Welcome to Gateway Church's podcast. Wherever you're tuning in from, we hope you're encouraged by today's message.

So, I'm in this series called The Bless Life. It is my life message, and this is the most important message in the whole series.

And I'm going to say something else that might shock you. This is the most important message that I preach.

And the reason is, I preach mainly to believers. So, obviously, if I were in a stadium in some third world country, and I was preaching to people who didn't know Christ, obviously the most important message you can preach is the gospel, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

So, I'm not taking away from that. But if you're a believer, the most important message that I could share with you, and it would be probably different for other pastors, but is the message I'm going to share today.

If you catch this principle, it will change everything in your life. I promise you, okay?

So, I just wanted you to sense the importance of this message today. The title of the message is The Principle of the First.

The Principle of the First. And it runs all through Scripture. We're even going to go back to the Garden of Eden.

So, it's all through Scripture, right? So, here's the first principle. I'm going to show you some illustrations of the Principle of the First, three illustrations by my points.

And let me say this also, if God is first in your life, everything in your life will come into order.

Everything. That doesn't mean you will have tribulation because Jesus said in this world, you'll have tribulation. But then He said, but be excited about it or be a good cheer because I've overcome the world.

It's okay. I've already taken care of this for you. But you will have tribulations. So, I'm not saying you'll never go through a difficulty. I'm not saying that.

But, if God is not first in your life, then nothing will come into order in your life. And wouldn't you rather go through the tribulation that we're all going to go through as far as trials and difficulties and all the things we're going through, wouldn't you rather go through any difficulty with God being first in your life?

And everything in order in your life. So, the only way to have everything in order is to have God first. So, I want to show you three principles of the Principle of the First, all right?

So, here's the first one, the Principle of the First Born. So, this is a scripture from the Old Testament, but let me remind you that First Corinthians 10 says that everything that's written in the Old Testament was written for our instruction.

So, we need to learn from this. So, some of this I'm about to read you, you're going to think, it talks about a donkey in a lamb. And I don't know how many of you own a donkey and the lamb, okay?

But there's a Principle behind why God said. And that's what we want to find out. So, Exodus chapter 13 verse 1, then the Lord spoke to Moses saying,

Now, the word consecrate simply means set apart or set aside to me all the First Born, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, remember Romans 11 says we've been grafted in to the nation of Israel if you believe in Jesus, all right?

Whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both the man and beast. Now, watch these three words, it is mine.

In other words, set it aside because it belongs to me. So, there's a Principle here. And that's what I'm trying to get us to understand.

Verse 12, you shall set apart to the Lord, set apart, same thing as consecrate, to the Lord, all that open the womb. That is every Firstborn, this is the Principle of the Firstborn, that comes from an animal which you have, the males shall be the Lord, in other words shall belong to God.

Verse 13, verse 1, of a donkey, and I'll explain all this in a moment, you shall redeem, that means buy it back, so you can use it with a lamb. And if you will not redeem it, now watch this, then you shall break its neck.

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