You know that feeling that you get when some Christian artists sing – the hair stands up on your arms and it feels like Jesus is in the room? Our church symbol is something born out of one of those hair-raising moments when you feel like God is making His presence known.  If you know what I mean, you know what I mean.  It says “Trinity Church, the natural path to Christ”. A while back, someone asked me what the “Natural path to Christ” means.  There is a physical path that emphasizes accepting the Grace from God that has given us for little health that we may have and honoring that gift by trying to follow a path includes good nutrition and working on a level of fitness.  There is a mental path that emphasizes seeking the peace that comes from Jesus.  And a spiritual path…

I could say if you know what I mean, you know what I mean, but we hear that too often.  Today is the natural, spiritual path. There is a lot of scripture that talks about the path.  It is a joyful event when we find our feet firmly on the path.  We know that God created us to know Him personally and walk with Him along the path He has for us. The Bible calls this the path of life. In Psalm 16.11, King David wrote: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore,”

Of course Jesus came to make all things clear.  In other scripture, Jesus clearly said in John 14:6:  “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me. ⁷ Now that you have known me,” he said to them, “you will knowmy Father also, and from now on you do know him and you have seen him.”  Don’t confuse this.  It is clear.  Jesus is the only path to God.  The steps that we take along that are always different.

Some people would say that scripture excludes non-Christians. That is silly. If Jesus is God, then God is Jesus and it doesn’t exclude anyone.  There is only one God and He became a man in the person of Jesus. 

So why is it natural?  The path to Christ is a journey that involves learning about and following the teachings of Jesus Christ. Like I said, according to the Bible, Jesus is the only path to God.  Google tells me that some people define the path to Christ as:

1. Learning Jesus’ words
2. Following Jesus’ teachings
3. Walking in Jesus’ path
4. Identifying with Christ
5. Submitting to God
6. Praying and spending time with God
7. Asking the Holy Spirit for guidance

This is a path but the order of the path is what is natural to you.  You may have what we call a “Come to Jesus” moment and the first step actually is your submitting yourself to God.  There is not one only pathway, but there is only one path.  Confused? My step are bigger than yours or my feet may have sunk in deeper in the ground.  A natural path would flow naturally and embrace the nature that God has created around us.  Spending time enjoying the nature around you can open you to any one of those steps.  Flow naturally means without hinderance. If you open your heart to hear the word of God you will know because ⁷ Now that you have known me,” he said to them, “you will knowmy Father also, and from now on you do know him and you have seen him.  Open your heart and you will feel the way of God.  I cannot describe any feeling in mere words.  It must be experienced.  But once you follow the path to Jesus, the rest flows naturally.  Open your heart up and you will know what I mean when I say the hair on your arms stands up.

So back to the question.  What is a natural path to Christ?  It is the path that occurs for you.  Immersing yourself in a calm, natural, environment may facilitate the process but you can just as easily find your path in the middle of a group of like-minded Christians.  Those relationships can last a lifetime.  Using the checklist from before, check off the boxes in your own way for example:

1. Learn Jesus’ words aka read the New Testament     or
2. Follow Jesus’ teachings as outlined in the New Testament     or
3. Walk in Jesus’ path like he showed in the New Testament or
4. Identify with Christ
5. Submitting to God
6. Pray and spend time with God/Jesus/Holy Spirit
7. And if ask the Holy Spirit for guidance, all things are possible.

Now this was a sermon for believers.  What do I mean? It is not like preaching to the choir.  When you preach to the choir, the choir already knows.  Why do I say that then?  Think about the non-believers that you know.  They are probably not going to do any of those examples on the list.  The reason that this sermon is for believers is because you are the ones who are going to bring these things to others.  Jesus said in Matthew 28: 16-20 when Jesus Appears to His Disciples. ¹⁶ The eleven disciples went to the hill in Galilee where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him, even though some of them doubted. ¹⁸ Jesus drew near and said to them, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age.”

You see – you are His Disciples.  You are to go everywhere and make disciples.  It is for you to bring the Natural Path to Christ to others.