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It is good to see you this morning again to our visitors. Welcome. We're glad that you've made the choice to worship with us here at Central. We've been studying the Sermon on the Mount, and in chapter 7, as Chase just read just a moment ago, Jesus talks about two roads. He talks about two gates. He talks about a wide gate and a wide road. He talks about a narrow gate and a narrow road. And I don't know how many of you have driven I-40 out in West Texas around Amarillo. There ain't much out there. Just a lot of flat grass and cows. That's about it. And as you're driving west on I-40, the interstate takes a big wide turn. And there's a sign right there. It's a road sign on the side of the road that shows us the big wide curve going one direction and one going straight ahead. And as you're looking out your windshield, you can see the interstate just take a big, a big left, left turn. And you see this narrow, almost like a path, just a dirt road just going straight ahead. And I think about that, and I think about what Jesus is saying here. There's a big wide road that everybody's just flying down. But there's a narrow road that's just barely got the path beaten into it because there's not that many people that travel it. That's what Jesus is talking about in the Sermon on the Mount today. He's talking about two roads that divide. And one day those two roads are going to come back together. And they're going to come back together at the judgment. And so when Jesus is sitting on this mountainside and he's sharing this with the people, the people are, by this point, I mean, they're mesmerized with what he's saying. They're hanging on every word of what's coming out of Jesus' mouth because they'd never heard things like this before. And who knows what's going through their mind when Jesus says, you know, there's a broad gate and a broad path, and it leads to destruction, and there's a narrow gate and a narrow road that leads to life. I have to believe that a big chunk of that crowd was thinking, well, yeah, the Roman Empire's on that wide path. And with the help of God, they'll find their destruction, and we, the chosen people of Israel, are on the narrow road, going through the narrow gate that leads to life. Jesus' picture's a lot bigger than that. See, Jesus wasn't just talking to them in their time, he's talking to us in our time. In fact, Jesus is talking about spiritual things for all time until the end of time. And so as we continue in our study of the Sermon on the Mount, and we look at these two paths that he talks about, let's go to God in prayer together and let's ask the Spirit's blessing upon our message this morning. Would you please join me? Father God, thank you for this beautiful day. It is absolutely gorgeous outside. Truly, truly a day that only you could make. Spirit, we appreciate and value and treasure your presence in our life as believers. And when we come up out of the water of baptism, not only are our sins forgiven in the sight of God, but we receive you as a part of our life until this life is over. We thank you for your counsel, for your guidance, the ways that you speak to us and encourage us, and we encourage one another. Spirit, I pray that this message today will be your message. It's not an easy one. It wasn't easy for people then to hear. It's not easy for people to hear today. Even though circumstances change, the application is the same. There are two roads, the wide one to destruction and the narrow one to life everlasting. Lord, we love you so much. We thank you. We praise you in all things. In the name of Jesus, we pray together. Amen. Family, the end of the Sermon on the Mount is insight. I mean, we we we can see it coming. It's kind of like driving out there in West Texas. You're not at the edge of the planet, but you can see it from there. And the the end of the Sermon on the Mount is coming. And what we see is that Jesus is beginning to zero in on the application phase of the sermon. And what Jesus says in our text in a 21st century culture, quite honestly, is considered to be socially unacceptable and politically incorrect. What he says, family, would be labeled today is judgmental, narrow-minded. You tell me there's only two roads. Narrow-minded, non-inclusive, intolerant, and downright hateful by many people in our world today. To say that there's only one way to heaven is not a concept that is embraced universally. But nonetheless, Jesus says what needs to be said biblically, regardless of its social or political impact. Look again at what he says in our text. He says, Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who will enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Take a good look at what Jesus says. Church, that's not an everyone gets a participation trophy approach to everlasting life. You're either on the right road or you're on the wrong one. That's what Jesus is saying. Jesus says that there's two roads, just two. There's two roads, a wide one and a narrow one. But here's the thing, and this is the reality that we have to confront, that we have to weigh and take into account with over 200 Christian denominations in the United States alone. Instead of two roads, it looks more like the High Five Mixmaster in Dallas. There it is. If you're not familiar with that, the High Five Mixmaster Interchange in North Dallas is built on five levels, twelve stories high, with 43 bridges and 14 lanes. And it accommodates about 500,000 cars a day. Family, I can tell you from personal experience, taking the right exit on that thing can be very challenging. Again, Jesus speaks of just two. He speaks of two exits from this life. The wide one and the narrow one. Church, Jesus clearly says that the gate to destruction is wide, and that the majority of mankind will enter through it. And it ain't hard to find. And it means physical, spiritual, or eternal death. It can also be translated and may be translated in the Bible that you hold as damnation. In other words, it's one of the most powerful and most consequential words to come from the lips of Jesus while he was on this earth. But on the other hand, Jesus describes a narrow gate to everlasting life as being one that few by comparison to the wide gate will find. So what does a traffic exiting from this life and going through these two gates look like? Well, church, that's a question that a lot of people don't want to ask. And they don't want to answer it because of the reasons that I outlined earlier. That would be judgmental, right? But how do we avoid taking the wrong exit unless we identify what that exit looks like and who will be on it according to the scriptures. Let's begin with the wide gate. Verse 13, Jesus says in our text that the exit to hell, and let's just call it for what it is. We don't like to throw that word around anymore, do we? Jesus says that the exit to hell is wide. And there's going to be many who are going to enter through it. So what does this exit from this life look like? Well, to begin with, there's going to be a lot of travelers on that exit going down that wide road with atheist license plates. Church, from a scriptural perspective, it's a foregone conclusion that those who do not believe, who are not believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, are going to go through this gate when they exit this life, when the Lord returns. And the sad truth, family, is that atheism is growing at an unprecedented rate in our country and in the world. And the rapid growth of atheism, they say, the experts say, since the turn of the 20th century, is mainly attributed to our secular education system that has taken God completely out of the schools. Family, that's truly sad. Because atheism declares that everything in this life, absolutely everything, is based upon random acts of nature. And what that communicates at the end of the day is that life is meaningless. From that perspective, there really is one thing to live for. From that perspective, and that philosophy, church, we see it all the time, and unfortunately, that philosophy of living has influenced Christians to a large degree. And that philosophy, family, the only thing in the atheist mind worth living for is living in the moment. Church, the atheist fails to see the meaning in the things that we hold dear. They fail to see the meaning in what we believe as believers do. They don't see the intelligent design of our creator. This beautiful day that we're enjoying today. They don't see the evidence of God in his creation. They don't believe that mankind is created spiritually in the image of God. They have no desire nor concept of heaven. Why? Because heaven is found in the moment for them. And they're oblivious with regard to heading to hell because they don't believe in it. Atheists are willfully ignorant of the things of God and are absolutely contented to live as such until the end comes. And they have nothing but themselves and others who believe the way that they do, which offers them no hope. Most of you don't know that I was a medic in the Air Force. My first assignment was HIV research for the Department of Defense in the early 90s. This is when we were just figuring out what it was. And most of the people that came through our facility were Department of Defense. They were active duty military. They were people associated with the government. Most of them were non-believers. Taking care of them. But here's the thing: they're not alone on that wide path. They're not alone in passing through that wide gate. There's also those who believe that all roads lead to heaven. Doesn't matter which one of those roads you are on the mixed master, they all go the same place. How much sense does that make? All roads lead to heaven. You heard that one before? You and I have heard that sentiment many, many times before, as well as this one. Attend the church of your choice. You ever heard that one before? Family, it's this view that makes faith look like the high five interchange. It's all over the place. Here's the thing. Did you know that there are over 7,000 recognized religions on this planet? 7,000. And while there are 200 Christian denominations in the United States, there's over 45,000 worldwide. 45,000 different flavors of Christians in this world. That's a lot of spiritual exits from this life. Church, the fact that to one degree or another, these forty-five thousand denominations directly conflict with one another on basic doctrinal issues. Doesn't bother me. We just happen to be on different paths. It's a mixed master of faith. Family, let me point out some scriptures that can't be ignored. First, bless you. First, Jesus himself says in John 14, 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Those are the words of Jesus. Jesus says there's only one road, and he's it. Jesus also prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before going to the cross in John chapter 17, verse 21. May they all be one. Just as you and I are one, just as you and I, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. Think about what Jesus is saying right there, and to lay it down beside the hundreds, if not thousands, of denominations within our own faith. And tell me, is that one? Can you understand where maybe an atheist or an agnostic might say, Man, you people can't even agree on one God and one book. Why would I ever want to be a part of that? That makes sense. That makes sense now. And it's the unfortunate truth. Look at what Jesus says. May they be one so that the world may believe that you sent me. Don't miss that. Jesus says, Father, may they all be one. Not 200 in the United States, not 45,000 worldwide. No, Jesus said, Father, may they be one. Church, the thing I found with people in Bible study is that they're oblivious or they're misguided to what that actually means on the screen. And in our study, we cover passages that they've never seen before, didn't even know they existed, never read these things. And when it becomes clearly evident to them that unlike the atheist who is willfully ignorant, they've been blissfully ignorant as they take the wide exit onto the wide path. Another group of travelers on the wide path of life are those who believe that they've earned the exit to the narrow road. These are the travelers that live by the philosophy, and you've heard it before, if you just live a good life, if you're a good and moral person, then heaven is on your exit. You're on the right path. Just be a good and moral person. You got nothing to worry about. Now, one of the tenets of that philosophy, one of the tenets of that belief is that a good and loving God would never send anybody to hell. Have you ever heard that before? The problem with that belief is that the Bible, other than with regard to innocent children, says that no one, no one is completely good. Paul quotes from Psalm 14.1, Psalm 53.1, Psalm 53.3 in Romans chapter 3, verse 10, where he says there is no righteous person, not even one. Church, the people in this lane take the wide exit, believing that they're good enough to earn their way to heaven. Because they define goodness by their own standard rather than by God's standard. They say they're good enough in and of themselves to deserve heaven, whereas God's word says that no one's good enough. None of us are. Good enough. Only He was. Only He could live the life that was perfect. And to be that perfect sacrifice for us. And his perfect life culminating in that perfect sacrifice provides us with the grace that we need. To fill the gap between the best that we can be and the holiness that's required to enter the narrow gate. But you know what? Probably the saddest travelers taking this exit to the wide path is the unaffected Christian. Family, there are those who've come up out of the baptistry unaffected. These are Christians in name only. They went through the motions, but they never fully converted. They never fully submitted to the Christian life. Now I say unaffected rather than unchanged. And somebody may say, well, what's the difference? Isn't that the same thing? Actually, it's not the same thing. There's a difference between unchanged and unaffected. Here's the difference. According to Collins Dictionary, unchanged means something that remains in its original state, while unaffected means something that was not influenced or impacted by an external force. Even if its state technically changed, unchanged describes the final state identical to before, whereas unaffected describes the lack of impact from an event. Church, it's that last phrase on the screen. Look at what it says. That is at the heart of the person who has exited the narrow road for the wide road. And I would say that this is the saddest group of people making their way from the road that leads to life down the road that leads to destruction. And why is that? Because their repentance, their confession, and their baptism has left them unaffected spiritually due to the lack of impact from that event. And sure, they cleaned up their language when they came up out of the baptistry. They stopped drinking, stopped smoking, stopped cheating on their spouse, they stopped gambling, they stopped doing all those things that, you know, they say that you really can't and shouldn't do as a Christian. They may have even volunteered for local and foreign mission work with their congregation. Their life changed family, but they were just going through the motions. And although their lifestyle has changed, the spiritual life that they've been called to has not been impacted by their conversion experience. Their soul remains unaffected. So what does that look like? You'll hear me say that a lot. What does that look like? I need something tangible to help me understand what that means. What does that look like? What does the unaffected Christian look like? What does it look like when the narrow road and the wide road come together again at the judgment before that final fork in the road? Family, here's what it looks like. Listen to the words of Jesus himself in Matthew chapter 7, verses 19 to 23, that we're going to be covering more in depth here in a couple of weeks. Jesus says, Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then you will know them by their fruits. Now notice what he says next. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. But the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? And in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles? Then I will declare to them, I never knew you. I never knew you. Yeah, you changed your life. You did all these things. You checked all these boxes, but your soul was unaffected. I never knew you. Leave me who practice lawlessness. That's gonna be a real moment right there. And here's the thing: we assume that it's gonna be somebody else. But that's gonna be somebody. I just pray that it's none of us. But that is a real moment right there that's going to happen. Church, that's what the path through the wide gate looks like. It'll be bumper to bumper, but those who blatantly refuse to change and be changed by Jesus, as well as those who think that they have been, and most will be somewhere in between those two extremes. Family, we've talked about the wide gate the whole time this morning. Because there's going to be a lot of folks on the wide gate and on the wide path. But what about the narrow gate? What about the road less traveled? Church, the narrow road is for those who recognize that they're sinners. And only Jesus can cleanse them now and will advocate their case at the judgment when the two roads come back together. Those on the narrow road have passed through that gate. They've passed through that narrow gate, and they realize that Jesus has posted the bond for their sin, and now they can live life free, free of guilt, free of remorse, free of the past. They can live life free from the guilt of life. And they can live that life now. Second, the narrow road is made up of those who understand the need for repentance. Let me tell you something. Repentance is not a one-time good deal, it's a daily thing. For some people, it may even be an hourly thing. Repentance is not a one-time good deal. Family, to repent means to turn our life around. Church, genuine repentance results in more than just changing our thinking and how we view things in life, but it's seen as an affected life, an affected life that is now being lived for the Lord. Third, the narrow road consists of baptized believers who have embraced their commitment to the Great Commission. Let me ask you a question, brothers and sisters. Since you came up out of the baptistry, since you came up out of the waters of baptism, how many people have you shared Jesus with? How many people have you gone to with the Great Commission and studied with? How many have you led to Christ? Because of your personal commitment to the Great Commission. And if your responses is, well, that's why we hired you and why we hired Chase, I got news for you. That will not fly at the judgment. It won't. There are people in your life that Chase and I will never have an opportunity to sit down and share the gospel with. You know why? Because they were put in your life for a reason. Are you sharing the gospel? Have you embraced the Great Commission? Church sitting on the sidelines and warming a seat or a pew is not in the nature of someone who has embraced the Great Commission. These are believers who are compelled to be involved in the life and the work of the Lord in the church. Family, something we have to remember is that the narrow gate and the narrow road are narrow for a reason. And that reason is that it's not an easy path to travel. There's going to be challenges. Challenges from Satan. Challenges from society. Challenges from your friends. Challenges from your family. Or in the case of Eusebius, a fourth-century Christian historian that we quoted last week with regard to the crucifixion and the details of the crucifixion of Jesus. When the Emperor of Alans threatened Eusebius with confiscation of all of his goods, threatened him with torture and banishment and even death. Eusebius courageously said, He needs not fear confiscation who has nothing to lose, nor banishment to whom heaven is his country, nor torments when his body can be destroyed at one blow, nor death, which is the only way to set him at liberty from sin and sorrow. Man, look at what he says. Do you feel that way about your relationship with God and your faith? When it boils right down to it, is that your reply to the challenge of your faith? It should be. Which one will you take? Which road are you on? In his poem, The Road Not Taken, written by Robert Frost, who was the former poet laureate of the United States under President John F. Kennedy, he concludes this famous poem with these well-known words. He says, Two roads diverged in a wood. And I took the one last traveled by. And that has made all the difference. Church, when the road that passes through the wide gate and the road that passes through the narrow gate come together, and they're going to come together again at the judgment. Well you have arrived there, brothers and sisters, by taking the one less trap. Family, which one are you on right now? The good news is that you don't have to stay on the wrong road if you know you're on the wrong road. You can turn around. You can repent. And when this life is over, you can take the right exit to heaven. This message is not easy. But it's necessary. Because I think we get ourselves into a pattern of things, a pattern of thinking that puts the blinders on because we've got so much stuff going on. And when we're called, our attention is called to something like this, we we stop and we look beyond all of those things that aren't going to matter to a hell of beans when this life is over. And we start thinking about what's most important. The road that you're on right now is the most important thing. And if you're on the right road, stay there. Try to bring as many people with you. Embrace that great commission. If you're on the wrong road and you know it, I mean, think about it. You took the wrong exit off the mix master, and you're going west when you're supposed to be going east. How long are you going to stay on that road? I'm going to find the first exit I can find so I can get going the right direction. It would be foolish to stay on the wrong road going the wrong direction. Now, if that applies to just simple highway driving, is it not much more important in our spiritual road that we're traveling? And somebody might say, well, I don't know. That's kind of a hard thing to do. Is it? Is it really that hard? Well, I don't know what people are going to say. Does it really matter what anybody else is going to say? What matters the most is what Jesus says when the time comes. Get on the right road. If you're here visiting with us today, we're so glad that you're here. Stick around. Give us a chance to meet you. Join us for Bible study after worship this morning. If you're looking for a church home, we would love to have you as a part of our family here at Central. If you need us to pray with you this morning, Shepherds will be here at the front to pray with you, to pray for you, as well as myself and Chase. Whatever you need this morning, please, if you're on the wrong path, don't continue. Let us help you bear that burden and get things turned around together while we stand and sing.