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
An invitation that we cannot ignore
A burden that sets us free
A process that enriches life
You are worth God’s extravagant love in Christ.
You are worth the search.
You are worth the joy.
You are worth the celebration.
Jesus is worth our repentance.
Learning devotion vs. Perfecting devotion
Required needs vs. Insistent needs
Fruitful life vs. Productive life
“A mindful practice of godliness is produced by confident faith in Christ”
Mindful practice brings spiritual flourishing
Mindless practice get us nowhere we want to be
Warped faith is established on self
Confident faith is established on Jesus’ faithfulness
We are meant to be good citizens
Because we were saved from being lousy ones
And have become a new people of grace
We live in a new identity of godliness in this present age. (12, 15)
We live for our new destiny of God’s glory coming to us. (13)
We live from a new history of God’s grace that has been given. (11, 14)
