Put God First

We just began a series called God’s Best last week, really talking about how God wants this to be the best year that we’ve ever had. What does that look like, and how do we position ourselves to receive God’s best? So we began that series, really emphasizing that our posture determines how we receive from Him. We talked about how, in order for us to receive God’s best for our life, we must be people that look to Him.

And we talked about some key ways that we can look to Him. One of the ways is that we get into the Word every day. Another way we saw in Jeremiah 33:3, where it says, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” So we’re going to continue in this series and talk about some keys to make this a year of God’s best.

Today we’re talking about getting our priorities in proper order — first things first. So the title of today’s message is Put God First. Let’s say that together: “Put God first.”

Now, maybe you’ve heard some of the scriptures that we’re going to talk about. You know, it’s like, well, of course we’re supposed to put God first, right? It’s God, family, and then football, according to a famous coach. But we need to have the proper perspective. So I’m going to encourage you: let’s approach this with a fresh set of ears, because I really do believe that there’s something the Holy Spirit wants to speak to you as we get into God’s Word together this morning. How many of you know He speaks to us through His Spirit? Amen. So let’s just open our hearts. If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Exodus chapter 20.

When we say things like “put God first” or “first things first,” sometimes people are referring to prioritization — that we have to have a proper order or sequence of necessary events. But how many of you know, as believers, we are looking for God to do things that we cannot do on our own? Amen. We’re looking for God to do things in our lives that no matter how many life hacks we have, no matter how well we get things in order, no matter how much we have it together — how many of you know our results can only go so far? Of course, to advance in life, yes, we need to prioritize things. But how many of you know God is saying, “When you prioritize me, I get to do what I want to do in your life”? So what we’re talking about today is more than just good prioritization. It’s going to God’s Word, listening to Him, and making what He says our starting point.

So we come to Exodus chapter 20, and I’m going to just open our time with prayer. Father, we thank you for your Word. Lord, we ask that you would come and speak to us a fresh word. Lord, I thank you that your Word is timeless, that you are timeless, that you see all things, that you know all things, that you see each and every person here today right where they are. Lord, we may think we’re here because of some reasons or some decisions we’ve made, but Lord, we believe that you knew right where we would be and right what we would need. So Lord, we open our hearts today to receive your Word to us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

No other gods before Me

Exodus chapter 20. This is the Ten Commandments, and we’re looking at verse 3. This is the very first commandment that God gives, and notice what He says. Exodus 20, verse 3: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” You shall have no other gods before Me.

Notice that God uses the word “before.” In other words, God is putting an order or a sequence to the way things should be in your life. He starts off with the very first commandment. It’s basically God saying, “Listen, you need this to be your starting point. In order for you to have success in your life, in order for you to do the things that you were created and called to do, you must follow this order. Number one: you shall have no other gods before Me.” God is saying, “I must be first in your life.” Everybody say, “First.” God has the first place.

You see, we don’t just serve God because He is one of the sources in our lives. Sometimes I think we treat God a little bit like a fire truck. You see fire trucks, and they’re big, they’re bulky. When you’re driving next to one on the road, you’re speeding up or slowing down just to get away from them, because they take these large, wide turns, and it’s like, oh, just get out of my way. But how many of you know when an emergency comes, all of a sudden we’re like, “Come quick! Come right now! I needed you here ten minutes ago!” Sometimes we treat God that way. We don’t really want God a part of our lives. We just want Him when we need Him.

But God is saying, “No. For you to experience the best that I have for you — for you to experience my blessing, a revelation of who I am, for me to do a work in your life and in your heart — you must put me first.” Everybody say, “First.”

We must put God first, because we’re talking about the Creator of all things. Not only did He create all things, and not only is He the reason that all things exist — how many of you know God is the reason all things continue to exist? The reason you can get up in the morning is because of Him. He is the reason you have your breath. The reason you have life is because of who God is. Not only was everything created by God, but everything is sustained by God. So when we look to God, we must recognize He’s our source. He’s my starting point. He’s my beginning. He’s my today. He’s our everything. He is our first.

So God lays this out as the very first commandment: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” God is saying, “I must be first. I must have the first place in your life.” Everything else in your life will be out of order if it doesn’t start with Him — no matter how hard you try, no matter how much you can do, no matter how much talent or charisma, no matter how much success you’ve achieved. There are so many people who are deteriorating and being destroyed because they don’t recognize, number one, that there is a God, but number two, that He must have the first place in your life. He must be first.

So God is saying, if we ignore this reality and act like we’re the ones who provide for ourselves, we’re the ones that take care of ourselves — “If you don’t look out for number one, who will?” — if we live in that reality, then we won’t experience God’s best or His blessing in our lives. But if we do acknowledge Him as God, and that everything that we have and everything that we are is because of Him — how many of you know that’s the right position? And so God is saying, “I must be first.”

First in our day

So how do we put God first? Number one: we put Him first in our day.

My daughter isn’t here today. She’s on her way to a volleyball tournament, and she got up very early, because you’ve got to get going early. And she texts and she’s like, “The sunrise is so beautiful.” I just happened to be awake and see what she was seeing, and it was this red-pink sunrise. It was beautiful. It was like fire from the heavens, this overwhelming, beautiful scene.

And I think sometimes if we would just wake up in the morning and allow our first thought to be, “God, thank you for this day. Thank you for a chance, Lord, to honor you, to live for you, to bless you, to glorify you.” It says in Psalm 63:1 — the psalmist says, “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.” The psalmist is saying, “Listen, I wake up in the morning and I have an immediate awareness that the Creator God has given me this day — that He’s the reason I’m here, the reason I’m breathing, the reason I get to move.”

Before everything shut down a couple of years ago, we had ordered a Peloton, which is a workout bike. And one of my favorite instructors really likes to motivate, and one of the things that he said that really stuck with me is, “It’s a privilege to move.” And I was like, that’s so true. I’m 40 years old, and I feel my age. I feel things changing in my body. I play basketball with my son on a weekly basis, with some kids and some dads, and the next day all of the dads start texting each other what hurts: “My knees are on fire,” or “My back.” A couple weeks ago I tweaked my ankle. I feel my age. Things are changing.

But how many of you know we can look to God and start our day with this awareness: the reason I’m here is because of Him. There is no tomorrow that is guaranteed, and it is a privilege to move. We need to recognize this — not because of what we do, but because of the one who created all things, the one who sustains all things. And one of the ways that we can put Him first is just by waking up and saying, “God, I thank you for this day” — by looking to Him and praying and saying, “God, what do you want to do? Lord, would you glorify yourself in me and through me today?” How many of you know that honors God, when we put Him first in our day, when we give thanks? Early will I seek You.

First in our week

Another way that we put God first, number two: we put Him first in our week.

Hebrews 10:25, out of the New Living, says, “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” In other words, God is asking us as believers to gather together regularly, to be a part, and to make Him a priority and put Him first in our week.

How many of you know we need times like this where we can come together and pray? There are things that God has reserved to do that will only happen in an atmosphere of believers coming together. Did you know that? Many of us pray prayers like, “God, I want to see more of you.” I want to encourage you, then: press in and do the things that He has said to do in the first place. When you come to Him in worship, are you worshiping Him the way that He has asked you to in the Word? When you come and pray, are you praying the way that He has asked you to? When you come to church, are you coming to church with an open heart? How many of you know if God has said it, we need to do it?

I’ve heard believers say, “Well, you know, you don’t really need church in order to be saved.” But how many of you know that’s not the right way to look at it? That’s not the right approach, because instead of saying, “Lord, what is it that you want me to do?” we get caught up in, “Well, what’s the minimum that I can do?” God has said what He wants for us. It’s in His Word. He lays it out. And here He is in Hebrews 10:25: “Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”

How many of you know we are closer than ever to Jesus coming back? Did you know that Jesus is coming back? And one of the ways that we put Him first is we put Him first in our week as we gather together as the body of Christ. So we want this to be a year of God’s best, so we must prioritize what God has said and do it His way.

I think sometimes — especially over the last couple of years — the priority has become the priority of self, the priority of me, the priority of what I want. But how many of you know Scripture says your life is not your own? You were bought at a price. If you’re a believer in Christ Jesus, you’ve been bought at a price, and that price was the blood of Jesus. And when you gave Jesus your life, how many of you know He actually took it? Aren’t you thankful He took it? Because your old life was doomed to eternal condemnation, but your new life in Christ has fellowship and relationship with Almighty God, and has an eternity with Him.

So when we say, “Lord, I give my life to you,” how many of you know He takes it? And when we say “Lord,” that word literally means “You are master. You’re my decision-maker. You’re the one that I will follow.” But so oftentimes we end up like those around Jesus, where Jesus says, “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” When we want God’s best — we want to be blessed by God, we want to do what He’s created us to do — we have to do it His way. Amen. And if we don’t have time to obey God and do what He wants us to do, then our priorities are mixed up. We must put Him first in our day. We must put Him first in our week.

First in our free time

And number three: we must put Him first in our free time. Oh, I’m stepping on some toes now. Sometimes we like to think, well, free time is me time, right? Free time is where I get to do what I want to do. “I give God Sunday — that’s His time. But the rest of the week, that’s my time, and I get to do what I want, the things that I enjoy.”

But how many of you remember where Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you”? Seek first. Seek what? Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things. What are these things? It’s all the things that everybody else is after — all the things that people are seeking, all the things that people are chasing, all the things that people are working for. How many of you know Jesus has that for you? But Jesus is saying, “You’ve got to seek me first. You have to prioritize me. You must look to me. You must do what I say, and I will add all these things.” Everybody say, “All these things.” All these things to you.

I don’t know if some of you are like me, but sometimes we wait until crisis to seek Him. Maybe some of you have had a problem, you faced a situation, and you did everything that you could do to fix that situation. You sought advice from friends and family. You went to Google. You looked for options. You looked for good advice. You did everything that you could do. And then, when you have no other options, you say, “God, I come to you. I’m seeking you first.” How many of you know that’s not seeking God first? That’s seeking God last.

When we look back at those times, we ought to recognize where our heart really is. Are we actually seeking God first, or are we just looking at Him as one of the options? Are we looking at Him as the genie in the bottle, or that fire truck — when there’s an emergency, “God, I need you,” but otherwise, “I’ve got this all under control. I can handle this”? Jesus is saying you must seek first.

Now, how many of you know Jesus is so good that even when you do get off, or maybe you didn’t seek Him first, you can come to Him and say, “Jesus, I’m so sorry that I didn’t come to you. Lord, I commit to seek you first from this point forward. You are my source”? How many of you know He does respond to that? He’s a good God. But how much better would it be if we just took God at His word and said, “Jesus, you said seek first. I will seek first.”

When an opportunity isn’t God

I remember it was a while back. I was praying and asking the Lord for some breakthrough in our finances. Things were tight. Things were tough. And I remember praying, “Lord, I feel like this is not sustainable. But you are my source. You are my provider. So Lord, I’m calling on you.”

And I remember, not too long after I began praying, there was an investment opportunity that became available, and it sounded good. I was like, this makes a lot of sense. There’s no way this can go bad — that’s a red flag, okay? But there’s no way. This is a guarantee. This is a slam dunk.

How many of you know so often when we start praying for something, and the first opportunity pops up, we say, “Oh, it must be God, because I was praying about that”? And God does open doors. But how many of you know the enemy opens doors too? So I remember I was like, “I think we’re going to do this. I think we’re going to move forward on this. I think we’re good.” And I remember there was something on the inside that said, “Seek me first.” And I was like, all right, I’m going to pray about this. So I went to the Lord, and I knew on the inside: this is not it. This is not it.

And looking back, it turned out to not be the greatest thing. There were many people who got into this investment, and it did not work. Smart people, talented people — not gullible people. This was not a scheme. It just didn’t work. How many of you know God knows what needs to happen, and He knows how to provide for your need? Amen. But it requires us to seek Him first, not just make assumptions. We need to know, “God, are you in this or not?” How many of you know when we seek Him, He will answer, when we seek Him with all of our heart?

This is why Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Notice you’re not the one that adds them. God adds them. Can we live our life in a way that puts God first, so much that we say, “God, it is not about what I can do. It’s not about what I can accomplish. When I seek you first, you promise that you will take care of me, that all things will be added to me”? We don’t need to add them to ourselves. How many of you know it’s not people that will add to you? It’s not opportunities that will add to you. It’s not your success. It’s not your career. Jesus said, “No, I am the one who will add to you when you seek me first.”

Now, will God use people? Sure. Will God use opportunities? Of course. But we must know God is in this. Amen. And how do we know? Because we seek Him. Because we put Him first. We want to make sure God is the one doing it. Proverbs 10:22 says, “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.” How many of you know that when God blesses, there’s no back kick? There’s no extra shot to the gut. Sometimes you get the blessing but you pay for it, you know what I mean? You think it’s good, but you’re suffering on the inside. There’s sorrow. But when God brings the increase, when God adds to you, there’s no sorrow with it. You know that you know that you know that I am in God’s perfect place, because I sought Him first.

First in our finances

The other way that we need to put Him first: we put Him first in our finances. How many of you know what you do with your money reveals where your heart is? When you look at your bank statement and where that’s going, it shows you what you put your trust in, what you’re really searching for.

Proverbs 3, verse 9 says, “Honor” — it got really quiet in here. Is everybody okay? Am I stepping on toes? I had a pastor that would always say, “Am I stepping on your toes? Because I meant to go for the throat.”

Proverbs 3:9–10 says, “Honor the Lord” — everybody say, “Honor.” What are we to do? Honor the Lord. What does the Lord want from us? “Honor Me.” — “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.”

How many of you know God not only promises that He will provide for your needs; He wants to bring an overflow to your life? He wants to bring an overflow so that you can be a blessing, so that He can be glorified. Doesn’t that just sound so nice? Not only do I have enough money at the end of the month — rather than it being the end of the month and I don’t have enough money. How many of you know that when we honor the Lord with our finances, with our firstfruits, not only does it honor Him, but He promises to provide, to bring overflow and increase? God wants to bring blessing to our lives because we honor Him with our finances.

Notice it says, “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase.” That means the first of your increase goes to Him. I know there are a lot of people who, when they bring their offerings to the Lord, like to do it in person. They like to put it in the offering box, or come and approach it and say a prayer, and that’s all really good. But for me, one of the most satisfying things is that as soon as something goes into my account, it goes to the Lord first. I get to give it online. I get to do it right then and there, and I just say, “God, thank you. I honor you with our first. I honor you with the best. I’m not going to pay the mortgage first. I’m not going to pay the bills first. I don’t want it to go to a bank first. God, I want the first of the increase you’ve brought to my life to go to you.”

It says, “Honor the Lord with your firstfruits.” The firstfruits and the tithe are closely related. When people had crops, the first yield would come from a tree or some harvest or some plant, and it would ripen, and God would say, “I want that first amount. I want that first increase, that firstfruit, to go to me.” Now, how many of you know that firstfruit was never the majority? It was just the first. And that’s what the Lord is saying: “When you trust me, it shows me that you are putting me first, that you are trusting in me, that I am your provider. Will you do what I say? Honor the Lord with your firstfruits.” Because this is a part of seeking Him. When we give Him our first, we’re saying in our heart that He’s the one we put our trust in.

I remember growing up — and my wife and I have talked about this before — thankfully we grew up in homes where our parents honored and loved the Lord. In fact, my parents are here somewhere — there they are, say hi. And I remember, at a pretty young age, recognizing that I didn’t have all the same stuff that all the other kids had. I didn’t have the newest kicks, the Jordans. My son got a pair of Jordans, and I call them the Jays — they’ve got those slick J’s, they’re super cool. I didn’t have all of that. But what I saw was my parents, no matter how tight things would get, every Sunday they would write a check and give thanks to the Lord and put their trust in Him.

And that shaped me. I remember at a young age thinking, you know, I could get some nice new shoes with that check. But what it modeled to me was that they were looking to God as their provider, the one that they put their trust in. And I will tell you this: their life was blessed, and the Lord brought an increase, and all those things that I felt like I was missing out on — how many of you know all those things happened? Why? Because they put God first, and I saw it firsthand.

My wife has a similar story of seeing her mom working hard but always tithing. In fact — is it okay if I share? — there was a time in her life where she was like, “Man, I felt so far…” but she never stopped tithing. How many of you know that is honoring the Lord? Even though we may feel like we’re not measuring up, when we bring our offering to the Lord, that shows where our heart is. And when we bring it to Him, He honors that. We honor Him; He honors us. Amen. And we become blessed. We recognize Him as our provider. We’re putting things in the proper alignment.

I am telling you, listen: there is a time that is coming where the money that we rely on won’t get you where you need to go. We need to determine in our heart right now who our source and our provider is. Amen. We honor Him when we give Him our first. So we must put God first, and when we do, He promises to bless us with resources, to provide for us. But how many of you know it’s not God saying, “I need all that I can get”? That’s not His heart. His heart is to get us into alignment, because we can so quickly get off track.

Back into alignment

We go days without even thinking about God. We go weeks without even giving Him a thought. We go through our free time and just make it all about ourselves, what we can do and what we can accomplish. But what would it look like if we put Him first in those areas? What would God do through you and in you when we actually do put Him first — when we take Him at His word and say, “God, I’m not going to do it my way anymore. I’m going to do it your way”?

And I can only imagine the joy that it would bring the Father’s heart. Not, “Look at their tithing — now the church can look good.” No, no, no: “They’re tithing because they’re honoring me. Their heart is in alignment with who I am, with what I’ve done, and now I get to pour out my blessing on them, because they’re in the proper place.” You guys see what I’m saying?

But when we don’t do it God’s way, we get out of alignment. It’s like having a car — I don’t know if you’ve had a car that’s out of alignment. You’re going 20, and it’s okay. You go 40, it’s like, all right. And then you get on the freeway and you’re like a dune buggy, bouncing all over the place. How many of you know when things aren’t in proper alignment, things begin to fall apart? Things stop functioning. One thing leads to another, and all of a sudden we get to this crisis moment, and we say, “God, where are you?” And God’s saying, “I’ve been here the whole time. I need you to do what I’ve asked, because you need to be in alignment in order to operate the way that I’ve created you to operate, to do what I’ve called you to do.” Are we getting this?

The Father’s heart is that He wants to give you the very best. And aren’t you thankful that we serve a God who already gave everything? For God so loved the world that He gave His Son. About a month ago we had a message where God gave His delight. He gave His best. He gave Jesus for us. And I don’t know about you, but I’m so thankful that we were Jesus’ delight, and that He loved us so much that He came for us — that whoever believes in Him would have life with Him forever. Aren’t you thankful that that’s His heart, that that’s the God we serve? Amen.

We must put God first in our day, in our week, in our free time, in our finances, with our attention. Can we just do this this morning? Can we just stand? Let’s give our attention to the Lord and respond to the Lord right now.

Maybe some of you are here and you’re saying, “Man, I’ve heard some of this before. I know God needs to be first.” I just pray right now that as we respond, the Holy Spirit would begin to open your eyes to the subtle adjustments that you can begin to make to get an even greater revelation of who God is.

Can we just pray this? Just say: God, thank you for your Word. Thank you for reminding us who you are in our lives — that you are Almighty God, Creator of all things, and that you deserve the first in our lives. I give you my attention. I give you my obedience. Forgive me for not putting you first, and I commit to do that from this day forward. In Jesus’ name.

And Lord, I pray over every person here. Lord, we’re going through this series not just to figure out what we can get from you. No, God, we don’t want just the stuff. God, we want more of you. We want a greater revelation of who you are, of what you’ve done for us, of the things that you have for us today. Lord, we want to be a people who are led by you, who are filled with your Spirit, who spend time with you in your presence.

And Lord, I pray a blessing over every person here who has committed to put you first — that you would bring about a new revelation of your heart and your love to each person here. Lord, that we would not be the same, but that as we commit to follow you, to obey you, to put you first, to acknowledge who you are in our lives, you would pour out your love in every space. Lord, I pray that every home in this place would be filled with your peace, filled with your love, filled with reconciliation, in Jesus’ name — that where there is brokenness, you would bring healing. Not because of what we do, Lord, but because we are people who honor you and put you first, and this is everything that you want to do. So Lord, we receive what you have for us.

And Lord, I pray that as we make the adjustments, Lord, would you show yourself? Lord, would you invade our spaces? Would you invade our schedules? Lord, we want to bring glory to your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Amen. My hope is that this morning we’re not just here in a teaching, not just going through some scripture, but that you’re hearing the Father’s heart, and that He is calling. He’s saying, “I want to show you more. I want to do more. I have more for you.” But how many of you know sometimes we just need those reminders? We need those truths to get us back into alignment. Maybe you’ve been functioning out of alignment for some time. But how many of you know when we pray prayers like that — “Jesus, I’m coming back to you. I’m putting you first. I’m putting you in your proper place” — the Lord can work with that? And I declare He’s doing a new work in you.

Transcribed from the message recording and lightly edited for reading.