WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.280 Now, if you do have a Bible with you, please open it at the Gospel of Matthew, the first 00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:14.359 of the gospels in the New Testament, and to chapter 7 where our reading was taken from. 00:00:14.359 --> 00:00:20.080 And this is coming towards the end of the Sermon and the Mount, the great and famous 00:00:20.080 --> 00:00:24.960 sermon that Jesus preached and that's recorded for us in Matthew's gospel. 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:31.000 Now, someone has quoted, I'm not going to quote them directly, but there's a quote that 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:41.560 speaks about the Bible being simple enough for a child to paddle in, like a river or like 00:00:41.560 --> 00:00:47.040 a body of water, that's simple enough for a child to paddle in, but deep enough for 00:00:47.039 --> 00:00:56.280 an elephant to swim. And I think that was Gregory the Great or Augustine or C.S. Lewis, 00:00:56.280 --> 00:01:00.840 they probably all quoted one another. I've got all these books by my bedside and read 00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:09.120 them so regularly, I can't quite remember. But it's a really true and interesting analogy 00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:16.000 of the Bible because there's great simplicity in what Matthew says, but the longer I go 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:24.760 on and the older I get, I'm tempted to say, I feel like an elephant. But that's not really 00:01:24.760 --> 00:01:31.739 what I mean. I just mean there's great depth to his word as well. And we really, we pray 00:01:31.739 --> 00:01:39.079 for his Holy Spirit to help us see both the tremendous depth and richness and beauty from 00:01:39.079 --> 00:01:47.759 this passage, as well as the simplicity. And I hope that by God's help today that we can 00:01:47.759 --> 00:01:56.039 have both of these elements as we look at the passage. Because the sermon really that 00:01:56.039 --> 00:02:03.039 Jesus preaches here is highlighting, if we break it down and analyze it, two ways to 00:02:03.040 --> 00:02:09.439 live, two different ways of living. We're told at the beginning of the sermon that it was 00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:15.040 addressed to his disciples. He called his disciples together and he was speaking to 00:02:15.040 --> 00:02:22.240 them. But as he did so, lots of crowds gathered round and listened to what he was saying as 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:30.920 well. And therefore, Jesus is speaking both to believers but also to anyone who will listen 00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:39.839 and he addresses them also throughout this sermon. And he's really making clear the difference 00:02:39.839 --> 00:02:44.839 between being a disciple and not being a disciple, being a follower, not being a follower. What 00:02:44.839 --> 00:02:49.359 it means to live with Jesus in our heart, to live as those who trust in Jesus and those 00:02:49.359 --> 00:02:59.079 who don't trust in Jesus. And we come to this passage and the end of the section we read 00:02:59.080 --> 00:03:04.920 is the beginning of the conclusion. Like any good conclusion, it doesn't introduce new 00:03:04.920 --> 00:03:10.800 material but it summarizes really what he's saying. So in verses 13 and 14, the last two 00:03:10.800 --> 00:03:15.920 verses that we read, Jesus is saying, enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and 00:03:15.920 --> 00:03:20.120 the way is easy that leads to destruction. Those who enter it by are many. For the gate 00:03:20.120 --> 00:03:27.920 is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life and those who find it are few. And he's 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:37.679 making comparisons and he's using illustrations to picture the two ways to live, hear it's 00:03:37.679 --> 00:03:44.039 a narrow way and a broad way. And then Thomas next Sunday morning when he looks at this 00:03:44.039 --> 00:03:50.599 remaining few verses, we'll see there's a tree with good fruit and bad fruit or two 00:03:50.599 --> 00:03:55.959 builders, a wise builder and a foolish builder, very famous passage or a famous illustration 00:03:55.960 --> 00:04:01.520 with which to end the sermon. And he's really just summarizing very powerfully what he's 00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:08.080 been saying right through the sermon and it's startling. Like all that Jesus says, it's 00:04:08.080 --> 00:04:18.519 startling, powerful, authoritative and unexpected. And what he says here is as realistic as it 00:04:18.519 --> 00:04:26.279 is unexpected in many ways. And we're going to take a look at that this morning. He says 00:04:26.279 --> 00:04:33.439 that life without Him, life without Jesus, life without God is like living on a broad, 00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:39.719 a broad road, like walking on a broad road. Enter by the narrow gate, it says, for the 00:04:39.719 --> 00:04:45.839 gate is wide or broad and the way is easy that leads to destruction. So he's using this 00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:55.000 illustration and it's not what we would expect in many ways. He uses this, a good picture 00:04:55.000 --> 00:05:03.639 to describe life without God. He says it's like walking on a broad and a spacious road. 00:05:03.639 --> 00:05:09.079 It's an attractive picture really and it's contrasting the narrowness that we'll look 00:05:09.079 --> 00:05:13.839 at in a little while. In other words, he's saying it's kind of like an easy decision 00:05:13.839 --> 00:05:19.599 to walk on this broad road. It seems such a great place to be and it's so open-minded. 00:05:19.599 --> 00:05:25.519 There's lots of people, it's a lovely road to be on, it's flexible and easy. You know, 00:05:25.519 --> 00:05:33.039 it doesn't require a lot of effort in many ways and much work or much forethought because 00:05:33.039 --> 00:05:38.559 everyone seems to be on this way and we just need to follow the crowd and do what they're 00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:48.399 doing in order to just carry on living. There's not that many parameters. There's plenty space 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:56.720 for everyone and it seems a freeing and a broad and an easy way to live. You know, as 00:05:56.720 --> 00:06:02.840 long as there's so much room, people don't get in my way and I don't get in other people's 00:06:02.839 --> 00:06:08.639 way and don't hurt other people then, it's great. Along this way we can discuss philosophy 00:06:08.639 --> 00:06:16.199 and science and we can learn from the experience of our fellow travelers about what is meaningful 00:06:16.199 --> 00:06:23.519 and what is truth and we can all chip in on this great broad road. It's hugely inclusive 00:06:23.519 --> 00:06:31.000 and the unknown, where the road leads, well, maybe that's for another day. And Jesus, as 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:35.199 He goes through the sermon, kind of pinpoints and highlights some of these things. He even 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:40.360 says that, you know, I could be religious on this road, on my own terms, you know, I'll 00:06:40.360 --> 00:06:46.000 do my best and I can believe in the kind of God who will accept me for doing my best, 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:50.399 you know. I'm as good as other people around me and that will be good enough for the God 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:56.040 I believe in. And there'll be other people on this road who think differently. There'll 00:06:56.040 --> 00:07:02.680 be weird people and crazy folk, people who do bad stuff, fanatics. But the road is broad, 00:07:02.680 --> 00:07:08.480 the road is broad enough to accept all of us and I can avoid these people. I can even 00:07:08.480 --> 00:07:12.560 kind of mock them and laugh them a little bit from a distance and it would be good if 00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:19.000 they were on a different road but, you know, that's life and I'll just ignore them. But 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:25.960 on this broad road there's a general consensus about the direction we're going and what 00:07:25.959 --> 00:07:31.079 is important to us, you know, we all want to work to a greater or lesser degree. We 00:07:31.079 --> 00:07:36.399 want to earn money, we want to go on holidays, we want to eat nice stuff and we want to wear 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:42.639 good clothes and we want to be healthy. That's what life's about. That's the kind of things 00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:45.399 we'll talk about on the road. That's what we care about. That's what we're worried 00:07:45.399 --> 00:07:52.120 about. We want to be looking good and living good. We want to walk on this road with our 00:07:52.120 --> 00:07:59.800 friends, with our family, loving life and life as we understand it. That's the journey, 00:07:59.800 --> 00:08:04.800 isn't it? You know, we don't need to be too hard on ourselves. We don't need to think 00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:12.360 too much. We don't need to be hemmed in. It's an easy road, this broad road. The God of 00:08:12.360 --> 00:08:23.720 the Bible, he's just a pain. And really, that's what Jesus is trying to highlight is the thinking 00:08:23.720 --> 00:08:29.560 of many, many people in his own day and throughout history. That's really what the Sermon is all 00:08:29.560 --> 00:08:35.879 about. He's highlighting the two different ways to live. And he's giving this accurate 00:08:35.879 --> 00:08:46.679 picture of what he knows is in people's minds. That without God, life is a broad way and 00:08:46.679 --> 00:08:55.559 it's an easy road in many ways. Do you find that an accurate picture? Is it an accurate 00:08:55.559 --> 00:09:04.960 picture of the way many people think with regard to God or not having God in life? 00:09:04.960 --> 00:09:12.280 Because then he goes on to speak about life with Christ, being a narrow way. Because again, 00:09:12.280 --> 00:09:17.879 he's speaking in the Sermon about being disciples, about being followers, and about his standards 00:09:17.879 --> 00:09:27.080 and his reality. Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is narrow and the way is hard 00:09:27.080 --> 00:09:36.360 that leads to life. Man, that's an ugly word Jesus uses, narrow. It's an ugly word for 00:09:36.360 --> 00:09:42.000 us, certainly. There's an air of exclusivity about it. You know, when we talk about people 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:50.240 who are narrow-minded, it's a negative thing. And although he doesn't say it here, and we're 00:09:50.240 --> 00:09:57.960 going to speak about this a little bit more later, he is himself the narrow way. And he 00:09:57.960 --> 00:10:02.399 is the gate, and John 10, which we looked at last week, he speaks about being the gate, 00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:07.080 and John 14 speaks about being the way. We're going to look at them a bit more later. But 00:10:07.080 --> 00:10:12.279 he's basically pointing forward to his life and his death and resurrection, which we talked 00:10:12.279 --> 00:10:26.000 about with the kids, as being this narrow way. And living for God as a believer is hard. 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:32.720 The word he uses, word comes from a word that means crushing, almost claustrophobic. It's 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:38.519 the same word that's used of Jesus when in Mark 3, 9, he needed to get onto a boat to 00:10:38.519 --> 00:10:45.199 avoid the crush of the crowd. And that's the word that's been used here, that it's hard, 00:10:45.199 --> 00:10:55.519 it's crushing, it's difficult. And we can see what that means as believers sometimes. We 00:10:55.519 --> 00:11:02.840 can feel and sense that, you know, the standard of Jesus on my own heart. He gives a tough 00:11:02.840 --> 00:11:11.160 diagnosis about my need. Yes, I've got great belonging, but he talks about sin and it's 00:11:11.160 --> 00:11:16.879 a battle. And the light of Jesus shines into my dark heart, and he challenges my motives 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:24.440 and sometimes my comfort and my desires and my choices. He rattles my selfishness, and 00:11:24.440 --> 00:11:34.520 he speaks about purity and loving my enemies and morality and how I live. And it's so 00:11:34.520 --> 00:11:42.080 exclusive and it's so difficult and it's narrow. The demands he makes and faith and 00:11:42.080 --> 00:11:47.880 prayer and Bible reading and self denial, it's hard. It's narrow and so much so that 00:11:47.880 --> 00:11:52.960 he speaks about the Christian ways as being like crucifixion, like we die to ourselves, 00:11:52.960 --> 00:12:00.120 and crucify the sinful nature. And there's a narrowness and a toughness there, not just 00:12:00.120 --> 00:12:06.759 in my own, in the demands that he makes of those who follow him, but of the experiences 00:12:06.759 --> 00:12:12.960 we go through in life, the opposition, being isolated from the majority, being faced with 00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:20.519 so many questions about God and life here and about pain and illness and disappointment. 00:12:20.519 --> 00:12:26.960 We feel like we're in the minority. We're always saying, no, we're not participating. 00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:36.120 Certainly a road less traveled and it doesn't feel like a road of love sometimes. And there's 00:12:36.120 --> 00:12:45.319 a narrow and steep and difficult reality that Jesus focuses on and actually highlights here. 00:12:45.320 --> 00:12:53.680 He's not embarrassed by it. He doesn't avoid it. He explains that that is what life with 00:12:53.680 --> 00:13:01.120 Christ is. Well, yeah, that's not very good, is it? That's not very attractive. It's not 00:13:01.120 --> 00:13:08.080 very appealing. Well, I think we need to let Jesus finish the image. He hasn't finished 00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:15.360 speaking with these two introductory images of life with and life without God, Broadway 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:22.320 and a narrow way. Let Him finish, and we see as He does so, the image is becoming inverted 00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:27.000 very interestingly and powerfully. Because He says this Broadway, life without God, life 00:13:27.000 --> 00:13:32.280 without dealing with the gospel and with Christ, it's a broad and an easy road, but it leads 00:13:32.279 --> 00:13:42.199 to destruction. Interestingly, it leads to the kind of crushing that He uses in the previous 00:13:42.199 --> 00:13:48.079 picture about the road being hard. The word for destruction is being cut off from life, 00:13:48.079 --> 00:13:54.639 being destroyed, losing everything that's worth having. And He's basically saying that 00:13:54.639 --> 00:14:01.720 ignoring God seems easy and seems a broad and an inclusive way to live. And it may feel 00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:08.399 like gain in the short term, but He says it's a self-destructive path. It's like leaving 00:14:08.399 --> 00:14:23.040 home in a rage to rebel against parental love and the seeming parameters or rules that hem 00:14:23.040 --> 00:14:30.560 you in. But to do so is not real freedom, because you can never run from the mirror. 00:14:30.559 --> 00:14:37.119 You can never run from your heart. You can never reverse the realities of failure and 00:14:37.119 --> 00:14:45.039 disappointment and aging. We can't wipe out suffering and being disappointed or broken 00:14:45.039 --> 00:14:53.359 hearted in failed relationships or loss of a job. And there can be in that broad road 00:14:53.360 --> 00:15:03.759 a great feeling of powerlessness or anonymity and a loss, a loss even of control. You know, 00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:08.879 doesn't happen much now, but in the olden days, when I was young, sometimes football 00:15:08.879 --> 00:15:16.480 crowds were very, very big, or any kind of crowd could be… that was a big crowd could 00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:23.680 be so closely packed together that you would just be lifted off your feet and driven forward 00:15:23.680 --> 00:15:30.120 by that crowd. And even if you were walking, it was very difficult to change direction 00:15:30.120 --> 00:15:38.159 and a sense of helplessness that you just had to go the way that everyone else was going. 00:15:38.159 --> 00:15:46.360 So there is a… Jesus saying there's a temporary broadness about this road and a apparent easiness, 00:15:46.360 --> 00:15:52.759 but it's not real freedom because it's a pathway Jesus says that is walking away from 00:15:52.759 --> 00:15:58.440 the Source and the Author and the giver of your life, the living God. It's the wrong 00:15:58.440 --> 00:16:08.440 road to be on. Views being at home, longing for home is an illustration of what we all 00:16:08.440 --> 00:16:15.899 want, recognizing we have different thoughts on that, but that we want all the best things 00:16:15.899 --> 00:16:23.159 about being home, you know, the safety, the warmth, the love, the provision, the rest, 00:16:23.159 --> 00:16:31.360 all these great pictures of company and happiness and celebration and being home. Well, can 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:38.799 you take that picture and imagine that picture of home being like a little… or more not 00:16:38.799 --> 00:16:47.959 so little house on a hillside, on a beautiful hillside with a narrow and steep winding road 00:16:47.959 --> 00:16:55.759 towards it. That's the way home. That's where you're wanting to get to. But you misread 00:16:55.759 --> 00:17:03.639 the map and you find yourself cruising, not on a single track, narrow and twisty road, 00:17:03.639 --> 00:17:10.220 but cruising on a glorious highway, maybe in a great car. But you're going the wrong 00:17:10.220 --> 00:17:19.240 way. You're moving away from that ideal and that reality of life and happiness and contentment, 00:17:19.240 --> 00:17:24.240 and you're being separated from it. You're getting further and further away. And that's 00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:30.759 what Jesus is saying about being on a broad and easy road, but it leads to destruction. 00:17:30.759 --> 00:17:34.680 And the destination is terrible. Revelation in the Bible, the last book of the Bible, 00:17:34.680 --> 00:17:43.240 speaks about the second death. And it's a picture that not only physical death is destruction, 00:17:43.240 --> 00:17:49.200 but beyond that there's a spiritual death, a second death which is ultimate separation 00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:54.440 from life and from God and from goodness and from warmth and from joy and from hope. 00:17:54.440 --> 00:18:01.600 And he says that on this road, in a sense, we're already condemned and we need to change 00:18:01.600 --> 00:18:10.600 and move from that. And he doesn't want us to ignore that reality. Proverbs, chapter 00:18:10.600 --> 00:18:15.920 14 says, there's a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:20.519 So the picture of the broad road is one that ends in destruction, but interestingly also, 00:18:20.519 --> 00:18:29.920 the picture of the narrow road is one that leads to life. And Jesus is reminding us that 00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:38.519 He is the one who is both a door and He is the one who is the way. And it said, we'd 00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:42.480 look back at John 10 says, I'm the door, if anyone enters by me, he'll be saved and we'll 00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:49.000 go in and out and find pasture, passage we read and looked at last week. And also in 00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:53.920 John 14 verse 6, he says, Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth and the life, no one 00:18:53.920 --> 00:19:04.480 comes to the Father except through me. So Christ is saying that He is the way to life, 00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:09.839 the broad road is destruction, but the narrow road that He speaks about is life and all 00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:18.200 that life means is found in Him. Christ is both the gate and the way. And He's attractive 00:19:18.200 --> 00:19:24.600 and He is awesome. And therefore, He's reminding us that in this passage and throughout the 00:19:24.600 --> 00:19:31.120 New Testament that salvation is all about recognizing who He is and recognizing and putting our 00:19:31.120 --> 00:19:37.720 trust in Him as the King of kings, as our friend, as our brother, as our Savior. He's 00:19:37.720 --> 00:19:44.640 pointing towards the fact that His death and His resurrection opens up the way to fullness 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:51.320 of life, to forgiveness and to a new relationship with the living God. And He is the one who 00:19:51.320 --> 00:20:00.040 sees us on this broad road and He sees us as needy and helpless and broken and failed 00:20:00.040 --> 00:20:08.640 and weary and frustrated and insecure and fearful. He sees us as sinners lost on this 00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:18.200 broad road, confused by the paradox of good things and bad things, the hints of something 00:20:18.200 --> 00:20:23.640 better, the inexplicable evil both in the world around us and sometimes in our own 00:20:23.640 --> 00:20:32.520 hearts. And He comes to us and He says, I love you. I'm your God. I've come to redeem 00:20:32.519 --> 00:20:40.440 you. I've come to bring you life. Turn around. Follow me. Give me your sinful heart to heal 00:20:40.440 --> 00:20:47.920 and to forgive, and I will give you everlasting life right now. You enter by freely trusting 00:20:47.920 --> 00:20:56.639 and accepting the gift of salvation that He offers, and that becomes the way of life. 00:20:56.639 --> 00:21:02.359 That becomes a relationship with Jesus Christ. That's how it's narrow. It's because 00:21:02.359 --> 00:21:08.879 there's only one way. It's because there's exclusivity within His claim. It's similar 00:21:08.879 --> 00:21:17.679 to the exclusive vows that we take in marriage. It narrows our options of how to live and 00:21:17.679 --> 00:21:25.599 who to relate to and who to be faithful with. Absolutely. But it comes because we're committed 00:21:25.599 --> 00:21:32.599 in love to our partner, and we want to restrict ourselves to loving and being faithful to them. 00:21:32.599 --> 00:21:40.319 And God is saying the same thing to us that in His jealous, in the best way of using that 00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:46.039 word, in His jealous divine love, He says, I am the only way. I love you with that, an 00:21:46.039 --> 00:21:50.000 exclusive love, and there's no one else that can love you in this way if you will come 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:55.359 to me. He wants our rightful first place because it's the place where He offers us protection 00:21:55.359 --> 00:22:03.719 and safety and fulfillment and joy and life and all its fullness. Yeah. It's a bit like 00:22:03.719 --> 00:22:09.719 having to go for a physical heart transplant. There's only one way you can do that. You 00:22:09.719 --> 00:22:19.919 need to go to the expert. You need to be under His guidance and His authority, and you need 00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:25.600 to let the surgeon do his work. You can't DIY that. You can't just go at home and get 00:22:25.600 --> 00:22:28.680 a pair of scissors and a knife and open yourself up. You can't just have your mates around 00:22:28.680 --> 00:22:35.200 and see if they can give you a heart transplant. There's an exclusivity about how to do that, 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:46.400 and spiritually there's a narrowness of exclusivity that opens up life and all the broadness of 00:22:46.400 --> 00:22:53.360 that life to us. Christ is both the gate, and therefore Christ is both the way. So we 00:22:53.360 --> 00:22:59.080 enter as we put our trust in Him. We're not just writing or signing some kind of insurance 00:22:59.080 --> 00:23:03.560 check for the future, and we forget about Jesus for the rest of time. He gives us a 00:23:03.560 --> 00:23:10.560 new heart now, and all the Christians in the church, we recognize that, and we recognize 00:23:10.560 --> 00:23:15.519 we have the spirit of Christ in our lives, and that His love is to transform us and 00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:22.079 to change us, and to bring us to become more and more like Him, and to live in the way 00:23:22.079 --> 00:23:26.920 of love that He wants us to loving Him and loving one another, and that transforms us. 00:23:26.920 --> 00:23:33.440 And He walks with us. He empowers us and strengthens us to live that way, and that is both glorious, 00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:39.960 and it can be a grind in the short term. And so in this chapter, just as we bring everything 00:23:39.960 --> 00:23:47.079 to a conclusion, and very, very, just in a summary way, we see that He often speaks about 00:23:47.079 --> 00:23:53.920 this way, how we live as Christians because of the newness of life that He's given us. 00:23:53.920 --> 00:23:59.319 It means certain things to live and to know life. What are some of the things it means 00:23:59.319 --> 00:24:04.759 here? Well, it means that we have a powerful relationship with our Heavenly Father through 00:24:04.759 --> 00:24:10.119 Jesus Christ, verses 7 to 11, asking, it will be given you, seeking you will find, knocking 00:24:10.119 --> 00:24:15.759 the door will be opened. He says, you know, what can a Father, if His Son asks for bread, 00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:23.559 will give Him a stone or fish, a serpent? And He says that your heavenly Father is good, 00:24:23.559 --> 00:24:29.759 and He will give you good gifts. And He speaks therefore that our spiritual life comes from 00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:35.279 having this great relationship, renewed relationship with our Father, a prayerful relationship, 00:24:35.279 --> 00:24:41.960 one of need where we're asking, we're persevering, we're seeking, we're finding. And we have 00:24:41.960 --> 00:24:50.079 this, we see Him as a good Father, a beautiful good Father. And I think it's for Christians, 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:56.000 but it's also an invitation to faith to pray and ask for God to open your eyes, to see 00:24:56.000 --> 00:25:02.079 the different ways and to entrust your life to Him. As Christians, I sometimes wonder 00:25:02.079 --> 00:25:09.720 if our image of God is as a grumpy old man, as opposed to a good Heavenly Father. Stay 00:25:09.720 --> 00:25:15.880 close. See, in these days, as Christians, stay close. Stay close to your heavenly Father. 00:25:15.880 --> 00:25:22.960 It's a narrow way, and it can be hard sometimes. We know that, and He knows that, but we stay 00:25:22.960 --> 00:25:30.240 close because He empowers and strengthens and helps and loves and it is life. And therefore, 00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:38.360 also we live by His golden rule in our relationship with others. Verse 12 is that golden rule 00:25:38.360 --> 00:25:42.640 where He says, so whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this 00:25:42.640 --> 00:25:50.120 is the law and the prophets. And these earlier verses of chapter 7, verses 1 to 6, speak about 00:25:50.119 --> 00:25:57.199 that, treating others in the way that you've been treated by Jesus with respect and with 00:25:57.199 --> 00:26:03.679 honesty, with commitment and with grace. So He doesn't want us to be censorious, you know, 00:26:03.679 --> 00:26:10.479 in verses 1, judge not that you'll not be judged. And if you're mean with other people, 00:26:10.479 --> 00:26:14.959 then other people will be mean in their judgment of you. It's not saying we're not to be discerning, 00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:22.400 not to have opinions, but it's saying not to judge harshly and harshly on others and 00:26:22.400 --> 00:26:28.920 easy on yourself without knowing or maybe without caring or finding out or understanding 00:26:28.920 --> 00:26:35.799 or making the wrong assumptions. It's a destructive spiral. Grace should change that. Knowing 00:26:35.799 --> 00:26:42.640 Jesus should change that because of the way He has treated us in Jesus Christ. 00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:50.400 So how we consider and make judgments of other people, also with, I think, more specifically 00:26:50.400 --> 00:26:57.520 within the church context, not to be hypocritical, He speaks in verses 3 to 5, that really funny 00:26:57.520 --> 00:27:03.800 picture that Jesus gives of not being a hypocrite within the Christian family when He speaks 00:27:03.800 --> 00:27:09.520 about a brother or could be a sister. He says, you know, don't try and take a tiny speck 00:27:09.519 --> 00:27:15.079 out of someone else's eye and there's a huge big beam and log of wood in your own eye. 00:27:15.079 --> 00:27:20.119 And it's such a ridiculous picture. But sometimes as Christians, you know, it's as if we think 00:27:20.119 --> 00:27:25.960 God's on our side all the time and that we know all the right answers, always correcting 00:27:25.960 --> 00:27:30.960 other Christians and saying, oh, they're not as orthodox as we are. They don't do the things 00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:38.879 that we do. But not being known as someone who allows the light of Jesus Christ to shine 00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:43.840 into our own hearts first. Don't be known as someone who's quick to find fault with 00:27:43.840 --> 00:27:50.440 others in the church, but blind to our own personal feelings that are obvious to all. 00:27:50.440 --> 00:27:56.800 But rather be known in the Christian community as someone who is close to Christ, who is 00:27:56.800 --> 00:28:04.040 humble because we're allowing Christ to deal with our own sins and our own feelings. And 00:28:04.039 --> 00:28:12.480 therefore, in love and in gentleness, allowing us to be gracious enough to be open with others, 00:28:12.480 --> 00:28:22.000 to share with others, to help them to see maybe some of the small mistakes that they 00:28:22.000 --> 00:28:29.039 make in order to bring them closer to Jesus and walk the walk of grace. And I think it 00:28:29.039 --> 00:28:35.680 also involves knowing when to walk away. Verse 6, do not give to dogs what's holy, 00:28:35.680 --> 00:28:40.359 do not trample and do not throw your pearls before pigs lest they trample them underfoot 00:28:40.359 --> 00:28:50.240 and turn and attack you. In and out of the church, knowing by grace not to answer fools 00:28:50.240 --> 00:28:56.559 and according to their folly or giving them the impression that they can treat you anyway 00:28:56.559 --> 00:29:04.000 and mock your faith. Don't fight fools, saying, walk away because God will not be mocked 00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:13.799 in these situations. So, I haven't really looked in any detail at these particular areas 00:29:13.799 --> 00:29:20.399 other than seeing them within the context of the life that Jesus commands us to live. 00:29:20.400 --> 00:29:27.800 So the narrow way is the way of divine love. He's both the author of love and of life. 00:29:27.800 --> 00:29:37.800 And in the short number of years we're here, it's hard and it's exclusive because we have 00:29:37.800 --> 00:29:43.480 remaining sin that we're dealing with and battling against. And I just say to us all 00:29:43.480 --> 00:29:51.599 as Christians, stay with it because there's great reward now because he is with us and 00:29:51.599 --> 00:30:00.120 we're forgiven and we're empowered and we have his love protecting and showering us. 00:30:00.120 --> 00:30:07.279 And there's unimaginable goodness to look forward to. It may be a road less traveled 00:30:07.279 --> 00:30:13.240 but it's a great road. I mentioned earlier Proverbs 12, there's a road that seems right, 00:30:13.240 --> 00:30:17.920 there's a way that seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death. I'm going to 00:30:17.920 --> 00:30:23.720 finish with that but as a paraphrase from the message which is a paraphrased version 00:30:23.720 --> 00:30:31.720 of the Bible and very often in more accessible language maybe but also in provocative language. 00:30:31.720 --> 00:30:41.319 So of this verse it says, there is a way that looks harmless enough, look again, it 00:30:41.319 --> 00:30:49.119 leads straight to hell. Sure, those people appear to be having a good time but all that 00:30:49.119 --> 00:30:57.079 laughter will end in heartache. It's a very powerful and very challenging verse and the 00:30:57.079 --> 00:31:06.319 encouragement from Jesus is to come home to God and to stay home through Christ, to think 00:31:06.319 --> 00:31:15.759 very seriously about what road you're on and consider what Jesus is challenging you to 00:31:15.759 --> 00:31:25.559 do. As Christians to stay home in Christ, through Christ, to avoid temptation and to 00:31:25.559 --> 00:31:32.639 resist temptation and not give in to just doing what's easy and what everyone else is 00:31:32.640 --> 00:31:38.400 doing because that way is a broad way and it leads to destruction. And if you're not 00:31:38.400 --> 00:31:44.759 a believer, I would love you to please think about these things and you can pray. And you 00:31:44.759 --> 00:31:48.240 can pray right now and ask God, even if you've never prayed before, you can ask God just 00:31:48.240 --> 00:31:55.960 to make you, enable you to think, to open your eyes to see what He is saying and what 00:31:55.960 --> 00:32:03.840 He is offering and who He is and ask Him to show Himself, show Him your heart and also 00:32:03.840 --> 00:32:13.000 show Himself and His love and His desire for you as your Creator, as your Lord, as your 00:32:13.000 --> 00:32:24.480 Savior. May that be something we all find more and more life-giving. Let's pray. 00:32:24.480 --> 00:32:32.120 Father God, we ask and pray that you would help us to understand both the simplicity 00:32:32.120 --> 00:32:41.880 of the gospel and the depth of the gospel. Keep us from running away from thinking about 00:32:41.880 --> 00:32:51.920 it because it seems just too uncomfortable. Keep us, Lord, from simply wanting that easy 00:32:51.920 --> 00:32:58.640 road, that broad road and being content just to follow what everyone else is doing without 00:32:58.640 --> 00:33:08.759 thinking about its destination, without thinking about its direction. Lord, we pray as Christians 00:33:08.759 --> 00:33:17.240 that we wouldn't, with the life that we have in Jesus, recognizing its exclusivity and 00:33:17.240 --> 00:33:27.000 sometimes how hard it is, that we wouldn't just be looking over our shoulders and ignoring 00:33:27.000 --> 00:33:37.480 your love and your provision and your promises and selfishly looking at that broad road again 00:33:37.480 --> 00:33:44.120 and its seeming ease. So, Lord, help us, we pray, and may your Spirit take your truth 00:33:44.119 --> 00:33:49.319 and apply it to our hearts. Encourage us, build us up, challenge us, renew us, refresh 00:33:49.319 --> 00:34:17.400 us. In Jesus' name, amen.