I'd like to welcome you to our midweek study and hope that your week's going well. Looking forward to getting into this text again tonight. And so let's go ahead and open up with a word of prayer. And then after that, we will turn in our Bibles to Matthew chapter seven. Let's bow for prayer. Lord, thank you for your church. Thank you for each person that's here tonight. And we also thank you for those that are gonna join on the live stream and those who may watch this later. Father, as we sit under the ministry of the word tonight, I pray that you'll speak to our hearts. Help us to have hearts that are tender and sensitive to your word. Help us to understand the truths that are in front of us so simple. Help us to see the continuity of the sermon that Christ preached and help us to see how these last several verses really give us a strong conclusion, calling us to think on these things and take action upon them. So help me tonight as I deal with this text. Help me to do it well. Father, we pray for our church family. We know that there are many folks in our church who are dealing with heavy matters, major health issues connected to our church, whether a parent, whether a sibling. Whether a child, we have several folks in our church with great health issues and I pray that as we lift up these requests tonight together that you would work in each of these situations and we'll thank you for what you will do. Bless the children in the back as they have their classes. Help those classes to be very impactful in their lives. Help them as they learn scripture to memorize these truths and to hide it in their hearts. We ask it all in Christ's name, amen. Matthew chapter seven is where we are tonight. And we are reading verses 13 and 14. So only two verses, but we are going to see how these two verses really are related to the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, which is chapters five, six, and seven. So here's what the text says. Enter ye in at the straight gate. for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in there at because straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it." Tonight what we're going to look at is the narrow gate, and that's what that word straight means. It's talking about a narrow passage. We're looking at the narrow gate and the difficult way. And that word that is used there when he talks about it being a difficult way, The idea is it's tight, okay? It's like being squeezed into a tight area. So we're going to talk about those verses tonight. First of all, I want to talk to you about this last section, verses 13, down to the end of this sermon, verse 29. What we're looking at in these verses are the final thoughts from Christ's sermon. So, like on a Sunday morning when I'm preaching, a lot of times after dealing with the passage of Scripture, talking about the interpretation of it, looking at the timeless truths that are there, I'll say something like this. Now, how do we apply this? What are the final thoughts? What is the conclusion? And some pastors, when they say that, they got another 20 minutes to go, and usually I kind of move quickly through that. But that's kind of the idea here. We're looking at Christ's final thoughts as He's taking everything that He said, and He's going to drive it home to some very simple and practical thoughts. These verses are his conclusion. And so verse 13 is the first of those parts of the conclusion. We see that we are commanded to enter the narrow gate into the kingdom of God. So in verse 13, he says, enter into the straight gate, the narrow gate. Then in verse 15, he reminds us to beware of false teachers who present a false message about God's kingdom. Verse 15 says, beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing and inwardly they are ravening wolves. They appear to be teachers of the scriptures. But in fact, they're actually wolves in sheep's clothing. They're very dangerous and you have to be careful about them. So he has the encouragement to enter the gate the warning about false teachers. And then in verse 21, he makes another statement. He says, And this verse reminds us that we are to be sobered by the fact that not everyone who says, Lord, Lord, is actually going to enter the kingdom of God. Not everyone who views themselves as a religious person in those days, a good, sacred Jewish person who was following the Levitical law and they believed that God was their God and they were Abraham's children. Not everyone who was practicing Judaism at this time was going to enter the kingdom. There are many people that believe they were okay with God, that He was okay with them, and they were wrong. And then in verse 26, he says, And so this warning is, don't build your life on a substitute to God's word. So you can see how these are all pointing into the application side of what Jesus is saying. Enter the narrow gate, beware of false teachers, be sober than not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom and don't build your life on a cheap substitute. So what I'll summarize this little section is this way. Every individual has to make a decision. That goes against their nature, but it will ultimately determine their eternal destiny. Every individual is called to make a decision that goes against their nature, but will ultimately determine their eternal destination. So when he says, enter, you better do it. But when he talks about the nature of that entrance and the way that follows that entrance, he reminds them that that is hard and it goes against the grain of human nature. And so in order for us to interpret this properly, it's important that we go back over the sermon and we sort of digest the things that Jesus has said because that is what's driving at his application. So, let's begin with a couple of background thoughts before we deal with the actual text itself. The background of Christ's statements begins with this concept that there's something called a worldview. And I use this statement sometimes, we need to know about this concept of a worldview, but a worldview is basically how you look at yourself, how you look at God, and how you look at the circumstances of life. Every single one of us has a worldview. Even people who are not religious, at least they will tell you they're not religious, they have a worldview as well. There is no such thing as a person that does not have a worldview, how they interpret the world that they live in. And some people have thought very carefully about this. Some people strive to be consistent. I would say most people believe that they're consistent in their worldview. But you know, there's a lot of people that are actually pretty pragmatic. Whatever works for them in the moment, whatever's right in front of them, that's what they view as that's the way the world works. Total pragmatism. And our worldview is constantly being shaped by the things that are around us. Things you experience. There are Christians that there are things about their worldview, how they view God, how they view the church, how they view the Christian life, how they view pastors, how they view teachers, how they view lots and lots of different areas. They're not shaped by looking logically at the facts. They're really shaped by a response, a reaction to things that they experienced in life. We have to be so very careful that we look past those biases. A lot of times our worldview is shaped by just our internal reaction to the things that we hear. We have to be reminded that we can't trust our heart. We can't trust our culture. We cannot trust our interpretation of the experiences around us. We need something that is objective, something that is concrete, something that when you go to it every single time, it's consistent, okay? And that's why we need the word of God so very, very much to shape our worldview. That's why Jesus drives home to this point so very, very clearly. You could build your life on a rock or you can build your life on the sand. And in his illustration, the one who builds his life on the rock, builds his life, his worldview on something that is objective, something that is solid, the teaching of Christ. The other person, they build it on their emotions. They build it on the teachings of the rabbis. They build it on their experiences. They build it on how they want things to be, not necessarily how they are. So I begin with that first thought. We have to understand this issue of a worldview is very, very important. Second thing I want to mention is we have to kind of understand the world that Jesus is in because when he preaches this sermon, he is going after some very specific matters that were a part of the worldview of first century Jews, specifically those who were teaching the rabbis of the day, the scribes, the Pharisees, he was going after some very specific issues that were a big problem in their day. You say, well, what kinds of things did they emphasize? Well, they emphasized externals, rituals, traditions. How do we know that? Well, look at the conversations that Jesus has with them. Look at how he goes after their traditions, how he goes after their rituals, how he goes after their interpretations of the law that emphasize what you could see, not what was in the heart. It tells you Jesus is going after those aspects of their worldview that are not consistent with truth. They took tremendous comfort in being connected to Abraham. Abraham is our father. And by the way, I mean, they're ethnic Jews, right? So technically they could trace their lineage all the way back to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But when Jesus talks to these people, he says, you're not of your father, Abraham, you're of your father, the devil. And his works you do. I mean, can you imagine here, these people there, we have father Abraham and he says, you have your father, the devil. I mean, you want to talk about going after them or when he talks to Nicodemus, he says, hey, Nicodemus, unless you're born again, you will not see the kingdom of God. And Nicodemus is like, I'm a Jewish man. I'm a rabbi. I'm a teacher. I'm a scribe. How in the world are you telling me I'm not going to be a part of God's kingdom? You have to be born again. So he's getting that down. And these people were consumed with building up their credentials. If you follow the rabbinical teachings very, very carefully, you're accepted by God. Now, that worldview is wrong. That worldview is not biblical. In fact, someone might say, well, hold on a second. These people had the Old Testament law. They had the Levitical system. They had all the feasts and the festivals. They had the scriptures. They had the prophets. How in the world could they not see Jesus in that? And you know, there's people that sit in church for decades, and they hear the word of God preached, and it just goes right past them. There's people like that. I hate to say that, but it's true, there really are. Think about, I mean, I grew up in the Bible Belt and I remember going on visitation, you'd ask people, you know, are you saved? I mean, you ask them that question, like, oh, I go to such and such a Baptist church, I got baptized at this time and this and that. And I was like, oh, maybe that's not the question I should be asking, are you saved? Okay? Because everybody believes they're saved in such a situation. And so that was the context that Jesus is in. But what was his teaching? His teaching was a sound reading of the Old Testament that focuses on Christ. I'll put it like this. The law does not tell you how to get to God. The law tells you you're guilty. The law says you are condemned. and the law points you away from looking in at what you can do for God, and it points you up to look at what he's going to do for you, okay? That's what the purpose of the law was. And so as we read the law, we see I'm guilty, I'm undone, I need a substitute, there's one coming, I need to trust him. That's what the law did. And the whole sacrificial system provides this continual reminder that God's people need a Redeemer. They have to kill an animal over and over and over and over and over again. And they're reminded of their sin and their guilt over and over and over again. And they see that that animal took their place over and over and over again. The purpose of that was to point them to the Christ. The nation's history provided endless reminders that they needed a better prophet than the prophets that they had, a better priest than the very best priests that they had, a better king than the very best kings that they had. They needed a prophet, priest, and king, the Lord Jesus Christ. And their history also revealed that the Redeemer wants to save not just Jewish people, but he also wants to save Gentiles. That's why stories like Ruth are in the Bible. That's why there's stories about Elijah going to Zarephath and a Gentile woman being sustained there. That's why you have stories like Naaman coming down to Israel and he receives healing in the land of Israel. Or that's why Jonah was told to go to Nineveh and preach against the city. And you see that God spares the city. You see example after example after example. Rahab, Ruth, Naaman, all these people. What does it tell you? God loves not just Jewish people, but Gentiles. And so the Old Testament pointed to the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. You say this is a long, yes, I know. But this is important for us to understand. This is at the background of this sermon that Jesus is preaching. And so you could summarize a right view of the Old Testament this way. Isaiah 40. Maybe you understand, maybe you've heard this before. I hope you have, especially around the Christmas season. He says, comfort ye my people, saith God. Speak comfortably to Jerusalem, cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, her iniquity is pardoned, she is received of the Lord's hand, double for all her sins. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Who is that talking about? Well, it's talking about John the Baptist preparing the way for Christ. And so when someone reading this passage in Isaiah, 500 years before it took place, they should have read this and said, some prophet is going to be preparing the way for God in flesh. And this person is gonna bring comfort to Jerusalem because he will provide iniquity being pardoned. That's redemption right there. And who was this person, John? Listen to what his dad said in Luke chapter one. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel who has visited and redeemed his people. Wait, that sounds like what he said in Isaiah. I wonder why. There's a reason for that. Blessed is the Lord God of Israel who has visited and redeemed his people. He has raised up a horn of salvation to us in the house of his servant, David, just as he spoke by the prophets, which have been since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies to perform the mercy promised to our fathers. That he would grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear in holiness and in righteousness before him all the days of our life. Thou child shalt be called the prophet of the highest. Thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his way to give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins. That's pretty amazing stuff right there. So we need to understand something. The Old Testament was not a mystery to believers in those days. When Paul preached the gospel, he didn't go to the book of Romans. Paul preached out of Isaiah. Paul preached out of the Psalms. Paul preached out of passages of scripture in the Old Testament that you and I never think of as gospel texts because we always think with a New Testament orientation. And so Jesus preaches the Sermon on the Mount in that context to confront the wrong worldview of the people of his day. Second thing I want us to notice is the content of what Jesus taught here. And there are three facts I want you to notice from this text. Actually, I could have broken it down to probably five or six, but I think we'll just simplify the three. The first fact is this, everyone is called to make a decision. Everyone is called to a point where they must make a decision. Notice what he says in the verse. He says, enter ye in at the straight gate. Now, what would we classify that statement as? A command, okay? A command means you are being told to do something. You have to make a decision to enter into this straight gate. This decision is described with the illustration of a gate that is narrow, okay? And that word straight in the King James Version, talking about like a narrow passage, okay? But the idea is that this is a gate that takes someone who's outside and can allow them to pass inside. It's like someone who's outside of a city. And in the illustration that Jesus is giving, the city is the kingdom of God. And we are separated from that kingdom until we enter the gate. So he's compelling people, enter into this narrow gate. That word narrow is meant to emphasize the exclusivity of this gate. There's not 20 ways to go to God. There's not five ways to go to God. There's not even two ways to go to God. There's one. That's it. You might say, well, when I hear people's salvation testimonies, I hear all kinds of interesting stories. Well, hopefully what you're hearing is a lot of interesting stories of how God brought those people to the same truth. That it's Christ alone. His death, His resurrection, His righteousness brought them to a point of repentance before God and they placed their faith in Christ. He may have used all kinds of different circumstances in people's lives. Maybe a gospel tract, maybe the death of a family member, maybe some difficult situation, maybe a friend, all kinds of different ways. That's kind of irrelevant. The gate is one. Think about all these passages that talk about this. Specifically, Christ's teaching in the gospels. John 3, Jesus answered and said unto him, verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. It's pretty straightforward, right? You cannot be a part of God's kingdom if you're not born again. John 14, six, Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. He didn't say I'm one of the ways. I'm a way you should try. He didn't say that. I'm the way, the truth, the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. John 11, 25, Jesus saith unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. Acts 4, 12. As Peter is preaching, neither is there salvation in any other. There is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Paul preaching at Mars Hill, God commandeth all men everywhere to repent. What's the point? It's narrow. There's one way, there's one person, it's Christ. And that word gate has the idea of a narrow passage between two positions. And it's amazing how often the Bible speaks of humanity as if there's just two types of people in the world. Lots and lots of examples of this. Because in God's economy, you might put it like this, either you're in the kingdom or you're outside the kingdom. Either you're under wrath or you're under grace. Either you're saved or you're lost. Either you're redeemed or you're under wrath. John 3.18, he that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. You see this distinction, under wrath, condemned, not condemned. John 5.24, verily, verily, I say unto you. He that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life, shall not come into condemnation, is passed from death to life. 1 Corinthians 15, 22. In Adam all die. even so in Christ shall all be made alive. I thought about going to Romans 5 and just walking through that passage and how many times he talks about being in Adam versus being in Christ and the substitution between those two. Either I'm in this position or I'm in that position, but I think the point is pretty clear. Ephesians 2, I love this one. At that time, you were without Christ. Aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promises, having no hope without God in the world. But now, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ, he is our peace. I mean, look at those passages. Two positions. What's the difference? It's the narrow gate. you gotta enter the gate or you're outside. And so when we talk about this, really we can see this concept in the Sermon on the Mount, how there has to be a repentance toward God and a trust in the gospel. Think about it this way, Matthew 5.3. I must face the fact that I'm spiritually bankrupt. Blessed are the poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. That's His way of saying nobody's going to heaven who thinks they can stand there in their own righteousness. You've got to see you have none. Or chapter 5 verse 20, except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, you shall in no case enter the kingdom of God. I must face the fact there is no way that I could ever be good enough to merit God's kingdom. Matthew 5, 21 through 30, you have heard it said, but I say unto you, I've got to face the fact that I sin constantly because the standard goes to the heart level. It's not about what people see. It's not just murder and it's not just adultery, it's hatred and lust. And so he emphasizes that God's standard is far higher than the standards of men. Matthew 5.48, be therefore perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. I must face the fact that I must be as righteous as God to enter the kingdom. You say, well how can I do that? Only through the imputed righteousness of Christ. The only way that you could be accepted by God is in his, his righteousness. And that is the whole point of the gospel. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed. unto all and upon all them that believe. Or think about what Paul says in Philippians. He says that I might be found in him not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but the righteousness that is from God by faith, the righteousness of God by faith, imputed righteousness. And so this sermon really hammers that point. There is no other way. But through the death, burial, resurrection of Christ, the Messiah, we cannot be passive about this. Second fact, this decision goes against the natural bent of the human heart and many will make the wrong decision. What's the point? Jesus says, if you take an opinion poll, you will not find that people are standing on the side of truth. Why is that? The reason is because man's heart is totally broken. and filled with wickedness. And our sin has touched every single aspect of who we are as people. And if it wasn't for the pure grace of God, we would just continue down this road in rebellion, in darkness, in blindness, but God who is rich in mercy for his great lover with he loved us, even when we are dead and trespasses and sins, he has quickened us together with Christ by grace we're saved. And so you see this in the verse, he says, wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction. And many there be which go in there at. The words wide and broad emphasize how easy it is to go down the path of destruction. I use this illustration often, it's such a good one. Spurgeon gave it. If you look at the stream and you see a fish swimming up the stream, you know it's alive. Why? Because dead fish can't go against the stream. Dead fish flow with the stream. You gotta be alive. You gotta be strong to go against the current. And the fact is that people by nature are going with the flow straight down to destruction. People are naturally moving in the wrong direction because of the inherent sinfulness of human hearts. We literally don't need to do anything to end up in eternal destruction. You ever think about that? You don't do anything, guess what? You're gonna end up in hell. It's that simple. If God just left you to yourself, guess what? You'd end up in hell. Eternal destruction, the lake of fire. It's God in his grace that has to turn you to himself and convict you of sin, righteousness, and judgment so that there's repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's just being communicated in these verses. This is the natural position and direction of people. Romans 1, the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Why do people respond to truth the way they do? That little phrase in unrighteousness is so important. Because what's in my heart says, I don't want this. You say, well, people are naturally good. You ever raised kids? I mean, really, I love my kids. I really do. I didn't have to teach any of them how to lie. I didn't have to teach any of them. how to be nasty to their other siblings. I didn't have to teach any of them how to be selfish and cold hearted. I didn't have to teach him how to bite anybody in the nursery, right? And we had to teach him not to do those things, why? Because the heart of man is sinful. Isaiah 64, six, we are all as an unclean thing. All our righteousness is as filthy rags. The best we have to give God is it's repulsive. It's abominable. Ephesians 2, 3, we all had our conversation in times past in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and we were by nature the children of wrath. By nature. He didn't say, one day we said, oh, I think I'm gonna decide to be a child of wrath. We were born children of wrath. That was our natural position. That's the direction that we're going. And then I think this one is, it really hits home. John 3, verse 19. This is the condemnation, that light has come into the world. And men love the light, right? Wrong. Men love the darkness rather than the light because their deeds are evil. Everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. I'm not turning to the light. I don't wanna be exposed. I don't wanna admit who I am. I don't wanna see it. And so these verses are emphasizing this. What Jesus is saying is emphasizing this. These other texts of scripture emphasizing this. People are naturally moving down the wrong path to the end of destruction. Third fact, the way that follows this decision to enter that narrow gate, the Lord Jesus, That passing from death to life puts you on a difficult path. Now, let me just make a clarification here. Jesus is not suggesting that the path is how you get saved, okay? The path is what follows salvation. In other words, I am saved from wrath through Him to walk in newness of life. In fact, one of the easiest examples of this is Ephesians 2, 8, 9, and 10. It says, by grace we are saved through faith, and this is not of ourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works as any man should boast. The next verse is important. For we are His workmanship. created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. So here is this passage that so clearly teaches you are not saved by your works, you're not saved by doing good, it is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and you are saved to walk in newness of life. There is a path that follows life in Christ. The path is hard. And there are some people that frankly, they do not want to be saved because they know the Christian life is a life they don't want. It's not just that they look at themselves and they say, I don't want to admit that I'm a sinner. They say, I don't want to live like that. I don't want to be safe from my sin. I like my sin. I enjoy this life. I would rather go to hell. to be changed. There's people like that. You say, really? I say, yeah, absolutely there are. Absolutely there are. And so this passage of scripture is emphasizing that the way that follows, that way of discipleship, it's not an easy path. And there's a reason that Jesus is bringing this up. And this is interesting. As you look at the Sermon on the Mount, you're gonna see that there are statements that Jesus makes that are meant to point people to the fact that you cannot earn God's favor through the righteousness of man. So they are pointing to the need of salvation. And there are lots and lots of teachings that are pointing to helping the disciple to understand how to live the Christian life. You see both of those things in the Sermon on the Mount. And this is really articulated here at the end very, very clearly. The disciple's life is one of struggle. and self-sacrifice. And Christ heavily emphasized this concept in the sermon. So go back to Matthew 5.4, here's what he says, blessed are they who mourn, they shall be comforted. I mean, do people mourn when they're happy or when they're sad? I mean, you tell me, do you mourn when you're happy or when you're sad? When you're sad? So he's emphasizing the fact that there's a type of person that experiences this deep weight of heart over their sin, yet they're still blessed. God comforts them. But that's part of the discipleship side of the equation. Matthew 5, 6, blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, they shall be filled. There are people who will fill this internal tension against God's perfect standard. When a Christian is living the Christian life, there are times that when they look at their own behavior and their own lives and their own failures, they go, there's no way God could love me. And there's this tension that they feel. Now in those moments, this is what they need to do. He shouldn't love me, but he does. And he does accept me though he shouldn't. save for the work of Christ, save for his righteousness. And so there's this tension that the Christian experiences. There is an awakened sense of sin, a conscience that feels internal tension because we understand the perfect standard of God, and this is something that should be a normal part of the Christian experience. If someone says, I'm a Christian, and they never feel any kind of guilt or remorse over their sin, I go, I don't think you understand the Christian life. If someone says, I don't have to ask God for forgiveness about anything, Really? So then you don't understand the gospel. You don't understand God's standard. You don't have any concept of this issue, but when someone says, I feel that tension in my heart, and I understand who I am, and I constantly have to look back at Christ and who he is, that is very healthy. Thirdly, verse 10, he says, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. They're gonna face pressure from the world. Matthew 5, 44, I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you. These are people who will understand that their calling is to a higher standard of conduct to even love the enemy. And because they are going to be in this position, they're gonna experience the difficulties of life at the hands of the world. Matthew 6.1, take heed that you do not your alms before men, to be seen of them, otherwise you have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. We are called to live a conscientious walk. Matthew 6.33, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. All these things shall be added unto you. Take no thought for the morrow. The morrow shall take thought for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Call to walk by faith. Now, the simple fact is, that that internal tension that you feel, an awakened sense of awareness of sin, pressure from the world, being called to a higher standard than the world around you, being called to walk conscientiously, being called to a life of walking by faith, you know what that is? That's a difficult road. That's a difficult road. Now, don't get me wrong, it's also a blessed road. I mean, he says, blessed are these people and blessed are these people. So what he basically says is, you'll face trouble in your heart and in your experience, but you have something internal and something that's eternal that's better than all of it. And so I don't wanna give you the impression that the Christian life is all misery and drudgery, it's not. But I also don't want to give you the impression that the Christian life is like, you know, some fairy tale, because it's not happily ever after. I mean, it will be after we die and go to be with the Lord. But on this side, it's tough. The Christian life is a challenge. And you know what? There's lots of scripture outside of the Sermon on the Mount that hammers this point. Luke 14, Jesus says, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. What's he saying? You gotta be completely surrendered to God. That's a hard thing. 2 Timothy 3.12, all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Acts 14.22, he exhorts them to continue in the faith that they must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. Ephesians 6, put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. What's the point? Christians are called to count the cost and live the Christian life with an anticipation of struggle. And even when we are raising our children, we need to incrementally put this into their understanding. If you insulate your children from every single struggle in life, you do them a tremendous disservice. I'm not suggesting we put them in front of misery, okay, I'm not saying that. But we've gotta talk to them as they're growing up, as their hearts are being formed and their thinking is being shaped, that they understand that this is a messy world. And there are a lot of heartaches. And Christians do suffer. But we have a rock to stand on when we go through it. The third thing I'll mention tonight is that we need to apply what Jesus says. And there's two simple applications. The first is preach the gospel. Now, I'm not suggesting all you need to get up and preach from a pulpit, okay? Preach the gospel. Preach the gospel in family worship with your kids. Preach the gospel when you have an opportunity to have a conversation with somebody in your neighborhood. Somebody says, hey, I wanna ask you a question about something. And all of a sudden you just see like this door is opening for you to share the gospel. Go for it, do it. Don't hold back. Take opportunity, ask people questions. When you get this sense that there's an opening, go for it, take that opportunity. Be ready whenever God opens the door. Preach the gospel. But preaching the gospel is a specific gospel. It's about a real person, Jesus, God in flesh. A real penal substitutionary death on the cross. There's no gospel without the cross. There's no gospel without our sin being placed on Christ and God's wrath being poured out on him. We don't have a gospel without that. God didn't just forgive us because he's nice. He forgave us because there's a basis for that. I mean, look at Isaiah 53, he's so clear. The Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all. He's gonna see the travail of his soul and be satisfied. My righteous servant will justify many. He will bear their iniquities. He's gonna be made an offering for sin. Every single time people went into the temple or the tabernacle and they laid their hand on that animal and they saw it killed and they saw it burned, it reminded them that without the shedding of blood, there's no remission of sins. And my sin is gonna be placed on the Redeemer, and He's gonna bear wrath in my place. And we've gotta articulate that. You say, well, that's offensive. The gospel's offensive. The cross is offensive. It's also beautiful when you understand it. We need to preach a literal bodily resurrection of Christ. You say, well, modern people don't believe in the resurrection. Ancient people didn't believe in the resurrection. Nobody believes in the resurrection until they see what the scripture says and God works in their heart and they say, there's this compelling case. How do you explain what Jesus did? But that he died and rose from the dead. A gospel that is grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone. Not by works of righteousness that we do. Preach the gospel. An exclusive gospel, a pressing gospel. And secondly, prepare Christians for the inevitability of suffering. Struggles in conscience are a part of the Christian life. The inevitability of struggles in our flesh. We do battle with our flesh. There are some sins that will beset you till the day you die. You say, I wish it wasn't that way. I do too. But that's not the way it is. There are some things you will battle with till the day you die. There'll be struggles for you to grow. You do not grow without a process. The trying of your faith worketh patience. It's what builds. We do not grow without a process. You don't get faster and stronger without training. You don't get smarter without studying, going through the rigorous process. You have to go through the process. And the process can be painful and frustrating, but it's a part of life. We will face external pressures. We as Christians in the United States have been so insulated from real persecution and I'm thankful for that. But we got no guarantees it stays that way. We absolutely don't. And I'm just gonna say this, we really need to pray for our country in this election. There's a lot on the table, there really is. And the contrast is quite great. It really is. And we as God's people, we're gonna do the right thing no matter what it costs. But it could cost, it could cost a lot. And so we need to pray for our land and we need to be faithful and responsible citizens. We need to be preparing the next generation for what Jesus is saying. It's a narrow gate and a difficult way. And so when we think about this text, as Jesus is closing out his sermon, he reminds us, there's only one way to heaven, it's me. and the road that you will walk down after you've trusted me is not an easy one. Be ready. Let's bow for prayer. Father, help us to take your word and help us to apply it. Help us to chew on it tonight. Thank you for church family. May the word of God dwell in us richly tonight. We do pray for our nation. We thank you for the freedoms that we've enjoyed as a people. We even think about today being September 11th, a day that A lot of the people in this room remember exactly where they were when those trade towers were hit. And Father, I thank you for the grace that you've shown this nation. And I pray on a day like today, we would not in any way take for granted the liberties we enjoy and the freedoms that we have and the safety we've enjoyed. Help us not to waste what we have. Help us to be faithful with it. Father, help us to take the word of God and help us to apply it very, very specifically and personally in our lives today. We ask it in Christ's name, amen.