Entering By the Narrow Gate, Part 1

The point: Be stirred up to pray for your pastors, as God answers prayer for guidance in preaching.

Martin describes his mental and spiritual agony in choosing the sermon text, highlighting the power of congregational prayer in guiding him to Matthew 7:13-14.

The following message was delivered on Sunday morning, July 10th, 1994, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Those of you who were with us on Wednesday night will remember that I mentioned something of the unusual measure of mental and spiritual struggle. I even described it as agony that I had gone through in seeking to settle upon the specific text to preach in conjunction with our current series. And several of you at the picnic yesterday and others in personal interaction and yet others even messages left on my answering machine have indicated that you laid to heart the ...

0:02 - 0:54 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine your life this past week: have you been continually hearing Christ's voice and following Him?

He uses the metaphor of the 'fingers of the soul' touching spiritual realities to explain what it means to worship by the Spirit, making Christ real without physical aids.

If we are, we know something of what it is to worship by the enablement of the Spirit of God. We know what it is to have the Holy Spirit bring home to ourselves, our hearts, spiritual realities with power, so that the fingers of the soul, as it were, touch them in the mouth of the soul, taste them in the eyes of the soul, see them. And therefore we are not at all offended by the simplicity and the starkness of external trappings in the place of our worship and in the forms of our worship. For if we are the true circumcision, we know what it is to worship by the Spirit of God, even that Spirit ...

14:48 - 16:16 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine your life this past week: have you been continually hearing Christ's voice and following Him?

Martin uses the analogy of weaving a fabric to explain that no human effort or inherited trait can be woven into the 'little grove of righteousness' which is solely Christ's perfect life and substitutionary death.

We boast in the One whom alone is the object of our faith, from whom alone we receive saving grace. And we put no confidence in the flesh, which in the context, means we put no confidence in anything we inherited by birth or anything we've attained by the greatest diligence in the way of religious performance as the ground of our acceptance before God. We will not allow one centimeter of one thing we were by nature or have done even by God's strength to be woven into the fabric of that little grove of righteousness which is comprised solely and exclusively of the virtue of the perfect life of ...

16:17 - 17:19 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine your heart: have you been exalting and glorying in Christ Jesus, and has it been evident on your lips?

He uses the example of soccer fans' unashamed glorying in their teams during the World Cup to challenge listeners about their willingness to openly glory in Christ Jesus.

The people who are glorying in their national soccer teams in the midst of World Cup madness, they are unashamed to make it known in what team they glory and in what athletic heroes they glory. They speak freely. They speak enthusiastically. They speak passionately about those in whom they glory.

18:56 - 19:20 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Continuing the exposition of the Sermon on the Mount, Martin emphasizes the call to seek God's kingdom first, avoid sinful judgmentalism, and maintain a heart-centered piety. He…

Martin uses Jesus' illustration of logs in one's own eye and specks in another's to condemn sinful judgmentalism, emphasizing self-examination over criticizing others.

And trust me that all other things will be added unto them. That takes you through chapter 6. And then he comes into chapter 7 and says, the subjects of my kingdom are those who do not indulge in sinful judgmentalism upon others. The Pharisees have these huge logs of duplicity and hypocrisy hanging out of their eyes.

42:08 - 42:31 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Continuing the exposition of the Sermon on the Mount, Martin emphasizes the call to seek God's kingdom first, avoid sinful judgmentalism, and maintain a heart-centered piety. He…

He uses the example of a truly hungry or thirsty person who will do anything to get food or drink, to illustrate the earnestness with which true believers hunger and thirst for righteousness.

We get to food and drink. Don't let him tell me, oh, I'm dying of thirst, while he sits with his feet up in the shade, reading a trash novel.

46:19 - 46:28 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin returns to Matthew 7:13-14, explaining that the 'narrow gate' requires stripping down and leaving behind baggage, while the 'wide gate' is a desirable, expansive…

Martin uses the analogy of airline passengers trying to carry too much baggage onto a plane to illustrate the need to strip down and leave behind worldly 'baggage' to enter the narrow gate.

Clothes with whatever clothing they want on them. Carrying as much baggage as they want. These guys that travel and you women. And you see the sign, only two hand baggages allowed.

52:31 - 52:43 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He notes the textual nuance that those who enter the narrow gate 'find it,' implying a discovery rather than a natural inclination. This discovery, whether sudden or after…

He references these parables to explain that finding the narrow gate is a 'discovery,' either sudden or after diligent seeking, implying it's not something people naturally clamor for.

You see, it's not the gate and the way that people are natively clamoring. It's not a game for sight, just like you're hidden in the field. Earl of great price in Matthew 13. Those two parables you remember in one case, the man comes suddenly upon the discovery of a treasure in the field.

57:32 - 58:04 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin warns against false prophets (Matthew 7:15) who attempt to 'mix and match' Jesus' teachings, broadening the narrow gate and restricted way to accommodate worldly desires…

Martin uses the analogy of 'mix and match' clothing styles to describe how false prophets try to combine elements of Jesus' teaching with worldly compromises, distorting the absolute nature of the narrow way.

If you go into destruction, the false prophet comes and says, we've got no problem with the words hell and destruction and gate and way. But you know what I mean by mix and match? You go into a certain store and instead of the trousers and the jacket being together, you can mix and match, you can take a jacket, use it as a sport jacket, buy contrasting slacks, and it's sold as a unit. You ladies mix and match outfits where you can have the same color.

61:06 - 61:40 Read in full sermon