August 10, 2025 • 41 mins
In this week's sermon in our "Red Letters" series, Pastor Tyler Lynde brings us to Jesus’ stark finale in the Sermon on the Mount: two gates, two roads, two ends. Tyler begins with the Golden Rule, not as polite restraint but as proactive love that mirrors the Father’s generosity and fulfills the law from the heart. Then he follows Jesus into the decisive choice. The wide gate and easy road feel natural because self sits at the center, yet they end in ruin and, ultimately, separation from God. The narrow gate and hard road demand repentance, daily cross-bearing, and obedience, yet they lead to real life now and eternal life to come. Tyler anchors the hope of this path in Christ Himself. Jesus is both the gate and the way; no one reaches the Father apart from Him. And we do not walk alone. The Spirit indwells believers as Helper and Guide, giving peace in trouble and power for obedience so that love of neighbor becomes possible. This message refuses sentimentality and despair: it is honest about hell and radiant about grace. Choose the road that keeps company with Christ and practices the Golden Rule as a family resemblance, and you will find that the narrow way, though steep, is the best way to live.
We are Trinity Community Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Subscribe to our Podcast & YouTube channel to find past sermons, classes, interviews, and more!
Find us on Facebook & Instagram
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
So today we're going to be getting the end of Jesus'
sermon and, as most greatpreachers do, he has several
closings, and so, if it was goodenough for him anyway, I'm not
going to go too far with that,but he brings it home with a
reminder of what is important,as well as calling those who
would listen to make a choice,and we'll be looking over the
(00:25):
next few weeks at four warningsor choices, each offering a
dichotomy of eternal outcomes.
So two ways, two trees, twoclaims and two builders.
They all focus on the judgmentat the end of time, and so make
it plain that this is acontinuation of a discussion of
the kingdom of God or thekingdom of heaven, and the title
(00:48):
of today's message is theGolden Road, the Golden Road.
So let's read from thescriptures together this morning
.
So whatever you wish thatothers would do for you do also
to them, for this is the law,and the prophets Enter by the
narrow gate, for the gate iswide and the way is easy.
(01:08):
That leads to destruction, andthose who enter by it are many,
for the gate is narrow and theway is hard that leads to life,
and those who find it are few.
Let's pray together, father, Ithank you and praise you for
your word that is rich andpowerful and we ask, lord, that
(01:29):
you would take these words andthat you would cause them to be
used for the building of yourkingdom.
I ask, lord, god, that in eachof our hearts, that you would do
the alignment and adjustmentthat needs to be done For those
of us who need correction.
We ask that you would correctus as only a father who cares so
deeply.
Would we also ask for those whoneed encouragement this morning
(01:51):
that you would bringencouragement.
And finally, lord, for thosewho don't yet know you, I pray
that, through the words of thegospel of Jesus Christ today,
that the Holy Spirit wouldawaken hearts and minds to the
truth that is found in JesusChrist and that there would be
many today who would find theirway to choosing the best choice
(02:13):
of all, which is to follow afterJesus Christ.
We pray these things in Jesus'name.
So when Amy and I were younger,we had children.
We still do have children, wehave four children but we
started something that was apractice that everybody, that
all of the children, learned.
This was going to be somethingthat was a part of the kind of
(02:35):
the culture of our family, andwhenever they would go somewhere
without us, we would ask them aquestion who do you represent?
Who do you represent, who doyou represent?
And we had taught them that theright answers to that question
were myself, my family, the LordJesus Christ, the church in
general, and what was?
(02:56):
There's one or two others, Ican't think of any.
Which ones, anna, I forgot?
Okay, my church, the body ofChrist, yeah, all of those
things, right, and so that wassomething that, like I said,
that we taught and it wasn'tthat we were looking for
perfection, but we were at.
We were asking them to actaccording to who they were going
(03:20):
to represent, right?
So, however, they were going togo about their time and
experience the different thingsthat they were about ready to
experience outside of ourpresence.
We wanted them to be thinkingabout who was it that they
represented?
We would encourage them to actlike that.
Our hope is that they wouldmake decisions, by God's grace,
(03:41):
that would help them to livelives that represented those
categories very well.
We weren't asking them to bewhat they weren't, but simply to
act like they knew who theywere.
Did you hear me?
We weren't asking them to bewhat they weren't, but simply to
act like they knew who theywere.
They were lions, and lionsbehave in a particular way.
(04:08):
In a similar way, jesus beginsour passage today with an action
point for his followers, basedon everything that he's been
encouraging them about before.
In this very sermon, heimplores them, first of all, to
love others the way that God theFather loves.
To love others the way that Godthe Father loves.
He says so whatever you wishthat others would do to you, do
(04:31):
also to them, for this is thelaw and the prophets.
This saying is generally knownas what the golden rule Do unto
others as you would have them dounto you.
But this statement, when youthink about it, is so
countercultural.
This just seems like it shouldbe common sense, like this
should be normal, like it shouldbe the basic expression of
(04:52):
humanity.
But how many of you know thathumanity typically takes on the
negative form of this?
And it's not all wrong, butthey say something like don't do
to others what you don't wantthem to do to you.
So instead of the positivething, like stepping out in love
and doing for others as youwould have them to do to you,
(05:13):
it's more about restraint Don'tdo to others what you don't want
them to do to you.
Again, not totally wrong, butnot necessarily what Jesus was
trying to get across.
And I think maybe the twinsister, the more sinister sister
in the group, says somethinglike do unto others before they
do unto you.
Do unto others before they dounto you.
Both of those things often arebased on selfish motives.
(05:38):
Obviously, believers in Jesusare called to live differently
in this world.
Do you believe that?
Amen, it is the truth.
Remember in the verses beforethis that Jesus is telling his
followers that if earthlyfathers love to give good gifts
to their children, how much morewill our heavenly father give
good gifts to those who ask him?
(06:00):
This is the way that our fatherloves us.
He gives good gifts to us, heblesses us, he takes care of us.
He's a good, good father.
He is kind and generous, he ismerciful and gracious, he is
loving and patient.
There are literally thousandsof words that we could use to
(06:20):
describe the character andnature of our heavenly father,
and here's the bottom line pointI'm trying to make through this
introduction those who areGod's children should act like
him.
Those who are God's childrenshould act like him.
Ask yourself the question inwhat ways am I acting like my
(06:42):
heavenly father?
And maybe ask a secondaryquestion in what ways am I
acting like my heavenly father?
And maybe ask a secondaryquestion in what ways am I not
acting like my heavenly father?
And then the third question ishow can I change in the ways
that I need to change?
When we're proactive in ourapproach to love others the way
that God loves them, with aproper attitude, we are obeying
the word of God.
(07:03):
Jesus said that the law and theprophets are fulfilled.
You obey the law and theprophets when you do good to
others and love them the waythat God loves them.
Romans 13, verses eight through10, says oh, no one anything
except to love each other, forthe one who loves another has
fulfilled the law, for thecommandments you shall not
(07:23):
commit adultery, you shall notmurder, you shall not steal, you
shall not covet and any othercommandment are summed up in
this word you shall love yourneighbor as yourself.
Love does no wrong to aneighbor.
Therefore, love is thefulfilling of the law.
Remember, there was a lawyerthat came to Jesus, a Jewish
(07:47):
lawyer, and he asked him thequestion what must I do to
inherit eternal life.
And Jesus said well, have youobeyed the commandments?
And he said I've obeyed all ofthem, right?
And then Jesus turned to himand said love the Lord, your God
, with all your heart, soul,mind and strength, and love your
neighbor as yourself.
And then he asked a dangerousquestion.
Remember the question who is myneighbor?
(08:09):
Who is my neighbor?
Jesus begins to tell the storyof a man who was on the road to
Jericho, and as he was on theroad, he was stopped by robbers
and he was beaten and all of hisgoods were taken from him and
he was left on the side of theroad for dead.
And as he's laying there,bleeding and dying, a priest
(08:30):
walks by, and a priest, wantingto remain pure and holy, passes
by.
On the other side of the road,a Levite comes by, which is a
servant in the temple as well,and what does he do?
He passes by on the other side.
And finally, a third personcomes by, a Samaritan.
Remember, the Samaritans werehated by Jews because they were
(08:52):
a mixed breed, they were notjust pure Jewish blood.
And so what happens?
The Samaritan, seeing this manlaying there, bleeding and dying
stops, gets off of his animalthere, bleeding and dying stops,
gets off of his animal, comesover to him, binds up his wounds
, pours in oil and wine, setshim on his own horse and leads
(09:16):
him down to an inn where he putshim in the care of those who
were there.
And not only does he put thisman in their care, he also pays
for all of the needs that theyhave then and what they might
have in the future.
This is called the goodSamaritan right.
I mean, even though Jesus is alot like that good Samaritan and
he wants us, as God the father,wants us as his children, to
(09:40):
live like and to act like thegood Samaritan.
Jesus asked the man which onewas a neighbor, and he couldn't
even find the words.
He couldn't even say theSamaritan.
He said the one who showedmercy.
The one who showed mercy.
Aren't you glad that God hasshown mercy to us?
(10:01):
Can you imagine if we as a bodyof Christ, as we as believers in
Jesus Christ, chose to livelike this, if we chose to follow
the golden rule, if we chose tolove others the way that God,
the father, loves us, wouldthings change?
Would anything change?
The answer is yes, it wouldabsolutely change.
(10:24):
Think about how marriages wouldbe affected if we chose to love
others the way that we wouldlike to be loved?
How about families in general,relationships between fathers
and children and children andmothers?
How about workplaces All of thestress and strife that goes on
in workplaces?
What if believers were to raiseup above that and to live their
(10:44):
lives like they're loved, sothat they can love others?
How about schools we justtalked about and prayed for
those who will be involved inthe school system.
Probably some have alreadystarted and others will start
this week.
What a difference could be madein the school system if each
and every person who has anyinfluence there began to live
(11:06):
like this, began to give ofthemselves in loving ways,
representing our heavenly father.
What about the grocery stores intown?
They would see us coming,wouldn't they?
We would all be racing to theback of the line so that we
could pay for the groceries ofthe person in front of us, just
as an example of showing thelove that the Father has given
(11:27):
to us.
This world, this community,would begin to change.
How about street corners inthis community?
Would things change if we wouldbe out there loving on people
instead of railing on them,instead of walking by somebody
that's holding a cardboard sign.
What if we stopped and prayedwith them and showed them the
love of Jesus?
(11:49):
And finally, what about churchlife?
Can you imagine the divisionsand strife and hurt and all of
those things that coulddisappear if we would simply
obey the words of Jesus and dounto others as we would have
them do unto us?
My friends, this is exactlywhat Jesus is imploring us to do
(12:10):
.
This is the way that he'sasking us to live, and here's
the good news he would never askus to do this unless he was
going to help us do it.
We have the grace of God thatlives in us and we're going to
talk about this at the end, buthe lives in us and he gives us,
(12:32):
he equips us with everythingthat we need for life, and this
we can do.
This you can do this.
You can love, like our heavenlyfather loves.
So just as important as thesecond greatest commandment is
to love our neighbor asourselves.
(12:53):
How many of you know that therewas a first commandment?
I just quoted it Love the Lord,your God, with all your heart,
your mind, your soul and yourstrength.
This is the first commandmentwith promise.
I contend that without this onebeing followed, we won't be
able to fill the second one.
You can't love your neighborunless you've been loved by God
(13:14):
and you, in turn, love him.
It's that relationship thatgives you the grace that you
need to be able to love yourneighbor when they are unlovable
.
None of us in this room areever unlovable, thankfully but
we know people you're probablythinking of them right now, in
your sphere of influence thatseem to you.
(13:39):
You can choose to love in spiteof.
In spite of, you can love theway that God loves us.
So if we, if we love others,how are we supposed to love God?
The passage goes on to talkabout choosing the right road.
So, love God.
Loving God is choosing theright road, choosing the right
(14:00):
road.
We can't love him unless we'reon the right road, choosing the
right road.
We can't love him unless we'reon the right path.
Jesus says enter by the narrowgate.
Don't you love it when someonegives you the answer to the
question before they ask thequestion?
That's what Jesus does here.
Before he gives them any kindof choice, any kind of decision,
(14:21):
before he presents the twooptions that he's going to
present, he says to them choosethe narrow gate, enter by the
narrow gate.
This is the way that I want youto walk.
This is the journey that I wantyou to be on.
This is the path.
This is the way.
Enter by the narrow gate.
Jesus isn't playing a game withus here.
(14:44):
He's being very plain and veryclear and concise and we want to
take his words at that place,and we're going to talk more
about the narrow gate in aminute, but first of all I want
to talk about the other optionthat Jesus brings up.
You see, the easy, wise roadleads to hell.
(15:07):
Please pay attention.
This is very serious.
The easy, wide road leads tohell, for the gate is wide and
the way is easy.
That leads to destruction, andthose who enter by it are many,
many.
All of us, whether you want toacknowledge it or not, are very
familiar with this way, the wideway, the wide gate, the wide
(15:30):
path.
In fact, we're all born walkingon this very path.
Our feet are firmly planted onthe wide path from the day we
take our first breath, because,since Adam and Eve, every person
ever born into this earth,except for Christ, has been born
dead in sin, not having a rightrelationship with God, and so
(15:53):
we have started this life out onthe easy way.
When we were growing up, weactually lived on easy easy
street.
One of our houses that we livedon was called Easy Street.
I don't know why it was calledEasy Street, but we lived there.
That's the place.
Remember?
I told you where all of thosegroceries were given to us
without us knowing where theycame from Easy Street.
(16:14):
So it feels like Easy Street,this road.
For some of us, it may be theonly road we've ever known, and
I'm talking to you specificallyhere this morning and those of
you who are watching online ifthis is the only road that
you've ever known.
I want to tell you that Jesusis giving you another choice
today.
He's giving you another option,and just because the wide road
(16:36):
has felt comfortable and easyand right does not mean that
that is the truth.
Bob Dylan, in his famous song,said I was blinded by the devil,
born already ruined, stone,cold dead as I stepped out of
the womb.
Those were the words that hespoke, and then he goes on to
(16:58):
talk about what seems to havebeen a salvation experience for
him.
That is the condition of ourlives without Jesus Christ.
This path is the path of leastresistance.
It is the path ofself-indulgence.
It's the path where we thinkthat we are fully in charge.
(17:19):
It's the path of envy and prideand self-righteousness.
It's the path that feels really, really right.
The wide road, the easy road,calls to us, it allures us, it
tells us this is the right way.
Walk here.
(17:40):
In Proverbs 16, 25, thescripture describes it like this
there is a way that seems rightto a man, but its end is the
way to death.
This path is the path that Satanmanicures, that Satan himself
maintains he has no greaterdesire than to take as many
(18:03):
people to hell as he possiblycan.
He is not some kind ofHalloween costume to wear.
He is an evil, wicked, sadisticcreature who has fallen from
grace and will never be restoredagain, and his desire is to
destroy as many people as he can.
(18:24):
In fact, in John 10, we knowthat the description of his life
is given the thief comes tosteal, to kill and to destroy.
That is Satan's greatest work.
He doesn't care what means hehas to use.
He'll even dress up lies andmake them look like religion if
(18:45):
it will appeal to us and keep uscontent.
How many people have been solost?
And yet they felt like theywere following after God.
They prayed a prayer as a childand yet nothing ever changed.
There's no fruit that ever camein their lives of
transformation that comes asbeing a child of God.
(19:06):
So many people today who thinkthat Jesus is just another name
in the atmosphere, somebody thatwe should respect as a prophet
and a priest and maybe, you know, maybe even somebody that we
should really pay attention tohis words.
But he's not who.
He said that he was.
My friends, there is a plan thatSatan is using, even within
(19:29):
churches, to water down thetruth concerning Jesus and the
truth concerning eternity.
There is an eternal place ofseparation.
There is an eternal placecalled hell.
The road leads to hell, thiswide road.
The Bible describes hell as aplace of utter darkness and
(19:54):
unrelenting fire, where therewill be weeping and groaning and
gnashing of teeth.
It is a place of torment anddesolation.
It is all of our worstnightmares wrapped up into one.
It is a place designed forSatan and all of his demons, and
also because of people'sdecision to not follow Jesus
(20:16):
Christ, they will also,according to the scriptures,
find their place of eternal.
Can't even use the word rest inthat place, eternal torment in
that place.
I know we didn't talk about thisa lot and you'll not find many
churches in America talkingabout this today, but I'm here
(20:38):
to tell you this is the word ofGod and this is what Jesus was
talking about.
There's a wide road that leadsto destruction, and the
destruction is not to yourchecking account.
The destruction is not to yourphysical health.
The destruction is not althoughall of those things can be
affected by walking on the wideroad here in this earth but how
(20:59):
many of you know the destructionit's talking about is eternal.
It's forever.
The most traumatic reality ofhell, as difficult as all of the
other things that I talkedabout, is eternal separation
from Father God.
It's the one place where Godwill not be found.
(21:23):
I encourage you just to sitthere in that for just a moment,
because I hope that, as we moveon to this next part, that a
couple of things will happen.
(21:43):
I hope, first of all, that wewill have a renewed desire to
make sure that we're on thenarrow path.
Number one.
Number two I hope that we'llhave a renewed focus to pray for
loved ones and those around uswho don't yet know Jesus.
Eternity is forever and weshould not be satisfied or happy
(22:12):
that anyone would go to hell,and I also hope that if we
realize today that we are on thenarrow road, that we will
rejoice with great joy and notallow the little things in this
(22:34):
life to continually trip us up.
I'm just going to stop for justa minute and pray for loved ones
who don't yet know Jesus.
Would you pray with me, father?
In the name of Jesus, we prayfor all of those who are on the
wide path today, who aredestined for hell and for
(22:55):
eternal separation from you.
Father, we pray that you wouldhave mercy.
We pray that you would reachout by your spirit, that you
would touch our children and ourgrandchildren, and coworkers
and schoolmates and people inthe grocery stores and all of
the people within the localchurches.
Lord, people around the world,we ask that you would cause the
(23:18):
entrance of the light of JesusChrist to dispel the darkness
and that many would notice andrecognize that they're on the
wrong path and that today wouldbe a day of demarcation, that
they would change direction,repent and follow you.
Pray for that, lord God, andgive us courage as followers of
(23:41):
Jesus, to be able to speak thetruth in love to those who
desperately need it.
In Jesus' name.
Aren't you glad that Jesusdidn't end the discussion there?
You see, jesus didn't leave uswithout a way.
Jesus didn't leave us on thewide path.
(24:04):
Jesus didn't leave us destinedfor destruction.
Jesus didn't leave us to ourown devices.
Jesus didn't leave us having toremain under Satan's control.
Jesus made a way.
Come on.
(24:25):
Thank God, there's another road.
Thank God, there's another way.
The hard, narrow road leads toeternal life.
Jesus goes on to say for thegate is narrow and the way is
hard.
That leads to life, and thosewho find it are few.
Notice the words that Jesusused to describe this narrow
(24:50):
path.
It's not easy as in the wideway.
It's not, it's not somethingthat's comfortable.
He uses words that aredifficult or less than exuberant
.
He says it's a narrow road,it's a hard road and there are
few that find it.
And another place Jesus spellsout the life of a follower in
very distinct terms In Luke nine.
(25:10):
He says to all if anyone wouldcome after me, let him deny
himself and take up his crossdaily and follow me, for whoever
would save his life will loseit.
But whoever loses his life formy sake, will what?
Save it or find it.
We do ourselves and those whomwe try to convince of the truth
(25:35):
a disservice when we undersellthe difficulties that walking on
the narrow road entail.
This is not an easy street.
This is not something that isfor the faint of heart.
Following on the narrow road isone of the hardest things that
you will ever do here in thisearth.
It's not an easy thing tochoose the life of a disciple,
(26:01):
but how many of you know thathave experienced it?
It is the very best life thatyou can ever experience, and we
learn here that Jesus himself isthe gate to the narrow road.
We can look in John 10.
We talked about what the thiefdoes, but if you read the verses
around that, therefore, jesussaid again very truly I tell you
(26:30):
, I am the gate for the sheep.
All who have come before me arethieves and robbers, but the
sheep have not listened to them.
I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me willbe saved.
They will come in and go outand find pasture.
The thief comes only to stealand kill and destroy.
But what I have come that theymay have life and have it to the
(26:50):
full.
Or another reference, anothertranslation says that they might
have life abundantly.
You see, as evil as the enemy ofour souls is and has, as much
as he has bent on destructionand as many ways and means that
he uses to attempt to takepeople down the wrong path, how
(27:14):
many of you know Jesus is notgoing to be outdone by Satan,
done by Satan?
Satan is a liar and he's thefather of all lies and anything
(27:35):
that he or his demonic hordespeak to us, we can take it to
the bank.
It is not true, it is a lie.
But how many of you know thatwe can count on the words of
Jesus Christ?
Excuse me, he is the truth thatwe're searching for.
How do we know that Jesus waswilling and able to provide for
us a better way, a moreexcellent way?
(27:57):
We know this because what heproved it?
He proved it by being willing toleave all of the accoutrements
of heaven, everything that heexperienced throughout all of
eternity in his relationshipwith his father, and he chose to
leave that behind, to come tothis earth, to be born as a
human being, to choose each dayto live a life that was pleasing
(28:20):
to his heavenly father, to loveothers as he would want to be
loved, to show the love of hisfather to many, many people,
thousands and thousands ofpeople.
He spoke the words of life thatcame from the father himself.
He prayed for many, and manywere healed and set free from
evil spirits.
He did all of these thingsrepresenting the kingdom of God,
(28:42):
and he did all of them, all ofthem, to perfection.
And then not only that.
If that weren't good enough, healso chose, of his own accord,
in the garden of Gethsemane, ashe said father, if there's any
way, let this cup pass for me.
Yet not what I will.
Let your will be done.
He chose to obey his heavenlyfather, to take upon himself the
(29:03):
sins of the world, to allowhimself to be beaten and mocked
and cursed, to have his beardripped out and a crown of thorns
placed upon his head, to bebeaten beyond recognition, to be
laid upon a piece of wood withhis arms and his feet nailed to
it, and to be hung betweenheaven and hell in being mocked
(29:27):
and made fun of.
And yet, what did he find?
The words to speak?
What did he find the energy ashe pulled himself up on the
cross, barely able to breathe?
What did he say, father,forgive them, for they don't
know what they're doing.
And then, a few minutes later,he said it is finished.
(29:53):
And that story is amazing in andof itself.
But how many of you know that'snot the end of the story?
Because three days later, as hepromised, as was promised by
the Old Testament prophets, aswas promised by God himself,
jesus rose up from the dead.
He is alive and well.
He ascended into heaven.
(30:14):
He was given the name aboveevery other name, he was seated
at the right hand of the Father.
And guess what he's doing today?
He's praying for all of us,that we wouldn't give into
temptation, that we wouldn'twalk on the wide path but we
would find our way, that wewould follow after him, that we
would be disciples who count thecost, who deny ourselves, who
(30:37):
take up the cross of Jesus dailyand follow after him, who take
up the cross of Jesus daily andfollow after him.
And come on, don't get mestarted.
And, by the way, there's onemore thing he's getting ready to
(31:00):
split the heavens and come back.
He's getting ready to split theheavens and come back.
He's getting ready to come backand he's coming back for those
who find themselves on thenarrow road.
On the narrow road, we cannoteven enter the narrow road
without going through the gateof Jesus Christ.
You can't do it.
And to further that thought,jesus is the only way to the
(31:23):
Father.
He's not a gate of many gates.
He's not a way of many ways.
That's popular in our culture aswell, to talk about Jesus as
being one of the many optionsthat we can take to get to God,
to build a relationship with ourheavenly Father.
I promise you, jesus clearedthis up himself in John 14, 6,
(31:44):
when he said to his followers Iam the way, the truth and the
life.
And if that wasn't enough, noone comes to the father except
through me.
Jesus is not a way, or a path,or a gate.
He is the way.
He is the way.
He is the way.
(32:06):
Clear your mind of allfoolishness that would try to
convince you that there areother ways to have a right
relationship with Father God.
There is no way except throughJesus.
There is no way.
Whoever's listening right nowonline promise you this is the
truth.
There is no other way exceptthrough jesus.
(32:27):
So what must we do?
Should we be religious?
Should we act a certain way?
Is that how it starts?
Is that how we walk through thegate.
We straighten ourselves up,dust ourselves off, stop cussing
(32:50):
in public.
No, that will come.
But that's not how you start.
The way that you start isacknowledging you're on the
wrong road.
The Bible calls it repentance.
(33:11):
Jesus himself said that we areto repent and believe.
To repent is to acknowledgeI've been on the wrong road,
I've been on the wide path.
I've been on the wide path,I've been on the easy street,
and I realize that, even thoughI said a prayer as a child or
I've been, you know, grew up ina Christian home, or, you know,
(33:31):
I've been around Christianpeople, or, when people ask me,
you know how I represent myself,I call myself a Christian, and
yet there's no real change in myheart.
It doesn't bother me to goagainst.
My conscience is seared.
One of the greatest signs offalse conversion is a seared
(33:52):
conscience, a conscience thatdoesn't care if it disobeys God.
We are to repent of our sins andthen we are to place our hope,
our trust and faith in JesusChrist and his finished work.
(34:14):
We are to believe on the Lord,jesus Christ.
And what does the Bible saywill happen when we repent and
believed?
We will be saved.
We will be saved.
We will walk on the narrow gate.
We will walk on the narrow wayand guess, who's there egging
this on?
Walking with us?
(34:35):
Jesus himself has led the way.
He has shown us the way.
He walked the narrow path.
He walked the narrow road andsomewhere in the distance I love
what our sister said earlierthis morning somewhere in the
distance, jesus is there.
Whether we can see him or not,he's waiting for us.
He's calling us.
(34:56):
Come on home.
Come on home.
Come home to the father.
Come home to the father.
What will graciously be givento us when we choose to repent
and believe is the gift ofeternal life.
Those who follow after Jesusand endure to the end will be
(35:19):
saved.
The narrow road is hard, butwe're never alone when we abide
in Jesus.
We're promised peace even inthe midst of trouble.
Jesus has already won thebattle.
He's already won the war.
He's already defeated Satan atthe cross.
(35:41):
So Satan can try to lie to usall day long, but guess what?
Jesus has already won?
And he's a friend who willnever leave us or forsake us.
He's as close as the mention ofhis name.
John 16, 33, jesus tells hisdisciples I have told you these
(36:02):
things so that in me you mayhave peace In this world.
You will have trouble On thenarrow road.
It will be hard, it will bedifficult.
You're going to have to say noto the things you want to say
yes to and yes to the thingsthat you want to say no to.
You're going to have to choose,by God's grace, to live a way
that is different than the restof the world lives.
(36:23):
You're going to be persecutedfor walking on this path.
But guess what?
I have already overcome.
I have already overcome and Iam with you.
Not only is Jesus with you, but, by the Holy Spirit, how many
of us know he lives in us.
We'll finish with this John 14,15 through 17.
(36:46):
If you love me, you will keepmy commandments and I will ask
the Father and he will give youanother helper to be with you
forever.
Even the spirit of truth, whomthe world cannot receive because
it neither sees him nor knowshim.
You know him, for he dwellswith you and will be in you.
(37:08):
The same spirit that raisedJesus Christ from the dead lives
on the inside of us asbelievers who are walking on the
narrow road.
And how many of you know?
We have an internal GPS, we havea God positioning system.
We have the ability to have ourconscience renewed.
We have the ability to beconvicted and to be spoken to
(37:31):
and encouraged and exhorted andchallenged and taught and
trained, and all of those thingsare done by the Holy Spirit,
and sometimes the Holy Spiritsounds a lot like my wife and my
children and some of you as youspeak words of life to me, or
words of encouragement or wordsof correction.
God uses people to accomplishhis purpose, but it all comes
(37:53):
through the work of the HolySpirit who lives on the inside
of believers.
So, in conclusion, when we loveGod by choosing the right road,
we become a part of the familyof God.
We become a part of the familyof God, and when we love others
the way that God loves them, weprove that we are a part of the
(38:15):
family of God.
My friends, if we are a part ofthe family of God, if we are
walking on the narrow road, itwill be much easier.
I'm not saying it'll beperfectly easy, but it will be
much easier for us to loveothers the way that we have
received love from God, ourheavenly father.
Amen, let's pray together, lord,these are very serious thoughts
(38:49):
and words.
I thank you that Jesus didn'tleave us guessing that he wasn't
like mystical in the way thathe expressed what we needed to
do in order to obey the words ofthe Sermon on the Mount.
None of this can be donewithout your grace, without your
help, without the work thatJesus did and the continued work
(39:13):
of the Holy Spirit in each ofour lives.
And so, father, I pray that youwould help us to act like your
children.
We thank you that we are yourchildren.
We thank you that we've beenmade in your image and we've
been made brand new as believersin Jesus and Lord.
So we ask that you'd help us towalk in that, that you would
(39:35):
give us fruits of repentance,that there would be signs of
transformation and, father, forthose who are here or listening
to this, that maybe have grownup in church or prayed a prayer
at a young age, but there's noreal signs of change, father, I
pray that this would be the daythat there would be a
(39:58):
recognition of the need tochange paths, to walk away from
the easy street, from the wideroad, from the path that Satan
continues to lie about to tellus that this is the one that you
should be on and that theywould recognize that Jesus
Christ himself is calling out toeach of them to come and follow
(40:18):
him.
I pray that there would be truerepentance and a belief in Jesus
Christ that would lead tosalvation.
And, father, I pray that thatsalvation would have on its
heels the promise that we haveto salvation.
And, father, I pray that thatsalvation would have on its
heels the promise that we haveof endurance.
We thank you that those whoendure to the end will be saved,
and the saved will endure tothe end because of the grace of
(40:43):
God that lives on the inside ofus, that keeps us from walking
away.
Help us, father, encourage us,strengthen us, help us to take
these things seriously, help usto love you with all our heart,
soul, mind and strength, andhelp us to love our neighbors as
(41:03):
ourself.
We pray these things in themighty name of Jesus, amen, amen
.
So today we're going to be getting the end of Jesus'
sermon and, as most greatpreachers do, he has several
closings, and so, if it was goodenough for him anyway, I'm not
going to go too far with that,but he brings it home with a
reminder of what is important,as well as calling those who
would listen to make a choice,and we'll be looking over the
(00:25):
next few weeks at four warningsor choices, each offering a
dichotomy of eternal outcomes.
So two ways, two trees, twoclaims and two builders.
They all focus on the judgmentat the end of time, and so make
it plain that this is acontinuation of a discussion of
the kingdom of God or thekingdom of heaven, and the title
(00:48):
of today's message is theGolden Road, the Golden Road.
So let's read from thescriptures together this morning
.
So whatever you wish thatothers would do for you do also
to them, for this is the law,and the prophets Enter by the
narrow gate, for the gate iswide and the way is easy.
(01:08):
That leads to destruction, andthose who enter by it are many,
for the gate is narrow and theway is hard that leads to life,
and those who find it are few.
Let's pray together, father, Ithank you and praise you for
your word that is rich andpowerful and we ask, lord, that
(01:29):
you would take these words andthat you would cause them to be
used for the building of yourkingdom.
I ask, lord, god, that in eachof our hearts, that you would do
the alignment and adjustmentthat needs to be done For those
of us who need correction.
We ask that you would correctus as only a father who cares so
deeply.
Would we also ask for those whoneed encouragement this morning
(01:51):
that you would bringencouragement.
And finally, lord, for thosewho don't yet know you, I pray
that, through the words of thegospel of Jesus Christ today,
that the Holy Spirit wouldawaken hearts and minds to the
truth that is found in JesusChrist and that there would be
many today who would find theirway to choosing the best choice
(02:13):
of all, which is to follow afterJesus Christ.
We pray these things in Jesus'name.
So when Amy and I were younger,we had children.
We still do have children, wehave four children but we
started something that was apractice that everybody, that
all of the children, learned.
This was going to be somethingthat was a part of the kind of
(02:35):
the culture of our family, andwhenever they would go somewhere
without us, we would ask them aquestion who do you represent?
Who do you represent, who doyou represent?
And we had taught them that theright answers to that question
were myself, my family, the LordJesus Christ, the church in
general, and what was?
(02:56):
There's one or two others, Ican't think of any.
Which ones, anna, I forgot?
Okay, my church, the body ofChrist, yeah, all of those
things, right, and so that wassomething that, like I said,
that we taught and it wasn'tthat we were looking for
perfection, but we were at.
We were asking them to actaccording to who they were going
(03:20):
to represent, right?
So, however, they were going togo about their time and
experience the different thingsthat they were about ready to
experience outside of ourpresence.
We wanted them to be thinkingabout who was it that they
represented?
We would encourage them to actlike that.
Our hope is that they wouldmake decisions, by God's grace,
(03:41):
that would help them to livelives that represented those
categories very well.
We weren't asking them to bewhat they weren't, but simply to
act like they knew who theywere.
Did you hear me?
We weren't asking them to bewhat they weren't, but simply to
act like they knew who theywere.
They were lions, and lionsbehave in a particular way.
(04:08):
In a similar way, jesus beginsour passage today with an action
point for his followers, basedon everything that he's been
encouraging them about before.
In this very sermon, heimplores them, first of all, to
love others the way that God theFather loves.
To love others the way that Godthe Father loves.
He says so whatever you wishthat others would do to you, do
(04:31):
also to them, for this is thelaw and the prophets.
This saying is generally knownas what the golden rule Do unto
others as you would have them dounto you.
But this statement, when youthink about it, is so
countercultural.
This just seems like it shouldbe common sense, like this
should be normal, like it shouldbe the basic expression of
(04:52):
humanity.
But how many of you know thathumanity typically takes on the
negative form of this?
And it's not all wrong, butthey say something like don't do
to others what you don't wantthem to do to you.
So instead of the positivething, like stepping out in love
and doing for others as youwould have them to do to you,
(05:13):
it's more about restraint Don'tdo to others what you don't want
them to do to you.
Again, not totally wrong, butnot necessarily what Jesus was
trying to get across.
And I think maybe the twinsister, the more sinister sister
in the group, says somethinglike do unto others before they
do unto you.
Do unto others before they dounto you.
Both of those things often arebased on selfish motives.
(05:38):
Obviously, believers in Jesusare called to live differently
in this world.
Do you believe that?
Amen, it is the truth.
Remember in the verses beforethis that Jesus is telling his
followers that if earthlyfathers love to give good gifts
to their children, how much morewill our heavenly father give
good gifts to those who ask him?
(06:00):
This is the way that our fatherloves us.
He gives good gifts to us, heblesses us, he takes care of us.
He's a good, good father.
He is kind and generous, he ismerciful and gracious, he is
loving and patient.
There are literally thousandsof words that we could use to
(06:20):
describe the character andnature of our heavenly father,
and here's the bottom line pointI'm trying to make through this
introduction those who areGod's children should act like
him.
Those who are God's childrenshould act like him.
Ask yourself the question inwhat ways am I acting like my
(06:42):
heavenly father?
And maybe ask a secondaryquestion in what ways am I
acting like my heavenly father?
And maybe ask a secondaryquestion in what ways am I not
acting like my heavenly father?
And then the third question ishow can I change in the ways
that I need to change?
When we're proactive in ourapproach to love others the way
that God loves them, with aproper attitude, we are obeying
the word of God.
(07:03):
Jesus said that the law and theprophets are fulfilled.
You obey the law and theprophets when you do good to
others and love them the waythat God loves them.
Romans 13, verses eight through10, says oh, no one anything
except to love each other, forthe one who loves another has
fulfilled the law, for thecommandments you shall not
(07:23):
commit adultery, you shall notmurder, you shall not steal, you
shall not covet and any othercommandment are summed up in
this word you shall love yourneighbor as yourself.
Love does no wrong to aneighbor.
Therefore, love is thefulfilling of the law.
Remember, there was a lawyerthat came to Jesus, a Jewish
(07:47):
lawyer, and he asked him thequestion what must I do to
inherit eternal life.
And Jesus said well, have youobeyed the commandments?
And he said I've obeyed all ofthem, right?
And then Jesus turned to himand said love the Lord, your God
, with all your heart, soul,mind and strength, and love your
neighbor as yourself.
And then he asked a dangerousquestion.
Remember the question who is myneighbor?
(08:09):
Who is my neighbor?
Jesus begins to tell the storyof a man who was on the road to
Jericho, and as he was on theroad, he was stopped by robbers
and he was beaten and all of hisgoods were taken from him and
he was left on the side of theroad for dead.
And as he's laying there,bleeding and dying, a priest
(08:30):
walks by, and a priest, wantingto remain pure and holy, passes
by.
On the other side of the road,a Levite comes by, which is a
servant in the temple as well,and what does he do?
He passes by on the other side.
And finally, a third personcomes by, a Samaritan.
Remember, the Samaritans werehated by Jews because they were
(08:52):
a mixed breed, they were notjust pure Jewish blood.
And so what happens?
The Samaritan, seeing this manlaying there, bleeding and dying
stops, gets off of his animalthere, bleeding and dying stops,
gets off of his animal, comesover to him, binds up his wounds
, pours in oil and wine, setshim on his own horse and leads
(09:16):
him down to an inn where he putshim in the care of those who
were there.
And not only does he put thisman in their care, he also pays
for all of the needs that theyhave then and what they might
have in the future.
This is called the goodSamaritan right.
I mean, even though Jesus is alot like that good Samaritan and
he wants us, as God the father,wants us as his children, to
(09:40):
live like and to act like thegood Samaritan.
Jesus asked the man which onewas a neighbor, and he couldn't
even find the words.
He couldn't even say theSamaritan.
He said the one who showedmercy.
The one who showed mercy.
Aren't you glad that God hasshown mercy to us?
(10:01):
Can you imagine if we as a bodyof Christ, as we as believers in
Jesus Christ, chose to livelike this, if we chose to follow
the golden rule, if we chose tolove others the way that God,
the father, loves us, wouldthings change?
Would anything change?
The answer is yes, it wouldabsolutely change.
(10:24):
Think about how marriages wouldbe affected if we chose to love
others the way that we wouldlike to be loved?
How about families in general,relationships between fathers
and children and children andmothers?
How about workplaces All of thestress and strife that goes on
in workplaces?
What if believers were to raiseup above that and to live their
(10:44):
lives like they're loved, sothat they can love others?
How about schools we justtalked about and prayed for
those who will be involved inthe school system.
Probably some have alreadystarted and others will start
this week.
What a difference could be madein the school system if each
and every person who has anyinfluence there began to live
(11:06):
like this, began to give ofthemselves in loving ways,
representing our heavenly father.
What about the grocery stores intown?
They would see us coming,wouldn't they?
We would all be racing to theback of the line so that we
could pay for the groceries ofthe person in front of us, just
as an example of showing thelove that the Father has given
(11:27):
to us.
This world, this community,would begin to change.
How about street corners inthis community?
Would things change if we wouldbe out there loving on people
instead of railing on them,instead of walking by somebody
that's holding a cardboard sign.
What if we stopped and prayedwith them and showed them the
love of Jesus?
(11:49):
And finally, what about churchlife?
Can you imagine the divisionsand strife and hurt and all of
those things that coulddisappear if we would simply
obey the words of Jesus and dounto others as we would have
them do unto us?
My friends, this is exactlywhat Jesus is imploring us to do
(12:10):
.
This is the way that he'sasking us to live, and here's
the good news he would never askus to do this unless he was
going to help us do it.
We have the grace of God thatlives in us and we're going to
talk about this at the end, buthe lives in us and he gives us,
(12:32):
he equips us with everythingthat we need for life, and this
we can do.
This you can do this.
You can love, like our heavenlyfather loves.
So just as important as thesecond greatest commandment is
to love our neighbor asourselves.
(12:53):
How many of you know that therewas a first commandment?
I just quoted it Love the Lord,your God, with all your heart,
your mind, your soul and yourstrength.
This is the first commandmentwith promise.
I contend that without this onebeing followed, we won't be
able to fill the second one.
You can't love your neighborunless you've been loved by God
(13:14):
and you, in turn, love him.
It's that relationship thatgives you the grace that you
need to be able to love yourneighbor when they are unlovable
.
None of us in this room areever unlovable, thankfully but
we know people you're probablythinking of them right now, in
your sphere of influence thatseem to you.
(13:39):
You can choose to love in spiteof.
In spite of, you can love theway that God loves us.
So if we, if we love others,how are we supposed to love God?
The passage goes on to talkabout choosing the right road.
So, love God.
Loving God is choosing theright road, choosing the right
(14:00):
road.
We can't love him unless we'reon the right road, choosing the
right road.
We can't love him unless we'reon the right path.
Jesus says enter by the narrowgate.
Don't you love it when someonegives you the answer to the
question before they ask thequestion?
That's what Jesus does here.
Before he gives them any kindof choice, any kind of decision,
(14:21):
before he presents the twooptions that he's going to
present, he says to them choosethe narrow gate, enter by the
narrow gate.
This is the way that I want youto walk.
This is the journey that I wantyou to be on.
This is the path.
This is the way.
Enter by the narrow gate.
Jesus isn't playing a game withus here.
(14:44):
He's being very plain and veryclear and concise and we want to
take his words at that place,and we're going to talk more
about the narrow gate in aminute, but first of all I want
to talk about the other optionthat Jesus brings up.
You see, the easy, wise roadleads to hell.
(15:07):
Please pay attention.
This is very serious.
The easy, wide road leads tohell, for the gate is wide and
the way is easy.
That leads to destruction, andthose who enter by it are many,
many.
All of us, whether you want toacknowledge it or not, are very
familiar with this way, the wideway, the wide gate, the wide
(15:30):
path.
In fact, we're all born walkingon this very path.
Our feet are firmly planted onthe wide path from the day we
take our first breath, because,since Adam and Eve, every person
ever born into this earth,except for Christ, has been born
dead in sin, not having a rightrelationship with God, and so
(15:53):
we have started this life out onthe easy way.
When we were growing up, weactually lived on easy easy
street.
One of our houses that we livedon was called Easy Street.
I don't know why it was calledEasy Street, but we lived there.
That's the place.
Remember?
I told you where all of thosegroceries were given to us
without us knowing where theycame from Easy Street.
(16:14):
So it feels like Easy Street,this road.
For some of us, it may be theonly road we've ever known, and
I'm talking to you specificallyhere this morning and those of
you who are watching online ifthis is the only road that
you've ever known.
I want to tell you that Jesusis giving you another choice
today.
He's giving you another option,and just because the wide road
(16:36):
has felt comfortable and easyand right does not mean that
that is the truth.
Bob Dylan, in his famous song,said I was blinded by the devil,
born already ruined, stone,cold dead as I stepped out of
the womb.
Those were the words that hespoke, and then he goes on to
(16:58):
talk about what seems to havebeen a salvation experience for
him.
That is the condition of ourlives without Jesus Christ.
This path is the path of leastresistance.
It is the path ofself-indulgence.
It's the path where we thinkthat we are fully in charge.
(17:19):
It's the path of envy and prideand self-righteousness.
It's the path that feels really, really right.
The wide road, the easy road,calls to us, it allures us, it
tells us this is the right way.
Walk here.
(17:40):
In Proverbs 16, 25, thescripture describes it like this
there is a way that seems rightto a man, but its end is the
way to death.
This path is the path that Satanmanicures, that Satan himself
maintains he has no greaterdesire than to take as many
(18:03):
people to hell as he possiblycan.
He is not some kind ofHalloween costume to wear.
He is an evil, wicked, sadisticcreature who has fallen from
grace and will never be restoredagain, and his desire is to
destroy as many people as he can.
(18:24):
In fact, in John 10, we knowthat the description of his life
is given the thief comes tosteal, to kill and to destroy.
That is Satan's greatest work.
He doesn't care what means hehas to use.
He'll even dress up lies andmake them look like religion if
(18:45):
it will appeal to us and keep uscontent.
How many people have been solost?
And yet they felt like theywere following after God.
They prayed a prayer as a childand yet nothing ever changed.
There's no fruit that ever camein their lives of
transformation that comes asbeing a child of God.
(19:06):
So many people today who thinkthat Jesus is just another name
in the atmosphere, somebody thatwe should respect as a prophet
and a priest and maybe, you know, maybe even somebody that we
should really pay attention tohis words.
But he's not who.
He said that he was.
My friends, there is a plan thatSatan is using, even within
(19:29):
churches, to water down thetruth concerning Jesus and the
truth concerning eternity.
There is an eternal place ofseparation.
There is an eternal placecalled hell.
The road leads to hell, thiswide road.
The Bible describes hell as aplace of utter darkness and
(19:54):
unrelenting fire, where therewill be weeping and groaning and
gnashing of teeth.
It is a place of torment anddesolation.
It is all of our worstnightmares wrapped up into one.
It is a place designed forSatan and all of his demons, and
also because of people'sdecision to not follow Jesus
(20:16):
Christ, they will also,according to the scriptures,
find their place of eternal.
Can't even use the word rest inthat place, eternal torment in
that place.
I know we didn't talk about thisa lot and you'll not find many
churches in America talkingabout this today, but I'm here
(20:38):
to tell you this is the word ofGod and this is what Jesus was
talking about.
There's a wide road that leadsto destruction, and the
destruction is not to yourchecking account.
The destruction is not to yourphysical health.
The destruction is not althoughall of those things can be
affected by walking on the wideroad here in this earth but how
(20:59):
many of you know the destructionit's talking about is eternal.
It's forever.
The most traumatic reality ofhell, as difficult as all of the
other things that I talkedabout, is eternal separation
from Father God.
It's the one place where Godwill not be found.
(21:23):
I encourage you just to sitthere in that for just a moment,
because I hope that, as we moveon to this next part, that a
couple of things will happen.
(21:43):
I hope, first of all, that wewill have a renewed desire to
make sure that we're on thenarrow path.
Number one.
Number two I hope that we'llhave a renewed focus to pray for
loved ones and those around uswho don't yet know Jesus.
Eternity is forever and weshould not be satisfied or happy
(22:12):
that anyone would go to hell,and I also hope that if we
realize today that we are on thenarrow road, that we will
rejoice with great joy and notallow the little things in this
(22:34):
life to continually trip us up.
I'm just going to stop for justa minute and pray for loved ones
who don't yet know Jesus.
Would you pray with me, father?
In the name of Jesus, we prayfor all of those who are on the
wide path today, who aredestined for hell and for
(22:55):
eternal separation from you.
Father, we pray that you wouldhave mercy.
We pray that you would reachout by your spirit, that you
would touch our children and ourgrandchildren, and coworkers
and schoolmates and people inthe grocery stores and all of
the people within the localchurches.
Lord, people around the world,we ask that you would cause the
(23:18):
entrance of the light of JesusChrist to dispel the darkness
and that many would notice andrecognize that they're on the
wrong path and that today wouldbe a day of demarcation, that
they would change direction,repent and follow you.
Pray for that, lord God, andgive us courage as followers of
(23:41):
Jesus, to be able to speak thetruth in love to those who
desperately need it.
In Jesus' name.
Aren't you glad that Jesusdidn't end the discussion there?
You see, jesus didn't leave uswithout a way.
Jesus didn't leave us on thewide path.
(24:04):
Jesus didn't leave us destinedfor destruction.
Jesus didn't leave us to ourown devices.
Jesus didn't leave us having toremain under Satan's control.
Jesus made a way.
Come on.
(24:25):
Thank God, there's another road.
Thank God, there's another way.
The hard, narrow road leads toeternal life.
Jesus goes on to say for thegate is narrow and the way is
hard.
That leads to life, and thosewho find it are few.
Notice the words that Jesusused to describe this narrow
(24:50):
path.
It's not easy as in the wideway.
It's not, it's not somethingthat's comfortable.
He uses words that aredifficult or less than exuberant
.
He says it's a narrow road,it's a hard road and there are
few that find it.
And another place Jesus spellsout the life of a follower in
very distinct terms In Luke nine.
(25:10):
He says to all if anyone wouldcome after me, let him deny
himself and take up his crossdaily and follow me, for whoever
would save his life will loseit.
But whoever loses his life formy sake, will what?
Save it or find it.
We do ourselves and those whomwe try to convince of the truth
(25:35):
a disservice when we undersellthe difficulties that walking on
the narrow road entail.
This is not an easy street.
This is not something that isfor the faint of heart.
Following on the narrow road isone of the hardest things that
you will ever do here in thisearth.
It's not an easy thing tochoose the life of a disciple,
(26:01):
but how many of you know thathave experienced it?
It is the very best life thatyou can ever experience, and we
learn here that Jesus himself isthe gate to the narrow road.
We can look in John 10.
We talked about what the thiefdoes, but if you read the verses
around that, therefore, jesussaid again very truly I tell you
(26:30):
, I am the gate for the sheep.
All who have come before me arethieves and robbers, but the
sheep have not listened to them.
I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me willbe saved.
They will come in and go outand find pasture.
The thief comes only to stealand kill and destroy.
But what I have come that theymay have life and have it to the
(26:50):
full.
Or another reference, anothertranslation says that they might
have life abundantly.
You see, as evil as the enemy ofour souls is and has, as much
as he has bent on destructionand as many ways and means that
he uses to attempt to takepeople down the wrong path, how
(27:14):
many of you know Jesus is notgoing to be outdone by Satan,
done by Satan?
Satan is a liar and he's thefather of all lies and anything
(27:35):
that he or his demonic hordespeak to us, we can take it to
the bank.
It is not true, it is a lie.
But how many of you know thatwe can count on the words of
Jesus Christ?
Excuse me, he is the truth thatwe're searching for.
How do we know that Jesus waswilling and able to provide for
us a better way, a moreexcellent way?
(27:57):
We know this because what heproved it?
He proved it by being willing toleave all of the accoutrements
of heaven, everything that heexperienced throughout all of
eternity in his relationshipwith his father, and he chose to
leave that behind, to come tothis earth, to be born as a
human being, to choose each dayto live a life that was pleasing
(28:20):
to his heavenly father, to loveothers as he would want to be
loved, to show the love of hisfather to many, many people,
thousands and thousands ofpeople.
He spoke the words of life thatcame from the father himself.
He prayed for many, and manywere healed and set free from
evil spirits.
He did all of these thingsrepresenting the kingdom of God,
(28:42):
and he did all of them, all ofthem, to perfection.
And then not only that.
If that weren't good enough, healso chose, of his own accord,
in the garden of Gethsemane, ashe said father, if there's any
way, let this cup pass for me.
Yet not what I will.
Let your will be done.
He chose to obey his heavenlyfather, to take upon himself the
(29:03):
sins of the world, to allowhimself to be beaten and mocked
and cursed, to have his beardripped out and a crown of thorns
placed upon his head, to bebeaten beyond recognition, to be
laid upon a piece of wood withhis arms and his feet nailed to
it, and to be hung betweenheaven and hell in being mocked
(29:27):
and made fun of.
And yet, what did he find?
The words to speak?
What did he find the energy ashe pulled himself up on the
cross, barely able to breathe?
What did he say, father,forgive them, for they don't
know what they're doing.
And then, a few minutes later,he said it is finished.
(29:53):
And that story is amazing in andof itself.
But how many of you know that'snot the end of the story?
Because three days later, as hepromised, as was promised by
the Old Testament prophets, aswas promised by God himself,
jesus rose up from the dead.
He is alive and well.
He ascended into heaven.
(30:14):
He was given the name aboveevery other name, he was seated
at the right hand of the Father.
And guess what he's doing today?
He's praying for all of us,that we wouldn't give into
temptation, that we wouldn'twalk on the wide path but we
would find our way, that wewould follow after him, that we
would be disciples who count thecost, who deny ourselves, who
(30:37):
take up the cross of Jesus dailyand follow after him, who take
up the cross of Jesus daily andfollow after him.
And come on, don't get mestarted.
And, by the way, there's onemore thing he's getting ready to
(31:00):
split the heavens and come back.
He's getting ready to split theheavens and come back.
He's getting ready to come backand he's coming back for those
who find themselves on thenarrow road.
On the narrow road, we cannoteven enter the narrow road
without going through the gateof Jesus Christ.
You can't do it.
And to further that thought,jesus is the only way to the
(31:23):
Father.
He's not a gate of many gates.
He's not a way of many ways.
That's popular in our culture aswell, to talk about Jesus as
being one of the many optionsthat we can take to get to God,
to build a relationship with ourheavenly Father.
I promise you, jesus clearedthis up himself in John 14, 6,
(31:44):
when he said to his followers Iam the way, the truth and the
life.
And if that wasn't enough, noone comes to the father except
through me.
Jesus is not a way, or a path,or a gate.
He is the way.
He is the way.
He is the way.
(32:06):
Clear your mind of allfoolishness that would try to
convince you that there areother ways to have a right
relationship with Father God.
There is no way except throughJesus.
There is no way.
Whoever's listening right nowonline promise you this is the
truth.
There is no other way exceptthrough jesus.
(32:27):
So what must we do?
Should we be religious?
Should we act a certain way?
Is that how it starts?
Is that how we walk through thegate.
We straighten ourselves up,dust ourselves off, stop cussing
(32:50):
in public.
No, that will come.
But that's not how you start.
The way that you start isacknowledging you're on the
wrong road.
The Bible calls it repentance.
(33:11):
Jesus himself said that we areto repent and believe.
To repent is to acknowledgeI've been on the wrong road,
I've been on the wide path.
I've been on the wide path,I've been on the easy street,
and I realize that, even thoughI said a prayer as a child or
I've been, you know, grew up ina Christian home, or, you know,
(33:31):
I've been around Christianpeople, or, when people ask me,
you know how I represent myself,I call myself a Christian, and
yet there's no real change in myheart.
It doesn't bother me to goagainst.
My conscience is seared.
One of the greatest signs offalse conversion is a seared
(33:52):
conscience, a conscience thatdoesn't care if it disobeys God.
We are to repent of our sins andthen we are to place our hope,
our trust and faith in JesusChrist and his finished work.
(34:14):
We are to believe on the Lord,jesus Christ.
And what does the Bible saywill happen when we repent and
believed?
We will be saved.
We will be saved.
We will walk on the narrow gate.
We will walk on the narrow wayand guess, who's there egging
this on?
Walking with us?
(34:35):
Jesus himself has led the way.
He has shown us the way.
He walked the narrow path.
He walked the narrow road andsomewhere in the distance I love
what our sister said earlierthis morning somewhere in the
distance, jesus is there.
Whether we can see him or not,he's waiting for us.
He's calling us.
(34:56):
Come on home.
Come on home.
Come home to the father.
Come home to the father.
What will graciously be givento us when we choose to repent
and believe is the gift ofeternal life.
Those who follow after Jesusand endure to the end will be
(35:19):
saved.
The narrow road is hard, butwe're never alone when we abide
in Jesus.
We're promised peace even inthe midst of trouble.
Jesus has already won thebattle.
He's already won the war.
He's already defeated Satan atthe cross.
(35:41):
So Satan can try to lie to usall day long, but guess what?
Jesus has already won?
And he's a friend who willnever leave us or forsake us.
He's as close as the mention ofhis name.
John 16, 33, jesus tells hisdisciples I have told you these
(36:02):
things so that in me you mayhave peace In this world.
You will have trouble On thenarrow road.
It will be hard, it will bedifficult.
You're going to have to say noto the things you want to say
yes to and yes to the thingsthat you want to say no to.
You're going to have to choose,by God's grace, to live a way
that is different than the restof the world lives.
(36:23):
You're going to be persecutedfor walking on this path.
But guess what?
I have already overcome.
I have already overcome and Iam with you.
Not only is Jesus with you, but, by the Holy Spirit, how many
of us know he lives in us.
We'll finish with this John 14,15 through 17.
(36:46):
If you love me, you will keepmy commandments and I will ask
the Father and he will give youanother helper to be with you
forever.
Even the spirit of truth, whomthe world cannot receive because
it neither sees him nor knowshim.
You know him, for he dwellswith you and will be in you.
(37:08):
The same spirit that raisedJesus Christ from the dead lives
on the inside of us asbelievers who are walking on the
narrow road.
And how many of you know?
We have an internal GPS, we havea God positioning system.
We have the ability to have ourconscience renewed.
We have the ability to beconvicted and to be spoken to
(37:31):
and encouraged and exhorted andchallenged and taught and
trained, and all of those thingsare done by the Holy Spirit,
and sometimes the Holy Spiritsounds a lot like my wife and my
children and some of you as youspeak words of life to me, or
words of encouragement or wordsof correction.
God uses people to accomplishhis purpose, but it all comes
(37:53):
through the work of the HolySpirit who lives on the inside
of believers.
So, in conclusion, when we loveGod by choosing the right road,
we become a part of the familyof God.
We become a part of the familyof God, and when we love others
the way that God loves them, weprove that we are a part of the
(38:15):
family of God.
My friends, if we are a part ofthe family of God, if we are
walking on the narrow road, itwill be much easier.
I'm not saying it'll beperfectly easy, but it will be
much easier for us to loveothers the way that we have
received love from God, ourheavenly father.
Amen, let's pray together, lord,these are very serious thoughts
(38:49):
and words.
I thank you that Jesus didn'tleave us guessing that he wasn't
like mystical in the way thathe expressed what we needed to
do in order to obey the words ofthe Sermon on the Mount.
None of this can be donewithout your grace, without your
help, without the work thatJesus did and the continued work
(39:13):
of the Holy Spirit in each ofour lives.
And so, father, I pray that youwould help us to act like your
children.
We thank you that we are yourchildren.
We thank you that we've beenmade in your image and we've
been made brand new as believersin Jesus and Lord.
So we ask that you'd help us towalk in that, that you would
(39:35):
give us fruits of repentance,that there would be signs of
transformation and, father, forthose who are here or listening
to this, that maybe have grownup in church or prayed a prayer
at a young age, but there's noreal signs of change, father, I
pray that this would be the daythat there would be a
(39:58):
recognition of the need tochange paths, to walk away from
the easy street, from the wideroad, from the path that Satan
continues to lie about to tellus that this is the one that you
should be on and that theywould recognize that Jesus
Christ himself is calling out toeach of them to come and follow
(40:18):
him.
I pray that there would be truerepentance and a belief in Jesus
Christ that would lead tosalvation.
And, father, I pray that thatsalvation would have on its
heels the promise that we haveto salvation.
And, father, I pray that thatsalvation would have on its
heels the promise that we haveof endurance.
We thank you that those whoendure to the end will be saved,
and the saved will endure tothe end because of the grace of
(40:43):
God that lives on the inside ofus, that keeps us from walking
away.
Help us, father, encourage us,strengthen us, help us to take
these things seriously, help usto love you with all our heart,
soul, mind and strength, andhelp us to love our neighbors as
(41:03):
ourself.
We pray these things in themighty name of Jesus, amen, amen
.
Popular Podcasts
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com