The Hub Of The Wheel | Philippians 1:20-21 (2)

The Hub Of The Wheel | Philippians 1:20-21

Opening Remarks:

Thank you for the opportunity to be here. I’ve been looking forward to this trip for a long time.

First, because I love your Pastor. We used to be a lot closer distance-wise, and I hate not having him around up there anymore, but I’m also thrilled to see how God is using him here.

I also love his family. Mrs. Melissa is a jewel. Their boys are a blast to be around.

And I know God’s going to use their family here at Western Hills and in Glendale in a great way. He already is.

One thing that inspires me about your Pastor is that he prioritizes people. I get so busy and wrapped up in stuff I have to do that sometimes I don’t prioritize relationships and Bible studies and discipleship like I should. Your Pastor has helped me in that area.

Introduction:

And actually, I’m going to be talking about priorities this morning as we kick off the Missions Conference.

One man who had the right priority in life was the Apostle Paul.

He wrote the book of Philippians as a prisoner chained to a Roman guard.

But some of the things he wrote make it clear that he had the right perspective on life.

Vs. 12 – “The persecutions that were intended to put an end to the spreading of the Gospel have had the opposite effect.”

Vs. 13 – “Me being in prison has opened doors both here and in other places. How?”

Vs. 14 – God had used Paul’s imprisonment to give other followers of Christ the confidence to be even bolder with the Gospel.

Vs. 15-17 – While some were preaching the Gospel with pure motives, others were preaching it with an agenda. They were trying to add to Paul’s affliction by either tearing him down or building themselves up.

Vs. 18 – Even though things were difficult, Paul was able to maintain joy through it all. He didn’t make it about himself. He was just thankful to play a role in the Gospel ministry.

Vs. 19 – He believed that he would be delivered from that prison through their prayers and would be sustained by the Holy Spirit.

Vs. 20 – “I just want to live and die so boldly that when it is all said and done, people see Christ instead of Paul.”

Then we come to Vs. 21, which is the thought I’d like to deal with this morning.

Philippians 1:21 “For to me to live is Christ.”

Paul is laying it out there in no uncertain terms. “Jesus is my life.”

To live is Christ and to die is gain. Paul filtered everything, from life to death, through Jesus Christ. No part of his existence was disconnected from Jesus. Paul’s priority was Jesus Christ.

We hear a lot about establishing priorities, but the plural word “priorities” is actually a contradiction.

The definition of “priority” means “most important.” In other words, there can only be one “most important” thing in your life. Until the last 100 years or so, priority was a singular word. The origin of the word “priority” suggests that it means “coming first compared to another thing; the state of being prior (first).” Maybe the concept of having multiple priorities morphed as we desired to get more done or become more productive, which I don’t fault. But it is still true that only one comes in first.

Illustration: Jase playing soccer as a 5 year old…being confused about getting a trophy… “But everybody didn’t win.”

Even Jase knew there’s only one first. It’s a recent cultural phenomenon to declare multiple winners. It has come around the same time that people decided “priority” could become “priorities.” To add an “s” is a contradiction based on the very definition of the word.

There’s only one “priority.” There can only be one “first.” There can only be one “most important.”

This is Missions Conference week.

There are so many things we pray get accomplished during a week like this.

Obviously, giving plays a big part in it all. Missionaries being sent is dependent on God’s people giving for it to happen. I pray that the Lord gives you a heart to let go of some things so you can give more or give sacrificially for the cause of souls.

But we’re also praying for people to become bolder in giving the Gospel. We see people every day that need Jesus. For some, you may be the only person they meet that knows Jesus Christ. When’s the last time you had a conversation about Jesus Christ with someone? That’s part of what we pray will be accomplished this week.

We’re also praying that some of God’s people will say, “I’ll go.” Missions Weeks is a time when we pray for people to surrender their lives to give the Gospel. Your Pastor said there are some here in this church that are surrendered to missions or the ministry. That’s great. We’re praying for more. That’s part of this week.

And all of those things are important: giving and telling and going. But none of those things will happen unless Jesus Christ is our reason for living.

If every person in this room would prioritize Jesus Christ in their life, our giving and our telling and our going would all be fixed.

Illustration: I’d like to visualize this by using a wagon wheel. There are three parts to a Wagon Wheel: the RIM, the SPOKES and the HUB.

IMAGE #1

The Rim is the part that touches the ground. In our lives the rim is the part of our life that other people see. It may be visible to others and it may seem like the most important part, but there are other pieces causing it to move. It is a passive component in the process of movement.

The Spokes are what connects the Hub to the Rim. The spokes are the different important pieces of our lives. These are the things that matter. Any of the following things can be on the spokes:

IMAGE #2

“PRIORITIES”

1. Jesus Christ

2. Family Life

3. Friendships

4. Relationships

5. Career

6. Education

7. Health

8. Finances

9. Hobbies

As important as all of those things are, only one can be Most Important. There can only be One in the middle.

So that’s what the Hub represents – the Hub is the most important thing.

· It’s the part of the wheel that attaches to the axel. The power to turn the wheel comes through the hub.

· It’s the part of the wheel that attaches to and moves each spoke.

· The Hub Is The One Most Important Thing. The Hub is the priority from which everything else comes.

Only one thing can be listed on the Hub of your life.

Look at that list. Any of those things can be listed on a spoke, but since there can only be One Most Important Priority, we have to decide what comes first. For many it’s family. And family is very important. Especially in a culture in which the Biblical family unit is under attack.

For many, especially young people, it’s friendships. We all need friends. Good godly friends.

Maybe, in your life, the most important thing is your relationships.

Maybe it’s your career. That’s true for many people. They live for their job and that corporate ladder.

For plenty of people it’s their education. Nothing matters as much as that does.

Health is very important, and for many it consumes their thoughts and schedules.

Finances is the priority for many, especially in our culture. It’s all about the bottom line.

For some, the priority is their Hobby. That’s on the hub of their wheel.

None of these are wrong. All of them deserve attention and are essential parts of life.

But understand, if any of the things listed from #2-#9 are on the Hub of your heart, then Jesus Christ is just another spoke.

That’s a problem because it means that Jesus Christ (the Creator, God’s Son) is just another piece of the wagon wheel. He’s just one among many. If He’s just a spoke, that means He’s equal with…

Your Career

Your Finances

Your Friends

But remember, there can only be one most important thing. Only one label can be on your hub.

So that leads to the obvious question:

What’s in the middle?

What is listed on the Hub of your life?

What is that one most important thing?

Because whatever’s in the middle will affect everything else.

If your family is on the Hub, I commend you for prioritizing your family. We need more husbands and fathers and wives and mothers who will see the value of the family like God sees it. But should family come before Christ?

Now understand, I’m not saying that Family isn’t important, but Husbands, you can love and lead your Family more effectively and in a more godly way if Christ is on your Hub. Your highest calling as a man is to love your wife as Christ loved the church. You could never love her the way you ought to without Christ’s example and enabling. So putting Christ in the hub will make you a better husband. Christ in the middle makes you a better husband.

Moms, I know you love those kiddos and you want to nurture and protect them and see them become all they could be, but if your own walk with Jesus Christ isn’t first, you won’t be able to model the kind of traits they need to see in order to be like Jesus themselves. In short, mom and dad, you can love and lead your children so much more effectively if you are first who you ought to be as a Christian.

As important as Family is, it has to remain a spoke and Jesus Christ has to be the Hub. That means the things that pertain to Jesus Christ and your spiritual life must be the priority. That’s why every family needs to be invested in a Christ-honoring, truth proclaiming, NT church.

As important as a spiritual home is in raising godly children, families are increasingly bypassing God’s plan for their spiritual lives by diminishing the importance of a church family. But Christ loved the church and gave Himself it. You can’t ignore the priority the NT places on the local church.

And you can’t ignore a verse like Matthew 10:37 when Christ said, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”

Our families are extremely important. The family unit is the building block of a church family. But as important as family is, Christ should be first in our families. We must not confuse that message as we raise our children.

Contrary to what is seen in many Christian families, parents should raise their children understanding that their spiritual lives are more important than:

Sports

Or education

Or getting a job

We have to recognize that our priorities will impact the next generation. If our Hub has the wrong label, we’ve just lowered the likelihood that the Hub of our children’s lives will say “Jesus Christ.”

Whatever is on our Hub will make our decisions for us:

Career instead of Christ – That means you’ll be willing to move to a new city to take a new job based on money and location without first considering whether or not there’s a good Bible preaching local church there. The Hub that says “Career” and that turns the whole wheel.

Education instead of Christ – That means a Christian will pour themselves into the books and homework and getting that degree at the expense of a walk with God. I know so many college age Christians who get so into their studies that they detach from anything spiritual for four years and by the time they’re done, they are essentially complacent about spiritual things. Jesus Christ, for many young adults, isn’t even one of the spokes on the wheel anymore.

What’s in the middle of your wagon wheel?

Only one thing can be listed and right now, if it’s anything other than Jesus Christ, then that’s the wrong priority. Here’s what your wagon wheel should look like:

IMAGE #3

This is the label on Paul’s Hub, based on what he wrote in vs. 21.

Jesus is his priority, and because of that, everything else lines up the way it’s supposed to.

But let’s apply it to Missions this week. That’s what we’re doing.

Remember, we’re asking the Lord to help us to Give as we should, do sacrifice the things that hold us back, to have the boldness to Tell others about Jesus Christ, to Surrender the areas we’re holding on to, and to Go if it’s God’s will.

But where we ought to start is with this question, “What label is on the Hub of your life?”

Because if your life is first and foremost about Jesus Christ, then all of the things we hope to see accomplished this week will fall into place.

Having Christ in the middle makes your decisions for you.

IMAGE #4

He causes you to give what you should instead of holding back.

He helps you sacrifice in the areas you ought to.

Him in the middle gives you the boldness to tell others like you should.

When He’s first, you’ll surrender in the areas you need to because He surrendered so much for you.

When He’s first, you’ll be willing to Go wherever He sends you.

This is the image that best visualizes a successful Missions Week. When Jesus Christ is most important, everything else is right.

So complete this sentence. “For to me to live is ______________.”

Is it money?

Is it career?

Is it a relationship?

Conclusion: What label marks your hub?

What One Thing makes your decisions for you?

What do you wake up thinking about?

What do you spend the bulk of your money on?

What gets the most time in your schedule?

Order your daily life so that Christ has preeminence.

What label marks the Central Hub of your Life?

The success or failure of this week will be determined by whether or not Jesus is first.

Missions comes down to what you love the most.