A Jesus Centered Life
Pastor Rod Thompson
Midland SDA Church
May 23, 2020
I want to start off this morning by asking you question. What is your dream church? Is it a church filled with joy and unity, power and grace, one that is active and involved with the community, one that is motivated by love for one another and ministry to each other?
Is it a church that puts God first, prays to Him, studies His word, worships and praises Him?
If this is your dream church, then I want you to know that it is my dream church also. And I want you to know that it is possible to belong to a church like that. It did exist once and can exist again.
Let me show you this church
Read Acts 2: 42-47
Wouldn’t you love to belong to a church like that? What we are seeing here is vibrant spirituality lived out, in the context of community.
God has created us with the desire to live the wonderful life outlined in His word. One devoted to His glory and saturated in joy, service and power.
Acts 2 not only captures our imagination, but speaks intelligently to the issue of practical application. After all that’s the real issue isn’t it? The Christian life is not about gaining a bunch of head knowledge about God or His will for your life. But it is about applying the word of God to your life and allowing Him to change you.
We see, illustrated, in Acts chapter 2 true Christian commitments, a resolution to live whole heartedly for God and the reorientation of the life to get close to Him by the practice of spiritual disciplines.
The Acts 2 church is the one that God has designed for us, the one that we long for, and the one that we can be a part of, by God’s grace. Taking a look at this special church teaches us at least 5 things about the spiritual life.
Most of us experience fragmented lives. We have our church life, our home life, work life, and devotional life. And sometimes that devotional life is not very effective.
Thus we compartmentalize our lives until they look like a string of unrelated activities; work, home, family, church, devotions, service, recreation, and exercise.
But the life that God wants us to live is centered on Jesus. Everything comes from Him and goes back to Him. The organizing principle is Jesus, and the empowering agent is the Holy Spirit.
That means that my work, my church life, my devotions, and my family all belong to Him and rest in Him.
Those of you who have experienced such a life recognize that it is impossible to live it without the power and grace of the Holy Spirit.
Over the last several weeks we have been talking about individual spiritual growth and growth of the church as a whole. In relation to church growth, imagine what the world would look like if we Christians of today lived like the early Christians, incorporating Christ’ values and vision and life into everything we did.
Because of our love and our lives the world would find itself caught up in the wonder of the Savior.
I read a story about an engineer by the name of James who worked for a large corporation with more than 100 people under his direct supervision. James was also very active in his church and in the community. He would often preach, give bible studies, and go on mission trips.
Seeing his love and passionate service for God and the way the Holy Spirit led and empowered him, people often said to him, “James you should be a pastor.” To which James answered, I am already a pastor; I’m just paid by the market place instead of the church. He would say, no pastor is allowed to be in my engineering firm but I am there every day. When my employees are hurting, I hurt with them, and when they are rejoicing, I rejoice with them. I pray for them on a rotation basis and invite them over to my house. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ disguised as an engineer.
If you looked at the church that James belongs to, you would see 20 engineers who came to the Lord as a result of his ministry to them.
Imagine what God could do through you if you were totally committed to Him and have your life centered on Him. You should be a disciple of Christ disguised as a nurse, electrician, contractor, doctor, teacher, or whatever you do.
So the Jesus centered life model of spirituality is living with passion for the presence of God, experiencing His power and grace continually. A life rearranged so that the priorities of life would be to reflect His love, vision, core values, and world view.
You see, living with a passion for the presence of God, changes how we relate to people, to ourselves, to time, possessions, pleasure, problems, and all of life.
So what does a Christ centered life look like?
I want you to imagine a wheel. Visualize in your mind the wheel of a bicycle. Imagine that Jesus is the center of the wheel and your life is the outer rim, and the Holy Spirit is the spokes that holds it all together. Imagine that this wheel has four quadrants, each of them representing four areas of relationships: your relationship with God, with others, with yourself and with resources.
If your life is centered on Jesus, everything you do will be for the glory of God with an eye for service, ministry and evangelism. Such a Christ centered, Holy Spirit empowered life, balanced in its relational aspects would be exactly what is pictured in Acts chapter 2.
So let’s look at the 5 disciplines of spiritual life for the authentic Christian
1. First of all a true disciple of Christ who is growing spiritually will have Christ at the center of their life.
The early church is a picture of the Lordship of Christ ruling over every area of life – religious, secular, emotional, and physical. It is the integration and balance of
The individual and the corporate
The theological and the practical
The internal and the external
God and others –
BUT ALWAYS WITH CHRIST AT THE CENTER
Read Acts 2: 36
Here we see Peter presenting Jesus as Him to whom the people must respond. The life that we see in Acts 2: 42-47 is a response to Jesus as Lord, and that makes all the difference.
The church was born out of a personal response to put Jesus as Christ, savior, and Lord, and out of an empowerment by the Holy Spirit to live holy lives. Then Peter said,
Read Acts 2: 38
Of course, everything in Acts up to this point has laid the foundation for the centrality of Christ and the empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit.
These first believers had an intense passion for God. His kingdom, His purpose, His love, His creation, His people, and His vision for the world dominated their souls.
Acts 2 records their desire to learn more about Jesus through study, to be connected to Him through prayer, and to tell the world about Him through evangelism and ministry.
Read Acts 2:42
What comes after chapter 2 tells of their unwavering commitment to live or die for Jesus. Such radical devotion manifested itself not only in their religious observance but also in their use of time and their giving. In other words, a life centered on Jesus will be changed in every aspect.
2. The second aspect of a true disciple of Christ who is growing spiritually is that they will be empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Read Acts 2:4
The early church was born out of a radical transformation that took place after the Holy Spirit descended upon them. It was when they were filled with the Holy Spirit that the otherwise un-remarkable disciples began to preach as the Spirit enabled them.
Is it like that for you today?
It can happen today P20
Any model of Christian spirituality must account for the spirit of Christ, who, was demonstrated in Acts 2, is the source of direction and power for holy living.
Desire of Ages P172
The Christians life is not a modification or improvement of the old, but a transformation of nature. There is a death of self and sin, and a new life altogether. This change can be brought about only by the effectual working of the Holy Spirit
The scriptures testify too
2 Corinthians 5: 17-18 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.
The Holy Spirit gave the church the power to live in the kingdom of God while they were still on this earth. They had a taste of eternity in their hearts. But what about today?
What we must do is recapture the experience of the early church by being filled with the power and effectiveness of the Holy Spirit – driven by a passion for the lost, and compelled with the urgency of the second coming.
3. The third aspect of a true disciple of Christ who is growing spiritually is that they will be driven by spiritual practices.
Christian disciplines are spiritual practices that facilitate growth in our relationship with God. The list included in the book of Acts includes Bible study, prayer, ministry, evangelism, fellowship, giving and sharing, worship, praise, joy, and simplicity.
The earliest Christians found that such spiritual exercises enabled them to advance in the Christian experience, both individually and corporately.
Though Acts 2 does not record all of them, it has a higher concentration of spiritual disciplines than any other place in the bible.
Let me give you a few: The first century church
It was a learning church
It was a praying church
It was a fellowshipping church
It was a sharing church
It was a worshipping church
4. The fourth aspect of a true disciple of Christ who is growing spiritually is that they live in the context of community
As a part of the early churches balanced portrait of spirituality we find in Acts 2 a powerful description of the connection between the individual believers experience and the corporate Christian life. In this holistic model we see that the believers had a powerful connection with God and also a strong intentional bond with fellow believers, with their neighbors, community, and associates.
Their lives were so desirable that in Acts 2:47 it says that they found favor with the people and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
How would you like God to add to our number daily?
Here is the thing – If our spirituality is focused only on a relationship with God, we will become monks. Yet if our attention is only on our human relationships, we become social workers.
But true and authentic spirituality nurturers a vertical relationship with God, and at the same time a horizontal relationship with others.
Read Mark 12: 30-31
You see, a strong relationship with God will always motivate us to live for His glory, and living for His glory means embracing others with His love.
Read Colossians 3: 12-15
5. The final aspect of a true disciple of Christ who is growing in spirituality is that they live in balanced relationships
The Acts 2 spirituality of the early church nurtured four major relationships
1. The first was their relationship with God. Not only did they worship and praise God and study the bible, but they did it with the utmost devotion and commitment. God was the center of their lives
2. The second relationship was that with others. When the Holy Spirit descended upon the gathered disciples their focus turned from self to others. With a relationship balance they loved others more than self, heard others and served others.
3. The third was a relationship with self. In biblical spirituality personal choices play a crucial role. And our relationship with God and others is predicated upon our choice to be totally committed to living totally and wholeheartedly for the glory of God
4. The fourth and final balanced relationship must be with resources. A fundamental component in spirituality is a dedication of the entire life to God.
Read Romans 12: 1-2
From this flows a change in how we relate to what we used to call “our own.” - Time, talents, money, possessions, and bodies. The wise use of resources, regular giving, and healthy living are demonstrations of a healthy attitude toward resources.
As an outgrowth of their relationship with God, others, and themselves, the early Christians had a radical relationship to resources, sharing everything they owned and spending all for the kingdom.
They gave because they loved God, and they gave radically because they loved radically.
So what can we conclude from our study today?
Spirituality is about the whole of life and the entire person. The picture of the church that we have in the book of Acts speaks to a holistic spirituality addressing the totality of the experience of the believer.
Just as sinfulness touches every aspect of our person, so does positive spiritual living.
Spirituality is never about going to church once or twice a week or reading the bible occasionally or praying from time to time. It permeates everything that we do and say and think. It is what defines us and sets us apart.
So what does your dream church look like?
It is one where every person is centered on Jesus
Empowered by the Holy Spirit
Driven by spiritual practices
And guided by balanced relationships
Is that the desire of your heart? If it is – it all begins with you.