Life on the Narrow Road | Living From the Inside Out

Well hello welcome again to worship and uh particularly now to this time of kind of diving in to
God's word the Bible and seeing what God the Holy Spirit has to say to us through it I don't
know of any passage personally that is more sobering more challenging than the one we look
at today so let's start by just actually looking at the passage and what Jesus said as found in
Matthew chapter 7 we're going to start in verse 13 so I invite you to find that or or look along
on the screens as you would prefer but these words are incredibly challenging to say the least
here's what our lord said enter through the narrow gate for why is the gate and Broad is the
road that leads to destruction and many enter through it but small is the gate and narrow the
road that leads to life and only a few find it and it goes on uh watch out for false prophets they
come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly they are ferocious wolves by their fruit you will
recognize them and then he goes on uh do people pick grapes from Thorn bushes or figs from
thistles likewise every good tree Bears good fruit but a bad tree Bears Bad fruit a good tree
cannot bear bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit every tree that does not bear good
fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire then he emphasizes it again thus by their fruit you
will recognize them and then this section Jesus sums up in in these words this is another very
sobering statement from from the mouth of our Lord Jesus not everyone who says to me Lord
Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven but only he or she who does the will of my father who is
in heaven many will say to me on that day Lord Lord did did we not prophesy in your name and
in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles then I will tell them plainly I I never
knew you away from me you evildoers to me those are the most sobering verses in all the Bible
and here's what's shocking to me Jesus said men he didn't say just a few outliers or those
who've committed horrific crimes and were never repentant of them not not the worst and the
most hardened no Jesus said many people are going to be shocked on Judgment Day and he's
including many who sounded like insiders in other words they went to church they called Jesus
Lord they had done certain deeds in in Jesus name they talked a good talk in other words but
Jesus said they were definitely not on the narrow road many is the word he use many who've
been either hypocritical or self-deceived will be forever condemned and shut out from the
presence of God forever condemned to hell that's why I say to me these are the most sober in
verses in all of scripture so as we unpack this I want to ask three probing questions to help us
really understand this today one is how do you know you're on the narrow road because
there's probably no question that's more important than that how do you know second uh
we're going to ask the question what voices are you listening to because as you saw Jesus gave
a Stern warning about false prophets people who come to us and they present well but they're
not really the real deal in fact they're actually dangerous because wolves were the natural
enemy of sheep they were the greatest enemy to sheep in Jesus day and then the third
question we're going to ask is if you were accused of being a Christ follower would there be
enough evidence to convict you and so that's where we're going today and and I want you to
know right up front I want everyone to know that at the end of this time we're going to provide
an encouragement and an opportunity for you to seek God In Prayer my message is going to be
a bit briefer than usual and that's to allow time at all three camp campuses for us to come
forward and either pray on our own or maybe with one of our prayer team members who will
be here for you and would love to spend a few moments listening and praying with you right
here in this prayer area this front altar area you see I I don't want you to miss this opportunity
for some of you this will be the first time that you've ever stood up and stepped out and walked
down an aisle and sought God in this way and so this is a great day for you it literally is going to
be a day of spiritual breakthrough where literally angels will be rejoicing because of the
changes that God is bringing that God's bringing in your life now I'm telling you this up front
because I want you to be ready I just want you to be open to how the Holy Spirit I is going to be
speaking to you during this message this is your moment God is preparing you for this today is
the day for many of you that you will draw a line in the sand as it were and make a significant
spiritual commitment to Jesus Christ so please know that that time is going to be for you uh
right at the end of the message today but before we get to that I want us to unpack these
questions so here's the first one that we're asking and that is how do you know such an
important question how do you know you're on the narrow road if you ask the average Church
goer that I think these are some of the responses you get some would say well I I pray a prayer
a long time ago and the preacher said you're good to go now or others will say look I was
christened as an infant and that sealed the deal for me forever others might say well look I I go
to church how do you know you're on the narrow road someone say because I'm a republican
for God's sake yeah I vote the Republican ballot others might say because I'm a Democrat and I
think that's so important others would say look man I know I'm on the narrow road because
I've got a Christian fish emblem chrom plated on the trunk of my car other might say I know
because I give to the poor because I read the Bible or I read Christian books or some might even
say because I attend Grace Fellowship church now listen listen if you're relying on any of those
things in and of themselves to save you I can say with confidence today that you're not on the
narrow road I can say that because Jesus said unless you're converted and become as little
children you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven Jesus said to Nicodemus a very religious
Man by the way he said unless you're born again you will never see the Kingdom of Heaven
you see the the language Jesus used here in our passage is very very interesting he said in verse
13 in enter enter through the narrow gate now enter is an action word if you come to my
house and we stand out on the porch the front porch and and I invite you to come in I can
invite you and I can invite you again and and I can keep on inviting you to come into the house
but until you intentionally take action and enter you can remain outside indefinitely th this is a
strong word it's a word that requires action on our our part what I'm saying to you today
friends is that nobody's on the narrow road by accident they wake up one day whoa how did I
get here I don't know no everyone who's on the narrow road has been invited by God the Holy
Spirit and they have accepted that gracious invitation and that's how you enter that narrow
gate and get on the narrow road and so that it's just one of many reasons that we're going to
pray a little bit later for some of you God's been working in your life you know it's been
happening he's been wooing you inviting you drawing you to himself and this is your moment
to enter through the narrow gate just like Jesus said the holy spirit is speak speaking to you and
today is your moment to take action for others of you you need to come today and pray about
other issues in your life you need to seek out perhaps one of the members of our prayer team
here and say this issue is going on in my life whatever it is I just I just want to spend a few
moments praying with someone about that and so I invite you to do that today but there's a
second question that I think is super important that we need to address and that is what voices
what voices are you listening to because here's the deal all of us all of us have these voices that
are calling for our Allegiance and our commitment but Jesus said be careful now be careful
because there's these false prophets out there it's what he called them and they are doing
their best to lead you astray let's look at his words again in chapter 7 he said watch out for false
prophets they come to you in sheep's clothing in other words unless you're incredibly Savvy or
even if you are you would probably not notice right up front that there's even a problem here
they look good smell good sound good sound all Orthodox like everything's wonderful make a
good first impression they come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly they're ferocious
wolves and then he says by their fruit you will recognize them by the way twice twice in this
passage he emphasized that it's by their fruit now what exactly does that mean fruit I I would
suggest to you that fruit would invol involve things like character character what is their real
charact and again you're not going to know that immediately when you're just meeting
someone you don't know whether it takes time to know character because that's something is
very deep and profound it's at the essence of who a person is I would suggest it involves
conduct what are their what is their basic morality what choices are is this person make what
do you really see as you look not just at the of character but actual conduct day by day in the
decisions they make and then third fruit would involve the content of their message all of
those are important but I want to say a word to you now about the content of the message
because I I I think that that's certainly something our Lord is concerned about here I want to
say a word about the content of the message because all of us we're constantly exposed to
messages voices out there that are telling us something and we wonder is it true or not or can I
believe this they're calling for us I I I want to put three statements up here on the screen and
the Gospel of Jesus Christ contains all three of these messages here they are come and be
challenged come and be comforted come and be changed now the Gospel of Jesus is the most
important message in the world it is that message that centers around the death burial and
resurrection of our Jesus of Jesus Christ Our Lord and his offer of Salvation to us most
important message in the world but it contains all three of these emphases let's talk about
them for just a moment let's begin with the middle one I am so glad for one that the gospel
says come and be comforted Jesus made statements like come to me all you who are weary and
burdened and I will give you rest comfort from a crazy world he said Peace I leave with you do
you need peace in your life instead of all the chaos and turmoil that is crowding in on your
Consciousness and on your soul and causing you to be ripped by anxiet do you need some
peace today Jesus promises peace my peace I give you he said not as the world gives I don't
want your hearts to be troubled Jesus said whoever drinks this water will thirst again but
whoever drinks the water that I give him or her will never thirst wow the messages of comfort
just go on and on and on about the good things that God wants to bring into our lives the end
invitation is to come and be comforted I'll never forget I can literally still see it in my mind's eye
I still know the clothes I was wearing actually that day back on June the 16th 1974 when in a
service much like this I walked down an aisle and I prayed in a front area and that represented
years of struggling with the guilt and the weight of my sin and finally the Lord had brought me
to a place of complete Brokenness over that in Repentance I was ready just to surrender
everything to Jesus Christ and so that represented that moment for me as I walked forward I'll
never forget the Comfort I fell wow I was so comforted I knew see I knew not only were my sins
forgiven but I knew there was no more condemnation for me I knew that I was was now in the
Lord's family and that Jesus Christ by his Spirit was literally indwelling me the Comfort was
amazing but are you still listening to me folks well I praise God for this please understand the
gospel doesn't begin with Comfort oh no the gospel begins with challenge challenge is like this
whoever does not believe stands condemned already that's the words of Jesus or Jesus
statement unless you repent you will all likewise perish or even his words from today's
passage the broad Road make no mistake leads to destruction boy there's nothing comforting
in that is there I don't get any comfort from that whatsoever folks that challenges me like crazy
to examine which road am I on am I have I repented do I believe and it's only when we Face
the challenge of the Gospel that we get to the Comfort if you think you're being comforted
and you've never faced the challenging part of the Gospel your comfort is a pseudo Comfort it's
a false Comfort you're deceived about where you really stand with God so the gospel says say
come and be challenged then you're going to be comforted with all kinds of wonderful
Comfort because the reality of that and then the gospel isn't finished yet with us he says now
come and be changed this is The Obedience part I want to literally start a work in your life
where I transform you from the inside out this is about obeying all that I commanded you okay I
hope you have it three parts of the invitation come and be challenged come and be comforted
come and be changed now you say Pastor how do I know when I got a false prophet if all you
ever hear is the comforting part you got a false prophet on your hands let me tell you a little
trick about false prophets they don't usually say hardly anything that is blatantly wrong that's
what's so tricky about it that's what's so deceptive there's virtually never a statement out of
their mouth that is obviously and blatantly wrong it all sounds so good that's why so many
people are deceived but they just leave out the challenging Parts about life change and it's all
about comfort and by the way if you walk away from any any church any speaker any voice out
there and it always mark my words always always leaves you comforted that should be a red
flag for you because the gospel it Comforts us but it's got a whole bunch of other parts too and
we have no right to leave out the challenging parts and the parts that call us to change and so
some of you the holy spirit is nudging you and wooing you and you need to come today
because he wants to he wants to nudge you to change perhaps your life was a mess I get it we
all were a mess before we came to Christ and half the time were a mess after we come to
Christ right amen I mean we're always in process I hope we all understand we're all in this
together we're all these flawed imperfect broken human beings who have challenges of one
kind or another my challenges not may not be yours yours may not be mine but we've all got
these challenges and we're all broken hope we know that life is so hard and maybe maybe you
came to Christ first because of this you just you just desperately wanted some comfort I get it I
get it but life on the narrow road is going to challenge you and maybe God is speaking to you
today about some challenge he wants to bring to your life some of you need to come forward in
just a few minutes and pray about your your marriage and you need to maybe seek God about
something that's going on or maybe you've got a significant relationship in your life and the
Holy Spirit is challenging you it's a good thing if it's all comfort it's not God there's got to be
some challenge that's what God brings and maybe he's talking to you about a significant
relationship or maybe you've got anxiety because you're concerned about your health or
maybe you want to come in just a few minutes and pray about one of your dear family
members who as far as you know doesn't know Christ yet there's all kinds of reasons why we
will come but you let God nudge you and guide you in just a few minutes when we get ready for
prayer there's one final question I want to ask and that is if you were accused of being a Christ
follower what about it would there be enough evidence to convict you you said now wait a
minute Pastor Rex this whole evidence thing I mean those folks that Jesus talked about there at
that judgment scene that we read earlier they had evidence in their lives didn't they well let's
look at it again verse 22 many will say to me on that day Lord Lord did we not now notice all the
evidence they have did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and
perform many miracles time out Pastor aren't prophesying and driving out demons and
Performing Miracle come on isn't that evidence enough isn't that proof that someone is really
on God's team here's the deal none of those things is convincing evidence here's why because
all of those things can be faked fabricated or produced by the evil one that's why they're not
convincing evidence in and of themselves remember Pharaoh's magicians in the book of
Exodus God was performing real Miracles through the hand of Moses and Pharaoh's magicians
could copy and simulate those those Miracles up to a point and it was awe inspiring to see what
they could do but they were total frauds or remember in the book of Acts the seven sons of
ska he was a Jewish high priest he had seven sons who were Exorcist they were literally Dy but
they had no personal relationship with Christ in fact here's how they did it the Mantra they
used was in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches it wasn't personal for them in the name of
Jesus whom Paul preaches I command you to come out and it worked up to a point so the
scriptures are very clear that just because miracles signs wonders prophecy is going on we
should not automatically see that as a Bonafide proof that someone is truly operating with
God's power Jesus even made this chilling statement in Matthew 24 he said for false prophets
false Christ and false prophets will appear and perform Great Signs and miracles to deceive
even the elect if that were possible Jesus say heads up heads up everybody don't be deceived
just because you're seeing some pretty awe inspiring things or someone looks impressive up
front because there's all kinds of false prophets that will be able to do that as well but in
contrast to all that listen character can't be faked for long the fruit of the spirit cannot be faked
for long a phony disciple will not persist in obeying Jesus Christ the one indispensable fruit of a
true Christian is that he or she will persist in a life of obedience to Christ and that obedience
that they practice is not in order to gain salvation they're not earning salvation no their
obedience is out of gratitude thank you Lord for the forgiveness and the joy and all the
blessings you've brought into my life thank you for causing me to be born again into your
kingdom I'm so grateful and we live out of gratitude people on the narrow road more than
anything else just want to please God so what about you if you were accused of being a Christ
follower would there be enough evidence to convict you bottom line do you have a personal
authentic relationship with Jesus Christ as your savior and as your lord and if not this is your
moment to enter through the narrow gate I'm going to ask right now that we transition into
that time in fact could I ask right now all of our prayer team members who have been
prompted in advance to do this all of our prayer team members would you please just boldly
stand up right now make your way front just right now go ahead don't be afraid walk right on
down and just take your places here and I'm going to ask us to begin to dim our lights a bit
because we want as few distractions as possible this is an in incredibly important time we're
not going to rush anyone there's nothing folks nothing more important than knowing that
you're on the narrow road that leads to life please don't leave here without being confident of
that and I want to ask everyone right now to please stand everyone standing please if you're
physically able if you're not that's totally fine don't worry about that but if you're able to stand
for these moments I'd appreciate it and I'm going to pass the Baton now to our campus pastors
who are going to come and they're going to sensitively guide and Steward this time of prayer
as we all seek the Lord together this is his time for you don't miss this opportunity