Speaker Development Sunday

I'm honored to be with you this morning. So glad to be opening up God's word together. We're gonna be in Matthew chapter seven if you wanna find your place there in just a moment. But first, I want to test your knowledge on something and confirm an assumption that I have that I think I'm gonna be right about. I need some crowd participation. How many of you know what this picture is right here? Let's hear it, what is that?

- Statue of Liberty.

- Statue of Liberty. How about the next? What is that?

- Empire State-

- Empire State. Come on, it's all right. I know it's a holiday weekend. What's the third one there? What is that?

- Times Square.

- Times Square. All right, as I assumed, these are familiar places to us. And I think that's because New York City is so dominant in our media, right? And if you think about it, think about a famous movie or TV show, there's so many that have New York as their backdrop. Think about Spider-Man going through the streets of New York. Think about "Ghostbusters" or "Home Alone," "Friends" or "Seinfeld," even "Sesame Street" has New York City as its backdrop, right? And so it feels like life in New York is really, really familiar to us. One of the streets in New York that's really familiar where you find some of these things is a street called Broadway. And Broadway is a really famous street. It's been around a really long time. It was actually first a Native American trail, and then Dutch settlers came and they widened that trail. And then the British showed up and they put their creative thinking hats on and said, "What should we name the street?" And they said, "Let's call it Broadway because it's a broad way, right?" I actually walked Broadway one time from Battery Park all the way in Lower Town, all the way up to Central Park uptown. And as I made this walk, I saw a lot of these really familiar sites. I could see the Statue of Liberty from Battery Park. And then as I made my way Uptown, I was able to see Harold Square where they televised the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and then further uptown into Times Square. If you've ever been to Times Square, you know that Times Square is just overwhelming, right? You're just surrounded with screens and messaging. It really is a site to behold. And as you walk into Times Square, on Broadway, you're also seeing a hustling and bustling of people that want to give you the authentic New York experience. You really almost can't avoid these people. They wanna get you on a double-decker bus, to walk around the city or drive around the city and kind of experience New York. There are gift shops. Literally, every third store is a gift shop that you can go in and get your thing and feel like, "Man, I had a real, authentic New York experience." People go to New York City and that's what they wanna see. They want to take pictures in front of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree or things like that. But the funny thing is, none of that is real life in New York, right? I got a friend who lives in Manhattan. Him and his wife and their young son live in Manhattan, and have for a number of years. And every time I talk with him when he's back home, he says, "I avoid all of those places. I haven't been to Times Square in years. I have no reason to be there. I have no business to be there. It's super annoying to go there." It's just crazy, right? Because he's living a real life in New York. For him, real life is in the small streets, in the narrow places. He's living real life, raising a child and married to his wife and working a job. For him, real life is definitely not found on Broadway. I want you to hang on to that idea as we look at our passage for today, Matthew chapter seven, 'cause we're gonna be talking about the difference between real life and its counterfeits. The difference between a life as a citizen and a life as a tourist, road to real life we have to be on. Let's look together at our passage in Matthew 7:13 and 14. It says this, "Enter through the narrow gate for wide does the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." That's pretty simple, right? We hear Jesus outlining these two ways. A small way and a wide way, a narrow way and a broad way. And although it's simple, I want you to pay attention today because it really is profound. It's important that we understand the words of Jesus in this passage. Maybe you're asking the question, "Why is Jesus talking about roads and gates? I mean, what does that mean? What is the connection there?" Well, a little bit of context, we're in the Sermon on the Mount. We've actually dropped in on the end of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is preaching to a Jewish audience, predominantly Jewish audience, where for, obviously, faith is central to their life. Obviously, they're very familiar with the scripture, what we would know as the Old Testament scripture, and they're living in Galilee. This is the region that he's teaching in. And these people, they're under Roman oppression. At that time in history, Israel was under the Roman Empire. They were facing the occupation and oppression of Rome. And so these people who were central to their faith, it was part of their life, familiar with the Old Testament scripture, they were also paying a specific attention to the prophecy of the Messiah that was to come. The prophecy of the Messiah who would make their life better. And Jesus has been in Galilee. He's been in this region already. He's given them plenty of reason to pay attention to him and to maybe think, "All right, who is this guy, and what is he up to?" Let's look together in Matthew chapter four. Just a few chapters earlier, we see this described. Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria and the people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. And large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and the region all across the Jordan followed him. So you got the picture, right? You've got this large crowd who's paying close attention to Jesus. He's teaching, he's proclaiming good news, and he's healing all kinds of people. So they're paying attention to this. And Jesus sees this crowd, he goes up on a mountainside, and he begins to give a sermon. Now, this sermon is called the Sermon on the Mount. And Jesus is gonna describe the nature of his kingdom. It's an incredible teaching. He starts to talk about a new perspective on life, a way to be able to see and understand the kingdom of God among people, an ability to be able to live life that Jesus has come to bring. And it says at the of a Sermon on the Mount that people were amazed. And I want us to look at that because I think this is informative for our conversation today, that word amazed. Because amazed usually sounds positive, but in reality, it's described or it's defined as surprised or astonished. Just listen to these two examples in the Sermon on the Mount and you tell me what you think the facial expressions of these Jewish people would've been as they listen in Jesus' words. Matthew 5:11 says this, "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Anybody eyebrows up? Okay. Is this the Messiah? How about in Matthew chapter five, a few verses later, verses 43 and 44. "You have heard it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Okay. Jesus, are you really telling me that I need to love that Roman soldier? Pray for these people who are oppressing me? This doesn't sound like the language of the Messiah they were hoping for. This doesn't sound like the language of a conquering king or an overthrowing Messiah. And I think they were amazed. It's right to say and understand they were amazed. And I point this out because I think today as we dig into our text today, you may also be amazed. You may also hear the words of Jesus, you may also dig into what we're gonna hear today, and you may be surprised at what Jesus has to say because you may have assumptions about Jesus. You may have certain ideas about who Jesus is. And as he speaks to us today, you may be surprised by what he says. And I want you to pay close attention to that. Because when Jesus challenges our assumptions about him, it's him that speaking. And I hope you'll pay close attention and pay attention to the actual words, the clear directions that Jesus is gonna give us today. Let's look back at our passage in Matthew 7: 13 and 14. We'll read it again. "Enter through the narrow gate for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." So again, Jesus is describing two ways. He's describing a Broadway and he's also describing a narrow way. Two ways, and only two ways that we're gonna hear here. And so he's giving us clear instructions and it's good for us to hear and understand the clear instructions of Jesus. Today what I want us to do is to track through some of these directions using something we're gonna call the road signs to real life. The road signs to real life. And the first road sign to real life is this. Enter here. At the very top of our passage, Jesus is giving us clear instruction. He says, "Enter here." He doesn't leave us with pros and cons list. We're not contestants on a game show. He's not saying, "Well, I have door number one over here, and this looks pretty good, but I like blue door number two. Maybe I should go through here." No, Jesus is being incredibly clear. He says, "Enter here." He's incredibly clear about that. And I think we have to understand that Jesus is actually telling us, imploring us even, to choose this narrow way, to enter through here. In essence, choose him. Choose Jesus because Jesus is this narrow gate. Let's look at John chapter 10. Jesus is using similar imagery in this passage. He's talking about a sheep pen here. But we read this in John chapter 10. "I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and they will go out, and they will find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy, but I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." I want you to see these two passages side by side. Matthew chapter seven and John chapter 10, we see them together here. "Enter through the narrow gate," Matthew seven says. Jesus's words. Again, in John 10, he says, "I am the gate." Whoever enters through me will be saved. So we establish that Jesus is this narrow gate that he's talking about. And what do we find when we enter here? What do we find when we walk through the narrow gate of Jesus? Well, we find the real life. Again, side by side, those two chapters, we'll see 'em together here. Matthew seven, "Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." John chapter 10, "I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." Life to the full. See, this was Jesus' narrow-minded mission. This was Jesus' narrow-minded goal. The crowd assumed that Jesus had come, the Messiah would come to overthrow a political regime, make their lives better today. But Jesus had a clear and a better goal, to open the gate to real life. The crowd thought they needed saving from Rome from the political opposition of the day. But in reality, Jesus knew that they and we all needed to be saved from our trajectory. Without Jesus's saving work, without his act in this way, without his invitation, that trajectory was death and destruction. And now Jesus is saying, "Enter here." He's saying, "Here is where you will find real life. You will find vibrant life, life of purpose, life of meaning, life free from worry." He actually has come to restore this real life to those of us who will trust in him. I want you to write this down for our first point. "ENTER HERE: Jesus is the narrow gate through which we can enter and have real life." "Jesus is the narrow gate through which we can enter and have real life." So our first road to real life is enter here, but Jesus gives us another. And it's this, one way. One way. See, as we approach the gate, as we approach Jesus, we have to realize, we have to understand that there is no way that goes around to Jesus. That he is the one way to life. He is the one and only way. There is no alternative, there is no detour. Folks, there is no carpool lane. You can't just be in a car with a bunch of other people who claim to know Christ and think, "Hey, if I get in that lane, I'll make my way to heaven." No, Jesus is saying, "I am the one way." I want you to write this down for point number two. "There is no other way to find real life except through the one way of Jesus." "There is no other way to find real life except through the one way of Jesus." We read this. We read Jesus's words in John 14:6. He says this, "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" See, this may amaze you. And depending on where you're at in your faith journey, these words of Jesus may actually amaze, surprise, astonish you. Because our culture says the opposite, doesn't it? Our culture says, broad thinking is the way to go. We should celebrate the diversity of beliefs. All roads lead to heaven. If we can just be tolerant, you can have your truth and I can have my truth, and we all can find the life that we want. But Jesus is not telling us that. Jesus says there's only one way, there's only one truth, there's only one life, and it's a one way street. Jesus says the words that few will find it. This is a narrow way. And it may amaze you, it may astonish you, it may surprise you, but it's true. And we have to accept and understand that few, Jesus says, will find this way. In fact, we have an account in Luke chapter 13 of a person who actually asked Jesus this question. We see this in Luke 13. It says this, "Someone asked Jesus, 'Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?' And he said to them, 'Make every effort to enter through the narrow door because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door to us.' But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.' Then you will say, 'We ate and we drank with you, and you taught in our streets.' But he'll reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!'" Did you hear the words of the people who were responding in this story? They're saying things like, "We ate and we drank with you." They're saying things like, "You taught in our streets." Friends, that's proximity, not relationship. You can't just come to the gate. I can't just walk up to the gate and be around the things of Jesus. I have to actually enter in. And if I don't actually enter in, then I don't know Jesus. And so we have to understand that this road that Jesus is talking about, it is a one way narrow road, and we must make every effort to enter. So Jesus has been explicitly clear. We have clear instructions from Jesus. He says, "Enter here, it's a one-way street. Make every effort to enter." And praise God for that. Praise God for his direction that Jesus would give us that instruction. So we have these clear directions, and maybe we could end the message there and we could pray at this point, but here's the reality. Jesus actually describes another way. He talks about another way. Why would he do that? Why would Jesus feel the need to talk about another way if he's already told us the right way? Sometimes that seems strange, doesn't it? "Hey, I've given you the correct answer, but let me explain to you the wrong answer." Well, the reason is because of God's love. The reason is because Jesus loves us and he wants to warn us. Have you ever done this? Have you ever given directions like this? Maybe you've said, "Hey, now I want you to go straight. And when you get to that first intersection, don't make your first left. I know. I know it's confusing. I know it looks like that's where you should turn. Everyone gets screwed up there. Don't make your first left. Keep going straight. And eventually you'll find a narrow road, and that's the place you're supposed to turn in. Don't get confused by the intersection. Don't make your first left." Jesus tells us these instructions because he doesn't want us to go the wrong way. He wants to warn us. And that's our third road sign to real life today. Wrong way. Wrong way. Do not enter the wrong way. And I think it's important for us to hear and understand that Jesus warns us. In fact, in our passage, he says this, "For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it." Again, this may amaze us. This may surprise us to hear the words of Jesus where he says many enter through the wrong way because our culture says the opposite. Our culture says that many, most will find life. Many, most can do their own thing, find their own way, and they'll figure it out. They seem happy, they seem satisfied. And Jesus is warning us that there is a wrong way, and it leads to destruction. Our culture says only a few are on the wrong way. You know, like the highlight reel. Stalin, Hitler, Manson. Yeah, yeah, we can all agree they're on the wrong path. But the rest of us, the rest of the world, people are generally good, right? No, Jesus says that there is a broad way, and many find it, and it leads to destruction. Why? Why do so many people find their way on the broad way? Why is that intersection so confusing? Why do people find theirself on that path? Well, I think the reality is that the world is structured to deceive us. The world around us, if you your eyes and actually pay attention, you are surrounded with messaging that says, "This is the real life." "This is what you need." "Come and find this and you will be satisfied." Right? "Get that job and you'll be happy." "Find that relationship and you'll finally have meaning." "Take that vacation. Oh, stress will melt away and peace will be had, at least for a week." "Put enough money in your savings account and you'll have security because you'll have control over your own destiny," right? "Pursue every pleasure." "Don't deny yourself." "Don't restrict yourself." "Don't miss out on life." "You only have one life to live." But these are the lies of the broad way that lead to destruction. And the truth is, and I think this is so important for us to understand, these are the lies that have been whispered to humanity since the beginning of time. Look with me at Genesis chapter three. You see that Adam and Eve had the real life. We don't think about that all the time, do we? We don't think about Adam and Eve having the real life. We think about a perfect creation that was corrupted. And that's true. But Adam and Eve had this real life that Jesus is talking about. Life of purpose, life of peace, life of protection. They had everything and they had relationship with God. And then it was broken. Genesis chapter three says this. "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, 'Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?' And the woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' 'You will not certainly die,' the serpent said to the woman. 'For God knows that when you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good from evil.'" Did you catch the fact that God gave Adam and Eve clear directions? I hope you saw that. It's just like what we're reading. God said, "There is a wrong way and it leads to death. Avoid that way." He did that because he loved Adam and Eve. He wanted to protect them. He wanted them to maintain the real life. But Satan showed up and said, "No, no, that way is safe. That way is safe. You won't certainly die. That's garbage." And then Satan sold the wrong way as the right way. Satan tells them that the real life is found the wrong way. He said, "You can be like God." "You can be your own God." If you'll take this, if you'll do this, you can throw off all those barriers and restrictions that God's put in place." And they didn't know and they didn't understand that it were those things that brought them the real life. And so they did that. I want you to write this down for point number three for wrong way. "The wrong way will represent itself as the right way to life, but it's a lie." It's a lie. The wrong way will represent itself as the right way, but it is a lie. We're gonna hear the world whisper to us. If we are paying attention, if our eyes are open, we're gonna hear the messaging that surrounds us in everyday life. The whisper is, "God's way is unnecessarily narrow. Those restrictions are ridiculous. Why be so narrow-minded? God doesn't need to restrict us. We should better live our lives. God's directions are barricades to happiness rather than guardrails to protection." And it's a lie. And sadly, our sinful nature goes along with the deception sometimes, even if we stare life directly in the face. I think this is such a sad account that it's really important for us to pay attention to today. It's sobering to the topic we're discussing. It's in Luke chapter 18, a man who asked Jesus about life. It says this, "A certain ruler asked him, 'Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' 'Why do you call me good?' Jesus answered. 'No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother. All these things I have kept since I was a boy.'" In other words, I've always been a good person. I've always followed the rules. And Jesus heard this and he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.' And when he heard this, he became very sad because he was very wealthy. And Jesus looked at him and said, 'How hard is it for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.'" I think this is such a sad account that it's really important for us to pay attention to today. It's sobering to the topic we're discussing. It's in Luke chapter 18, a man who asked Jesus about life. It says this, "A certain ruler asked him, 'Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' 'Why do you call me good?' Jesus answered. 'No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother. All these things I have kept since I was a boy.'" In other words, I've always been a good person. I've always followed the rules. And Jesus heard this and he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.' And when he heard this, he became very sad because he was very wealthy. And Jesus looked at him and said, 'How hard is it for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.'" Man. Jesus told this man that what he lacked was in what he had. That what he lacked was his willingness to narrow his life and adjust where his treasure was. Here's what he did. He had his grip so tight on the things of this world, the things that he thought brought him security and peace and control. And he approached Jesus. He said, "I think I can bring these things with me." "And Jesus," he says, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus says, "One thing you lack. Get rid of this. Release your grip on this. Surrender it because you can't come here while you're still clinging to here. You can't say I'm dependent on here while you say my dependency, my security, my satisfaction, everything is still gonna be here. Maybe I can reach and get both." And Jesus says, "One thing you lack. Surrender it." And the man walked away sad 'cause he couldn't contemplate the idea that he would actually release his grip on the things that he decided brought him control and brought him satisfaction and brought him real life. Proverbs 16:25 says this, "There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death." Friends, real life is definitely not found on Broadway. Real life is definitely not found on Broadway. The world wants to tell us the highlight real, right? The world around us is bombarding us with this message, saying, "Just like in Times Square, you can come and have the real life. You can come and have that authentic experience. This is where it's found. This is where it's at." We are overwhelmed with messaging that tells us that that's where real life is. But it's a lie. It's a lie. And sometimes we don't even realize how tight our grip is around these things, and Jesus is gracious enough to point it out. These things that the world says are true, are real, that bring us real life, they're just fake. They're a tourist trap. And what do tourist traps do? They oversell, they overcharge, and they underdeliver. And what are you left with? Few empty trinkets maybe. You ever go on a trip and you go to the gift shop and you buy something in the moment thinking, "This is awesome. I needed this." And then you put it on your shelf and it collects dust. And what do you do? You point it out to people as they walk by. When someone comes over to your house, "Hey, check out this thing I got in Times Square." What is that? That's not real life. The tourist traps of this world try to trap us. They wanna lie to us and they wanna tell us that it's the real life. But here's the truth. Jesus offers us a real way to life. He says, "Enter through the narrow gate." I want you to write this down. This is our main point for today. "Real life is only found when we get off the broad way and enter the narrow way of Jesus." Real life is only found when we get off the broad way and enter the narrow way of Jesus. So Jesus has been gracious to us, hasn't he? He's given us clear direction. He's told us, "Enter here." He's explained to us that it's a narrow way we must walk through, and he is the one way, the one truth, the one life, the life we really need and want. And he's also warned us about the wrong way that leads to destruction that is so deceptive that will lie to us and con us. Satan has been running the same con since Genesis three, hasn't he? Continues. But I have one more road sign for us to look at today. Yield. Yield. Ultimately, if we wanna find life, we must yield to Jesus. I want you to write this down for our last point here. "The way of Jesus is a life yielded completely to him." "The way of Jesus is a life yielded completely to him." And, friends, I want you to listen closely to me. Because I know maybe you've been a believer in Jesus for a long time, and maybe you're just being really gracious to me. You've been listening to this message and you're like, "Oh, okay, I like how he said that. Okay, that makes sense." But you've thought early on, "This message isn't for me 'cause I've already settled it. I'm already on the narrow road. I hope other people in the room are listening closely to this 'cause they need it. But I'm already good. I already figured this out. I already settled it a long time ago. I made a commitment, and I'm good." I want you to listen to that point, that the way of Jesus is a life yielded completely to him. And even as we follow him, even as we trust him, the lies of the world will whisper to us. The temptation for us to clutch on to the things of this world continues to press on us. I'll be honest, I've had these temptations in my life. I've had times where I wanna reach for the things of the broad way, even though I know I should be clinging to the one who stands at the gate of the narrow way. And it's hard. A couple years ago, I had a scenario in my life where it was impossibly difficult. My wife had a health crisis. And man, it was hard. And the truth is, I knew the right things to say and do. And I followed Jesus, I trusted Jesus. And I was grateful for the depth of faith that came from this experience. But if I'm being totally honest with you, the greatest struggle during that time was the desire to cling to control. I wanted to... I wanted to be able to reach both. I wanted to be able to walk the narrow way and cling on to Jesus and trust him for everything, but I also wanted to say, "Yeah, but I gotta fix this. I gotta solve this. I've gotta find a way to make this better, and I gotta do it today. I can't wait till tomorrow. This is an emergency. I gotta do this right now." And so I started to try and exert control over uncontrollable circumstances. And I tried to say, "God, maybe you can just bless the things I've figured out. Maybe you can just, you know, lead in the direction that I've already thought is the best way, right?" And what is that? It's the lie that we could be like God, that we could be our own God. Instead of saying, "Lord, I trust you completely. I've released my grip on this. I've released my grip on this desire to control because your way is better." And Jesus points it out to the rich man because he says, "You don't understand. You don't understand how broken this is. You're trying to hold onto something that gives you life and purpose. But the reality is, I give you life and purpose." And so when Jesus revealed that to me in the midst of his struggle, it was a part of the process of working through a difficult time. And I had to come to the point where I yielded, where I said, "God, I'm sorry that I continue to struggle with this desire to control it myself. I need to yield to you." You know what happened? I experienced peace. I experienced a worry-free walk, not because everything was fixed, everything was not fixed, but because I able to live under the protection, under the provision, under the safety of the one who invites us into the narrow way. So I ask you, what are you clutching onto today? What are you reaching for today? What is it that your hand reaches out for? Even if you claim to be a follower of Jesus, you know him, you trust him, you know all the right things to say about him. And I believe that, but this isn't a conversation about salvation. This is a conversation about walking the narrow way until the day that we meet him face to face. This is a conversation about knowing that we can clutch onto things and be so tempted to bring the broad way stuff with us as we follow after Jesus. Maybe it's like me. Maybe you have a temptation towards a need for control. Maybe it's security and money. Maybe it's a relationship that you already know doesn't honor the Lord, but you're like, "I don't wanna be lonely. I can't let go of this yet." "Maybe eventually God will provide me the right person and I can let go of this." Maybe it's status, maybe it's success. I wanna tell you, friends, it won't fit down the narrow way. We cannot drag the things of this world we can't reach. We'll stand at the gate and we'll live in proximity, but we won't be able to walk through unless we're willing to narrow our lives to follow after him. And so I pray today that you would allow the Lord to speak to you in that, to show you where you're gripping on. It's hard sometimes to even realize it because we think, "Well, this is the right way to think. I gotta have enough money in my bank account because I gotta have a backup plan, right? How could I just trust God and then have, that's the end of the conversation, right? That's so foolish." Yeah, but that is actually the most profound idea, to say, "Lord, I trust you because everything you've given me is yours. Everything I have is yours. Your way is best. You know best." Resume your life as a true citizen and stop pursuing the cheap tourist trap, friends. If you follow Jesus, don't allow allure of the world to catch you in this. Maybe your need today is to yield your life for the very first time to Jesus. Maybe as you've listened to me talk, you think, "Yeah, I know the things of Jesus, I've been around the things of Jesus, but really, you're a tourist, not a citizen." You find pleasure, you find purpose in the things the world offers, and you've never before yielded your life to Jesus. You've never before said, "Jesus, I yield all to you because I trust you and I know that your way is better." Friends, the world will try and tell us that life is found on broad way, but life is not frowned on broad way, and pay attention because the world and the flesh and the devil himself will try and tell us otherwise. But it's a lie. Look with me again in Jon 10:10. You can see this explain. "The thief," the world, the broad way, "comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy, but I have come that they may have life and they may have it to the full." There it is again, life to the full. Jesus came to offer you real life. Not cheap empty tourist traps. Not things that will be fleeting. Not things that lead to destruction. And the truth is, I'll be honest with you, if you've never embraced Jesus, you will have to let go of some things. You will have to release your clutch on the things of his world. There's not room for both. You can't say, "I'm gonna add Jesus to my life. I have to actually open my hands and yield. Friends, you won't miss them. You will not miss those things. Because... You remember what Jesus said to the guy in Luke 13, the rich man who walked away sad? He said, "Still one thing you lack." And then he described his wealth and his unwillingness to narrow his life. Listen, in contrast to the words of Psalm 23, one of the verses we go to for comfort in difficult times. It says this, "The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing." When we have yielded our lives completely to Jesus, when we have trusted and embraced him completely, when we're willing to say, "I open my hands and I believe, Lord, that your way is best," we will lack nothing. Yeah, we may have set some things down. It may be a little painful. We may have said, "I'm gonna set aside that relationship." "I'm gonna set aside that pursuit." "I'm gonna stop controlling my life completely." But in reality, what we've done, we've gained the world. We've gained everything. We've gained the real life. Matthew 16 is not on the screen. Matthew 16 says, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me." And Jesus says, "What good is it to gain the whole world and forfeit your soul?" If you've never surrendered your life to Jesus, have you ever yielded your life to him? Real life. The life that is restored to us since the fall in the garden. The life of purpose. The life of understanding safety. Real relationship with Jesus is found in him. Real life is only found when we get off the broad way and enter the narrow way of Jesus. Would you pray with me? As we conclude today, I want to encourage you to yield your life to Jesus. I wanna encourage you to understand the good direction that he's given. Jesus is a good direction giver. He has provided clarity for us. He has not minced words. He's given us himself a personal invitation to enter through him and find the real life, to find the real life that can only be found in him. The world wants to whisper lies to us, that life is found in all these other things, that we can chart our own way, we can be our own God, but it's a lie, and it leads to destruction. Jesus tells us the truth, that if we'll open our hands, if we'll release control, if we'll give up these things of the broad way, that we will find real life. If you've never before yielded your life to Jesus today, I wanna encourage you, as I pray, to surrender your life to Jesus. We'll have prayer partners down front. They would love to talk with you about this. Help you understand what it looks like to put your faith and trust in Jesus. Jesus stands ready to offer real life to you. And for those of us who follow after Jesus, can I encourage you, stay off broad way. Open up your life. Yield yourself to him. Make every effort to enter. Don't let anything bog you down, hold you down. Don't enter the narrow gate with baggage. Release the control from your hands and say, "Lord, I trust you. Help me to trust you more." Father, I thank you for your word. Thank you for the truth of the gospel. I thank you that in Jesus, we find real life. And Lord, your way was narrower and better than we could have ever imagined. That you came to open the gate to real life, you came to open the narrow way, and you know what is best for us. You want to narrow our lives because you know that it is nothing but pain for us to try and hang on to the idols of this world and the things that offer and promise life when we know you have told us they are destruction, they are death, they are empty. Lord, I thank you that in you, we find real life. I pray for those today who have never before put their faith in Jesus. I pray that you would give them the courage, give them the boldness to come forward today and to surrender, to yield their lives to you and find the real and true life that can only be found in Jesus Christ. Jesus, you are the way, you are the truth, and you are the life. And we thank you that we can come into fellowship with you because of what you've done for us. Lord, I pray for those here who are believers, who are clinging to something that you have spoken to them today and you have showed them clearly they need to let go of. Lord, would you give them the courage to open their hands, pry their hands loose if you must, and help 'em to find the freedom that is found in trusting you, our good shepherd, in whom when we follow, we lack nothing. We pray all this in Christ's name. Amen.