Alright. Hey, everybody, welcome to Valley Creek. I am so glad you are here with us today. Alright, come on, let’s welcome each other. Come on. 

We kind of -- we kind of weren’t sure if we were going to do it or we weren’t going to do it, so let’s just do it. Hey, last week we started a new series called The Ancient Future: Practicing the Way of Jesus. And my hope and my prayer for you is that this series is going to encourage you, that it will challenge you, that it will inspire you and help you navigate into the new season in front of you. You see, sometimes we have to look back before we can move forward. Sometimes yesterday frames tomorrow. Sometimes the past is the key to the future. And all throughout Scripture, you’ll find God say over and over again, ‘Do not forget.’ He says it all over the place, do not forget, do not forget, do not forget. Like to every generation, in every situation or circumstance imaginable, God is telling us, do not forget. It’s like he’s saying do not forget me. 

Do not forget who I am and what I’ve done. Don’t forget my word and don’t forget my ways, and do not forget how those who have gone before you have lived. It’s like God is telling us that there is an ancient wisdom, an ancient word and an ancient way that is our path through this modern world. And so what we’re doing in this series is we’re looking back on those who have lived before us to discover that ancient path through our modern world because if you lose sight of the past you’ll lose sight of the future. And our anchor verse or our theme verse for this series is Jeremiah 6 where Jeremiah the prophet is prophesying to his generation, but it’s really a prophetic word to our generation. And he says, “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths. Ask where the good way is and walk in it and you will find rest for your souls.” That is a profound verse. 

He says, hey, you’re at a crossroads and there’s only two paths in front of you. One of those paths is the modern way of this world. It is the way of comfort and convenience and pleasure. And it calls out to you, come, let us eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die. Come do what you want, when you want, how you want. This is the path of logic and reason and emotions and opinions and preferences and feelings and this is the path of least resistance and personal happiness. And it is really easy to get on and it is really hard to get off. But in the end it leads to destruction. He says, but then there’s an ancient path, a good way, a narrow road with a small gate. And this path whispers out to you, Come and you will find rest for your souls. Come lose your life and you will find it. 

Come be a servant and you’ll be great. Come die that you might live. And this is the path of greatest resistance and personal holiness. And this path is really hard to get on and it’s really easy to get off, but this is the path of life. You see, we stand at a crossroads, but we’ve always been standing at a crossroads. I mean if you go all throughout the Bible, it’s always a crossroads. You go all the way back to the Garden of Eden, it’s a crossroads. There’s two trees, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. And then as they’re going into the Promised Land, Moses recites the law to him and says, “Today I set before you life and death. Now, choose life.” Jesus says there is a wide road with a broad gate that leads to destruction, but there is a narrow road and a small gate that leads to life. In fact, Paul even goes on to say, don’t take the way of the flesh. Follow the way of the spirit.

There has always been a crossroads in front of us. Two paths, two choices and we are invited to take the ancient path through this modern world. And even though it is the path least taken, it has been deeply carved by the faith of those who have gone before us. You see, remember when Jesus calls out to you, he calls you to come and follow him, to be a disciple, a learner, a follower, one who becomes like the one that they’re following, like there’s actually a way to live and we’re supposed to follow him. In fact, this is why 1 John says, “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” This sense or this understanding that we don’t just identify with Jesus, we don’t just know about Jesus, we actually follow Jesus on the ancient path that he himself is walking. And that is the way of life. That’s why we’re using this little term that I love practicing the way of Jesus. 

We need to practice the way of Jesus because we don’t always know how to live the way of Jesus. And like every great athlete and every great musician and artist, every great skillful worker, they will tell you, you need a whole lot of practice to become great, that you need lots of reps to figure out how to do it. Well, let’s be honest we need lots of reps to figure out how to walk in the way of Jesus. We need to practice apologizing and forgiving. We need to practice compassion and kindness. We need to practice generosity. We need to practice sacrifice and servanthood, practice trust and faith and hope and love. We get to practice the way of Jesus. And while your flesh cries out to go down that road of comfort and convenience, the Spirit of God within you is gently and quietly drawing you down the ancient path. 

You see, what I love about 1st century Christians is they weren’t called Christians, they weren’t called believers, they weren’t called religious people, they were called followers of the way. That’s incredible. They didn’t just identify with Jesus, they didn’t just know about Jesus, they didn’t just give lip service to Jesus, like they were followers of the way. Like they actually believed there was an ancient path in their modern world. They actually believed there was a way to live that God was guiding their steps and directing their course. And when they came to Jesus they all came with all kinds of different political views, and backgrounds, and histories, and family dynamics, and cultures, and opinions and preferences but they took all of those ways and they submitted them to the way of Jesus. And therefore they became followers of the way. 

The way they lived their life was so evident to everyone around them they didn’t even need to say anything, people were like, oh, that’s one of those people. That’s one of those ancient pathers in this modern world. Why? Because they actually believed that Jesus was the ancient wisdom, the ancient word and the ancient way. They actually believed 1 Corinthians 1:30 that says, “Jesus has become for us the very wisdom of God.” They believe John 1 that says, “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. They actually believed John 14:6 when Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth and the life.” They actually believed he was the ancient wisdom, word and way in the midst of their modern world, so they laid down all of their preferences, opinions and rights in order to walk in that way. And the cry of their heart was show me your ways o Lord and teach me your paths. 

God show me your ancient way in the midst of this modern world. And so when we look back on Scripture, what we’ll find is that the people of God were always inviting God into their daily life, not just this big salvation moment but like every day like how God do I make decisions today, what choices do I make today, how do I live today? You’ll find it all throughout Scripture. Go all the way back to Moses. You know what Moses was doing on most of his days? He was going to the tent of meeting to meet with the presence of God where he would sit with God and ask God, God what should I do and how should I live and how should we lead these people and where should we go. And whatever God told him to do, that’s what he would do. Or how about David? Remember David the man after God’s own heart? You know what it says like almost more than anything else about David? That David inquired of the Lord. In other words, he asked God like, God what should I do? 

Should I engage in this battle or not? How should I respond to this situation? God, should I go this way or that way? And then whatever God told him to do he would do it. Or how about the apostle Paul, the guy who writes most of the New Testament? You know, it says, “He walked in the Spirit.” That literally means Paul, the guy with all this wisdom, with all this insight, he literally deferred all of his choices, and his opinions and his decisions to what the Spirit wanted to do in and through his life. Or how about even Jesus that says, “I tell you the truth, the son can do nothing by himself. He can only do what he sees his Father doing because whatever the Father does the son also does.” In other words Jesus says, hey, even I don’t do what I want when I want, how I want, I ask the Father for wisdom on how to live each day and that is the ancient path of which I take. And if this is the way of Jesus then this is the way we’re called to practice. 

And so let me just ask you a really big question. How do you make decisions in your life? Like right now in this season, how are you making decisions? How are you determining what to do or what not to do? How are you deciding what choice you’re going to make or what choice you’re not going to make? Is the cry of your heart “show me your ways and teach me your paths” or is it the path of least resistance and personal happiness? I mean come on, we are in a global season of transition. Everywhere you look things are changing around us. They’re crumbling. New things are rising. There are all kinds of forks in the road at every kind of turn. And as all this stuff has changed around us, so many of us have gotten to this point where like we’re like, how now shall we live? Like what do I want to do with my life in the days to come? 

So more people in the season than I’ve ever seen before are asking questions like, do I want to keep this job? Do I even want to stay in this industry or do I want to go back to school and learn something else? We’re asking questions like, do I want to live in this house or stay in this city or this state or even this nation? We’re asking questions like do I want to get married or do I want to end my marriage? And no, maybe we’re not saying those things out loud, but they’re certainly percolating in here. Do I want to stay a part of this activity? Do I want to do that? Do I want to start a new business? Do I want to go here? Do I want to do this thing? Do I want to be a part of that sport? Do I want to make all these decisions for my kids or not? And while all those are the big decisions, how are you making the small decisions? Like should you post this on social media or not? Should you follow through on the commitment that you’ve already made? How do you respond to that email that got you all worked up? Like how are you making decisions in this season? 

I mean I love this verse in Judges chapter 17. It says, “In those days Israel had no king so all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” If there was ever a verse that feels like is relevant to today, right, everyone’s just doing what’s right in their own eyes. We’re all just looking around and just deciding what’s good for me today. That is the modern road of least resistance and personal happiness. And here’s the problem, when you have no king you’ll do whatever is right in your own eyes. If Jesus is not lord, if I’m not submitted and surrendered to him as the king and his kingdom is my way, then I will do whatever seems right in my own eyes. Why? Because it’s about eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow I die. Do what I want, when I want, how I want. And so the challenge of this verse is if you’re doing whatever is right in your own eyes, it’s because you don’t have a king. 

If your choices are based on what you want, when you want, how you want, then in practice you actually don’t have a king because the king has a lot to say about how we live. I mean just think of Jesus. At the end of Jesus’s life, he’s about to go to the cross. He sees the agony and the pain and the suffering that’s ahead of him. And you know what he prays? He prays, “Father, if it possible, let this cup pass from me, but nevertheless not my will but yours.” That’s the way of Jesus. Not my will but yours. Father, your kingdom come, your will be done in my life, in this decision, in this day, in this moment as it is in heaven. You see, if we’re going to practice the way of Jesus, then we have to be willing to do what’s right in God’s eyes, which means we’ll do what’s wrong in the world’s eyes. 

If you’re really going to take the ancient path and do what’s right in God’s eyes, you have to have the courage to then do what’s wrong in the world’s eyes because God tells us that his wisdom is foolishness to this world. And it’s kind of like you’re navigating upstream, up a river because everybody else is going that way and let’s just go ahead and say it, it’s okay to acknowledge, they are. But it doesn’t mean you have to. You see, so often we walk away from the ancient path for the wrong thing. Like see if you can catch this with me for a second, like too often we walk away from the ancient path for our politics instead of walking away from our politics for the ancient path. Too often we walk away from the ancient path for our offense instead of walking away from our offense for the ancient path. Too often we walk away from the ancient path for our opinion or our preference instead of walking away from our opinion or our preference for the ancient path. 

Watched a lot of people in the last two years walk away from the ancient path for their politics, opinions, offenses, preferences. But just like the followers of the way, when they first met Jesus and they had to take their politics, and background, and history, and culture, and opinions and preferences and submit them to the way of Jesus, so do we. Listen to me, the reason Jesus says it’s a narrow road with a small gate is because the only thing that can get through that gate is you by God’s grace. You can’t bring the baggage of your politics, and your background, and your history, and your opinion, and your preference, and your history. It doesn’t get through the gate. 

All those things have to be submitted now to the way of Jesus. And it’s not even saying that any of those things in and of themselves are necessarily wrong, some of them are fine, some of them are great but they still have to first be submitted to the way of Jesus. 

Come on, this is why we’re not supposed to follow the way of Republican or Democrat. Real quiet there, didn’t it? We’re not supposed to follow the way of Conservative or Liberal. We’re not supposed to follow the way of Progressive or Traditional. We’re not supposed to follow the way of vax and science or anti-vaxxing conspiracy theory. We’re not supposed to follow the way of capitalism or socialism or of comfort or of convenience or selfishness, we’re supposed to follow the way of Jesus. Hang on. And now that I just probably offended everybody that’s a part of this, you get to practice the way of Jesus and choose to forgive and believe the best and listen. 

Hang on. And listen to what’s actually being said. No one is talking about your politics or your belief in the vaccine or not. What we are saying is that those things must be submitted first to the way of Jesus because far too many of us have more identity in our politics than we do with a king and his kingdom. My identity is not my politics, it’s my king, and I have to do what’s right in his eyes. And I know some of you are sitting here and you’re thinking, yeah, but my belief or my opinion or my politics is the way of Jesus. Okay. But then are you practicing that belief in the way of Jesus? Maybe your politics, your belief, that thing maybe you -- maybe that is the way of Jesus, but then are you walking that road in the way of Jesus? 

Which means kindness with those who disagree with you and compassion to those who don’t see it the way that you do and no judgment in your heart to others and refusal to break relationship over things that maybe we don’t get along about. Come on. This is why Jesus says, “Give to Caesar what’s Caesar’s, but give to God what’s God’s.” You know what’s God’s? Your attention, your affection, your focus, your heart and your trust. If I trust more in the ways of this world than I do in my king, that is not the way of Jesus. Are you with me on this? Seriously, if you’re sitting here and you’re offended by anything that just was said, I validate that. That’s fine. But then practice the way of Jesus. What is the way of Jesus after an offense? It’s forgiveness. And how can you get offended when we’re just saying you need to have a king and you need to do what’s right in his eyes, not your eyes. 

And if you find yourself getting worked -- because some of you, I know some of you right now, the emotions, the blood pressure is rising, all that stuff, I’m just saying if you’re getting that worked up about it, all we’re trying to say is follow the way of Jesus. That means that thing has replaced the way of Jesus. Because I don’t want to do what’s right in my eyes or in the world’s eyes, I want to do what’s right in the king’s eyes. And I get it some of you are sitting here and you’re like, but it’s my life man, I can do whatever I want. Actually, it’s not. Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in you and was given to you by God. You do not belong to yourself for God bought you with a high price. You actually don’t own your own life anymore as a follower of Jesus. 

The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus bought and paid for you with a high price. You’re now included in Christ, you’re now part of the body of Christ, you’re now part of the kingdom of God. You don’t get the right to decide the direction of your life anymore. 

We’re now practicing, we don’t always get it right, practicing the way of Jesus. In fact, that’s why Jesus says, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” It’s a great question. Lord, leader, master, authority, king, ruler, why do you call me lord and still do what’s right in your own eyes? That’s practical atheism. It’s practical atheism, which very few of us would actually acknowledge that we ever live. But if I know what God says and I still choose to do what’s right in my own eyes then actually I’m living like I believe that God doesn’t exist. And God’s not telling you what to do because He wants to control you, He’s a good shepherd who wants to lead you into green pastures and He is the light who wants to lead you out of darkness. This is the ancient path in a modern world. Because no matter how much we would like this to not be true, there is a way that seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death. 

There’s a lot of things that look really good to you and me, but actually they’re the road of destruction. Come on, think of for a second with me, think of a map app. A map app. You’re with me on that? An app on your phone that you press and you program the directions of where you want to go. It’s a fascinating little tool. And what it does is it takes all the live time information of traffic and weather and construction, all live time, it puts it all together and then it gives you one of those little blue lines and says, this is the best way to get to where you want to go. There are two types of people. There is like my wife who presses the green button when that comes up and says go and then there are people like me who look at it and are convinced there’s still a better way than that blue line offers. 

Apparently, you think that way too. Okay, well think of God for a second. 

God knows everything about you and your circumstance and your situation. He has all the lifetime information of all the things that you don’t have access to. He knows why you were created, what His plans and purposes for you, what your destiny is and where He ultimately is trying to get you to go. So when He gives you a blue line, the ancient path, it usually looks like the longest, hardest, most difficult way forward because it is. Because it’s the ancient path of great resistance, but personal holiness. And it’s the question of do we trust Him or not. Do we trust Him enough or not to press the green button and follow. I mean, do you remember when Peter is -- he had fished all night and he didn’t catch anything and Jesus comes and he gets in Peter’s boat and he begins preaching to the crowd. And after Jesus is done preaching, he looks at Peter. He says, Peter put out into deep waters and let down your nets for a great catch. And Peter looks at Jesus, he’s like, Jesus, we fished all night. 

We didn’t catch a single thing. We’ve cleaned everything up. We’ve put it all away. You’re a carpenter, man, you don’t know anything about fishing. But because you say so, Lord, I will do it. And he rose out into deep water in the middle of the day, drops his net down, it’s so full of fish, the net begins to break. Hits his knees because he realizes who Jesus is and Jesus says, don’t be afraid. From now on you’re not going to fish for fish, you’re going to fish for men. Okay, that’s the way of Jesus. Because you say so, I will do it. I don’t like it, it doesn’t make sense, it’s uncomfortable, it’s inconvenient, I don’t think I can do it, I think it’s the worst way forward, I don’t want anything to do with this, no one’s going to understand it, it’s foolishness, I might lose my job, it’s not going to make sense, how are these people going to understand it? But because you say so, Lord, I will do it. And when I do that, I’m actually positioning myself for my destiny. I’m positioning myself for supernatural breakthrough and divine insight and supernatural wisdom and solutions and breakthroughs that can only come from heaven because only God can bring streams in a desert and a way through a wilderness. 

Come on, this is why we as a church, one of the things we say, we’ve always wanted to follow the cloud. All that means is it’s a picture from the Old Testament where they followed the presence of God, a pillar of cloud and wherever it went that’s where they went. That’s what we’ve done for years. Do you understand that? It is but practicing the way of Jesus before we use the term practice the way of Jesus. It’s like whatever God asked us to do, we would just do it. And so many times it was foolishness, it didn’t make sense, it didn’t align with what everyone else was doing. It was uncomfortable, it was inconvenient. There was sacrifice and servanthood involved. But it was always leading us on the path of life so that we could find rest for our souls. 

Does that make sense to you? I mean look what Jesus says or actually what Isaiah says, “’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” See if you can catch this with me. What God is saying is that our ways and our thoughts are not His ways and His thoughts. His way, His thought is higher than our way and our thought, which means we don’t by nature understand His ways or His thoughts. We have to learn them, we have to practice them. And if you’ve ever thought about repentance for a moment, do you ever stop and just ask yourself like, ultimately, what is the purpose of repentance? Like what is the -- what is the purpose of repentance? Some of us are going to say, well, it’s about salvation or getting to heaven someday. That’s a part of it, but the purpose of repentance is so that you can learn to think like God. 

Repentance means to change your mind, means to come into agreement and alignment with what God has said. Repent. Re, go back. Pent, penthouse, top floor view. Go back and get God’s perspective on that decision, that situation, that thing, whatever it might be. And so as we begin to repent, change our thinking, which ultimately will change our direction, we’ll get off of the world’s ways and the world’s thoughts to get on the ancient path with God’s thoughts, we’re actually starting to learn to think like God. And the more I begin to repent, the more I start thinking like God. And the more I start thinking like God, His ways start to become my ways. The Bible tells us that you have the mind of Christ, that the spirit of the living God is inside you, that the kingdom is within you. Well, if that’s true then we were actually created to be able to learn how to think like God and walk in God’s ways. 

But this is why repentance is so important, because as we repent from sin or ungodly beliefs or worldly perspectives or our pride or our opinions or our preferences, what we’re doing is we’re saying, I don’t understand this, I don’t get it but God, you think it, so I want to think it. You live it so I want to live it. And as I start having the faith to walk in God’s ways, I start thinking His thoughts. And the more I think His thoughts, the more I have the faith to walk in His ways. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Change your mind, start to think like God, because the whole kingdom is right here in front of you. That’s why Romans 12 says, “Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world.” Don’t think like the world and walk in the world’s ways. “Instead be transformed by the renewing of your mind, change your thinking, you’ll start to think like God, then and only then will you be able to test and approve what God’s good, pleasing and acceptable will is. 

In other words, the more you learn to think like God, the more you actually want to walk in His ways. Show me your ways o Lord, teach me your paths. I want to be someone who thinks like God. And the more I think like God the more I’ll walk in His ways. And some of you are probably sitting here and you’re like, yeah, that’d be great. I would love to ask God for what to do in my life, but I don’t know how to hear His voice. Listen to me, the heart to hear God’s voice is far more important than how you hear God’s voice. The desire for actually God’s wisdom and his thinking in the path that you should go on is far more important. In fact, this says, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.’” Right now in this moment you are hearing from God whether you realize it or not this tells us whether you’re on the modern road of the world or the ancient path of Jesus. You are still hearing His voice, He is speaking to you, which means no matter how dark you may feel today, there is always a way out in Jesus. 

The question is, do you have a heart to hear it and a faith to walk in it? This is why it says, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” This is the heart of someone who wants to walk the ancient path. Speak Lord, I’m your servant, I’m listening. Because you say so I will do it. In fact, Jesus, when he says, “For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction and many enter through it but small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it.” This sentence grabbed me this week. Only a few find it. Why? Because only a few are looking for it. Hear me, we don’t drift onto the narrow road. You don’t wander onto the narrow road. You don’t accidentally wake up one day and you’re just on the narrow road. 

No, you look for it. You seek it. You pursue it. You’re intentional about it. The reason many enter through the road that leads to destruction is because that’s what we wander onto, that’s what we drift to, that’s what we slowly just kind of wake up and find ourselves on which is why I’ve been telling you all year, this is the most important year of your spiritual life because if you are not actively seeking the narrow road and the ancient path, you are drifting to the modern road of this world. Are you -- are you looking for it? That’s the heart to hear. And when you have a heart to hear you can be confident that God will speak to you. And some of us, we get stressed out, like how do I know it’s God? Well, this is a filter we’ve used for years here. If you’re trying to hear the heart of God for your life, for your decisions and you’re like, is it God? Just ask these questions. Number one, does it align with God’s word? A word of God once spoken continues to be spoken. God writes like He speaks and He speaks like He writes. 

So He will never contradict Himself. So if He’s speaking something to you and it contradicts His word, what He’s already said, it’s not from God. If it aligns with what He has already said, you can start moving forward because it’s from God. Second question is, does godly counsel confirm it? Do godly people who are walking with God and with you confirm that that’s from the Lord? Or are you just trying to get people from three states away, five churches ago, who knew you 25 years ago to just say, yeah, you should move? Does godly council, who is actively involved in your life and who is actively walking with God say, yep, that’s from the Lord, someone who’s willing to tell you, no, that’s not from the Lord. Third thing, is there a sacred echo? Are you hearing it from God over and over and over again in a variety of circumstances or situations? Fourth thing, just ask, does it require faith? Because the narrow road requires faith. 

Without faith, it’s impossible to please God. Anything that’s not done in faith is sin, Romans 14 tells us. So if it requires no faith, it’s probably not from God. And then the last thing is just, does it lead you towards Jesus? Is that decision, that invitation, that thing is actually leading you and your family closer to Jesus? Because I think a whole lot of us sometimes, we will see this great opportunity to make five thousand dollars more by uprooting our entire family and our wife and our kids – dads, this one is specifically for you -- are actually involved and engaged and growing with God but we see five thousand dollars more, six states away and we just decide that’s the Lord, we’re moving there. Is that actually leading you closer to Jesus? Or how about sports? If all of a sudden I’m going to get involved in all these sports but I can never again gather with the people of God on a Sunday, you just sometimes have to stop and ask yourself the question, is that actually leading me towards Jesus or away? This is why it’s two roads. 

We create a third road. There’s no third road. There’s the modern road of this world, there’s the ancient path of Jesus. There is not a I’m a lukewarm Christian road. It doesn’t exist. We think it does and we trick ourselves as if it does to make ourselves feel good about ourselves. Listen to me, it is so much healthier for you to just flat out say, I’m just going to take the road of the world for a while. That is way better for you. You’re like, now I am offended. Here’s why. Because at least you’re being honest with yourself and it requires humility and honesty to actually have a breakthrough you got to get to the end of yourself down this road of destruction and not convince yourself that you’re straddling both worlds. They’re followers of the way, there is no middle road, there’s an ancient path There’s the modern world. This is the road that is this road that has no king because we do what’s right in our own eyes.

Not sports, not taking a pay raise. Hear what I’m saying. Right?

Listen, last thing. Inviting God into your daily life on how to make decisions is the ancient path. And where we get so confused is we think it’s all about the destination. We think the decision is about actually the decision, like should I move or shouldn’t I? Should I take this job or shouldn’t I? Should I get on this sports team or shouldn’t I? It’s actually not about the destination, it’s about how we invite God into our life as we make the decision. Every situation and circumstance and decision and choice in front of you is an invitation to practice the way of Jesus, not the destination of Jesus. 

He doesn’t say I am the destination, the truth and the life. He says I am the way. Like there’s a way to live in this moment. In fact, our verse, “Stand at the crossroads and look, ask for the ancient paths. Ask where the good way is and walk in it and you will find rest for your soul.” It doesn’t say, ask for the ancient destination or the good destination. It says ask, look, seek for the path and the way. It’s practicing the way of Jesus, which you say, what does that mean? It means I’m inviting God into my life and I believe that He is good and that He will speak to me. And that I will trust Him regardless of what He says. That I have a faith to follow even if I don’t like it. That I will obey because He is my king and He is Lord. That I will submit and surrender this decision this moment, this hope or this hurt that I have in my heart to Him and let Him lead me that I may find rest for my soul.

You stand at a crossroad. In fact, every decision in life is crossroad, to choose to continue down the ancient path or to choose to continue down the modern road of this world, whichever one you’re on and at any point in time you get the freedom to change. And so daily, it’s about inviting God into my life to say, God, today, show me your ways and teach me your paths. No, like some of you are like, I don’t have big decisions, I’m good. No, that’s not what I’m talking about. Like today, show me your way and teach me your path. Show me the ancient path through this modern world, but Lord there feels like there’s so much resistance over there and it’s scary and it’s uncomfortable and you’re telling me I’m going to have to serve and die to myself so I don’t know that I want to take it but you say it leads to life and I need some rest in my soul. 

So help me have the courage and the faith to follow you on the path that you’ve already carved out for me. So you close your eyes with me. Come on, what’s the Holy Spirit saying to you today? What’s He whispering in your heart, in your mind? The way of Jesus is about inviting God into our life, letting him be our king and doing what’s right in his eyes, not because we have to but because he gives us the grace to. 

Come on, what decision is looming in your life? What choice do you need to make? What daily reality are you struggling with? That is a crossroad where we can ask for the ancient path, where we can ask for the good way and His voice will speak. And then we just have to have the courage and the faith to follow. So Holy Spirit I pray that you would speak to our hearts that you would show us your ways and teach us your paths, that with humility and with hope, we would take the road less traveled knowing it has been deeply carved by the heroes of the faith that have gone before us knowing that you have already made a way and it’s not about a destination but practicing the way of Jesus at every turn, at every juncture, at every crossroads. Lord, I pray that we would become followers of the way and submit all of our backgrounds and cultures and history and upbringing and politics and opinions and beliefs to the lordship of Jesus. Would you come be our king? And lead us down the path where we do what’s right according to your eyes and find rest for our souls. Thank you, Jesus, that you are the way. In your name we pray, amen.