Sun Am Worship The True and the False way to
Heaven!
Text: Matt 7:13-29 (King James Version)
"Father, I am your servant, willing and desiring to be used to bless your people."
The Fields are white and the laborers are
few!
2. C.H. Spurgeon said, "If God does not save a man by truth he certainly
will not save them by lies, and if the old gospel is not competent to work a
revival, then we will do without the revival;
Good Morning,
I want to honor all of us Seniors for a minute. we all know what we mean
when we talk about "Senior Moments"
It's when you try to do something, or
think of something, and you're totally without a clue
* You know you're
getting older when the only thing you want for your birthday is not to be
reminded of it.
* One Senior said: "When the doctor asked what I did for
exercise, I said pushing ninety is exercise enough!"
* Another Senior said:
"There are four advantages to getting old and forgetful: One, you meet new
friends every day; two, every joke you hear is new; three, you can hide your own
Easter eggs; and four ummm, I forget the fourth thing."
Now, I know some
people are very sensitive about their age
One precious lady said as she was
being interviewed and was asked: "I see your birthday is April 12. What year?"
Her reply was, "Every year."
Time is precious. We really are not here on this earth
for very long. We are like when you go to turn the light switch on, and the bulb
is shot. One day it will eventually happen. So, how can we make the most of the
time we have? We can make the most of the time we have left on earth by making
the most of our walk with God.
Many people
live carelessly not giving much thought about their relationship with God. One
day we will all have to stand before the Creator of this universe. The question
that demands an answer is this: Will
the road you are currently on lead you to God as your Heavenly Father who will
receive you as a forgiven child? Or will it lead you to God as your Judge who will expel you to an
eternal punishment?
The true and the False way to Heaven
Raccoons go through a glandular change at about 24
months. After that they often attack their owner. Since a 30-pound raccoon can
be equal to a 100-pound dog in a scrap, a zoo keeper felt compelled to mention
the change coming to a pet raccoon owned by a young lady named
Julie.
She
listened politely as he explained the coming danger. He never forgot her
response. "It will be different for me .
. ." And she also smiled as she added, "Why Bandit would never hurt me." Julie underwent plastic
surgery just three months later for facial lacerations sustained when her adult
raccoon attacker her for no apparent reason.
All too
often sin comes dressed in an adorable disguise and so we play with
it. How quickly we find ourselves
saying, "Oh It will be different for
me."
Warnings are very important. I have been a watchman for
about twenty one years, sounding the alarm and blowing the trumpet of God's
Warning.
If your
smoke detector goes off, it's giving you a warning. If the lights on the dash of
your car, or truck comes on, it's a warning that something needs to be given
attention. You may have driven a car for years and a warning light stays on
whether the car is running okay, or not. We just assume it is just another false
alarm. So you have to make a
decision whether to believe the alarm and take appropriate action, or to
disregard the alarm and go on with your business.
There are warnings in
the Bible. Every person must make a decision to believe the warnings and take
the appropriate action. There is a warning given by Jesus in Matthew 7. It is a
warning to folks who really think they are okay. There are millions of folks who
really believe they are safe from the coming judgment and anger of a Holy God.
They have a false sense of
security. It's like when that huge ocean liner, the Titanic, was struck
by an iceberg. It was a matter of a few hours and it would sink to the bottom of
the ocean. Many people rejected the lifeboats thinking that they were more
secure on the Titanic than the lifeboats.
Matt 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is
the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be
which go in thereat:
7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way,
which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
7:15 Beware of false
prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening
wolves.
7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of
thorns, or figs of thistles?
7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth
good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
7:18 A good tree
cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth
good
fruit.
7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and
cast into the fire.
7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the
will of my Father which is in heaven.
7:22 Many will say to me in that
day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast
out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
7:23 And then will I
profess unto them, I never knew you:
depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth
these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which
built his house upon a rock:
7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods
came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was
founded upon a rock.
7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine,
and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house
upon the sand:
7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the
winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
7:28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people
were astonished at his doctrine:
7:29 For he taught them as one having
authority, and not as the scribes.
In this last part of the chapter, we see
the description of two ways, two types of people, two destinations, two gates,
two kinds of trees, two kinds of fruit, two foundations with two kinds of
builders. When it comes to making a choice as to where you spend eternity, there
are only two options. It is heaven, or
it is hell.
A third option is not
given.
When it comes to choosing the
way to get to heaven, there is only two
options. There is the right way, and then there is the wrong way. Our
American culture does not want to accept this. Burger King caught on to what
Americans like so they came up with a catchy phrase, "have it your way". When it comes to
making preparation for heaven, you can't
do it your way. It is either God's way, or it is the wrong way.
Jesus
says in verse 13 "Enter by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate and broad is
the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by
it."
I. There are two roads people are traveling to go to heaven: the
BROAD way, and the NARROW way.
I don't believe anyone purposely gets on the road that leads
Hell. Everyone thinks they are on the
right road. If they really believe they're on the wrong road, they would do
something about it. That brings to light
Proverbs 16:25 There is a way
that seemeth right unto a man, but
the end thereof are the ways of death.
The devil is too cunning to label the road to Hell this way. I
believe he has it labeled "Heaven", therefore many thinks they are on the
right road, but actually they are heading toward the place of eternal
destruction. It is called the Broad Way, because there are so many people on
this road.
Look at vv.13,14, there will be more people going to Hell,
than there will be going to Heaven. It has the same handwriting on the wall as
it was in the days of Noah, Most people think the majority is always
right, No one wanted on the ark until the Judgment of a Holy God began to
fall. They quickly realized it was
too late when brother Noah could no longer sound the warning and open the doors
of salvation. Same scenario in this
case the majority is on their way too Hell.
That
majority includes the hardened sinner, the drunkard, the fornicator, the
idolator, the homosexual, and it includes the religious person who is depending
upon their own self righteousness of do good works. Hell is full of what the world would
consider "good" people. The moral person, the generous person, the good
neighbor, the friendly person, that good-nature person, that person who is
basing their acceptance with God on their own good merits and works of self
righteousness.
It is called
the Broad Way, because it will allow anything, and anyone to travel it. You can carry all kinds of baggage with
you. You can carry any sin. You don't have to give up a thing. You can come just
as you are, and not make any changes. There is no repentance on the Broad Way!
No Life Changes have to be made. Anything, and anyone is allowed, no exceptions!
That's the way of the world. We have room for everyone, except for one
person. It was made plain in Bethelehem. When Jesus was born, there was no room
in the inn. This world has no room
for Jesus.
Yet, on the broad way...everything else is allowed. The
promoters of the Broad Way says..You
can make a profession of faith in Christ and hang on to your sins. You don't
have to change anything!!! It's a lot easier to ask forgiveness than
permission!
Church we must make the Most of the Time We Have
left.
It is absolutely essential that you know Christ as both Lord and
Savior. You cannot have a savior without a Lord and Apart from Christ there is
no relationship with a Holy God.
To the child of God I urge you to make the most of your
time you have left with the Lord! Don't be a careless Christian who lives day by
day with no thought of a deeper walk with Christ. Don't settle for a "I
know-nothing; I feel-nothing; I want-nothing; I desire-nothing".
I would seriously question whether I was a believer
if I did not want to know more of Christ. I would seriously question my
salvation if I did not feel and sense God's presence in my life. "Jesus stated
My sheep know my voice"
Our faith is not based on feelings, for we walk by Faith
and not by Sight"
I would seriously question where I stand with God if I
did not desire anything of the Lord.
In order to make the most of our
time with God, we will need to look carefully in three directions and answer
three important questions.
1. LOOK AROUND. How are you being influenced?
There are only two possible ways we can be influenced. Either we are
influenced with godly influence, or with ungodly" Worldly Pleasures" influence.
We need to ask ourselves the question: How are we being
influenced?
What are we allowing to influence us? To shape us? To
mold us?
You don't have to teach kids to be bad. They learn that quite
well.
As Christians we must beware of ungodly influences.
Psalms 1:1
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor
standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
(1) Walking in the counsel of the ungodly. Walk speaks
of the direction we are going. "Broad or Narrow" Turn from ungodly counsel.
Don't go that direction. Some folks start each day by reading their horoscope.
That's the counsel they get each day. It's ungodly counsel. Some people will
consult some psychic they heard on TV. Some folks will listen to a "talk
show" and get counsel on how to
deal with everyday life. Some folks will buy a magazine just to read some
ungodly counsel that's not worth the paper it's printed on.
When we go in the
direction of worldly wisdom, and forsaking godly wisdom, we are under ungodly
influences. The next step is…
(2) Standing in the way of sinners. After we go
in the direction of seeking advice from the ungodly, we move from consulting the
ungodly to identifying with the ungodly. Standing speaks of how we are now
identifying with the way of sinners. We
are no longer opposing their viewpoint, we are embracing what they say. At
first we walk to the ungodly to listen to what they say, now we don't walk back
to where we should be, Now we stand
where they stand. We identify with their position. There's only one
position that's worth having----that's God's position. There's only one
viewpoint that's worth having---that's God's viewpoint. Everything else must go
to the TRASH CAN!!!
(3) Sitting in the seat of the scornful. Sitting speaks
of a resting place. We have landed on a position that we feel very comfortable
with. We first just walked around some ungodly counsel, then we began to stand
around in ungodly counsel, finally we adopt it for our very own. We now sit down
and take our seats. We sit in the seat of the scornful. SCOFFERS! MOCKERS! We
now embrace ungodliness and scoff and mock at everything that is holy and
godly.
We need to look around us and ask this question, How are we being
influenced? Television has helped to make a nation of scoffers! Oh, but
preacher, TV doesn't influence me. Maybe it does, or maybe it doesn't….I do know
this….there are millions and millions of dollars spent on advertisement. Why?
Advertising has influence on what kind of cereal you
eat, what kind of toothpaste you buy, and what kind of truck you'll drive. We
are influenced by what we see on television.
How we are being influenced
will always reflect in what we become in character.
Take a good Look
Inside your heart. Look inside where you really live. Ask yourself, "what kind
of person am I becoming?" King
David also recognized this.
Psalm 73:3 "for I was envious at the foolish, when I
saw the prosperity of the wicked"
Psalm 73:12 "Behold, these are the ungodly,
who prosper in the world; they increase in riches."
It looks like the
wicked are the ones who are filthy rich. The good person is the one suffering.
But don't forget Psalm 73:17 Until I
went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. .
God gave the writer some
insight. You haven't seen their end. Psalm 1:4 the ungodly are not so…the wind
drives them away….last 4 words of Psalm 1 says the ungodly shall perish. They
are on the broad way to destruction.
In this world….For the Believer…this
is the only Hell you will see and experience.
For the unbeliever, this is the
only Heaven they will ever know…
The Narrow Way is narrow because there
is only ONE entrance to heaven.
There is Only one entrance into the portals
of Heaven.
John 14:6 "Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and
the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through
Me.'"
John 10:9 "I am the door;
if anyone enters through Me,he will be saved, and will go in and out and find
pasture." There are not 2 doors, or 3 doors or 5 doors, there is
only one It is not a Pentecostal or a Baptist door, it's not a Church of Christ
nor a Methodist door, it is a JESUS
DOOR!
there are no exceptions. no loopholes! No way to get around this one!
John
10:1 "Truly, truly I say to you,he who does not enter by the door into the fold
of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a
robber."
It is Narrow because it is a difficult way....v.14
"difficult is the way"
It is difficult because the flesh cannot enter into
it. You can't bring the unconverted life into heaven. in Matthew 19:16-24 The
rich man went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Jesus said "it is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to
enter the kingdom of God."
He held tightly to his riches. He held tightly to
his possessions. Millions of people turn from Christ because they will not turn lose of their
lives. They will not surrender to
the control of God in their lives. They do not want to give up! The rich
man did not offer to give up a small portion of what he had. It would have done
no good. Jesus did not ask for a
small portion. Why would we
believe for one minute he will settle for our leftovers? He demands all or nothing! The rich
young man knew what Jesus required. Jesus required 100% surrender. Jesus will
not save you when you bargain with only a 25% surrender, or a 50%, or 90%
surrender. The rich man did not ride the fence and try to bargain for
both...Jesus did not provide a fence. You can't be a fence sitter when it comes
to following Jesus. Jesus demands a total commitment, a better word is SURRENDER! I surrender all!
Jesus
said it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich
man to enter the kingdom of God. We live in a country of wealth-- One of the
richest nations in the world. We value our possessions, money, our things, our
toys, our time, our vacations, our families, our homes, our jobs. Until we are
willing to surrender all that we have, all that we value to Christ, we cannot be His follower.
Holding on to this world will send your
soul to Hell! That's the true gospel according to Jesus!
Luke 9:23-25
"If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his
cross daily and follow Me. 24 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. 25 For
what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits
himself?"
"Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord' shall enter
the kingdom of heaven, but he who does
the will of My Father in heaven. You can read the Bible, or hear it being
read. You can even say you believe it, and that it is God's Word, but if you do
not do the will of My Father in heaven,
how can you say you are going to heaven? If you don't do what this book says,
how can you say you are going to heaven?
Jesus says it is the person who works iniquity, or
practices lawlessness who will be kept out of heaven. A Christian will certainly
sin, and do wrong, but what Jesus is saying......Its the person who has an
unbroken pattern of sin, and
rebellion, who are not going to heaven.
They live for themselves. The Bible is not a part of
their life. Prayer is not a part of their life. Witnessing for Jesus is not part
of their life. Living for Jesus is not in their daily routine.
But many of
these same people believe that just because they walked an aisle one time, or
they came forward in a church service, and were baptized, or they attended
church that that makes them saved. THERE
IS NOTHING IN THE BIBLE where a person's salvation is proven by looking back to
sometime in the past when you made a profession of faith. Rather you can
always tell a tree by it's fruit.
Look at the fruit. What's going on in your life today?
The Bible says in
James 2:14 "What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but
does not have works? v.17 "Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is
dead."
Here is the warning from our Lord. You may say to the Lord one day,
"But God, look, I really believed in You. I went to church. I walked the aisle
one Sunday. I made a profession of faith. I even sung in the choir. I taught
Sunday School class. I Pastored a church. I helped to build a building for the
church. I've done many wonderful works.
But Jesus will say, You practiced a life of wickedness. Your
lips may have spoken my name on Sunday. Your feet may have carried you to the
church house on Sunday, but your heart was far from me. You never really loved
me. You had no desire to live for me. You only gave outward signs of being a
believer. Inside you were empty. You did not have love for people. You did not
have a love for the Bible. You did not have a heart that wanted to really
worship me.
I saw those times when you were so happy
when the church service was dismissed so you could watch a movie on TV. Your
life was full of gossiping all the time. You had great pleasure in running
people down. You smiled every time you heard of someone getting caught up in
some sexual scandal. Your life was full of lust. You constantly looked at other
women. You constantly gazed upon pornographic material. You did sing a few times
in church, but your heart was really on worldly music. You would rather attend a
Blue Grass festival, or a Rock Concert, or the Grand Old Opry rather than
listening and singing praises to My Name.
The Bible had
no place in your life. Outwardly you gave some signs of being a believer, but in
your heart
you had no room for Me. We never fellowshipped. You did not have a
love for Me. You only lived for yourself.
2Cor 13:5
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the
faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ
is in you, except ye be reprobates?
When we have truly trusted Jesus, and Jesus alone, by
faith alone, by grace alone to save us, there will always be evidence of obedience
to God's Word.
There will be evidence of repentance--a turning from sin and a turning to
God.
The storms of judgment are coming. The warning is plain! Where
will you stand on that final day? Are you trusting totally in Jesus for
salvation? Is your house upon the foundation of a Rock.
Jesus is that Rock.
Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16:18 "...on this rock I will build My church, and
the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it."
The rock is referring to
Peter's confession that He believed upon Jesus as the Son of God.
That rock
is not good works, it is not personal righteousness that we have, it is not
baptism, church membership, or a church affiliation, or denomination. That Rock
is Jesus! Are you standing on Jesus? Is your faith totally in Him?
If so,
then that means you will surrender to His Lordship.
Until a
man/woman puts into practice what God says, all that they say from theirs mouth
doesn't mean a thing.
YOU really
ONLY BELIEVE WHAT YOU PUT INTO PRACTICE.
Noah believed God. Noah didn't just stand around and
claim how much he believed God. Noah didn't give all lip service to his faith in
God. Noah put faith into practice.
What did Noah do? The Bible says in
Hebrews 11 "he prepared an ark to the saving of his house.." Noah had a solid
foundation to stand on when the floods of judgment came.
If you are here today I want to send out an invitation
to surrender your life in entirety. There are TWO ways to God. Both ways will
indeed get you to GOD but only one will get you into Heaven. What would it
profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his
soul.
We will never be perfect, and without sin until Jesus
comes. We are just not perfect..yet. But if we truly are believers in Jesus,
there should be some evidence of that. If you have never trusted Jesus to save
you and to make you His child, Jesus says in the Word of God...
You don't
have to carry those sins one day longer.
You don't have to be in a cold or
indifferent way any longer.
You don't have to remain outside of God's family
any longer on the wrong road.