Life on the Narrow Way

But when we think of the blessed life, or a life full of blessings, having lots of choices is something most people would point to as evidence of a blessed life.

Think about out cereal choices. It wouldn’t really be farfetched for someone to have a different kind of cereal each day of the week. Actually it is kind of cool isn’t it.

What about clothing. Most of us in the room likely don’t wear the same clothes in a 2 week cycle let alone everyday. We have choices for what we wear. (kids you do need to change your underwear everyday).

With almost everything in life in our modern world, we have choices, options to choose from and that can, and often is, equated with a blessed/prosperous life, aka “The Good Life”.

But that isn’t the blessed life Jesus has in mind, as we have said throughout this series.

Jesus tells us in our passage today that there really are only two choices for us to decide between when it comes to what path we will follow in life, and only one of the choices will lead to the blessed life.

We will either follow the broad path or the narrow one.

So the question for us to think about today is: What path will we choose?

Matthew 7:7–14 CSB

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him. 12 Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. 13 “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. 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.

What is the Narrow Way?

Two Options, One Way

Jesus is placing a decision before those he is preaching to. They must choose one of the two gates/paths.

Notice the contrasting words Jesus uses.

wide vs narrow - broad/easy vs difficult - many vs few - leads to destruction vs life...

the image we all get in our minds is two path, guarded by two gates, both going in different directions.

the problem with that image is the path becomes a one time decision.

Rather, everyday we are faced with the decision about what path we will choose.

A better image is two “paths” running in opposition to one another.

These are ways of life, attitudes and aspiration, desires and dreams, motivations and movements.

The broad way is easy because it is the flow/current of the world.

We like the idea of a wide gate and a board way.

It is inclusive of different ideas, open to all kinds of people, and limited on expectations and absolutes.

The broad way seems to let us stretch our wings, be whoever we want to be, and have a sense of personal, self autonomy (basically we are our own gods directing our own lives).

Though it might look and sound appealing, Jesus says the broad way is the way that leads to destruction.

The most obvious end He is pointing to is Hell/separation from God.

But even in life this broad road leads us into destruction, because what seems to sound good, feel good, and promise pleasure in the moment often turns out to lead us to place we never intended to go.

It is understandable why Jesus would say few find the narrow gate/path, because it is so easy to follow the flow of the wide path.

If you have ever had to turn around in a large crowd to go back and get something you left behind, you know how hard it is to find a path through.

You get pushed, pulled, elbowed in the chest. You get dirty looks and maybe even some harsh words as people wonder why you are pushing against the crowd.

The narrow way is difficult not because it is full of rigorous expectations and restrictions, but because we are pushing against the sinful desires and the worldly temptations that look like and are sold to us as the easiest, funnest, most instantly gratifying experiences and ways of life.

It is hard because the ways of Jesus may seem less enjoyable or less pleasurable in the moment, but the road ultimately leads to LIFE, joy-filled and abundant life.

Another aspect of the narrow way that makes it challenging is that it is much less traveled.

Jesus says “few find it”, and if you are in school, at work, on a team, in a club, or in many other areas of life, you will find this to be true.

As a Christian it often feels the road of faith is a lonely road. It really is the reason God started the church.

He wasn’t interested in us having something to do on Sunday mornings, but that we would have people to walk this road with.

Jesus has spent His entire sermon describing the blessed life, a life on the narrow way, but how do we walk this narrow way?

The two guiding principles Jesus gives us in 7-12 help us walk this narrow way, through the struggle against the lure of the broad way.

Walking the Narrow Way

1) Pursue God with a TRUSTING PERSISTENCE.

These verses are most often used to instruct us how we should pray, and though they are great verses for that purpose, I think another, perhaps more board, purpose is to help us to navigate this narrow path of faith.

He begins with 3 verbs: Ask, seek, and knock.

All three of these are emphatic, present tense verbs, meaning they are continuing verbs.

So he is saying keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking.

And there is also an escalation in them as well.

Ask, but don’t stop with asking. Go on to seeking, an energetic pursuit of God, seeking God until you find Him. And don’t stop with seeking. Knock, bang, loud and hard and long on the doors of heaven until they open!

For everyone who keeps on asking will receive, who keeps on seeking finds, and who keeps on knocking the door will be opened.

Jesus isn’t promising us God will say yes to everything we ask Him for, but is calling us to pursue God with persistence and perseverance.

D.A. Carson rightly points out: This asking is an asking for the virtues Jesus has just ex- pounded; this seeking is a seeking for God; this knocking is a knocking at heaven’s throne room. It is a divinely empowered response to God’s open invitation: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13).

This persistence in pursuing God is rooted in our trust in God’s goodness, grace, and power.

Paul uses the example of worldly fathers. The examples He uses were purposefully ridiculous.

Who would give their kid a rock instead of bread or a snake instead of a fish.

And if sinful, earthly father care well for their children, how much more can we trust our Father in Heaven.

On this narrow, difficult road of faith, the way we stay the course is through a persistent, trusting pursuit of God.

2) Allow HUMBLE SUBMISSION to guide your life.

The golden rule is rooted in humble submission.

We submit to Jesus, the law and the prophets are our guides through the confusing chaos of the world.

And as we humbly submit to Jesus, then we submit to others.

The negative way of stating the golden rule is: “Don’t do anything to anyone that you don’t want done to you.”

Basically, take care of yourself.

But the heart of vs 12 is “do what is best for others as you would want them to do to you.”

Don’t think only about yourself and what is best for you, but humble care for the needs of others.

Serve, give, be kind, help those in need, be a friend, speak kindly, encourage, strengthen…and do all these even for your enemies.

On this narrow, difficult road of faith, the way we stay the course is to seek to live humbly, not thinking more of ourselves than we ought.... and submissively, not putting out own needs before the needs of others.

Land the Plane

Here’s the question: What path have you been walking? Be honest with yourself.

For many in this room, you made a decision to walk through the gate of salvation, but if your honest, you have wondered away from that path. Turned around and started walking that broad road.

Today God is calling you back to the path.

There are others of you today who have never trusted in Christ, have not walked through the gate of salvation.

Today God is calling you to come to Him. In your brokenness, in your sin, in your neediness, come to Him.

Response: Lords Supper

As a response today we are going to take the Lords Supper together - invite ushers forward

this is a meal for Christians to take as an opportunity to remember Jesus’s sacrifice and reflect on our own hearts and lives.

if you trusted Christ and been saved we invite you to take the supper. If not, we invite you to take Christ instead.

this is also an opportunity for reflection.

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 CSB

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

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