First Things First

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This is a sermon that was given on February 28, 2016. The theme of the message is priorities and it emphasizes the importance of ordering our lives in order to draw closer to Christ during this season of Lent.

Written Excerpts:

Haggai 1:3-4

Introduction:

The title of my message today is “First Things First.”

Haddon Robinson points out that one old recipe for [cooking] a rabbit started out with this injunction: "First catch the rabbit." Says Robinson: "The writer knew how to put first things first. That's what we do when we establish priorities -- we put the things that should be in first place in their proper order. (http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/p/priorities.htm)

Whenever we set out to accomplish something important, we need to identify what needs to be done first. In other words, we need to prioritize our plans.

We are in the season of the year identified as Lent. This has traditionally been a period of 40 days leading up to Easter (not counting Sundays). It is a period when many people intentionally practice some form of self-denial, or sharpen other spiritual disciplines in order to improve their connection with Christ. As we consider the whole idea of self-denial, spiritual growth and spiritual renewal, I want to talk to you today about one area of common concern for all of us – the issue of “priorities.”

Every one of us is given the same number of hours in each day, the same number of days in each month and the same number of months in each year. The question is: “What are we doing with the time that we have been given?”

If you’re like me, part of the problem is procrastination…

(Frank & Ernest Comic, by Bob Thaves, 2/22/16) “There’s so many things I should be doing that when I procrastinate, I’m [actually] multitasking!”

No wonder procrastination is so tiring!!

Today, I hope God will inspire us to greater diligence and accountability as we purposely seek to draw closer to Him.

There are at least three different passages of Scripture that I want to use today as illustrations regarding the importance of setting proper priorities in our lives.

I.    Priorities are revealed by life decisions.

Haggai 1:3-4 (NKJV) ³ Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying, ⁴ "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?"

After receiving orders from Cyrus, the king of Persia, a large group of Jews returned to Israel from Babylon. There was an immediate start to rebuild the temple of the Lord, but opposition from enemies nearby caused the work to stop.

(A letter from King Artaxerxes – Ezra 4:23-24 (NKJV) Now when the copy of King Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem against the Jews, and by force of arms made them cease. Thus the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased, and it was discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.)

The second year of Darius king of Persia = a total of 16 years since the work stopped. A lot of changes have taken place in the political world and in the country.

Haggai 1:2 (NKJV) "Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, saying: 'This people says, "The time has not come, the time that the LORD'S house should be built." ' "

The prophet confronts their neglect of the temple and mimics their excuse. (One gets the impression by the prophet’s use of it that it had been offered over and over.) He immediately destroys their excuse by showing their hypocrisy – all the time they could not rebuild the temple for the worship of God, they had plenty of resources and initiative to build fancy houses for themselves. Their real priorities were revealed by the choices they made regarding their time and their work. Their excuse didn’t “hold water” when they conveniently had the time and the resources to build their houses.

The prophet shows by his question that they had succumbed to the circumstances rather than rising above them, and they had developed selfish desires for comfort rather than sacrifice for their God. Yes, 16 years earlier, there was an order to cease the building project, but the political landscape had changed and they didn’t bother to resume the project. They apparently just continued on with life as they had.

Do we realize how much our behaviors and our choices reveal about our priorities?

There are plenty of people today claiming to be followers of Jesus Christ who usually choose to satisfy physical desires and earthly/temporal goals over seeking God’s purpose and fulfilling His will.

Haggai explained to the people that their neglect of God and God’s house accounts for the “poor return” on their investments in planting crops and other endeavors (see 1:6)

There may be Christians who would deny that God purposely “punishes” people by causing their crops to fail, etc.

But God is explaining what many people have discovered down through the years – if your priorities aren’t right, you can spend all your wealth, time and energies to “get ahead” and it seems like you’re just “spinning your wheels.”

1 Samuel 2:30 (NKJV) Therefore the LORD God of Israel says: 'I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.' But now the LORD says: 'Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.

People are pretty much the same today… Don’t have time or ability to come to church; get involved in helping the poor/sick; or use gifts and abilities in other ways for the Kingdom of God. But… their actions demonstrate that they do have time and resources/abilities to participate in activities that cater more to selfish interests.

John Lancaster Spalding - What we love to do we find time to do. (Draper's Book of Quotations)

Now, if you’re sitting here and saying to yourself, “Well, Pastor Les is telling us we need to spruce up our church building and invest time and money in making it a magnificent facility.” Then you would be wrong. The prophet Haggai was talking literally. They did need to construct the temple and re-engage in the worship of God as they were instructed by Moses. The emphasis today, as expressed in the NT, is not at all on physical structures, but on spiritual life and vitality, which still requires our priorities to be in proper order.

Not only do our actions and behaviors reveal our priorities, but…

II.  Priorities are revealed by financial decisions.

Malachi 3:7-10 (NKJV) ⁷ …from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinances And have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you," Says the LORD of hosts. "But you said, 'In what way shall we return?' ⁸ "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. ⁹ You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. ¹⁰ Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.

Better than 70 years after Haggai’s prophecy, Malachi is confronting many of the same problems that still exist among the Jews. There are a number of issues addressed by the prophet, but one of them has to do with the fact that the people were not properly supporting the temple and its workers. There is no explanation or excuse offered for their neglect, but it is implied that they neglected because it just wasn’t important to them, and there were too many other things they wanted to do with the products that should have been given to the Lord.

(Tithes did not merely involve money/currency, but more likely involved crops and livestock.)

Jesus Himself taught that our hearts will be wherever our treasure is. In other words, the things we invest in the most will be the things we cherish the most. (Matt. 6:21)

Finally, I want to show that…

III. Priorities are revealed by our anxieties.

Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Context = Matthew 6:24-34 (Read)

Jesus has just described to these people how God watches over the birds and the flowers. Three times in these 11 verses Jesus says, “Do not worry.” In addition to that he also says, “Why do you worry?” and “What good will worry do?” (v.27)

The word “therefore” in v. 25 refers back to the principle in verse 24, “You cannot serve God and mammon (money/ material possessions).” It’s as if God is saying that it is only possible to be truly concerned about 1 thing at a time. If money and the things money can buy are occupying your worry/concern/anxiety, then you cannot concentrate on serving and pleasing God.

The things or issues that we are the most anxious about will be the things that consume our time, energies and resources.

So what’s the answer?

Jesus said it. “Seek first the kingdom and God… and all these [other] things will be added to you [as God sees fitting and appropriate for you].”

A. W. Tozer - Yet for all God's good will toward us he is unable to grant us our heart's desires till all our desires have been reduced to one. (Draper's Book of Quotations)

Jesus is not promising that God will give you everything you desire simply because you pay your tithe and go to church (or any other simplistic way people that people try to manipulate God). He is saying, “Give God and His Kingdom first priority and attention, and you will be free from anxiety because your focus will be centered on honoring and glorifying God not on your needs.”

Conclusion:

Is there some kingdom project or calling that God has spoken to you about, but you haven’t “had the time” to get it started (or finished)?

Has God spoken to you about the way you use your finances, because you rarely have much to give for His work or Kingdom, but you usually have enough to buy the latest electronic gadget or some other item that appeals to you personally?

What spiritual pursuit has God placed on your heart, but you’ve continued to neglect it and put it off; waiting for a more convenient time?

Modern Parable - A man rises to face his day like usual. This day, however, he has a doctor appointment. He’s had to work really hard to fit it into his busy schedule. He expected the dr. to be a long wait and to have to allow for that extra time. What he didn’t expect, though, was to hear that he might have a malignant tumor. What were the odds? The dr. couldn’t be sure. Tests were scheduled, a biopsy. It was going to be a couple weeks. Then, it would be another week before the results came back. Finally, the day came for the follow-up visit with the dr. No cancer! What a relief! No chemotherapy. No radiation. No surgery, even. So, does he go back to life just like before? No. He just had a brush with death. What used to look so important before doesn’t look as important now. Spending more time with the people he loves takes on a higher priority. He now has a tendency to change a conversation to something more important than the weather. He’s been given back his life when he feared it was over. He won’t go on living just like it never happened. Things have changed.  (http://www.sermoncentral.com/illustrations/sermon-illustration-sherm-nichols-stories-29982.asp)

I trust that God will challenge every one of us to re-evaluate our lives and re-arrange our priorities in order to have a closer relationship with Christ than ever before.

Let us close the service by singing the hymn that is listed in the bulletin