Be Intentional
#2 – Making Christ the Center of Your Life
Colossians 1:15-23, John 8:31-32,
Galatians 2:20
January 5, 2003
Introduction
Well, I hope everyone had a good new year’s. Mine was nice and quiet. Not like the one’s I had in high school, that’s for sure, but that’s a story for another day.
Today we continue our series on being intentional about life.
The intent of the series is to encourage you to live lives that are not characterized by default, but rather by decision.
That was our topic last week, but it’s the underpinning of this entire series.
And after the series is officially “over,” you can count on hearing other messages that deal with being intentional in particular areas of life.
Today we are looking at making Christ the center of our lives.
This is easy to talk about, but not so easy to do. It takes decisive effort. More than that, it takes decisive yielding of our lives and wills to the program of God, and not our own program.
We will spend our time this morning looking at three reasons we should make Christ the center of our lives, and then I will give you some very practical ways to implement that, okay?
Let’s dive in.
1. Jesus should be our focus.
Colossians 1:15-23, p. 833
COL 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-- 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.
Jesus is the supreme focus of the Bible. From the 3rd chapter in Genesis to the last chapter in Revelation, God reveals His plan to bring a Redeemer who would not only bring forgiveness of sins and salvation, but would rule over all creation when everything came to fruition.
This passage says that He created all things. He holds all things together. He is supreme.
He is the ultimate focus of eternity.
If the main focus of the Word of God is Jesus, than maybe it’s a good idea for us to make the same focus.
If you call yourself a Christian, than you should be focusing on Christ. He should be the focus in all areas.
He should be the focus of your work life. Doing our work in a way that honors God and reflects Biblical principles of integrity and non-favoritism helps us develop that focus, and many times opens the door to sharing the good news of Christ to the people we work or do business with.
He should be the focus of your family life. I’m not saying that you need to have hour-long family devotions every night, but I am saying that how you run your family should show a focus on Christ.
Husbands, this especially applies to you. The Bible says that your marriage is a model of the love Christ has for His church.
If you are not honoring your wife, loving her as Christ loves the church, you are not allowing a focus on Christ in your marriage.
Are you raising your children to love God and His Word, or are you raising them to see God and the Bible as just a nice distraction from the daily hustle and bustle of life? Or worse, just a way to keep the spiritual face on things so you don’t appear non-spiritual.
Jesus should be the focus on your recreation and entertainment. I’m not going to discuss whether or not you should watch sports on Sunday, so don’t worry. Although if you are feeling guilty about it, maybe that’s something you should talk over with God.
But what I want to address is the kind of music, movies, books, magazines, or whatever you read. The kind of vacations you take. Where you go and what you do to unwind after a long day’s work.
Do these honor God and display a focus on Christ in your life?
Make sure you’re hearing me, now. I’m not saying you should take all your vacations in the holy land or at a monastery. I’m just saying that what you do in your recreation reflects your focus.
But be decisive in looking at these and acting on what you discover in the Bible and prayer.
Dr. Paul Tripp says that “If Christ does not reign over the mundane events in our lives, He does not reign at all.” (SermonCentral.com)
Jesus needs to be the focus in the lives of those who call themselves Christians.
Next,…
2. Jesus should be the boss.
JN 8:31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
Most of us are familiar with the second part of this passage, but not as familiar with the first part.
If you claim to be a Christian, a follower of Christ, then you hold to His teachings. Not just believing, but obeying.
Jesus’ teachings are incredibly practical and easy to understand when it comes to relationships with other people, business ethics, etc.
If you want a great place to start, try the Sermon on the Mount. It’s 100% applicable, and living by just these principles will show anybody watching that you have the Lord Jesus Christ as your boss.
Last week I mentioned that Jesus has the right to run the show, for no other reason than that He created you. He owns you. He has the right to tell you how to run your life.
A recent survey by George Gallup Jr. revealed a startling trend in our culture. According to Gallup the evidence seems to indicate that there are no clear behavioral patterns that distinguish Christians from non-Christians in our society. We all seem to be marching to the same drummer, looking to the shifting standards of contemporary culture for the basis of what is acceptable behavior. (SermonCentral.com)
Now that’s a sad statistic. I tells me that we have lots of “Christians” but few disciples. Jesus did not call for believers, he called for disciples.
Gordon Dahl said, “Most middle-class Americans tend to worship their work, work at their play, and play at their worship.” (SermonCentral.com)
Yesterday I was telling a young man about how to know he’s going to heaven, and when I told him that it was to his advantage to let God run his life, I pointed to a small table in his room.
I said that us telling God we know what’s best is like his table telling him that it wants to be a couch, because it thinks it knows better than to be a table.
And he answered that that didn’t seem very smart. He understood that God needs to be the boss if you want to not only have a Christ-focused life, but to be successful in your relationship with Him.
He bought you with His blood. He should be the boss of the life that He bought. Yours, if you call yourself a Christian.
Third,…
3. Jesus should be our source.
Galatians 2:20 says…
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Jesus makes life possible. Not only did He create it, He sustains it.
This verse says that if we call ourselves Christians, then we no longer live, but Christ lives in us. And the life we live is a life lived by faith in Him.
We exercise faith when we obey His Word, trusting that He will do what He promises in His Word.
We give at least 10% of our income because we trust that God, in His time, will provide for our needs.
Jesus is the source of not only our life, but of our talents, abilities, energies, desires, interests, and all that stuff.
And we put those to work, trusting God to make things happen.
We put our talents to work, trusting God to provide us with the business or work that brings the money to sustain us.
He is the source of the talents, and also the source of the income.
But I want to emphasize for a moment that Jesus is also the source of our significance and security.
We are important, not because of what we do or who we marry, you’re important because of the fact that God Himself created you in His own image, and not only that, but because He loves you so much that He sent His Son to die for you as an individual.
What I mean is that Jesus would have died for you even if you were the only person on earth.
You are that important to Him. And He loves you so much that He works to protect you from harmful influences that would steal your joy and love for Him.
John 10:10 says…
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Do you really understand that Jesus wants you to enjoy your life?
Too many people think that being a Christian and living like one means you give up any hope of enjoying life.
Evangelist Billy Sunday once said that to see some people you would think that the essential of orthodox Christianity is to have a face so long you could eat oatmeal out of the end of a gas pipe.
Well I’m here to tell you that’s just a big ol’ lie of the devil. God wants you to enjoy life, and He makes it possible to enjoy it in all its fullness.
The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. With her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them: a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box. "Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please!"
Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl’s upturned face. "A dollar ninety-five. That’s almost $2.00 If you really want them, I’ll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday’s only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."
As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.
Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere -- Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.
Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"
"Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you."
"Then give me your pearls."
"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess -- the white horse from my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me. She’s my favorite."
"That’s okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.
About a week later, after the story time, Jenny’s daddy asked again, "Do you love me?"
"Daddy, you know I love you."
"Then give me your pearls."
"Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."
"That’s okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you." And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss. A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian-style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek. "What is it, Jenny? What’s the matter?" Jenny didn’t say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here, Daddy. It’s for you."
With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny’s kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny. He had had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her genuine treasure.
So like our heavenly Father. What are you hanging on to? (Pastor Jim’s Illustrations Plus)
Let Him give you the genuine article of a full life in Him, instead of the cheap dime-store imitation we cling to on our own.
It’s true that you may have to give up certain activities. I won’t beat around the bush about that.
But you can rest assured that if the Bible says don’t do it, it’s because it is harmful to you, physically or spiritually.
This last Tuesday was an important anniversary for me. It was the 20th anniversary of the last time I was drunk. And let me tell you something, I don’t miss it one little bit.
I gave up getting drunk because I found greater joy in living for Christ than I ever did drinking or smoking pot.
Surrender yourself to Christ and experience the wonderful full life that He has for you.
Jesus is the source. Make Him the center of your life.
The next point I want to make about making Christ the center of your life is the…
4. Bottom line: it’s not about you.
I came across this thought a few days ago, as I was reading The Purpose-Driven Life, by Rick Warren.
The thought to ponder for the first day is that it’s not about me. It’s all about Christ.
Colossians 1:16b (The Message)
Everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him.
The idea here is that we need to take our eyes off ourselves and onto Jesus. When we focus on Him, when we make Him the center of our lives, we start to think of things on a more eternal level.
We see the right place our work should take in our lives. The right place our family should take. The right place our recreation should take. The right place our relationship with God should take, which is first place.
A man once said that Christ is prominent in many men, but in only a few is He pre-eminent. In other words, in only a few lives is Christ the driving force in a person’s life.
It’s not about you – it’s about Christ.
5. Practical steps to making Christ the focus:
Spend time daily in the Bible.
Memorize Scripture.
Consider how Jesus would conduct Himself in your situation.
Ask the right questions:
Is it right? (not “Is it legal?”)
Does Scripture address this issue? If not, what is my basis for a decision?
Will this reflect proper priorities?
(Honor God, honor family, honor others?)
Will this be something I would not be embarrassed about God knowing about? (He does anyway!)
If you are not sure, pray.
God wants you to be sure of His desires. Ask Him for wisdom.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
God doesn’t want His children to be embarrassed to walk with Him. Trust Him and His Word. You’ll not regret it.
Jesus is the focus of eternity. Jesus is the boss, the master. Jesus is the source of life, security, and significance.
With this in mind, let me challenge you this morning to submit to Him.
We are going to pray in just a minute. If you want to make that submission to Him this morning, you will have the opportunity to do that.
I will be asking you to put aside your agenda, and get on God’s agenda, asking Him to make His will known for you in whatever situation you are in.
You will be asking God to so invade your life with His Spirit that you will desire to please Him in loving obedience, trusting that He will supply all your needs, physically and spiritually.
The great Christian, Watchman Nee said, “I have never met a soul who has set out to satisfy the Lord and has not been satisfied himself.”
If you have the courage to do that today, then I invite you to pray with me right now. I pray that everyone hearing this will do that with me.
Yielding to Christ is opening the door to the wonderful full life He has for you. The full life that He paid for with His own blood.
If you have never trusted in Christ as your Savior and Lord, then I want to pray with and for you first.
You can leave here today knowing that your sins are forgiven and that you have a home in heaven. Jesus died so you can have eternal life in heaven and a forgiven, changed life here on earth.
Call on Him for that forgiveness and salvation, won’t you? I will pray in just a few seconds, and if you want to take Christ as your Savior and Lord, you will be able to do that, okay?
Before we pray, let me just make one more statement, and that is to be intentional about making Christ the center of your life.
Let’s pray.
