1..you miss the Point: it's all about me!

There is a singular event in time that gives meaning to all other time. It is only within this one event that all other events can find purpose. Although this single event was concentrated within one individual, it included all men. Although this happened before you were born, it has a greater claim on you than your own personal past.

Whether you are aware of it or not, this event affects you; in fact its all about you. Paul refers to it as the fullness of time (Eph1:10); he describes it as the singular event that has consequences for all mankind in all ages, its an achievement that occurred once and included all.

Within this one person, God spoke His complete and final word to and regarding man. A message of such weight obviously needs to be communicated in the clearest way possible. The only being in which He could accurately express Himself was man. And so “.. the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..”

All of scripture points to Him:
The Bible is not a combination of many lessons concerning many subjects, although, if that is all you are looking for, it will most probably be all you find. The message contained within it is much more. The words simply point to a reality greater than the words themselves; to a person and what he accomplished.

Joh 5:39 "You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you'll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me!
Joh 5:40 And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren't willing to receive from me the life you say you want.

The Street Bible:
You got your degrees in the sacred books, PhD's in books about the sacred books, and you're convinced they'll get you into heaven.But for all the points you score - you miss the Point: it's all about me! It's jam-packed with huge stomping clues about me. But you can't admit it, 'cos then you'd have to ask me for the limitless life you want.

After Jesus' death and resurrection He joined a conversation with two disciples who did not recognize Him at that moment. The content of His conversation was:
Luk 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
Luk 24:45 He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way.

Our study of the scriptures will remain as dim and veiled as the religious leaders understanding of Jesus was, if we do not see everything through this one event that happened in this one person, Jesus.

The scriptures are similar to a message which is encrypted with a password. The words and sentences might seem to have meaning, but their true meaning can only be discovered when they are 'decrypted' In other words the password becomes the formula that gives every word its true meaning. Jesus is the key, the essential part of the Gods message that gives all other scriptures their true meaning.

This focus on this one event is not just an adoration of a historic achievement. When God identified Himself with man, in the most powerful way possible – by becoming a man, He thereby gave us the opportunity to be identified with Him – to find our true identity in Him.

All of scripture is about Jesus, the Christ, and all of Jesus is about you! He came as God's call to you to remember your origin and return.

Lets look at some of the Old Testament realities that changed with the coming of Jesus

· The animal sacrifices ceased because Christ fulfilled all that they pointed to. (Heb. 9:19-26) His sacrifice became the final and unrepeatable act that forever dealt with the sin problem.
· The priesthood and the rituals that stood between God and those who worshipped Him ceased. (Heb. 7:23,24)
We all now have an open invitation, to boldly come into the most intimate place with the Father. There are no layers, no mediators, structures that regulates our relationship with God. It was His own doing to take it out the way, for He desires personal, individual continual contact with you.
“How did the lessons of history vanish so quickly? When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, the bishop moved his seat from among the people to the altar. It became the place of honor, power … and later the throne. Then gradually the clergy even removed worship from the people and kept it for themselves … while the people watch. Later, the Reformation merely exchanged the priest for a minister and put a sermon in the place of communion. Then, the rest of history simply supported these distortions. The Enlightenment turned preaching into worship, and modern management turned preachers into executives. ” Thomas Hohstadt from “Dying to Live – The 21^st Century Church.”

· The temple has ceased to be a physical, geographical centre of worship. Christ is the venue! You are His address! He is the substance that makes our worship tangible.
Joh 4:21 Jesus said to her, "Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
Joh 4:22 You don't know what you're worshiping. We know what we're worshiping, for salvation comes from the Jews.
Joh 4:23 Yet the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Indeed, the Father is looking for people like that to worship him.
Joh 4:24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

Joh 4:23 But the time is coming--it has, in fact, come--when what you're called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter.

Joh 2:19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
Joh 2:20 The Jews then said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?"
Joh 2:21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

These illustrations are just scratching the surface of what Christ's coming accomplished. We'll examine these in more depth and move into more of the substance of His work in the next articles. The real value of what He accomplished is not found in external changes, but in what he accomplished in you. He not only changed religious practises, He changed mankind's standing before God!

By Andre Rabe
http://eclesia.blogspot.com