in the STEPS of the FAITH of our father Abraham (Romans 4:12). Hebrews 11:8-19 reveals hiss 4 major Steps of Faith. In each case he received a word from God imparting faith, and when he obeyed it (often after a delay), he received a blessing, and further direction for the next Step.

Hebrews 11:8-12 describes Abraham’s first 3 Steps of Faith. Step 3 resulted in Isaac's birth. Finally v17-19 describes Step 4 - the sacrifice of his beloved son Isaac on Mount Moriah (Genesis 22). This great act of faith resulted in multiplied blessings, and was a prophetic type of God offering up His Son.

Knowing God’s love for us is the foundation for our life of faith, so we study the great scriptures on God's love to destroy the stronghold of unbelief that many have in this area, ending with the majestic Triune Parable in Luke 15 that reveals the passionate love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for us.

After declaring: "the just shall live by faith (10:37), Hebrews 11 lists the heros of faith who illustrate the different aspects of the LIFE of faith. First ABEL teaches us that the kind of faith that makes man right with God, bringing him into His Presence, is a faith based on the sacrificial BLOOD of the Messiah.

The Wise Men are our examples. They: 1. SOUGHT, 2. FOLLOWED, 3. FOUND, 4. WORSHIPPED, and 5. GAVE their best to King Jesus. God wants us to seek Him and find Him in the Person of the Lord JESUS (the manifestation of God's love to us) and worship Him, for He is worthy of our worship.