The Narrow Door

SCH District to their class by Ezra and for the rest of us if you have your Bibles go ahead and open them sweet open them up to Luke 13 and I asked John to keep um a slide up from that song um up there because in all honesty that's that's my hope for this message for us today is not my will but yours be done and the reason why I bring that up is because when you preach through books of the Bible and you go verse by verse there are times and moments where you come to specific passages that are difficult to preach if you

are preaching them from Human logic or um man- centered analogies or illustrations and and you try to from a human perspective makes sense of the passage without just looking at the passage for what it is and what it's saying and what ultimately God is is teaching us and this is going to be one of those for us today that I just have to be honest with you out of the gate is is is a rather simple passage and straightforward teaching from Jesus but it creates complex and and rather difficult conclusions again if we as humans try to assert extra biblical um or worldly logic into

the text and so in other words a question is as to Jesus and Jesus gives a straightforward response or answer to it that scriptures defend without error or contradiction like that's what Jesus is going to do today because Jesus again he he is the word what he says is the word and he's going to say something today that does not contradict scripture um but when it comes to humans as we try and insert our own kind of human experience and limited understanding of how God works and when we try to do that with analogies or metaphors in jargon we only create and impose on the

text these sort of intellectual Hoops that you have to jump through that are just simply impossible to jump through and and we are attempting to explain and make sense of God's way of doing things through the lens of man's understanding of who God is and how God works and so I'm saying all of that to say what we're going to be looking at today is something that God says is true and yet probably all of us at some point if you've been a part of church and have had theological debates at times have had this debate at times um and have wrestled with it and

have probably argued to an extent what we're going to be talking about today um and so with that introduction if it has not piqu your interest what we're going to be talking about it's piqued my interest as to what I'm even about to preach um so we're going to read the text all together and my hope is as we go through this text the way that I'm going to preach it today is I'm going to do my absolute best to not impose any of my own thoughts or any of my own analogies or any of my own illustrations or any of my own opinions on

this specific topic but rather as we walk through this text if I explain the text I'm going to do everything I can to explain the text only by using other scriptural evidence to back up and support what it is Jesus is saying in this text so that might be the heaviest introduction I feel like I've ever done for a passage but let's see what it has for us today Luke 13 we're going to look at 22 through 30 we might get to 35 we'll see how how it goes towards the end he went on his way through towns and V Villages teaching and journeying toward

Jerusalem and someone said to him Lord will those who are saved Be Few and he said to them strive to enter through the narrow door for many I tell you will seek to enter and will not be able when Once the Master of the House has risen and shut the door and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door saying Lord open to us then he will answer you I do not know where you come from then you will begin to say we ate and drank in your presence and you taught in our streets but he will say I tell you I

do not know where you come from depart from me all you workers of evil in that place there will be weeping and nashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out and people will come from east and west and from north and south in reclin at table in the kingdom of God and behold some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last let's pray over this again before we dive into it father I ask in this moment as we walk through this passage that

your Spirit guides Us in understanding your truth that your Spirit guides Us in understanding the truth that causes us to boast in Christ and not in ourselves that causes us to see your work in Salvation and not the work or understanding even of man that allows us to see your unlimited Grace and lavishing of it even in the midst of our limited understanding of how it is that it comes about father we ask that in this moment that this is a passage that not only helps us to understand and see more of your goodness and your grace and your mercy Mercy to us that are

lost and perishing but also that this would be a passage that does not divide us but only continues to lead us into a spirit of unity as a body of Christ and that even if we come to the end of this message today and we're still wrestling with what it is or how it is that God actually saves people that we walk away not with a spirit of um division or a spirit of anger or a spirit IR of debate but rather a spirit of unity because again once and foremost we are honoring and worshiping a God who saves utmost and only in that vein

he saves and that we at least walk away from this place being able to declare that truth regardless of maybe our own experience or interpretation of how it is that that comes about father I pray that you just continue to pour into us your word your word that even has the ability to correct us and to train Us in godliness it's in your name we pray amen give you a little bit of context here as Jesus is journeying towards Jerusalem to eventually meet his his Divine fate of the trial the crucifixion the death the burial the resurrection as he's still on that journey and that's

where we're at kind of walking through Luke right now is is Jesus has turned his attention towards Jerusalem and he's heading there as he's heading to Jerusalem which is going to take a couple of months for him to get there he is teaching throughout towns and Villages and while teaching in one of those towns someone asked him a question in verse 23 Lord will those who are saved Be Few and it's a great question to ask and if you if you've been a Christian for long it's a question that at some point I think we all ask that question how many will be saved will

it be a lot or will it be a few will it be the minority or will it be the majority of humanity how many people will be saved and I don't want to speculate the motive behind the question for again I believe there can be many motives behind that question but but let's just let the question be as objectively as possible will God save many or will those who are saved Be Few the question is not asking why does God save only a few or why does God save many or not many the question is simply will those who be who are saved Be Few

and so without attempting to answer the question with human logic or Reason reasoning let's look at Jesus's response because Jesus gives a parable in this he doesn't directly answer the question but he gives a parable that allows for us to understand something about the question and even about how the question comes about how does it end up actually being a few in this regard so let's see what his response is Jesus says strive to enter through the narrow door for many I tell you will seek to enter and will not be able now at this moment we not we might not be understanding the gravity

and the weight of his answer quite yet but it's but it's beginning to Fester it's slowly creeping to the surface a rather uncomfortable reality that we really don't want to think about much like talk about the subject of the question and the answer is salvation which Jesus represents as a narrow door and so the questioner is concerned about how many people will get through this narrow door how many people will be saved and Jesus responds many will strive to enter or seek to enter but will not be able Jesus then goes on to explain in verse 25 when Once the Master of the House has

risen and shut the door and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door saying Lord open to us then he will answer you I do not know where you come from then he will begin to say we ate and drank in your presence and you taught in our streets but he will say I tell you again I do not know where you come from depart from me all you workers of evil in Jesus's elaboration here of his answer he is showing us that there is one who who controls the door or who is in control of the door door whether it is

opened or shut he even explains that it appears there are some who strive to enter it there are some who seek to enter it by standing outside and knocking and asking can we come in but the Master of the House answers them I do not know where you come from depart from me are you workers of evil maybe right now you're feeling a little bit more of the weight and the gravity of this text getting heavier and more uncomfortable aable which is an appropriate reaction because of the next thing Jesus says in that place what place those who are outside of the house those are

who are outside of the door there will be weeping and nashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out Jesus tells us what the house is in verse 28 it is the kingdom of God and everything outside of it is what we know is the domain of Darkness or what it truly is Hell Matthew 8 10 through2 I want to give you a couple of passages that again allude to this idea of the Weeping and nashing of teeth and this kind of separation of of these two categories in Matthew 8:

10-12 it says when Jesus heard this he marveled and said to those who followed him truly I tell you with no one in Israel have I found such Faith now he's talking about the faith of the Centurion we preach preached on that in Luke a few months ago he says I tell you many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven while the sons of this Kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness in that place there will be weeping and ashing of teeth so again Matthew is is is affirming even the same

thing that Luke is talking about that there's a place that is known as the kingdom of God and there's a place outside of that kingdom of God where there is going to be weeping and nashing of teeth Matthew also says in chapter 13: 36-43 then he left the cloud or he left the crowds and he went into the house and the disciples came to him saying explain us the parable of the weeds of the field Jesus answered he the one who SWS The Good Seed is the son of man Jesus the field is the world and the good seed is the sons of the Kingdom

so Jesus is sowing good seeds in the Kingdom of the world the weeds are the sons of the evil one and the enemy who sowed them is the devil and so the devil is doing a work of sewing seeds in the world as well that eventually represent the kingdom of darkness just as the weeds are gathered and burned with the fire so will it be at the End of the Age the son of man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and law Breakers and throw them into the fiery furnace in that place there will be

weeping and nashing of teeth then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their father he who has ears let him hear this according to that Parable in the world represented as the field the only way to be considered a good seed is if you are sown by the son of man Jesus Matthew goes on to say in 13 verses 47 through 50 another analogy again the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind when it was full men drew it ashore and they sat down and sorted the good into containers

but threw away the bad so it will be at the End of the Age the angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace in that place there will be weeping and nashing of teeth the weight and gravity of a passage like the one that we are dealing with today is that there is this reality that there is a literal end that is coming where everyone will be separated into two categories evil and righteous and according to Matthew 25:46 later on it says the evil will inherit or uh enter Eternal punishment and the righteous will enter

eternal life now there are theological camps who try to eliminate this biblical Truth by attempting to do just bad Theology and bad interpretation and they attempt to erase hell Universalist is is one of the categories that try to do this where they try to say that God is just ultimately going to be so loving and so generous and so gracious and so merciful that he saves everybody so don't worry about what you do this side of Earth he's going to save everybody but when you look at the scriptures it's just not the truth it's not what is preached there is going to be an eternal

life in heaven the kingdom of God and there's going to be an eternal damnation in Hell ultimately and what is hard for us to reconcile in a passage like Luke 13 is that it appears that some tried to do what Jesus commanded of them because we want to make sure that we're righteous and not evil right like we when when you when you hear those words that there's going to be a place where there's weeping and ashing of teeth and those who are evil are going to inherit that well we don't want to be in that category and so I think they ask these questions

like how do we make sure we're not evil how do we make sure we're righteous we want to make sure in the end that when Jesus reels in the net that we are separated and set apart with the good and not the bad and so when Jesus tells us something like he says in verse 24 strive to enter through the narrow door well okay then that's what we need to do in order to be considered the righteous we need to strive to enter through the narrow door for those who tried to do this who willed themselves to the door who knocked on it and asked

to come inside who even plad their case we ate and drank in your presence and you taught in our streets yet yet many of them were not allowed in so it's true that they may have strived to enter it's true that they may have knocked and asked Jesus to let them come inside it's true that they may have shared bread with Jesus and drank from his cup it's true that they heard his teaching all of these things depicting the life of an individual who has in some way experienced or performed Christian Duty and has followed in the commands of Jesus so why are they who

it says are many are cast out where there is weeping and nashing of teeth when looking at their life it appears they they chose the right path does it not and yet they still didn't make it and before you attempt to reconcile it in your mind and start throwing out all the analogies and the metaphors and the illustrations and the philosophical reasonings let's again just continue looking at the word of God and seeing what it says verse 24 strive to enter through the narrow door for many I tell you will seek to enter and will not be able to there there will be many who

seek to enter but will not be able so there is something here regarding those who were unable to enter ability you have to understand there is the regarding of ability to enter through the door so that then begins to beg the question what is the ability that allows us to be able to enter into the door when we knock or when we want to walk through it or when we strive to enter through it what else does Jesus say regarding those who were unable to enter verse 26 then you will begin to say we ate and drank in your presence and you taught in our

streets but he will say I tell you I do not know where you come from depart from me all you were workers of evil the Christian Standard Bible as well as um the NIV translate verse 27 this way he will say I tell you I don't know you or where you are from get away from me all you evildoers in Jesus's own words there is a connection between being able to enter into eternal life and being known by Jesus being known by Jesus so this Chain of Thought is what theologians refer to as soteriology which is just the doctrine of salvation they the study of

how God Saves Sinners and according to Jesus's words the caveat for salvation the prerequisite for being able to enter through the narrow door and be considered among the few is not whether you made every effort to enter but whether or not Jesus knew you whether or not Jesus knew you and so as plain as I can say say it salvation is For Those whom Jesus knows whom he knows and so if you knock on the door and Jesus knows you then the door will be open to you if he doesn't know you then he will command you to depart from him are we tracking with

that so far all right stay with me that then begs the question who are the ones Jesus considers known how do we know Jesus and how does Jesus know us maintaining the illustration Jesus is using as of a door in those who are able to enter through it are those whom Jesus knows listen to John 10 1-4 truly truly I say to you he who does not enter the Sheepfold by the door but CL climbs in by another way that man is a thief and a robber but he who enters by the door is The Shepherd of the Sheep to him the gatekeeper opens the

sheep hear his voice and he calls his own Sheep by name and he leads them out when he has brought out all his own he goes before them and the Sheep follow him for they know his voice now verse one is helping us understand that there is no other way of becoming one of Jesus's sheep other than entering through the door all right there there that's in both of our passages today you can't climb the fence you can't create your own door you can't find another way in this is one of those Universalist mentalities where all roads lead to heaven like all roads lead to

ro like no that's not reality anything you want to believe does not get you through the door anything you want to interpret anything you want to create anything like that's where heresy comes from there has to be a specific way that God deems his will that God says this is the door you come through this way you're good any other way that we try to fabricate or create is not going to work out for us you must enter through this door that apparently again as it says here in John a gatekeeper opens similar to The Master of the House from Luke who has the door

open and also controls when it is closed but I want you to see something here that's interesting in Jesus's words verse two but he who enters by the door he who enters by the door is The Shepherd of the sheep to him the gatekeeper opens so if the door is a representation of the gateway to the kingdom of God Jesus according to his own words comes from the kingdom of God through the door into the domain of darkness and begins calling begins calling how do we know that because the sheep hear the voice they hear it and respond the sheep hear his voice and he

calls his own Sheep by name and leads them out so understanding the picture better Jesus comes from the kingdom of God and into the domain of darkness and he calls out and those who hear his voice Jesus calls them by name and then leads them out leads them out of what he leads them out of the domain of Darkness through the door and then into the kingdom of God when he has brought out all his own he goes before them and the Sheep follow him for they know his voice so far every effort that is making us able belongs to Jesus and not the Sheep

so far like if you're looking at it based on what Jesus is saying it's all dependent upon Jesus at this point the Sheep are just wandering waiting for the shepher to enter by the door come in to the domain of darkness and call out and they hear his voice and follow him which begs the question if those who are known are those when Jesus calls out they hear his voice then how do we hear his voice right if it's so dependent upon him coming in to the domain of Darkness calling out and US hearing his voice in order be able to follow him through the

door into the kingdom then how do we hear his voice once again what does the Bible say what does God say staying in John when you look at John chap 10: 22-30 this is what he says at that time the Feast of dedication took place at Jerusalem that's irrelevant for this moment right now it was Winter and Jesus was walking in the temple in the colonade of Solomon so the Jews gathered around him and they said to him how long will you keep us in suspense if you are the Christ tell us plainly Jesus answered them I told you and you do not believe okay

so Jesus now adds another element to this equation of being able to get through the door belief belief which is also interchangeable with the word faith he says you do not believe me or you do not have faith in me let's keep going because I'll explain that in a moment the works that I do in my father's name bear witness about me but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep now stay with me here Jesus has told them taught them plainly that he is the Christ and he has even shown them that's what bearing witness about his name that's what the

the Miracles are for it's added proof that he is who he says he is by performing Works signs and miracles among them but they still did not believe why Jesus says because you are not among my sheep in other words Jesus is telling them it does not matter how plainly I explain it to you you will not believe it because you are not among my sheep you are not able to hear my voice and enter the door and become a part of the Sheepfold so only those who are among the Sheep are those who belong or believe because they heard Jesus's voice and Jesus called

them by name he knows them well how do you become a part of the sheep what does Jesus say if you have to be among the sheep in order to believe in order to hear his voice in order to be able to follow him how do you become one of the sheep what did he say in back in verse 27 my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me I give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand my father who has given them to me is greater than all and no

one is able to snatch them out of the father's hand I and the father are one now did you catch that this is where people begin to get mad I'm not trying to help you understand the why or the reasoning behind what God does I'm just showing you what he does I'm showing you the scripture and I've rung my fist at God in the past regarding passages like this when when discovering his process of Salvation and and and it's been a 15-year Journey for me God humbling me to the point where I now rejoice in this process of salvation but remember we are not trying

to reconcile this according to our human logic or our human feelings or our human philosophical cartwheels we are trying to reconcile this according to what Jesus has said and what Jesus just said is that the Sheep who can hear the voice of Jesus and believe in him and follow him are those who the father has given him those who the father has given to him so what does Jesus do with those whom the father has given him Jesus gives them the right to be considered Sons and Daughters of God let me show you this from the scriptures john9 through3 the True Light which gives light

to everyone was coming into the world he was in the world and the world was made through him yet the world did not know him so that's saying like Jesus enters in G everything comes through Jesus the world was created through Jesus he gives light to all of the world he was in the world the world was made through him there was nothing made that was not of him that's also Colossians 1 yet he came to his own and his own people did not receive him now when it's referring to his own people here it's not referring to the Sheepfold it's referring to uh the

promise that was ultimately given to Abraham that through the bloodline of Abraham all the Jews were considered the chosen people of God he came to his own people and they did not receive him but to all who did receive him who believed in his name he gave the right to become children of God so I'm saying there he gives the right to become the children of God now if you are still holding on to any sort of inkling that what Jesus commanded at the beginning of Luke 13:24 is still possible to strive to enter and to seek to enter this would be a good moment

for you to say ha gotcha because what did he say to all who did receive him who believed in his name he gave the right to become children of God as if it is saying if you receive him and believe in him then Jesus will give you the right to become children of God but you done you didn't read far enough look at what it continues to say who received him who believed in him who he gave the right to become children of God verse 13 says were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but

of God but of God what is the will of God in regards to Salvation and Those whom he gives to Jesus to be the shepherd to be the shepherd's sheep just strictly revealing what we've already read from scripture the will of God is to send Jesus from the kingdom of God to the domain of darkness by way of a door the will of God is to give Jesus A Flock a people from the world not according to their will or their effort or their bloodline but according to the will of God when Jesus enters the world he will call out to all and For Those

whom God has given him Jesus will call them by name they will hear his voice and they will respond by faith they will believe in him and follow him because they've been given the right to be called Sons and Daughters of God and therefore he knows them and they know them they know him they will then as sheep listening to their Shepherd persevere to the end and make it through the door where Jesus leads them out to pastures of eternal life because as the scripture says no one will be able to snatch them out of the protection and care of the shepherd Those whom the

father has given to the son will strive to enter the door and will make it through that's the summary of the scriptures that we've just looked at that Jesus said said let me show you both now what I want to show you is it's like okay not that you're like you're saying like I don't trust Jesus and what he's saying but I want you to see that the totality totality of the scriptures and what I mean by that is the prophets of old Jesus in the New Testament as well as New Testament authors and and and apostles as well as even New Testament non Apostles

all say the exact same thing so this is going to be me for a while just reading scriptures to you starting with the prophets I'm going to pull from Jeremiah as one of them Jeremiah 32 37-41 Jeremiah prophesying about how God Saves people puts it this way behold I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation that's a great start God saying everyone has made me very upset but I'm going to draw from everywhere a people and I will make them dwell in safety I will bring them let me go back

to verse 37 I will bring them back to this place and I will make them dwell in safety verse 38 and they shall be my people and I will be their God I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear me forever for their own good and the good of their children after them I will make with them an Everlasting Covenant that I will not turn away from doing good to them and I will put the fear of me in their hearts that they may not turn from me I mean when you think about the language of the sheep and him

coming in and calling them out so that they're able to respond and hear him where does that come from I will put the fear of me in their hearts that they may not turn from me but follow me I will rejoice in doing them good and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness with all my heart and with all my soul so that's God giving word to Jeremiah God also gives word to Ezekiel and he gives even greater description of this process of how it works Ezekiel 36: 22-32 therefore say to the house of Israel thus says the Lord God it is not

for your sake oh House of Israel that I am about to act but for the sake of my Holy Name which you have profaned among the Nations to which you come and I will vindicate the Holiness of my great name which has been profaned am among the Nations and which you have profaned among them and the Nations will know that I am the Lord declares the Lord God when through you I vindicate my Holiness before their eyes I will take from I will take you from the Nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land I will sprinkle clean

water on you and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness and from all your Idols I will cleanse you and I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you and I will remove the Heart of Stone from your flesh and give you a heart of Flesh and I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers and you shall be my people and I will be your God and I will deliver you from all

your uncleanness and I will summon the Grain and make it abundance and lay no famine upon you I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the Nations then you will remember your evil ways and your Deeds that were not good and you will loath yourselves for your iniquities and your Abominations it is not for your sake that I will act declares the Lord God let that be known to you be ashamed and confounded for your ways oh House of Israel I mean go like God is telling them

you are an Abomination you have profaned my name and what he's ultimately doing is he's going to make right the Declaration of his name the Declaration of his glory the Declaration of His Image bearers he's saying you do not reflect me rightly and I'm going to fix that I'm going to bring Salvation so that when you realize because I give you a new heart and I remove the Heart of Stone that has totally wre havoc on your life when I remove that Heart of Stone and give you a heart that is living and breathing and and and and causes you to walk in my statutes

you will be aware of your Abomination you will be aware of your evil and you will turn from it and you will follow me you will trust me and you will begin rightly once again living in a way that represents the glory and Renown of god let's continue with a little bit more of what Jesus says As we move into the New Testament John 6: 35-44 Jesus said to them I am the bread of life whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst again that's one of those ones invitation for all whoever comes to me shall not hunger

and whoever Believes In Me shall never thirst but I said to you that you have seen me and yet you do not believe all that the father gives me will come to me and whoever comes to me I will never cast out for I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me and this is the will of him who sent me that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me but raise it up on on the last day for this is the will of my father that everyone who looks on the

son and believes in Him should have eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day so the Jews grumbled about him because he said I am the bread that come down that came down from heaven they said is this not Jesus the son of Joseph whose father and mother we know how does he now say I have come down from heaven Jesus answered themo not Grumble among yourselves no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up on the last day after Jesus resurrects what do the apostles then say what do those

who who spent time with Jesus who interacted with Jesus who's been given the Holy Spirit of Jesus what does the Holy Spirit say in that regard in how God Saves Ephesians 1 this is Paul preaching to the church in Ephesus he says this in verses 3-14 blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in in love he predestined us for adoption to himself as Sons through Jesus Christ

according to the purpose of his will to the praise of his glorious Grace with which he has blessed us in the Beloved in him we have Redemption through his blood the Forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace which he lavished Upon Us in all wisdom and insight make making known to us the mystery of his will according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in him things in heaven and things on earth in him we have obtained an inheritance having been predestined according to the purpose of him

who works all things according to the counsel of his will so that we who were the first to Hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory in him you also when you heard the word of Truth The Gospel of your salvation and believed in him were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory the greatest Grace a person can receive is the truth that in Christ God chose us in in choosing us before the foundation of the world before our first breath he chose us to

be able to hear his voice to believe and receive the Gospel of our Salvation it's given to us the whole thing is given to us now where do we see that it's not my own thought or interpretation it's What God Says look at the next chapter as the Apostle Paul continues with this train Chain of Thought Ephesians 2 1-9 and you were dead in the trespasses and sins let's stop there for a second strive to enter and seek to enter well I can't I'm dead you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked following the course of this world following the

prince of the of the power of the air the spirit that is now at work in the sons of Disobedience among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh carrying out the desires of the body and the mind and were by Nature children of Wrath like the rest of mankind so for for those who want to say like no there's there's participation on our end there's there's will on our end there's choice on our end like we will desire this the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul is saying carrying out the desires of the body and the mind we were by Nature

children of Wrath but verse four but God but God being rich in Mercy because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses made us Us Alive together with Christ made us alive together with Christ by Grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the Heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable Riches of his grace in kindness toward us us in Christ Jesus for by Grace you have been saved through faith and this what does he mean by this the

grace that you have been saved through faith is referencing that this this is not your own doing it is the gift of God not a result of Works strive to enter seek to enter jump the fence find another door get there not a result of works so that no one may boast so that no one may boast what about non Apostolic what about a non- apostle how about the brother of Jesus how about the brother of Jesus that did not believe in Jesus while Jesus was still alive on Earth how about the brother of Jesus who did not convert to Christianity until post-resurrection of Jesus

in Ascension the brother of Jesus that when you're look when you're thinking about your siblings growing up you're thinking um there's no way you're convincing me that you're the Messiah the brother of Jesus James in 116-118 says this do not be deceived my brothers every good gift and every perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of Lights with whom there is no variation or Shadow due to change he said God does not change of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures his New Creation The Church

of Jesus Christ and the last part that I want to share with you is what's called the high Priestly prayer pulling it back to Jesus's words so this is Jesus praying this is Jesus praying to the father and having a conversation there and let's just hear the language that he uses John 17 when Jesus had spoken these words he lifted up his eyes to heaven and he said father the hour has come glorify your son that the son son may glorify you since you have given him authority over All Flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given him and this is eternal

life that they know you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent I glorified you on Earth having accomplished the work that you gave me to do and now father glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I have had with you before the world existed I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world yours they were and you gave them to me and they have kept your word now they know that everything that you have given me is from you for I have given them the words that you gave me and they

have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you and they have believed that you sent me I am praying for them I am not praying for the world but For Those whom you have given me for they are yours all mine are yours and yours are mine and I am glorified in them and I am no longer in the world but they are in the world and I am coming to you Holy Father keep them in your name which you have given me that they may be one even as we are one while I was with them I kept

them in your name which you have given me I have guarded them and not one of them has been lost except the son of Destruction that the scripture might be fulfilled but now I am coming to you and these things I speak in the world that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves I have given them your word and the world has hated them because they are not of the world just as I am not out of the world I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one they are not of the

world just as I am not of the world sanctify them in the truth your word is truth as you sent me into the world so I have sent them into the world and for their sake I consecrate myself that they also may be Sanctified in truth I do not ask for these only but also for those who will will believe in me through their word that they may all be one just as you 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 the glory that you have given me

I have given to them that they may be one even as we are one i in them and you in me that they may become perfectly one so that the world may know that you sent me and loved me even as you loved them even as you loved me father I desire that they also they also whom you have given me may be with me where I am to see my glory that you have given me because you love me before the foundation of the world oh righteous father even though the world does not know you I know you and these know that you have

sent me I made known to them your name and I will continue to make it known that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them now maybe the final question you were thinking is this how do we know if Jesus knows us how do we know if Jesus knows us how do we know if we are his sheep and I think the answer to this is found as a counter truth to what Jesus says in Luke 13:27 going back to our main text Jesus will say I tell you I do not know you or where you come

from depart from me all you workers of evil there are people who believe they have sought God there are people who believe they have partaken of Christ um God's food and drink there there are people who believe that they have heard the gospel preached at the end of The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7 there are people who believe they themselves are in the ministry of God for the sake of jesus' name but the door will still be closed to them because Jesus never knew them and the evidence that proves this is that they are by identity workers of evil workers of evil and

so when it comes to your life if you have heard the gospel preached and you have eaten and drank with Jesus and you have sat under his teaching the tell sign that you have received the saving work of God by faith is if you have turned from Evil repented of your sins and Trust the voice of your Shepherd who says follow me there will be this miraculous change and transformation of your heart affections and D in desires where you now love God with all your heart with all your mind with all your mind with all your soul and you love others as yourself Jesus even

says you will know his disciples by the love that they have for one another it's the heart of God promised through the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel or Jeremiah and Ezekiel that he gives us the gift of a new heart by grace that James says comes from above only it is this new heart that Paul says God made a in us so that we will not turn away from him but will come to Jesus when he calls and believe in him when he calls and enter through the narrow door and repent of our way of doing things and trust and follow his way of doing things

we will hate what we've done and love what he does we will hate our sin and love his righteousness it's The Telltale sign for anyone who says I am in the Sheepfold and I hear the voice of Jesus and I follow him The Telltale sign will be looking at the life and actually seeing whether or not they hate sin and love righteousness and that they follow it and that they Proclaim it and that they declare it and that they ultimately repent from again any type of human cunning or human analogy or human way of trying to doing things of human tradition it's it's coming back

to this truth of saying what does Jesus say and whatever it is that Jesus is teaching me to observe I want to follow that I want to be all about that and so I don't care if it's Armenian ISM I don't care if it's Calvinism I don't care if it's Catholicism I don't care if it's reformed theology I don't care if it's protestantism I don't care if it's if it's Methodist or Baptist or Church of Christ or whatever it is what I care most about is what Jesus Jesus is teaching and what we will do in discovering what Jesus is teaching and the more that

we discover what Jesus is teaching is it does form Doctrine it forms patterns of belief it forms patterns of that's why we have Creeds and confessions that's why there's catechisms throughout history is because they did the work of being affectionate towards what Jesus taught and they could categorize and put it together and they say this is what the truth is and this is what we want to pass down from generation to generation about what Jesus is saying and what he's ultimately saying at the end of the day is I save people and there's nothing you can do there's absolutely nothing you can do so that

there is nothing we can boast in except boasting in the absolute love and cherishment that Jesus has over Those whom he saves will will it be many no will it be a few yes it's a narrow gate it's a narrow path few will find it many will miss it and I'm not here to debate why God Saves few versus many because at the end of the day you will not know until we're in glory his ways are higher than our ways we are limited finite beings trying to understand an unlimited an infinite God who outside of time and space and before time and space in

the foundation of the world gave Jesus a people to redeem that's what we read I didn't say it it's what we read and I think it's one of the reasons why and I'm not going to be able to unpack 31 through 35 but it's one of the reasons why even in this idea there is still a lamenting over those who are going to perish that Jesus even cries about that Jesus even laments and I think because I'm not going to be able to get to unpacking it I do know that when Jesus gets to Jerusalem we all know that when he sees Jerusalem what does

he do he cries he laments because he knows that the people reject ultimately the stone of their salvation they reject the Cornerstone I'll read it but I'm not going to be able to unpack it 31-35 at that very hour right after he got done preaching that teaching that at that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him get away from here for Herod wants to kill you and he said to them go and tell that fox behold I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow and the third day I finished my course nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow

and the day following for it cannot be that a Prophet should perish away from Jerusalem oh Jerusalem Jerusalem the city that kills the prophets and Stones those who are sent to it how often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings and you were not willing behold your house is Forsaken and I tell you you will not see me until you say blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord and I want to close close out with a passage from Psalm 118 that that blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord

draws in the idea of this gate this narrow door that we are entering and again this is this Belongs to the Lord Psalm 1181 19-26 says open to me the gates of righteousness that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord this is the Gate of the Lord the righteous shall enter through it I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation the stone that the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone this is the Lord's doing it is marvelous in our eyes this is the day that the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it

save us we pray oh Lord Oh Lord we pray give us success for blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord we bless you from the house of the Lord the only thing I the only thing I can tell you the only thing I know for a fact that is certain are those whom God Saves will not ring their fists at who God Saves or how God Saves or why God Saves or why God does not saved but they will rejoice in the salvation of the Lord as humbling as it may be and has confusing as it may be in our own

human logic we rejoice in the Lord no matter what let's pray father we thank you so much for your word as challenging as it is at times to be able to understand we still rejoice in what you are doing you did not not have to redeem anybody when we sinned you could have sent us all to hell and you would have remained good just and holy and giving us the punishment that we all deserve but by your Rich mercy and your grace that you lavished upon us you gave Jesus a people to redeem and to save and we rejoice in that we thank you for

that we thank you for that we don't know who it is that is going to be saved and that is the reason why we proclaim the gospel because it is the call of Jesus that goes out and those who will be saved hear his voice and they respond to their Savior and they follow him and so we are going to continue preaching that and evangelizing that and sharing that every single day because we stand on that truth that those who are your sheep will hear your voice and they will respond by faith believing that you are God and that you have saved them and that

you forgive them of their sins we boast in you and you alone may we worship you now that you have provided a door for us to enter through it's in your holy and most precious name we pray amen as we come to our time of communion y'all go ahead and stand with me as we come to this time of communion