Proper Priorities

Text: Matthew 6:33

Introduction

1. One of the most common sins among those who claim to be children of God is the sin of misplacing emphasis.

a. Emphasizing the wrong things in life.

b. Making secondary things primary and primary things secondary. 2. God has made it plain that we must prioritize properly.

a. As in all things, we must look to God’s word.

b. We must develop the attitude of accepting the Divine order. 3. We must all emphasize the proper things.

I. Things of Prime Importance in Life

A. God’s kingdom and His righteousness before material things. (Matt. 6:33) 1. Salvation is to be the highest priority we have. (Matt. 16:26)

a. For it Jesus died. (Matt. 26:28; 1 Pet. 1:18-19) b. For it we must live. (Rom. 12:1-2)

2. The church of our Lord must take priority in our lives.

a. Jesus died for it—it is His bride, His body, for it He will come a second time to take it home. (Eph. 5; 1 Cor. 15:24)

B. Righteousness before the making of money.

1. “Principle” is more important than material gain. (Rom. 12:17; 1 Tim. 6:9-10) 2. We must place God before “mammon.” (Matt. 6:24)

3. It was here the rich young ruler failed. (Matt. 19:20-22) C. The home before temporal prosperity.

1. Many “pitch their tents toward Sodom” without concern for anything other than money.

2. Parents are often too busy in their quest for prosperity that their children and the training of their children are neglected. (Eph. 6:1-4; Titus 2:4-5)

D. The commandment to love before any other commandment. (Matt. 22:34-39) 1. To love is important because “God is love.” (1 John 4:16)

2. It embraces all other commandments. (Rom. 13:8-10; 1 John 5:3) E. Self-correction before the correction of others. (Matt. 7:3-5)

1. To reverse this is a common sin.

Gene Taylor  www.ExpositorySermonOutlines.com  1

2. We are inclined to be charitable with ourselves and severe with others. We ought to be severe with ourselves and charitable with others. (John 7:24; Rom. 2:1-3)

F. Reconciliation before acceptable worship to God. (Matt. 5:23-24)

1. “Gift” here means anything we may desire to offer the Lord—a prayer, song, money, etc.

2. God accepts no gifts from hearts of malice. (Eph. 4:31-32

3. It is impossible to love God and hate a brother at the same time. (1 John 4:20-21)

G. Following Christ before all things. (Luke 9:59-62)

1. The men in the above text reversed the divine order.

2. They made the mistake of placing good things before the best things.

Conclusion

If we expect to be with God in heaven, we must begin by stressing heavenly things. (Col. 3:1-4; 2 Cor 4:18)

Gene Taylor  www.ExpositorySermonOutlines.com  2