Put God First and Watch Him Handle the Rest | Dr Tony Evans | Sermon Notes — Hello Pastor

Sermon Notes

Put God First and Watch Him Handle the Rest

Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship • Oct 12, 2025 • 28 min

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Take this message with you through a journey of Scripture, reflection, and prayer.

Summary

In this message, Dr. Tony Evans unpacks Matthew 6:33, emphasizing that believers are called to prioritize God's kingdom rule and His standard of righteousness above all else. When we make God our first priority rather than bringing Him in as a last resort to fix our messes, He promises to care for all our practical needs. True freedom from worry comes from repositioning God to His rightful place as King and loving Father in our daily lives.

Themes

Kingdom PriorityOvercoming Worry and AnxietyGod's Righteousness and StandardsTrusting God's ProvisionSpiritual Nourishment

Key Points

1.
God has no insufficiency problem and knows every detail of what you need before you even ask.
2.
Seeking God's kingdom first means consulting His rule and perspective on the front end rather than asking Him to fix messes created by our own choices.
3.
The kingdom of God functions as a kingdom under Christ's absolute authority, not a democracy open to human compromise or competing cultural opinions.
4.
Righteousness is spiritual food for the soul; filling ourselves with worldliness and sin is like eating junk food that causes spiritual flab instead of spiritual muscle.
5.
Worry is concern on steroids—it occurs when a situation controls you rather than you managing the issue under God's leadership.
6.
Repositioning God into first place in your life is the ultimate divine antidote to anxiety and fear about the future.
7.
Just as a bird does not get ulcers because God provides worms, your heavenly Father knows your needs and takes responsibility for providing when He is put first.
8.
God exists in an eternal present ("I AM"), which means He is already present in your tomorrow, so you do not need to worry about what lies ahead.
9.
Like a traveler running to catch a flight who encounters the pilot, believers can relax knowing that the One in charge of their destiny is walking right beside them.

Sermon Moments

“To love God first means to passionately pursue his pleasure. He does not want to be one thing among many.”

“Two answers to every question: God's answer and everybody else's, and everybody else's is wrong when they disagree with him.”

“What food is to the body, righteousness is to the soul... instead of growing spiritual muscle, we're accumulating spiritual flab.”

“Worry is concern on steroids... Concern is where you control the issue. Worry is where the issue controls you.”

“Have you ever seen an ulcerated bird because they burned a hole in their stomach cuz of worry?”

“The antidote to worry, anxiety, the antidote is the repositioning of God.”

“Your heavenly father knows what you have need of... he not only is the one in charge, he's the one in charge who's also your daddy.”

“Slow down, chill, slow your roll, cuz I'm the pilot of that flight... that plane ain't going nowhere till I get there.”

This Week

Consult God's Word and pray for His perspective first before making major decisions or seeking advice from others this week.

Identify one area of life where you have put human standards or societal culture ahead of God's righteousness and realign it with Scripture.

Audit your daily schedule to ensure seeking God is given primary placement rather than remaining an afterthought.

Feed your soul with spiritual nutrition daily through Scripture reading and reflection rather than consuming worldly junk food.

When you catch yourself worrying about a situation, pause and intentionally hand control back to God, acknowledging His authority as your Father.

Focus your mental energy on faithfully serving God today instead of carrying the imaginary burdens of tomorrow.

Practice trusting God's provision for your physical and practical needs by resting in His identity as your loving Father and King.

Remember This

When you put God's kingdom and standards first in every area of your life, He takes full responsibility for providing your needs and relieving your anxiety.

A Challenge for You

God says if you'll let Him be the pilot, the ruler, and the righteousness, you can chill, wipe your forehead, and stop sweating it out because nothing is going anywhere until He arrives.

These are personal sermon notes shared to help you remember the message — not a replacement for Scripture, your church, or your pastors.