First Time — First Fruits — Rich Wilkerson Jr.

Tonight I want to look at Romans chapter 13. Let me just read this first verse and We'll get us on to base a little bit this evening. This is what the Apostle Paul writes to the church in Rome This is verse 11 and do this Understanding the present time someone say present time The hour has already come for you to wake up now. Don't be mean to your neighbor, but say neighbor wake up Wake up from your slumber because our salvation is near now Than when we first believed Where's all the morning people at make some noise? I Hate you Where is all the people that are alarm clock challenged Who's like me that you need like six alarm clocks just to wake up at one yet. These are you're at the 6 p.m Of course, this is who you are Romans chapter 13 is behaving if you will tonight as An alarm clock for the soul the Apostle Paul is saying wake up Open up your eyes awake from your slumber Every day you are on this planet. We are one day closer to Jesus's return This is not an hour to be casual. This is not an hour to play church But this is an hour to pursue him wholeheartedly heart and soul wake up church And tonight I want to take this passage if we can I want to preach from this thought first time first Time and let's pray one more time what we thank you for your word God we ask now Lord that your word would do work on the inside as we open up our heart and we allow it Lord To cut out the flesh that should not be there that we might leave this place looking more like Jesus If you agree with that prayer all of God's people said All of God's people said if you love Jesus make some noise If you're gonna talk about firstfruits and you're gonna talk about the things that you value you're gonna have to take account of your time But where does your time go a lot of people say that they believe in God But would your schedule show that you believe in God a lot of people say they were called by God But is there any place on your calendar that has your calling marked on it?

Where does your time go because it's really important to understand that where your time goes your life will follow As we're talking about value points about putting God first. I want us to consider tonight our Time being an offering of firstfruits to God God shouldn't get our leftover time he ought to get our our first time Have you noticed that time kind of feels different the the older you get in life? Like anyone like me the older you get you can remember your childhood how the days were so long The summer was never ending and now at 41. I'm like wait, it's January. I don't even remember what happened in July I thought it was still summer The time seems to be going by so fast, but if we're honest time hasn't changed You've changed There's a couple of reasons what white time feels like it's changed that the first I would say is because of novelty Novelty speaks about the things that you do at first Like little kids the reason why time takes so long is because everything is brand-new. Everything is fresh. Everything's the first time This is why most of us in this room. We can remember our first kiss Not because it was good, but because it was awkward Remember the first time you drove a car it's like your hands are on ten and two you're like, here we go, baby I remember the first time I ate a steak properly cooked Where are all the people that you eat your steak like well done you charred that thing. Yeah, you gotta go. You gotta go Where are all of Christ's carnivores at you like it bloody and rare First Time brings memory But the older we get man, we fall into schedules We fall into routines and how many of you know that repetition it compresses time but novelty seems to stretch time I've seen this take place in my own house with my son Wyatt right now It has been an interesting time because if you don't know the University of Miami is going to the national Freaking Championship Haters will say rich is a part of the Illuminati. Okay Any University of Miami fans in the house the you

not FSU Not UF not UCF not FIU the you Like I just Start like making fun of everyone's alma mater. They're going to the National Championship, which I think is just honestly God's will, but my son Wyatt, he has been watching the games with me and because we've been watching all these football games, you know, like I have seen an insurmountable amount of television, probably more TV, I feel like, in the last two or three weeks than I've watched in many, many years. And with it, we were watching games, a couple weeks ago, there was like three games on, they started at 12, it didn't end till midnight, I just sat on my couch, all for the glory of God, but nonetheless, I'm just on my couch. And it was really funny because every time a commercial came on, I hit the mute button. Because I'm 41, and I don't care what the commercial is, I don't want to listen to the commercial. But Wyatt, at seven years of age, he goes, Dad, turn the volume back up. I love this one. My son has memorized commercials. He's like, Dad, put the volume up, this one's really funny. I'm like, dude, it's not that funny, it's an Allstate commercial. What's going on? It's called novelty.

Everything is new, everything is beautiful, everything feels fresh. But it's not just novelty that takes place with time, it's this idea of percentage. When you're 10 years of age, how many of you know that one year of your life, well, it's 20% of your life, it's a pretty big chunk. But by the time you get to 50 years of age, one year is really just 2% of your life. And what that means is that time starts to feel thin. And when time feels thin, oftentimes, we rush past the things that matter most. It's interesting because Jesus, he comes and confronts a church in Ephesus. The story is in Revelation chapter two, it's the church of Ephesus, the church of the Ephesians. And what he says is this, he doesn't come against their theology, he doesn't come against their practices, their doctrine, their effort, he doesn't come against their energy or their intensity, they're doing a good job. What he says is this, I hold this against you. You have forsaken the love you had at, the love you had at first. What is he saying to the church in Ephesus? He said, I wanna invite you back into that first time kind of love. I wanna bring you back to that moment that it was fresh, that it was new, that it was the first time

that you were in love with me. How many of y'all know there's nothing like falling in love? People are like, I just fell in love, man. I'm in love, like we love falling in love. I remember when I fell in love with Dawn Shereen, nothing about dating her was casual. She was the first phone call. I would be interrupted, I would make her my priority. You start saying dumb stuff when you're in love. I'm like, girl, I love you. She's like, no, I love you. I'm like, shut up, I love you more. And you say, that's puppy love. I said, no, no, no, I think that puppy love can become mature love. That just because you age, just because time goes by, it doesn't mean that you have to lose the luster, the beauty, the awe, the wonder. How many believe in 2026, God is inviting you back into intimacy with him? I hold this against you, you fell out of first love. Now here comes Paul in Romans 13, and he's like, yo, you don't have a belief problem, but you're asleep. Your soul is asleep, and you need to wake up, so let me put the alarm clock on and wake you up. And he says, this present time. Now the word time he's using here, there's two major words in the Greek language for time. One is chronos, and one is kairos. Chronos speaks around where we get that word chronological.

It's time in order, it's minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. But that is not the word that he uses. He uses the word kairos, which is a divine moment. I think it's interesting, because so many of us are obsessed with time, or so obsessed with productivity, and I'm all for productivity, I'm all for time management. But clocks really didn't enter onto the scene until the Industrial Revolution. And then with it, all of a sudden, minutes were moralized. That if you're on time, that somehow you are very good, and if you're late, then somehow you're disrespectful. But how many don't know, Jesus lived before clocks. He lived accordance to seasons. He wasn't interested in minutes, he was interested in moments. And the Apostle Paul is saying, this is a kairos time, this is a moment with God, this is a sacred hour. Every day you're on this planet, Jesus is getting closer and closer to returning. My question is, have you woken up? Can you love him like it's the first time? Can you believe in him like it's the first time? Can you worship him like it's the first time? Can you serve like it's the first time? Come on, somebody, give him some praise like it's the first time you've praised him. We are after this first-time kind of love. And if we're gonna ever step into a first-time kind of love. We need to look at the model and the picture of who Jesus is.

He wasn't obsessed with minutes. He was obsessed with moments. If you have your Bible, look at Mark chapter 1 with me. Mark chapter 1 gives us a picture of Jesus. Tonight, I am praying that as you've gathered here, that an alarm clock of your soul would go off. I like it how Paul says, when we first believed. I want to bring some people back to their first love. I want to bring some people back in 2026 to that first kind of faith, that first-time faith, that first-time intimacy with God. Mark chapter 1, it says it this way, very early, verse 35, in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place where he prayed. Now, Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed, everyone is looking for you. Jesus replied, let us go somewhere else to the nearby villages so I can preach there also. Listen to this, that is why. Someone say, that is why. He says, that is why I have come. If you're taking notes tonight, the first observation I want you to write down is simply this, choose priority before pressure chooses you. Notice what Jesus is doing here. There's some basic observations in the text. It says, very early in the morning, while it was still dark, while it was quiet outside, Jesus left one place and went to another place, an isolated place, a remote place to pray, not to whiteboard session, not to do a dream vision board, but to pray, not to strategize. He's not looking for efficiency, he's looking for intimacy, and he seeks his Father. In many ways, what he's doing is he's cutting off access from everyone else.

And you would say, Rich, why is he cutting off access? Does he not think that people matter? Of course, people matter. He's just posturing and modeling for us, priority matters more. He's getting up early before pressure begins to make noise. Have you noticed that pressure, it doesn't knock, it just kicks the door down and puts you in a stranglehold? We're going to have to be people that if we're going to put God first in our life with our time, we're going to have to go after priority before pressure chooses us. I wonder what kind of pressures you're facing. I wonder what type of things you're up against. Because I believe the life of Jesus is an invitation for us to follow. I make mention out of this little passage of Scripture because I don't think this is Jesus and what he does occasionally. I think there's a great case that this is what he did consistently. Everybody loves January energy intensity, but intensity is not what you need. Consistency is. You want to be taken serious in 2026? Be consistent. Be consistent. I could show you lots of places, but we have got four gospels. All of these gospels are different eyewitness accounts of Jesus' life. This is Mark's account, but look at what Matthew says in Matthew 14, verse 23. After he had dismissed them, Jesus went up on a mountainside himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone. Someone say alone. Alone. Some of us deal with deep, deep depths of loneliness, but I want to remind you that you are never alone when you're alone with God. We're going to have to learn in 2026 that being around God cannot substitute being alone

with God. A lot of us wonder, man, why do I always burn out? How come I can't keep the fire alive? Have you ever considered it's because you were never on fire? You were just sensing heat from everybody else around you? You can come into this room tonight. It's a powerful room. I mean, it's a powerful room and there's thousands of people and there's locations and people are singing. People got their hands up and it's very easy to get caught up and I love you to get caught up in the moment. But the crowd will not sustain you. You're going to have to be like Jesus and say, I'm going to prioritize time with my father because pressure is coming one way or another and before pressure chooses me, come on, I'm going to choose my priorities. Can you clap your hands and help your brother out a little bit tonight? Look at what Luke's gospel says. This is Luke chapter six, verse 12. On one of those days, Jesus went on a mountainside to pray and he spent the night praying to God. You ever try to pray all night? Anyone like me? You try to start praying and about six minutes in, you start getting tired. Jesus prayed all night. He is. Showing you priority and you say why is he doing it? What's he doing it for? Well, I think John's gospel tells us the answer it says in verse 19 of chapter 5 Jesus gave them this answer very truly I tell you the son can do nothing by himself He can do only what he sees his father doing because whatever the father does the son also does Jesus is giving you the blueprint of his life

Everything I do is what I've seen my father do But the only way I know what my father does is because I spend time with him early in the morning Before the demand of this day tries to come after me. I've been with my daddy I wonder is there anybody out there that wants to know their father? It says very early While it was still dark Insight before Daylight I Don't make no sense. Yes, it does read your Bible. We don't walk by sight We walk by faith It is impossible to please God without faith. I wonder are there any faith walkers in the room tonight? I don't need it to be light outside The Word of God is a light into my path and a lamp unto my feet. I walk by faith It's clarity before daylight And I don't mean to be so mysterious, but it is mysterious This idea of seeking God before the daylight is all throughout the scripture David says in Psalm 5 verse 3 in the morning Lord you hear my voice in the morning. I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly Psalm 119 verse 147. I rise before dawn and cry for help I have put my hope in your word the prophet Isaiah said this way in chapter 50 verse 4 He says he wakens me. Look at this morning by Morning wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed The scripture says that Job would wake up every morning and offer sacrifices for his children Just in case they sinned and the passage says this was Job's regular custom It wasn't like oh, I had a bad night. Let me kind of make it up for God He's saying this is the pattern and the habit of my life early in the morning. My custom is to seek God Proverbs 31 verse 15 describes the Proverbs 31 woman. She gets up while it's still night not a woman of the night Gets up while it's still night She provides food for her family and portions for her female servants

I think the scriptures are trying to unlock something in your heart like it or not. We serve a God who is a morning God You're like that makes sense. This is why it's such a struggle for me. I hate the morning I'm more of like a coffee and grace kind of Christian. I I Hear you, but this is your year of discipline This is your year to seek him like you have never sought him before. This is a year of firstfruits This is a year to fall in love with Jesus like it's the first time Lamentation says his mercies are new every morning Which makes me wonder how many of us are missing out on new mercy because we simply are asleep at the wheel Here comes the Apostle Paul wake up wake up wake up come out wherever you are God wants to do a new thing inside of you. I Like it because when we actually make priority When we make priority the first thing that we're after as pressure comes we have the proper order to our life Look at what happens here because Jesus shows us that he's cut off access because priority is what matters most in his life But let's continue in our reading Mark chapter 1 verse 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him and when they found him they exclaimed I love this everyone everybody is Looking for you Jesus I want to remind some people tonight Loud doesn't mean Lord Loud does not mean Lord What's happened here is the night before Jesus has been doing ministry You can go back there in the chapter and you can see that he was healing people and he was preaching to people and he Was delivering people. I mean he was casting demons out yet. He doesn't go and take a vacation No, he puts his habits into practice after I'm sure being tired and fatigued, he still gets up and he finds refreshment of his soul.

I'm telling you what, if you will get God in his proper order, the Bible says, do not grow weary in doing good. You don't have to grow weary. You don't have to tire out. You don't have to end this year going, I'm burned out. Are you burned out? Or were you never even on fire to begin with? Because if you will fan the flame of the fire of God, last time I checked, my Bible says, my God is an all-consuming fire. You got to get that. The wind of this world, the storms of this life, the challenges of tomorrow, they cannot put out the fire of God that has been deposited into you. I wonder, is there anybody in this room that you would say, I'm on fire for Jesus? And if you can see this, Jesus is like, he's like got his priorities set. He's got his calendar in motion. He's got his boundaries and his habits, but in comes Peter, crushing the door down. Have you ever noticed that urgency sort of has a sixth sense? I know there's probably not a lot of parents in the room, but like, I know as a parent for me, I got four little kids. It's like, fine, I get my Bible. I get my born again journal. I'm like, here we go, I'm gonna soap.

And as soon as I sit down, it's like one of these kids just crushed through the door. Dad, I'm thirsty. I'm like, excuse me? I'm thirsty. Oh, you thirsty now? You weren't thirsty five minutes ago. You weren't thirsty last night. I'm thirsty now. Oh, okay, so now we have a dehydration emergency. I don't know if you've noticed this, but sometimes as soon as we try to put our priorities in motion, it seems like there's distractions, there's interruptions. And listen, you cannot control this world and you can't stop the interruptions of this life. But what you can learn how to do is that other people's urgency doesn't have to become your emergency. And some of us are so moved and so swayed by other people, and it's because the world's voice is louder than God's voice. And I just wanna remind you, just because it's loud doesn't mean it's the Lord. The disciples show up and they are urgent. They offer absolutely no direction. It's just full of information, no real instruction. And here's how I would define urgency in your life. Urgency is pressure without perspective. You know what it sounds like, you gotta act now.

This can't wait. This has to happen right here, right now. If you don't seize this moment, you're gonna miss out on this moment. I wanna encourage our church. You do not wanna settle for good opportunities. You want God opportunities. There is no God opportunity coming your way that can't wait on you praying about it. I wonder, is the church full of some prayer warriors tonight that would say, I want God opportunities? And many times it makes us bypass the time of prayer and seeking God and urgency is behaving like this is everything, but you're gonna have to learn how to discern between urgency and importance. Don't let other people's urgency become your emergency. Set some boundaries. Just because it's loud doesn't mean that it's Lord. Because if you know anything about Peter, Peter tends to talk big. I'll never betray you, yeah right. No Lord, this is not God's will. Yo, get thee behind me, Peter. Don't just wash my feet, wash my whole body. These are all the dumb things that Peter said. And here comes Peter, everybody, everybody's looking for you. Is that true? The whole town, everybody is lined up outside of Jesus's prayer closet.

Everybody? Yeah, everybody. No, I don't think it's everybody. I think it's somebody. But listen to this, exhaustion exaggerates. You see the disciples, they were tired from the ministry too, but they didn't create a habit. They didn't have the same prayer life as Jesus. And now here they are exhausted and so they exaggerate. We gotta go meet the demands of right now. Everybody's out there waiting, but here comes Jesus going, I don't have to move for anybody. I have to move when my Father says go. Come on, somebody, let's clap our hands. And I wonder right now if you find yourself in an exhausted season. You can always know you're exhausted when you start exaggerating. They never listen to me. They're always like this. It's never gonna work. I'm gonna fall apart, I'll never make it. Friend, that is not truth, that's tired. You're tired. You need to leave one place and go to another place. In the scripture, it says he went to a solitary place. It's very interesting. In the Greek, it's the word eromos. The word eromos, when you define it means. Wilderness.

Isn't that funny, a lot of you in this room, you're cursing your wilderness. You're complaining about your wilderness. But I want to encourage you, a wilderness is not a punishment, it's preparation. God uses the wilderness. We retreat to the wilderness so we can return with wisdom. You don't live in the wilderness, you visit the wilderness. And if you're in a wilderness and you want to get out of it, you keep on moving, you don't stop, you don't pause. My Bible says, yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Big word there, as I walk, you don't camp out, you don't quit, you don't stop, you don't pause, you don't put a house up in the valley, you walk through the valley. Come on, somebody. Come on. But he goes to a solitary place, which tells me, practically speaking, every person who wants that first-time kind of love, every person who wants to offer God a firstfruits offering of their time ought to have a place of prayer. And I don't want to make it so mystical, it could be anything, it could be your car, it could be a chair, it could be a couch in your house, I don't care, you just need a place in which you go to to pray. You need a place that triggers you to say,

this is my place of prayer, this is where I seek God, this is where I go and I learn of who my Father is, this is where I go, not for efficiency, but for intimacy, this is where I go and bring the first time early in the morning as I pursue God. Maybe it's too much information, but let me just try to be really practical. For me, for many years, I've told our church, I'll keep telling our church until it changes, but my place of prayer is the shower. Too much information. But I mean it, man, like I pray hard in the shower. I pray for you in the shower. I've written songs in the shower, I've cried in the shower, I've done that too, Richie, I've cried in the shower. I've written some of my best sermons in the shower, I'm telling you what, I've had a couple good nights here preaching at the city location, but they all pale in comparison to the sermons in the shower, man. I'm telling you what, I've preached to towels, and I've preached to shampoo, and I've seen bars of soap get saved in the shower. My theology's got a little conditioner in it, okay? All I'm trying to get you to see is that you need a place, practically. And here comes Jesus, he goes to this place, but as he goes to this place, an interruption comes, and it's loud, everybody is looking for you.

I like what Dwight Eisenhower, one of the presidents of the United States, he said it this way, what is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important. That's pretty deep, man. That's the president of the United States going, yo, it's rarely what you think. You are being swayed and pushed because it's loud. I wonder, does your soul have rest? Well, how do I get rest? Let's write a few things down, I want you to get some of this stuff tonight. I'm gonna preach in a moment, but I'm just teaching. I wanna make sure you see this. If you're gonna get a cadence of rest in your life, just quickly, this is a basic, basic teaching. You have to retreat daily. Retreat daily, meaning like, you gotta open up God's word at some point, one time in your day, and read something. You're not reading it because you feel guilty and God's mad at you, you're reading it because you're hungry, your soul is malnourished. We don't live on bread alone, but on the very word of God. You gotta find yourself in a time of prayer. Everyone needs some sort of daily routine, daily rhythm. That's what this whole month is about. It's trying to get your spirit man to wake up because the time is here. But I would also say that you have to withdraw weekly.

And what that means is, is that you need to have some form of a Sabbath. I don't think it has to literally always be a perfect 24 hours. The word of God, Jesus himself said that man was not created for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was created for man. It's a gift for you. It's a gift for your soul. God, I'm gonna trust you with six days of the week rather than trust myself with seven days in the week. I'm gonna stop, I'm gonna pause. The Psalms would say, Selah, rest in his presence. But also I would say you have to abandon annually. Now you might not hear this at a lot of churches, but I think everybody here at VU Church, regardless of your economic status right now, I think everyone needs an annual vacation. You gotta do something to turn it off, seven days, 10 days, 14 days. You would be shocked what sun, sand, and a pina colada could do in your life. Amen. Amen. Amen. my man I'm not I'm not playing because that stuff matters to our soul and some of us have never stopped in an entire year and we wonder why am I exhausted it's because you've never learned how to rest and the reason why you don't rest is because you don't trust if you would begin to see rest as an act of worship maybe somehow it could change your paradigm around that when I go to sleep

at night what I'm saying is God I've planted seed in the day I've plowed the field now I'm gonna lay my head down on my pillow and I'm a trust while I'm sleeping God is still working anybody believe God is working even while we sleep he's working he's working but how do you know the goal in life is not rest the goal in life is to seek first that's the whole point of the collection Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6 seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you someone say all these things what are all these things well all these things are all these things what I wear what I eat and where I sleep all these things will be added when you get the order right when God comes first meaning when you seek first rest is a byproduct it's funny because I mentioned the Eisenhower quote and there is a term called the Eisenhower matrix it's a it's a productivity matrix that helps you manage time but I don't want to give you the Eisenhower matrix I want to give you the first fruits matrix that's what retreat daily is that's what withdrawal weekly is that's what abandoned annually is but that's for a place of rest I wonder what does it look like to seek with that same model I think what it means is is that we would be people that every day the first moment we wake up that before we talk to our spouse we talk to God before we would say something to our child we would first talk to God before you go digital why not go biblical why not make it your habit of your life that as soon as you open up your eyes that you would give your first time over to God saying God I'm getting to give you the first minutes the first hour of my day because I believe as I put you first you're gonna bless the rest how many y'all need God to bless the rest of your day you know often we're really accustomed with the term tithe in church like the first tenth of our income and for some of you this is a real year of maturity that you're gonna grow trusting God in your finances but first fruits is far bigger than just the tithe of your money have you ever considered tithing your time what is 10% of 24 hours it would be 2.4 hours I could never I have a job no I've got a relationship no I've got a I gotta be places man okay could you give 1% of your time could you give God 24 minutes now I'm too busy listen bro if you're

too busy for God you're too busy can you give God your first time well what about this idea of withdrawing weekly because I don't think it's just about rest I don't need just about Sabbath look at the Bible says this is Acts chapter 20 is this helping anyone tonight is anyone learn anything okay I want to make sure because look at this Acts chapter 20 verse 7 says this on the first day hello on Sunday we came together to break bread watch this Paul spoke to the people and because he intended to leave the next day he kept talking until midnight I've heard people the last 10 years say Rich preaches too long not as long as Paul in fact if you go on the story a guy falls asleep falls out of a window dies Paul stops his sermon goes down heals the man brings it back up and starts preaching again so their custom wasn't just to stop and pause their custom was the first day of the week it was the Lord's day that's what church life is about look at what it says in first Corinthians chapter 16 because some of you think that this is man-made idea and some of you are getting all your theology from tick-tock and you're seeing people that are really hurt with the church and really mad at people you like yeah I'm mad too but the church has only been good to you and you miss out because you don't know the Word of God and because you're biblically illiterate you don't actually know what it says and so you listen to some person who behaves like they have authority but they actually haven't read the word first Corinthians chapter 16 verse 1 says now about the collection the collection not the sermon collection the financial collection now about that bricklayers offering for the Lord's people Do what I told the Galatian church to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income. It's not about equal amount. It's about equal sacrifice, saving it up so that when I come, no collections will have to be made. I believe Paul's giving you a practical system and creating a consistent habit that, Lord,

I'm going to give you and set aside some money that the needs of the church will be met, that we're not going to have to keep doing collections. But as we save it, as we plan it, God, you're going to take care of this church. Here is my challenge tonight when we're thinking about a first fruits matrix, especially in our community, especially this year, especially as you mature. Can you please stop going to church based on a feeling? People who's preaching, is it live or is it like a video, like what's that man? As if the word of God is not strong enough to pass through any screen anywhere and to pierce any heart. Always makes me laugh. The people that complain most about celebrity Christianity are also the same people that won't go to church watching it by way of video. We turn this thing into something that was never, ever meant to be. We make it idolatry. Can you please stop attending church in 2026 based upon your feeling? I don't want you to come to church based upon the weather. Wow. Wow. It's good weather. It's raining. God forbid we go to church. God forbid we live in the tropics and we would drive through the rain. We've never done that before. It's too dangerous. It's too dangerous. Are you listening to yourself? I don't want to get wet. You don't want to get wet for Jesus. I think he bled for you bro. I think he was stretched wide, hung high on a cross and you don't want to get wet.

Yeah, I just did my hair. I don't want to get wet. I don't want to get wet. What are they talking about? What's the collection? What's the topic? As if this book, as if there's not a single verse in this book, every verse, every page, when this book is opened up, I'm telling you what, every part of it applies to your life. Come on, somebody give him some praise. Don't come to church because nothing else is on your calendar. Stay home. He doesn't get your leftover time. He ought to be a God who gets your first time. God, I'm giving you the first day of the week that you might bless every other day of the week. I mean it because it's important that once again, we understand the church like, listen, this is so important. The first reason why we gather the church is to worship God. That's why you come. I'm asking that you would pray and say, God, I'm sorry I'm treating your house like a feeling. It's not a feeling, it's a practice. I don't care how fit you are. No one feels like going to the gym or I feel like doing leg day, shut up. I just feel like fasting. No, you don't. Stop, we don't have to do all that, but it's the custom, it's the practice, it's the ancient old tradition that we're saying, God, first roots of my tongue, I'm going to put it in your house. So it's first about God. Secondly, it's about equipping the believers and then thirdly, watch this, it is about

evangelizing the world and the order because God is a God of order matters. God, the believer, the lost person. So this is important. In 2026, it's not just about coming to church, it's about how you come to church. Like this would change your whole year, like I know, I'm going to get back to my message, I promise, but like this would change your whole year. Come early, leave late. Did you hear what I said? Come early, leave late. I've been pastoring church for 10 years and I got to say, it's typically the opposite around here. It's come late, leave early. That's ridiculous. That's ridiculous if you say you love God and you love this house and this is your priority. Some of you have never even prayed with your children before because it's all new to you and you're scared, but you still have the audacity to check your kids in 25 minutes late, week in and week out at Bukids when it's a group of servant leaders that actually are bringing their first time, they're praying for your children, they're studying for your children, they're bringing a word for your children. The least you could do is get your kids here on time. Some of you have been giving the parking lot workers way too much attitude. They don't work here, bro. They're serving God's house. The least you could do as you drive out

of South Miami tonight is say, thank you. Thank you. And even right now, there's people outside in the parking lot at South Miami, there's people outside in the parking lot in the city right now. You wanna know why? Because people come late and they're gonna leave early. And I'm just gonna be honest, if I invited you to my house every Sunday night and you always came late, and you always left early, I would stop inviting you. Just another reason on your list why you should be thankful, Rich Wilkerson Jr. is not God. Because we serve a God who's gracious, who says compel them, go out in the highways and the byways and compel them. But I just wonder, are we maturing in the Lord? Can we open up our eyes? It's not just about coming to church, it's about how we come to church, going, God, I'm giving you the first day of the week that you might bless every other day of the week. I need you to clap your hands, receive this word. What does it mean to abandon annually when we put it into a firstfruits matrix? What's this? It's 21 days of prayer.

It's like, I just, it's a spiritual injection. Like tomorrow, do something different. Join us for prayer at six 30 in the morning. Not because you're guilty, because you want more of Jesus. To say, I gotta be proactive with this. What do you think VUCon 2026 is? Some of us right now, like, before you hear who the other guest speakers are, before, if you like the worship artists, why not say, I'm putting it on my calendar. It's right there, just like my annual vacation. I put my vacation time in, I made sure my kids weren't away. I've got a date with destiny. I've got a date with my father. I don't know who's gonna be there, but I do know one thing, my heavenly father will be there. And every time I get in his presence, I leave change. Someone say first time. Wake up, wake up, wake up church. Bring God the first of your time. Choose priority or pressure will choose you. And just because it's loud, doesn't mean that it's Lord. And lastly tonight, as we get ready to close, I love this because Mark chapter one, verse 38, Jesus replied, come up,

let's go somewhere else to the nearby villages so I can preach there also. This is why I have come. I wanna remind you that clarity frees you to disappoint people without disobeying God. Someone say clarity, such an important word, such an important word. Jesus, don't you know there's people out there, they demand that you come, this is exciting. It almost sounds obedient. Jesus is like, no, clarity gives you permission to say no. No, no, I'm not going. Well, Jesus, don't you know if you don't go, you're gonna disappoint the disciples. You're gonna disappoint all those people out there that really, really need you right now. Yeah, I know I might disappoint people, but I care more about disobeying God than I do disappointing people. Many of us, we're starting this year and you've got a whole list of add-ons, things I gotta add, new energies, new waves, new things, more effort, more striving. But in reality, we know the research. You start strong in January, but let's go look at those gyms in March. They gonna be empty. I'm not gonna make you raise your hands, but how many times have you joined LA Fitness? No.

Do we really think it's because people are lazy? Is that really what we think? I don't think it is. I don't think people are lazy. I think people are confused. They're unclear. And when I don't understand the cost of something and I don't understand why I'm doing it, I'll never be willing to pay the price. When you're confused about your calling, it's hard to walk it out. And listen, confusion drains energy faster than effort ever will. You don't have an effort problem. More often than not, you have a clarity problem. Clarity doesn't remove difficulty. You know what? Clarity does? Clarity gives you a why. And if you have a why, it doesn't matter what you come up against, you will prevail and you will be a person of purpose. The disciples are going, man, everybody wants you to come. And you know what they're obsessed with? They're obsessed with healing, invisible signs and wonders. And so are we in America today. We're so obsessed with tangible, physical things that we can see. And hear me, I believe the whole Bible. I believe that Jesus, He still heals people. He can heal blinded eyes. He can open up deaf ears. Come on, how many believe that Jesus still is a healer? He can do impossible things. I love signs and wonders. But Jesus didn't just value the visible things, He valued the invisible things. Alignment and submission. He says, let's go somewhere else. Because I know why I came. And I didn't come to do miracles. I came because I'm bringing a message.

This is why I'm here. I'm here to preach. And your demand will not distract me from disobeying what God has told me. Do you know why you're here? Let me tell you, you're never going to have the power to say no when you continually find yourself living in the noise around you. You got to turn the noise down and turn the voice of God up. Because when all you hear are the people around you, you're going to be like Cain last week. Instead of looking up, you're going to look left and you're going to look right. You're going to compare. You're going to become jealous. And before you know it, you're going to become so insecure because you're confused about what it is that God has told you to do. You're unclear. And so now your eyes are not closed. They're wide open looking at people. Instead of listening to God's voice, you're watching what others are doing. And I just want to say it as bold as I can as we start the new year. You can either please people or you can please God, but you cannot please both. You got to pick. You got to choose. Choose this day whom you will serve. You got to choose. You will either fear God or you will fear man. Well, Rich, I don't like that kind of preaching. Fear God. Okay, bro. If you don't fear God, you will fear something else. You got some kind of fear? Afraid of getting sick? Afraid of losing your job? Afraid of being single? Afraid of never having kids? Afraid of being broke? Afraid of being like your dad? Afraid of being like your mom? Why don't you pick a superior fear? Why don't you pick one who deserves all your honor, all your awe, all your wonder? The fear of the Lord brings wisdom. God, I want to please you. I want to please you and only you. You're going to fear something. Why not fear your creator? Why not fear the one who made you, who declared you are fearfully and wonderfully made?

I knew you when you were in your mother's womb. I knit you together. I saw your unformed body. That's the God we fear. You can grab a seat. I promise you I'm done. I'm trying to preach from a mic stand because I'm trying to chill out. The other day, I was at my house and my two older boys, we had a babysitter there and I heard her saying, hey, don't do that. Hey, don't do that. Hey, don't do that. I mean three times. And I kind of, the alarm clock kind of went off for me like, whoa, I was doing something. I heard her repeating herself. So I came out. Yo, boys, get in here. I don't know how you talk to your kids, but I got to go preach her sometimes. So get in here. I said, how come she's having to repeat herself? How many times does she have to say it before you obey it? Boys, listen to me in this house. You don't obey after the second time, after the third time, or after the fourth time. You obey after the... You obey after the first time. But as I was giving them a sermon, God started speaking to me. How many times, Rich, do I got to say it before you obey it? How many sermons you got to hear? How many songs you got to sing? How many conferences you got to attend before you simply obey? I wonder if we can be the church that in 2026 we would obey the first time. God, we want to obey the first time. God, we are after your presence. We desire you more than anything. And Lord, we're not just honoring you with the first of our talents. We're not just honoring you with the first of our money. We're honoring you with the first of our time. When I wake up early in the morning, it's dark outside, but your word starts bringing clarity. Write this down as we close. You'll never obey God the first time if the first time wasn't spent with God.

Lord, tonight, I thank you so much for your word, and I thank you so much for speaking to us. God, I thank you that your presence is here, that your word is alive. God, we thank you that you do not condemn us, you do not shame us, but you invite us into relationship. God, we thank you that you're the only thing worth fearing because you are good, only good. God, you don't do love. You are love. And so we run to the arms of the Father. We prioritize you in prayer. Lord, the reason why we're fasting is not to be superior. We're fasting because we're desperate for you. There's so many distractions, our phone and urgent things happening and pressures of the day, notifications and emails and text messages and social media and people and drama and pain and news and heartache. And so, God, we silence that and we present our request early in the morning because there's new mercy there. So, God, we rise up to receive it. We need mercy. We need grace. Lord, tonight, we want to go deeper. We want this to be a year marked with intimacy, that, God, you would be first in every area of our life. So, Lord, we invite you tonight to search our heart, examine us. If there's anything inside of us that needs to go, Lord, we allow right now, we invite you, Holy Spirit, to cut out of us this heart of stone and turn it into a heart of flesh. Grace upon grace. I say grace, grace.