[Music] let's wake up Mark it down number one is this going into the new year let's wake up let's wake up what do we mean by that one of the greatest challenges in life is just getting out of bed in the morning that's where you start your day it's the big first decision of your life every single day we can get out of of bed but if we get out of bed we may be physically awake but are we spiritually awake when we get up we get our marching orders from the Lord when we wake
up God wants to speak I have found it and I believe it's true the psalmist says early will I seek thee Oh Lord there's a special blessing to those who get up early and seek the Lord and in seeking him God will tell you Secrets aw toer wrote a book God tells the man who cares and why is that important why that time because you get up you wake up you seek God first before you've got to seek the traffic up app or the the TV weather no God first and put him first Matthew 6:33
says to seek first the kingdom of God but for some reason it's us we're much more receptive in the early hours wake up and we confront the day we live the day you want to get up and make this year a year that the day is confronted by you as you turn the page on a new year it's a great time to look at priorities what's most important what do I need to do first and God tells us again and again and again in the Bible that it's easy for us as human beings to get
stuck on what seems important and by that we miss what's truly important Jesus understood this about us he talked about it all the time one of the places is in The Sermon on the Mount here's what Jesus had to say in Matthew 6:25 and 33 therefore I tell you do not worry about your life what you will eat or drink or about your body what you will wear is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given
to you as well you might in that verse you might circle the word the two words seek first seek first you want to start the new year right seek first on January 1 take time to seek first what God puts first so before I put my foot on this Earth I want to say Lord thy will be done and then after that listen whatever happens it's his business the True Believer in the house knows what it's like to wake up every morning and realize wow I'm a Believer I made it through the night God thank
you if I'm awake right now that means I got another day to live Lord to your glory I'm going to live it and I and listen I'm I'm talking about those thoughts that prayer right then and there before your feet hit the ground I mean that and I believe that with all of my heart and by God's grace I practice that every day I don't let a big toe touch the ground without me giving the day to God because I don't know what's going to happen only by God's mercy can we do these things only
by God's mercy will you and I be able to get up and out and wake up that's how dependent we are upon him and blessed are all you who understand that so I want to encourage you if you want to live this kind of life to spend daily time in God's word now I say that knowing that it's frustrating me saying that for a lot of you because you've tried I mean you you tried to spend daily time in God's word and and you'd like to but you just failed again and again and again you
think I failed God I mean I mean I can't spend time with God you could just Heap all this guilt on yourself can can we just sweep all that aside right now and just say okay you want to do this God wants you to do this maybe the key is trying to do it in a different way this year and the number one encouragement I would give you is make your quiet time shorter I'd rather have you spend a one minute quiet time every day or most of the days this next year then try to
have a 15 minute half an hour hour long quiet time and only do it one day make them shorter just read two or three verses just just take five minutes let read two or three verses if you do this for 6 weeks you will establish a habit that will last the rest of your life what are you putting first in your own life many of us we put ourselves first maybe you put a a job first you put money first relationships first how about starting the year putting God first and honestly the only way to
find true fulfillment in life is through putting God first that's it by putting him first not third not 57th not well maybe somewhere down on the list I mean by putting him first this is why even even coming to church is such a priority it's like like are we putting God first are we giving him time out of our schedule I mean we make time for all kinds of crazy things but do we make time for God life with God is so much better than life without God the only answer to what I need is
God the fruit that I'm looking for can only be found on God's tree Our God raises the dead if he can raise the dead then I'm going to give him in my life this year he can raise me up also trust him for that great power to do that the Bible says seek first the kingdom of God and everything shall be added to you and his righteousness that is the principle of the first in the Bible in the beginning God see if your beginning has God there something is going to happen with the rest of
it he seems to bless it we don't know what the next 12 months will bring we don't know what the next 12 hours will bring no matter what you face this year no matter what the coming 12 months will hold for you the good news is that God is going to be with you he's going to be walking with you working to redeem and help you through life so this year you have a choice you have a choice to to dwell on the negative and to look for all the things to complain and be frustrated
about or you can choose to Rejoice to see God's ability to walk with you to be present and active in your life and if you do that I know that you'll be able to navigate this year better but you'll also see God's hand in you and through you with each passing day God wants to live his life through you this year that's ahead and in John 14:31 Jesus ended by saying but that the world may know that I love the father and as the father gave me commandments so I do you arise and let us
go from here that is our marching orders for this year every day arise let us go from here because God's Will and plan is for us to be ahead every day and in one year's time I'm telling you if you'll give God one year give him some time let him give you some miracle iCal growth in your life and he'll take everything you've been through the tears the Brokenness the abuse the hurt the horrible decisions the failure the addiction pain he'll use it as fertilizer that is beginning to grow again and come alive again and
before this year is over you're going to have a one-year turnaround so I want to go back to that word seek seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness what are you going to seek this next year what are you going to chase after this next year what are you going to pursue with your all this next year what are you going to put first this next year
