Returning First — The Heart Test

Pastor Eric Bucci

December 7, 2025

“What you return first shows who you trust most.”

1. Giving Is a  Issue

• God is not after your money. He is after your heart.
• God wants first place, not leftovers.

Acts 20:35 (ESV)

“In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

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2. The Rich Young Ruler — Something Else Was 

• He obeyed the rules, but something else sat on the throne of his heart.

Mark 10:17–22 (ESV)

17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

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3. You Cannot Two Masters — God vs. Mammon

• Jesus is not talking about money itself, but the spirit behind it.

Matthew 6:24 (ESV)

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

• What is Mammon?
  • Mammon is money when it becomes a master.
  • Mammon is the spirit of greed, fear, and self-reliance.
  • Mammon promises what only God can give.
  • Mammon whispers, “Hold on to everything. You can’t afford to trust God.”
• How Mammon shows up today:
  • Fear of not having enough
  • Making decisions based on anxiety
  • Never feeling financially secure
  • Trusting money more than God
  • Withholding instead of worshiping
  • Money driving emotions or choices
• Tithing breaks Mammon’s power
  • Because it declares: “God is first in my life.”

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4. What You Return First Reveals Your 

• Cain offered leftovers.
• Abel offered the first and the best.

Genesis 4:3–5 (ESV)

3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.

Key Phrases

“What you thirst for most, you will give to .”

“What you return first shows who you trust most.”

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5. Jesus  Tithing

Matthew 23:23 (NLT)

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens—mint, dill, and cumin—but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.”

 

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6. Firstfruits Is God’s Pattern

Proverbs 3:9–10 (ESV)

9 Honor the Lord with your wealth

 and with the  of all your produce;

 10 then your barns will be filled with plenty,

 and your vats will be bursting with wine.

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7. Tithing Before, During, and After the Law

Abraham — Before the Law

Genesis 14:18–20 (ESV)

 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And

• Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

 

Jacob — Before the Law

Genesis 28:20–22 (ESV)

 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

 

Under the Law

Leviticus 27:30 (ESV)

 “Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord.”

 

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8. The Two Financial Cycles

• The Scarcity Cycle

God supplies → We consume → We lack → We fear → Repeat

• The Generosity Cycle

God supplies → We return first → God multiplies → Our faith grows → We give again

 

2 Corinthians 9:6–8 (ESV)

6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

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9. God Invites Us to  Him

Malachi 3:6–10 (ESV)

6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”

 

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What Is the Holy Spirit Saying to Me Today?

Ask Him:

• What is first in my life?
• Is something competing with You?
• Where is Mammon influencing my thinking?
• What step of trust are You calling me to take?
• What does returning the first look like for me?
• Write down what He shows you.

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Next Steps

1. Put God first this week in priorities, decisions, and finances.
2. Begin returning the first 10% as an act of trust.
3. Break the scarcity cycle and step into generosity.
4. Ask the Holy Spirit to reset your heart around trust, not fear.
5. Test God’s promise (Malachi 3:10).
6. Find someone—a friend, spouse, or small group partner—to go through the discussion questions with you.
7. Surrender fear and choose trust in God.

 

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Discussion Questions

(Use with someone you trust.)

1. What is competing for first place in your life?
2. What part of the Rich Young Ruler story spoke to you most?
3. Where do you feel the pull of Mammon?
4. Which financial cycle describes your current mindset?
5. What does it look like for you to return the first?
6. What step of trust is God asking you to take this week?
7. How can we pray for each other to trust God more?

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Summary Review — 7 Main Points

1. God wants first place.
2. You cannot serve God and Mammon.
3. What you return first reveals who you trust most.
4. Jesus said, “You should tithe.”
5. Firstfruits is God’s pattern throughout Scripture.
6. Returning the first moves you into generosity.
7. God invites you to test Him in the tithe.

 

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