The Way of Vigilance
1. Choosing the Right Path
Narrow or wide gate
Hard or easy way
Few or many on it
Life or destruction at the end
2. Watching for Dangerous Leaders
What makes them dangerous
What makes them obvious
1. Choosing the Right Path
Narrow or wide gate
Hard or easy way
Few or many on it
Life or destruction at the end
2. Watching for Dangerous Leaders
What makes them dangerous
What makes them obvious
To one another, be gracious.
To harsh opposition, be judicious.
To everyone, be generous.
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”
Security of heaven or vulnerability of earth
Fullness of light or emptiness of darkness
Ruled by God or ruled by stuff
Provided for or anxious about life-stuff
Believing you are more or believing you need more
Treasuring who is always enough or treasuring what is never enough
Recognize our genuine desire
Recall God’s genuine character
Reinforce God’s genuine priorities
Request our genuine needs
Assumes a lifestyle of righteousness
Operates from a mindful humility
Cultivates an appetite for greater reward
The way of fidelity is terrifying, enjoyable, and possible
What does this mean?
The “law” set God’s standard and created order
The religious teachers relaxed the law to make it manageable
Jesus bring clarity and makes the way of fidelity right again
What does this mean for us?
Fidelity is terrifying because we don’t want to get stuck
Fidelity is enjoyable when we embrace the freedom of constraint
Fidelity is possible because Jesus keeps his promises even when we don’t
Must be taken seriously
Starts and ends with the heart
Amplifies enjoyment of God and life
Jesus’ relationship with the word
The word’s relationship with creation
Our relationship with the word
Our relationship with Jesus
To walk the way of influence with Jesus, we…
Reckon with where we live
Cultivate a specific kind of influence
Realize who he's talking to
Be who you’ve been made to be
The way of Jesus is . . .
1. Deliberate
2. Practical
3. Exclusive
4. Together
5. Transformational
Seek against the current of privilege priority
Seek against the current of information sufficiency
Seek against the current of conventional expectations
Seek against the current of good enough
· What Happened? Good news came for all of us.
· So What? Good news became accessible to us.
· Now What?
Receive and believe the good news
Rejoice in the good news
Reshare the good news to everyone, everywhere
What are the elements of our obedience?
What is our reason for non-obedience?
What fuels our obedience?
God’s declaration is unfathomable grace
God’s plan is unstoppable faithfulness
God’s method is unprecedented power
His full and forever Presence
His full and forever Pardon
His full and forever Pledge
Our full and forever Partaking
Jesus calls us to be real disciples
Jesus has one real expectation of us
Jesus anchors us in real truth
Jesus gives us real freedom