A little 9-year-old girl came home from VBS one day. She proudly told her parents and little brother that, "Jesus is living in my heart now!" Mom and Dad were so proud, and made a big deal out of it.
Later that day, her little brother said something she didn’t like, and she hauled off and knocked the soup out of him!
He didn’t know much about the church, but he knew a Christian shouldn’t act like that!
He said, "I thought you said Jesus was living in your heart?”
She replied, "He is, but He’s asleep right now!”
Let’s get into the word of God today…
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to in thy sight O Lord, My Strength and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14
The Greek astronomer Ptolemy described a system of how the earth was the center of the universe. He built on that idea from Aristotle who first theorized that the earth was not flat but round.
It was largely believed that the sun, planets, and stars rotated around the earth.
Before the 17th century, people generally believed that Earth was at the center of the universe. They saw the sun rise in the east and set in the west. The earth was solid and seemingly immovable.
The Ptolemaic system worked and had predictive ability. If you wanted to know where Mars was at any given part of the year, this system could predict exactly where you could find it in the sky.
A man named Coperenus first theorized that it was the Sun that was the center of our universe and the earth and other planets revolved around the sun, not everything revolving around the earth.
The very notion that the earth was spinning around the sun at hundreds of miles an hour and rotating at the same time was laughable. How would birds be able to fly and keep up with the earth? The clouds would just wash away in the sky. It seemed preposterous!
Then came Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei and his invention of the telescope.
Galileo was not afraid to challenge existing beliefs when he published his work in support of the Sun-centered, or heliocentric, Copernican theory.
When Galileo tried to convince the church leaders of his day that the earth was not at the center of the universe, he was condemned as a heretic.
Dava Sobel, the author of Galileo’s Daughter, writes that Galileo was honest when he said that the Bible was the true word of God. He just didn’t think it was a good astronomy textbook.
Galileo’s works were banned by the Church for centuries, and not until our own time would his rift with the church be healed.
The Church of Galileo’s day latched on to a handful of scripture passages that made it seem clear that we were the center of the universe, and that the sun and moon simply rotated around us.
Now, however, it seems clear that the earth is not at the center of the universe, and we are not living in a dome of blue above which sits God watching over us from some sort of throne.
One could, and many have, place man at the center of the Bible. This existential view has serious connotations related to it.
In this humanistic view, God revolves around the individual. His blessings can be demanded and claimed as if they were owed to us. His mighty and powerful works are solely for our benefit and to prove to us just how much he loves us.
Humanism:
an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems.
The secret to living a Christ-centered life is understanding the “fear of the Lord”
Proverbs 16:6 By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.
The fear of the Lord is the continual awareness that our loving heavenly Father is watching and evaluating everything we think, say, or do.
Those who live Christ-centered lives have developed a tangible awareness of the presence of Jesus.
They make decisions based upon the question “Would this please the Lord?”
They avoid Satan’s traps and worldly entanglements because they evaluate their choices: “If Jesus was spending the day with me, would I do that? Watch that? Say that?”
Every lifestyle decision is weighed on heaven’s scales and evaluated for its eternal significance.
Lesser loves fall by the wayside because they steal time, resources, and energy away from the real passion of life—pleasing Jesus.
God has no Plans, no Purpose for you and I which is not centered in the person of his son the Lord Jesus Christ
It is my belief that Jesus-centered living is a real battle that disciples of Jesus face.
The beauty of Colossians is the way that Paul calls the followers of Jesus to live in light of the existing centrality of Christ.
The Bible is Jesus-centered. Heaven is Jesus-centered. God made it that way, and we have to constantly guard our hearts and our lives against moving from Jesus-centeredness.
Therefore, the real battle is to live in the light of the centrality of Jesus – to let the priority of Christ take over.
The challenge is to live out Colossians 3:17 – “17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Knowing that Jesus is the core is one thing; the real challenge is living in such a way that every area of life is transformed by the centrality of Christ.
Be sure that every orbit of our lives revolves around Christ.
My relationship to the world should not, nor can not, inform my relationship with Jesus. It must be the other way around.
In my attempt to understand the word I live in the light of my being a child of God, I can’t try to find a space for Jesus in my world.
Jesus, The Holy Spirit, the great host of angels… they do not all revolve around me. I am not the immovable. I am not the unchangeable.
We all revolve around God. Jesus at the center.
You were designed for the purpose of knowing Jesus Christ and making Him the center of your life.
You may ask, “What do you mean, make Jesus the center of my life?” It means you acknowledge Jesus as the ultimate authority in your life and you voluntarily yield the control of your life to Him.
You might ask, “Why would I do that?” Don’t we all want to be in control?
As William Ernest Henley wrote in his poem, “Invictus”: “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”
Our wayward self always wants to control our own lives, but following Jesus means that you give Him control. He calls the shots.
The sign hanging on the door of your life reads: “Now under new management.”
Why should you allow Jesus to be the center and leader of your life? First, Jesus created you and ultimately all things are under His rule — including you.
“And he [Jesus] is before all things, and in him all things hold together. … He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent,” (Colossians 1.17-18 ESV).
Second, Jesus controls everything. (1 Timothy 6.15 JBP) calls Jesus the “blessed controller of all things.”
Third, Jesus is faithful. (2 Thessalonians 3.3 NLT) says, “But the Lord is faithful; He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.”
He created you, He controls everything and He is faithful — why wouldn’t you want Jesus to be the center and controller of your life?
It’s clear that Jesus can do a better job of running your life than you can, so let Him lead you each day.
