WEBVTT 00:00:01.199 --> 00:00:08.720 This podcast is a ministry of Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:00:08.960 --> 00:00:13.759 For more information about Grand Parkway, visit Grandparkway.org. 00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:24.800 Things happen in church and you don't want to just you don't want to walk on them too quickly. 00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:26.559 Does that make sense? 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:29.679 So I just want to let that breathe a little bit. 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:32.560 And you gotta ask yourself, will that be enough for you? 00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:35.920 When you get to the end of this, you see you see you see God. 00:00:36.640 --> 00:00:37.600 Will that be enough for you? 00:00:37.679 --> 00:00:50.880 I'm not saying there won't be some some joy, some some enjoyable things along the way, but you gotta ask yourself, because we live in a culture that kind of says a lot of things that aren't true about heaven and about God and Christianity. 00:00:51.119 --> 00:01:02.000 When you get to the end of this long, long road where you're gonna bury your parents, some people bury children, is it gonna be enough for you that you see God? 00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:08.079 Because that's that's what all this is is moving towards. 00:01:09.359 --> 00:01:14.480 Every once in a while, people say to me, Hey, when you walked up on the stage and you talked to those people, what'd you say? 00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:16.079 I just didn't sense we were done. 00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:19.359 And so I looked at them and I said, You got a ham stirring up in you? 00:01:19.599 --> 00:01:21.680 And Clyde's like, Oh yeah. 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:24.959 So uh let's let's don't be done yet. 00:01:25.120 --> 00:01:28.640 Let's uh maybe is there something we can sing with you? 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:40.479 Let's pray together. 00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:46.879 Lord Jesus, thank that you you've given us something to cling to, something sure and certain to hold on to. 00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:49.680 Uh as we kind of journey down this road. 00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:55.919 Lord, as we open up the Bible, it's gonna open us up this morning, tell us the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. 00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:58.000 And we're gonna be helped by that, Lord. 00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:08.960 And so uh I pray that you would speak to our head, shape what we think, speak to our heart, align what we feel so that what we hear today manifests itself in our hands this week. 00:03:09.120 --> 00:03:10.000 That's the gospel. 00:03:10.080 --> 00:03:13.360 The gospel is not just for thinking and feeling, it's for doing. 00:03:13.599 --> 00:03:15.599 And so uh we we want to be equipped. 00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:18.879 We want to be equipped the saints for the work of ministry this morning. 00:03:18.960 --> 00:03:23.280 Uh so ask your Holy Spirit to assist and aid and lead us in that process. 00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:27.360 Illuminate the Bible, cause it to come to light in our head and in our heart. 00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:28.400 That's our prayer, God. 00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:29.280 Make it our experience. 00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:30.400 We pray in Jesus' name. 00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:32.240 And everyone said, Amen. 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:35.120 You got a Bible, you can take it open up to Matthew chapter 7. 00:03:35.360 --> 00:03:36.240 Matthew chapter 7. 00:03:36.319 --> 00:03:37.439 I'll start reading in verse 13. 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:39.520 And if you're our guest today, let me explain what we're doing. 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:42.879 We're in a series on the Sermon on the Mount, we just call the Jesus Way. 00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:51.439 The way that Jesus taught and talked and invites us to live and think about our life and about the world that we live in. 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:56.080 There's more to life than just getting mad at all the things you see around you that you don't agree with. 00:03:56.240 --> 00:03:59.120 And so uh today I want to talk to you this morning about the Jesus way. 00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:03.439 And here's the here's the topic for the sermon, the title for the sermon, the undiluted truth. 00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:04.560 Undiluted truth. 00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:08.719 The Jesus way involves being men and women that are uh of undiluted truth. 00:04:08.879 --> 00:04:09.759 You say, what do you mean? 00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:11.680 Let me begin with a confession of mine. 00:04:11.840 --> 00:04:14.319 I do not drink much orange juice. 00:04:18.560 --> 00:04:21.680 Some of y'all are looking at me like, you're a weird little man. 00:04:22.319 --> 00:04:24.720 Uh uh and here's why I don't drink much orange juice. 00:04:24.800 --> 00:04:27.040 I mean, it's in my house, my wife drinks it religiously. 00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:29.680 We have like the half-gallon tropicana with calcium. 00:04:29.839 --> 00:04:33.040 I'm like, do you need that for like osteoporosis or whatever? 00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:33.519 What's that about? 00:04:33.680 --> 00:04:34.800 She goes, Leave me alone. 00:04:34.879 --> 00:04:37.040 Uh but it's there right in the door of our refrigerator. 00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:38.399 I just don't really drink any. 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:41.199 Occasionally, if I drink something, my wife's like, Who drank my juice? 00:04:41.279 --> 00:04:43.279 I was like, Oh, I thought it was community property. 00:04:43.439 --> 00:04:46.480 Uh uh but and and I started thinking about why I don't drink it. 00:04:46.560 --> 00:05:02.800 Here's why I don't drink it, because when I grew up, my stepmom, uh, we were poor, and so we had the orange juice every once in a while, and it was always remember the frozen concentrate, you peeled the little white plastic strip off, pop the lid off, and then she would dump it in the pitcher, and then it says on there, add three cans of cold water and stir briskly. 00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:07.759 Well, because we were poor, she wanted to multiply, so she would add five or six cans of cold water. 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:11.120 And it wouldn't, at some point, it stopped being orange juice. 00:05:11.279 --> 00:05:14.480 One of the worst whippings I got was she put it in front of me and she said, drink that. 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:15.360 And I said, I don't want that. 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:16.399 She goes, Why don't you want that? 00:05:16.480 --> 00:05:18.959 I said, It's not orange juice, it's like orange-flavored water. 00:05:19.120 --> 00:05:20.879 And I got a whipping for telling the truth. 00:05:20.959 --> 00:05:25.120 And I was just like, this is a messed-up household I'm growing up in here. 00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:26.879 Uh now, why do I tell you that? 00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:35.199 Because we live in a culture that adds five or six or fourteen cans of water to the concentrate when the label clearly says, add three cans of cold water. 00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:37.920 We live in a day and age of diluted uh truth. 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:40.480 And but but God is a God of undiluted truth. 00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:44.240 And look at me, he doesn't not dilute the truth because he's mad or hateful. 00:05:44.399 --> 00:05:54.879 Jesus is getting to the end of the Sermon on the Mount, and he wants people to understand what this is all about so that they can make the right, they can have the right response to what he's been saying. 00:05:55.040 --> 00:06:00.240 So I want to drop in Matthew chapter 7, starting in verse 13, and we'll read all the way down to verse 23. 00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:06.000 He says this, he says, Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is ease that leads to destruction. 00:06:06.160 --> 00:06:07.839 And those who enter by it are many. 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:12.480 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. 00:06:12.639 --> 00:06:17.199 Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 00:06:17.279 --> 00:06:21.920 You will recognize them by their fruits, or grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles. 00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:26.639 So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:30.879 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:34.800 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 00:06:35.040 --> 00:06:37.279 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. 00:06:37.600 --> 00:06:41.120 Not every one who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:50.720 But the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven, on that day many will say to me, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name? 00:06:50.879 --> 00:06:53.360 And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. 00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:56.959 Depart from me, ye workers of lawlessness. 00:06:57.279 --> 00:07:04.480 Now you gotta ask yourself the question I mean, if you're Jesus and you're kind of wanting to get a following, uh, is this really the way you would talk to people? 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:25.920 If you want to understand just the just the preposterous nature of how authentic and truth-telling Jesus was, it would be like going home today and turning on the TV to find out that Hillary Clinton has revealed all of her emails and all the redacted parts that the FBI blotted out, have been uncovered, and then put them out there for public display for everyone to read and just said, Hey, make your own conclusions about me. 00:07:26.079 --> 00:07:28.639 This is what I said in all these emails. 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:34.560 Y'all are like, that ain't ever gonna happen. 00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:36.240 You you're exactly right. 00:07:36.319 --> 00:07:38.399 And I'm not being political, I'm just saying this. 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:44.560 This is how crazy it was that Jesus just kind of just lays it out there and says, Hey, here's what the gospel's all about. 00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:46.319 Here's what God is all about. 00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:47.680 Why does he say these things? 00:07:47.839 --> 00:07:50.720 I just want to make five points that come right out of the text that we read this day. 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:52.480 And if you're visiting today, here's what we do. 00:07:52.560 --> 00:08:00.240 We teach the Bible, and at the end of our service, we'll give you some time to think about it, kind of process it, ask yourself, what does this look like in my life wrapped around it? 00:08:00.319 --> 00:08:06.399 As we go through the sermon, I'll throw out questions and say, hey, here's maybe a good question to think about when you're driving to work tomorrow. 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:10.959 You can jot those down, or you can just listen to them and kind of go, hmm, I may or may not think about that. 00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:12.000 Totally up to you. 00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:17.040 First thing the text tells us, though, number one is simply this that God wants an understanding, not a following. 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:19.120 God wants an understanding, not a following. 00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:21.199 That's why he says, enter by the narrow gate. 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:25.759 For the gate is wide and the way is ease that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:30.160 But the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:33.039 He said, What do you mean God wants an understanding, not a following? 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:33.679 Here's why. 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:38.559 Because Jesus wants us to go on long after he's gone, long after he goes back, ascends back into heaven. 00:08:38.720 --> 00:08:41.120 He wants us to keep carrying on after him. 00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:49.360 You don't turn there, but in John chapter 21, you know, the disciples, by the way, towards it when Jesus first started off, he had large crowds following him. 00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:52.879 As he got closer and closer to the cross, the crowds dwindled. 00:08:53.120 --> 00:08:58.480 If you look in the book of Acts, this whole thing started not with thousands, but more like hundreds. 00:08:58.639 --> 00:09:06.399 But these were a hundred, I mean, not hundreds of people that they entered in at the narrow gate and they continued along the way, even though it was difficult. 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:10.720 And by the way, you're sitting in this room today because those people were faithful. 00:09:12.159 --> 00:09:18.000 See, the Bible, people that really know Jesus live consequential lives. 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:21.360 And you say, Well, what do you mean God wants an understanding, not a following? 00:09:21.519 --> 00:09:23.440 Because he wants us to carry on long after he's gone. 00:09:23.519 --> 00:09:28.639 If you read it, if you ever looked in John chapter 21, it begins with Peter saying, I'm going fishing. 00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:30.879 Translation, I'm going back to my way of life. 00:09:30.960 --> 00:09:32.320 This was fun while it lasted. 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:33.279 We had a good time. 00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:34.559 We had a few ha-ha's. 00:09:34.639 --> 00:09:36.480 Jesus healed some people, fed 5,000. 00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:37.360 Remember that time? 00:09:37.519 --> 00:09:40.399 They are content just to live in the land of remembering. 00:09:40.559 --> 00:09:49.120 And Jesus intended all along for this to keep going on after he was gone, which is why he labors hard for people to understand what he's really all about. 00:09:49.279 --> 00:09:54.879 It's called the Caesarea-Philippi incident because they're in this area, the region of Caesarea and Philippi, these two towns. 00:09:54.960 --> 00:09:57.840 And Jesus asked them the question, hey, who do men say that I am? 00:09:57.919 --> 00:10:01.519 And he said, Well, some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, some say one of the prophets. 00:10:01.679 --> 00:10:05.440 And Jesus kind of narrowed the focus on Peter and said, Who do you say that I am? 00:10:05.600 --> 00:10:08.559 And he says, Oh, you are Christ, the Son of the living God. 00:10:08.720 --> 00:10:11.600 And Jesus says, Hey, flesh and blood did not reveal this to you. 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:14.080 And he says, You are Simon, but you'll be called Peter. 00:10:14.159 --> 00:10:17.600 And upon you, I'm going to build, upon this rock, I'm going to build my church. 00:10:17.759 --> 00:10:18.960 The next verse says this. 00:10:19.120 --> 00:10:22.080 After that, Jesus began to speak to them about his death. 00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:22.799 Why? 00:10:23.039 --> 00:10:28.159 Because they understood who he was, and now they could grasp the magnitude of what he was going to do. 00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:29.519 They still didn't get it. 00:10:29.679 --> 00:10:34.480 That's why Peter, after Jesus dies on the cross and he goes in the tomb, they're like, okay, well, that was great. 00:10:34.720 --> 00:10:36.480 Let's get back to what we used to do. 00:10:36.720 --> 00:10:39.360 He labors hard for there to be an understanding. 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:41.840 He wants an understanding, not just a following. 00:10:41.919 --> 00:10:47.039 And by the way, if Jesus wanted to be liked, appreciated, or accepted, why would he talk like this? 00:10:47.759 --> 00:10:52.879 I mean, if he's just trying to get a religious movement going, wouldn't he be like these charlatans on late night TV? 00:10:53.039 --> 00:10:55.679 Hey, send me a hundred dollars and God will give you a thousand. 00:10:55.759 --> 00:10:56.799 What do you say? 00:10:57.360 --> 00:11:01.039 But instead, Jesus says crazy things that are life-altering. 00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:03.279 And by the way, this isn't the only time he's done this. 00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:06.399 As a matter of fact, anytime you look in the Bible, you see large crowds. 00:11:06.559 --> 00:11:09.600 Usually Jesus is like, I don't think they understand what I'm all about. 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:12.720 Like, don't turn there, but in Luke chapter 14, Jesus turns around. 00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:22.879 The Bible says, and seeing large crowds, he said to them, If any man comes after me and doesn't hate his mother and brother and father and sister, and yea, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:25.840 And they are like, oh, oh, oh. 00:11:26.240 --> 00:11:28.320 And Jesus could tell, they're kind of choking on this. 00:11:28.399 --> 00:11:33.919 And he says, Oh, by the way, if you don't take up your own cross and follow after me, you can't be my disciple. 00:11:34.559 --> 00:11:42.559 And they're like, so he tells them a story about a guy that sets out to build a tower and another guy that goes out with 10,000 to confront an army coming against him with 20,000. 00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:48.080 And he says, if you can't take that guy on, you better send a delegation and ask for terms of peace. 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:51.840 That's the only place he's talked about it. 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:55.039 Another place is Luke chapter 9, verse 57, he says these words. 00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:59.840 It says, as they were going along the road, someone said to him, I will follow you wherever you go. 00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:06.159 Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. 00:12:06.399 --> 00:12:10.159 To another he said, Follow me, but he said, Lord, let me first go bury my father. 00:12:10.399 --> 00:12:12.879 And Jesus said to him, Leave the dead to bury their own dead. 00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:15.039 But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God. 00:12:15.200 --> 00:12:16.480 Now let me pause right there. 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:17.919 That sounds harsh, okay? 00:12:18.080 --> 00:12:19.679 The guy's like, Let me bury my dad. 00:12:21.440 --> 00:12:22.639 Says, forget about your dad. 00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:23.919 His dad wasn't dead. 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:28.000 I mean, who leaves their dad dead back at their house and they go to the Jesus parade? 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:30.080 What are you doing here, Bill? 00:12:30.240 --> 00:12:35.039 Well, my dad's dead, but we put him in the deep freeze, and I'm going to come see Jesus, and I'm gonna go back and bury him. 00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:36.080 No. 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:41.039 What he's saying is this in Jewish culture, when someone died, they buried him immediately, as soon as possible. 00:12:41.279 --> 00:12:42.159 That's just what they did. 00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:46.399 What he's saying is, hey, my dad's in modern-day vernacular, my dad's in the nursing home. 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:48.320 We've got like six to eighteen months to live. 00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:50.240 Jesus, let me button up those affairs. 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:51.919 Let me settle my dad's estate. 00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:56.000 Make sure that I'm squared away financially, and then I'm gonna get really into you. 00:12:58.159 --> 00:12:58.639 Uh-oh. 00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:02.080 That's what he says. 00:13:02.159 --> 00:13:03.840 And Jesus says, let the dead bury the dead. 00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:07.519 In other words, let people that are spiritually dead deal with the affairs of this world. 00:13:07.679 --> 00:13:08.799 You come and follow me. 00:13:08.960 --> 00:13:14.080 Yet another said, I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home. 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:14.879 Jesus said to him. 00:13:15.039 --> 00:13:18.399 No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:19.519 Hear that again. 00:13:19.679 --> 00:13:22.320 Yet another said, I will follow you, Lord, but. 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:27.360 By the way, circle those two words in your Bible, I will follow you, Lord, but. 00:13:27.759 --> 00:13:29.840 You can't mean both of those things. 00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:33.919 You can't say, Lord, you can't call Jesus Lord, but. 00:13:34.320 --> 00:13:36.159 Jesus is Lord, but. 00:13:36.559 --> 00:13:41.759 Ask yourself this question: Is there any area in your life where Jesus is Lord but? 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:43.360 It's conditional Lordship. 00:13:43.440 --> 00:13:44.080 No, no, no. 00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:47.440 I will follow you, Lord, because what he's saying is, hey, I will follow you, Lord. 00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:52.320 I will refer to you as Lord, but let me define the conditions by which I will I will follow you. 00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:54.000 I was a part of a wedding yesterday. 00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:56.399 I've been married 23 years to the same woman. 00:13:56.559 --> 00:13:57.440 It's been great. 00:13:57.519 --> 00:14:01.600 And there's sometimes I look at my wife and I think, you cannot possibly think that way. 00:14:01.919 --> 00:14:03.279 You really just can't. 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:04.320 Yes, yes. 00:14:04.480 --> 00:14:06.320 Like my wife is addicted to the Olympics. 00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:11.519 We have to watch ribbon dancing and hula hoop kicking, and I'm like, this is not a sport, okay? 00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:13.519 If I was God, we'd hunt these people. 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:14.799 What are we doing? 00:14:15.279 --> 00:14:16.000 Oh no. 00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:17.279 It's the Olympics. 00:14:17.360 --> 00:14:19.759 It is our patriotic duty to watch this. 00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:22.639 Last night diving was on. 00:14:23.440 --> 00:14:25.200 I think diving is great. 00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:28.879 I don't think men should wear that kind of clothing in outdoors. 00:14:29.039 --> 00:14:33.279 But and she said to me, Do you want to watch diving with me? 00:14:34.159 --> 00:14:37.200 I would rather be beaten about the head and neck of a blunt object. 00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:38.399 I just couldn't fake it. 00:14:38.480 --> 00:14:43.759 I said, I want to go in my room and watch the Texans because that's what men do. 00:14:43.919 --> 00:14:45.519 Men play football. 00:14:46.559 --> 00:14:49.440 Oh, well, you're slipping down to every male stereotype. 00:14:51.279 --> 00:14:52.799 And then she played the God card. 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:54.240 Well, he's a good Christian. 00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:56.240 I'll see him in heaven then. 00:14:57.679 --> 00:15:01.360 I don't want to watch men do handstands and then dive into a pool. 00:15:01.440 --> 00:15:02.159 Nothing wrong with it. 00:15:02.240 --> 00:15:04.480 If your kid's into diving, glory to God. 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:05.519 Not my thing. 00:15:05.679 --> 00:15:06.639 Here's my point. 00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:07.840 Love my wife. 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:08.639 It's great. 00:15:08.799 --> 00:15:09.440 I love it. 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:14.000 It's just, mmm, yesterday at the wedding, you people have been married buried a long time. 00:15:14.080 --> 00:15:16.399 You go to weddings and hear what they say to each other. 00:15:17.200 --> 00:15:18.080 Yeah, you do. 00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:18.960 You've been there. 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:20.720 You're kind of like, oh, that's cute. 00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:22.240 You're going to want to kill him. 00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:27.279 It was just funny because you could tell that people have been married a long time. 00:15:27.360 --> 00:15:32.080 They're just kind of like fanning themselves, going, Yeah, hurry up and get this over so we can go eat. 00:15:32.960 --> 00:15:34.879 It's not, you're not negative or anything. 00:15:34.960 --> 00:15:37.200 It's just kind of like, here's the deal. 00:15:37.440 --> 00:15:38.960 You have understanding. 00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:43.759 They're up here saying, I'll follow you to death's door, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:47.679 Hey, some of your biggest fights are going to be about where you're going to go out and eat one night. 00:15:47.840 --> 00:15:49.919 Because your wife's going to say, I don't care where we go. 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:52.000 And you're going to go to Papa Seas, get Mexican food. 00:15:52.080 --> 00:15:52.960 She's going to open the menu. 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:56.159 Well, I really didn't want to come here, so I don't know what I don't know what I want. 00:15:56.960 --> 00:15:57.600 Huh? 00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:00.639 Well, you said, I don't care. 00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:01.360 What did you mean? 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:03.360 Well, I wanted you to pursue me. 00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:07.759 I caught you 23 years ago. 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:09.840 Well, I got to keep pursuing. 00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:12.639 Oh, woman wants to be pursued. 00:16:12.879 --> 00:16:13.679 You know what I want? 00:16:13.840 --> 00:16:15.519 I want to be obeyed. 00:16:18.399 --> 00:16:21.840 All of a sudden, we're getting our meal to go because we're done. 00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:24.240 Poor waiter. 00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:25.039 Hello, Pastor. 00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:27.200 I got you a couple to-go boxes here. 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:28.639 Yeah. 00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:31.519 See, God wants an understanding, not just a following. 00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:33.039 I love what Leon Morse said. 00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:39.440 He said, Jesus is appealing for an evangelical decision, the gate, and for ethical endurance, the way. 00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:41.600 You can't just enter in the narrow gate. 00:16:41.679 --> 00:16:43.200 You've got to continue along the way. 00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:52.000 You can't just pray the prayer and say, Well, you know, I'm going to go to heaven because I prayed some prayer when I was 12 and you hadn't hit a lick at a snake in the past 30 years. 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:53.840 Now Jesus just lays it down. 00:16:53.919 --> 00:16:54.879 He said, What do you mean? 00:16:55.039 --> 00:16:55.519 Look at that. 00:16:55.679 --> 00:17:00.720 He spells out, he says, enter at the narrow gate, for the gate is wide, and the way is easy that leads to destruction. 00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:02.720 And those who enter by it are many. 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:06.240 Wide, easy, destruction, many. 00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:11.599 And then he says, Hey, for the gate is narrow and the way is hard. 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:14.000 Don't you love that Jesus said that? 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:16.319 The gate is narrow. 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:21.359 By the way, if you're one of those people that believe all roads lead to God, you have a problem right now. 00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:23.279 You have a real problem. 00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:29.920 Jesus says the way is the gate is narrow, the way is hard, but it leads to life, and those who find it are few. 00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:35.680 Now, by the way, we live in a culture that tries to make the gate wider and wider and wider. 00:17:35.920 --> 00:17:41.200 But don't be one of those church people that tries to make the gate narrower and narrower and more narrow. 00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:46.400 That's just as wrong as the people that say, Oh, my God's a God of love. 00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:47.759 He's not going to send anybody to hell. 00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:48.559 No, no, no. 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:49.680 The gate's narrow. 00:17:50.160 --> 00:17:51.119 Here's what the Bible is saying. 00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:52.480 Here's what Jesus is saying. 00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:55.599 Hey, God gets to define what this looks like. 00:17:56.079 --> 00:18:01.359 And so He does this because he wants understanding, not just a following, because He wants us to continue. 00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:06.640 He's saying the gate is wide and it's easy and it leads to destruction. 00:18:06.799 --> 00:18:09.839 I remember, not I remember this vividly. 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:13.759 This happened in November of 1993 in the Dallas Fort Worth Airport. 00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:15.759 I was traveling at the time, preaching all over the country. 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:17.200 I'm going to get on my gate. 00:18:17.440 --> 00:18:24.720 I'm sitting there in the gate and they're calling for, you know, if you're this and this, this, you know, platinum level, blah, blah, blah, all these different people. 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:34.400 So I'm kind of in the gate and I look over, and probably about from here to that section over there is a man sitting in the waiting area, and he's got a Bible in his lap. 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:37.759 But it's not like a Bible like this right here or what you got. 00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:40.559 It's like a nine-pound white family Bible. 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:42.799 I mean, you could maul somebody with this thing. 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:46.640 And everybody in the airport is kind of goosing each other, going, get a load of that, get a load of that. 00:18:46.799 --> 00:18:48.079 And they're kind of making fun of him. 00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:50.160 And I thought, I want to encourage that guy. 00:18:50.319 --> 00:18:51.440 So I thought, what am I going to do? 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:53.599 Go over and go, hey, is that the Bible you're reading? 00:18:53.839 --> 00:18:55.119 Of course it's the Bible. 00:18:55.519 --> 00:18:58.000 I mean, the guy's legs were asleep things so heavy. 00:18:58.160 --> 00:19:02.160 And so they're calling my plane, and I wanted to encourage him, and so I'm kind of stuck. 00:19:02.240 --> 00:19:06.480 So I just, I broke out, walked over there, I said, Excuse me, sir, are you a Christian? 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:09.200 November 1993. 00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:11.359 Put his finger down and started laughing. 00:19:11.519 --> 00:19:12.240 Ha ha ha. 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:15.599 Looked up at me and said, That's a little broad for me, my friend. 00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:17.519 There's a lot of people in this world who call themselves Christians. 00:19:17.599 --> 00:19:18.559 They don't know Jesus. 00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:21.440 I like to call myself a follower of Jesus. 00:19:21.920 --> 00:19:23.680 Went right back to reading. 00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:25.680 And all of a sudden, I couldn't talk. 00:19:25.759 --> 00:19:30.400 I was like, I just walked over there. 00:19:30.559 --> 00:19:31.440 Lady taking my ticket. 00:19:31.519 --> 00:19:32.400 She goes, What'd he say? 00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:33.200 It's not important. 00:19:33.359 --> 00:19:37.599 I got on the plane, walk to the very back of the plane, just back there taking deep breath. 00:19:39.279 --> 00:19:41.599 I said, I'm just waiting for a seat, a roll with nobody in it. 00:19:41.680 --> 00:19:42.880 She says, Well, the flight's not that full. 00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:44.079 We're going to North Carolina tonight. 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:45.920 So just because I just sat down. 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:48.000 And here's the question that haunted me. 00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:52.000 What does that guy know that I don't know that he would respond that way? 00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:53.119 I wasn't offended. 00:19:53.279 --> 00:19:54.319 I was provoked. 00:19:54.480 --> 00:19:57.200 I wanted to think about God the way that man thought about God. 00:19:57.359 --> 00:19:58.720 And here's what he realized. 00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:00.000 It was not rocket science. 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:01.839 What he realized is what Jesus said. 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:06.160 Hey, the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction. 00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:09.200 And many there be that find it. 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:13.599 And so when he said, that's a little broad for me. 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:15.200 I was like, uh-oh. 00:20:15.920 --> 00:20:18.640 You ever get in conversations you don't know how to get out of? 00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:20.079 So you just walk away. 00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:20.799 I was like. 00:20:24.880 --> 00:20:25.519 Good. 00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:26.079 Good. 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:30.160 Second thing the Bible tells us is simply this many people are religiously lost. 00:20:30.480 --> 00:20:31.839 Many people are religiously lost. 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:36.960 It would seem that those two words don't go together, but if you read the text and you think about it, they go together quite well. 00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:37.440 Why? 00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:38.240 Because they believe. 00:20:38.319 --> 00:20:40.880 Hey, I introduced, I had some experience I point to. 00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:42.640 Ask yourself this question this morning. 00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:48.160 What experience do you point to to verify the fact that you profess to be a Christian? 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:52.480 There's something these people point to that says, Oh, yeah, I'm a Christian. 00:20:52.960 --> 00:20:54.160 On the basis of what? 00:20:54.319 --> 00:20:56.240 Well, I blank. 00:20:57.519 --> 00:20:58.559 What do you point to? 00:20:58.799 --> 00:21:04.000 Because Jesus says, hey, many people, many people are religiously lost. 00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:08.319 Talking to a lady one time, she said, Well, my spirituality is very important to me. 00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:09.440 I'm a very spiritual person. 00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:11.359 I mean, I'm concerned about the environment. 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:12.640 I'm concerned about animals. 00:21:12.720 --> 00:21:16.079 And when she said my spirituality is very important to me, I was like, hmm. 00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:21.599 And then the more she talked, I was like, and she goes, well, you know, the environment and animals. 00:21:21.680 --> 00:21:26.559 And finally, I just thought, let me introduce an objective standard into the dialogue and see how she responds. 00:21:26.640 --> 00:21:30.640 So I said, How important is Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Bible to you? 00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:32.480 Oh, I don't read any of that. 00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:36.240 But that's our culture, beloved. 00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:38.160 Let's don't laugh and at her. 00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:39.839 And I get it, it's kind of it's sad. 00:21:39.920 --> 00:21:40.640 You're like, oh. 00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:43.920 I'm like, you don't no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. 00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:49.920 And it's my this and my faith and my religion and my relationship with God is very private. 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:53.119 I'm not gonna tell anybody, tell me how to worship God. 00:21:54.640 --> 00:21:59.200 That sounds empowering, like Helen Ready on line one, I am woman, hear me roar. 00:21:59.440 --> 00:22:02.799 That's The furthest thing from biblical Christianity you can fathom. 00:22:03.839 --> 00:22:08.880 You cannot live a life that violates the clear teaching of the Bible and then go to heaven when you die. 00:22:09.519 --> 00:22:16.559 And here's the thing: here's why I tell you this: in such a culture as this, we don't get mad and yell at those people. 00:22:16.720 --> 00:22:18.960 We engage in dialogical apologetics. 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:26.559 In other words, we talk in such a way, our speech is full of grace and seasoned with Saul in such a way that it provokes people to think about how they live. 00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:36.880 Like I'm at a wedding this weekend and I'm talking to one of the event coordinator ladies, and I'm just fascinated because she is all pierced up, her ears are pierced, her lips are pierced, and I just asked the obvious, does that hurt? 00:22:37.039 --> 00:22:40.079 And she's like, Well, no, and I take them out, I have to use needle-nose pliers. 00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:46.880 And I was like, We changed something in the order of the service, and she goes, I'll change it, I'll take responsibility. 00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:48.799 I'm going to hell anyway, it doesn't matter. 00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:51.759 I was like, Scooby-doo. 00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:57.440 And so I tried to engage her in conversation, and she's like, I'm gonna go over and smoke a quick cigarette. 00:22:57.519 --> 00:23:00.400 And I was kind of like, okay, go ahead. 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:07.599 And so she's standing over there and I'm like, hey, I want to hear sometime about you in hell, and because it going to heaven may not be as hard as you've been told. 00:23:07.680 --> 00:23:09.680 Oh, honey, you don't know what I've been told. 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:13.359 And I just thought, who is not loved her enough to tell her the truth? 00:23:13.680 --> 00:23:18.400 Because in this, in this Matthew chapter 7, beloved, Jesus is not playing keep away with heaven. 00:23:18.720 --> 00:23:25.200 He's just laying down, hey, hey, now by the way, you love people, that's why you tell them the truth. 00:23:25.440 --> 00:23:27.920 The motivation for undiluted truth is love. 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:28.880 It's not hate. 00:23:29.039 --> 00:23:36.400 And in our culture where we have this broad path, this wide gate where just anybody skates through, regardless of how they live. 00:23:36.559 --> 00:23:44.480 We got to know what we believe in, why we believe that, so we can be like Proverbs says, a word fitly spoken is like an apple of gold in a setting of silver. 00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:48.559