The Narrow Door
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
After a three-month summer recess, on October 3,1994, the Supreme Court of the United States opened its 1994-95 term.
According to the New York Times News Service, the court’s legal business for that first day could be summed up with one word:
No.
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The court announced it had refused to hear more than 1,600 cases.
The names and docket numbers of the rejected appeals covered sixty-eight typewritten pages.
For those cases, that was the last court of appeal, the final word.
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There’s something terribly final about judgment.
The Supreme Court says no, and that’s it.
No appeals.
No arguments.
The books are sealed, and the decision is final.
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On the great day of judgment there will also be a terrible crescendo of no’s.
“No, you cannot enter my kingdom.”
And the doors will be shut forever.
No appeal.
No time to change one’s mind.
Those who have rejected Jesus Christ will have forever lost their opportunity for eternal life.
The opportunity to get things right is now.
We might know someone who is a pretender and who needs to understand that the time to get it right is now because the door is still open.
When the door closes the foolish will be shut out.
And it is this warning that will be the focus of our study today.
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So, please turn your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke.
We will conduct our study in Chapter 13 and focus on verses 22 through 30.
Our message this morning is titled “The Narrow Door.”
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As you are turning to our passage today please keep in mind this fact...
This warning is one that Jesus gave many times throughout the Gospel...
That should stress the importance and urgency of this message by our Lord.
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So, this morning we will cover three main points:
1) The Question
2) The Door
And...
3) The Judgement
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
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Heavenly Father...
You are the our mighty fortress...
You are our only hope...
And You are totally set apart from the rest of Your creation.
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Thank You for being patient with Your servants...
Thank You for even allowing us to serve You...
And thank You for keeping us on the narrow road.
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Help us to warn other of the danger of the broad road...
Help us to never forget that we too were on the wrong road until You saved us...
And help us to have a heart like Your that aches for the lost and broken hearted.
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And it is in Jesus’s name we pray all these things...
Amen.
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Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem.
23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them,
24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’
26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’
27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’
28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.
29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God.
30 And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
So, let’s look at our first point...
1) The Question
1) The Question
Verses 22-23(a): He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?”
So, in this opening to our passage, Luke reminds us that Jesus as making progress toward Jerusalem where the climax of Jesus’ earthly ministry will be reached.
Luke first mentions that Jesus begins His journey to Jerusalem back in Luke 9:51 as this is so vital.
You see Beloved, Jesus’ death and resurrection were only a matter of months away at this point.
However, as Jesus was journeying towards Jerusalem, He continued to serve the people along the way...
And one of the key ways that Jesus served the people was by answering their questions...
Even if how He answers their questions may not be what they where expecting.
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So, someone, we don’t know who, they ask, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?”
That question may have been prompted by a number of factors...
For example, the great multitudes that had once followed Christ were subsiding to a faithful few...
We know this from passages like John 6:66 which says:
66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
So, although great crowds still came to hear Jesus teach, committed followers to Him were increasingly scarce.
Moreover, Christ’s messages often seemed designed to discourage the half-hearted...
We know this from passages like Luke 14:33 which says:
33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
You see, Jesus was no motivational speaker...
Jesus was no entertainer who put on a show...
Jesus was no hippie who only focused on love.
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Beloved, Jesus was so much more than that!
Jesus was no no motivational speaker but if you where humbly approaching Him then His words did motivate you!
Jesus was no entertainer but if you have the ears to listen then you can’t take your focus off Him when He speaks!
And Jesus was no hippie who only focused on love but He spoke of God’s love...
And God’s mercy...
And God’s grace...
And God’s wrath...
And God’s judgement...
Jesus never held back the message we need to hear!
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But, that is the funny thing about speaking the truth...
People demand it...
Then when it is spoken...
The jaws drop...
And the same people who claim to love truth turn and leave!
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Beloved, that is why after the resurrection, there was only 120 disciples gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem...
And only about 500 believers where present in Galilee after His resurrection.
That is really not a lot.
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Considering that Jesus was God in the flesh...
And considering all the miracles He preformed...
And His perfect life that He lived...
The whole nation of Isreal should have been following Him...
But instead, it was just a few hundred of people who followed.
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So, if Jesus is truly the Messiah...
And so few are currently following Him...
Some in the crowd, like this person in our passage, wanted to know...
Does this mean that only few will make it to Heaven?
Well, let’s continue to our next point to see Jesus’ answer.
2) The Door
2) The Door
Verses 23(b)-27: And he said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’
Jesus’ reply emphasizes not “how many will be saved” as one may expect from the question...
But instead, Jesus focuses on “who will be saved.”
In effect, Jesus turns the question from “Will the saved be few?” to a more personal question of “Will you be among the saved?”
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You see Beloved, Jesus’ wanted His hearers in the 1st century and us today to understand that we should concern themselves with our own areas of accountability, not God’s area.
Basically, you don’t need to concern yourself with God’s business...
If only a few get saved or if many are saved...
What real concern is that to you or me?
That is God’s job and God’s job alone!
Every one of the elect will be saved!
However, what every person in this room or every person who will later hear this message needs to be concerned with is are we among the saved?
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So, Jesus’ reply emphasized that the saved are those who seize their opportunity now!
Once the time for making a decision has passed, all attempts to enter into salvation afterward will be futile.
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Now, when Jesus said the way to salvation was narrow and that few would find it...
It shocked a lot of Jesus’ 1st century audience.
You see Beloved, this contradicted the Jewish belief that all Jews, except for tax collectors and other notorious sinners, would be saved.
In fact, one teaching by the rabbis stated that, and I quote, “all Israelites have a share in the world to come.”
So, Jesus’ audience sensed that His teaching was quite different.
And Christ’s reply confirmed that very fact as He highlighted the difficulty of entering by entering through the narrow gate.
As the Reformation Study Bible puts it:
“The Jews in Jesus’ day generally agree that all Israel (except for a few especially sinful people) would be in the number of the saved.
This questioner senses that Jesus is drawing distinctions among the descendants of Abraham and Israel and that entrance into God’s kingdom will entail a personal commitment to Jesus that many will find too costly.”
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You see Beloved, the formula is quite simple really...
Surrender to Jesus Christ and genuinely believe in Him and you will be saved...
Or as Romans 10:9 says:
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
That is the simple message of the Gospel...
And it is a beautiful message...
However, it is not easy!
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So, when Jesus says, “Strive to enter through the narrow door,” this signifies a great struggle against conflict that we as believers will face in our life while on earth.
Now, Christ was not suggesting that anyone could merit Heaven by striving for it.
As we have said many times over, no matter how rigorously one was to labor, sinners could never in all their best attempt save themselves.
Salvation is solely by grace alone, and not by works as Ephesians 2:8-9 says:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
However, entering the narrow gate is nonetheless difficult because of its cost in terms of sin...
For example...
There is human pride...
There is our natural love for sin...
There is the constant opposition to the truth by Satan and the world...
There is the dangerous teaching of false prophets that can tickle our ears...
And the list goes on.
As 1 Timothy 4:10 says:
10 For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.
Likewise, also consider the truth found in 1 Corinthians 9:25–27 which says:
25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.
27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
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The Christian life is not for the double minded...
The Christian life is not for the arrogant who trust in their own strength...
The Christian life is not for the faint of heart...
To live the Christian life is to be in constant spiritual warfare!
Yes, on our own, we would fail...
But by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us...
We are more than conquerors!
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You see Beloved, the reason some are not able to enter does not have to do with being good enough but with the willingness to repent, which they refuse to do.
The reality is that the period of grace will irrevocably end, and the time of judgment will begin.
Nobody can foresee when they will draw their last breathe...
So, the time is now to repent!
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Then Jesus says, “When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’”
Regarding this, the ESV Study Bible says:
“The second warning and analogy has to do with entering the house and warns that people may be shut out by the Lord (Jesus), in whose presence they ate and drank and whose teachings they heard.
Listening to Jesus’ teachings and sharing fellowship with his people are not by themselves any guarantee of eternal life, for that comes only through personal faith in Christ.”
So, to have social fellowship with Jesus and to hear His teachings are not enough.
In fact, to witness His miracles and hear His words without responding in faith actually compounds one’s guilt.
And for us today we need to understand that simply partaking in church ordinances like baptism and the Lord’s Supper does not guarantee entrance into God’s Kingdom...
Yes, they are very important ordinances...
But they alone do not save us!
We need to genuinely repent and believe before it is too late!
Outward contact with the message and person of Jesus counts for nothing...
Inward reception of Him is everything!
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You see Beloved, many will discover the truth after the door is closed, but it will be too late to share in blessing.
Think of Esau for example and what it says in Hebrews 12:17:
17 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.
Also, think of the door on the ark that Noah built...
Remember, it was God who closed the door...
And once that door closed...
And the rain started falling...
It was too late for all who where outside the ark.
After that time, nothing can be done...
Access after a certain point becomes impossible...
So it is with salvation.
As the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament on Luke says:
“The fundamental point is that there comes a time when response is too late.
The door into the banquet will be forever shut.
The owner of the house will close it once and for all.
Those left outside will try to get in, they will knock to enter, but the owner will refuse to let them in because he does not recognize who they are.
The warning is graphic and straightforward:
Without response now or soon, there will be no access later.
They must listen now to sit at the table.”
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Beloved, I want you to keep in mind the parable of the ten virgins...
Look with me at Matthew 25:1–12 which says:
1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,
4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.
6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’
7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’
10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.
11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’
12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
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You see, Beloved, it does not matter if what you do on the outside looks good and God honoring...
Even if one is to claim that they have cast out demons...
Even if all they do they claim it is for the Lord...
What truly matters is the heart!
A genuine born-again believer is someone who trusts in the Lord and therefore obeys His commands.
As Matthew 7:22–23 says:
22 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?’
23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
As you can clearly see, Beloved, at the judgment, many will protest that they deserve entrance into Heaven...
However, no real and meaningful relationship ever existed between these “workers of lawlessness” and the Lord...
They had deluded themselves into thinking they knew the owner of the house...
But, they could not be farther from the truth!
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Beloved, this problem has always been an issue for us humans...
People who are living lawless lives but claim to be in relationship with God...
As Jeremiah 7:9–11 says:
9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known,
10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations?
11 Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the Lord.
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If we have the Holy Spirit living in us then we will act different than how we used to act in the past...
For we are literally and brand-new creation!
That means we will start to be doers of the Word of God...
We will not just hear God’s command in one ear and have it pass right on through out the other ear...
A thousand times, no!
As born-again Christians, we value God’s commands enough to obey them...
As James 1:22 says:
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
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That is why although faith alone saves...
Genuine faith is never alone!
As James 2:14 says:
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
If someone claims to have faith but does not bear any good fruit, then that individual is the proud owner of counterfeit faith or fake faith...
And as James says, that dead faith which is really non-existent is not able to save anyone!
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Genuine saving faith always produces in a person good fruits...
And those fruits continue to grow in our walk with the Lord over time...
That is why John the Beloved can say this in 1 John 2:3–6:
3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:
6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
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You take after whoever you follow...
If you are truly following Jesus then you will act like Jesus...
If you are following Satan and the world then guess what?
You are going to act like them.
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Beloved, it is very simple to claim to love Jesus...
Anyone can do it...
But if your love for Jesus is true...
Then you will for the most part keep His commands...
Generally speaking, His commands you are aware of and value them...
And you strive to truly obey those commands out of your love for Christ.
Just look with me at what it says in John 14:15-23:
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.
20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?”
23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
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As the psalmist says...
We are to delight in God’s commands...
We are to delight in God’s will...
We are to delight in God’s desires...
And in that joy we will keep God’s laws on our hearts at all times...
God’s Word is bonded to our very marrow and DNA!
As Psalm 40:8 puts it:
8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”
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However, if that is not the case, then there will be judgement for those who refuse to humble themselves and repent...
And that takes us to our third and final point.
3) The Judgement
3) The Judgement
Verses 28-30: In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
Let’s start this last section by looking at the phrase “weeping and gnashing of teeth” which speaks of inconsolable grief and unremitting torment.
Jesus commonly used the phrases in this verse to describe Hell.
So, this means that there will be weeping in grief and gnashing of teeth in anger as the Jews of Jesus’ time see the patriarchs and prophets...
You see, Beloved, the Israelites had always identified with the patriarchs and prophets...
So, although the patriarchs and prophets will blissfully enjoying God’s kingdom blessings, they themselves will be found outside the Kingdom of God.
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This truth equally applies to all of us today, too.
Don’t get so caught up with the heroes of the faith in the past or even with those in your family who are faithful men and women of God at the expense of ignoring the fact that who you admire and who you know can’t save you!
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What the Word of God says regarding the punishment for those who refuse to repent is truly horrifying.
Just take a look at what it says in Matthew 13:42–43:
42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
You see, Beloved, one day everyone will find themselves in one of two groups...
One the right side you have the sheep...
And on the left you have the goats.
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For one group they will experience eternal life in the presence of our Lord and Savior...
Yet, on the other hand...
That other group...
They will experience an eternal death...
As Matthew 25:31–46 says:
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.
32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.
34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’
37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’
44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’
45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’
46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
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Now, once one draws their last breath...
It becomes too late to change one’s story...
This is tragically illustrated in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus...
We find this account in Luke 16:19-31:
19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.
20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried,
23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.
24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’
25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.
26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’
27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house—
28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’
29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’
30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’ ”
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Then Jesus says, “And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God.”
By including people from the 4 corners of the earth, Jesus made it clear that even Gentiles would be invited to the heavenly banquet table.
This was contrary to prevailing rabbinical thought, but perfectly consistent with the Old Testament Scriptures...
As Isaiah 66:18 says:
18 “For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory,
And Genesis 12:1-3 which says:
1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
However, the Jews at the time and especially the religious elite thought that there physical relation to Abraham alone could save them.
As John 8:39–47 says:
39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did,
40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did.
41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.”
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.
43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.
44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.
46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?
47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
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So, when Jesus says, “behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last” He is illustrating that many who expected to enter God’s kingdom (the “first”) will be excluded (“last”), while outsiders who had expected to be excluded (the “last”) will be included (“first”).
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
So, as this message comes to a close...
I would like you to consider this:
Have you ever passed off a phony five dollar bill to anyone?
Well, according to the United States Treasury Department, you may have...
Unknowingly that is...
You see Beloved, one of the reasons is because of a counterfeiter named Blinky, perhaps the greatest counterfeiter of all times.
He made five dollar bills that defied detection.
It was impossible, even for experts, to identify the real bills from his counterfeits.
It’s estimated that hundreds if not thousands of the Blinky-made five dollar bills are still in circulation.
A bizarre set of circumstances finally led to Blinky’s downfall.
He decided to expand his operation and started making twenty dollar bills.
He was arrested when trying to pass one of his phony twenties.
In court, his lawyer challenged the experts to identify the phony bill from the real one.
Immediately, they did so.
Later Blinky discovered where he had made his tragic mistake.
The bill he had used to copy his counterfeit twenty was itself a counterfeit!
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When you join league with a counterfeit your world becomes counterfeit too.
It becomes a house of cards that will come falling down.
It becomes hollow, shallow, and superficial.
A whole life can be ruined all from a counterfeit...
So, make sure you have made the right choice in who you are putting your faith in...
Make sure you have repented and put your faith in the only name that saves...
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
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For faith in anyone else or anything else simply will not due and will lead to Hell.
As Revelation 20:11–15 says:
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.
12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
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However, putting one’s trust in Christ will lead to eternal life...
For once you are Christ’s you are His forever!
As John 6:37 says:
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer
Let’s pray...
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Heavenly Father...
If anyone hearing this message right now does not know You in a saving way...
Then help them to see the truth of the narrow road...
And show them that that is the only road that leads to eternal life!
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I appeal to Your Name’s sake!
.......
For those hearing this message who already know You...
Then please give us the more opportunities to share with others the truth of what is found at the end of the narrow road...
Eternal life with Your Son forever!
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Again, I appeal to Your Name’s sake!
.......
It is in Jesus’ name we pray all these things...
To God be all the glory.
Amen.
