Which Way Will You Go

Well, if you would take your Bible, turn with me to Matthew chapter 7 verses 13 and 14. I know this is a little different. We normally have a scripture reading, do we not? But we have been desiring to show you some of our anchored in truth, some of our missionaries. And I say our because we've been a part of the anchored in truth family for a while. We just haven't been as good at sharing with you who everybody is. And we're at that point in time in the life of our church. So every other week or couple of times a month, we're going to share with you some of our brothers and sisters.

I think next time maybe we'll share with you someone from around the world. So I appreciate your patience there. But let's take our Bibles and let's turn to Matthew 7 verse 13 to 14. I will ask you to turn to Matthew 13 a little later. A couple of pages from chapter 7 to chapter 13. So it won't be hard for you to find chapter 13 a little later. Let's read our scriptures. We just have two this morning and then we'll get started in our message. Jesus says, "Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction. And many are those who enter by it.

For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life. And few are those who find it." Well this morning in our message and in our series, we're finally turning the corner in our study through the Sermon on the Mount. I did not go back and look and see how long we've been in the Sermon on the Mount, but it's been quite a while. As a matter of fact, we were in the Sermon on the Mount before we moved. Some of you remember that. Now we're turning the corner in two ways. First of all, we are within sight of finishing up the series. I've referenced that.

I'm almost certain that we have four more messages in the series, but I say that with a little bit of hesitancy because I never know how these messages will turn out. To be honest with you, for me, I just have to wade into the scriptures. I just have to get into what comes to the surface and sometimes a message turns into a part two rather quickly from me. So I do say that with some hesitancy and I hope and pray you'll be patient with me there. The second way we're turning the corner is this. Starting in verse 13, Jesus is beginning to conclude this great sermon that is found in Matthew 5, 6, and 7.

Now in everything that Jesus taught throughout the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was doing this large two-fold work. He was explaining God's standard for life in the kingdom in opposition to the worldly religious standard of the Jewish religious system of the day. Now it's been a while since I've emphasized this, but remember how Jesus related to the religious leaders all throughout the sermon. He was not making any friends, was he? No. As a matter of fact, he was alienating them with the truth of God's Word.

And all throughout his sermon, Jesus was elevating God's holy standard, God's perfect standard for life in the kingdom, and he was boldly, publicly contrasting God's standard up against the self-righteous, self-sufficient, hypocritical religion of the Jews, and especially those religious leaders. The entire time Jesus was explaining and elevating God's standard for kingdom living, he was purposely exposing the hypocritical religion of the Jews in that day. I thought about it like this. Just imagine our church.

Imagine if our church was governed by carnal, self-righteous, hypocritical men, whether you call them elders or deacons, it doesn't matter. But just imagine if our church was governed by self-righteous, self-sufficient, hypocritical leaders, and they had a large influence on the spiritual climate of this church. And just imagine if I stood up here, and in sermon after sermon, I elevated what God's Word said in such a way where it caused you to look at them and look at me, to look at them and look at me, to look at them and look at me. Well that's just what was going on all throughout the sermon on the Mount.

That's just what Jesus did in everything that he said here. Now as Jesus begins to conclude his sermon, he makes a serious shift. This is a purposeful shift in his teaching. In verse 13, all the way down to the end of the chapter, Jesus is calling those who are listening to a life or death point of decision. He is bringing those listening to a fork in the road of a decision. He is warning them. He is warning them to examine themselves to see if they are in the kingdom or out of the kingdom, and he is calling them to make their decision accordingly.

And if they chose one way, they chose kingdom living on earth, and then ultimately eternal life in God's kingdom, that would be heaven. But if they chose the other way, they chose worldly living on earth, although they might be religious, and then ultimately it would end up in hell and damnation. And Jesus does this work by using simple, relatable illustrations. These were easy for those who were listening to understand. From verse 13, all the way to verse 27, Jesus talks about two paths. He talks about two trees. He talks about two claims. He talks about two houses.

And Jesus' purpose in using these illustrations was to bring those listening to a point of decision. This was an earthly, yet eternal fork in the road of life. Yes, this was an earthly, yet eternal fork in the road of their life. Now before we get into the verses, just two of them, I want to point out a great spiritual mystery here. I've done this for you throughout my ministry here. I want to point out this great spiritual mystery here, and this needs to be established in your minds. I'm going to use this mystery, point out this mystery, especially in application.

Although Jesus was clearly calling those listening to make a decision here, this was all in perfect harmony with the sovereignty of God. God has always called men to decide to serve Him. This has been happening from the beginning, and if we examine these things while keeping them balanced with the entirety of God's Word, we see a perfect harmony between the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. And look, this applies to you and to me today. I'll give you an example that will help you. Many of you know what was going on in 1 Kings chapter 18.

Many of you know the story of Elijah, the great prophet of God, and what took place there on Mount Carmel. The story is basically like this. The Israelites have been wavering between the worship of the one true God and worshiping a pagan deity that was so popular in that day, Baal. You know the story? Ultimately there was this big showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal to see whose God was the one true God, whose God was the true God. And just before the great event, just before that great showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, Elijah called the Israelites to decide who they would serve. He called them to Himself.

And in verse 21 it says that Elijah came, he came near to the people and he said, "How long will you go limping between two different opinions?" He's saying, "How long will you waver between serving God and serving Baal?" Serving Baal and serving God. Going back to the verse, "If the Lord is God," Elijah said, "follow Him. But if Baal, then follow Him. And the people did not answer Him a word." God just really hit me funny this week. The people did not answer Him. So right here the Israelites were at a time of decision, folks.

They were at an earthly yet eternal fork in the road and we see God's sovereignty and man's responsibility clearly in these events. Let me show you. Who sent Elijah? God. It was God who sent Elijah to bring the message of the one true God to call his people out of worshiping Baal and trying to worship God. But see, they had a choice to make. Elijah said, "You've got to decide today." And they just stood there and looked at Him. Well this morning we are getting into the first lesson, the first illustration in Jesus that Jesus was using to call those listening to a point of decision to see which way they would go.

So to me, that is the theme of the title of the message. It's a question. Which way will you go? Now I want to show you this fact. I call this a fact. He's calling them to a decision. I want to show you this fact by looking at the very first word in verse 13. Go back to your copy. It doesn't matter what translation you have. What is the first word in verse 13? Enter. You can read that. Enter. I can even read that without looking through my glasses, my cheaters. Now all of the translations say the same thing. It's a key word, it's a key to understanding what Jesus is doing here.

Not what Jesus was teaching, but what Jesus is calling them to do. You see the construction of the word here in the original demands a specific and definite action. You see? The construction in the original, it demands a specific and a definitive action. If you're interested, it's in the heiress tense, the imperfect tense. Jesus is not calling those listening to admire or respect his teaching. He's not calling those listening to ponder or contemplate his teaching. He's not even calling them to debate or argue about his teaching. He is calling them to make a decision right then, right there. Remember Elijah?

Remember Elijah with the Israelites? What does he say? You decide today who you're going to serve. Are you going to serve Baal and God? Are you going to try to straddle the fence? He said you must choose now. You must decide now. Now I want to show you something here, and this is a must. Those listening to Jesus that day, I have taught you faithfully. There were this great crowd there, mostly Jews, the few Gentiles, the disciples there on the front row, and those religious leaders may be in the back scoffing, waiting for their chance. Those listening to Jesus that day, they had three choices that were actually two. Kind of odd math, isn't it?

Three choices that were actually two? They could choose Christ. That's one choice. They could openly reject Christ. That's one choice. Or they could do nothing. See the three choices? But listen, in doing nothing in the face of how Jesus was calling them, they were in fact rejecting Christ. For all those listening that day, they were either choosing to follow Christ, or they were rejecting Christ because he was forcing them to do one or the other. He was calling them to do one or the other. And I think you see where my math adds up. Now let's turn our attention to the verses.

If we look at the verses, we can easily see that Jesus is using lots of pairs, and he's making several comparisons here. We see two gates in verse 13. We see two ways. We see two directions in both of the verses. We see two destinations. And we see two people all through the verses. Now that's how we will examine the verses. This command now, this command with enter, this command is connected to all that Jesus is teaching here. So number one, I want us to see the two gates. I want us to see the two gates. I want us to go back and read the verses starting at verse 13.

Jesus says, "Enter," you know what that word means by now, "enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it." Now right away in verse 13 we see the narrow gate and the wide gate, two gates. And then in verse 14 Jesus mentions the narrow gate again, and he mentions the wide gate really by implication. So we clearly see the narrow gate, and we clearly see the wide gate. Now I think we have to ask the meaning of these words and phrases. I really do.

Then we'll get into the teaching here. Now the meaning of these words and the context here will tell us what Jesus is trying to accomplish here with all of those there on the hillside. Now gates. Gates were common in their day. Some of you know this. Cities were walled for protection, were they not? And gates were a part of protecting the city. Sometimes the gates were small, at times they were a little larger, maybe double gates, and sometimes they were massive gates.

They could be made out of wood, sometimes they were made out of stone, sometimes they would be made out of metal, and sometimes they would be a combination of different materials. Now the site of the city gate was used for all types of important business. Many times there would be legal business that would be taken care of at the city gates. Markets would be there at the city gates. Important announcements were made. The law of God many times was read out at the city gates, and the elders would meet there at the city gates to conduct city business, and so on and so on. That's just a few examples.

But functionally, functionally the gate was the protection, it was part of the protection of the city, and it was also an entrance and an exit for the city. Isn't that obvious? And here Jesus is referring to the latter. Here Jesus is using the imagery of a gate as an entryway, but Jesus gets more specific. He speaks of two gates. So let's quickly look at the two gates. First I want us to see the narrow gate. Look at verse 13. "Enter by the narrow gate." Now the meaning of this phrase is simple. In the original the adjective connected with the word "gate" simply means "narrow." Jesus is talking about a small narrow restrictive gate.

And then second, the wide gate. Back in the verse, "Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide." Now the meaning of this phrase is simple. In the original the word for wide speaks of that which is flat, that which is wide, that which is broad. Jesus is talking about a wide, a broad, a less restrictive gate. And this is in contrast with the narrow gate that he has just mentioned. See the contrast? Now that's the meaning of the words and phrases. That's the meaning of the language here. Jesus is using the imagery of a narrow restrictive gate and the imagery of a wide broad gate. But we must ask what Jesus is teaching here.

Because this has great spiritual meaning to those who are listening there and this has great spiritual meaning for us as well. We have seen over and over. Think about it folks. We've seen over and over all throughout the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has been explaining life in the kingdom. He has been describing true kingdom living or true Christian living. We can use that language. Jesus has constantly showed the narrowness of God's standard of righteous living in contrast to the broad external, hypocritical religious standard of the Jews in that day.

And with this teaching Jesus is showing that entrance into the kingdom, into kingdom living or the Christian life comes through the narrow gate. Isn't that what we see? What a question. What is the narrow gate into the kingdom? What is the narrow gate into the kingdom? But the gate isn't a what? The gate is a who? Jesus is the gate. Jesus was saying, "I am the only way. I am the only way that you can get into the kingdom.

It is through me." He is saying, "I am the gate." And he was saying, "You must make your decision right now to either enter into the kingdom through me or not." We see this more clearly if we go on over into the New Testament. There's so many verses we could use. I just chose two. If we look at John chapter 10 verse 9, what does Jesus say? I am the door. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, doesn't this sound just like what we see in verse 13 and 14? I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. And then later on, John 14 verse 10, Jesus says, "I am the way.

I am the truth and I am the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." See how it all comes together? So notice what Jesus is saying here. Oh, with just a few words, folks. He is calling all of those listening, Jew, Gentile, religious or not, he is calling all of those listening to enter into the kingdom, the kingdom he's been describing since chapter 5. He is the door to the kingdom. He is saying, "I am the way. Come enter through me." And he is saying, "Enter now. Make your decision now." I guess we can say it like this in our language, he's drawing a line in the sand.

And he is saying, "Otherwise, you take the broad gate." You see, if you don't take the narrow gate, you take the broad gate. And by implication, he is saying, "The way you take the broad gate is either rejecting me outright or simply doing nothing." Think of what the Jews did. The religious leaders vehemently rejected Jesus. They vehemently rejected Jesus. They were always looking for a way to trap Jesus and do away with Jesus. But listen, many, they simply did nothing. They simply did nothing. And look, the Jews who vehemently rejected Jesus and the ones who did nothing and just went on about their merry way, guess what they did?

They took the wide gate. They took the broad gate. Now see, for us, we've got to narrow this thing on down to you and me, do we not? And the question that must be asked is this, have we entered the kingdom through the gate? Have we entered the kingdom through Jesus? Have we entered the kingdom through Christ? That's for me and you folks. You know, many try to enter the kingdom through their family or their family line, heredity. The Jews tried to do that. See they were always saying to Jesus, "Look, we're descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." See it was heredity. They were banking on their bloodline.

And you know, people still do that today. I've come from a godly family. I've always been in church. My mom and dad, they taught Sunday school and they're trying to bank on their heredity. Many try to enter the kingdom through their own works. And I mean religious works. Many try to enter the kingdom through their baptism. We don't believe in baptismal regeneration. Many try to enter the kingdom through church membership. I can't tell you how many folks I've witnessed to throughout the years and I ask them about their spiritual condition and they'll say, "I'm a church member and I've been baptized." Well that doesn't save.

Many times people will try to enter the kingdom through their own works by being religious and religious activities. Did you know even ministers will do that? Ministers will do that. They'll think their ministry will get them into the kingdom. Many will try to enter the kingdom through the works of others. What others can do for them. I don't know if you realize that all I've been doing is quoting to you John 1 verse, John chapter 1 verse 12 and 13. Jesus says none of this will save. You're only saved by God. You see? And remember the little phrase earlier. Remember I hope that caught your attention.

This was an earthly yet eternal fork in the road of life. Think about that. This was for them an earthly yet eternal fork in the road of life. Think on that. See when someone comes to faith in Christ, God in his goodness, God in his grace and mercy brings about this sovereign fork in the road. It is a sovereign work of God whereby he brings a man to that fork in the road. And see when God brings that man to that place or that young person to that place, he shows them their sin. He shows them their sin, Christ's righteousness and the judgment of come. See this is the work of the Holy Spirit of God.

And then when one gets to that fork in the road, he shows them Christ. What Christ did on the cross, the work of the cross. This is the work of the Holy Spirit of God. And listen, when God the Holy Spirit brings someone to that fork in the road, they have a responsibility. They have a decision to make, to repent of their sin, to trust in Christ, to cry out and believe in Christ. And listen, I've taught you thoroughly that this all comes about by grace and regeneration. See? You see the sovereign work of God and you see man choosing Christ, committing their life to Christ. That's all I did. God did all that for me.

And if you have entered through the gate, if you've entered through Christ, you can raise your hand and stand up and testify. Say this has happened to me. I've entered through Christ. But you know, I understand how the work of the Spirit works. When I went through that list, there are some of you, it bothered you. Some of you are trying to enter by your family line. Some of you are trying to enter by your good works. Some of you are trying to enter by the works of others. So we see two gates here. Jesus says enter the narrow gate, which is Him. He's the gate. He's the gatekeeper. The decision is now.

You either vehemently reject Him or do nothing which is rejecting. See the title of the message? Which way would you go? It's a decision now, folks. So let's move on. I want us to see number two. I want us to see number two. We see two ways. It's just following right with the verses. We see two ways. Let's read the verses again. It won't hurt us to keep reading them like this. Jesus says enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction and many are those who enter it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life and few are those who find it.

Now, I think it is easy to see that the two gates opened up. They open up and they lead to two ways in life. The broad gate leads to the broad way. The wide gate leads to the wide way and this narrow gate leads to the narrow way. That's obvious. That's simple. And we have seen that the narrow way is the way of those who are in Christ, but the wide way is all those who have rejected Christ. And notice those two ways are two paths only are the only two ways a person can travel in life. You see those two ways, these two paths, these are the only two ways a person can travel in life.

Now, there are a couple of things about the narrow way that I want us to see. First, I want us to see that it is a difficult way. I want us to see it is a difficult way. Now, for this, I want us to look at verse 14. For the gate is small and the way is narrow. That's where I'm going to focus my attention. That leads to life and few are those who find it. Now, this word narrow in verse 14, it comes from a word that in the original, it means to groan as if it is under pressure. It speaks of being constrained, even being afflicted or even suffering. One commentator said it like this, it's as if they're being pressed in.

It's like a valley is hemmed in, a valley that is hemmed in by mountains on the left and mountains on the right. There's no room for it to move. It's hemmed in, it's constrained. And for those on this way, they may be afflicted, they may be suffering, they may even face persecution. I thought about a positive example. Some of you have been whitewater rafting before. I've been down the Okoy River of many a day. And you know when you go down that river, you're down the river and there's mountains to your left and there's mountains to the right. See that river is constrained, it's hemmed in.

That river cannot go to the left, it cannot go to the right. It's constrained by what? The mountains. But on a more sober note, there's some of you, you've come to faith in Christ. God saved you, unless your life has been a difficult way. You've been hemmed in by sin, by struggles, by trials, by tribulations. Some of you don't have it quite as hard as others. See, God sovereignly ordains those things. And some of you, you can identify with that river being constrained in life. And this is a difficult way. But then second, it is a way that few find.

Go back to verse 14, "For the gate is small and the narrow is way, constrained, that leads to life. And few are those who find it." See that phrase? "Few are those that find it." Here the fact Jesus says, "Few find this way," definitely implies that this way, the way of entrance into the kingdom, it must be diligently sought after. This will surprise some of you. In the Luke chapter 13, verse 23 and 24, it says, "When someone asks Jesus," and I'm paraphrasing the first part, "Someone asks Jesus if few would be saved." Notice what Jesus says. Jesus says, "Strive, strive to enter through the narrow door." Doesn't that language sound familiar?

"Strive, work hard to enter through the narrow door. For many I tell you will seek to enter it and will not be able." Now this word strive in Luke tells us that entering the narrow gate into the kingdom of God takes purposeful, serious, intense effort. The Apostle Paul uses this exact word in 1 Corinthians 9 and 25 to describe an athlete who strives, an athlete who agonizes to win a race, to win a goal, to win a prize. I think about the Olympic games that are coming up. Some of you like the Olympics. Some of you can take it or leave it. And you think about what those athletes do. They train for years just for sometimes one little event.

They train for years for an event that can take just minutes all to win a prize. And they agonize, they strive all those years for what? To win the prize. But on a more serious note, there are some of you here, you're agonizing. You're agonizing. You're agonizing over your spiritual condition. Throughout all my years of ministry, I've watched men, I've watched women agonize. I've watched men struggle. I've watched men pray. I've counseled till I'm blue in the face. But I will not leave someone to pray a cheap prayer. I understand that it's the Spirit of God that brings someone to that place of repentance and faith.

And we must understand that we must agonize. We strive. We work hard to get into the kingdom. Isn't that what Jesus is saying? So this is a difficult way and few find it. So what do we see just in those two observations? This is a narrow way. This is a constrained way. This is a pressed in way, even a way of suffering for some. Some of you are familiar with Matthew Henry. I grabbed a phrase from his commentary. I kind of paraphrased it. But he says something like this, "In this world, Christians are not yet in heaven." Some of you say, "No, Pastor, I know that." He says, "In this world, Christians are not yet in heaven.

So they are pressed in by sin and self and trials and tribulation and even by a sinful world." You see? And this narrow way of life, it must be sought after. Many strive for it, but few find it. You realize what Jesus says? Many strive for it, but few find it. Now let me show you something. This cuts against the grain of all of this Bible-belt easy-believism that has been nothing but a plague for us. But what about the Broadway? There are two ways. The narrow way and the Broadway. It's simple. The Broadway is the easy way. All one has to do is ignore Christ. All one has to do is ignore the gospel.

All one has to do is ignore God's way of salvation in his son and automatically they're on the Broadway. This way is attractive because of man's sinful nature. Man's sinful nature is always attracted to the way of the world. And this is the way of sin. This is the way of selfish living. And listen, this is the way of more sin and more self. I think it was Matthew Henry that said that this way is nothing but a way of liberty. I like how John MacArthur says it. He says there are few rules, few restrictions, and few requirements on the Broadway. And you know what? You can even be religious on the Broadway. You need to see this, folks.

You can profess Jesus on the Broadway, but those on the Broadway may profess Jesus. They may read their Bible, but they don't know Jesus as their Lord and their master. For them it's just words. For them it's what? Religious externals. Haven't we studied those who were masters at religious externals? So we see two ways. The narrow way, the Broadway. The narrow gate leads to the narrow way and the broad gate leads to the Broadway. But notice Jesus only stands at the entrance of the narrow way. Some of you need to see that. Jesus is the one that stands at the entrance of the narrow way because he is the gate.

The keeper of the Broadway, the keeper of the broad gate is anything but Christ. So in application we must ask, what way are we walking? Which path are we walking now? What way is our life? Now this is going to take a little bit of time, but I'm going to be honest with you. This is really necessary. I want you to turn over to Matthew chapter 13. Last night when I was studying, seeking to finish up and I just was drawn to these verses, it reminded me of the importance of some of the parables here. Matter of fact, it's been quite a few years since I've taught through some of these parables. I'm probably overdue.

Matthew 13 is one of the key portions of scripture in our understanding of how people come to faith in Christ. Now specifically, I want us to focus on the parable of the sower. You can call it the parable of the seed. You can call it the parable of the soil. Let's read verses 3 to 9. Jesus is telling a parable. A parable is an earthly story, this cast alongside spiritual truth. Notice what he says. And he, Jesus, spoke many things to them in parables, saying, "Behold, a sower." He went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road and the birds came and they ate them up.

And others, they fell among the rocky places where they did not have much soil. And immediately they sprang up because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched. And because they had no root, they withered away. And others fell among the thorns. And the thorns came up and choked them out. And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirtyfold. And he says, "He who has ears, let him hear." Now some of you know the rest of the Scriptures. The disciples basically said, "We don't understand.

Help us." Well, starting in verse 18, Jesus explains the mysteries of the parable. Let's look at verses 18 to 23. Here then the parable of the sower, "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one on whom the seed was sown beside the road." And the one on whom the seed was sown on the rocky places, this is a man who hears the word and immediately it is received with joy. That he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary. And when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.

"And the one on whom the seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word and the worries of the world and the deceitfulness of riches or wealth choke the word and it becomes unfruitful." And now the last one. "And the one on whom the seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it and indeed bears fruit and brings forth a hundredfold, some sixty and some thirty." Now notice, the one who did nothing, they went the broad way by rejecting or doing nothing, you see? The one who did nothing here, they went the broad way by rejecting or doing nothing.

So the question I must ask you is this, are you on the broad way because you are rejecting? Are you on the broad way because you are doing nothing? And see what happens here is many times folks will hear the word, they will hear the gospel, they get up and they walk out and it seemingly goes away. And then the one who received the seed with joy. See, they only received Christ in their emotions. And notice what happens when persecution comes from the word, not the world. They fall away. You see?

And my question for you is this, are you on the broad way because you merely received Christ in your emotions and every time the word is preached you shrink back. Every time the word is preached you go back to sin, you go back to the world. Are you the one like this? And the one who received the seed but the worries of the world and wealth choke it out. They received Christ but they refused to repent of their sin. And notice there are unfruitful. And my question for you is this, are you on the broad way because you tried to receive Christ all while holding onto your sin? You refused to repent?

You wanted Christ in one hand but you wanted the world and your sin in the other? The one who received the seed is the one who understands it. They understand what is required of them to receive Christ and they become fruitful, true Christians. My question for you is this, are you on the narrow way because you did what only God enabled you to do. You surrendered your life to Christ. Are you on the narrow way and all along the way you're walking with Christ and you're obedient to the word? See there are two ways folks. There's the narrow way and then there's the broad way but we cannot ignore the call.

Jesus says enter and my question is this, which way will you go? Now I want to move on. We have three more truths that I want us to cover and these are much shorter. So take a deep breath, alright. Some of you probably thought, oh Lord when is he going to finish? So I want us to see number three, the two destinations. Number three we see the two destinations. Look back at the verses. We're going to know these verses by the time we get through. Jesus says enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction and many of those who enter by it.

The gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life and few are those who find it. Now we may not see it on the surface here but Jesus is combating a lie. He is rebutting a lie and that lie is this. All roads lead to heaven. See that is one of the biggest lies straight out of the sewer of hell folks and so many people believe that. They believe that really all roads if you're honest and you're sincere all roads lead to heaven. Let me show you what I mean. Everyone believes they're going to heaven. Very few people have I met that say no pastor I'm going to hell and I know it.

And listen some folks believe that they're going to some type of heaven but Jesus is refuting that lie and establishing the truth about who is truly going to heaven. And listen if you do not believe the Bible none of this is for you because you're not going to believe what scripture says. Now you'll be held accountable by it. Now notice how Jesus narrows this down. The first destination destruction. Look back at verse 13 enter by the narrow gate for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction. This word destruction is a key word here. Now it does not mean total destruction.

Some believe in some sort of annihilation that when someone dies they are just annihilated they're totally destroyed they become nothing. But that is not what Jesus is talking about here. This destruction speaks of hell. It speaks of an eternal punishment and eternal torment. Psalm 1 verse 6 says the way of the wicked will perish. That is an illusion to hell and all peoples even religious peoples all who are not on the narrow way all who have not come through the one gate which is Christ all of those who are not in Christ listen their way is destruction. They're on the wide path that leads to destruction.

And look folks even good moral Baptists. Then second the second destination life. So look at verse 14 for the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life. Now this word life is key here. This speaks of eternal life and look folks eternal life begins in this life when we're converted to Christ it is the very spirit of God that comes to live within the soul of a man and then ultimately this speaks to eternal life everlasting life in heaven with God and all of the redeemed.

So we see two destinations destruction it would be better to describe it as damnation and eternal punishment our life life with Christ on earth in life with Christ throughout all of eternity. Now I have a question an application for you. Where are you going after this life where you know in my office right outside my office door is a picture of my grandparents. They've long since passed away. I love the picture because it shows them in the back of the camp just as they are or were are in my mind.

I remember what was taking place they've been working in the garden but you know my grandparents have long been put in the grave their bodies are decomposed but their souls live on. See folks one day you're going to leave this life and the question is where will your soul go where will your soul go and listen folks everybody goes to heaven everybody goes to heaven in a country music song and everybody goes to heaven in a funeral but that isn't what God's word says.

Don't rely on the theology of a cheap country song that says that everybody goes to heaven and nobody goes to hell and don't let someone preach you into heaven based on some view that we all somehow get there because by the time they do that it's too late. It's heaven and hell. Remember the call? It says enter enter into the narrow gate and the question is which way will you go and then forth our last major truth and it is a little shorter we see two peoples we see two peoples back to our verses enter by the narrow gate for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction and many see the people are those who enter by it for the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life and few see the people are those who find it so we see two peoples going into two gates traveling down two ways of life both headed towards two destinations two groups two peoples specifically notice the many there in verse 13 the many they enter the wide gate but remember how they do this folks they may openly reject Christ have you ever seen someone openly reject Christ the first two times someone witnessed to me I openly rejected Christ two people witnessed to me and told me of Christ and I can't repeat to you what I said I openly rejected Christ or they may purposely choose to just go a different way I've seen so many folks in the life of the church sit on the pew for a while and just go another way and listen they are destined to destruction and these are the many the text says and the list of the many is endless how can we make the list I will just name a few this these are all the atheists and the humanists and agnostics these are the cultural the nominal Christians they profess Christ but they don't know Christ this is all of the world religions that reject Jesus or somehow change Jesus these would be the pagans and listen this includes all who are not in Christ and again even good Baptists have not been converted and then specifically notice the few see this at the end of verse 14 they enter the narrow gate now how do they enter the narrow gate they come to genuine faith in Christ so they travel in the narrow way it might be a pressed in way it might be a hard way they enjoy eternal life on earth and ultimately they will enjoy eternal life with God throughout all eternity and the differences of the few are many with one thing in common not necessarily the same language they don't necessarily have the same skin tone they don't necessarily have the same level of education or economic opportunities the few are those who know Christ they have decided to follow Christ because they've been born of the Spirit of God so we have two peoples they're only two they're only two kind of people in this world and we're not talking about black or white or rich or poor the few are many one of the two now I'll simply ask you a question which group are you in the few are the many and you know folks if you're a born-again Christian you're part of the family of God no matter where you go when you meet true born-again Christians you know what you realize we're all in the family I mentioned another anchored in truth pastor the Philippines the capital city of Manila specifically right outside of Manila or a part of the man of Manila it's called Quazon City some of you know what Quazon City is famous for is for a famous heavyweight boxing match the Thrilla in Manila but they're in the Philippines they're in Manila there's pastor Tim he is the pastor of Grace Life Church there in Manila and you know when I went to the Philippines I met pastor Tim I met so many who were active in the life of that church brothers and sisters he has some 18 churches that are immediately under him I met many of those pastors and every one of them could come to you and tell you their testimony of how they came through the gate they came through the gate God saved them they came through Christ and oh they could tell you how they're living then they're away and they could tell you about their hope their destination is heaven and you know it might be a language barrier we might have cultural differences but oh after I got to know them a little while you know what I realize those are my people those are my people and see those of you who are in Christ we're family you're my people so we see two peoples there's only two we see his call and the question is which way will you go now before I move to some short application and conclusion notice how this applies to those listening right there in that day remember the audience Jesus there on the hillside great crowd mostly Jews the few Gentiles I'm just the disciples are there on the front row they're eager they're keen they just started their minute ministry with Jesus I just got to believe the religious leaders are in the back they don't like anything he's teaching see for the disciples that were there in the crowd they had decided already they had entered into the narrow gate and see what Christ is doing is this for them Jesus is it Jesus isn't calling them to salvation again but he is calling his disciples to walk the narrow way that pressed in way to walk the narrow way walled in by sin Oh struggling with self yes walled in by failure and trials and tribulation walled in even by the world in persecution now look at how they live their life they live the life of the way did they not and then there was a crowd all of those Jews the religious leaders and some Gentiles and Jesus was calling them to himself he was saying you decide he was saying I've given you kingdom life you decide even the Gentiles Jesus is calling them to himself and he's saying you decide remember the word enter he's saying you do it now now let me show you the great mystery here folks you've got God's sovereignty God ordained every man every young person every Jew every Gentile to be right there on that day no accidents no coincidence God ordained every person to be right there but then they have a responsibility Jesus draws a line he says you choose today and see for you God has sovereignly worked for you take a deep breath and listen do you realize the sovereign God of this universe has brought you here this day there are no accidents he hasn't brought you into the life of this church and me into your life God has done this work he has brought you here and for you there is a call a call from the Spirit of God a call to come to Christ to enter the gate of Christ and to get on the narrow path the question is which way will you go and see for me folks I'm liberated I'm liberated I'm liberated not because of my salvation I'm liberated because I don't have to go find out who you are the Spirit knows the spirit and see the Spirit of God has been doing two things has been encouraging believers so narrow way folks oh their struggles or difficulties the spirits just been encouraging you to just tighten up your belt and get a little more serious that's the Spirit of God but then the Spirit of God has been singling some of you out you've not come the way of Christ all I have to do is declare and let the Spirit do and only the Spirit can do so my question for you is this which way will you go and you know we don't give that traditional Baptist invitation here this is the invitation the message what spit the Spirit of God is doing if you need me you come to me if you need brother Keith you go to brother Keith if you're a lady and you need to sit down with the lady you can sit down with my wife or other women will help you will walk you through the scripture but ultimately it is a meeting between you and the Lord we just might be a witness so let's pray we'll commit this to the Lord we'll sing a closing song and then we'll dismiss let's pray.