A Jealous God
By: Jonathan Joyce


Exodus 34:14, “For thou shalt not worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous god”

    We have a jealous God. What's he jealous of? The things in your life. Your gods!  What you put between you and your God is what the Lord is jealous of.

Galatians 5:7-8, “Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.”

    What persuaded you not to run well with the Lord? It wasn't him. And if it is not God getting you out of his will, it's of the world. It wasn't by his persuasion. He wants you to run well for him. He might make you no longer qualified for a certain task, but he might see where you can make the most difference at. He will always want you to run with him.
    Anything that disrupts God's plan for your life, God is jealous over. God is jealous over the fish in the lake. God is jealous over some families. God is even jealous over some of our employers. Why is he jealous over these things? Because we want to put them before Him. We want to put things before our Creator. What is wrong with us? We would rather go fishing or on a vacation rather than go to church. Let me put this in while the Holy Spirit is leading this message. If you do go on vacation, STILL go to church. If there is not a good, solid bible-believing church near your vacation spot, you need to pick another vacation spot, or else don't go at all. Does not the bible say in Hebrews 10:25, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is..."?
    God sent his son to die for us on the cross. Jesus died on the cross for us, so why can't we just live for him? How are we going to say, "thank-you dear Jesus"? How are we going to show God our thanks?

Romans 6:17, “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.”

    By obeying his word. Have you ever heard the saying, "actions speak louder than words"? By obeying God's word is how we say, "thank-you Lord for all that you have given me."
    There are four basic things in our lives and in this order they should be in:
    1. God-Without him, we wouldn't be alive today. Without him, your family wouldn't be alive today. Without him, there would be no sports to watch. Without him, there would be nothing. So why can't we put him first? Because we got our priorities mixed up. That's why. What makes you think he is going to let you keep your family if you don’t put him first?
    2. Family-Let me remind you that God can kill your family off if you put them first. Answer me this. How many marriages do you see that last that are in church faithfully and serving God? Now, how many marriages do you see that last that are not in church? Coincidence? No. God works for the ones who are working for him.
    3. Work- Many marriages have been split up because of the workplace. I understand that you have to work in order to feed your family, but don't leave the house angry at each other. You know what happens when you leave the house angry? Satan has another trump card to play. He can send in temptation and if your wife or husband isn't happy with you, then they are going to think, "Well, why not? Why not cheat on my husband?" or "Why not cheat on her? I am not satisfied with her, so I will go out and find another one. One I will be satisfied with." Your family is more important than your job. Why do you think divorce rates have went up? Not all, but many marriages could have been saved if they put their family before their job.
    4. Leisure-Without work or being born with a silver spoon in your mouth, there is no way that you could support your family so you can take time off to go out to eat or go on vacation with each other. So, leisure is definitely the last priority you should have in your life.
    
    Please, I am begging you today. Don't make God jealous over the things in your life. Please put him first. Pastor Mike Gray once said, "We should crawl in, not call in." And you know that is what we should do. But, how many of us are willing to do it? It is easier said than done. Are you willing to put God first? If so, why don't you just start putting him first now? Doesn't he deserve to be the first priority in your life? God doesn’t deserve second place. God deserves first place, so why not put him first today?