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Introduction:
What does God want? Have you ever asked that question? In
one sense, we could start from Genesis and read through Revelation
and say God wants hundreds of things. We could spend years and
years describing what God wants. However, I think there is a
simpler way to answer this question. There is one thing God says
that He wants over and over and over again. When we grasp it,
everything else will fall into place. Discussion: I.
God wants What’s first. A.
Over and over throughout the Bible we see that God wanted
the first. It is as if God wanted to indelibly stamp on our minds
how much He desires the first of what we have. 1.
In Genesis
4:4, Abel brought the firstborn of the flock. We begin to
see the desire for the first in that story. 2.
In Exodus
23:16, God asked for the firstfruits of the Jews labor
when they celebrated the Feast of Harvest. In Exodus
23:19, God asked for the best of the firstfruits when they
came to the house of the Lord. 3.
In Leviticus
2:14, they were to give a grain offering of the first
fruits. 4.
According to Deuteronomy
26:1-10, when the Israelites finally came into the
promised land, they were to bring some of the first of all the
fruit of the ground and bring it before the Lord. 5.
In Numbers
15:20-21, they were supposed to give a loaf from the first
of their dough to the Lord. 6.
But it wasn’t just about their fruit, they were supposed
to give the firstborn to the Lord. According to Exodus
13:2, 12-16, they were to give the firstborn of man and
beast to the Lord or redeem those that they weren’t supposed to
sacrifice. 7.
In Numbers
3:11-13, God took the Levites in place of the firstborn,
but they had to number each. Then they had to redeem the number of
the firstborn beyond the number of the Levites (Numbers
3:39-51). 8.
When God’s people were restored from captivity they
grasped this concept of giving God the first. In Nehemiah
10:35-37, the people agreed to bring the firstfruits of
the ground and the firstborn of their flocks and herds to the
Lord’s house. 9.
In Proverbs
3:9, the wise are told to honor God with the firstfruits
of their produce as a matter of course. 10.
No doubt God wants the first. B.
Are we surprised then when we come to Matthew
6:33 and learn that Jesus says He wants us to seek God’s
kingdom and righteousness first. Under the new covenant, we do not
redeem our firstborn. We do not sacrifice our firstfruits.
However, we do give Him what comes first. C.
In one of our adult Bible classes, just recently we talked
about how Jesus rebuked the would be disciples who wanted to put
other things before following Him in Luke
9:59-62. They wanted to put family first and Jesus rebuked
them. God wants our first. D.
God wants our first efforts. God wants our first thoughts.
God wants our first words. God wants our first love. God wants our
first actions. In every situation, God wants us to think of His
will first. In every decision, God wants us to consider Him first.
In every relationship, God wants us to put Him first. God wants
the first. We need to give it to Him. II.
God has made us the first. A.
However, we need to take this one step further. God not
only wants us to give what is first. God has, in a sense, made us
the first. B.
In Exodus
4:22-23, God called Israel His firstborn. Egypt’s
killing of God’s firstborn was the reason He killed the
firstborn of Egypt in the final plague. Then according to Jeremiah
2:3, Israel was the firstfruits of God. C.
But now we know that circumcision counts for nothing, and
being a physical child of Abraham counts for nothing, but being
the spiritual offspring of Abraham. See Galatians
3:28-29. We now are the Israel of God (Galatians
6:16). We have become the firstborn and firstfruits of
God. 1.
According to II
Thessalonians 2:13, Christians are the firstfruits of God. 2.
According to Hebrews
12:23, the members of Christ’s church are the firstborn. D.
Think about what this means. When we understand that God
wants what is first. He doesn’t simply want our first effort. He
doesn’t simply want our firstfruits. He doesn’t simply want
our first works. He wants us. III.
You’ll lose what you put before God. A.
The problem for us is some things just seem more important
than God. It’s not that we don’t want God. It’s not that we
don’t want to be close to God. We just see something else as
more important, perhaps our work, our family, our money. We want
God in our lives, but we don’t want to be too extreme about it.
He needs to know His place. Sometimes, what we are putting first
is not even a bad thing, but it is coming before God. B.
Remember the story of Mary and Martha (Luke
10:38-42)? Mary listened at the feet of Jesus. She put
Jesus first. Martha was cleaning house. But notice Jesus’ words.
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,
but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion,
which will not be taken away from her.” The implication is that
what Martha had chosen would be taken away. When we give God
what’s first, that won’t be taken away. Everything else will. C.
In Luke
9:24, Jesus said, “Whoever would save his life will lose
it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” When
we are trying to hang on to the parts of our lives that we think
are just so important that we have to put them before our
relationship with God, we’ll lose them. However, when we put God
first, we’ll save our lives. D.
I know it seems to be a paradox. But, the only way to keep
our families, our work, our health, our blessings is to put them
all after God. I know we think some of these things should come
first so they can be protected and preserved. But it is only by
putting God first that these things can really be first in our
lives. Putting God first won’t mean neglecting all these things
while we do “church work.” It simply means putting everything
in its proper perspective. E.
We need to understand that anything we put before God will
be lost either in this life or in the judgment. IV.
God gave His first. A.
At first, we may think God is asking a bit much. How can He
ask us to give what is first to Him and to His service? In fact,
we may feel a little resentful about that. But, we need to realize
God is not asking anything of us He wasn’t first willing to do.
God may ask us to give the first to Him, but He has already given
His first to us. God may ask us to give ourselves to Him, but He
has already given Himself to us. B.
Jesus is God’s firstborn and firstfruits. 1.
According to Hebrews
1:6, Jesus is the firstborn. 2.
According to Romans
8:29, Jesus is the firstborn of many brethren. We are the
Father’s adopted children, but Jesus is the firstborn. 3.
According to I
Corinthians 15:20, Jesus is called the firstfruits from
the dead. C.
God is not asking us to give anything to Him He hasn’t
already given to us. He saw us in our sins and was willing to give
His firstborn to serve and save us. How much more ought we be
willing to give the first to God. D.
God gave Himself totally to us in the form of His Son,
Jesus who is the fullness of deity in bodily form (Colossians
1:19). We must give ourselves completely to Him. Our lives
must be about Him. Our work about Him. Our efforts about Him. If
we wish to win the victory in this life, we need to give what is
first to Him. We need to give ourselves to Him. Conclusion: What have you given to God? He has given all for you. Are you ready to give your first and all to Him? If you are, start by turning your life over to Him in baptism. Be baptized into Christ and become part of the firstborn.
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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