Christ Center Living - Other Centers

Christ Centered Living Part III

John 15.5

 

⁵  "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

 

As we continue with our Series on Christ Centered Living we established…

·       It’s not about establishing priorities

·       It’s about Christ being at the center of our lives

 

This morning I am going to unleash the chart that will walk us through the rest of this series.

 

Let’s take a closer look at this.  I know for most of you this is your first time seeing this.

Adam and Eve’s sin – effected – Relationships and Responsibilities

·       The only way to set things in order is to have Jesus at the center of our lives

·       Then he flows out from there to touch every area of our lives

 

From the Center of our lives we receive our

·       Security

·       Wisdom

·       Power

·       Guidance

 

Jesus infiltrates our lives through

·       Teaching

·       Fellowship

·       Thanksgiving

·       Prayer

 

 

 

Other Centers -  using a negative to prove a positive point

 

Other Centers that bring disorder

·       Spouse centeredness –

o   Marriage is the single best and most important relationship on earth

§  No other relationship is as important – flesh of my flesh

§  Children come from us but eventually – leave and cleave to another

o   But if we look to our spouse for

§  Security – how we feel about ourselves

§  we are dependent on the moods and actions of our spouse – to feel secure and empowered

§  Guidance – decision making

§  How will my spouse respond?  Vs.  what is right, what is God’s will

·       Family centeredness

o   Getting our security or self-worth from family, parents – children – extended family

o   Guidance and Wisdom - What happens when a move is involved?

§  When we moved down here it did not sit well with family

§  We were left out and not counted in

§  We knew this was God’s will

§  Many marriages fail – when either spouse has never left their parents

§  Not geographically but emotionally

§  Leave and cleave

§  Matthew 19:4-6 (NIV2011)
⁴  “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’
⁵  and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?
⁶  So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”     

o   What happens when children rebel?

§  Does the marriage fall apart or do the partners battle the real enemy through prayer?   

·       Money centeredness

o   If I had more money I would be happier.

o   People can put aside things that really matter – relationships, family, God, in search of more money    

·       Work centeredness

o   Gaining our identity from what we do

§  Men ask, What do you do for a living?

o   Workaholics – not out of need but out of identity

§  A pastor I know used to brag, I worked 80 hours this week!

§  Sorry, your life is so unbalanced

·       Possession centeredness

o   Life is wrapped up in what we own

o   I feel good if my car is better than yours, my house bigger than yours and so on

o   I was watching a show on motorcylces and some roadside restaurant in CA.

o   They would park – foreign on one side and Harley’s on the other

o   The bikes were amazing – from cruisers to -----rockets

§  Then Jay Leno comes in with the only jet engine motorcycle in the world

§  Now what happens to your identity – Security

·       Pleasure centeredness

o   Fun – I work hard so I am going to enjoy myself no matter what

§  Party and drinking mentality

§  Eat drink and be merry

o   Too much of anything is out of order

·       Friend/enemy centeredness

o   Acceptance to a certain peer group

o   Emotional – security – dependence on friend or friend group

§  What would so and so think if I did that?

§  Effects our guidance

·       Church centeredness

o   I’m a pastor and see the danger of this

o   Too much time in church becomes counterproductive to God’s purpose

§  Can’t help my neighbor – got to go to committee meeting

§  Can’t go to my kids game – got a meeting

o   This is not the case with church anymore

§  You can’t get mediocre Christians in church if you had it at their house

o   But for some – church is everything

§  Well what happens when church struggles?

§  What happens if people leave the church? 

§  What happens when the church is not in a growth season but a pruning season?

§  What will happen to your center? 

 

All of these centers can be good – But none of them are God!

When a good thing becomes a god thing it is a bad thing!! 

·       No earthly relationship can be God

·       No earthly responsibility can take the place of God

 

·       Self-centeredness

o   All of these false centers are really wrapped up in this one

o   We make other centers because we think we know what is best for our lives

o   We don’t – we can’t even find our keys! 

 

Jesus must be at the center of our lives or our lives are out of order

Colossians 1:15-23 (NLT)
¹⁵  Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
¹⁶  for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.
¹⁷  He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.
¹⁸  Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.
¹⁹  For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ,
²⁰  and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
²¹  This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions.
²²  Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
²³  But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.

 

It begins with knowing:

Jesus is God

·       He is the eternal everlasting God

·       Creator and sustainer of the universe

He is Good

·       Everything He does is Right

I am bad without Christ

·       Romans 3:10-12 (NLT)
¹⁰  As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one.
¹¹  No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God.
¹²  All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.”

 

He loves me know matter what!

·       Romans 8:31 (NLT)
³¹  What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

·       Romans 8:38-39 (NLT)
³⁸  And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.
³⁹  No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Through repentance and belief

·       Romans 3:22-23 (NLT)
²²  We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
²³  For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

Where are you in your walk with Jesus?

 

Is He the center?

 

Are you expecting another relationship or responsibility to be god? 

 

Are you ready to put Jesus at the center of your life?