Day 19

Chase: Hello and welcome to the Point Church Podcast. We're really glad you're here. Before we jump in, if you'd like to stay connected, you can download the Point Church app. It's a simple way to find messages, resource, and what's happening. And if this podcast is helpful, take a moment to like, subscribe, and share. You can find us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music. Let's get into today's episode. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the Point Church Podcast. We're here with Pastor Sam. As we've been breaking down the gospel of Matthew step by step in our forty days, forty podcast series that we have been doing. ⁓ right now we're in the Sermon on the Mountain and we're in ⁓ chapter seven, ⁓ and we're picking back up in verse thirteen today. ⁓ and so it reads, Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate? And difficult the road that leads to life and few find it. So I want to pause there because this is heavy. First off, yeah, what what gate is Jesus talking about here and why only few find it? Yeah, so ⁓ the narrow gate is ⁓ enter in through the narrow gates the way into the kingdom of heaven that he's been preaching all the time. ⁓ in the book of John, one of the seven I am statements of Jesus is I am the gate. It's an I'm the way. Like you have to find your way to me. And then what he's saying is like, so there's real there's one way to God, there's one way to salvation is through Jesus. And then but there's infinite amount of ways to go wrong. So like again, it's the same thing of like, well, have you lusted? Have you had anger? You know, pick your poison. Like, there's several different ways to blow up your life, but only one way to save your life. So that's where ⁓ that's what Jesus is saying. And that's why few. It's few. But anyone can find it. That's that's kind of the difference. He's like few end up finding it, but it's not because not everyone's invited. Yeah. Everyone's invited. It's just those who accept it should accept it. Yeah. Amen. Pick it up in verse fifteen. It reads, Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravaging wolves. You'll recognize them. by their fruit and are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles. I want to stop there because again the imagery. Yeah. Maybe break that down. ⁓ there's some comedian that was like reading this passage of scripture was like, Do you get grapes from thorn bushes? He's like, I don't know. I'm not a farmer. Like but again what Jesus is saying is like you will know who's authentic. Yeah. By the way they live their life. ⁓ later on before Jesus is ⁓ ultimately handed over to be crucified, one of his last words is like they will know you by your love. Like and so like the way you live your life and the way you love others will show the world that you are one of Jesus' followers. Yeah. And that's where that saying comes, I pretty sure sheep or wolf in sheep's clothing. Yes, yep. Same same exact idea. Yeah. Picking up at 17, it says in the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. Good tree can't produce bad fruit, neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. What fruit is he talking about? Yeah, he's talking about again like the fruit. ⁓ you can you could simply say fruit of the spirit, like Paul talks about, like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. ⁓ but it also reminds me of Psalm one, I flipped over to ⁓ so the very beginning of the book of Psalms, longest book in the Bible begins This way it says, How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked, or stand in the pathway with sinners, or sit in the company of mockers, and said they delight in the Lord's instructions, meditate on it day and night, and like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season, and its leaves do not wither. Whatever he does, he prospers. So again, saying like the fruit of a life of love and goodness is only possible Not when you're listening to the advice of, you know, what the world thinks to do, but again it's entering into the narrow gate with Jesus and saying like that's what's gonna produce fruit. Like heavenly fruit can only be produced from a heavenly source. Amen. As he Jesus again talking goes on every tree that doesn't produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into fire. Mm-hmm. So you'll recognize them by their fruit. So when it when you have the bad side of the fruit, what does that look like? ⁓ it's just like what you naturally will produce in your sinfulness, like lust, envy, greed, contempt, anger, it's all the things that he was preaching against, like that's bad fruit. That's what tears our world apart. And Jesus is like, If you're in me, you can have good fruit. Yeah. Amen. ⁓ continuing on in verse twenty one. Not everyone who says to me, and again, we're getting to a point where the scariest part of scripture, in my opinion. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Scaryest part of scripture. ⁓ 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 in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, then we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name, then I will answer that to them. I never knew you. Depart from me, you law breakers. And where are they departing to? No, we're good. Exactly. Yeah. But ⁓ what again what Jesus is saying is people will come to him and say, Look at my resume. Good works. Yeah. And he's like, But I don't know you. Mm-hmm. I don't know who you are. You didn't spend any time with me. Like you might have done it in my name. You might have used even my power if I granted it to be, you know, prophesy and drive out demons and all these things, like good things. But he's like, But I don't know who you are. Like you don't know me. Yeah. So again, why would you want to spend eternity with me? That's why again, but if you're a person that's desiring to be in the presence of Jesus, desiring to have a relationship with Jesus, this passage should not scare you. Yep. Because this is a passage that's saying you can't get in again by your own merit, even if you're using my name to do it. You get in because of the relationship with me, and I'm the one who flows into you and flows out of you. Yeah. And there's this really you know, and I forget, I'll put it in the description. ⁓ his Instagram. It's a guy that he he does acting of these scenes. ⁓ and it's really deep. So if like this still I don't know how it wouldn't, but if it's still not getting to you, I would say watch that page because it will get to you. Okay. About how serious this is. Yeah. I mean, 'cause you think about it, of like normal people who, you know, show up on Sundays, they they work at the food bank. They do this, they do that. They can get to heaven, he can say, Depart from me, I never knew you. Yeah. And they could be like, I was at church every Sunday. I was doing this. Like, was I doing great? No, you're going ⁓ to hell. Yeah. It's like, ⁓ but but anyone who has a relationship with Jesus, that's again why that thief on the cross is so critical. Yeah. He didn't do anything other than put his faith in Jesus and Jesus said, Yeah, like you'll be with me in paradise. Mm-hmm. But then if you have time and opportunity, you should Go and do these good things out of the overflow of the relationship. Your surrender. I think that is such a key word to s surrender to Jesus. Because he did on that cross. Yes, exactly. So because you are the Lord. So ⁓ and as we keep going to verse 24 again, Jesus speaking. This is the end of the sermon there, but Jesus speaking here. Yeah, this is his closer. The closer of this. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like the wise man who built His house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn't collapse because its foundation was on the rock. What is the rock there? ⁓ let's actually finish the rest of his speaking and then I'll break the whole thing down. But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn't act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house On the sand, the rain fell, the rivers rose and the winds blew and pounded that house and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great cla crash. Yep. So what Jesus is saying is obviously the rock is his teaching, building your life on him. He's the foundation of your life. And that the house was a common metaphor in his day for your life. That's where life happened was the house. So your house was a another metaphor for your life. So he's like, build your life on the rock, build your life on ⁓ the sand. And the the interesting thing about it is Jesus is saying like the house will look like any other house. It'll look like a house on a sunny day. ⁓ like life looks good when things are good. Like you've got a job and the kids are happy and healthy and you know marriage is going well. That there's no storm. It just looks like a house. ⁓ okay. Who cares what's built on? It's it's good. Things are good. It's only until stuff hits the fan, it's only until life's falling apart, then you recognize what your life was actually built on. And how many of us have ⁓ well it's interesting when he says great crash, ⁓ the original language actually uses the word mega. And so it it falls with a mega crash. How many of us have seen someone Whose life was going well, seemed to have everything going for them, and it's almost like they blew up their life. Or like something happened, it was a mega crash and they couldn't recover. And again, it's that person maybe who was sitting in church for 30 years, and you're like, Your house was still always built on the sand. You never had the relationship. You never switched it over. You didn't put things into practice and it gets exposed in tragedies. And then how many of us have also on the flip side seen someone who's Got a cancer diagnosis or a wayward child or going through a divorce or loss of a spouse, anything like that. And they're like, you know what? God is good. Mm-hmm. And he's I have such a peace. That person is like, you can't explain how they weather the storm other than their house was built on the rock. And what I love about Jesus is he's just like, That's it. But there's he doesn't soften the blow. He just basically says, Do this, or else your life will explode. Mm-hmm. There's no softening. He just basically is like, who do I give this mic to? And he just kind of walks off. It's a mic drop. Yeah. Yeah. Cause then it goes on in twenty eight. When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at his teaching. How could they not? Yeah. Because he was teaching them like one who had authority and not like their scribes. Yeah. Again, like a scribe is someone who's supposed to like record and like maybe translate back like what they had written. This guy is like, I'm coming with A whole new understanding, like a whole new way to live. ⁓ like the genius of Jesus has just been on full display on the Sermon on the Mount that like clearly this man we know he's more than a man, but this man speaking knows how life works. Knows how life works best. And it's again because he's the author and the creator, and so he knows how to run life. Amen. And with that we're gonna close out today's episode. Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you again tomorrow, start picking up in chapter eight. Mm-hmm.