First Things First: Aligning Your Priorities with God’s Plan

Baby Dedication

Before Families Come Up:

Thank you worship team, for leading us in worship of our amazing Saviour!

He is worthy of worship for His power, His wisdom, and His gracious salvation in our lives!

We also acknowledge that He is the giver of life,

and so this morning, before the sermon,

we want to take a moment to praise Him for the gift of new life.

I’d like to invite:

John & Tina Ketler and their baby boy Nolan; and

Franz & Selena Guenther and their baby boy Liam

to come up on the stage as they would like to dedicate their children to the Lord.

As they’re walking up:

Nolan John was born December 12th weighing 9lbs. 8oz.

Liam John was born December 24th, weighing 7lbs. 11oz.

Baby dedications are important for a number of reasons:

First, we recognize that God is the author of life, and has created every child in His own image.

Second, we acknowledge it is the parents responsibility to raise children to know and love God, their Creator and Saviour.

Third, we as a church commit to support them in that task through prayer and service.

After they get up:

John & Tina… Franz & Selena…

today you are expressing your desire to raise these beautiful children that God has blessed you with,

in the wisdom and fear of the Lord.

We would like to give each of you this certificate,

which is a reminder of your commitment,

as well as our commitment as a church to support you, any way we can.

***PHOTO OP!***

Let’s bow our heads for the prayer of dedication…

Prayer

Psalm 139:15-16 “My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”

Lord, these precious children have not been born as a random act of chance,

but are here because of Your sovereign will and decree.

Nolan and Liam are amazing blessings from You,

and You have been weaving them together in their mother’s wombs,

planning out the steps of their lives.

You have given Nolan to John & Tina, and Liam to Franz & Selena,

that they might come to

know You…

love You… and

worship You…

their Creator.

Would you bless these parents Lord.

Give them wisdom and guidance from Your Spirit

as they raise their children in an increasingly challenging world…

That they might become ambassadors for the truth,

shining lights in this world,

pointing lost souls back to the One who formed them in their mother’s wombs’.

We pray that You will help us as a church to come alongside these parents to support them to that end.

We thank You and praise You, in Jesus’ name, amen.

INTRODUCTION

Problem

Everything that we have is in this life is finite…

meaning that it has limits…

Your bank account has a limited amount of money in it… and

once it runs out… its gone.

Every road has a speed limit… and

if you exceed that limit you could get a ticket…

On airplanes there is a size or weight limit for your luggage bag… and

if it’s too big you may have to pay a fee, or find another way to get it to your destination.

The same is true of our time.

We only have so much time

in a day…

in a week…

in a month...

in a year…

IN OUR LIFETIME!

This means that we need to be intentional with the time that we have.

In his book, Freedom from Tyranny of the Urgent, Charles Hummel says…

“Our greatest danger is letting the urgent things crowd out the important ones.”

Urgent things are things that things that we feel need to be done right now.

My email is piling up…

and I feel like I need to catch up.

a friend/family member just texted

and I feel like I need to respond right away.

the game, or the show is on…

I need to watch it right now so I don’t want to miss it.

These urgent things are not bad…

but they often call for immediate response,

and so… we allow them to crowd out important things…

Important things like:

spending more time in Bible reading/prayer…

spending quality time together as a family…

spending time serving others.

We need to prioritize the things that are most important to us.

We need to invest in the things that help us accomplish the things we want.

This leads to the questions Hummel poses in his book…

Where are you going?

What are your goals in life?

You cannot successfully plan until you know the answer to these questions.

Transition

This morning we are beginning a 4-week series called…

Series Title

First Things First: Aligning Your Priorities with God’s Plan

We need to prioritize the things that God values.

When we put those first, we will invest in what is most important in our lives.

Over the course of the next 4 weeks we will look at 4 important aspects of God’s plan that we need to align ourselves with.

These are things that we need to put first!

Transition

This morning, we are going to consider the question…

Sermon Title

Who is Investing in Me? The importance of hearing from God

Investing is the process of putting money or resources into something that we hope will generate a return.

Maybe we put money into an RRSP hoping to earn interest…

Maybe we take money that we have saved and invest it into a business venture that we hope will be profitable…

Maybe we buy a home or another item that we can resell and make some money…

In all of these cases,

we are taking our money, and

putting it towards something we hope will give us a return on our money.

The same could be said of our lives.

Others are investing into our lives, hoping to generate a return.

There is something they want from us as a result of their investment.

Example

Maybe a company offers a free promotion in hopes of gaining your business…

They are willing to lose money short term in order to give us something,

with the hope that they will gain as a customer,

and generate more income than the initial loss.

They are making an investment.

We are all being shaped and formed by something.

We are being invested in…

Someone is making deposits into our lives:

video games

radio programs

music

social media

friends/family members

Summary

We need to be careful who is investing in us…

because those deposits are shaping and molding:

who we become…

what we think/believe…

what we do…

Proposition

This is why it is so important for us to hear from God.

If you want to grow as a disciple of Jesus…

then you need to make time to be in God’s Word,

so that He can be investing in you…

shaping and molding you into the image of Christ.

Word of Caution

Now, I want to be clear that what I am talking about is not earning your salvation, or making God love us more.

We are saved through faith alone.

The moment you confess your sins and put your faith in Jesus Christ,

you are saved, and loved fully by God!

But there are blessings that God promises to give as we strive for holiness and obedience to His Word.

He promises to invest in you as you:

Make Time to Hear His Word

Make Time to Read His Word

Make Time to Apply His Word

BODY OF SERMON

First…

God Invests in You as You Make Time to Hear His Word

God wants to invest in us…

He wants to deposit His truth into our hearts to lead and guide us…

but He won’t do that if we don’t make the time to hear from Him.

EXPLANATION

In Luke 11:28, Jesus said…

Luke 11:28 ESV

28 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

The point of hearing God’s Word is not simply to have listened to it…

The ultimate goal of God’s Word is to “keep it.”

But we must hear it first…

Romans 10:13-14 says…

Romans 10:13–14 ESV

13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

Paul goes on to say in verse 17…

Romans 10:17 ESV

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

It is through hearing the word of Christ that the Holy Spirit initiates faith in our hearts…

and then the Holy Spirit gives us the desire and power for obedience.

We see an example of the power of God’s Word in the book of Acts.

On the day the Holy Spirit came, Peter preached a great sermon.

Using God’s Word to the prophet Joel, and a Psalm from King David,

Peter declared that Jesus was the promised Messiah.

Then we read in Acts 2:37…

Acts 2:37 ESV

37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

The Holy Spirit, using the spoken Word of God

convicted those who heard, leading to their faith.

3,000 souls were saved and added to the church that day.

Paul knew the power of hearing God’s Word…

which is why he instructed Timothy, a young pastor, to…

1 Timothy 4:13 (ESV)

devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.

Summary

As we find time to hear God’s Word…

He invests in us.

Planting the seed of faith,

leading to obedience and growth.

ILLUSTRATION (Quarry truck driver — God shaped me through what I listened to.)

You want to know the most influential season of my life in preparing me to be a pastor?

Some of you might think it was seminary…

No!

It was in this old Caterpillar Dump Truck!

Well, not this truck exactly…

but one like it.

God was shaping and molding me in this truck through what I was listening to.

When I first started driving this truck at around 20 years old…

we would work 10-12 hour days.

I spent a lot of time in that truck.

I would get loaded with rock, and then I would go dump it…

I would get loaded with rock, and go dump it…

AND THEN…

I would get loaded with rock and go dump it…

It can be a very long, boring day in one of those trucks…

So I found a radio and some headphones,

and passed the time by listening to different radio programs.

Now, I did not always listen to things that I should have been listening to…

but God was working in my heart, and began convicting me about it.

God helped me find a radio station…

WLQV 1500am Detroit…

A Christian talk and teaching station.

The morning was when they had most of the sermons from some of the best preachers in America.

So from 6 am to 12 pm… I would listen to preacher… after preacher… after preacher

faithfully teaching the Word of God.

Summary

God was investing in me through what I was listening to.

Through that faithful preaching,

God was stirring in me a desire to be a faithful teacher of His Word.

APPLICATION

Now, you may or may not be in a situation like I was…

in a truck or vehicle for many hours a day…

but…

Where can you make time to hear God’s Word?

Odds are, you’re not going to magically find a portion of your day that is available.

We are very good at filling up our schedules.

You are going to have to MAKE the TIME!

You need to schedule it, and plan for it, otherwise it will likely not happen.

It needs to become a priority.

This is going to involve sacrifice…

because there is probably something else filling that spot.

I cannot tell you where to make the time…

You will have to look at your schedule and determine that.

but I can give some suggestions for what to fill the time with!

i. Listen to your pastor

Here at LEMC, we believe that every Christian should be actively involved and engaged in a local church.

You need the body of Christ, and the body of Christ needs you.

This is where you live out your faith.

God wants to invest in you through your commitment to a church…

and one of the ways He does that is through the work of a pastor who faithfully teaches God’s Word.

Make a commitment to faithfully go to church…

Bring your Bible, a notebook, and a pen…

take notes!

We don’t spend hours preparing sermons so that you’re entertained…

We do it because we know that God wants to work in and through us…

He wants to make change us…

So we faithfully teach you God’s Word, so that you obey it and are transformed by it!

Make the time to come to church and be an active participant in what God wants to do in your life.

Another way you can make time to hear God’s Word is…

ii. Listen to spiritually uplifting content

We all have time throughout the week…

time driving in the car…

time on breaks and lunch…

time in the evenings…

maybe you have time at work…

why not use that time to hear God’s Word!

There are an infinite number of options here.

You could take some time to listen to the Bible…

You could take some time to listen to worship music…

you could take time to listen to a pastor you like…

You could take time to find a podcast about an area of Christian faith that you’re interested in.

There are tonnes of free options for you to pick from…

you just need to be intentional to make the time…

and then find something to fill it with.

Summary

God wants to invest in, and transform you from the inside out…

and He will do that as you make time to hear His Word.

Maybe it’s not in an old Caterpillar Dump Truck,

but He will meet you wherever you are…

planting and tending the seeds that will bear fruit for His kingdom!

Transition

God also…

God Invests in You as You Make Time to Read His Word

We need to make time to hear God’s Word,

but we also need to make time to read and study God’s Word ourselves.

EXPLANATION

On a number of encounters with those who questioned Him Jesus said,

“Have you not read…”

Jesus’ expectation was that since the Israelites had the Word of God,

that they read it and knew it!

In fact, the reason the religious were wrong on so many things was because they did not know God’s Word.

Listen to what Jesus said to the Sadducees when they came to him, asking about marriage in the resurrection…

Mark 12:24 ESV

24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?

The reason they were wrong because they didn’t know their scrolls well enough!

Jesus knew the importance of reading the Word of God.

In our church Bible reading plan this week

we read Luke 4, which describes Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness.

Having not eaten in 40 days,

Satan tempted Jesus to use His power to provide for His need for food.

But Jesus said in Luke 4:4…

Luke 4:4 ESV

4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’ ”

Matthew adds…

Matthew 4:4 (ESV)

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Jesus knew there was more to life than they physical.

There is the reality of spiritual things.

We need food to nourish our bodies,

but more importantly,

we need God’s Word to show us the way to eternal life.

When Jesus obedience over bread, he was saying,

“If I have to choose between feeding my physical body,

or feeding my spiritual self…

I choose the spiritual self!”

Both are necessary,

but the spiritual life is infinitely more valuable.

Paul says this in his letter to Timothy…

1 Timothy 4:7–8 ESV

7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

Summary

We need to make time to train ourselves in godliness…

the most important way we do that is through reading God’s Word.

as we do, God will invest in us.

ILLUSTRATION

For the past 13 years, the American Bible Society has put out a report called…

“State of the Bible”

This report details the data collected from polling the American people on their opinions and practices related to the Bible.

In 2022, they were shocked by what they found.

The lead researcher, John Plake said…

“We reviewed our calculations. We double-checked our math and ran the numbers again … and again. What we discovered was startling, disheartening, and disruptive.”

A headline on Christianity today put it this way…

Report: 26 Million Americans Stopped Reading the Bible Regularly During COVID-19

Percentage of Americans that read their Bible at least 3/4 times per year:

2021 — 50%

2022 — 39%

*A difference of roughly 26 million people

11 percent of Americans, roughly 26 million people, stopped reading their Bible.

It wasn’t just casual Bible readers that have been picking up the Bible less since Covid…

In 2021 the percentage of Americans that said they read their Bible daily was 14%…

But in 2022 that percentage dropped to 10%…

a drop of roughly 13 million people.

So why the steep decline of Bible reading?

John Plake believes the numbers were connected to church attendance.

Many churches were closed on and off during the pandemic,

so without regular reminders of how important it is for us to be in God’s Word,

and the blessings God gives through it,

people stopped reading it.

And when we look at the shift in culture that we have seen in the last 3 years…

the decrease in Bible reading shows!

When we think of all the troubles and difficulties we face in this life, and in this world…

we realize how much we need to be in God’s Word every day!

British preacher John Blanchard put it this way…

Surely we only have to be realistic and honest with ourselves to know how regularly we need to turn to the Bible. How often do we face problems, temptation and pressure? Every day! Then how often do we need instruction, guidance and greater encouragement? Every day!

To catch all these felt needs up into an even greater issue, how often do we need to see God’s face, hear his voice, feel his touch, know his power? The answer to all these questions is the same: every day! As the American evangelist D.L. Moody put it,

“A man can no more take in a supply of grace for the future than he can eat enough for the next six months, or take sufficient air into his lungs at one time to sustain life for a week. We must draw upon God’s boundless store of grace from day to day as we need it.”

Summary

If we want to experience God’s blessing,

we need to make time to read God’s Word.

APPLICATION

Donald Whitney,

in his book, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life,

gives 3 practical suggestions for making time to read God’s Word.

First…

i. Find the time

You need to sit down and find a time in your schedule when you will read….

and then discipline yourself to do it.

One of the reasons many Christians don’t read the Bible is because its a big book!

It would take really long to read cover to cover,

so people get discouraged.

But did you know that recorded versions of the Bible have shown that the entire Bible can be read in 71 hours?

Less than 3 days!

If you don’t feel like trying to stay awake for 71 hours straight…

reading an hour a day would get you through the Bible in 71 days… just over 2 months

reading a half hour a day would get you through the Bible in 142 days… just under 5 months

reading 15 minutes a day would get you through the Bible in 284 days… about 9 1/2 months

and who can’t find an extra 15 minutes a day?

And if you’re not good at reading, there are many free Bible apps that have the Bible in audio so that you can listen and follow along.

Reading through the Bible is not as hard as we think…

but it takes discipline!

We need to find the time, and stick to it!

Whitney’s second suggestion for making time in God’s Word is to…

ii. Find a plan

If you do not have a plan, it is very easy to get discouraged and lose hope.

A plan helps you to keep track of what you have read,

how far you’ve come,

and gives you an attainable way of reading through the Bible.

I know I used to think that Bible reading plans were kind of lame,

but I can also remember many times when I wanted to read…

I literally had my Bible in my hand,

but I didn’t know where to read.

I would flip through trying to find something that would pop off the page that I should read,

but I would eventually give up and not read at all.

A plan gives you a goal…

a sense of direction… a clear pathway.

It helps you strive for consistency by breaking up the Bible into small bite-size chunks that can be read each day.

There are countless options for you if you search the internet, or Bible apps.

As a church we just began a new Bible reading plan this last week.

If you do not have a plan, I would encourage you to grab a booklet on the way out.

Finding a plan will help you stay motivated!

Whitney’s final suggestion for making time in God’s Word is to…

iii. Find a verse

I’m sure we have all experienced spending time reading our Bible,

and 5 minutes later not being able to even remember what we read!

For this reason, Whitney encourages his readers to find a word, a phrase, or a verse…

something that stands out to you in your reading that you can meditate on…

“Take at least one thing you’ve read and think deeply about it for a few moments. Your insight into Scripture will deepen, and you’ll better understand how it applies to your life. And the more you apply the truth of Scripture, the more you’ll become like Jesus.”

The Bible reading plan that I mentioned a moment ago that our church is doing is geared to help you with this.

The booklet we have provided explains the HEAR method,

which is an excellent way take the truth of God’s Word, and apply it to our lives!

Transition

Which leads us to our final point this morning…

God Invests in You as You Make Time to Apply His Word

We need to make time to:

hear God’s Word, and

read God’s Word…

but if we do that and remain unchanged…

we have missed the point entirely.

The goal of both of these disciplines is to change us!

The Bible shows us how sinful man can be when we do not follow God.

But we will be blessed when follow it with all our heart!

EXPLANATION

Jesus said…

John 13:17 ESV

17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

There’s no blessing for just knowing them…

the blessing comes from obedience!

When Joshua was taking over as the leader of the Israelites in Moses’ place,

God encouraged his obedience as well…

Joshua 1:8 ESV

8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

God’s desire was to bless Israel, and Joshua as a leader,

that blessing, and success would come if he was faithful to know and obey God’s Word.

James, in his letter said…

James 1:22–23 ESV

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.

James 1:24–25 ESV

24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

If you hear and read God’s Word,

but don’t do what it says,

you are deceiving yourself!

It means that you understand the problem,

but are refusing to change!

You have looked into the perfect law and have seen what you look like,

but you go on and forget about it.

If you refuse to apply God’s Word…

you are rejecting it.

This will not result in God’s blessing!

Summary

God will bless and invest in…

the one who looks into the law,

and makes time to apply it.

ILLUSTRATION

Deputy Frank Sloup is a police officer from Pinal County, Arizona.

He has a youtube channel called, “Fridays with Frank”,

where he posts videos of his traffic stops.

He educates the public, and gives tickets for traffic violations…

all while entertaining his audience with his humour, and charismatic personality.

I was watching a recent video,

where he pulled over a car for speeding.

After chasing him down and pulling him over Dep. Sloup says...

Dep. Sloup

“Well that was exciting”

Speeder

The speeder recognized him and said…

“Woah, it’s deputy Frank. How are you?”

Dep. Sloup

“Good man. Do you have any idea what the speed limit is?”

Speeder

“45?”

Dep. Sloup

“Ya! You know how fast you were going past the signs that said 45?”

Speeder

“Pretty fast.”

Dep. Sloup

“Yea, pretty fast is pretty good.

So you watch my videos,

So you know that traffic enforcement occurs here in Pinal County.”

Speeder

“Ya.”

Dep. Sloup

“Okay, well, we’re in Pinal County,

So you gotta know that we’re out here.

Have you learned nothing from like 60 something episodes of watching me write people tickets?

Speeder

“So it’s still for sure a ticket though?”

Dep. Sloup

“Oh yeah, yeah, it’s definitely a ticket.

We don’t give warnings for 31 over.

That’s literally against my religion.”

Summary

What went wrong???

The driver knew the speed limit…

He knew that Deputy Frank Sloup was out there… and

that speeding could get him a ticket… I mean,

He had watched Dep. Sloup’s videos of him pulling other people over and giving them tickets…

And how did all of this information help him?

It didn’t! He still sped anyway!

And he had to pay the price because of it.

Even though he had all of the right information…

He didn’t make the time to apply it to his life.

Otherwise he would have spared himself the ticket!

APPLICATION

How many times in our life do we suffer the consequences of our disobedience?

We have to apologize for something we said because we didn’t control our tongue…

We have to confess sin and deal with its consequences because we gave in to temptation…

We were stressed and worried about an issue in our lives because we did not take it to God in prayer…

Not to mention the pain our disobedience often causes others!!

We need to understand that God’s Word has been written to help us!

Since it has been written to help us,

we need to read it as if God is speaking to us…

because He is!

Thomas Watson said…

“Take every word as spoken to yourselves. When the word thunders against sin, think thus: “God means my sins”; when it presseth any duty, “God intends me in this.”

Many put off Scripture from themselves, as if it only concerned those who lived in the time when it was written; but if you intend to profit by the word, bring it home to yourselves: a medicine will do no good, unless it be applied.”

God wants you to experience the joy and blessing that obedience brings.

So we need to make the time to apply His Word to our lives.

How can we do that?

As I mentioned earlier, we just started a Bible reading plan this past week.

Those booklets can be found on the round tables in the foyer.

The booklet describes the HEAR method.

The goal of this method is that after reading a portion of Scripture,

you can take and apply it to your life.

H.E.A.R. Method

H — Highlight

what is a verse that stood out to you in your reading?

E — Explain

what is the author’s intended meaning on the context of the passage?

A — Apply

what is the principle to live by today?

R — Respond

how will I respond to the application in my relationships and/or situations this week?

Summary

This will take some intentional work, but it is worth it!

You will retain 3 times more of what you read,

and you will be equipped to apply God’s Word to your life…

Transition

As you make the time to apply God’s Word to your life…

He will invest in you…

conforming you into the image of Christ!

CONCLUSION

There once was a man…

a very wealthy man…

who became rich and well-known by taking advantage of the poor and the vulnerable.

He was an incredibly selfish man,

so nobody really liked him,

but it didn’t matter to him, because he only cared about himself.

That is,

until the day He experienced the truth of God’s Word,

and everything changed!

As a man spoke the Word of God to him,

his heart was changed!

He immediately stood up and said,

Luke 19:8 (ESV)

“Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”

This is the story of Zacchaeus.

After He encountered the truth of God’s Word through Jesus,

His entire life changed!

Landing the Plane

This is the power of God, working through His Word!

Don’t you want to see God working that powerfully in your life?

God promises to invest in us…

He will grow us into strong, mature disciples of Jesus

as we make time to hear, read, and apply His Word.

Will you put “First Things First”?

Will you make God’s Word a priority in 2024?