Loving God First, Then Others

Loving God First, Then Others

This evening I would like you to turn to Matthew chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6, we're going to read a couple verses here and then we'd also like to read a few verses from Matthew 22 as well. Matthew chapter 6, you'll turn there with me. And let's, once we arrive there, let's begin the reading in verse 28. Matthew 6:28. And it's there that we read this. Our Lord says, and why take ye thought for raiment. Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not. Neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Wherefore 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 seek for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

And then I'd also like to read from Matthew 22, if you'll look over there in Matthew 22, in verse 34. Verse 34, but when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together, then one of them which was a lawyer asked him a question, tempting him and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law. Jesus said unto him, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind, this is the first and great commandment and the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

And we'll conclude the reading there this evening. As we have entered this new year, I think about when the Lord created the earth that was without form in the beginning, we see that it was without form and void, right? It was, there was not a beauty, light, and orderliness to it. It was just unfashioned, unformed. There was no day and night, there were no divisions between water and land and all of those things. It just was without form and void. And yet He spoke, and there was, and He spoke and there was, and He brought order to it. You can think about the demoniac, the demon-possessed man of Gadara, you know, he was out there just beating himself and a wild man and everybody feared to come around him. But when the Lord came into his heart, there was order and there was beauty and there was direction and purpose in his life. You know, Zacchaeus was robbing people in an official government position. But when the Lord came in, he says, if I've stolen from anyone, I'll restore it fourfold. The Lord brings order. He brings beauty and purpose to everything that He touches and every life that He touches.

And as we come into this new year, as we have come into this new year, I think about, you know, our lives are always changing with children. Our lives are always changing and there's always that tendency to just, well, we always need to reassess where we are as a family to make sure that we have our priorities straight. We are keeping things in the right order in a way that will be pleasing to the Lord in our individual lives. But, you know, as a family, as a church, as individuals even, we need, well, thank the Lord, He's brought purpose and order and meaning to our lives. But the Scripture does say that we have to work out that salvation that we have in Christ, right? Work out our own salvation, not that it means to work to achieve your salvation. But the salvation that we have in Christ, now we are to work it out, what He's worked in, we might say, each and every day. And that's going to come down to the need of wisdom and grace on a daily basis to apply truth to our individual situation in life. Lord, help me to see what you want me to do. Help me to apply your word in a way that's pleasing. Like we said this morning, help me to walk worthy unto all pleasing. That's why Paul prayed that you would abound in knowledge and wisdom, understanding all of that, so that you might walk worthy before the Lord.

So if we're going to please the Lord in our lives, we need to have our priorities straight. Don't we need to have our priorities straight? We see that the devil loves chaos. He loves confusion. He works best when he keeps things stirred up. I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again, when we were, you know, we took a little bit of sign language when we were children. I've always remembered that sign for sin and I can't remember which finger they use. I think it may be the pointer finger. But this is the symbol for sin. It's confusion. It's that sign that indicates what sin brings, isn't it? It's confusion. It brings confusion, but God is the God of order. We certainly see that. Let all things be done decently and in order, He says. There's a proper order. There's a proper order in the home. There's a proper order in the way that I was listening to something recently, an individual on a podcast I was listening to. And this is not particularly a Christian podcast per se, but he was talking about time management. And he said the two big priorities in your life are going to be the urgent things and the important things. He said, not all urgent things are important, but important things must always be kept up. There are non-negotiable priorities. One of those we might say is spending time with the Lord. That's, you know, we've got to have our time with the Lord, right? Even sometimes in life, you know, as a busy mother, you might not have as much time as you have when the nest is empty to spend that time, but you still got to prioritize time for prayer, time for reading, or maybe even it might be listening to God's word somehow to spend that time with the Lord. That's a priority. That's an important thing.

Sometimes there are urgent things. I know I've mentioned before when you're reading your Bible or you may bow on your knees, you may stop to pray. And then you have all these thoughts of what's going to happen, the urgent pressing things that have got to happen today. Well, I know that I have to just stop and write some of those things down when they come floating into my mind because otherwise they're going to keep swirling around in your head, the things that need to be done, the urgent things, but those urgent things can never trump the important things and the things that are of great priority in our lives. We read tonight what the Gentiles seek after. They all tend to think about is what we're going to eat, what we're going to drink, what we're going to put on. You know, all the tangible material necessities of life that take up a lot of thinking, and God is not in all of their thoughts, right? God just doesn't even enter the equation. It's just about whether there's enough money in the bank account to cover all the needs. And we have to think about those things too, don't we? We have to think about, I mean, it would be foolish to say we're Christians and therefore we don't think about managing money. We need to, we do need to think about managing our money. We've got to think about managing our health. We've got to think about a lot of things, but first seek the kingdom of God, put Him before all that might be urgent. Some of those things might be really urgent, but don't put them ahead of the Lord in your life. Don't make those the priority over the Lord.

You know, when our children know this, but when I was a child, mom and dad expected us before we came to the table, did you wash your hands? Did you wash your hands? Well, who knows what you had your hands in? You got to make sure our hands are clean before we eat, because they're going to be put back in our mouth, right? You've been out playing with the chickens, especially with chickens and rabbits. You better make sure you wash your hands before you start eating. Well, there's a due order. There's a due process there. And then before, after we make sure we wash our hands, we're going to bow our heads, and we're going to pray about this. We're going to put the important thing that we pray first. Well, I'm hungry. Well, I actually don't say that to us, but I'm saying, you know, that feeling of a child, I just want to eat all of this right now. Well, we're going to pray first. And then we were taught to finish chewing before you start talking. Finish chewing what's in your mouth. Don't start talking after you take two bites and haven't swallowed yet. We don't want to see what's in your mouth. There's an order to the natural life like that. And there's a reason for all of that. But even above that, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all, all the urgent things that we are in need of, their needs. You know, what are you going to eat? What are you going to drink? What are you going to put on? It didn't say you can get a Lamborghini. It didn't say you're going to have a yacht, you know? I don't even want one anyway. But it didn't say you're going to have all those things. But the world will add to you those things and often above and beyond what we actually really need, right? All of us here tonight have, I mean, just look at us. We got above and beyond what we actually need with the clothes we have on our back. We don't just have a coat on. We got nice clothes on. Oh, I mean, and it's wonderful to have those things, but those aren't even really necessities technically. This building is not a necessity that the Lord has given us. And yet we want to use it for His glory.

Well, as we think about that, I also would remind you of that other passage we looked at where the lawyer asked the Lord this question, tempting him, but he said, you know, what is the great commandment in the law? And we know the passage so well where the Lord said to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. You know, this morning when we observed the Lord's Supper, we said that one of the main things we've got to be conscious of in protecting this is, what are we doing? We're not going to forget. So we don't forget. We don't fill our lives with so many things, and then the Lord just kind of takes the back seat. We've got to remember what has He done for me? And if we remember the Lord, truly remembering the Lord, He will take first place in our hearts and minds. He will take first place in our lives. You know, the things that we don't want to forget, we prioritize, we put those things first. I don't want to forget. I don't want to forget, you know, this thing or this person, it means something to us. We won't forget. We say sometimes you'll never forget that if somebody's done something great for you, somebody's just gone out of their way. I'll never forget you and what you did for me. I'll never, and we just say about relatively minor things compared to what the Lord has done for us. I'll never forget what you did for me. Oh, may we never forget what the Lord has done. Not just forget it as far as a fact in our minds, but in our hearts. Because if we put the Lord first and not forget Him in our day by day, then what a difference it will make in how we live and even how we treat others.

Well, the priorities, let's look over, if you will, in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, please. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. We talk about loving the Lord with all our heart, not forgetting Him, but He is the priority of our lives. We might say as a husband, as a father, my family is my priority. This church is a priority to me, but even before the church, my family is my priority. My wife, my marriage, my children, if I can't rule my own household well, then what business do I have leading the church? And there are priorities like that in all of our lives. If we don't, if we're not walking with the Lord as we ought to, then how can we even be a blessing one to another as brothers and sisters?

So in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, let's turn there. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. And I'd like us to look there in verse number 16. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse number 16. There's a lot of instructions given here in these verses, but what does it say in verse 16? It says, rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing in everything. Give thanks. Why? For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. This is what God has told you that He wants you to do. This is what God expects of His children. Rejoice. Pray without ceasing in everything. Give thanks. And in so doing, what are we doing? We're loving God and putting Him first, aren't we? We're saying, no matter what happens, I can rejoice evermore. No matter what my health is like, no matter what, I can rejoice evermore. And I will pray. I'm not going to stop praying. What are we saying tonight? Rejoice in the Lord. He makes no mistakes. He knows the path that we take. He knows all of that. But we are to pray. That shows that we're trusting God in the midst of the difficulty to give us wisdom, to give us strength, to give us help to mount up with wings like eagles, and to walk and not be weary and run and not faint or however the verse goes there in Isaiah 40. But we see that we're to pray. We're to pray. And in everything we're to give thanks, that's so reminded. If I complain about something, the Holy Spirit just brings, comes knocking, it says, Philippians 4:6. Be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer with supplication, thanksgiving, right? Let your requests be made known unto God. Oh, thank God for the chastening that He brings in our life. Thank God for the conviction work of the Holy Spirit. If and when we do complain, and for honesty, we do at times, at least I do. And yet, give thanks. This is God's will. In everything, give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

And in so doing, well, I believe there's a reason here. We have the next verse, quench not the Spirit, right? Instead, walk in the Spirit. Don't quench the Spirit, walk in the Spirit. And so we see that these are the priorities. If we love God, what's the great commandment? To love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. It's the most important thing in our lives is to love God. That is always urgent and important. It's always a pressing priority. No matter what, no excuses, no excuses. But you know, this is a really particularly tough situation. No excuses. Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, seek Him first. And the blessings will come from the Lord.

Well, all of that, also looking at Colossians 4, if you will, Colossians 4 and verse 2. Colossians 4 verse 2. We notice there in verse 2, Colossians 4 verse 2, we're told here, continue in prayer and watch in the same with thanksgiving, withal praying also for us that God would open unto us a door of utterance to speak the mystery of Christ for which I am also in bonds, that I may make it manifest as I ought to speak. If you're complaining and not praying and giving thanks, how can you help somebody else? How can you pray for other people? You know, how can you pray for missionaries? How can you pray for your brothers? I mean, really pray for them if you're regarding some iniquity in your own heart. If you're harping on something that the Lord, that's not the Lord's will for us, is it? That's not loving Him. That's not putting Him first and seeking Him first. It's leaning to our own understanding. It's leaning on our own emotions and our feelings about things instead of putting the Lord first. But see, you continue in prayer and watch in the same with thanksgiving. That's important. That's the priority. And as you pray, Paul says, pray for us that God would open unto us a door of utterance to speak the mystery of Christ.

So rejoice, give thanks, pray. And then I think about that hymn we're familiar with, "Did you leave your room this morning? Did you think to pray?" Those are such important words. We need to remember the Lord first thing in the morning, right? You need to put Him first in the day. "I love those that love me and those that seek me early shall find me," the Lord says. "Did you leave your room this morning? Did you think to pray in the name of Christ our Savior? Did you ask for a loving favor as a shield today?" And then listen to the chorus. It says, "Oh, how praying rests the weary. Prayer will change the night to day. So when life seems dark and dreary, don't forget to pray." Don't forget, remember. How do you not forget something? Well, you intentionally remember it. You make it a priority, right? If I don't do anything else, I'm going to do this first. This is going to be the first thing. If I might forget certain things, we're all, we all forget things. But that's why we have to make it a priority.

I think about my wife's grandmother on her dad's side of the family. She's got more and more advanced dementia. But she makes it a point to remember. She wants to try to remember her grandchildren's birthdays and all those important days. And so she writes those things down in a little book. I don't know how well she's keeping up with it now, but she's done it well for a long time, writes them down in a little book. As long as she can remember what that book is, she makes it a priority. I've got to have these dates in here. And I'm going to constantly refer to this book even though I might forget things. I don't want to forget. And that's the way we need to be as Christians, putting the things that are important, keeping them at the forefront, we might say.

I think about Job when he was, even when he was in the great plight that he was in, he said, "Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord." We sang "Blessed Be the Name" this morning, didn't we? And yet can we say that even when we're going through very difficult circumstances? Can we say with Job, "Blessed be the name of the Lord"? So love to God, that's the source, that's the fountain, that's the wellspring of love to our neighbor, isn't it? That's putting God first. Then we can show His love to one another. But we got to put Him first. If we seek God in the morning, if we make it a priority of thanksgiving, prayer, and rejoicing in the Lord, then we will be in a much better position to truly love one another, to love our neighbor. It will affect our relationships, it does affect our relationships.

You know, every one of us has an aroma, we might say, when we come into a room, don't we? When we walk into a room, maybe you show up on the job and sometimes people might shuffle in, like, just barely made it here, kind of thing, it's going to be a terrible day. That kind of dims the mood, you know? I mean, we might not feel great, just drinking a cup of coffee, I guess, to go, you know, but what a blessing it is when we have taken the time with the Lord and then we can encourage another soul, we can show love to another, even if we might be going through something. How many times have you been blessed by someone that is going through something more difficult than you're going through? And yet, they have put the Lord first, you can tell because they're striving to be a blessing, even in the midst of the hard thing that you know they're going through. And you think, I have no room to complain. I mean, they're picking me up and they're the ones in the difficulty of an obviously more difficult circumstance than I'm in. What's the difference? It's the Lord, right? It's the Lord that makes the difference in our lives when we put Him first. When we love Him with all of our hearts.

I know I touched on this morning with husbands, but think about as husbands, you know, if we love the Lord first, it will be no difficulty to love our wives. It will be no difficulty to love our wives and not to be bitter against them. We might say, but you don't know my wife, you know, or you don't know how she is sometimes. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Love the Lord and you'll be able to love wives the same way. You know, to love your husbands, to submit to them as unto the Lord. I'm not saying go jump off a cliff if they tell you to jump off a cliff. We know what you're saying not to do that, but within reason, obviously, to follow that husband, even if you may not always like, you know, we might not always like each other every moment, right? But to, as unto the Lord, and children, I'm sure our children don't always like us, right? They don't always like what we have to say. They might not always think, "My parents are just the greatest thing ever," but children, obey your parents. Well, I really wanted to do something else. Children, obey your parents. This is all pleasing unto the Lord, right?

I think of so many relationships that are, if God is in it, if we're seeking the Lord individually, He's going to be in our words one to another. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, to edify one another, to seek the Lord first in our lives. We will be able to be a blessing one to another. There's an order, there's a proper order in which we need to treat one another. And I think about how, as the passage says here in Matthew 22, what did He say in Matthew 22, this little phrase He gives here at the end of what He says, He says, "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

Spiritual success in our lives, we talked about that term the other week, spiritual success, not success in the world's eyes, but spiritually before God, true spiritual success, the formula is very simple, but daily, you know, this week as we go forward, are we going to put, am I going to put the Lord first in my thoughts in the morning, seeking Him first? Am I going to say, "You're the priority of my life"? We observed, you know, tomorrow morning when I get up, thinking back to today, what a good day we had in the worship house. We took the time to remember the Lord's death for us and what all of that means, but tomorrow morning when I get up, I need to remember what the Lord has done for me. I need to remember and give thanks and pray and seek His face and rejoice in the Lord. I need to get up and do that. Our day will go probably not so well if we don't do that. It will not go so well if we get up and we say, "I've got so much to do. You know, I've got this and that and the other thing." Yeah, of course, we always have a lot to do. When don't we have a lot to do, right? It's always, we have plenty on our plates. There's plenty of urgent things. But let's make sure we make the important things first.

Let's make sure that in our lives, I mean, even when it comes to our budgeting and all of those things, every area, we could think about it, every category of our lives. Let's put the Lord first in those things. Let's trust Him with our finances, trust Him with our health, trust Him with our friendships, trust Him with our time, trust Him with all those things. And if we put Him first and don't worry about anything, it's a sin to be anxious, right? It's a sin to be careful about these things. Instead, we show that we love the Lord when we say, "Lord, you're in control. I'm just going to put you first and honor your word and then make me a blessing. Make me a blessing as I go today. Help me not to be just another statistic in this world of complaining and confusion and all of that. It's only by God's grace that we can shine the light of Christ to one another. Lord, help me to remember others."

If we don't remember the Lord, we're not going to remember others. If we don't remember the Lord first, then we're just going to be thinking about ourselves. We're just going to be thinking about ourselves, aren't we? How do I know? Ask me. Well, we've all, I know that I have gotten into that wallow in that way of thinking, but may the Lord help us to put Him first in our lives.

Let's pray. Thank you, Father, for these simple reminding thoughts by way of reminder tonight that we've seen from your word as we have begun this new year. Lord, help us to have the right priority, to truly love you, Lord, with all of our heart, with all of our soul, mind, and strength. Help us, Lord, to start each day remembering you, not forgetting what you've done for us, not forgetting your word, even as the psalmist said that he hid your word in his heart and asked that you might not let him wander from your commandments. Oh, we know that if we love you first, then we do love the brethren and that love will show as we saw this morning, it'll show in our words, but it'll show in our actions and our attitudes one toward another. May we clearly show that we are pilgrims and strangers. We are children of God passing through this earth. May the light and love of Christ be seen in our countenance, may be seen in our spirit as we go. We pray and ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.