Christ Centered

Posted by anointedplace on October 7, 2010 · 27 Comments 

Colossians 2:6-23

⁶So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, ⁷rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

⁸See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

⁹For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, ¹⁰and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. ¹¹In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature,^[a]not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, ¹²having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

¹³When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature,^[b] God made you^[c] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.^[d]

¹⁶Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. ¹⁷These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. ¹⁸Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. ¹⁹He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

²⁰Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: ²¹“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? ²²These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. ²³Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

Being Christ centered and cross focused, naturally puts you at odds with the world.  Does it turn you into a lunatic or a fanatic?  An fanatic yes, a lunatic no but it does put the world in plain view.  Even if you are not a lunatic, it will be how everyone else will see you because its foolishness to those not of God.  It will energize you to work and work hard but we must not let the deeds replace our love for Christ as well as the love of Him.  The idea of being Christ centered is about putting God’s will, plan, purpose and glory above all.  Christ centeredness is like being a diehard fan but with actual access to the object of your fanatical behavior.  But your intent of worship is completely inline with God’s purposes.  Thus we become more than just mere imitators but partakers of Christ.  Fans never develop a relationship with their idols to the point were its not just a media opportunity for the artist or whatever the object of fans may be.  When Christ is center and when He is all that you need, you will be secure and stable.  He will never leave because He is eternal.  He understands what you are going through.

We at times see our relationship to Christ in the wrong light of pride and boastfulness.  We claim our blessing is based on us and our being highly favored.  CHRIST is left behind once we get our foot in the door.  If anything we are blessed because of Jesus Christ’s righteousness because ours is as filthy rags before the Father (Isaiah 64:6).  If we could be blessed based on our own righteousness; then why did Christ come?  We think highly of ourselves to the point of the slave making the master serve him. The mouth speaks what is in the heart.  We are not God as the evil one has told us once before (Genesis 3). Even thought we may have salvation we can’t live a life good enough to satisfy God on our own.  This is the Gospel! To claim otherwise is a lie from hell.  We present ourselves with a form of godliness but it’s a lie (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

Our faith, joy, happiness and reason for boasting is that we have realized what we would have been and was without the righteousness of Christ Jesus.  And that He did that not based on absolutely nothing that you have done.  Our walking by faith is that we live a life that is solely based on Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection for our ultimate salvation.  And because of that salvation we act out of that faith and produce the fruits of the Spirit.  It is out of this gift of salvation do all things spread outwardly.  We are not living by our own knowledge, understanding, sight, guidance or righteousness for our salvation.  Nor are we living for our own purpose and glory.  We have crucified our flesh with Christ and our eyes are blind to this world.  We have submitted and committed our entire life to Christ and trust Him to lead us.  We trust Him to live our life for us.  We do this because God loved us first when we hated ourselves and God.

Romans 4:4-8

4Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. 5However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. 6David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

7″Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 8Blessed is the man      whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”[b]

Romans 3:21-23

21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

We are trees, whose roots travel the path that our creator has commanded.  We obey Him because we love Him.  We trust the path He has put us on, we trust that the path will lead to the living water.  We trust that if we just keep pushing our root towards God’s calling that what He has purposed will be for our good.  Along the way He provides for us and we blossom and bloom.  We still produce fruit and nutriment for those that see our witness.  It is to God’s glory that these trees produce such good fruit and they have yet to reach the fullness of the living water of our completed glorification.

To be a Christian, its not about accepting Christ, its not about doing things.  A true Christian is committed to Christ, he/she has given themselves over to Christ and they conform to looking like Christ. Romans 8:29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  With all this said, let us think for a minute….  Jesus Christ is Lord regardless of what we do correct?  Just like God is real no matter if the whole believes in God or not; correct?  So since God’s existence does not depend on man’s belief, salvation does not depend on acts of righteousness from men and nor does Jesus Christ Lordship depend on man doing anything.  As born sinners we don’t have the power or right to place Christ anywhere.  I know we have said many times; “put God first…”  But God is first regardless.  We say “make Christ Lord of your life”.  But Christ is Lord of your life rather you like it our not.  See if you resist the following will happen:

Romans 1

¹⁸The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.²¹For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²²Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools ²³and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

²⁴Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

²⁶Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

²⁸Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. ²⁹They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³²Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Hebrews 12

⁴In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
⁶because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”^[a]

⁷Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? ⁸If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.⁹Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! ¹⁰Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

¹²Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. ¹³“Make level paths for your feet,”^[b] so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

Just like the tree who’s roots search for water no matter how free it thinks it is, it is still under the master’s control.  If the master desires its roots to go this way, He places a stone in the way.  If the master wants the root to slow down, he makes the path hard.  If the roots are too shallow, the master makes the climate cold.  You think that your trials and tribulations are for nothing?  It maybe that you have gotten from under the LORD and He is moving you back inline so you will put your eyes back on Him.  If we can’t walk a line while looking left or right, then who can we live this life for Christ looking left or right and not towards Christ?  We we rightfully see Christ we can live it.  When we put things in the light of Christ and align as well as center our lives accordingly, we will see transformation.  We should not glory in what God has made us or what we have gained because of Christ.  We should glory in Christ alone because otherwise we are glorying in a by product and not the producers.  If you read the Gospel of John, you will definitely notice a big difference from the Gospel of Matthew, Mark and Luke.  The Apostle John, is the only disciple that was with Jesus Christ from beginning to end.  Meaning, from selection of Jesus’ disciples through Jesus’ ministry, Jesus’ transfiguration, Jesus’ betrayal, trial, crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection.   So, when John wrote the Holy Spirit spoke through him with a very different perspective.  John wrote in light of a risen Christ, who rose with all power in His hands.  When you can see Christ as completely as he did, it changes you.  Your mindset is otherworldly, you view is eternal.  So since you can see your coming glorification through Christ, and you live like it because you know that you owe all to Christ.  You now have true worship and it will show in every aspect of your life.    It is powerful when you think about it, knowing that even our faith is a gift.  We brought nothing into this marriage and we signed no prenuptial.

Romans 12:2-3

²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

³For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

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