THE GOD WHO IS FIRST
WRITE THIS IN YOUR NOTES:
WE READ THIS WORD TO GET TO KNOW WHO GOD IS AND HOW GOD THINKS.
YOU SEE THE WORD FROM COVER TO COVER REVEALS THE GOD WHO IS FIRST!
PSALM 8:1 Oh Lord, our Lord, how excellent thy name is in all the Earth. Who has set the glory above the heavens.
PSALM 102:25 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the Earth, and the heavens are the work of the hands they shall perish, but thou shall endure.
JOHN 1:1 In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God the same was in the beginning with God.
What does it mean to be first? Although that may seem like a ridiculously simple question it is imperative that we understand it in relationship to God.
First is defined as… “The first occurrence of item or a kind “or as “proceeding all other others in time order or importance.”
EVERYONE HERE This morning needs to get this… God will not tolerate being a part of your life… God will not tolerate having an occasional rendezvous or appointment with you. God will not tolerate you putting other things, people even your livelihood or your family ahead of him.
And the very first question we will ask is how can I know if God is first? And yet in our hearts, every one of us know.
Every man who ever trusted God in the Scriptures and was placed here as an example of how God thinks… Put God first.
The first man that God decided to choose and use to establish his people in the Earth was Abraham.
GENESIS 22:12 NIV
“…Now I know that you fear God…”
“…I know that God is first in your life…”
THE NEXT MAN GOD REVEALED HIMSELF TO AS “THE GOD WHO IS FIRST” IS MOSES
The children of Israel have been called to intimacy with God, but they had a pagan background and were influenced by idols. So, God couldn’t trust them, even though over and over he sought to bring them face-to-face.
But he certainly trusted Moses.
Exodus 33:11-13
“THE LORD WOULD SPEAK TO MOSES, FACE-TO-FACE AS A MAN SPEAKS WITH HIS FRIEND.”
“YOU HAVE SAID “I KNOW YOU BY NAME AND YOU HAVE FOUND FAVOR WITH ME.” …If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you.”
THERE ON THAT MOUNTAIN, MOSES RECEIVED GOD’S PLAN FOR HIS CHOSEN PEOPLE TO ALWAYS KEEP HIM FIRST AND TO KNOW WHETHER OR NOT THEY WERE KEEPING HIM FIRST.
THE OVERARCHING PRINCIPAL OF WHAT MOSES RECEIVED THAT DAY IS CALLED THE LAW OF FIRST THINGS.
IT IS THE GIVING OVER OF FIRST …. OF FIRSTBORN AND FIRSTFRUITS.
Exodus 34:19-26
19 “The first offspring of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock. 20 Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem all your firstborn sons.
“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.
21 “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.
22 “Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering at the turn of the year. 23 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel. 24 I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God.
25 “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Festival remain until morning.
26 “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.
LEVITICUS 27:26-28
26 “‘No one, however, may dedicate the firstborn of an animal, since the firstborn already belongs to the Lord; whether an ox or a sheep, it is the Lord’s. 27 If it is one of the unclean animals, it may be bought back at its set value, adding a fifth of the value to it. If it is not redeemed, it is to be sold at its set value.
28 “‘But nothing that a person owns and devotes to the Lord—whether a human being or an animal or family land—may be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the Lord.
HOW DO WE KNOW WE ARE PUTTING GOD FIRST?
JESUS BEGAN HIS TEACHING MINISTRY IN MATTHEW’S GOSPEL IN A MESSAGE KNOWN AS THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
IN CHAPTER SIX HE DEALS WITH FIRST THINGS:
- GIVING OUR MONEY
- GIVING OUR TIME IN PRAYER
- GIVING OUR APPETITES IN FASTING
CLOSES HIS THOUGHT HERE BY SAYING, YOU CANNOT SERVE GOD AND MONEY!
I PRAY PASTOR DENNY RODNEY WILL NEVER DISCONTINUE THIS ANNUAL OFFERING BECAUSE IT IS A POWERFUL REFERENDUM ON THE LAW OF FIRST THINGS.
“I WANT YOUR BONUS!”