Sermon on the Mount:
The Narrow Path & The Broad Path:
The 2 ways
Speaker: Pastor Stephen Hsu
Scripture: Matthew 7:13-20, 24-29
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. [14] But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
—Matthew 7:13-14
BIG IDEA: You must choose to obey His Word to find life in Christ & bear good fruit.
Introduction:
Do not think that I have come to abolish the LAW or the PROPHETS; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the LAW until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these COMMANDS and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these COMMANDS will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the LAW, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
—Matthew 5:17-20
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the LAW and the PROPHETS.
—Matthew 5:12
You must choose between:
———
1. 2 Ways: The Difference in Finding Life (13-14)
Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
—Psalm 1:1
But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.
—Psalm 1:2 (NLT)
Instead you thrill to God’s Word, you chew on Scripture day & night
—Psalm 1:2 (Message Paraphrase)
Test #1: Did I give up anything to follow Jesus?
———
2. 2 Trees: The Difference is their Fruit (15-20)
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
—Psalm 1:3
Test #2: Did my decision to follow Jesus change my life?
———
3. 2 House Builders: The Difference is Obeying His Word (24-27)
Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
—Psalm 1:4-6
Test #3: What will God say?
———
Conclusion: Choose LIFE in Christ (28-29)
28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
—Matthew 7:28-29
