Gtcotr/ss010117
The
Word “First” is mentioned more than 400 times in the Bible and referred to in
various other terms and ways several hundred more times. God definitely takes
note of and has respect for the first. From the first day of creation to the
first day of the week and from the first ripened fruits to the firstborn - Firsts are important to God.
Throughout
the Bible God makes it clear that He has laid claim to those things which come
first. The city of Jericho is a clear example of God’s claim. He guaranteed
victory in every future battle if the Children of Israel would only give to Him
all of the increase from their first victory. When it did not happen the armies
of Israel lost the next battle. It was only after they corrected themselves
that they began once again to win against their enemies.
Proverbs 3 NKJV
9 Honor the LORD with
your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase;
10 So your barns will be
filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.
Jericho
represented a type of firstfruits of the land to God. He considered Jericho a
tithe given in faith to sanctify the coming increases He had planned for His Children.
God wanted to partner with Israel and be treated with respect. He was and still
is unwilling to accept second place.
Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt
have no other gods before me.
God
wants to be first place in our lives. There is only one throne and room for
only one god in every life. Who or what controls, convinces, conquers or commands
us is our god. Every person decides this for themselves.
We empower those things which have power over us. If Jesus is your
Lord it is because you have made Him so. God has given you the power to choose.
Certainly we receive instruction and encouragement from the Holy Spirit but the
decision clearly rests with each individual. Who or what will be or become your
Master? That’s the eternal question … Our text for today comes from:
Matthew 6 NKJV
19 ¶ "Do not lay up for
yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves
break in and steal;
20 "but lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where
thieves do not break in and steal.
21 "For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 "The lamp of the body is the eye. If
therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.
23 "But if your eye is bad, your whole body
will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness,
how great is that darkness!
24 "No one can serve two
masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be
loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
25 ¶
"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you
will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is
not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
26
"Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor
gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more
value than they?
27
"Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28
"So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the
field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;
29
"and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these.
30
"Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and
tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe
you, O you of little faith?
31 "Therefore do not
worry, saying, ’What shall we eat?’ or ’What shall we drink?’ or ’What shall we
wear?’
32 "For after all these
things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all
these things.
33 "But seek first the
kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to
you.”
34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow,
for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is
its own trouble.
Imagine
what it would feel like to be free from worry and stressful thoughts concerning
your daily needs. What if you never had to worry about money ever again or
where you were going to live or work or retire. Those are the common blessings
which come to a person who is sold out to God and has put first things first by
first making God the absolute Lord of their lives.
This
is the first day of the first week of the first month of the New Year 2017.
Today God will give you the chance to begin this new year blessed, covered and
protected from the enemies which desire to destroy you.
·
Mentally
·
Emotionally
·
Physically
·
Spiritually
·
Financially
God
is offering you a partnership with Him that can begin right now and last all of
your life here on planet earth and then for an eternity in heaven beyond. All
He is requiring from you is that you put Him first. Remove whomever or whatever
else is sitting on the throne of your life, including yourself, and install
Jesus as your King.
You
can do that this morning by simply realizing that you need a Savior, repenting
of your sin and receiving Jesus.
We
will use 2017 as a Church Family to set our lives in order. God wants us to
experience the best in our families, our finances and our future. This will be
an eventful year for each one of you. God is going to supply you with clear
answers to every situation you face. The difference between you having a
successful year of a year filled with compromise and failure will be the simple
act of application.
As
I said, God will supply you with the answers however you are the only one who
can successfully apply those answers to the situations of you will face. The
first step you need to take today is to stake your claim in God and commit this
year to Christ. Do this with me in prayer right now …
