As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. Now as he was approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying,

“Blessed is the king
who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven,
and glory in the highest heaven!”

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.” —Luke 19:36-40

We never finish yielding

way to God’s way, every day.

Introduction

Our goal is to become radical Christ followers or

of Jesus.

“To follow Jesus is to become his apprentice. It’s to organize your entire life around three driving goals: 1. Be with Jesus. 2. Become like him. 3. Do as he did.” —John Mark Comer

The single most important question is, “Are we becoming more

?”

Love is to

of another ahead of your own, regardless of the cost.

Our

is the by-product of our lifestyle.

For a vine to bear much fruit, it needs a

. (John 15:5)

A

is a support structure (a way) that helps the vine and branches stay connected and grow in the most fruitful way.

That structure is made up of the

of Jesus.

This plan or set of habits is to help you do one day what you

do today.

We have peace in our lives when our schedules, habits, resources, and values

.

Jesus prayed, fasted, read scripture, practiced Sabbath, served, and always

to God the Father.

Take Up Your Cross (Mark 8:34-36)

Jesus did not beg, manipulate, or bully.

To follow Jesus will cost you something. (Luke 9:23-24)

Can you imagine saying

to Jesus’ invitation?

To deny ourselves and take up our cross means to put our self-will to death. (Luke 22:41-42)

“Christ comes into the world to teach men how to die.” —Jaroslav Pelikan (1923-2006) Yale University

The first and greatest commandment to “love the Lord your God with all your heart” is to put God’s will

your own.

“Within the heart of a true disciple is a settled intention of the will to obey Jesus…it takes more self-mastery to yield your will than to wield it.” —John Mark Comer

We All Have a Choice to Make

You have two costly futures in front of you: one where you follow

and the other where you follow your way.

Ironically, when we pursue

over obedience, we make our life less happy. (Mark 8:35)

If your life is about loving and serving others, then your life is never over, is never lost, and always has purpose. (Luke 22:24-30)

Practicing the way of Jesus is a journey of learning to

ourselves to God and discovering where God will take us.

“It is only because he became like us that we can become like him.” —Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906 – martyred April 1945)

To follow Jesus’ open-ended yieldedness we must relinquish our self-generated expectations and desires for

.

When we choose not to

, we find ourselves stuck between a self we cannot bear and a self we can’t bear to become. (Luke 9:51)

Jesus chose to go to Jerusalem, chose to cleanse the temple, chose not to fight in the garden, and chose the

.

When you pick up your cross, you never pick it up

.

“Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?” —Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 1967

Action Steps

Daily hold before your mind and imagination the

and possibility of life in God’s kingdom.

Daily fill your heart and mind with the

of the life and love of Jesus for all people.

Do the next right thing.

When you fall and fail even repeatedly, don’t get sucked into shame.

Let Jesus pick

back up and you pick up your

Reveal Answer

again.

“My additional notes:

”.