First things First
January 4, 2004
Pastor Mike Logan
Welcome Saints……it is wonderful to be here with you this morning.
Can you believe it’s already 2004?
It’s amazing how fast time creeps up on us isn’t it?
Being the first of the year, there are many things that start fresh…New beginnings for things like corporate budgets, new tax reporting periods and of course those famous “New Year’s Resolutions.”
I was surprised but not shocked when I saw the top 10 New Year’s Resolutions that people make.
According to one survey here’s the list:
10. Get Organized
9. Help Others
8. Learn Something New
7. Get Out of Debt
6. Quit Drinking
5. Enjoy Life More
4. Quit Smoking
3. Tame the Bulge
2. Fit in Fitness
1. Spend More Time with Family & Friends
At least the #1 Resolution is admirable…I wished more people would spend more quality time with their families.
What I found disturbing in all these resolutions although, was that they focused on one concept.
Can you see what it is?
What strikes you as the common theme?
I would like to share Scripture with you today that troubles my heart only because so many fail to see its truth.
This was written by the Apostle Paul to Timothy and also for all Christians everywhere to be instructed in.
Paul here discusses the “Season” by which will be upon us in the last days.
I will read this from the “Message Bible” as it is up close and personal in our modern language.
Let’s pray before we read from God’s Word.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 MSG
“Don’t be naive. There are difficult times ahead. As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God. They’ll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they’re animals. Stay clear of these people.”
Powerful Scripture in a desperate time.
In the top 10 Resolutions I read to you, the common theme is summed up in one word…“Self.”
Now you may say that some of them where honorable resolutions.
How bad is, “wanting to help others?” and sure to stop drinking or stop smoking are no doubt bad habits that should be stopped.
But it seems that many have lost sight of where our focus should be.
This leads me into the topic of today’s message, “First things First.”
As we start the New Year, we should think about our priorities and what the First thing on our agenda’s should be.
It’s great to have a itemized list of “Things to Do”, but how effective will this list be without Jesus in your life.
I was watching a News Report just yesterday that talked about how the majority of people who make these “Resolutions” within a few weeks and in some cases only a few short days after New Year’s Day they have fallen from their plan for change.
I watched as a young woman was in tears over her failure after only 3 days of failing her resolution to maintain a diet to lose weight.
The question I had to ask was, “What was their motivation for change in the first place?”
Was it only thinking about themselves?
We can learn a lot about what we should do “First” in our lives from many of the Patriarchs of the Bible.
When we look at Noah, what was the first thing he did after the Ark landed after all that time adrift?
How about Moses and the Nation of Israel after being saved from the Egyptians at the Red Sea?
Or maybe even Paul after he was healed of his blindness after his encounter with the Lord on the road to Damascus.
The common denominator is that they all praised God and gave worship to Him first before anything else.
Noah built an Alter atop Mt. Ararat where the Ark finally came to rest and gave praise and worship to God First before anything else. It would have been easy to just take a break from God; look what God had just put Noah and his family through. (Genesis 8)
Moses and the Nation of Israel sang praises to God for his Grace and Love in their deliverance from the army of Pharaoh of Egypt First before anything else. (Exodus 15)
And Paul there in the house of Judas was Baptized and worshiped God First before dealing with his own needs. (Acts 9)
This is a great example for us all, that our first priority must be to put God first in our lives and allow Jesus to work in and through us.
When people try all these things in life saying, “I’ll try it on my own first”, this is where they fail.
If only they knew the power that they could have in Christ.
If people would stop putting there needs, wants and desires FIRST.
Do you know that God loves us so much that He put us First even before the life of His own Son?
God loved us so Much, and that is why God allowed Jesus to die. To bare the weight of our sins upon his shoulders.
Do you realize that the Lord is waiting to help you today?
In fact, not only is the Lord ready to work in your mortal life today, but He is also preparing for you in our Father’s House.
Let us remember Jesus’ precious words:
John 14:1-6
"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And 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 to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
With these precious words from our Lord and Savior, you can rest assure that Jesus will provide for you know and forever in His Kingdom.
My personal wish is that more people would make their #1 New Year’s Resolution “To have a closer relationship with Christ Jesus.”
I want to encourage you as you begin this New Year to seek a closer personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
By the Scripture I read at the beginning of today’s Service, we as followers of Jesus know that the Season of the Return of Jesus is upon us. Does any of these things that Paul describes sound familiar?
people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting,
stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God.
Tragically these are the very things that much of our world today is founded upon.
There is joy although amongst all this tragedy and that is that we will soon be with our Father in His glorious kingdom.
But we should not sit idle and just wait for the Return of Christ, we need to be growing in our faith, sharing our faith so that many more will share with us in the inheritance of the Kingdom of God.
As you walk into this New Year, ask in the name of Jesus what you would like and watch your desires turn to reality.
James points out why so many prayers are not answered:
“And yet the reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t ask God for it. And even when you do ask, you don’t get it because your whole motive is wrong--you want only what will give you pleasure.”
James 4:2b-3
Watch your motives and put God as your priority before anything else and then the door to His blessings will be opened for you.
As I was prompted by the Holy Spirit in the preparation of this message today, I was told, “First things First…Jesus needs to come first before anything else that you think you need in your life.”
If you haven’t asked Jesus to take over your life, then today is the day.
And maybe you have accepted Jesus at some time in your life, but relationship just hasn’t been what it should be.
Well...today is the day…Today is the day of Salvation if you will just ask Him to take control.
There may not be a tomorrow; Life is very precious and fragile…So start this New Year off with the right perspective and know that you also will share in God’s Glory.
As Paul tells us, “Look forward to the Kingdom of God and not back and the ways of world that would want to drag us down.”
Let’s Pray
Invitation
©2004 Pastor Mike Logan
