As we\u2019ve studied His sermon, we\u2019ve seen how Jesus has laid out what it looks like to live as citizens of the Kingdom of God. Now, as He closes, He calls us to a decision, to a choice. Whose kingdom will you choose? And it\u2019s this choice that we\u2019re discussing today. It\u2019s a simple choice. For Jesus only offers two options: the wide gate or the narrow gate.<\/p>\n
That confronts our desire for spiritual autonomy. It challenges the mindset that we can take a little bit of Christianity, a little bit of self-help, and maybe sprinkle in some Eastern philosophy and end up just fine. But Jesus doesn\u2019t leave room for a middle path! And that\u2019s why we need this message today. Because the narrow way isn\u2019t just hard to find\u2014it\u2019s easy to reject. Not because it’s unclear, but because it’s unpopular. And yet, it\u2019s the only way that leads to real and lasting life.<\/p>\n
In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus began to conclude His sermon by warning His first-century Jewish audience that there were only two spiritual paths, the broad way that leads to destruction and the narrow way that leads to life, and He instructed them to enter through the narrow gate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13397,"template":"","meta":{"audio":"https:\/\/wccsermonaudio.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/06292025.mp3","video-id":"1097332291","notes":"https:\/\/www.eastgate.church\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/14-The-Narrow-Way-of-the-Kingdom-Matt.7.13-14-062925.pdf","scripture_reference":"Matthew 7:13-14","transcript_status":"published","transcript_text":"
Good morning, church. It\u2019s good to see you. We're continuing our series through the Sermon on the Mount. It's found in Matthew 5-7.<\/p>\n
We've entitled this series, \u201cKingdom Living.\u201d It's been said that this sermon is the greatest sermon ever preached by the greatest preacher who ever lived. We've been going verse by verse and we're getting close to the end. We're in chapter seven; He's starting to conclude His sermon.<\/p>\n
He's given us the principles, the character and what life in the Kingdom is to look like for Kingdom citizens. Now, He's<\/p>\n
starting to close. If it were Billy Graham preaching this sermon, he would say, \u201cThe buses will wait.\u201d That's where He's at right now.<\/p>\n
The buses will wait. Come forward because Jesus is about to offer a fourfold set of pairs, four sets of pairs that are like an \u201ceither\u201d or \u201cchoice.\u201d This morning, we're going to be looking at the \u201cnarrow gate\u201d versus the \u201cwide gate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, in the next couple of weeks as He closes, He'll be talking about two different kinds of fruit that people bear. What kind of fruit? This kind or that kind. Then, two different types of confessions of faith. Then finally, He'll talk to us about two types of builders that build on two different types of foundations.<\/p>\n
Today, we're just going to focus on those two gates, the narrow gate and the wide gate. They all emphasize something slightly different about entrance into the kingdom of heaven. Now, as we've studied this sermon, we've seen how Jesus has described what it looks like for citizens of the kingdom to live. He calls us to a decision. He goes, \u2018Okay, so this is what it looks like to live in the Kingdom.\u2019<\/p>\n
How about you? Will you enter into the narrow gate? Because entering into the narrow gate means you're saying, \u2018Yes, I want to call Jesus King. I want to live in the Kingdom.\u2019 So, a choice is before us.<\/p>\n
It's a simple choice because it only offers two options. It's simple, but it's not easy because the fact that there are only two choices causes us a problem. As you consider our culture, our culture celebrates options. I mean, we're Americans. We love a \u201cbuffet.\u201d<\/p>\n
We love a lot of choices. We love a menu that's got a lot of items. We want to make sure, \u2018Is that fat free?<\/p>\n
Is that gluten free?\u2019 We must have a lot of choices.<\/p>\n
We need options. And if we take a survey, it better not just be \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno\u201d choices. There should be some \u201cundecideds.\u201d There should be, \u201cI'm not sure\u201d choices. If it's multiple choice, we want options.<\/p>\n
When we think about religion, you'll often hear people say, \u2018Well, that's what you believe. I believe there are many paths to heaven, that heaven's like on the top of a mountain and you can just start anywhere as long as you climb the mountain.\u2019 So we believe there are many paths, many choices. But when we come to the words of Jesus, He doesn't give a \u201cmenu;\u201d He doesn't give a \u201cbuffet\u201d of answers.<\/p>\n
He doesn't offer a \u201ccustomized\u201d journey. He gives two gates, two ways and two destinations and He says only one of them leads to life. This is simple but challenging. It challenges the mindset that we have.<\/p>\n
Couldn't I just go through the religious buffet line and get a little Christianity? There's some parts I like. Oh, wait a minute; over there are some \u201cself help\u201d books. Can I put that in my buggy? Maybe, a little Eastern mysticism and some new age. That's what I believe.<\/p>\n
I'm going to choose what I believe. That's what the culture says. But Jesus says that there's really only two gates. And by the fact that you're thinking that way, you've chosen one of them.<\/p>\n
That's challenging to our culture today. That's why we need this message, because the narrow way isn't just hard to find, it's easy to reject.<\/p>\n
It's not because it's unclear. It's because it's unpopular. The narrow way is not popular, <\/p>\n
yet, it's the only way, Jesus says, that leads to life.<\/p>\n
So, what's at stake is not just making a decision. We live in a culture today that people are slow to commit. I don't want to commit; I have the fear of missing out.<\/p>\n
I'm afraid to commit now because I don't know if I\u2026But Jesus calls us to commit. He calls us to make a choice and what's at stake is eternal life. In Matthew, chapter 7, Jesus began to conclude His sermon by warning His Jewish audience that was listening there on the mount.<\/p>\n
He's beginning to wind it down now. He says that there's a wide road that many of you are on that leads to destruction, but I say to you, enter into the narrow gate, because that leads to life. I believe today we can choose to follow Jesus and enter the narrow gate that leads to life. As we look at the sermon today, I think that Jesus gives three reasons why this gate is the narrow gate and why it's the only way to life.<\/p>\n
So, let's look. There are two verses today. You're thinking, \u2018Really? Just two verses?\u2019 Well, you'll see; it's power packed.<\/p>\n
Matthew 7:13-14 (ESV) 13 \u201cEnter 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. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is God's word. Amen. We're looking for three reasons that Jesus said the narrow way is the only way to life. Here's the first reason:<\/p>\n
It requires an individual choice. Your mom can't make it for you. Your dad can't make this choice for you. Your spouse can't make it for you. You can't go up as a group and say, \u2018I want the group rate.\u2019<\/p>\n
It's an individual choice that has the peculiarity of it being narrow, the gate is narrow, one at a time kind of choice. It's for you to engage. Now I say \u201cchoice;\u201d it's really a mystery because it's Jesus, in His spirit, who woos us, Who knocks on the door of our hearts. He's the one who actually seeks us before we ever seek Him.<\/p>\n
But, as the scripture says, \u201cFor by grace you've been saved through faith and that not of yourselves is a gift of God.\u201d So, even our faith is a gift. So, it's a mystery. We are responsible to answer, <\/p>\n
but, He's helping us if we would. Jesus says in the text here, He says, \u201cEnter by the narrow gate.\u201d That's how He starts. <\/p>\n
The Greek verb that we translate, \u201center,\u201d is in the imperative; that means it's a command. He's really getting our attention. I've preached this whole sermon to you about what it means to live in the Kingdom, enter the narrow gate, get off the wide path and enter the narrow gate. It's an imperative, but it's almost like He's inviting us.<\/p>\n
As we read in Revelation 3:20, \u201cBehold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.\u201d You've probably seen the classic artwork of Jesus knocking at a door. You've seen that, haven't you? The artist who made it had<\/p>\n
someone come to him and he says to him, \u2018Man, you messed up. You forgot something.\u2019 The artist says to him, \u2018What did I forget?\u2019 and the person says, \u2018You forgot the doorknob.\u2019 <\/p>\n
The artist says, \u2018No, I didn't, because the doorknob to the heart is only on the inside.\u2019<\/p>\n
So, there's a mystery of this idea of Him choosing us and us choosing Him. You may sense the Spirit drawing you, knocking at your heart and you have a sense of wanting to obey Christ's invitation, His command to enter. If you say \u201cno\u201d today or you say, \u201cwait\u201d because we always say that and we don't want to commit. Let me think about it. I really believe.<\/p>\n
Every time we say \u201cno,\u201d every time we say \u201cwait,\u201d it's as if another layer of callous forms across the heart so that we become harder and harder of spiritual hearing. Be careful. Jesus says, \u201center;\u201d it's an individual choice because it's a narrow gate. He contrasts all these words.<\/p>\n
They're all like opposites. We have narrow and wide gates. We have narrow and wide ways. We have easy and hard ways. We have many who go through the wide gate and few who go through the narrow gate.<\/p>\n
Do you see all of these antonyms, all of these opposites? Jesus is putting the \u201ccookies on the bottom shelf\u201d so even the little kids can get this. There's two paths: One is easy; everybody's doing it.<\/p>\n
It's a wide gate. The crowd, many are going that way. But there's this narrow gate that only one person at a time can go and they have to be answering My call. They have to hear Me saying, \u2018Enter, come on in\u2019 and we say,
\n\u2018yes.\u2019<\/p>\n
And it's that my of He's asking me, and I'm saying, \u2018yes.\u2019 Only a few will find it.<\/p>\n
Yeah, but I wish there were more choices. This is what Jesus says here. That's the rhythm of the whole scripture. There are two paths, not three, not five, but two <\/p>\n
and few will find it. I think it's because you're not looking. We're not really looking. We're looking for a lot of things. We're not really looking for this.<\/p>\n
We're busy with life. So, you can't find something if you're not looking for it. If you find this, I'll tell you when we'll look for it. When we're in trouble, when we're hurting, when we've lost someone we love, when we're having trouble in Our marriage, when one of our teenagers is rebelling, when the doctor gave us bad news, when we lose our job, when your girlfriend breaks up with you. I mean, I get to go on, right?<\/p>\n
These are all days when you might hit bottom and you might say, God help me, you might look. I'm not saying you'll find it because you might look in the wrong place. But if you look and you hear his voice, a few of you will find it.<\/p>\n
You'll find Jesus. And he's the one inviting you into the kingdom. And what does it mean to come into the kingdom? It means to recognize Jesus as king, that he's the king, he's the boss, he's the master of your life. And he died for your sins.<\/p>\n
This is why Joshua, as they were entering into the promised land, he turned to the Israelites and he said, there's a choice before you. And he says, choose this day whom you will serve. Choose who you will worship. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. What have you chosen?<\/p>\n
How have you responded? Have you entered the narrow gate? It's narrow because it only allows one at a time.<\/p>\n
As a father and as a grandfather, one of the most terrifying things about being a parent or a grandparent is that you can't choose for them. You can teach them. You can try your best to lead them. Oh, the desperate prayers my wife and I have prayed. \u201cLord, change their hearts.<\/p>\n
Draw them to You.\u201d Do you understand me, parents? They have to decide. Each of them on their own.<\/p>\n
What is this gate? What's its name? I'm looking for it. Jesus makes that simple. Here's what He says in John 10:9-10 (NIV)<\/p>\n
9 \u201cI am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. <\/p>\n
\n10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.\u201d To have it more abundantly full and overflowing. Jesus says, \u201cI am the gate.\u201d \u201cGate\u201d has a name. It's narrow.<\/p>\n
Only one at a time. Jesus is the one inviting us in. A couple years ago, my wife and I visited our missionaries in Istanbul, Turkey. We have two families there that our church supports, and they're still there today. We stay in constant contact with them and we got to go see them.<\/p>\n
We spent about ten days over there. We often traveled the metro in Istanbul. It's a subway system. In fact, you can ride the Metro to almost anywhere in Istanbul.<\/p>\n
But, if you're going to ride the metro, you have to get a ticket and there'll be a machine. You walk down these steep flights of stairs. You get down, way down under the city and there's a machine there. You pay and you get a ticket. Then, you go over to these things called \u201cturnstiles.\u201d Do you know what a turnstile is?<\/p>\n
You hope and pray that the ticket works, because there's soldiers standing around most of these. You do that and the gate opens and it closes right behind you, because it only permits one at a time. You have to have a ticket. You have to have a ticket. You've probably been to sporting events like this.<\/p>\n
You've been to different places that have a turnstile that only allows one at a time. Have you ever stood outside of it and said, \u2018I just don't believe in one at a time. Why don't they offer a group rate?\u2019 No, you don't do that. You accept the fact that it makes sense, that it's one at a time and everyone has to have a ticket.<\/p>\n
You understand that. The same is true of what Jesus says. It's a narrow gate. Every individual must come, as an act of the will and say \u201cI do\u201d to Jesus.<\/p>\n
That's what we saw earlier at our first service, and then we showed the video of it just a moment ago. Every one of these six baptism candidates, I asked them, \u201cDo you repent of your sin? Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?\u201d Each of them had to respond. There's only one person at a time in front of me in the baptismal font. There's only one at a time in the baptistry<\/p>\n
and each of them is engaging a central question<\/p>\n
that they are to answer. The baptism doesn't save them. It's the confession of the faith in Jesus that saves them. Baptism just lets everybody else know Who they're following. The way I say it in the service is it's like putting the wedding ring on. It lets everybody know you're married.<\/p>\n
It lets everybody know you've said \u201cyes\u201d to Jesus. The narrow gate is like a turnstile. Have you bought your ticket? Have you received Jesus? Only one at a time.<\/p>\n
What's the cost of the ticket? Well, Jesus has already paid for it. The cost is saying, \u201cI do. I surrender my life to You. I recognize that You're the Son of God, that You're the Christ, that You're the gate.\u2019 <\/p>\n
The only way to be right with the Father is through the Son. It's a decision of saying, \u201cyes.\u201d Jesus is the gate. He invites you to enter the narrow gate. Going to church, being born or brought up in a Christian family, there's no group rate. As the old preacher said, \u201cYou can go stand in the garage, but it doesn't make you an automobile. You can come to church, but that doesn\u2019t make you a Christian.\u201d<\/p>\n
It's a decision back to the will, a surrender of life to Jesus. This is the first reason that the gate is narrow. It's one at a time. It's an individual commitment. Here's the second:<\/p>\n
\nBecause it demands personal heart change. It demands personal heart change. So this narrow gate leads to a narrow way and this way is described. If you go through the wide gate, there's a broad way, a wide way, that's easy.<\/p>\n
But the narrow gate leads to a narrow way that's hard; it's difficult. Let's think about this for a second. What is Jesus saying? When we use the word, \u201cway,\u201d in the Bible, it almost always implies a way of life, a mindset, a way of thinking about life or a way of life.<\/p>\n
He says,in verse 13, \u201c...For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.\u201d
\nThe wide gate leads to a broad way, an easy way. I think it's kind of like this: A couple of weeks ago, in fact, the Friday before last, one of my best friends, we went to college together, called me up. We've been trying to work this out for several months. He tells me, \u201cI want to come down on my Harley.<\/p>\n
I want us to spend a day riding bikes together.\u201d It\u2019s been a while since I've ridden my bike. In fact, I was sore for three days after this. We rode all day.<\/p>\n
We went to the coast and ate at a restaurant and so forth. I wanted to make sure on the journey that we didn't take highways because we're on bikes and I didn't want to have to go really fast. We were doing it for the journey, right? So, I wanted back roads; I was trying to get Google.<\/p>\n
Someone told me after the first service, \u201cYou know, you can hit a button there that tells you not to use highways.\u201d I didn't know that. So, you know, I'm an old guy, you know, that's why some of you around here call me the \u201cOG,\u201d okay? I can't help it, but I'm learning, you know. I still can learn, but anyway, I didn't know that.<\/p>\n
So it kept trying to take me to four-lane highways, because if you just leave it on its default setting, which is apparently what I had been doing, it defaults to highways. So it not only tries to give you the shortest way, but the <\/p>\n
easiest way. We have an algorithm in our hearts. It's called \u201csin nature,\u201d that wants the easy way out.<\/p>\n
We want to take the shortcut, the easy way. What I told my friend Tim was, \u201cOkay, I'm going to try to follow it because I have my phone.\u201d I've got a little holder that holds my phone. I tried to just take old country roads all the way to the coast.<\/p>\n
We might have gotten lost a couple of times, but we did it. The narrow way is hard; there's a lot of curves.<\/p>\n
You can scare yourself. Oh, boy, that's a steep curve. I probably should have slowed way down. I could have gone off the road. But the easy way, man, you can set your cruise and just lean back on the interstate going 75, maybe 70.<\/p>\n
The speed limit. I'm a preacher. I should probably just go 69, right? I should do 70, right? What do you think, Tyler?<\/p>\n
Yes, that's a good, public way of talking about it; it's easy.<\/p>\n
But, the narrow way, He's already described. What is the narrow way? Well, we just go back to chapter five and read forward and catch up.<\/p>\n
The narrow way is not only you must love your neighbor, you're supposed to love your enemies. The narrow way is to stop calling your brother \u201cempty head\u201d because that's the same as committing murder. Stop lusting after a woman with your eyes, because that's the same as committing adultery in your heart. He just keeps on, and it gets more narrow, whereas the world says, \u2018Whatever,<\/p>\n
anything goes, you do you.\u2019 We like that. In fact, our sin nature defaults to that. I get to choose. I can have a menu of things.<\/p>\n
I can be what I want to be. We're all born that way. I remember my oldest son, Stephen. His first sentence. I think it was his first sentence.<\/p>\n
You know, every little kid learns to say, \u201cDada\u201d and \u201cMama.\u201d For most of my kids, the next word they learned was \u201cno,\u201d because they heard that a lot. They tend to repeat the words they've heard a lot. But Stephen\u2019s first sentence that I remember was he said, \u201cI do it myself.\u201d <\/p>\n
I don't know if we were trying to put his shoes on. I don't know what we were doing, but already he had that heart that we're all born with, \u201cI do it myself.\u201d We're all born with that. My way, myself. But, getting on this narrow pathway means leaving behind who I used to be.<\/p>\n
It means dropping our baggage, what we used to carry. It means letting go of things we thought we loved that turned out to be idols. It's a narrow road.<\/p>\n
What's the name of this road? We know we went through the Jesus gate to get on it. Well, here's what Jesus says in John 14:6. He says, John 14:6 (ESV) Jesus said to him, \u201cI am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.\u201d It's a Jesus gate and it's a Jesus way, and we're to follow Jesus, empowered by Jesus.<\/p>\n
Nobody could walk the narrow way but Jesus; He walked it for us. But then we can walk it now, empowered by Him.<\/p>\n
It's not easy because the people on the wide road are constantly saying, \u2018Come over here.<\/p>\n
Come enjoy the party over here. We're having a big time over here.\u2019 Maybe, they even make fun of us and pick on us. No, no. I want to follow the narrow way. I want to follow Jesus.<\/p>\n
There's a certain lifestyle He's called us to. In fact, here's what He said to His disciples. He said that there's a cost to this narrow way. In Luke 9:23 (ESV), he says, And he said to all, \u201cIf anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He says that the narrow way means saying \u201cno\u201d to my way and \u201cyes\u201d to the way of Jesus. That's what makes it narrow. Paul describes it like this. He says in Galatians 2:20 (NLT) \u201cMy old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.<\/p>\n
So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.\u201d So now, as I walk the narrow way, I'm following Him. But He also, by His Spirit, lives in me so that I'm able to walk the narrow path. The narrow way. Have you traveled by air lately?<\/p>\n
It used to be so much fun back in the late 70\u2019s, 80\u2019s, even in the 90\u2019s, prior to 911, it was kind of a fun thing to do. Your family and friends could come and see you off. They didn't have to go through tickets and all that stuff and checkpoints. They could just sit and wave at you from the window as you boarded the plane. It was so much easier then.<\/p>\n
You never had strip searches. You never had to hold your hands up and go through X rays. A lot of people used to dress up. I remember wearing a suit and tie in the 80\u2019s, especially when I would be traveling with the corporation I worked for, they would actually give you silverware with food in those days. It's changed now. They've got so many rules. Stuff you can carry on and stuff you can't carry on. Extra charges for your first checked bag and then extra for your second checked bag.<\/p>\n
They have to weigh it. By the way, if you fly internationally, not everybody has the same rules. So, you'll leave home and you'll have your baggage. You walk through the TSA checkpoint and you're holding your pants up because they took your belt.<\/p>\n
You're walking barefoot because they took your shoes, right? Then, when they spit your stuff out on the other end on all these stainless steel tables, you're trying to get all that stuff back and there's crowds all around you. It's an anxious moment.<\/p>\n
But now, you got your stuff, you've cleared, and then you get to a foreign country and there's a different rule. You're gonna have to leave some of your stuff behind. I remember leaving Rwanda a few years ago. We were on a mission trip and we were getting ready to leave. It's time to go home.<\/p>\n
This stuff I was carrying, I had carried all over the world. I had carried it from RDU to JFK over there to London, flown from London to Kenya, from Kenya to Kigali, Rwanda and caught a bus to Uganda. Now, I'm going to go do it all in reverse. Same stuff. I\u2019ve been carrying it the whole way, checking it, going through customs, holding my pants up the whole way.<\/p>\n
They stopped me in Rwanda. A lady pulls out a pair of fingernail clippers in my little carry on bag. She asks, \u201cWhat's this?\u201d I said, \u201cFingernail clippers.\u201d She then asks, \u201cWhat's this?\u201d <\/p>\n
I said, \u201cI think that's a fingernail file.\u201d She says, \u201cIt\u2019s sharp on the end. You can't carry that on.\u201d It's that big (picturing a very small file);<\/p>\n
it has been around the world. I got that like 30 years ago. It was gold in a little leather pouch. I think I got it from one of the first weddings I did like 30 years ago as a pastor. This face is just looking at me saying, \u201cYou can't take that guy on the way. <\/p>\n
If you break that off, maybe you can.\u201d I said to her, \u201cYou can have it. Just take it. Here, you want the leather pouch, too? They go together.\u201d<\/p>\n
I was irritated. Sometimes when you have a sentimental attachment to something you love, something you almost wish you could just say, \u2018I'm not even going to get on your plane without my fingernail clippers.\u2019<\/p>\n
I was tired. Then I remembered I got all these other believers from the church on the mission trip and I figured, well, I am the pastor. I probably shouldn't say anything else. Just let them have my fingernail clippers. It's a narrow path because it's strewn on either side.<\/p>\n
If you could open your eyes spiritually and see the people that have gone before you, that as they grow in Christ, they've been casting off every sin, every burden and every idol that keeps them from following Jesus.<\/p>\n
It's narrow because you can't take all that stuff with you. You gotta let that stuff go, that bitterness, that unforgiveness, that lack of reconciliation, that racism, that judgment, that tying your identity up in things of this world rather than in Jesus, Who is your savior, little by little. It's narrow because they won't let you check your bag with that stuff. It's a narrow way.<\/p>\n
Jesus said that it's the only way to life. The \u201cnarrow\u201d means we have to be ready to let go of some baggage. Some of the stuff you're carrying right now won't fly.<\/p>\n
You need to let it go in order to walk on the narrow path. Christ will stretch you, refine you and grow you; you'll never be the same. The narrow way is going to demand a changed heart that lets go of all this stuff that's been preventing you from following wholeheartedly. Well, that's the second reason. It's narrow.<\/p>\n
It's a narrow gate. It's a narrow way.<\/p>\n
Because it leads to an eternal consequence. It's a narrow gate, a narrow way, because you can only go one at a time. It's an individual choice because it's going to require repentance and heart change. Then, finally, because there are only two destinations at the end of these two roads. <\/p>\n
One of the destinations is destruction, He says, and the other is life.<\/p>\n
The broad row is popular. It's got all the best lighting. The narrow road, you have to get through some vines. It's kind of overgrown, and you kind of look for it, you have to be suffering a little bit before you'll even notice it.<\/p>\n
Then you get on it and you go, \u2018Wow, I didn't know I'd still have to go through some of this stuff.\u2019<\/p>\n
But at the end, one leads to destruction and one to life. The word, \u201cdestruction,\u201d is a word that's almost always translated \u201cdestruction.\u201d In the New Testament, it doesn't imply annihilation or ceasing to exist. It more has to do with ruin or loss or utter perishing in a way that is both ongoing and tragic. Dr.<\/p>\n
Carson, in his commentary, says \u201cThe \u2018destruction\u2019 in view is not merely physical death, but eschatological ruin\u2014final rejection by God and exclusion from His presence.\u201d C.S. Lewis said that he thought one of the worst things about hell is not the punishment of hell, but the absence of God, the absence of all goodness, the absence of all blessing.\u201d Whether you're on the broad road, the wide road, or the narrow road, today all of us in this world are still experiencing the goodness of God, the blessing of God. But, there's a destination where we have chosen to be spending eternity apart from God.<\/p>\n
It's confusing because the wide road seems to make sense to our human vanity. This is why Solomon writes in Proverbs, Proverbs 14:12 (ESV) \u201cThere is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.\u201d<\/p>\n
A song popped in my head. I think this might have been a country song. If you're old enough, you might remember the lyrics. \u201cIf loving you is wrong, I don't want to be right.\u201d Do you remember that song?<\/p>\n
We delude ourselves into thinking, I can have it my way. Jesus says that the wide road often seems right, but it leads to death. Indeed, Paul talks about this in Romans. He says, Romans 6:23 (ESV) \u201cFor the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.\u201d You see the two destinations:<\/p>\n
death\/destruction or life. Indeed, Jesus was talking to a Pharisee, a teacher, a rabbi named Nicodemus. Nicodemus says, \u2018I know that you're a great teacher,\u2019 and Jesus said to him, \u2018I'll tell you the truth, <\/p>\n
you need to be born again in order to enter the kingdom of heaven.\u2019 Nicodemus says to Him, \u2018I'm an old man. How am I supposed to enter back into my mother's womb to be born again?\u2019 Jesus says, \u2018you claim to be a teacher in Israel, and you don't understand these spiritual things. I'm talking about spiritual rebirth. You must be born of the Spirit. You must be born again in order to enter the kingdom of heaven.\u2019<\/p>\n
Then, Jesus gives him this wonderful verse that we, many of us, have memorized, this wonderful truth. John 3:16, \u201cFor God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have eternal life.\u201d<\/p>\n
We have just two destinations.<\/p>\n
Here's a sign on a road in Bridgewater, New Jersey.<\/p>\n
It easily could have been a sign on one of our roads in Western North Carolina with that hurricane recently, right? Or, it could have been anywhere around Eastern North Carolina after one of the hurricanes. The sign says, \u201cFlooding ahead. Turn around, don't drown.\u201d <\/p>\n
Just that sign is going to cause some of us to say. \u2018I need to check this out.<\/p>\n
I need proof.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201dTurn around. Don't drown.\u201d That's pretty good instruction. \u201cTurn around, don't drown.\u201d I told this at the first service and I now see my daughter here. Her and her mama were in our car, <\/p>\n
right after a flash flood, some years ago. Robin, my wife, was driving our Taurus, our little Ford Taurus. They turned down a street; Erin knew a shortcut. They turned down a neighborhood and there was standing water from this sudden thunderstorm. Erin says, \u201cMama, you can make it.<\/p>\n
You can make it, Mama.\u201d So, Robin gunned it and water went over the windshield, went over the hood and the car stalled. Those Tauruses had an aluminum block motor. It cracked.<\/p>\n
Robin came to me saying, \u201cGary.\u201d I said to her, \u201cWhat, honey?\u201d \u201cSomething's wrong with our car.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turn around. Don't blow up your motor. That could have been another one. They put a new motor in that car. My wife's playing music next door.<\/p>\n
She's over there right now and everybody in the gathering place is looking at her.<\/p>\n
Hey, babe, I love you. She didn't know; my daughter didn't know. It didn't look that deep. <\/p>\n
I can make it if I jump from here. I think I could land over there. That's just how we're wired. Jesus has put up a sign and I'm holding it up as high as I can.<\/p>\n
Today, there's two gates. One's wide and one's narrow. It's two destinations of eternal destiny. You're either on one or the other right now.<\/p>\n
I think you know now so that you're without excuse. Which way do you choose? Jesus says, \u201cEnter the narrow gate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201dEnter the narrow gate,\u201d because that's where life is.<\/p>\n
In Deuteronomy, Moses speaking, he says, Deuteronomy 30:19 (ESV) \u201cI have set before you life and death\u2026 therefore choose life.\u201d I'm going to pray for us right now. Some of you are seated here, some next door and some are watching online.<\/p>\n
Let's do business with God right now. Let's make a decision with the spirit of Christ. He's knocking.<\/p>\n
What will you do? Will you open the door? Let's pray. \u201cLord, I pray for that one right now, that your Holy Spirit is stirring them. That they sense the spirit of Christ bidding them to enter into the kingdom.<\/p>\n
Would you repent of your sin right now to the Lord?\u201d Pray, \u201cLord, forgive me of my sin. I know I'm a sinner.<\/p>\n
I believe You died on the cross for me, Lord Jesus, and that You were raised from the grave and that You live today. Come and live in me.<\/p>\n
Adopt me into your family. Make me a child of God. I will follow You as my Lord, my King and my Savior all the days of my life.<\/p>\n
Thank you for saving me.\u201d If you're praying that prayer of faith, believing, the Bible says, \u201cIf you confess Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Welcome to the family. Others are here and you're a believer, but you've been trying to hang on to some stuff and it's hard to walk the narrow road and keep carrying that heavy load you've been carrying. Would you surrender that part right now? That part that Jesus is asking you to let go of? He's saying, \u201cCome unto me, you that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.<\/p>\n
Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.\u201d So set aside every sin and encumbrance that's slowing you down from following Jesus today. Say it to Him. Give it to Him right now. In Jesus\u2019 name, Amen.<\/p>\n","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"series":[2968],"scripture-book":[1307],"scripture-chapter":[1340],"speaker":[2007],"class_list":["post-13396","message","type-message","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","series-kingdom-living","scripture-book-matthew","scripture-chapter-1340","speaker-gary-combs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/message\/13396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/message"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/message"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/message\/13396\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13398,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/message\/13396\/revisions\/13398"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13396"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=13396"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-book","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-book?post=13396"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-chapter","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-chapter?post=13396"},{"taxonomy":"speaker","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/speaker?post=13396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}