Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me”
Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
first - First in time, first in place, first in succession, first in rank, first in influence, first in honour, first in principle.
James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
God Must Be First
Proverbs 3:6 In everything you do, put God first, and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success.
Three things occur when we put God first:
#1 We honor God
#2 It demonstrates faith
#3 It unlocks God’s blessing in your life
#1 God Must Be First In Our Problems
John 16:33 In this world, you will have trouble.
Put your praise in front of your problems.
Psalm 8:2 Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
2 Chronicles 20:21 the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising Him for His Holy splendor. This is what they sang: “Give thanks to the Lord; His faithful love endures forever!”
22 At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves.
23 The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other. 24 So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped.
#2 God Must Be First In Our Passions
Exodus 32:2-3 And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.
Exodus 12:36, "God caused the Egyptians to look favorably on the Israelites, and they gave the Israelites whatever they asked for. So, like a victorious army, they plundered the Egyptians."
Exodus 32:4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
When you seek God first, God empowers you to keep God first.
#3 God Must Be First In Our Possessions
Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Our heart follows what we treasure.
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Genesis 4:2-5 Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
Jude 11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, they have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
Genesis 4:6-7 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you shou