The Narrow Road
Matthew 7:13-14
Read at beginning of service:
Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV)
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.
INTRODUCTION
The Roads of Passion. For the last two weeks we have looked at two of these roads: The Jerusalem Road and the Emmaus Road. What makes these roads of passion? Along the Jerusalem Road we witnessed the passion Jesus has for the lost as He resolutely set His eyes on what was ahead on the cross – knowing that His sacrifice would make it possible for man to be reconciled to God. Then, three days later – we joined two downcast disciples on the Emmaus Road and witnessed this passion for the lost, for the hurting, for the downcast continue as Jesus comes alongside these men, talks with them, urges them to believe, and renews there hope with the revelation of his resurrection. But it is on this road that we also catch a glimpse into the passion these disciples had to know Christ when their countenance changes dramatically with seeing their risen Lord! They RAN back to Jerusalem to share with the other disciples the wonderful news of Jesus’ resurrection!
What is passion? Passion is defined in the dictionary as an intense violent emotion or a great liking or enthusiasm. When you have a passion for something it’s not too difficult to get excited about it! When someone gets passionate about something they tend to get a little focused on the object of their passion and aren’t easily distracted. It doesn’t matter what obstacles are in the way – the passionate person does whatever they can to gain the object of their passion.
Today, you and I are confronted with "The Narrow Road." It is the road to the right and righteous life. And like the Jerusalem and the Emmaus it will lead us to Jesus, the one who is alive. It too, is a road of passion. You see, only the passionate will enter through it. And what is the object of passion? It is life. Oh but it’s not life as most would understand it. It is not life as the world understand it. For you see "life" as defined by scriptures is Jesus Christ! Did not Jesus Himself say:
John 10:10 (NIV)
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Colossians 3:4 (NIV)
4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
In fact, when I did a search on my Bible Program for all the occurrences where "life" is found near "Christ" or "Jesus" there were 695 results given back. Yes, the scriptures are clear that life and Christ are one and the same. True life – eternal life – righteous life – powerful life – vigorous life = Jesus Christ. So, those who travel on the Narrow Road are those who are passionate about Jesus Christ.
Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV)
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.
The Narrow Road is one of Decision, Discipline and Desire.
a road of decision
"Enter by the narrow gate"
We make decisions everyday because we are creatures of variety. We choose what time we get up. What we wear, eat, and do. A variety of decisions beg our attention every day.
"In every action of life man in confronted with a choice; and he can never evade the choice."– William BarclayDecisions and choices are nothing new to those who follow after the ways of God. God allows us to decide what choices will be ours today, but He encourages us to choose His way.
Moses – choose life (Deut 30:19-20)Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NIV)
19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Joshua – choose this day who to serve (Josh 24:15)Joshua 24:15 (NIV)
15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
Elijah – if God is Lord follow Him (1 Kings 18:21)1 Kings 18:21 (NIV)
21 Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." But the people said nothing.
In our walk with God we sometimes need to be reminded of the direction, purpose, and passion of the walk, because we often stray from the beaten path that is laid before us.
Within our scripture text is yet another choice waiting our decision. "Enter" calls for a decision. Jesus the One who is alive asks us to choose the road called narrow, though we are free to choose the wide road.
Jeremiah 6:16 (NIV)
16 This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ’We will not walk in it.’
Daily DecisionToo often the narrow and wide road is thought of in relating only to heaven and hell. Because one has chosen to confess and believe in Jesus we believe we no longer have to contend with the wide road.
The narrow road has always been a "now" decision. We must decide everyday what road we will walk down. Not for salvation, but for daily living. Remember it is about life not only for the future but for now!
Luke 9:23 (NIV)
23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
Reflective Decision
Proverbs 27:19-20 (NIV)
19 As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man. 20 Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and neither are the eyes of man.
The narrow road is reflected in the decisions we make. We must not separate the Christian life into the religious and secular. We must never disassociate ourselves from God to make decisions in the secular. Our decisions must be impacted by the truth discovered on the narrow road. Our decisions are made on the basis of which gate we want to enter. What makes the wide road so wide is because it fills up all the space not occupied by the narrow road. It is a road that you don’t have to think about to be on. It is a road that leads everywhere BUT life. That’s why it is the easy road. And this brings us to the next observation about the Narrow Road.
a road of discipline
"and difficult is the way"
It is a common thing amongst all of us to look for the easy way when it comes to the things we face in life. Take school for instance. How many of us are familiar with the question – "So what do I need to pass?" – or work "How much do I have to do to make the boss happy!" or at home "What can I get away with before he/she gets upset?"We all are guilty one time or another of looking for the easy way. We’ve all experienced times of just wanting to get by. In looking back none of us would have taken the easy way had we only thought about it. Just getting by is not the way of God. The narrow road is a road of discipline.
Now many of us when we here the word discipline we are quick to acknowledge it’s importance outwardly but inwardly we cringe. Discipline is always equated with hard work and doing something that we don’t want to do in order to get where we want to be or have what we want to have!
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NIV)
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Paul says we are to run "in such a way" as to get the prize that is eternal in nature. He emphasizes to run the race:
With certainty and focus: with the prize in sight and not wavering from the course.
With discipline: that maintains the certainty and focus.
In the language of the Bible, the narrow road is the hard way, the demanding way, the way of self-denial and the cross. It requires:
Disciplined ThinkingAre you ever guilty of saying, "Whatever! Who needs to think about it!" The old adage says, "Preacher, preacher, make me laugh and make me cry. But please don’t make me think!"
2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (NIV)
4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
Disciplined Prayer
1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NIV)
17 pray continually;
Luke 18:1 (NIV)
1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
Disciplined prayer is not looking for quick fixes, but eternal differences.
Disciplined Study
2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
Psalms 119:105 (NIV)
105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
The riches of God’s wisdom await us everyday within His Word.
"Everything in this world has two aspects - how it looks at the moment, and how it will look in the time to come. The easy way may look inviting at the moment, and the hard way daunting. The only way to get our values right is to see, not the beginning, but the end of the way, to see things, not in light of time, but in the light of eternity." - William BarclaySo the Narrow Road is a Road of Discipline. And as we look at this road we’re often faced with a feeling of defeat. I mean, how many of us have tried to be disciplined and find ourselves fail? How many of us have wanted to be disciplined but can never seem to "make it work". And then there are those that want noting to do at all with discipline – instead wanting the "freer" "funner" way.
Friends, discipline is hard but it is also necessary for those walking the narrow road. Yet, for many of us this discipline is a seemingly unreachable and non-sustaining task. That is why we can’t stop here – for in order for there to be discipline – in order for there to be the right decision to enter through the narrow gate there must be desire.
a road of desire
"which leads to life"
Do you want to die today? Of course not! We desire to live more than anything else! If life is our desire then we must walk the narrow road for it leads to life. And now we’ve come back full circle to what I have already said about passion. But lets take a moment and look at this life that we are talking about.
Eternal LifeThere is only one road that leads to life.
John 14:6 (NIV)
6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
The world says, "That too narrow!" It is narrow because it deals with the truth of God’s Word. We can widen the road by forsaking the truth, but that leads to destruction.
John 3:15 (NIV)
15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
1 Timothy 6:12-14 (NIV)
12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Jesus Christ is Eternal Life, He is also;
Abundant Life
John 10:10 (NIV)
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
It is the eternal that impacts the abundant. If I long for if I have passion for eternal life it goes without speaking that I will live like it today. The narrow road is a "now" road and thus the travel on it makes a difference in the today of our lives.
John 15:7 (NIV)
7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.
Imparted Life
Romans 10:1 (NIV)
1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.
Life imparts life. If you and I possess eternal life, it should be our desire that others might come to have life eternal and abundant.
CONCLUSION
Jesus declares that only a few will find this road. The decision to enter in and the discipline to walk on the narrow road leads to life. But it all begins with the passion the desire for the one at the end of this road. If you don’t have this passion, if you don’t have this desire then you will always find yourself drifting onto the wider road.
Jesus finishes this brief teaching with telling us that few find this road. I believe that few find this road because so many are satisfied with their life in this world, with themselves. It’s not until they become dissatisfied, it’s not until they learn that they need Christ, it’s not until they learn that the life in this world is nothing compared to the LIFE found only in Christ, it’s not until they realize that the "life" found in the world leads only to death whereas the life found in Christ has victory over death that the gate for the narrow road becomes visible.
Is it an easy gate to walk through? No. Is it an easy road to walk? No. It is not easy, when you walk through that gate you leave your "self" at the entrance and take up your cross when you walk down the narrow road you surrender everything you do, everything you say, everything you want to Christ – but when you are passionate it doesn’t matter. It is passion for what is at the end of the road that makes the walk possible – it is passion for life that makes it possible – it is passion for Christ that makes it possible. I could stop here but then I would leave out the most important part. When you walk the narrow road it is a walk that you don’t walk alone. In fact the longer you walk on this road the more you find that Jesus Christ is walking right along beside you – in fact His whole desire is to walk for you. And friends, there is no better place to be.
This sermon was preached by Darren Ethier at Hanover Pentecostal Church on April 22, 2001. This message is Part 3 of the sermon series: Roads of Passion. This message series is inspired from the series "The Road" by Bob Aubuchon. The outline and title for this particular message in the series has been gleaned from Bob Aubuchon’s message, "The Narrow Road". All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, Copyright © 1873, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
