How Close to the Edge?

. Tonight we are going to look at and talk about living to close to the edge.

. Even form a very young age most of us are taught to avoid/ stay away form the edges of things (cliff, mountain, pool, even high playgrounds)

. because our parents understood that being to close to the edge, anything could happen, and its dangerous to dwell near the edge of something.

. and for those of us who didn't listen to those warnings would of found out sooner of later why we were warned about the edge, at some stage in our lives im sure that all of us have slipped/fallen of the edge of something because we got to close, or we decided to take a risk and even intentionally put ourselves on the edge of something.

. So i want to look at this concept tonight in the context of

Matthew 7:13–14 NKJV

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

.”narrow is the gate and difficult is the way” so we have Jesus describing to us the reality that the path that leads to heaven the path that leads to eternal life, the one we are called as disciples to walk is narrow and is a difficult path.

. So any person with any common sense if you were walking on a narrow path, you would try your best to stay as far away from the edge as possible, having learnt the pitfalls of getting to close to the edge, are that you will fall over/fall down.

. So in the same sense, if we are being warned by Jesus that the path we walk is narrow and dangerous, would we not if we were using common sense stay as far away form the edge as possible? to avoid at all cost the possibility of going over the edge?

. I was talking to a friend of mine last week who was telling me a story that he had heard about Cobb and co, so for those who don't know Cobb and co originated in Australia in the 1850’s as a transport service of people and also of mail in the years to come.

. their mode of transport was horse drawn carriage, and they soon become the number 1 transport company in Australia at that time, and there drivers were known to be the absolute best of the best in terms of driving skill.

. One of the route that they eventually had was in the blue mountains in NSW, and the story my friend told was about this route.

. So the story goes Cobb & co were hiring a new driver to work on this particular route in the blue mountains, that was very dangerous and there were parts of the road that were right on the edge and any wrong moves could result in tragedy. ( and remember there drivers were only the best of the best )

.So 3 men come in to be interviewed and the boss says to the first guy how close to the edge can you go? and his reply “I can drive with my wheel right on the edge!” he follows up with the second guy and the same question “how close to the edge can you get? his reply “ i can drive with half of my wheel hanging over the edge”

. Same question the the 3rd man “how close to the edge can you get? his reply “I'm going to stay as far away from that edge as i can possibly be!”

. So who do you think got the job??

. If we know the dangers and the risks of being to close to the edge is we understand that common sense would say stay as far away from the edge as possible, and with the words of Jesus saying “narrow is the gate, and difficult is the path” that we are to follow.

. why do so many of us choose to live so close to the edge that at any moment we could slip from this narrow path we walk and end up caught up in the things of this world?

Galatians 5:16–17 NKJV

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.

. So often we choose to live on the edge of the narrow path, slowly but surly pushing the boundaries more and more, seeing just how much we can get away with until the edge collapses and we end up falling form the narrow path.

. We need to be removing ourselves from the things we know that will cause us to stumble, we should not ever be trying to push the boundaries or the limits of Gods amazing grace.

. The things of the flesh that scripture spoke of are the things that will lead us over the edge of the narrow path.

. we need to make a decision like that 3rd driver in the Cobb & Co story, we need to make the choice to stay as far away form the edge as we possibly can.

. there is nothing that can possible be gained by trying to have a foot in the world and foot in the kingdom of God.

. The truth is we cannot have a little bit of both,

. we need to walk away from the fleshly desires, that entice us to fall, we need to remove ourselves from the things we know are really only there to lead us from the narrow path that we have been set on by our faith in Jesus.

. I want would love for everyone hearing this to ask yourself one question as we close tonight, “HOW CLOSE TO THE EDGE HAVE I BEEN LIVING?”

.How close have i been allowing myself to get to a potential fall?

. Jesus never wasted his words, and he never added words in that did not need to be said, and yet in Matthew 7 he is warning us all about the narrow gate and the difficult path that we are on.

.So that you and i can become aware of the dangerous road that we walk, we need to move away from the edge that could see us slip and fall away from that right path.

. we need to learn to walk with assurance of our footing knowing that we are walking according to the living Word of God.

. HOW CLOSE TO THE EDGE?