EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!
SUBJECT: BE GOD-CENTERED!
Memory verse: "But He turned, and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offence to Me: for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."(Matthew 16 vs 23.)
READ: Matthew 16 vs 21 - 27:
16:21: From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.16:22: Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!
16:23: But He turned, and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offence to Me: for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
16:24: Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
16:25: For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
16:26: For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
16:25: For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
16:26: For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
16:27: For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He will reward each according to his works.
INTIMATION:
Being “God-centered” is making God the center of your life. All you desire is to do God’s will; always evaluating things from God’s perspective than from human or self perspective. This is the opposite of being “self-centered,” which is thinking mainly of oneself, caring only about oneself and own needs, being egocentric. A self-centered person leaves God out of the center of his or her life as Satan desires. Many people try to use God for their own self-actualization, but that is a reversal of nature, and is doomed to failure. We are all made by God, for Him and His use, not vice versa. Life is all about letting God use His creation for the purpose He created it; it Is all about letting God use you for His purposes, not your using Him for your own purpose.
The obsession of self-centeredness is a dead end. The Bible in Romans 8 vs 6 states, "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." Those who are self-centered live for themselves, and not for God, and consequently lose the spiritual dimension to their lives. Keep your commitment to Christ at full strength. Then you’ll be ready when He returns.
We must be committed to living for Christ that we should “hate” our lives by comparison. This does not mean that we long to die or that we are careless or destructive with the life God has given, but that we are willing to die if doing so will glorify Christ. We must disown the tyrannical rule of our own self-centeredness. By laying aside our striving for advantage, security, and pleasure, we can serve God lovingly and freely. Releasing control of our lives and transferring control to Christ bring eternal life and genuine joy.
In the passage we read today, Jesus said to Peter, ‘It is satanic to think of self rather than God’: “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offence to Me: for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” He further said to His disciples, ‘Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. They should follow Him and He will show them their life's purpose. Jesus advised them that self-help is no help at all, but self-sacrifice is the way, God's way to finding yourself, your true self.
Though ignorantly, Peter played the part of Satan to divert Jesus from the cross. Satan was using Peter’s love and concern for Jesus as an appeal to cause Jesus to stumble in His destiny. Today, too many friends and family use their appeal as Peter, to discourage men, and women from going Into the world to preach the gospel. One of the works of Satan is to use the good intentions of brethren in order to dissuade the destiny of those who seek to serve the Lord.
God made you for a reason, and your life has profound meaning! We discover that meaning and purpose only when we make God the reference point of our lives. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is, and by what He does for us. We are equivalent to an invention in God’s hands. The easiest way to discover the purpose of an invention is to ask the creator of it directly, or refer to the owner's manual. The same is true for discovering your life's purpose; Ask God—your Maker, or refer to the Owner's Manual —the Bible. The discovery is by revelations inherent in the Word of God.
God has not left us in the dark to wonder and guess. He has clearly revealed His purposes for our lives in the Bible. It tells us why we are alive, how life works, how the owner of life governs it, what to do, what to avoid, and what to expect now, and in the future. And it is only in Him, and His Manual you can find these answers. If that is the case, it makes no sense to center your life on yourself, but rather on the Owner of that life, and the determinant of how best to lead that life of yours.
In First Corinthians 2 vs 7. The Bible says, "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory." The wisdom of God is mysterious and goes deep into the interior of His purposes which is only determined by Him, and revealed to us, if we quest for it. You don't find it lying around on the surface. God, in His wisdom, determined the way to bring out His best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene. It is beyond the wisdom of men, or of this world. "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God" (First Corinthians 3 vs 19).
God is not just the starting point of your life; He is the source of it. To discover your purpose in life you must turn to God's Word, not the world's wisdom—never lean on your own understanding. You must build your life on eternal truths, not self-driven ambitions. God, in His infinite wisdom, purposefully created you, and you are to serve His purpose to live a purposeful life.
Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of raw obedience to You, that You will take the first place in my life in all things, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.
PRAISE THE LORD!
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