Incredible sermon by Michael Paget, our upcoming rector at St. Barnabas Broadway (just found out that the archbishop is appointing him - he was our executive pastor and we never imagined we’d be blessed like this!!).

My notes:

Matthew 7:13-27

One (not two) ways to live

Jesus speaks with urgency and passion for people. He makes life clear. We should listen to him because:

• There is only one way to life; Matthew 7:13-14 mentions narrow gates. There are two gates - one narrow, one wide. There are only two groups of people. It doesn’t matter what kind of non-believer or non-follower you are! There are two ways to live, but only one way to life. We have no right to demand life from God, but He is merciful and loving and we are blessed because that narrow road is near to us. The wide gate is where many enter - but into destruction. This is both a tragedy and a blessed assurance — a tragedy because the thought of people entering destruction hurts us, but God feels the pain so much more. It’s a blessed assurance though - it’s okay to feel alone when you’re on the narrow road. It’s okay to feel like you’re walking the road and nobody is there to walk with you. Few enter through the narrow gate - but that is where you’ll find life.

• There are two obstacles to finding life:

1. False prophets: those who claim to speak God’s truth but don’t. These people soothed, they didn’t address, the guilt of the Israelites. Matthew 7:15 tells us that they look mild, but they are destructive. 2 Timothy 4 tells us that these people tell us things that suit desires, and instead of speaking the truth, they turn to myths. How will we be able to recognise them? By their fruit - by comparing what they say and how they live. Be careful when you are listening to sermons via podcasts or reading books by authors from a distance. These are great tools but it can be hard to distinguish if you can’t inspect their lives. CHALLENGE: if your pastor/preacher has never said anything that makes you uncomfortable or challenges your guilt; perhaps you are not testing him/her against the Bible. Be sure to do that. It makes me think of prosperity teaching or preaching about sexual impurity as just being a move of “culture”. Are you being told things that make you feel good, or are you being told Biblical truths?
2. Us: Hypocrites exist. Matthew 7:21ff tells us that there are some who substitute qualifications for life orientated towards delighting God. Evildoers are surprised when they aren’t received.  But the Bible tells us they have no reason to be surprised. If you aren’t living out His commands, you don’t love Him.  Be honest with yourself. Are you actually a follower, if your life isn’t orientated to serving God? I’ve been thinking about this lately. Are you delighting God if your speech doesn’t delight Him? I’ve heard people excuse poor language as ways of expressing anger so it’s okay or being okay because it “doesn’t take God’s name in vain”. I used to think it was okay, too. But I was challenged when one day someone said, “swearing isn’t raw, it doesn’t make you more authentic. It just shows that you have not put enough thought into your speech so that you can use it to encourage”. That was a wake-up call - I realised I was perverting a blessing given to me in order to praise and give Him glory, and to encourage and love others with words of kindness.

• By hearing and living by His words, we find life. The foolish man is the one who holds spiritual ‘beliefs’ but doesn’t adopt the life of a follower. The call is for obedience, NOT for perfection. Life isn’t found by “spiritual Olympians”. Life is found by those who hear Jesus’ words, and do them. Those people build their house upon the rock. And our house will never fall.