Luke
13:22-30 NIV
Then
Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to
Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be
saved?”
He said to them, “Make every effort to enter through
the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not
be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door,
you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’
“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come
from.’
“Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you
taught in our streets.’
“But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come
from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’
“There will be weeping there, and gnashing of
teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the
kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. People will come from east
and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in
the kingdom of God. Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and
first who will be last.”
Why Wait?
2
Peter 1:10-11 NIV
Therefore,
my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your
calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and
you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Go on!
Matthew
7:14 NIV
But small
is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Go on! Enter!
What are you waiting for? Accept God’s
gifts freely given to you!
Bring with you through that open door
the sacrifice of prayer, meditation and worship. Offer a sacrifice of
thanksgiving. Don’t turn away and reject God’s gifts!
In this passage of Scripture from Luke,
once again, Jesus has been teaching all along as He proceeds towards His own
suffering, death, resurrection and ascension back into heaven. He WILL and HAS
responded to the WILL of the Father. Now it’s time! It’s time for Jesus, and
today it’s time for you too. Decide to accept God’s gifts of The Kingdom,
Forgiveness and Salvation. It’s all free, because God loves you.
I just came from a simple exercise of
giving gifts. As a few from my congregation gather at a local park, while
children are playing soccer; we hand out water, pop and dog treats for the pups
for free. It’s a small token with an eternal message. God loves you. God loves
you for free, not because of anything you have done or left undone. It’s a
simple token… It’s all free, because God loves you.
But this passage from Luke seems to be
a harsh reply to a question. Jesus’ sharp reply was towards a self-righteous
questioner who thought, obviously, he was IN. He was one of the CHOSEN. Well,
we don’t decide that on our own. Remember, it’s all free, because God loves you…
NOT because you’ve done anything or are related to someone.
So, let’s breakdown this whole Kingdom
thing once again. Perhaps in a way that you or I have never thought of before.
Here are a few characteristics of the Kingdom of God.
The door is narrow. Even Jesus entered
through the narrow door of the cross. That surely wasn’t easy. Yet beyond this
narrow door, is God’s Kingdom. God’s spacious Kingdom through the narrow door
of self-denial. Toss out money, power and all your self-admiration and all that
patting on the back. Leave that behind as you approach your own cross. The
Kingdom has no place for the powerful, money hungry, pride-filled, selfish
people of this place and this age. All this must be left behind before entering
that narrow door. God’s Kingdom is NOT about you or what you have done. It’s NOT
even about what you believe you have done to get in. Chuck all that stuff!
Second, time is short. The door is
open only for a short time. But there it is… open! Day by day, the narrow door
is open. Why Wait? Leave yourself behind and enter. Doesn’t make much sense,
does it? How can I leave myself behind, yet walk through the door. Remember? It’s
all free, because God loves you. God doesn’t need or desire you because of your
money, your power, your prestige. Remember, God loves you… it’s free. God made
you and God gives you all you really need to enter through that narrow door.
Time is short. Why wait?
In God’s Kingdom, there are no
favorites. Even the CHOSEN JEWS of the Covenant are NOT all there is, through
God’s eyes. In fact, if you think your IN because of who you are or who you are
related to… it could be a trap of the devil. Knowing Jesus doesn’t SAVE you.
NOPE, not just knowing. Your family descent or heritage, doesn’t permit you to
enter the narrow door… NOPE! Maybe your mom or dad took you to church every Sunday.
Well don’t depend on that to get through the narrow door. Maybe your mom and/or
dad or relatives didn’t take you to church that much, but now, you go all the
time. Well… NOPE… that’s not going to get you through that narrow door. Maybe
you like to go to church, but now you stay home instead, the Bible sits on the
shelf and gathers dust. Well, that for sure won’t help you through that narrow
door. And even if you do go to church and read your Bible all the time. It may
help, but it won’t get you through the narrow door. Or hey! Maybe you do good
stuff and help people out all the time, giving food, money or enjoyment. Well,
that’s not going to get you through that narrow door… NOPE!
Entry through the narrow door is NOT
about any of that. It’s NOT about how you indulge yourself in pleasure, even if
handing out water and pop makes you feel good about yourself… NOPE!
Entry through the narrow door IS about
shedding yourself, walking to the cross and giving up self, life, power,
prestige and on and on… TO God’s will… God’s way… AND BEING ACCEPTED BY CHRIST.
Walking through the narrow door IS NOT
about YOU accepting Christ!
The narrow door is a gift TO YOU! It’s
a gift of Forgiveness that God through Jesus gives. Remember? It’s a gift, just
because God loves you.
God loves you and CHOOSES YOU to walk on
in through that open, narrow door, under HIS power and grace and dine eternally
IN HIS KINGDOM.
Go on! Leave your selfish stuff
behind.
Yes, it’s a gift, for free, all
because God loves you.
Why Wait? Hurry up!
I leave you with this Paul McCartney YouTube
video that I thought of. But actually,
the door is open. Enter in … Why wait? Hurry up!
And it mentions Martin Luther too!
Yes, it’s a gift, for free, all
because God loves you.
Let ‘Em in
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA_7pLwIoNU&list=RDTA_7pLwIoNU&start_radio=1
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