HEAVEN’S DOOR IS NARROW (Outline)
September 6, 2009 --
PENTECOST 14 --
Luke 13:22-30
INTRO: Today Jesus points out that the door to heaven is narrow. This does not mean that heaven is full. The Lord’s will is to see all mankind saved. But not all people are saved! Why? When left on their own humans simply make the wrong choice. Adam and Eve, living in a perfect world, used their free will to disobey God and chose evil. After the flood only eight (8) people were saved. Millions died. Human-ity had chosen sin, wickedness, and evil. Lot and his family are spared from God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. This time the angel of God had to take them by the hand to lead them away from evil and out of destruction. Man’s heart hardens a bit more with every generation. God’s choice for the world is eternal life. "This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth"(1 TIMOTHY 2:3,4). God wants salvation for all. Sadly, people choose damnation.
HEAVEN’S DOOR IS NARROW.
I. Trusting only God’s grace,
II. Make every effort to enter.
I. TRUSTING ONLY IN GOD’S GRACE
A. Verse 23. Someone asks Jesus the question of the day, the question of the ages. How many saved?
B. Jesus answers with an example to show that his time of grace will finally, eventually come to an end.
1. Verse 25. On Judgment Day the door will be shut. There will be no second chance.
2. Those outside want in. It is too late. Judgment takes place once – and for all, forever.
3. Verse 26. The unbelievers have excuses. These are all external not involving their heart.
4. A passing acquaintance with Jesus will not save, verse 27. Jesus alone changes hearts.
C. The wicked are separated from God forever. Worse, they will also know they forsook God’s grace.
1. Verse 28. God’s prophets whom the people rejected are safely gathered into God’s kingdom.
2. Unbelievers reject Gods’ grace. Unbelievers choose to separate themselves from God’s grace.
D. Let’s face it no one is exempt from turning away from and against the Lord God Almighty. By nature we are God’s enemies. We live in a sinful world with our sinful flesh constantly trying to turn us away from God. Sometimes sin wins. Sometimes Satan succeeds. Left on our own we would and should be lost forever. It is in our sinful nature not to please God. "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear"(ISAIAH 59:2).
E. How, then, can anyone be saved? Salvation is impossible with man’s desires but with God all things are possible. Our eternal salvation depends only, solely, and truly on God’s grace and God’s grace alone! It is most certainly true that we do not deserve to be saved. Nor can we earn or buy forgiveness. God’s free grace alone that save us. "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit"(TITUS 3:4,5). God’s grace opens heaven’s narrow door.
F. Exactly, what is God’s grace? Some Bible translations call grace mercy. These words certainly can be interchanged. Mercy is God’s kindness. Grace is God’s undeserved love. "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding" (EPHESIANS 1:7,8). For a further explanation please be sure to read Ephesians, chapter 2. God freely forgives. Freely God provides eternity as our home. This is God’s grace. In spite of our sins heaven’s door is opened without any merit or worthiness of ours.
HEAVEN’S DOOR IS NARROW. Even though the door is narrow it is open. God’s grace swings wide the door to invite all to enter. Those trusting and believing God’s grace alone enter. Our life on earth is our time of grace. This means that we have a lifetime to know God better.
II. MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ENTER
A. Someone asks if only a few would be saved. Jesus wants that person to be prepared, verse 24.
1. Jesus says, “Make every effort to enter”. Do not lose your own soul for the sake of others.
2. Jesus makes the “effort” easy, verse 22. Jesus went to the small towns bringing the Gospel.
B. Everyone’s time of grace on earth will come to an end. Those posing as Christians will be lost.
1. God’s kingdom is more than a matter of eating and drinking. This takes no effort at all.
2. God’s kingdom is a matter of righteousness, peace and joy. This is God’s effort in saving.
C. Verse 30. The self-important people would be last, not first as they might think.
1. Jesus is speaking against the Pharisees, Sadducees, and other leaders of the church.
2. Verse 29. People from every direction will enter God’s kingdom. God chose Gentiles.
a. They made the effort to hear. b. They lived in God’s gospel, not Moses’ law.
D. All too often all too many put off that one thing needful. “Tomorrow I will try to read my Bible.” “I will go to church next Sunday, or more often next month.” God has heard all of the feeble excuses that mankind makes to justify despising God’s word. They all ring false. The present is the time of our grace. In our day and age and society it is hard to live in the present. We are always reminded to focus on the future and the events that might or might not happen. God wants us to remember the importance of our eternity every day. "For he says, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation"(2 CORINTHIANS 6:2).
E. Our earthly life is a time of continually striving to enjoy what is yet to come. But when we think of the future we are to think of the future that is eternal. We will want to look past all the futures that await us here on earth. We will want to not worry or fret about what tomorrow will bring. Instead we will want to always remember that heaven is our safe and guaranteed future. When life gets us down remember heaven. When we are let down by others around us or even ourselves remember heaven. Yes, it does take effort to be heavenly minded in spite of our worldly nature. "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Je-sus" (PHILIPPIANS 3:13,14). God calls each of us toward heaven. We no longer sit in darkness.
F. Thankfully and wonderfully our loving Father, the Lord God Almighty, does not leave us to our own human frailty to enter heaven. God has worked faith in our hearts. God has placed his gospel in our hearts that we may display God’s love in our lives. "We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me"(COLOSSIANS 1:28,29). “Powerfully” is the same word used meaning “dynamite”. God’s dynamite works in us to strengthen us – always!
CONC.: Heaven’s door is narrow. But by God’s will heaven’s door is open. Only by God’s grace do we stand at the threshold until our time comes to walk through that door. Until that time we live on earth in our time of grace. We are eager to make every effort to remain faithful until we see Jesus face to face. "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God" (ROMANS 5:1,2). HEAVEN’S DOOR IS NARROW. By grace we now firmly stand and have access through the narrow door. Rejoice! Amen. Pastor Timm O. Meyer
PENTECOST 14 rdgs:
JOSHUA 24:1,2a-14-18;
EPHESIANS 5:21-31;
JOHN 6:60-69;
(PSALM 71)
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