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Sunday 26 January 2003 - "Christ as King of our lives"

(Summary of sermon by Arno Stegen)

Judges 21:25

In those days there was   no king in Israel: every man did that which was  right in his own eyes.

Matt 6:10

10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is  in heaven.

How wonderful it would not have been if the first verse was cut short and read, "... every man did that which was right". There is a big difference between doing what is right and what is right in your own eyes. If something is right in your own eyes, you will stand to what you do and defend it, even if it's wrong.

A Christian does not want to do wrong and therefore does what he believes to be right, but he must make sure that it is right in the eyes of his King and Lord. What is important to you? God's glory or your own interests? When you move out of your shelter of opinions into God's light, everything that is not from God gets removed.

We as Christians must test the fruit of our lives. Even if a project we've done is successful, unless it was born of God, it will eventually come to nothing or even produce bad fruit.

Balaam in the Old Testament is a good example of someone who had another king in his life, although his speech sounded so godly and upright. Balaam saw things in his own way, and minded earthly riches, but still wanted God's blessing in everything he does. So too, you might yearn for and desire something badly, yet want God's blessing. You go to God with your request and He shows you clearly that it is not from Him, yet you return again and again to Him to get His blessing on your own desire.

In the New Testament Paul speaks of those that are enemies of the cross, whose god is their belly and desires. They use the gospel for their own advantage. Eli's two sons were of this sort and even sinned other grievous sins right in the temple.

What is the solution? Christ must be the centre of our lives. In everything we do, our final concern should be, "Lord Jesus, what do you say about this?" Our lives must be obviously Christ-centered for everyone to see. That will bring harmony in our church, family and personal lives.

If you have a round disk and it turns about an axle that is not perfectly in the centre, its imbalance becomes more and more obvious, the faster it turns. Eventually something will break because of the uneven stresses and the disk will go to ruins. Even so if Christ is not completely at the centre of our lives, we might hold out in the Christian faith for a while, but when the pressure and responsibilities are added more and more, we will eventually fail. But if Christ is at the centre, the balance will stay perfect and our lives will be preserved.