Sermon On the Mount - Narrow & Wide Gates
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This week Casten looks at Matthew 7:13-14 as we continue our series on the Sermon on the Mount
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Sermon On the Mount - Narrow & Wide Gates
- 1. Matthew 7: 13 - 14
- 2. 13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. 2 Matthew 7 (NIV)
- 3. 3
- 4. • Small beginning to a great ending • Jesus gives lots of entry points for open hearts • “Enter” is a doing word. You have to do something 4 1. Enter Kingdom of God Principle
- 5. 5 Gates
- 6. 6 2. Gates …. what are they? • Pathways to applying / responding to revelation • Everything Jesus spoke about in this “Sermon on the Mount” calls for a decision to enter through a narrow gate
- 7. 7 2. Gates …. what are they? Last week’s handout ….. … …
- 8. 3. Choice of Gate 8 • Not a choice for enter or not • A choice for one gate or the other • Can make Kingdom choices daily
- 9. 13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 9 Matthew 7 (NIV)
- 10. 10 4. Wide Gates and Broad Roads
- 11. • Broad and easy gate = culture around us 11 4. Wide Gates and Broad Roads • Requires no Holy Spirit operation • Believers choose paths in their lives daily • Choosing broad is our default
- 12. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. 12 Matthew 7 (NIV)
- 13. 13 5. Small Gates and Narrow Roads • Lead to life and Kingdom of God • Kingdom of God can come to a whole community because of one person who chooses to enter through the narrow gate
- 14. 14 5. Small Gates and Narrow Roads “…. and only a few find it.” Not a reference to “the elect” or “eternal destiny”
- 15. 15 6. Entry to the Next Level Principle • Road starts narrow and windy • Have to push through the small beginning
- 16. 16 So What ….?? • Decide to “enter” …. need to do something • Your choice for the narrow gate can bring life to communities • Choose the narrow gate … shun common culture see the “How Kingdom People Are Deferent” Handout for a starting point
- 17. 17 So What ….?? 17 Last week’s handout ….. … …
Notes de l'éditeur
- (1) This is a doing word that calls for action. You need to do something
- Shimanami kaido is a 60 km of 10 suspension bridges – the world’s longest of its kind – that goes through nine islands Connects mainland Japan to the beautiful Shikoku islands
- (1) People don’t usually put up gates for no reason. Usually there are there to protect something, make sure only certain people come through, etc (2) One has to have a reason and make a decision to enter through a gate ….. there might be dangerous animals inside …
- Pathways to applying or responding to revelation so that the Kingdom of God can come to a particular area of your life
- Illustration: “How Kingdom People are Different” handout from last week. Every single one of the “Kingdom-of-God People” responses calls for a decision to enter through a narrow gate Wondering where to start in responding to this message? Look at the Handout and choose even one of those 20 issues Jesus taught on and decide to take a “Kingdom-of-God People” response
- (1) We have opportunities to make Kingdom choices everyday as we decide on career, family, health, adventure, fun, etc
- Who doesn’t like the “Easy Way” out Exit? If I could get away with no exercise and still be healthy, no work and still be paid, no responsibility towards anyone ….
- We have to fight the tendency to be like everyone else, the easy way out (2) “We want an easy life”. It’s easy to do nothing (3) Immediately gratifying. I can justify why I do what I do and why I don’t want to do something (4) Has no capacity to produce life. I can’t grow as an individual, let alone produce disciples for Christ
- Examples (i) Samaritan woman who meets Jesus at the well in John 4:29-30, 39-42 – shakes off shame and goes to tell the town of Jesus. Many believe and get saved. (ii) Noah believed God’s message to build an ark in the midst of all the jeering he received for taking about the rain to come …. Led to the salvation of lives from the terrible flooding that followed
- The thought of the Kingdom of God being reserved for a “few”, “some elect”, or those “eternally destined” for it is against the rest of the Bible God causes the sun to shine and the rain to fall for both the bad and good. His Son died for all. He allows both godly and evil people to live Yes, only a few find and choose to enter through the narrow gate … BUT these share the joy/life with everyone else … Ex: parable of the lost coin. You and I have found Jesus first not so that we may feel elite BUT so that we may produce disciples
- Illustration: It’s been more than 4 years since leaving the ANU and joining the APS - Been praying all along about seeing the Kingdom of God come in my current workplace - Felt largely lonely and had only a few opportunities to share the Kingdom of God - I have largely struggled with some fear I think – not wanting to break the APS Code of Conduct - Since the beginning of the year I have decided to be intentional about seeking opportunities to connect with people beyond the cover up phase. Learning from Brian, I have been seeking to ask the next question beyond “G’day, how are you mate …” - Have in the past 3 months met with 2 believers at work through quick kitchen conversations, whilst waiting for food to warm up in the microwave! - Have since started a fortnightly catch up as a group of 5 believers, and sense the presence of the Lord every time we meet to pray and share ideas - Latest one being John Best – challenged me that we are here to be fathers to the people we work with – in agreement with the Crosslink message!