Command 1: Giving God First Place

[0:00] So, all right, let's do a little review of last Sunday. We've read through the first 17 verses, what we call the Ten Commandments.

[0:16] And we took a moment, or a week, I guess, before we get into the commands themselves, to understand and to know some things regarding this law, this Old Testament as it is, that God is giving this covenant.

[0:36] And we did this because it's a very significant portion of Scripture. And it's a, as I showed you last week, it's also a very perverted portion of Scripture and very confusing to many.

[0:48] Even today, cults associate certain things. Religion distorts. The Jews in Christ's day were perverting and were confused about some things. Paul had to deal with it in the early church.

[1:01] Specifically, the book of Galatians deals very much with the law and people misunderstanding. So we took a week to just see what the other Bible writers had to say about it and what light they could shine upon it.

[1:16] And we looked at five things. I want to remind you of them this morning before we begin with the first commandment. And the first thing we studied was that the law is holy, that the law is just, the law is good.

[1:30] It is spiritual, Paul said. And so the law was, there's nothing wrong with the law. It is a high standard that God has set, a holy standard.

[1:41] And if you could keep the law, you would be declared righteous before God. The law also must not be broken. We read that in James, that if you break it just one time, no matter what command it is, once you break one law, you've essentially violated or disqualified yourself as being a keeper of the law.

[2:04] You'll never be righteous before God. You'll never be able to be holy because you've broken God's law, even the smallest of commands. So the law is holy and the law must not be broken, not once.

[2:16] The law reveals our sin. By the law is the knowledge of sin. Paul had not known lust, but the law said, thou shalt not covet. And so the law reveals to us what's inside of us, that we're against God's commands.

[2:30] It reveals our guilt. And then fourthly, the law, very important, the law cannot reverse the effects of sin. The law cannot make a man perfect once he is guilty.

[2:44] The law cannot undo what you have done. It cannot undo what you are as a sinner. The law just stands solid and good and holy and just.

[2:56] And when you violate and break it, the law has nothing for you to fix that. Now, we did look at Paul and a few others that were blameless in the Old Testament.

[3:07] And the law made a provision for them to be able to bring a sacrifice, to make atonement for their sins. But we also studied that the law, those blood of those animals could never take away sins.

[3:18] So the Lamb of God had to come to take away sins. And the last thought from last week was the law is our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, meaning that it establishes our need for the Lord Jesus Christ.

[3:31] Now, what religion does today in its many different forms and faces is it parks on the fourth point and tries to reverse the effects of your sin. Where you say, I'm guilty, I need to do something.

[3:42] And religion says, well, you just do this and do this and do this. And those are the things you should have been doing according to the law the whole time. But when you violated and sinned, the religion or the law doesn't have a way to deal with or to fix that sin.

[3:57] So it establishes our need for Jesus Christ. And what the Lord Jesus Christ did was fulfilled that law and then he took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross, and he took away the first that he may establish the second.

[4:11] And the second testament, the one that we call the New Testament, is based on his blood, not the blood of bulls and goats. The New Testament now is based on his performance or on his record and not on yours or mine.

[4:26] So we get to slip into Jesus Christ and believe on him and receive his perfect record and his righteousness because we violated the law.

[4:36] We don't have a chance at obtaining that one anymore. So that was last week's understanding of this law. But these are rules that God gave to his people to govern them.

[4:46] And there's much more than these ten commands. There's the statutes and judgment. But these are special. These were written and graven in a stone by the finger of God.

[4:57] He didn't write the rest of it. Moses wrote the rest of it. But this is stuff that God wrote with his own finger. They're very special. Now, what we're going to do is begin one by one and cover these ten commandments.

[5:09] And we'll begin with Exodus 20 in the first three verses this morning. The Bible says, It's not by accident.

[5:31] It's not without importance that God first and foremost declares, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. It's been said that if man could keep and could get this first one down, he wouldn't have much trouble at all with the rest of them.

[5:48] And it's a very good thought. And I want to preach to you this morning this first command and say giving God first place. And I want to say three simple things in regards to this first commandment, a command that God placed first about giving him first place.

[6:08] So before we go into it, let's pray and ask the Lord's help. And Father, I do mean that. I ask for your help to preach and to deliver the word of God, this holy command. And Lord, help us all in this place to be in submission to your words, to not overlook it, to not pretend it doesn't apply to us, and understanding where we stand before you in Christ.

[6:29] Help us to understand this thing is engraven in stone by your finger. And it's for our consideration and our understanding. And may we not be guilty of putting anything or anyone above you.

[6:41] Help us to give you first place. Reveal to us where we're not and where we're guilty, where our hearts and affections are on other things. And help us, God, this morning to be in submission to your word.

[6:52] We pray in Christ's wonderful name. Amen. All right, three simple things in regards to this first command. And the first thing is right there in front of your face. And that is that God demands first place.

[7:06] He says it as a matter of fact. It's not an option or a discussion. He says it, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. God demands first place.

[7:20] Three thoughts about that is that this demand is pretty clear. It's actually wonderfully clear in your King James Bible. Could I throw in a note? You don't need a new version to help you understand.

[7:32] Thou shalt have no other gods before me. That's eight simple words. The average length is four letters per word. And you don't need much added to it.

[7:44] It's a very clear command. It's not ambiguous. And it's not vague. And it sounds like almighty God is speaking to man. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

[7:57] There's tremendous force and power in his words. It's a clear command. It's also a concise command. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

[8:08] Period. Those eight short words just say all they need to say. There's not four paragraphs following this to describe where and when and how. Thou doesn't need to explain much of anything.

[8:20] There's really nothing to add to that. The command itself says exactly what it needs to say. And in eight words it's thou and it's God saying me and no other gods before me.

[8:35] And that's all it is to it. Give me first place. God demands first place. The demand is clear. The demand is concise.

[8:45] The demand is credible. Meaning that God has the right to command this. He absolutely has the right to demand that everything in heaven above and earth beneath give him first place.

[9:00] Now why does he have the right? Well first of all there is no other name in heaven or earth. There is no other position or person or creature that is equal to the Lord God almighty.

[9:12] There never has been. There never will be. There's no man on earth that's for sure. There's no one else that possesses any legitimate threat to his position.

[9:22] There may be spiritual wickedness in high places. But he is identified early in this book as the most high God. When Jesus Christ was prophesied to come he said that he would be the son of the highest.

[9:38] Because God is the highest. And his demand for first place is credible. I want to put a little Bible on this. You can keep your place. And then go to Isaiah. I love these chapters.

[9:49] Every time I get to them I just eat them up. Isaiah 43 will begin. And I just want to take a few snapshots out of the next couple chapters in Isaiah. Where God, I don't know if I say he boasts of himself.

[10:02] Maybe he is boasting. But he's just declaring fact about who he is and his position and place. Isaiah 43 and begin in verse number 10.

[10:17] 10 through 13. The Lord speaking. Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen. That you may know and believe me and understand that I am he.

[10:29] Do you know that there's a... I don't know if you're too up with culture today. But there's kind of a line that men say nowadays. They say, I'm him. That's a term.

[10:40] If they're like... If they dominate or if they show up... They'll be on a football field. A guy will make a catch and score a touchdown. And he'll be like, I'm him. I'm that guy. I'm the one that does all these things. They're stealing from God.

[10:52] He says here that... Believe me and understand that I am he. Before me, there was no God formed. Neither shall there be after me.

[11:03] I, even I am the Lord. And beside me there is no Savior. I have declared and have saved and have showed. When there was no strange God among you, Therefore ye are my witnesses.

[11:16] Sayeth the Lord that I am God. Yea, before the day was, I am he. And there is none that can deliver out of my hand. I will work and who shall let it?

[11:27] Which means hinder or stop or prevent. Nothing could stand in the way of God. Look at chapter number 44. And look what he says about himself. Verses 6 through 8.

[11:39] Thus saith the Lord, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts, I am the first and I am the last. And beside me there is no God.

[11:52] And who as I shall call and shall declare it And set it in order for me, Since I appointed the ancient people. And the things that are coming and shall come, Let them show unto them. Fear ye not, neither be afraid.

[12:05] Have not I told thee from that time and have declared it? Ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God. I know not any.

[12:16] Amen. Look at chapter 45. Let's keep going. 45 verses 5 and 6. I am the Lord, and there is none else. There is no God beside me.

[12:29] I girded thee when thou hast not known me, That they may know from the rising of the sun, And from the west, That there is none beside me. I am the Lord, And there is none else.

[12:42] Now if all that's true, Then whatever he says, We should be following, We should be believing, We should be submitting to. If he in fact is the Lord, The God, And there is none else beside him, He's the first and the last, The beginning and the ending, Everything that comes forth from his mouth, Everything that would be his will, We should be falling flat on our faces.

[13:05] We should be just immersed in it, And swallowing it whole, And desiring more, If that's who he is. Chapter 46, one more. Look at verses 5 through 9.

[13:18] 46 verse 5. To whom will ye liken me, And make me equal, And compare me that we may be like. They lavish gold out of the bag, And they weigh silver in the balance, And hire a goldsmith, He maketh it a god, And they fall down, Yea, they worship.

[13:33] They bear him upon the shoulder, And carry him, And set him in his place, And he standeth. From his place shall he not remove. Yea, one shall cry unto him, Yet he cannot answer, Nor save him out of his trouble.

[13:44] Remember this, And show yourselves men, Bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors. Remember the former things of old, For I am God, And there is none else. I am God, And there is none like me.

[13:57] And he goes on to talk about, Things that he has done, Established and spoken. He is the most high God. There is no other gods before him.

[14:08] God demands first place. There is none higher. There is none that preceded our God. There is none that will outlast our God. He is first. He is above all.

[14:20] He is before all. And by him, All things consist. First. And he demands first place. You know why? Because it is his. That is why.

[14:31] Because first place is his. For him to give it to someone else, Would be wrong. It would not be right. I do not mean morally, I mean just logically. When you are first place, When you are the best, When you are the most high God, You cannot give that to someone else.

[14:48] You cannot declare someone else, God for the day. You ever see those shows where, Where a boss steps down, Or somebody thinks they can handle the job, And they give them the opportunity to, To run the company, Or to, You know, To manage whatever for the day, And they enjoy the parking spot, They enjoy the perks, They enjoy the big office, They think this is the life, And then they start to realize, Decisions have to be made, People's paychecks depend on them, Questions have to be answered, Meetings have to be held, They start to feel the pressures of the seat, And they realize, I don't want this every day of my life, The hours are long, The stress is high, And they start to say, You handle it, Because you are God, God demands, First place because it is His, It is a clear demand, A concise demand, A credible demand, Secondly, Come back to Exodus, Let's consider something else, About this first commandment, And giving God first place,

[15:51] Not only does God demand first place, But God deserves first place, Would you look at verse 2, I am the Lord thy God, Which have brought thee out, Of the land of Egypt, Out of the house of bondage, Thou shalt have no other gods, Before me, God deserves first place, When he declares, To Israel his identity, When he says, I am the Lord, Over and over again, You are going to read this, In these books, He says, I am the Lord, Which brought thee out, Of the land of Egypt, He brings that thing up, Over and over again, When he identifies who he is, And his relationship, To that people, He does it because, Why?

[16:36] Because he brought them, Out of the land of Egypt, And so when he is about, To speak to them, He is saying, I deserve, Your attention, I deserve for you, To be following me, I deserve first place, Because I brought you, Out of bondage, I did that, God delivered them, When no one else, Could deliver them, God, By his wonders, And mighty acts, And his outstretched arm, Brought them out of Egypt, When, No, They couldn't, They were defenseless, Against Pharaoh, They couldn't fight against Pharaoh, They couldn't defend, Themselves, Or defeat his army, And there was nobody, Coming to rescue them, There was nobody, That cared for their soul, But the Lord heard their cry, The Lord came down, And found out that, It's time, In due time, He showed up, God redeemed them, And God rescued them, We've got to turn, We've got to go to Romans, Would you keep your place in Exodus, Go to Romans chapter number five, Romans chapter number five,

[17:41] When there was nobody, Coming to their rescue, When they couldn't, Get themselves out, When they were helpless, And hopeless, The Lord shows up, And redeems them, It's going to sound like this, With you in verse number six, Of Romans chapter five, Verse six, For when we were yet, Without strength, In due time, When the time was right, Just like in Exodus, The very self same day, It says, He delivered them, In due time, Christ died, For the ungodly, For scarcely for a righteous man, Will one die, That's not happening, Yet peradventure for a good man, Some would even dare to die, But God, Those two words, But God, That's a contrast, For a man, Caring about another man, Much less an ungodly man,

[18:42] A vile man, But God, Commendeth his love toward us, And that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, Much more than being now justified, By his blood, We shall be saved from wrath through him, For if when we were enemies, We were reconciled to God, By the death of his son, Much more being reconciled, We shall be saved by his life, And not only so, But we also joy in God, Through our Lord Jesus Christ, By whom we have now received the atonement, I hope you see yourself in that passage, Without strength, Ungodly, Sinner, Look at Ephesians chapter 2, While we're back here, Flip over to Ephesians, Let's start, Let's just read verse 12, And then we'll back up, In verse number 12, That at that time,

[19:44] Ye were without Christ, Being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, And strangers from the covenants of promise, Well the Jews had those covenants, That God would one day show up, And deliver them, But Gentiles in the New Testament time, Oh my, They've got nothing, Nothing to hold on to, Having no hope, Just a slave in Egypt, Without strength, And without hope, And without God in the world, And there's the but, In verse 13, Let me back up to verse 1, And you hath he quickened, Who were dead in trespasses and sins, Wherein in time past, You walked according to the course of this world, According to the prince of the power of the air, The spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, Among whom also, We all had our conversation in time past, In a lust of our flesh, Fulfilling the desires of the flesh, And of the mind, And were by nature, The children of wrath, Even as others, And here it comes, The contrast from what we were,

[20:48] But God, But God didn't leave us there, But God who is rich in mercy, Your Bible says, God delights in mercy, He's rich in mercy, For his great love, Wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, Hath quickened us, Together with Christ, By grace ye are saved, And he goes on to talk it out a little bit more, But would you consider, That God deserves first place, And here's why, Do you understand, I mean, Has it sunk in, Even at least a little bit, Of what he's done for you, We sing a song, To God be the glory, Great things he hath done, But has it sunk in yet, Has it become a reality in your own heart, What he has done, Like, Can you see yourself, Whether it's in the picture of the Old Testament in Egypt, Unable to defeat,

[21:49] The master, That's against you, And keeping you in bondage, And treating you terrible, Or is it more like, In the New Testament, Where just the doctrinal truth stands, That you're a servant to sin, That you're without strength, That your enemies with God, You don't have any hope, You don't have any covenants, You don't have any promises to hold on to, You're dead in your sins, And has it sunk in at all, That the Lord God, Who's rich in mercy, Saw you in that condition, And said, I'll give my son, For that one, I'll let him take their damnation, And their hell, And their judgment, And I'll wash them, And I'll make them clean, And I'll call them righteous, And I'll lift them up to be with me, What God has done for you, You know what, God deserves, First place, First place, Your boss didn't give his life for you,

[22:52] Your parents didn't give anything, Your spouse didn't give anything, If they could, It could do nothing for your soul, No matter what anybody in this world, Could give for you, Scarcely for a righteous man, Will one die, Even if somebody died for you, And showed their great love, They could do nothing for your soul, You'll still be damned to hell, You deserve to give account, For every single unrighteous deed, You've ever done, You deserve to stand before a holy God, And give account for every unrighteous word, That's come out of your mouth, Every unclean thought, That you've entertained, You deserve to stand before him, To give account for those sins, And to be condemned for those sins, And to be damned for those sins, And he delivered you, From so great a death, He deserves first place, Let me ask you this, What has your family done for you?

[23:53] What has your family done for you? They've loved you, They've supported you perhaps, They've put up with you, They bring you in, They take care of you, It's a wonderful thing to have a family, To have that love, But you know what?

[24:07] That's second place, Material, That's what that is, It's great, But that's second place stuff, Let me ask you this, What has money ever done for you? Getting money, Gotta have it, You gotta have it, You gotta earn it, You gotta keep it coming in, But what has it done for you?

[24:25] It's allowed you some comfort in this life, It's allowed you some satisfaction, It's relieved some stress, While it can bring more, It's given you some security, If you've got some money, That's what it's done for you, Some positive things, But again, That's second place stuff, It really is, Anyone, Or anything in your life, At the very best, It's second place, Because the Lord God, Deserves first place, There's only one, That deserves first, There's nothing compares, To what God has done for your soul, Yet the boss says to you, Hey, Can you work for me?

[25:09] And you say, Yeah, Sure, Hey, Anything for you, And Bunny, Or I'm sorry, The spouse, Says, Honey, I don't want to, I just don't, And you say, Hey honey, Anything for you, And then, Your flesh says, You know, I don't feel like it, And you say, Hey flesh, Whatever you want, Anything for you, Anything, I don't want to do that today, I feel like doing this today, Whatever you want flesh, Whatever you want honey, Whatever you want sir, Or, Or, Honey, Sir, Carnal flesh, The best I can give you, Is second place, Because there's already, Somebody in my life, That has earned, First place, Amen, God deserves, First place, First place, So back in Exodus chapter 20, God deserves, I'm sorry, God demands first place, Thou shalt have no other gods,

[26:11] Before me, We've established, He deserves first place, And then one more thing, In verse number 3, God defines, First place, Thou shalt have no other gods, Last two words, Before me, Without those two words, It comes out a little differently, It just says, Thou shalt have no other gods, But that's not how it's worded, And that's not what he said, And that's not the command, The command is, Thou shalt have no other gods, Before me, And God is defining, First place, I want you to notice, And we'll notice this, In the word of God, That the word gods, Or God, With a small g, Is not always a reference, Like you think to idols, To the gods of the Philistines, Or the gods of the Ammonites, And things like that, Or the gods of the gold and silver, That's not always the reference, Look at chapter 22, Exodus 22, And near the end,

[27:16] Verse 28, In the law, In the judgments and commands of the law, Thou shalt not revile the gods, Nor curse the ruler of thy people, These are men, And they're called gods, It's not saying they're deity, It's a reference to them being leaders, Look earlier in the chapter, Where is it at?

[27:43] Yeah, verse 9, Look at verse number 9, 22, 9, For all manner of trespass, Whether it be for ox, For ass, For sheep, For raiment, For any manner lost thing, Which another challengeth to be his, The cause of both parties, Shall come before the judges, And whom the judges shall condemn, He shall pay, There's judges that were set up, Remember we studied that in chapter 18, The people who bring their causes, Whether they were small or great, To the judges, The great ones went to Moses, And the statement is, Thou shalt not revile the gods, They're called gods, Nor, The verse helps us, The King James Bible, Don't change it, Because it tells us, Nor curse the ruler, It's a reference to somebody, In a position of authority, You can see that from the text, Furthermore, Back in chapter 7, Verse 1, The Lord made Moses a god unto Pharaoh, That doesn't mean that Pharaoh worshipped Moses, It's not deity, It's leadership, Moses comes out of nowhere, This Pharaoh has never met this man before,

[28:45] He comes out of the wilderness, And he shows up telling him, Let my people, Like what in the world are you talking about, Off with your head, You're nobody to me, But no, God made Moses, A small g, He's God to Pharaoh, As in, He established Moses, This stranger, As the leader, Of the Hebrews, And so it's a reference to authority, And God says, Thou shalt have no other gods, Before me, It doesn't say you can't learn from somebody else, He doesn't say you can't be allegiant to someone else, It doesn't say you can't follow someone else, Paul said, Be ye followers of me, There is a system, God sets up of authority, And submission, So when you see the word gods, In the verse, It's not exclusively a reference to graven images, That's the next commandment, So understand, That in our lives, God has instituted, Positions of leadership,

[29:46] And positions of authority, And he expects us to submit to them, And depending upon, I'd say the parameters of the specific relationship, And not outside of that one, And there's various human relationships, And various dynamics, For example, God instituted the family, Did he not?

[30:06] He instituted the husband and the wife, The man and the woman, And told them to be fruitful and multiply, And they bring forth children, And God instituted that family setup, Within that structure, There's multiple relationships, There's the husband and wife relationship, The marital relationship, Where God established, Because Eve sinned, In Genesis 3, That he shall have rule over thee, And now she's commanded to be in subjection to him, And submission to him, And there is an authority and leadership role, That the husband is the head of the wife, Inside the family, There's also parental authority, Inside the family as well, And the children are to obey the parents, And so we have, In the very family structure, Different tiers or layers, Or however you want to view it, Different relationships, And different roles, And they're not identical, There's more, Societal, There's societal relationships, As in government, In the Bible, It would be more like a king,

[31:07] And a subject, In our land, It's the higher powers, Let every soul be subject to the higher powers, The powers that be ordained of God, We're told to submit ourselves, To every ordinance of man, And so there's governmental authorities, We're to submit to and be under, There are other societal ones, We could say are business relationships, In the Bible, It's the master and the servant relationship, Where the servant submits, And is in subjection to his master, In our world, It's the boss employee relationship, And you've got rights, And on and on and on, But you still have to submit, And do what he tells you to, That's the law, That's the rule of it all, Now within these relationships, Is authority, And subordinates, And I've already mentioned them to you, So you're expected, Actually no, You're commanded from scripture, To be under authority, And to follow leadership, And herein comes a question, What about when that relationship, Conflicts, With your relationship,

[32:08] With God, And the answer is simple, Thou shalt have no other gods, Before me, Now let me show you, A Bible example of this, We'll use Peter, As an example, I want to turn you, You can lose your place in Exodus, We want to go to Acts chapter 5, And we want to go to, 1st Peter chapter 2, Acts 5, 1st Peter 2, We'll start in 1st Peter, 1st Peter chapter 2, And when you find that, We want to be in verses 12, And 13, Verse 12, Having your conversation honest, Among the Gentiles, That whereas they speak evil against you,

[33:12] As evildoers, They may by your good works, Which they shall behold, Glorify God in the day of visitation, Submit yourselves, To every ordinance of man, For the Lord's sake, Whether it be to the king as supreme, Or unto governors, As unto them that are set by him, For the punishment of evildoers, And for the praise of them, That do well, Peter writes, Commands, That we submit to every, Every ordinance, Of man, And we do it for the Lord's sake, But flip back to Acts chapter 5, And Peter gets himself, In a spot, Where some people, Don't have the guts, To take a stand, In Acts chapter 5, We've got a council, Against Peter, In verse 21, They called the council together, They make a command, We'll start in verse 27,

[34:13] And when they had brought them, They set them before the council, And the high priest asked them, Saying, Did not we straightly command you, That you should not teach in this name? And behold, You have filled Jerusalem, With your doctrine.

[34:27] Now might I mention, That the gods, That are back there, In Exodus 22, The ruler of the people, Do you know that Paul, When he found out, When he rebuked the high priest, He, Oh, You know what he did?

[34:41] He retracted that, He was smitten, And he's contrary, Do you remember that passage? He says, Commandest thou me, To be smitten contrary to the law, You're sitting as a judge of the law, And then they said, You don't have to revile God's, Oh, I wish not that he was God's high priest, And he's like, Oh, I'm sorry, I'm not supposed to say anything, Against the gods, The rulers of the people, Here's the rulers of the people, And here's what they commanded, Peter and the other apostles, In verse number 28, Not to teach in his name, And behold, You have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, And intend to bring this man's blood upon us, And here's Peter's response, Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God, Rather than men, He says something very similar to that, Back in chapter 4, Look at verse 18, They called them, And commanded them, Not to speak at all, Nor teach in the name of Jesus, Verse 19, But Peter and John answered, And said unto them, And whether it be right in the sight of God, To hearken unto you, More than unto God, Judge ye,

[35:43] You see the place? God gets first place, We can't hearken unto you men, Rulers of the people, Gods as it were, More than God, Thou shalt have no other gods, Before me, So God defines, First place, And were to obey his word, Were to obey what he said, Above all authorities in your life, Above all authorities in your land, If the government says, No more mention of Jesus Christ, Well you may not want to just go out there, And do it publicly, In a big broad way, And spectacle, But that doesn't mean, You can't find a way, To get Jesus Christ named, To somebody who needs to hear it, Because you ought to obey God, Rather than men, And preach Christ crucified, You find a way, So this first command, We've seen, It's pretty simple, God demands, First place, And very strongly,

[36:44] God deserves first place, And then finally, He defines it, In a practical way, That we can understand, And implement, How this affects us in our life, There are authorities in our life, But there's not one, That deserves a place higher than God, And when God says it, He expects you to follow through with it, And if it puts you in hot water, With somebody, Then you have to trust, That Peter says, That you keep, That you put the keeping of your souls, Into him, Into a faithful creator, That is, That is, You'll let the, Quote unquote, Chips fall where they may, I'm going to obey God, Because it's the right thing to do, I'll let him, Keep my soul, I'll let him, Guide me, And defend me, Or, Do whatever he needs to do, He demands it, He deserves it, Even defines it, So commandment number one, Is give God, First place, Before we dismiss, It sounds so simple, It sounds like,

[37:44] Yeah, Of course, No other gods before me, It's easy, I mean, I'm saved, So of course, He's my God, He saved me, And he's God, And I have his word, And we just, Yeah, But if you really analyzed your life, How are you doing, With getting that first one down, As we said, The rest will more likely, Fall into their place, And position, If the first one, Is down, We're not going to worry, About the rest yet, Today we're looking at the first one, Is God, Does he get first place, I think nothing's changed, About giving God first place, From Exodus 20, To today, I don't think anything's changed a bit, He still demands it, He definitely still deserves it, The question is, I suppose, Are you in submission to it, This can manifest itself, In the, In the biggest of decisions, Of your life, And it can manifest itself, In the smallest of decisions,

[38:45] In your day, Is do you give God first place, Is when you know it's wrong, Do you give God first place, If you're not sure, Do you lean toward, What you know is right, The thing, It shows up huge, It shows up small, It's all over the place, If we get it down, You'd find out, That the rest really do, Fall into place, Giving God first place, Let's bow our heads together, Father, This morning, I want to thank you, For this first, And very important command, Thank you for bringing, Our attention, Back to the very simplest thought, Of giving you first place, We believe that, You deserve it, We've heard that you demand it, We even see how you define, And explain, Where it does, And doesn't belong, Lord, I pray that you'll break our will, And that you'll humble us, In mercy before you,

[39:46] That we would in fact, Desire first, To give you first place, That we'd follow through, And submit, And give you first place, Show us today, Where we're not, Help us to be in submission, To this first one, This morning, While we're here, To gather together, If the Lord's speaking to you, About something in your heart, In your life, Maybe you need to get something, Cleared with God, Maybe he puts his finger, On that spot, On that decision, On that thought, That's not in line, With his word, You're not giving him first place, You let something else, Get in there, He wants first place, He deserves first place, Sometimes God's gonna test you, And he's gonna check you out, To see if in fact, He has first place,

[40:47] He will do it, He's tested his people, He's proved them, He'll prove you, He'll give you an opportunity, To make some good money, Will you give him first place, He'll put you in a position, Where you might have family, Come against you, Or get your friends fussing at you, Because you won't go with them, You're gonna go to church, He'll put husband at odds, With his wife, Wife at odds with her husband, Children against the parents, He'll do that, He wants to see, If you'll give him first place, You in your heart, It starts with you, Before it's the marriage, It's you, And God, Maybe you need to make an established fact, Recommit that to God in your heart, I want you to have first, You deserve it, You demand it, I want to comply, Who am I, To stand against you, And not give you what you deserve,

[41:49] We're his people this morning, May we give him his place, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen,