The Narrow Way of Jesus

Discipleship Pack
March 4, 2006

I. I.. Read Matthew 7:13-23 once a day for the next six days. Read it out loud and ask the Holy Spirit to show you the meaning of the passage for you that day. Write down key words that hit you each day and why they seem important to you.

II. Prayers

a. Dear Lord, I want to be able to discern the narrow and broad paths. It would seem that should be easy enough. Yet, in my blindness and self justification even the most obvious things are hard. Lord, give me the eyes to see things as they are and not as I would have them be. Let me know the truth from error. Keep me from false doctrine and false living. Lord, have mercy on me a sinner and keep me from the way that leads to destruction.

b. Dear Lord, I want to bear the fruit of love in my life. I do not want to be barren. I do not want to just look like a disciple but from the heart be a disciple. I renounce my loyalty to the world and King Adam. I want only you Lord Jesus to be my king and my one great desire is to see your kingdom come to the earth. Lord, have mercy and help me to live up to these most exulted desires.

III. Thoughtful Quotes

a. “If my religion is only a formal compliance with those modes of worship which are in fashion where I live; if it costs me no pain or trouble; if it puts me under no rules and restraints; if I have no careful thoughts and sober reflections about it – is it not foolish to think that I have I am striving to enter in the strait gate? How can it be said that I am working out my salvation with fear and trembling?” (William Law; A Serious Call To A Devout and Holy Life; pg. 26)

b. “Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” — Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. president (1809-1865)

c. “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically... Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” — Martin Luther King Jr., American civil rights leader (1929-1968)




IV. Meditation on Matthew 7:13-23

Jesus says hard things. He is saying that it is hard to find and walk in the pattern of life that leads to life. It is easy to find and a pleasure to walk in the pattern of life that leads to death. This means we must overcome our natural tendency to always take the easier road. Only by keeping the end in mind can we choose the right road and enjoy the difficult trek. There are no short cuts or detours. We must find the right path and stay with it till the end or perish. This picture of life is a long way from the post modern ideal of tolerance and relative truth. Far from all ways leading to God, Jesus is making it very clear that there is one difficult and hard road to be followed if one wants to avoid condemnation and know the eternal blessing of God in heaven.

What is this narrow road that Jesus is speaking about? First of all it means that we must have proactive faith. We must decide to take responsibility for our sins and seek the Lord. Rather than expect the kingdom of God to come to us, we must seek it with all our hearts. The narrow road is one in which we have asked God to show us the way, knocked on the door of it until our knuckles are bleeding, and sought for it as we would a lottery ticket worth millions. This is a vibrant and working faith in Jesus and not one to blame shift.

The person who chooses the road that Jesus is recommending is also one who keeps the end in mind. The virtue of the road is where it leads not the comfort it provides. The right road is hard but leads to life. The wrong road is filled with comfort but leads to death. True faith looks beyond comfort to destiny. It is willing to pay the daily price of discipleship for the joy of knowing the life of God and avoiding eternal hell fire. This eye upon eternity is critical in making the right choice.

The narrow road demands we have the right priorities. We must seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. God’s kingdom and purpose is placed ahead of our immediate pleasure. Sacrifices are made to serve the Lord and others for the sake of God. We make the love of God and others our top priority allowing ourselves to place personal pleasure and affluence on a lower level.

It is this road that Jesus calls us to. Not because He does not love us, but because he yearns to know us. He does not want us to make even miracles and signs of power our greatest concern. No, he desires that our lives be reflective of His character and love. If this is attained with a real personal union with Him then all will be well. It is time we hear these hard sayings and ask for the faith to embrace them and with them, the Lord Himself.







Journal

1. What is your emotional response to Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:13-23?
2. Do you ever wish that the way was not so narrow? Have you talked to God about this problem? What would you say to him about it?
3. Why do you think the way is narrow? Is it up to God to make the way narrow or broad? What outside of God could influence the need of the way being narrow?
4. If you were to fully devote yourself to the narrow way what changes would you make in your life?

Small Group Guide

1. What was the impact on those who heard Jesus when he first preached the Sermon on the Mount when he talked about a “narrow way”?
2. Why do we think that miracles mean that a person is from God and is saved?
3. Why is it disturbing to think that a person can be a miracle worker and still end up in hell?
4. What impact does it have that the great problem with those false prophets is that they were “lawless” and did not know Jesus personally? Clearly they had accepted Him as “Lord” but yet did not know Him. What implications does this have for the church today?
5. What could you do to improve your personal knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Self Talk and Meditation

Speak these out loud to yourself three times a day for the next six days.

1. I want to choose the narrow road of Jesus
2. I want to bear the fruit of love in my life
3. I do not want to take the easy road
4. I want to know the divine life of God
5. I want to avoid spiritual death
6. I want to know Jesus personally
7. I want to seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness