I learned an incredible lesson at the beginning of this year- Theocentric, Anthropocentric, Cosmocentric. I was intrigued by a great orator and teacher of the Holy Bible, but something just didn’t sit right. As I listened carefully, and enquired from more learned Christians than me, the penny dropped. This amazing person’s leaning taught that God does what we want. In fact, the straw that broke the camel’s back was, “Jesus is incomplete without us.” Notice that the focus is us.
COSMOCENTRIC: Literally it means that the Cosmos is placed at the centre, thus a person is studied in reference to Cosmos.
THEOCENTRIC: A person’s study is done in relationship with God or Absolute Being.
ANTHROPOCENTRIC: It implies that a person is at the centre, he is the point of departure of his own study.
Biblical Christianity is Theocentric. It is all about God’s Plan through Jesus to save us.
WE ARE PART OF GOD’S STORY.
GOD’S WORLD, GOD’S RULES.
Christianity that is anthropocentric is false, and is driven by ego. In this distortion of God it makes God our servant not the other way around. It is an arrogance steeped in control issues and severe god-complex.
The Book of Nehemiah starts off with an INCREDIBLE prayer that reminds us to be Theocentric.
But, first, a little historical background:
To quote, ‘After 70 years of captivity in Babylon, they [Israelites] were given the opportunity to return to their homeland, the Promised Land. Out of some two or three million Jews deported from the land, only 50,000 decided to return to the Promised Land – approximately only 2%. But they did return, and in the days of Ezra, they rebuilt the temple and laid a spiritual foundation for Israel once again.
The Book of Nehemiah begins 15 years after the Book of Ezra ends; almost 100 years after the first captives came back to the Promised Land and some 150 years after the city of Jerusalem was destroyed. After this long time, the walls of the city of Jerusalem were still in rubble.
Before this, the citizens of Jerusalem had tried to rebuild the walls but had failed. In Ezra 4:6-23, we see that some 75 years before they tried to rebuild the walls but were stopped by their enemies. No one thought this obstacle could be overcome, so the walls lay in ruins and the people were still vulnerable.’ – https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/nehemiah-1/
Right off the bat we see that God first does a work in Nehemiah that brings him to this place of humility before God. Nehemiah 1 vs 4, “When I heard all this, I sat down and wept. For several days I mourned and did not eat. I prayed to God.”
Nehemiah was going to be used by God to make a difference in this scenario. But initially, God, first, intervened in Nehemiah, stirring his heart to care deeply about the state of affairs in Jerusalem. God always conducts a great work in someone before God uses them to achieve His Purposes.
Throughout this heartfelt prayer we see Nehemiah constantly references God’s Word, God’s Promise, God’s Will, God’s Choice.
This reminds us that we are to align ourselves to God’s Plan, he doesn’t follow our instruction for our plan. Even Messiah King Jesus teaches us this principle, John 5 vs 19, ‘Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.”‘
Nehemiah says some profound things that should cause us to sit up:
1) ‘”Those who love him and keep his commandments”‘ – Nehemiah 1 vs 5
2) ‘”Your servants who delight to fear your name”‘ – Nehemiah 1 vs 11
When you and I are caught up in self-worship it is hard for us to have the right priorities in life and regarding God’s Rightful Place. Nehemiah teaches us that having reverent respect/awe/wonder for God, a healthy fear of God’s Power, and love for God above ourselves, sets us in alignment for God to work in us and through us to do amazing things.
So often our unhealed stuff fuels our inner-saboteur who steals us away from the purposes of God because we are so desperately trying to validate our existence that we unconsciously make ourselves a god-in-our-own-eyes. The devil made the same choice. We know what the result of that was. We are living in the consequence of that arrogance.
PRAYER:
God,
Please help me change my perspective to be Theocentric, realizing that you are God and I am not. Father, please allow Your Holy Spirit to illuminate all areas of my thinking, speak, and behaviour that are arrogant, and help me to humble myself by unlearning and relearning who I am in Your Kingdom.
In Your Holy Name Messiah King Jesus
AMEN
#Hayibo 