Holy Boldness

In the sermon, Jesus was simply defining life as it was meant to be lived, life on the highest plane and in the truest sense. Unselfishly, lovingly, faithfully, hopefully, expectantly, boldly people are to live their lives without fear or foreboding. What is the “Narrow Gate”? It is the way that Jesus has been expounding throughout the sermon on the mount. It is the way to live a life that is blessed and rewarded bountifully. It is more than “salvation”; it is life! It is the way to true joy and purpose. Will there be trouble? Yes. The world is full of trouble and Jesus does not deny it. Will there be injustice? Yes. The world is full of it and it seems to be increasing. However, Jesus came to testify to the truth. He was testifying to another order. He overcame the world by walking in the truth even when the world threatened Him with death. He set His face like flint and walked the narrow way. The world system deceives many by superficially rewarding those who live a lie. Sometimes, it may even seem that the way of Jesus is so narrow as to seem impossible to go through but if we will trust Him from our hearts and agree with His word, we will find ourselves passing through. It is our job to believe and agree with God and watch a super natural transition to the other side of the gate. Jesus testified to a way that leads to life. If we want to cooperate with what God is doing in the earth, then we must walk through the narrow gate and down the strait way and watch the kingdom expand before our very eyes. The narrow way is the only way into the kingdom. The wide gate on the other hand is the way of selfishness, the way of mammon, the way of lawlessness, fear, and unbelief. It teaches people to trust no one, to live for themselves, rather than to live for others. It is not difficult to navigate. It is wide, intuitive, and serves our self-interests. But at the end of that way is death. Those who take the narrow way will find that it leads to more and more abundance and better options. Those who chose the wide way will find that they are increasingly restrained and frustrated. The narrow way leads to greater opportunity whereas the wide way leads to dead ends.

Two Types of Leaders: False and True

Jesus continued on this same subject by issuing a warning against false leaders by offering a way to discern between the true and the false. Jesus specifically urged his followers to discern/recognize the nature of

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