As He IS

I taught a message on a Sunday evening service back in 2000, at the North Pheonix Vineyard Christian Fellowship. I, and a small team, were getting setup to be sent out from that church to start a new church in Cave Creek, AZ. The message I gave that night had been one that is primary to my entire walk with God... I called it Aiming for the Center.

This message was built around a simple concept, trust in God through Jesus Christ. I taught that sin, meaning "missed the mark" was an example of missing a real relationship with God by focusing our "faith" on other things. THIS, I taught, is sin. Sin, the word sin, has been considered an Archery Term for thousands of years. For the message, I used a simple diagram of an archery target.

A center, surrounded by rings.

The purpose of the rings is to help the archer aim toward the center. However, if the archer hits only one of the rings, he still "misses the mark". He must hit dead center.

The center is, of course, Jesus Christ who is the exact representation of God, The Father.

There are many rings. I spoke of only a few in the message. I mentioned Creation, Life Experiences, Work Issues, Struggles, and Scripture as rings. These things all point to the center. They point to God as Jesus Christ... and Jesus points to the Father. They are One center.

Scripture is the closest ring. It is the most direct in its pointing. It is the clearest in its potential to help us focus on the center. So, why do people still miss the mark?

Some, aim only at the ring. They put scripture so high that they aim for only it. They miss Jesus. They miss a real relationship with The Father. They are easy to spot, because they are arrogant about it.

You see, when you really get to know God and see His grace, you cannot raise yourself above anyone... HE won't allow it. He despises this.

Faith, as I say over and over, is based on knowledge. You cannot trust someone you do not know. You MUST get to know them.

Thus, the reason for the rings.

They point to Him, so you can KNOW Him. If you trust in only a ring, you miss the mark... you hit only the ring. You have only faith in the ring.

This is not good.

If you do not accept all of scripture, or change its intent, you also miss the mark.

The purpose of scripture, like all the other rings, is to help you focus, help you know God.

Do not make it fit a desired view of God. Take the Book as He wrote it. It will show you Him.

Have questions about The Book?

Ask Him.

He is the Mark.

He is the Center.

He is God.

The Bible is not.