The LORD's Day October 14, 2007

Putting the LORD First in All of Life

Proverbs 3.1-18

There are simply no short cuts to truly good things, the excellent things.

I grew up in the advent of the instant age. There was instant pudding, instant pudding, instant coffee coming on in my childhood years. Then came Franco American Spaghetti in cans. There were TV Dinners. Campbells had already come out with its instant condensed soups. Then came instant iced tea mixes, instant oatmeal, and so on. Truth was it was okay but there was no comparison with the real thing. Convenience and quality often do not meet.

In our walk with the LORD there are no instant ways to please Him. There are no shortcuts. He is to be first and foremost in all of our life. He wants our heart, our soul ,our mind. He wants us to offer ourselves as living sacrifices. He wants our past (so He can forgive us and heal us). He wants our present and our future so He can do marvelous things in us and through us.

This chapter speaks of things we need to do to live under His blessings. How do we put the LORD first in our lives? How do we, in our lives, do what we are told to do in I Peter 3.15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.


1. Keep God’s Commands 1-2

Keep watch over your life and periodically examine yourself as to how you are doing in obeying the LORD. Daily Bible reading will do that for us. God’s Word will help point out things in our lives that we need to pay close attention to.

Guard your heart. Remember that verse from last week, “Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Proverbs 4.23 It is the same idea. You get God’s commands in there and then you watch that they stay and that you obey them and don’t let things into your heart that would pull you away from them. Guard your heart and God’s commands within it.

Preserve His commands. Keep them fresh with in you. Keep applying them throughout your life.

Guard them from dangers. One of the dangers we face is false teaching. There are things that war against our souls as Peter writes in I Peter 2.11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Keep your heart free from the love of money. Be content with what you have. Don’t try to obtain positions of power. Promotion comes from the LORD. Stay in marriage and be committed to one another. Love each other deeply.

Keep God’s commands secret. Don’t cast your pearls before swine. Don’t throw out precious truths before everyone. Share with deep discernment.

Keep these things close to your heart. Love the LORD with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Set up a blockade with God’s Word. Don’t let anything in that is not in line with it.
The blessings are great - v.2

2. Be Loving and Faithful 3-4

Some versions have mercy. The Hebrew word for love here is kheh'Ased. It means goodness, faithfulness, kindness. Love and Mercy fit into both of those descriptions. These are also some of the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5.

Be faithful. That is something in short supply these days. A faithful man, who can find? Proverbs 20.6 Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find? You be that kind of man or woman Let’s be a church of faithful people

Be Kind. Another thing that is short supply these days. Let the love of Jesus come through in acts of kindness. Yield to the Holy Spirit. Follow the way of love when it would be easier not to be.

Be good for the sake of being good. Many are that way when they are being watched. Putting the LORD first in your life means being the same when you are being watched as when you are not. When eyes are on you and when they are not.

Be faithful. You say we already covered that but there is a greater meaning here in this word faithfulness or as some translations have: “truth”.

It means firmness. I used to have back pain all the time. Sleeping on a firm mattress resolved that problem. Too many believers today lack backbone. They are wishy washy. To put the LORD first means to have a firmness about certain things. To begin with the Ten Commandments...

This word also means sureness. It means we are certain of what we believe. Interestingly that is in the definition of faith. God give us strong men that will not waiver Give us women with tender hearts but tough minds.

This can also mean reliability. Are you dependable? It is horrible to be known for the fact your word is not good. Don’t say you are going to do something unless you are going to do it

Faithfulness means stability. How we need stable people today. What a blessing those kind of people are to the kingdom. Some are weak by nature and we who are strong ought to be bear with them. Charles Wesley’s hymn is true, “The weakest believer is built on the Rock.”

There is continuance in faithfulness. A steady life living out the things it has been taught and not veering off the course. My dad has been like that. Call from Dr. Ken Brown Friday... my dad taught him 50 years ago in the Springfield Gardens Nazarene Church.

Finally true doctrine is held in the heart of the faithful. False teaching abounds. People are not putting up with sound doctrine. Jesus said this would happen. Feelings rule often displacing truth.

Look a the blessings that come from love and faithfulness (v.4)


3. Trust in the LORD completely 5-8

Don’t trust in your or get support from your own understanding. Wow this is a challenge. We are more apt to go online and look up advice than we are to pray. If we don’t understand we begin to try and figure life out. Why is such a deadly question. It can actually freeze us up.

Be confident and bold and secure in the LORD. There is a difference between praying from time to time and breathing prayer out all the time.

God will take care of you is not just a hymn it is a truth that comes up over and over again in the scriptures. Back in the very early 80's when I was a pastor in Upstate NY, my brother had come for Christmas and the day after he was scheduled to fly out to Canada with an engagement ring. Snow came that Christmas night. The wind whipped and the temperature dropped. I am thankful I am back where I belong- on Long Island (Whenever I am tempted to complain in the winter I just need to remember upstate NY) Anyway... the cars all froze up and in the morning we couldn’t get one started. I called a kid in the church and he came to the rescue. Half way up the interstate, in a fairly desolate area, his car began to shoot out steam from the radiator and we came to a stop.

We were sitting there on the side of the snow covered highway and suddenly began to feel the cold outside coming in. It was getting colder and colder. On the other side we saw a NY State Trooper vehicle. Most of the time we don’t appreciate seeing them but I tell you that morning he was sight for sore eyes He cut over to where we were and tried to help a little. It was bitterly cold we could not stay outside very long. He gave us a ride to the next exit. It was the only time I have ever been in the back seat of a police car. It was warm

We spent the rest of the day waiting for someone to come and get us. First my folks came and picked up my brother on their way home. He flew out to Canada the next day. They told us someone was coming to get us. Now it was getting dark. Finally a man who had begun to attend the church pulled up. He had a auto business and owned a tow truck but this time he was in a big car. He said, “We’ll come up and get the car in the morning. Right now we need to get you guys home. It has been a long day.” We drove for little while and then he pulled off an exit. He said, “You both will feel better with some food in your stomachs.” It was one of those truck stops that had some of the most delicious food you can get anywhere ” He said, “Boys, this is on me. Order whatever you want.” So we did Then we got some hot coffee and he brought is home, right to our doors. The next day he went up and got the car. I remember him saying, “You should have called me when the cars would not start this morning. I would have come right over.” Instead we did what we thought was best and it ended up a mess. Yet Jim came to our rescue. That reminds me of God so much. We should consult Him first. He will take care of us. Even when we fail He doesn’t hang it over us but takes care of our needs and gets us back to safety. When we are faithless He is faithful

Be bold and confident and secure in His Great Love. Jesus never fails.


4. Honor the LORD by Giving To Him 9-10

What you give to God and how you handle your money is a strong indication of your love for Jesus. The idea of honor is for something to have weight in our lives.

Give God the best of your income. Give Him the choicest. Give Him the beginning. We are to put God first in the blessings He gives to us. I remember my first five dollars. I made it cutting grass for Miss Smith on Briggs Street in Bellmore. I showed it to my Mom and she said 50 cents of that belongs to God and that settled the question of tithing or giving God a tenth of my income. God blesses those who give to Him.

God loves a cheerful giver. It is a hilarious thing to give to God. It is a wonder filled thing to give to Him. He does wonderful things in the hearts of the people who give the way He says to. If you are not doing that, join the company of those who do. We have a box in the back of the church for this purpose. We haven’t taken an offering here for years. Pray and give what God puts on your heart to give. Do it regularly, in proportion to your income, and cheerfully.

Look at the blessings in verse 10.


5. Accept Discipline and Learn From It 11-18

Finally this morning...

You know how kids know that their parents love them? The gifts are good but the proof is in the discipline. It is built into all kids to receive this. It shows them that their parents care. God is our Father in heaven. He disciplines us for our good so we will become more like Him He wants us to be like Him.

His discipline is perfect It is right and for our good.

His discipline has a purpose. He trims and prunes back things in our lives.

He cares about our soul.

Put the LORD first in your life Keep His commandments. Be loving and faithful. Trust in Him completely. Honor Him by giving to Him. Accept His loving discipline and learn from it.

You will experience joy unspeakable here on earth and heaven forever.
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The LORD’s Day
October 14, 2007

We Worship In Singing
We Worship In Prayer
We Worship In Hearing the Word of God
Putting the LORD First in All of Life Proverbs 3.1-18

*Tithes and Offerings can be placed in the box at the rear of the sanctuary*
Please join us for coffee and bagels downstairs if you are visiting today.
Please read the wedding invitation for April and Jason posted above the guest book.


This Week
Bible Reading Proverbs 3-4
Monday Men’s Prayer Meeting 6:30am in the church basement
Wednesday Bible Study- 7:30pm at the Parsonage, 1312 Pine Acres Blvd.
Thursday Bible Study 10:30am at the church
Next Lord’s Day
Morning Prayer- 10am in the church basement
Morning Worship- 10:30am(Sunday School for Children)
Spanish Service- 4pm

In Your Prayers For All of God’s People

Remember the men serving in the armed forces: Bradley, Julia Bujold’s grandson with Special Forces in Afghanistan, home on leave right now, Ken Brown, Pastor’s friend’s son on his third tour of Iraq- He is due home this week. Billy Knapp, Jr. in Iraq with the Marines (neighbor of the church and Pastor- Billy’s sister graduated from Good Shepherd). He is due home at Thanksgiving. Matthew Klaus, brother of Good Shepherd parent in Iraq as a firefighter for Haliburton. Pastor’s nephews’ and niece’s cousin Kim’s husband, Jay, in Iraq. Pray for them and the others away from their families. Praise God for keeping David Louis, Jake Morgan and Tom Hindelang safe during their times in Iraq. Please pray for Johnathan Kruzner (friend’s son of Rudy Migliore) who lost his arm from a roadside bomb in Iraq last month. Katharina’s Family in the death of her daughter... Remember Robert, her husband and her sons, Norman, Raymond &Jonathan anf their families. Kathy, Ziggy and Margot’s daughter-in-law, under the doctor’s care for fibromyalgia. Thank God for answers to prayer for her. Pray for Eloise Brooks’ Family during this time of loss and sorrow... Remember Jean Louis on dialysis. Grace Martin, Edie Raevis’ daughter, recovering from surgery on her back and uindergoing Physical Therapy. Edie’s daughter’s mother-in-law, Millie Espisito in grave condition. Reginald Mooney, friend of Terri and John Garry, with a tumor in his kidney. Please remember Pastor’s friend Kim Richardson’s daughter, Kelly recovering from a mastectomy. Please remember this whole family in prayer. Two lymph came back showing cancer in them.... Leah May’s cousin, Joan, respiratory problems now home... Lucy Mancini under Orthopedic Specialist’s care and physical therapy for pain and injuries resulting from the accident. Pastor’s Dad, Larry Mancini, Sr. has improved dramatically. Last Sunday the doctors told us he was not going to make it. Then Jesus stepped in and touched him. There is a blog for him: www.papa2all.blogspot.com Stephen Huges, brother of a Good Shepherd Nursery School Mom, their parents home in Hewlett was destroyed in a fire.. Please remember Dr. And Mrs. Mucci in your prayers as well as Judy’s daughter Tatum. Alice Gordon’s brother, Everette, in Illinois, two blood infections along with another serious medical condition... Anka’s family in their time of loss and grief. Joey Reda (Charlie and Diane Davison’s Grandson) experiencing some heart arrhythmia and had been wearing an event monitor for this past week to record them. Pastor’s friend, Rudy Migliore, received a very good report from the doctors .Romans 12.15


*If you are would like to put together a shoe box for a needy child this Christmas see Margot for information.*

Notes on Our Time in God’s Word This Morning...

Putting the LORD First InAll Of Life

Proverbs 3.1-18

Pastor’s messages are now available online:
http://thesundaymorningmessage.blogspot.com/
Church e-mail: bayshorenaz@rock.com
Church Phone: 631-969-1730
1314 Pine Acres Boulevard, Bay Shore, Long Island, NY 11706-5436