Masterpiece, Centerpiece, Mouthpiece...
Just a simple thought I had that I wanted to expound on...
I'm a pastor...so this thought has to do with The Message, the Messiah, and the Messenger.
First, the Masterpiece.
When I think of this word...I think of a work of art. Whether it's a poem, picture, movie, story, book, sculpture, or song...I think of someone creating something that is nothing short of breathtaking. The thought I had was that when I'm handling God's Word--the Scriptures--I'm holding in my hand an unparalleled masterpiece. It is the very Words of God revealed to us by men who were moved along by the Holy Spirit, superintended by His Holy Hand as they penned the inspired and inspiring mind of God. This is the revelation that we rely on with all we are. This is the precious gift of God to us showing us the history and story of God and man from the beginning. The collection of writings compiled in the 66 books of the canon of Scripture are authoritative and authentic. They are infinite, yet intimate. They are truth and so, so true. They are beautiful and honest and gritty and glorious and real and relevant. I love the Masterpiece of the Bible and feel it is the place where we are introduced most potently to the next thing I want to emphasize...
The Centerpiece.
From Genesis to Revelation we are continually pointed to the person of Jesus. He is the one and only, the Name above all names, the prototype of every archetype, the foremost of every foreshadowing, the fulfillment of every prophecy, the redemption of all that was broken at the fall. Everything and everyone points to him in the Masterpiece of Scripture...it's all about hovering around and circling around the Messiah, the Redeemer, the Author and Finisher. If you are in a church that isn't talking much about Jesus, you're not in a church. If you're singing songs of worship that aren't elevating Jesus, you're just singing songs. If you're hearing sermons that have systematically sidestepped the quintessence of Christ, you're just part of a humanitarian social club giving people mental therapy. If you're in a Spirit-filled church, it will be a Christ-centered church, because the Bible clearly says that the Spirit will be sent to testify about Jesus, not Himself. If all that is talked about is the Spirit, you may actually not be in a Spirit-filled church, you might be in a Spirit-fixated church. If you are hearing about God the Father, but aren't getting to His Son...you aren't interacting with Yahweh, because His Son is the embodiment of the Godhead in human form, the expression of the invisible God as Colossians so powerfully states. He is first, and he will in all things be exalted in his supremacy. The Father receives glory as every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord. (Phil 2) You cannot make too much of Jesus...that's impossible. He is what it's all about and when we get to heaven...He will be the light and life that pulsates and impregnates all that is. He is the reason and the reward...and it is the message of Christ (living, crucified, buried, risen, and coming again) that is at the heart of the gospel, the keys of the kingdom. And that leads me to the final critical piece of the puzzle and pie that is the mystery of God's way...
The Mouthpiece.
He has chosen--in his infinite wisdom and boundless imagination--to let us be the bearers of the message and the conduits of his reputation and truth. Christ is the head, but we are the body. We are called the oracles of God in I Peter 4...the very mouthpieces of God to spread the Word and Person of Christ to the world. To minimize the need for a mouthpiece does no good. To think our contribution to the spread of the gospel is minimal is to render so much of the writing of the Bible useless since most of it, especially the epistles, challenges mankind to rise up and take their place as the representatives of God, the ambassadors of Christ, the temples of the Holy Spirit. Our hands, heads, and hearts matter. Our embodiment of Christ as his body is so Kingdom-critical. Our ownership of our role as co-labors with Christ cannot by overstated. The Masterpiece and the Centerpiece rely on our taking his charge to us seriously and personally. His mandate to be his witnesses literally. He left us. That means two things to me. #1 He left us and went to heaven and is sitting at the right hand of the Father sending to us His Holy Spirit to indwell us and empower us as His Church. (and) #2 He left us behind to be his personification, his incarnation to the world who needs to see him as they look upon us as His body. So we are very important in the triad of the (Masterpiece, Centerpiece, and Mouthpiece paradigm). We are an integral part of translating and transmitting God's Word and God's Son to the world God loves. We are his Mouthpiece.
So...that's that. Take it or Leave it.
I'm a pastor...so this thought has to do with The Message, the Messiah, and the Messenger.
First, the Masterpiece.
When I think of this word...I think of a work of art. Whether it's a poem, picture, movie, story, book, sculpture, or song...I think of someone creating something that is nothing short of breathtaking. The thought I had was that when I'm handling God's Word--the Scriptures--I'm holding in my hand an unparalleled masterpiece. It is the very Words of God revealed to us by men who were moved along by the Holy Spirit, superintended by His Holy Hand as they penned the inspired and inspiring mind of God. This is the revelation that we rely on with all we are. This is the precious gift of God to us showing us the history and story of God and man from the beginning. The collection of writings compiled in the 66 books of the canon of Scripture are authoritative and authentic. They are infinite, yet intimate. They are truth and so, so true. They are beautiful and honest and gritty and glorious and real and relevant. I love the Masterpiece of the Bible and feel it is the place where we are introduced most potently to the next thing I want to emphasize...
The Centerpiece.
From Genesis to Revelation we are continually pointed to the person of Jesus. He is the one and only, the Name above all names, the prototype of every archetype, the foremost of every foreshadowing, the fulfillment of every prophecy, the redemption of all that was broken at the fall. Everything and everyone points to him in the Masterpiece of Scripture...it's all about hovering around and circling around the Messiah, the Redeemer, the Author and Finisher. If you are in a church that isn't talking much about Jesus, you're not in a church. If you're singing songs of worship that aren't elevating Jesus, you're just singing songs. If you're hearing sermons that have systematically sidestepped the quintessence of Christ, you're just part of a humanitarian social club giving people mental therapy. If you're in a Spirit-filled church, it will be a Christ-centered church, because the Bible clearly says that the Spirit will be sent to testify about Jesus, not Himself. If all that is talked about is the Spirit, you may actually not be in a Spirit-filled church, you might be in a Spirit-fixated church. If you are hearing about God the Father, but aren't getting to His Son...you aren't interacting with Yahweh, because His Son is the embodiment of the Godhead in human form, the expression of the invisible God as Colossians so powerfully states. He is first, and he will in all things be exalted in his supremacy. The Father receives glory as every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord. (Phil 2) You cannot make too much of Jesus...that's impossible. He is what it's all about and when we get to heaven...He will be the light and life that pulsates and impregnates all that is. He is the reason and the reward...and it is the message of Christ (living, crucified, buried, risen, and coming again) that is at the heart of the gospel, the keys of the kingdom. And that leads me to the final critical piece of the puzzle and pie that is the mystery of God's way...
The Mouthpiece.
He has chosen--in his infinite wisdom and boundless imagination--to let us be the bearers of the message and the conduits of his reputation and truth. Christ is the head, but we are the body. We are called the oracles of God in I Peter 4...the very mouthpieces of God to spread the Word and Person of Christ to the world. To minimize the need for a mouthpiece does no good. To think our contribution to the spread of the gospel is minimal is to render so much of the writing of the Bible useless since most of it, especially the epistles, challenges mankind to rise up and take their place as the representatives of God, the ambassadors of Christ, the temples of the Holy Spirit. Our hands, heads, and hearts matter. Our embodiment of Christ as his body is so Kingdom-critical. Our ownership of our role as co-labors with Christ cannot by overstated. The Masterpiece and the Centerpiece rely on our taking his charge to us seriously and personally. His mandate to be his witnesses literally. He left us. That means two things to me. #1 He left us and went to heaven and is sitting at the right hand of the Father sending to us His Holy Spirit to indwell us and empower us as His Church. (and) #2 He left us behind to be his personification, his incarnation to the world who needs to see him as they look upon us as His body. So we are very important in the triad of the (Masterpiece, Centerpiece, and Mouthpiece paradigm). We are an integral part of translating and transmitting God's Word and God's Son to the world God loves. We are his Mouthpiece.
So...that's that. Take it or Leave it.
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