Opening Prayer - Heavenly Father we thank you for the oppertunity to worship your Son this morning. We thank You for the Christmas holiday that we just had and another oppertunity to celebrate Your Son's birth. If He hadn't came into this world over 2,000 years ago, there would be no purpose to life. As we prepare for a new year, we pray that You will help us to do what You want us to do in 2015. Please bless us indeed and give us the strength and wisdom to live the way the Bible says we should live. We pray that everyone who reads this sermon who are not saved will become saved before it is too late. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Worship music - Please click the links and sing along if you know the words (You can also click skip ad to go straight to the songs) -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIEEz9yaukA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJtVLSBtWj8
The New Year is just around the corner, but which road will you be traveling to get there? According to the Bible, there are only two ways - the broad way and the narrow way.
Matthew 7:13–14 says, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" .
1. Those who are on the broad road spend more of their time doing what they want to do and not what God wants them to do, even if they have already prayed or made a decision to become a Christian. They still practice sins on purpose, control the way they handle their money, plans of each day, future goals, physical safety (Matthew 10:28), and enjoy someone or something more than witnessing to and/or helping others and spending time with the Lord. They spend more of their time thinking, saying, watching, listening to, going where, and doing what they want instead of what the Lord wants.
2. Those who are on the narrow road have prayed or made a decision to become saved, and as a result, they try to spend more of their time helping and/or witnessing to people, and when they aren't doing that, they try to think about things the Lord would want them to think about, study through the Bible, try to do what it says to do and don't do, try to not have sinful actions, try to let Jesus take over every area of their life (the way they handle their money (explained in http://chriswaug5.wix.com/giving), plans of each day, future goals, physical safety (Matthew 10:28), thoughts, conversations with people who will listen (Deuteronomy 6:7), what they watch and listen to (explained in http://chriswaug5.wix.com/tvandmusic), and where they go), try to do what the Holy Spirit gives them thoughts to do no matter who or what tries to stop them, and do these things because they love Jesus more than anyone or anything and are thankful that He died on the cross to erase their sins (Psalm 139:23,24).
Jesus said, "broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction,", so if you are on the broad road, you need to be willing and want to, from this moment on, live the way the narrow road just described. After that, your heart is prepared to receive Jesus (the Parable of the Sower - Matthew 13:1–23), and you are ready to tell God that you believe Jesus died on the cross to erase your sins so you can go to Heaven and believe that He arose from the dead. Please realize that once you start down the narrow road, your life will be loaded with trials, suffering, persecution: "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12), possible loss of friends, and the temptation to spend your time thinking about, talking about, watching, listening to, and doing what you wanted to do before you made a profession of faith. Luke 13:22–24 says, "And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able." If people aren't willing to live this way "from this moment on", they aren't ready to believe and be saved. Literally the man asked Jesus, "Are there few that are being saved?" So, the reason that few people get saved is because they don’t strive to enter in at the straight gate (they need to be very willing to get on the narrow road and live the way it describes from that moment on (explained in the previous paragraph), no matter who or what circumstances tries to stop them), and then they are ready to believe and be saved.
Many people may ask, “Why do so many people who make a profession of faith, get baptized, and become members of a church all of a sudden quit going to church and go back to living the way they used to live?” The answer to that question is that these people probably didn’t strive to enter in at the straight gate (Luke 13:22-24). If they would have counted the cost (Luke 14:25–35) or strived to enter in at the straight gate (Luke 13:22-24) before they trusted Jesus’ work on the cross to save them, they more than likely wouldn’t have quit thinking like and doing the type of things Jesus did while He was on the earth, going to church, being on the narrow way which leadeth unto life (Matthew 7:13–14), and enduring to the end (Matthew 10:22).
In Conclusion, If you have never prayed or made a decision to get saved, and you would like to do that right now, please follow this website - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/howtogotoheaven
If you have prayed or made a decision to trust Jesus’ death on the cross and His shed blood to erase your sins and let you into Heaven, but you haven’t been living these ways, ask God to forgive you. Then, “from this moment on”, try your absolute best (explained in Revelation 3:19) to begin living these ways, with God helping you change.
If in the future you haven’t tried your absolute best to live these ways, then ask God to forgive you for not living these ways. After that, “from this moment on” try your absolute best (explained in Revelation 3:19) to begin living these ways again, with God helping you change. Continue to follow this pattern every time you fail to live these ways. Please follow this website - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/makingsure