First, the plague would enter. It was urgent. If Lot didn't flee Sodom, he would have been consumed in the fire. It was urgent. And if you do not enter in, then you too will be destroyed. He's making abundantly clear here. There is a responsibility now. Enter. So what does it mean to enter? How do we do this? There's not a literal door that we have to walk to. What does enter mean? Well, we know that to enter means to bring your entire self in. He doesn't say look at the narrow gate. He doesn't say stare inside, but enter it. He doesn't say touch the gate, but to enter it. He doesn't even say stand in the doorway. Those who have heard these words are to enter. And when you enter one room, you leave behind another. This is very biblical language. In Hebrews 3.11, we're told, as I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. What is that? What is that entering of the rest? Well, we're told later on in the same book for we who have believed, enter that rest. As he said, as I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. So we see they were unable to enter because of unbelief. Entering is believing. We who have believed, enter. That's what it means, believe, trust. Leave behind the other rooms and enter into the narrow one. Abandon the wide gate to come through the narrow gate. He is calling for repentance and faith by the words, enter by the narrow gate. Believe in Christ this very day, at this very moment. So to enter means to believe. to enter means to repent, to enter means to surrender all of yourself, not partially, but the whole to Him. All of you must come in. You can't leave behind a leg or an arm or a foot. All of you must come in. He wants all of you to believe. But why is it narrow? What is this narrowness all about? Primarily, it has to do with the exclusivity of Christ as the only Savior. Why is it narrow? Because Jesus said to them, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me. Narrow door language. The only way, the only Savior. That's narrow. One message, the gospel. Christ is the one way. Salvation is through one message, through one sacrifice, born again by one spirit. This is not multiple choice. We have one means to be reconciled to our God, and that is through faith in Christ because of his grace. But the narrowness is not just about only one way. It has to do with the manner in which we come in. The entrance is slim. Therefore, you must leave behind everything that will not fit through. You must leave behind your old self. Only one person can pass through. People talked about as I was studying this, they use the illustration of the turnstile if you've been on the East Coast and you go through the subway, here's this turnstile that you have to go through. You can't put two people through at a time, one at a time. The illustration is pointing to the fact of the matter. It's narrow because the only one that can come through is the new man. The old man cannot enter. The old man is not allowed. He will not fit through the narrow gate. And he wants to come through. He begs to come through. He wants to be a stowaway. He demands to be carried in. He wants to be snuck in under the radar, but our Lord makes it clear that the gate is narrow. We come in one way and we must come in leaving self behind us. Jesus, if anyone comes after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me. If you're gonna follow Him, self must be denied. If you're gonna come after Him, self must be left in the past. Self must be crucified. Martin Lloyd-Jones said, denial of self does not mean refraining from various pleasures and things that we may like. It means we deny our very right to ourself. We leave self outside and go in through the gate saying, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. That's the requirement for followers of Christ. As one man said, either Christ is Lord of all, or he is not your Lord at all. As C.H. Spurgeon said, if Christ is not all to you, he is nothing to you. If he be something, he must be everything. And if he be not everything, he is nothing to you. Very similar to what Jesus said just a few verses prior to this, no one can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. It's either or, it's black or white, it's Christ or self, the gate is narrow. And if you're gonna come through and try to bring self, you are not able to enter. The only way to come is if Christ will be all. If you will forsake all, leave all, everything behind and come in after him, that is the narrowness. And that's not very comfortable. to leave self, to deny self, to die to self, to put self on a cross. That's not very comfortable. That's not very attractive. A narrow way, one way. Oh, but our Lord knows that. And so before he goes on to describe the narrow path, he gives the alternative. He says, four, enter by the narrow gate. Why? Why should we enter through that way when it's so uncomfortable, when it's so restrictive, when it's so full of suffering and all that? You want to know why? For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction. And those who enter by it are many. Why such demands? For the gate is wide. There's another gate. And it's not narrow, it's broad, it's wide, it's open. It's the opposite of the narrow gate. This gate has room for all. One brother put it this way, you may go in at this gate with all your lusts about you. It gives no check to your appetite here. No narrowness, no one is checking IDs at the door, no dress code, no specifications, no requirements, no standards. Everything is welcome. If you want to come in by your works, sure thing. If you want to enter by faith and works, you're welcome too. If you want to keep your sin and believe you're still going to go to heaven, there's space enough there too. It's wide open. In a live telecast to millions of people, Billy Graham and Robert Shuler had a conversation about this very thing. Some of you may have seen this or heard this. Shuler, tell me, what do you think is the future of Christianity? Billy Graham. I think everybody that loves Christ or knows Christ, whether they're conscious of it or not, they're members of the body of Christ. And that's what God is doing today. He's calling people out of the world for his name, whether they come from the Muslim world or the Buddhist world or the Christian world or the non-believing world. They are members of the body of Christ because they've been called by God. They may not even know the name of Jesus, but they know in their hearts that they need something that they don't have. And they turn to the only light that they have. And I think that they are saved and that they're going to be with us in heaven. Schuller, what I hear you saying, that it's possible for Jesus Christ to come into human hearts and soul and life, even if they've been born in darkness and have never had exposure to the Bible, is that correct interpretation of what you're saying? Yes, it is, because I believe that. I've met people in various parts of the world and tribal situations that have never seen a Bible or heard about a Bible and never heard of Jesus, but they believed in their hearts that there was a God and they've tried to live a life that was quite apart from the surrounding community in which they lived. I'm so thrilled to hear you say this. There's a wideness in God's mercy. There is. There definitely is. What is this saying? Why? You don't even have to believe in Christ, as long as you just do the best you can. You don't even have to believe in God. Just whatever you think, whatever you believe, just respond to whatever you like. Here's the wide road, the wide gate. That looks more loving, doesn't it? We're not going to judge you at the door. Come on in. Everybody's welcome. Come on in. It looks loving. But he doesn't just say that the gate is wide. He goes on to describe the road. What does he say? He tells us that the road itself is easy for the gate is wide in the way, the way is the road is easy. The path is easy. Not that people think it's easy. Not that people say or perceive it's easy. Our Lord actually calls it easy. He actually says it's easy. The way is easy. In a CNN talk show, Larry King asked Joel Osteen about the Christian life. This isn't the place where he denies that Jesus is the only way. Listen to this. Is it hard to lead a Christian life? Joel Osteen said this, I don't think it's that hard. To me, it's fun. We have joy and happiness, our family. I don't feel like that at all. I'm not trying to follow a set of rules and stuff. I'm just living my life. Is it hard to lead a Christian life? It's not hard at all. That's exactly the description of the other road. It's easy. Well, what makes it so easy? Is it that they don't suffer? Oh, people die. Lost people die. Jesus said in this world, you have tribulation. Everyone suffers. It's not that they just go through life without any type of suffering. That's not what makes it easy. The great depression hit everybody. The black plague hit everybody. That's not what it's meant by easy. What is easy? Just no laws. There's no demand. There's no persecution. There's no struggles. It's easy. Psalm 73 verse 5, they are not in trouble as others are. They are not stricken like the rest of mankind. Just live your life. Isn't that what he said? We just live our life. Have fun, laugh, play, be entertained. Jesus will forgive your sins. Don't worry about holiness. You won't go to hell. You will not surely die. You can still be a child of God. It's easy because you live however you please. Whatever you want, that's the law. And if you don't like that law anymore, you can change it. You make up the rules as you go. Isn't that easy? Who wouldn't want that? Make it up as you go. If you like being self-righteous and a Pharisee, you can do it. If you want to live lawless, you can do that, too. On this road, no detours, no traffic, no police officers, no speed limit. It's the Autobahn. Grow as fast as you want or as slow as you want. It's up to you. If you like being a lawless idolater, there's a lane for you to. Some of you know the name Charles Stanley, his son, Andy Stanley, very, very, very popular preachers, mega churches in the tens of thousands. This is what Charles Stanley wrote in his book. The Bible clearly teaches that God's love for his people is of such magnitude that even those who walk away from the faith have not the slightest chance of slipping from his hand. Even if a believer, for all practical purposes, becomes an unbeliever, his salvation is not in jeopardy. Believers who lose or abandon their faith will retain their salvation. What is that? Easy. It's easy. You're not going to lose your way on the road no matter what you do. You can live like a demon and still go to heaven. It's the easy path. So the the gate is broad. Everything's welcome. The road is easy. And you know what else he says about this? alternative to the narrow gate, it's crowded. And those who enter by it are many. This is the popular road. This is where the people are. Isn't that what people want? They want to be where the people are. They don't want to stand out. It's awkward to be the only one standing. They've done experiments where people will walk into a room and everyone's standing and suddenly everyone sits on the floor and the guy who doesn't know, he just sits on the floor. Why? Because I guess I'm supposed to do that. People don't like to stand out. Well, this is the place where the majority are. This is the place where the crowds are. Those who enter by it are many. It's the same word used of the plentiful harvest. Jesus talked about that the harvest is plentiful. It's the same word used of the great multitudes of crowds that wanted healing and bread. It's where the people are. Many, many, many, the majority, the masses. So it's broad and wide, it's easy and it's crowded, it's filled with people, the most popular people, the most beautiful people, the richest people, the most famous people, all the people you like, that's where they are, that's the road they're on. Don't you want to come too? So tempting and so alluring. And it's important to understand that what Jesus is talking about here, mainly when he says the broad, wide gate, the easy, comfortable road, that's crowded with many people, he's not primarily focusing on the drunkards and the tax collectors and the prostitutes. It's not mainly and mostly the non-religious world. This is extremely important. This is not a contrast of the church and the dark, lost, non-religious world. This large crowd that's on this easy road that has a wide open gate are people who believe they are on their way to heaven. Both crowds believe they are in the kingdom of God, walking on the road of eternal life under the smile of the king of kings. They are professing people, religious people. These are people who would call themselves Christians. These are people who may go to church, who read their Bibles. They can explain some doctrine. They may even serve in churches. These are the choir singers and deacons and pastors and churchgoers, open air preachers, missionaries, moms, dads, Bible Bee champions and VBS leaders. How do I know that? I'm saying it, but can I prove it? Well, look at the context here. First off, the entire sermon, remember what he's been talking about, but think about what's coming next. Many of you are very familiar with Matthew 7. He's going to bring us to the place where he talks about two kinds of fruit, the trees that bear good fruit and bad fruit, two kinds of professions, those who say, Lord, Lord, and do not actually honor the Lord, and those who say, Lord, Lord, and actually Two kinds of homes, one built on the rock and one built on the sand. And here we have two kinds of gates, two roads, two crowds, two destinations. This is not some separate thing kind of pulled away from the context of all this. All this is leading up with the same message. You who have heard, you have heard this. We're talking about the kingdom of God. And just like the wheat and the tare, there are those who believe that they're truly on the path, truly going through the right gate, truly walking in the way that's pleasing. And they're not. As the Pharisees did. Didn't the Pharisees think that they were right with God? They certainly did. They thought they were the most righteous. I thank you, God, that I'm not like other men. Not like that tax collector over there. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I have. He really thought he was good. But he wasn't. This is religious people. And this was true in the days of the prophets. Remember what Jeremiah 6 talks about? For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain. And from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have healed the wound of my people lightly saying, peace, peace, when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed. They did not know how to blush. Just like back then, the masses thought, we're good with God, there's peace with God, but truthfully, there was no peace. And in Jesus's day, there was nothing different. The masses thought that they were good, they thought that they were on the right road, they thought because they were children of Abraham, they thought because they were Jewish, they thought because they did all these things, they jumped through these hoops, that they were right with God. And Jesus confronts that false notion with the reality, no. You need to enter through the narrow gate for the gate is wide. The way is easy. That leads to destruction. There are many on that road. The apostles tell us for the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. Do we see anything different in our day? And isn't this exactly what we see? If you think of the biggest churches, just deal with Texas. T.D. Jake's Potter's House, 16,000 people. You almost scratch your head to even try to picture what that looks like. John Hagee's Cornerstone in San Antonio, 17,000 people. Ed Young Jr. Fellowship Church, 24,000 people, and the coup de grace, the biggest of all, you know it, Joel Osteen, Lakewood, 45,000 people every Sunday. 45,000 people. Why are these churches filled with people? What is it that they go to hear? What is it that they hear? What do they all have in common? It's an easy road, broad gate type of Christianity. The cost of following Jesus is so small. It's almost absent of anything at all. It's the way of the masses. It's the place where the most people are. It's easy there. Jesus told us, if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? It's the way of this world. Easy. But even though it's broad, even though it's easy and even though it's crowded, he tells us something else about it. It leads to destruction. Enter by the narrow gate for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction and those who enter by it are many. That is a frightening thing to think that the majority of people that you and I know are on the road to destruction. And this road that they're on doesn't say destruction. When they went into through this wide gate, it doesn't say warning, danger, death ahead, cliff, turn back, no. It's filled with warm singing and smiles and come on in, the water's fine, this is good, this will work out, this is love. Pied Piper is leading them all the way. It feels right. It seems right. And yet, what does the scripture say? There's a way that seems right into man, but the end is death. Destruction. That word carries with it the idea of ruin, loss, perishing. It all seems so fun, but it ends in destruction. It's not like those narrow-minded people. We have the more loving way, but it ends in destruction. Some people have, they don't like the idea of eternal destruction, so they've come up with annihilationism, that God just causes people to not exist anymore. He just erases them. That's not what this means. No, this is an eternal suffering. Romans 2.8, for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek. Wrath and fury. The angry outpouring of the fists of God, the violent unleashing of the burning white hot coal of His anger. You think of something like a tsunami. It's hard to really grasp what the wrath of God looks like with our minds. But we look at nature and we see destructive forces. It was a tsunami that hit Alaska and the wave was 1,720 feet, which means it was taller than the Empire State Building. the wave that came approaching. And there've been tsunamis that hit Thailand and Japan, and there's video footage of this. You could go on YouTube and you can see it. And it starts out way in the distance and the people, they're just enjoying and laughing and talking. And they say, what is that? That looks strange. And before they know it, it begins to build up more and more and more. And by the time it is on the shore, it's too late. And what went from laughing turns into screaming and panic. And there's this one image of this man and the wave is coming and the people are saying, he's not even running. He's just there. He's frozen in fear because he knows how can you outrun such a thing when it's a mile wide and it's higher than buildings and it's coming and it's crushing upon you. Brothers and sisters, this is only water. This is just a wave. We're talking about the wrath of almighty God, the power of God focused in on one person for all time, pouring it out. It never ends. It never goes away. This is the destruction. It's eternal. It's furious. It's fiery. It's terrifying. Remember what God asked Joe kind of get up. a taste of His power in chapter 40. Have you an arm like God? And can you thunder with a voice like His? Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity. Clothe yourself with glory and splendor. Pour out the overflowings of your anger and look on everyone who is proud and abase him. Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low and tread down the wicked where they stand. Hide them all in the dust together. Bind their faces in the world below. Then while I also acknowledge to you that your own right hand can save you. God is powerful. And that ferocious anger is coming. And there's no escaping it once it arrives. When those tsunamis hit, there were people who tried to climb higher and higher to escape it. You know what they did? They were able to record. When the wrath of God comes, when this destruction falls, there is no place that you can climb high enough to get to it. You can't run fast enough. There's no place you can hide in. This is the wrath that is coming. And you can understand when God has made us for his glory and we've used all that he's given us for our own way. We've gone our own way, neglected him, despised him, used his gifts against him. He's revealed his son, shown his son, sent his son, punished his son to purchase salvation for people to look in the face of this gospel and neglect it. What does the writer of Hebrews say? How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? That's why we take the narrow road, because the other one, no matter how comfortable it may be, no matter how broad it may be, no matter how popular and crowded it may be, no matter how loving it may seem, it ends in destruction. So it's almost as though he puts that in parentheses and then says, OK, now back to this narrow road. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life and those who find it are few. The way is hard. The wide gate has an easy way, an easy path, but not the narrow gate. The way of the narrow gate is hard. The way of the saints has always been hard. You read your Bibles. You think of the life of Abel. You think of the life of Noah, Moses, Gideon, Joshua, Jeremiah, Ezekiel to Paul, Stephen to John. You know what you notice again and again and again? Hardship, trial, difficulty, suffering, hard lives. And when we read history, we sang that song. It is well with my soul. And I have here a bit of the history of the man who wrote that. Some of you know it, some of you may not. A respected lawyer, Horatio Spafford, lost most of his considerable real estate investments in Chicago's famous fire of 1871. It was so bad that the people in his community said, we think you're cursed. Because things just kept going bad for him. In 1873, The ship carrying his wife, Anna, and their four daughters to Europe was struck by another ship and sank. All four of his daughters were killed. Anna survived and sent a telegram that opened with the words, saved alone. What shall I do? Imagine getting a text message like that, phone call like that. Stafford soon left to join his grieving wife. He was greatly comforted by God when the ship passed over the approximate spot where his daughters drowned. So now he's on the way to his wife and someone said, this is the area where the other ship crashed, where your daughters died. And what did he do there? This is where he wrote the words, when sorrows like sea billows roll, Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say it as well with my soul. Why? Why such suffering? The way is hard. Why is it hard? Well, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, power, spiritual wickedness, and the heavenly places. Why is it hard? Because we're doing battle against the forces of darkness. And all the darkest, most powerful forces of evil hate you. They hate the lamb and anyone who walks with him. And if you're going to be a Christian, you walk with the lamb and he hates you. Why is it hard? Because he has you in his sights. I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down who accuses them day and night before our God. Why is it hard? Because he accuses the Christian day and night. Look at what you did. Look at what you did. How dare you pray? You think you can approach God? You think he wants to hear you? He's seeking to devour you. Be sober minded, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. He's whispering his accusations, seeking to condemn you. He's prowling around to devour you. He wants you, he's asking for you to sift you, that you might fail. He wants you to curse God to his face like he did for Job. Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat. That's hard. Why is it hard? Because of the world. This world is constantly calling you back to itself, reminding you of how much fun you had. Remember back then? Remember how easy it was? Remember how enjoyable it was? Remember all the friends you had? Come back. Come back. It was easy. All the laughter, all the money, it's all over there. Back there, Psalm 73 again. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled. My steps had nearly slipped. Why? For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. There it is. Look at how they prosper. The world is constantly calling you back. Just like it was doing to the children of Israel. Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving and the people of Israel also wept again and said, oh, that we had meat to eat. We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing. The cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at. The world calls you. Come back. It's easy over here. It's so fun. Don't you hear the laughter? Everywhere you go, you see the easy road. Why go the hard way? But the hardest part of this way, the thing that makes it the hardest is self. This is what our Lord has been laying down in our very sermon. You know what's hard? Being meek is hard. Who wants to be a punching bag? Trusting the Lord will defend you while others are mistreating you. That's hard. Always being merciful is hard in a world of vengeance. Always forgiving people, no matter what they do to you. And I'm not talking about reconciliation. If there's no repentance, there cannot be reconciliation, but forgiveness. You have no permission to hold grudges, ever. That's hard. Because the things that people can do to you is beyond imagination. And yet, what does the Lord say? Forgive, that you be forgiven. That's hard. That's hard. Loving your enemies is hard. Turning the other cheek when people insult you is hard. To have to always be the one who is kind, who is gentle, who is long-suffering and patient, that's hard. You get to the point where you say, I don't feel like being kind. I don't wanna be the gentle one. I don't wanna forgive. I don't wanna be the one to initiate peace. It's hard. It's hard to go the second mile when they demanded the first one. They didn't ask you. They demanded it of you. And now the Lord says, go a second mile. It's hard to give the tunic when they demanded your cloak. Suffering for righteousness is hard. I did the right thing. Lord, I'm pleasing you and they're mistreating me. I'm obeying your word and they're slandering me. I did what was right and I'm suffering. That's hard. That's hard. People judge your obedience and say you're just acting. You think you're holier than others. You think you're better than others. Truth of the matter is you're more aware of your sin than they can even dream. But they call you names. They call your love fake. They call your humility pride. To have your genuine efforts at holiness mocked and ridiculed and to hold your tongue. Is that hard? You know what's easy? Giving an eye for an eye. That's easy. Revenge is easy. Returning evil for evil is easy. Holding grudges is easy. Staying offended is easy. Gossiping, selfishness, loving this world, going with the flow, being anxious, that comes naturally. Fear in the face of lack, worry, But hungering and thirsting after righteousness, being a peacemaker, even though it may cause you to lose friends and family, and people won't want to talk to you anymore. This is what makes this road hard. It's following Christ. Giving into temptation. Does that take a struggle? A cutting off hands? You know what Jesus says about anger, right? Anger is the same as murder. And those who are angry are liable to the judgment. How easy it is for you and I to get angry just like that. Somebody upsets us. Well, if I give into this. But if you're going to walk on this way. No. This is not the way of my king, this is not the way of the kingdom, this is not This is not the new man. That's the old man. That man must be put off. And that's work. That's hard. People say, wait a minute, but didn't Jesus say something about his yoke being easy? What's all this hard language? Matthew 11, 29, take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. His commandments are not burdensome. So what's all this hard way stuff? Well, what is he talking about right there with the yoke? What is that yoke? I mean, this is talking about salvation, isn't it? That yoke is the yoke of the law, trying to obey the law. And that's what the Pharisees were putting upon the people, putting these burdens upon them. And the Lord says, I will carry the burden. You rest in my work. What is the work that he calls us to do? This is the work of God, John 6, 29, that you believe in him whom he has sent. So we are to do that work by trusting in him. We're to do that work by abiding in him, resting in him, crying out to him for help, for strength, because we cannot do it apart from him. But there is no other way to interpret this. He says it's hard. And you know what? Honestly, I find that comforting. Jesus says, it's hard. That's kindness. As parents, our children can be doing something. They say, daddy, this is so hard. And we say, it's not hard. Come on, you're being a baby. That's not hard. Anybody ever said that? Just me, bad father. They complain. And we say, come on, you're making too much. It's not difficult. But is that what Christ says? No. He says, listen, it's hard. He calls it hard. And if anyone knows what is hard, it is him. There's a comfort there. You walk through this life and you say, Lord, it's hard. I told you it would. It's kind. You cry, you weep, you fall on your knees and cry out to him for strength. Tears rolling down your face. You say, Lord, can it get any more difficult? Please help me. And he will. If you've been a Christian for any amount of time, you already know. New believers are saying, this is hard. We need to tell new believers that there's a cross to carry. Amen. What does it say in first Peter 4, 12, beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening. Nothing strange here. This is normal Christianity. This is exactly how it's supposed to be hard. It's narrow. You've got to leave off self. Can't bring that through. Put that stuff to death. It's hard. There are difficulties here. There's discipline here. There's trial here. There's persecution here. There's suffering here. There's spiritual attack here. There's the temptation and the mockery of the world here. It's hard. And I wouldn't be faithful to your souls if I told you anything different than what our Lord has told us. You know what else? He says it's lonely. Those who find it are Few. Not just on the surface. You gotta find it. There's a digging here, searching, striving, Luke 13, 24. Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. There's a striving. Christianity is not an easy road. Following Christ is not always comfortable in the sense of what you have to deal with. This promises, brothers and sisters, there are great promises and we're almost done here. We'll be looking at that very shortly. But he promised us persecution. He promised us hardship. He promised us tribulation. He promised us discipline. And he says there are few. Few, he says, do not think that I've come to bring peace to the earth. I have come to bring not peace, but a sword for I've come to set a man against his father. a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a person's enemies will be those of his own household. You follow Christ, family cuts you off. You lose friends. You lose business opportunities. Few. Few doesn't mean many. People begin walking with us. They say, yeah, I want to follow Christ. But Matthew 13, as for what was sown on the rocky ground, This is the one who hears the word immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. And when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, see automatic, it's going to happen. This is not an if, when tribulation, when persecution arise immediately, he falls away. Most people will not come this way. They say there are millions and millions and millions of Christians in the world. Ligonier Ministries did a survey of Christianity, asked some questions. 52% of evangelicals believe that everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature. 51% of Christians, so-called, believe that God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. And 78% of Christians believe that Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God. Brothers and sisters, there are not millions and millions and millions of Christians. If this is what Christianity is, that is not Christianity. So it's narrow. One way old man must be put off. It's hard. There's great suffering and great trial. It's lonely. There are few who find it, but there is a great joy that he promises us here. And this is where we will finish. The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life. Why would anyone choose this life? Why would anyone choose this narrow gate, this hard life, this lonely road? Why? It's filled with danger and devil attacks, difficulty, persecution. Why would anyone go through that gate when there's this broad, easy, wide, fun-filled, crowded one? Because that one leads to destruction, but this one leads to life. And it's the only one that leads to life. You know, Jesus was not trying to gather crowds. This is not what you say to gather crowds. Come the way that's hard. Follow me. You will be persecuted. That's not going to gather crowds. But this is the only way that leads to life and eternal life. It's the only way to be forgiven. It's the only way to be saved. It's the only way to become a child of God coming through the narrow gate. This is life. But it's not just hope of going to a place. What is this all about? He tells us to enter through the narrow gate, the narrow door. And what does Jesus say in John 10? Jesus said again to them, truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who come before me are thieves, came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. Why do we go through the narrow gate no matter how difficult it is, no matter what we have to leave behind? Because to go through the gate is to come to Christ. He is the reason why we go through the narrow, because He is the door itself. He tells us that the road is hard, that it's difficult, that it's filled with struggle. But you know what else He tells us? I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. It's not meaningless traveling. It's not aimless wandering. The road is hard, but He's with us on it. He is the very road and He walks with us through it. He leads us. He guides us. What is He doing on this road? He's burning off the impurities. He's pruning off the dead parts and branches of us. He's transforming our minds. He's conforming us more and more to the image of the Son. This is love. It's the Father's hand that is doing the discipline. It's the Son of God who is walking with us. It is the Spirit of God who's convicting us and challenging us, putting us in the situation like Job, where all the demons of hell have free reign. It's not unkindness. It is love itself. Why would we walk on this way that is filled with tears? Because He's with you. Isaiah 43. In verse two says this, when you pass through the waters, I will be with you and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy one of Israel, your savior. The road is hard. It's rough. He's with you. That's the consolation. He is the door. We come to him. We're not coming to religion. We're not coming to morality. We're not coming to spirituality. We're not coming to laws. We're coming to him. We're coming to Christ, the savior and the way always filled with suffering is filled with difficulty, but he's with us. He'd never leave us nor forsake us. And he's bringing us up, up, up to send the hill of the Lord. He is there to come to him, to see him. This is the way that leads to life. What is life? And him was life, and the life was the light of man. This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Life itself, for me to live as Christ and to die as Gain, it's all about Christ. And I'm stressing this because as you're walking on this road and it gets difficult and you look at that other road, that's so easy. There's a great temptation to say, I'm making an exit. I'm doing the turnaround. I'm doing a crossover. I want to go to that one. What's going to keep you on this road? Certainly not the comfort. It's not going to be the crowds. What is it? It's eyes that are set upon the lover of your soul. It's eyes that are fixed upon the Lamb of God who was slain for you. It's the God who is worthy of glory, who's worthy of worship, who's worthy of honor, who's worthy of it all. And He is the very hope of heaven. He's the treasure of our hearts. He's the joy of our lives. He brings us the peace and the forgiveness. What's on this road? Yeah, it's hard, but it's also filled with mercy, and it's filled with fellowship, and it's filled with intimacy, and it's filled with His presence, and it's filled with His face, and His smile, and He brings you closer and closer. His Spirit, His Word, the saints, oh, there is suffering on this road, but that suffering, in the midst of that suffering, I was talking to some saints just the other night, and they were saying, it was good for me that I was afflicted. Why? Because there, I beheld him. I learned to love him more. I learned to depend less on myself and more on him. That's what walking on this hard road does for us. You look and you see his face. Those boys who were in the furnace heated more times than it could even be thought to be heated. It was there that they saw the one who was in the furnace with them. And sometimes it's in the midst of the most intense suffering. How did this brother write this hymn as he sailed over the place where his own daughters met their demise? How was it that Job didn't care about justifying himself anymore when he came face to face in all of his suffering? I heard of you with the ear, but now my eye sees you. When we come face to face with our God in the midst of our suffering, Love increases, joy increases, contentment increases. It leads to Christ. The last thing I just want to leave you with is just an illustration from the scripture. Think of the Ark of Noah. We went to the Creation Museum. Some of you have gone as well, and they have the Ark Encounter. And we went into the Ark Encounter, and it was air conditioned. It had a restaurant. Not exactly how fake animals, fake dung. This was filled with animals. It was dark in there. It was not central AC in there. It smelled in there. It wasn't comfortable in there. You spend all those days with the same people. It starts getting frustrated. It's not the most enjoyable place to be. And yet you think of what was on the outside. That's where the masses were. But there was perishing. There was destruction. Inside the ark, no matter how difficult it was, that was the only place there was life. And entering through this narrow gate, children, this is the only place where there's life. Christ is the only place where there is life. So if you have not entered, enter today. If you've been tempted to look on the other side, keep your eyes on Christ. Father, thank you for the warning. Thank you for your love and your kindness to warn us, to tell us about the other way and where it leads. And help us, Lord, Help us to not grumble and complain about the hardship that comes with following you, for you suffered, and we're to be identified with you in your suffering. Thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name, amen.