June 3, 2019
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You are probably a believer in heliocentricity, right? Now that is not some new denomination. It just means the sun is the center of our solar system and the planets, including the little tennis ball we live on, are revolving around the sun. We do sound a little confused about this sometimes, like when we say, "Isn't that a beautiful sunset?" Actually, the sun isn't going anywhere, we're the ones who are moving. But who wants to go for a romantic walk to watch a beautiful earthset? It doesn't have the same ring. But apparently, not everyone's got this orbit thing straight even today. The American Scientific Association did a survey a few years ago and they found that 21% (that's one out of every five Americans) that they surveyed thought the sun orbited around the earth, and seven percent said they didn't know.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When a Planet Becomes Your Sun."
So, there's some confusion about the fact that the planets revolve around the sun, not the sun around the planets. That's not just a scientific issue. It's a real spiritual issue. Because a whole lot of us have forgotten what is supposed to be the "sun" at the center of our life. We've put one of the "planets" of our life at the center, and in reality, everything is revolving around it. The Bible has a word for that. We don't like it but it's the word "idol." An idol.
Someone listening today is living in violation of the very First Commandment. It's recorded in our word for today from the Word of God in Exodus 20:3. Heading the fundamental Law of God, the Ten Commandments, is this imperative: "You shall have no other gods before Me." Our instinctive response is: "Well, excuse me. I don't have any little images in my closet that I'm praying to." That's blatant, overt idolatry. But idolatry is far more than that. That's why, for example, greed is called idolatry in Colossians 3:5.
In real terms, your "god" isn't what you say you believe in, it's whatever you revolve your life around, what you think about most of the time, what you spend your time and money on, whatever is your bottom line in your life-choices. Obviously, the Bible says we are to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength" (Deuteronomy 6:5). In other words, He is supposed to be the sun in the universe of every part of our life. Everyone and everything else is just a planet that is supposed to revolve around Him, and our beliefs agree with that. It's our everyday behavior that's the problem, not our beliefs. It could be that at this moment in your life, you're actually revolving around one of the planets in your life, and you're treating Jesus like He should revolve around that really important thing you have, too.
Maybe the real "sun" in your personal universe is your children. They're supposed to be very important to you, but not the center of your life. Maybe your marriage or your strong desire to be married is what you've put at the center. Your business or your career - that could become an idol. A relationship, your stuff, your plans, even your ministry can become an idol - you've started serving the work instead of serving the Lord, maybe.
If the sun were ever to leave its place at the center of our solar system, it would mess up everything. When you put what's supposed to be a "planet" in your life at the center of your life, nothing is going to work right. And it could be that Jesus is not really the sun around which everything in your life is revolving right now and the result is going to be chaos, confusion, and collapse.
That's why this wakeup call from God - to put the sun...actually, the Son of God - back at the center of everything you're about. Remember God's first order to the human race: "No other gods." And you pray with the hymn writer, "The dearest idol I have known, help me to tear it from the throne and worship only Thee."
Yout know the Bible says we are created by Jesus and for Jesus and maybe you have never put Him at the center of your life in the first place. He put you at the center when He died on a cross for your sin. And today, this could be your day to begin a relationship with Him, with the One who made you, where He belongs - on the throne of your life. Just tell Him today, "Jesus, I'm Yours."
Go to our website, get more information - ANewStory.com, and make sure that Jesus is the sun that you revolve around.