The Apprentice Gathering-James Bryan Smith

The Magnificent Journey

Early Christians called themselves people on the way.
Journey-a good metaphor of the Christian life
It is to be magnificent, epic.
You can live in the available kingdom now not just in heaven.
Robert Frost-The Road Not Taken-Metaphor as an act of surrender
I am going to surrender the kingdom of Jim for the kingdom of God.

Matthew 6:33-Seek ye first the kingdom-center of Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 7:13-14-Jesus is telling the truth, there is something about the human person who does not like to surrender
We live in a world whose values are very different.  They are telling us to stay in control.

The key to the Christian journey, wrote Dallas is the “surrender of a lesser, dying self for a greater eternal one.”
Put simply, the yes of surrender is greater than the no of self-denial. What is gained is far greater than what is lost.

Two Prayers of Surrender
Wesley’s Covenant Prayer
St. Ignatius of Loyola “Suscipe” Prayer

Things We Experience on this Magnificent Journey
God’s Love-A rugged commitment to be with, to be for, to be unto (wholeness) with great affection (take delight).-Scot McKnight
Grace-It is God’s action in our lives. 
Eternal Life-not just heaven, John 17:3-not just information but an interactive relationship, quality life now
Spiritual Senses awakened
To be born from above in the NT language, means to be interactively joined with a dynamic, unseen system of reality in the midst of which all of humanity moves about-whether it know it or not. Dallas Willard
The Virtues-Faith, Hope, Love, Joy-they are supernatural

I am so glad that you exist.-This is what God is speaking to us if we have the ears to hear.  We distribute this to others.



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