For the last few weeks you have heard a lot of discussion about how God has created you and me with something quite amazing. He has specifically wired us so that we might have the capability to make decisions on our own—He has given us the power or the ability to choose. Obviously we use this ability many thousands of times every single day. Some of the decisions we make are almost involuntary in nature such as blinking, swallowing or moving our eyes in order to see something. But other decisions we make are a bit more deliberate such as walking, eating, or your decision to come to church today. And did you notice that this single decision about coming to church gave birth—if you will, to a whole litter of other decisions, for example, what do I wear, which route will I take to get there, what time do I need to leave, and some of you even have to decide what car you are going to drive…
Life is full of decisions. In fact, I would go so far as to say that our lives are ultimately the end result of the decisions that we have made. Granted, some decisions are more important than others, for instance what you decide to name your dog is not nearly as important as who you decide to marry. And what kind of car to buy pales in comparison to the question, should we have children? Naturally the more important decisions require more time and careful consideration before we make them. And while some decisions affect only a moment in our day, other decisions that we make could radically change the course of our entire lives.
This morning we’re going take a close look at a decision that we are all eventually faced with and this particular decision is even more important than who you will marry, or what career you choose—in fact it is no doubt the most important decision that you will ever make.
Let’s look together at Matthew 7:13,14 (READ)
In many of Jesus’ parables, He uses real life situations that we are familiar with in order to help us better understand spiritual principles that we may not be so familiar with. So first let’s consider the literal aspect of this parable. Picture with me in your mind if you will, that you are at a crossroads and there before you are only two choices. You see a wide gate with a broad road and a small gate with a narrow road. Let’s examine literal characteristics of the wide gate first.
I. Wide gate / broad road
A. Easy to access. You don’t have to duck your head or suck in your gut to enter into this gate..
B. We can carry anything we want with us through this particular gate there are no limits to the amount of baggage we can take through it.
C. Jesus said that many enter through it, so we can reason that it’s a very popular gate, all the coolest people are entering here and from a social standpoint, this is where we want to be...
D. Because this path is so well used, it would not likely be littered with obstacles or hard to traverse sections.. it should be pretty easy traveling.
E. This gate is so wide and so easy to access that you don’t even have to have aim for it. In fact, if you don’t choose the small gate, you will fall through this one by default!
II. Small gate / narrow road
A. Not very easy to access, unlike the wide gate we can’t just casually and unknowingly “fall through it.” You must intentionally go through this gate.
B. And with the small gate, there is only enough room for you…can’t get a lot of extra baggage through this gate.
C. Jesus tells us that few people enter this gate or travel this path so we might expect quite a few places of difficult travel—we would probably often find ourselves consulting a map..
D. And because so few people take this path through this gate, we can determine that it is not a very popular gate…You won’t find that you are traveling with the social elite of your town—in fact when people see you headed for this gate, they might think you are a little strange for choosing this odd way..
III. Now that we’ve talked about the characteristics of the literal gates and paths, let’s look at the spiritual significance of this parable. (read 13 and 14 again)
A. I suppose that when many people read this, they assume that the gate is at the end of the journey, either the golden gate of heaven or the gate of hell or destruction. But notice that here, the gate is actually mentioned first meaning that the gate opens up to the path—not the other way around.. I want to suggest to you today that the two gates represent two possible decisions or two choices.
1. There is an old saying that says, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” That’s true of course but might I suggest that even before we take that first step, we must make a conscious decision to make that journey. That’s what these gates represent, our initial decision to take the journey to the kingdom of Heaven.
2. Illustration: My third grade guidance counselor made a pretty big impression on me when he met our class for the first time. He challenged us with this admonition; he said, “You need to decide whether you are going to be a good person or a bad person…”
IV. Let’s apply this parable to today’s professed Christians understanding that both those who are choosing the wide gate and the narrow gate are trying to enter into eternal life. The reality is that you and me and everyone else are called to choose one of these two gates meaning that we must travel one of these two paths.
I think I can safely say that most of us here have already passed through one of these gates. Again, everyone who has made a conscious decision to enter either gate thinks that he or she is headed toward eternal life… But remember, Jesus said that the wide gate leads to destruction and only the narrow gate leads to eternal life.. My question to you is, do you know which gate you passed through and upon which path you are currently traveling? I guess what I am asking you is, do you know for sure where you are headed?
I want to look once more at the literal characteristics of these gates but this time, let’s compare and contrast these same characteristics with our initial decision or commitment to Christ. When we’re finished, we may be able to better identify if we have indeed chosen the right path.
V. Let’s consider the small gate…
A. Because of its size, this gate is not very easy to access—in fact Jesus says this in Luke 13:24, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many I tell you will try to enter and will not be able to.”
1. Does God want to keep people OUT of heaven?
a. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us that God wants for no man to perish but for all to come to repentance.
b. John 3:16 says that “God so LOVED the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, so that WHOSOEVER believes in Him might not perish but have eternal life.”
2. Friends, it’s not GOD that prevents us from going through the small gate and onto the narrow path that leads to life… It’s US!
a. Rich young ruler (Mark 10) “What must I do to inherit eternal life? ……... after he walked away sad Jesus said, “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
1. The rich young ruler had too much stuff he wanted to keep—too much baggage that wouldn’t fit through the gate so rather than part with his stuff, he decided that this gate wasn’t for him..
2. Do you put more value on your “valuables” that you do on Jesus?
**tithe and offering…
B. The small gate is so small in fact, that not only can you not bring along all of your “stuff”, but you yourself will have to duck or “bow down” to get through.
1. Luke 18:17 Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
Before we can truly accept Christ into our lives, He tells us that we must humble ourselves—we need to realize that we can’t do it under our own power… We can never give our lives to Jesus—we can never squeeze through that small gate, unless one of two things happens first: either we humble ourselves or someone else humbles us first. Did you find that to be true in your personal conversion?
VI. Listen to how the Revised Standard Version translates Matthew 7:13,14: ““Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
So, after we make the hard decision and squeeze through the small gate, we find ourselves on a narrow, difficult path!
A. Matthew 16:24-36, “24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?”
C. Acts 14:21-22 “After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God."
D. Jesus Himself said, if they persecuted Me they will surely persecute my followers. How many of you have found that your path became very treacherous just before and right after your baptism?
E. In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul tells us that he was given a “thorn in his flesh.” He prayed three times for the Lord to take it away but Jesus replied, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
VII. Sadly, so many start out on the narrow road but then for some reason, they choose to get off, thinking that they will still ultimately make their destination. Such was the case with the Israelites during Isaiah’s time. (Isaiah 30:9-11 READ)
A. So many people veer off of the narrow path and don’t even realize it..
1. PROVERBS 14:12 “There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” (being basically a “good person” will get me a ticket into heaven..)
2. PROVERBS 12:15 “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.”
3. We think we can get to heaven a different way.. We have to understand that countless Christians today are deceived by the devil into exiting off of the narrow path onto the “God will Understand” bypass.
B. Indeed, it is a narrow and sometimes treacherous path to the Kingdom…and, if we are going to reach our destination, it is essential that we have some help navigating this narrow path of life.
I’m not sure if you Pathfinders have a similar honor, but when I was a Boy Scout we could earn what was called Orienteering Merit Badge. In order to earn this particular merit badge, you had to learn how to use a compass and a map to discern your present orientation and plot the course to where you wanted to go.. On this narrow Christian path, we also have been given a map and a compass: God’s word is the map and the Holy Spirit is our compass guiding us in the way we should go that ultimately leads to eternal life.
Just a word of advice: on the pathway of life, don’t depend solely on someone who volunteers to give you directions...
1. Isaiah 8:20 says, “To the Law and to the Testimony, if they speak not according to this word, they have no light in them.”
2. Psalm 119:105-112 (READ)
3. In the 23rd psalm David makes this statement, “yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me…”
4. Yes, on this narrow path that leads to life, we will likely face much adversity… and many times we will find ourselves crying out to God begging Him to change our situation—to pick us up and place us on a more level stretch of road… But, remember, sometimes it is not God’s will to change our situation, rather it’s His will for your situation to change us.”
Conclusion: So, are you still not sure which gate you went through or which path you are on? Ask yourself this question, do I make a conscious effort to pick up my cross daily and follow Jesus? Do I humble myself daily and offer myself to Christ as His servant? Am I being transformed by the renewing of my mind? Do I often seek direction in the word of God and in prayer? Is my journey significantly changing who I am? Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians chapter five that, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come!”
If you find yourself still standing at the crossroads, along with Jesus I urge you to enter by the small gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the path that leads to destruction and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
But if you have already chosen the wide gate and are currently traveling on that broad road that leads to destruction…. I am happy to tell you that God not only allows U turns but He will help you to make it!
