Entering the Kingdom Through the Narrow Gate – Choosing Jesus Over Comfort

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You're listening to a podcast from Victory. Beware of false

prophets who hinder people from finding the narrow road that

leads to Heaven. Learn more about entering the Kingdom of

God in Week fifteen of our series Redefined.

Let's read the verses in Matthew seven, verses thirteen to

twenty three. 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 and those who find it are few. Beware of

false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but

inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits.

Our grapes gathered from torn bushes or figs from fizzles.

So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased

tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit.

Nor can a disease tree bear good fruit. Every tree

that does not bear good fruit is cut down and

thrown into the fire. You will recognize them by their fruits.

Not everyone who says me to me, Lord Lord, will

enter the Kingdom of heaven, but the one who does

the will of my Father, who is in heaven. On

that day, many will say to me, Lord Lord, did

we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons

in your name? And do many mighty works in your name?

And then will I declare to them, I never knew

you depart from me, workers of lawlessness choices. I found

out that there's actually three types of people, and the

three people are first those who don't know that they

actually have a choice. They never knew that they have

a choice. You know. That's why we also send out

people not just hearing the field, even mission to the

mission field to those countries that haven't heard about Jesus Christ.

They might not know that they have actually have a choice.

Sometimes they just they're just born into a religion, born

into a tradition, and they thought that that was the

creator of everything. That's why we have work your own

church here in Victory Greens. We have work in Canberra,

we have work in Central Asia precisely for that. For

those people who don't know that they actually have a choice,

for them to know Jesus Christ and make the choice.

Then those people who are afraid to make a choice.

Before that was me. I didn't know how, I didn't

know the step one, step two. I hope as I

go through this you try to figure it out. Oh,

maybe that's me, or maybe that's me. Third kind of

people are those who don't want to make a choice.

Don't want to make a choice. I know, let me

just play this religion card as I like. But I'm

not gonna make a choice. Why Because I'm enjoying this

is me, this is my life. That's your life. Don't

bother with my life. But you know, if you count

yourself as a citizen of God's kingdom, a choice has

to be so visible. The choice that you make has

to be so visible. The choice that you make has

to be so fruitful and so clear. And John ad

first of said again Jesus spoke to them, saying, I

am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will

not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

If you are follower of Jesus, you follow follow the

follow by faith, you obey him, you're under you submit

to him. That's a choice. Maybe it's tough, Yes, it's

kind of tough. That's why when you go through the

different verses. Now it is very counter culture Galian and

Jesus every time, every sermon, every message is it's really

really hits hard. Why he's going against the culture. His

counter culture is going against the norm how we do

things like this versaid enter by the narrow Why would

I enter the narrow gate when you're telling me there

is actually a white gate? Naturally, what would you choose?

White or narrow? White or naro? Can you imagine very

narrow genes? But I'm narrowing up? Of course I would

choose the white game. Why? Why? And and explained by

furthering Jesus Why and easy? Of course, naturally will tend

to go to the easier route because it's easier. But

Jesus here is redefining our way of living, not choosing

the easy, not choosing the easier route, not choosing the

wider rout, but rather choosing something that is eternal. Why eternal?

Because he said here this road leads to destruction, and

the destruction here means death. Death means you go to

Tanin misconception of people is that there are actually two doors,

two doors, a white door and a narrow door, and

both of them lead to one direction on one destination.

That's not true. That's a lie. That's a lie. If

somebody told you that, go get out here, first call

him and said, if my pastor told me, you're a liar,

because that's a lie. Two different destinations. One goes to heaven,

one goes to hell. Which what would you choose? The

white includes all religions of work and self righteousness, with

no single way. It's easy, you know why it's easy.

It's it's self centered. I'm happy, I'm comfortable. I can

indulge in all my luho. It's worldly pressed pleasure. I

remember in our home, in our in our home, while

I was growing up. This is a very famous anecdote, Okay,

of my of my parents to always tell me, you know, Larry,

you have to work hard, Uh, Larry, what can happy

go lucky? You know you have to work hard for

stuff so that you can you can earn your way.

You know, whatever you plant now speech, But I was

even surprised that you told me about the stories story

Longtau story about an aunt a diligent and do not

be sloggered. Lo and behold, I found it in the Bible.

It's it's there in the Bible. But what we often

pick is the easy road, even though we know, we

know that that's not the right road. We do cut corners, compromise.

Why to make my life a bit comfortable, turn an

extra buck there, I can cheat my way to school

to usually graduate, And then that that's not it, that's

not it. It does something in your heart, It does

something in your person. There's something in your being that

affects you. Jesus is pointing us to this, to this road,

the narrow road, the narrow road where there's less people,

few people. Why because it is the road less traveled.

Why less traveled? Because it's hard. It's not easy. What

what's hard? Maybe there's after taking that road, there's actually persecution.

Why there's no people? Why? Actually no people? And that's

why there's leads to there's few few people. Why because

it's a hard road. But it's the right road that

leads to life, not destruction, leads to not just your

temporary life, but it turned a life. You know, the

grace that God gave us for salvation, it's not just

for salvation, it's actually redeeming our life right now until

we reach Jesus Guy for our glorification. It's step one,

two and three. That's the same grace. There might be persecution,

hard the hard road. Nobody's there, you're you're you're the

only one there, and there's persecution. Sometimes you can be unpopular.

If you turn around from if you get if you

get so convicted, turn around from sin. Oh, you you're

on your own. You're now the least popular. Before you're

the you're the most popul You're always in the center,

the center of attraction. Now you're in the center of

attraction because people try to get away from you. It's hard,

it's not easy. But what do you do. Do you

make a stand, do you make a choice, or you

just follow the norm? You just be like the tumble

with tumble tumble and tumble tumbatumba and you just follow people. Yes,

sometimes it can be hard. The crowd is there, yourself

your road that small. But checks a Facebook b F

forever does a group shot that you know it's against

the holiness of Jesus Christ that you follow. Would you

stand up for it? It's also true that not all

who choose the narrow way end up being blessed. Maybe

not not yet Hebrews eleven. All of our father of faith,

they never see the promises. But it's not about the promises.

My prayer is not about the promise. My prayer is

that when you come here, it's not an ends it's me. No,

it's not. My prayer is that your goal is setting

up something in heaven. In Hebrews thirteen, verse fourteen said,

for this world is not our permanent home. We are

looking forward to a home yet to come. If your

goal is to stay here, to remain here, to be

famous here, to be rich here, to be here on earth,

by see ya, because we're going to heaven. If you

feel like this is your your permanent this is it.

This is your destination, this is your goal. Bye, because

that's our goal with our creator in heaven. This is temporary.

This is temporary. Everything, everything that we have right down

is temporary. We can't even bring them with us when

Jesus finally takes us. You know, kingdom living. Talking about

kingdom living, the whole Sermon of the Mouth. Kingdom living

needs redefining in our thinking. If you are kingdom living,

you have to be forward thinking. Forward thinking means you're

not thinking of the temporary, the now, three, five, ten

years from now. No, no, no, What you're thinking is eternal life.

What you're thinking is eternity. That's why when you approach

a brother you help her brother. It's not because you

want to be famous now, just to help him. Know

you want to be able to minister and love him

as Christ has love you, and set him even him

for eternity. We are just here, but temporary. But what

choices are you making? Narrow gate? This is the narrow gate,

short term sacrifice, but then the promise is eternal life.

The white gate short term gratification, short term loan, famous, now, happy, gung, comfortable,

but then it leads to death or destruction. Take a pig.

Choose the narrow way and redefine your living. Choose the

narrow way and redefine our living. Let's continue. Matthew seven,

verse fifteen said, beware of false prophets who come to

you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You

know they say that a sheep would know the very

tone of the voice of the shepherd, he would know.

That's why Jesus here is warning us. Are you so

established in the word, in prayer, in your church community

that you cannot be dissuaded by anyone? Because false prophets

would come out, not just before, not just in the

Old Testament or in the New Testament, even now, even

in our time. They're everywhere. False prophets were prevalent before

and even prevalent now. Jesus said, beware of those words.

Who's trying to entice you? As we live now in

this in this world, in this temporary world, temptations are everywhere,

left and right, open kon open, k actually open by temptation.

You get tempted. But Jesus also tells us that we

will be known for our fruits. In verse sixteen said

you will recognize them by their fruits, our grapes gathered

from torn bushes, or figs from fizzles. Fruits. Would would

you know? Would you recognize if if you know that

you are a son and a daughter or a daughter

of God, you would know his voice? Would you recognize

if that's a false teacher or that's a truth teacher.

If it's a false or good teacher, you would know,

you would recognize a good fruit from a bad fruit.

Here the analogy is for grapes. You know torn bushes,

torn bushes are are are see the plants black seeded

plants parapum doua that when they sprout from afar, it

seems like they're grapes. Would you recognize true fruit? Would you?

Would we? So it's important as you grow deeper in

your relationship with God, you grow with a community as well.

The more you get into His word, put them, tie

them upon your your your neck, put them in your heart.

Meditate on it day and night so that it will

grow in you. If you penetrate your penetrate your heart

and make you grow and fruitful. Grow. Also in your

church community. My prayer is that you're not just a

tumbleweeding every Sunday in and out, that you're part of

a church community. Being part of a church community, you

are also accountable to each other. It helps you grow,

helps us grow. The temporary world that we live in

is full of temptation. It's full of temptation, and there

are times that we would forget those teachings and hear

falsely from our their prophets. Remember my mom would always

tell us this, this, this story about the story of

the moth, and a long story of the moth in

story and remember that. Yes, okay, I'll show you a

short video, younger one, okay, what's going on? It's the dialogue?

Can you just play it there in the back?

And I took only one. One is an Arab boy,

the Lapp.

I'm billing in.

But the lab it's a boy, the mapam in it.

I'm set up.

The mapp.

A boy.

Alloy alright, so many baton go matin.

Blano or for me it wasn't a boy.

But did you do you know the moral of the story?

Do you know the moral of the story? A more

is is a month? That would be funny, but I

don't know. We've heard of that story. But most of

the time we we just a flicker of those stuff

we forget. If the word of God is just temporary

in our hearts. You reading them word in Pakistan dai

or picture oh yeah, no verse for the week? Back

then the verse of the week, young picture in pastor

that's that's the verse of the month. For me. If

it doesn't actually recide. You get attracted to so many

things and then you become that that month that become burned.

Make we we ought to make that choices. It has

to be free with something. Have it be evident. It

has to be seen talking about fruitfulness. Healthy tree cannot

bear bad fruit nor disease. Tree bear good fruit, and

talk about the fruit. Imagine with me this this apple tree.

It's a flourishing apple tree. From the outside, the fruits,

the greenness, but we don't see what's under the roots

that's holding the tree so that any any strong wind,

any typhoon, it won't fall. And those fruits are very

roots are very vital because the nutrients go up. There

your main source of water, main source of everything except

also this. Of course, the sun leaves boyon, but it

holds you firm down, it makes you grow, makes you fruitful.

They won't be a good fruit or a bad fruit.

I remember that one of the verses in some our

prayers should be like we should be like trees planted

by the stream of water that never runs dry, for

us to be fruitful, for us to be used, for

us to fulfill the very purposes of God in our lives,

or you want to be like this tree. It's the

same apple. It's it's an apple tree. But look look

at that apple tree. Diseased, bad fruit or actually no

fruit at all? What is it? What is it good for?

Cut down and thrown it can be even used for

for for for firewood. Cannot why because it's so brittle,

it's so dry. They had useless. All you can do

is throw it away. Let Jesus redefine our way of life.

Let's make a choice. What is the choice that you're making.

Good fruit? Good food is something that's fruitful. Good food

is a healthy tree or bad fruit, disease tree, cut

down and thrown to the fire. Let me let me

past here before I continue to the next part. I

don't know what season you are in right now. Maybe

seemingly you look like you're a good fruit may contin bua,

may contin green green, But met you on the side,

it's turning brown a bit. Maybe there's disease. Are actually

starting to creep in one root at a time. We

don't know. Only God knows, but maybe you know, you know,

ask the Lord as that means you have to see God,

because God can revive even dead plans that's his promise.

And those relationships that you're in, if they're seemingly they're

kind of dead or dying, commit them to the Lord.

Put it under his feet and say, Lord, you are

the Lord over everything. You're sovereign about anything. But you

have to make a choice. You have to hear from God.

You have to know that you're in that relate right

relationship with God. Third point here is two followers. What

are you? Are you a true follower or a nominal follower.

Matthew seven, verse twenty one said, not everyone who says

to me, Lord Lord will enter the Kingdom of heaven,

but only the one who does the will of my Father,

who is in heaven. Most often times we use religion

as our ticket to heaven. Son, I need to church,

may favorite seat, may may. Maybe you're victory group, maybe

you're serving in different ministry ministries, and we use that

as our ticket to heaven. I'm sorry, that's not a

ticket to heaven. Only a right relationship founded by that

love that Jesus gave on us a that cross and

promises because he lived after three days, that eternal life,

embracing him as our Lord and savior. That assures us

of our ticket to heaven, not religion, not playing religion.

Not every one of us here are going to heaven.

Do you realize do you realize that? Do you realize

that not everyone? I would love everybody of us here

to be in heaven. I pray even for my children

that they would obey God, they would submit to the

lordship of God, so that we'll see each other in heaven.

But it has to start from you making a choice.

Would you make that choice? It's a bold choice. It's

saying turning away from sin. It's saying I don't want

to compromise, even though sayang or BAHAMAI chan Spain Christians

and to follow God into relationship not men. You have

to make those hard choices. We ought to make those

hard choices, you know our heart. For God to send

his son to die for us on that cross, it's hard,

but he said yes because he loves us, So you

know how hard. I'm just thinking, how hard is it

for Jesus to say that I'm willing to be crucified

for us? It u was hard, but he did it

anyway because Daniel that that's the only way for us

to get to God, to get to heaven. We ought

not to be like those Pharisees, that we're just doing religion,

praying religion for nothing Verse twenty two. On that day,

many will say to me, Lord Lord, did we not

prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your

name and do many mighty words in your name? He's

telling us here, not because you did in my name?

Said it three times, emphasizing not. I'm not after religion.

I'm not after all the works of your hand. I'm

after your heart. I'm after what's inside your heart. It's

not what you have done, what we have done in

his name, but what He has done for you and

how you have committed your life to him. If it's

all about what we can do, maybe we fal there

in a while, Lord, but it's after our heart, commitment

of our heart. What is that choice? Choice to be

a nominal follower, nominal follower you, we say, Lord Lord,

it's but lip service you do otherwise, or many works

just religion going with the flow, or workers of lawlessness,

I say, hypocrites. Or we want to be true become

true followers, submits to Jesus lordship and does the will

of God the Father as he did as Jesus did

on that cross, you know, Church, he started with this

about choices and what what choice do you have to make?

Which one? Which one? Looking at it now, it's it's

more than a choice. It's absolutely about lordship, and sad

to say it shouldn't be left to us to choose.

Because of what Jesus did on that cross, it is

only but natural for us to submit under his lordship.

You want a successful life, you want a successful marriage,

You want to you want your kids to be successful kids.

You want to be successful in school, you want to

have a successful business. You have to. You want to

have success in life, Submit to his lordship. Submit to

his lordship. That's the key. In One Peter three, verse

fifteen said, but in your hearts, honor Christ the Lord

as holy, because he is holy. Inclosures two verse six says, therefore,

as you receive Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.

That's lordship. We walk because we do not see, but

we walk by faith. We know what he has done,

and his promises in us are true as in Just

like as a symbol, you just hold your heart, touch

your heart, say, Lord, is my heart for you? Is

my heart being kept pure? And holy, because I only

have you here. It's not about it more than conviction.

It's about confessing that in our hearts, in our words,

in our deeds, in our minds. It's all about you, Jesus,

that your name is lifted. High Lord. We falter in

so many ways, But Lord, we know, Lord God, that

you don't count record of our wrongs, and your mercy

is new every morning. So Lord, we repent. Lord, lead

us to that narrow gait that assures us truth, repentance,

and faith. Lord. I pray Lord for each one of us,

Lord God, to submit to your lordship Father, not thinking,

not looking at what's comfortable, what's confusing, what's very complicated,

but rather look unto you, the author and perfector of

our faith, whose grace we can rely on, who's true,

never leave us, nor forsake us. Lord, I pray this

right now. There's something that you have to submit to

the lordship of Jesus Christ. And you know that he's

been nagging and nagging and nagging you time and time

and again. My prayer is that you would lay it

at your feet right now. Let this day, let this time,

let this place now be that author of yours that

you're not looking at things that you would sacrifice, but rather, Lord,

that you would rather look at the Lord as the

ultimate sacrifice, to free us from anything, to free us

even from sin, to save us. Lord, you even know

R got the fears that we might be going through

the anxiety as we release all of this. Father, But

remain true, remain true to your promises that you're all

I need, that you're all we need. Father, right now,

So Lord Lord, I release Lord God, my brothers and

my sisters. It's any of this, Father, Thank you, Lord.

We now submit our lives to you under your lordship. Lord,

we claim right now a victorious life, a life Lord God, Lord,

that we will be assault and light, whether in our homes,

whether they are school, whether in my family. Lord God,

do we even pray Lord for restoration. Upon restoration, let

a wave of restoration and healing, Lord God come upon

right now in our very homes, in our very lives. Father,

and thank you because all of this is pleasing to you,

because all of this is glorifying you. Thank you for

listening to this message.

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