First Things First

Putting Jesus, Family, and Purpose in the Right Order

1) New Year Traditions and the “First” Instinct:

• Whatever you do first, sets the tone.

Beginnings matter because we drift toward whatever gets first place.

2) The Conviction: God Is Moving, but We Still Hand Him Leftovers:

• God is not limited by calendars:
• Still breaking yokes, freeing captives, snapping chains, healing, restoring.
• Mercies new every morning, grace sufficient right now.
• The heart check:
• We give our best to everything else, then give God what’s left.
• We treat the King like an afterthought, then wonder why life feels out of order.
• God doesn’t need a new year to move, but you need a fresh start every day to reorder your life.

When Jesus is first, everything else finds its place.

3) Biblical Foundation: The Principle of First fruits:

• First fruits was not the leftover tip at the end.
• It was the consecrated first portion, given before anyone tasted the crop.
• By giving the first, Israel acknowledged God owned the whole field and harvest.

Putting God first is how we honor His ownership and align our lives.

4) Model of Jesus: The Morning Watch:

In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there. (Mark 1:35 NASB1995)

The Dawn Discipline:

• Strategic Solitude
• Disciplined Departure
• Prioritized Presence

5) Prayer Priority: Three First-Principle Practices

Answer me quickly, O Lord, my spirit fails; Do not hide Your face from me, Or I will become like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; For I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk; For to You I lift up my soul. Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies; I take refuge in You. Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground. (Psalm 143:7–10 NASB1995)

• Pray Before Pressure: If your day speaks first, it will lead first.
• Solitude Is Not Selfish: The most spiritual words you can say to pressure is “not right now”.
• Prayer Protects Purpose: Power in public is sustained by His presence in private.

6) Distraction That Demands Access:

• Not every voice deserves immediate access. Demands don’t dictate direction
• Urgency is a weapon when it’s not from God. Prayer slows you down enough to hear what’s true.
• Distractions don't just want attention, they want your next move.
• Prayer First is calling the Source before you hand over access to your life.

7) The Challenge: Make Jesus First:

• Instead of the first being a screen, schedule, stress, or noise, make the first thing Jesus.
• First of the day belongs to the Lord.
• First quarter of the year, chase after God on purpose.
• If beginnings shape direction, putting Jesus first stops us from drifting and gets us walking the right way.

8) Next Steps:

• Bible Reading Plan JOIN PLAN + 21 Day Fast: Join in with us!

Five Prayers:

• Lordship Reset: “Holy Spirit, expose every place Jesus has been second, and give me the courage to put Him first again.”
• Break the Leftovers Pattern: “Holy Spirit, break my pattern of giving God what’s leftover. Teach me to give Him my first attention, first affection, and first obedience.”
• Discernment Over Urgency: “Holy Spirit, train my ear to recognize what is from You and what is just distraction. Help me to prioritize your voice over what appears urgent.”
• Morning Watch Grace: “Holy Spirit, give me a workable, faithful morning rhythm. Help me choose presence before pressure, even when I feel tired.”
• Purpose Alignment: “Holy Spirit, lead me onto level ground. Reorder my desires, my calendar, and my next steps until my life matches the will of God.”

Words of Knowledge:

• We believe the Lord wants to heal someone suffering from colon cancer today.
• We believe the Lord wants to heal someone who has a torn or injured hamstring in the right leg.
• We believe the Lord wants to heal someone's right big toe.
• We believe the Lord wants to heal someone who was recently told they have some sort of lesion on their brain. We believe the Lord wants to remove it today completely.

By January 9th, most people have already abandoned their New Year’s resolutions.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23 NASB1995)

My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. (John 10:27 NASB1995)

Stop striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted on the earth. (Psalm 46:10 NASB1995)

But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; but only ONE thing is necessary; for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42 NASB1995)

One Word for 2025: Promised “Provision”

Last year’s Word, “Promised Provision” we believed, we saw many things regarding the revelation of what the Lord said by way of his already Prepared Provision.

• Salvations
• Baptisms
• Prayed for at the Alters
• Faithfulness – Christmas Coffee
• Food – Families Christmas
• Foster – Families
• Facilitation – 10/40 Window
• Sizable uptick in the number of people giving – varying kinds of giving/as the world monetary system is shifting
• Best Year to Date
• Future Vision

Prophetic Potential: There is available to every son and daughter of God a “Dramatic Turnaround Potential” that is already alive inside of you- if you will but take hold of it and claim it as your own!

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to keep many people alive. Genesis 50:20 (NASB1995)

If you will turn your Entire Life over to the Lord!

Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NASB1995)

If you will walk by Faith and not by Sight!

For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NASB1995)

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Romans 10:17 (NASB1995)

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6 NASB1995)

If you will do what no one else is willing to do!

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2 NASB)

Steps to Discover your One Word

• Ask Him this question: What do you want to do in me and through me this year?

When your One Word comes to you, it may come in the form of a character trait, a discipline, a person, a spiritual focus, an attribute or a value.

The process is very exciting, but it will also prove to be challenging. You’ll face obstacles you didn’t anticipate. You will be stretched because we often learn the most when we are out of our comfort Zone.

For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hurries toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it delays, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay long . Habakkuk 2:3 (NASB1995)

So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and am unable to come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” (Nehemiah 6:3 NASB1995)

Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in the same way. John 5:19 (NASB)

It’s important to keep your word in front of you throughout the year. If your word is not at the top of your mind, it will be forgotten.

1. Write it - (Prominent)

2. Share it. (2-3 close people to you)

• We believe the Lord wants to heal someone who has a cellulitis infection in their right leg.
• We believe the Lord wants to heal someone who is suffering from a stomach ulcer.
• We believe the Lord wants to heal someone with dementia symptoms.
• We believe the Lord wants to heal people suffering from a broken heart.

Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. John‬ ‭10‬:‭25‬-‭28‬ ‭ESV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬‬‬‬

Dark Times Are Coming

But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son,[a] but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. Matthew‬ ‭24‬:‭36‬-‭42‬ ‭ESV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

• Days of Noah
• Eating, Drinking, Marrying
• One Taken and One Left
• Stay Awake
• When a lie becomes the foundation, truth feels like an attack.

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false 2 Thessalonians‬ ‭2‬:‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Matthew‬ ‭24‬:‭23‬-‭27‬ ‭ESV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

4 Keys To Hearing From God

1. Quiet Yourself In The Presence Of The Lord:

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭62‬:‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

• Remove Noise
• Remove Physical Tension
• Tap Into The Quietness of The Early Morning
• Silence Inner Noise
• Silence Rationalism

Prayer: Lord Jesus I ask you to forgive me for trusting my rational thoughts over your voice. For not turning too you for answers before I try to fix things. For allowing the noise of this world to crowd out your voice. I command my flesh to line up with my soul, my soul, to line up with my spirit, and my spirit to line up with the Holy Spirit.

2. Look For Vision As You Wait:

• Turn Your Eyes To Jesus (Eyes Of Your Heart)

Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬ ‭ESV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

• Visions

And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams ‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

• Questions To Ask

What are you saying about this picture or video?
What do I do concerning this picture or video?

Prayer: Lord open the eyes of my heart. I present my eyes to you as a living sacrifice.

3. Tune to Spontaneity (Gods voice comes as a spontaneous thought)

• It Pops Up
• There Is A Flow To It Once It Starts

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John‬ ‭7‬:‭37‬-‭39‬ ‭ESV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Prayer: Lord Jesus forgive me for reasoning away the flow of your spirit in me and through me.

4. Write It Down (Honor What God Is Saying)

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. Ecclesiastes‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭ESV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

• God talks

Thoughts
Pictures
Videos

• Ask Clarifying Questions
• Journal
• Get something to write on
• Ask the Lord: Lord Jesus what do you want to say to me right now?

Words of Knowledge:

We believe the Lord wants to heal pain in the left elbow.

We believe the Lord wants to heal pain in the right hip socket, possibly radiating from the lower back.

We believe the Lord wants to heal discomfort and pain in the top of the hip bone.

We believe the Lord wants to heal gout.

We believe the Lord wants to heal right kneecap pain.

We believe the Lord wants to heal someone suffering with an infection on their scalp.

We believe the Lord wants to heal arthritis in the hands.

We believe the Lord wants to give any who desires it a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit.

First things First – Spiritual Disciplines

Spiritual Disciplines – are designed to Fill us Up and Not wear us Out! .

• Prayer
• Fasting - Fasting is for creating hunger/space… so the Lord can fill us with his Word
• Word
• Worship

They are called Spiritual Disciplines because we to fight to make them a priority “make every effort” to disconnect from and say no to - Chronos time - to seek and find God in – Kairos time. (Hebrews 4:11)

Self Help/Duty

If what you hear in church sounds like various forms of Behavior Modification “Make Yourself Better”

That’s actually a mis-understanding the gospel that is mostly shaped by misinformation that comes from a competing World Religion that is very powerfully espoused in our Nation. The Religion is called Secular Humanism.

Secular Humanism is a worldview that says:

Human reason, human desire, and human well-being are the highest authority not God, not Scripture, not divine revelation.

At its core:

• Meaning comes from within, not from God
• Truth is discovered by human thought, not received from revelation
• Morality is shaped by personal or cultural consensus, not divine command
• Fulfillment is achieved through self-actualization, not surrender to God

In simple terms: Man becomes the measure of all things.

God may be tolerated as a concept, but He is no longer the final authority.

How Secular Humanism Thinks: (Its Assumptions)

It assumes:

• “I decide who I am”
• “My feelings are trustworthy guides”
• “Truth must fit my experience”
• “Anything that restricts self-expression is harmful”
• “Authority must justify itself to me”

This worldview doesn’t always reject God outright, it often reinterprets God through human preference.

How It Has Affected the True Church (Quietly and Subtly)

Secular Humanism didn’t attack the Church head-on. It slowly reshaped how believers think.

• God Becomes a Helper, Not Lord
• The Gospel Becomes Self-Improvement
• Feelings Become the Final Authority Instead of: “This what God said or revealed?”
• Sin Becomes a Struggle, Not a Condition
• The Church Becomes a Service Provider

The Church Becomes a Service Provider

Why This Is So Dangerous “But Understandable”!

Most believers NEVER willingly choose this worldview. We’ve absorbed it.

The Bible doesn’t call it “secular humanism.”

It calls it:

• “Worldly thinking” (Romans 12:2)
• “Human wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1–2)
• “Another gospel” (Galatians 1:6–7)
• “Having a form of godliness, but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:5)

Reframing where we’ve been: Where do we go from here?

We don’t need a better version of ourselves— we need a clearer vision of God!

So, we can learn how to get rooted and grounded in the love of our Heavenly Father, to learn how secure we are as sons and daughter of God, how much joy we can find in a spiritual family - where there are brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers in the faith. Where believing is shaped within the family structure and becoming is the natural flow of someone who is growing up… to the fullness of the measure of the stature of Christ. This naturally happens as you immerse yourself in this Spiritual Family!

WHO HE IS

• God is Near - Not Far
• He is near to you (Romans 10:8)
• He sent His Son to bear our sin and shame (1 John 4:9-10)
• God is a Loving Father - Trustworthy
• He is a loving (1 John 4:8. John 3:16)
• He is gracious (Hebrews 4:16)
• He is a kind and just Father (Exodus 34:6-7)
• God's Love is Personal - He knows you, better than you know you.
• He knows you (Psalm 139:13-16)
• He has purpose and future for your life (Jeremiah 29:11)

Who We Are

• Elected, Adopted, Sealed - Identity
• Saved by Grace through Faith - His Masterpiece - Come to Death from Life
• We've become one new Man - Jews and Gentiles made One
• Co-heirs
• Strengthened with Supernatural Power- Rooted and grounded in Love

Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world (Election/Atonement), to be holy and blameless in love before him. He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he richly poured out on us with all wisdom and understanding. He made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in Christ as a plan for the right time to bring everything together in Christ, both things in heaven and things on earth in him. In him we have also received an inheritance, because we were predestined according to the plan of the one who works out everything in agreement with the purpose of his will, so that we who had already put our hope in Christ might bring praise to his glory. In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed. The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:3-14 (CSB)

For this reason I kneel before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith… I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think…according to the power that works in us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21(CSB)

How We Walk

• Worthy of our calling - One faith, One Lord, One baptism
• A new man - put away wrath, slander, bitterness, forgive one another
• Imitators of God - walking in love and light - casting off/calling out darkness
• Spirit Filled - Wisdom, submission, honor
• Stand - Where we have been placed, with our Spiritual Armor

Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thoughts. They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts. They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more. But that is not how you came to know Christ, assuming you heard about him and were taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, to take off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.Therefore, putting away lying, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another. Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, and don’t give the devil an opportunity. Let the thief no longer steal. Instead, he is to do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share with anyone in need. No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need so that it gives grace to those who hear. And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. You were sealed by him for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ. Ephesians 4 (CSB)

You will never want to Pray/Fast/Live by the Word/Worship until you are convinced that's what you were made to do. That it is what sons and daughters whould do in a Family of Faith who are loved by a Present and Perfect Father!

• Prayer…prayer changes the world and saves your life
• Fasting…creates space for God to replace and displace – to fill overflowing with joy and presence
• Word…guide, help, your hope in a lost and dying world-Anchor-beginning and the end of what we need to know and all we need to live in Christ
• Worship…is the heart of someone who has been redeemed – loved – chosen and being perfected in the grace of God

Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think…according to the power that works in us—to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21(CSB)

I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus… For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose. Philippians 1:6, 2:13 (CSB)

Ask the Lord, tell him about your desire to develop natural Rhythms (Prayer/Fasting/Word and Worship) that flow from his heart so that you can be FILLED UP and not WORN OUT in this spiritual race.

Words of Knowledge:

• We believe the Lord wants to heal someone with varicose veins.
• We believe the Lord wants to heal someone struggling with stomach issues.