I WANT TO BE FIRST

Pastor Bryan – I WANT TO BE FIRST

BIBLICAL TRUTH

• Prayer should be our not our .

¹⁶ Always be joyful. ¹⁷ Never stop praying. ¹⁸ Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

I Thessalonians 5:16-18

BUILDING YOUR LIFE GOD’S WAY

• God must be .

¹In the beginning God…”

Genesis 1:1

² Later she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel.

When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground. ³ When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord.⁴ Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, ⁵ but he did not accept Cain and his gift.”

Genesis 4:2-5

¹Then God gave the people all these instructions^{: 2} “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.³ “You must not have any other god but me.”

Exodus 20:1-3

• We put God first by giving Him

³⁰ “One-tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain from the fields or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord and must be set apart to him as holy.”

Leviticus 27:30

⁹Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over.”

Proverbs 3:9 (MSG)

• The first has the to .

⁹ Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. ¹⁰ Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.”

Proverbs 3:9-10

³³ Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

Matthew 6:33

THE DIVINE ORDER

        1.  Give God the first of my with .

²³ So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer.

Ezra 8:23

¹² Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer.”

Daniel 10:12

DIFFERENT KINDS OF FASTS

fast.

fast.

fast.

fast.

        2.  Give God the first of my with and offerings.

²³ So be careful not to break the covenant the Lord your God has made with you. Do not make idols of any shape or form, for the Lord your God has forbidden this.”

Deuteronomy 4:23

¹⁰ Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!”

Malachi 3:10

        3.  Give God the first of my WEEK with and a .

¹⁶ When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures.”

Luke 4:16

²¹ “You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must stop working, even during the seasons of plowing and harvest.”

Exodus 34:21

        4.  Give God the first of my with , and .

³⁵ Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.”

Mark 1:35

³ Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning, I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.”

Psalm 5:3

THE FIRST FIFTEEN

• 5 minutes in the .
• 5 minutes in .
• 5 minutes in .

⁷ My heart is confident in you, O God; my heart is confident. No wonder I can sing your praises! ⁸ Wake up, my heart! Wake up, O lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song. ⁹ I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations. ¹⁰ For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.¹¹ Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth.”

Psalm 57:7-11