First And Foremost

Sermon No. 12

FIRST AND FOREMOST

By: Atty. Numeriano P. Galgo, Jr.

October 27, 2019

Tagum City, Philippines

attyborgegalgo@gmail.com

Part I.

A. Greetings

B. Overview of the message

The message this morning is about the ultimate object and source of our delight. Where does our joy, satisfaction, comfort and pleasure come from? The world offers a lot of irresistible choices. We are preoccupied with our needs, problems, work and earthly ambitions. Oftentimes, there is no peace and contentment in our lives. No matter how hard we work, something is still missing. Could it be that we delight more in the world and not in God?

Our main verse is found in Psalm 37:4 which says:

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

C. Prayer

Part II. Discussion

This bible verse is one of my favorites. I can still remember my parents telling and helping me to memorize this verse when I was a little child. It must be very important. So, I memorized it by heart. As I grew up, I realized that it is really important. Every time I think and say it, it makes me teary-eyed. It touches the core of my being. Do you have a special Bible verse also?

As I earnestly asked God what message he wanted me to share with you this morning, there were some ideas that came along but this one was dominant. He led me to this verse: Delight yourself in Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. I wondered why because it seems that we all know about this verse already. I need not tell you about this. While I was pondering in my heart the reason why the Lord wanted me to share this with you, the devil doubled up his efforts to distract and confuse me. It happens every time that I would share God’s message. But the Lord is always victorious! The devil failed to bring me down. Can you relate with that?

This verse is true and I can testify to it. God wants to remind us through this verse that he must be FIRST and FOREMOST in our lives not just the center. I could be wrong but I could not find a verse in the Bible instructing us to put God in the center of our lives. The command is to put him first in our lives all the time. Is there a difference between first and center? Yes, “first” is always first wherever you put it but “center” may not be the first thing.

This verse is related to Matthew 6:33 which says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” and the first and greatest commandment in Matthew 22:37 which says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

A. Meaning of “delight yourself in the Lord”

Delight means great pleasure, joy, satisfaction or comfort. When King David said “delight yourself in the Lord” it means that we are going to find our greatest and real pleasure, joy, satisfaction or comfort in the Lord and nothing else. In the Hebrew word, delight means delicate, soft, pliable or sensitive. It indicates a life that is dependent on God.

King David did not say “delight yourself in the world.” The world also offers great pleasure, joy, satisfaction and comfort but only fleeting and not enough. That is why we always want more. Our earthly possessions, power, influence, riches and physical attributes do not last. Oftentimes, they cause us trouble, distractions and restlessness, worry and dislike for the things of the Lord.

To delight in the Lord is a command. It is not a request or suggestion. When King David wrote this command, he was already old. He wrote from experience. Psalm 37, if you read it from the beginning, deals with the question of “Why is it that the wicked people seem to be more prosperous and happy than the Christians?” This feeling or reaction is very common among us. But King David advised us not to worry or be envious of them because they will soon pass away. Instead, he told us of a better way to live based on his experiences, and that is to trust and delight in the Lord. Wicked people and Christians pass away but they go to different destinations. The wicked to hell and true Christians to heaven!

We have experienced delight in our lives. At one time, we have delighted in someone, pet or something. We are excited, right? We love to spend time with that person, pet or thing because we feel joy and pleasure. We give our best to love, care and protect them. We put them first and foremost. We look forward and cherish them in our hearts. They are the first thing on our minds. We experienced sweet moments. When they are taken from us, we get angry, sad and lonely.