First is First (Priorities)

This week just on different things and this meditation came to me in my heart so I want to share this with you. I have no doubt that this is one of the, I think this is one of the main reasons why you don't have an individual or I don't have an individual revival or we don't have a corporate revival. Tent meeting is coming up here soon and a lot of people think about revival and we look forward to a meeting of some sort.

Somehow the preaching of a bold evangelist is going to somehow bring revival and it often times does for maybe a day or two and we have a couple of days of reviving but then it wanes. What I am going to share with you this morning is about four decisions and Jesus brings these out here very early in the gospel but four decisions that all of us can make and will definitely bring you revival. You just have to make some decisions, very simple ones.

I want to bring those four out here and I want to talk about priority, priority and Jesus mentions and the thing that came to my mind this week is this word first. Jesus mentions some things that are first in our life, some things that take priority in life and I find that most Christians don't have their priorities in order and there are four areas he mentions and I think if we would just stop and ponder these four areas briefly, maybe take ten minutes on each of them here this morning, it will change the way we live, it will change our life, it will change our spiritual life. So priority, priority and right here in the first gospel there are four firsts.

Jesus mentions this word first. When he says first he is referring to things that take priority in life and if you don't get priorities right, your life is going to be greatly hindered and if I could put up here on the board, let's just say these five here represent all the New Testament commandments, all the New Testament theology and Jesus has the first first. Remember he said the first and greatest commandment is this and so in his mind there are first and greater.

He talked about those things that are camels to the gnats, he talked about greater commandments and lesser commandments and so there are certain things that are first in God's economy. However most Christians in 31 years of ministry and in my own life, I have seen that most Christians live this way, they go the opposite, they go this way, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1. In other words, they have the word of God, as a matter of fact this group can say I believe the word of God, God's word never lies. This group can say I believe the word of God, God's word never lies.

However there is a big difference between this group and this group and this group has taken the priorities of the word of God and have turned them on their head and Jesus made an analogy here, he says to the Jews, who I believe if you ask them, do you believe the word of God, they would say well yeah we believe the word of God. But they had taken and put it on its head and strained at the gnat and made this one the most important and they swallowed the camel. And that is simply a phrase there that represents people who have totally inverted priority in the Bible and it is a part of human nature for us to do that.

One of the reasons why we do that is because, I have shared this before, it takes great grace, grace to accomplish the greater commandments. And when we don't have grace in our hearts, in our life, we tend to focus our attention on the lesser commandments because they are within reach, it is like on the bottom shelf. I can reach this stuff down here that is very simple and easy.

That stuff up there, dealing with my pride, it is too far for me to reach. That stuff up there of dying to myself and sacrificing myself and giving my life is too far, just bring religion down here to some simple things that I can reach, we will make those the most important. Get this inverted view of Christianity.

So I understand that we can believe the Word of God, I understand all of us probably would believe the Word of God, but I want to talk this morning about first. Four times in the book of Matthew, Jesus mentions the word first and he talks about a priority, there are different areas of life, you are probably thinking of one already, we will get to that one, but there are other three we don't think of very much and I would like to bring those out here today. So let's pray and I think if we can get our priorities in order, it will bring revival to our hearts.

So let's ask the Lord to help us here this morning. Heavenly Father, we come to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you that we have the words of our Lord Jesus Christ here in the scriptures, thank you that you have given us your word and you have also given us some priority and Lord may our hearts be opened up that we might see and understand and may our lives be opened up for you. May we as a church also, as a corporate body, understand your priorities and how they affect our individual lives.

So Lord, we pray your blessing on us again this morning, help us we pray in Jesus' name, Amen. All right, let's look here at four of these, very simple, spend about ten minutes on each one of them. The first one is found, and I am not going to give them to you in order, I am going to look at Matthew chapter 7 first of all here and again I am looking at this idea of first.

Jesus mentions the word first, in other words there is an order here and you need to do some things first with regards to priority. Here in Matthew chapter 7 starting in verse number 1, judge not that you be not judged for with what judgment you judge you shall be judged and with what measure you meet it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, let me pull out the mote out of thine eye, and behold a beam is in thine own eye? Now verse 5 has our first in it.

Thou hypocrite, first, first, in other words you are doing this all backwards, get your priorities right, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye and then shalt thou see clearly to cast the mote out of thy brother's eye. So here is the first in verse. This idea of self-examination always comes before I look at my brother's mote that is in his eye.

And I think one of the greatest hindrance to revival and even to conversion and everything God does in us is we tend to be more concerned about what's happening out here with everybody else than what's happening right in here in my heart. And so the Lord says first of all, you know you're all preoccupied with judging everybody else. What you need to do is first take a look at the beam that is in your own eye.

Now I understand that to mean this. You know the beams in Christianity are the things that are hidden. The big things are the things that are in your hearts and you know how life is.

The bigger issues are what's hidden inside my heart and you and I, we can't see those things. However the smaller issues are the things that are outside that I can see them. I can look at you today and see maybe issues that you're on the outside.

And so we tend to judge people based upon that which we see on the outside and those are the lesser things. But the real beam is that which is on the inside and you and I know what those beams are. You and I know what's inside there.

You and I know what we have to deal with in our own personal life. And so the Lord tells those who are listening here and I believe many of them are lost. Some of them are His disciples.

But that when you look at people, first look at yourself. And I think a lot of people don't have revival in their own personal life because they're not very introspective. They're always looking outside of themselves and everybody's got problems.

All the church, all the church and all the problems. What about you? I haven't looked recently. So priority in life and I think this is a good thing to establish in all of our lives is to first look and focus with priority that which is my issue.

What is my issue? Now fallen man, as Brother David was mentioning this morning, fallen man always saves himself. Jesus said to lose your life, not to save your life. Fallen man puts himself first.

And so fallen man not only seeks to save his life, he seeks to save his reputation. He's seeking his reputation. So you'll find that fallen men generally, instead of looking at themselves, they want to look outward.

They want to look at everybody else because they don't want to maybe make confession. They don't want to acknowledge who they really are on the inside and they want to save their own reputation, save their life. You know this, the story goes back, I love going back to the beginning.

The story begins, God comes to Adam and says, Adam, why did you do this? Oh Lord, look, I, I'm the one. He didn't leave. Oh, maybe he's talking about his wife.

He deflects the attention away from his own heart, the being that is in his own heart and he does this deflection by pointing to his wife. Well now the spotlight is on Eve. What does Eve do? She deflects and she points it on the serpent.

All of us all do this. We are all deflects. So Jesus says, here's, here's a good Bible.

Yet really people today are so concerned about everybody else. Don't focus on their own heart. We like to keep a reputation.

Black people don't confess sin. We have a church. Nobody confesses.

Why we don't confess? Don't open up our hearts because we want a reputation. We want to save ourselves. We want to save our reputation.

So there's very little confession. You find a place where there's revival. There is a willingness to be transparent and to open up.

And you know, a lot of this, here's where I'm at, Lord. Brothers and sisters, here's where I'm at. Forget about you.

It's me, Lord. The old song, it's me standing in a need of prayer. It's not my brother.

It's not my sister. It's me. Our hearts are, instead of the being that is in our own eyes.

God cannot revive us. Are you with that? That's what people do. It's not about them.

So we tend to deflect from our way and someone who's a little too close to us. I've never been, never approached someone. This happens often.

Nature. I've seen a lot of human nature over the years. I have it in myself.

So I'm very acquainted with it. But you go to someone and you want to approach them about a sin and you go to them and you're kind, you're gracious. You say, brother, I would like to bring up an issue in your life.

And automatically human nature starts to deflect and starts to well, so and so does this and so and so did that. And they accuse. Natural response when light shines in their heart is reflected.

Look at that person. Look at me. Look at that person.

It's everybody else's fault. It's not mine. It's my wife's fault.

It's not my husband's fault. It's the church's fault. It's the pastor's fault.

It's everybody's fault. I didn't do that. I'm just trying to get a man.

Rowan chapter two. Paul said this. Therefore, thou art inexcusable.

Oh man, whosoever thou art that judges this. For wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself. In other words, this idea of judging and judging and judging and judging and judging and judging and judging and judging and judging and not judging yourself, it condemns you because it's who you really are.

For wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself. For thou that judgest whosoever. We have critical spirits.

We condemn ourselves. Self-condemnation. I love this story in John 8. Jesus, by the way, when he teaches, he actually uses them there in John 8, the great story of the woman taking an adultery.

And these men come and they point the finger at this woman. She is the sinner. She's the one taking an adultery.

And the Lord knew all these things. He knows human nature. This critical, condemning spirit is protecting themselves.

So the Lord uses them. But one of the things, Paul, I'm not saying to forget about your iniquity. I will say this.

First, first, you're in no good place to judge your brother. How many of you, and that distracted from their life by pointing out and really crying out about this poor woman. So the lesson here in verse number 5 is this.

Now, hypocrite, first cast out the beam of thine own eye. Now, if you want to have revival in your life, forget about casting everybody else's beam out. Make sure that your issues are resolved and start looking to your own heart.

By the way, that's what revival is all about. Preacher comes and says, Lord, when you break me and clear me and set me free, then I can go ahead. David says, Lord, cleanse me, purge me, deliver me from blood-guiltiness.

Then shall I be able to go and teach transgressors their way. I get it. I get it.

So I know that I stand. The Bible says, confess your faults one to another and save one, so revival. I love being around people.

I enjoy being around people. First and foremost, I don't like being around grown-ups, those who have their proper priority with searching their own hearts are good at helping others. Look what it says in verse 5. Hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye, and then thou shalt see clearly, cast out the boat out of thy brother's eye.

And so here you have this beautiful example of if you can get your issues resolved, have a good heart, and you're right with God and everything is going well, then you can see clearly, considering thyself. I think one of the reasons why revival is not coming yet, it's probably a lot to say that verse in preparation. Stop looking around at everything.

Now this second one here is a big one, I think, and a familiar one. I'll just make comments on this one. It's just prior to Matthew 7. It's in Matthew chapter 6. I want to read here in verse 31.

Here's another verse. Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink, or wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles say, hence the heathen, hence those lost people. For your heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of these things.

But with priority seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. The Gentiles, you go out there in this world, the Gentiles are seeking first. First.

They've inverted this thing. They are seeking first the things that have to do with food and raiment, provision. You know, everybody out there, I got to make money.

Got to make money. Got to provide. Boy, we have a good standard of living and all these things.

I know much has been said about this. I think survival and life, your priorities are important. Effort.

Money. Give your best effort. Things.

Name. God. You know, in Noah's days they were eating and drinking and marrying and giving and marriage, buying and selling.

All these are good things, acceptable things. But they were Gentiles and those things took priority in life. The Lord gives in the Gospels, the message of it.

Throw it on the mount. Priority. Priority has been a struggle for me all my life.

Struggle for you. Jump back to verse 25 just to bring out some thoughts here in verse 24 and 25. Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink.

This is what you live there. Forget take no thought. Nor yet for your body what shall you put on.

Is not. This is a question. Is not the life more than meat and the body than raiment.

It's kind of like, listen, folks, from God's perspective, isn't life more than meat and clothing. Both. Get a hobby and life.

Never give much thought to the king. Verse 26, behold, the fowls of the air, for they so not needed to greet or gather into their barns, yet your heavenly father feedeth them. Brother Chris, your father, all those birds out there, your father feedeth them.

Are you not much better than they? Hey, believe me for a minute. I take care of those birds and you're much more valuable than those birds. Why take ye thought for raiment? Oh, I've got to have clothes.

I've got to have all these clothes, clothes, clothes, clothes. Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not, neither does it spin.

Yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothed the grass of the field which today is, tomorrow is cast into the oven. It's not like that.

It's not much more clothes. I believe. I believe.

Oh, yes. Watch me. You know, I see how people in our world, they line up for the Lord's sake, for the labor.

I can't get anybody to work in the kingdom. You know, you give people jobs, they'll line up for miles for the food and the raiment. But when it comes time to working for the kingdom of God, it's like anybody.

No, this is not something to do. Go back to the Haggai if you can find it. Seth and I, Haggai, the prophet Haggai had that same problem in the Old Testament.

By the way, I want to correct something. In the Old Testament, they had a tribe called the Levites who were the priests. And they did the service of God in the temple.

And all the other tribes got to go out in the field and do their work. And we brought this Old Testament concept into the New Testament and that we placed it in here. But you realize that God has made us all.

Well, we don't have this excuse. Well, Brother Jerry or we have a paid clergy and he's paid to do the kingdom of God work. And we are all out doing our own thing, provide.

Well, here's a good story. All of these could have a sermon in themselves. But Haggai 1, I'm going to read starting in verse 2. Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say the time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built.

But it's the Lord's house. Church is the Lord's house. Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your sealed houses? And this house lie waste.

What was happening is they were sent to build the house of God. And they went and they decided, well, we got to have a nice house ourselves. So they spent all their time building their nice houses, build them up, gardens and landscaping and all that.

While down the road, the temple was in ruin. The Lord recognized the priority problem. Verse 5. Now therefore, thus sayeth the Lord of hosts, Consider your ways, look into your own heart.

You have sown much and bring in little. You eat, but you have not enough. You drink, but you're not filled with drink.

Clothes you, but there is none warm. And he that earneth wages earneth wages to put him in a bag with holes. Thus sayeth the Lord of hosts, consider your ways.

Go up to the mountain and bring wood and build the house. That's the house of God. And I will take pleasure in it.

And I will be glorified, sayeth the Lord. Look for much, and lo, it pains little. And when you brought it home, I did blow upon it.

Why, sayeth the Lord of hosts, because of mine house, that it is waste. And you run every man unto his own house. The Old Testament.

They had a project. Going down to build the house of God. Number one priority.

Go into human heart. Let's go down there. We'll all build nice houses.

And a year, two, three years goes by. Four years goes by. Everybody's working on their houses.

Doing their lawns. Planting their flower beds. And the house of God is still down there lying in wait.

While they're doing their houses. Wages. Putting their money in bags with holes.

Well, it's like things aren't working out. Life is kind of meaningless. And I'm depressed.

And what's the problem here? Well, the problem is your priorities are old. Oh, this idea. As the people say, the time has not come.

The time that the Lord's house should be built. In other words, we can put it all. Not that remote.

Put it all. It's not priority. Do it sometime later.

That's what you do when things aren't priority. Do it later. They were saying, we'll get to it.

Hey, we're not being disobedient. We're going to do it. But we'll get to it later.

It's not priority number one. Our things are priority. So we have the house of God.

Have a house. Priority of your own house. I'm over.

Good question. Monday morning, you wake up. Think about this.

You wake up Monday morning. And what do you think about? This next week, go look at your schedule book. This next week, it's the kingdom of God priority on my schedule.

Or this next week is network, job, job. And I go through my house and finally I drag in on Sunday and say, well, it's time to do something for the kingdom. That's one of the reasons why the Lord says labor.

They're not betting. I work. I know you probably know that.

But I think we ought to get up Monday and call God first. My stuff second. Boy, that changes.

Boy, there'd be a real revival then. Brother Jerry, first and foremost this week is for the church. Now, what can we do to build the kingdom of God? We want to seek that first.

You know, that's the eternal thing. My house over here is going to get burned up when the fire comes. This food and raiment and all is going to get burned up.

And we're supposed to set our affections on things above, not on the things of this earth. So what can I do this week to build the kingdom? After I fell off my chair, I got back up and say, brother, you've got a revival in you. But we live in America.

Americans speak it. The truth of the matter is that God's work is oftentimes a part-time work if it gets done. Well, that's another thing to do with your life.

I need to get authority first. Now, if I told you here that I just got a special word from the Lord and the Lord told me to let you all know that in three months the Lord's coming back and he's going to follow some basic priorities with you. Now, a wise person, the Lord's already given a story.

Priority number one. Well, let's move on to the third one here and this is right there in Matthew 5. The Lord's giving us another priority issue. So you've made two decisions already and already the Lord is starting to bring revival.

Here's another issue. What have we made? Matthew 5.21 You have heard that it was said to them of old times, Thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. But I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment and whosoever shall say to his brother Raca shall be in danger of the counsel but whosoever shall say thou fool shall be in danger of hell fire.

Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar and there remembers that thy brother hath ought against thee. Now we're going to talk about relationships. Leave therefore thy gift before the altar and go thy way and here's our word.

First first be reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift. Now notice it isn't offer your gift and reconcile whenever you want to. It's no big deal.

No, it's priority. You know a lot of people revival tears in their life because the altar here represents the altar of sacrifice. We offer a sacrifice of praise unto our God says we offer a sacrifice of praise to God you give money, sacrifices but in their heart there's animosity in their heart animosity and you know this other individual has animosity towards you.

The Lord says go first with priority and get your heart right with your brother. First be reconciled to the altar by the way if you don't know this I shared this before but Christianity the two greatest commandments are to love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself both of those are relationships and everything in the Bible hangs on relationships so the Lord is very clear so leave your gift and go thy way first give her realize that all the time our own hearts are broken like the Lord is saying bring your stuff here first go and reconcile now read this I read this I feel like I have to explain this look at verse 22 but I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause without a cause good things you know God is angry with the wicked every day. God is angry there's nothing wrong with being angry God is angry because of sin.

God hates sin. Jesus was anointed with an oil of gladness because he loved righteousness and he hated iniquity it is a good thing to be angry at sin so the nature of God is up there and he's he's calm he's holding his anger back he is not destroying the spinner that doesn't mean 2 Peter chapter 3 the Lord is long suffering not willing to anything to perish but all should come to repentance but the Lord because of the cross no longer angry time that the Lord was wanted to heal on the Sabbath day he said they had a hard heart the Bible says the Lord looked on them and drove them out God is angry but most of us are angry don't destroy them you don't take vengeance God is long suffering you don't destroy them let's stone this woman her adultery makes me angry I'm sure God was angry for adultery somebody is someone took away my your wife pulls off you somebody is removing the comforts of life from me the anger fathers God gives you thoughts and talks you Don't know Words like you're without What it says it reminds us how serious it? But I send you that who serves angry with his brother without a cause okay? So your brother has taken some comforts from you your brother Maybe offended you and you you're in danger the judgment And if you say into your brother rock which I don't understand exactly what that means I didn't look it up shall be in danger the council you're going before church discipline And if you say to your brother thou fool if you have animosity in your heart, and you speak that way about your brother So therefore Bring your this and I realize you boys wrecking. I mean they might keep their anger forever, but you first Go and reconcile with us.

Are you angry with anyone without a call? good in the This and this without by the way when a child cursed Anger without a cause So Christianity is about relationships and God values relationships especially our relationship with him but he also says if you come and you want to offer me a sacrifice of praise or whatever and Yet you remember that you have ought or your brother is ought with you. There's an issue of anger go and reckon Given this though. Is there any bro? Oh, he was fatherly.

He's making it So I'm thinking as I go through this area here Start looking inward and not outward in first Your own eye if you that's a king of God Now these are all given to us here in the sermon on I'm going to mention this last one Matthew chapter 3 When we've talked about here some but eat it Comment on it here and just Matthew 23. It's another first Starting in verse 25 woe unto you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for you make clean the outside of the cup and the platter but within they are full of extortion and excess now blind Pharisee plans first Plans first that which is within the cup the outside maybe Also, now this is a priority that the Lord is giving to us. I want you to go after the inside of the cup first priority I know this goes with further What it says here lens first that which in the cup and will be in other words You'll seek the priority Other thing will take care of itself.

This is this one Be keep first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added In other words, if you speak the proper priority first Everything else. I'll make sure you get it Solomon you speak wisdom I'll give you the riches and the honor you just seek the wisdom all this will be added to you In other words, if you get the priority right in the seek it first now blind Cleansing the outside of the cup. You ought to give priority Right I've been preaching to a lot of pride and Envy lying right division adultery being a busybody and other matters.

These are attitudes I said outside of the cup And a verse 27 one to you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites for you make your like unto whited sepulchres appear beautiful outward Good. Oh when you get my inside of my have a bit also Working with here too. Oh when dealing with others start with the inside when you Start with you A lot of people can be but all back Revision Outward things the Bible These things in the Bible On their head read one more verse here at Romans chapter 2 Verse 28 for he all is writing to mainly Jewish people for he's not a Jew, which is one outwardly Neither is that circumcision which power in the flesh, but he is a Jew which is one that word through but he is a Jew which is one inwardly and the circumcision is that of the heart and the spirit and not in letter whose Phrase is not a man Here we're running for sure I don't see First Ah Let's flip it priorities.

All right, that's I want to