Its All About Him

It’s All About Him!

Eph 1:20-22: Phil. 2:1-4: Col. 3:12-14

“It’s Not About Me” is the title of a book by Max Lucado. He makes this statement: “When God looks at the center of the universe, he doesn’t look at you. When heaven’s stagehands direct the spotlight toward the star of the show, we need no sunglasses. No light falls on us. We are appreciated. Valued. Loved dearly. But central? Essential? Pivotal? Nope. Sorry. The world does not revolve around us. Our place is not at the center of the universe. As John Piper writes, “God does not exist to make much of us. We exist to make much of him.” It’s not about you. It’s not about me. It’s all about Him!

God points to his Son & says, “Behold the center of it all.” The Apostle Paul put it this way: God raised him [Christ] from death & set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name & no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being but forever. He is in charge of it all; He has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church” (Eph. 1:20–22 MSG).

Our problem is we were all born with a default drive set on self? Self-absorbed, self-centered, self-fulfilled, self-governed, self-help, self-interest, self-justified, self-made, self-nurture, self-ruled, self-sufficient, self-taught, self-validated, self-willed. It’s all about self! I want a spouse who makes me happy & coworkers who listen to me. I want weather that suits me & people that help me & a government, school, & a church that serves me. It is all about me.

Lucado goes on: “We thought self-celebration would make us happy… But what chaos this philosophy creates. What if a symphony followed such an approach? Can you imagine an orchestra with an “It’s all about me” outlook? Each artist clamoring for self-expression. Tubas blasting nonstop. Percussionists pounding to get attention. The cellist shoving the flutist out of the center-stage chair. The trumpeter standing atop the conductor’s stool tooting his horn. Sheet music disregarded. Conductor ignored. What do you have but an endless tune-up session! Harmony? Hardly. Happiness? Not at all. We were not made to live this way.”

But aren’t we guilty of doing just that? In our homes, businesses, & communities. And what about church attendees who think, “It’s all about me!. “I want more hymns & less choruses, I want a piano & no drums, I want more prayer time & less fellowship time, I want highly committed leaders, I want kids to be quite, youth to sit in the front row, & a pastor who preaches the Word but doesn’t get too personal.”

But what would happen if we lived like – “It’s all about Him. It’s not about me.” We’d certainly hear less “Here is what I want! & more of “What do you suppose God wants?”

So what’s God’s solution? Does He send us to a seminar or on a spiritual retreat, does He tells us to be more disciplined in our Bible reading & prayer time, to listen to longer & deeper sermons, to read more Christian books & listen to more Christian radio, work harder, longer, & smarter. Not necessarily!

What is God’s major plan for helping us to move from “me-focus” to “God-focus?” Here it is: The church! He puts us into a community of people called the church. Without a local church, we will not grow from “Me” centered to “God centered”! So let me share a few thoughts about the growth process.

1-Growth comes from God – not us. We can make ourselves available, we can choose to walk by the Spirit, but only He has the power to change us. Jer. 9:23-24 “This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom (our brains) or the strong man boast of his strength (our brawn) or the rich man boast of his riches (our bucks), but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands & knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice & righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord. Growth comes from God – not us. We don’t try harder, work harder, pray harder, study harder. We put our selves under His leadership & we obey Him through the power of the Holy Spirit & growth takes place.

2-Growth takes time – it doesn’t happen quickly. There is no such thing as instant maturity. No short cuts to growth. In the Book “How People Grow” the authors put it this way: “Time is a necessary ingredient of growth.” So we must be patient with God & with one another in the process of growth. God’s specialty is not while-you-wait makeovers but over-a-lifetime transformations.

3-Growth is to take place within Community (a group of people). Growth happens within the context of a community people. Without the support, love, admonition, patience, encouragement, forgiveness, teaching, collective advice, accountability, & prayers of other members of a local church, we would be unable to grow in the faith. Christian growth & maturity does not come out of isolation but through involvement with others.

One of the metaphors the bible uses for the church is “members of God’s family” (Eph. 2:19). The church is a spiritual family of brothers & sisters who are connected by our mutual love for Christ. One writer put it this way: “The church is also riddled with the full range of human qualities from delightful to the dreadful. People who seem perfectly normal in a Bible study or fellowship group can suddenly change. Expectations inflate, controllers rise to the surface, personal “crit-o-meters” register unusually high readings, & a few people become downright weird, maybe even the pastor. Still, with all its faults & corporate idiosyncrasies, participation in the life of a church is a necessary discipline & grace, particularly in a culture that is driven by independence & individualism. “

One of the major tools God uses to check our growth is tests. You will find examples all through the Bible where God took His people through tests. James 1:3-4 “For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character & ready for anything. (NLT) God tests us. Tests have a positive purpose. He tests us so He can entrust us with greater responsibility & greater rewards.

I don’t know that everything is a test, but I do know that God often tests us. So, whenever you are going through a challenging time & you are looking around saying, “What in the world is going on?” I would suggest that God is testing you &/or Satan is tempting you. Remember this:

-God tests us with the intent of causing us to grow.

-Satan tempts us with the intent of causing us to fail.

Let that sink in for a moment. Now both God & Satan can use any experience. God’s intent is for us to grow in love, character, trust, respect, & unity. Satan’s intent is to cause division, disputes, disunity, discord, & descent.

Growth takes place within the context of relationships. God uses relationships to test us & Satan uses those same relationships to tempt us. Now what are we to do? What kind of action does God want from us. How does He want us to respond?

Put others First: The Bible says: If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ….then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Phil. 2:1-4

Three practical guidelines:

1- Never let selfishness “It’s all about me” be your motive.

2- “Each of you” Each means we all have personal responsibility.

3- Don’t limit your attention to your own personal interests – include others. Do not ask:

“What’s in it for me? Instead we ask, “What will benefit others?

Put others first….

Love One Another: The Bible says: God has chosen you & made you his holy people. He loves you. So always do these things: Show mercy to others, be kind, humble, gentle, & patient. Get along with each other, & forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, forgive that person because the Lord forgave you. Do all these things; but most important, love each other. Love is what holds you all together in perfect unity. Col. 3:12-14 NCV

It’s easier to talk about the importance of loving people, of putting others first, than it is to do it. Someone put it this way: “To live above with the saints we love – oh, that will be glory. But to live below with people we know – well, that’s a different story.” God has called us to a unity in diversity by living out the love of Christ in our relationship.

According to this passage we love one another by: showing mercy, being kind, being humble, being gentle, being patient. Getting along, forgiving,… each other. This is just one of the many passages of “one another” commands in the NT.

The whole point is the supremacy of Christ – it’s all about Him! The Apostle Paul put it this way: “So we continue to preach Christ to each person, using all wisdom to warn & to teach everyone, in order to bring each one into God’s presence as a mature person in Christ.” (Col. 1:28)

So here is the question: Is it all about Him in your life, in your priorities, in your schedule, in your stewardship of your time, talents, & treasure?

Ben Kingsley starred as the main character in the motion picture Gandhi. He spent months preparing for the role, visiting the various Indian locales Gandhi had frequented. He even learned to spin cotton thread on a wooden wheel while holding conversations as Gandhi did.

The physical resemblance between Gandhi & Kingsley was almost startling. After filming a scene in a village south of Delhi, Kingsley stepped out of a car, & an elderly peasant knelt to touch his feet. Embarrassed, Kingsley explained that he was merely an actor playing Gandhi. "We know," replied the villager, "but through you he will surely live again."

"Is Jesus Christ living through you?