Put God First by Kevin Allen July 21, 2020 · Centerpointe Apostolic Church (Murfreesboro, TN) Kind: sermon Scripture: John 14, John 14:1-6, Exodus 20:2-3, Mark 12:29-30, Proverbs 3:6, Proverbs 27:19, Proverbs 13:20, Ephesians 5:16-17, Mark 1:35, Jeremiah 2:32, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Ephesians 5:19, Proverbs 3:9-10, Deuteronomy 14:23, Psalms 50:15, Matthew 6:33, Matthew 6:32-34 Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/kevin-allen--put-god-first Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page. Free to copy and share with attribution. ------------------------------------------------------------ John chapter 14. I love the book of John. The book of John, we learn a lot about God's identity. I say that because it's in the book of John we get all of the I am statements. They're there. Understanding the godhead, the doctrine, the mighty God in Christ, brings with it such power, that understanding, knowing when I call on his name, I'm talking to the God. Jesus said this: Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house or many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know. Thomas said unto him, Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way? Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. For just a few minutes today, I want to preach on: Put God First. Put God first. Jesus, you're so kind. Your presence is so sweet already here, Lord. I pray that you would help our minds and our hearts to understand your anointed word today, to receive it and apply it in our life. God, we surrender this service to you, to do your will. In Jesus name we pray, and amen. God bless you. May be seated. Put God first. No matter how much we may want or need God, we're never going to receive what we need until we're willing to do things God's way. This passage of scripture that I read to you, he stated very simply, and to me very plainly, when he simply answers Thomas's question by saying, I am the way. He did not say, I am away. He did not say, I'm one of three ways. He did not say that it's optional what I'm presenting to you. No. Instead, what he matter-of-factly declares in this statement was the truth, the reality, that he was the great I am, and that the great I am is the way. Now, I know that I am standing in an Apostolic church, people of the name, people of the blood, people of the covenant, people of the understanding. We, we are all those things. So for me to preach this kind of stuff today, the overwhelming majority of the people who are in this room right now, it gets our motor going. We talk about one God and the mighty God in Christ, and I'm thankful for that. But are we living in such a way that shows that we put God first? It's more than just something we say. It's more than just something that we declare. It is the life in which we live. It's more than just our lifestyle convictions and presenting ourselves as being very clean on the outside. This is a decision that in every area of my life, every aspect that is there, I put God first. Jesus saying, I am the way, was declaring that I have a certain way of doing things, and if I will submit myself, and if you will submit yourself to his way, to his teaching, everything will work out for you. The Bible gives us commandments for living. These are not suggestions. They're not used, or should have ever been used, as political buzzwords. They are values that are bedrock. They are absolutes. You can build your life on the truths that are in this word of God. Yes, you will still face storms. Yes, you will still have trials. Yes, there will be times when it seems like things that are coming against you are overwhelming force. But I promise you, if you'll build your life on these principles, there will be a calm. There will be a peace in the midst of life's chaos that doesn't make any sense. Because no matter what man does to you, no matter what our enemy Satan, our adversary, tries to throw at you, you are established on the bedrock truth that is in the word of Christ. Why did God give us commandments? Why did God give us instructions? Why did he put those things in there? Was it just he woke up one day and said, I think I have a few good ideas I'll have for you? Why are those there? The reason I ask these questions, it seems like in the day and age that we live in, everything that was at one time a sure foundation seems to be shaken. It seems like the world we're living in, there's questions all over the place about what we know, are what we thought was established truths, as if everything is in flux in the moment. And we've got to be very careful about that, because it has a way of even coming in and penetrating the church. We have to be very careful that we don't allow what's going on outside the church walls to seep in. Now, what I mean by that is that we're not trying to be exclusive, okay? Everyone is welcome. In fact, Jesus spent quite a bit of time talking about how it bid them all to come unto me. Go out into the highways and the hedges and bid them to come. There's room in my table for everyone, and that's what he is about. I'm not talking about souls, but I'm talking about a world viewpoint, and how it has the ability to affect how we process our life. God and his authority, as he is establishing things, as he laid stuff out, he had intentions and purpose and plan behind everything he did. When he put together his words, as he was moving on the writers of the scriptures by his holy spirit to pin down the holy words that we have in this word, he did it in such a way that we could take and read this word, that we could understand it, that we could be taught out of it, we could be preached out of it, so that we could live a life of an overcomer. But it's not optional. It's not up for debate. It isn't for us to take just a few things that are in the scriptures, but leave the rest. For me just to pick five of the Ten Commandments, for me just to make my mind up on which portion I think really applies today, in the world which we live in, and discard the rest. Because here's the way it works: it's either all right, or it's all wrong. There's no option on it. I can't take just a piece or two of it. I can't just pull out a few of my candy stick verses that I like, because it makes me feel good when I read them, how I can apply it to most situations. But I have to learn how to dig down into the word of God, how to rightly divide it, so that I can apply it to everything that comes my way in life. Because here's something I have learned myself — and it's not just because I'm a pastor, or because I'm a preacher, it's because I'm a child of God — that I've learned how to dig down in this, and I found the nuggets on how to live a life that, no matter what comes my way, I can stand firm and strong. Not of my own power, but because I have built my life on something that will not go away. His word is forever settled. It does not change. And contrary to what happens in our world today, his opinion doesn't change. We have to be careful, because just to walk away does not negate God's laws or principles. He put those there to help us, not to restrict us, but to release us. Not to punish, but to protect. Every time God says don't, is for our benefit. To ignore it is to ignore it at our own peril. Just like when we as parents are raising children, we teach them not to touch the stove when it's on, because it's hot. They mean, I can comprehend in the moment, but we're trying to protect them from harm in their body. God's commands are not suggestions. They're not optional. If you, if you want to, you can get on top of this building and climb up to the top of the steeple, if you want, and you can dive out. And you've heard me say this before, and as much as you believe that you can fly, and you can flap your arms and your toes, you're still going to hit the ground, because you cannot deny gravity. It will take over. There are some things there, I say — all spiritual principles, you can choose to deny it if you want, but they are true. They're applicable in your life. Exodus chapter 20 verse two and three: I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in Egypt. Do not worship any other gods besides me. Mark chapter 12 verse 29, Jesus replied: The most important commandment is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is the one and only Lord. You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. You can see in these verses here — and there are many more, I could go on for, for countless number of minutes, continuing to quote how he is a jealous God, how he'll have no other gods besides him, that he doesn't want there to be anything between you and he. He, he desires that you put him first. God's demands, he, and he wants to be our top priority in our lives. He refuses to be in second place. He deserves to be number one. I think most everybody here can understand that, that he is God. He created all things. Everything that we know, everything that we see, everything that we've experienced, God created those things for us. But he did so with intent and purpose. Yes, we are to have fun in life. Yes, we are to have some joy in this life. In fact, there's something about — I may even preach a whole message about the joy that comes with the Holy Ghost, because it's a weapon. It's our power. It's how we can overcome life's circumstances. And the only way you truly understand that joy is to be filled with his spirit. God gives us things that we need, but what does he mean, to have no other gods before me? You'll notice that, and when it was translated there, it was God with a little g. Other gods are simply this, if I could give you this, the shortest definition possible for you to understand what he means when he says, I will have no other gods before me, is that anything that dominates or controls your life is another god. Even the good things. Even the things that you count as blessings. Even the stuff that God placed in your life for your enjoyment can become a god, if you give them first place. You have to be careful. The last phrase of the first commandment is the most politically incorrect assertion I have ever read in scripture, because the literal translation is simply this: No God's to be in my face. When God is saying, you shall have no other gods, he's saying, there should not be anything else that comes between my face and you. Nothing should come. Nothing should come. Well, if there's ever been a day and age and which I feel like people are being pulled away, it's the day and age in which we live in. Just walk around. Just go somewhere and just pay attention for just a few minutes, and watch how many people walk around aimlessly like this. They're just going through life. Life's going on all around them, everywhere, it's passing them by. But they're not comprehending any of it, because to them only life matters, and what they can see on this little small screen — they are captivated. I know it's kind of been in my crawl a little bit, and I've preached quite a bit about social media and last little bit, but I promise you, I feel like it is going to be our great demise, that we are going to fall prey, because it seems like we can't do anything unless we either broadcast that we're doing it, or we see that somebody else has enjoyed it themselves. And God said, literal translation, I'll have nothing that comes between my face in you. Be very careful. Those things that we demon, that are more important than God, can end up cutting off our communication with him. Oh, you may give lip service in prayer, but I'm not talking about simply bowing down on your knees at a certain time of day. But I'm talking about the ability to be able to grab a hold of the horns of the altar and shake the very throne room of God. And you have the ability to walk in there as a child of God. You have that right. But are you exercising that right? Or are there other things that you have allowed to come in front, between you and God? For he is a jealous God, and his desires that he is first in life. Have you ever noticed it, on most occasions, every time God gives a principle, he also gives a promise? Now here's the deal: God's principles come, they are free, they are just a part of what he does. But his promises are usually conditional. And what I mean by that is, usually the promises come along with you understanding the principle that you need to apply in your life. Proverbs 3 and 6, we know this one: If, if you will, all your ways acknowledge him, he shall direct your path. If I want to read it to you from the Living Bible, it says: In everything you do, put God first, and then he will direct and crown your efforts with success. There's something about being God first in your mindset, something about understanding that he needs to take the prominent position in my life. Everything I do, I need to be thinking about how this affects my relationship with God. Everything I do, I need to be thinking about how this affects my relationship with God, because everything I do has the potential to affect my relationship with God. I have to be very careful. I have to be very mindful that I don't allow anything to come between me and God, because without being, sometimes without even warning, small little subtle things have a way of creeping their way into, and without even fully knowing the moment when it happens, it happens, and things come between me and God. So I feel like it's important that, that, that, that I make my life about putting God first. And I'm hoping that I can encourage and admonish you today to put God first in your life. I know that may sound a little bit crazy, to be in the house of God, preaching about this. But I wonder how many of us have, without even really knowing it, maybe even just in the last few months, have slipped on a few things, and where God has kind of went to the side for just a moment. And I'm trying to steer you back central in your life, to understand that God has to be the priority of your life. So I want to talk about this point, in just a few areas in which we must do it God's way. We must do it God's way. He must be first, if we're ever going to truly be successful in this life. Do you want to be successful? Do you desire to be successful in life? Not the world's version of success. But successful, to me, is hearing him say, well done, thou good and faithful servant. It's not about the accolades and the pats on back the men are going to do. It's not about the degrees that we're going to get. It's not about the houses we're going to live in, or the cars we're going to drive, or the places we're going to retire. Those things are nice. Go get all those things. But put God first in your life. Put God first, because there's nothing more important than hearing those words, well done. Well done. And I'll promise you, his version of well done is much different than the world's version of well done. Whatever you want God to bless, put him first. Put him first. Whatever area of life you want him first, or you want blessed, put him first in those. I want to talk to the married people in the room. There's God first in your marriage. The divorce right now is one in three. One in three marriages. The best I could find out, Harvard, uh, University did a study just a couple of years ago. The interesting stuff I found — I read through the, the whole thing, and, and just really, I was a little bit taken back by, by what I read here. I'm just going to read you just a little bit of a snippet here. They did a study on marriages, and marriages where couples went to church together, the divorce rate was 1 in 50. Now, this is just two-year-old study. It was 2018 when the study was done, that compiled all this information. It was one in three as a whole. But in studies where the, where the couples went to church together — I have to say that, not just one of them, but they went together — the divorce rate dropped to 1 in 50. The study is putting all this research together, and it put in young, young married couple, old married couple, and they presented all together on the curve. And, and they were linking the between religion and remarriage, and in mid to late life, in the age where most divorce occurs, the 50 reduction in divorce for those regularly attending religious services had a profound implication. Lower divorce rates could also help avoid the emotional, physical, and mental distress that comes with divorce, leading to greater life satisfaction and overall happiness. The article concluded, in marriages where they are married in a Christian ceremony and go to church every week, it drops, the divorce rate is one in 1105. So there's something about putting God first that makes a difference, and I can't think of any better place to put it first than to put it first in my marriage, in my home, in the beginnings of my family. You know, I don't know how your home life is. I don't live with you. But I live with this woman right here, this beautiful lady on the front row. And, and there are times that I do bone-headed things. I know that surprises y'all, but I've been known a time or two to do something that probably wasn't right, and she's so kind to call my hand on those things. And every now and then, there might be a moment of tension, just a moment of tension. Yeah, it happens. It happens. It happens. I'm looking for married people to help me here. It happens, doesn't it? Yes. Yes, thank you, Brother Church. I appreciate that over there. Yeah, sometimes it does happen. Every now and then, you have a disagreement. Why? Because you are an individual, and you married another individual. In, in the, in the process of you living together, there will be a disagreement. Learning how to communicate is paramount. But above that, having your personal relationship with God where it needs to be, and your spouse having their personal relationship with God where it needs to be, has the ability for you to live an overcoming married life. It's important. It works. When both the husband and the wife have a relationship with God, put God first in your marriage, and build your marriage around him. Yes, you still face struggles. Yes, you're still going to have an occasional disagreement. It will happen. But there's something about, when you are God centered in your life, and then you're God centered in your marriage, that has the ability for you to work through those circumstances and situations, because when God is first, that means, guess what, you're not. And a whole lot of the problems revolve around the fact that you're trying to be first. But if you'll keep things in the re, in the creative order, and the way God designed them to be, it's going to help your marriage. How many want a strong marriage? Yeah. How many are still working on your strong marriage? You better raise your hand. Yeah, you better keep working on it, because life keeps bringing new seasons. You know, you get through the toddler stage, you think you got it going real good, and then they turn teenagers, right? Bishop said that one time many years ago. He said, their wonderful kids are gray. They are grand, until they turn teenagers and just kill them and have more. He was just being facetious. But there comes a time or two when you're like, man, he was being prophetic, wasn't he? No, it brings in new seasons. And then there's empty, empty nest seasons. And then there's, then there's I'm getting old seasons, and nothing on my body works right seasons, and there's all kinds of seasons in life, all right? And each one of those seasons brings in new circumstances. And guess what, you're still married. And if you want a strong marriage, you better learn how to talk, and you better learn how to make sure God's at the center of everything you're going to do. Put God first in your other relationships. Proverbs 27 19, again, I'm reading from the Living Bible. It says: A mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses. Oh my goodness, by the people you hang out with. If you want God first in your life, you're going to have to choose your friends very carefully. Why? Because they make a difference on you. Who are you hanging out with? Because you end up becoming like the people you spend the most time with. So who are you hanging out with? You got to be intentional with this. Now, sometimes we don't always have choices in the matter, right? We don't always get to pick out who we're going to hang out with. Work, we wish we could, but sometimes we don't get that option. Sometimes we, we get stuck in job circumstances, in situations where it's not ideal, where we have to deal with people who are not trying to put God first in our life, and we have to, we have to deal with a lot of stuff that if we were given the option, we would opt out of those things. So we don't always get. That's why it's important that in the other times, you're putting good people in your life. Put people around you. Put people in your life who can help make you a better you. If you spend time with people who take God lightly, you'll tend to become a very casual believer yourself. But if you'll spend time with people who are committed and take God and his word seriously, you'll become a more strong and more committed Christian. Moms and dads, what kind of people are you exposing your kids to? Who you bringing around the house? Who are you bringing in your home? Who are you bringing in your home through the television? I'm not here against preaching against TV. I'm not going to get on bash TVs. It has nothing to do with the TV. Has everything to do what you're watching on it. Has everything to do what you're pulling up on your screen and what you're watching, because I'm going to tell you, your kids are picking stuff up. And I know it's great and grand, right, to hand our kids a device. And that's nice sometimes. I remember when I was little, when we had that ability, like, here, just go be quiet. Just give dad two minutes. Be careful: what are you giving them? What are you feeding them? What are they seeing? Because they're going to become what they see. How much influence are you allowing that way? You be very careful. Don't be surprised if they get all of their educational learning and everything about life in this thing, or this thing, or in, in, in your television, and then they end up living in a way that you don't agree with. They're just going to become what they see. I'm going to get a little bit deeper. If Wesley's here, I'd tell them I was going to drop the plow a little bit. What are they seeing inside the home? It's not just about you putting up on your Sunday duds and looking good and coming in, you know, once or twice a week, and, you know, pretending to be the thing. This is great. I'm glad you brought your family in here. It's okay. I know I'm doing a little teaching, but it's all right. How is it when you get home and shut the door? What are they seeing out of you? How are they hearing you talk? What are they hearing you say? What about, you know, when you do have that occasional disagreement with your spouse, what kind of venom are they picking up on? And then all of a sudden they talk, talking back, and you're like, where'd you get all that at? Well, they just watched you. They're watching in your relationships. You have to put God first. He has to be there. Do they ever hear you pray? Do your kids ever hear you pray? Do they even know what it sounds like in your house? Yeah, that was meant to hurt. Do they ever know what it sounds like for mom and dad? You've heard me say before, I was raised in home. My friends, rather, I appreciate my mom and dad in the life they lived. When I was being a misspent youth, the house we lived in, I shared a wall with a bedroom with my mom and dad. I had to hear my mom praying over there, talking about conviction. It's like my sheets were on fire. But I knew the sound of prayer. I knew what it sounded like. It's important. You may not think it's important, but listen to me, moms. Listen to me, dads. They need to know more than just, God, thank you for the food on the table. Make sure you model the kind of behavior you want your kids to have. Proverbs 13 and 20: Walk with the wise and become wise. Associated with fools and get in trouble. If you really want God first, then some relationships are just wrong. They're just wrong. You don't need to have them. You need to break all those ties. You don't need to do it anymore. Well, I'm just, I'm just trying to, maybe I'll get having — no, no, no, listen to me. Okay, it's real easy to get pulled down. It's a lot harder to pull up. All right, it's real easy to get pulled down. And if you know, if you know this — I'm just speaking to the adults right now — if you know as a grown adult that you are already struggling, why would you put yourself in a position for somebody to pull you down further? Instead, get around somebody else that's spiritually stronger than you, and hang out, and allow them to pull you up to where they are. At the end of the day, you're not going to have anybody standing there on the day of judgment for you to say, well, it's their fault because I was hanging out with them. No, no, no, no. You got to do it on your own. On your own. And to me, the smart play is to know that there are some people — I got some people that I call friends, and I do genuinely love them, but I can't hang out with them. They're not good for me. They're, they're not good. They, they, they, they do things, and they cause things that kind of well up inside of me, and I'm like, I just, I don't want to be around that. I don't want my spirit to be drugged down. And there are other people who I can spend five minutes with, and man, all of a sudden I feel incredible, because they have ability to pull me up where I need to be. If you're spiritually vulnerable, get around somebody who will pull you up. Where you are in a better position. You need to put God first in your schedule. Pastors all over the meddling ports today. Ephesians 5 verse 16: So be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Boy, if that ever fit, it fits for now. Verse 17: Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Do you put him first in your schedule? I'm asking. I'm asking for you, do you put him first in your schedule? What's important for you? Is it a priority in your life, that you, you talk, do you have a relationship with? Do you have the kind of relationship that you can, you can say to God, is this, is this what I'm supposed to do now? I don't know, but you — I'm a list person. How many list people are in here? I like, I like to do lists. I like to make my list, and I put things on there I've already done, just so I can mark them off. Anybody else like that? Because it just makes me feel good, doesn't it? Like, I did that this morning. I'll go ahead and put it on list, done. That's how I operate. That's my life. I work and operate off list. Where's God at on your list? Where's he at? I talk a whole lot about what I do, because I'm spending the most time up here with a microphone. But what do you do? Where's God at in your life? I feel like most people who call me a pastor know the pastor gets up every morning and pastor prays. That's what pastor does. And then I read the word of God with my coffee after that, because that's super spiritual right there. The word and coffee, I do. It's very rare, very rare I miss that. Why? Because it's a priority in my life. It's not a priority because I'm pastoring. It's not a priority because I got to call a God in life. It's not a priority just because I'm a preacher. It's a priority because I'm, I'm a human being, and I need a relationship with God, and the only way I know to make it work is to actually talk. Your schedule should be a priority. You do not have time to do everything. Selection is the name of the game. God has a plan for your life. So if you find yourself having more things to do than you have time to do, it means that you're doing some things that God doesn't want you to. You're doing some things that God doesn't want. He has a plan. And if you figure out the plan, you can put down what's important. And if you find out you don't have enough time, then there's something on your schedule you need to get rid of. If you really want God to be first in your life, then you need to make a daily appointment with him, and you don't miss it. Jesus felt the need for prayer. If he felt the need to have prayer in his life, what makes you think you cannot? Mark 1 35: And in the morning, rising up a great while before the day, he went out and departed into a solitary place, and prayed. Only what you make a priority will become a priority. I know that sounds profound, doesn't it? But it's the truth. Only what you choose to make a priority will become a priority. And if you haven't made prayer priority, it's never going to be a priority. There will always be an excuse. You will always have a reason. But when we take the initiative, when we go to God and say, God, I'm turning my day over to you first. Whatever you want, I'm going to do it first. And then I'll fill in everything else I have to do after that. But God, you're going to be first, because I have to have you. I need your direction. I can't do it by myself. I'll mess up. I'll make mistakes. Maybe y'all don't. Maybe it's just me. But I have to have a reset every morning, so that I know that I need to be in my position, and put God in his position where he goes. Because I'm wrapped in flesh, and my flesh tries to take over control, and tries to put things where they don't belong. So I have to get down on my knees. I have to humble my flesh. I have to go before God and say, God, I'm sad. I'm so sorry I was trying to get my other things in the way. But God, what do you want from me first? Is he the God of your schedule? Jeremiah 2 32: Can a mate forget her ornaments, or a bride or retire? Yet my people have forgotten me for days without number. For days without number. Where is he at in your schedule? You have to put God first in your interest. First Corinthians 10 31: Whatever you eat or drink, or whatever you do, you must do all for the glory of God. Is God really going to be number one? If he is, he has to be God of your interest, your amusements, your recreation, your hobbies. How do you do that? You have to learn to have an attitude of gratitude. So Monday, we could go — tomorrow, we had to go to Atlanta. To, was that right? Was it Monday? Thursday. Thursday, Thursday, we had to go to Atlanta, pick up some stuff for the church. And we get up the morning, we get up kind of early, because we want to get down there and get back. And I'm in the kitchen. I'm dressed. Chastity's finishing up some stuff. And I hear this noise, and I'm like, what is, what is that noise? Looking around the kitchen. And Chassis comes in like, what is that noise? And I get down on the floor, and I can hear water running under my house. Right, so like, now I had a plan, right? I had to go to Atlanta for the church. Y'all get this right: it wasn't me, it was for the church. God, why do I have a water leak? So, two hours later, I'm under the house, covered in water, had to go the store, had to buy some stuff, I'm under fixing it. But as I'm crawling out from under my crawl space — I think for the eighth time, because you got to go in there, fix it, go out there and cut the water on, and my water meter is, you know, like three doors down, and then go back under the house and see if it's still leaking, and realize it's still dripping, to go back out there and cut it off again, to come back in there and fix the thing, go back out, you see this. So the last time I'm coming out — I don't know how you are, like, look, I'm just, I know I'm probably too transparent, but after I'm barely crawling under there a little bit, that last time, like my arms are shaking — I know y'all don't, y'all are super strong, but me, I'm like, like, man, my arm's like — I'm crawling under ductwork and getting out of there, and reminding myself that there are spiders, but Jesus loves me. I just had this moment, because I, I did get it fixed. I got it, you know. And so I'm crawling, and I just stopped, and I said, God, thank you. Thank you for letting me have strength enough, and the ability to get under here, and enough smarts to fix a pipe. Now I think, what's the big deal? Well, I've learned to be thankful in everything in life. I didn't want a two-hour delay. I didn't want to get wet. And, and throw a little, little something on top of that: while we were in Atlanta, my, my app on my thermostat tells me that the thermostat is not working right in the heat. And it was like 80 degrees in my house. So the air conditioner had a problem. Same day, water like. Did I tell you I was going to Atlanta for the church? Now, you think on those days everything would work out for you, but be grateful. Philip Abernathy helped me have some cool air. I was thankful that I had to feel better than at the end of my church call. And then la la, before I got, went to bed that night, as I was laying there, as it was beginning to cool in my house, and I thank God, and I asked him to bless the Carrier family for inventing air conditioning. They help us. What am I saying? Your attitude makes all the difference. Has all the difference of where God is. Have you been around some people, in the smallest things that set them off, and they lose their mind? Is God first? No. Things don't always work out the way we want to. And I know I'm going a little bit slow for a son. He's a little bit more teachy on this, but I feel strong that somebody needs to know, you have to put God first in your life. A good test of what you talk about the most will give an indication of where God is. Does God come up in your conversations? Is he a part of your conversation? Because if he is, then there's a chance you're putting him where he needs to be. Ephesians 5 19: Talk with each other much about the Lord. Do you put God first in your finances? Proverbs 3 9-10: Honor the Lord with the wealth and with the best part of every one, everything your produce. Then you will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine. God says, give me the first part back, and I'll bless the rest. We started off this year — I did a series called Two Masters. I talked about tithing and offering. I've had several of you come back since that time, even in the midst of all the chaos that's going on with Covid, and talk about what God has done in your life. The changes that you made, small changes that you've seen, but God has showed up in, in extraordinary ways. Why? Because that's what God does when you put him first. God always will bless. God's word talks more about giving than any other, heaven or hell. And over half of Jesus's parables deal with the subject of money. If you look at the Bible word — Bible words translated, the word believe was translated 272 times, pray 371, love 714, but give was translated 2162 times. Why? Because God knew. God knew you'd have a connection with your money, and given the chance, it will rule you. It'll come between you and him. Deuteronomy 14 23, it says: Bring the tithe to eat before the Lord your God, and the place he shall choose, and his sanctuary. This applies to your ties of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn of your flocks and herds. The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives. What is tithing? It's the first 10 of what you make. It goes back to God. Why is it important? Because God says, if I'm not tithing, then he's not really first. I can stand here as a 44 year old man. I can tell you this: I will always live better on 90 than I will on 100. Always, always, always, it works that way. Whatever you want God to bless, put it first in an area you should put God. I'm going to bring this to an end, and I feel like God's going to do something for us today. But I feel important to end this way: you need to put God first in your troubles. Can I preach here for just a minute? Psalms 15 15 says: And call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. God says, turn to me first when you got a problem. Come to me. Bring the problem to me. Don't go somewhere else. Don't try to do it on your own. Don't try to figure it out. Don't get out a piece of paper and start writing down some numbers and all this stuff. Okay, because how many of us do that? How many of us do — that's okay, church is a great place to be honest — yeah, we do. But he said first. See, we get it out of order. We try to do all that we can, and then once we have got to the end of our rope, then we pray. But God's trying to show you, why don't you come to me first? Why don't you come to me first and pray, and then you and I together, we can work some things out? But too often we save that as a last resort. That if I can't figure it out, boy, I gotta pray. I gotta go the prayer room. I gotta work some things out. Get a hold of the church, call the fast folks, problems in my life, because we've done everything that we know to do. But God is waiting to hear from you. He's wanting to be put first in the tough times. Some people think, I don't talk to God much when times are good. I don't feel like I can bother him when I have problems. But God is saying, bother me. He's saying, don't care these by yourself. This isn't what I want for you. This isn't my desire for you. Don't get caught up in those things. Some people, they, they have it all backwards. He's saying, come on, bring him to me. How do you know when God's really first in your life? I'm going to tell you how you know: as you stop worrying. Boy, anxiety has got our world flipped and turned upside down. I won't even start talking about the statistics about how many people are dealing with anxiety and depression. And has it only gotten, and intensified, and magnified through this coven 19 pandemic we're dealing with. And people are hurting, and people are struggling. It is real. And then they're going through, through a very difficult time. But when I read through scriptures, I see where, where he is saying that we should not be doing those things. And I'm, I'm asking, I'm wondering, how do we get ourselves in these positions? And could it be, is there a possibility, is there a chance, that maybe it's because we don't have God first in every area of our life? Oh, it doesn't mean that we don't come to church, or we're not watching online, or in those things. But I'm talking about every area of your life. The places, especially, where you're worrying the most — where's God at in all of that? Where have you left any, any space for him to be? Is he there? Does he have an option to even show up? Or do you only get him into the areas that you can control? And I feel like so often the case is this: we keep God in the areas we're comfortable with. But in the areas where we're uncomfortable, we leave him out. And he's either God of all, or he's not God at all. And it depends on you. Where are you going to allow him to work in your life? What are you going to allow him to do? Worry is the warning light that God is not in the first place. He's not where he needs to be in that particular moment of your life. You see, when I start to worry, I start playing God. When God is first of my finances, when God is first in my interest, in my relationships and my schedules and my troubles, I don't worry about him, because he's there. Matthew 6 33 simply says, we know this: But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Now what's, what's great about that — and David, leave that scripture up. This verse, Matthew 6, so well quoted, do you know where it's at? It's smack dab in the middle of a message about worry. It's right in the middle of Jesus addressing people's concerns and worry. So in the middle of all this, he throws it up: But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things — all what things? All the things you've been worrying about. Look, I'll read it to you. Matthew 6 32: So don't worry about these things, saying, what will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? These things dominate the thoughts of the unbelievers. But your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today. And I feel like we are overrun with worry. We're overrun with it. It's running rampant. It's everywhere. It has touched every one of us, every one of us at some point or another. If we're, we're being really honest and here, we'll have to say, it's at some point, it's caught up with us. Worry about job, worry about finances, worried about my health, worried about my family, worried about my relationships, worried about my money, worried about my — all these things, we could go on and on. It's there. It's a real deal. But I'm, I wanted you to know, I'm ending this way by saying it, that if you find yourself so wrapped up in worry, there's no way God is first. There's no way, because if he's first, if you're seeking him first, he doesn't negate or take away the problems, but there comes a calm assurance that he is there. There's a promise that he'll never leave me nor forsake me, and he's not gonna leave me out hungry. So I'm asking, I'm asking as I end this message — I'm bringing it to a close right this second — is he the God of your relationships? Is he the God of your schedule? Is he the God of your interest? Is he the God of your finances? Is he the God of your troubles? The only way, that was what he said: I am the way. The only way. What a comfort to know that all other ways are man-made, but he showed up and said, I'm the way. And what a piece to know, because his way is the right way. No way to question that, because he is never going to lead you the wrong way. So have you put God first in every area? Is he first in your life? Not just that you listen to Christian music, and that you, that you have lifestyle convictions, and that you attend a church. No, no, beyond that: is he first in all the areas of your life? And if he's not, then I invite you now to cry out to him.