Find A Life Worth Living!

Find a Life Worth Living!

Matthew 7:13-29

Sermon by Rick Crandall

McClendon Baptist Church - May 27, 2007

*So, how’s your life going? A few years ago, author Ravi Zacharias saw a bumper sticker that read: "I got out of bed for this?" (1)

*Maybe that’s the way you have been feeling lately, but God wants to give you a life worth living! And you can have it.

1. So make sure you are on the right road.

*You must be on the right road. Jesus made this clear in vs. 13&14, where He said:

13. 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.

14. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

*In other words, of all the many ways you could go in life, there is only one right way. There is only one way that works. There is only one way that will give you a life worth living, and that is the Jesus way. That’s why in John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

-This is also why in John 3:36, John the Baptist said, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

-In John 8, Jesus said:

12. . . . “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’’

21. Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.’’

22. So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?’’

23. And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

24. "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.’’

-And in John 10, Jesus put it this way:

7. “I am the door of the sheep.

8. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.

9. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

10. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

11. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”

*There is only one right way to find a life worth living. It’s the same way that will take you to Heaven: Jesus Christ.

*A lot of misguided people are like the man who said getting to Heaven was like getting to Boston. There are a lot of roads that will get you there. But a wise Christian told him, “No, getting to Heaven is much more like flying into the Boston airport. The pilot has to land that plane on just the right runway, at just the right speed, at just the right time, at just the right angle.” (2)

*There is only one way to land that plane, and there is only one way to get to Heaven.

2. There is only one way to a life worth living: Jesus Christ! So make sure you are on the right road, and be on the lookout for treacherous teachers.

*The Lord warns us about treacherous teachers in vs. 15-20:

15. Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

16. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?

17. Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

18. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.

19. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

20. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

*Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets. . .” The Lord knew that there would always be people around, trying their best to lead us away from Him. That has never been truer than in this day of celebrity, when so many people look up to the worst possible role models.

*Just as one example, comedian Jerry Seinfeld has entertained and influenced millions. But when someone asked him, “What is life?” Jerry Seinfeld said, “Life is truly a ride. We’re all strapped in, and no one can stop it. As you make each passage from youth to adulthood to maturity, sometimes you put your arms up and scream, sometimes you just hang on to that bar in front of you. But the ride is the thing. I think the most you can hope for at the end of life is that your hair’s messed up, you’re out of breath, and you didn’t throw up.” (3)