On Solid Ground
Matthew 7:13-27
"Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to
destruction, and many are those who enter by it. [14] "For the gate is small, and the
way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.
[15] "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but
inwardly are ravenous wolves. [16] "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are
not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? [17] "Even so,
every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. [18] "A good tree
cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. [19] "Every tree
that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. [20] "So then,
you will know them by their fruits. [21] "Not everyone who says to Me, ’Lord,
Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who
is in heaven. [22] "Many will say to Me on that day, ’Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name
perform many miracles?’ [23] "And then I will declare to them, ’I never knew you;
depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
[24] "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may
be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. [25] "And the rain
descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house;
and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock. [26] "And everyone
who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish
man, who built his house upon the sand. [27] "And the rain descended, and the
floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great
was its fall."
Jesus concludes his Sermon on the Mount, and we conclude our series this morning
with an invitation for His listeners to make an important choice about three things:
the path they will follow, the teachers they will listen to and what they will do with
His teachings.
In verses 13 and 14, Jesus advises his listeners to choose the correct path for their
lives-to go through the "narrow gate." To go through the narrow gate is to go against
society’s grain. Most people go through the wide gate, but on the other side they
find destruction. Robert Frost wrote: Two roads diverged in a yellow wood/ And
sorry I could not travel both/ And be one traveler, long I stood/ And looked down
one as far as I could/ To where it bent in the undergrowth/ Then took the other as
just as fair/ And having perhaps the better claim/ Because it was grassy and wanted
wear/ Though as for that, the passing there/ Had worn them really about the same/
And both that morning equally lay/ In leaves no step had trodden black/ Oh, I kept
the first for another day!/ Yet, knowing how way leads onto way/ I doubted if I
should ever come back/ I shall be telling this with a sigh/ Somewhere ages and ages
hence/ Two roads diverged in a wood/ And I took the one less traveled by/ And
that has made all the difference
What path are you on? Are you traveling through the wide gate on a path to
destruction, or are you on the road less traveled? Are you going through the narrow
gate that leads to life?
For those who’ve traveled through the narrow gate, Jesus gives a warning. He says
to be careful who you listen to. In verses 15 to 23, Jesus says that not every
prophet is from God and that believers must test them by examining their fruits.
Though I would encourage you to trust your leaders, I must also say that the final
authority in this church is not the teachers that serve here, the deacons or your
pastor, it is God’s Word!
But I am also aware that we are not the only voices you listen to. Most of you read
books, magazines, listen to Christian radio, and hear other preachers. Let me give
you a rule of thumb that I learned from my beloved professor Dr. Fred Fisher. He
taught us to: "Respect every teacher, but to also suspect them." Respect them for
their calling and the office they hold, but suspect that they could be wrong in what
they teach and their motives might be less than pure.
Jesus said to be fruit inspectors, to observe whether or not teachers are following
the will of God. A teacher who isn’t following God’s will is a wolf, and will devastate
the flock if we listen to them. The test isn’t how charismatic a leader they are, or
how profound a thinker they are, or how many books they’ve sold, or even how
large a following they have. The test is: are they following God’s will? The issue isn’t
whether what they are right in what they are saying. The issue is, are they right with
the Lord? Today, the Church is hungry for men with high character who will not
succumb to the seduction of celebrity.
This October I served on the faculty at the Glorieta Christian Writers Conference.
Among my duties for the week was to meet with aspiring writers. My job was to
evaluate their work and give them advise how to improve their craft. Some of the
writers were quite good, others struggled with writing a complete sentence. I tried to
be as encouraging as I could as I gave these writer’s my honest evaluation. A couple
of times I got past the surface issues to ask a heart-wrenching question, "Why do
you want this work published?" Each time I asked that question, the person flinched,
and stammered around for a few moments without really answering the question. It
was evident to me that they hadn’t even considered that question before.
You see, I believe the "Why" of writing has to come before the "What." Some
aspiring authors know what they want to write, but never wrestle with why. If the
"why" is to achieve some level of celebrity, it is an invalid reason. The only reason to
write, or teach for that matter, is because the message is burning a hole in your heart
and you can’t keep from communicating it to others.
Like Peter and John, Christian communicators should cry out, "for we cannot stop
speaking what we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:20 NASB) The test, is whether or
not the communicator is in God’s will, and we are all to be fruit inspectors.
After settling the question of which gate to walk through and which teachers to listen
to, Jesus asks his listeners to decide what they will do with His teachings. He said
that those who heard and didn’t apply His teachings are like a fool who builds his
house on the sand. In contrast, those who heard and applied His teachings are like
the wise man that build his house on a firm foundation.
Which are you? Notice that both the foolish man and the wise man listened to His
words. It is not enough just to hear what He says! If we are wise, we will heed His
words.
If you’ve listened over the past eight weeks, you’ve heard a call to revolution. A call
to live a radical Christian lifestyle. Together, we’ve discovered Jesus’ call for us to
be a preserving influence in our culture and to boldly shine the gospel’s light into the
darkness. We learned that Jesus expect us to do more than what is expected--to do
more than is right. We are to totally depend on Him by resisting the temptation to
worry and to humble ourselves before Him and pray.
My question to you is, "What are you going to do about it?" Are you ready to join
the revolution? Do you want more out of your Christianity than putting in your time
and your tithe? Do you want to change the world?
Or do you want to just shake my hand at the end of the service and say, "Nice tie,
Pastor," Or "Good sermon," and go home and build your house on the sand?
