Faith, Firstfruits, and the Heart Behind the Offering

What does it mean to truly give God your best? In this episode of the HHP Podcast, Pastor Chris Franke dives deep into the biblical principle of firstfruits — the act of offering to God what comes first, not what's left over. From Cain and Abel to Abraham and even to Christ Himself, the pattern is clear: faith is the true measure of an offering.

Join us as we explore the power of surrender, the meaning behind giving our "first," and why this ancient truth still echoes through Scripture and into our lives today. We'll also touch on why we call it First Fruits instead of Easter, and how Jesus' resurrection changes everything.

 

🙏 Hosted by Pastor Chris Franke of HFF Church in Oklahoma City 📖 Real talk on faith, the Bible, church life, and family 🎙 Engaging conversation with believers across the country

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Faith is the true measure of an offering. To give the first is to trust the unseen,
to surrender what's most precious to you and to me. A firstborn lamb, once given,
cannot be reclaimed. It is the first of the flock, the first grapes, the first of

(00:21):
the grain. It is a statement when you give the first, "Lord, I will give you my
first and I will always trust you for the rest."
Welcome to the HHP Podcast. My name is Chris Franke and I am the Senior
Pastor of HFF Church in Oklahoma City. Join me and others from around the

(00:43):
country as we talk all things Bible, church, and family. We may be right, we
may be heretical, but that's for you to decide. Drop a like, a share, a comment,
subscribe, and let's get to it. Two men stood before the Lord, each bearing a
gift in their hands. Cain, a tiller of the ground, and Abel, a keeper of the sheep.

(01:07):
From the outside it looks the same. Two offerings rising into the sky, but heaven
sees beyond our appearances and into the intent of our heart. Cain brought the
fruit of his labor. Crops gathered in the course of time, yet there's no mention

(01:27):
that it is the first or the best, only that he brought something. It was delayed,
it was convenient, perhaps it might have even been a reluctant offering. It came
after he had insured enough time and enough of the offering for himself. It

(01:48):
was a gift that he offered on his own terms. Abel, by contrast, brought the first
born of his flock, the fat portions, the choicest part. His offering wasn't just a
lamb, it was the first, given before he could know what the rest of the season
might bring, what the rest of the flock might look like. Abel gave him faith,

(02:11):
believing that what he had released to God would be honored, even if he never
saw another lamb born again. And so God looked with favor upon him and his
offering. But Cain's, it was rejected, not because it was produce, but because it

(02:34):
wasn't the first. It wasn't offered in faith. Cain gave after securing for his
own needs. Abel gave in surrender and trust and obedience, believing that God
would provide for him afterwards. Faith is the true measure of an offering. To
give the first is to trust the unseen, to surrender what's most precious. A first

(03:00):
born lamb, once given, can never be reclaimed. It's making a statement, "Lord,
I give you my first and I trust you with the rest." This truth echoes throughout
the pages of Scripture. When Israel conquered Jericho, their first city in
the Promised Land, God commanded that all of its spoils be set apart for him. Not

(03:24):
because God needed it, but because it was the first. Jericho was the first fruit
of the land. Yet, when one man took for himself what belonged to God, the whole
nation felt the weight of the disobedience, the lack of faith, and the
lack of honor. The first always belongs to the Lord. Abraham, too, was tested by

(03:51):
this very principle. When God asked him to offer Isaac his only son, Abraham did
not wait to have more sons before obeying. He climbed the mountain with
only a promise in his heart that God would provide. And he did. Abraham gave
his first and God responded with blessings, blessings that would stretch

(04:13):
across many, many generations. Even God followed this pattern. While we were
still lost in our sin, before we ever turned toward him, he gave us his first
and only son. Jesus was not given in response to our repentance. He was given
before it, in the hope that we might turn to God. He was God's first offering given

(04:37):
in faith. This is the heart of the first fruits. It's not about money or sacrifice.
It's about priority. It's about saying, "God, you come first before comfort, before
security, before I know how the rest of this story will unfold. I'm going to give
you my best and I'm gonna give it to you first." When we give the first portion of

(05:03):
our income, our time, or our energy, we make a declaration of trust. We say, "God, I
honor you first and I believe that you will take care of the rest." This is the
offering that God accepts. God is worth far more than your leftovers. He deserves.
He is worthy of our first and our best. Given with open hands and a faithful

(05:30):
heart, Christ the risen one is the first fruits of the New Dawn, the holy bloom of
life breaking through the soil of death. Like the first golden sheaf lifted in the
ancient hands of our forefathers and offered to God in faith, his resurrection
is a sacred pledge that the grave is not the end but the beginning of a greater

(05:53):
harvest. In him, the cold hush of the tomb gives way to the songs of the spring.
He stands at the edge of time, radiant with resurrection light, declaring what
has begun in him will unfold in us. Life eternal, sown in sorrow, but raised in

(06:16):
glory and majesty. In calling Jesus the first fruits, scripture weaves a quiet
promise into the fabric of our hope. His rising is not solitary but symphonic.
The opening note is a crescendo of redemption that gathers every sleeping

(06:38):
saint, every weary soul. As fields awaken under the warmth of the Sun, so too shall
we awake. Drawn by the same Holy Spirit that stirred Christ from the death, the
stone was rolled away not just for him to walk free, but for him to make a path

(06:58):
for all who would follow and turn to him. In him, the harvest has just begun and
the earth, even in its groaning, leans toward the day when all shall rise.
Jesus is the first and the best and we should never forget that. This truth also

(07:23):
echoes through the pages of scripture. So many will ask, "Why don't you celebrate
Easter? Why do you call it first fruits?" Well in the end, Easter is not a
terminology that we find in the original Greek or the original Hebrew. Some would

(07:45):
say it's semantics and maybe it is like we read about with Cain and Abel
earlier, we talked about Cain and Abel earlier. Heaven understands past the
appearances and heaven understands the intent of the heart. But either way, this

(08:06):
coming Sunday, we will gather as a church and we will recognize one of the most
miraculous things ever. That our God conquered death. Our God was raised back
to life as the first fruits of all who were asleep, as Paul writes about in

(08:30):
Corinthians. In the end, it was that moment that changed everything.
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(08:51):
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