Matthew 6:33 says “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Col 3:24; 24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
Let God be First.
We as a people have not taken this statement to heart.
We have pushed God so far back in the operating procedures of life that it’s almost as if he’s not there at all.
As a result we find in our society today that sin is running a full course.
We have right being called wrong and wrong being called right.
We have kids carrying guns to school, mothers drowning all their kids, fathers killing their entire families, kids killing their parents, terrorist attacking America. Road rage is a constant threat. People trying to play god trying to clone humans and create a super race of people.
Homosexuality is ever increasing; you can’t even turn on your television sets anymore without seeing some form of it on TV.
Every diabolical thing the world has, has crept its way into the church.
We have men and women of God, who called them selves preachers of the gospel, marrying men to men and women to women, hiding behind the premises that you never know who you’ll fall in love with just so they can have the numbers.
The moral and ethical standards that this country was built upon have become obsolete.
The statement and belief of being One Nation Under God, that at one time was recited by every child in school, has now become a punishable crime to even mention.
Man has taken the law and twisted it in such a way that its now lawful to be wrong and unlawful to be right.
The reason is we have failed to Let God be First.
Let God be First is a declarative statement that we all agree with, we say amen to it, and we advice people of doing it.
We teach it and we preach it, but do we really understand what it means to “Let God be First.”
The dictionary says:
Let: To allow, to permit, to acknowledge, to afford the opportunity.
Be: Exist, be present, to be real, and alive.
First: To be head of, the original, to be before all, in preference to something else, the beginning, foremost.
Although God is God the creator of all that is and all power in Heaven and Earth is in His hands, realize that he will never forcefully acquire the position of being first, even though he requires it.
He said in Exodus 20:3 the very first commandment “Thou shall have no other gods before me.” His requirement is to be first, but he will not force his way in the position of being first upon us; therefore the ability, responsibility, and capability of God being first lies within each and every one of us.
The problem we have in letting God be First is that we are wrapped up, tide up, and tangled up in this flesh and Paul lets us know in Romans 7:18
“For I know that in me (that is in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing.”
The flesh is not subject to God, the flesh is under control of the mind.
If the mind wants something it tells the flesh wouldn’t it be nice to have that, the flesh now gets the desire for it.
That’s why the Bible says “Let the same mind that is in Christ Jesus be also in you”, because Jesus’s mind was to do the will of his father and his flesh was in subjection to his mind.
Since we have not brought this flesh under subjection we allow the desire, the wants, and the ambitions of the flesh to give its’ first allegiance to everything else but God.
Our nature and tendency is to indulge this flesh, to allow our profession, our social acceptance, our livelihood, our comforts, and our pleasures the opportunity to be satisfied.
We spend so much time trying to ensure that we meet the right people, drive the right car, wear the right clothes, attend the right social functions, impress the right people, operate in the proper arenas so that the social elite of this world might take notice of us.
We diligently and meticulously strive for popularity and prosperity because human conception is based on the belief that this is what it takes to be blessed and we confuse resource with the source.
So what happens is we spend all of our energy trying to reach unattainable expectations all that this flesh may be satisfied, and what little we have left we then offer unto God if our flesh isn’t to tired.
We must realize is that the flesh will never be satisfied, and no matter what we have or achieve, no matter who knows your name, no matter how much success you get, that you will never be truly blessed until you “Let God be First.”
I’m reminded of a song we used to sing many years ago it said “I’m not asking for high men to know my name, but give me Lord a clean heart and I’ll follow thee.”
In other words Lord you’ll be first in my life and whatever you want me to do I’ll do. Just be first in my life.
The Bible says:
Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
The mentality of society is “get all these things and if you have time then seek God”.
We even find preachers whose basis of their ministry is prosperity.
Don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with having material things, but the organization of it is important.
God desires for his people to be blessed and prosperous, for in 3rd John 1:2 the Bible says; “Beloved I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
God wants his people to be rich,
He desires for his people to have the abundance of,
He’s the King and we are his children and we should have it,
But first he wants us to have much power, much anointing, much wisdom, much understanding.
Once we have achieved these things then all the other stuff will be added unto you.
We find in our society so many people that have achieved great prosperity & popularity, and according to man’s status they seem to really have it going on.
They have the nice cars, live in the fine homes, and travel to all the exotic places, but then one day you hear on the news that they have taken their own life.
The question arises why would they do something like that, they had everything going for them?
They didn’t Let God be First, and failed to understand 2 key concepts.
1.) Position
2.) Relationship
Position is: The proper location and proper place of something (GOD) at any given time.
Relationship is: The condition of being connected.
Position: Think about the military, whenever troops would go on maneuvers, move from one place to another, there was a position called POINT.
The point position is the first position. It is a highly esteemed and respected position.
The point position has the responsibility of the lives of everyone in the company on their shoulders.
What the point man does is to lead the company through hostile territory. He would go first ensuring that the way was clear, that there were no land mines or any danger before us.
What will happen sometimes by him being first, if the enemy was out there somewhere they would notice him first and they more than likely would shoot him.
What this did was give the rest of the company the knowledge that the enemy was out there and they would be able take the appropriate action to save our lives.
(Watch this): When you Let God be First, he becomes your point man and he leads you through the hostile territory of the devil.
He points out the land mines, the snares, the traps that are laid to entangle us and he leads us around them.
In the natural what happens is the point man gets shot and everyone else has to protect our own lives.
But in the spiritual when you let God be first. What happens is God becomes not only your point man to lead you through hostile territory, around all the land mines and traps set before you, but like David said he is my Buckler.
A Buckler is a shield and every fiery dart, every missile of destruction that the enemy shoots at you.
God is standing there taking every blow. Saying come on my child everything is going to be all right all you gotta do is Let God be First.
In Psalms 23 David understood something he said, “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me.”
I want to change it a little if that’s o.k.
When you Let God be First you can say; “Yea though I walk through hostile territory I will fear no evil for thou art my point man. Thou goest before me in the presence of my enemies, thou leadest me past all the traps and snares. I don’t have to worry, I don’t have to fret, all I have to do is Let God be First.
The reason so many people are dying spiritually is they fail to Let God be First and they leave themselves open to the attacks of the devil.
We have this concept “Everywhere you go take God with you!” and this is what we do.
We try to grab God by the hand instead of God grabbing ours and say ok God lets go here, lets do this trying to take God to some place he ain’t gonna go and we place ourselves in open view of the enemy’s attacks.
Then when the devil begins to attack us we get discouraged and upset.
We sit there talking about Shanequa’s being pregnant, wife done left me, I had two cars, a dog, and a cat.
Then we ask God the question why did you let me go, God says I didn’t let you go you let me go, I never had your hand.
If you would have Let me be First I would have lead you around the land mind of Shanequa’s house, would have lead you to Bible Class where you would have gotten the word in you, but you didn’t put me first.
What we need to understand is the concept Where he leads me I will follow. We must Let God be in his proper position in our lives and that’s First.
I said there were 2 concepts
Relationship: Colossians 3:24 “Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”
In order to receive an inheritance there has to be relationship, there has to be a connection.
Relationship, how one thing relates to another has the entire world to do with function and productivity.
When you fail to understand your relationship with God you’ll find yourself trying to do things that only God can do.
So many people in church today are confused, depressed, discouraged, unable to praise God the way the are supposed to because they don’t understand the relationship.
They spend so much of their energy trying to
Bless themselves,
Answer their own prayers,
Solve their own problems,
Climb the latter of success,
Trying to out sing somebody,
Out preach somebody,
Out testify somebody.
Trying to be noticed by somebody and they fail to understand relationship with God.
Jesus said “I am the vine and ye are the branches.”
You don’t have to shake the Bishop’s hand to be blessed; all you have to do is stay connected to the vine.
When you understand relationship you’ll know
Your deliverance is in the vine,
Your job is in the vine,
Your joy is in the vine.
Listen you don’t have to preach like TD Jakes to end up on TV, You don’t have to sing like Fred Hammond to cut a CD,
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
When you Let God be First you’ll receive the reward of the inheritance.
We know the inheritance is eternal life with God, but while we are yet here if we Let God be First we’ll receive of the inheritance.
I like to call it God’s interest.
If you have 5 million dollars in the bank, you don’t spend all of that but you live off of the interest of it.
Our inheritance is eternal life with him, but while we are yet here the interest of the inheritance is what we are living off of.
The interest is knowing that “No weapon formed against you shall prosper.”
When you let God be First. When you understand position and relationship. You can develop what I like to call; Ridiculous Praise.
A normal praise is when you have a blessing and you know what the blessing is and you praise God for the blessing.
Ridiculous Praise is all hell is breaking loose in your life,
Husband left,
Wife ran off,
Kids strung out,
Car repossessed,
House is next,
Job gone,
Bills past due,
You should have lost your mind a long time ago, but you have Let God be First in your life.
When you Let God be First, things that used to get on your nerves, don’t get on your nerves any more, people that used to get under your skin, don’t get under your skin anymore.
When you Let God be First you can hear bad news and still have joy.
When you Let God be First even though it seems like all hope is gone you do as the Bible says and
“Enter into his gates with Thanksgiving and His courts with Praise.”
When you Let God be first you’ll be to Sundayschool and church on time.
When you Let God be First you’ll pray and read your Bible every day as you ought.
When you Let God be First you don’t just sit here like a bump on a log, but you raise your hands and Glorify God, you sing loud with the Praise Team.
Can’t carry a tune in a bucket, It doesn’t matter you let God be first and say,
“I still have Joy after all the things I’ve been through I still have Joy.”
That’s what we hear.
No matter how bad or off key it may be, you make a joyful noise unto the Lord and this is what God hears;
Glory Hallelujah, you’re worthy.
This is what the devil hears
Na, Na, Na, Na, you didn’t get me.
He gets upset, it confuses him, he says I’ve been raising hell in their lives and yet in still they can clap their hands and praise God that’s Ridiculous, I’m not gonna waste my time with them.
If you want the devil to leave you alone, Let God be First.
Let hell be breaking loose in your life and enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise.
Not that cute little pansy Sunday morning praise that you practiced in front of the mirror, but put it in high gear.
Take the weave out, kick the shoes off, loosen the tie and just begin to praise God like you have lost your mind.
I dare you to stand up and just begin to give God a ridiculous praise.
You may be here today, all hell is breaking loose at home, you don’t even really know why you came but you did. I dare you to start praising God.
Praise Team Come to the front and let’s lead this Church in
Ridiculous Praise.
