The Narrow Way
Notes
Transcript
Scripture Intro:
Scripture Reading (“Please stand…”)
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
“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 life, and those who find it are few.
Pray...
Intro:
“The Road Not Taken”
By Robert Frost
Begins with one of the more familiar lines in modern poetry.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both...
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted...
And it concludes with:
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
People have attached all sorts of deeper meaning to this poem,
but at its core, it is about two options/two paths...
If you choose one path, you can’t choose the other.
And, which path you choose at first...
will dictate what other paths you have available to you.
He noted: “I took the one less traveled”
This reality was depicted in one of the greatest movies ever made.
“The Muppet Movie” (The Original from 1979)
Fozzie Bear was driving
Kermit the Frog was reading the map.
"Hey, Fozzie, I want you to turn left if you come to a fork in the road."
Fork in the Road.
One choice or the other.
You can’t do both
They are Mutually Exclusive
Choosing one… negates your chance for the other.
Jesus teaches on this topic.
Let’s start at the end of our passage and then jump back to the beginning.
(v. 13-14)
“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 life, and those who find it are few.
One Way or the Other
One Way or the Other
Timer: 20 minutes left ??
In verses 13-14,
there is a ton of repetition.
And that’s how Jesus makes his point.
This is classic parallelism.
Using similar wording to make a point.
In this case, antithetical parallelism
Using parallel words to contrast two different things.
The literary flow of Matthew 7.
The contrast here begins a series of contrasts that follow:
Two ways (7:13-14)
Two trees (7:15-20)
Two verdicts (7:21-23)
Two foundations (7:24-27)
So let’s see it in our passage from (v. 13-14)
It’s helpful to diagram your sentences (with indention)
This a visual representation of verses 13-14.
Same words.
Just added some line breaks and indention… and color to help see it.
For the gate is wide (yellow)
and the way is easy
that leads to destruction,
and those who enter by it
are many. (fuchsia)
For the gate is narrow (yellow)
and the way is hard
that leads to life,
and those who find it
are few. (fuchsia)
The overarching point...
You can only take one path
You can only take one of the ways.
You can only enter through one gate.
One gate is the way to destruction.
One gate is the way to life.
Destruction - easy… (Many take it)
Life - hard… (Few take it)
This two-path (one way or the other) idea is not a new.
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.
Which path are you on?
Just to be clear,
there is a very specific way to take the narrow way.
It is to enter by the narrow gate.
And this is not by your obedience and walk uprightly.
What is the narrow gate?
Rather, who is the narrow gate?
In John 10 (The Good Shepherd passage)
So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
Door/gate (not the same word in Greek, but both meaning “entry point”)
Belief in Jesus is the way through the narrow gate.
This also helps us understand why...
“Few take the narrow way”
B/c it requires giving up control of your life.
It requires you receive Jesus a Savior AND Lord.
You submit and surrender to him.
You follow him down on the way of righteousness.
The Narrow Way of Dependent Prayer
The Narrow Way of Dependent Prayer
(Timer: How much time left?)
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
Without the context,
this feels like some mysterious riddle to solve.
Yet, when we look at the next few verses,
the crux of Jesus’ teaching comes to light.
From (v. 11)… “your Father who is in heaven”
“Ask, Seek, Knock”
This is a description of a relationship with your Father in heaven.
And the way we are called to live is one of absolute dependence on our Father in heaven.
We are designed to “Ask, Seek, Knock”
That is not an inconvenience to God or some extra spiritual way to live.
It is God’s design for his people.
And the Greek grammar gives us even further understanding.
The verb form is a present imperative...
which describes an ongoing, continuous action.
“keep asking”
“keep seeking”
“keep knocking”
So this is pointing to a way of life...
persistence in prayer.
Core Values of Grace Point:
#2 - Dependence in Prayer
Not simply a church that prays,
but a people who know that we cannot do life on our own.
We live dependent on his grace.
“The Narrow Way”
And the only way this will show up,
is that we are convinced of the first Beatitude.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
If we struggle with prayer,
we don’t need to be more disciplined.
We need to realize that we are still not embracing being “poor in spirit”.
“poor in spirit” —> Cry out to God
God’s Heart is what makes sense of prayer
Like your fathers here on earth…
but even better.
Jesus uses a specific way of teaching here.
“The Lesser to the Greater”
Lesser (earthly fathers):
Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?
Greater (Father in heaven):
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
Even the best of earthly fathers is not “good”
“There is no one righteous, not even one.”
Even “evil” fathers give good gifts to their children.
“How much more”
will your Father in heaven give good things.
Don’t miss that the “Father in heaven” is the focus of why we should pray.
We often think about our asking.
Did we do the right way?
Did we say the right words?
Prayer is truly about WHO we are asking.
Possibly summarize quickly:
Yet, is Jesus teaching that the Father will whatever we pray for?
Is this some sort of blank check what we get whatever we want?
From other place in Scripture,
we know that the footnote on this concept.
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.
And from the other time in the gospels that this topic shows up:
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
That the greatest gift the Father can give is the Holy Spirit.
Paul Miller, “A Praying Life”
Describes “two dangers” when it comes to this in our lives.
Not Asking
Asking Selfishly
“asking boldly and surrendering completely”
Ask, seek, knock
Other examples of prayer that Jesus gives:
Persistent widow
Who continually asks a unjust judge
Friend who continually knocks on his neighbor’s door for bread.
Again, “Lesser to Greater”
If an unjust judge or an annoyed neighbor will respond,
won’t your Father in heaven do so even more.
The Narrow Way of Deep, Gospel Community
The Narrow Way of Deep, Gospel Community
(Timer: How much time left?)
Mission Statement of Grace Point:
"Advance God’s kingdom by:
Making Disciples of Christ
Building Deep, Gospel Community
“Narrow Way”
Naturally, our hearts want to look out for ourselves.
The narrow way of the Gospel shows up in (v. 12)
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
From Luke: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
There is a brilliant title of a kids’ book:
“Do Unto Otters”
Using the cute, little animals to explain this truth.
Great title, but not so great story and explanation.
But every time I hear this verse quoted,
I hear that title and chuckle.
Where else have we heard the phrase “the Law and the Prophets”?
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
The verses in between have Mt 5 and mt 7:12 as bookends.
They all relate to a full and right understanding of the Law of God and life in the kingdom of God.
Great Commandment:
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.
And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Back to Matthew 7...
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
To live this out:
Do...
Do to others
But what must first precede “doing”
Think
“you wish that others would do to you”
You have to consider how you would want to be treated.
But it is in context,
“In the same circumstances of that person’s life,
how would I like to be treated?”
So, even before I think of what I want,
I must assess their situation.
Understand it
Compassion for them in it.
Then, “how would I want to be treated?”
Only then… Do
Let’s put this together with Matthw 7:1-5.
In the early verses of Matt. 7,
“judging” without considering your own sin/shortcomings.
Judging:
From a distance
Putting yourself above them
Giving Advice
Golden Rule:
Filled with compassion
Moves toward the person
Understanding leads us to help.
Ultimately, how would we like to be treated?
As Jesus has treated us.
When I deserved wrath, he showed mercy and grace.
He died for us
He loves us.
** On Communion Sunday...
If after 10:30,
go straight to the Lord’s Supper.
Close in Prayer
Closing Song:
Benediction:
The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face to shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his countenance upon you
and give you peace.
