A God-Centered Life

When I was a Sunday school teacher, one of my lessons was to take a piece of chalk and write on the chalkboard one word in big letters. I'd write out the word selfishness with a space between each letter. And then I'd ask the class the following question.

Which letter in this word can I circle with this chalk that best describes the word selfishness? And I would wait for response as my class read over that word. Eventually the light would come on and I would hear their response as they said in unison the letter I. Because a selfish person will say, I want that, or I deserve this. It's all I, I, I. Because the world revolves around them.

A self-centered life can be seen in Luke chapter 12, where the egotistical rich man is described in that the word my occurs five times. It was my fruits, my barns, my fruits, my goods, and my soul. And I thought about this rich fool just the other day as I was reading about a billionaire who owned much of this world's goods.

And he was bragging about his investments. He said he owned a good part of a mining company that just discovered lithium. And he made the following statement.

He said, electric cars will need my lithium. And I thought to myself, it's not your lithium, mister. God owns it all.

We have to be careful, friends, not to live our lives in independence of God like the rich fool in my Bible. And as believers, we have to be careful not to live a self-centered life. And that's not as easy as it sounds, friends, because our depraved nature wants to gratify self and keep self on the throne of our lives.

It's easy to fall into the ways of the world and refer to what God has given us as mine. My money, my real estate, my boat, my plane. It's not your plane, brother deacon, for everything you have belongs to God.

We are only the stewards of his resources. The title of my message this evening, friends, is A God-Centered Life. And my text can be found in Deuteronomy chapter 6. You can turn in your Bibles there now, friends.

We'll be in verses 4 and 5. And let me read us this description of a God-centered life. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, And with all thy soul, and with all thy might. That means you can't have a divided heart, friend.

A self-centered life is one where the world revolves around me. It's the false belief that, as a Christian, I have rights and claims on my life. It isn't so, friend.

When you become a Christian, then the gospel has rights and claims upon your life. For you were bought with a price, and the price was the precious blood of Christ. You are now his glad-bond slave.

Listen to me, friend. When you become a Christian, your life is no longer your own. Your money is not your own.

Your time is not your own. Your body is not your own. Christ must be a complete master.

I believe a passage that describes a God-centered life can be found in Colossians chapter 3. And verses 1 through 3. Let me read it to you now, friends. If ye, then, be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things of the earth.

For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. It's true, friends. A God-centered life is not focused on the things of this world, but focused on the things that have eternal worth.

I remember, years ago, when I was a successful businessman. I lived my life for myself, even though I called myself a Christian. All I wanted to do back then was to travel and play golf.

I played pebble beach more than once. I was a member of a country club. And much of my free time was spent on my own amusement.

At my center was myself. But God, in his mercy, changed my life's circumstances. And in the process, he changed me.

Bless his holy name. A God-centered life puts God at its center. And all I do, all I think, all I say, revolves around God and making him known in my generation.

I'm his servant. I'm his steward. I'm his witness.

I no longer exist to make me happy. Rather, I live to bring him pleasure. I don't make any decisions without first consulting him and his word.

My life choices are made with God at the center of them. This is the only way to be truly satisfied in this world, friend. A self-centered life is an ungrateful life.

It's all about you. You boast and brag of what you have and what you've done. A God-centered life exalts the King Jesus in all I do.

A God-centered life is a self-emptying life, whereby self goes the way of the cross. A crucified Savior must have crucified followers. J. Sidlow Baxter used to say, How can a man, full of himself, preach the Christ to emptying himself? I think one of the most distasteful things to behold is a man in the pulpit who is full of himself.

They used to be found in old churches years ago in this country that on the pulpit stairs that led to the high pulpit was a brass plaque that read, Sir, we want to see Jesus. When others look at us, do they see Jesus? A God-centered life will exalt the Son. Will it be, friend, a self-centered life or a God-centered life? Which will it be for you? Let us pray.