1 Good morning! We have finished our series on Ruth

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1 Good morning! We have finished our series on Ruth and next week we will begin a series on Ecclesiastes that will take us into advent in December. But we often like to take these Sundays in-between our series to do one off sermon that we feel the Lord is leading us to do. One of my favorite parts of my week is our Thursday mens Bible study studies and over the course of the summer we walked through Jesus’ sermon on the mount. We finished it a few weeks ago and the way Jesus finishes the most famous sermon in history really stuck with me. There are these last four paragraphs at the end of his sermon that, until now, I have always seen as somewhat detached from each other. This summer though, I saw for the first time that these four paragraphs go together. You can’t separate them. This is Jesus’ conclusion to the sermon. A clear, coherent, four point conclusion. I know some of you are like “Oh, not a four point sermon!” Well, Jesus has four points to his conclusion. And this likely after a pretty long sermon. Jesus has been preaching what it means to belong to the Kingdom. He talked about how to pray, how to deal with anxiety and anger and lust, how to be salt in light and how to be blessed. And now, Jesus is driving the crowd to a decision. They have to choose: the world or the Kingdom? So let’s read. Matthew 7:13-27 “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. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 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?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And

2 the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” So often in the gospels, people want Jesus to be black and white, but he gives what seem to be gray answers. Here though, there is no gray. Here Jesus is as black and white as possible. I was talking about this passage with my wife and she said, “You know, I really like the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount a lot better than the end.” As Jesus ends his sermon, he gives us 4 contrasting pairs: 2 gates, 2 trees, 2 pleas and 2 foundations and is saying, “choose.” So I want to look at these four contrasting pairs like this: 1) The right path, 2) The right teacher, 3) The right relationship and 4) The right foundation. Those are Jesus’ four points so they are going to mine as well. I.

The Right Path

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. In the ancient world a city was surrounded by a wall. During our five years in Italy we saw a lot of these walls. Some are so big you can literally drive a car on top of them. Some are so tall they dwarf the buildings behind them. Angela and I actually had our first date on the top of one of these walls. And in these walls there are gates used to access the city. Some of these gates were huge, ornate and inviting. They were meant to communicate something to a visitor about what was inside those walls. There are a few left in Rome that are jaw dropping. But as you followed the city wall, there would be these smaller gates used by livestock and farmers that didn’t look very attractive and not many people would travel through them. They could be small in height, narrow in width, long and often dark. They were usually not always the safest gate to pass through because you didn’t know who might be in that long dark tunnel. Shady things could be happening in there. And the floor was often covered in livestock excrement. So you’re looking at this big gate and see lots of people entering. The wide gate is so simple to go through. No sacrifice needed. No hard work. It just looks like such a nice gate. It’s wide and well kept. It looks safe. And there are SO many people on it! You look at this gate and you see people you know entering. But this gate leads to destruction. There is another gate though, according to Jesus. It’s a narrow gate. And to walk through it is harder. People will make assumptions about you going through that gate. You cant see the other side and their don’t seem to be many people using this gate. But this gate leads to life.

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It’s easy in the Deep South for it to look like a lot of people are entering the right gate. When my oldest son was 6 we saw a man doing something he shouldn’t be doing and Turner asked me why that man was doing that thing that obviously was not ok. The best answer I could think of on the spot was, “It just doesn’t seem like that man is trying to follow Jesus.” Turner’s eyes got really big and he said, “What???? Why would anyone not follow Jesus?” Through his 6 year old eyes it looked like everyone was on the right path. But, according to Jesus, most are not. Do you know the hallmark of a good gate, a good door or a good path? It is good because of where it leads you. It doesn’t matter if it has golden bricks, if it is down hill in both directions and all your friends are on it. If it doesn’t get you where you need to go, it isn’t a good path. I have been doing ministry in university towns since I graduated college and it seems like on a monthly basis I’ll hear some form of this question: “But don’t all paths lead to God?” And the answer is yes. All paths lead to God, but only one presents you before Him without fault. Both gates lead to God, but only one will go well. After that they will often say, “But how do you know, Jim? I’ve heard people say that we are all like blindfolded people touching different parts of an elephant. You feel the trunk so you describe God like that. Another person feels the tail and describes God that way. A third person feels the side and gives yet another description of God. That’s why we have different understandings of which path or gate lead to God. It’s actually a pretty creative analogy. And it’s accurate that we are like a bunch of blindfolded people just feeling around. But the main difference between the analogy and reality is that the elephant talks! “It feels like a hairy tail.” “I’m an elephant!” “It feels like a long trunk.” “I’m an elephant!” It feels like a wall of hide. “I’m an elephant!” The Bible is our talking elephant. And in it Jesus here is saying, “I know that gate looks good! But don’t take it!” And it’s as if Jesus knows all the critiques people will level against following him for the next 2000 years. Christianity seems narrow. Christianity seems hard. I want to do what I want to do. I will be unpopular at school. I will be strange. It doesn’t work in polite society. It’s not cool at the Grove. None of my friends seem to be doing it. It seems so outdated. The ethical demands seem too rigorous…. Agreed! This is what makes this gate so hard! It is strange, it is hard, it is narrow, it won’t be popular, but this is the gate that leads to life. And this logic is sound in every other area of our life! The easy way isn’t usually the best way. You don’t say, “I want that scholarship, but I’m going to ignore studying and party every weekend. I want a great marriage, but am not going to, like, think of her needs more than my own. I wish I had great friendships, but just don’t want friendships where I am going have to have hard conversations, confront, be confronted and forgive. That’s

4 just too hard. I wan to excel in athletics, but only if I can sleep in, eat what I want and stay caught up on Netflix.” How would any of that work out for you? It sounds silly, but this is how many of us view our spiritual lives. I want to feel better about my sin. I want my hurts and fears and anxieties to go away. I want to know there is hope after I die. I want my life to matter. But only if it doesn’t make me weird or limit my options in any way. I want just enough of Jesus to give my children a North Star, but not so much that I don’t fit in anymore. If you are saying you want enough Jesus to balance out your life, but not so much that it might make things hard, then you aren’t following the real Jesus. This is not an option he gave us. You are following an idea that you created. And it could be that you are entering the wide, easy gate that leads to destruction. But…if you are on the other side…if following Jesus feels hard and you see tangible ways that you life is more difficult because of your decision to trust Jesus…be encouraged. Jesus said this gate would be small, hard and unpopular. But once we finish walking through this gate and come to the other side and see the majesty and the wonder of the Kingdom inside EVERY single trial the gate itself presented WILL BE WORTH IT! Because this gate leads to true life. II. The Right Teacher So there are two gates. One is easy and the other is hard. The next thing Jesus says is to be on guard against people who would try and convince you that the wide gate is the right gate. Verse 15: Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. Wolves in sheep’s clothing. Wolves who look like sheep. They talk like sheep. They can even be nicer than sheep. They can have more degrees than sheep. But they’re wolves! Wolves who aren’t going to show you their sharp teeth or razor claws. So, if the wolves look just like the rest of us, then how do we know who they are? Verse 16-20: You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. You can identify the difference between the teaching of a wolf and the teaching of a sheep by the fruit. A tree is identified by it’s fruit. So how do you identify good fruit from bad fruit? There are two tests: The look test and the taste test.

5 First, the look test. Does the life of the teacher line up with his teaching? Matthew 18 says we must “bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” He doesn’t have to be perfect, but he must be repentant. Watch him with his kids. Watch him with his wife. Watch her with her husband. Watch him when he thinks no one is watching and you will know. And in the day of internet sermons, church apps on your phone and great conferences (all of which I utilize and am thankful for) let me just say that the teacher worth most to you is the one you know and whose life you can be a part of and watch. If you don’t know the teacher, you can’t apply Jesus’ test to him or her. It’s also worth noting that there is such a thing as fruit that looks good, but it really isn’t. I have a friend who can name every fruit in the forest. I can’t. So let me point out two things that can look like good, but don’t automatically equal good fruit. The first is ministry success. There are churches with huge rooms full of people and seemingly limitless budgets who are not fruitful. Now, we are very thankful for the growth we are experiencing at Grace, but numbers alone don’t equal fruit. Remember, the gate to destruction is full of people. So fruit can’t simply mean success in terms of numbers. Nor does fruit mean your own personal sense of happiness and fulfillment. You will be tempted to think things like, “That person seems to have a great life. They have the house I want, the car I want, the kids I want and the seats I want. Maybe I should try out their gate.” The Old Testament had a way of detecting a false prophet: wait and see. Jesus however has a quicker and more effective way: Look at his life. Look at the life of the teacher to see if the fruit is good. Second, we have the taste test. Does the fruit taste good? Is it nourishing and strengthening those who eat it? Good fruit is spiritually satisfying. In other words, are people beginning to look more like Jesus because of a teacher’s teaching? Is he or she bringing the Bible to bear in such a way that God becomes more and more attractive and the wide gate has less and less of a hold on us? And these wolves won’t say, “Don’t follow Jesus.” They wouldn’t look like sheep that way. They are going to say, “You can have both Jesus and the easy gate.” So Jesus points us to the right gate and the right teacher, thirdly, he points us to the right relationship. III. The Right Relationship Look at verses 21-23: Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 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?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.

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This is one of the scariest passages of Scripture to me. So the last section was addressing those who are outsiders pretending to be insiders, but this part is addressing people who think they are in, but aren’t. So the implication for us is that everyone in this room who claims to be in the Kingdom of heaven, likey, is not. There are those of us who will enter the gate expecting a joyful welcome, but will be told, “depart from me…I never knew you.” On that day, it won’t be enough to point to something you did. “Look Lord, I was baptized! I prayed that prayer! I led a Bible study! I gave my money to the church!. I didn’t have sex until I was married! How can I not be in?” The people in this passage have professions of faith that are orthodox, they seem serious and they are public. Apparently, they even come with some sort of demonstration of power. Still, Jesus says, “NO! I never knew you.” Jesus seems to be saying, “Yes, you did all that, but who were you doing it for?” All of the good works in the world are useless if we aren’t known by Jesus. What exactly does it mean to be known? I know there are some of you out there who have heard people talk about having a relationship with Jesus, but you don’t know exactly what they mean by that. I remember what that was like. JD remembers what that was like. We talked about it this week. Many of us in this room have at one time or another said something like, “I just don’t feel like anyone here gets me.” Before moving here, we moved 8 times in 7 years and my wife on occasion would say, “It’s just so hard to make old friends.” Do you know what we are saying when we say things like that? We are saying, “I wish I was known.” It’s lonely to not feel known. There are those few people in our lives who know the good, the bad and the ugly, but accept us unconditionally and seem to always have our best interests at heart in any circumstance. When we have these rare friendships, we are known. There is this obvious and undeniable formula for life giving relationships and it’s this: the more someone knows you AND accepts you, the more you flourish because of the relationship. And in these relationships, we are getting small glimpses of what Jesus is offering. Why do I say small glimpses? Because no one knows all of you! No one knows the magnitude of your hopes, the depths of your fears, the weight of your guilt or the degree of your selfishness or insecurity the way Jesus does. You can’t hide anything from the One who made you. Only in Jesus are you fully known. And only in Jesus are you fully accepted. Only this relationship can give you true and eternal life. And here is where we get to the heart of Christianity. Why it is different than every other world view. It’s is a relationship. Christianity isn’t about doing good deeds, it’s about being known.

7 And I know there are some of you wondering if you can really trust Jesus. Being known is a vulnerable and even scary thing. Opening up is hard. You don’t know what a person might do with that information. The reason many of us resist being known is because we don’t know if the other person really has our best interests at heart. Jesus though, has proven himself trustworthy by giving his life for you. The death we all deserve he died in our place. Death was waiting for all of us at the end of the narrow gate, but Jesus went through first for us to defeat death..…and it cost him his life. The only reason this gate leads to life is because Jesus gave his for us. What more could a person do to gain your trust than give their life for you? You can trust him. But I know this isn't the only thing that keeps people from trusting Jesus. Some people don’t question whether Jesus is trustworthy as much as is he real?? And if that’s you, Jesus’ last point addresses that. IV. The Right Foundation Look at verses 24-27: Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against the house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. Ancient Israel was prone to flash floods. So when you built your house, you could build it on top of the sand which looked hard as a rock most of the year. Or you could dig down five or ten feet to the bedrock and establish a firm foundation. Everyone listening to Jesus would have totally connected with what he is saying. The two houses look identical. But when the storms come, the foundations are revealed. The foolish man built his foundation on the sand and when the storm comes, it crumbles. The wise man built his home on a foundation of bedrock. What’s interesting is that the solid foundation here is not Jesus. So many of us have grown up singing songs and thinking that Jesus is the sure foundation in this passage, but that’s not what he says. His teachings are the sure foundation. So what’s the difference? Jesus is only beneficial to you if you do what he says. The wise man heard Jesus’ words and did them. The foolish man heard them and did not. So back to my question. How can you know for sure Jesus is real? How can you know being known by him will work? Honestly, you can’t. I can give you all the facts in the

8 world about Jesus, but it isn’t until you act on his teachings that you will know for sure. Call it a very well-educated decision. I met an older woman in a restaurant this past year and she knew I was there for a marriage conference so she told me that the week before she had celebrated 40 years of marriage with her husband and they renewed their vows. So I said, “Wow. Congratulations! What was that like?” She responded, “Well, this time I actually knew what the heck I was getting into.” When they first got married, she made a welleducated decision to marry her husband. But she didn’t know enough about him to be 100% sure. Now though after years of knowing her husband in good times and bad. She knew. It’s similar with Jesus. If you will listen to his teachings, trust him and do what he says, you’ll have a firm foundation that will keep you safe through every storm in this life and especially the greatest of all storms when this life is over. And when you do this…when you listen to and heed Jesus’ teachings…you’ll know he’s real because you will be known by him. Jesus says, “Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. I will never leave you or forsake you. I will give you everlasting life.” Conclusion: Jesus concludes his sermon by asking us to choose. So I am going to do the same thing. It’s not only a one time decision, it is an every day decision. There is a first time we accept Jesus’ call to ‘come’ and then for the rest of our lives we are going to choose to walk through the narrow gate. Jesus isn’t just preaching to the crowd who had never heard before, he’s also preaching to the disciples who heard this every day. So for all of us, will you choose the right gate? Even if it means you will be misunderstood. Even if it means you will be giving up things you want to do. Even if it means feeling out of place? Because this is the only gate that leads to life. Will you choose the right teachers and be on guard against people in the pulpits, in the pews, in the office, in the Greek house and in your home who would try and tell you the wide gate is the better one? Will you choose to be known by Jesus. To give him all of you and trust that he will lead you well because he loves you more than anyone else in your life. And finally, will you choose to build on the foundation of his teaching? When Jesus says, “Come to me through the narrow gate.” Will you obey, or will you hear and walk away? All of us must choose.

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