This morning we will continue on with our topic about ‘Placing the Lord First in Every Area of Your Life’. Now, last Sunday we spoke about giving and how that giving of the first fruits and giving of the first fruits is what God did with the children of the Israel when they went into the land that He promised them.  He told them to give their first of their harvest unto the Lord so that He would bless them. But this principle of giving first in whatever we have in our life back to God allows Him to bless all of what you have. This is important. It’s not only in the area of giving that we should give first, but we are to give our lives first to God. This is important, to start this New Year.

Many people want something from God. They want God to bless them with more money. They want God to bless them with a maid. They want God to bless them with a house. They want God to bless them with a job. People are looking for something out of God. But what are you going to give to God? If you get what you want from God, it’s not even really yours. See people thinks it’s mine, you really don’t own anything. You don’t control anything forever. You only have stewardship of it and what happens is, with God you want to have more stewardship, you got to show him that Lord, this is yours. You are in control. I am just managing it under your direction, that’s important.

Your life is not your own. You were bought with a price. Somebody died for you. Somebody shed blood for you to get into the Kingdom. You have to understand your body is not your body. What are you talking about Pastor? This is my body.  If it’s your body, then you’re going to be very responsible for all that’s actually in your body and you’re responsible that is in your body that displeases God.  See, when you became a Christian and got saved, you were purchased with a price by the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, okay? So you don’t even own yourself.

So what happens is, maybe you’re starting to understand a little bit that “I’m going to give you first in everything in my life because you’re worthy, because you deserve it, because it’s right. “  And when we do that, God responds all the time.  Turn with me in your Bibles to Mark 12. The first thing you have to do is consecrate yourself unto the Lord. Here in Mark 12…see, so many are involved in so many other things, but God needs to be first, amen?

Now here in Mark 12:28 where Jesus has been teaching and He brings his point home by priorities. He says here in Mark 12:28 “And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?  And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”

What happens is that we are to love God. Now, for a lot of people when we talk about loving God, they get emotional, “Yeah, I love the Lord.”  They get emotional like they think it’s a relationship with a woman. “Well I love her.” Well, yes God wants you to be emotional but more than the emotion, God wants to see the action of love, you see? That’s what’s important. See I don’t want to hear myself “I love you” but I don’t ever see any love action. See? When we love God, I’d rather see the action more than the lip service. Now, the lip service is actually going to get any good, but if there’s no action of love it is only an emotional feeling. You know people get emotional about things one minute and in the next minute, it’s gone. They forgot all about it.  And so that what happens.

We say to a lot of people, “Do you love God?” “Oh Pastor, I love God. Yeah, I love God.” Okay,