Matthew 7:13-14; A Narrow Community

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Good morning Again.

I'm Adam Shields.

It's printed that way as Adam Shields, but I also go by Bully, so that's a little confusing for you.

If you might be new this morning and there's a story behind that that I'd be glad to share with you on a later date.

I'm one of the staff members here at Faith and, as Martin mentioned, this is my first time to preach.

So if you showed up this morning thinking I don't want to listen to a guy preach for the first time, the good news is it's actually my second time Got to work out the kinks from the 815 service, but it's an honor to be able to spend some time with you and spend time in the Word this morning.

Many of you have been kind to pray, to text and to reach out to me over the last week, and I'm extremely grateful for your prayers.

This past week has also shown me what a blessing and a burden it is to preach, and so this is also my reminder to you to remember to pray for Jason as he's away and to pray for those who have to do this much more than I do.

I'd also like to thank Martin and pastoral staff and the session for allowing me this opportunity as well.

All right, we're beginning to wrap up the Sermon on the Mount over these next several Sundays.

Let me tell you what I mean by that.

If you've been around for any time at all, you've probably heard Jason say this phrase at some point in time.

So what does this mean for us on a Tuesday at 2 pm?

You see, that's exactly what Jesus is doing here in this part of his well-known sermon.

Jesus's whole sermon that we've been discussing for the last couple of months.

Up to this point has been wide and mercy, but it begins to narrow here.

It narrows, and he's come to that.

So what does this mean for us on a Tuesday at 2 pm?

So why does the Sermon on the Mount matter for us?

Well, jesus is very clear, and he tells us in this passage.

So let's take a look at the text as we explore what it looks like to be a part of a narrow community.

If you would open your Bibles with me to Matthew, chapter 7.

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

We're going to be looking at verses 13 and 14 this morning.

It should also be on the screen behind me and printed in your bulletin as well.

If you don't have a Bible, we have some available to you for you.

They're to your left and to your right in the windowsills.

We'd love for you to take it home if you don't have one, so please take us up on that offer.

Okay, matthew, chapter 7, 13 and 14.

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy.

That leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many, for the gate is narrow and the way is hard.

That leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Let's pray before we get started this morning.

Father, I ask that you would be gracious to me this morning as I deliver this message.

I come before you weak and needy.

I pray that you would grant me clarity as I proclaim the truth of your word, which alone can change the hearts of men.

I ask that you would meet us here this morning, help us to have ears that hear the goodness of your gospel, and we ask that you would move this morning and cause our hearts to leap with joy as we seek to understand what it looks like to follow you as part of a narrow community.

Amen.

I'm a father, and many of you know that.

My wife Kathleen and I have two children, two wonderful gifts from the Lord, and while I am a father, I have not yet perfected my dad jokes on my journey to world's greatest dad.

I don't have that coffee mug or that hat yet, but I recently heard this how do you know when a joke becomes a dad joke?

When it becomes apparent?

I also had a father and I don't recall him being great at dad jokes.

I'm not even sure how long dad jokes as we know them have actually been a thing, but he certainly tried, and people would often ask my dad how many kids he and my mother had and he would respond by saying this we like to do everything in twos.

We have two boys and two girls, we have two brown-eyed and two blue-eyed, we have two adopted and we have two biological, too late and too many.

And we see that Jesus is actually doing the same thing.

At the end of his sermon on the mount right.

He's laying out a series of warnings to his hearers and twos.

Between now and the end of his sermon.

There are warnings of two ways in verses 13 and 14, two trees in verses 15 through 20, two prophets in verses 21 through 23,.

And two houses in verses 24 through 27.

You see, jesus is speaking to his hearers in a way that would have actually been very familiar to them, because writing and teaching in a two-ways option was common in Jewish literature and teaching.

It's been studied in both biblical and non-biblical texts over the years.

So this morning we're going to focus on the two ways.

I want us to look at three points this morning that Jesus is making Three things.

If you're a note-taker, I want us to look at the two gates, the two ways and the two destinations.

First, let's take a look at the two gates.

Matthew 7, 13 begins by saying enter through the narrow gate.

There's a command right, the imperative to enter stands out, but we can see there is no command to enter the wide gate.

After all, we don't need a command to enter the wide gate.

If we have not entered through the narrow gate, then we pass through the wide gate already.

And after all, it's an easy gate, it's an inviting gate, it's the gate of acceptance.

We can take everything with us through this gate Our pride, our self-righteousness, our self-righteousness, our deeds, our law-keeping, our financial stability.

We can take our status.

We can take our qualifications, our resumes.

We can even take our individualism.

You see, there is no limit to the amount of baggage that can fit through the wide gate.

We don't have to leave anything behind.

We can take all of our sins and we can take all of our misdeeds with us through the wide gate.

There's no need, at the wide gate, to confess our sins.

There's no need, at the wide gate, to die to ourselves.

You see, the wide gate of the world is all around us, we don't even have to search for it.

The wide gate of the world is all around us, we don't even have to search for it.

But the narrow gate, what about the narrow gate?

It's hard to find.

We see that.

We actually have to seek it out.

It isn't an aesthetically pleasing gate when we look at it.

Many of you have probably seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, maybe not.

It's an old movie.

They're on a quest to find the Holy Grail and upon finding the room, along with Marcus Brody, indiana Jones and the team realize that they must make a choice, because the room is filled with an array of enticing chalices and there's a knight who's been chosen to protect the Holy Grail.

And he warns them saying you must choose, but choose wisely, for as the true grail will bring you life, the false grail will take it from you.

So how did they choose?

Well, brody chooses the way that most of us might choose.

He chooses an ornate chalice.

It's beautiful, intricately crafted, solid gold adorned with emeralds.

It actually seems like the obvious choice.

And after drinking from the cup, brody expects to receive eternal life.

However, if you've seen the movie, we see that Brody chooses poorly and he quickly turns to dust.

But Jones, on the other hand, chooses the least likely of options, an unsightly option.

In comparison, it appears to be a simple pottery-esque cup that's made of clay that you or I might find on the edge of a river here in central Alabama.

And this should actually sound familiar to us.

Right, the description of this cup?

Because it's similar to the way that Isaiah describes Jesus in chapter 53, verses two and three.

Right, he had no form or majesty about him, no beauty that we would desire him.

You see, the wide gate, at first glance, seems to be the most obvious choice.

After all, it's the most appealing to our eyes and to our hearts.

But the narrow gate seems to be the opposite for us.

Yet still, jesus calls us to enter in.

You see, everything that Jesus has been preaching about so far in the Sermon on the Mount has been leading us right here to the narrow gate.

Kent Hughes says that the tiny gate is a perfect metaphor for the Beatitudes, and the first two Beatitudes are poetically pictured as the side post of the small gate.

Two Beatitudes are poetically pictured as the sidepost of the small gate.

One sidepost denotes the first Beatitude and a need for our consciousness of our spiritual bankruptcy, and the other post stands for the second Beatitude's demand for sorrow over our sin.

He goes on to say this is indeed a small gate and few people are willing to shed what is necessary to get through it.

You see, no one likes to naturally be poor in spirit.

None of us truly want to mourn our sins.

Still Jesus says enter through the narrow gate.

But see, there's another problem.

In addition to not wanting to be poor in spirit or to mourn our sins, we don't like the word narrow, right.

Narrow is a restrictive word In conversations and interactions with our friends, our family members, our neighbors, our co-workers.

One of our greatest fears likely one of our greatest fears as a Christian, is that somebody might see us as being narrow-minded, because narrow carries such a negative connotation with it.

But nonetheless, we see that the gate is narrow.

We can't take anything with us, nothing.

All of the things that we can take with us through the wide gate, all of those things have to be left behind.

The narrow gate requires us to be stripped down completely.

We can't take anything with us through the narrow gate.

I know not everyone has claustrophobia or the fear of tight spaces, but I find it safe to assume that most of us appreciate our space.

We prefer that our houses be reasonably spaced from our neighbor's house.

We want our personal space when we interact with people.

Right, you can't get too close.

We don't want to bump elbows with the person next to us at the table when we're gathered to eat.

We want legroom and headroom in our cars and we certainly want legroom in our planes.

Do I even need to ask if any of you would like more legroom in the sanctuary?

This morning, we can look at the empty seats that we've left to the left and to our right this morning as well, that create a buffer between us and the people that we're seated next to.

You see, we love our space, we love our comfort, and so the idea of a narrow gate is particularly unsettling for us.

Today.

We want to complain about the loss of our comforts, we complain about being restricted in any way.

So we don't like the idea of a narrow gate and, honestly, we might complain about the gate too.

God, why is the gate so narrow?

James Dorman says it well one cannot complain that the gate is narrow, but it's open.

Secondly, let's look at the two ways.

But before we move on, it's important that we don't get the gates confused.

With the ways, you see, the narrow gate marks our justification in Christ, with the ways you see, the narrow gate marks our justification in Christ, and therefore the ways can be seen as either our process of sanctification or our desecration.

Right, wide way and narrow way.

If our hearts have not been open to the goodness of God's grace, then we're on the wide road this morning, and the wide road tends to be an easy way.

It's an easy road because it is wide, right, there's room for lots of people.

It's a road that drifts along with the crowd.

When I made poor decisions growing up and like many of you, I don't make them anymore, of course my mother might have asked me something like why did you do that?

And I probably responded in typical fashion well, because so-and-so was doing it.

And then she responds.

Well, if so-and-so is jumping off the bridge, are you going to jump too?

And in my youthful ignorance I might have responded yes, if so-and-so is jumping off the bridge, I might just jump too, and this probably sounds familiar to you.

You see, it's easy to follow the crowd, it's easy to do what the world is doing.

Students, how many times have you had this thought?

I'll take my faith seriously when I get older and adults.

It's not much different for us, is it?

Maybe it looks more like gossip when we're with our friends.

Can you believe they did that?

Or maybe it looks like compromising our integrity in the workplace because we need that next promotion right, just a little bit more job security.

You see, these are wide road traps and they're set to keep us away from the narrow way, but we desperately want to fit in and be accepted by others.

As a matter of fact, I would say that maybe a desire to be liked by all of those around us may very well be the thing that most of us actually have in common today, because if the wide gate is a gate of acceptance, then the same is true of the wide road.

We've likely all heard the following phrases you do you Do what makes you happy, do what feels good, do what you think is right.

What is your truth?

Friends, these are wide road mentalities and they're dangerous ones.

I heard someone put it another way when describing the wide way in the form of a sales pitch.

It goes kind of like this Come, take the easy way.

We ask nothing of you and you don't need to leave anything behind.

Here there's a myriad of choices, and all are celebrated and approved.

And you might ask must I confine my thoughts to God's words, to these words?

Of course not.

Here we welcome all types of spiritualities.

Can I get an easy divorce or cohabit with another?

Absolutely no problem.

May I bless the adultery or the same-sex marriage of others, as long as it's love that drives them?

Of course you may.

May I believe in a Jesus as I imagine him to be?

Sure, we have a thousand faces of Jesus and they all look just like yours.

You see, this is the wide and the welcoming world that you and I live in.

The lie of the world is that there are a thousand gates to choose from and many ways to get there.

But, friends, I want you to hear this this morning there are only two gates and there are only two ways.

There is no neutrality here.

There is no neutrality here.

There is no neutrality here, there is no neutrality.

So what about the narrow way?

Maybe we've entered through the narrow gate, but what now?

Maybe we're expecting a firework show or paper confetti to fall from the ceiling because we've arrived.

Maybe we're thinking okay, small gate check, got that done.

But you see, there's more, because, just like finding ourselves on a wide road, after going through a wide gate, after passing through a narrow gate, we find ourselves on a narrow, narrow road, and Jesus is clear that it's a hard road in verse 14.

Most of you know the Olympics started this weekend, but what you may not know is that there was another sporting event that took place this week.

It's called the Badwater 135.

Sports Illustrated is going to help us hit some of the highlights this morning.

Badwater is widely recognized as one of the most exhausting, agonizing and dangerous ultramarathons in the world.

It covers 135 miles and it starts in Death Valley, which is the lowest point in North America, and it ends at Whitney Portal, which is the trailhead to the summit of Mount Whitney, which is the highest point in the continental US, and the race pushes participants to their physical and mental limits.

As you can imagine, the extreme temperatures in Death Valley, which often skyrocket over 120 degrees, create a brutal challenge for the athletes.

The intense heat, the elevation change and the race distance make it truly stand out among other ultramarathons and endurance events.

It's a rare test of endurance, strength and human spirit.

As a matter of fact, there have actually been more people to summit Everest than complete Badwater.

The field is limited to approximately 100 runners each year, adding to its exclusivity and its prestige.

Participants have 48 hours to complete the course and the clock keeps ticking no matter what, and runners also have to carefully select a support crew who are going to keep them company on the course and provide them with essential supplies, with nourishment and encouragement through the 135 mile journey.

You see, badwater is not just a race.

It's a profound personal challenge and for those who finish, it represents the culmination of months, if not years, of preparation, determination and resilience.

As you can imagine, crossing the finish line is often a deeply emotional experience, marking the completion of one of the toughest races on the planet.

And you see, like bad water, theian life is not often the most desirable path.

The path itself is unfrequented and it requires a tremendous amount of care and concern to traverse it.

It requires diligent preparation and self-discipline, and it's essential to be surrounded by the fellowship of others who are going to provide strength and encouragement and declare to us what is true when we're uncertain or when we become discouraged.

This is why we talk about community so much here at Faith.

It's why we're going to make a huge deal about grace groups in the coming weeks.

So why would anyone want to take a narrow road?

Because, as believers, we can find joy in such a journey and the reward is sure.

But still, most people want an easy road.

Few people want to take the hard road, and Jesus is clear about that.

The gate is narrow, the way is hard and those who find it are few.

If you're a Christian, you've been promised many things, but an easy road was not one of them.

Paul actually reminds us in many of his letters that we will certainly suffer and be persecuted on the narrow road.

And if we don't believe that the Christian life involves suffering and persecution this morning, then we need to hear this the narrow road is full of life's difficulties.

Walking the narrow road means living differently than the way that the world lives On the wide, easy road, everyone gets to do what they please, right.

But the narrow road is hard, why?

Because, as Christians, we can't just live how we want to live.

This is Paul in Romans 6, right.

Martin mentioned this earlier in the call to worship In Christ.

What is true of him is true of us.

We're called to live by principles that are central to the character of God.

God is generous.

Therefore, we are to live generously, and not just with our money, but also with our time.

You see, wouldn't the wide road be easier, filled with less sacrifice and less self-denial?

But we're called to live generously, hospitably even.

We've been talking about that in our kingdom communities for the last couple of weeks.

We're committed to loving and serving those around us.

We're committed to putting aside our own interests in favor of the needs of others.

And this is counter-cultural to the way of the world, to the wide road and to those who travel on it.

And we don't have to do this out of dread.

We get to do this out of joy, and you might be wondering what is joyous about traveling on such a narrow road.

That's a great question.

So let's look at the two destinations.

Where do the roads lead us.

You see, we're not just wandering aimlessly on these roads.

We're all headed somewhere.

Each road has a destination, and we shouldn't be surprised, because Jesus was pretty clear about this in his sermon, in the passage that we read earlier.

The wide and easy road looks appealing to us.

Though it's filled with much earthly pleasure, its travelers will be left asking themselves is this it?

Is this really all there is?

There must be more to life than this.

Does it ever end?

And the answer to that question is yes, it does end.

That question is yes, it does end.

The wide and easy road ends, and it ends in destruction.

It ends in a place of utter misery and eternal torment.

It ends in a place that we know is hell, a place where there is no pleasure, a place where there is no end to suffering and, maybe, worst of all, a place where there is no hope.

If you're walking the wide road this morning, the pleasures that you are experiencing on this earth will be the only heaven that you ever know, but if you're walking on the narrow road today, then this life will be the only hell that you ever know.

The narrow road is hard and it's challenging, but the farther we go it becomes greater to us and it becomes more beautiful to us, and we get these little glimpses of heaven along the way, Because at the end of the narrow road we find life Life more abundant and freer than we could ever imagine, life everlasting.

The narrow road leads us to a place where there are no more broken homes, there's no shame at the end of the narrow road.

There are no hardships, there's no cancer, no more death.

It's a place undefiled, a place that was made for its weary travelers to spend an eternal fellowship with their creator.

And so what Right?

We're getting to that part of the sermon.

So what?

What does this mean for us?

First and foremost, it means that we can't do this on our own.

There is nothing that you or I can do through our own ability that can get us through the narrow gate, down the narrow way, place ourselves in the group of people that are few, or lead ourselves to life, and personally, I struggle with this right.

This is often harder for me than I want it to be.

A few weeks ago, brian Chappell acknowledged the five solas that are engraved above the children's ministry entrance, and what he did mention is the sixth sola that he has often referred to in the past when he teaches as sola bootstrapsa and I imagine that many of you struggle with this self-imposed sola as well right, I often tell myself that I just need to be better, I just need to do more, that I just need to be better.

I just need to do more, I need to try and push past my God-given limits and I need to just reach down and grab myself by the bootstraps and pull myself up.

Be better, bully, do more, and I'm sure that resonates with some of you this morning as well.

But it doesn't work that way.

No amount of self-imposed willpower dependent on our own ability can save us.

No amount of law keeping gets us through the narrow gate.

Another author puts it this way it's not about keeping the rules.

You don't have to be good at being good for God to love you.

You just have to believe what Jesus has done and follow him, because it's not about trying, it's about trusting.

It's not about rules, it's about grace, god's free gift that costs him everything.

It's only through Jesus, and some of us may be thinking this morning.

I'm so glad that I'm one of the few that hears it's only through Jesus, and some of us may be thinking this morning I'm so glad that I'm one of the few that hears it's only Jesus and we think that that's good news.

But the reality is we don't think that's good news.

That's the faith in us.

You see, it isn't naturally good news.

This doesn't naturally appeal to anyone because we want to think that we had something to do with it, because we've walked the road so well.

But only one person has walked the narrow road perfectly, and that's Jesus.

And if we believe I'm one of the good ones, then we've gone back to the wide road because we're trying to take something through the narrow gate with us.

You see, only faith believes that this is good news.

And if you think that being on the narrow road makes you better, let me remind you one more time we can't do it.

This is actually how narrow the gate is.

Chad Bird says it like this we can't enter the gate on our own.

The only way to enter through is by being carried, because the way to God is so straight and so narrow that, to tell you the truth, there's really only room for one person and we all get carried through on his shoulders.

Some of us may be asking the question this morning how do I know which road I'm on.

And that's a good question to ask.

And we can answer this question with another question which says am I tethered to Jesus?

Friends, if you are tethered to Jesus this morning, then you're on the narrow road, but not of your own doing, but out of his extraordinary love for you.

And if you find yourself on the wide road this morning, tethered to the things of this world, there's still hope for you in Jesus.

And if that's you today, one of our pastors or elders would love to talk with you, for the joy that was set before him, that's us.

He endured the cross.

You see, his joy is your salvation and it wasn't out of duty, it wasn't out of stubbornness, he was willing to do it, even eager to do it, because it was out of the joy of saving you.

You see, jesus opened a gate that only he could open and he carries us through that gate on his shoulders and he walks down a narrow road and a difficult path in front of us and he leads us to life everlasting.

As we continue in worship this morning and head to the table, I want to leave you with these words and we're going to sing them again in just a minute.

Mine are days here as a stranger pilgrim on a narrow way, one with Christ.

I will encounter harm and hatred.

For his name and mine are keys to Zion city where, beside the king, I walk.

For there my heart has found its treasure and Christ is mine forevermore.

Let's pray, heavenly Father.

We come before you with humble hearts, seeking your guidance and your strength.

Lord, help us to choose the narrow path.

Give us the courage to follow your ways, even when they're difficult and they're challenging.

Grant us the wisdom to discern your will and the strength to walk in your truth.

Protect us from the temptations and the distractions of the wide road that leads to destruction.

May we always seek your righteousness and strive to live in a manner that pleases you.

Guide our steps, lord, and lead us to eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Savior.

In your holy name, we pray, amen.