Sarah Collins Prince Ocean View Methodist Jesus Road Sermon In my life, I try to avoid things that make

e me upset or frustrated, but unfortunately some things are unavoidable. Nothing brings me more frustration and fear then when I drive and get lost I hate to get lost. It makes me flustered, feel dumb, and feel hopeless. I have countless stories about getting lost in my life. I have done it all over the world. I have gotten lost in Europe with a group of girls. I have gotten lost in Mexico leading mission trips. I have gotten lost in Honduras trying to take a leisurely walk. I have gotten lost even in Ocean View, just trying to find Cindy and Treswills house the other day. If there is an opportunity to get lost or take the wrong turn, I will do it. I think the place I get lost the most in this entire city in when I am in Mitchells Plain. We use to go and volunteer a lot with Hillsong Church and every single time I would get lost trying to get there and getting home. I would write out the directions and be SURE I had it this time, only to be completely lost once again. The problem with Mitchells Plain is that it seems like Ocean View. I love it. I want to look around, I want to wave at people, check out what is going on, whats being sold at the corner. I get distracted and it all looks familiar and get lost every single time. It is maddening. Life with God can often be like this. We think we know the way we are supposed to go, but then one day we realize that we are completely off track. It all is a very familiar, we dont think we need anyone to guide us, we get distracted and then before we know it we are totally lost. This book, the Bible, is actually a road map for our life and will lead us exactly where we need to go. The problem is that we dont read the Bible as our roadmap. WE instead listen to what other preachers say about the Bible. We listen to Christian radio. We just try to be good. We follow the religious rules of Ocean View, rather than following Jesus. But following the map someone else has made will only get you lost. To be a true follower of Jesus Christ you actually have to follow HIM yourself.

 Our scripture today is a very clear and concise roadmap for our life. There are two choices for us, and Jesus lays them out clearly. Matthew 7:13-14 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. While this might seem like a harsh or direct passage from the mouth of Jesus, the Bible has always shown that men and women have a choice when it comes to God Moses said to his people, See I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil in Deuteronomy 30 When Joshua was teaching the nation what it meant to be leaders he said Choose this day who you will serve in Joshua 24 Jeremiah heard the voice of God say Unto these people you shall said, this says the Lord, Behold I have set before you the way of life and the way of death in Jeremiah 21 In this passage Jesus again lays out the two ways man or woman can take. He is saying in the simplest way possible every man will and MUST walk one or the other path and we must choose. The problem for many of us is that we think we are walking on Gods path. We think we are on the straight and narrow. We think we are going the right way. But often we have been given the wrong directions. Our directions have come from religion. Our directions come from looking good in front of others. Our directions come from culture. We talk about what being a real Christian is, and we especially talk about the people who are NOT being a real Christian is. We have our opinions about others and they are strong. Certain things are unacceptable while other things we never even notice. The problem is that no matter how strong your argument is or how passionate you are that so-and-so isnt a real Christian, what you are saying is only your own opinion and perception of someone else. We honestly dont know the road others are taking because the road is about following Jesus. And most of the time we are way more preoccupied with other peoples Christianity than our own. What about MY road? What road am I taking? What road are YOU taking?

 There may be many good paths in life but only Jesus can lead us to Jesus. He is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. We may be on a road of being a good person, or taking care of our family, or not being as bad as we were, but none of those things ultimately count. The only thing that really counts is walking with Jesus or not. With Jesus it is all or nothing. We are either on His road or not at all. In the time of Jesus, most people who would have heard this would have been very religious. They were Jewish followers of God who believed they needed to be Holy as God is holy. Their entire lives were about trying to be perfect and act perfect so they could be accepted by God. And to them, they must have been so annoyed by this passage of Jesus. The nerve for this new prophet, this young Jewish teacher, to claim that not some but MANY of those who think they know God wont enter heaven? Who does he think he is? I really sat to think about this, because I am a strong believer in good behavior. Right now we are struggling with our sweet Kieren who is making some bad decisions of behavior and starting to lie a bit. Now I could compare her to other kids and say she isnt as bad as so-and-so out there or thank goodness she doesnt do this or that. But I want more for Kieren. I want her to have a pure heart and do more than just do good things most of the time. It kills me because I want her to be obedient and do what we say. We make these rules so she will be safe and prosper. But deeper than that, I want Kieren to want these things for herself. God wants us to follow Him and for us to be on His road so we can prosper and be near Him. He doesnt just want us to be good He wants us to be HIS. But that comes by walking on His road If you are in your journey and not sure which road you are on, I am going to ask you three questions to help you examine which road you are on 1. Does your life reflect what you believe? This question is hard because we like to separate our lives. We have our work life. Our home life. Our parent life. Our good son or daughter life. Our church life. And we feel like those are fine as separate. Yes maybe we arent the best husband or wife, but we go to church. Okay so we gamble a little but we work hard to make that money and give most of it to the family.

 You know this kind of thinking is religious math. Its always adding up the good things and subtracting the bad things and hoping that we are in the green and not the red. I have been reminded lately that I am horrible at math as we are trying to help Zakhe with his grade 7 math. I am REALLY bad. But on Jesus road you dont need math. You just need to reflect Him. And so does your life reflect Him? Not just the parts people see but all the little hard and dark parts too. This is hard because none of us is perfect, but our life should look the same here, at work, on the street, and at home. And if it doesnt we should be seeking to make that happen. With Zakhe in our home I realize that I often get upset at his bad behavior and I use a TONE with him. Men know their wives tone well. Casey brought it up and I was so offended and defensive. But he is right. So I am working on that. Most days I fail but I am praying for change all the time. Walking on Jesus road doesnt mean you are perfect now, but you are walking there. You arent waiting for heaven to fall from the sky you are walking there yourself. 2. Do you think you are on the right road because of what you have done? Gods ways arent our ways, but his ways save. Our ways You know we want to be on the right road. You want to be heading in the right direction and that is why you are here this morning. The problem is that we take Gods map, the bible, and try to just focus on the parts that we like while ignoring the parts we dont. You should know that you arent the first person in history to do this. In the United States, in the 1800s, Thomas Jefferson became the third president. He is revered for being a founding father of my nation and the author of the Declaration of Independence. In America today you still see him all the time because his face is on the 5 cent piece. But there was an other side of Jefferson that is not as well known, and that was his view of Jesus. Jefferson was a scientific man and held on tightly to empirical evidence of things. So when he read
4

dont.

the Bible he liked things that had to do with moral principals and good behavior but didnt like the miracles and other worldly stuff. Basically any time Jesus was God. So one day Jefferson literally took a knife and cut out the passages from the New Testament Gospels that he thought were true and left the ones he didnt like. He later made it into an 84 page book, bound it with red leather, and titled it The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth. How incredibly arrogant is that? He took the parts of the Bible literally that he preferred and made his own Bible. It sounds ridiculous, but I think some of us would do the same thing if we were given the chance? We might call it The Morals of Jesus as Approved by Ocean View. There might not be a literal book in this community that tells the rules of religion, but there are many unwritten rules. Dont cuss in public, call the pastors by their pastoral name, dont smoke in public, definitely you cant drink, and you must out those who do drink, show up to church, be a church member, have some gospel music on your phone, and definitely have an opinion about every other religious person you know. But none of these things are actually in this book (hold the Bible). Jesus lays out the road to follow, not you, not me, and not the religious people in Ocean View. 3. Do I KNOW Jesus and does he KNOW me? Because Christianity is not about rules and being holy enough, it does have one principal that defines it is unique from all other religions. And that is that God wants a relationship with you. God actually wants to know you and to be know by you. He wants to talk to you. He wants you to walk with him. He wants to speak into your every day, the ordinary, and the simple. This is really the hardest part of a relationship. Saying yes to the relationship is just one step. Showing up from time to time is another small step. But showing up, seeking the other person, being real and open all the time is TOUGH. I should know, I have been doing it for the last 12 years. In my marriage relationship Casey and I frequently have discussions about television and phones.

 This little device (hold up my phone) has probably caused more arguments than anything in our home. Because we are constantly on it, checking in with other people, talking to people, being super busy and important. But what I want from Casey is not for him to provide for me, I dont need fancy gifts, even taking me on a date isnt enough. I actually just want HIM. I want to talk to him. I want him to ask me questions. I want our time to be real and deep. It doesnt have to be a long time, but even a short time being with Casey where we really talk or laugh is more important than hours of time where we are also glued to our phones or the television. The same is true with Jesus. Just because we are a church member, or grew up in a Christian home, or even know Bible verses by heart. All those things arent KNOWING Jesus. What was your time with Jesus like lately. What has He been saying to you? What has he been doing in you?? Maybe part of the reason that your Christianity feels like religion is because it is. You havent really explored what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried. GK Chesterton Now I have given you three questions and if you are honest, there has to be room for growth for each of us. Even if we knew Jesus yesterday, there is something new to learn today. Its hard. The road is narrow and every day we have to chose it. To me this kind of scripture seems so intense. Like almost scaring us into choosing Jesus. But Jesus wants you to WANT to choose Him. You shouldnt choose Jesus because you are scared of hell, you should choose Jesus because you want to embrace heaven with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Heaven isnt a place for people who are scared of hell; its for people who love Jesus. The reason heaven is heavenlyfull of joy, life, and blissis because well be with Jesus. - Jefferson Bethke As Kieren and I were reading in her Bible on Friday night I was reminded of this great teaching of Jesus that shows me why I embrace heaven Matthew 13:44-46 says this, The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his

joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. We should be running away from hell but running into the arms of Jesus Christ who is our true treasure. The road of Jesus leads to heaven. It is narrow and hard but it is the treasure worth sacrificing everything else for. He is everything and in Him we have everything. When we truly understand the treasure of Jesus Christ, the rest of the world doesnt seem like the treasure it once did And God gave everything for us in giving Jesus Christ, so why do we hold back when coming to Him?

PRAYER FOR BELIEVERS WHO NEED TO REPENT SALVATION PRAYER