There are many different kinds of offerings in the Old Testament. The burnt offering means repentance and forgiveness. God commands us to offer a burnt offering to Him.

1 Peter 1:19
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

The blood is life. When you give an offering, you must give your life, something that means a lot to you.

Hebrews 10:11-12
11 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,

Jesus’ blood washes our sin away. The burnt offering is a life-giving offering. We must offer life-giving offerings to God. When you give, give something that you need. Give your life. That is the burnt offering of the Old Testament.

Why has Christianity survived in this nation for so long? Christians have given blood offerings – not by killing people but by building the house of the Lord. The first Christians gave up their homes and their money and their lives to serve God and build churches. The book of Haggai shows us that when we put the house of God first, we will be blessed.

This generation doesn’t have that same attitude, to sacrifice in order to build the house of God. If we don’t change, Christianity in this nation will fade away. It used to be that newspapers would advertise tent revivals and people would tell others about church meetings. People would bring even crops and other food if they had nothing else to give. But now people are afraid of hurting someone’s feelings or offending someone to speak about the thing of God.

The prophet Samuel was a mighty servant of the Lord. Why? Hannah gave him to the Lord. She only had one son, her miracle son. She had been barren before having him. Giving him to the Lord was a great sacrifice. Hannah never regretted her action of giving. She never tried to take him back home. Samuel became a mighty man of God because of his mother’s example.

Teach your children to give God a sacrificial offering. Teach them to build the house of God. 

Ananias and Sapphira promised to give God a burnt and grain offering but they changed their minds. (Acts 5:1-11) When you say that you are going to give something to God, it belongs to God. Don’t change your mind and hold it back.

Haggai corrected the people of Israel for putting their own homes and lives before the house of God. They started to build the house of God but they got really busy with other things. God judged them with famine and drought. They weren’t blessed until they put God first.

Haggai 1:1-11
1 In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 2 “Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, saying: ‘This people says, “The time has not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.”’”
3 Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?” 5 Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways!
6 “You have sown much, and bring in little;
You eat, but do not have enough;
You drink, but you are not filled with drink;
You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm;
And he who earns wages,
Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”
7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways! 8 Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the Lord. 9 “You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says the Lord of hosts. “Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house. 10 Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. 11 For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.”

Examine your heart: are you putting yourself first or God first? Are you trying to build a big savings account? Preparing for your future? Are you trying to make sure that your life on this earth is as comfortable as possible?

If you truly believe that Jesus is coming back soon, you will not be so focused on making provision for your future.

If you believe that Jesus is coming back soon, you will invest yourself and your money and your time into preaching the Gospel and saving the souls. You will focus on the present and if Jesus tarries, you will trust God to take care of your future.

Ananias and Sapphira were on fire for the Lord (at first). They had the desire to give all to God. Then they thought about it. Covetousness took over their heart and they decided to keep some for themselves. Then they died and they couldn’t even spend that money anyways.

Those who give up their lives and their money for Jesus Christ will always have abundance. We need to teach this to our children.

Those who are focused on money end up with nothing. Not only do they lose what they have on this earth, but they lose heaven, too. If you focus on money and put money before God, you will go to hell.

When you plant a seed in God’s kingdom, you will have a great harvest. You will not have a harvest unless you plant seed. If you eat your seed, you will have less harvest each year. That is what is happening in this nation. Most of this nation is one or two paychecks away from being homeless. That is not how God wants us to live.

To break the cycle of poverty and struggle, you must plant seed.

The more seed you plant, the more harvest you will have. You must give in order to break the cycle of poverty and struggle. Giving is the key to prosperity. If you want your children to have great success, teach them to plant seed.

God bless you,
Pastor Sun East