jesus at the center of our faith

8/11/2019 Jesus at the Center of Our Faith

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Q & A.

Today, we arrive at the last sermon in our six-week

series, Jesus at the Center. This series has been based on

Acts 1:12, where Luke writes, In my former account, O

Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and

to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after

giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles

he had chosen.Over the past few weeks, we have seen how

Jesus is at the center of what we do and where we go as the

Spirit of God guides our lives. We have seen how Jesus is at

the center of the transitions of our lives, for he is the head

of his church and is the one who holds all things together. Wehave seen how he is the center of Pentecost as the exalted

Lord, the one to whom we continually give testimony as we

experience the baptism in the Holy Spirit. We also took two

weeks to recognize that he is at the center of our ministries,

since we are all called to do the work of ministry. Today, we

will look at Jesus at the Center of our Faith. [Transition

Sermons]


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I remember a couple of years ago coming across a

Facebook eCards that caught my attention. I think it was

because I had JUST seen the reality of this cards statement

right before I saw this card. The card said, [fill in card

statement]. It reminded me of a sermon series a minister I

know did. It was entitled Facebook. This pastor opened the

sermon series with a video that showed random quotes, some

of which may surprise many of you. After the video finished,

he explained that every single quote that was in the video

came from the Facebook profiles of people who were part of

that church. Dont worry, theres no need to de-friend or

block me. Im not going to go scouring the interwebs lookingfor what youre saying online. But I do want to challenge you

with this question, Do your posts on social media reflect

what you say you believe?Lets move beyond social media for

a moment. Do your actions parallel your confession?

Now, I often hear people who want to criticize others

when it comes to speaking about faith and actions. It is at

that point that people who dont know David from Moses pull


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Matthew 7:1 out of their Scriptural arsenal. Theres like Back

off! The Bible says, Do not judge. Even Christians will say

that our holiness and righteousness comes from God. Both of

these statements are very true, but at the same time, we

have to admit that the Bible does speak to us about our

behavior, which ultimately should function as an outward

expression of what is going on in our hearts. The Apostle Paul

addresses such issues as he is writing to Timothy in Ephesus.

[1 Tim 1:34] There are false teachers in the area, and

people are being turned away from the truth of the Gospel.

Paul, sends this letter to Timothy in order that he may

personally maintain the faith and lead the church in Ephesus indoing the same.

We understand from the outset of Pauls writings that

there is heresy and false teaching. This would lead me to the

understanding that Paul would move into proper teaching and

doctrine, but Paul starts giving instructions to Timothy about

what people should be doing. Paul calls for people to pray for

those in authority (1 Tim 2:12).He calls people to maintain


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a modest appearance (1 Tim 2:910). Paul calls for those

who have positions of authority in the church to be faithful

to their spouse (1 Tim 3:2-3)

and to have a good

reputation with those outside the community of faith (1

Tim 3:7). Admittedly, these are just a few of the

instructions Paul gives. But wait a second. Paul said there was

heresy, so why is he giving all of these instructions? The

answer is in our text for today. Go with me to 1 Tim 3:1416.

Paul isnt there, but he is hoping to get to Ephesus, but

the situation is so urgent it demands that Paul send a letter

ahead of his arrival. He says, beginning in verse 14, Although

I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you theseinstructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how

people ought to conduct themselves in Gods household (1

Tim 3:1415a). In other words,You need to know how to

conduct yourself as a Christian. Now I grew up in a fairly

strict tradition where if I stood up to preach on a Sunday

morning in what I have on right now, I would not only be

blocked from getting up to speak, I might be lucky to make it


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out alive. I once remember the big discussion at church being

because I went to church with shorts on one Wednesday

night. Rest assured that when Paul speaks of conduct, thats

not necessarily what he is talking about. What Paul is hitting

at is that the way you conduct yourself should be in a manner

that advances and never hinders the Gospel. Consider what

Paul wrote earlier, As I urged you when I went to

Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may

command certain persons not to teach false doctrines any

longer or to devote themselves to myths and endless

genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculation

rather than advancing Gods workwhich is by faith (1Tim 1:34).

As Paul continues in verse 15, he gives two additional

descriptions of the household of God. He describes it as the

church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of

truth. So often when we read this passage, we take it as a

manual for how we should behave INchurch, but Paul makes it

clear that he is saying how we should behave AS the church.


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foundation.

Some may ask what is this truth, but I would dare say

this truth is not a what, but a Who. As we have talked about

Jesus being at the center, we find today, that Jesus should

be at the center of our confession. That is, what we both say

and do. It is for this reason that we can say, as Paul writes,

Indeed, undeniably great is the mystery of godliness who

was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen

by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the

world, taken up in glory.This isnt simply about a list of dos

and donts regarding behavior. This isnt simply about checking

off the right boxes regarding beliefs. This is about JesusChrist the Son of the living God. When we come across the

word mystery, we often think of something we are trying to

figure out. When Paul uses the term, what we find is that he

is referring to something that has been revealed. As we look

at this confession and break it down a bit, we find two

different parts. The first three lines depict the earthly

ministry of Jesus as seen by the angels above. The second


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three lines depict what Christ continues to do in and through

the Churchthats in and through you and meas seen by the

exalted and glorified Christ from his throne in heaven. May we

never forget our responsibility, as believers in Jesus, to keep

Jesus at the center of all we say and do, while serving as

Christs ambassadors who tell a lost and dying world to be

reconciled to God.

If you would bow your heads with me please. As we have

been in this mornings gathering and walked through this text,

where Paul provides us with instructions regarding the

importance of our conduct, I wonder if some of you have been

cleaning up your social media posts while Ive been speaking.More importantly, I wonder if the Holy Spirit has been

speaking to some of you about areas of your life where Jesus

is not at the centerplaces where your practice and your

confession do not align. If the Lord has been dealing with you

about that, I would like to pray for you. If you would simply

raise your hand in response during this time. Is there anyone

who would say, my practices are not consistent with my


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beliefs, if you would just slip up your hand. [Prayer]

Even as Paul noted the common confession of the church

regarding the ministry of Jesus, we have another common

confession that we as Christians maintain. As the servers

move into place to prepare for communion, may we recite the

Nicene Creed, which notes our common confession with

believers around the world. [Nicene Creed] [Prayer]

[Notification of method]

jesus at the center of our faith

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