First Things First — Steve Mays

It's the 2011 summer of sermons with Steve Mays.

Oftentimes we don't remember God and that's what we really need to do in our life.

Pastor Steve Mays shares good reasons to put God first in our lives.

When all of a sudden your marriage is blessed and your single life is blessed and your business is blessed and God is blessing your Life, that's a good reason to give God. Thanks.

One of the great benefits of having a relationship with God is knowing we can always go to him in times of need. But we also should know that we can go to God when life is going pretty well. In fact, Pastor Steve says that praising the Lord should always be our first response when we've been blessed for Noah.

Worshiping God was number one on his to-do list when the ark landed safely on dry ground. Now today Steve takes us back to the book of Genesis where he shows us that we can find reasons every day to pray Praise God.

Here's Pastor Steve with a lesson called first things first.

Noah Builds and Bows Before God

Would you turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 8 and want to draw your attention to two? Verses verse 1 and verse 20. Chapter 8 verses 1 and then in verse 20 and we're going to look at a topic. Very simply first things first and a very unique man and one who was able to build for God.

But he also was able to bow before God and so join me in just a moment of prayer father. We pray that God as we come to an end of Noah and God We see that out of all the people on the face of the earth he was the one that God you chose to show favor and he was willing to build for a 120 years and now he's willing to bow before the God of all creation.

So Lord, would you teach us the importance of not only building but bowing before you to show our kids? How to build but then to teach our children how to bow before the throne of God in Jesus name. Amen, when I begin to study some of these Bible characters I begin to really look into their lives and there's a common denominator in every one of their lives as you look at it doesn't make a difference if it's a man or a woman the common denominator is Always the same they are absolutely filled with inspiration.

They are filled to the brim it's like God just opens their eyes and God has shown them an insight and Then they are always filled with passion a tremendous passion to do what God put before them. It doesn't make a difference if it's Esther and she goes on to say, you know, if I perish I perish but how do I know that I wasn't born for such as the time as this or if it was Job even during the difficult times he says my Redeemer liveth and I know it and I will see him one day.

Or if it's Isaiah. Not only is he able to pronounce the woes But he's also able to weep for the people and so they were Motivated and they were thrilled. And when you find a Bible character they are always motivated because of the commission of God and the call of God upon their life and Then we look at our lives and we think okay.

What is motivating us and what is thrilling our life? And what is the inspiration that we are really making in the world in which we live. And Personally I'd like to leave in such a way that I leave an impact that we leave a mark on Society that when people said that we couldn't do it.

We did it when people thought we would give up. We don't and when all of a sudden people thought you couldn't make it through the marriage you did it. But not only did you do it you got it with an a in other words the possibility of really Understanding the passion and the heart and the glory of God and the reason why Daniel did it.

He stood in the lion's den. He purposed in his heart when he was about 15. He now stands in the lion's den when he's now 90 years old and he says, you know King Darius live forever the God whom I serve.

Continually he has sent his angels to watch over me and Job Setting in the dust once again naked I came in naked I go out blessed be the name of the Lord and then he got up you remember and he prayed for the very three friends That caused him most of pain in his life and God turned his captivity.

Or what about Shadrach Meshach and Abednego? There in the midst of the fire walking around unbound enjoying that moment because the fourth was the Son of God and Paul there in the middle of prison in the middle of the night him and Silas are singing praises to God and the Jail begins to rock and all of a sudden the doors begin to open so no matter where you look Where you go you begin to realize there is a very common Denominator these men and women always put God first and when God sees that then God does some Extraordinary things through them and I believe he'll do the very same thing in your heart and in my heart if I really Choose to put God first if I'm really going to be sincere about being a Christian not just a kind of a Christian I mean Slam dunking this Christianity that I'm going to walk and I'm gonna live it.

I'm gonna talk it I'm gonna rejoice and I'm gonna sing and I'm gonna learn what it means to die to myself and be a blessing to other people. I believe that you will experience the joy and the peace and the anointing and the super blessing of God upon your life and God will strengthen your walk and we see that in Matthew chapter 6 verse 33 a great verse.

You ought to remember that if you will seek the kingdom of God first and his righteousness. Everything else is going to be added and these men and these women did seek God. So here you have a man Noah now seeking God.

Noah's Faith, Favor, and Obedience

And God opens his heart and says you have found favor with me. You are upright just and you have integrity. Here's what I want you to do. I want you to build me a boat 450 feet long and 75 feet wide and 45 feet high and I want you to hop in this boat and take Your family, but I want you to preach and so for a hundred and twenty years.

He now begins to preach righteousness. The day comes he now has to come inside the ark and God shuts the door and All of a sudden it begins to rain for 40 days and then he's in the art for another 50 days.

Then he finally lands on the earth and you know the story. He sends the Raven out it comes back. He sends the dove out it comes back. He does it for another week another week another 57 days and Finally the door opens and I'll tell you what if it was me I'd be out smelling some roses or something.

I'd be out from the all the smell the animals and all the cooking and I would be looking for something new in my life. But not Noah, he walks down the ramp the boys. No doubt are all over the place. But he Noah begins to pick up rocks and no one knows what he's doing.

But he's now beginning to build an altar now. No one told him to he just knew what he had to do and he had a lot of time to think about it. He had been through the judgment of God they have been tossed back and forth and Before he starts down this road on this new adventure in his life.

He understood he went into this boat with a corrupt nature and he's coming out of this boat with a corrupt nature. And it needs God in his life. And so he starts off and he says I'm gonna sacrifice and before we do one thing we're gonna give thanks to God.

We're gonna worship God and we're gonna honor God with our life. We're gonna do first things first. And I believe if we could do that in our marriage if we could do that in our work if we could do that in The city I believe God would turn this country in this city around if we would put God first once again in our life.

God Remembers Noah and Calls Us to Remember Him

Now notice in two verses in chapter 8 verse 1 and verse 20 he says in Genesis 8 verse 1 and God remembered Noah and Every living thing and all cattle that was with him in the ark. In other words God Remembered it's not that God forgot but in the Hebrew It means that basically God had shown him kindness or God Basically had protected his family.

God had secured his future. Because he was a man that was looking to God and when the time came it was now Time to let him out of the ark and he was going to start another generation. And God willing that generation would begin to serve and seek God and we know it didn't happen.

But his heart was right and God remembered him. But notice in verse 20 a very unique phrase it says. And Noah built an altar unto the Lord. In other words God Remembered Noah. God has always remembered you.

He's always showed you kindness and tenderness. He's always been with you during the difficult times and the good times. But the second thing we realize is oftentimes We don't remember God and that's what we really need to do and start doing in our life.

It's not that I remember to call on God in the bad times or when the marriage is going through it or the kids are Driving me crazy or things aren't going well financially. No, it's pretty easy to call and ask God for help but where I find it difficult is when things are really going your way when all of a sudden your marriage is blessed and your Single life is blessed and your business is blessed and God is blessing your life.

Or for me coming out of the hospital or not being in the hospital on my birthday. That's a good reason to give God. Thanks. And so when do we give God? Thanks in other words. When do we stop and say God.

I remember you and it takes an effort. It takes something in my own heart to realize what God has done and I'll never forget the great sacrifice God has made for me. Therefore. I'm gonna put God first and Joshua did it.

He said as for me and my family. We are going to serve God and Caleb did it. He had that excellent spirit and we see it all the way through the Bible men and women who put God first God blesses their life.

And so maybe God is speaking to you right now. Maybe this is the time that you need not only to give thanks in the difficult times. But need to learn to give thanks in the great moments of your heart.

And I believe if you're doing that God's gonna bless you in an abundant way. And so we see that he doesn't look around and he doesn't look and see what's going on around him. He doesn't really care. He just wants to get to his knees and when that happens in a man and a woman's life.

When all of a sudden they want to bow because of the goodness of God. Because of the grace of God. Because of all that God has done in and through their life things begin to happen big-time in their heart.

Noah Builds, Sacrifices, and Blesses God

Three things I want to share with you. Absolutely important in your heart and my heart today number one Noah Builds. Noah builds an ark. Number two Noah brings a sacrifice. Noah brings a sacrifice. And number three Noah Blesses God and we pick it up in chapter 8 verse 20 and Noah built an altar unto the Lord.

In other words, he walks out. He sees this new world. He walks down that ramp and his eyes are focused on rocks and his kids are saying what are you doing? He says I'm going to build God an altar and we are going to give thanks as a family and the kids.

Don't really understand that I imagine think about it when they were building this ark it had to be a Massive project that the kids came with little limbs and stems and everything else and Noah would say son That is not going to hold up in this incredible storm.

We need beams and we need strong things to hold us together. So we need to get the biggest tree and the longest tree and the heaviest tree and that's what we need to do. And no doubt he taught his children how to build this ark how to bring it to the saving of their own soul but it's one thing to build for a hundred and twenty years and Every day his children saw and every day they enjoy.

Seeing dad work and at the very end of the hundred and twenty years they could step back and they could see this incredible boat 450 feet long and 75 feet wide and 45 feet high and all of a sudden seven some thousand animals going inside and over a Hundred thousand square foot per deck.

There were three decks and the kids just stood there and look and they built this thing with their dad. But it wasn't really important to Noah. What was more important is could my kids bow their knee before God and so now?

He's going to teach the children how to bow a knee before this invisible God and it's one thing to build a church. It's another thing to bow a knee before the throne of God. It's one thing to work on your house and build a marriage and build things.

It's another thing to bow and bring your spouse or bring your family before God and ask God to touch and I believe. Both are important. I believe we need a Mary and I believe we need a Martha. We need to work and we need to set before God and many of us can build.

Few of us have the ability to bow a knee and so he now begins to build this incredible altar. Abraham tells us a great story. When all of a sudden he finally had Isaac the joy of his heart. He waited all his life for this one boy.

God one day came to him and said come here Abraham. I want to talk to you. Well, what do you want God? I want you to take that boy and I want you to take him to the mountain and I want you to take his life and Abraham no doubt looked into the eyes and heart of God saying well, this is the promise.

How can you take him. And God said this is what I desire. I want you to offer. I seek to me and the Bible tells us from that moment to where he got to the mountain. It was a three-day ride and Abraham did not speak.

No one spoke because it was just heartbreaking to this man. And then as Isaac and Abraham begin to walk up this mountain. The Bible tells us that Abraham put the wood on the back of Isaac kind of interesting because God placed the wooden cross on the back of Christ and Isaac becomes like Christ the type and as they're walking up this mountain all of a sudden Isaac said dead.

We have the wood and we have the fire. Where's the sacrifice. And Abraham said God will provide himself a sacrifice. They got to the top and we believe that Isaac was about 30 some years old and he now becomes a willing sacrifice and As his dad had the knife.

Nothing happened. But when his dad brought it down the angel stopped him and this is what it says. And I now know that you are a friend of mine. I believe that when you begin to build altars you actually become a great friend of God because you're worshiping and you're Surrendering and you're putting first things first in your life and you're giving the very best that you have.

No doubt. We don't want to sacrifice our Isaac. But we have to if you're dating a non-believer. You need to pray this prayer God if she's not the one take her out of my life. You're gonna say pastor Steve.

You're crazy. I've waited 10 years for her. Well, let me tell you if she's not the one you're gonna wish to God that she was out of your life. You need to listen to God and let God do what he wants to do when we dedicate these children.

What we're really saying is that God if you want to take these kids you can take him. We don't want you to and we're afraid you're going to but we want to say right off the very beginning of our life and our Marriage, they are your children.

You gave them to us. You have a right to them we hope you don't but if you do help us to be willing to sacrifice our Isaac now and where people get messed up is they will not sacrifice their Isaac. They will not give God the very thing he wants and when we come to realize that Nothing can stand between you and God.

He's a jealous God and he wants the thing you're hanging on to and then we read later on about Elijah kind of interesting. He didn't build an altar. He repaired an altar, which is kind of unique. Sometimes we fall away from the Lord and we need to rebuild it once again so he went up on the hill you remember with 450 prophets of Bell and he begins to repair the altar and one of the things he does is he puts the wood in Order and in the Hebrew it means methodical and it means analytical.

That's where we get the word methodical and analytical you put the wood in order in other words. You put the wood in such a way the sacrifice is not going to fall through and this is what it speaks to my heart.

If I'm gonna give God something I'm not gonna throw it in front of God say fine. Take it. I'm not gonna cop an attitude with God because he doesn't want that. He wants me to be willing and he wants me to give the very best.

And he wants me to lay it before him and he wants me to worship him when I'm doing it. So Isaac had to get up there and Abraham had to be willing to give God his very best. Elijah had to repair the offering and when it was together.

You remember what happened the fire came down and the stones were Completely dissolved which tells me that when you build an altar in your home and you begin to worship God God can do the supernatural.

He can take the hard hearts and he can melt him and he can take these things that are so weird and false. And he can speak the truth. The false prophets were all killed and when I begin to have an altar in my heart and I begin to worship God.

There cannot be any false things going on in my life. So this altar was a real commitment. It means that I'm gonna alter my life so Noah comes out of this boat and he says I'm gonna build something that my children can see and Expresses my heart and God I want to give you.

Thanks. I want to give you honor. I want to bow my knee because you are the king of kings and we're gonna start off with you first if We could do that in this church if we could start the day with God if we could go through the day Thinking about God and if we could come home and meet each other and see God it'd be so powerful.

The Burnt Offering as Total Consecration

But not only did he build a boat. Secondly, he brings a sacrifice to that Incredible altar notice he says in chapter 8 verse 20 again He says in every clean bird and every clean beast Offering a burnt offering on the altar.

Now. This is not a sin offering. This is that consecration offering. This is that offering that you would lay on top of the altar and you would step back and the whole thing would be consumed By fire.

In other words, no one would get anything from it and some of the other Offerings the priest would get like the Chateaubriand and you would get like the ribeye and God gets the grease and the fat. He likes that.

He wants the grease in the fat. Why. Because when you burn grease and you burn fat, that's what you smell the barbecue next door. But God doesn't want you to eat the fat and all that. He'll take that.

He wants the sweet smelling and he would provide for the priest through the offering. He would provide for you, but the burnt offering was a total consecration. No one was able to have a steak sandwich afterwards.

Everyone received it and what's interesting is when all of a sudden we have these animals that are now going to start this new Population. Noah is going to start killing them. He doesn't really worry about the animals he's more worried about his commitment to God and Starting off right with God and a sin offering a consecration offering.

He begins to take all the clean animals and he kills him and I imagine the kids were saying dad. We brought these things for a year with us. What in the world are you doing? Well, no doubt they had names no doubt the kids begin to name them.

They got close to the kids and now they were going to kill the family pets. It says exactly what the Bible tells us Christ was crucified. You know God is asking me and you to do one simple thing. What's in your hand?

Giving God What We Have

You remember when God spoke to Moses? He said what's in your hand and Moses said a staff. He said give me that staff. Very important point and God does not want what you do not have. He wants what you have.

If you will give him that staff, he will bury the Egyptian army and he will destroy Egypt and he will open the Red Sea and God will turn the world upside down for you if you give him what you're hanging on to and What did the boy have in his hand a sack lunch and when the boy gave that sack lunch to Jesus?

What did Jesus do. He blessed it and he multiplied it and he fed the whole Multitude over five thousand men and there were twelve baskets taken up. Another words he was able to feed everyone on just a boy's sack lunch.

Or what about the woman with the two mites? That's nothing. Two mites one eighth of a cent. In other words one quarter of a cent and Jesus said come here. I want to show you disciples something. She has given everything she has now.

Why am I saying this because what dawned on me last night is I hear people say well I don't have anything to give. You don't need anything to give. You can start giving yourself. God would far rather have you than your money and When all of a sudden I begin to realize that all he had was a few animals, but he was gonna sacrifice him.

Nothing was gonna stop him. He was not gonna say well, you know, I gotta be really be careful. He is saying I'm gonna please God. I'm gonna sacrifice. God will take care of the mating situation. I'm not gonna worry about it and Sometimes we say no, I got to be real careful not to give to God.

I my wife is really bugging me. My kids are bugging me. I'm like you give period. You learn to be transparent. You learn to do what God wants you to do. You bring the offering and you build that Incredible altar and let God all to your behavior and let God give the very best in your life because if you're a friend of God, you're gonna make it through any difficult time and Lastly he says here in a very profound way Noah blesses God.

Noah's Obedience Becomes a Sweet Offering

Notice it says in verse 21 and the Lord smelled a sweet Savior. Another words God said I smell something. What's going on down there? It smells good up here. Someone's cooking something nice grease. It smells great.

Now, let me ask the question. What do you smell like today? Well, I don't know. I didn't use the older it. No, no. If you've been hanging out in the world, you're gonna smell like a cesspool and that's what God's gonna smell if you've been Hanging out with the Lord Jesus Christ.

You're gonna be smelling at Christ and that's what God's gonna smell. And I think the smell is simply obedience. I can build an altar and I can sacrifice that altar. But it's through that life of obedience That God begins to bring a sweetness in my life.

And now that sweetness goes up to all around when the woman with that one box broke it. It fragrance filled the whole house. And so it's in the breaking of that box and all she had was that box. She gave it but in the breaking of that there was a fragrance and God looks at this man and he says this is my man.

Yes, he built and before he built he was righteous he was the only one Stephen I could talk to. He had a heart for me and I gave him the biggest job I've ever given Someone to do and he was obedient and for a hundred and twenty years.

No one came to Christ, but he built this boat and now he walks out and I see him walking out. And he could go look at every place else but he bows his knee and says thanks for getting me through this tough time in my life and Thanks for saving my family and thanks for what you're doing in my heart.

And then he on his own out of his own heart. He offers a burnt sacrifice and It just fills heaven with obedience. This is a sweet man. You know. It says in a great scripture in Ephesians 5 2 and walk in love as Christ also has loved us.

Has given himself for us and offering a sacrifice to God a sweet smelling Savior. Let me put it a different way. Noah now becomes a type of Christ. Noah is obedient and it brings a sweetness before God.

Jesus Christ 2 ,000 years ago went to the cross and On that cross he died and it became a sweetness to God. You say why I don't understand. Because of his death. I'm here because of his death I live and it pleased God to crucify Christ and through the death of Christ it was pleasing in the life of obedience and.

So I think for me, I just want to put God first. How am I gonna do it? I don't know one day at a time. You always going to do it. I don't think so but my passion is to do it and my heart is to do it and I want to build and I want to bow.

But I want to bless God.

Pastor Steve Mays sharing good reason to put God first in our lives. Good encouragement from Steve's lesson called first things first. You know, it's been said that the beginning is an important part of any work and when it comes to understanding God's work in our lives It's imperative that we start at the beginning and that's why we're excited to present pastor Steve's in-depth collection on the book of Genesis.

It's foundational understanding that reveals why the world is the way it is and provides a backdrop to fully grasp the power of the gospel in our lives. Journey through the dawn of creation. Relive the days of Noah and the flood and witness the faith of Abraham Isaac and Jacob.

Today's lesson is just a taste of what you'll receive in this collection. And we'll be glad to tell you how to get this entire set on the book of Genesis. Just contact us at one eight hundred three three nine wise and we'll give you all the details.

That's one eight hundred three three Nine W ISE. You can also order it right there at our website light of the word org. That's light of the word org. When we continue our summer of sermons collection Steve shares the only true way to live Victoriously.

Don't miss this important study next time. On light of the word.