Week 12 | What if asking and receiving changed your life?

You're amazing. Thank you. Hey, so my late husband, Randy, used to refer to me as a level jumper. What he meant by it was this. I would easily go from a conversation like, how about them Dodgers, I mean Cubs, to, so what do you think is like the driving aim of your life? And he's like, you can't like leap like that. You gotta like walk with people. And I am curious, what is the driving aim of your life? I'm not like asking, what do you want it to be? But actually, what's driving the way that you live? The road you choose determines the life you live and the life you live reveals the road you're on. How you live matters. And I care about jumping levels. I've always cared about things that matter. But ever since Randy went to heaven five years ago, I care even more. I care even more about you and the life that you're living and what's driving it and what you aim to live. And it's good for us to think about these things, which is why I talked with my fiance. Okay, okay, okay, about it. We actually discussed this question. What's driving our life? Oh, and by the way, the next time you see me, I'll be married to him. How crazy is that, right? Thank you. Thank you. But we talk about this sort of stuff. Oh, and by the way, when we get married, I'll go from two kids to four kids. So just like fun fact, there we are.

And sorry, still a couple housekeeping things real fast. But no, it's family things. You guys are my church family and you've really been on this journey with me. So thank you for being on the whole thing. Like I feel your joy in the same way that you felt my pain. So thank you. Thank you. No, stop with the clapping. You're so clappy. I do like it though. Keep going. But when I think about, can you put the boys up there again? When I think about those boys, these ones. When I think about Cooper and Robbie and Jedediah, Foster, and why not Scott too? When I think about these boys, I can't actually think of a more important message than the one I'm about to give. Like you want to hear a mama's heart? This one really matters. And I'm going to share it. It might feel a little intense. I'm a level jumper, but so is Jesus. Will you open your hearts to receive his words this morning? I'm going to read them and then I want to go to prayer. And my hope is that by the end of our time together, you can be sure you can be confident in your life in Christ. You ready? Hear the words of the Lord. Matthew 7, beginning of verse 13, 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 is the road that leads to life.

And only a few find it. Who are you? The few. Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly, they're ferocious wolves. By their fruit, you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes? Or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit, you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? And in your name, drive out demons? And in your name, perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers. Let his words shake you a little. And I wanna go to him in prayer, and I wanna exit confident that you won't hear that.

Feels kind of intense. I'm aware, but I wanna hear the words of the Lord from Jesus and I wanna respond to them. And my prayer right now is that you will too. So let's pray. Oh Lord Jesus, these words, these warnings are serious and loving. So I pray that we won't miss your heart to love us with your words. I pray for salvation in this place today. Give us eyes to see it and give us hearts submitted to you as king and savior. So be it. And all God's children said. Amen. Three warnings and also invitations. First one, walk the narrow road. I get this language out of verse 13 and 14. 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. Why did I say walk the narrow road? Well first, it's active, it's an imperative. In fact, the word at the beginning enter in verse 13, enter is a command, it's an imperative language. So the question, when you first read this in first glance, if we were to just laser sharp focus in on these verses, you would hear those words and wonder,

okay, so there's a wide road that leads to destruction and a narrow road that leads to life. Okay, this is salvation, right? A lot of people will walk the road of culture and not find eternal life and then a few will find life. Is that true? Yes. So I read that, yes. But also, don't forget the audience. We are teaching this in the middle of an entire series, a series that began two chapters earlier in Matthew chapter five that gives away the audience that Jesus is speaking to. Chapter five, verse one, this is before the Beatitudes, he says this. Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His, what's the next word? Disciples came to him and he began to teach who? Them. So who he's talking to is the ones who are already following him. So this gate is about salvation, yes, but not just about salvation because it is entirely possible to say yes to Jesus and still walk that wide road. It is possible. You see, there's this crowd that's gathered, but remember, he's targeting the 12 disciples. His audience are people who are already following him.

He is getting at lordship. He wants them to not just say yes once, he wants them to keep walking. to ongoing, hence the entire sermon who is given to them, who gives all of what it looks like to walk this narrow path. It looks like loving your enemies, refraining from lust, everything we've talked about for the past few weeks, devoting yourself to prayer, giving generously, all of this just because you said yes to Jesus does not mean you're walking the narrow path. Can you relate? I wonder if many of us have said yes to Jesus, but gosh, isn't it so much easier to walk the wide one? Are you gonna admit it or are you gonna just lie? Okay, I'll go first. The other day, I hired a contractor to hire a guy to install blinds in my bedroom. Not just my bedroom, also my kid's bedroom. So I hired a blinds guy, I'm like, this is great. I'm in the room when he starts installing the blinds and he is struggling to install the blinds. And I'm like, I could have struggled to install the blinds, that's why I hired you. Why are you, you're the professional. And so I'm sitting there listening to the guy's struggle. Imagine this, you hire someone to install blinds and this is what you hear as he's installing them. Oh, come on, get in there. And so I'm sitting there like, he's struggling.

Dang it. And finally, I look at my friend, fellow Christian friend of mine, who's the contractor. I'm like, come here fast. And we go down, let's talk about the next project, the blinds in my boy's bedroom real fast. And we go down there and I'm like, he's struggling. And he's like, I know, it's actually, it's a hard task. And I'm like, I know, but this is what he does, right? This is what his job is. Like my job makes money to pay him to do his job, right? Like that's how it works. My friend's like, well, yeah, but like, it's kind of tough. And I'm like, yeah, yeah, but he doesn't have to like make it so obvious how tough it is. And my friend's like, yeah. And then I'll be honest with you, I didn't stop there. I kept going. And it moved from just the fact of talking with a contractor to like making fun of the guy. I'll be honest, it was kind of funny. Not to you. Not to you. And I'm like imitating him, like making fun. Now my friend joins in. We are full on making fun of him. And the reason I'm even admitting it

is because there was a moment when we're in the middle of making fun of him that I look over and notice my kid's baby monitor is on. Do you know what that means? Would you like me to spell it out? Like, everything we're saying, he can hear upstairs in my room about him. Some of you just caught it. Yeah, I know. And I immediately was like, huh. And I look at my friend, I'm like, garage. We sprint to the garage. I'm like, I'm just gonna leave. Have you ever felt totally exposed? Like caught? Have you? Like, we can laugh, have you actually felt that? Have you ever sent the text message to the wrong person, to the person you're talking about? Have you done it? Sinners. So, me too. I am so caught. And you know, I wasn't as surprised about the fact that I did that. I sinned. Like I'm very heightened aware of my sin nature. I was actually surprised by what I did when I realized it. I ran and I hid.

Like Adam and Eve, which I teach you about all the time. I literally did that. And I'm in, and I'm like, I just, and I look at the contractor, I'm like, I hired you. I'm outta here. But guess what? The Holy Spirit in me, I'm so thankful even though it's tough. I'm so thankful for him. He doesn't let me get away with anything. I'm like, gosh. After like five minutes, and we're replaying everything we said. Like, it wasn't that bad, right? And he's like, it was bad. I'm like, I know. So I walk. And I confess. And that's when I found out he didn't hear anything. It's beside the point. But it's so much easier to talk about people. It's so much easier to joke about the things that Jesus died for. It's so easy. Many walk the wide road, and it does lead to destruction. You've experienced this. You've experienced the consequence, which is why Jesus, not only, of course, wants eternal salvation for everyone

who is listening to the sound of my voice and anyone that would choose to listen to his words. He wants salvation. He wants confidence. But he doesn't want just that when you die. He wants it now. And so he addresses the wide, and it leads to destruction. But here's the beauty of the Holy Spirit that's in us, the deposit of our future inheritance, life with God forever and ever. That Holy Spirit is such a gift. Do you have him? Do you have him? It's good. It's so good, even though it doesn't feel good. Safe felt like running away. Exposure, humility, repentance is so good for my soul. So here's the beauty of God's sovereignty. Even the moments in which you choose the wide, here's the good news, the Spirit brings you back. And the truth is, he is working in your life, and you can either work in the flow or you can make it kind of tough for yourself. And that's what he's getting at. Wide is the road that leads to destruction. Many, many, many, and often, often, often. Narrow is the road that leads to life. And so we show up as a church and we hear the words of the Lord

that we might continue to spur one each other on toward this, to confess our sins to one another. I talked crap about the blinds guy and I'm not proud of it, but I'm really proud that the Holy Spirit convicts and loves me enough not to leave me alone. I'm so grateful he's not content with me living that way. And I don't want you to be content with it either. I don't want you to be content, or even maybe sometimes I hear this, I hear this about people's selves and I hear it about other people where they'll just go, that's just the way I am. Have you said that about a sin area of your life? It's just the way that I am. Oh, friend, if the Holy Spirit's in you, he's not content with that. It's not just the way they are. It's not just the way you are. He goes, hear the words of the Lord. Enter, but don't just enter, walk the narrow road. But also remember your greatest power source is not gonna be your will, it's his spirit in you, which is why very next he warns, number two, to watch out. For what? Verse 15, he is not just concerned with which path you're walking on, but who you're listening to as you walk. Verse 15, watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.

How do you know? By their fruit, you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Likewise, every tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit, you will recognize them. There are thorn bushes that resemble or look a whole lot like grape clusters. But here's the truth about those thorn bushes. They won't ever produce grapes. It's not the type of tree they are. It's not the type of bush. But from a distance, it can actually look like life. It's like when you look at someone on social media and they just look like they got it all together. And I gotta be honest with you, I've just learned something about myself and I've grown in this area, but when I post things, there's actually at times the reason that I post it is not because everything's going great, even though that's what I want you to think. Usually, maybe it's just me, I've caught myself that sometimes I post things because things aren't going great

and I need to be reminded that they are. And yet we have to watch out because this can't, this being, this life that looks one way but isn't changed from the inside out, when the Holy Spirit enters into the life of someone, who they are at the core changes. I'm always shocked by the number of commentaries, theologians, well-known Christians that talk about following God for a majority of their life and then receiving the Holy Spirit at like a later time. It's like they knew all the facts their whole life, but then there's a moment in which they went, now I have him. has been changed. Now, the way they share their story is, you know, I wasn't Christian. I thought I was, because I was kind of doing all the Christian things. But we not only have to watch out for that in ourselves, we also have to watch out for who we're listening to and what we're being formed into. We have to be careful. We have to be careful, not only about who we're listening to, but what kind of tree, because the only standard of measurement, notice at verse 20, look at verse 20. Thus, by their fruit, you will recognize them. The only standard of measurement is the fruit. It is not the talent, the gifts, or the platform.

Watch out. And I just want to call out like what this practically looks like for us. Who do we need to watch out for? We really have to watch out for those who grumble and complain specifically about the church. And I don't even think, and I'll just take just a second, even though he's not saying this explicitly, I think we have to be careful with our own selves in grumbling and complaining. It's not the fruit that the Spirit is producing in us. How do I know? Well, you've heard me teach. If you've been here for a few years, inevitably you've heard me teach Romans 8.28, which says this, Paul writes, for we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose, which is a wonderful verse to receive when things are going great. Oh, God uses everything for good. Hey, that's easy to find. And then when you get texted that verse when things are not going great, it's kind of confusing. For we know that in all things, by the way, before I move on, what's your thing? Because you can be sure that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him,

who have been called according to his purpose. So what this is talking about is for those who are in Christ, those who have the Spirit, God will use everything for good. And if you've heard me teach this, you've always heard me teach verse 29 when Paul redefines good, because if Paul doesn't redefine good, then we'll just take the cultural definition of good, which is this, comfortable, easy, successful, and rich. And if that's the definition, that verse is confusing. God will use all things, including your mistakes, your grief, loss, pain, anxiety, to make your life more comfortable. Nah, it doesn't make my life more comfortable. Talking crap about the blinds guy doesn't make my life easier. Doesn't make my life more comfortable. Verse 29, he redefines the good when he writes this, for those God foreknew, he also predestined, here it is, to be conformed to the image of the Son. The good that God is doing in all things is forming us more into the likeness of Jesus. And he will use all things. He literally used my sin of talking crap about the blinds guy to form me into one who is more humble. He's that good. He'll even use your mistakes. But the reason I bring up Romans 8, 28, and 29 is actually not to tell you that.

It's to tell you a different part. In verse 29, we'll bring it back up right now. In verse 29, look at the second part, the second paragraph. For those God foreknew, he also predestined. A lot of people get tripped up on that one because they think they're talking just about salvation. Predestination would be like, does God predestine them or not? And everyone assumes that this verse is about that, but the truth is Romans 8 is talking about the battle inward of a believer who has the Holy Spirit and has the flesh, and they're waging war. And so he says, guess what? You wanna know some good news? You have been predestined. If you are in Christ Jesus, if the Spirit of the living God dwells within you, I have good news for you, you are predestined. For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of the Son. The Holy Spirit is at work, and he will either work and move with you or you will move against him. But he's up to that in you. You've seen me draw this picture. Let me be real explicit. Basically, there's your heart, the center of your being. Remember, and this one matters because remember, above all else, guard your, for everything you do flows from it.

So you have your heart, and then you got the tree of your life, and then you got the fruit. The fruit is the behavior, all the things we wanna change, the things that we wanna do differently in our life. And here's what the Scriptures say is that there's a God-sized hole at the center of our heart that we try to fill in all sorts of ways. And even in good ways, people liking you, being good at sports, academically smart, sarcastic and funny about the blinds guy who keep bringing him up, okay. And all of this forms us. And it's not just the things we try to fill our God-sized hole with. It's also. Our sin, our mistakes affect us. So suddenly there's this residue that shows up. You've seen me draw this picture. The residue that shows up in our life, and by the way, it's not just our sin, it's also the sin around us. And it's the sin of what people have done to us. It forms us. And so, guard your heart. Everything you do, your behavior flows from it. In other words, if you wanna change your life, you don't change your life by trying to change your life. You change your life by going into your heart. And that's why when you give your life over to Jesus,

it makes a whole lot of sense. Here's why. Because the Holy Spirit enters into your heart, and based on Romans chapter eight, he starts praying for you. And what Romans 8, 28, and 29 says is this. The minute the Holy Spirit enters into your life, something changes. He's loving you at your worst. So he lets you see your worst, to bring it back to him, to receive grace that forms you. And when you receive grace, watch what happens. The fruit of the, yeah, get it, yeah? No? He wants the fruit of his Holy Spirit to come out. Kindness, gentleness. What Jesus is doing here, he's doing like a fruit check. Before you invest in other people's opinions of you, do a fruit check. You would never purchase a fruit without looking at it. You would never. Isn't it wild that we are so worried about the opinions of other people, the people that we would never ask advice from in the first place? Beware, be mindful, and for a second, consider even how you respond to the wolves. Because Jesus is absolutely addressing the wolves. He does it a lot. He rebukes.

How can we do it? Here's what I want us to be careful for. We, those who are in Christ, who possess the Spirit, don't get caught up complaining about the wolves and then start to look like them. Receive this as a loving, a loving encouragement. Pray for them, pray for those. At this point, without the Spirit, selfishness, behavior fruit of their life makes sense. You know what they need? The Spirit. And do you wanna know what we need in order to respond well? The Spirit. And this changes, for me, it changes so much. It changes why I do quiet time. I don't do quiet time so I can try harder to become love. No, no, no, no, no. I do quiet time to open up my heart and my awareness to love. I don't sit on my couch and open up my Bible so that I can just try to be more joyful. No, no, no, no. I open up my heart, my pain, my sin, other people's sin, the things I'm witnessing in people's lives, cancer journeys that aren't going well, or maybe are gonna go miraculously well. And I'm looking at all of these different residues and I'm opening it up to the Holy Spirit

who's interceding on my behalf and I just simply join Him instead of resist. But here's a big question. Do you have Him? Quiet time is not trying to change your behavior. It's opening all of your heart and behavior to the one who loves you the most, who has, wait for it, predestined you. If you are in Christ and you have the Spirit who has predestined you to become more like Christ by His Spirit, you're predestined for it. And you can either resist or align, submit, open. Sit on that couch and don't do anything alone. Open the sin, open the pain, open the heart. For everything you do flows from it and beware of where you're being influenced, beware. And I have one more line to say on this one. What do you do though when you see the bad fruit, like the person, the wolf? I have something really important for you to hear. Verse 19, Jesus says, every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. And I just want to say this. We can leave God's judgment up to him. Isn't that good news? That's like too much for us to carry. Lastly, third warning, be known by God. Verse 21, not everyone who says to me,

Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven. Has anyone ever been scared of this verse? I'll keep going. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers. I want you to visualize this image. Someone coming and saying, Lord, Lord. Even the term Lord, Lord is really intimate. Lord, Lord. Pay close attention here. Let me read it specifically. Pay close attention. Lord, Lord, this is verse 22. Did we not prophesy, perform miracles, cast demons? Did we not, in other words, pay close attention right here. Whose effort are they putting their trust in in order to enter? Their own. Did we not, look at them. They're bringing their ministry resume. Didn't we? Didn't we? As if what we do is what grants us access.

And then listen to Jesus' response. I get goosebumps. Don't know why, I feel I need to prove you. Goosebumps on this one. He says, he does not say you didn't know me. What does he actually say? Look at the scriptures. I never knew you. What? I would have thought at first glance he would say, the reason you can't get in is because you didn't know me. Because I thought you note take and you get to know who he is. And then you read like, the demons know who he is? Crap. Away from me. I never knew you. He wants to know you. He wants to know you. He knows you, but he wants to intimately know you. I used to hear this verse and the reason I was afraid is because I didn't know that he wanted to know me. I pictured him like this, giving the sermon on the mount. Okay, stop it. Don't do that. Stop doing that. For sure not that. You know what you're doing. Like that's the visual I pictured. I didn't picture his heart.

And let me tell you about his heart. You ready? How does the entire sermon begin in chapter five? It's a God who wants to bless his kids. He wants to bless them. Even his knowledge of you is not to shame you. It's to bless you. It's to bless you. Imagine a different picture. God sitting on the throne, wanting to dish out blessings to his kids. That's the visual. Oh, can I tell you something? I love giving my kids candy. I know that the illustration doesn't like, it falls flat a little bit on like the what's good for them thing. But like, you know what? I know grandparents kind of get a freebie and they can just give away candy and I have to be the mom that's responsible. Like, no, no, no. And I can't, but you know what I really enjoy? Giving them candy. Cause I love the look on their face. I love how much they enjoy it. I love taking them to Disneyland. But even though it doesn't become the happiest moment on earth, but I love blessing my kids.

How much more so your heavenly father as he gives the entire sermon. He wants to dish it out. That's why he wants to know you. To dish out blessing when you don't deserve it. And then you can just see how powerful grace is. That's why he cares about you watching out for those wolves. Be careful. Watch out. That's why he's like, let's talk about the narrow road. I know it's tough. I walked it. And he didn't just walk it for himself. He walked it on your behalf. And I want to end like this. Crew, which is Campus Crusade for Christ, trains up their workers to ask two questions. First one, how sure are you that if you were to die today that you would get to go to heaven? On a scale of one to 10, think of a number. One to 10, how sure are you? Second question, what do you think, if Jesus were to ask you, why would you be let in? What would you say? Can I tell you good news? I will anyways. God knows what's required for access, and that's why he came. To live the life that you haven't, and then to die the death you deserved.

And he took all the sin, all the stuff that would keep us from him, and he paid for it in full on the cross. And then he died, and on the third day he rose from the grave. And it says this in scripture, that the same spirit that rose him from the grave can live in all who believe. Believe what? Not that they have to try to attain goodness, but for those who are willing to receive it. Heaven is not full of a bunch of good people. It's full of a bunch of people that knew they weren't good enough. So let me ask you, at a Christian church that wants to magnify Jesus and preach his word, do you believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins? Do you believe this? Now let me ask you, let me take it a step further. What percentage of them? All of them? Great, let's go back to your number. Was it nine? Was it seven? Because the truth is, one through nine are the exact same. One through nine are the exact same, and I want you to walk out here confident. Do you know him? Because the only thing that Graham's interest is not what you've accomplished

or what you haven't and how good you are in comparison to your neighbor. Friends, know not one except Jesus, and he welcomes you. To place your trust in his sacrifice, in his power, in his resurrection, and to receive the gift of his Holy Spirit who will predestine you to become more like him through your lifetime, and he will use the good moments and the bad. He will use all things. Oh, what a friend we have in Jesus. Will you pray with me? Father, first I pray for those who are not confident. I pray for the day of salvation to come. I pray for the gift of your Holy Spirit to be deposited, and right in your chair, you could just cry out to him, come Holy Spirit, I believe. I believe that I am a sinner in need of your grace. I believe you died. I believe you rose, and I come humble, ready to receive. And I also pray for those who have said yes to Jesus and are now hearing his words afresh. I pray we would receive the blessing and remember the blessing of your spirit that enables us to walk the narrow path. To watch out. And then to let you know us. So I pray, Lord Jesus, that if there's anything on our heart that needs prayer,

anything we need to talk to you about, whether we sit in our chair or we come forward in response, Lord, I pray that we today would obey this invitation to let you, Jesus, know us. So hear our prayers in response, we pray. And all God's children said. Amen, amen.