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The Message for June 18, 2017
Radical Discipleship - Putting God First
Exodus 20:1-3
Rob Miller, Pastor
Today we begin a Ten Week Series we are calling, Radical Discipleship – Living by God’s Top Ten List.
Prayer…
Story – A woman bought a parrot in a pet store. She wanted companionship, someone to talk with. The next day she brought the parrot back to the store and said, “He won’t talk.” The store manager asked, “Does he have a mirror in his cage? Parrots love mirrors.” She bought a mirror and left. The next day she came back and said, “The bird is still not talking.”
“How about a ladder? Parrots love ladders. When he’s active and happy he will talk.” She bought a ladder and left.
The next day she was back complaining that even with the mirror and the ladder the bird was not talking. The manager said, “I know what you need, the bird wants a swing. He’ll be happy when he has a swing and then he’ll talk. She reluctantly bought a swing and left the store.
Sure enough, the next day she was back. She had a sad face. “The parrot died,” she said.
“I’m sorry,” the manager said, “please tell me - did he ever say anything before he died?”
The woman replied, “Yes, in a weak voice he asked, ‘Don’t they sell any food at that pet store?’”
Sometimes we forget the main thing. Years ago I heard the phrase, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”
One of the leadership principles in our Lafayette Schools this year was this -“The main thing first.”
Today we consider keeping the main thing first... For the next 10 weeks we are going to study the Ten Commandments. They are God’s top ten list for effective living. They are the heartbeat of any effective legal system too. They are probably the only thing that Christians, Jews, and Muslims agree on. All three religions view the Ten Commandments as commandments from God.
Oddly enough… For a majority of Americans, the Ten Commandments are not set in stone. According to a poll taken byUSA Today, (
- 60% of Americans cannot name five of the Ten Commandments.
In fact, it is amazing what Americans do know by comparison:
- 74% of Americans can name all three Stooges -- Moe, Larry, and Curley.
- 35% of Americans can recall all six kids from the Brady Bunch.
- 25% of Americans can name all seven ingredients of McDonald's Big Mac
But sadly…
- Only 14% of Americans can accurately name all Ten Commandments.
Can you? Consider this…
- 78% of Americans are in favor of displaying the Ten Commandments in public.
I wonder why… Maybe it’s because we don’t know them. We know they are important -- but not important enough to live by them or teach them to our children…
Some people see it a tragedy that the Ten Commandments are disappearing from public schools, courtrooms, and government buildings… I see the real tragedy isthis -- they are disappearing from the minds, hearts, and lives of most people who claim to be Christian.
If we don’t even know the Ten Commandments then we probably aren’t going to live by them either.
In Deuteronomy 6God says…
“Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart.Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.”(Deuteronomy 6:6-7)
God did not say “write them down and post them somewhere…” No… God said live by them… teach them to your children… make then a part of your daily routine.
Teaching these commandments to our children is part of the job of parenthood in a Christian household. That’s because these commandments are the universal laws for life…
God created the universe to follow certain laws. There are laws in place for the universe to operate, without them life could not and would not exist.
For example - the Law of Gravity. If you ignore it, you’re going to get hurt. If you ignore the law of gravity and jump out of a 10 story window you don’t break God’s law, it breaks you!
Most of us – if we’re honest – don’t really like rules or laws… And if we look at the Ten Commandants as rules or laws or “have to’s” – they will trip us up every time… So I invite you throughout this series to see the 10 Commandments as the train tracks (picture) for your life -- giving us the tracks to follow. To ignore them is to risk jumping the track and crashing.
So let’s take a look at the main thing… We find the main thing spelled out in our reading for today from Exodus 20:1-3.
Read Text Exodus 20:1-3
“You shall have no other gods before me.” There it is. That’s the main thing… The other nine commandments all support this main thing. This one is first because it’s the most important one.
God is saying, “I expect to be the first priority in your life.”
So what does it mean to have no other gods before God?
Notice the word “gods” in this verse is spelled with a lower case “g.” There are little gods crying out for our affection and devotion. Including but not limited to things like…career, sports, politics, TV, money, property, food, sleep… you name it. We can turn anything into a god – small g. Anything that becomes the first priority in our life is our god.
None of those gods can offer us what God offers. God offers a promise. In Proverbs we are told…
TrustGodfrom the bottom of your heart;
don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen forGod’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
God is the one who will keep you on track. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Matthew puts it this way:
But strive first for the kingdom of Godand itsrighteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)
Three words: Put God First. What does it look like to put God first? Let’s take a look at thefive letters that make up the word first.
F-I-R-S-T
F – Finances
Let’s start with the most difficult one. In Proverbs we read…
Honor theLordwith your wealth,
with the firstfruitsof all your crops;
then your barns will be filledto overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine. (Proverbs 3:9-10)
We give a portion back to God as a thank offering – 10% and God blesses us with even more. That’s how it works. In Deuteronomy 14:23 we learn that the purpose of tithing (giving 10%) is to teach us to put God first in our lives.
We are to give on the first day of the week – Sunday. Why on Sunday? Because that’s when we gather for worship. That’s when Jesus rose from the dead. Every Sunday is a mini Easter celebration.
Tithing is an act of our worship. I once heard it said,“If your life is a mess right now, it could be that you are not honoring God with your tithe and missing out on God’s blessings that are waiting for you.”
In other wordsour lack of giving generously can prevent God’s blessings from flowing into our lives… If we are holding onto our money with clenched fists then our hands are not open to received God’s gifts…
We are to put God first with our finances… Next is I…
I – Interests
We are to put God first when it comes to our interests. Hobbies, past times, recreation, even sports.
Saint Paul tells us…
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
We are to put God first in everything we do. There’s nothing wrong with a hobby – hiking, golf, collecting antiques, fixing up old cars, sewing, whatever you like to do for fun. But examine your heart.
Does your hobby take you closer to God or further away from God?
I love peoplewho love sports. There is something passionate and life giving about a sports fan. For them they come alive when they talk about football or basketball or baseball.
Here is something to ponder… When someone gets excited about a sport they are called a “Fan” -- but if someone gets excited about Jesus they are called a “Fanatic.” Why is that?
We are to put God first with our interests. Next is R…
R – Relationships
Growing up my parents would often say - choose your friends carefully. Consider these words from Proverbs 27.
A mirror reflects a man’s face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses. (Proverbs 27:19)
How true! We become like the people we spend time with. There something about a bad apple spoiling the whole bunch. Watch out for bad apples.
We put God first by the relationships we keep. Next is S…
S – Schedule
Is there room for God in your schedule? How much time do you give to God? We ought to give God all the time we have… Saint Paul put it this way…
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,making the most of every opportunity,because the days are evil.Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. (Ephesians 5:15-17)
How much time do you give to God? An hour or so a week or every hour of every day?
We put God first by the schedule we keep. Next is T…
T – Troubles
When you face unexpected problems and pressures, where do you turn? The Psalmist puts it this way…
God says, “Call on me in the day of trouble;I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” (Psalm 50:15)
How do you know when God is first in your life? You stop WORRYING! Worry is a warning light that God is not first in your life.
A church sign read – “Don’t let worry kill you. Let the church help.”
In this church we will help you see the need to put God first – in your marriage, in your family, in your work, in your travels, in your life.
Joshua declared, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”(Joshua 24:15) Can you say that? Or are there other gods in the way?
Let’s keep the main thing the main thing and put God first. Amen