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Ducks in a Row- Relationships in Order

Ducks in a Row
Part 4
Relationships in Order

Key Thought: When it comes to what matters most its the order that matters most.

I Corinthians 14:1 “Let love be your greatest aim.”

PEOPLE ARE PRIORITY

I Corinthains 13:1-3 “If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.”

Paul shows us 5 things about the priority of people.

  1. People come before being spiritual

verse 3 “If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”

1 John 3:14 (NIV) "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death."

John 13:35 "All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other."
2. People come before being smart

Verse 2 “if I have the gift of prophesy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge.”

John Maxwell “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

3. People come before having faith.

verse 2b “and if I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love I am nothing.”

I John 4:20 “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.

4. People come before being generous.

verse 3 “If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames but have not love I gain nothing.”

5. People come before being successful

verse 3 (MSG) “So no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.”

How are you doing on your relationships? Rank from 1 to 10.

Spouse 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Kids 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Parents 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Relatives 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Coworkers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Neighbors 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Difficult people 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

How do I make sure that I am keeping people a priority in my life?

PUT OTHERS FIRST.

Verse 4-7 “ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

I John 3:16 "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters."

Philippians 2: 3-8 " Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross!

Ducks in a Row- Finances in Order

Ducks in a Row
Part 3
Finances in Order

Key Thought: “In things that matter most it’s the order that matters most.’

Haggai 1:5-6 “Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”

Haggai 1:7-8 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord. 9 “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. 11 I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.”

Malachi 3:8-10 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the LORD Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty.”

4 questions about tithing.

1. What is it?

Malachi 3:10 tells us that we should bring the “whole tithe”.

Exodus 23:19 ““Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.”

Proverbs 3:9 MSG “Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best.”

Deuteronomy 14:23 LB “The purpose of tithing is to teach you to always put God first in your lives.”

2. Who should do it?

Malachi 3:10 “Bring the tithe into the storehouse.”

Leviticus 27:30 MSG “A tenth of the land’s produce, whether grain from the ground or fruit from the trees, is God’s. It is holy to God.”


3. Where should I do it?

Malachi 3:10
“bring the whole tithe into the storehouse.”

4. Why should I do it?

Malachi 3:10
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

Proverbs 3:9-10 “Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.”

There's nothing greater than...

ROMANS 12:9-11 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.


1 Corinthians 13:1-13 NIV


1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.


Romans 5:8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.



When we LOVE SINCERELY, we do 3 more things consistently…


ROMANS 12:9-11 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.


Cling Persistently

ROMANS 12:9-11
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

Jude 23 LB "Save some by snatching them as from the very flames of hell itself. And as for others, help them to find the Lord by being kind to them, but be careful that you yourselves aren’t pulled along into their sins. HATE EVERY TRACE OF THEIR SIN WHILE BEING MERCIFUL TO THEM AS SINNERS."

2. Honor much

Romans 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

Phil. 2:3-4 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

“Show me the man you honor and I will know what kind of man you are.”
Thomas Carlyle.

3. Serve Passionately

ROMANS 12:11 “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”

Ducks in a Row- Getting your Schedule in Order

Ducks in a Row
Part 3
Finances in Order

Key Thought: “In things that matter most it’s the order that matters most.’

Haggai 1:5-6 “Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”

Haggai 1:7-8 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord. 9 “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. 11 I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.”

Malachi 3:8-10 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the LORD Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty.”

4 questions about tithing.

1. What is it?

Malachi 3:10 tells us that we should bring the “whole tithe”.

Exodus 23:19 ““Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.”

Proverbs 3:9 MSG “Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best.”

Deuteronomy 14:23 LB “The purpose of tithing is to teach you to always put God first in your lives.”

2. Who should do it?

Malachi 3:10 “Bring the tithe into the storehouse.”

Leviticus 27:30 MSG “A tenth of the land’s produce, whether grain from the ground or fruit from the trees, is God’s. It is holy to God.”


3. Where should I do it?

Malachi 3:10
“bring the whole tithe into the storehouse.”

4. Why should I do it?

Malachi 3:10
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

Proverbs 3:9-10 “Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.”

Ducks in a Row- Getting your Schedule in Order

Ducks in a Row
Part 2
Getting your Schedule in Order

Key thought: In things that matter most it's the order that matters most

Matthew 11:28 “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

How do I get my schedule into order? 3 realizations.

1. Some things need to be shared.

Exodus 18:17 “This is not good!” Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed. 18 “You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself.”

Galatians 6:2 “Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.”

2. Some things need to be stopped.

Luke 10: 41, “Martha, Martha, You are worried and upset about many things, Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Mary chose not to do some things so she could do what is better.

3. All things need to be surrendered.

Psalms 62:1 “My soul finds rest in, in God alone. My salvation comes from Him”

What radical change do you need to make?

Communion:

I Corinthians 11:23-26 “The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.