CHRISTIAN CHALLENGE SERMON XII: CHOOSE THE RIGHT WAY AND CONTINUE YOUR JOURNEY IN PEACE!
Getting on an airplane at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport is quite a challenge. There’s a right way and a wrong way. If you try to board the aircraft any other way than that which is prescribed, you will be arrested and jailed, and you will appear before a judge who will read you the “riot act” before sentencing you.
There’s only one way to enter into the “boarding zone” for getting onto a plane that will take you to your destination – and the entrance to that zone is very, very narrow, less than three feet wide.
Once you’ve been examined by security personnel and found to be fit for entry, you’re cleared to proceed toward your destination - cautiously - alert to any possible danger - and you are told repeatedly, “If you see something, say something.”
Thus saith the Lord: “Behold, I have set before you the way of life and the way of death” (Jeremiah 21:8). “Choose you this day whom you will serve.” (Joshua 24:15).
John Oxenham wrote a poem about the choosing of a way:
“To every person there openeth a way and ways and a way; and the high souls tread the high way, and the low souls grope the low; and in between on the misty flats the rest drift to and fro; but to every person there openeth a high way and a low; and every person decideth the way his or her soul shall go.”
As Jesus concluded His Sermon on the Mount, He told His listeners that, having heard His message, they had to make that inevitable choice between the way of life and the way of spiritual death – Matthew 7:13-14 . . .
What Jesus told us here is plain and simple. Life has its cross-roads, and the choice we make determines our destiny. The difference between the two ways is the difference between: the hard way and the easy way . . . the disciplined and the undisciplined way . . . the thoughtful and the thoughtless way.
The heart of the matter is this: No one would ever take the easy, undisciplined way if they only thought! As William Barclay points out, “Everything in this world has two aspects: how it looks at the moment and how it will look in the time to come.”
Think about it: The easy way may look inviting . . . effortless . . . enticing - at the moment. Yes, we can take the easy way only to learn after a while or perhaps after it’s too late that the easy way - the broad way – with all its options, with no rules, few constraints, no ethics, no moral compass – is a path of life contrary to God’s Will, and therefore prone to evil not good. The easy way, left unchecked, eventually leads to destruction.
Thank God! You chose the right way! Had you chosen the wrong way (“my own way”) it would mean that, whereas you were born once, you would die twice. Having chosen the right way (“God’s way”) means that you were born twice, but will die only once.
When a ruler of the Pharisees came to Jesus one night and asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”, remember what Jesus told him? “You must be born again.”
Thus, when we repent of our sin of unbelief and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we receive a new life that is spiritual in nature for time and eternity. This is not to say that there will be no challenges along the path of life.
Life has been no “bed of roses” for you or me. We have had to wrestle with so much in so many ways, not the least of which has been our constant challenge to discern between truth and error.
For wisdom to make that determination we have had to depend on the Holy Spirit of God. Only with the Spirit’s help have we been able to see things in the light of eternity. So . . .
Knowing that we would face such a challenge, Jesus used a term similar to what we are told at the airport. There, we are reminded at every turn to be alert to possible danger. In the spiritual realm into which we have entered via the right gate - the One who is “the door” - Jesus cautioned us: “Beware” – Matthew 7:15-23 . . .
Pay close attention to! Cautiously watch out for! Examine closely what you are being told and who is telling you. Simply ask yourself, “Is his or her life consistent with the standards taught by Jesus?”. By asking this question, you are not judging motive, you are “making a judgment” of their “fruit” - whether it is consistently good or bad. Mama told me: “Actions speak louder than words.”
As for you and me, let us be forever grateful that Jesus, not we ourselves, will make the final determination as to whether or not and, if so, how well one’s profession of faith translated into evidence of one’s new birth experience.
One thing for sure that comes through to me out of our Lord’s Sermon in general, and this concluding segment in particular, is this stark reality: We are not to equate discipleship with doing religious things . . . No!
True discipleship is a personal relationship with Christ our Lord wherein we are committed to the Will of God in everyday living in every area of life. To really “know” Christ is to know Him intimately and experientially. And to “know” Him in that way is life in His presence forever. Counterfeit Christianity is unacceptable.
So, what is the greatest test we will ever face, and how can we be prepared to face it? Jesus tells us in the concluding point of His Sermon - Matthew 7:24-27 . . .
Let me put it pointedly: No false pretenses! Practice what you preach! Build your life on the sure foundation of Christ the Solid Rock!
Those who heard Jesus that day had two options: Do what He taught or refuse to. With the hearing of His Word there always comes accountability.
No one could (can) ever say, “I did not know.” What’s more, to ignore Him is refusal. There is no middle ground. It’s either the high road or the low.
It’s either build on the solid rock of God’s promises and stand, or build on the sinking sand of the world’s empty promises and fall.
Thank God! You chose to build your life on a solid foundation of faith, love, truth, honesty and integrity.
And today you are at peace with God . . . yourself . . . your brothers and sisters in Christ. Again I say, congratulations!
One day you will hear the Father say: “Well done, good and faithful servant . . . Enter thou into the joy . . . happiness . . . fellowship of thy Lord.”
So again I say, “Congratulations! You chose the right way! Continue your journey in peace!” Amen.
