are the glorified spirits in
heaven. Several months ago I wrote some
notes down about the message that I'm going to try to bring
this morning and looked at it again a couple of weeks ago and
I thought I want to bring this message on January 1st. I've
entitled this message, First. First. Now, the first day of
the year is always a time of reflection, isn't it? And it
ought to be. And we ought to look forward
to 2017 with a well-grounded, confident optimism. And let me tell you why. because
God's on the throne. And I know this, in 2017 just
as in 2016 and all of time, His will is always done. Now I've got a lot of scriptures
I'm going to quote. You might want to jot them down
because I'm not going to be turning to them. This message won't be
any longer than any other message, so please listen carefully. First. First. And try to listen as if
you've never heard the gospel before. Think of it in that light. First. What's this guy going
to say? First. Well, I've already read the first
scripture knowing this first. This is where we've got to begin.
This is of primary importance. We can't go anywhere unless we
know this first. No scripture is given of any
private interpretation. The scripture came not in old
time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they
were moved by the Holy Ghost. Now this is where we've got to
begin. the inspiration, the divine inspiration and infallibility
of Holy Scripture. God wrote this book. All Scripture, this is what the
Scripture says about itself. All Scripture is given by inspiration
of God. Now the Bible doesn't contain
the Word of God. The Bible is the Word of God. And if we don't have this, we're
left with my opinion and your opinion, which by the way is
worthless. All Scripture. God wrote this
book. Can you prove it to me? No. I don't feel the need to either.
I know it's the Word of God. If God can create the universe,
God can inspire men to write a book and preserve it. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15
3, for I delivered unto you first of all, for I delivered unto you first
of all that which I also received, how that Christ died. for our sins according to the
Scriptures. Now this is what's of primary
importance. This comes first. I delivered
unto you first of all, this is what's most important, how that
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. Now I've got
to say this, who's the hour? Christ died for our sins according
to Scripture. Now listen to me, if Christ died
for your sins, you're saved. You know that? You can't get
more saved than you are if Christ died for your sins. Who is the
our? Is it talking about everybody?
You know, I would never tell an unbeliever Christ died for
your sins. I don't know if he did or not. Well, who did he
die for? He died for the elect. He died
for those the Father gave Him. And what is the evidence of election?
You believe. You believe the Gospel. As many
as were ordained to eternal life believed. Acts 13, 48. Now Christ
died for our sins. It's how that Christ died for
our sins according to the Scriptures. And he's talking about the Old
Testament Scriptures. Let me give you one Old Testament
Scripture. that'll tell you how that Christ died for our sins,
according to the scriptures. In Exodus chapter 12, verse 13,
God said, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. Not when I see your faith, or
when I see your sincerity, or when I see your intentions. God's
looking for one thing. He said, when I see the blood,
I will pass over you. Now that's the believer's hope.
How that Christ died for our sins according to the scripture.
Now Christ's death for the sins of his people according to the
scripture is a successful death. When I see the blood I will pass
over you. Nothing else is needed. That's
how that Christ died for our sins. according to the Scriptures. Now, that's what comes first,
the Gospel. Moreover, brethren, I declare
unto you the Gospel. And every time I preach, that
message better be in there or it's not a Gospel message, no
matter what else I say. That comes first. In Matthew 6, verse 33, here's
the third Scripture. Listen real carefully. The Lord
said, Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Now this is what comes first.
It comes before anything else. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and His righteousness. Now what in the world does that
mean? Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
Now this is how I can tell if myself or somebody else is seeking
the kingdom of God first when they're seeking His righteousness. In Philippians chapter 3, verses
8 and 9, Paul said, Oh, that I may win Christ and be found
in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law. I don't
want to have anything to do with the standing before God that
has my works or my obedience or my righteousness. I simply
want to be found in Christ so that the only righteousness I
have is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Now, if I'm seeking
His righteousness, I'm seeking first the kingdom of God. And
if I'm not, all my seeking is a sham. It's not real. Seek ye
first. You know what it is to seek to
have His righteousness only. In Romans chapter 1, verse 8,
Paul said, This comes first. First, I thank
my God through our Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Now God is to be thanked because God is the first cause
behind everything. He is to be given credit. He
is to be given the glory. First, I thank my God through
our Lord Jesus Christ. He said this about himself in
Isaiah chapter 45 verse 7. I form the light. I create darkness. I make peace. I create evil. I the Lord do all these things. And we thank him for everything
in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ
Jesus concerning you no matter what it is in everything give
thanks in Matthew chapter 20 verse 16 we read the first shall
be last and the last shall be first for many are called But
you are chosen. Now this is the summary to that
great parable the Lord gives of the workers in the vineyard.
You remember the parable? The good man of the house comes
out and hires some men, 6 o'clock in the morning, to work all day,
12 hours. He comes out at nine o'clock
and there's some men who are still hanging around. He says,
you go work in the vineyard. Then he comes out at 12 and 3
and finally at 5. He says to some men, only an
hour left to work. Go out in the vineyard and whatsoever's
right, I'll give it to you. You can be sure of this. Whatever's
right, that's what the Lord's going to do. Whatever's right. But
do you remember what happened? The 12-hour workers were upset
because he gave The people who only worked one hour, the exact
same thing. And they said, this is not fair. You've made them equal with us,
and we're the ones that have borne the burden and heat of
the day. This is not fair. We worked 12
hours, they worked one, and they get the same thing of us? How
could that be fair? And the Lord looked at them and
said, Can I not do what I will with my own? Is your eye evil
because I'm good? I'm good to them. I can be good
if I want. I can be merciful. I can be gracious. And he ends
up saying, the first shall be last and the last shall be first
for many are called but few are chosen. Now the Lord gives the
reason why he does things simply to the sovereignty of God. Any other reason needed? Whatever
God does is right. And the first, if I say they're
going to be last, they're last. And if I say the last are going
to be first, they're first. For many are called, but few
are chosen. 1 John chapter 4 verse 19, John
says, We love him because He first loved us. That's why we love Him. Because
He first loved us. You see, God's love is not going
to be unreciprocated. Everybody He loves is going to
love Him in return. There ain't going to be anybody
in hell that loves God. There won't be. All whom He loves,
they will love Him in return. And they'll love Him for who
He is. They'll love Him for as He's revealed in God's Holy Word. We love Him. We do, don't we?
We love Him. I love who He is. I love all
of His attributes. I love His way of saving. I love
His glorious character. And I know the reason why I love
Him. It's because He first loved me. Ephesians chapter 1 verse
12 we read that we should be to the praise of His glory who
first trusted in Christ. Now I'd love to think about this.
Who is the first person to trust Jesus Christ? Now let me tell
you this. It wasn't a human being. It wasn't
somebody like me or you. It wasn't Adam after the Lord
revealed himself to him. Who first trusted Christ? God
the Father first trusted Christ. He trusted Christ with the salvation
of all of the elect. He said, all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. The Father gave him a people.
Now, how much trust did the Father have toward the Son for your
salvation? Did he look for you for any of
it? Did he say, well, Todd's going
to have to do this, or did he look to you for anything? No,
he looked to Christ for everything. Everything that God requires
of me, he looks to his son for. You know what makes me so happy?
I love that. That we should be to the praise
of His glory who first trusted in Christ. God the Father trusted
Christ with the salvation of everybody He gave Him. And He
didn't look to those people for a thing. He looked to it all
to His Son. James 3.17 The wisdom that's
from above is first. pure. Doesn't have any error, doesn't
have any sin. The wisdom that's from above,
that comes from God, not man's wisdom, but the wisdom that's
from above. Every good and perfect gift cometh
down from above, from the Father of lights, in whom there's no
variables, neither shadow of turning. The wisdom that's from
above. It's first pure. It's holy. It's true. It's without sin. It's without error. The wisdom
that's from above is first pure. Not a mixture of man's wisdom
and God's wisdom. First pure. And then in Luke chapter 12,
verse 1, We read where the Lord said, he began to say to his
disciples, first of all, but that ought to make us pay
real close attention to what he's getting ready to say. Then
began he to say to his disciples, first of all, beware of the leaven
of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. First of all, Let's begin here. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees,
the doctrine, the teaching of the Pharisees, which is all derived
from this thing called hypocrisy. Now, what's a hypocrite? A hypocrite
is an actor. That's all the word means, is
an actor. You know, we read of feigned faith, acted out faith. It's not real. feigned love. It's an act. Beware of the leaven
of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Now, you know how I can tell
whether or not someone's faith is just acting out or whether
it's real? How can you tell something like
that? I can. I can. Here's when faith is real and
not an act. When you really believe you're
a sinner. You really believe that. You
really believe that you don't have any claims on God at all. That if God sent you to hell,
just, holy, and righteous is his name. You really believe
that. Now, as long as you can argue
with the gospel and say, well, this is not fair. It's not fair
for God to elect some and not elect everybody. It's not fair
for Christ to not die. This is not fair. You're not
a sinner before God. Because if you're a sinner before
God, you really believe that you have no claims on Him. because of your personal sinfulness. And it's all your fault. You don't blame God. You don't
blame the sovereignty. Your sin is all your fault. Now,
wherever there's a real sinner, there's a real savior of sinners. Paul said, this is a faithful
saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. In 1 Corinthians 10, verse 5,
we read, they first gave themselves to the Lord and unto us by the
will of God. They first gave themselves to
the Lord. Have you ever done that? The drops of grief can never
repay the debt of love I owe. Here, Lord, I give myself to
thee. It is all that I can do. They first gave themselves to
the Lord. Now, what in the world does that
mean? Well, it's exactly what Paul meant when he said in Romans
12, verse 2, that we're called upon to present our bodies. A living sacrifice. Holy. acceptable unto God, which is
your reasonable service." Now, when you give yourself to the
Lord, you're not making any promises to Him. I'm going to do this,
I'm going to do that, I'm going to quit this, I'm going to start
that, and I'm going to all this. No. Lord, here am I. Here am I. Take me. Here am I. Take me. For Christ's sake. Say,
first, and until I do this, nothing really counts. I first give myself
to the Lord. And then in 2 Corinthians 8,
verse 12, I love this scripture. He's speaking of giving. And
he says, if there be first a willing mind. If there be first, forget it
without this. If there be first a willing mind,
the gift is accepted. The scripture goes on to say
in that passage of scripture, God loveth a cheerful giver. Now here's the point. God doesn't
want unwilling service. He's not interested in that. Paul said, to will is present
with me. You know, I want to be just like
Christ, don't you? To will is present with me. I think of when the Lord looked
at that bunch who were leaving him. 5,000 left him. He looked at the 12 and he said,
will you also go away? Is that your desire? Will you
also go away? Peter said, Lord, to whom shall
we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe
and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living
God. Now, Psalm 1103 says, Thy people
shall be, what? Willing in the day of Thy power,
if there be first a willing mind. And then in Matthew chapter 23,
21, the Lord said, Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that
which is within the cup and the platter, that the outside of
them may be clean also. Cleanse first the inside. Now,
the picture we have, do you want to drink out of a cup that's
clean on the outside and filthy on the inside? Well, at least
it's clean on the outside. That won't make me want to drink
out of it anymore at all. Not if it's filthy on the inside.
Now, what the Bible deals with, what the Lord deals with, what
the scripture deals with, is the inside. Not just the outside,
but the inside. A new heart. David said, create
in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within
me. Now, how am I going to be cleaned
up on the inside? By God giving me a clean heart.
That's the new heart that he gives. The heart of the new birth.
The heart of regeneration. Religion deals with the outside. It deals with externals. It deals
with what men can see. The gospel deals with what God
sees. The inside. In Matthew chapter 7, Verse five,
the Lord said, and he was speaking to his disciples at this time.
He says, thou hypocrite. If the Lord called you a hypocrite,
what would you say? Well, he's got me right on. He's speaking
to his disciples. He says, thou hypocrite, first
cast the beam out of thine own eye. And then shalt thou see
clearly, and cast the mote out of thy brother's eye. And this
is the Lord's conclusion on the commandment, Judge not, that
you be not judged. For with what measure you meet,
it shall be measured to you again. And why do you behold the mote,
the splinter in your brother's eyes, and you don't see the beam
in your own eyes? You hypocrite, he says. First, catch the beam out of
your own eye. Why do you worry about the speck
in your brother's eye when you've got a log sticking out of yours? I still love what Gene Rutledge
used to always say, I have way too many sins of my own to be
worried about somebody else's. Wherefore thou art inexcusable,
O man, whosoever thou art that judgest, for thou that judgest
doest the same things." Whatever you're judging somebody for,
you're guilty of the exact same thing in God's sight, and that's
what makes it so hypocritical. I'm not like that, except me
believe God or you. I believe God quicker than I
do me or you. This is similar, John chapter
8, verse 7. The Lord said, He that is without
sin among you, let him cast the first stone. Now you remember
that woman who was taken in adultery in the very act? There was no
doubt about her guilt. She was caught red-handed, and
they brought her before the Lord. Moses commanded that such should
be stoned. But what sayest thou? They thought,
we've got the Lord in between a rock and a hard place in an
unwinnable situation. If he says, stoner, we can say,
what about mercy? You talk about grace and forgiveness
for sinners. And if he says, let her go, we
can say, where's your respect to the law of God? God says to
stoner, you're going to say, none of that counts? What did
the Lord say to him? Them? He that's without sin. And I have no doubt that he's
talking about that particular sin. Remember the Lord said, whoso
looketh at a woman to lust after her in his heart. That's all
it takes. He has already committed adultery
with her in his heart. Whosoever is without that sin,
throw the first rock. And the scripture says, beginning
with the eldest, even to the youngest, being convicted by
their own conscience. When you're convicted by your
own conscience, you can go away from Christ. If you're convicted
by the Holy Spirit, you'll come to Christ. They went away, and
the Lord looked at that woman and said, Woman, where are those
nine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She
said, no man, Lord, neither do I condemn thee. Why? Because
her sin was put away. That's a woman for whom he would
die and put away her sins. She was justified before God.
Got nothing to condemn you for. Go and sin no more. And then in Matthew chapter 5,
verse 24, the Lord says, if you bring your gift to the altar
and remember your brother has ought against you leave there
thy gift before the altar and go thy way and first be reconciled
to thy brother first be reconciled to thy brother then come and
offer thy gift. You know what that means? I go to my brother and say I've
wronged you Would you please forgive me? Now, you don't come and say,
now, you're a Christian, you need to forgive me. Christians
forgive. You know, whenever you ask somebody forgiveness, when
you truly apologize to somebody and ask forgiveness, you're really
doing so to them as a sovereign. Not the sovereign God, I know
that, but what you're saying is, you don't have to forgive
me. This is up to you. I'm the guilty party, but oh,
would you please forgive me for what I've done? That's the only
way to apologize. And the Lord said, if you remember
that your brother has something against you, where you've wronged
him, you go and get that straightened out and be reconciled to your
brother. Please forgive me. And when that's taken care of,
then come and offer your gift. Let that be done first. That's
a primary importance. Don't let that go. And then in 1 Timothy chapter
5 verse 4, we read, let them first learn to show piety at
home. First. First. If my religion, if you will, I don't
know if that's a good word, but if my religion doesn't show itself
at home, It's not real. Let him first learn to show piety
at home. And then in Revelation chapter
20, verses 4 and 5, we read, this is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath
part in the first resurrection. On such the second death hath
no power. Now when he's talking about the
first resurrection, he's not talking about spiritual resurrection.
The first resurrection is this, and you hath he quickened. given life to, who were dead
in trespasses and sins. That's the first resurrection.
Being given spiritual life, being raised from the dead. Now, if
you've been given spiritual life, if you've been raised from the
dead, let me tell you two things about you. You're blessed. There was a time when you could
see no glory in the gospel. You could see no beauty in Christ.
You couldn't even come close to seeing your own sinfulness.
And then God gave you life. You are blessed of God. And the next thing about you
is you're holy. It's that holy nature that believes
the gospel. It's a real holy nature. Blessed and holy is he that hath
part in the first resurrection. John chapter 15 verse 18, the
Lord said, if the world hate you, and it will. You know, I've got people that
don't even know me that hate me. Don't know anything about
me, don't know my personality, don't know, maybe if they knew
me, they would hate me. I mean, But what I mean is, I
mean people who just because of the gospel that we believe.
Now the Lord says, if the world hate you, know this, it hated me first. It says, it hated me before you,
but the word is the same word as first in the original. It hated me first. Now the fact of the matter is
the world hates Jesus Christ and the gospel of God's grace.
They don't really find out If you go out here into the mall
or go out to eat and say, you hate Jesus Christ? No, no, I
love him. That's the way most people would
respond. This is because they haven't heard the gospel. It's
the gospel that brings out men's hatred of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And if you confess the gospel, you will be hated. You will be. But the Lord said, know this
first. The world hated me before it hated you. And then we read
in Revelation chapter 2 verse 4 where he spoke to the church
at Ephesus and he said, I've got something against you. He
said all these good things about him, but he said, I've got something
against you. You've left your first love. You've left. And he's talking
about people who believe the gospel. He said, I've got something
against you. You've left your first love. What's my first love? I stand amazed in the presence
of Jesus the Nazarene and wonder how he could love me. sinner condemned unclean oh how
marvelous oh how wonderful and my song will ever be oh how marvelous
oh how wonderful is my Savior's love to me now that's what your
first love is when you're amazed at his love to you you can't
get over it More love to Thee, O Christ. More love to Thee. Hear Thou
the prayer I make on bended knee. This is my only plea. More love,
O Christ, to Thee. And I'm going to ask you to turn
to the last verse of Scripture we want to look at. Acts chapter
11. Verse 26, And when he had found him, he
brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass that a whole
year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much
people, and the disciples were called Christians first. Antioch. Now when they were called
Christians, it was by way of derision. This was not a compliment. They're fanatics about Christ. They think he's the creator of
the world. They say his righteousness is the only righteousness there
is. They say, He's the only way to the Father and no man can
come but by Him. They're fanatics. They're Christians. Wouldn't it be an honor to be
called by somebody a Christian? And I don't mean the Hollywood
caricature and stereotype that they try to produce these Christians
as these really self-righteous jerks. They really are, you know,
and that's the way they present them. But I mean someone who
really is a fanatic regarding the Lord Jesus Christ. They were first called Christians
in Antioch. This is the first day of the
year. 2017 will be a great year, no matter
what happens, because God's will will be done. And may this be
a year when me and you are called Christians. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for the
excellency and the glory of thy dear Son. Lord, we're thankful
for your Word. We're thankful for your Gospel.
We ask that we might be among those who seek first the Kingdom
of God and His righteousness. Lord, we ask that because of
our preaching of the Gospel, we will be called by way of derision
Christians. Bless this upcoming year. Enable us to walk with thee. We pray for your blessing upon
this assembly. We pray for your blessing upon
each person here. We pray that we might have part
in the first resurrection. In Christ's blessed name we pray. Amen. You got Dwayne? 125. Stand and sing.