Get Narrow!! 3 Facts you need to face!!

We all should be walking in power. That's how we were made. But we were also made to do this in a way that wasn't strenuous. Don't believe me? Adam and Eve had dominion over the whole earth. But they walked with God in the cool of the day in a place called Eden(Pleasure).

A little over a month ago, I was in the Seattle area for a wedding. We decided to go to The Rock Church while we were there. The pastor was on sabatical, so we got to listen to an awesome message from Ken Ralston. Today just so happens to be his 50th birthday!! Happy Bday Ken!! Ken is a life coach, body builder, preacher, awesome man of God, you name it. I think he does it all. But his message hit me so hard that I asked if I could use it on here.

GET NARROW!!

Matthew 7:13, 14 says, "The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it."

We have to start with the premise that the Kingdom is not something that we are waiting for a specific time to reach. It isn't only for after we die; it is a reality to be lived in now. Jesus always told His disciples, "The Kingdom IS like...", not "will be like". This is a kingdom verse.

Secondly, many scholars talk about this as being a verse about getting into heaven. But how many of us know that it is really easy to get to heaven? Receive forgiveness, and die. That's all it takes. So this passage is talking about walking the God life. It is narrow, filled with obstacles, and only a few ever find it.

So what does this tell us?

1. If you really want to accomplish a lot in your life you have to get narrow! When you say "yes" to something, it also means you are saying "no" to a lot of other things. You have to narrow down your options.

This is very hard for someone like me because I have such a wide range of passions and talents. But around the time I heard this message, I really started getting a lot of clarity from God on how to manage my life with those things. This is such a powerful message, that I will probably write multiple blogs on it and give practical things I have been doing to Get Narrow!

2. Doing what you are meant to do doesn't mean it will be easy! It says that road is "filled with obstacles." If you are living in your identity and calling, don't get discouraged when you encounter obstacles! They will be there. It just means you need to make up your mind that this is important and blast through the obstacle.

This makes me think of the brutal BJ Penn vs. Joe Stevenson fight. Joe didn't win. He was crazy bloodied up within minutes of the first round. BUT...Joe started yelling with every strike. What was he doing? He was encouraging himself. "I am strong! I am not out of this fight! I will not give up!"

I know for me, because of having many interests, the temptation is to start doing something. Then obstacles come up and the questions rise, "Maybe I should be investing more in one of my other areas." This is terrible!! Don't fall into that trap!! Everyone encounters obstacles. You have to keep pushing. Love the choice you have made to pursue your calling.

3. You will be weird!! It says that few ever find this. Very few people ever find their calling, and fewer ever walk it out to the end. Don't get discouraged because you can't do what everyone else does. The sacrifices will be worth it. By doing this, you will attract other people, eventually, who are doing the same thing, and the walk will become easier.

I think some people take this message and say, "Well that's great if you're a leader or high achiever. But I just want to work in my neighborhood and be a good witness." That's cool, but the message is still for you, and I will unpack that in the weeks to come. I honestly believe that the key to accomplishing the most in life is finding out what you are made to do and walk it out.

I also think there are some that say, "This is a nice little message, but I don't see what it has to do with God or Jesus." It has everything to do with God, because it is putting faith in God that He knew exactly how to make you and put you where you need to be in order to have a healthy, happy, fulfilled life.

Again, I want to hit more things in the coming weeks because this message really hit my heart and motivated it to action. A huge thanks out to Ken Ralston again!

Also, if you are in the Omaha area, I want to spread the awareness of ministry opportunities. There are two new churches starting up soon. One is through the Omaha HUB. It will be another spoke of ministry coming out of that house held on Sunday mornings at 10am. That starts in September, and will be pastored by Richard Gervais. He is an awesome man with a servant's heart. He truly believes in both the written scriptures and the power of God. He has given some great messages on healing and is anointed in that area. For more info, check out www.theomahahub.com.

The other one is through a friend Jay West. He is starting up a church. His passions are to impart the power of God to people and getting them out to release the Kingdom to the world. He is very good at backing up what he says with the scriptures. His website is anointed2go.com.

If you do not currently have a church home, I highly suggest checking both of these out. Neither want to take people away from any other place. They just feel the call to make other places available for people who want it.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. God bless!!