"Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.
15 “Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. 16 You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So you’ll recognize them by their fruit.
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 in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?’ 23 Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!’
24 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of Mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. And its collapse was great!”
28 When Jesus had finished this sermon, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, 29 because He was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like their scribes."
Matthew 7:13-29
Good Morning Beloved,
I’ve entitled our sermon for today, "Once Upon A Time", however, I could have just as easily called it, "Two Foundations." But the reason for the title, is that the Holy Spirit has laid it on my heart, the deep-seated need for this generation of Americans, especially believers, to understand a key difference in how we look at things, how we approach our daily lives and the decisions we make. The foundation that I am going to focus on today, can be illustrated with a question, speaking about literature. Who here can tell me what kind of a book begins with the words, "Once Upon a Time"?
If you said a fairy tale, a fable, some sort of made up story, you would be absolutely correct!
Today, I would suggest to you, that during the generations represented here in church, our culture, our society has increasingly insisted that the book we claim to be the inspired, infallible, inerrant word of God actually begins with "Once Upon A Time". It is that very concept that I want us to consider today, because the foundation of your Christian faith, our entire belief system hinges on that very subject, does the Holy Bible really begin with the words "In the beginning, God. . . ", or have we determined as a people and society and even as a church that it should read, "Once Upon A Time"?
Heavenly Father,
Today, we give thanks to You, for Your Word, Your truths
in the message You have for us, we pray for all who are hearing this message, both here and around the world. O' gracious and loving Lord, may You give them the ability to do what they have no strength in themselves to do, that is to enter into Your kingdom through the narrow gate. Father, we ask, we seek, we knock, because we know that You’ve promised to answer us.
Lord, thank You for Your grace, mercy, strength and power, we plead for desperate sinners who are seeking with all their hearts. May Your Holy Spirit do a mighty work in them, whatever is necessary to draw them to that narrow gate as they ask, that they would find it. We ask that You would give entrance to the sinners by way of Your mercy for Christs’ sake.
In His precious and mighty name we pray
Amen.
As we begin our message for today, I'd like to present a question, for you to place in the back of your mind temporarily, yet at the same time, keep asking yourself, searching for the answer.
My question is this: Is your faith really built upon the solid rock, the cornerstone of Jesus Christ or is it based on some fictional story and characters, in essence, a fairy tale?
If you would now, please turn with me in your Bible to the book of Matthew chapter 7 where we will focus on a portion of Scripture, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount which deals directly with the foundation that we choose to build our faith upon. Before we begin, allow me to just read to you, verse 13 and following. I'll ask you to please follow along with me, as I read, considering the question, I've asked.
So, in verse 13, we see the illustration of the "narrow gate," this is the gate of true conversion, one of self-denial, mortification, and universal holiness; the gate in at which few, comparatively speaking, are inclined to enter. How narrow the way that leads to life!
In this way, nothing is found that flatters the flesh, so many things opposite to it, poverty, fasting, watching, injuries, chastity, sobriety. And as for the gate, it receives none that are swollen with pride, or the glory of this life; nothing that are distended with earthly possessions or worldly luxuries; it does not admit those that are weighted down with the vexation of riches, nor does it allow those that would attempt to drag along with them the other implements of the world.
None can pass through it except those who are stripped of all worldly lusts, desires and who those have put off their bodies, who are emaciated by the Holy Spirit, which for this reason, it is sought after by so few. For wide is the gate however, the gate of impenitence, those refusing to repent, holding onto unbelief, worldly desires, marked by carnal appetites and fleshly lusts.
This gate is obvious to all, and therefore, there is no need to seek it! One may enter easily through this gate, and without difficulty, for it is way in which men may freely walk without either self-denial or taking up the cross, and it is the way in which they shall find abundance of company.
While laying out the character, beliefs and behaviors of true believers, Jesus takes a moment to elaborate on a key principle dealing with the foundations. He said that what you build your faith on has as much or more to do with your true identity in Him as does your outward behaviors. I'm not certain, that many realize or understand its concept, but it is entirely possible for a person to have all the outwardly appearances of Christianity, while never have a true saving relationship with Jesus Christ. A person can demonstrate many of the attributes that Jesus talks about in this profound sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, all the while, never really know Him. He then warns His listeners of this fact in verses 21 – 23 and the goes on to tell them that it matters what is at the foundation of your belief and actions as to whether or not you are truly one of His own. Building a house on the wrong foundation will ultimately result in a broken, destroyed house.
I recall a certain developer and builder, some years ago, that while in the process of building a new housing development, the homes were beautiful to look at, however, the builder had used substandard materials, in order to save costs, after a short period of time, the foundations on which these new homes were build began to be compromised and eventually collapsed. It was a mess! This is in essence, what Jesus is speaking about, if our faith isn't build upon the right foundation, when it comes to the Day of our Lord, it will collapse, leaving nothing but devastation to those standing before Him, who were resting upon their false assurances of faith.
The point is, no matter how nice the house may be, or how much time and money and effort has been spent on building it, if its foundation is defective, the house will not stand and cannot withstand the storms that will come throughout its life.
This is why it is of the upmost and absolute importance that the foundation of your faith, be solid, made of the truths contained in God's Word and trustworthy.
I believe that when Jesus was talking about building our foundation on the Rock, He was speaking of, the Gospel message, the good news, was about Himself. And not just the cross, but all that He represents from the beginning of Creation. Can I be so bold as to tell you something today, the Holy Bible doesn’t start with the book of Matthew and nor does the Gospel message. The Bible starts with the book of Genesis and the Creation of the world! Do you realize that Jesus was directly involved in the building, the establishing of the foundation of Creation, the foundation of all that exists? It is Him, the Word that is at the foundation of our faith and His truth begins in the book of Genesis, chapter 1. Not in the New Testament as many teach today or would have you to believe!
Allow me to read to you John 1:1-5, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it."
Additionally, consider the Gallup poll that said the average Christian in the United States looks no different than the average non-Christian. Could it be that somehow, we have begun to build the modern church on a foundation of substandard doctrine, and that our walls are beginning to bow and crack, and the entire foundation is ready to collapse??
Did not Jesus warn us plainly as we read in Matthew 7:15 that a bad tree will bear bad fruit, just as a bad foundation will bear cracked walls and fallen beauty?
What has been removed and therefore subsequently added to the mix of our foundation that is causing our church to look just like the world and is causing the Gospel message to fall upon deaf ears because it isn’t taken seriously by at least 59% of the U.S. population?
I believe that a primary key is found in the churches’ attempt to accommodate the claims of naturalistic science with God’s Word. Back in the late 50’s and 60’s a new revolution in "thought" was really beginning to catch on and gaining its momentum in this country, and furthermore, it’s rallying calling was one of "millions of years of evolution." With the proclamation of philosophers such as Nietzsche, who were saying that "God is dead" and were promoting the ideas of natural science, in order to show that God unnecessary and therefore, is not responsible for our very existence. It was a time when public schools were changing their text books, to teach Darwin's theory of evolution and the natural formation of all that exists. It was a time when it became en vogue to question the Word of God, as well as its accuracy and its legitimacy.
This hot bed of "new enlightenment," has prevailed in large, partly because it became the pet of the media, which was also new and quickly grew to grate at the influence, within every household, in the form of TV, radio and movies, and all in color!
Beloved, questioning God’s Word, didn’t start there, however. No, as a matter of fact, you have to go back much further to find its origin. Back to the time just after the Creation, to when we first had the enemy trying to "enlighten" us to what we are missing out on or telling us how we are ignorant for trusting in God. Just look at Genesis 3:1, "Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?"
Just as Eve gave into Satan's temptation when he questioned her as to whether or not God really meant what he said, I believe the church has largely fallen into this same trap, especially during the past several decades! Yes, even here in the United States, especially in the past 50 years or so, we have been taught in our public schools to ask the ridiculous questions like;
"Does God really exist?"
"For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse."
Romans 1:18-20
"If God really created the first day before the sun, how could there really have been day and night?"
Genesis 1:3-5 says, "Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and He called the darkness “night.” Evening came and then morning: the first day."
Beloved, the glory of God provided the light just as it will as told in Revelation 21:23-24 which says,
"The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because God’s glory illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it."
And, might I say, that as a pastor, these are just the beginning of the ridiculous questions that we hear. The problem is that many Christians have never figured out that you can and should answer "yes" to these questions. There are literally millions of people, and Christians, in this country and around the world, that desperately need to know that they can trust the Bible when it says things like “In the beginning, God”. And, that they can believe that God is not only capable but did in fact create the earth and all that exists in six, approximately 24-hour days, exactly as Genesis 1:5 says, "And there was evening and there was morning, the first day."
Ok, so now let’s talk about the term "day" for just a moment. The Hebrew word yom, the Biblical Hebrew word which occurs in the Hebrew Bible, is the word used for day in the Creation account. Some will say, "Well, it means something different in Genesis chapter 1 than it does elsewhere."
All I can say here is, "Oh, really? Does it now?"
Let's just find that out, shall we? The word yom, when associated with a number as it is in Genesis 1, is used in the same way approximately 410 times outside of Genesis 1. So, therefore, can you guess what it means in each of those 410 occurrences? It means a day exactly like the days that you and I experience today.
However, part of the problem is that, over time, we have allowed the influence of Greek philosophy and human-based, naturalistic science to make us feel that we need to compromise our beliefs or be considered among the ignorant and un-enlightened.
As early as the 1960’s, Creationist Scientists were presenting "trustworthy theories of Creation," and its related proofs, refuting the trustworthiness of Darwin's theory evolution, however, by that time, the momentum of Darwinian evolution and new, enlightened natural science out-shouted and out-maneuvered their research.
That was about the time that television and movies were really getting popular in the homes of Americans, and guess which theory the media paid the most attention to?
Beloved, it is only today, when the Darwinian evolution has failed to provide proof of evolution by failing to find any true transitional form from one species of life to another that Creationism is finally beginning to build the much needed momentum to overcome a secular and completely biased media and the ignorance of naturalistic science. Darwin, himself, said that unless a true transitional form was found, his theory of evolution had no basis. What we have found is that there are sufficient variations within a species, revealing that God designed us, with the ability to adapt to our environment as necessary.
And, might I be so bold as to say, what we have not found however, is some sort of a true ape-man or a true "half-anything," for that matter, because the reality is that there is no such thing as a change from one species of animal to another. Take the dog, for instance. Even secular scientists have decided that every type of dog you see today, is likely to have a common ancestor, which probably, resembles something like a wolf. So, every breed of dog out there could have come from two! I just wonder, could they possibly have been the ones saved on Noah’s Ark? Asking for a friend, of course.
Let's look to the Bible for the answer, again! Oh look, right here in Genesis 6:19-22, we find a little something that may in some small way answer our question: " You are also to bring into the ark two of all the living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of everything—from the birds according to their kinds, from the livestock according to their kinds, and from the animals that crawl on the ground according to their kinds—will come to you so that you can keep them alive. Take with you every kind of food that is eaten; gather it as food for you and for them.” And Noah did this. He did everything that God had commanded him."
Wait!! What? "Two of everything—from the birds according to their kinds, from the livestock according to their kinds, and from the animals that crawl on the ground according to their kinds."
It amazes me, how anyone could think, even for a moment, that God, "being some sort half-baked, non - existent" God, would leave a huge detail like this out of the Bible! Do you not believe, even for a nano second, that Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth, would not leave out even the smallest detail? In His Word, God has provided us with everything we need! Here's the trick, you have to open it in order to find what;s in it, and you must read it, with a spiritual mind in order to understand its contents and meanings. Guess, God has even answered why a non- believer can "read"
the Bible, and have no clue what it means, therefore disbelieving it! Why, I just suppose we'd find nothing on this subject in the Bible, would we? Humor me a bit, if you would and let's just look
Job 32:8, which teaches us, "But it is a spirit in man and the breath of the Almighty that give him
understanding."
Oh wait, that's the "irrelevant," "old and outdated, Word of God from the Old Testament, how terribly insensitive of me! Please pardon my ignorance here, let's look in the New Testament. Wait... what's this?
I Corinthians 2:14, "But the unbeliever does not welcome what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually."
"But you, dear friends, remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; they told you, “In the end time there will be scoffers walking according to their own ungodly desires.” These people create divisions and are unbelievers, not having the Spirit."
Jude 1:17-19
Beloved, can I just say, that knowing what you believe is just as important as knowing why you believe it! Christians have been backed into a corner of uncertainty and compromise, afraid to speak "truth" into the lies of these self asserting atheistic, overly confident, arrogant non believers, and are not sure why they believe what they believe, I've heard so many times, the "I don't know, I guess because is in the Bible..." response from Christians. And, I must say, its frustrating! You come to church, you have a Bible, and yet, you will "I guess or I suppose," your way out of discussion with a non believer." Are you seriously kidding me?
Beloved, this is exactly why, I encourage my own family, and all of you not to just take my word for it, get into your own Bibles, read them, study them! Memorize specific verses, have some sort of knowledge as to where to look for those you haven't yet memorized!! These over bearing evolutionist, have done just that, they've memorized what to say and when to say, which is what makes most believers uncomfortable and run from a debate.
O' beloved, Stand firm in your faith!
We mustn't cow down to anyone who "thinks" they know the truth! We have the Word of God, the wisdom and knowledge of God, and if you'll ask Him, He'll just show up right into the middle of those discussions and fling answers out of your mouth like nothing you've ever seen before! And, they'll not be "just answers," but THE ANSWERS!
To date, I've still not yet seen the evidence of from two dogs came all the varieties we have, but to date natural scientists have yet to provide an example of a cat-dog, you know, half-cat, half-dog!
So, I guess we're tied on that one. With the exception, I know the Word of God to be true! It's been tried and tested and in case you haven't noticed, a great many of these scientists, are unknowingly, proving more and more, what has been said in the Word of God for thousands of years!
Oh, and don’t get me wrong, science in its most honest sense is really just observing and documenting things and trying to draw conclusions as to why and how they happen and exist. The problem with much of naturalistic science is not in the method but in the presuppositions involved at its foundation. You see, we’re back to foundations again. Everything that we and secular-scientists base our beliefs on is found in what foundation of history we place our faith in. If you trust the Bible and believe that God inspired it, you will find yourself trying to understand where you are today and how things work, based on a belief that in the beginning, God created everything, and that He did so as the Bible says, not as an allegory, but as a factual account. Therefore, if you want to avoid God, altogether, as do many who do not want to submit and be accountable to Him, you have to figure out how all this came about without God, which involves a factually unsupported theories and long, long wasted amounts of time.
However, the good news is that Creation scientists have plausible and fact-based answers to the problems of Carbon-14 dating and evolutionary change. There are answers to why we find fossils of fish on mountains and of land animals under water and how the geological strata were formed in a cataclysmic flood rather than over billions of years. We really are living in an exciting time when God’s Word has the potential to take its rightful place, particularly in our churches, of being understood and known as the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God!
Have you not read, II Timothy 3:10-17, the apostle Paul's words when he said, "But you have followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, and endurance, along with the persecutions and sufferings that came to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from them all. In fact, all those who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Evil people and impostors will become worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, and you know that from childhood you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."
It's so unfortunate, many who would believe in God if they could just trust the Bible have been reared to doubt the Bible and its truths. Let’s talk the builders cost cutting materials, I mentioned earlier again. Let me ask you this, if you were planning to buy a home and you noticed that its foundation was severely cracked and that its walls were beginning to bulge inwardly,you probably wouldn’t feel that it is a trustworthy structure. Am I right?
That’s the way many today, who have not been reared in church, and even some who have been, are looking at the Bible and religion, as a whole, in general. They see a foundation that is cracked because those who have been responsible for its care, have allowed doctrinal impurities and substandard teaching materials to get into the mix. And, for this reason, many in the church and in the pulpit today have so compromised what the Bible says by allowing years of error in teaching to seep into the mix, therefore contaminating the doctrine of Truth and simply saying that it doesn’t matter what you believe so as long as you trust in Christ.
The problem with that is, if the foundation is defective, the structure will not hold!. If the first part of our Bible is not trustworthy as it is written, then who is to say how much of it really is trustworthy?
Have you not read, that Jesus, Himself, said in John 3:11-21
"I assure you: We speak what We know and We testify to what We have seen, but you do not accept Our testimony. If I have told you about things that happen on earth and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about things of heaven? No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life.
“For God loved the world in this way:He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God.
“This, then, is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed. But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God."
So, just how important is this whole foundation that is in the book of Genesis? If you consider that almost every doctrine that the church holds true has its root in Genesis 1-11, it becomes extremely important. The same Jesus that we are to repent of our sins and trust in is the exact same Jesus who was "In the beginning..." responsible for the Creation.
This is the exact same Jesus, whose Words are quoted in the passage we just read earlier from the Sermon on the Mount!!
In Closing....
In the beginning and in the end, who you are, who we are, and where you and I are going to spend eternity hinges on whether or not our foundation is build on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ and who He is as revealed by all of Scripture. Jesus not only told his hearers that their foundation must be on the true rock of salvation, but also that it is important what you do with the Word of God.
Looking now, at Matthew 7:26-29, again, Jesus said, "But everyone who hears these words of Mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. And its collapse was great!”
When Jesus had finished this sermon, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, because He was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like their scribes."
Yes, there is still sickness and sadness and pain , because we still live in a fallen flesh, but the promise of Heaven is growing ever sweeter and ever nearer! God’s grace continues to shower those who look to Him and trust in Him. Can I get a witness?
In the beginning was Christ, through whom and for whom everything that was made has been made. What have you based your foundation on and, if you find your foundation has over time, begun to crack, are you willing to do what is necessary to fix it?
Beloved, I know many of you have lived with the doctrine of uncertainty, and of doubt, but I sincerely hope that you realize we are truly living in a very exciting time! The truth is being preached, again, at least here, we’re getting God's message out, lives are being changed! Yes, Jesus Christ is still on His throne and we are once again, gaining momentum.
So if you’ve been praying for revival to come to our nation, then don’t stop now, as many others have said, I believe we are just beginning to feel the birth pangs in this land. We are closer than we have ever been to the return of Jesus Christ!
The truth is not always pretty, and pretty words, are not always the truth!
I strongly encourage each of you to build your faith on the TRUTH, and sometimes difficult to ingest and not pretty, easy to swallow words, which will crumble before the Lord Jesus!
I pose once again the question, I'd asked earlier:
Is your faith really built upon the solid rock, the cornerstone of Jesus Christ or is it based on some fictional story and characters, in essence, a fairy tale?
The choice is your! Your faith can either start with, "In the beginning God..." or "Once Upon a Time"
But it cannot be both...
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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