God wants to go deeper with you and so how do we do that? It’s all about the power of first. We need to understand that there is something very powerful about doing things first and about prioritizing.
Matthew 6: 33 NIV| But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
He will give you everything you need, so here’s the power. First, when we put God first, when we seek God first. And living righteous, living according to His precepts, His priorities, His ways of doing things, His principles, He will give us everything we need. We want to encourage you to implement the power of first in your life.
Question: What is first in your life? Make sure that you’re prioritizing God first, and as you do that, you’re going to set yourself up for a great 2023.
Putting God First
- First of the day: Seek God
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.
Psalm 63:1 NKJV
Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.
Mark 1:35 NKJV
So, the first thing of the day, the first priority of the day, is to seek God to spend time with Him to read His word to pray.
- First of the week: Worship
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
Matthew 6:33 NLT
Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.
Acts 20:7 NKJV
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.
Hebrews 10:25 NLT
Ensure that you spend the first day of the week in the House of the Lord, amongst people that are worshipping God.
- First of the month: Tithe
And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s. It is holy to the Lord.
Leviticus 27:30 NKJV
Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the first fruits of all your increase; 10 So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.
Proverbs 3:9-10 NKJV
Honoring the Lord with your wealth means earning, using and holding wealth in such a way as to show the world that He is the most important factor in reality.
- First of the year: Fast
Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.
Joel 1:14 NIV
Matthew 6:17-18 NIV| 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
The Word encourages us to fast regularly. We need to have some kind of a regular routine of fasting in our lives. And then in addition to that regular routine, whatever that might look like, to periodically set aside a concentrated amount of time, maybe more than your regular routine, to seek the Lord at specific times.
- First response: Serve
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans 12:1 NKJV
As living sacrifices, God has already set us apart for His purposes and declared us acceptable because He see us in our position in Christ. In other words, we do not have to wait to be better people before we offer our bodies and lives to God. As people in Christ, He will receive the sacrifice of our everyday lives right now. This life of service, then, is the appropriate response to the mercy God has already given to us.
