Episode 2 / First Things First
First things first. A ministry order that we individually apply. I think that God has set in his word a very clear direction to every aspect of life. This specific thing is really our heart and our mindset. As believers, as servants of the Lord- single or married. Old, young. We have an order from God, for example, "love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Love your neighbor as yourself." There's the one and two. For us, first things first means that the most important aspect, or to say the number one purpose of us, as Christians, is our personal relationship with the Lord.
Beyond anything else, our personal relationship with the Lord.
In churches, sometimes we'll hear, especially towards married couples, your first ministry is your marriage. That's not biblically accurate. Marriage is radically important. I'm not negating that. But we cannot give what we don't have.
So we have those quiet times with the Lord, or as some people would call it like devotional time. It's that relationship building time with us unto the Lord. For me personally, this has a lot to do with my morning Bible studies, prayer times, as well as things that will take place throughout the day.
But first things, first number one. Our personal relationship with God. I also want us to view this as our spiritual growth because the longer that we are together, the closer we get together, the more we know. Just like in the Bible, if you read that same book over and over and over, you glean more things after those additional reads. More dots are connected. Things make more sense.
I remember the first time I was on jury duty in downtown Dallas, and then got sent away for a predetermined period of time. I sat down and I opened to the book of Romans. It was the first time that I had ever read a larger book in the Bible from beginning to just about the end at one sitting. When I did that, everything that I thought before changed.
You could see the patterns and the topics and the changes and stuff. And so it is our personal relationship with the Lord.
Number one priority. Because you can't give what you don't have, but you can give everything that you do have.
Number two, our relationship with our family and our home.
To me, what this means, If you are married, your number two is going to be your marriage, husband and wife together. If you have kids, that's like a two B. But something that is equally as important is provision for the family. I don't want anybody to negate their primary responsibilities before the Lord and say, "Well, I'm not doing that anymore. I'm just gonna go serve the Lord." Unless God calls you to that, which is very rare.
God has even called me to serve my family and and to serve my family as as a primary aspect, this ministry order that I'm reading for everybody is something that God told me I have to live by. My personal relationship with him and then my personal relationship with my wife and then with my kids, and to be faithful to the word of God by providing for my family.
Number three, is then our church. And our relationship with a physical family, not a spiritual family, because as we come together, we're all one big church family. As Hebrews 10:24 and 25 would tell us, " let us come together in order to stir up love and good works and be a benefit.
Ephesians will tell us, making Psalms and melodies within our heart, unto the Lord. Being a benefit to everybody that that's around.
So our relationship with God, our relationship with our family, our relationship with our church.
And then lastly. The relationship with our individual ministries.
Now, this being the overriding theme. Because our relationship with God is often always under fire. And so make it a high priority. First things first in our life that our relationship with God will always be strong and protect that nothing gets in the way of that. Let's say you're an early riser and you do your devotionals in the morning, but this one day you overslept and now you don't have time. Of course, it's not the ideal. You're out of your normal rhythm. But you can still do it later. When it comes to our family, the devil wants to divide the marriage.
So in our first things, first, number two is our family relationship with, if you are married, it's a husband and a wife. The devil will do anything and everything he can to divide that couple. If you have kids, and which is a blessing from the Lord. But also guard this, the enemy will do anything and everything that he can to get the kids to divide mom and dad also.
So never forget in this order, It's my relationship with God, it's relationship with my spouse, then it's the relationship with my kid or kids. And if you're single, then it just stays your relationship with God and then provision for your home and for all the married and married with or without kid.
The having the provisions for our home is radically important. But in that manner, that can come under attack too. And I want you to guard that and, and be faithful to the Word.
Now, and when it comes to the third point, which is our ministry relationship or our, our relationship with our church. Look out for one another, protect one another. This is the order. Our relationship with God, our relationship with our home and our family, our relationship with our church. The church is the overriding thing. The ministry is one aspect of it, but oftentimes like the enemy would do is say the kids or the parents. The marriage in and of itself, or even a relationship with God. He's always trying to jump in there. So what the enemy tries to do is make one ministry better than every other ministry in the church.
We are one body.
The Christ is the head.
We're all just parts.
So we protect our heart and we protect our mind by faithfully just being a part of the body. So to say this in a completely different way, just stay in your lane. Do what God has asked you to do and let him be glorified.
Verses
“The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops.” II Timothy 2:6 NKJV
“Prepare your outside work, Make it fit for yourself in the field; And afterward build your house.” Proverbs 24:27 NKJV
“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God. Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” Ephesians 5:15-33 NKJV
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:1-4 NKJV
““When a man has taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war or be charged with any business; he shall be free at home one year, and bring happiness to his wife whom he has taken.” Deuteronomy 24:5 NKJV
“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” I Timothy 5:8 NKJV
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.” II Peter 3:18 NKJV
“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25 NKJV
“Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.” Hebrews 13:15-17 NKJV
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.” Romans 12:1-9 NKJV
“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:” I Corinthians 12:4, 7 NKJV
Love your neighbor as yourself." There's the one and two. For us, first things first means that the most important aspect, or to say the number one purpose of us, as Christians, is our personal relationship with the Lord.
Beyond anything else, our personal relationship with the Lord.
In churches, sometimes we'll hear, especially towards married couples, your first ministry is your marriage. That's not biblically accurate. Marriage is radically important. I'm not negating that. But we cannot give what we don't have.
So we have those quiet times with the Lord, or as some people would call it like devotional time. It's that relationship building time with us unto the Lord. For me personally, this has a lot to do with my morning Bible studies, prayer times, as well as things that will take place throughout the day.
But first things, first number one. Our personal relationship with God. I also want us to view this as our spiritual growth because the longer that we are together, the closer we get together, the more we know. Just like in the Bible, if you read that same book over and over and over, you glean more things after those additional reads. More dots are connected. Things make more sense.
I remember the first time I was on jury duty in downtown Dallas, and then got sent away for a predetermined period of time. I sat down and I opened to the book of Romans. It was the first time that I had ever read a larger book in the Bible from beginning to just about the end at one sitting. When I did that, everything that I thought before changed.
You could see the patterns and the topics and the changes and stuff. And so it is our personal relationship with the Lord.
Number one priority. Because you can't give what you don't have, but you can give everything that you do have.
Number two, our relationship with our family and our home.
To me, what this means, If you are married, your number two is going to be your marriage, husband and wife together. If you have kids, that's like a two B. But something that is equally as important is provision for the family. I don't want anybody to negate their primary responsibilities before the Lord and say, "Well, I'm not doing that anymore. I'm just gonna go serve the Lord." Unless God calls you to that, which is very rare.
God has even called me to serve my family and and to serve my family as as a primary aspect, this ministry order that I'm reading for everybody is something that God told me I have to live by. My personal relationship with him and then my personal relationship with my wife and then with my kids, and to be faithful to the word of God by providing for my family.
Number three, is then our church. And our relationship with a physical family, not a spiritual family, because as we come together, we're all one big church family. As Hebrews 10:24 and 25 would tell us, " let us come together in order to stir up love and good works and be a benefit.
Ephesians will tell us, making Psalms and melodies within our heart, unto the Lord. Being a benefit to everybody that that's around.
So our relationship with God, our relationship with our family, our relationship with our church.
And then lastly. The relationship with our individual ministries.
Now, this being the overriding theme. Because our relationship with God is often always under fire. And so make it a high priority. First things first in our life that our relationship with God will always be strong and protect that nothing gets in the way of that. Let's say you're an early riser and you do your devotionals in the morning, but this one day you overslept and now you don't have time. Of course, it's not the ideal. You're out of your normal rhythm. But you can still do it later. When it comes to our family, the devil wants to divide the marriage.
So in our first things, first, number two is our family relationship with, if you are married, it's a husband and a wife. The devil will do anything and everything he can to divide that couple. If you have kids, and which is a blessing from the Lord. But also guard this, the enemy will do anything and everything that he can to get the kids to divide mom and dad also.
So never forget in this order, It's my relationship with God, it's relationship with my spouse, then it's the relationship with my kid or kids. And if you're single, then it just stays your relationship with God and then provision for your home and for all the married and married with or without kid.
The having the provisions for our home is radically important. But in that manner, that can come under attack too. And I want you to guard that and, and be faithful to the Word.
Now, and when it comes to the third point, which is our ministry relationship or our, our relationship with our church. Look out for one another, protect one another. This is the order. Our relationship with God, our relationship with our home and our family, our relationship with our church. The church is the overriding thing. The ministry is one aspect of it, but oftentimes like the enemy would do is say the kids or the parents. The marriage in and of itself, or even a relationship with God. He's always trying to jump in there. So what the enemy tries to do is make one ministry better than every other ministry in the church.
We are one body.
The Christ is the head.
We're all just parts.
So we protect our heart and we protect our mind by faithfully just being a part of the body. So to say this in a completely different way, just stay in your lane. Do what God has asked you to do and let him be glorified.
Verses
“The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops.” II Timothy 2:6 NKJV
“Prepare your outside work, Make it fit for yourself in the field; And afterward build your house.” Proverbs 24:27 NKJV
“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God. Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” Ephesians 5:15-33 NKJV
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:1-4 NKJV
““When a man has taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war or be charged with any business; he shall be free at home one year, and bring happiness to his wife whom he has taken.” Deuteronomy 24:5 NKJV
“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” I Timothy 5:8 NKJV
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.” II Peter 3:18 NKJV
“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25 NKJV
“Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.” Hebrews 13:15-17 NKJV
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.” Romans 12:1-9 NKJV
“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:” I Corinthians 12:4, 7 NKJV
Posted in CCD, Calvary Chapel Dallas, Code, First Things First, Pastor Eric Coburn, Vision, Christ is the Head
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