Putting God FIRST

Hallo :)

I think many people, including me, struggle with putting God first. There always seem to be so many things to finish, so many "better" things to do. We can never finish! How can there be time for God then? But in the Bible, Matthew 6:33 says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."


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FIRST
Pastor How, Heart of God Church

An example: If you put your career first, God will let you take care of your career.
If you put God first, God will be God of your career, and bless it.

Give God priority in these 5 areas:


1. Finance - Tithing, First fruits

• Tithing: not voluntary, but a command (Tithing is giving 10% of what you have, to God)
• The purpose of tithing is to teach you to always put God first in your lives (Deuteronomy 14:23)
• Giving is an act of love. Jesus asks if you love Him. The more you love, the more you give. The moment you stop loving, you stop giving.
• Tithing is a sign of commitment.
• Bring the first fruits to the house of God. (Exodus 34:26, Leviticus 23:9-10, Proverbs 3:9-10)
• Give your first fruits, not the leftovers. You give the first 10% because you KNOW the other 90% is coming. As you give, more will come.
• How you spend your money, what you spend your money on, kinda shows what you treasure.


2. Interests - What occupies your heart, mind, conversation? What excites you?

• You're free for two hours- what do you do first? That shows what you're interested in.
• Matthew 12:34- "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."
• God is your hobby! Be interested in God.


3. Relationships - Do they bring you closer to, or away from God?

• Proverbs 12:26- "The righteous should choose his friends carefully."
• Proverbs 27:19- "A mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown by the friends he chooses."
• You have to choose relationships that bring you closer to God.
• For relationships (friendships) that bring you away from God, yes you still be friends with them, but have this shield around your heart- don't allow yourself to be influenced badly. Instead, be the good influence.


4. Schedule - Sabbath, Priorities

• Sunday is the first day of the week. Rest, rest in Him, on that first day.
• Sometimes, no matter how efficient and good at managing our time we are, we still can't seem to finish what we have to! It's about priorities- selection. Select what's more important, and intentionally neglect the less important.
• When we get home, we always tell ourselves we'll finish this and that so it's all out of the way, and our mind can be clear to do our Quiet Time (QT). However, when we're done, we're usually too tired to have proper QT. Put daily QT as first priority! Time, like money, always go (as in, "disappear"), somehow. QT should be the first thing you "get out of the way".


5. Troubles - Turn to God first

• Psalm 50:15- "Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you and you will honour me."
• Who do you turn to first?
• Pray! Prayer is not a last resort, but a first option. He wants to show us that He is God.


So, put God first!

You know, there's a difference between losing, and leaving.
Eg. When a husband says, "I lost my wife"- you sympathise with him.
When he says, "I left my wife"- ah. Different story, yes?


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From the hustle and bustle of life, we tend to find ourselves getting busier and busier, and somehow...eh, where's God? God got "lost" in all the other million things you were supposed to do! (Happens to me too. Whoops.) But hey, we don't just lose God like that. God is always there. He is faithful. We could only have neglected Him, and left Him. So you know, don't leave God. Place Him as the number one in your life- the top priority. Put him FIRST (Finance, Interests, Relationships, Schedule, Troubles- F-I-R-S-T!) and all these things shall be added unto you, as has been promised in Matthew 6:33.

Here's 2 Corinthians 9:11 for all of you reading this. "You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."

As long as you put God first.

God bless :)