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And I’ve been thinking
a lot about that
question lately. People might have different views about WHO we think
Jesus is - as I spoke
about a few weeks ago - but when it comes down to what do we do with
Jesus, in so far as our own lives are concerned. -
I suggest that there
are really only two alternatives.
Either Jesus
is on the sideline of our lives, or he is at the centre
of our lives!
And I would like us to think about these a little more this morning.
1)
We can think of Jesus, as being on the sideline
of our lives. We can regard Him as being, really, not all that
important. Perhaps, like the small Hindu shrine’s we see more
frequently now, behind the shopkeepers counter, we put Jesus there up
on the shelf as well. Not all that far out of our lives, but
not really involved in them, either.
At
certain times of the year, like at Christmas or Easter, we may pay
special attention to this
Jesus, or perhaps at some other time, for example when
tragedy strikes, or our health deteriorates, or some personal
problem engulfs us . Then,
of course, we turn to Him, we offer our prayers and seek His help.
But, for the most part, He’s
still out there – sidelined - and our lives generally carry on
without any reference to Him or consideration of Him.
So,
to use this illustration – this could be a
picture of my life ;
my self or ego is
on the throne. My life is organised around my concerns,
(or my family’s) our wants, or interests or activities. But Jesus is
down here, just one alongside many other occasional interests in my
life.
Now that’s ONE
response we can have to Jesus!
The OTHER
response we can have - and I think this is the only other response we CAN have – is where we
have taken the step of faith and invited Jesus Christ to be, not just part of our lives but ,at the very centre
of our lives. In this situation self has stepped down off the throne -
and we have said -
“Lord – you take that
higher place”
So which of these Two
Diagrams best Illustrates your life at this moment?
Is Jesus
effectively OUTside your life –or is He there, at the centre
of your life?
If it is the first
– then I would ask you to consider making that step of surrender,
and invite the sovereign Lord of Heaven and Earth to take the throne
in your life. That’s
what a Christian is – someone who has made that invitation, and
where Jesus is at the
controls.
If it is the second
– then, in response to the question –“ What have you done with
my Son Jesus?” – you can say, that you have welcomed Him
into the centre of your life!.
Now that may be easy to say
– but what does it mean, in practice? How
will I live out what it means to have Jesus as Lord in
my life?
Well I would like to
share with you three aspects of what I think this means, under the
simple headings of Find, Follow and Focus.
- Find: When I make the decision to welcome Jesus Christ into my
life – I then begin a process of discovery. I believe that He is in my life, so I now begin
to look for evidence and signs of His presence in every
aspect of my daily life.
Whether my life seems to be going from good to better,
or bad to worse – the promise that Jesus gave that he
would enter into our lives – means that he is
actually present in every situation!
In our joyful circumstances or our sorrowful ones; - in
times of peace and tranquillity or in times of hectic mayhem -
the eye of faith sees Jesus as always present- always
there!
In the workshop, in the office, in the waiting room, in the
kitchen and the car – Jesus is there too!
And this is something our mind doesn’t naturally think
about!
So
this takes some readjustment in our thinking, especially for those who
are new in the faith. It’s
a bit like if you have lived on your own for many years – you get to
please yourself in what you do, where you go and when you go. You
generally have only yourself to think about.
But when you invite someone else
into your life, to share your life with you
– then everything changes!
You now pause,
and think before you make decisions. You ask yourself
– What would they prefer? How would they do that?
Where would they like to go? – and when would that suit them?
That’s what living a life with Jesus at the
centre is a bit like! It’s
a new way of living and looking at life.
And gradually you grow in that realisation, and it becomes more
natural to you in your faith journey - that Jesus is there with you.
In other words, you are Finding God more present
in your life.
- Focus. The second thing that begins to
change in your life when you invite Jesus Christ to take up the
throne in your life, is that your life will take on a new Focus.
Jesus said “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall
see God.”
One biblical scholar defined purity of heart as meaning “to will
one thing”.
A
heart that is ‘pure’ is focused on God’s will and Purpose.
When Jesus said - “Seek
first the Kingdom of God “ – he was talking about purity of
heart.
When
the Psalmist said ‘create in me a clean heart, O God,’ he was not
just talking about God cleaning up his inner life, dealing with his
sin and throwing out the rubbish – but about God helping him to
focus his life on God’s purposes and intentions and plan for his
life.
When
we invite Jesus onto the throne – we will be asking that he help us
re-focus our lives on His values, His goals, His direction; and His
purposes for our lives.
This is what we will be doing in the forthcoming ‘40Days
of Purpose’ spiritual journey together. And the great thing
about doing this as a parish is that we wont be doing this
alone and individually. As we meet week by week in our Home Groups we
will be encouraging each
other as we, together, discover and focus
on God’s Purposes for our lives.
We can grow in our awareness of Finding God present with
us in every situation; we can grow in our Focus on God Purpose
in our lives daily… and
3.
…We also have to grow in Following the promptings of
Jesus. Its one
thing to make a decision to receive Jesus Christ into our
lives, its often another matter to live that out in daily life.
It’s one thing to stand at the altar on your Wedding Day and
make your vows to your new spouse! It’s something else to live the
rest of your life in working that out in practice!
So, also, to describe what it means to ‘follow’
Jesus is actually not all that easy, is it?
How would you describe it?
Well,
I think that to follow Jesus means simply that I will want to obey His
commandments,- his presence, purpose and his promptings in my life.
Jesus said – ‘You are my friends if you keep my commandments” –
And I think that simply means
DOING what he says.
I think this means that I will constantly be desiring to live
my life on a higher level than where I am at the moment. I will want
to be more like Jesus. The words of scripture which speak about how to live the
Christian life will become increasingly important to me!
I
wont always succeed in doing what scripture says – in fact I
will probably fail quite often. But as long as I’m heading in the
right direction, that’s the main thing.
So, to live my life with
Jesus at the centre means -
1) To Find God’s presence
there with me in every place in my daily life ;
2) To Focus on God’s Purposes
for me as I go about my daily business, AND
3)
To Follow God’s prompting in my life and
to obey his commandments.
I
think those are the starting points
in how I begin to follow Jesus as the Lord of my life.
“What
have you done with my Son Jesus?”
My prayer is that if you haven’t already given that
invitation to Him to take up the throne in your life – that you will
be nearer that decision now, than you were before.
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