Be Centered

“Be Centered”

“We are at our best, when we have a central focus of Jesus in our lives.”

Colossians 3:1-4

Sunday Morning Sermon

05.27.07

Intro: (Start with title and text)

It doesn’t take a team or a group of people very much to be successful – I’ve noticed this with our softball team, it seems we are more focused – we are out there to have fun, but that fun also includes finishing the out to first base – throwing the ball where the player can catch it – that fun includes hitting well, and running hard to first base to compensate if you don’t. That fun includes watching little Ben run as hard as he can, from base to base. It all comes back to our focus. The last time I was on a softball team – we weren’t focused. Half the team decided to join another team, leaving the ones who stayed to play the rest of the season, we didn’t do very well – it wasn’t about our ability – very rarely is it about straight ability. Life – whether it’s sports or marriage, or school, or Christian walk – it’s about focus.

Discussion:

Most of us – if we could draw a circle around us – we would be right in the center – the kids would be over there, all of their activities would be over there, the spouse would be here, the job would be somewhere over here. So we spend our lives, our time going from one thing to the next – all the while trying to keep ourselves at the center. I’m not very big on diagrams but it would look something like this: (advance)

This set up – where you are in the middle of the circle and all those other things are outside the circle – is normal, most Americans have their lives set up this way, regardless if they are in the church or not.

What I am suggesting – and I want you to hear me (I have a diagram for this one too) – is that we should have as the center focus of our lives – Jesus. (Advance) So that all the other things we do – we do for him, we do through him; we do by his strength, with his wisdom. We are at our very best, when we have a central focus of Jesus in our lives. If you will make him the central focus

– it will improve every area of your life – that’s a huge promise. And if it were from me – then you could ignore it – but God says that his strength makes your way perfect. (Advance)

Psalm 18:32 (NIV) It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.

If that verse is true – and I believe it is – it is God’s strength – that will lead us to do things better, and be better people – the message paraphrase says that God arms us and then aims us in the right direction.

Paul wrote a church who was dealing with some major wrong teaching – most of which clouded up the divinity of Jesus Christ. He spends half the book setting this doctrine straight. I wish I could give you an over view of this book, but because of time, I can’t. In Chapter three – the focus changes – and he gives the church RULES – These are different than the Ten Commandments. In the first part of this rules section – he’s telling them, and us – where their focus should be – who should be the center of their lives.

Turn with me if you have your Bibles to Colossians 3:1-4 (Read) (Advance)

I see a couple of things this morning – he tells them and us what to do – and I believe he tells us why. I’ve studied this – and I believe he’s telling the church to be centered – to draw the circle around Jesus not themselves and allow everything to go through a filter of Jesus. We would say this today, like: Keep the main thing the main thing.

(advance)

I. Center your heart – on things above (advance)

Colossians 3:1 – (NIV) Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

It’s hard sometimes to have our hearts always on the things above. We have people around us who tell us jokes, maybe they gossip – maybe it’s the books we read or the movies we see – The Bible describes the heart (which biblically is the center of the person) – as a storage unit – and what you put into it is what you get out of it.