What God Puts First I. "First, Cleanse the Inside of the Cup" II. First, Cast Out the Beam Out of Thine Own Eye III. First, Be Reconciled to Thy Brother IV. First, Seek the Kingdom of God V. Giving Yourself to God VI. Giving First to God VII. Showing Piety First at Home

1. What God Puts First
What God puts first, we must not put second.
Col 1:18
18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the
beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he
might have the preeminence.
Jesus Christ as the Head of the Church, stands first.
He alone is Master. Let us give Him pre-eminence.
I. "First, Cleanse the Inside of the Cup"
Matt 23:26
26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within
the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean
also.
Regeneration versus Reformation.
Many are satisfied with mere outward appearance,
they want only to "appear righteous to men."

2. Reformation deals with the outside;
it never gets at the core of the trouble.
Reformation spends itself in beautifying graves, and
embellishing sepulchers,
but always leaves the dead where they found them.
Sin lies deep-rooted, it cannot be organized away.
Christ called those who left undone the inner work, "blind
Pharisees."
2. The first work God demands is regeneration.
Christ said:
John 3:3
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say
unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God.
The hardest task any one ever attempted, is to live a
Christian life, as exemplified in the life of Christ,
without having a Christian's heart. This is utterly
impossible.

3. II. First, Cast Out the Beam Out of
Thine Own Eye
Matt 7:5
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own
eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote
out of thy brother's eye.
1. This passage is applicable to Christians.
Many Christians who forget the admonition:
1Thess 4:11-12
11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own
business, and to work with your own hands, as we
commanded you;
12 That ye may walk honestly toward them that are
without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.
The core of the whole matter lies in that wicked spirit
which condemns another and justifies one's self.
When Nathan told David of the man who took and
killed the one little lamb of his neighbor's, sparing his
own big flock;

4. David said: "The man shall surely be put to death." Just
so. But when Nathan said to David,
"Thou art the man," then David sought and secured the
forgiveness of his sins.
Toward another he had no mercy; toward himself he
desired all mercy.
2Cor 6:17-7:1
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye
separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing;
and I will receive you,
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons
and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let
us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and
spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
2. There is another great lesson here for us.
After we have the beam out of our own eye, God
wants us to go and get the mote out of our
brother's eye.

5. Remember the rule:
First get right yourself, and then help to get your
brother right.
David knew the importance of all this when he said:
Ps 51:12-13
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold
me with thy free spirit.
13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners
shall be converted unto thee.
Only those who are clean vessels are "prepared for the
Master's use."
III. First, Be Reconciled to Thy Brother
Matt 5:23
23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there
rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;

6. Here is a FIRST THING which is, primarily, for
Christians.
Before you try to approach God in worship, or in
service, or with a gift, you must get right with your
brother.
1Cor 11:27-29
27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink
this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body
and blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of
that bread, and drink of that cup.
29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and
drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's
body.
IV. First, Seek the Kingdom of God
Matt 6:33

7. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto
you.
1. Let us apply it to the saint. The opening words of
the Bible are "in the beginning God." Positionally that is
where God should always be--before everything else.
Col 1:18
18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the
beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he
might have the preeminence.
The first commandment says:
"Thou shalt have no other gods before Me."
When anything, in our life, in our wills, or in our
service, anything, comes before God, we are
neither seeking Him, nor His Kingdom first.
We should seek God first, and let what we eat and what
we wear be given the second thought. In whatever we do,
whether we eat, or drink, we should do all to the glory of
God.
Rom 14:17

8. 17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but
righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Col 1:13-14
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and
hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even
the forgiveness of sins:
2Thess 1:4-5
4 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God
for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and
tribulations that ye endure:
5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of
God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of
God, for which ye also suffer:
2. The unsaved should seek first the Kingdom of
God.
They may be tempted to seek the things temporal, first-
-after such things the Gentiles do seek;--but Christ and
His righteousness is far more important than these.

9. V. Giving Yourself to God
2Cor 8:5
5 And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their
own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.
When God is first, we will give ourselves first to Him.
Our full and complete consecration to God, is our
reasonable service. And such a full consecration is
absolutely necessary, if we are going to treat God
right in our other things.
Rom 12:1
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of
God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
There are Christians who may try to satisfy their
hearts by offering to God some gift of money, or
some labor in His vineyard, as the proof of their love.
This will not be acceptable to God.
God does not want our money, or our time, or our
toil, in lieu of our heart's affection.

10. 2. When we give ourselves first to God, we will certainly
give Him all we have.
VI. Giving First to God
1Kgs 17:13
13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou
hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring
it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.
Elijah told her to take the meal and oil and make him
a cake first, and afterward to make one for herself
and for her son.
Rom 12:10
10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly
love; in honour preferring one another;
Phil 2:3
3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in
lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than
themselves.

11. VII. Showing Piety First at Home
1Tim 5:4
4 But if any widow have children or nephews, let them
learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their
parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.
The most difficult place to manifest the Christian
graces is in the home.
Luke 8:39
39 Return to thine own house, and shew how great things
God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and
published throughout the whole city how great things
Jesus had done unto him.
If you want to know the real spiritual asset of any
believer ask their family.
Mark 7:10-13
10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother;
and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the
death:

12. 11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It
is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou
mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.
12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or
his mother;
13 Making the word of God of none effect through your
tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like
things do ye.
Luther’s marginal note:
“Corban means an offering, and it was as much as to
say,
Dear father, I would willingly give it to thee,
but it is Corban:
I count it better to give it to God than to thee,
and it will help thee better.”