Opener:
Good morning Church! We are so glad that you are here fellowshipping with us this morning! We are in the middle of a series on Nuggets from the sermon on the mountain. We are discovering a few life changing moments from Jesus sermon found in the book of Matthew chapter seven.
Last week, as you may recall, we talked about the real dangers of judging others. We learned how important it is not to look at others especially when we ourselves have our own issues. We talked about how there will be a day that we will be judged and that will be done by God.
Before we begin on our text this morning, I would like to share the story of Ken Jones that was written by Eli Nixon from Listverse.com.
Even if the avalanche doesn’t kill you, the mountain will. Those words never felt truer for Ken Jones than in January 2003. Jones was ex–Special Forces and a burgeoning mountaineer, so he was stoked when he won a contest to take a climbing holiday in Romania. Romania’s Fagaras Mountains contain some of the highest peaks of the Southern Carpathians, which offered Jones the perfect opportunity to brush up on his mountaineering and see some breathtaking views in the process.
Early on a cold January Monday, Jones left his hotel to climb Mount Moldoveanu, Romania’s highest mountain. He went alone, didn’t tell anyone where he was going, and didn’t bring a phone. It was a mistake that nearly cost him his life. Midway through the climb, Jones was standing on an exposed rock when an avalanche came out of nowhere. The cascade of snow and ice swept him 25 meters (75 ft) off the rock and left him with a fractured skull, a shattered pelvis, and a broken leg. In the deafening stillness that followed the avalanche, Jones looked out over the barren, snow-covered landscape and realized that he was utterly alone.
What happened next was a force of sheer willpower. Bruised, bloody, and unable to walk, wearing only a T-shirt and jeans, Jones began to crawl. Using his hands and elbows, barely able to push with his legs, Jones crawled inch by excruciating inch down one of the most desolate mountains in the world. With every push, he could feel the shattered bones in his pelvis grinding against each other. At night, the temperature dropped to -15 degrees Celsius (5° F). He didn’t even have shoes—they’d fallen off in the avalanche.
It took Jones four days and three nights to crawl 16 kilometers (10 mi) to the nearest town. At one point, he spent three hours in icy water crossing a stream. After he was finally rescued, the doctors didn’t think he’d live through the night. When he did, they told him he’d never walk again. Today, he not only walks, he’s a competitive cyclist.
Ken Jones experienced something that very few will ever do and he was able to defy what seemed to be insurmountable odds. This morning, as believers, we too are up against something that seems insurmountable and that is to stay on the narrow road.
If you have your bibles turn with to Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV 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. 14Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
I. Two ways one decision
A. Part of life
a. There is a common thread to all of humanity that every person on the planet will experience from the moment that they are born to the moment that they pass on.
b. Making decisions is a part of everyday life and life is full of them.
c. The decisions that we make start with what clothes we are going to wear for the day, if we are going to take a shower in the morning or brush our teeth, are we going to work or just lounge around and watch television, etc.
d. This morning you made a decision to get up and come to church. Some are watching online. Let me tell you, I am really glad you made that decision to watch us.
e. In our text this morning, we see Jesus confronting His hearers with a decision. He informs them that there are two gates to possibly open. One is a large gate, while the other is a narrow gate.
B. The wide gate
a. Before we begin to talk about the two different options, I want to pause to just point your attention to the fact that we have the option to choose.
b. That to me is amazing, there have been situations in my life that I did not have the ability to choose and it was frustrating to me.
c. Jesus does not force us into choosing one gate over the other, He simply provides us the opportunity to choose which one we would like to open.
d. I must say that free will is one of the most wonderful gifts that God has given to mankind.
e. All throughout history, there have been countries that have ruled over their citizens and they basically take away the ability to choose. They tell you what you can eat, the level of education that you can complete, and the clothing that you will wear. Some even determine the hair styles that are available.
f. The choice that Jesus confronts His audience with is to either choose a wide gate and a narrow gate.
C. Wide gate
a. The wide gate is just that, wide and is very easy to enter. Many people are able to go through the gate at the same time.
b. This gate allows you to take whatever possessions that you would like.
c. There are no restrictions on who can enter through this gate and will take little effort and commitment to go through. In fact, you don’t have to do anything to access this gate. You will meet many friends at the gate and will see many family members.
D. The narrow gate
a. On the other hand, there is a narrow gate. This gate does not have a lot of room from possession. In fact, there is only enough room for you to fit through.
b. You must leave all your baggage behind before you enter through this gate.
c. At this gate, there is no room for chasing the pleasures of this world, no room for judging others as we talked about last week, no room for allowing bitterness to grow in your heart.
d. This is a very difficult gate to enter, Jesus even warned us in Luke 13:24 NKJV 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
e. Jesus told us to enter this gate and then warned us that if you choose this gate, it will be difficult.
E. False thinking
a. There is a false narrative and false way of thinking out there and it goes along the lines of “If you just become a believer that all your problems will disappear.
b. They think that that God will just automatically alleviate all your problems are gone.
c. That is not how it works, at all!
d. In fact, making the decision to open the narrow gate will cause tougher challenges to come.
e. Yet, let me say this, it is all worth it in the end! We will conquer some things that we never thought would even be possible in life.
II. Gates lead to paths
A. Two paths
a. Once we choose which gate that we want to enter, this leads us to a path that we will walk on.
b. Let me be clear, just because you open a certain gate does not automatically mean that you will stay on that same path.
c. Everyday, people choose to open the right gate and then go down the wrong path.
d. Let’s take a look at these two very different paths.
B. Heavily traveled
a. Jesus told us that the wide path is the one most traveled on. It is the easy path. It is worn, well traveled and most people end up on this path.
b. Jesus warned us of taking this path though and that it will eventually lead to destruction. It will lead one to a life that is full of substance abuse. Full of materialism, self righteousness, a life full of using people for your own betterment.
c. The bible tells us in Proverbs 16:25NKJV25 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
d. It further says in Proverbs 12:15 NKJV 15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise.
e. Then in 1 Corinthians 3:19 NKJV19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”;
C. No rules
a. On this well traveled path, there are absolutely no rules to follow. You get to follow the beat of your own drummer. The only rule is that “If it feels good, go ahead and do it.” Is the philosophy on this path.
b. The wide path is what everyone else is doing. It is the majority rule and the majority provides your morality.
c. You do not have to give up anything to walk along this path. You can make your own rules as you go along.
d. People that walk on this path are blinded. The bible talks about those on the wide path in 2 Corinthians 4:4 NKJV 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
e. They are blind and lost.
D. The narrow path
a. This leads us to the other path. The narrow path.
b. In his book the Pilgrims Progress, John Bunyan shares about a traveler that goes down the narrow path.
c. The character Christian travels from the city of destruction making his way to the Celestial city. While on his way, Christian seeks to rid himself of a terrible burden, the weight of sins that he was carrying around. During his journey Christian encountered different characters such as Mr. Worldly, Mr. Legality and other characters that try to dissuade Christian from staying on the narrow path. After overcoming all the challenges, Christian makes it to the Celestial kingdom.
d. Like Christian, we are all called to walk the narrow path in life. This path will take discipline and a desire to stay on the path.
e. Jesus talked about being on the narrow path in John 14:23-24NKJV23 “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.
E. It doesn’t stop with love
a. Not only do we love God, but we also choose to do His will in our lives.
b. The bible says in Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
c. Notice that those that claimed to know and follow God were ousted. Why? Because they were doing life on their own accord versus God’s will for their lives.
III. Work to do
A. Salvation
a. So how do we stay on the narrow path? In a right relationship with God. Well, the simple answer is, It is going to take work.
b. The apostle shares in Philippians 2:12 NKJV12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
c. When reading this particular text, it can be very confusing because we understand that salvation is a free gift. I agree that it is free and that it is not something that can earned nor is it something we deserve.
d. Paul was not trying to write about a new doctrine here, rather, he was building off an existing one.
e. Paul is saying here that we must first possess salvation before we can work it out.
f. We must open the narrow gate which leads to the narrow path. Once we are on that narrow path, we work to stay on it.
g. He was telling them to work out our salvation due to God’s grace and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
i. To work out our salvation is to resist sin in our lives.
1. God is Holy and therefore, we too are called to be holy.
2. This should cause us to live our lives out with intention.
ii. Once we give our hearts to the Lord, He begins a good work inside of us. This good work is a partnership between us and the Lord and it is called Sanctification. Sanctification simply means to be set apart for God’s purposes and use. God cleans us up though this process.
h. We work out our salvation by drawing closer to Christ every day. This is done with “fear and trembling” at God’s Word and shunning evil from our lives.
B. God works
a. Paul does not stop there, he further shares in Verse 13 in Philippians two which says: 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
b. God has a purpose for every one of us. We are called to live out that purpose.
c. A.W. Tozer was a minister for 44 years. He is quoted to saying ““Let every man abide in the calling wherein he is called and his work will be as sacred as the work of the ministry. It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular, it is why he does it.”
d. Completing that calling is crucial to fulfill God’s will for our lives. Let me say, we do not get to choose how we will serve God, He does that. Of coarse, He works with us and empowers us.
C. Our offering
a. Paul continues in Philippians two to shed some light on the kind of sacrifices that we need to be willing to make in verse 17 and 18 which reads as follows: 17 Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.
b. Here Paul was using a powerful image here. The verb used here “poured out” is when the priest would pour out a cup of wine or honey on the fire which would then produce a puff of steam.
c. Let me paraphrase if I can for you what Paul was conveying here: He was saying, Hey, I know that you are concerned for me because I am in a Roman prison with the possibility of being executed, but my life is not what is important here. What is important in keeping your faith in Christ
d. He was letting the church know that their faith has a greater value than his own life.
e. Paul was placing his crowing achievements and his life at a very low priority and was pointing to Jesus being worthy of it all.
D. Embrace the challenge
a. Paul was not running away from the challenge that was before him. In fact, he was embracing this challenge.
b. Paul had a tremendous love for God’s people. A love that was evident in his writings.
c. To give you a perspective, Paul wrote in Romans 9:3 NKJV 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my [countrymen according to the flesh,
d. Paul was willing to trade his position with the Lord for his fellow Jewish brothers and sisters.
e. He recognize how lost they were and he was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice so they could spend eternity in heaven.
E. Gave his all
a. Paul gave his all, his very best for the ministry, that Christ called him to.
b. There were no half measure that were taken on Paul’s part. He was truly all in and this text exemplifies that fact.
c. Paul sought to walk worthy of the Lord and was desperately in love with Jesus.
d. We too need to be like Paul in our lives to stay on that narrow path.
Closing:
As we wrap up this sermon, life is about the choices that we make. God loves us so much that He gave us the ability to either follow Him of our own volition. So we stand before two gates. One is narrow and will require us to let everything go. The other is wide and we can take everything with us. Which gate do you choose this morning? While I hope we would all choose that narrow gate, the question then becomes are we willing to walk the narrow path which will be arduous, it will cost us everything, yet at the end will have the greatest reward. May I encourage you here this morning, if you are on that narrow road, God bless you! God strengthen you! If you find yourself fallen off the narrow path. May you repent with me here this morning and get back to that narrow road.
