PART 3 (2)FIRST, LIVE

Part 3 “FIRST, LIVE”.

Texas

Memorial Day.

Matthew 14:22–33 ESV

22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

pray - Holy Spirit COME!

First God, First Bring.... Today: First LIVE.

Q:How we do live giving God the PLACE of Honor. FIRST.

An ongoing committment across the broad spectrum of our lives where we GIVE GOD FIRST PLACE?

There is alot we could cover today. but i have a direction i believe God wants us to go in.

But if we could look at this story again.

There is some things here im not sure you maybe have ever seen.. or maybe even SEEN this whole story from a LIFE Perspective.

We often look at this as a the FEAR story. (which it is)

the miracle story (which it is)

The peter story (which it is ). (the only one ever to walk on water)

But i want to propose for us in this series were in about the GOD FIRST life that its actually yours and its my story.

What do i mean.

Well the BOAT… That Represents you. Your life. Your existence in this world.

The people in the boat… that represents the people you do life with. the people that JOIN you in the BOAT called your LIFE>

And storm: that represents the WORLD,.... or WHATS out there as your LIFE>.. the BOAT goes into the world.

and then THERES GOD.

which in this case: is the SON of GOD, JESUS Who comes to the rescue of not just the BOAT - but all that are in it.

So it the boat is my life. and if God is first and its my OPTION to live a GOD first life where he is LORD. He is God. HE IS FIRST.

how can i live that life.

(3 points.... )

First we gotta:

1.LOOK INSIDE:

the boat represents your life. You have a boat. You have a LIFE>

To FIRST LIVE… for God - Its going to take some “looking inside” the boat of your life and making some things RIGHT .

But FIRST understand, you Live so you are in a boat.

Look inside/inward/consider/ Your life matters because Gods given you a boat (a life).

Don’t waste your boat.

All boats have potential.

Where is there is BREATH there is HOPE and every life has the potential to grow and be a God-FIRST Boat.... LIFE>

Your life it counts. thats why Gods given you it.

In 1 Thessalonians 4 the apostle paul gives from very simple plain advice for living a GOd first LIFE. he offers some great clues that i believe will help alot of us today:

1 Thessalonians 4:1–12 (ESV)

1 Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

THIS IS HOW YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO LIVE..... AS CHRIST FOLLOWERS.

Its Gods will - To look inSIDE the BOAT.

Take ionventory

Make changes where necessary

Ask the HOLY SPIRIT to HELP you become the person God wants you to be.

There are some things tho, that if we were not careful can suck the LIFE out of our BOAT!

(insert social media/device world we currently live in).

How do we operate a First, Live For God LIFE with the DEVICE DRIVEN, SCREEN DRIVEN and SOCIAL MEDIA AGE.

(the average teen in America spends 9hours a day on screens and the majority of that is on social media)

SoMe has changed the way we think: The brain is being re-wired because of Social Media and what started out as a networking/community thing has now turned in to full on culture shaping influence:

if we aren’t careful Devices and Social Media can mess up our boat.... can even steal our BOAT.

Whats happening here is signiicant and i want us to address it in church!!, studies are showing is that were getting addicted and less able to concentrate on the things that matter.

Our attention spans are shorter because literally of SOCIAL MEDIA AND DEVICES.

Check out this report i read about what SOCIAL MEDIA is doing to our brains and i believe our mental helath:

“CHANGES IN REWARD PATHWAYS”

Beyond lowering your ability to maintain your attention on any one selected topic, social media makes you addicted to your screens. It provides immediate rewards in the form of a dopamine release (the happy hormone) every time you post or get a notification from the app. This constant barrage of shallow rewards rewires your brain to want more of what caused that dopamine release, which leads to social media addiction. Studies show that the brain scans of heavy social media users look very similar to those addicted to drugs or Gambling.

TO ME THIS IS HOW WE CARE ABOUT THE BOAT.

(now i understand that not everyone is on social media but i also know that we all probably know people or are trying to raise children in this environment - so i wanna go there if thats ok?

HERE IS THE CHOICE:

“EITHER I RULE MY SOCIAL MEDIA OR IT WILL RULE ME”

“EITHER I RULE MY PHONE OR ITS GONNA RULE ME”

(here is the practical....)

some helpful tips and here are some ideas that might help you to stay health to keep a good “inside” to sweep clean the boat of your life:

*First of all --Realize that Social Media is NOT REAL. ITS NOT REAL LIFE: Did you know that? What God creates is GOOD. what Satan tries to do is bring along something that almost LOOKS AS GOOD as the real thing but its not AS GOOD> an example of this is relationships. You can wait for God to give you the over and above (which is God) or you can settle for the counterfeit and then realise LATER that it wasnt quite GOD. Social media is like that. Its problematic because its NOT REAL.

its a PROJECTED IMAGE OF WHATS REAL.

Instagram is “ONLY SHOW YOUR BEST, AND HIDE THE REST”

(i want you to think about it. If im having a rough day: you think im posting that>? NO… Its our HUMAN FALLEN NATURE to HIDE like in the Garden.... Hide and only portray an image of “things are GREAT, but they aren’t ALWAYS)

SoMe & Online has its advantages: im not suggesting we regress to the dark ages!

(now we take SOME SOCIAL MEDA as a church and we use it to reach people and project HOLY and Biblical values so there is an angle here where we control it and we use to for the glory of God)

So what can we do/ what mighy help - here are some Pastoral ideas i wanna run by you - you choose what works for you - OK?

*Turn off Notifications — Turn off ALL SOCIAL MEDIA (MEDIA too) Notifications.... This is the “either i rule my phone or it’ll rule me”. Do you know your emotional well being is being CONSTANTLY HIJACKED by a PHONE that just keeps making noises..... i was sick of being ruled by this so i made a decision.... I turned off all notifications on my phone except Texts. Everything thats not emergency doesn’t need to have the ability to disrupt my world. my mental health, my emotional wellbeing and also my spirit.

*Sabbath All Media from Time to Time: Elimiate the Noise.

*Try a phone free day: eave your phone at home one day a week. Story; I recently had a phone where the charging port didnt work. it was so annoying at times. but i began to realize something: it was ablessing in disguise. Because it would euite offten mean that the battery was dead. it wouldnt charge with a normal cable - which meant i was essentuially UNREACHABLE: it was AMAZING!!!! (so now… im actually excited about and i like to say to Jill - hey i wont have my phone when i go here but yiu can reach me this way: and its SO HEALTHY)

(sub note to this one: Parents we need to be very careful what kind of “life, FIRST GOD LIFE” we are presenting: Its so easy to just sit with our phones...... my new rule is this: when my kids are present, im present. I dont wany my kids to jkust see me in my phone all day long when they are around because im transmitting a message that they are a lower priorioty than whatever i am interested in on my phone).

*Go bible first, Go Bible last. What if we gave God the First. and We gave him the last

Instead of reaching for the phone first.... what if we GAVE GOD the FIRST:

I want to challenge our whole church: Lets pick u our bible first.

And then lets try something: lets read a verse before we go to bed.

Who should get the FIRST & FINAL SAY in my Heart, my Soul, My BOAT WHICH IS MY LIFE?

JESUS!

(so first look inside.... take inventory, Right size the boat:

2.LOOK AROUND:

who’s in your boat with you?

Its interesting that although Peter gets the main screen time in this story

He was with other people.

Who are your people?

This is how we LIVE FIRST.

I believe we should all LOOK AROUND and consider whos in the boat with us.

Are the people in our boat:

*people of faith?

*people who want to see me grow?

*poeple who lead me higher in my pursuits?

*people who want to see Gods best in my life just as much as me?

Ive reflected on relationships alot lately and one of the things i keep asking God is why isnt that person in my life now (my boat) when they were at one point. and I felt like God was so gentle with me but hes makin me realise.... HE KNOWS WHOS BEST SUITED TO MY BOAT (MY LIFE).

3.LOOK BEYOND.

We have to, with our lives, be willing to look out beyond the boat and SEE who really helps us this THIS GOD FIRST LIFE.

Where does my help come from?

Social media thoughts:

Instagram is just an algorithm designed primarily to sell to