Abandon
Matthew 7:13,14
As you are turning I want to tell you a story
The story of Champion Coach
Champion Coach is a charter bus company ran by Craig and Hazel Dance out of Greenville S.C.
The Dances are devout Christians and they run this very successful business that caters to college and professional sports teams among other clients
Craig’s dream was always to be a sportscaster
So after stepping out on faith I 1998 and starting this charter bus business
You can imagine his excitement when he got to sign the Duke basketball team up as one of his clients
And then when he was approached by CBS Sports for a SEC bus tour
Including the Auburn/Alabama game, the SEC Championship and the Peach Bowl in Atlanta
This was a great deal, working amazingly for Craig and Champion Coach
In 2011 CBS approached Craig about doing a national tour for CBS, a separate entity from CBS Sports
To promote the network, their television programs, the whole 9 yards
Craig was excited, but he also had reservations because of the programming on CBS
He called his contact at CBS and shared his concerns
He blatantly told them you need to know more about me and my business
I am a Christian and I do not want anything on my buses that will conflict with my beliefs and my values
He didn’t want any violent or sexual images to be included on the wrap on his Champion Coach bus
Craig was assured that he would have the final say on the wrap
Well, when the first draft came out, sure enough it had a guy holding a gun and a woman that was not dressed appropriately
Craig did not approve the wrap and they respected his decision
They came back with their final wrap design
This one included promotion for CBS’s new fall line up for 2012
This included a show created by the same people that created Will and Grace several years back
This new show was called “Partners” a sitcom about two life long friends that were architect business partners
One was engaged to his girlfriend
The other was gay
Craig called his contact again saying as a Christian he could not support this at all
And he was told maybe you just need to compromise
Craig said no, and lost the contract
Not only that he had to call his friends at CBS Sports and fill them in on his choice
It eventually led to him losing his contract with them as well
The deal he so desperately wanted
Worked a solid year on, gone in an instant
Craig Dance was willing to abandon all he had in order to take a stand
Abandon the wide, to follow his God
READ MATTHEW 7:13,14
Abandon
There are only two religions in this world today
That which has emanated from the heart of man
And that which has come out of the heart of God
The one is only imagination
The other is a revelation
The narrow gate, and narrow way
Verses the wide gate and the wide way
As a Christian, we have chosen the narrow gate, the narrow way
But too many Christians today are trying to live in the wide, live in the world
Yes they have chosen the narrow gate
The narrow gate of Jesus
Yes they are on the narrow way that leads to life
But are still caught up in living the way of the wide
Lets look at the two ways and see what it means to abandon one and live the other
Live with abandon
Warning, this sermon is likely to cause some discomfort
According to a recent survey, 70% of adult Christians believe there are no moral or ethical absolutes that apply to everyone
In other words most Christian adults have been poisoned by the drug of moral relativism and political correctness
Most Christians have joined the non-Christian culture and believe we set our own standards
In essence this survey reveals that 70% of adult American Christians have decided that God is not capable or worthy of establishing guidelines for living
In a similar survey only 20% of adult Christians said that living a life according to God’s will is the single most important thing in their lives
Only 20%? That means 80% are telling God to take a number
Get in line. Your will is not the most important
These facts are lived out before our eyes every day
As a matter of fact they are more than likely lived out to some degree by the man or woman we see in the mirror every morning
The people of the Way have strayed off course
The people of the Book have relegated it to a spot on the coffee table or mantle and rarely open the Book
Those who call themselves Christians no longer seem to understand the nature of the call
We have lost sight of the narrowness of the way
It is high time that we return to the nature of the Narrow Way
It is high time we learn again the cost of Christianity
First things first though
First you must enter the gate
Look at the first phrase in our passage
Enter ye in at the strait gate, or narrow gate
We see immediately that there is an action that must be taken
We must actually enter through the narrow gate
And it is given in the form of a command
Do it now, urgently
Don’t just admire the principles of God’s Word
Accept and receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior
You have to take action
Accept the gift of His salvation
It is not an automatic
Just because you live in the greatest country
A Christian nation
Or because your parents were Christians
Or because you’ve gone to church your whole life
Its not automatic
You have to take action
Enter through the narrow gate
The gate of God is narrow
It takes effort to find it
It takes determination to enter through it
You have to sincerely seek it
You have to sincerely enter into it
You have to truly give your heart to Christ
Jesus made it narrow without checking with us on how wide we thought it should be
The truth is, the gate IS Jesus Himself
John 10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
The word door there is the Greek word thoo-rah
It can be translated as gate
Jesus is the narrow gate
You ever heard someone say that Christianity is too narrow-minded?
We try to avoid that term
But we need to come to terms with the fact that Jesus said the gate is narrow
Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me
There is no other plan but the person of Jesus Christ
There is no way to get to Heaven unless we go through Him
Jesus is very inclusive in the sense that everyone is invited to a relationship with Him
But His claims are very exclusive because there is not other way to Heaven except through Him
If you want to be a Christian you must come through Jesus Christ
If you want to have an eternal home in Heaven you must come through Jesus Christ
He is the way
Once we enter the narrow gate we are to walk the narrow way that leads to life
This word for narrow road is different than the one used for the narrow gate
It has the idea of being compressed, like a grape press
It means to be squeezed or crushed to crowd
To suffer affliction
It’s not easy being a true Christ-follower
Because traveling on the holiness highway is hard
2 Timothy 3:12 says all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted
Contrary to all the self-help positive thinking junk that comes at us from every direction
Our confession of Christ will cost us something
The narrow road is a lonely and costly road
The problem with the narrow road is that its often filled with pothole problems
Potholes of our own doing
There are hills and valleys and detours along the way
It’s real easy to stroll down Sex Street and wander down Temptation Trail
Alcohol Avenue is ahead, just off Worldly Way
Pride Parkway leads to Compromise Court
And Reputation Road leads us way off course
If you are a believer and you know you’re in the ditch, its time to get back on the right road
To many Christians have passed through the narrow gate
But are living on the wide path
Living in the world
I will call it living in the wide
One paraphrase of our passage says it this way
Wide is the doorway and very pleasant is the path that leads to destruction
This road is popular and accommodating
Attractive and indulgent
But it is also deceptive and ultimately destructive
Are you living in the wide?
The narrow way is a committed way
This is not a short term contract
This is not a loose agreement
This commitment requires you to give to the Lord 100% of who you are
Luke 14:26-27 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. (27) And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
Jesus is teaching us here that if we come to Christ He must be first place in our life
He must come before every other relationship we have in this world
That’s what is means to commit your life to Christ
The problem with Christianity today is that we have too many confessors but not enough committers
Second we must understand that a commitment to Christ comes with a cross
Just as Christ was called to sacrifice for us
We are called to sacrifice for Christ
Christianity is not fire insurance
It is faith in motion
If we are going to call ourselves Christians we must flesh out our Christianity by being completely committed to Christ
You can only be completely committed to Christ if you will not be conformed to this world
You cannot live in the wide
Abandon the wide
The narrow way is a committed way and it is a costly way
Commitment is costly
It cost Christ His life and it demands ours
This will run contrary to the world system
Jesus said You shall be hated of all men
You will be a weirdo
You will be an outcast
Our commitment to Christ may cost us in this world but Jesus said
Luke 6:22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.
Abandon the wide
For the narrow committed, costly way is an uncompromising way
God has called us to stand firm in our faith
Compromise makes God sick
Compromise makes God want to throw up according to Revelation 3:16
There is no room for lukewarm Christianity
Abandon the wide
Commit to the narrow Christ centered way
You must be committed to the narrow way
When you commit to one way you must abandon the other
Christians, we cannot live in the wide
Abandon the wide
To many of us are holding on to sins
Holding on to the wide
What do you need to abandon today?
Do you need to abandon anger?
Around the age of 14 I started having a problem with anger
I was angry at little things, angry at big things
Angry with my parents, my sister, kids at school
I kind of kept it under control Didn’t lash out to harshly
I was the beloved student, teachers loved me
Church folks adored me
But inside I was angry
And for 25 years I had an intense anger problem
Bet you didn’t know what did you
At times it controlled me
But with much prayer and wise council I have given my anger sin to God
In the last year I have learned a lot about anger
Such as the fact that we have to be careful with what we might call righteous indignation
God is righteous, we are not
Dr David Jeremiah says this
"the apostle Paul draws a distinction between anger and sinful anger in Ephesians 4:26: "Be angry, and yet do not sin" (NASB). Anger becomes sinful when it is self-focused and long-term, causing Paul to continue, ". . . do not let the sun go down on your wrath." So it is possible to be indignant and offended by unrighteousness without it becoming sinful. It's a fine line—but a line nonetheless."
We have to be careful with our anger
Think about all the times someone got angry in the Bible
It never worked out well
Human anger often doesn’t work out
Moses got angry and killed the Egyptian
Earned him 40 years in exile
Later Moses got angry and struck the rock instead of speaking to it
He was banned from entering the promised land and received a death sentence
Samson got angry and the woman he was going to marry was given to another man
And then her and her father were burned to death by the Philistines
Saul got angry with David and attempted to murder him
Peter cut off Malchus’ ear in the garden and was rebuked by Jesus
Anger doesn’t work out well
You need to abandon your sinful anger
Do you need to abandon lying, and deceitfulness
Lying to your wife, lying to your kids, lying to your employer
Deceiving those around you
Holding things back that needs to be divulged?
Abandon your deceit
Ladies do you need to abandon gossip
Abandon bitterness
Unforgiveness
Abandon those things
Maybe you need to abandon bowing down to the idol of self-image
The idol of reputation, what others think of you and your “perfect” family
Maybe looking good in the eyes of others is so important
You are willing to do anything to maintain your image
Abandon reputation
Abandon pride
No one tells me what to do
I value your opinions, your ideas, even though they are always wrong
I can’t work under anyone, I must be in charge
Abandon pride
Men, do you need to abandon lust?
All alone in front of the computer, or at the bookstore or watching TV
Giving in to pornography
Another form of idol worship
Worshiping the creation instead of the creator
Young men, old men, all in between
Abandon lust
Getting uncomfortable isn’t it?
Sin should make us uncomfortable
The church isn’t uncomfortable enough with sin anymore
Oh sure, we are uncomfortable with other’s sins
Can you believe what she said the other day? What she posted online?
Did you hear what he did? Right there in Wal-mart parking lot no less?
Yes we are uncomfortable with other’s sins
We need to be uncomfortable with our own sins
Does your sin make you uncomfortable?
GOOD! It should!
That is evidence of the Holy Spirit in your life and your willingness to yield to Him
If you are not uncomfortable with your sin
You are becoming complacent
To comfortable with your sin
You are living in the wide
Abandon the wide!
Jesus said deny yourself take up your cross and follow Him
Deny yourself
You could say abandon yourself
People are willing to pay a high price for something they value
Do you want to follow Christ?
Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow
If you don’t, everything else is superficial lip service
Abandon! Quit living in the wide
Jesus expects us to take up the cross
To deny oneself means that we have the willingness to let go of our selfish desires and our worldly security
It is giving over of the self and allowing God to have control
Denying ourselves is the first step to living with abandon
We will never embrace the life of abandon until we deny ourselves
Until we give full control over to Christ
Jesus makes it clear that following Him is going to demand a price
The cost is a cross
The issue comes down to value
How much do you value what Christ has done for you?
Jesus leads the way in which we should live
He brings fulfillment and a freedom that we could find in no other way
CS Lewis said it this way
If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world
Jesus expects us to give a full commitment
Jesus calls us to live with abandon
Who or what holds your true devotion?
Who or what holds your loyalty?
Who or what is your first priority?
Christians today are chasing after this world
That just leaves you tired
Christians today are spending their time praising their own name
That just leaves you dry
There is more to life than those things
We are called to a higher calling
Make your life count, every breath count for Christ
Live with abandon
Abandon the wide
Give Him all that you are
Every part of your heart place in His hands
We always hear about the God shaped hole in everyone’s heart
Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
ALL thy heart, ALL soul, ALL thy mind
Abandon the rest
Abandon the wide
He wants us to drop everything to follow Him
In Luke 13:24 Jesus speaks again on the narrow gate and He says to strive to enter through the narrow door
Strive
No stronger word is found in the Bible
It could be better understood by the word agonize
Strive, agonize, make every effort, exert every power of body and soul, strain every nerve
Let the business of staying on the narrow way be the chief business of your life
We may say things like
Jesus, I don’t want anything coming between you and me
I won’t hold anything back from you God
I give you my life Lord
Those are just words, lip service
Don’t say those things, DO IT!
Abandon the wide
What part of your heart have you held on to?
What area of your life have you refused to surrender?
Remember the story of Champion Coach?
Craig Dance abandoned his dream
He abandoned it in order to stay on the narrow way
What ever happened?
Well that TV show, Partners, that he wasn’t willing to promote?
Cancelled after only 6 episodes
And Champion Coach?
2012 was their most successful year in the history of Champion Coach
Dr James Dobson put it this way
God will honor you for giving up something you most want
God wants you to abandon the wide
God want to reward and honor you for making the hard choices on the narrow way
You might say its to hard to completely abandon the wide
The temptation is to strong?
The sin is too great
I can’t abandon those things
But what did Jesus abandon for you?
He abandoned the glory of Heaven to live in this sin sick world
He abandoned His Father’s side to be born in a feed trough
He abandoned His earthly family to honor His Heavenly Father
He abandoned His life dying on the cross in your place
Is it to much to ask for you to abandon worldly pleasures for His glory?
1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins
That is how much He loves you
In an article published in January of 2013
New Tribes Mission reported on the way one group of Bible translators came to communicate the fullness of God’s love to and African tribal community
The verbs for a particular African language consistently end with on of three vowels
Almost every verb ends in I, A or U
But the word for love was only found ending in I and A
Two words for love dvi and dva. Why no U?
In an effort to understand the concept of love in this African language the missionary began to question them
Could you dvi your wife?
Yes they answered, that would mean your wife had been loved, but the love was gone
Could you dva your wife
Yes they responded
That kind of love depends on the wife’s actions
She would be loved as long as she remained faithful and took good care of her husband
Then he asked could you dvu your wife?
Everyone in the room laughed
Of course not they replied
If you said that you would have to keep loving your wife no matter what she did
Even if she never got you water and never made you meals
Even if she committed adultery, you would have to just keep on loving her
No we would never say dvu, it just doesn’t exist
The missionary sat quietly for a while thinking about John 3:16 and then asked could God dvu people?
There was complete silence for 3 or 4 minutes
Then tears started to trickle down the faces of the elderly men of the tribe
Finally they responded
Do you know what this would mean?
This would mean that God kept loving us over and over
While all the time we rejected His great love
He would be compelled to love us
Even though we have sinned more than any people
The missionary noted that changing one simple vowel changed the meaning from I love you based on what you do and who you are
To I love you based on Who I am
I love you because of Me, not because of you
God dvus you
He loves you because of who He is
Not because of who you are or what you have done
No longer do you need to seek approval and acceptance from others to be loved
You are known and loved by Him Who loves you just because of Who He is
This is love
Because He loves you so much He is asking you to abandon the wide
Christian, have you passed through the narrow gate
But living in the wide
Abandon the wide
Walk the narrow
Maybe you need to come to this altar this morning and cry out to God
Ask Him to forgive you living and walking in the wide
Give Him all your heart, all your soul and all your mind
Abandon
The time has come to hand it over
Stop holding back
Live with abandon
Maybe you are here this morning and you haven’t yet found the narrow gate
It is narrow
Not because it is difficult to become a Christian
It is called narrow because there is only one way to live eternally with God
There is only one way to Heaven
Believing in Jesus is the only way
Because He alone died for your sins and can make you right with God
Romans 10:9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Put your trust in Him today
Accept Him as Savior today
Enter through the narrow gate to eternal life
