WELCOME BACK FALL '23

INTRO:

Well I better get to it - you know you live in a spiritual minefield - it seems like there is dangerous idealogies everywhere and one wrong step can land you there.

AND eveyrone has an opinion about what to do with your life, how to live, what the purpose of life is, how to be a good person,

WORLD:

Be yourself

Live your truth

Love yourself

SCHOOLS:

MVHS - R.I.T.E. way (they promote morals and ethics, meanwhile they teach you in science class that you are nothing but an evolved animal - your life is not worth more than a flies.

CHURCHES

CENTERPOINT: “A couple years ago I realized that my daddy (or mommy for all my feminists out there) in heaven had much different thoughts about me than I had about myself. I started to understand that he not only looked past my sin to forgive me, but also completely took care of it on the cross. When he sees me, he does not see a sinner, he sees a son ... You see, all of my life the church told me that I was sinner in desperate need for a savior. And while I understand that all have sinned and fallen short, I can’t help but ask the question, “Did Jesus come just because I was a sinner, and furthermore, did he just save me from sin so I could go to heaven? The answer I have found, on both accounts, is no. Jesus did not die because I was a sinner in need. Yes, I was in need and yes I had been caught in sin, but Jesus came because he saw value in me.”

RANCHO: “Jesus didn’t die to take the torment and death and hell that you deserve, don’t carry that burden. God doesn’t separate from you because of your sin God runs to you”

The world is confusing, too many voices w/ a plaform, everyone has the microphone - young people are overwhelemed with choices and decisions that will affect the rest of their life and what comes after this life.

SO TONIGHT - rather than adding another voice, another opinion - I want to let the Bible speak and allow Jesus to simplify the options for you. Because THOUGH it seems like there are so many religions, beliefs & options for your life - Jesus says there are only 2, the narrow way and the broad way.

and I can’t think of anything more vital and important for you to hear at the beginning of the fall semester than THIS -

PROP: Enter the NARROW GATE & GO THE NARROW WAY

Context: Matthew 7 is the ending to a sermon - the preacher is Jesus Christ - and like any good sermon - he is ending with a charge to ACT upon what they have HEARD - Jesus has spent the whole Sermon talking about God’s kingdom & the people of this kingdom. He has contrasted God’s perfect standards with mans self sufficient, self righteous standards - now He ends with a call to ENTER GOD’s KINGDOM, GOD’s WAY.

Matt 7:13-14 ““Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Jesus preached these words 2000 years ago and yet they are as alive, effective and relevant today as ever. Jesus highlighted to the crowd in front of Him the UNAVOIDABLE DECISION - that we must all make - which gate to enter and which way to go AND tonight by studying these words - you too will have the same decision.

And one thing that you can count on is that when you are HERE - you will be urged to enter the narrow gate and go the narrow way. In fact, thats the whole point of our time tonight because thats the point Jesus is making here - ENTER THE NARROW GATE & GO THE NARROW WAY.

1. The BROAD WAY

WIDE GATE

It’s wide and easy to enter - its comfortable - there are no hinderances to entry at this gate

This gate says “Come as you are” and stay that way. No need to change - bring your sins with you they are welcomed through this gate.

This gate is found in most churches, every mosque, every temple, synagogue, school, etc.

BROADWAY

You could say this way has many routes

You can really believe or not believe in whatever you want

You can do or not do as you please

ENDS in DESTRCUTION

O! How dreadful the destruction will be - if there be one thing that would convince you that this way is wrong - might it be the smell of smoke that awaits all on this path!

Matt 25:46 ““These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.””

Words cannot adequately express how horrible this place of destruction is.

It is as real as today is

Rev 14:17-20 “And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.”

I can barley look at students while thinking of the many that will stubbornly choose to reject God and walk into the winepress of His wrath

If the truth of Hell scares you, good let it strike a fear in you that leads to wisdom - let is scare you so bad that you run FROM IT and TO CHRIST

But this way leads to destrcution

MANY GO THAT WAY

This is a sober truth - there are countless multitudes that run fast into death and doom.

2. THE NARROW WAY

Small Gate

This gate is Jesus Christ - Jesus often referred to himself as an entry point

John 10:7-10 “So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

To enter this gate is simple - place your faith in Jesus Christ alone

Do not trust in your own morality - Isa 64:6 “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”

Do not trust in a cheap grace from God - Ex 34:7 “ He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished,”

Do not trust in another religion, system or another God - no buddists, muslims, mormons, JW’s, catholic, scientologists, atheist, agnostic will be found walking through this gate.

God (your perfectly Holy Creator) sent His son Jesus Christ (truly God & truly man) to live a perfect life that was required of you, die on the cross and pay the eternal punishment for sin that you deserve, He rose again from the dead defeating sin and death - and he says to you today that faith in His completed work is the ONLY WAY John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

So you must enter this gate through faith in Jesus Christ - come to Him - take the narrow way AND IT IS NARROW

narrow way

This way makes no room for your sins

Jesus says to those who desire to enter Luke 9:23 “And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

C.H. Spurgeon “You and your sins must separate or you and your God will never come together”

You see there are many people who see this gate of mercy and think they will enter but cannot

ILLUS: Monkies in Africa

You see this gate is narrow - so you must leave all that you have and run to Him

But though you may leave everything behind - you gain everything you need and more because...

leads to life

You see it is this reality that I find to be most irresistable - this way leads to life

John 10 “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

1 John 5:11 “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”

few find it

O! That you would be the few - listen don’t wait around to see who else will go. Because there won’t be a mass of people headed that direction. Its likely your friends, maybe family WON’T head this direction BUT to you… the few - run and take the narrow way

John 10:27 ““My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;”

Follow Christ - the good shepherd

Conclusion

So what? There are two gates, two ways - what now?

Look back at the beginning of v. 13 Jesus says ENTER IT (imperative mood) thats a command.

DOn’t gaze at the gate, don’t talk about it, don’t research it, don’t admire it, don’t sing about it, don’t question it, don’t hesitate ENTER THE GATE NOW!

Too many here KNOW ALL ABOUT THE GATE but never walk through it! and to you Jesus commands you ENTER - come to Him. You don’t need to raise your hand, you don’t need to repeat after me, you RIGHT NOW in your heart must enter the gate by submitting your life to Jesus Christ

ENTER THE NARROW GATE AND GO THE NARROW WAY