Grace for the Race
by Pastor Tommy | May 26, 2023 · 9:00 am
The Believer’s Bullseye
To live is Christ. (Philippians 1:21)
"The bullseye that I am referring to today is not the center of a piece of candy, but the center of a target, and that target is found in the first four words in the Bible: “In the beginning God . . .” Note well that Scripture does not say, “I the beginning I . . .” We are not the center of all things; God is. We are not to be sitting on the throne of our lives; God is. We are not to be at the center of our very existence; God is. God is the believer’s bullseye; when we are aiming at Him, we are doing what we were created to do."
"Sin kidnaps our lives and removes Jesus from the center. Sin puts us in the center of God’s glory story and we evaluate our lives through the filter of “Me, myself, and I.” We shrink the borders of our lives down to what we want, what we feel, what we desire, what we think is best for us at the time. The selfishness of sin replaces the Savior with self. We become the bullseye of our lives, and we miss God’s best for us in every area."
"Sin seduces us into believing that “Life is all about me.” It makes us controlling, demanding, critical, envious, and discontented. It causes us to fight with our family and flee from our friends. That is why we need to preach the Gospel to ourselves each and every day, because that is the only way to keep ourselves from pushing Jesus out to the periphery of our lives."
"Our lives exist for Another; His name is Jesus Christ. It is His will, not ours, that is to be done. It is His kingdom, not ours, that is to be advanced in this world. It is His glory, not ours, that is to be put on display. When Jesus is at the center of our lives, we will live with purpose, meaning, and significance. We will have an identity that cannot be shaken by the sorrows and storms of this life. We will be living a life that truly matters, and we will make a lasting difference in this world by being different from this world. The grace of the Gospel rescues us from ourselves and empowers us to live for the glory of the One who laid down His life to pay the penalty for all our sins."
"So . . . what has been at the center of your life lately? Your Savior? Or yourself? Remember, when Jesus is your bullseye, you won’t always get what you want in life, but you will always get exactly what you need, exactly when you need it. You have His Word on that!"
"This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!"
