"First Things First"

Matt 6:25-33 "For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, {as to} what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, {as to} what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing? 26 "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and {yet} your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 "And which of you by being anxious can add a {single} cubit to his life's span? 28 "And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these. 30 "But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is {alive} today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, {will He} not much more {do so for} you, O men of little faith? 31 "Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'With what shall we clothe ourselves?' 32 "For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. (NAS)

• Worry, doubt, lack of faith;

Jesus uses birds as an illustration. The birds don't have to plant or harvest. They don't have storage barns. The fact is they have nothing to worry about. They don't have nice gardens like Sis Collier did. But the Lord provides for them.

He said the lilies do not have to labor, yet Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like them.

Vs. 25 do not be anxious for your life. The KJV says "take no thought". The Psalmist said; in Ch 55:22 Cast your burden upon the LORD, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.

In the parable of the sower, in Mark 4; Jesus said; 18 "And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, 19 and the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

We must refuse to allow the worries of life and our personal desires hinder the work of God in us. It is not a sin to work hard, to have things and to have personal desires as long as we have our priorities in order. Jesus insists on being first in our lives.

Phil 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication (petition) with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (NAS)

Jesus rebuked his disciples because of their lack of faith. Remember how they became afraid in the boat when the storm came.

Jesus took a boys sack lunch and fed 5000 men beside the women and children, which no doubt would have been over 20,000 people. Do you remember what he did when everyone had eaten and were full. He had His disciples gather the leftovers, and there were 12 baskets full. Can you imagine what the boy's mother said when he returned home with more than he had when he left.

• Seek

I would not give this sermon justice unless I talk about this little four letter word seek.

Jesus did not say beg, He said seek, go after as in hot pursuit.

Matt 7:7 "Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you”. One translation says keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking.

Prov 2:1-9 My son, if you will receive my sayings, and treasure my commandments within you, 2 Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understand-ing; 3 For if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; 4 If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; 5 Then you will discern the fear of the LORD, and discover the knowledge of God. 6 For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth {come} knowledge and understanding. 7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; {He is} a shield to those who walk in integrity, 8 Guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones. 9 Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity {and} every good course.

• First His Kingdom.

Jesus told Martha in Luke 10:42 but {only} a few things are necessary, really {only} one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." Martha's main focus was preparing the meal, while Mary main focus was on the Lord.

Our duty is to seek; to desire, to pursue, and to aim at these things. Seek first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness.

Seek God's righteousness His character, the righteousness (character) which he requires to be fulfilled in us.

We must seek the things of Christ more than our own things.

The Lord will not take second place. Ex 34:14 for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

We should focus more on seeking His face than we do his hand.

I'm sure you folks don't have little golden images that you worship, like many people in other countries do, but if you put anything before the Lord that becomes your idol. If your career or anything else, including your family comes before the Lord, then that becomes your god. As a minister I had to learn that my family came before the church, but never before the Lord.

• All these thing will be added to you.

All these things. What are these things. Ph 4:19 And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. These things are our needs. Whatever are your needs are, that is what He is concerned about.

In vs 25-32 Jesus teaches us not to worry, then He says Matt 6:32 "... for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. He knows even before we ask. He is our father and the responsibility of fathers is to provide for his children.

Ps 34:9 O fear the LORD, you His saints; for to those who fear (revere) Him, there is no want.

Ps 37:18-19 The LORD knows the days of the blameless; and their inheritance will be forever. They will not be ashamed in the time of evil; and in the days of famine they will have abundance.

Ps 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

Sermons by Larry Wiley

Sermons by Larry Wiley

Recorded sermons. Click above link. You can listen from your computer or download to Ipod.

Expecting

Expecting

Luke 8:40 Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. (NIV)

John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (NAS) Others came to see a man John came to see the Messiah, the one who takes away the sin of the world. The religious leaders said, who is this man. While the religious leaders were full of suspicion, John was full of faith. He came expecting.

I looked up synonyms of expecting and found the words, anticipate, hope, trust, await, look forward to, bare, carry, pregnant, having a baby, in the family way.

When we come to church, what do we expect to get out of it. What are we expecting? What are we carrying in our wombs?

Are we expecting God to show up and show out, are we expecting to show out?

Are we expecting to spend quality time praising and worshipping the Lord, or are we expecting to see what we can find to criticize.

Are we expecting to hear the Word of God preached or are we expecting to pick apart a sermon.

I believe one of our problems is that we expect everything from the Lord, yet are unwilling to give anything. Oh, most of us give our tithes and offerings but I am talking about giving our time and talents. The Lord has give each of us a talent, a gift. 1 Pet 4:10 As each one has received a {special} gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. (NAS)

In the seventies there were a lot of preachers preaching about the coming of the Lord. As a young Christian, I was convienced that the Lord would come in 1981. In the middle 80's a man wrote a book entitled 88 reasons the Lord will return in 88. I threatned to write on entitled 89 reasons the Lord may return in 89. I said that I can copy his book and add one paragraph. Reason #89. He did not come in 88.

Are you aware that this generation is the first on that usre the return of Christ. He said; Matt 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (NIV)

How many of you would not miss a service because you were concerned that you may miss something. Well what happened to your expectation? You can blame it on the leadership, but I believe we have to take the blame. Are we praying, with expectation. We must add faith to our prayer. If you ask, expect to believe. Paul said; It is impossible to please God without faith”.

I like to say it like this; “why worry when you pray, and why pray when you worry”.

Waiting, paiently

Ps 130:6 My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.

Ps 37:10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found.

Ps 40:1 I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.

Isa 40:31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Greek: Wait, hope qavah (kaw-vaw'); to bind together, to expect:

Some people come to church like women shop. Women go to see what is there or what is available. Men go to get what the want. Arleen often complaines that I pay too much for what I get. She says, she cannot take me shopping because I spend too much. I thought that was what we were going to do, spend money. Some people come to church to see what is there. To see what they can find to talk about. You will leave with whatever you came for.

Commitment

I believe the reason that the divorce rate is so high in the US is a lack of commitment. And one of the biggest problems in the church today is a lack of commitment.

Religion or Relationship

Those with a relationship are made new
2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (NKJ)

Rom 8:1There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
(NKJ)

Rom 6:4-7 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin.
(NKJ)

Ezek 36:26-27 "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. (NKJ)

Rom 7:6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. (NKJ)

Those with religion are not changed. The only difference is they attend church or pray, or talk about the Lord, or act religious in some way. Joining a church or attending a church or even praying does not mean one has a relationship. Muslims pray more than most Christians, they pray five times per day. They are more dedicated to their religion than most Christians.

Those with a relationship bear fruit
Matt 12:33 "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. (NKJ)



Those with a relationship belong to the Lord
Rom 8:9-10 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. (NKJ)



Those with a relationship have put off the sinful nature or at least putting off the sinful nature

Eph 4:22-32 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. 25 There-fore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another. 26 "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you. (NKJ)

Additional Scriptures

Phil 3:7-10 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, (NKJ)

Col 3:1-10 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. 5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. 8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.
9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, (NKJ)


Matt 5:20 "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. (NKJ)

Rom 12:2 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. (NKJ)

James 2:18 But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
(NKJ)

I Jn 2:5-6 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. (NKJ)

How Do I Stop The Thief

Mark 4:4-8 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."

13-20 Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But, since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop-- thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown." (NIV)

Jesus said the farmer sows the Word. Some people are like the seed that fell on the path. The Word is sown and as soon as they hear the Word, Satan comes and takes away the Word that was sown in them.

Some of the seed fell on rocky ground. They hear the Word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the Word they quickly fall away.

Some of the seed fell among thorns, they hear the Word. And they soon get caught up in the worries of the world, trying to become wealthy and craving of other things the Word is choked out of their lives.

Some seed fell on good ground and produced an abundant crop. Some thirty, some sixty, and some one hundred fold.

Protecting the seed
We must do everything in our power to protect the Word that has been sown in our hearts. Satan will not give up, therefore we must not give up. “A quitter never wins and a winner never quits”. His ultimate job is to steal the seed that has been planted in us. John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (NIV)

We must also do everything we can to make sure that the seed is planted in ground that has been properly prepared. First we must break up the hardened, unplowed ground preparing it for the seed. Hosea 10:12 Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you (NIV).

We must fertilize the ground. How do we do that? Rom 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. (NIV) Faith comes by hearing, and hearing, and hearing, and hearing, and hearing, ….. the Word. If we do not continually hear the Word we are allowing Satan an opportunity to steal the Word that has been sown in our hearts. After the ground has been prepared for planting and the seed is sown, we must keep the ground cultivated. That is we must keep out the grass and weeks out of the garden of our heart.

How does the enemy steal the seed?

One of the oldest and most used tools of Satan is to hinder people from hearing the Word. They will become offended by the least little thing to keep them from the Lords house, where the Word is going forth with anointing. I cannot tell you how many people have told me that they do not have to go to church to be a Christian. My response is, if you are a Christian, why would you not want to go to church. We need the spoken Word, the anointed Word, to penetrate our hearts, to be firmly planted in our heart, so the thief can not steal this Word.

The thief comes in the most vulnerable place he can. Where is that in your life? Only you and God knows where that is, oh by the way, Satan also knows the most vulnerable place in your life. So we must make that place sure. We must reinforce that area of our life.

If you knew there was a thief in your neighborhood, you would place more locks on your doors and windows. You would never leave anything unlocked. Are there areas in you life that is unlocked? Are there areas that Satan can easily get into?

He steals the word
by causing us to miss church, when we miss church we are leaving a door unlocked!
by causing us be easily offended, if allow offences in our lives we are leaving another door unlocked!
by placing anger in our hearts. When we become angry we are unlocking the door,
by intimidation, boy this is heavy artillery with the enemy. If we suffer from intimidation, we are leaving another door unlocked.
We must fight against intimidation, the Word says, We are the apple of His eye. We are children of the most High. We are His creation. We are His property. With His help, lock that door in your life!

How do we keep him from stealing the Word?

James 4:7-8 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (NAS)

We do so by staying in the word as I have said before. We do so by resisting the devil. We do so by drawing near to God. We do so by cleaning our hands and repenting from our sins. We do so by purifying our hearts, for if we have an impure heart we are double minded, and Jesus said; “a double minded person will not receive anything from the Lord.”.

Additional Scriptures.

Job 1:6-7 One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."

1 Pet 5:6-8 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (NIV)

Heb 4:2 For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. (NIV)

Casting Your Care On The Lord

1 Pet 5:6-10 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you. 8 Be of sober {spirit,} be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 But resist him, firm in {your} faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. 10 And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen {and} establish you. (NAS)

Humble yourself to God

Ps. 37:11 But the humble will inherit the land, and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity

Phil 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (NAS)

Cast your cares on Him

The word is used to describe the "throwing" or "casting" of anything tangible: Moses "threw" a tree into water to sweeten it. When you throw something, the first thing you do is release it.

Ps 37:5-11 Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He will do it. 6 And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noonday.
7 Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret, {it leads} only to evildoing. (NAS)

Ps 55:22 Cast your burden upon the LORD, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. (NAS)

Be on the alert

Rom 13:11-12 And this {do,} knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. 12 The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. (NAS)

Resist the devil

Eph 4:27 and do not give the devil an opportunity. (NAS)

Eph 6:11 Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. (NAS)

James 4:7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (NAS)

God will confirm, strengthen, establish and bring you to maturity

Ps 138:7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me; Thou wilt stretch forth Thy hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Thy right hand will save me.
(NAS)

II Th 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil {one.} (NAS)

Jude 1:24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, (NAS)