[1] #284, On The Road, Sunday 08-05-2007, Pastor Mark Boucher

Text: Matthew 7:13-14
Theme: There are two roads from which to choose, and choosing both is not an option.

INTRODUCTION:

1. Summer time is a time of travel for many.
   1. Trips are made up of beginning – duration – end.
   2. Trips can be exciting … or not.
2. Jesus spent a lot of time traveling.
   1. He often compared life to a journey (in His parables).
   2. In His sermon on the mount Jesus spoke of the gate and road.
3. I began my journey with Jesus on September 16, 1973.

I want to share some observations of the journey.

1. There are two roads from which to choose.
   1. The world has ways to divide people. (by nation, education, rank, title, etc.)
   2. Jesus speaks of His way … and everybody else’s.
   3. Either you are for me or against me, in His Kingdom or out, born again or not, on the narrow road or the broad way, His child …
   4. Jesus was either the most arrogant deceived person … or He was God.
   5. You can’t travel on both roads at the same time.
   6. There are not “many roads that lead to heaven”
   7. It’s not just “have faith of some type.”
2. The road of the world seems easier.
   1. The road is broad and many travel it.
   2. Why do so many people go this way?
   3. Our sinful nature blinds us to truth. (We think our way is freedom, God’s way is restrictive.
   4. The broad way appeals to our flesh.
   5. Don’t be deceived by majority morality.
   6. “The majority crucified Christ, the majority burned the Christians at the stake, the majority established slavery, the majority jeered when Columbus said the world was round …” ~ late Senator James A. Reed of Missouri
   7. In reality, the broad way is the hard way.
   8. “the way of transgressors is hard” Proverbs 13:15
   9. “ ‘there is no peace,’ says the Lord, ‘for the wicked.’ ”
   10. There are no answers for life’s ultimate questions.
3. The road of Jesus appears difficult.
   1. It has a narrow gate. (the gate is as wide as Jesus)
   2. To enter you must be willing to “let go”.
   3. You must be willing to be “broken”.
   4. The way of Jesus is a narrow road.
   5. Most people don’t believe there even is a road.
   6. This road has unexpected twists and turns.
   7. This road is one of adventure, beauty.
   8. The presence of Jesus makes all the difference.
   9. His presence is better than anything in life.
   10. “Because thy loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.” Psalm 63:3
4. The road we choose determines our destination. (You can choose your path, but you can’t choose your consequences.)
   1. The narrow road leads to life.
   2. We are promised life here (full of the fruit of God’s Holy Spirit).
   3. We are promised life hereafter.
   4. What if it’s all a big hoax? All I have had is a life of seeking goodness, faithfulness. But, we are promised eternity from the God who cannot lie.
   5. “A faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which god, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.”
   6. The broad road leads to destruction.
   7. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”

CONCLUSION:

If you are not on the road with Jesus, you can be … God allows U-turns.
If you are on the road, be grateful and reach to others headed for destruction.