First

This month, we’ve been in the series "Tuned In” which has dealt with hearing God’s voice. Today, I felt that it was important to recognize a key truth in scripture. Today, we’re talking about “first”. There are several scriptures that come to mind, and we’ll discuss some of them today, but I wanted to illustrate it this way.

As we’ve been focusing on a vintage TV and remembering our youth, did your parents ever tell you something like, “If you want to watch TV, you need to do your chores first”?

Watching TV together was a blessing only to be enjoyed after the work was done. If you were found “being lazy” you received discipline. Basically, the rules of the house were laid out and if you broke them, you knew and faced the consequences. Just curious, how many of you broke the rules a time or two and did it anyway?

Let’s stand for the declaration and the reading of the Word today:

My eyes are on Jesus

My heart is tuned to His Spirit

My ears are listening to His voice

My mind will believe what He says

My voice will declare the truth of His word

Matthew 6:25–34 NIV

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

As I said, we’re talking about “First”

Who takes first place in your life, your finances, your job, etc? Spoiler - God comes first!

Sermon in a sentence:

Blessing comes when we SEEK Jesus and FOLLOW Him as He takes first place in every area.

There are multiple examples of how God shows this principle in action. Before we dive in, I want to talk to you about something that I think is critical for us to be aware of and pray that God would reveal and heal in us. Last week, i briefly mentioned that each of us have a “filter” by which we “hear” things a certain way, including God’s voice.

I was reading a book by Kris Valloton and I came across a great way to explain this further:

There’s a neuroscience concept called “the principle of first mention.” This principle states that the first time you hear information about any subject, it becomes the way in which you view that topic from that point on. In other words, the information you receive first about something creates the lens/filter by which you view that subject. Everything you hear or experience after the first exposure to that topic will be processed through the information you received first. The “first mention” info creates a truth lens(or filter) by which you measure and/or evaluate all other proceeding info concerning that theme. This of course creates a number of concerns, the primary concern being the unhealthy dynamic that takes place when “first mention” information is wrong or inaccurate.

Vallotton, Kris. Spiritual Intelligence (pp. 26-27). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Because we are a new creation, in Christ, we have the great blessing of a renewed mind. The word says that it’s actively being transformed.

Romans 12:2 NLT

2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Ephesians 4:20–24 NLT

20 But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. 21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

> Jesus by Your Holy Spirit, help break down the filters or lenses that we have applied to the understanding and hearing of Your Word. We are all called to preach, help us to preach Your truth!

Free us from any lies that we’ve believed and help us to forge new pathways of Holy Spirit thinking. Thank you for a renewed mind!

Seek His kingdom and righteousness

I want to unpack this with a few thoughts that jumped into my mind.

How can we put God first and seek His kingdom? It all started with repentance. In fact, it’s the first thing Jesus preached -

Repentance

Matthew 4:17 NLT

17 From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”

Two things show us that repentance is an internal change of mind and heart rather than mere sorrow for sin or mere improvement of behavior. First, the meaning of the Greek word behind the English “repent” (metanoeo) points in this direction. It has two parts: meta and noeo. The second part (noeo) refers to the mind and its thoughts and perceptions and dispositions and purposes. The first part (meta) is a prefix that regularly means movement or change.1 So the basic meaning of repent is to experience a change of the mind’s perceptions and dispositions and purposes.

The other factor that points to this meaning of repent is the way Luke 3:8describes the relationship between repentance and new behavior. It says, “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance.” Then it gives examples of the fruits: “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise” (Luke 3:11). This means that repenting is what happens inside of us that leads to the fruits of new behavior. Repentance is not the new deeds, but the inward change that bears the fruit of new deeds. Jesus is demanding that we experience this inward change.

Seek Him Early

Psalm 63:1 NKJV

1 O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.

David sought the Lord early. Now I know some of you are thinking, I need my sleep! Something I’ve found as I do this, I can’t argue myself out of it (I’m not distracted or busy yet) and my day goes so much better.

We’ve also been discussing ways to hear God’s voice, and journaling. It’s much easier to remember what He said or showed you in your dream if you write it down as soon as you wake up.

Exodus 16:4 NLT

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.

Exodus 16:21 NLT

21 After this the people gathered the food morning by morning, each family according to its need. And as the sun became hot, the flakes they had not picked up melted and disappeared.

Remember the phrase, the early bird gets the worm? Can God move at all times, Yes! He just wants to allow us the choice of what we seek first. Our own Foursquare president Randy Remington said it this way on a Zoom call this past spring - “Scriptures before screens.”

Each morning you and I have a choice to make. Will we be partakers of the manna of God’s Word? Will we find God’s glory in the morning before our day begins? Or will we choose to wake up and start our day without Him?

Meditate on His Word

Joshua 1:8 NKJV

8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe 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 one-liner makes it clear and straightforward: Meditate on His Word, and then do it! When we consider Joshua’s circumstances, this advice does not seem like his most pressing need. Some advice more like “find some leaders, build a strategy, make a bunch of weapons and get good at war” would seem a little more relevant to Joshua’s situation. But God is right, and in the end Joshua succeeds.

The hebrew word for meditate literally means to growl and declare. The point is that meditation in God is not sitting in a corner humming to ourselves; it is proactively bulldozing new neural pathways into our brains. This is God’s formula for a renewed mind!

Core Values Versus High Values

It is important to remember that the renewed mind doesn’t just think differently; it also believes differently. This is expressed by the fact that there is a big difference between your high values and your core values. For instance, if you say, “God always takes care of me,” but then you worry about His provision when your rent is due, your anxiety reveals that your high value is that God takes care of you, but your core value is that He really doesn’t, or at least that He won’t in this circumstance. Let me explain it like this: High values are the truths you hold in the greatest regard, but core values are what you truly believe—the way you actually see the world. Jesus put it like this: “So take care how you listen” (Luke 8:18). How you listen is determined by your core values. Core values are the glasses your brain wears. In other words, it is not what you see, but the way you see it that affects your emotional state. Faith is the lens of your core-value glasses because it reveals what you actually believe deep down to be true. Faith is the difference, the catalyst, between your high values and your core values. Let’s look at it from a different perspective. Let’s say you turn on the news and there is a school shooting. There are multiple victims, and the shooter has taken the principal hostage and is holed up on the campus, surrounded by a SWAT team. Now let’s imagine that the same scene happens in a movie you are watching for entertainment. Your brain remembers both scenarios, but it has one compartment or room for fiction and another compartment or room for fact—or what your brain believes is reality. Although you viewed a terrible crisis at the movies, it was entertainment in that scenario because you did not believe it was true. Jesus made a powerful statement that relates to this: “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:31–32). The word truth in this passage is the Greek word letheia, and it means “reality.” In other words, meditating on the Word of God will determine what things your mind assigns to the fiction room and what things it assigns to the fact room.

One more time, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). You can’t change your life, but if you change your mind, God will transform your life.

Vallotton, Kris. Spiritual Intelligence (excerpts from p. 30-34). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

In our first fruits

Give Him what is His, then search your heart on giving more (render to Caesar, render to God)

Does everyone remember the story of Joshua and the battle of Jericho? God just performed one of the biggest miracles of Joshua’s life. Bringing the massive walls down, defeating their enemies, the Lord Himself went before them. The news of this event spread far and wide. Next up was a smaller town, little Ai. Their so country, it’s in their name - Ha’ay.

Joshua 7:2–6 NLT

2 Joshua sent some of his men from Jericho to spy out the town of Ai, east of Bethel, near Beth-aven. 3 When they returned, they told Joshua, “There’s no need for all of us to go up there; it won’t take more than two or three thousand men to attack Ai. Since there are so few of them, don’t make all our people struggle to go up there.” 4 So approximately 3,000 warriors were sent, but they were soundly defeated. The men of Ai 5 chased the Israelites from the town gate as far as the quarries, and they killed about thirty-six who were retreating down the slope. The Israelites were paralyzed with fear at this turn of events, and their courage melted away. 6 Joshua and the elders of Israel tore their clothing in dismay, threw dust on their heads, and bowed face down to the ground before the Ark of the Lord until evening.

Joshua 7:10–15 NLT

10 But the Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this? 11 Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! They have stolen some of the things that I commanded must be set apart for me. And they have not only stolen them but have lied about it and hidden the things among their own belongings. 12 That is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. For now Israel itself has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction. 13 “Get up! Command the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Hidden among you, O Israel, are things set apart for the Lord. You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things from among you. 14 “In the morning you must present yourselves by tribes, and the Lord will point out the tribe to which the guilty man belongs. That tribe must come forward with its clans, and the Lord will point out the guilty clan. That clan will then come forward, and the Lord will point out the guilty family. Finally, each member of the guilty family must come forward one by one. 15 The one who has stolen what was set apart for destruction will himself be burned with fire, along with everything he has, for he has broken the covenant of the Lord and has done a horrible thing in Israel.”

Did you notice that a little over 10% died? The principle of the tithe was important.

Israel was guilty of stealing the 10% from the Lord. One man was guilty of the crime but all shared the punishment. (they were literally just reminded beforehand too Lev 26:17 & Deut 28:25)

You might be saying, but Chris this is Old Testament. We’re no longer under the Old covenant.

I am going to remind you of a few important scriptures that you can review later.

Before the Law -

Genesis 14:19–20 NLT

19 Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 And blessed be God Most High, who has defeated your enemies for you.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had recovered.

In the NT -

Mark 12:41–44 NLT

41 Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. 43 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. 44 For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”

2 Corinthians 9:6–7 NLT

6 Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. 7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”

Luke 6:38 NLT

38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”

Follow His Order

Acts 2:42–47 NLT

42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. 43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— 47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

The order of God’s church in these scriptures can be summed up this way - Worship (word & praise), Fellowship & Prayer

Too often, in today’s churches that’s not exciting enough. We’re looking for something to grab our attention. This is not an effective method (I’ve seen in and served in those ministries) as you’ll need to continue to do the next big thing to keep them. I’m not saying don’t invite someone, don’t be relevant, etc. I am saying, the Worship, Fellowship & Prayer should be enough. Be real, don’t put on a show and I believe the Lord will show up and since He’s the one bringing them, He will be the ONE who keeps them.

**It’s also not about how many we have, It’s how we take care of and equip those that He brings. He determines the number and the time limit. If they are being equipped, He will then send them out too!

> Jesus, teach us how to seek you First in everything that we do. Along with our renewed mind, bring us a new passion for You and Your word. Use us in new ways as we walk the path of obedience. Keep us focused and teachable.

Closing

Serve Others

Mark 9:33–37 NLT

33 After they arrived at Capernaum and settled in a house, Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you discussing out on the road?” 34 But they didn’t answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. 35 He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.” 36 Then he put a little child among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me.”

> Jesus, teach us to esteem others better than ourselves. Truly being humble and loving in the ways that we can bless each other. Continue to guide us in creative ways that we can bless all we meet, so that they see You in us and bring You praise & honor.